GI JOE "Devil's Due NYCC": Colors

I edited an oldskool (2006 is oldskool now lol)  GI Joe exclusive NYCC cover for some color time.  Hot Lines by Jeremy Haun & Cool Colors by Me!

RISE OF THE BEASTS: Preliminary Art Part 2

Continuing the awesome that will be coming soon from the "RISE OF THE BEASTS" toy line, here is some more preliminary work as a post card/character study of the characters  "CAHRIV" & "GAAMIK!!"

Mystical Warriors Of The Ring: Page 4 Comic Book Colors

Some more color work for Mark Vasquez's amazing Mystical Warriors Of The Ring mini-figure & Glyos line! Featuring line art by Lee Burbridge and colors by me! This is pg 4 of the comic "Hellish Holidays Exclusive!"

Also a classic M.U.S.C.L.E. flesh-toned color variant version!

J-Rock Shirt mockups...

Ever get tired of NOT being able to get J-Rock shirts of your favorite Japanese bands...me too... so I started making my own.  ;-)

RISE OF THE BEASTS: Preliminary Art

Gearing up for something big in the near future with ROTB!!  ;-)

CD Covers (Acoustic Gorilla for my Father)

Over the last decade, my father Greg Para has been recording demos with his home studio tech.  Recently we uncovered some of those recordings, and he remastered them... from there I recorded them to digital, and was finally able to complete some artwork for his first produced demo acoustic instrumental CD!  The art was inspired by the title, and also the look of anime rock band Fire Bomber's "Acoustic Fire" CD from the 90's.  The CD is a mix of covers with 1 original song, and covering  a few X Japan tracks... as well as surf, folk, traditional, and more.  Something very special I was able to work on with my father so that his music is preserved forever for his family, friends, & fans to enjoy for years to come!

I also put together a "Best Collection" CD for my friends and I of the key music from "Attack On Titan," as we have been recently getting together to enjoy that series on BD. Images from  their respective owners & graphic design by me.  ;-)

In Print...

Got this sweet print in from my buddy Mark Vasquez of my colors on JB Roe's art for Mystical Warriors Of The Ring, hitting the convention circuit starting with Wizard World in Iowa this weekend!  Awesome!

Mystical Warriors Of The Ring Comic Book Cover Colors

One of the most exciting new indie toylines on the mini figure market today is none other than my pal Mark Vasquez's nostalgic anthropomorphic wrestlers "Mystical Warriors Of The Ring!" The figures are very reminiscent of the classic M.U.S.C.LE. line of the 80's with a more modern aesthetic and wild flare. The figures are around 2" but have varying shapes and sized dependent upon the character themselves, and have a lot of fun and flex packed right into them (just like back in the day!) Mark has 6 mini figures & 1 deluxe figure available including a female wolf character named "Yvonne" (my personal fave, and a rarity in the mini figure market!)   Another enjoyable aspect of this line is how much media has already been produced for it, including comics, animation, & cards that you can view right on the MWOTR site.  There is even a wrestling ring playset and play mat to add to your battles or dioramas.  Great for both kids and collectors alike you will be seeing even more MWOTR characters in the future, as there is big plans to keep this line expanding.  Proof of great things happening is that we have seen the beginning of the 1st spin-off line of deluxe figures called "Mystcial Warriors Of The Ring Evolution." This new era of MWOTR features poseable figures that have Glyos joints that are compatible with other Glyos figures!  The 1st figure "Goliath" is already available and is an instant hit with the now expanded fan-base. Mash him up with your favorite Kabuto Mushi figure or Glyos Neo Granthan and you have a battle armored Goliath ready to fight outside the ring on worlds unknown! 

Mark recently asked if I would do some colors on his talented friend's JB Roe's line art, and I was more than happy to oblige, the result is what you see above, the cover of volume 4, featuring the plucky twosome"Winged Fury!"  This was a lot of fun for me and I'll be doing some more color work for Mark in the future!  =)

And here's some pics of my own collection, including an extra  special "Manager version" resin figure of Yvonne!

 You can pick up some MWOTR figures of your very own right here at the Ringside Store!

Recreating a Toyline: BUGMEN OF INSECTA

In 1983, DFC Multi-Toys Corp created a line of insect warriors called the "BUGMEN OF INSECTA."  These 6 figures & 2 vehicles proceeded Coleco's (more popular and remembered insect warriors,) the"Sectaurs," and were released at popular toy outlets like Toys R Us. As a child my Aunt Leta had a way of finding us a variety of toys that my brothers and I weren't currently collecting on our own to help spark and further our adventures with playtime, & imagination. Receiving 1 figure each from her that Christmas, the BUGMEN have always had a fond place in my heart as a durable, fun, and little known figure line from my childhood.  Although the figures had no media and just a brief blurb on the back of their cards, both the figures & packaging resonated with me as a 50's-70's kind of sci-fi throwback tale of giant monstrous bugs reclaiming the Earth.  My brothers & I  had the characters  KING STINGA, CARNIVORA, & WEBSPINNER IV (the other 3, LORD GRASSA, ELEPHAS, & the lone female BLACK WIDOW were equally cool) but as with most little known toy lines of the 80's, these figures moved out of the toy infested aisles as quickly as they arrived, and have been mostly forgotten except by the savviest of today's adult collectors.  Today these are near impossible to come by, as carded samples are so rare, and loose samples usually are very worn, but through the building power of the Glyos system I saw a way within THE GODBEAST'S exciting KABUTO MUSHI figure to rebuild these characters using 95% of what the Kabuto Mushi figure already came with as the aesthetic.  So in a an usual attempt to recapture a small sample of my childhood, I started looking at Glyos in a new way, to homage figures & characters of my past, something the current Kabuto Mushi line is doing right now with slick paint applications. I'm proud to say that in just about a little over a year of it's original release, through the help of Marty Hansen and his investor Kaleb's kindness and inventiveness, through Kabuto Mushi I have been able to complete this project and rebuild a 2015 updated version of the 80's infamous BUGMEN OF INSECTA!

*special thanks  to Onell Design & Spy Monkey Creations for also helping to complete my recreations/reimaginings.

RISE OF THE BEASTS & October Toys Contest Art Entry "Vespula!!"

  A hot indie property that I am very excited about is the all new "RISE OF THE BEASTS" line! A creative new breed of figures that homage the beloved 1980's toylines "Battle Beasts," "Masters Of The Universe," and "Thundercats" in one mighty mash-up of awesome! Creators Jon Karis and the good people at Plastic Imagination have helped form a new line filled with endless creative character and storyline possibilities!  I have been fortunate enough to have contact with Jon and want to share in his passion for this new and innovative line of figures. The high quality PVC production figures are a 60mm scale (similar to the modern "Guardians Of The Galaxy" and "Avengers: Age Of Ultron"  retail lines), and work with all Glyos compatible figures (created by Onell Design), as they also contain the Glyos peg & socket system. The figures have 4-5 points of swivel articulation at the pegs, & have hands that can hold most 3mm weapons.  This line is both affordable and fun and Jon and Co. have many incredible characters planned for the future!  There is also a cool retro style mail-away incentive batch of figures on the store site to entice you to army build with this terrific line!

A recent contest opportunity was held on "October Toys Forum" for "Rise Of The Beasts" where you could create what type of beast you would like to see next in the line.  Happy to join in the fun I went with a "Yellow Jacket” concept female that I called “Vespula” ...as I always wanted to make a Bee Girl warrior. lol  I imagined her as a hero but then thought she could also work as a villain within the soon to be vast ROTB universe.  My vision is that her 2 “knives” could double as wings with a port on one side of the knife and a Glyos peg on the opposite side of the knife to connect together & separate.  Then there could be another port on her back to plug 1 of the unconnected Glyos pegs from her knives/wings onto her back. 

If you are interested in RISE OF THE BEASTS be sure to pick up the 1st 2 figures offered in both Painted & Unpianted options of the Rhinoceros and Scorpion available now from "Little Rubber Guys.Store" and help support this great new line of figures! There are 4 more beastly characters already in the works to expand the line, a Lion, an Ape, a Horned Lizard, and an Ant!  Take the plunge and get your collecting started as I think you will love this new line as much as I do!

pic by J. Karis

Buy ROTB @ the OFFICIALSTORE: http://littlerubberguys.storenvy.com/collections/884539-rise-of-the-beasts

Learn about ROTB from the OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://riseofthebeasts.com/home.htm

Talk about ROTB @ the OFFICIAL FORUM: http://www.littlerubberguys.com/forums/index.php?showforum=121 

See the latest ROTB developments from the man himself on JON KARIS' LITTLE RUBBER GUYS INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/littlerubberguys/

 

Masters Of The Universe Origins Part 10!!

The 4 "All-Girl" follow-up to my previous "She-Ra" sneak peak!

BLACK ALICE
A character from DC Comics & specifically tied to this project via the modern DC VS MOTU series. Black Alice's look reminds me so much of the type of work I did in college for character designs, that I just had to include her, she's like a throwback to myself. lol
In this story, Black Alice was practicing rituals to contact inter-dimensional demons through portal phenomenon and was eventually graced (or cursed), with the Demon King of Eternia Skeletor. Black Alice serves as Skeletor's liaison, votary, informant, and as a magical vessel for him to cross through space and time to Earth as either a conquest or an escape!
  
DRAGON QUEEN (as a young girl):
Based on the lead villianess from the Galoob line "Golden Girl and the Guardians Of The Gemstone" which was another (and probably the best known/successful) She-Ra-inspired-competing-line of the 80's. I picture most of these characters to be somewhat younger than their POP contemporaries. Here as a child, the Dragon Queen (once the Dragon Princess) was forced into her role when Skeletor invaded Storm Isle, and killed her parents (the Dragon King/Queen) and many of her people. This act was made to capture, steal, and later control the Dragons that are native to her land. For protection for her people against Skeletor's future plans, the now child Dragon Queen formed an uneasy alliance with the Snake Men Clan's Priest "Kobra Khan." Her assigned guardian is the "Dragon Lord" & her horse is named "Shadow."

MERMISTA/MERMAID:
Based on the 1986 MOTU Annual that shows He-Man talking to a Mermaid, this character can also can fulfill the role of "Mermista." I added a couple of my own minor touches to this design to make her look a little less human. Although usually mistrustful of land dwellers, in this story the Mermaid aids He-Man & She-Ra's traveling alliance with information of the Horde's route thru the sea on giant ships to bring in their forces over from the far off Fright Zone to Monarch, her advanced warning ready's the Heroic Forces for impending danger.
  
PEBBLASS:
Pebblass was added as a guilty pleasure to this series, her name given to her by TG is just too much fun. lol Pebblass represents one of the 5 members of the Rock People who meteored to Eternia in search of peace from a galactic war that tore apart her home world. Fun & flirty, Pebblass & her fellow Rock People have joined He-Man & the Heroic Warriors, to assist their new welcoming allies in hopes of peace from the on coming Horde war.

fun personal facts:
I scored a Dragon Queen figure MIB a couple years back for $20 on ebay, not to shabby...lol
The recent Classics figure of Mermista helped propel her to be finished sooner than later in the art lineup. She is also the only art card that does not have a featured weapon.
Pebblass' gun is based on "Solitaire's" sword from the classic "Rock Lords" line.
Black Alice is a character I wish they would make an action figure of in one of the many DC lines. ;-)

KABUTO MUSHI 2/6/15 release (being a part of the magic!!) XD

THE BIG REVEAL!!

http://thegodbeast.blogspot.com/

http://godbeast.com/shop.htm
 

"Galactic Emperor"

ver 1:

 

final product:

 I have been coloring the official Kabuto Mushi mechanicals by Pat Bussey in various colors (based on homages) and submitting them to Marty "The Godbeast" Hansen (the figure's creator) these past couple months as color concept possibilities for his wonderful Glyos buildable figure. Marty is an endless well of talent & ideas so for him to take my concepts into consideration was a true honor. What was special about this particular color combo was Marty went with the one that I submitted that actually came from an idea for a color scheme that I had concocted at work not based on anything specific, just an idea for colors that I thought would look cool on Kabuto Mushi. The fact that he could pull DBZ's "Freiza" from this color combo & improve upon it was a perfect union of tribute and Japanese pop culture character recognition. He also took my recommendation of painting the inner circle on the bug's head as a new paint mask!
It's moments like this as an artist and friend that really will stay with you forever! 

The white is a metallic and the purple & red (etc. details) are painted on the pvc.

I can't thank Marty enough for this opportunity, it really is a dream come true to be a part of the magic that is his amazing Kabuto Mushi figure. 

The other 2 Japanese tribute figures available tonight will be the "Ultraman" homage (metallic silver & red) & "Henshin Cyborg" homage, all are just $16 each while supplies last!

 product shots:

 My version 2, and 2 more versions I did after the final with Marty's revisions advice.

Marty's final mechanical

I'm so pleased to see this colorway make production and cannot thank you enough brother.

^^^ 2/12/15 Update:  He's here and he is amazing!!!

Masters Of The Universe Origins Art Cards Part 9! (sneak peak!)

After a far too long a hiatus...  "Masters Of The Universe Origins Art Cards" are back!!  Here is a sneak peak of the first of 5 new additions featuring none other than 2013 fan poll vote winner She-Ra!  Based on 1 of her many Filmation concept designs, in "my" story line for this interpretation, She-Ra is not related to He-Man, & is the daughter of Queen Hera. The Princess has flown in with her rebel Valkyries from the far off Crystal Castle to Monarch to stop a new foreign invader with a formidable army named General Hordak. Beautiful, smart, & powerful, she carries the sword of protection which was gifted to her by the Sorceress.
2015 is the 30th year anniversary of She-Ra, & I can't think of a better way to celebrate the Princess of Power for me than with some new art for her!

Some designer notes: The spear is based on one of Chap Mei's "Savage Warrior: Beast Raider" weapons. Her color scheme is influenced by both She-Ra and Andromeda of "Wrath Of The Titans."