On Holiday

It was a dangerous job, but someone had to do it.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Peace on Earth

Vote for a Queen

It's been a little too long since my last post. I am back to working on the Queen of Hearts , but I can't decide what she should look like. Below are three versions – I'd love to know your thoughts/preferences. However the final Queen ends up, I definitely plan to keep the dress from my original post. 

Queen A

Queen B

Queen C

Alice revisited

Finally settled on this version of Alice. Female heroines are tricky; if you don't make them "pretty", no one will understand she is the heroine, so you have a lot more parameters you have to draw within. I prefer to draw villains and trusty side-kicks.

An Exercise in Exaggeration

I am back to tinkering with Alice and Wonderland characters. Above is an exercise in exaggeration using the face of the Caterpillar I did in April (Caterpillar).

To the far left is a loose structural guide of his original face, followed by a rough reproduction of the original. I then progressively stretched his jaw longer and longer, and increased the size of his left eye as I went, taking myself waaaaay out of my comfort zone. At first the changes were exciting, but after a certain point the face simply seems disfigured. But at which point? I keep changing my mind. Right now, I think that only the last face is crossing over into disturbing. But yesterday I thought it was the second to last face, so maybe I am getting used to the stretch.

I think the 3rd to the last face most nicely balances interesting exaggeration without becoming creepy. Since I don't want the caterpillar to be creepy, this one will work nicely. What do you think?

"A" monster

Zephyr

Fairy Queen

Royal Progress

Self Portrait of the Artist as a Gryphon

So, I recently rediscovered this self-portrait I did in college. The tail is my favorite part.

Fair is foul and foul is fair

Fabulousness

A Dapper Villain

Tantalus

Giddyup

Joy Ride

Well hello there

Tortoise Waltz

Flying Fish

Boarding Party

The Dogfish

This sea monster was neither more nor less than that gigantic Dogfish who has been mentioned many times in this story, and who, for his slaughter and for his insatiable voracity, had been named the "Attila of Fish and Fisherman."

The Cat

"Look at me!" said the Cat. "Through my foolish passion for study I have lost the sight of both my eyes."

The Fox

"Look at me!" said the Fox. "Through my foolish passion for study I have lost a leg."

Miss Rose

"It is Pinocchio!" cried Punchinello.
"It is indeed!" cried Miss Rose

Harlequin

Punchinello

Geppetto

"What shall I call him?" he said to himself. "I think I'll call him PINOCCHIO. This name will make his fortune. I knew a whole family of Pinocchi once--Pinocchio the father, Pinocchia the mother, and Pinocchi the children-- and they were all lucky. The richest of them begged for his living."

The Showman

His beard was black as ink and so long that it reached from his chin to the ground. I need only say that he trod upon it. (Pinnochio, by Carlo Collodi)

The Cat only grinned when it saw Alice

Card Soldiers

The chief difficulty

Alice found at first was in managing her flamingo

King of Hearts

The King laid his hand upon her arm, and timidly said `Consider, my dear: she is only a child!

"Who are you?" said the Caterpillar.

"Have you guessed the riddle yet?"

the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.

It was the White Rabbit,

 trotting slowly back again, and looking anxiously about as it went, as if it had lost something; and she heard it muttering to itself `The Duchess! The Duchess! Oh my dear paws! Oh my fur and whiskers! She'll get me executed, as sure as ferrets are ferrets! Where can I have dropped them, I wonder?'

Off with his head!

You don't say.

My work here is done.

Granny gets wise

Little Rattle Stilt

A literal translation of the original German name!

Man on my morning bus commute

There was an Old Man with a beard

There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, "It is just as I feared! --
Two Owls and a Hen, four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard."

Bah, Humbug!

“Would it be possible to find a more ungrateful boy, or one with less heart than I have!” ― Carlo Collodi, Pinocchio

a Beast for Beauty