artist, writer, tumblrer.
these are mostly pictures i like.original content, including photos and art : /tagged/me
Lana Del Rey public portrait
I came across this photo of her, and I thought she had one of the prettiest profiles I’ve ever seen, so I had to draw her. done in ballpoint, about 36 inches in height, and wheatpasted somewhere at Antelope Valley College.
All these #MayTheFourth posts inspired me to paint this. Because it’s a psychological fact that everything looks more badass in flat black.
it’s that time of the week! head over to http://b2rianLS.com to check out some new and previously un-scanned sketches
Scarlet Witch
this was my first time drawing this character. Adam Hughes and Mark Brooks have made it so there’s nothing more that could be done to improve upon their interpretations of he, but when the client suggested the idea of her holding Red Skull’s red skull, the pressure and the excitement to create an awesome image were high.
I started with her hand and built on it from there. the further from her hand, the less detailed the picture becomes, hopefully forcing you to focus on the detail of her glove and the skull. I also chose to go with the soft pencil shading on her skin, versus messy pen cross-hatching to contrast to the gore of her holding a severed head. I felt that keeping her pretty, while reminding you that she’s dangerous was important. the image was all black and white, but with the red from the logo and the banner at the bottom, I thought the red should be incorporated into the piece even more, after all, you have two characters essentially named for the color. this also allowed me to both show and hide the blood. with the drips, you can assume there’s blood in the piece, but with everything else being red, you don’t know just how much.
the majority of this is done in pen and Sharpie, with pencil for her skin, and color pencil for the red.
i say this every week but tonight’s episode of Mad Men was SO GOOD.
i was impressed by the way they made you feel the tragedy even if you’re a world and forty years away. how in spite of how many times you’ve heard of MLK’s assassination in school, they really made it hurt.
i was especially moved by the way Don takes Bobby out to forget about the news reports. it took me right back to the way my dad started taking me to the park and on long rides after 9/11. Bobby’s fear and realization that people could die, that there was human evil and that it could strike down those we care about reminded me of my sleepless nights and that depression that blanketed us all after an event, which was not only a national tragedy, but a tragedy to humanity. i’ve written before about how during that time, every channel on TV was broadcasting news nonstop, and how the videos of people crying and the plane hitting the tower kept being played over and over, and it felt like there was no escaping it. Mad Men captured that feeling tonight. the way Megan took Sally out reminded me of my mom taking us out, buying our first DVD player because frankly, we needed something ELSE. i didn’t really get it then, but my parents were protecting me, they were not sure of what they SHOULD do in such a situation (hell, who does), but they tried to keep us normal, tried to keep us happy. i don’t know how they did it, but they captured what it’s like to be a kid in such a time, and i thank them for that.
episodes like tonight’s made me realize that we all are a part of history, even if we don’t notice it as it’s happening. tonight’s episode reminded me that even though we’re just little whispers in a sea of people who say “i was there, i remember it”, our stories will be spectacular to somebody someday. tonight’s episode reminded me of why this is the best show on TV.
Turtle and the Beast
a commission on 11x17” board.
Hank McCoy from the X-Men and Donatello from The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. the client chose to go with McCoy’s classic design, to keep with the teenage theme. I also thought that he would fit in with the turtles wearing that costume. this pose allowed me to show off his bare feet and bulky anatomy, and I tried to balance the familiar cartoon turtle look, with Kevin Eastman’s rugged, badass design on Donnie. this was a very fast and very fun project, and it was interesting applying tiny, realistic details to such cartoony characters.
done in pen and Sharpie
i drew this as a PSA for those assholes of my gender who are under the impression that they can charm women by making animal noises or yelling obscenities at them. though i don’t claim to be a master in the art of seduction, nor do i pretend to know what goes on in the mind of the female population, i can tell you with confidence, that they don’t like this. i grew up in a house full of women, and i have interacted with a few over the past two decades, and not once have i heard any of them speak favorably of said acts, therefore i would advise all guys that have or have thought of doing this, to refrain from harassing them and shaming yourselves.
i wish it were possible to apologize for other people.
the last times I’ve drawn Deadpool, have been full-body shots, with a lot going on. for this one, I wanted something that would be the opposite of that: up close and clean. rather than focus on the action, I wanted his facial expression to be the emphasis, so I set this up as a portrait… or the way you’d imagine his online profile picture to look. I gave him the classic Johnny Cash/Tupac flipping the bird pose,to represent his somewhat playful, jokester side, but with a gun that’s cocked and smoking to remind you that he’s ultimately a crazy assassin.
done in ballpoint pen and Sharpie
Star Wars Episode VII
i was browsing the webz this morning, when i came across Patton Oswalt’s Star Wars Filibuster. the idea was so mind-blowingly awesome, that it inspired me to doodle. i’m kinda hoping some PhotoShop genius will do a better job of making this fanboy fantasy a reality, but here’s my quick crack at it.
done in ballpoint
I’ve been doing a lot of fight scenes lately, and though this could’ve been another one of those, I thought I’d have some fun with it instead.
though I still drew them on opposite sides, I thought a “friendly rivalry” look would be better than having them murdering each other. I wanted to pay homage to the artwork on Marvel vs Capcom 2, by having them doing some taunting gestures and in profile. though Black Widow looks ready to punch Rogue in the nose, I wanted them all to be in the challenging, “come at me” stage.
everything’s done in pen and Sharpie, with their skin shaded in pencil.
more pix over on: http://www.b2rianls.com/2013/04/avengers-xwomen.html
I was commissioned to draw this cover, and it was a blast.
something that’s always attracted me to the Fantastic Four is the way they embody the 1960s sci-fi image that we now think of as retro-futurism. I always thought that it’d be cool if they made a FantasticFour movie set in the 60s , and have them use Tomorrowland-esque technology (please make it happen Disney/Marvel).
with that in mind, I envision Sue Storm as like, Betty Draper with super-powers, so I drew her as I would imagine that looking. as for Dr. Doom, I went with the traditional look, but made his mask resemble the mask of MF DOOM, who taught me to appreciate the awesomeness of that villain. with a black and white drawing, certain effects become difficult to illustrate. it’s easy to show that she’s got a force-field if I just colored it blue, but because I was only using black pen and pencil, I had to find a different way to show it. what I did instead was distort the alignment of DOOM’s body so that it looks as it would if you were looking through a bubble. I also changed the style, so that everything outside of her bubble is shaded exclusively in pen, with cross-hatching and tiny details, while inside, it’s done with minimal detail and pencil-shading. this allowed me the opportunity to pay homage to Jack Kirby’s style, and keep her in that simple ,classic, fashion illustration look.
i drew this earlier and threw it in with an Etsy order.
it’s a werewolf, based on the McFarlane’s Monsters interpretation of the creature. i had a lot of fun studying wolf faces, and imagining how a McFarlane werewolf would transform, so i’ll be revisiting the idea.
pen and Sharpie
i love Mad Men. i discovered it by accident in 2009: i had just finished High School, and i had a ton of free time, which i devoted mostly to drawing and television marathons. one day, AMC was airing a Mad Men marathon, so i thought “why not?.” i think this was the week before the premiere of season 3, so the marathon might’ve been most the episodes from season 2. regardless of how lost i was, and how much i missed from S1, i was hooked on the writing, and in love with the characters.
years later, i’m sitting here, eagerly anticipating the premiere of season six, which is (FINALLY) only hours away.
i just wanted to share how crazy i am about this show, and if you aren’t crazy about it too, you should Netflix it. it’s the best show on television (that’s a fact, not an opinion). here’s some doodles i’ve drawn, inspired by the show.
vivalalaurennn asked: nine, thirteen (because I know how much you LOVE the '80s), fourteen, twenty, and twenty six.
9: A song that makes you happy
“Pennies From Heaven” - Louis Prima
14: A song that you would love played at your wedding
“Radio/Video” by System of a Down.
it’s going to happen. i don’t care what the old lady says.
20: A song that has many meanings to you
i suppose “Fuck You Lucy” would be the typical choice, but to be honest, i usually listen to music with an open-ear and try to analyze the lyrics through different perspectives. i know when i fancied myself a lyricist, there were things i’d want to express, but didn’t want to say outward and bluntly, so i’d embed them within the words. i ‘m sure other songwriters do the same, so when i read lyrics i wonder about their inspiration, or if they have an underlying meaning.
i’m still convinced “Hotel California” is about demons
26: A song that makes you want to fall in love
“You Go To My Head” Billie Holiday
