Art Requests from 2024 finally completed.

At the end of 2024 I asked my friends if they had drawing ideas to get me out of my creative slump. I said they could throw three ideas at me, then I would choose one. After drawing it I would send it to them. I had done that in the past, and after a dry spell thought I should do it again. Sadly it took me about 11 months to get it done. Today we look at the drawings for my friends, and the story that went with one of them.

My friend Andrew asked for a Lunar character, or Fire Emblem character, or Heathcliff. I chose Edelgard even though I’ve never played Fire Emblem. I hope it looks okay.

My friend Tamson works as a park ranger. He asked for a skateboarder, or dragon, or something cool from Mexican folklore. It turns out a lot of creatures from Mexican folklore are monsters that lure children to their death. Such was the case for the Lechoza which looks like an old lady but turns into an owl monster. I hope Tamson doesn’t run into any while patrolling the parks.

My friend Jeremy is also a producer on the indie fighting game Rotten Core. He asked for a creepypasta character , or an obscure SNK character, or Spawn. Touji Sakata is a rare SNK character. Despite looking imposing he’s actually very short, not that I would want to mess with his bone-breaking throws. If you know what game he’s from post it in the comments.

My friend Christy kept it simple and asked for Santa. This was actually the first of the drawing that I had finished last year, but she wouldn’t get it until 2025.

Diana had some really great fantasy ideas. Falcor from Never Ending Story, the Goblin King from Labyrinth, or The Horned King from the Black Cauldron. I was going to draw the Horned King, but I had never drawn Falcor before so I did that instead. Have you seen any of the movies that Diana had requested characters from?

Our good family friend Paul had a bunch of great ideas. Adventure through Inner Space, Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, or The Santa Fe Super Chief. I had actually drawn an Adventure through Inner Space illustration for my friend Ray a long time ago, so that was out. The choices were Disneyland attraction or classic train. Since Paul is a Disney super fan I went with a couple of characters from the attraction.

My old boss, and mentor Angel asked for something so specific I had to draw it in color. “Hello Kitty in a pink sprinkle donut!” I didn’t mail this drawing out when it was done, instead I gave it to her over breakfast when we caught up.

Long time friend Erin also had a bunch of great ideas; any Lucha you really love, or a chocobo from FFVII, or the "clever girl" Dino from Jurassic Park. I was super tempted to draw the velociraptor but instead I went with my favorite tag team from the modern era “Los Ice Creams.” They wrestled for Chikara Pro Wrestling and lasted a few years. My favorite old school tag team was the Road Warriors / Legion of Doom.

The missus asked for the stars of her favorite Disney movie the live action So Dear to my Heart. This movie was a very subtle look at race relations in the USA that was very rarely brought up when instead people would point at Song of the South as proof that the Disney studios were filled with racists. If you get a chance please watch this film.

My good friend Jennifer asked for Stitch or Eeyore. I decided to combine both because I thought they should get along well.

Blaine had the hardest idea to draw. He said “The only thing I’ll throw in here is an illustration of a funny moment in your life.” It took me months but I remembered something funny that happened when I was a kid. Like many of you my family went to church on Sunday. My brothers and I were fairly well behaved at church because we knew that our parents wouldn’t tolerate us acting a fool. Two little kids didn’t get the memo and were way out of control. The entire church service they were crawling all over and under the pews. Which wouldn’t have been so bad but they rolled up their missalette (a church program) and used them as megaphones. Every few minutes one kid would yell “PEE PEE” and his brother would call out “POO POO.” This went on for an hour. We did our best to bite our tongues and not laugh out loud. Even our parents were finding it hard to breathe. To this day whenever we pass by my old neighborhood I just point in the direction of the church and say “Pee Pee Poo Poo” to my family and they bust out laughing.

Family friend Wendy is another Disney Fan. Her ideas were the Cheshire Cat and Caterpillar, or Dobby the house elf, or Pee Wee Herman and his dog Speck. I’ve drawn the Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland previously, and I don’t care for JK Rowling's politics. So the choice was obvious. I’ve never drawn Pee Wee before. I did get a chance to interview him many years ago at a Disney event. He was a genuinely kind soul. I miss him.

Last but not least was my old friend Dan. One of the most insightful people when it comes to movie, and comic book storytelling. I miss hanging out in his old comic book shop. He had a very specific request. “Draw me as a fat space marine preferably an ultramarine por favor.” Ask and ye shall receive. I had fun putting this piece together. So that wraps up my drawing request from 2024. Will I open up requests for 2025? Well that remains to be seen. Did you have a favorite drawing? I’d like to hear about it. Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Take a bike ride on the road to mental wellness...

Apologies for not updating my blog as frequently as I used to. The COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on my mental, and physical health. Only now am I starting to turn things around. A lot of that has to do with getting back into art. The previous post in October 2020 was a starting off point. Doing style studies of Steve Nazar's art for T&C Surf Designs made me feel better. So through November I looked up other things that inspired me as a kid. Around Thanksgiving I caught a BMX race on YouTube. That's when I remembered I loved all things BMX while growing up. It was like waking up a part of my brain that had amnesia. 

Of all the bike types the ones I really loved were called Formula-1 bikes. It was a short-lived trend, circa 1987-1989. They were road racing versions of BMX bikes. The massive Japanese company Shimano tried to get a new street racing league started, and had convinced a dozen manufacturers to make the bikes as well.  US companies like DiamondBack, and Haro jumped on board. 

The thing was that even though Shimano was pushing a standard for racing bikes, the company Hutch was already working on fast street bikes. The Ferrari of which was one that I idolized was called the HPV, or Human Powered Vehicle. It hit over 40 miles per hour and got the world record for fastest 20-inch bike. 

I started drawing all of my favorite bikes, and then went further. Using the BMX Museum website as a reference I started drawing every known Formula 1 bike that existed. While doing research I ended up adding a dozen that the site had never heard of.

Doing research gave my mind focus. Creating renderings of these bikes gave me purpose. It was as if I was wrestling my life, my focus, back from the pandemic. The more I researched and drew, the more I felt like I was getting back into my old self. I felt like I was reconnecting with a part of me that had died.

When I wasn't doing my normal job (which I also did from home thanks to the pandemic) I spent every waking hour working on bikes. Days turned into weeks. Before I knew it I had drawn over 50 F1 bikes. I uploaded all of my drawings to the BMX Museum. I had finished my passion project at the end of 2020. I wasn't out of the woods yet. 

The politics, work, home, family, and stress of 2020 could not be undone in a couple of months. As drawing bikes gave me back control, I started working on other types. Formula 1 bikes would always be my most favorite. They were not however the only favorite style of bikes that I enjoyed.

I began drawing freestyle, and traditional racing bikes in even greater detail than before. I even gave these new drawings themed backgrounds. It was a creative challenge that gave me a new sense of purpose. So I kept on drawing. 

I drew old school ('80s), mid school ('90s), and modern bikes. I researched my favorite bikes growing up, and essentially drew all of the bikes I wish I had as a kid. It gave me a sense of accomplishment as they started to come together.

As I shared my illustrations on the BMX Museum fellow members started reaching out to me, several to commission me to create drawings for them as well. It was humbling that long-time collectors enjoyed my art, and were willing to commission me for an original drawing. Some of the best art I had ever produced came out thanks to the pandemic. It gave me a sense of control that had been lacking. It gave me back my focus, my drive, and desire. This leads me all the way back to this blog.

I've started getting back into podcasting. Which means I will get back to recording content for this blog. I will also get back to doing some fighting game research, and reviews. I want to thank all of the visitors that have been checking in on the site. Whether you left a comment on an old post. Or checked for new content, I appreciate it. I really do. I'm never going to abandon this blog. I may be getting slower with the updates, but I'm never going to stop posting. If there's anything you'd like me to look at, or write about, please let me know. If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!