My Damn Self, Inc.

Red Sonja

2012-02-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a preview of my Red Sonja cards for the upcoming set from Breygent Marketing and Dynamite Entertainment. Enjoy!

A Cow

2011-12-23T14:54:00.000-08:00

Recently a friend of mine asked me to draw a logo for the farm he works on; it was important to him to show the specific kind of cows they use (Jersey!) and that they are grass fed. Here's what I came up with:

For more info and to fulfill all your cowy needs, go to keepsakefarm.com!

Convention Style Commissions

2011-11-27T12:46:00.000-08:00

For this group of commissions I tried to re-create the atmosphere of a convention setting in an attempt to draw faster and more loosely.

At a convention, you have maybe a half hour to an hour to produce a sketch before the person comes back, while all the while people are talking to you, crowds are walking around, and a hundred other distractions seep into your work. The outcome (for me, at least), is a distinctly more free and experimental style than my usual fare. For the most part, I really enjoy working on convention sketches for this reason; they work an instinctual, more primal part of my brain.

With this in mind, I gave myself a half hour to finish these cards, no matter what they looked like, to see what the results would be. Of course, the recreation of a convention is impossible in one's own home, and I ended up walking around, studying the cards, adding to them, correcting them, taking a nap, eating a turkey dinner and so forth, until the cards looked more like a "regular" commission, somewhat defeating the purpose of the experiment.

Still, I think they came out pretty swell. Enjoy!

Sneak Preview

2011-10-18T09:58:00.001-07:00

Here's a sneak peak of the new project I've been working on. What could it possibly be about? What does it mean? If you look hard and find all the clues, maybe you can figure it out ....

Unused/Unfinished X-Men Cards

2011-10-02T12:26:00.001-07:00

While I'm stuck in a very special hell of penciling, inking, and coloring sequential pages for a top secret comic project to be published at some point in the near future, I thought I would take a minute to post some rare, unfinished cards from the X-Men Archives set.

For those that don't know, X-Men Archives became my last card set for a number of reasons, chief among them being the incredible amount of time each card would take to complete. In the end, I worked on what would become the "finished" cards for so long that I ran out of time for the other half inked or partially colored pieces that you see here.

In any event, this is the first time they've ever been seen by other human eyeballs...hope you enjoy them!

Not Quite Clobberin' Time Yet

2011-08-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts, folks! I have some big projects in the works that have taken up all my time...can't wait to share them!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Cards

2011-04-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some sketch cards from an older set that I completely forgot about...I've done so many of the damn things sometimes I loose track myself! For those who haven't seen them before, these were among my favorites...enjoy!

A Doodle

2011-01-24T22:27:00.001-08:00

Drawn while sitting around a table drinking and bullshitting with friends. That is all.

Inking!

2010-12-23T21:53:00.000-08:00

Recently artist Jake Minor asked me to try my hand at inking two of his penciled illustrations. Since I rarely get the chance to ink over somebody else's work, I was interested to see how they would turn out.

After warming up with Jonah Hex, I think I put more of my own style into the Batman piece. For your scrutinizing pleasure I've provided both the original pencils as well as my finished inks.

Unused Drawings, Part 2

2010-12-10T12:37:00.000-08:00

For this post I unearthed some drawings I did about six or seven years ago for a writer who was working on a project called Binder's Bag (I think). Naively, I thought that I would get the gig without hesitation so I did not one but four character design sketches plus a full sequential page from the script pro bono (which is Latin for "you're a schmuck").

Needless to say I never heard back from the writer and got no further use from these drawings other than as a cautionary tale of the freelance industry. They hold up pretty well, I think, even though the main character was basically a Starman rip-off.

The creature design was pretty nifty.

Old Bald Man with Big Nose

2010-10-13T07:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a warm up sketch of Vulture done at a convention earlier this year. I love how Spider-Man villains are all basically weird looking guys who decide to just go with it. This piece measures about 7.5" x 7.5" and was done in brush and ink with grey pens on Bristol board.

80's Album Cover

2010-10-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

For this project the client wanted an 80's inspired look for his band's album cover. I'm pretty sure there was a lot of standing around in front of brick walls in the 80's.

Unknown Hinson Show Flyer

2010-08-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

This piece was done for an upcoming Unknown Hinson show; Hinson is a well-known country/psychobilly performer as well as the voice of Early Cuyler on Cartoon Network's Squidbillies. Look at all them tentacles!

Image by me, design and color by Nathaniel James Fitzgerald.

Convention Clearance Sale

2010-07-13T23:43:00.000-07:00

In an effort to make room for new items at my NYCC table, I'm offering many originals and prints for sale at new low prices. Take a look and email info (at) davefoxart (dot) com if interested...thanks!

Signed Prints (8.5 "x 11", ultra bright white durable card stock; some quantities more limited than others) :

Only $5 each, by two get one free!

Original sketch card samples; 2.5" x 3.5" on cut Bristol:

Marilyn's - $20 each
Wicked Witch - $30

Framed over-sized sketch cards; these are original samples for Bregent's Horror Poster card set and measure 3.5" x 5":

Close-ups of the images:

$75 each, framed

Finally, an original piece entitled "Headline" measuring 11"x 17" and done in black India ink on Bristol board:

And a close-up:

$250 or best offer; comes framed

All prices include shipping; thanks for looking!

Dave

Unused Drawings, Part 1

2010-06-24T15:37:00.000-07:00

For this post I dug up two nautical-themed drawings that were supposed to be used for a screen printing company located on the west coast. Unfortunately, as is all too common in the art business, there are usually a number of factors stacked against any given project that prevents it from seeing completion. In this case, it was the art director falling off the map and never being heard from again (at least by me).

Incidentally, cases like this are also why I try to get some form of compensation for my work up front.

I like the mermaid. Maybe I'll finish her one day.

Generation X Commission Part 2: Husk

2010-06-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

This piece is a companion to the Chamber commission posted a little while back. The character, Husk, can tear her skin off to reveal a new body underneath. Pretty gross, eh?

Catwoman Commission

2010-05-11T16:21:00.001-07:00

Meow, etc.

Gimli/Legolas Commission

2010-05-01T10:55:00.000-07:00

The tricky part of this piece was balancing the light and dark so that the viewer's eye flows naturally through the composition. I think the comic-book influence of the likenesses are closer to my style than when I drew these characters for the Lord of the Rings Masterpieces card sets. You can tell it's the actors without being locked into a photo realistic representation of them; in retrospect I wish I had drawn more of my cards this way.

Image Style, Word Up

2010-04-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

Here's two older pieces featuring the iconic Image characters Spawn and Savage Dragon. I really like the way these came out; probably because they were done just for fun with no pressure. Ahhh, fun...I vaguely remember that concept...

Generation X

2010-03-24T21:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a commission of a character from Generation X named Chamber...not much to say about this one except that the leather jacket was a pain in the ass to get right.

Venom Commission

2010-02-09T13:59:00.000-08:00

Second only to Batman, Spider-Man probably has the coolest rogues gallery in comics; here's a commission featuring Venom holding the Infinity Gauntlet (if you aren't familiar this item, you probably got laid in high school, unlike me).

Demon Cheesecake

2010-01-20T23:21:00.000-08:00

This one took longer than I would have liked, but I think it turned out nicely. Drawing sexy babes is always a challenge for me; for whatever reason cheesecake is just not my strong suit. I did, however, enjoy having free reign to invent a scary demon guy (incidentally much easier to draw). Ink, marker and colored pencil on a 4" x 5" oversized sketch card.

Medusa Prelim

2009-12-29T23:14:00.000-08:00

Here's a preliminary sketch of Medusa I did for a bigger piece I plan to complete one day (really!) for my girlfriend. In the original version I drew her with a pair of massive breasts purely for gratuitous purposes; they didn't really add anything to the drawing so I cropped them out here.

Artsy Fartsy

2009-11-21T08:48:00.000-08:00

About a year ago I was reading a book by famed Famous Monsters cover artist Basil Gogos where he had mentioned taking some art classes much later in his already successful professional life. I said to myself "Well shit, if Basil Gogos needs a refresher once in a while who an I not to need one?"

As a result I took some summer classes at the Art Students League here in New York, a place where I had taken many life drawing classes as a teenager (also coincidentally where I saw my first naked chick at the age of 12).

Here are some of the better results of those sessions:

The Night He Came Home...

2009-10-03T11:22:00.000-07:00

...for pie. Michael Myers sketch card commission.

X-23

2009-09-04T13:24:00.001-07:00

A quick post of my latest commission, X-23:

Scarecrow Commission

2009-08-12T18:40:00.000-07:00

Sigh...I love Batman Villains...

A Whole Bunch of Dudes Fighting

2009-08-02T21:01:00.000-07:00

Here we have what was probably the most complicated commission I've done to date.

This was a Fantastic Four Archives Artist Proof card, which means a special card returned to me as partial payment for contributing art to a sketch card series. For more information on sketch cards, visit your local library.

Anyhoo, for this particular card, a request was made to have the old Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, Invisible Woman and Thing) fighting the new Fantastic Four (a three issue story arc where Wolverine, Spider-Man, Ghost Rider and Hulk filled in for the FF in their absence).

Now, a normal trading card has 3.5 x 2.5 inches worth of space to work in. This return card is uncut, and has a little more room to work in (4"x 5"), but not by much. Mind you, I've rarely done more than two figures in such a small space for any given card; to have eight characters, all fighting, in a clear composition, with numerous little details of their respective costumes intact, was quite challenging to say the least.

Did I mention it was all inked in brush?

Here's the card, all finished and sparkly; I think it came out fairly successful. Hope you guys dig it!

X-Men Archives cards

2009-07-08T15:25:00.001-07:00

Here are all the cards I did for the X-Men Archives set from Rittenhouse. I tried to mix in some of the stranger characters and costumes to keep things interesting. This is most likely my last official set, so enjoy!

"The Supreme Sacrifice!"

2009-06-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

Master Mold commission....ink, marker and colored pencil on a 2.5 x 3.5 sketch card.

All hail the Sentinel Supreme!

Favorite Commissions of Olde with Non Optional Commentary

2009-06-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

Hey folks (I can call you folks, right?),

In my travels I get asked to work on commissions a fair amount; usually these are of the sketch card variety, meaning they are a mere 2.5 x 3.5 inches big. Over the years I have acquired some personal favorites that I would like to share with you, along with the reasons why.

First up, Red Skull:

While drawing skulls is nothing new and exciting for me, this piece had a great range of light and dark values, as well as a killer expression. I also felt the slight roughness and spontaneous nature to the drawing captured the fierceness of what the Red Skull is all about.

Next is The Big Sleep:

This was actually a birthday present for a friend of my fathers that turned out rather nicely. One of the reasons I like commissions is the chance to work on subjects I normally wouldn't think to do, in this case good old Bogey. I felt the likeness was spot on and the color scheme is one my all time favorites to work in (black, white and red).

Heroes:

Never seen the show, know nothing about the characters, and don't particularly care...but I like how these came out! Though Peter took two tries (good looking people are generally harder to caricature because they have less to exaggerate...which incidentally is why I'm so easy to draw), the likenesses are pretty good and the backgrounds say something about each characters personality. Also, I think they worked well as a triptych, and when someone commissions multiple pieces from me I like to make sure they are consistent and work together.

Darth Maul:

Nice colors, cool pose and intense expression. I liked this one so much it became the category image for the commissions section on my website.

Finally, Jack Sparrow:

A commission for my girlfriend Krissy (see The Misadventures of Madame K at right), I've always liked this piece for the exact opposite reasons of the Red Skull. There is a warmth and slight sadness in Jack's expression that I have seldom been able to recreate. You can analyze this further if you wish, but I'm sure part of the delicateness of the piece is due to the person it was for. Okay, now I'm getting uncomfortable.

And on that awkward note, I bid you all adieu! I'm gonna go eat some eggs!

-Dave

Holy Cannoli...I Have An Art Blog!

2009-06-14T22:25:00.000-07:00

Watch this space for art postings, technical behind the scenes know-how, and other random crap! Anything else you'd like to see? Let me know!