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!

MIKE AND MINDY... LOONY FOR LIFE!!!

Welcome back CRAZIES!!!  Well, we've reached the end of another month...  In a few days at least!  But for all intents, August and Summer is just about over.  Believe me the abundance of early pumpkins is making that VERY clear!  But there's still a little time for some fun in the Sun, so how's about we see what guest fun has been floated our way this time?  Enjoy...

Would ya look at that?  It's our old pals Mike & Mindy drawn by the amazing Sean Foley Hall!  Sean is the amazing artist behind such fun titles as Dirk Brody and Agnes From S.P.A.CE.!  He's also a good friend and amazing guy.  When a fellow friend needed help last fall, Sean did not hesitate to offer commissions as a means of raising funds.  Well, I just couldn't pass up getting some original art from Sean, not to mention helping a dear friend, so I ordered two pieces: One for me and one for our friend as a birthday present.  The top piece is obviously mine and with Sean having already taken Bubble Fox to new heights in last year's guest month (And believe me he raised the stakes further this year!), I just had to get his take on Mike and Mindy in one of their funniest moments!  And, not surprisingly, Sean delivered big!  Sean reminds me a lot of Jack Davis in that he can draw these really detailed and realistic characters and yet still make them feel lighthearted and cartoony.  It's an amazing skill and I get lost in his art constantly!  As for that other drawing?  Do some snooping around Twitter or BlueSky and you'll catch a glimpse at one of the funniest cartoons ever drawn!

And that's a wrap for the month of August and the season of Summer!  And yes I'm aware Fall doesn't actually start until late September, but when there's already Halloween decorations out and the smell of pumpkin spice permeates the air, it's kinda hard to think about beaches and BBQ's at this point!  Luckily, I do have some cool, colorful art coming next month to bridge the seasons, so be sure to come back next week and see how it all starts!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

BUBBLES AND TROUBLES!!!

We are back!  Hard to believe the spooking season is literally knocking on our door already!  Granted, it's already been Halloween at most arts and crafts stores since before the 4th of July even, but that's neither here nor there.  It's still summer dammit and as such, it is the time for summertime fun!  Childhood fun!  And what's more childhood than blowing bubbles?  Popping balloons you say?  According to Professor Google balloon popping is indeed considered a tradition of sorts, albeit an old one, but it still counts!  Can the two pastimes be combined with Bubble Fox fan art?  Scroll down and find out!

Uh oh!  Looks like that darn silly Bubble Fox has gotten some more of his friends into some danger involving helium and sharp objects!  Given his reputation, you'd think more pals within the realm of webcomics would be very wary of hanging out with Bubble, but I suppose some lessons must be learned firsthand!  Those claws look sharp too!  Might be time to start thinking about burping or farting boys because those are the only other options for escape!  Geoff Munn's been a pal for years, having first connected on Twitter and thankfully keeping things going on BlueSky (Geoff's the one who gave me an invite code!).  His comic, #Parenting, has long been a favorite, highlighting the silly, often surreal things one encounters while raising children.  From yard peeing to kazoo irritants, the comic covers it all!  Geoff's boys were all little dudes when he started, with his youngest not even being born yet!  Now they are all maturing into slightly bigger dudes with personalities as wacky as their old man's!  I should also note that my favorite trope of this comic is how each boy starts out with dot pupils that grow into full-on eyeballs as the characters age!  It's small touches like that that add to the humor and sweetness of Geoff's work.  When Geoff began offering commissions earlier this year, I knew I had to get a piece with Bubble interacting with his characters, and he delivered BIG!!!  Thanks again Geoff!  You, Bubble and the boys have never looked so buoyant!

Well, another week down as we march towards Fall.  But I promise we'll end the Summer on a high note, so come back next week for a DOUBLE dose of fun as Bubble PUMPS up the laughs!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

AND THE FOX ROLLS ON!!!

Well, after ten weeks, we've finally returned to normal here at the CRAZYVERSE.  Returning from the insanity that is Comic Con is never easy, but much like Christmas, we'll love it even more when it comes back next year.  Besides, we're still celebrating the 10th Anniversary of BUBBLE FOX!!!  Amazingly enough, I'm still getting fan art of that wily old critter all these months later, so I figured I'd take some time this month and share a few more pieces with you fine CRAZIES!  Not a bad way to close out the summer eh?  Enjoy...

Would ya look at that!  Our old pal Kim Belding is back yet again to give Bubble some more of his fun brand of cartoony love!  I could obviously (And have!) go on for hours about how wonderful Kim is and how much I love his comics and art, but frankly I'm running out of synonyms!  Kim, you know I love ya buddy, and I hope the married life is proving to be a fun one so far!  I also love that longtime Bubble Fox costar, Mr. Gully, appears alongside Bubble!  Mr. Gully is based off of another longtime friend in the cartooning world, teacher and Off Season creator Warren Frantz.  Warren's been a dear pal to both me and Kim all these years with lots of cartoon play between all of our characters.  Who could ever forget the infamous Root Beer Wars of 2012?!?  And as far as Bubble lasting longer than Calvin & Hobbes?  I'd obviously never put myself at THAT level, as C&H's output still dwarfs mine, but it's pretty incredible to consider the mileage I've actually gotten out of BF.  I never thought I'd have so many stories to tell when I first came up with Bubble.  It was all pretty much on a lark even!  That he's lasted this long and has so many fans...  It's very humbling.  I only hope someday that people will look back on Bubble and pals and put them in the same league as Calvin and his best bud.  Thanks again Kim.  You are the Hobbes this Calvin badly needed!

That's all she wrote for this week, but we'll be back next time for some very well-rounded laughs from another longtime friend of the CRAZYVERSE who wanted to help celebrate Bubble's big milestone, so be sure to come back and check it out!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!