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My twitter pal (and talented wordsmith) @DelilahSDawson asked for my help coming up with a Christmas present for her husband (also my twitter pal & fellow Transformer fanatic) @DocKrog. When she told me the concept, ADVENTURE PRIME, I was all, “WHAAAAAT”

Here’s what I came up with:

This was such a fun concept to flesh out, and a surprisingly fitting mash-up. Plus I got to try out the new WHITE pen I bought at the J-market/stationary store. I used it for the highlights on Jake’s arm/hand and for the Autobot symbol on Finn’s arm.

Fun fact: I no longer know how to end blog posts.

._.

Occasionally when I do toy sales/trades with internet folks, I’ll throw a quick sketch in the parcel just for larfs. This was one such sketch, a Glyos Syclodoc ‘repainted’ in the colors of a certain garish toy from the early 90′s…

 
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas! This is my final Draw Something post… unless I start playing again.

But don’t bail on me just yet! I’ll be posting plenty of ROBUST drawings over the next two-plus weeks. Expect a ‘real’ Christmas post early next week, more UNICORNS (like these), plus other assorted nerdery, as you might expect from me.

Of the many Draw Somethings I produced, this is my favorite.

 
BY THE WAY, for those who care, I am well aware that these Draw Something frivolities are, at best, ‘lite’ content. More robust posts are on the way! And by “on the way” I mean, like, actually finished and scanned! Stay tuned!

At some point I started doing nothing but GI Joe-themed Draw Somethings. I’m probably more proud of this than I should be.

Here I present a gothy, zaftig, nekomimi kunoichi, dressed in what I would describe as Miami Vice Decepticon colors, and armed with a guan dao (not quite a naginata), shuriken, and bombs:

Now, if you aren’t down with a gothy, zaftig, nekomimi kunoichi, dressed in Miami Vice Decepticon colors, and armed with a guan dao (not quite a naginata), shuriken, and bombs… well I don’t even know what you’re doing here.

Side note: I apologize for the huge URL, it’s actually there to balance out the composition, because I wouldn’t, you know, think about composition before hand. WHO DOES THAT???

Now if you’ll excuse me, I think it’s high time I started a band called Miami Vice Decepticon.

*air guitar riff*

I took a trip to Portland a few weeks ago, and sat next to a really friendly couple on the plane. I drew this Captain America sketch for their son. They asked me to, I don’t just force sketches on strangers when I’m on a plane!

(Posted this on Instagram, but thought I’d put it up here too, just for archive purposes and all of that.)

On Sunday at 1am, I got pretty excited about Daylight Saving Time ending, hatched an idea for a strip that amused myself, and now, here we are:

 
GO OUT AND ENJOY THAT EXTRA HOUR OF DARKNESS PEOPLE! TODAY WE ARE VICTORIOUS OVER THE ACCURSED SUN!

Happy Halloween, (blood-)suckas!

 
Okay, I posted twice this week. I think I deserve to eat an entire bag of Take 5‘s now.

Here’s a poster that I penciled for work (inks by Mike Rote, colors by Nathan Kane, and type/design by Serban Cristescu):

 
It’ll be available at the Bongo Comics booth, this weekend at Comikaze! Get ‘em while they’re hot! I’ll be there on Saturday, you might catch me at the booth!

And here’s a look at some of my rough sketches that lead up to the final product:

 
I post this type of work-stuff on Instagram semi-regularly, so follow me if you want to see more! Do NOT follow me if you don’t want to see Instagrams of action figures, food, and cats.

Two weeks ago, Lou Scheimer, best known as the architect of the He-Man and She-Ra cartoons, passed away.

In the wake of his passing, there was an outpouring of love on the internet, for the man and his work. Here are a few of my favorite blog posts about the matter:

• James Eatock, Busta Toons
• Emiliano Santalucia, Santalux
• Shawn Robare, Branded in the 80′s

Belated, but no less sincere, here’s my own offering for the man whose work inspired a lot of kids’ imaginations, including my own:

 
Thank you for everything, Lou!

Why?

Why not?

(drawn with markers on random cardboard scraps)

Eh… what’s this? *Blows dust off of URL* Oh right, I have a sketchblog! Well, I may as well post something on it. But I’m not coming up with a pun title dammit.

Ahem.

So a couple weeks ago @Brentosaur tweeted the following hypothetical scenario:

Hasbro asks you to pick five Autobots to be the main cast under Optimus Prime for the next show. Who do you pick?

— Brent Michael Fury (@Brentosaur) August 24, 2013

 
To which I replied:

@Brentosaur Elita-1, Strika, Tracks, Minerva, and Wheelie. Optimus is put in a coma in the pilot and Elita takes over.

— Jason Ho (@jasonhohoho) August 24, 2013

And then I decided to take it too far and draw up my Autobot team. I would have posted sooner, but I didn’t have time to finish the colors until Labor Day…

 
Elita-One, Tracks, and Minerva are pretty straightforward depictions, based on the G1 cartoons. Strika is based loosely on her appearance in Transformers: Animated, but with colors and elements from her original toy (I thought that made her more Autobot-y). Wheelie has proportions inspired by the original toy, but I kind freestyled it from there. For those who are wondering, Elita-One, Strika, and Wheelie were drawn without any real consideration to a Transformation scheme.

This started out as a quick and dirty pen sketch, but I ended up spending a lot of time on the colors and the background in Photoshop. I kind of like the contrast between the super scratchy lines and the very computery background… but I’d be lying if I said it was intentional!

I BET WHAT YOU’RE REALLY LOOKING FOR IS SOME NERDY BACKSTORY, RIGHT??? (The idea here is that this is a starting point for a new series with its own continuity)

* * *

While responding to a distress signal from a remote Autobot colony, Optimus Prime and Elita-One’s team of freedom fighters find themselves ambushed by Decepticons. During the battle, Optimus is rendered comatose by the notorious Decepticon warrior Sixshot, and the Autobots find themselves stranded behind enemy lines…

ELITA-ONE (leader, melee expert): With her mate and partner Optimus out of commission, the mantle of leadership falls solely upon Elita’s shoulders. She is renowned for her even-handed sense of justice, as well as her almost peerless hand-to-hand combat skills. She treats her team like a family, perhaps because she had to leave her actual family behind on Cybertron…

STRIKA (tank): Beneath her armored hide bristling with heavy artillery is… a total martinet. Like, exactly what you would expect. Strika is the only one on the team with formal military training. She often clashes with Elita’s unorthodox methods, but ultimately is loyal. In addition to providing the team with heavy firepower, Strika is a brilliant tactician and strategist. Don’t tell anyone, but I think she has a crush on Tracks…

TRACKS (flyer): It’s a toss up whether Tracks is known more for his prowess in combat or his insufferable sense of vanity. He’s a member of the Omnibot division, which accounts for his extra mode enabling him to fly as well as any Decepticon. When he isn’t dogfighting with Decepticons, Tracks is usually flirting with Minerva. He would claim that he’s just kidding around, but that’s probably because Minerva hasn’t responded to his nonsense…

MINERVA (medic): The second youngest member of the team, Minerva takes her duties very seriously, devoting most of her time to trying to revive Optimus from his comatose state. Minerva has also been entrusted with Optimus’s trailer, which converts to a mobile battle station/repair bay. BTW, she has a secret that only Elita knows about…

WHEELIE (scout): When Optimus and the freedom fighters arrive at the Autobot colony, Wheelie is the only remaining survivor. He becomes the youngest and newest recruit to the team. His outward demeanor is cheerful, but he’s acutely aware that Optimus fell in battle for his sake, and he carries that burden quietly. Wheelie is a fan of poetry and hip hop…

More to come if I get around to illustrating my corresponding Decepticon team…

A quick marker sketch of Radioactive Man!