One Eyed Josh!

It's been awhile since I've posted a Josh drawing but I was going through old files the other day and saw this one. I don't remember why I drew the eye-patch. With all the Avengers buzz and Nick Fury being in the movie maybe eye-patches will be in fashion this summer.

j.

Return of Josh!

You guys remember Josh, right? It's been a while since I've had a chance to draw him (he moved away from Toronto). We've been working on a little project together which inspired me work up some new drawings! Josh is easily my favourite person to draw. Maybe it's his infectiously joyful personality? Or could it be his love of comic books? Or is it just that his incredibly body is so much fun to draw?

Probably all three :)

j.
p.s. Keep an eye on future posts -- I'll let you in on the project Josh and I are working on.

Drawing on Napkins!

When I'm out at the bar and I've forgotten or not wanted to carry along a sketchbook, and I see someone who's face I'd really like to draw I have very few options! At a bar, at least, there are always napkins. I've drawn on a lot of napkins. I've learned the lighter, more delicate touch required when drawing on flimsy, absorbent paper with a felt tip marker. How to cross-hatch just enough to get a dark area but not so much that I soak through the layers of paper and tear a giant hole through my drawing. And I've done all of this while nicely sauced on double-short rum and cokes!

For those of you keeping track of my growing bold/adventurous nature I will tell you that I spoke to "Anthony", introducing myself and telling him that I thought he was quite handsome.
Going through my old pictures the other day I found some really nice shots I'd taken of Josh (nearly a year ago now). This one in particular was something I'd always wanted to get down on paper. I've only had time so far to do this rough but I like how his profile turned out.

It's a shame drawing on napkins doesn't pay the bills (or my bar tab).
j.

Maniacal Toon!

Today, just a quick, fairly loosely inked sketch of Josh. Reference was a photo he took of himself. Oh, how I wish I could show you the photo :) It continues to haunt the baser quadrants of my brain. I went simple, graphic and red with the coloring just to suggest that animal quality. My preference is the half-tone screen, cropped image. It seems eve more feral!

You may (or may not) have noticed that I no longer have a Zazzle store. The Zaz shirts arrived and they were TERRIBLE!! Printing was blurry and the shirt quality was 'meh'. For the higher price I expected much better. So Zazzle is out! CafePress is still in. Every morning I enjoy my coffee in the original, very first, signed and numbered Vargas-Josh coffee mug (large sized, naturally).

Have a grrreat day, my friends!
best,
j.

Through the Looking Glass Darkly!

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Beware the Jabberwock, my son! With jaws that bite and claws that catch. No Jabberwock here...just Josh and a pale reflection of his own self. We took some terrific looking photos in front of a mirror in one of our early sessions. Photos I'm still going back to and being inspired by. This one took a different turn when I thought more about how I see Josh. At this point I think I should let you all see what you want to see in images without the distraction of the "artist" :)

Interpret as you will the darker look of the reflected Josh, and the physical contact between the two. Sorry about the heavy shadow, boys. But at least you do get a nice view of drawn-Josh's rump.

In the comments section there has been a little discussion about the making of a sketchbook. I'd love to hear any and all input from you all about what you'd like to see. I'm considering one large sketchbook collecting as much as possible...but could also easily fill several smaller sized, themed books. Would one option be preferrable over the other? Smaller themed means being able to buy only those images that, shall we say, excite you most. More books means each would be less expensive, as well. Which is a plus.

Picture size is also an issue. Assuming the book is slightly larger than a standard comic book (roughly 6" x 10", 17cm x 26cm) would you prefer several smaller images per page with occasional focus on a larger finished piece? or large images throughout? I know I always prefer at least mid-sized images but sometimes there is that one piece that you just wish had been printed as a full page so you could enjoy it fully. On the other hand that large image that takes up a whole page isn't always the favourite piece and you wish room had been made for two more pictures for which the large image won't allow.

Such dilemmas. We should all have such easy problems to deal with :)

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! Feel free to e-mail me (address in my profile) if you don't have a blogger account with which to post.

best,
j.
p.s. Welcome back, Josh!

Tuesday is the New Monday!

Truth is I was busy on Monday and forgot to update. So Tuesday will have to pretend to be Monday for my sake. Frankly, it's the least Tuesday can do after all I've done for it.

This is the image which you can find on the CafePress Store clock...minus the numbers. It's from a photo that Josh had taken himself (or perhaps a friend took it?) I saw it and just had to draw it. I especially worked at capturing the scruffy little snarl on his face.

My accident, while Photoshopping, I removed the black layer...and was surprised at how identifiable almost everything was in my under-color! So for fun I'm throwing this up on the wall. You can see just how basic my color is. Nothin' special...I think there are about nine shades and tints here.

Happy Fat Tuesday/Pancake Tuesday! Or just Plain Tuesday if that's how you celebrate it!
best,
j.

Through the Looking Glass!

Some of you may have already noticed this image added to the CafePress shop. I keep changing the name of the image...Mirror-Man, Reflection (for the journal), Mirror Image...anything but "Man in the Mirror". That name conjours up the song by Michael Jackson. I can think of no better way to lose your erection than to think of Michael Jackson. Ugh!

Andy (of Foxy Andy) pointed out another print-on-demand shop called Zazzle. I've opened a one item store there because, well, frankly their merchandise is a whole lot more expensive. But it's possible the quality is far superior and therefore justifies the higher price. I'll be ordering a shirt from them myself so that I can compare them to the CafePress items (which should arrive any day now).
Sometimes when I've finished an image I'll play around with the file; reversing or inverting the colours, making it black and white, applying ridiulous filters. Because every now and then I get something that I like almost more than the straight up final art. I really like the rough blurriness of this black and whiter version and will most likely put it on the Zazzle shirt that I order for myself. I'll make it available here, as well, for anyone else who might want it.

best,
j.

Jungle Adventure!

The adventure continues in this weeks exciting episode! Rimah must re-unite a lost baby t-rex with it's mother; the thing is, mom doesn't trust Rimah and tries to eat him! Meanwhile, a volcano erupts and the flowing lava threatens to destroy Rimah's village and it's people if they don't evacuate in time!
Does Rimah make it back to his village in time to help his people? Or does Mama T-Rex make a have beefcake for brunch! Tune in to this weeks exciting episode of Rimah, Lord of the Jungle! *

In case no one saw the update - I've added another couple of items to the Bone's Men shop, including a clock featuring, what I think is, a very sexy image of Josh in his underpants! Keep an eye on the store for new items as the weeks go on. I'll be swapping out older images for new ones just to keep it fresh and moving!

j.

*Before you get too excited, there is no episdoe to look forward to. Sorry. However, that's a pretty terrific story idea and I believe I know how it wraps up! That's FOUR Rimah stories now.

Pin-Up Boy!

This just happens to be my favourite of all of the Josh drawings I've done so far. Personal taste, totally. It reminds me of a Vargas pin-up pose...not in the execution, mind you. The pose feels like vintage pin-up girl, but with masculine curves!

Josh took the pose quite naturally as he curled up in my studio chair. It was just a simple matter of having him point his toes and raise his right arm for the pose to be perfection. I love how his chest comes down into his abs and disappear behind the thigh. I love the bulge of his calves as he flexes his feet. And I love the playful smile and eyes that sorta say "I know I'm posing and maybe I look ridiculous but who cares!" Josh had the same slightly goofy grin as I drew him.

So, the big news is that I've finally got some product up on CafePress! Check out the side link under my profile to see what I've made available. So far I'm making this Josh image the main product. I will most certainly be upgrading and adding more product as I get images finalized.

PLEASE, please let me know what you guys (those of you who order) think of the end product. Tell me if there are certain items you'd like added to the store (cloth bags, hats, hoodies, etc...) Let me know if there's a particular image that you'd like to have on a shirt, mug, magnet, etc... I want to make sure that I make available product that you guys actually want to buy. So don't be shy about telling me!

Prints of certain images will also be added. I think I want to order a few for myself just to see the quality before I make such things available.

Thanks, guys!
best,
j.

Edited to add: I've just added a few new items to the Cafe Press store, including a wall clock with an, as yet, unseen image! xo

Teepee or not Teepee! or You Loin a new Thong Every Day!

It's Thursday! Officially "Loincloth Thursday"! Today we celebrate all things Loin-y. Looser than a speedo but more revealing than track pants, the Loin cloth is loved for its nearly-naked, not-quite-clothing, almost-revealing-it-all qualities. Popularized by the many incarnations of that famous King of the Jungle, Tarzan, the loincloth is the ultimate in comfort clothing. Won't bind or pull. Doesn't bunch up like boxers. It allows the freedom of "commando" with slightly more protection!

In celebration of Loincloth Thursday I'll share with you my own loincloth story. I don't remember how old I was...possibly eleven-ish?? My dad has always been into hunting and fishing. My parents took us to a hunting club; a huge wooded area where people had set up tents, there was a lodge with a giant dining hall (giant at least to my young eyes). Roasting on a tremendous outdoor spit was a bison! I remember clearly that it was most definitely a cut of meat I'd not yet eaten, and that I wasn't even sure what a bison was but that it was most definitely bigger than a cow. I believe there were several smaller spits with pig, cow and deer. All slowly roasting for the big feast to come.

What fascinated us kids was that someone had built an actual teepee (forgive me if that's not the PC term used today). A real actual teepee with wooden logs as it's support beams, animal hide stitched together for covering and a fire burning right up the middle. The guy who lived in it, out there on the hunting grounds, was an older (late 40's maybe early 50's) gentleman with a greying beard, grizzly Adams friendliness and wearing an honest to goodness leather loincloth. I'm sure I'd never seen anyone outside of the tv wearing a loincloth and I couldn't stop staring. He also wore leather chaps to cover his legs which only seemed to frame that loincloth.

What does he do when the wind blows? Has he different loincloths for all types of weather? What does he wear in the winter? Is it legal to walk around in a loincloth? Where do you buy loincloths? 

This kindly fellow saw us kids admiring his teepee and invited our family inside. It was large enough to hold us all with plenty of room to spare. We squatted around the fire (Is it too cold to sit on the ground in a loincloth?) and he told us all about making the teepee and how you put the fire in the middle so that the shape of the cone makes a natural chimney. The whole time he was talking I'm pretty sure I was trying to figure out that loincloth. He had on some sort of leather underwear so as not to be bared to the world...but I distinctly remember that it didn't cover his butt! I wonder now if my staring was obvious. I was a kid so I'm sure it was.

My parents thanked him for showing us the teepee, we toured more of the club and then ate a huge meal of spit-roasted meats and, I'm sure, some pot-luck style variety of other dishes. I kept looking for that loincloth guy afterwards but we didn't see him in the dining lodge. I like to think he sat, cross legged with his loyal dog by his side; eating a leg of bison with no utensils, no barbecue sauce or salt. Just roasted smoky charred meat. He'd toss the rest to his dog when he was finished, then lay back and watch the stars appear in the sky through the hole in the top of his teepee.

Happy Loincloth Thursday!

j.

p.s. The drawing? Oh yeah. The drawing is ol' Josh as a Tarzan type. I've always wanted to do a jungle series and now I've got a fantastically fun character in Rim'Ah. He'll be joined by a chimpanzee, naturally, though not in the typical "Cheetah/Tarzan" relationship. Fear not fans of loinclothery, Rim'Ah shall return!

It's all in the Jeans!

I like the intensity of the eyes in this sketch. I feel like the pose is "interrupted relaxation". As if the model...yes, Josh again...was just hanging out, maybe about to take a nap and then you walked in the room. He turns mid-stretch and looks you in the eyes. You meet his gaze as you freeze just inside the doorway.
What happened next? Well, I drew the pose and we set up another one. What? You thought this was a session on erotic writing?

best,
j.
p.s. Musclsvg - Loin cloth Thursday! I promise! Mark it on your calendar :)

Just Joshing!

You wanted more Josh so here he is! This one is sort of tough guy with a smirk...just to let you know that he knows you're checking him out.

We're working on some fun ideas together, Josh and I. So I hope you guys like him as a model. Not to worry, though, that I've stopped drawing other types of guys. Roger Rodgers will appear in something new (and something old) rather soon...at the very least by Spring. Jett is not forgotten! Once I wrap up my issue of Super Friends I plan to use the next month to get Jett Vector back into production! And if I can figure out how to make a PDF I will do my best to put together a collection of art in some sort of book form. I've got so much more art that you guys haven't seen on this blog...and that I haven't seen myself for some time.

This will be the Summer of Bonesmen or my name is Mud!
best,
Mud ;)

p.s. Congratulations, Josh. You've just been given a Bonesmen Blog Label!

Posterior Cleavage!

This post could easily be subtitled "How Life Drawing Changed My Life", or some such equally self-important drivel :) That is to say that often I forget how important it is to draw REAL people...a person who is right there, in the room, with you! I get lazy, though, and use photographs as a poor substitute (although they certainly have their place when creating art and I don't mean to sound ungrateful for the many hours of drawing pleasure they have given me over the years). But when one has at his command the gift of a willing and charming model one would be foolish not to accept.

When I draw from a live model I almost always get a better sense of movement, which muscles flex and those that relax for a pose, and how weight compresses the fleshy parts. I've always had a little trouble with foreshortening, as well, and so I try to draw the model from an angle in order to "work out" that part of my weakest drawing muscle.

I think what happens is I get used to my own visual shorthand, the lines I use for the abs, for example. I like how they look and so I use the same lines repeatedly. Not that I have a problem with doing so but with life drawing I have the opportunity to see different shapes in the body and maybe come up with a few variations on my little shortcuts.

So, the drawing above is Josh again. The Hockey model, etc... And, yes, I actually had him wear clothing for a few of the drawings.

best,

j.

Go Long!

Just a quick little something today. I can't stop drawing "Summer's Eve"...I mean, Josh, the hockey model from last past. Response was positive from you guys so I figured you wouldn't be too upset to see another doodle from my drawing session with Josh. I'll color it eventually. Right now I've got to get some work done. All fun and no work makes me a broke...jerk?

Have a great day, guys!
j.
p.s. He's holding a football...how could I not play off that for the title of this post?!

Hockey Knight in Canada!

So I was originally going to use the hockey drawing as a Guy a Day model...but then I ended up getting in touch with the real flesh and blood model HIMSELF! How fortuitous!

I'm not a Hockey fan, never played on a little league team as a kid, nor have any of my family members. When I found myself reading an article about Hockey in an issue of Xtra it was only because one of the models in the photo shoot was super hot! (There's a teeny tiny little picture at the link). I ended up with these two drawings of him which I'll post as stand alone, non-Guy a Day drawings...for now.

I'll say no more until I get a chance to talk more with him. I'm really hoping to get a chance to draw this guy again.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. We're all back to our literal and figurative drawing boards, eh!

best,

j.