I Forgot I made these Adrien Brody caricature 2010

Back in 2010 I was hard at work at drawing caricatures in more of a detailed style, when I'm drawing live it's a sacrifice of heavy detail for speed. I like Adrien Brody not just for his versatility as an actor and unique physical appearance but, well yeah actually when I think about it that's all.

Guy Fawkes Day

I created this piece a couple of years ago, before V for Vendetta came out it was my contention that most comic book movies should be animated (not unlike the cinematics in their video game counterparts) with celebrity voice talent at the most because frankly there's just some things that can not be done convincingly with live action.

Like most casual fans of the genre I was not overly familiar with the Alan Moore cult classic, but after the movie came out I was intrigued. 

And then the masks began showing up...

Wolverine fan art piece 2010

I drew this one waiting for a connecting train heading home from work a couple of years back. A tribute to 90's animated series Wolverine. 

Chun Li caricature 2010

Chun Li from Street Fighter the noo Miss Joon as Pop Culture Pin-Up Princess, this piece is yes a couple of years old but it's the most complete and cute, plus I love it.  

As the only female character in the original game she occupied a very special place amongst the all male cast she doesn't feel out of place or there as politically correct window dressing she is a power character in her own right and her unique of traditional Chinese dress wrestling boots accessorising with spiked tires bracelets and white jellyfish, Princess Leia, Brain Slug hair ties.

M. Bison caricature

Source of inspiration...Bane of my existence.

Mmmm... That's some damn fine bison!

M. Bison from the Street Fighter series, there was something menacing and diabolically self aware of his position of Boss in the original game, which became popular in the early 90's. I first discovered this when I attended karate classes as a kid and the place was home to an arcade machine fascinated though I was by this amazing (for it's time) fighting game I was also without coins to play so I just watched the looping clips and being a PC gamer fighting games would become a blessing and a curse.

Bison just got his nails did.

My phone currently has an app for this 

I would later become quite adept at getting my arse handed to me, usually by Asian kids with mongoose fast reflexes and the ability to fire off special move combos which would leave me aghast at my fallen hero's lifeless body on the flickering display standing there with no more coins for a rematch.

I drew this one as a concept piece that would accompany a series of caricatures of my favourite video game characters, in this case Street Fighter.

Raul Julia 1940-1994. Played M. Bison in the film adaptation of Street Fighter.

Kind of like a Nazi or Soviet officer (remember it was 1991, the U.S.S.R was still around) who'd basically tapped into "The Dark Side of the Force" he was an enduring heel to main protagonist Ryu.

Though he'd later be supplanted by Akuma he holds an honoured spot in the classic rogues gallery.

The "M" in M.Bison stands for "Massage"

Little known fact: The Death Star was carpeted.

I think his real power came from how much of a snappy dresser he is.

No prize for what this is.

In the years prior to not only the introduction of the iphone but the app Draw Something there was a little illustration project that made it to the concept phase but unfortunately not much further. This is one of the examples of how a great idea can be put on hold. Indefinitely. 

Ah well I still had fun with it. 

Shrek 2010

Shrek, from Shrek... doing The People's Eyebrow

Hey Rock, do you smell something?

Sometimes there's a conflict between original source material and adaptation, simply put, whenever you meet someone who says "The book was better" this is what they're referring too.
To be honest I've never been a "read for fun" type, not due entirely to the quick fix mouse click world we all currently inhabit (I distinctly remember a pre-Internet time) but unless a book can be put on in the background, it almost always feels like a homework assignment. Even illustrated books left me wanting it would often be a case of not enough words to picture ratio or the other way around. 


Anyone who says a picture is worth a thousand words needs to play Draw Some before waxing art theory. 


However to strike a balance between word and picture is a razors edge, a co-existence that at times doesn't even work in comic books.  

However after reading and by "read" I meant skimmed through at a second-hand book store I sometimes hang out in; I realised that sometimes the aesthetic decisions made in regards to character design can either be tragically missing the point or a marked improvement. In this case it's a stand off and yet those unfamiliar with the original would accuse the movie of plagiarism, however getting Shrek out of his paisley tunic and barbershop pajamas with ugg boots was probably the better move, in the long run.

I still thoroughly enjoyed Shrek though by the second movie I lost interest in the series, which is, at the end of the day made for kids- usually with parents struggling to keep them entertained.

Jigsaw "Billy" caricature 2010

For whom the Tobin Bell Tolls

Kind of like a twisted combination of the Joker and Pee Wee Herman, Billy doesn't, play well with others, so to speak. 

Ah the Billy puppet from John "Jigsaw" Kramer, the disarmingly creepy mascot of the SAW movies- the little franchise that could and eventually did become as frustrating and confusing as its titular antagonist. The first film was an intriguing and suspenseful well staged and directed student film which had garnered a cult following. However the lure of the sequel machine meant this series was in trouble by movie 3 and by the 7th that original fan base was decimated.
The concept was simple enough: What do you get when to combine the Zodiac Killer with Home Alone and the board game Mouse Trap?

However though the first installment had some star power in the form of Danny Glover and Cary Elwes along with one of the film's writers as a protagonist. The film was staged in a dank and uninviting place- to paraphrase Trap Door- it lends its frightening nature to the small cast and the intimate relationship of the imprisoned to the jailer.
By the sequel the shine had diminished and the "D" list celebrities began showing up, to be killed in various hellish if not ironic ways (think the killer from the movie 7 if he had more of a budget).
And yes- this character is a ventriloquist's dummy with a painted wooden nutcracker's head and no one is entirely sure if it's actually alive.

As a kid growing up in the 90's the books of R.L Stine (basically the Stephen King for preteen demographic) was the go to source for cheap paperback horror.

I drew this one back in 2010 as part of a movie monster mascot retrospective.

LIL SPAWNY 2010- 2012

Every now and then I find an old sketch or unfinished idea that I just can't help but either rework or complete, either out of principle, curiosity or boredom. Growing up Spawn was one of my favourite comic book heroes and, in more of a nostalgic capacity, still is. I initially drew this piece back in 2010 and was never really happy with the original drawing, fortunately I'm old school when it comes to my craft and always have a hardcopy back-up of just about everything I've done so reworking this piece was relatively painless plus, the way I see it is-sure I'll go totally digital when they build a USB storage device that doesn't turn feral after 1 transfer! 

This piece was part of an original collection of pop culture homages kind of a love letter to the 80's and 90's caricaturing the creations of that era.

This piece is a WIP I fixed up in an afternoon- the finishing touches coming soon.

Da Fwog Pwince by Ed Dyer 2010

For a class assignment we were asked to create a short comic based on another comic based on a fairy tale, I chose to make this one of the Frog Prince.

Slacker 2010 Ed Dyer

I came up with this character while working last year at the Brisbane EKKA Show, I was drawing caricatures there in the Show Bag pavilion. He's of no one in particular and ironically one of my favourite drawings I produced there.

Cartunes...lol

This is the same video just with music, it makes a difference- hope you like it.

Luna Park Caricatures compilation 1 by Ed Dyer 2011

Here's the first compilation of photos of caricatures I've put together over 2010-2011 intermixed with a few favourite alternate pieces in here and there thoroughly enjoyable to draw and fun to look back and see not only how my style has changed over the years but how I've gone through phases with technique and material, there'll be more to come, most likely set to music too, watch this space.

Cheers-

Ed Dyer
  

Caricatures from Luna Park