A cartoon inspired by 80s stand-up video games? Yes, please. The girls have been just as enchanted by the Wreck-It Ralph trailer (below) as I am. This looks to be a trip back in time powered by sweet, sweet video game love. So, when Monday night rolled around and it was time to draw, Ralph and his sarcastic love interest, Vanellope, were a natural choice. Enjoy!
The girls and I have looking at the incredible art of Disney Artist, Victoria Ying, in quiet amazement and, I’ll say it, more than a little envy on my part for a long while now. Last night, we saw her ballerina cats on a 2012 calendar she created and had to draw. Ballet and cats? The girls were sold.
Seriously, stop what you’re doing and check out her blog and follow her on Twitter. And, if you’re at SDCC, she’s at Small Press N-02!
One of the highlights of HeroesCon for us was the Womanthology panel. The remarkable ladies on the panel kindly invited Grace to participate and even gave her an incredible poster they all signed afterwards. They were so nice and encouraging to her. We made many new friends – Rachel Deering, Rachel Pandich and the amazing Becka Seashols, an incredibly prolific artist. (Seriously, follower her on Instagram and just see how much she cranks out in a day … awesome). Click here to see her Web site and here to follow her on Twitter!
Becka draws lots and lots of Star Wars characters, so, tonight we drew Jabba the Hut for her!
And, here’s a photo from the panel!
Like many of you, the girls and I have fallen head over heels for the newest Disney cartoon, Gravity Falls. With excellent vocal actors and amazing art direction that feels positively inspired by Schoolhouse Rock, it’s a must watch … and draw.
First up, is an awesome sketch of Mabel & Dipper by our buddy, Joe Hunter, whose work you can see here: http://ghostbucket.com/
Here’s ours …
And, for kicks, Grace got in on the act to draw the evil gnomes …
(P.S. Cate is mad at me. She meant to write “I am a freak,” but, as she often reminds me of Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica, I had to leave it as “I am a frak.”)
And, if you’ve ever wanted to see gnomes puking rainbows, this is the show for you!
And, I threw in Wendy & Soos for good measure!
And, if you wanna’ see the 5MM sketchbook we created for HeroesCon, click the image below!
We haven’t posted in a while. Sorry. A lot of energy went into prepping for HeroesCon … and then the girls went full-on into dance camps and gymnastics. But, we’re back on the wagon and will be posting again tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some sketches I’ve done over the last week.
A tribute to Jason Horn’s Ninjasaur!
Fan art for Justin Peterson’s Very Near Mint
My “baby superhero” sketch from my first session with Sketch Charlotte.
Toddler Starfox hitting on Toddler She-Hulk.
Come see us, the 5MM girls and I will be at Table AA237 Today (Saturday) and I’ll be hangning with Tara Abbamondi with preview copies of our new Webcomic, Golden Rule, and our buds, Justin and Lee from the Adventuring Company through Sunday!
It’s hard to believe it, but this time next week, we’ll have enjoyed the first day of HeroesCon. (Okay … we’re really excited.)
Two folks we’re really looking forward to seeing are Joe Quinones and Maris Wicks. Apart, they’re awesome. Together? It’s hard to imagine that must amazing working in one studio at the same time. The girls and I had fun rummaging around their blogs for inspiration … and you should, too.
And, now a word from Joe!
HereosCon is almost here! Less than two weeks! Wow. One of our favorite friends last year was Andy Runton, creator of the Owly books. He has a joy of drawing and for fans that is absolutely infectious! He also has a wonderful habit of drawing Owly and Wormy as a wide array of characters … evidenced by hundreds of “Owly As …” sketches on his Web site. So, Cate drew Owly as a Hula Girl, Grace as a ballerina and me as The Thing & Human Torch!
Check out Andy’s incredible work on his site: http://www.andyrunton.com/
And, now a word from Andy!
Stephanie Buscema is one of our oldest and bestest buddies on 5 Minute Marvels. She drew Scarlet Witch & Wasp with us waaaay back in the day … you know, 2010.
The girls are excited to see her at HeroesCon in (gulp) two short weeks and wanted to do a collaborative drawing for her. Check out Steph’s work at: stephaniebuscema.com
And now, a word from Stephanie!
More awesome art from one of Grace’s friends! How amazing is that LEGO Angel!?!?!
A fun Incredible Hulk from a friend of Grace’s.
It’s been YEARS since I thought about the adventures of Danger Mouse and Penfold. So, many thanks to Mat Nixon for the suggestion and his tremendous sketch. This was a lot of fun for the girls and me. Cate was especially keen to try a step-by-step we found on DragoArt … and did a great job with it.
But, back to Mat. He has an awesome little sketch blog called: http://funwithmarkers.blogspot.com/
How can you not just love that?
Two weeks ago, we got this cute little 5 Minute Marvel from Helena Juhasz (http://helenajuhaszillustration.blogspot.com/) the author/artist of the kid’s comic Stumpwater. We’d not spoken before, but she sent along this note and introduced the girls and I to the world of Moomin, of which we’d never heard.
“I just drew one of my comic heros from the Finnish strip: The Moomins. Is it ok it’s not a traditional super-hero? He is a troll, though. I think that makes him super! 😉 Helena Juhasz “
Thanks, Helena! We had fun.
The girls enjoy Roger Langridge’s Muppet Comics and I am a totally unabashed fan of Thor: The Mighty Avenger, which Roger created with our pal, Chris Samnee. It’s one of the best books over the last decade … and it’s all-ages.
Roger’s latest ventures are reviving Popeye and his own, Snarked!, inspired by the Alice in Wonderland books. We drew two of his main characters – Princess Scarlett and Prince Russell – and had a lot of fun. I think Grace, especially, did a great job capturing Scarlett’s personality. Visit Roger’s site: http://www.hotelfred.com/
It was Grace’s pick tonight, and we found ourselves pouring over the amazing archive of work by artist Amy Mebberson — a treasure trove for kids. She does Disney, PIXAR (and, yes, there is a BIG difference between PIXAR and Disney) 80s Cartoons, Retro Art, Doctor Who … it’s impressive.
When Grace saw Old School Strawberry Shortcake, it was on. Both girls were tired, but rallied to take on Ms. Shortcake. Halfway through, Grace said, “Wow. This is harder that I thought!” But, we had a good time. To take a look at Amy’s Archive for yourself, visit http://mimi-na.deviantart.com/gallery/
And, now, a word from Amy!
Today, our pal, Joel Carroll shared this adorable little cat drawing over Twitter. It was Cate’s night to pick. One look at this little scamp … who Joel called “Creamsicle” … and her eyes lit up. This was a really fun one to draw. Thanks, Joel.
To see more of Joel’s incredible work (I love the Legion and Green Lantern Corps sketches, myself), visit http://www.joelcarroll.com/
And, now a word from Joel!
More hidden treasures from Dan Christensen (http://dcdrawings.blogspot.com/) and his sons. These are three really fun Deadpool sketches!
More “Adventure Time!” art from the Lindwall Boys and Karl Ensberg.
Lots of new art today! This one came in from Amanda Matt Nagelin (@BookieTheClown)
It was my pick tonight, and I wanted to draw something from Becky Cloonan. While I love her art, finding something the girls could draw was hard. Conan seemed a bit much for two little girls. But, they absolutely loved this monkey Becky says (on her blog) was created for an opera house.
The monkey’s over the shoulder view was a source of some consternation for the girls … and a teachable moment. Grace did it her way, but did ask “What’s on the front of his shirt?” The flowing ribbons and smoke also vexed them a bit. Cate got mad at herself and said, “That head! I can’t make it look just like the picture!” We calmed down and agreed it was okay to do it in our own styles AND (more importantly) that Cate was just 7 and Becky had been drawing for many more years than she. And, that if she practiced Cate could get there, too. That seemed to chill her out. She proceeded to ink without tears.
For more of Becky’s work, check out Conan the Barbarian and her novels, The Mire and Wolves. Or, you can visit http://estrigious.com/becky/
A few weeks ago, I read Brian Ralph’s zombie survival story, “Daybreak.” Popular culture is completely flooded with zombie stories, so I almost didn’t pick it up. But, I’m glad I did. It was a fresh take on a well-trod story told entirely in 4-panel pages from the point of view of the reader. Good stuff. But, fare for 5 Minute Marvels drawings? … not so much.
But, looking through Brian’s online portfolio, we found Waltee, a mascot he created for the Walters Art Museum. The girls loved it. We drew. And, had a great time.
Check out more of Brian’s Work at http://bralph.com/
And, now a word from Mr. Ralph!
It was Grace’s pick earlier this week and she chose her favorite source of inspiration … Capture Creatures by Becky Dreistadt & Frank Gibson. Hers is a Crayola Dog (complete with doghouse.) Mine? A Lightmouse.
I have been a fan of Dan Christensen’s work for many years. In fact, the first piece of original comic art I ever bought was from Dan. He sent in this amazing art a long time ago … and it got stuck in the dark corners of my e-mail. But, it was a happy re-discovery and I am thrilled to bring it to you! You can check out Dan’s work at http://dcdrawings.blogspot.com/
With the art, Dan send this note: My youngest boy Andy (6 years old) and I came up with a couple of Ghost Rider sketches today that I thought I’d pass along. I colored my sketch in Photoshop, which took about ten minutes, but the drawing itself only took 45 seconds, so if you average the two times, then *technically* that’s five minutes, right?
45 seconds!?!?!? That’s talent, folks … and years and years of practice.
5 Minute Marvels buddies, Jacob & John Lindwall, are back on the board. And, this time, they have a friend, Karl, with them. This is the first of a series they did on the colorful and ever-entertaining, Aventure Time!
HeroesCon prep continues! It was Cate’s pick last night, and she chose to draw puffy unicorns from Scott C.’s poster for his recent Tender Times show in New York. We love Scott’s art, can’t wait to get his new Great Showdowns book (with a forward from Neil Patrick Harris!) and meet him at Heroes in June.
Until then, we’ll just enjoy looking at his daily sketches on his site: http://www.pyramidcar.com/
P.S. Quote from Cate on her sketch: “Hey, Dad! Check it … Bloody Horn!!!” (Really, doesn’t every father long to hear that at some point? That kid ain’t right.)
And, now a word from Scott C.:
HeroesCon in Charlotte is just four weeks away today! We’ve developed a tradition over the last few years of looking at the Artist Alley list for sketching inspiration. This week, J. Chris Campbell’s “Neatobots” jumped out and commanded us to sketch. It’s wonderful, bright, colorful work that engenders immediate love. J. Chris’ work feuled cate to produce what she has defined as “my best drawing ever.” High praise, indeed. See more for J. Chris Campbell’s amazing work at http://jchriscampbell.com/
It’s been a few days since we last posted … end of grade testing for Grace, so we cooled it. But, we did manage to make some time to draw the most famous Pokemon of all … the pernicious Pikachu! (Okay, so he’s really more precious than pernicious.)
To celebrate Mother’s Day, the girls helped me with a present to my mom, Pat Miner. The girls drew themselves in their superhero identities — Saving Grace and Cate-Tastrope – and I drew Super Mimi, who fights injustice with her keen fashion sense and magically delicious chocolate chip cookies. (And, yes, my Mom’s cookies *are* that good.)
It was Cate’s pick tonight and “super bunny” was her request. We’ve drawn Hoppy the Marvel Bunny before, so we went in search of something new … and it wasn’t too hard to settle on Jojo from Ben Caldwell’s Dare Detectives who Cate thought was “super cool.”
The girls had fun, laughing as they drew … and doing a good job. We talked about using guide shapes and that Jojo’s body was composed largely of a triangle. Don’t ask me exactly why Grace has Jojo saying “Feel the Burn.” She laughed about it and said he looked pumped up. She really got the attitude in his eyes.
I am happy with the lower half of my work, but the face looks like, well, a dog. So, in 5 Minute Marvels tradition, I put up the art. But, I did take a another crack at it after the girls went to bed. I’m happier, but Jojo’s forehead should still be larger. Ben, you make it look darn easy … but it ain’t.
Check out Ben’s incredible daily sketch work here: http://purgetheory.blogspot.com/ And, join me in praying DC finally comes to their senses and gives him a Wonder Woman book. What *are* they thinking!?!?
Like so many families on this planet, the Miner clan has a very soft spot for “Where the Wild Things Are.” It’s one of the first books I remember reading to the girls when they were young … and we owned before they were even born. So, like many kids raised on the Wild Things, Pierre and Chicken Soup with Rice (my personal favorite), we mourn the passing of an amazing creator, Maurice Sendak. And, we hope to honor him with our art. (Coincidentally, in trying to emulate his intricate cross-hatching, I found a brand new respect for his talent. Whew! That’s a lot of work.)
Yesterday was busy one at work, so I needed to stop and have a sketch break. I’ve been working on character expressions … and the stunning expression work Chris and Shane Houghton are doing on “Reed Gunther” is a source of great inspiration. A 10-minute sketch session with Reed and Starla was a lot of fun. Hope you enjoy.
And, now a word from Shane Houghton ( @shanehoughton ):
I took most of the 90s off as a comics fan, so I missed the advent of Deadpool. A character I admittedly know little about, other than he looks like sarcasm and violence rolled into one … which means I probably should enjoy him. But, as a subject for the girls … not so much. But, some fans requested him, so we went with a weapons-free baby version of Mr. Deadpool. Whatcha’ think?
Working on this blog for the past two years, we’ve learned that sometimes, even 5 minutes is too much. And, that forcing drawing when you’re not in the mood can lead to a fun activity being a frustrating one.
Such was tonight, when Grace was bombed after a long day of school, Girl Scouts and homework. So, we were going to let it go when Cate said she wanted to draw. We gave Grace the night off and looked for inspiration, which she found in Maris Wicks’ “Yoga Hulk” … a perfect subject given our need to “get into the zen” of sketching tonight.
Check out Maris’ amazing work at her blog: www.dotsforeyes.blogspot.com
From Tales of Unusual Circumstance to The Ride Home to Cavemen in Space, it’s safe to say the members of the 5 Minute Marvels crew are fans of artist/writer, Joey Weiser. We love his work and, when it comes out, we’re there.
But, the household favorite is Mermin, Joey’s tale of a powerful, but playful fishman out of water. For the recent FLUKE Festival, Joey release a two-story ‘zine, Mermin Theatre. The second story features a pup named Peanutbutter Marshmallow the girls wanted to draw. So, drawn it was.
You can pick up Mermin Theatre for a measley $3 on Joey’s Website, where all manner of other goodies can be found.
The Miner Ladies and I have been away on a church retreat all weekend, so I’ll be brief tonight. We DID have time to draw! Out of nowhere (and seemingly with no discernable motivation) Grace chose The Pink Panther. And, it was an inspired one. I think both girls did great work tonight. I decided to throw in a :30 second drawing of Joey Weiser’s Mermin, just for fun.
As a father raising a daughter in this digital age, it’s always gratifying to see Grace excited about reading. But, when she voluntarily picks up a comic at a school book fair and comes to me to talk about what she’s reading … I’m elated.
Enter Zita the Space Girl by Ben Hatke. Grace has really enjoyed this story of a young girl whisked off to adventures that would make Buck Rogers jealous. She likes to chat about the characters and … of course … draw. Read more about Zita here!
One of Grace’s pals, Jordan (8 years old) send this in. It’s a perfect mix of cute and Lovecraftian horror!
It all started one night when Grace drew Ms. Marvel on a piece of paper about the size of a post-it. She was 6. That night, we posted it on the Internet.
A few nights later, she asked me to draw with her. A few weeks later, Cate decided it might be fun to join in. 5 Minute Marvels was born. And, It’s been so much fun these last two years, creating memories the Miner family will remember forever.
We’ve made so many friends around the world — professional comic book creators, aspiring artists and writers, kids who dream of making comics someday and adults who’ve never stopped dreaming about it.
Here is art created to celebrate this 500th post by just a few of our many wonderful friends. Thank you so much for being part of this journey. We hope to draw with you for years to come! And, for those of you who’ve followed us and drawn with us — I hope it’s been half as much fun for you as it’s been for us.
Grace Miner (8)
Cate Miner (7)
Dad
Kelly Sue DeConnick: http://kellysue.com/
Kelly Thompson: http://1979semifinalist.wordpress.com/
Tara Abbamondi: www.tarabba.com
Jordan Gibson: http://flavors.me/jordangibson
Joel Carroll: http://www.joelcarroll.com/frontpage/
“Calamity Jon” Morris: http://calamityjonsave.us/
Erin Kelly: http://literateknits.wordpress.com/
Jamie and Tyler (10) Cosley: http://www.jamiecosley.com/
Janet K. Lee: http://www.j-k-lee.com/Home.html
Calliope den Ouden: http://www.inktspatten.nl/
Karine Charlebois: http://kantharasloft.net/
Meredith McClaren: http://iniquitousfish.blogspot.com/
Philip A. Buck: http://www.philipabuck.com/
J. Robert & Samantha (6) Deans: http://icrvn.com/blog/
Josh Bowron: http://discernland.blogspot.com/
Jason & Marghread Enright: http://wecomics.com/
This weekend, our 500th post will go up … and we hope you’ll draw with us. Grace’s first 5MM was Ms. Marvel, so she’s our subject. If you, or the kid(s) in your life, want to join in … take 5-10 minutes, draw the new Captain Marvel, scan and send to marvelsmartass at live dot com by Friday morning!
5 MINUTE MARVELS 