Crash Course Studies 2022

Something I'm sure many people can perceive happening in my comics versus my commissions/contract work is a distinct divide in style and the conflict happening across multiple "genres" that comes with trying to retain my particular approach to character design, stylization, and expressiveness. While I'm fairly adept at portraying a specific figure/person I can directly reference as seen in these sketches, I still struggle capturing a natural, consistent likeness of the fictional cast in my comics. There are some really, really bad panels in even my most popular comics. So, often I will do grueling "crash course" studies of people I find on Pinterest or Facebook to further hone my muscle memory and over time apply the specific features I pick out from those sketches onto my characters making them who they are. I do the same just before a big commission to break out of my "comic style" in favor of a client's vision for more realism/accuracy.

Peaches & Cream has been such a difficult comic to work on merely because I'm not confident with depicting MCW from multiple angles, which is why lately it's just been an odd drawing of her here and there. She's got a face I describe as being soft and feminine, with a goofy smile and a nose that has so many angles going on with it, it's tough to integrate it into what is otherwise a soft and cheeky facade. It's made more difficult switching over in contrast of Vivian's bulkier, more masculine design.

Meanwhile, Eli Castello and Matthew are both an absolute joy to draw. Scruffy aging men are great, haha.

Anyhow, enjoy some of what I do in between the stuff you see making waves on the interwebs. These are just a few selections, these sketches are largely uninteresting and messy.