Next Stop Laputa

A new piece taken from the world of master director Hayao Miyazaki. This is Dola and her pirate gang from one of my favorite movies, Castle In The Sky.

As far as I'm concerned, Dola is one of the greatest characters of all time. Miyazaki always does a great job of adding dimension to his characters--bad guys are never purely bad--and the Dola Gang is one of the best examples. Here you have a band of robbers and thieves, ruffians and lawbreakers to their core, yet at the same time the entire crew is a bunch of mama's boys. And Dola herself is such a great twist on a tired anime trope. Miyazaki has always eschewed the whole "women as buxom sex object" thing, with Dola it's almost like he's saying "you want a sexy sky pirate? Fine, but I'll set the story when she's 70 years old!" By keeping sexiness from slowing things down, it pulls focus to more distinctly feminine kinds of strength in Dola, like motherhood. But this is starting to turn into a dissertation. I'll ramble about that some other time.
Best regards,
-Joe

"Science In The Blood" illustration

I finished a new illustration for the Story Collider. The theme that jumped out at me was "life as a clockwork mechanism," although they wanted me to avoid using the human figure so it wouldn't become morbid. Probably the right decision.

Click Here to read "Science In The Blood" at Story Collider!

Korra will get you out of your chair

Did you guys see the Korra premier last Saturday? It was amazing! Something about that show brings out the kid in me, I can’t help but find myself jumping around like an airbender when I think no one is looking. So I made this piece to celebrate that. 

Honestly coming up with unique bending poses for each of the four nations isn't as easy as it seems when you're just pretending to be a kung fu master. 

Here's a larger detail of the Korra section with the Hokusai pattern behind her. 

Doctor Whom?

I broke from form a little bit with this one: I decided to do a pop culture reference that isn't outdated. I just finished watching season 6 of Dr. Who (all in one sitting) and I was struck by the potential for this brawl

I have to assume this battle would never end, because naturally the weeping angel keeps forgetting what it’s doing each time it turns to stone, and the Silence’s electrical attack is ineffective against quantum-locked statues.

Do the Job, Get Paid,

The third in my series on outdated pop-culture references, although in my heart Firefly will never be outdated. I've probably watched each of the 14 episodes at least a dozen times each by this point in my life. 

All Mysteries Will Be Solved

The second in my series on outdated pop-culture references. I didn't get into the Veronica Mars series until years after it was off the air, but it was totally worth watching. Intelligent writing, a strong female lead, great dynamic characters that draw you in... what else could you possible ask for in a series?

I like the final shaded version, but there's something about this earlier version (still in flats) that strikes me as compelling too

Dashing Adventures in Space

This is the first in my series on outdated pop-culture references. 

Something and taxes...

Hello Internet

Or more specifically, hello blogger. I'm sorry I've been neglecting you. I started a tumblr in January and, while it's been updating every day, I admit I let it turn my head. It was only momentary, though, because now I'm back for you! 

I've decided to split my web attentions in two directions: the Tumblr will continue to update every day with new observational life drawings, but new illustrations will be posted here with production notes. 

I meant to get an early start on my taxes this year but instead I drew this.