Durkinworks Blog 2008: A Year in Review

That's it. 2008 is over. I remember back to the beginning of the year, one of my first posts outlined some of my resolutions for the new year. Let's see how I did.

1. Lose weight-get in shape: Okay, I lost 12 pounds recently. No, I didn't cut my arm off, I've just been eating a lot better. I've merely been avoiding high-fructose corn syrup, white food like sugar, flour and rice, and processed food as much as possible. I'm down a notch on my belt and I'm halfway to the next one. I feel the best I've felt in years and I've found that good, healthy food prepared the right way can taste amazing.

2. Post more on the blog: I posted 63 times in 2008. A marked improvement from 2007's 31 posts.

3. Re-do the Durkinworks website: The website has taken a year hiatus, but don't worry, it will be back in 2009 and better than ever.

4. Attend more cons: I did go to Megacon in Orlando, but I also participated as an attending artist at WizardWorld in Chicago and the CGS Super Show in Reading, Pennsylvania with Ka-Blam. Sadly, I missed the NCN con again.

5. Publish SOMETHING: I completed not one, but two issues of Black Cat Bone in 2008, a feat I never imagined I would achieve.

As for my personal goals, I was hit and miss on those. All in all, I did pretty well. 2008 was the year of the geek. I saw a new Indiana Jones movie in theaters and it was great to see the stores stocked with Indy merchandise. Movies in general were smarter and better done. Iron Man, Batman, Wall-E, Hellboy, even Kung Fu Panda, were all excellent films. The Clone Wars hit the small tube and it was very enjoyable.
As for me, I did a lot of work on the house with the help of Mom and Dad, did a ton of artwork, and fell in love with one of the most amazing people I've ever met. Thanks to everyone for a great year. Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas scribbles

Just a few quick Christmas-related toons for you. I'm off to go shopping. Ugh...

Gig pics: 12/11/08

As promised, here are a few caricatures from the past few days. The first was a grandfather/grandson pic. The older gentleman was in a wheelchair, so for accessibility, I had them pose to my right, which forced me to draw "lefty" style. I need to do this more often.

This guy loved to dance. Do the monkey!

He (yes, he) loved to sing....fabulously.

Where does the time go?

It's December already?!? Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been real busy with work, gigs and commissions. I'm bringing my camera to the next set of gigs, so hopefully, I'll have some more live caricatures for you. Stay tuned!

Gig 11/19/08

I haven't taken any gig pics in a while. Here's some from last night:

This guy was drunk. Very drunk.

This gentleman was great. I killed a whole Chartpak on him.

He said he wanted more hair.

Links Spotlight: Sebastian Kruger

On your right, you will see a group of links. These links are reserved for inspiring artists and close friends. From time to time I'm going to feature someone from the links. Today is Mr. Sebastian Kruger.

When it comes to caricature, there is Sebastian Kruger and then there's everyone else. He's a master, plain and simple. I have a signed print of one of his Keith Richards caricatures proudly displayed in my living room.

His current works are of particular interest to me. He did a series of blues musicians. Check out his B.B. King:

Here's John Lee Hooker:

Here's Sebastian and I at the 2003 NCN convention.

Be sure to check out Sebastian's link to the right, and stay tuned for the next Links Spotlight.

Oz

I always intended to color this one, (maybe I will someday,) but in the meantime, here it is in black and white.

Durkinworks Blog: Now with labels.

Just a little blog maintenance; I went through all the posts and labeled each one of them. Now they are organized into different categories. If you click the "label" at the bottom of a post, you will be redirected to other related posts in that category. Have fun!

Yo.

Here's the Jedi master himself. Mess with him you must not.

We Three Pigs.

Here's one of the three little pigs. Why? I don't know.

Frodo Baggins

From Lord of the Rings, my pal Frodo.

Ol' Supes

More marker stuff. Ol' Supes has really let himself go.

"Cursed" Jack Sparrow.

My daughter Kathy and I were re-watching Pirates of the Caribbean. We love Jack Sparrow. Here's my version of Jack in his "cursed" form.

Jack and the Beanstalk.

One of my favorite stories as a kid. I would love to illustrate a children's book based on this story.

Ani-Mashups

This is an idea I had while I was drawing at the Wizard World convention in Chicago. I want to do a series of mashups involving animated characters and comic-book characters. Here's Popeye and Wolverine: ...and Fred Flintstone and Hellboy.

Be Prepared.

Don't worry, he has a merit badge in mad ninja skills.

What's the story?

Okay, this one started with the old guy on the left. Then I drew the old woman and then the family in the middle. I haven't the slightest clue what is happening in this picture. Maybe you have some ideas?

Election Day 2008

Finally, Election Day is here. Let's get this over with.

Hungry Bear.

Awww...ain't he cute? Quick, grab the tranquilizer gun!

The Pack is Back.

After a grueling by-week the Green Bay Packers are back to face the Titans. Cheeseheads unite!

Look who's back in town.

These are two of my favorite people in the world, my mom and dad. They're visiting with me for a week. This picture was taken when I went up to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving in 2003 (hence the vacation-goatee.) I would expect us to get into some sort of trouble at some point during the visit, maybe even rumble with a rival gang. Don't even THINK about knocking that coffee out of mom's hand. "When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way..."

Happy Halloween 2008!

A two-fer for today. The first is another marker-colored sketch, the second..well, is not.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Ele-Ape

A couple of animals. A little known fact: While elephants like to wear clothing, apes prefer to go commando. Look it up!

Uncle Ernesto

A majority of the artwork you see on my blog is colored digitally. This old fella is a rare exception that I've actually colored in marker (Crayola, to be exact.) I call him Uncle Ernesto. I have no idea why.

Post a day. I'm not kidding.

I seem to have a backlog of ideas and goofy little pictures that I've done. Now is the time to do something that I've always wanted to try: The Daily Post. I'm going to try posting at least once a day. Let's see how long I can keep this going. Go ahead and give me a hard time if I can't make it one week, I'll deserve it.

Here's the first one:

These guys just escaped a science testing lab. Don't mess with them. Trust me.

You call him "Doctor Jones," doll.

I love this guy. He has a DVD out today. Go get it.

Get ready...

Both chapters 1 and 2 of Black Cat Bone will be up on http://www.indyplanet.com very soon. I learned a lot after the first issue, so when I completed the second one, I really wanted to go back and revise the feel of the first one. I wanted it to be more gritty and atmospheric. It wasn't moody enough.

For example, a panel that used to look like this:

...now looks like this.

I'm much happier with the way it looks now. Stay tuned, because they're coming soon!

Black Cat Bone: Flood Water Rising.

Chapter two of Black Cat Bone. Coming sooner than you think!

I'm never alone.

There are several billion of things like this buzzing around in my brain. I have to let them escape sometimes to make room for new ones.

Spaceman.

I'm working on several things that I can't post just yet, but in the meantime, here's something just for fun.

Page 71: Best page in the book.

I just got my copy of Facial Expressions Babies to Teens by Mark Simon. Besides being an excellent resource for artists, it also includes artwork done by some amazing and talented artists including a caricature done by yours truly. Stop by Amazon.com and get your copy today! http://www.amazon.com/Facial-Expressions-Babies-Teens-Reference/dp/0823096157

Here's a color version of my artwork that's featured in the book:

Thank you to Mark Simon for the inclusion. I am deeply honored.

One of the boys.

Based on a conversation I heard the other day.

20 faces.

Just exercisin'.

Dinosaurs are fun to draw.

Maybe this random idea could lead to something. Maybe not. But it cracks my son Alex up, so I thought I'd post it.

Wizard World Chicago 2008: Wrapup.

Wizard World Chicago was a success. I sold some books and learned a lot. It was fun geeking out with great friends and "working" the con.

I have some pics for you. First let me present Chicago. Greatest city skyline ever.

This is Mike "Locoduck" Duron and me at our table. I don't know what's going on, but I'm really handsome in this picture.

Barry Gregory, Thomas Florimonte and Michael McElroy at Ka-Blam. These guys made my stuff look GOOD! Plus you couldn't meet a bunch of nicer guys. Well done, gentlemen!

On Friday, we got a visit from my parents. Mom baked us cookies. I had some left over and needed to get them home safe so I HAD to get this Groo lunchbox.
...er, and these Groo figures

I had an amazing time at the convention. I received very positive feedback about Black Cat Bone issue 1. I'm already laying out Issue 2. Hopefully I can attend at least one more convention this year. Turns out it's just as fun on the other side of the table as it is attending the con as a guest. Plus there's a lot of this walking around....

I love geeky women.