Some recent Manga art.

Me as a Manga Drawing by Kirk McConnell
2012

Okay. If you have never heard of the work "Manga," it is a Japanese word meaning "Whimsical Drawing". If I recall, "Man" means "whimsical", and "ga" means "drawing". I think? Anyhow, I have been trying to prepare to teach an art workshop for May 4th for my local library which is hosting an Asian and Pacific Islander Cultural Awareness Night. I am a bit nervous, but am confident that things will go well. The good thing about drawing Manga, is there is no set style which pictures may be drawn. I guess that is why they are whimsical, eh?

El Gato Loco by Kirk McConnell, 2012

Insanely Mad Mushrooms by Kirk McConnell
2012
Based on Christopher Hart

Muscles by Kirk McConnell
2011
After Christopher Hart

Super Kid by Kirk McConnell
2011
After Christopher Hart

Guy by Kirk McConnell, 2009

Girl by Kirk McConnell, 2012

A Heroine by Kirk McConnell, 2011

Manga Luke Skywalker by Kirk McConnell, 2011

I have drawn different things as far as Manga is concerned. I don't consider myself to be an expert on the subject, but I what I do know is that I enjoy drawing and have been influenced by Manga and Anime as far back as I can remember. When one draws, it should be for a reason that is personal to the one drawing.

Fan art-Bart Simpson as Poseidon by Kirk McConnell

I felt that I should post this picture. I did this as a gift for someone several years ago. This is my take on Poseidon, from Greek mythology. I have to admit, I might do a couple things differently, but I was satisfied with the poster overall. It is, if I remember an 18"x24" poster, mixed media. I primarily used colore pencil (heavily) and scumbling in the waves with white acrylic or gesso. It is one of those pieces I might have to make again for myself. I am glad that I was able to keep a record of this. 

I think that my favorite part is Bart with his trident chasing down Homer.  Homer as most people will know almost always has one of those "Doh!" moments. I think I used a black Sharpie pen to create some of the heavier black lines. I am not opposed to using felt markers if it gets the job done.

Save The Date: 2nd Star Wars Poster

Promotional Poster for the City of Ontario Library, California by Kirk McConnell

Recently I submitted a poster for an art workshop to a local library in Ontario, California. I am very satisfied with the way the first poster turned out. I had to do a lot of the work by hand since I do not have adequate funds or materials that I could use to make the kind of poster that I wanted. In a way I had to "Mac Guyver" my way through the process, and somehow completed each picture okay. Between the two projects I estimate that it took me a cumulative of 48 hours to complete the work of both poster, this second poster requiring more labor and thought.

The picture shown here is a digitally cleaned up version to the best of my ability. I did the collage as individual pictures, then scanned them for use as a digital collage. After the collage was assembled, I printed out a copy I liked and colored it by hand, then making a color copy/scan, again. I tried to keep my photocopy number low, as one knows a copy loses quality each time it is reproduced. 

The bottom image on the poster, with the basic step-by-step "Clone Trooper" was hand drawn by me and colored. I think I have minute flaws, but I am not trying to be critical. I am my own worst enemy when it comes to criticizing my art. The Clone Trooper is going to go on my new blog, which will be one of the first entries for my "How to Draw" series. I am a strong proponent of visual literacy, but more so for the enjoyment of creativity as well as the functional role of art in our culture. My goal will be to inspire and build confidence in individuals who feel inadequate with their drawing abilities.

Below are two inked black and white samples I used for the collage. 

Inked drawing of Anakin Skywalker by Kirk McConnell -2012

Inked drawing of Yoda by Kirk McConnell - 2012

Save the Date.

This is a recent poster I made for the City of Ontario Library located in Ontario, California. I designed it to promote a "How to Draw" workshop that will be in May. This is the first of two posters. I have to still make my second poster, but I have a working idea for it now. When I took the first poster in to the library, it automatically received a positive response.

I am hoping to establish myself as a local artist and illustrator within the community to promote visual literacy. This poster is a start, albeit Pro Bono, it will get me noticed. For this poster, being in the difficult situation I am in, I used what ever materials I had at my disposal. This is not a complaint. I would rather use what I have than to spend a lot of money only to mess something up.

When I completed this picture and added the type, I felt pleased with the design overall. I consider this fan art, so hopefully I am not stepping on anyone's toes. I have been a fan of Star Wars since I was a boy, so this counts as "fan art" to me. This poster is digitally enhanced, but the original is 22"x28" and will be laminated to keep for future use at the library. I have another event that I am doing towards the beginning of May, but I will post it in a separate entry. 

One thing I hope to do is start a completely new blog with my "How To Draw" stuff and begin a series of drawing tutorials. I will post links to it from this blog and from Facebook.

Promotional poster/fan art by Kirk McConnell, 2012

The Thing is...

This is one of my my more recent drawings. I spent many hours on it. From previous entries you can see the pencils or the basic ink work I did for this drawing. Now I would like to present my digitally enhanced picture of The Thing, from Marvel Comics: Fantastic Four. This is a fan art piece, and perhaps it will be good enough to get noticed by individuals at Marvel?  I have another version without the text, but this is the one I want to show. Eventually I would like to reduce this down to a 5"x8" size and use as a promo card to promote the artwork I do. Overall, I am satisfied with the design and rendering done on this picture. The Thing is one of my favorite characters, and he is not too hard to draw. He is just a bit time consuming when it comes to some of his details. But, when I draw characters like him, I just remember Thing's motto: "It's Clobberin' Time!"

The Thing (Marvel)-Fan Art