Fantasy Series: Alice

This is the first in a series of fantasy art I began last night. This particular piece, featuring a sexy Alice from Alice in Wonderland is on the risqué side, but that doesn't mean they all will be. Don't be expecting Poseidon in a speedo, or anything like that. I've just put this piece up on Ebay if anyone would like to own it.

Thanks.
Mike

What I've Been Up To

Lately these posts have been approximately bi-weekly. My son, Nathan, had a little relapse in his heart condition, and he had to undergo surgery to clear away some abrasions around his heart, and after a few days in the hospital in Houston we were able to come him since he's doing much better. We couldn't be more thrilled!

This piece is one of the last commissions from what I call the "Hurricane Batch", those commissions I sold just before our area was struck by Hurricane Ike, causing us to lose our home to mold and sending us bouncing around the map until finally settling into our own place again.

But enough about me. Onto the art! This piece was inspired by Marvel's Shanna the She-Devil. The client didn't specify that he wanted Shanna necessarily, but wanted something in that vein.

And over the last few weeks I've been reading up on mythology, not just Greek, but Roman, Norse, and Celtic as well. Here's my interpretation of the Greek Goddess of magic and the underworld, Hekate. There have been many other versions of her by different comics companies, especially in the DC Universe.

It's been a while.

God, it's been almost a month! Well, to keep you all abreast of my situation, my family and I are finally settled into a new apartment after being virtually homeless for the last three months following Hurricane Ike. It's now COMPLETELY behind us, thankfully. In the meantime I have tons of art to complete (some that has been commissioned since August! But I hear that the real professional artists take over a year sometimes, so I don't feel so bad. I tell ya, those acts of God are a bitch.

On to the art...

This pin-up is of Stormblazer, his super-villan, Sifter, and his alter ego's secretary, Stephanie. Look for it to be used in the future (or at least colored).

Here are two more designs for some new characters for my original graphic novel soon to begin production. Meet the sorcerer Morgana, and (below) the super-strong member of an all-female forgotten race from Antarctica, Amazona. Amazona was originally a character from Nedor Publications in the 1940s, but she has since fallen into the public domain. I've changed her to suit my needs, as I've done to many a lady. Kidding.

More Golden Age!

Here are three more characters from my forthcoming as-of-yet untitled graphic novel.

First, Doc Steele. He was modeled after Nedor's Doc Strange. I'm not the first to take this old character and make something new out of him. Most notably, Alan Moore brought him back as Tom Strong from America's Best Comics.

Lady Victory is not the name of an actual character (surprisingly), but in creating her I was inspired by a few Golden Age female heroes I researched.

Finally there's Dark Terror, formerly knows as "The Black Terror". I ditched his Lone-Ranger/Robin mask in favor of one that I felt was strke "terror" in the hearts of evil-doers.

More in the coming days.

Mike

Golden Age Reimaginings

Here are two characters from a graphic novel I'm developing which involves numerous characters from the golden age. Since these characters are in the public domain now, I've taken advantage of it and re-designed them. Captain Future was a character from Nedor Comics in the 1940s, and Athena is from Greek mythology. I'm sure she appeared at some point or another in those formative years, although I haven't found an appearance yet. More in the coming days.

Mike

Commissions and Stuff

I've included a few things I've finished over the last few days. I'm still dreadfully behind on a few commissions, but I hope to rectify that over the next several days.

Here you have (in no particular order:

The Baronness from G.I. Joe (c) 2008 Hasbro.

A creature imagined by David Price (c) 2008 David Price...

My version of Centaur Publications' Man of War character (c) 2008 Michael Powell

And a preview page from Stormblazer # 12 from Ultimate Comics Group.
(c)2008 Ultimate Comics Group, LLC. I expect the issue to be completed by Christmas, and the release date is probably in January or February, not sure. I'll be promoting it as the times draws closer.

Mike

The Crusader

Meet the American Crusader. He's sometimes known only as "Crusader". He's a golden age superhero from the public domain that I'll be using in a graphic novel I'm putting together in my head these days. It may take a while before any pages are posted, but I'll have plenty of character designs in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

Mike

Nightcat Commission

Another long overdue commission. Our wi-fi in the hotel we've been staying in after Hurricane Ike is extremely slow, so I haven't posted much. We came to town for Halloween, so I'm using my grandparent's computer for this. I hope to fix the wi-fi problem by changing out a cable. Hope it works.

Nightcat is a character created by Jennifer MacDonald. Visit her website at www.nightcat-online.com for some awesome art featuring this and other characters.

(c)2008 Jennifer MacDonald

Mike

Wet T for UCG

This lovely lady is a promotional piece I did for the Ultimate Comics Group. I'm currently working on one of their books (Stormblazer # 12). John Lai, editor-in-chief of UCG did the colors, and let me tell you, he brought this thing to life! I can't wait to see what he does with my sequential art.


Mike

Jester Press Werewolf Pin-Up

This is a pin-up I drew for Troy Hasbrouck at Jester Press. He asked me a few weeks back if I would be his regular artist, and I had to turn him down because of my current commitment to the Ultimate Comics Group, but I assured him that until my schedule opened up, I would certainly draw some pin-up art. Here's the most recent.

Mike

New Commissions: She-Hulk and Grendel

These are my first finished commissions post hurricane Ike. It's quite refreshing to get them up on the blog. The feeling of no productivity can get you down, believe me. I want to thank my clients again for their patience through the months of Nathan's illness, and again through two hurricanes (one of which actually hit us and forced us out of our home permanently. You guys are great.

Mike

Valkyrie

This is one of five commissions that I've had on the line since before my son, Nathan, got sick and I had to postpone their completion. This is Marvel Comic's Valkyrie. I had to touch up a few spots where some of my wife's make-up inexplicably got on the paper. The scan is blessedly free of them. More as they're completed.

Mike

Valkyrie (c)
Marvel Characters, Inc.

Nightscape

Nightscape was originally reverse-engineered from vampire DNA in a government laboratory many years ago with the intention of being the perfect assassin against the creatures of the night. He had a mind of his own, much to the chagrin of his creators, and he fled the laboratory.

He is immune to the common weaknesses of vampires, and he has many of their abilities. His strength matches that of an elder vampire, he has limited flying ability, and his senses are heightened. In his right forearm was implanted a titanium talon that he can unsheath at will. Titanium was long ago found to be more lethal to vampires than silver.

He has no need for blood, but instinct tells him that that is the only thing that can satisfy him. Normal food is sufficient, but it tastes terrible to him, and he often goes days without eating. His metabolism, however, is such that it takes a long time for this to weaken him. His body requires a third of the food that a human does. He sometimes feeds upon the wicked, but so far he hasn't taken enough to kill anyone.

Mainstay

Mainstay is the brother of Nebula. Not in the sense of coming from the same mother and father, but in the sense that they were both originally engineered from the same source thousands of years ago in what is known mythologically as Atlantis. His strength is much greater than that of a mortal human, he can fly, and he can manipulate electromagnetic energy. He is not immortal; he can, indeed, be killed, but (like Nebula) he stopped aging once his body reached full maturity all those millenia ago.

Mainstay (c) 2008 Michael Powell

Wolverine

Hey, guys. For those who missed my last posting, my son, Nathan, was diagnosed with a heart condition about three months ago and has undergone treatment for most of that time. We're currently back in our hometown for an indefinite amount of time, and I find myself with a little bit of drawing time on my hands, for which I'm grateful after such a long hiatus. Here's a Wolverine drawing I whipped out this afternoon to use as my Myspace avatar.

Mike

At long last!

I'm back in the loop after being away for nearly three months. My son, Nathan, had to be rushed to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston because of an enlarged heart. The story is much too complicated to go into right here, but rest assured, we are on our way to normalcy.

While we were away I didn't have my commissions in progress with me, so I had to occupy myself with sketches and character designs. Here are two of them for my still forthcoming webcomic, tentatively titled "Faction Omega". The headshot is of Bombshell, a character I've featured before. The inked piece is of a character I created recently called "Nebula". Kind of your Wonderwoman/Powergirl archetype, but I have some ideas bubbling around in my head of who she is and what she can do.

Stay tuned for more over the next few days.

Mike

Commission: Grendel/Argent

Unfortunately, I still don't have a full-sized printer, so you'll have to imagine that these two are side-by-side for now.

I was never familiar to the specifics of Grendel, but I thought he always looked cool. These are two of four commissions I'm working on for a client. I'll post the others (hopefully) by next week.

Mike

Contribution: Jester Press Sketchbook

When I was contacted by the guys from Jester Press about contributing to a sketchbook they were compiling I jumped at the chance. Although it took me over a month to find time to finish this project (amongst others) I finally got it to them, and I can't wait to see the book once it's compiled.

This piece features Sabrina Voght and her werewolf companion. They kick ass!

Mike

Commission: Sexy Alyssa Milano

I guess it's redundant to say "sexy" and then "Alyssa Milano" in the same sentence, since she just personifies hotness.

This client sent me three pieces of reference, a snapshot of Ms. Milano's face, a panel of Freefall from Gen13 in an impossible pose (you know, the one where both ass cheeks and both breasts are showing), and another panel of Freefall wearing a leopard print bikini.

In the end, this is what he had in mind. It makes my back hurt just looking at it. In a good way, though.

Mike

Commission: Black Cougar # 2

This is just another pin-up of KC Ryan's Black Cougar to loosen up tonight. It's been very rough two weeks with the wife breaking her leg and all. Very stressful. Sometimes a simple drawing like this which took about 30 minutes to do can really help to recharge my system and bring me back to my center.

Night.

Mike

Commission: Playboy Storm # 1

Commission: Goldenman

This is the second in this batch of commissions for KC Ryan (www.kcryan.com). He has a very interesting website just full of original stories featuring his characters. Check it out.

Mike

Commission: Black Cougar

KC Ryan is a regular client of mine. He buys commissions on Ebay from various artists and posts them to his website, www.kcryan.com. The site features original characters in original stories, and the commissions are usually scenes from the stories.

This particular character is called Black Cougar {(c) 2008 KC Ryan}. The description was pretty general, he wanted the character with claws extended, leaping at us. I'm working on a second for him right now. I'll post it soon. Stay tuned.

Mike

Red Monika

Commissions have been going well. I'm able to keep up with the pace at this point. This Red Monika piece was done fairly quickly. Some of the most perfect breasts I've ever drawn. The trick is keeping my hand steady, something I have problem with sometimes. Especially after a long day at work.

Mike

Sex Goddess with Viking Sword

Here's the description sent to me by the client....


What I'd like for a drawing is a lady with long, full, wild blonde hair - falling to about mid thigh - being blown in the wind. The lady is the most beautiful girl in the world, with the most stunning, lithe, athletic body. She's got wide shoulders, large, perky, firm, superheroine-like breasts, a narrow, concave waist, long legs, and large, happy eyes. The sort of girl that boys would follow for miles... Think the Enchantress from the Thor comics, but friendlier and sexier. She's got an imaginary body - slender and well-muscled with an hourglass figure, tight, perfect bottom, and breasts larger than expected on her frame. She's a Goddess - eternally young and smokin' hot. She's happy, smiling and seductive.

This busty young blonde girl is barely wearing a leather outfit - a corset / bustier, a very short sheath (non-ruffled) skirt slit on one side, and thigh-high, soft leather boots. The corset acts more like a push-up bra. She also has a large, single jewel diamond pendant which is round, flat, and would be about 1-1/2 inches across. She's wearing a loosely fastened sword belt. The sword, in its sheath, is a longsword - like a Viking sword.

The girl is posed seductively. We see her from about mid-thigh up. posed to show off her curves.

Sound OK?

Thanks,
Brad

What I've been Up To

The first three images are characters I've been developing when time allows. See my blog on Myspace for a more detailed description (www.myspace.com/powguero).

The two rough pencils are commissions I've recently started.

Mike

Batman

He's On Fire!

It seems that my posts are leaning more towards weekly now instead of every other day. Life being as "interesting" as it has been as of late, I'm glad I've found time to post what little I have. Enjoy!
Mike

Got Milk?

I got the idea for this Catwoman piece when I was perusing some images on the Suicide Girls Myspace page, and there was one of those voluptuous beauties who had a glass of milk with a few seductively errant drops around her mouth. The rest is self-explanatory.

Mike

It's about f****** time, Mike!

Yeah, it's been a long time between posts again. Wife's been sick and/or injured, so there's been little time for drawing. As I recall, in my last post I wrote about switching to the brush. Well, that's all well and good if you don't have a three-year-old jumping on your back while you're trying to ink. I finally ordered three brush markers, and I'm sure they'll last me for several months.

Today's piece is a rough design for a character in the webcomic I plan on starting in the coming year. Stay tuned for details.

Mike

The Latest In A Long Line of Un-named Women

I have no idea who this is supposed to be. I just drew something to practice inking with my brush. I know I raved on about the Staedtler brush marker a couple of months ago, but tragedy struck when I lost one and the other ran out of ink. Before I had the chance to order more online (since no one around here carries them or can even order them for me), I started practicing again with the brush. I've actually gotten better and my hand is more steady. I think I'll just stick with this. As for what type of brush I use...are you ready for this? The cheapest piece of crap brush available, only mangled with a pair of scissors to a fine point. Works like a charm!

Mike

More catch-up posts

Every month I try to sell and finish a batch of commissions (usually about five). This current batch, because of the move, took about 6 weeks. For one client it took even longer, and I drew him a bonus sketch to go with the one he commissioned. Personally, I like the sketch better.

Mike

Tarzan #2 and Completed She-Hulk

Here's the second version of the second Tarzan/Jane commission.

Why a second version, you may ask.

Because I lost the first one during the move to the new apartment. I was kicking myself for a while, but once I started working on it, I found that I was able to correct little errors I had made while drawing the first one, and the second one came out looking even better!

The She-Hulk piece is finally complete. I think the contrast of the black background makes everything stand out, and I think I'm getting better with the pencil gray-tones. I still want to get a set of Staedtler gray pens to make it look more professional.

Mike