Zero Gravity Boy # 3: Unagi Tempura

Zero Gravity Boy #3: Unagi Tempura.

Theres not really much backstory to him except that i used this character for a project at SCAD Yeeears ago...other than that, i just wanted to draw a slutty cat boy.

In other news:
This weekend has been hell. i'm scared of its consequences--even more scared of having to pay for them for the next year or so of my life.

details details details...

anyway, ENJOY!

-DAX!

Season's Beatings...

The Villians of Christmas:

Satan's Little Drummer Boy

Mom and Dad thought it was a good idea to give Damien a drum for christmas. "we'll encourage his artistic side!" mom cheerfully exclaimed as she pulled a piece of scotch tape. "Maybe he'll become rich and famous? and take care of us in his old age!" Dad enthused with his pipe. Damien took to the drum like a fish to water. He banged away at it all day and all night....The racket was unbearable.

Soon, he stopped sleeping. Soon, he stopped eating. Soon, he stopped blinking.

by the time they called the priest, it was too late.



Adolf, The Hateful Reindeer

Adolf was never like the other reindeer. All year long the others would run and train and jump and play their incipient little reindeer games all hoping and waiting and biding there time for the fat man to make his selection.

"oh i hope he chooses me this year!" one deer said as the line-up of candidates settled.

"no! he'll choose me! i'm ever so fast!" the one down the line chimed in.

Adolf bit his tounge.

The large red man waddled his way along the path, sizing up one deer after another. When he was in just the right spot, Adolf signaled his followers. what followed was a flurry of blood and polyester fur that soon littered the fresh snow.

After a rousing speech, some of the deer followed, others lagged behind out of confusion.

The now crippled man lay in the damp red snow, gasping for air beneath his beard.

Adolf promised the wolves could have the remains.

SEASON'S BEATINGS!

As a side note, i meant to post this on christmas..i just forgot. The "Villians of Christmas" is a series that i've been thinking about for a while. for the past two years i've drawn a sort of trading card for what i call "the Villians of Christmas"...essentially anti-x-mas cards. I had originally meant to finish a good six or so cards for this year and print them out and give them to people...thaaat never happened. i always get lazy or depressed around holidays so its especially difficult for me to crank out holiday inspired work. Anyway, I hope you like the VILLIANS OF CHRISTMAS--but mostly, i hope your holidays were nice.

honestly, i'm just glad they're over and now i have the rest of the year to not think about them.


-DAX!

Zero Gravity Boy #2: Thaelo

Meet Thaelo, he's blue...other than that, i dont know much more about him.

i feel that every campy sci-fi romp needs a sexy alien who simply does not comprehend "human emotions"...

originally, he had a much more complex costume, but it really didnt lend itself to such bendy poses. i'm pretty happy with the results--even if i did go alittle lens flare crazy...haha lens flares.

-DAX!

Paper Doll Gangsta...

So honestly, it took me a while to hop on the bandwagon as i'm not really a bandwagon kind of person.

but eventually, after the goading of MANY friends and being forced to hear her albums in cars and in bars and on tv...then finally after a friend gave me a burned disk of ALL of her music...i am officially a fan.

of course, it didnt really stick until the VMA performance when, at the end, she hung there suspended above the stage with a glob of fake blood in her eye and didnt flinch. i know what that feels like--that shit burns...

after seeing that and (of course) the "Bad Romance" video, i was hooked.

I love McQueen and latex. Also, i have the boots she wore with the blind hooded catsuit--only mine are black-- and i know how painful they are and also how hard they are to dance in.

As a pesuedo-latex model myself, i am well aware that the lube used to shine latex often runs down the wearer's legs and onto the floor, making walking in eight inch heels a dangerous undertaking.

....so after all that, i became PRO-gaga.

i noticed myself doodling little fashion sketches of her in various looks i'd seen her in while i was at work wasting time...and i thought to myself: "SELF! this would look great in vector!" aaand self was right.

i wanted to make little fashion vector dress up dolls and i have.

theres a series of them in the works.

If i were better at flash, id either make an animated music video OR a clickable flash game where the player could dress her up however they saw fit.

buuut i suck at flash and animation takes way too long.

ANYWAY. i'l off to bed now.

Goodnite sweet blog.

-DAX!

Zero Gravity Boy #1!!

TAAALES of COSMIC MASTURBATION!

So, a friend of mine is starting up an "erotic" art site and asked me to contribute. and since its not really genre i have much experience in, i figured i'd start with what i know...IE:

*Barbarella
*Flash Gordon
*The Fifth Element
*Gay stuff

and thats how the Zero Gravity Boy was born!

stay tuned for more pin ups and the beginnings of the comic that may or maynot be key to my downfall!

-DAX!

its been a while part 2-7.5

Wow...yeeeah this is going to be another one of those entries that begins with "its been a while."

Lame, i know, but it has been.

i'm so bad at keeping up with this because m original idea was that this blog would be a process book for my graphic novel.

and whereas that will still be the case, i havent really kept up much progress with the whole process thing.

i suck at that. Truth be told, i havent drawn anything in about three weeks...with the exception of a very sporadic doodle page at work this morning. I've just been in one of those rare funks where i see everything as useless and no point in doing much other than sleeping.

aside from my crappy day job, things have pretty much come to a hault and my only real extra-curricular has been the sims 3.







...which, as expected, has consumed me.

on the plus side, i feel the curtian of reoccuring depression kindof lifting and i'm getting itching to draw again....dont know what...or when...but it'll happen soon.

stay tuned.

-DAX!

Advice from the Manticore 2.5

After my photoshop CS4 finally finished downloading, i decided to give it a test drive with this illustration from the eight page story i'm working on.

just wanted to post it here.

-DAX!

Advice from the Manticore.

One of the illustrations from the short story i've been working on. when its completed, i plan to post it here. so...

stay tuned!

-DAX!

Nevermind the backstory...

WOW it has been some time since i've updated this thing.

for that i appologize. its not that i've been purposefully ignoring this blog, i've just been EXTREMELY busy. i decided to go back to school and have been pretty occupied with that, BUT on the plus side, its given me new things to show the world...case in point:



yeah, the above image is the first draft of a hypothetical cd package design for a possible soundtrack/companion mix cd to go along with the fluph graphic novel. I've been toying around with the idea of having an album to go along with fluph. you know, something that sets the mood and gives the reader something else fluph related to enjoy. Fluph is completely inspired by music. whenever i write or draw, i listen to music that captures the mood of the scene and each of the characters are inspired by different songs by different artists.

but as i said, the image above is only my first draft. i plan to add individual song pages with images of cooresponding characters.

i just wanted to post that to let everyone know that i nor Fluph have died...nor will we ever.

-DAX!

X-Fluph!

When all of the world's superheroes are mysteriously MIA...you can always call these guys...Though, i wouldnt necessarily recommend them.

SO it seems as though i start every post with "I know its been a while blahblahblah" AND THIS will be no different.

I've been busy, 'nuff said.

for the past week i've been watching X-men..The movies, the old cartoon from the 90's..all that. And decided that FLUPH needed to have x-men uniforms. Just in case, on the off chance that no other mutants were available and Xavier reeeally needed somebody to do something.

i mean, they're not superheroes, hell, they're not really much of anything..But if they had to be super-heroes, here's what they'd look like.

enough about words, Have some more pictures:

Tempest, Zaus, Pumonika Close-up

Joseph Hyde and Mister Pants as THE X-TINCTIONATOR

Yeah.

It was fun to play imaginary dress up again.

-DAX!

P.s. I Bite

WOW...so..okay, its been A WHILE since my last post.

for that, i am sorry.

you may be wondering..."well, whats Dax been up to since his last post?"

The answer is simple, a lot of random things coupled with alot of random nothing. the past couple of months have been filled with me working, and modeling, and learning about film-making, and applying for a reality show, and traveling and getting sick and slowly getting better. But aside from that, from a more "creative" aspect, i've been thinking..re-thinking...and over thinking pretty much everything.

I'm definitely NOT saying that i'm over my own characters and storyline. I love my Fluph boys and i love drawing them, writing about them, and developing them and all of my plans and dreams for the novel are still being developed into a coheisive story.

However, i have been working with these characters for a number of years and compressing what i already have into a coheisive story for the masses has proven to be difficult.

I'm currently taking a small "break" and taking the time to do something that i dont do very often. I've been offering my services to other artists through comissions/art requests via Deviant Art.

and even though i promised that this blog would be all Fluph all the time, Here are a few examples of what i've been doodling on:
The Story, "P.S. I Bite" is written by a girl i met on Deviant Art (...her DA site can be found at:
http://loligoth13.deviantart.com/ ) She's a sixteen year old girl from the philippeans who's writing an ongoing story about a Vampire rock band. She reminded me alot of myself at that age, when, i myself wrote stories about my own characters as well. Also, i agreed to doing character designs for her because i needed something fresh to work on for a second, to HOPEFULLY re-charge my own brain.

Granted, i could have just made up my own new characters and gone that route...but i dunno, whenever i do that, i intend to use them, so i get way WAY too caught up in details and never get to the fucking point and cant just take it as any kind of exercise....i have a bad habit of getting way too involved.

So, i went this route.

ANYWAY i promise that i'll get back to fluph soon. i've got a few pages of the actual comic half-sketched. i'm gonna try to finish those up soon and get them up here.

also, i've got a few more of these character designs to whip out...so Stay Tuned!

-DAX!

Boys Night Out.

So, for the first time in a long time, i spent the night at home drawing.

ALL NIGHT LONG.

i was actually working on location/background sketches and just kinda started doodling this. before i knew it...it was 4 am and i was deeply entranced by hatching.

the above image is a result.

essentially the idea behind it was going to be a bar fight. A bar fight involving Zaus and an unseen combatant with the rest of the group holding him back...all the while knowing that if zaus' ape-like strength ever got the better of him, they'd all be screwed.

i'm actually pretty proud of this one and DEFINITELY plan on cleaning it up and coloring it...maybe even expanding on the idea and ACTUALLY drawing a full scene.

but, lets not count our crosses before they're hatched.

HAH!

-DAX!

Sound and Fury Signifying Bunny...

So, let me begin by saying that i'm VERY sorry for not updating in sooo very long.

I'd say that i've been busy, but in truth...i havent been thaaat busy.

i've just been in one of my moods where i just dont draw.

things have been emotionally shakey for me here. its a very long story that i wont get into because to sum things up: "nothing really happened".

Just the same ol' same ol' bullshit that sends me into a mental tail-spin and leaves me trying to find a new way to deal with the world around me.

i didnt actually feel better until i drew this.

...just one more thing reminding me that i should draw more often.

while drawing tempest looking as angry as i felt, i sat stewing in my own brainular bullshit when i realized how stupid i was being. granted, the realization didnt make me feel any less angry...so...i added the bunny ears.

it made sense at the time, and theres some symbolism involved that i'm not really going into.

BUT MOSTLY...its for easter.

so happy easter kids!

may zombie jeebus feast upon your brains!

-DAX!

keep on Dancin!

Dont give up hope, kids... the party is still ON.

okay, so, theres not actually a real party, that was an admittedly weak metaphor.

I just wanted to post an update to inform everyone (as if there is an "everyone" to inform) that new updates and new art is coming soon. i've been busy lately and havent really had time to finish anything yet... BUT hopefully i'll have new art to share this week.

though, in non-drawing related news, i've been thinking about my storylines alot lately...i've always had a problem writing a story and then sticking to it. I have my scripts and i have my sketches and i have my visions of what to accomplish. but now i'm worried that things are boredering on lame internet fanboy kind of stories.

like, there are sooo many people out there who create their own characters. but very few of them actually make anything of themselves. granted, alot of the art i've seen by these types of people isnt very good, and therefore, never gets published...but, even though i can draw well, what really spearates me from these people?

thats been the weekly question.

because, lets face facts. yes..i have talent (thats not arrogance by the way) however, i lack alot of motivation. i'm easily destracted and i get bored very easily. i'm the type of person that has an idea, starts working on it, then walks away with every intention of finishing but never does as such.

fluph has been one of those projects for a while. i start working on parts of it...then get bored, then think of a whole new way to go with it and the cycle begins again.

i'm feeling bad for not having something new to show right now because this blog was created to HOPEFULLY teach me motivation. i want it to be the reason i keep producing new art because..you never know..after long enough, i'll be able to number one: learn to finish what i start; number tow: get fast at it so i can finish things well before i have time to get bored of them; and finally: get through all the crappy ideas and narrow things down into something that i am extremely proud of that also happens to be likeable and sell-able.

anyway. sorry if this entry is a gramatical nightmare, i've just been thinking alot and needed to put something down in words.

goodnight.

-DAX!

Who's That Girl?

This is Pumonika. She's not the only female in the series, but she is the one that shows up the most often.

Pumonika and i have a bit of history. She's one of my oldest characters. I've been drawing her in sketchbooks and comics since i was in highschool. I know its kindof lame to keep using a character for that long and the ones you make up while in highschool are usually pretty lacking in substance. Pumonika is no different.

she's materialistic and abrasive. she's very fickle and very demanding. Essentially she's me in girl form...yeah, mothers, dont let your kids grow up to be online role players...

(the drawing to the left is actually my first character design page of Pumonika from 1999)

I added her to Fluph because there wasnt enough estrogen in the mix...i needed the guys to have at least one girl to interact with on a regular basis...you know..so they could at least meet a girl.

that and i love drawing her. I definitely needed an excuse to incorporate alittle more fashion into the storyline....granted, its trashy "Rock of Love 2: Tour Bus" inspired all the way down until her shoes, then its pure me.

And yes, i totally used the girls from "rock of love" with brett michaels as inspiration for pumonika's new look. I wanted a very trashy cock-teasing rock-slut kindof look.

not too femme, but not too butch.

Anyway...thats pumonika. And now you know!

Stay Tuned Next Week! For the rise and fall of Joseph Hyde!


-DAX!

This aint no Planet of The Apes!

Meet Zaus...YES, he's a monkey....NO i'm NOT a furry.

he just so happens to be a monkey...and one of Tempest's best friends, as well as the drummer of the band and all around comedy relief.



He was developed as a means to an end...Here, let me explain.



my first "Fluph" comic, was actually the final project for intro to sequential art class in gawd, 2001...for the project, we were given various things that the comic had to include. among them was the sentance "a band plays a song" and with that the band was born. it gave me an excuse to make up a wacky mutant rock band... Zaus, was the bass player in the band. Because, lets face it, who plays bass better than a ska-loving monkey?


Over the years, the band evolved, the line up changed, new characters came in and out of the storyline as i tried to refine the formula into something interesting....yeah, its been a good seven-eight years for me to really refine things...but better late than never, right?

a couple days ago, i got the idea of doing a "history" of Fluph post to give a better idea of how the characters as well as my artistic style have evolved.


I guess this post is kind of the beginning of that. My original plan was to go through the affore-mentioned sketchbooks and scan in never before seen doodles and page layouts, and costume designs and just sort of dump them out. But i think i'll just start doing it alittle at a time. As the novel contains bits and pieces of scripts and stories that have never actually been finished. so i guess as i go along with finishing current pages, i'll include little pieces of the past that've inspired the current work.


make sense?...not really..? Good!

In going through my old sketchbooks, I've also been remembering alot of things from my past...good, bad, indifferent--still things.


Its made me very nostalgic, slightly depressed, and even happy. Though, no matter the sketchbook or time period in my life, One thing has remained constant, Fluph. They've been there for years, and hopefully for years to come.



-DAX!

Fluphy Puffy Preview

I toldja it was coming.

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE!

I've got the logo finalized and will begin making banners and bumpers and crap to A) advertize this space more and B) DECORATE this space more.

this blank black blog blob (haha..alliteration is fun!) is totally aggravating me.

BUT IN THE MEANWHILE! i just finished this drawing of Tempest looking o so sassy, as per usual.

In case you were wondering--and even if you werent--Tempest is the main character of FLUPH aaand yes, essentially a representation of myself..or...a part of myself rather.

the snarky, occasionally angsty, disenchanted youth part of me...well, okay, theres more to him than that. its just how he comes off.

At any rate, i'm off again to continiue making crap...or perhaps even to go to bed. I was asleep earlier and couldnt stay that way, HENCE--yeah hence--i'm awake at 5:30 am.

-DAX!

To Hell With Poverty!

So, never fear, things are very much IN PROGRESS...its just that, unlike "professional" artists i have a day job. which takes up alot more time than i'd prefer...

speaking of taking up time, today, i doodled this during a bit of down time.

and note to you: highlighters dont scan well.

special thanks to photoshop for supplementing the horrible retina burning color.

-DAX!

Imaginary Boys Like Me.

Meet Avery, you'll be seeing alot of him.

and yes, i'm aware that i just finished my "Oh EM Gee mah first post!" post and am now adding one more.

WELL, i just finished this drawing tonite and wanted to share it but it's certianly not suitable for the "Oh EM Gee Mah first post!" picture post.

anyway...more about Avery later.

-DAX!

Hang on...this wont take much longer.

So, this is really just a warm up. This blog will be the place for me to share all artwork and ideas that will be put together in some haphazard way to form what is meant to be my FIRST of (hopefully) many graphic novels.

and yes that was probably one of the longest run-on sentances i've ever written.

Fluph--think lazy x-men meets josie and the pussycats meets archie in a wacky clusterfuck of teen angst and wasted potential.

The series will ask the question thats been plauging me for years now...

"what happens when the cool kids are forced to grow up?"

At any rate, i hope you'll stay tuned and cheer me on as i make a valiant effort to push myself out of an artistic slump and get down to business.

thank you.

-DAX!