the white drew carey

Sorry about the lengthy drop off. My mother-in-law passed away suddenly in April and I completely forgot about this. Anyhow, we're now caught up to 2024, which saw a few new Macross-related artworks crop up, both series and silly. Skull Squadron 2024 series: For this series I revisited the actual, original layout for what became my Skull Squadron Over Saturn artwork. Continuing to practice the more "realistic" styles in lieu of cel-shading. Obviously I am continuing to utilize the faux border effect. Text at the bottom includes "in-universe" development history, and then a section in italics detailing SK's design history of the mecha. The text for the Strike and Super versions are different (all three super versions use the same text). Hikaru v. Bodole-zer: Following the previous set, I quickly wanted to reinterpret the final action scene from DYRL when Hikaru blasts the heck out of Bodole-zer. This was my first time trying the "realistic" techniques on a humanoid mecha. I spent A LOT of time sorting out how it would move and pose, since the VF-1 would actually have a pretty rough time spreading its legs to much. This is also the first time I've tried to draw a much more realistic person digitally. It took me much longer to do Minmay than it took the VF-1S. Slight offsets of the green and red lend to the idea that Minmay is projected behind the VF-1S. I created two versions of this: widescreen, and a vertical zoom. Hello Valkryie: Having some fun with a well-known character. Color schemes courtesy of Macross Mecha Manual. Daedalus Attack: Co-opting the Santa Cruz Screaming Hand logo for Macross purposes. SDF-1 Metro Maps: Two "paper" maps detailing the SDF-1's internal mass transit systems. These were done more for fun, and are definitely NOT meant to inspire heated discussion about where the heck the city actually fits into the SDF-1. Haha! Milia vs. Max: Digital Dual: Just a kind of fun composition inspired by their first "in-person" bout. I really wanted Milia to be staring daggers at Max, while he's completely oblivious.

Bonus materials below are the original full poster that influenced the "Castor," "Pollux," and "Random Donkey" illustrations, as well as "reference" sheets that details and discuss some of the other little tidbits I included.

Here's a little project I've been working on in free time since about August of 2024. The Daicon IV opening animation from 1983 is a cult classic in anime fandom. Coming on the heels of the conclusion of the SDF: Macross TV series, the amateur animators (many of whom would go on to found Gainax) included multiple Macross references in both the intro as well as other promotional materials. They created unique and interesting versions of the VF-1 Valkyrie. Part of my Daicon Squadron Project was to take these oddball one offs, draw them in a more realistic style, and then compose a back-story that would slot them back in to Macross continuity. These are the results of that project. Each "poster" design includes unique text in two sections. The first section features the "in-universe" fanfic history, with the second (in italics) detailing the real world story that inspired the artwork. All art done in Photoshop. No AI used.

Almost 20 years later and I bring this thread back to life! I'm about to reveal a new Blassty fan art project in less than an hour! Come join me!!! ome join

I drove from SF/Bay Area... you have no excuse!

I hope you've been enjoying this so far. I had surgery on Thursday and am kind of in-and-out of normalcy, but am going to try to shoot for 2023 real quick. Those who have been following know now that we finally moved to the San Francisco/Bay Area in March of 2023. This put me in prime anime convention territory and, for the first time ever, I was able to go to the Super Dimension Convention (formerly MWCon) down in LA, as a VENDOR! I sold prints, stickers and more, and ran into so many people I've "known" for years (even decades) in Macross-fandom, but never actually met in person. It was awesome. Because of this, I also did A LOT of Macross fan art before and since. Let's start. Angel Birds "promo poster": I wanted to create a fictional poster that would be handed out to kids (and adults) at Angel Birds shows. Inspired by the tight formations that modern flight demonstration teams do, I came up with a dorsal-mounted camera view on one of the Angel Birds, who is actually inverted. SDP-1 Stampede Valkyrie ("realistic" series): Inspired by better artists than myself, in April I started trying to make more realistic looking digital illustrations, instead of cel-shaded anime style. The test subject: the sturdy SDP-1 Stampede Valkyrie. Three variants came about: SDP-1 Solo, SDP-1 "info poster", and SDP-1 in Action! The Sacrifice of Skull 017: When I found out I would have a vendor table at SDC, I immediately know I wanted to make some "con exclusive" prints. What I landed on for one was that one, oddly-colored, super VF-1A who is on screen for about .5 seconds at the end of DYRL when Hikaru and Minmay are at the big observation window... but from the other side. Done in ink and watercolor, it measures 24" high by 18" wide. An online poll via FaceBook gave us the unit number 017. I also made an SD version as well. Komilia and VF-1SR: In addition to the Skull 017 watercolor I also wanted to do a digital illustration. Ever a fan on some of the more obscure stuff in Macross, I opted for Komilia and her VF-1SR from the PC-Engine/Turbo Grafx-16 CD game Macross 2036. It, also, got a SD version. Additional Super-Deformed Goodies: For the con I also made stickers and postcard prints, including some new SD characters: Lap Lamiz Glaug Ride (inspired by the TV series), SD Queadluun Rau (Lap Lamiz Fleet Colors) from DYRL, and SD VF-1SOL from the Super Famicom game Macross: Scramble Valkyrie. Welcome to the Circus: YF-21 and Welcome to the Circus: Max Skull Leader: with time to spare, and firing on all cylinders, I was able to create two more Welcome to the Circus watercolors. The first is Guld in his beaten and stripped down YF-21, dodging an Itano Circus of missiles fired by the Sharon Apple-controlled Ghost. The second is from the start of the Max vs. Milia fight scene in DYRL. VF-4 Lightning III ("realistic" series): I rounded out the year with another series of semi-realistic (non cel-shaded) variations, this time with Hikaru's VF-4 Lightning III, as seen in Flashback 2012. There are seven variants: VF-4 (overlit), VF-4 (underlit), VF-4 "info poster", VF-4 in Action!, Milia and Max VF-4 (from Macross M3 for the Sega Dreamcast), VF-4 and Minmay (with Minmay, of course, in her FB2012 concert outfit, and SD VF-4 and Minmay Doll (the classic Minmay Doll is dressed up in her FB2012 outfit).

I mean, it looks so good! Especially the modeling skill progression from the first pics to now... but you're now getting a granular level of detail that is just... wow! That VF-1J head was a double-take I couldn't believe how fine it was.

From Welcome to the Circus onwards you can see that I really began playing around with faux borders.

OK, so barring any unforeseen delays I head into surgery tomorrow, so will be recovering for a few days and may not be very online. Let's do 2022: SD Draug: From the Macross VO/VOXP computer game, the original Draug is a (non-canon?) stab at what a Glaug equivalent would look like for the Meltran army. This is my SD version of it. Long Day: Kim Kabirov has had a long day on the bridge and needs a breather. Practicing character illustrations. Will you let her into your quarters? Y/N Welcome to the Circus: Hikaru VF-1S Strike Valkyrie: Inspired by the excellent action scene at the end of DYRL, this 18" x 24" watercolor was made, building on skills and lessons from previous watercolors. At this point I had been making watercolors for about a year or so, and this was my third or fourth major watercolor. Limited edition prints were sold via a Kickstarter. It did well enough that all backers also got hand-made perler bead coasters of Hikaru's VF-1S in fighter, GERWALK, and battroid modes, as well as a Budweiser Beer Can Missile! You Got This!: Parents were encouraged to make cards of encouragement for their children during state testing. "You Got This!" was born. Mac+ Trio: I love Macross Plus, who doesn't? But I'm not really a fan of the character designs. So I tried to imagine what they'd look like it Mikimoto had been involved. Dogfight over South Ataria Island: The first major action scene of the original series is explored in this top-down view, as Roy climbs after taking out a Gnerl. I finished this on Christmas Day. This was a difficult period of 2022 as we were to move from NJ to California for my wife's job in December, only for everything to be put on hold three days before the movers came as it turned out she needed emergency cervical spine fusion. Yikes. On Dec 22nd she had a successful surgery and, after suitable recovery, we finally moved in March 2023.

This is all looking so stellar! I've done some minor faffing around in Blender, but I'm not experienced at all. But it does give me a greater appreciation for how awesome this is and the work that is going into it!

Apologies! I missed another one from 2020, so I'll add that in here. 2021 was a mostly quiet year, Macross fan art-wise. Things really began to pick up in 2022, though. So gird yourselves for the forthcoming updates. In the meantime, let's close out 20-21... Inktober 2020 Day 30 - Ominous. This particular year I was drawing each Inktober entry on Post-It notes, and each prompt was tied into a film. DYRL 2012: Recreating the iconic DYRL promotional image, but transposing the characters and mecha from Flashback 2012. Skull Leader and Claudia: an early attempt at large watercolors. Still learning the ropes and making A LOT of mistakes. There are two versions, one scanned before some lightening was done, and the final piece after that was added. SD Orguss Valkyrie: You know 'im, you love 'im. A Very Macross Christmas: Never trust Regults bearing gifts.

2020... did anything interesting happen in 2020? I don't really recall, it's such a blur... In late 2019 I took watercolor classes for the first time since 7th grade (so that's over 30 years). I ended up doing a lot of Gundam watercolors and, since this is a Macross place, I won't show them here. Turns out I only did one Macross fan art in 2020, but it's a big one! I'm especially proud of the details with Max and his floatie.

What's the name/web address of the company? This is awesome!!!

Moving on to 2019's batch of Macross fan art. It was kind of a busy year for other things, so I didn't get a lot of Macross done. In order they are: SD Queadluun Rau (TV version) - Obv a super-deformed version of the excellent and iconic Q Rau. Datach Macross Class of 1982 and Class of 1984 - This was an interesting project inspired by the Datach SD Gundam: Gundam Wars game for the Famicon system in Japan (aka NES). Datach was a system peripheral that allowed you to scan the barcodes on special cards to unlock characters in games. For the SD Gundam Wars game, these cards were found in participating retail products. A neat concept, although only 7 compatible games in total were released for the system. What I found intriguing was that the game sprites were confined to 26x26 pixels, and limited to black and three other colors. With these constraints the artists really needed to think about how they are going to represent all these mecha and make them clearly recognizable. And so I challenged myself to follow these same constraints and make sprite sets for a fictional game of the same type, but for Macross TV and DYRL. The original game also includes special "Command" attacks, which are larger overall sprites. Macross Nald's and Petite Cola logos - What can I say? Why NOT make hi-res, cleaned up versions of these logos? Inktober 2019 Day 1 "Ring" - Once again, a bit obvious.

Oooooh... I wouldn't say that! There are a lot of artists who are pros and much, much better than me. I've been a hobbyist artist doing occasional work for bands for decades, but only in the last ten years or so started selling my fan art in shops like Redbubble, TeePublic, Etsy, etc. In 2018 we moved back to the USA when my wife got a really good job, so since then I've been trying to transition more into being an artist for hire kind of thing. I'm mostly self-taught with trial and error, online resources, etc. The only formal training I've had in over thirty years was when I tried doing watercolors again in 2019, and did a series of weekly night classes.