METALUNA MUTANT MANIA!!!

We are almost there CRAZIES!!!  Halfway to Halloween!  And the call of turkey and sleigh bells aren't too far off either, but that's for another time!  Right now, these pumpkins we're made for carving, and that's just what we'll do!  We got another horror icon waiting in the wings and he's a bit blue that we haven't gotten to him yet, so lets get to it!  Enjoy...

The Metaluna Mutant!  An icon of early SciFi cinema, he's certainly got his fans.  So much so that there was actually a bit of backlash towards the MST3K crew when they riffed on it for Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie back in 1996!  If you take into account that A) It came out in the 1950's, a time when special effects were practically still being invented, and B) It was low budget to begin with, the movie was better than it had any right to be.  I feel MST3K's criticisms of story elements and such were fair, as it is cheesy as all get out.  But it's also one of the better films to get the Satellite of Love treatment and there were definitely more deserving titles out there.  I will say though, the film's low budget and inventing-wheel-still special effects are nowhere more evident than with the Metaluna Mutant.  I didn't just halfass the mutant's bottom half.  He LITERALLY looks unfinished in the movie too!  In someways, he set a trend.  Plenty of movie villains wear sweatpants now too!

Another one down as the Witching Hour gets closer and closer!  But before that can happen, we still gotta get through a few more posts, so be sure to come back and check it out!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

QUASI'S HERE! GET PUMPED!!!

We're back and getting more and more excited as the night of the pumpkin draws near!  At this point I'm hoping to have my yard display set up, but I've been seriously lagging in other areas lately, so, fingers crossed!  One of these days, I'll do an in depth post on how I put it all together and build the props, but that's for another day.  Y'all want art AND monsters, and I'm gonna deliver!  Our next CRAZY legend is here and ready to get spooked!  Enjoy...

No need to hunch over dear readers.  Quasimodo has entered the party scene and believe me, he is PUMPED for Halloween!  Few literary buffs realize just how practical Quasi's hunch truly is.  In addition to it supplementing his personality, it also servers as a crash pad and floatation device!  Yeah, I'm glad Quasimodo accepted our invitation.  The party was a bit flat without him!

Well, another week down as we get closer to the night of all things spooky!  But we still got plenty of fun left to be had, so be sure to come back and see who will show up next!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

ROCKIN' OUT WITH LUDO!!!

Welcome to October CRAZIES!!!  We're already deep into the Spooking Season, but now we're REALLY amping up the creepy factor as Halloween is that much closer!  And how is the CRAZYVERSE getting ready for the big day?  By inviting some horror legends to come get CRAZY with us!  Our first guest is even here already!  Who is it?  Scroll down and see for yourself!  Enjoy...

Hey hey!  It's Ludo, the gentle giant of Jim Henson's classic fantasy film, Labyrinth!  Granted, it's not a horror flick, but those goblins (Not to mention David Bowie's, er, Major Tom) gave quite a few kids nightmares back in the day.  Luckily, we all grew up to be well adjusted adults who now appreciate just how wonderful Henson's fantasy epics truly were!  Here, Ludo displays his amazing ability to command rocks.  Wonder if this means he can command THE Rock?  Guess we'll learn in the future when this movie gets inevitably remade!

Well, that's it for this week, but we'll be back next time with another legend of fantasy and horror as the CRAZY march to Halloween continues!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

MIKE & MINDY GET PENCILED!!!

Well, another month is just about down!  Leaves are turning, the air is cooling and the Sun is setting earlier.  Yup, Fall is really here!  And with any luck, I'll have already had some apple pie and spice cake by now!  If not, I guess some colored pencil art will simply have to be my consolation prize as that's what I got to show today!  So let's get to it!  Enjoy...

 

How do ya like that?  Two months in a row now that we end things with the original CRAZY icons, Mike & Mindy!  Yeah, when I started doing these, there was no doubt in my mind that these two would be among the first characters I rendered in colored pencil, and I'd say these two came out great!  It should be noted that these are two separate pieces combined into one, hence the double signature.  I should also note that these are based off of poses that my dear friend Scott Warren did for M&M's anniversary back in 2020, as seen below...

My art doesn't have anywhere near the toony energy that Scott put into his, as he's just that amazing.  But I do feel the colors on mine came out great and the backgrounds really make the characters pop.  Color theory's very important CRAZIES.  If you wanna be an artist, be sure to study it!

And that's a wrap on the month of September!  It's been fun, but I'm in the mood for some spooky things, and I'm sure you are too!  So be sure to come back next week so we can kickoff October properly!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

PEPPER GETS PENCILED!!!

Welcome back CRAZIES!!!  We are now past the halfway point of September and that much closer to All Hallow's Eve, or Halloween to you modern types!  But there will be more time for that later!  Right now, it's time for art!  So let's get to it, shall we?  Enjoy...

Hey hey!  Pepper has popped up!  Bubble's adopted dragon son has become quite the fan favorite since he hatched eight years ago, and continues to gain new fans everyday!  This was actually the first of the colored pencil portraits when I began this effort to better understand the medium back in April of 2023.  Although I'd been dabbling since 2021, it really wasn't until I did my piece for Team Cul De Sac last summer that I really started to better grasp colored pencils and see how cool they can really be!  Pepper got me off to a good start, though, much like Willow, there were about two or three more colors I could've used to make the blending smoother between shades, mostly in the background.  His skin, scales and fins though came out perfect!  Practice makes perfect y'all!

Well, three weeks down one more to go in our colored pencil walk through, but fear not!  I got a double dose of color blasting your way to end September on a high note!  So be sure to come back and check it out!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later! 

WILLOW GETS PENCILED!!!

We are back CRAZIES!!!  Some of you no doubt need a break from doing the Monster Mash right now, so why not use that time to check out some art beautifully rendered in colored pencils?  Seriously, it'll only take a few minutes and then you can get back to your Frankenstein walks and Dracula talks!  Enjoy...

Willow's up next!  Bubble's long suffering girlfriend certainly has the patience of a saint and now glows like one too!  Not many realize that neon/fluorescent colors can be used for more than just black light effects.  They really pop in their own right, and neon colored pencils especially just have a very radiant glow to them, even without UV lighting.  In hindsight I should've used a couple more shades of pink as the blending deepened, but overall I'm happy with this one.  I know I've mentioned this in past posts, but it's worth mentioning again here: It's important to use quality colored pencils when coloring with them.  You just can't get a good result with Crayola or Artist's Loft.  I use PrismaColors and am very happy with them.  Also, electric pencil sharpeners are a must with colored pencils!

Wowzers!  Almost halfway through September already!  Well, that just means we're closer to the next colored pencil portrait which debuts next week, so be sure to come back and check it out!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

BUBBLE GETS PENCILED!!!

Welcome to September CRAZIES!!!  And welcome to Fall!  My favorite time of year has arrived with all the seasonal treats, festivals and holidays I love so much all on the horizon!  Summer was a mixed bag.  Lotta highs, but some lows.  VERY busy time actually and Fall's looking like it's coming at me a mile a second too, so best I can do really is brace myself and hope for a little sleep once Christmas rolls around.  But enough about that!  I got a lot of cool art to showcase this month that won't get posted if I keep droning on in the opening paragraph, so let's get to it!  Enjoy...

It's Bubble Fox!  Bubble Fox in color!  What's so special about that you might ask?  Well, this piece was done in colored pencils!  Most regular readers, as well as those that follow me on social media, know that in recent years I've been exploring mediums outside of my typical marker coloring.  Markers are still my primary coloring medium as they're quicker and familiar, but I'm always interested in trying new things.  Some mediums are easier to pick up on than others.  Watercolors have proven to be tricky thus far, though I haven't practiced much.  Oil pastels have also been a mixed bag.  I've created a few really cool pieces with them, but nothing I'd truly brag about.  Colored pencils, however, have really become my favorite medium!  The way they blend and just give a textured, picture book look to art...  I love coloring with them!  Last year I made a commitment to do one colored pencil portrait a month featuring a different CRAZY character.  Haven't always been able to keep up with it as much as I'd like to, but I've definitely got a catalogue going and I'm gonna see how far I get on this endeavor before I run out of characters!  We got Bubble Fox so far, so that's a start at least!

Well, that's one down with four more to go as the Fall season kicks off here at the CRAZYVERSE.  Be sure to come back next week which citizen of CRAZY gets the pencil rendering next!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!