In Front of Every Great Man...

One of the best picture ideas I've had in a while. Still nothing super-creative, but very effective I think. I just found this image in my head as I was thinking about all four of the characters, and I decided I had to draw them together. I absolutely love comparison and contrast when it comes to character design. Contrasting personalities is only half the fun. Making the characters look strikingly or subtly different is wonderful to see. And I just loved the idea of Supergirl and Batgirl having a moment right under the noses of their more set-in-their-ways counterparts. I also managed to draw Supergirl much better this time. (Update: Since it's not obvious, the title is open ended on purpose. You choose the ending.)

There are a lot of subtle differences between the characters that not only add to the asymmetry of the picture, but also say a little bit about the characters and their differences. Like I mentioned, that was one of the funnest parts to do. For example, you can see that Superman is actually much taller than Batman, but if you include his ears then Batman is taller. Batman and Batgirl are both standing with their legs apart, like they're in a stance to fight. But Superman and Supergirl are just standing with their legs together because they don't need to be in a stance. It's little things like that.

Practice makes improvement when it comes to drawing the same character over and over (or anything really, but especially this). Though this is the first time I've drawn two of these characters from the side, I think it looks awesome. The hands are probably the weakest part of the picture. I still haven't mastered drawing hands (obviously). I wasn't sure about having the mouths on the sides of the faces instead of connected to the front, but I think it was the right choice for me at least.

God blessed this drawing so much I can hardly process it. It could have been such a mess without His help. Thank you God.

Yeah By the Way: Luke 10 : 18

This is the first in what I've called my "Jesus Yeah, By the Way" series. I started just last night and finished this morning. Recently a video came up in my YouTube recommendations that said "The Bible Does Not Say Jesus is God." That took me all of a hot minute to refute from memory, but in doing so I came up with the idea for this cartoon and others like it. This is an interpretation of the scene from Luke 10:18 where Jesus casually mentions He saw the fall of Satan.

I started by figuring out how I wanted to draw Jesus. I drew from a lot of different sources. I don't even remember them all this morning. But eventually I ended up with wanting to just give Him a very down-to-earth look (literally) while still being recognizable. Like the kind of guy who you can't help but believe, even if what he says sounds kind of out there. Along the way I learned that the expression I had in mind was very difficult. I wanted it to be intense without looking angry. In contrast, the disciples were very fun to draw since I could exaggerate them and make them look basically however I wanted. I chose a more cartoony art style specifically to show that this is an exaggeration and interpretation of the real events, not how I think they actually happened. That's also the reason the returning disciple's speech is taken directly from the Bible, and Jesus' is slightly altered. It's for the shock value of humor.

I'm really happy with how this turned out. It makes me hopeful for future cartoons. Praise the Lord!

Super 8th-Grader

Sometimes I think that maybe I'm drawing too much of superheroes. Then I quickly disregard those thoughts because they are ridiculous. But seriously I can't help it. They're just so inspiring at this time in my life; like this girl for example. The drawing on the left is a quickly sketched version of Supergirl from the awesome comic Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade. As the title implies, this isn't the adult Supergirl most people are used to. Superman sends her off to public school so she can learn more about how to fit in with Earth. It's even more difficult for her than adjusting to college is for me, and it's amazing.

The drawing on the right is the same character drawn in the same style I've been drawing other superheroes recently. I've wanted to draw this almost since I recently discovered this version of the character. I'm still amazed it didn't end up looking super weird. She doesn't look quite as "gawky" (the original comic's words, not mine) as the original, but this is only my first attempt. I also didn't get the proportions of her head and hands right, as I am oft to do. Using the live action tv series as reference was incredibly helpful for adding realism to her design (especially for making her hair obey gravity). Part of why I think I'm drawing so many superheroes is because I need practice drawing people, and this is the one of the most interesting way to do it.

One of my favorite quotes from this version of the character is "Thank you, Invulnerability. You are my very bestest friend." I feel that way about God. He's my Invulnerability. God's will be done.