Dragon country

A couple of weeks ago, two of my favorite ladies got married. Many congratulations to Ari and Cynthia; you couldn't ask for nicer friends and their reception was one of the all-time great parties.

As soon as I heard that they were tying the knot (they've been engaged for awhile), I knew I had to make something for them. My first inspiration was a Victorian-style portrait, Mike Mignola-style, with the two of them in formal garb surrounded by creepy kitsch like skulls and portraits of the long-dead and velvet curtains.

I had nearly finished the roughs for that idea, but like most things Mignola-style-but-not-drawn-by-Mignola it felt derivative; Mignola's so iconic in the way he works that he's nearly impossible to ape.

I was at a loss when my excellent wife said, "Why not do one of those shots of people surrounded by piles of dead things?" I interpreted this to mean the turn-of-the-century sepia photos of hunters, so that's what I ended up referencing.

So much character in this dude! He looks as dangerous as a schoolteacher but his kills speak for themselves. Since the girls are such avid gamers, especially fantasy, I thought that their prey shouldn't be tigers or bears but something more fantastic; something like a dragon.

 I created the piece using inkwashes, and then I stole a technique from my pal Tim Sale; I used instant coffee to make sepia tones for the final piece. The colours scanned badly; the real illustration looks much jazzier.

 The final piece of the puzzle was a slightly distressed, older-looking frame.

We went over to the girl's place for a BBQ last weekend and they had the piece up on the wall, and I'm still pretty pleased with it. I'd like to do more drawings like this; it was a lot of fun to experiment with media and draw something outside of my comfort zone.

Ari and I were out in Ottawa a couple of weeks ago for the awesome Ottawa Comic Con; I have a lot of photos of my sketches to post, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Soon!

Mighty pirates!

I love pirates. If I could draw nothing but pirates all day, that'd be the best life ever.

So, here's a couple I've done recently. The first two are the hero and villain from The Secret of Monkey Island series, my all-time favorite computer games and the games that got me into pirates to begin with. Ron Gilbert is one of my heroes.

The last pirate was created by my four-year-old nephew Dane, who told me a long story about Skully the fifty-armed flying ghost pirate who he expected to see in Mexico. I don't know if he did, so I drew a version for him.

The Monkey Island dudes were drawn with ink and markers; Skully was done in my sketchbook with colours and textures done digitally.

Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate (and Murray the skull)

LeChuck, zombie pirate

Skully, the flying ghost pirate

The Monkey Island drawings are 9x12, full colour on Bristol. If you're interested in purchasing one, shoot me an email at kellyATkellytindallDOTcom. The Skully drawing is for Dane.