Artists I Like: Dave Cooper

Another great one!

Dave Cooper is a weird, weird artist and I love him with all my heart.

I first ran across him probably in the early 2000s when a friend loaned me a stack of books that included Ripple. I was blown away by the book's honesty, ugliness, and beauty all at the same time. That's Dave Cooper. Honest, ugly, and painfully beautiful. Not for kids, though he did do some kids' TV shows such as Pig Goat Banana Cricket and The Bagel and Becky Show.

His paintings have a wet glow that I adore. I don't know how he pulls it off. They simultaneously look weird and creepy but also warm and happy and sensitive. I guess if you have trypophobia or scoleciphobia some of his work might set you off. I'm sorry about that. It's a hard world for the small things, isn't it?

Saturday Art Rumble 6

More more more!

Throwdown! Dice cast, random art selected... which will survive the brutality of my wrath?

 

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Sasha vs. the Mask Rager it seems... let's d20 vs. d20 this shit. I'm giving Sasha +1 Cha mod because she's super cute. ROLL!

Sasha rolls 16 + 1 = 17

Mask Rager rolls 17!

It's a tie! Sasha and the Mask Rager high five each other and go off to kick some ass. Join us next time for more action!

Artists I Like: Matthew Adams

Another great one.

Matthew Adams is an artist I first encountered in the original Yoon Suin (a wonderful randomly-generated setting for OSR games).

Adams' art is wonderfully quirky and weird. It's also quick, messy, and pure. I know he loves to play around with MS Paint, doing pixel art. Who does that? It's a whole thing, I know. His pixel sketches are really great and full of texture and suggestion. I think that's what I like most about his work... the suggestion of something. He's painting ideas without giving them final form. I love that. Looking at one of his drawings, it appears there's a lot more to it. But zooming in only reveals there isn't more to it. It's an illusion. But that's the magic, isn't it?

This was a nuclear bomb in my head.

 

Saturday Morning Art Rumble 5

Punch kick PUNCH KICK

Opening my drawing and pulling out my giant metal d3000... GO!

Oh this week's winner is easy. That robot soldier, who appears as the Infantry Bot in Cozmic Metal Heads, is a fave of mine. I love that guy. Rock on, soldier.

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Artists I Like: Jaimie Hernandez

Yet another great artist I really like. And this one isn't trivial... Jaimie Hernandez is a giant of comics, a trend setter, a legend.

Now, I didn't really read Love & Rockets. I knew of it, but didn't see it or have access to it back in the day. What I did have is the trade paperback of Eros Comics' Birdland by Gilbert Hernandez... but that's for a different post.

Jaimie is amazing. How can one artist do so much with so few lines? A shadow here, a bold line there, and done. Hell, many of his faces are just like 2 or 3 lines. It's magic.

Jaimie's representations of various body types is truly inspiring. I remember seeing these comics back in the day, but not reading them, and was super inspired by this fact. No two characters look the same. Everyone has a vibe and a style that feels authentic. The bodies feel like they are real.

This grounding is present for all the art, including backgrounds. Reading a page of his work, you get a strong sense of place. You are never lost or wondering what the panels are doing (unless that is the goal). And his consistency across panels and pages is unparalleled.

I think if we can ever use the phrase "a comics genius", we can use it for Jaimie Hernandez.

This really is the good shit.

 

Saturday Morning Art Rumble 4

Roll for initiative!

Ok... selecting 5 drawings at random to see which one holds this week's crown... GO!

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For Goodman Games. ♥♥

This week was really hard! I got 3 results that I rated 4 stars. How the hell did that happen?

Well, that space port drawing is slated to be the cover for my sci-fantasy RPG ZSF, if I ever manage to finish it. I love that drawing. Then there's the lovely nude space girl who I also love. And then there's the Rat Queen map for Black Pudding... which I also love. How do resolve this??

d20 vs. d20 vs. d20. GO.

Space Port gets 13, Space Booty gets 14, Rat Queen gets 16.

Ok. Does Space Booty get a Charisma bonus? arguably, fuck yes. +3. But I find that if I go that route I'll be giving all the pin-up art a boost. It's just not fair, is it?

No mods. Raw dice rolls. This week's winner is Rat Queen!

Artists I Like: Steve Mannion

Yet another in this series.

I don't know much about Steve Mannion but I know what I like when I see it and as soon as I laid eyes on his work I liked it. Not much to say here other than this aesthetic scratches my itch for an old school pin-up art style reminiscent of classic Frazetta and Bisley at the same time. He's an exceptional artist capable of capturing energy and anatomy and form with classic old school inking.

In a word, Steve Mannion's art is FUN. We need fun. Bring it on.