Morning Warm-up

Sartorialist

My take on a recent Sartorialist post.

Another sneak peak.

I'm not dead set on the style...but here's one of the characters.

Zombie Mosh

I'm very proud to have helped create Zombie Mosh, Menue Corporation's newest Facebook game.  It's in beta right now.  It's very very unique and I love it!  Click the pic to play.  I did environments for the game.  Characters by Chuck.

Full steam ahead!

My next project is underway.  A little bigger than than last one.  Here's a color key.

The Storytelling Begins...

View the storyboards here >>>

I have for a long time been moving towards storyboarding, and this is my first real attempt.  Don't judge a book by its cover because it has nothing to do with Crime Scene Investigation.

While I make no claims to quality, it does come with the official Michael Mercer stamp of "Bet you haven't seen THIS before."

Crits welcomed.

Star Man Master of the Universe and his side kick Princess She-Ra

I have always wondered how Star Wars would have been different if it had been truer to its original movie poster.  What if Luke Skywalker had actually been more of a He-Man Conan barbarian instead of the sissy force-is-strong-with-this-one teenager?  What if his light saber really was 100 ft tall??  And what if Princess Leia really COULD use a gun and she looked great zapping StormTroopers in her Chun-Li outfit and cape?

"Senator...my what long legs you have."
And while he's looking at Leia's legs she pulls out her blaster.
Ker-CHEW!
He falls flat his chest smoking.

Or for Luke:

Obiwan: "A more elegant weapon from a more civilized age."  //Obiwan hands Luke the light saber.
Luke: "RAAAAAAAAAAARRR!!!!!!" //Luke cuts Obiwan in half.  He raises the carcass above his head and screams while the sky turns yellow-green, his muscles bulge, and his clothes are ripped into shreds and blown away by the Tatooine wind.

"Crom lives!"

MIA

This little guy I did awhile ago but he didn't make it to the blog for some reason.  I guess because the image lacks any sort of spatial cues you would have no way of knowing that he was small...I was thinking of what some of the guys at the gym might look like if they were a dragon...but when you think about it, a dragon should have a larger upper body, right?  I mean, what would you do with legs anyway if you could fly?

More characters

We greet this woman after another night of regret.  I have always been greatly disappointed by women that have a gift of physical beauty and then sacrifice real love and real relationships for nights of pleasure and "fun," often retreating into alcohol or drugs to aid them in this quest.  I am even more disappointed in the men that entice women to be this way, or that scheme to get the physical pleasures they desire, or that lack self control in their relationships (or don't see the psychological and emotional need for it).  Unlike some, I do not believe sex or money are symbols of manhood but I believe genuine Christlike love is.

Sneak Peak of Upcoming Attractions

Just FYI I haven't abandoned rewriting the Wizard of Oz, or working on it...I just keep most of it secreto.  This, however, is a sneak peak.  I'm still investigating how to tackle the enormous amount of work I have dedicated myself to, but my philosophy is "steady as she goes."  Ten or twenty years from now I will have a written, designed, and storyboarded film to make!

Wind-down sketch

Returned to my fantasy roots tonight.  I studied horses from life for a couple of days and I think I will do it some more after I memorize more of the anatomy.  I don't really feel like I know what's going on but I had fun and that's all I was going for tonight.  Later.

Gives a new meaning to spaghetti western.

Wind-down sketch

I have recently been volunteering at a shelter for troubled youth and it makes me feel like this.

V

"What flavor would you like?  I have lightning, death, and horror."
"I have a special application process if you want to be a truly terrrrrific ice cream eater."

The drawing didn't turn out as well as I would have liked on this one, but when you only have 1.5 hours to pull one of these together--from beginning to end--you win some and you lose some.

Another one of my personal favorites

Goda the pastry deliverer

"Dough, of dough nut?  There is no Thai."

Splato

Splato's Volcan family perished at Pompeii.  It stresses him out a lot.

Nose Goblin

My brother's friend Ryan likes to tell his little girl stories about nose goblins that will catch your finger if you stick it up there long enough.  They are like mountain climbers and cave dwellers at the same time.  He wanted me to draw one and here it is!

Evening wind-down sketch

Last night I was doodling and drew a new version of The Little Mermaid.  It's inspired by one of Glen Keane's sketches.  My Ursula ended up looking more like Izma, but hey, it was my first sketch.

Spice Merchants

These characters were written like they were drug lords (and addicts) and I loved it.  They go around giving away free samples to get people addicted and then of course bleed them dry from money.  But they've gotten a little hooked in the process, and sooner or later it will take its toll, but for now, happy day!

Dumbdillius the Deaf

"What's that sonny?? You think I'm gray?  Speak up I can't hear you!"

Your eyes do not deceive you

You are really looking at a paraplegic R2D2 and a C3P0 midriff.

The Rowdy Ramblers

Three brothers now a wrestling/gladiator team:  Arty Ar Ar, the Woooooooolly Mammoth, and Hercules.

Grumpus the Grey

I did a lot of parodies of big films.  How this fits into ancient Rome I'm not really sure.  But it's going in.

Personal Fave

This potter doesn't have much going for her at first glance--she's poor, not very attractive, and isn't very talented in her chosen profession.  But it's her PASSION that makes you envy her when you meet her.  You know she's in love with her art, in love with her husband, and in love with life--even though it hasn't given her much and she probably will never amount to much in the world's eyes.  Yet she knows exactly who she is and is not only content, but happy and excited about it.  I've met some individuals like this and they humble me completely--they definitely have figured something out about life that I am still working on.

Gotta love angry women

This one was just fun so I decided to post it.  Nothing makes me happier than a short, angry, bra-less protestor.

Yes, that's a special edition machine gun egging chicken.

I mean, what would you do if it was shooting out eggs that fast??  And by the way she's calling a taxi with her foot.

Even drawing it was a hassle...

Tamers

You get three guesses, but hopefully you only need one.

A snobby rich woman

This woman has very few reasons to be as puffed up as she is.  She is crabby and ornery most of the time because her husband doesn't pay any attention to her--and hasn't, for years.  She forces her servants to keep the place spic and span.  She's never been sure of herself and it's only the wealth of her husband that has given her any sense of self-worth, and if it were to disappear she would be dropped to the lowest of the low.  Nevertheless, her redeeming value is an inner desire to have the children her husband never allowed. She's been forced into abortions all her life--and it's the reason for her tragic weight.

Assassins

 

Assassins and ninjas always get hammered for being so cliche so I tried to spice these guys up.  And one's a woman!!

The Sisters of Fate

Hi there!  Karen wanted me to post more and with 100+ designs and racking up I guess that's a viable option. 

 

Bad Day

Somebody had a bad day.  I, however, have been having great days doing 100+ character designs for a social networking company based in Atlanta.  Look for Roman Taxi on Facebook soon.

I have also moved back to Utah (working remote for now).  I had to keep quiet about it because I surprised my girlfriend.  Sorry to friends out there who haven't heard from me on the blogosphere...I will be commenting on your new stuff soon just been busy lately.  If you follow my blog and I don't follow yours (you'd know cause I'll send you comment now and then) just post the blog in the comments and I'll add it to my list.

Mike out.

Environment Ideas

Maria Mercer's advice...

So if anyone needs a good art critique my sister nails it every time and can tell you everything you need to do to improve the image.  It's really quite amazing.  Her advice and 15 minutes of work revealed this image...if you flip it back and forth with the previous image you can see the improvement.

Homecoming

Here's my next step in the sci-fi journey I've embarked on.  This is an original work.  Still has issues but my control is slowly improving.

Sparthmulation Dos

Yet another.  This was less of an emulation and more of a master copy for educational purposes.  Compare to this image Sparth published on his blog.  Hopefully this study will help me to master this style more quickly and efficiently.

Vehicle Model Sheets

The next step of the vehicles project for Hi-Rez studios.  Eventually they've got to hire me...

Grave Robber

If my grave ever gets robbed, I want it done by this guy!

Sparthmulation

This is an image in the style of Sparth, or Nicolas Bouvier.  A little more successful than past attempts.

Shameless Emulation

One of my favorite artists is David Colman.  There's a blend of technical knowledge, bravado, and good taste in his artwork that makes him, I feel, one of the best.  He recently posted a buffalo sketch which I emulated today as my warm-up.  What's crazy is he's only a year older than me, but the quality gap between us is pretty astounding.  I'm getting there!

Vehicle Thumbnails

Just some recent vehicle thumbs.  Just trying to see how fast I can do a full-fledged thumb with colors, concept (yah each thumb has an idea behind it), and character-based design.  It's based on the character classes of Hi-Rez Studios Global Agenda.