Thanks Brad. Being a dedicated artist rarely pays the bills but the satisfaction one gets from something that has a lot of time and effort in it is payment enough I guess. Hope I can someday do some side thing at least and bring in a little extra for doing what I love.

As far as the bedside sketches are concerned, I'd say that you are your worst critic and if you like them and are proud enough to post them, then do. If not I would say you take them and draw them again and expand and do them the way they ought to be done. If you want me to check them out, send them or something. I'm always interested in what your brain is capable of...

I'm posting 2 new pieces I've been working on lately for a small portfolio/ashcan to give-away at a local convention of sorts...

The first is the cover and while I would like to say it is Chewbacca, it's actually supposed to be Bigfoot/Sasquatch, i. e. the 'Unexplained' title... The second is based on a character that was in a dream I had once. I was driving a bus and he was in my way and yelling at me with all these distorting and disturbing faces. I am trying to make more dream inspired drawings as I have had some doozies (Brad, can you relate?)

I have been struggling with ink & brush now for about 7 months and these are break-through pieces for me. Sasquatch took about 10 - 15 hours and it's all brush and the original is 7' x 9'. It looks prretty good here because I can manipulate the value levels. I am finding it to be quite difficult to find or try and create an ink concoction that will give opaque black the first time and stay after erasing. No lead means less opacity. I have tried the Raphael Kolinsky sable brushes and they just did not do it for me. I have tried many lately (at $20+ a piece, I'm getting sick of testing) and the Windsor & Newton series 7 is by far the best and most consistent. I buy them in bulk from Dick Blick, check through them (about 1 in every 5 is prime) and send back the others. I am using a base of Black Magic ink, Black Cat (Blick) and whatever else is around when I need to fill. I let the Black Magic sit out for a day or so to thicken it up and then add some Black Cat to top it off and mix and start brushing. I just finished the cover to my comic and I spent at least 40 hours redoing areas or correcting mistakes. Through that trial, I learn so much and improved my ability and speed. The key is always staying patient and not getting ahead and keeping that brush loaded. Some might think detail should be done with a Cro-Quill or something, but brush can get you 1 hair lines if you practice. The only thing that it's not good for is straight lines and I use a Rapido-Graph for that.

The type is hand lettered (traced it after creating it in Adobe Illustrator and then gave it that rough texture with brush. I saw a similar font in an old Spectre comic book recently and borrowed it. Anyway, I am still in the experimental stage with style (been reading too much Charles Burnes and '50's comics lately), but I like the direction and I am finally becoming confident and proud of my drawings again (haven't felt like this for at least 10+ years).  I do it whenever I can and I guess that is a good reason why I have improved (in my mind) so much in these last few months. Hope you all like 'em!

Replaced the former with a better scan 8/8/04.

Now that you mention Bill Ward and that your intent is exaggeration, it makes sense. It's just something I'm not a big fan of. I'm glad you didn't take what I said in a negative way and I respect your ability and artistic knowledge. I am just from the school that says if you want to break rules or stretch them, you need to know and follow them first. From what I can tell, you have studied anatomy and have taken the true form and tinkered with it to suit your tastes. They are exceptional works. Your composition is well executed and the different pencil techniques you use to create value and create texture are a testament to your ability. Glad to see another well versed artist in the forums. Keep up the good work!

I just received response from Tony (the innovative mind that started this list). He is going to send me his official rules and an updated list soon. I will feel better then about adding or subtracting or the criteria. So far the response here has been really hilarious and I appreciate the submissions. I will post when I have amended the rules and list a la Tony.

What's the Brandon Frazier movie with an animated monkey? That was unbearable!

What's that really bad movie with Dan Akroyd and Kim Bassinger about marrying an alien? That thing sucked!

Masters of the Universe? I love Dolph, but that is even below bad. Can't nominate Punisher (the 1st one) or I come in Peace, because they have enough that is bad enough to be comical and thus they are ultimately entertaining. That's why there aren't Van Damm movies.

I suggest that someone  help with any Steven Segal movie that is not there already. He was new and pretty adept at kicking butt, but he got old quick and his 'one-liners' are beyond bad.

Deep Blue Sea will stay off for now.

Godzilla '98 did and Wing Commander did suck. Party Moster looks pretty good from the box front. I like party movies. I'll check it out... NOT! Wolf was pretty awful considering everything (adapted from a great Jim Harrison novel, Jack Nicholson...). These will be added soon. Still working on making contact with Tony...

Dusk 'til Dawn is the worst! I will not take it off. While it had a decent cast, that didn't save the meaningless plot or flow of the movie. The script and dialogue was the worst. I was stunned at how hard it was to watch and how bad it was. I kept waiting for something profound to happen or something to save the movie and it just kept sinking.

No sequels allowed Brad. But can't imagine it will be any better than suck.

I amended the list a bit and made the rules a little more clear...
ID4 - Independence Day is off

added
Short Circuit
all 3 Primate movies
It's Pat
Anaconda (a movie I missed from the original list)

Exit to Eden was already there...

What's the shark movie with L. L. Cool J? That was pretty unbearable...