Some fun with Voodoo Dollie...

Today's the last day before the OMFG S5 submission *extended* deadline ends, so I had some fun w/my entry Voodoo Dollie as a silhouette & in alt colors!

Voodoo Dollie O.M.F.G. Series 5 Submission

Voodoo Dollie MK II:*New Shoes*

One of the best indie toy lines running for the last couple years is O.M.F.G. (Outlandish Mini Figure Guys)...
Run by the prolific George & Ayleen Gaspar they have given the fan creative community a chance to create a M.U.S.C.L.E./keshi style figure line thru submissions (that can be drawn, rendered, or sculpted) that are then voted on by the very same fan community, settled by a committee, funded by Kickstarter, & then the top 5-6 are actually made into mini-figure toys.  With 2014 bringing us the 5th series of this line, I had to take a stab at it myself.  I have had a few ideas, but decided that it is in my best interest (as recommended by George himself) to submit the one that was the most fleshed out (as not to compete with myself for votes from the community)... So among the ideas I have, I chose to create "Voodoo Dollie" (aka "Cursed Dawn" aka "Raggedy Agony"), as the O.M.F.G. line has a type of horror theme to their toys (the company creating them is called "October Toys" after all). With this I personally went thru what has already been created/conceptualized for the line, as well as what horror/fun themes haven't.  I went with a voodoo theme & decided to make the character female, as the line thus far has only had 1 female character chosen to be made. After I drew the design, I colored it up in Kinnukuman (aka M.U.S.C.L.E.) anime styled colors so that the design would resemble (more closely) to what the final project *could* look like. Placed it on the O.M.F.G. S5 template and then submitted it for feedback on the October Toys forum.  From there I received some great feedback including making the shoes a different style, so I took the advice from my peers & relaunched "Voodoo Dollie."  So far she has been met with a lot of positive reactions, so let's hope she becomes a contender & we might see her in toy form some day (fingers crossed) =)

Original Design:

 You can see the previous O.M.F.G. Series here:
Series 1:
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=OCT10001&mode=retail
Series 2:
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=OCT10002&mode=retail
Series 3:
http://octobertoys.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=45
http://www.collectiondx.com/toy_review/omfg_series_3
Series 4 (heading to Kickstarter soon):
http://www.spankystokes.com/2013/05/october-toyss-omfg-series-4-designs.html

2 minutes w/Photoshop & some X-mas toys...

LOL just having fun with my X-mas toys... thanks to my brothers!

iGear Mini Warriors Digibashes

I created these recolored images earlier this year as possible repaint ideas/suggestions/concepts for Canada's TFCon's "GoBits" exclusive line. I recolored "Dune Raker" (aka Beachcomber) into the Gobot "BuggyMan", and "Veer" (aka Swerve) into the Gobot "Small Foot!"  =) It was fun and allowed me to test out my recolor skills on some product that I love!  Hopefully TFCon will consider these for 2014 or beyond!

I also did this another digibash of iGear's "Dune Raker" as a 3rd Party G.I. Joe homage/crossover with the classic A.W.E. Striker vehicle. Then added some ninja power using 85' Snake Eyes as a secondary... this idea was presented to BigBadToyStore as an concept for a store exclusive!

CUSTOM J-METAL CD COVERS

Some reworked/retweeked & additives for 2 custom CD covers for compilations I made for a recent J-Rock Concert Night.  ;-)

Custom CD Cover "KICK-ASS 2: OST Expanded Edition"

Made a custom cover for my "KA2" 2-CD song collection!!

CUSTOM DVD COVERS PART 7 (2013)

Two new custom DVD covers for my personal collection!  These two are special as they are sure to be never released gray market titles!  First up we have (MAXX STEELE) "ROBO FORCE: THE REVENGE OF NAZGAR," a 1-time aired somewhat violent special based o the line of 80's toys by Ideal. This one is set up in the "thin case" format.  Next is the Saturday Morning cult classic KIDD VIDEO, (like Robo Force) this is a very hard series to find on the gray market, and it's sure never to be released domestically due to the music rights!  This Cartoon made band was popular enough to have a collectable album released in Israel, powered by that classic Shuki Levi sound!

CUSTOM DVD COVERS PART 6 (2013)

Some DVD covers for my personal collection that I have been meaning to get to for quite some time...First up is a cover for the David Hamilton (famous British photographer) Film Collection (all 5 of his Films). It is difficult to do this man's work justice without criticism, so I tried to embody tastefulness with the visual cues that make his soft focus photography world renowned... Now all of these films are available on Amazon.com. Second is a collection of HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, SHE-RA PRINCESS OF POWER and THE NEW ADVENTURES OF HE-MAN compilation of lost rarities (commercials, bumpers, story books) etc. that did not make it to official sets.  Special Thanks to my friend Danielle on this one!
*I own none of the images & collected them around the net. For personal use/not for sale.

RAM-MAN recolor for He-Man.Org Redesign Challenge #106

Put a fresh set of classic colors down (& expanded version of the original backer) on my recent Ram-Man design for He-man.Org's Ram-Man redesign challenge. =)

The Pretty Reckless: Blender 2-CD cover

A fan made manipulation that I re-purposed into a CD cover for personal use as a "deep cuts" collection...

I am the featured artist for "Fan Art Of The Week" on He-Man.Org again XD!!

My most recent work is featured starting 6/19/13 on He-Man.Org!  This time my new "Worruck" from my MOTU Origins Art Card series is the headliner!
See the article here:
http://www.he-man.org/news_article.php?id=3417

Masters Of The Universe Origins Art Cards Part 8! (Ralph McQuarrie tribute)

(MCQUARRIE) ROBOT: Ralph McQuarrie (of Star Wars fame) worked briefly on the Masters Of The Universe 1987 MOTU Movie as a character/concept designer. One of the characters he wanted to develop was a little robot for the Heroic Warriors. Gary Goddard (the director) did not like the idea as there was enough cute little robots in film and dismissed the character to be included in the movie. As a BIG Ralph MacQuarrie fan, I found this little guy interesting and saw fit to include him as a tribute to a man who has greatly inspired my art. In this fiction he is Man-At-Arms workshop helper. I spent some time on him as I feel I owe Ralph McQuarrie so much to my imagination, and loved that he had a very small part in MOTU's history, this character seems the type where he can't wait to prove that he is more valuable then as just being an assistant to Man-At -Arms, he is cutting edge technology in this barbaric world! A world that many would find him more fit as a aristocrats play toy to impress their friends rather than a Heroic Warrior! I kept making the joke to my brother's that he was the best character in the story and it's all down hill from here (character-wise). lol  All kidding aside, he was very fun to draw and reminded me (& my brother Brian) of the "Robo Force" line from the 80's. Just something different for the MOTU world, yet still fits right in!

WORRUCK: Another character developed for the MOTU 1987 Movie (not by McQuarrie), Worruck...who never got past the concept stage, but looking like a desert warrior meets an Egyptian mummy, he was just too cool & I had to include him in this series! He looks to be of an evil nature so naturally I have him working with Skeletor (the evil power of that film) as one of his alliances. Worruck rules the Wasteland with his nomads and keeps Skeletor's enemies from crossing the hostile environment!  He abides by Skeletor's rules and does not fuss with anything much outside of his realm, and not many would want to venture there anyway. He figures it keeps him in a good position with the possible future "Master Of The Universe" while doing the bare minimum to stay in the demon king's graces.  Just my fanboy thoughts on the character...lol

Masters Of The Universe Origins Art Cards Part 7!

RAM-MAN: Based on his concept design shown in Mattel's "The Art Of MOTU" (sold at SDCC a couple years back), & colored like the 8-Back card art! In this story he is more like the guardian at the gates of Monarch City, large & imposing!  He is bound by duty but wishes for more.  It's interesting to see Ram-Man with a slightly more executioner look (despite the bright colors) he has always been a force to be reckoned with so now imagine him without the "softer" side... he might be one of the most formidable of the heroic warriors!

CHOPPER (aka JITSU): Inspired by the Jitsu prototype from the 80's (which had monster feet, golden teeth & Tri-Klops' sword), & loosely based on the UK comic colors for his upper torso! In this story Jitsu is cursed for wearing the "dark glove," a tainted object, and it has made him filled with rage as he can no longer remove it, and he is getting more monstrous from it's unholy powers as time goes on. He carries the emerald sword, which some day Tri-Klops will best him for.  He just wants his madness to end and wishes he never laid eyes on the glove that has now imprisoned his mind as he grows weary of his wretched existence!

HEROINE: This character was seen as a possible early version for Teela in Tomart's guide showing MOTU concepts years ago. She was riding a unicorn (who in this tale is named "Charger" after Teela's unicorn in the mini comics). Teela looks up to Heroine as a role model, she is a traveling Paladin from Monarch who goes from city to village all over Eternia with her guard to try and help the downtrodden. She is very good at what she does and serves as a peacekeeper and figurehead for Monarch, bringing hope & kindness... and beloved by all. When Heroine meets her fate she will pass along Charger to Teela who she views as a younger sister.  This color palette was inspired a bit by the look on a recent take of Snow White...

I get "Fan Art Of The Week" On He-Man.Org on 5/24/13

My 2006 fan art work of the 200X (un-helmeted) Evil-Lyn recieved "Fan Art Of The Week" on He-Man.Org!  See the article below...
http://www.he-man.org/news_article.php?id=3384

Arcanepunk MOTU

Created for He-Man.Org's "Redesign Challenge #105: Teela!"  I based my design on one of the Teela movie concepts from Mattel's SDCC "The Art Of MOTU" art book released in 2009. I always liked the small concept drawing of Teela in "The Future" section. She & her companions concepts invoke a stylistic combo of sci-fi, fantasy, steampunk, cyberpunk, & a hint of Masmune Shirow. lol  That kind of mix of fantasy & sci-fi is often referred to as "Arcanepunk," so that's what I named this version of Teela. I might continue with the ideas presented in that book at a later time & make an "Arcanepunk" art card series based on those unused Movie concepts after I complete my other MOTU projects. I have been waiting for this redesign challenge as it gave me a good reason to finally draw that updated version of Teela based on that book's loose monochromatic art. I hope you like it!

Scout Note Pad

Just some fun with photoshop featuring one of my fave scream queens Scout Taylor Compton.  Wanted to make a photo look like a 80's style woodcut print on some toothy paper. lol

Masters Of The Universe Art Cards Part 6!

TORNADO (aka SY-KLONE): Based on 1 of Sy-Klone's early drafts in the P&HF Vol.1 art book as well as his appearance in the mini-comic "Spikor Strikes!" "Tornado" was one of Sy-Klone's early working names. I decided to make Tornado darker because I wanted him to be like a storm. Dark, cold, & gloomy. Also as a cyborg almost to have a painted-metal-type feel. The club is based on the one that Sy-Klone takes from Spikor in the mini-comic "Spikor Strikes!" I wanted him to have a more aggressive weapon in this series rather than his trade mark shield & this seemed to be the right fit! He was originally planned for later in the series but I bumped him up to now!

SOLARA: Thinking outside of the box & into MOTU inspired lines comes SOLARA from the unproduced "Wonder Woman & Th Star Riders" line. This line was meant to compete with Sailor Moon in the 90's, & was even going to use some POP accessories & steeds. It's loose ties to POP & interesting characters led me to include the fiery Solara in my Origins Art Cards collection!  Originally I was going to do "Ice" in this series, but figured with "Frosta" already being a true MOTU character I would change that idea. "Solara" is a little more unique for MOTU as she is a fire girl & there is no true designated heroic fire girl in MOTU. Plus she is Latina, which I though helped to add some diversity to the line. The original character from Mattel was so pink that when I started coloring her it was like...pink overkill & I need to diversify the colors some more, yet still keep it to the original designs intentions. She was also planned for much later the line but I decided to include her now!  She has a fire wand based loosely on Hebrew elemental cultures.

 
PRINCE IZOR: A very obscure character that was uniquely created for the bootleg MOTU Modeltrem line, Prince Izor was also planned for late in this series but I decided to include him now after my friend Ricardo posted some great photos of the original figure!  It is unknown whether this character was good or evil in the Modeltrem line, but some fans like to think of him as evil because the Modeltrem line is so heavily packed with Heroic characters. In this case since his allegiance is unknown I decided to make him on a neutral alliance colored card.  My friend Rory made a comparison of him to Sean Connery (aka Zardoz) which I liked, as I wanted to give him a slightly more rugged yet distinguished appeal & thought it was a great comparison! Like Gorgone, it's great to represent the Brazilian influence on MOTU over the years!

100th POST!! Masters Of The Universe Origin Art Cards Part 5

2013 and another year of Jafaristew!!
Kicking it off with my MOTU Origin Art Card Series... with 2 more entries!!

GORGONE: When I 1st decided to make this into a full series, Gorgone was the 1st character I added outside of the Whitman Origin, as she is a wonderful titan created in the Brazilian comics that I could not resist!She looks like Medusa but is made of rock & is a giant, hence the comparison to the shadow-man figure on the bottom.  She carries a pterodactyl wing as her weapon (colored purple like the creatures in MOTU 200X) which the design was borrowed from the "Stone Age Dinosaurs" line by Chap-Mei. I had her break the frame so she seemed larger than life!

 





AVATAR (aka STRATOS): Mostly Alfredo Alcala influenced, I also included a tribute to the 80's rare blue-beard variant, as well as my own ideas about the character. I made him a bit more Bird-like with the claws & talons.  He is one of Skeletor's minions in this story, following some of the earliest published works about the character! Stratos never came with a weapon back in the day (or even today) although he was often pictured in promotional work for the line carrying the He-Man power sword, so I included a cool sword from one of those 80's generic weapons packs called "Dragons Knights & Daggers" I had as a kid. "Avatar" was noted to be an early name for Stratos along with "Wing-Man."

Masters Of The Universe Origin Art Cards Part 4!

Continuing with my Origin Project I introduce you to the next 3 in the series!  The project started off with the unpublished Whitman Origin characters as the basis, & before I knew it, I expanded the universe "art card idea" to include 50 characters total for the 30th Anniversary of Masters Of The Universe! Next up is the 2nd of the set to include mostly "non-Whitman Origin Comic characters," this time with influence from various sources such as the original minicomics!

TRI-KLOPS: based on his appearance in the Mark Texeira run, most importantly "The Terror Of Tri-Klops!!" This was always my favorite appearance of Tri-Klops as the unbeatable bounty-hunter, I dedicate this one to my brother Randy!

X-MAN (aka TRAP-JAW): based on his appearance in the Mark Texeira comic "The Menace Of Trap-Jaw!!" I have always loved this comic & I made sure to power X-Man (one of Trap-Jaw's original names) up with the "Warrior Ring!" 

 DEMON(S): These appear in the unpublished Whitman Origin Comic as Skeletor's main devoted lackey's, & they also make appearances (with a slightly different look) in the Mark Texeira mini-comic version of "The Power Of Point Dread" as Skeletor's army!

Masters Of The Universe Origin Art Cards Part 3!

Continuing with my Origin Project I introduce you to the next 2 in the series!  The project started off with the unpublished Whitman Origin characters as the basis, & before I knew it, I expanded the universe "art card idea" to include 50 characters total for the 30th Anniversary of Masters Of The Universe! Next up is the 1st of the set to include mostly "non-Whitman Origin Comic characters," this time with influence from various sources such as the original card 8-back, & prototypes!

TALLSTAR: She is based on the original 80's prototype figure mixed with my own ideas about the character, I used Nicole Chilelli from SyFy's "Face-Off" as inspiration for the character, & it kind of gives her a circus meets goth vibe... & in this art fanon , she is the last her kind! 

  
ZODAC: One of my favorite MOTU characters, based on his appearance from the 8-backs & "The Power Of Point Dread" record book, where he appeared to have white monster feet...I always loved that coloration as a kid & it was my 1st impression of a character that I very much wanted, the mighty Zodac!

VINTAGE MOTU BATTLE Licensee Art Colored by ME!

Hey friends!
I had a fun idea to color some of the vintage "Battle" art from the "1981 Masters Of The Universe Licensee Book!!" If your a MOTU fan from the 80's, you probably had some of the images from that book on your lunchboxes, stickers, etc. as a kid, (I know I did!) ...I always enjoyed the illustrations (although I have not been able to find out who the artist is, any help is appreciated) & I thought coloring some of that fantastic line art from the book would definitely be a great nostalgic exercise for the 30th!! So enjoy! Line art copyright of Mattel & Colors by Jafaristew!

Vintage Colors:

 Classics Colors:

Masters Of The Universe Whitman Origin Tribute EXTRA

Here is another illustration of my "Origin" take on TEELA!! As I did at least 2 or more drawings of each character in part 1 & 2's designs, & I liked this alternate portrait enough to finalize it! I use this image as my current avatar on He-Man.Org, (1st time I've changed it almost 9 years!! lol), as I like how my old one of Teela looked condensed, but now I use this new piece to promote my newer art style... Enjoy!

This was may original "Card Art" for the "MOTU: Origin" Series, it was meant to be much more explosive & galactic (like the original 1980's vintage MOTU figure backing cards.)  After placing the 5 made characters (of the time) on the background myself, & with some crits from my brother Brian, I ended up scrapping this concept, as it was to busy for the character art... But, since I spent some time developing it, & this blog is all about the stories behind my art, I thought this "behind the scenes look" fit nicely here...

MOTU: HEROIC WARRIORS 2001 Commemorative Art!! (2002-2012)

Hello friends! It's my birthday! To help celebrate let's post some never before seen classic Jafaristew art! While digging through my archives I came across this image that I had created sometime in 2002 based on the "Heroic Warriors," that we're featured in Mattel's 2001 MOTU Commemorative Series of re-made action figures. It's fun to think that I created this illustration so long ago but am still pleased with it! I had obviously planned to do this image as a colored piece (as one of my very 1st computer rendered colors), but the illustration remained uncolored with just inks in an old drawing pad until now! I scanned my art & did some very minor tweeks with the line work here & there to get it more up to my standards, then colored it with my current stye, but thought about what color choices I would have made 10 years ago (as I still remember what I had planned for this piece.) I hope you all like it, as it was a great trip down memory lane for me to see how much more "Anime" influenced I was 10 years ago than I am today, & hopefully long time fans notice the same growth in my art style that I have. So here's the Heroic Warriors...Battle Armor He-Man, Teela, Man-At-Arms, Stratos, Moss-Man, Buzz-Off, & Zodac (to even the ranks)!! Special thanks to my brother Brian for his input & thoughts, my brother Randy & friend Mike for their continued enthusiasm, & he-man.org forum member Predabot for posting that great scan of the MOTU logo years ago!

Masters Of The Universe Whitman Origin Tribute Part 2

Continuing with my Whitman Origin Project I introduce you to the next 3 in the series!   

MAN-AT-ARMS: With MAA I think I did overall the best drawing, it strongly represents the comic design but I felt the question what if you take the Orange armor color out & make him more tradition "Knight colors."  this proved to be a challenge, as the high mouth guard by the artist's design he could have ended up looking a lot like Extendar (the other Knight in MOTU), but with some careful warm & cool contrasting colors & mini-comic meets Classics & mild Star Wars influence, I think I managed to make a strong piece & a fresh take on the Heroic Master Of Weapons!

TEELA: With Teela, she has a very loose styling in the comic & her costuming changes 3 times in a few short pages, from a Skeletor-Disguise, to her more normal ceremonial-style dress, to the Snake Armor, so I wanted to come up with a way to merge all 3 of those costumes for her "standard look"... so I came up with this "Snake Hood" type of Cleric costuming where both her cloth & armor look like a Red Spitting Cobra, (that I believe her original toy armor is based on). The comic over all has a more "Holy" feel to it than a MOTU story normally does (with the Shephard's Son etc.) so I thought this was befitting. It's more of a "Sacred Snake Order of Maidens" type of vibe I think, lol, but I like it too... =-) She was the 3rd drawing in the series, but the one who's look I started developing in thumbnails first, as both her (& Anom) were not as distinct by the artist's pencil drawings.

ANOM:  I think this is the 1st fan-art done of this particularly obscure character!  With that being said it was a challenge because I had nothing but loose pencil drawings to use as reference to him .  I pictured him early on with darker skin & green/blue hair, but more in a "Kraven the Hunter" type colors... As his color process moved on, he developed colors more like a Circus Ringmaster, & the whip is influenced by Blade's in the 1987 MOTU movie.  For his gloves, I knew I did not want to make them either silver or gold, as that is to close to the pre-established Fisto/Jitsu characters, & this guy is kind of like them meets Beast-Man. Meaning I needed to stray as far away from that as I could, so that he could stand on his own.  After some back & forth on him between myself & my brother Brian, he may be the most impressive final product of the bunch!  

 If these ideas prove to be a popular concept, I will continue & do some more character cards based on the Whitman Origin, & include Shalda, Tez, Moon Spinner, the Shepard's Son, & the Demons.  I will also consider "expanding the universe" to include more characters...
Special thanks to my brother Brian for all of the feedback & advice, & to my brother Randy for his enthusiasm!

Masters Of The Universe Whitman Origin Tribute Part 1

To help celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Masters of the Universe, I decided to do some character cards, this time inspired by the unfinished Whitman comic from the 1980's, done by Adrian Gonzales. You can see more information as well as the art from this interesting piece of MOTU history here.
http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/...-origin-comic!

I looked at this comic thread extensively, & then brought in my own ideas of what I thought this Whitman Origin of MOTU would look like if made into a more "adult-collector-style" animated series. The comic itself is a bit darker than most official MOTU stories, but still contains the classic good vs evil, fantasy meets sci-fi that the fans all love. I wanted to pay homage to what I think this comic could represent by making "character cards," hopefully to help bring to life what I think is an interesting take on the origin of Masters. The color choices were made by me, as I re-thought how these classic characters could be colored if presented to me for the 1st time (so rather than just using the pre-established schemes fans all know, I thought about the descriptions of the characters themselves as an influence... example: The original 80's SKELETOR buck is described as a reptile body). Thus why he is more green in color, & his face is more of a bone color than yellow for added realism.  Other accents came from various classic influences (mini-comics) as well as what I thought would look good with my already pre-chosen colors.  HE-MAN is more based on the classic mini-comics & artwork, the Classic figure, as well as a mild "Superman" styled coloration!  Both swords are taken straight from the comic with a more medieval type of coloring.
Hope you like them... as there is more to come!!

F-YEAH SUZY HOTROD!!

I created this image as the first of my "Roller Derby" art series, & who better to start off with than New York Gotham Girl legend & USA Derby all-star "Suzy Hot Rod!!" I had the pleasure of meeting Suzy at the 2012 North East Derby Convention in May & presented her with the artwork (& the original sketch), which she loved & said she would have framed!  She is incredibly athletic & a very nice person! Had my pic taken with her & saw the best Derby of my life in an all-star black & white Derby battle!
My plan is to do a series that may include the categories of "Derby Legends, (My) Hometown Heroes, Hollywood Heroes, & Inspired By (Real Rollergirls)."
The character art itself was based on several images & videos of Suzy, & I gave her a type of Flash animation-style look.  For the background "card art," I wanted it to have a feel that I think evokes both the retrostylings of Roller Derby's roots, & the Modern-Day stylings of current Derby's punk-type aggressive art.  I hope you all like it as much as she did!

Custom SG Longarm & fun with Photoshop

My brother randy & I had the pleasure of attending Botcon 2012 in Dallas Texas this year & one of the more limited events we were able to attend was the customizing class.  After a completely grueling day of putting in screws, pushing pins, & breaking model trees we were able to complete a Classics mold Shattered Glass Longarm/(alt head ~Shockwave) figure.  I never knew how tedious & intense making a Transformer could be, but here you have my final transformable result after Randy's blood, my sweat, & a room full of tears. lol

And as a bonus, some fun in photoshop for a postcard for a friend @ work...lol