Sometimes I find myself doodling around with generic concepts… today I saw a picture of some decorated military folk, and decided to sketch the guys we don’t see… the in-the-trenches, career types who keep the guys in the ground alive.
Went for a simple, barrel-chested, all-American type - and was quite happy with the outcome (obviously, or I wouldn’t have posted it).
I am well aware the idea of posting 80s cartoons revisited has been done to death, but I was feeling a little nostalgic watching mediocre modern Saturday cartoons and doodled this retake on Lion-O. I like the overall impression – especially the “animated” re-jig of the jawline and hair, so decided to post it.
What Can’t Be Erased (name, lovingly, borrowed from a Grandaddy song – credit where credit’s due – you can check it out here…) is my occasional auto-biographical series. This piece was done as an anthology submission (rejected because it looked “too professional” - you can’t make that kind of feedback up).
When I started re-working this site, one of the things I knew I wanted was a proper favicon.
In the past, I’d always used a gear – tying to the industri studios name I’ve worked under for years. As I was working on this site with some nod to my own name, I wanted something meaningful in my favicon, but tied back to myself… this dovetailed into my love of 8-bit graphics, and produced 8-bit-scott… now seen in the title bar above.
My Childhood Returns
I’ve gone through this process a couple times – but I always find it rewarding… I started drawing comics when I was 10. I created Switch Blade and Torture Touch at that 
time… Switch Blade was a series of geometric boxes, and Torture Touch was a bit of a reaction about my having some trouble drawing faces, if I remember correctly. Here I am, some years later, and I’ve gone through the process a couple times of re-designing and re-drawing these characters. Always intriguing to see what I come up with…
I think it’s safe to say I’ve improved on that FINE original cover – when I had so much to say my 3 issue limited series had to be upgraded (with the assistance of white out) to 4. A true sign of fan demand to be certain. I think the day I can’t draw a better version of these characters than what’s on that cover is the day I’m done with illustration. Somehow that feels like a fair benchmark.
I drew a comic called Lightning Girl Loves Rocket Boy last year… and part of that involved creating the supporting cast, ie: super team The Liberty Patrol. From nothing more than their names (and any dialog they had), I had to create a compelling trio of superheros… so I invented backstories for them.
The Sensation: I knew they all had to be fighters, but I thought it would be cool if the strongest, most “brutish” character was also the smartest, so – The Sensation is a brilliant scientist, and super strong brute of a hero, mixing brains and brawn.
Mr. Dynamic: I decided he was a spiritual character, and based his hair on a samurai topknot as a nod to that noble culture. I also took cues from “stereotypical” heroes (the cape and folded boots). I dropped the beard in the final version, but added earrings to give him a little bit of a unique feel.
Captain Jupiter: He was the most clearly defined character (being the ex-boyfriend), but I had to figure out what his powers were so I could draw him in a fight. Due to the massive size (and gravity) of Jupiter, I decided his powers would be gravitational in nature, giving him proportionate strength to that gravity, and allowing him to alter his own gravitational pull to (in essence), fly.
This was a fun project for a lot of reasons… not the least of which was getting to work on these characters… and draw one of the most complex single-pages ever in the Liberty Patrol fight scene
I think it’s safe to say – if you don’t know me well – this is the work that has brought you here. I’ve been lucky enough to work on the Little LDB shorts in the back of Image Comics’ Li’l Depressed Boy since the first issue (skipping only a few)… a great gig, working with series editor Nicholas Brandt on the childhood adventures of S. Steven Struble’s title character. A great series if you’re not already reading it… catch up on line (for free) here…
Just a quick process view of how I create a panel, from VERY rough to finished (printable) form. (Click the image to view the animated GIF)
Welcome to my new Portfolio website. My name is Scott Arnold.
To get some content up here, I’m going to start with some historical work, and move forward (with a few exceptions). Feel free to leave comments or ask questions.
