The Flying Fish EXPOSED!

the Flying Fish in civilian garb.

And now for something completely different...

...Haha just kidding: MORE FLYING FISH!

I didn't have my Micron pen handy so I just scanned the pencil sketch and colored it all sketchy like to match.

I really like this character for some odd reason. I suppose I should come up with some sort of backstory for this gal now. And villains too! What's a superhero without villains, right?

More Flying Fish

Some more costume designs for Flying Fish. I wasn't too fond of the fishnet gloves - overkill - but without them the costume was a little boring elementally speaking.

I added a simple line design element at the upper chest between the symbol and upper-arm wing/fin attachment points. This element can also be altered to make the costume a more flirty shoulderless number as seen below.

That last one still felt a little unfinished, however, so I added a line where the zipper was to make that element bolder, and decided the black rectangles should be 'skin windows' (that sounds terrible, but what else would they be called?) in addition I added some to the forearms for more design cohesion. I like this one the most so far - it feels 'retro' to me, like a sixties superheroine, and the white hair and red cowl create a striking contrast.

I like the exposed shoulders here against the orange; they didn't work with the red/white color scheme above. But I am torn between a black cowl and the orange one. The black brings out her face a little more, so I think I like it, but of course the orange all flows together as one cohesive unit.

The Flying Fish!

Another BubbaShelby original: Super Heroine of Sea and Sky: The Flying Fish! (first seen in this sketch posted August 2010.)

I modified the costume a bit from my original concept, making it a bit more 'wet suit' than 'tights.' And of course I added...

wait for it...

fish nets, naturally!

I first came up with the top color combo, but decided it appeared too 'Thing 1/Thing 2' so I went with the colors below. Still not fully committed either way. Thoughts?

The Donnas

Donna Troy that is...and her evolution from Wonder Girl.

What If...?

Steve Rogers went to Wolverine's hairdresser...

Hello Dollface.

I'm not entirely sure I made this one up. i mean, if there isn't already a 1920s gangster themed character with a porcelain mask named 'Dollface' then someone dropped the ball.

So anyways, here's 'my' Dollface character, just a quickie sketch to be fleshed out a bit more later.

Miss Martian work in progress

Just a little Miss Martian sketch - hopefully I'll get this one finished someday!

Damian Wayne Robin

Just a quickie Robin sketch. I've never drawn this version of Robin before, so I figured I should.

Harley Quinn on a skateboard

I finally got some colors on my Harley Quinn pencils/Charles Howell's inks. Now seriously contemplating this as a tattoo.

Designated Driver

If you get this joke then you are my people.

Booster Gold/Blue Beetle commission (with Green Lantern Guy Gardner throw in for the 'punch'line) for my pal Tom.

Harley Quinn inked by Charles Howell

My good pal Chunky B aka Charles Howell of Eclectorama fame inked my recent Harley Quinn pencils - before me! He did an excellent job of it, and I need to add colors to his work soon, but I wanted to share the great work he did with my pencils.

P.S. I totally support folks inking/coloring over my pencils, so if you too are so inclined feel free, and email me with the results. I love to see this type of thing!

Harley Quinn work in progress

Over at my toy blog I celebrate Harley Quinn every 'Harley Qwednesday.' Tonight I literally had to fight the urge NOT to draw (yeah, been in one of those moods lately,) so since Harl was on my mind I decided to draw her riding a skateboard. Here's what I have so far.

Tiki Tumble!

Here's the finished poster for the upcoming Monterey Bay Derby Dames vs. Mendo Mayhem Tiki Tumble, for which I did the illustration!

Swing by if you are in the area. If you can find me amongst the crowd, I'll even sign your poster!

The MBDD all-star Beasts of Eden face their greatest challenge yet: Mendo Mayhem. The Beasts' recent victory over the Santa Cruz Seabright Sirens whetted their appetite for competition and this promises to be our most action-packed, hard-hitting bout yet!

Saturday, June 4, 2011
Water City Roller Hockey Rink - Marina, CA

6:30 pm Doors open
7:30 pm Bout begins

General Admission = $10 Advance/$15 at the door
Children 5 and under free

Roll with the Changes

The above image is a neat little look into my creative process.

I was recently approached to do a poster for an upcoming Monterey Bay Derby Dames bout. Their original artist had to back out last minute so time was a major factor. Like, they needed it yesterday level factor.

I was given a bunch of instructions on what to place in the poster and threw it all together for the first image, to see if they even liked what I could come up with. Basically I was asked for a Kong Island (but we don't see Kong) sacrifice of a referee, with tikis and torches and natives bowing to the sacrifice. And a Derby Girl statue.

The first image was well received. I was asked to add natives and some revisions to make the derby girl look more 'derby girl'. And the sun.

The art committee then decided against a referee sacrifice and that a lot of the other things were making the image too 'busy' and the concept convoluted (I agree 100%)

More suggestions were tossed around, but many of them suffered the same fate (they just served to muddy up the concept.) So things in the original concept that didn't translate or move the 'story' forward were tossed out, and I decided the Derby Girl should be more Tiki and less Easter Island (and more in tune with one overall Tiki theme.) The final image also has much better balance and more room to add text etc without taking away from the story the image tells, which is still pretty close to the original concept.

I also made one of the natives female. I don't know if you noticed, but the native on the left and the front right are the exact same drawing in the middle version, just flipped (hey, they have a deadline and I was trying to save time) but since they gave me more time for revisions I decided to differentiate them a bit further.

It is still not perfect (but will have to do given the time constraints.) I don't know yet if it will get the green light or if there is time to change anything if they don't like where it has landed, but I thought the stages in the process formed a nice visual evolution and would make a neat post on how an artist (me) works out through a piece.

Batgirl

My daughter asked me to draw Batgirl for her, so I did. I'll add color soon.

Hell Hath no Fury...

...like a woman exposed to gamma radiation.

A couple works in progress, She-Hulk and Red She-Hulk. Angry chicks rock.

Gotta get back, back to the past...

This illustration is for part two of my 'draw-off' with buddy Ryan Hipp. He named the subject this time: The shape shifting demon despot Aku from the cartoon Samurai Jack. Aku is a shapeshifter of course, and as if by fate the very night Ryan made his choice an episode of Samurai Jack aired, Episode VI to be precise, wherein Aku pulls a 'Bugs Bunny' and tricks Jack into helping him by posing as a hot chick named Ikra.

So of course that's the version of Aku I went with.

Teen Titans Terra

Had a 'draw-off' today with my buddy Ryan Hipp. I got to call the subject and I went with Terra of the Teen Titans, in her classic costume.

Earth 2 Huntress

I added a little background embellishment to this Earth 2 version of The Huntress I drew last year.

Available on stuff at Zazzle.

Oh, Donna

Donna Troy - Wonder Woman's first sidekick, the first Wonder Girl - all grown up.

Available on stuff at Zazzle.

Soundwave

After drawing Shockwave yesterday and doing a pretty good job of it I decided to tackle the true master of the Decepticons, Soundwave!

Well I'm convinced: Bubbashelby Transformers > Michael Bay Transformers by about a bajillion miles!

Shockwave

Because Philip of Battlegrip.com requested a BubbaShelby Shockwave.

"Clarity of thought before rashness of action."

Megatron doesn't stand a chance.

UPDATE: Here he is in Astro Magnum colors:

Made from the best stuff on Earth

More super awesome stuff with my art on it has been added to my Zazzle store. Go check it out!

Cool stuff at Zazzle.com/BubbaShelby

Thunderstruck

Miss Mary Marvel. :)

Zatanna (after Bullwinkle)

This one was just for fun and because a fan on Tumblr suggested some Zatanna.

Black Canary

This Black Canary finished illustration is based on a post-it note sketch I drew over a year ago. I've had that sketch hanging up in my cubicle at work ever since. I always thought it was pretty cute and wanted to finish it, and well, here it is.

Black Canary - also available on stuff at Zazzle.

Starfire

Starfire. Available on stuff at my Zazzle store. Go go go!

The Huntress

I originally drew this Huntress a couple years ago, but only over the past couple days did I add color to it. I also put it on a bunch of stuff over at my Zazzle store, in case you want it for yourself!

You want a piece of me?

Well too bad. But you can have a piece of my art - if you go over to my newly created Zazzle BubbaShelby Store and buy something! Buy multiple somethings. Buy a lot of multiples of somethings! Then buy more!

I just started putting the store together yesterday so there are only a few items right now. But they are all of the highest quality and you probably need at least three of each. And for those of you who like to spend money, rest assured. More and more things will be added as I get the hang of it.

So what are you waiting for? Be the envy of your friends! Drive members of the opposite sex wild! Give gifts that keep on giving! Go buy now!

The Cannery Rollers

Logo for the Monterey Bay Cannery Rollers Roller Derby team.

'Cannery Rollers' - seriously, that is about the best Roller Derby team name ever. Wish I had thought of it!

Knight Class

I recently submitted this design to TeeFury.com. If you like it and would buy it and wear it, go to their Facebook page and tell them!

Personally I'd wear the shit out of this and if they don't bite I'll figure out another way to make it (and other designs) available soon. I'll keep y'all posted.

UPDATE: Now available on shirts and mugs at my Zazzle store.

Bubba's Batgirl

A few years back I designed my own Batgirl, giving her costume a more home made, urban edge. My daughter rediscovered that picture recently and had me hang it up in my living room. After staring at it for a few days, I decided to draw my Batgirl again.

I do rather like the direction I went with this costume. The ears are either part of her hair or a simple hair clip. No cowl or hood. The 'domino mask' is merely heavy eye makeup around each eye. Simple shirt, tiny cape and shorts over grey body suit. Chuck Taylors (a personal fave) and of course the large pocketed utility belt. Finally, simple fingerless gloves.

A gal could probably find put this whole costume together after one trip to Hot Topic, which was the angle I was going for. Urban superhero, easily blending in with the rest of the masses when necessary with little effort or needed change to outward appearance (No phone booth required.) Fighting crime and riding the subway unnoticed. Who needs a Batmobile?

I also can't help but notice that I come up with some strange poses; but I enjoy the challenges they present.

Faster than a speeding bullet...

...and cute in a skirt.

My first illustration of 2011!