Shannon Briggs as Luke Cage/Power Man

Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs as Luke Cage: Power Man, Sketchbook Chronicles No. 8, ink, watercolor paint and Copic art marker on sketch paper. Art by Coyote Duran.

A couple of years ago, I decided to dedicate an entire sketchbook to pieces that didn't take much time to do (more on that later...) and call these "journal entries" the "Sketchbook Chronicles." This was meant to be an extremely frequent exercise just to keep me sharp but, of course, life got in the way (and that's not a bad thing!).

Entry No. 8 was supposed to be a timely entry but the capitalist pig (coyote, really) I am got more involved in commissions. (Hey, I've got bills to pay and mouths to feed too, you know.) See, Netflix and Marvel Studios premiered their "Luke Cage" series in September of 2016 and I got the bright idea (no, really, it was) to render former world heavyweight boxing champion Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs (who, incidentally, will face Fres Oquendo for another heavyweight title belt on June 3, 2017...at age 45! Let's go, Champ!!) as the 1970s version of Cage, the "Hero for Hire" known as Power Man, to coincide with it. Originally, I started the drawing then and meant to finish it shortly afterward but, as I mentioned, commissions, money and paying bills, man! I actually finished last night (hence the dual dates by my signature)!

Anyhoo, I hope you dig the latest (and I do mean that in the most late of senses!) Sketchbook Chronicles entry, done in ink, watercolor paint and Copic art marker on sketch paper, Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs as Luke Cage/Power Man.

Jon Bernthal as the Punisher!

Last week, Marvel Entertainment announced that Jon Bernthal (best known as Shane from "The Walking Dead") would portray Frank Castle, the Punisher in the second season of Netflix's original series "Daredevil." So what's an artist to do? Jump on the bandwagon and make a rendering just like eeeeeeeeevery other artist is doing right now.

But seriously, Howlers, that means we're all excited and the more art, the merrier. Here's my rendering in Copic marker, Faber-Castell brush ink pen and watercolor paint on 9" X 12" Bristol Board. I hope you dig it!

(To peep the "work in progress" pieces, please visit my Instagram account.)



Questions? Comments? Complaints? Hit me up at coyote@coyoteduran.com. You can also follow me at twitter.com/CoyoteDuran, instagram.com/coyoteduran and facebook.com/CDCreationNation.

Iron Man Makes a New Friend (Inked Version)

So around the time I conceived my Madman piece, I was doing all sorts of other superhero scenes (some you might see here in the near future!) and thought I'd have a little fun with a hero who's gained a lot of steam in recent years (thanks to a couple of really outstanding movies), Iron Man. I've always been a big fan of his classic red and gold armor, as opposed to keeping up with one of his many changes over the years (guy has more wardrobe issues than the Wasp, I tell ya...that's for the Marvel nerds). Originally, I did this piece with a mountain range and clouds in the background but as I looked back, the mountains just weren't doing it for me, detail-wise (I think I lazied my way through them). There was really no valid depth or authenticity to them, at least in my eyes. However, I wanted to share this piece but I figured I'd simplify it a little and make it more about Iron Man meeting his new friend, a slightly surprised bald eagle. I fully inked the eagle and Iron Man (with my trusty Staedtler pigment liners), then scanned the drawing into my laptop so I could open it in Photoshop. From there, I'd clone out the background and feature our two main characters. I think it still works because the two provide context of location (the sky) for each other.

From here, I'll now color the fully inked and simplified image by hand, which I'll post as soon as I'm finished! Stay tuned and enjoy!