Kid Hercules Comes Alive!

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During the course of my 365 challenge, I often found myself pressed both for new ideas and time. I used Pinerest a lot as a way to collect interesting references, and that was a huge help. (You can read more about the whole process here.) But at one point I got the idea from a friend of mine to do a walk cycle, and then animate it later. The bottom gif shows the untouched scans from my sketchbook. As you can see, I wasn't able to properly align my "frames" since I drew them in a Moleskine. Even after cleaning things up a bit in Photoshop, Kid Hercules is still a little too jittery, but it was super fun to do and I'm oddly proud to see my character come to life after working on him for such a long time.

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Feel free to drop by the official Kid Hercules website for more!

Official Kid Hercules site is now online!

The new and improved official Kid Hercules site is now up and running. Featuring color art, info on Kid Hercules, a gallery containing all the 365 challenge drawing uploaded so far, regular posts and updates on the new Kid Hercules blog, and more! Check it out: www.kidhercules.com.

This means, of course, that I will not be posting here as often. I intend to keep this blog running, however, I will most likely only post news items. So head on over to www.kidhercules.com for all your Kid Hercules needs!

Week 36: Giant Robots and Monster Babies!

But there’s still time for a little Christmas cheer!

Week 35: Kid Hercules vs Giant Venus Flytrap

Because sometimes life is just about not getting eaten by a monsterous, carnivorous plant.

Week 34: Ready, Set, Splash!

Even a busy superhero like Kid Hercules can't resist splashing in a good mud puddle!

Week 33: Black Thanksgiving- The Day I Let Kid Hercules Down

This week was the first time I traveled anywhere since the start of my 365 challenge, and it proved to be my undoing. My wife and I got ourselves all packed to go stay at my mom's house for Thanksgiving. We weren't going very far- she just lives outside of town- but our plan was to stay there with the rest of the family and enjoy a nice holiday together. We arrived in the evening, and by that time my sister and her kids were already there. Delicious food was already being prepared, stories being told, sleeping arrangements being finalized, and then...

It was Friday morning before I realized what had happened. I was stunned. Mortified. For a moment, I thought I had only missed one day. Conspiratorial fantasies began swirling in my fevered brain. "No one would know. It was only one day. I can fix this." But as I double-checked my sketchbook, I realized to my horror that I had, in fact, missed two days. Without. Even. Noticing.

I struggled pretty hard with myself that day. My first impulse was to simply concede defeat and quit the challenge. But when I looked back at how far I had come, at how much I had learned and grown as an artist, at just how fulfilling this challenge was for me, I realized there was no stopping. There was no way I was going to let two days count more than 224 days of dedication, passion, learning, and growth. And from that day on, I did not miss another day. Not on Christmas, not on my birthday, not when I traveled, not when I was tired, not when I had tight deadlines. Not one other day.

Did I really complete the challenge? Maybe not. But I didn't give up, and that's what really matters.

Week 32: Lazy Summer Days and Comic Books

Sometimes all you need is a stick and some water. Or maybe just a big stack of comic books.

Week 31: Staying Focused!

Staying focused! 

Week 30: Bad Guys and Legos

Kid Hercules: fighting bad guys, playing with Legos.