New Year's Eve Eve...

by Mike Worley

I have an insane fondness for kitsch. It drives my wife crazy, whether it's collecting minor league ballcaps with funky logos, or the crazy statuary that can be found. Kitsch. And convenience store kitsch is the best. At BETO Junction on I-35, I found these resin cast figurines that represent fruits and/or vegetables shaped into cartoony animals. My grandmother used to collect "owls." I don't really know why, and I have a couple from her collection that survived after she passed away. Maybe this will seed my own collection(?) BID. Becky preferred the wienie dog shaped from peppers. I bought the owl...


It inspired me enough to drag out some Sculpy and try my own hand at fashioning some stuff. This is going to be a "Christmas" ornament for a friend of mine. And yes, it is a work in development. He has a paper version, but maybe this will be considered part of the $20 bucks he sent in years ago to get a lifetime supply of "slack"...


I also finished a drawing for a church member, having him tell me exactly what it was he wanted and I drew it right then and there. Here's the final inked and lettered version of his "little man"...

He tells me he's had a "gospel tract" written for about 30 years and was just needing the right artwork for it. Some "little man" image from the '50's had stuck in his head and that's what he wanted for his tract. It's still my own image, though.

I also finished an inked version of a "faun girl." She's an offshoot from the "fantasy princesses" piece I did earlier this year. And like a lot of my artwork, it sat on my drawing board waiting for me as my time was swept up by duties at Worlds of Fun. Anyway, here she is...


I'll be overseeing a caricature and face painting gig New Year's Eve. But I do hope to post some last thoughts on 2009.

"Leilah Tov!"

comin' to a close...

I haven't forgotten about this blog, just busy with all the December stuff that takes over my life. I should have more posted tomorrow. Suffice it to say, I've been trying to get back into the swing of drawing and creating. Even spent a considerable amount of time with Illustrator tonight. Here's another "work-in-progress"...


Shalom!

city of champions!...

by Mike Worley

After having a rather psychotic day, personally...(maybe I'll explain later)I thought it prudent to remember that Maryville, MO is now the city of champions, football-wise.

My high school alma mater won the state championship in football for their class! GO SPOOFHOUNDS!!! And my college alma mater won the NCAA Division II championship in football! GO BEARCATS!!!

I found this photo from the summer of '08, and couldn't resist giving it some "fumetti" to doctor it up. Hopefully, none of my classmates read, or will ever read my blog. They might not find it humorous. But then again, we are getting older, so at some point no one will be able to remember it. And yes, you'll have to click on the image to get the full view. I'm the fat guy behind the banner on the right...


Lates!

Findin' some time to draw...

by Mike Worley

The one thing I hate about the "holidays" and getting ready for them is how much they cut into "Mike time." But I have done a little bit of sketching. Nothing monumental, but at least the pencil met paper.

I loved the way John Byrne drew Superman. Dan Jurgens, too. But as most of my generation, it is the "Curt Swan" Superman which will always have my heart. And both Byrne's and Jurgens' versions of the character had a wink of an homage to Swan's take without sacrificing their own styles. But of late, I've been looking at Wayne Boring's Superman and have gained a new appreciation for his style and take on the character. I misjudged his abilities greatly.

With that in mind, I drew a sketch using that barrel-chested anatomy Boring used. It was fun, and haven't done anything "superhero-ish" in a while...


I've disappointed in movies of late that I've gone to. One in particular was Planet 51. Loved the designs and the animation, didn't care for the story. It just didn't gel. But one pet peeve was the underusage of Jessica Biel, who lent her voice to the female lead. Ms Biel is one of the most stunningly beautiful actresses in the world--IMHO. And granted, it is a "cartoon," and her character is an "alien." But still, they could've made her animated character hotter. So I did my own take, as it were...


I wish producers would finally realize that 3D animation won't save a bad story, or weak story.

Gotta go. T'Ohwaii is whining and wanting to go to bed.

Let it snow!...

by Mike Worley

My son tells me I need to post something at least each week, so I'm trying to get back on track. I've been busy going into December. And tomorrow, it's supposed to snow, giving us our first real winter storm of the season. Usually, it's nothing more than "dumb dust," meaning that people forget how to drive in it. So I expect traffic to be nothing more than a mess tomorrow. Not that I have anywhere to go, but it would still be nice to try and get out without worrying about other motorists eaten up with "moron."

I got roped into the church's Christmas play, again. At least this year, it is a "readers' theatre," but it would be nice if we had a rehearsal where everyone involved would show up. I can't complain too much as I missed some in November due to deadlines, family dinners, and the like. But we could definitely use more focus.

Waiting for my scenes, I took my sketch book last night and did some doodling. Mostly some character studies...



Not exactly a budding Alex Toth, but at least I was drawing instead of circling the coffee pot.

One thing I've been doing more of, is working more in Adobe Illustrator. The work I'm doing is forcing me to get back into it, and one thing it has done is to re-exam some stuff I started, but never completed. Here's an idea I think I need to do more with. A detective thing. It's a "work-in-progress," so be patient while I brush it off and try to figure out what it was I was doing with it. If you want to see the whole image, you'll need to click on it. And no, the one guy ISN'T Stan Lee...


Welcome to December!