Fun_GEARUPshotgun

EDIT: I'm still trying to figure out how to get these pictures to show up correctly, so hopefully this time it works! Keep in mind I'm not very good with computers.

This is my first time posting from a Yale cluster--so hopefully I don't have to be in my room to post anymore, if I can get this all to work. So what I've got for today is a bunch of drawings I did while on the job this past summer at WMS's GEAR UP program. Up first is a sketch (from memory!) based on my second favorite cartoon currently on air, Ben10. I drew it during a training session for GEAR UP tutors (it was all common sense stuff anyway). When I checked for an actual image of Ben later, I realized I was pretty off with the hair and Omnitrix, but I'm still happy with the sketch.

Here's something I drew during one of my 30 minute breaks. I was working on an elaborate door decoration for my boss at the time, which made me want to just draw random stuff, so I thought I would try to capture an emotion. I was going for cocky, play-by-my-own-rules. I hope that came across. Lame(r) stuff trimmed for your convenience.

And oddly enough--I got a taste of being a pro artist while at GEAR UP because my other boss asked me to design our super hero mascot. Since I just drew all day and collected pay, I was in-effect drawing for money, which is what pro artists do! Anyway, after I churned out a pin-up, I asked if I could give him some context, and roughed out a short, substance-less comic to feature him.

So after the rough outline is the finished first page. I thought it would be cool if you could read into it a little--he's literally getting his gear on, but he's talking about his "super [academic] powers." Also, I wanted to homage Ben10, which I love, so the glove panel's background is the bubbly background we always see after Ben poses post-morph. There's also a minigame to guess what super-hero origins he's referencing.

And right beneath the second GEAR UP Man entry is our exciting conclusion page. I actually drew the hero first, got the design approved, drew the first page, then gave the figure a background. The cheesy dialogs and (everything else) was all me. It was all just a ploy to get him to say "GEAR UP!" I thought the drawings would just be an office decoration, but they were thinking about printing up some copies to post around campus. They didn't print anything out before I left because the printer was broken, so who knows what'll happen.


As a bonus for today's post, here's a scan of the previous post's Danny Phantom picture. Just so you know, there was some gunk on the scanner, which is where the weird, black smudges come from.

Ok! What a post. Look forward to nothing but scans from now on! And the first Record meeting is tomorrow night, with Herald in tow, so be prepared for actual Yale art soon!

Reuxben

Fun_MidwayMath

Summer school at Washington ended, but I was eager to find more work, so I signed on to tutor/mentor during the school's Midway Mathematics Academy, which was where we try to trick kids into thinking math applies to the real world, and end in a field trip to the USS Midway in San Diego.

So here's a picture I drew for a kid who likes Danny Phantom, although I think he was afraid to admit it in front of me. I don't know why, I mean, they all know I'm into Pokemon...In any case, a google search got me interested in the character, so I kind of drew it for myself, too.

Up next is a picture of everyone's favorite (really--every kid I've met is a fan), Spider-Man. I wanted to try something interesting with the web, so I tried to mimic Humberto Ramos's web design. Pun intended, naturally.

Sadly, I wasn't able to give away any of the art due to a perfect storm of circumstances, but I wanted to post something this month, because I hate it when the artblogs I visit take forever to update.

Also, I'm back at Yale, so I'll be able to post scans from now on, and even update more than monthly. I'm excited about the previous sentence in its entirety. Also, I'm going to take advantage of Camp Yale's lack of classes to do a batch of scans, including my non-Yale comic'ing debut.

Reuxben

Fun_WMSdrawings

I compiled some drawings to give away to the kids I tutored during summer school, as an incentive for them to give the teacher some much needed peace on the last day of class, so here are some break sketches plus some of the pictures that were up for grabs--better behaved children pick first.

This is my envisioning what tutoring summer school might be like, followed by the day's lesson. Thankfully they placed me into an action-packed math class.

Next, there's some pose practice. I also wanted to try Ben10-styled hands.

I practiced this hairstyle I really like but I can never get it as I see it. The mouth was Ben10-styled.

We've also got dreadlock practice, inspired by Psyche's Gus.

There's a screaming guy with spittle spewing.

This robot was inspired by my fond memories of the Iron Giant. One of the students also loves that movie, I found out while wandering the class in tutor-mode.

I compiled about five sheets of artwork for the kids to choose from, with early picks for the best behaved. So top pick went to a kid who liked the Spider-Man I drew during my last break. The robot went second and the kid even caught the Iron Giant allusion!
Continuing my efforts to predict what middle schoolers would really dig, I went with a Teen Titans Robin sketch. Robin's pretty cool (minus Scott Menville).

Now we get to the fun one.

I met a kid who was really into Pokemon, and just like me, a big Team Rocket fan.

So I stayed up into the wee hours the last morning of summer school and drew him Team Rocket.

I wanted to give him a special drawing because he was such a character, really smart but easily bored and distracted, and because he told me that his brother and dad are off at war.

He seems really positive about it, always talking about his Master Sergent dad, but I thought he deserved some special treatment anyway.

So believe it or not, this is actually my first time drawing the Rocketto Dan.

It was tricky making them both somewhat feminine, without going too far for either.

I think it turned out pretty ok. But in any case, I made sure to use the kid's favorite Rocket catchphrase, "In your face!" in the note.

He loved it and cheered the words as soon as he saw them. I wanted to tell him that his brother and dad were amazing people, but I thought it might get him thinking about their situation too much.

...well, Chimeco says "Bye!"

Reuxben