Spider-Man in ink

Spider-Man. Micron pen (03), Faber-Castell PITT "B"-series brush pen, Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and red ultra-fine Sharpie in a Daler & Rowney sketchbook (8.5" X 11"). Art by Coyote Duran. (Please click to enlarge.)

So almost immediately after I posted my recent ink portrait of Art the Clown, I got a bug up my backside (pun fully intended) and thought it'd be pretty cool to render a brand-new Spider-Man piece. I wondered how I'd go about the design and I instantly remembered a Spidey piece done by the late Tim Sale. In the piece, Tim featured Spidey swinging in front of the Eiffel Tower but what spoke to me was the color palette used.

 

Simple red and black. It was striking. No musculature detail. No shading. No gradients. Pure and simple.

Art the Clown (of 'Terrifier') in ink

Art the Clown. Micron pen (03 and 05), Faber-Castell PITT "B"-series brush pen, Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and red ultra-fine Sharpie in a Daler & Rowney sketchbook (8.5" X 11"). Art by Coyote Duran. (Please click to enlarge.)

 

A few years ago, when I started working my third-shift security job, I met a customer named Raul Cantillo. As Mr. Cantillo and I got to know each other better (via our shared love of horror films, as indicated by his many awesome horror t-shirts), he asked me one day about my thoughts on Art the Clown. I said I wasn't familiar with him.

"Dude, how can you be a horror fan and not know who Art the Clown is?" Raul asked.

That was a damn good question, actually.

Brooke Dierdorff-Millbrook in ink

Brooke Dierdorff-Millbrook. Copic marker and Sharpie on 14" X 17" Bristol Board. Art by Coyote Duran

One might see a professional boxer's record of 6-5-2 (3 knockouts) and make a snap judgment about how said fighter is a gatekeeper, "tomato can" or a "bum." (Man, I hate those terms and never use them outside of referencing them, as I've done here.) However, in the case of Brooke Dierdorff, this record is a culmination of a fighter who took risks in the pursuit of success.

After all, Dierdorff (now known as Brooke Dierdorff-Milbrook, her married name)) packed a considerable amount of accomplishment in a mere 13 professional bouts, which spanned over just four-and-a-half months, from September 2006 to March 2011.

Among Brooke's wins was a six-round split decision over one of the most recognized names in women's boxing, Mia St. John, whose record at the time was 43-8-2 (18 KOs) (and that was in Brooke's fourth professional fight), an eight-round unanimous decision over St John in their rematch (in Millbrook's 10th professional bout), which netted her the WBC international lightweight title, and a six-round unanimous decision over then-future IBF junior welterweight titlist Mary McGee - a surefire future International Women's Boxing Hall-of-Famer - who was undefeated, at the time, with a record of 17-0 (10 KOs).

Not for nothing, Brooke even beat David Morrison - yes, a dude - in her third professional fight, by first round stoppage. Now Morrison could've been a reversed version of the late, great Andy Kaufman, known for his intergender professional wrestling spectacles, but what really matters is he got his ass handed to him by a woman.

"Hit like a girl," indeed. I'll bet that hurt, Dave. Dude had it coming. Shouldn't aspire to hit women, man.

Art...I mean, ARN Anderson in ink

Arn Anderson. Micron pen (.05), Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, Sharpie roller pen (.05) and Copic markers in a Daler Rowney sketchbook (5.5" X 8.5"). Art by Coyote Duran

Boxing has always been my favorite sport...well, actually it's the only sport I watch. However professional wrestling has always held a very special place in my heart. I mean, you have a ring, physical combat and cool championship belts on the line plus villains ("heels"), heroes ("babyfaces" or "faces") and comic book-style storylines. Sure, it's theater-in-the-round but what's not to love?

And anyone who knows me knows my favorite athletes in this genre will always be Hawk and Animal, the Legion of Doom themselves, the Road Warriors. But if I had to choose an all-time favorite singles wrestler, it would be the "Enforcer," once a member of the dreaded Four Horsemen, Arn Anderson.

Yes, Anderson was clearly recognized for his association with Tully Blanchard, with whom he held the NWA World Tag Team Championships twice and the WWF (now WWE) Tag Team Championships once but Arn might be best known as (as least, in my opinion) the greatest NWA World Television Champion ever.

Now although the belt itself did not read "world" in its inscription, it was coined thusly during Dusty Rhodes' first reign, However Anderson made it a world title by his own insistence and tenacity, defenses and possession (four times and the record for the most combined days - 870) itself. With that came prestige fewer "mid-card" championships could boast. It was a championship belt I desperately wanted as a pup (among many others we wrestling fans coveted but couldn't buy because 1) they were unavailable to the public and 2) even if they were, they'd be far too expensive to buy. That would late change with the emergence of really neat replicas. At the very least, I wanted one because Arn Anderson simply made that championship so damn cool.

Svengoolie in ink

 

Svengoolie. Micron pen (.05), Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, Sharpie roller pen (.05), Sakura Gelly Roll pen (.05) and Copic markers in a Daler Rowney sketchbook (5.5" X 8.5"). Art by Coyote Duran

Alas, October, "Inktober" and Halloween are sadly behind us. However we never lost the Halloween spirit in our home, so I took a short break from a V.I.P. ("Very Important Painting") to knock out a marker sketch of America's favorite horror movie host, Chicago's own Svengoolie (Micron pen (.05), Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, Sharpie roller pen (.05), Sakura Gelly Roll pen (.05) and Copic markers in a Daler Rowney sketchbook (5.5" X 8.5"))!

"BERWYN!"

"No, Chicago..."

As many of you may already know, Halloween has always been my favorite holiday and its run-up all throughout the month of October has always felt special to me. The change in season and temperature, horror films of all sorts and eras, playing seemingly non-stop, and just the fun and imagination the season inspire are all take-aways I get from watching "Svengoolie" on MeTV every Saturday night at 7 pm, Central time.

It's a feeling I experienced way back in 1979 until the mid-'80s, as a pup, when the "Son of Svengoolie" first crept into our homes. One of my favorite memories (believe it or not) was when Sven played "Revenge of the Creature," which was to be presented in 3-D, on July 29, 1982. As an 11-year-old (the same age as our daughter today!), I was over the moon with the idea that we could watch a 3-D film in our own home! My dad rushed us over to the 7-11 in Oswego (our favorite one-stop shopping destination for comic books, microwave burritos and, later, VHS rentals) to pick up our special 3-D specs and returned home to adjust the TV.

I manned the vertical and horizontal on our living room TV as Sven gave specific instructions on fine-tuning until you "see one uniform color" (That's really the only instruction I recall at the time).

Unfortunately it didn't work out so well but I still enjoyed the show, as per usual.

Jason Voorhees in ink

Jason Voorhees of "Friday the 13th." Micron pen (.05) Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, Sharpie roller pen (.05), red Sharpie and grey and brown Copic markers in a Daler Rowney sketchbook (5.5" X 8.5"). Art by Coyote Duran

Since I was able to make time for one more "Inktober" piece before October comes to a close, I asked myself, "How can you render a version of Michael Myers from 'Halloween' and not draw Jason Voorhees from the 'Friday the 13th' franchise?"

This time, however, I went more with an old-school comic book approach, adding flat colors (well, three. Red, grey and a lighter brown variant) to the finished inks (.05 Micron pen, Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, .05 Sharpie roller pen, red Sharpie and grey and brown Copic markers in a 5.5" X 8.5" Daler Rowney sketchbook.

Snake Plissken in ink

Snake Plissken. Ink on 5.5" X 8.5" sketch paper. Art by Coyote Duran

"Some people think you're already dead, Snake. Some say you never will be. Though you may have survived Cleveland. You may have escaped from New York. But this is L.A., vato! And you're about to find out that this fucking city can kill anybody!"

- Cuervo Jones, "Escape from L.A.," 1996

OK, so maybe the aforementioned quote isn't from John Carpenter's widely preferred movie of the two (the first being 1981's brilliant "Escape from New York") but, damn, it's a terrific line (delivered by Georges Corraface as the film's big bad Jones) that sums up just another obstacle that gunfighting antihero Snake Plissken must conquer in order to serve the whims of his country.

As someone who has an animal-inspired name, I've always loved Snake for his doggedness, moral code and disdain for...well, everything. So while at my late-night Joe job, small Daler Rowney sketchbook (5.5" X 8.5") in paw, I sketched this out within a day.

For the uninitiated, this Daler Rowney sketchbook is amazing but limited (but not in a bad way!) because it doesn't have a vellum-type surface, so standard graphite (in my case, I exclusively use 2H sticks in my leadholder) is a little more difficult to erase. So I did my layout with a Staedtler Mars non-photo reproducible blue pencil. It worked great and I could erase my numerous flubs as well as my finished lines once my initial ink "wireframe" was completed, prior to hammering in the blacks (Sharpie thin stick pen and Pentel Pocket Brush Pen).

Snake Plissken. Ink on 5.5" X 8.5" sketch paper. Art by Coyote Duran

If nothing else, if Carpenter and Kurt Russell offered their stamps of approval, that would be enough for me.

Welcome to the human race...

Questions? Comments? Complaints? Commissions? Hit me up at artofthepaw@gmail.com. You can also follow me on Twitter @CoyoteDuran, on Instagram @CoyoteDuran and on Facebook @CDCreationNation.  

ArtBar Aurora: Superman vs. Lex Luthor - the Death of Everything

As this month's ArtBar Aurora theme is "death," I present to you my offering of, well...death!

Now death can be perceived in myriad ways, so when I had a somewhat difficult time coming up with a visual concept, my girlfriend, Tracy - as always - was as helpful as could be. Her suggestion, Superman finally losing control and beating Lex Luthor to death, was as simple for me to render as it was for her to conceive.

However, I did want to take a certain throwback approach to the subjects and completely eschew their "New 52" versions, opting to draw the late-1970s/early-'80s versions of Superman and Lex, hence Luthor's old-school battle duds he's sporting as he bails this mortal coil.

When you think about it, the death theme permeates the piece (titled, "Oh, God...What Have I Done?") in a number of ways. Obviously Lex kicked the bucket but Superman's code of ethics also died. Just as well, were this a DC-sanctioned story, our innocence would have kacked too.

As for medium, I was all over the place, using Copic and Prismacolor markers, Prismacolor watercolor pencils, Sharpie and Faber-Castell white PITT artist pen on 14" X 17" Bristol Board (I also learned that combining art marker and watercolor pencil can be a major pain in the ass. As a result, any flaws can be very difficult to fix - and you might be able to notice some from the gate).

Truth be told, I almost felt a little Joe Kubert going on here after everything was said and done!

Next: my graphite rendering of WBA middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin!

Seth Rollins in Ink!

Those of you who are fans of the WWE will recognize this cat, ex-Shield member Seth Rollins. Between projects, I figured I'd give the inaugural NXT champion/former WWE tag team champion the comic-style portrait treatment complete with funky speed lines, white highlights and paint (or blood. Take your pick) drip action. Of course I started this about a week-and-a-half after he left his teammates, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, so his new ring gear was revealed after I began inking this. It's Faber-Castell PITT artist pen and Sharpie on 9" X 12" Bristol Board. I hope in some way, it captures the spirit of the high-flying architect of the WWE. Enjoy!

The Shield's Roman Reigns as Superman!

As a reborn pro wrestling fan, it's been a lot of fun to get pulled back into the weekly WWE programs and experience the relatively new personalities performing today. Amid the cool-ass characters of Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, the Usos and the Wyatt Family prowls a six-man unit (really a three-man team but competition has always been referred to as a "six-man") called The Shield. The Shield, comprised of the unpredictable and wild current WWE United States champion Dean Ambrose and former WWE tag team champions Seth Rollins (the "architect" of the team) and Roman Reigns (the "powerhouse"), have become breakout stars and consider themselves a group which serves to eliminate "injustice" in the squared circle.

Furthermore, Reigns, has become somewhat a curious anomaly himself, garnering a serious following, even being bandied as a future world champion (rumors of The Shield eventually dissolving definitely help the fun in imagining the cool storylines involving the respective futures of each member of the team). What has made Roman Reigns my favorite WWE superstar are his air of intimidation, an "I'm cool and I know it" antihero attitude and one of his signature moves (the other being a leaping shoulder spear), the "Superman Punch."

Thus, the piece featured here, a comic-style sketch of Reigns in a Superman get-up, inspired by Kal-El's "The New 52" suit but with his "classic S" insignia (also considered a "shield" itself! Hey, that worked pretty well; didn't it?).

(Oh, lest I forget, the piece was done in Micron pen, Sharpie and Prismacolor watercolor pencil on sketch paper.)

And what timing! Today (one day after the "Elimination Chamber 2014" pay-per-view, in which the Wyatt Family emerged victorious over the "Hounds of Justice"), the WWE Network in is full effect. And you can count on seeing much more of Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose on the network for years to come.

Roberto Duran in Ink!

A couple days after finishing some snazzy, new cartoons for East Coast boxing promoters, Boxing 360 (I'm their official boxing humor artist. Check out www.boxing360.com/blog and click on "Boxing Humor" to peep my work!), I decided to try something a little different by drawing a fully-inked portrait of a boxing legend. I wanted to do something comicky but not wacky like the Boxing 360 'toons. Something much like my Sergio Martinez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. piece from September of last year (http://www.coyoteduran.com/2012/09/sergio-martinez-vs-julio-cesar-chavez.html) but with more mood and depth.

Originally, I considered drawing Mexican featherweight legend Salvador Sanchez until I remembered I've never drawn my all-time boxing hero, "Manos de Piedra" ("Hands of Stone") Roberto Duran. (8 1/2" X 11", Sharpie archiving pen on sketch paper) By this time, I was fully overdosing on the Facebook photo albums of my pal, Cory Hamscher (a damn fine comic book artist and inker), and although I don't use a crow-quill pen like Cory (or even come close to this cat's inking skill), I was inspired to throw down with the darkness.

Bonus inspiration for this piece: one of my favorite artists, Charlie McGill. Odds are, you mightn't know the name but his art will look familiar. Bergen, New Jersey's McGill is a sports illustrator who has rendered some of boxing's most famous personalities (among many more sports icons), some whimsically, others in photorealistic splendor, all in the same inimitable, old-school style only McGill can deliver.

So, yeah, I think I'll do a few more in this style between paintings and cartoons! I hope you dig it!

Some Manga-esque Comic Stylings

A comic-style drawing I did back in 2002 (featuring character based on me and my friend, Boyce) that portrayed the endgame of a long comic book idea I had about two unjustly convicted criminals who escaped prison. Naturally, "Prison Break" came out a few years later and pooched my idea. Done in pencil, Micron marker and Sharpie. I was inspired by manga-style speed lines but I probably didn't need them. Sorry about the image. I don't have access to a scanner that can accommodate the size of the piece. :)