My Derby Wife: Kid Vicious!

Omg omg omg, I am SUPER excited to FINALLY get to this particular blog entry!  Why?  Because it features my derby wife, Kid Vicious!  

*MUPPET ARMS!!!*

Kid and I (and our other derby wife, retired skater, Hitty Hitty Bang Bang <3) knew each other for a bit before we started skating because we worked together.  And experiencing the trials, tribulations and triumphs of Fresh Meat brought us so much closer together.  And that was really for the best considering that between work and derby, we spent more time with each other than without ;)

Now Kid is legitimately a very special little snowflake in that I've never ever really met anyone quite like her, and I'm not sure that I ever will again.  If you asked her for he favorite color, it would have be to rainbow.  Favorite animal?  SHE LOVES THEM AAAAALLLL!  Also maybe unicorns.

And turtles.  And cats.  And ferrets.  And snakes.  And puppies.  And--well you get the idea.  

No, but seriously, she is wonderfully quirky and bubbly.  A passionately well-read hippie weirdo who is ever so lovely and loving.  In her eyes, the ridiculous is ridiculously joyful.  Her head remains up in the clouds at all times, but her feet are firmly rooted in the earth (barefoot no less).  And science.  Because she really f*(&#%!  loves science.  And she probably knows more about your favorite nerdy fandom than you do.   And last, but not least, though her real name suggests it, it is definitely not a reference to Australia.  Which is a shame, really, because everything is better with an Australian.  

Yeah, I realize that most of that jibberjabber doesn't make much sense.  Unless you know her.  Then it makes perfect sense.  

Anyway, enough of this gooey love-fest!  It's time to show you her drawing!  

Remember how I said that Kid loves rainbows?  Yeah, she actually owns those rainbow tights in the drawing.  And her hair has been all sorts of beautiful shades of the rainbow over the years...Including AT HER WEDDING.  

Seriously.  Freaking Majestic.

Actually, even in the drawing itself, the rainbow hair was the most fun to do.  If only there wasn't a helmet covering so dang much of it, haha.  

I left off the logo, but I'm pretty sure most derby people can
easily tell which  brand these knee pads are ;) 

See?  I told you!  Practically everybody had these skates!
Including me!

Both Kid and Viral Temptryss, who was featured in the last blog post, actually shared the limelight on the same bout poster back in 2013.

Omg, 2013.  I am like 3 years overdue in posting this...

...I am really bad at this.

Now, I am sad to say that Kid and I no longer play for the same league.  She moved back up to Minnesota last year in order to settle down out there.  And get married and junk.  Ya know, grown up stuff.  So while it does make me super sad that I don't get to see her rainbowy goodness all the time, I am happy knowing that it's for all the right reasons.  The best reasons!

Besides, though she may now be legally married, she's still derby-married to me ;)  

LOOOVE YOU, WIIIIIIIIFE <3

Well hello there! Long time no see! Meet my friend, Viral!

Hooooly craaaap!  It's been OVER A YEAR since I updated this art blog!  I may very well be a terrible person, or at least terrible at keeping up with these things.  I won't promise to be better about posting on the regular, only because I know myself all too well...  but I can try...

Despite how long it's been since my last blog entry, I actually have been been working on different derby-related designs fairly consistently.  So I do have quite a bit that I can update with.  It's just a matter of knuckling down to write about it.  Eh?  Eh?  See what I did there?

...Look, I haven't slept much in the last couple of weeks...this is about as sharp as my wit is going to get.

Anyway!  Let's finally get to the next long-awaited featured drawing :)

Then: #H1N1, Viral Temptryss
Now: #99, Viral Temptryss

This is Viral Temptryss!  Viral is just about one of my favorite people ever.  She's so laid back and mellow and consistently has a positive attitude.  She's always nothing but supportive of her teammates and always, always gives it her all.  Oh, and she has HIPS OF DOOM.

I really cannot emphasize enough how amazing Viral's hips are.  In general she's truly is a skilled skater (I wish my footwork was half as good as hers!), but she has this sort of signature swerve that is both beautiful and deadly if you're on the receiving end.  

Oh lawd, it's funny how old I can tell this drawing is.  Even if I hadn't drawn it myself, there are a few giveaways.  Like her skater number.  When this drawing was done, her skater number was H1N1 (VIRAL Temptryss...H1N1...get it?  Or are we just dating ourselves here?).  However, in December of 2015, WFTDA officially made it a rule that skater numbers could no longer consist of a combination of both numbers and letters.  So since then, Viral has been skating under #99.  

There are a couple more giveaways, but they're pretty hyper-specific to my league, and therefore completely uninteresting to just about everyone else.  Ha!  

   

Moving along, how's about we get some detail shots up in here?  

The original sketch complete with scribbly notes.  If you zoom in you might be able to read some.

SO many of us all wore this same skate model (Riedell 965 boot)

Sure, showcasing a detail shot of a thigh might be kind of weird...but I had to!  See, back in the day Viral would wear this combination of one colored fishnet layered on top of another solid-colored tight--and the effect was actually really cool.  It sort of gave her legs this luminescent quality. 

Really good strategy actually--Blind your opponent with your glowing rainbow glory before knocking them to kingdom come with a hip check :P

While overall I'm fine with the drawing, I do wish I would have done a better job with certain things, like proportions and foreshortening.  Because her hip swing is just such a characteristic part of her, I wish I could have better depicted that sort of "wind up" here.  I just wanted to do her hips justice, haha.  

Welp, that about wraps up this entry!  Stay tuned because there's more coming!

I mean, if I get around to it I guess.

;)

  

Oh Heeeeeey!

Hi hi!  I have a proper blog entry that will be going up in just a couple of hours' time (the first in over a year, I know!), but I just realized that a ton of the links to images on this blog are broken :(

I'm going to go through them and replace them all over time.  Hopefully sooner rather than later!  More recent and future posts should be fine though.  So thanks for your patience and please bear with me until I get it all fixed!

-Knuckles

Danja! Danja! (Emergency!)

I've found myself with a rare spot of free time (as limited as it is), so I figured it was due time to update this blog!  Let's get right to it!

This post's skater feature is Danja!

That's pronounced "Dane-juh" by the way.  As in "Danja-rous!"  

For her pose in the drawing, a mohawk (when you skates sideways by turning out your feet, like a ballet dancer) seemed like an appropriate choice.  Sliding by her opponents with just the slightest bit of space on the track was always something that she's excelled at, which is just one of the reasons why she's such a fierce jammer!

A nice little close up for you!

Danja usually wears fairly elaborate eye make-up, or at least something nice and bright, so I made sure to do something similar for the drawing too.  I just wish that a little more of her hair was showing in the drawing because she has a distinct, signature hairstyle with what I think of as "color-blocked" layers of hair.  I have no idea what the actual terminology is...  But anyway, since Danja usually wears her hair in short pigtails, that's about all that usually manages to peek out from under the helmet.

Detail shot of her skates!

At the time that I had originally drawn this, we had the same skates and wheel/toe-stop set up. So that made finding a reference super easy.  I mean, I know I could have just generalized the design of the skates, but I just can't bring myself to do it!  Besides, I think the skaters appreciate the level of detail when they recognize the gear as their own :)  But feel free to disagree!

And here's the final poster that Danja's likeness graced!

Hope y'all digs!  Till next time!

 

Beat 'Em Tender Hooligan

Howdy, Friends!  Sorry for the long hiatus since my last post--by my count it's been just over 7 months!  But the break was necessary since my personal life experienced some major changes.  I left a job I had been at for 4+ years, a job that I loved, working with people I adore.  That was ridiculously difficult, albeit necessary.  Then I started a new job and finally bought myself a much needed new(ish) car.  Then I got into an accident with aforementioned new(ish) car...  Fortunately it's all fixed up by now.  And the most recent life change?  Finally moved out a new apartment of my own!  HUGE deal for me!

Admittedly it's still pretty difficult finding much free time for myself, especially when I'm still settling into it all, but my league is heading into it's post-season (and subsequent off-season) soon enough.  And I'm crossing my fingers that it'll mean I'll get more artwork done! But enough about the personal mumbo jumbo that interests no one.  Time for the drawing!

The next feature is Beat 'Em Tender Hooligan!

Not only is Hooligan a rock star jammer, but she's also a lot of fun to draw. Her photos always have this dynamic composition to them, not only due to the wonderful photographic prowess of Steve Jurkovic, but also due to her amazing speed and agility...so I fear that I haven't done her justice with this pose. However, I needed the drawing to fill a taller/narrow space in the bout poster so I couldn't let her pose spread too horizontally.

Those who know (and inevitably love) Hooli know that she has a very distinct style.  She loves Halloween, horror movies, has a taste for the macabre and a flair for the gothic.  So it was important that I acknowledged it, even subtly.

The first thing I did was copy her distinct make-up style.

Though she has been known to go for full-on face paint at times, there are often times where her makeup is left to clean, simple lines and colors (black around the eyes + purple lipstick) that offer a dramatic look without appearing much too fussy or busy. 

They're obviously not real leather--
a body's gotta breathe and a
jammer's gotta juke afterall!
But they look super slick!

Then there are her shiny, leather shorts, one of the most signature pieces of her boutfit. She also tends to wear bold leggings/tights or socks that really stand out among all the black.

Morrigan Aensland and
her purple batty tights

Some of you might have noticed the reference already, but I based the design of Hooli's tights on Morrigan, the succubus (and arguably the most popular character) from the Darkstalkers video game franchise.  As both are ass-kicking, buxom, femme-fatales with a penchant for the dark, it was hard not to see a connection between the two.    

And in case you wanted to take a peak at the completed bout poster she was on...

 

Side note: I wish I could have used some of those dynamic photos I mentioned before in green corners, but corners being what they are, the space was extremely limiting.  All the other, better photos would have crucial parts cropped or blocked by text, or just plain wouldn't fit the space properly.  Eh well.  

Hope you guys liked!  And hope I can get back to posting at least semi-regularly.  Fingers crossed!

Eleventh Hour

If you know me, you know that my life has more or less been non-stop crazy since...well, always.  So it's much too easy to fall behind on updating this blog.  But I'm here with a post for you now, and that's what matters!

And for what it's worth, there's still plenty more derby drawings that I need to upload.  So let's get to it, shall we?  I give you Eleventh Hour!

#11 - Eleventh Hour
Jammer for The DuPage Derby Dames

Eleventh Hour is one of the most nimble skaters in our entire league.  As she has a background in artistic skating, it really shouldn't come as any surprise.  Time and time again we've all been left in awe at her precise footwork and calm demeanor in the face of track-side chaos.  She practically floats because she makes it all look so very effortless!  I can only imagine just how much better a skater I would be if I could even absorb half her skill.

Here's just a simple little detail shot showing the soft, warm shadows on her skin and the play of light on her hair.   

And here's a little look at the full poster that she graced!

More updates coming soon!  Also coming soon: COMMISSION INFO!!!  :D

Emtropy

I'm finally back with another update! Hopefully I'll be able to post several more drawings fairly regularly until I get caught up.  But this is me we're talking about so...we'll see what happens.  Haha.

Now, one of our 2013 League Captains (and Uproar Team Captain), Emtropy, was voted in as the featured poster girl for May.

Yes, May.  Clearly I am far behind on this blog updating business.

Without further delay, here she is!

Bringin' chaos to the universe!
#5X5 - Emtropy!

Detail close-up!
Look at all those shiny pyramid studs!  And the shiny leggings!

We actually just ended our official 2013 bouting season, so as you can imagine, I've done quite a few of these drawings by now.  Even so, Em's drawing is one of my absolute favorites!

I think the reason why I love Em's drawing so much (besides the fact that it's of Em) is that everything about this drawing came together for me.  And it's always satisfying when things work out even better than planned.  But from the pose, to her face, to all the little details that make the image "pop," it all just fit together to make a really satisfying, cohesive drawing.

A detail close-up of her skates

I always put a great deal of effort into these drawings.  Always.  Even so, I still often generalize certain aspects, like safety gear and skates. Em's drawing, however, was the first time that I really took the time to draw out all the hardware of the skates themselves.

Looking at the detail close-ups of the skates, you can see that I made the effort to accurately depict the boot style, plus the shape of the plates.  I even drew in the trucks and the freaking bushings/cushions.  It helped that I have the same skates, and therefore had a visual reference available.  Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get as specific as I did.  I did leave out the laces/grommets, however, since most of the laces are completely invisible beneath the detachable overlay/lace cover.

I don't mean to toot my own horn or anything, but save for the logo that I omitted, I drew the skates accurately enough that anyone familiar with Riedell skates should be able to tell you exactly what model/set-up it is.  

Seriously.  Go ahead.  10 points to whoever can tell me what boot model that is. 

(Disclaimer: Points are not redeemable for anything other than bragging rights.  Okay, maybe a high-five.)

The final version of the poster featuring Emtropy

Now, last night was actually Em's very last practice with us.  I think I can speak for quite a few people when I say that I am ever so heartbroken to see her go because not only is she just a wonderful person, but her leadership has been nothing short of exemplary.  Still, the heartbreak is made bearable by knowing that her departure is so that she can focus on beginning a new chapter in her personal life.

Em, you've been a truly amazing captain, and it's been an honor skating with you.  When the overwhelming task of training everyone suddenly fell into your lap, not only did you pick up that responsibility with calm and grace, but you helped push us to excel even farther than I think any of us really knew to expect. And you did it while remaining humble, fair, thoughtful, organized (ironic, given your name ;P ) and remarkably patient.  To merely state that I am grateful for all the time and effort that you've put into leading our league seems far too empty a gesture in return for everything you've done for us.  Still, I hope you walked away knowing (and feeling) just how much we all truly love and respect you.

And if not, drop on by a practice soon so we can all swarm you with sweaty, smelly hugs :)

So much effin' derby love to you, Emtropy!  And best of luck in everything you do!

-------------2014 Update! ----------------

I am ever so happy to report that Emtropy couldn't stay away for too long :)  She's back to being a full-fledged member of our league, and we couldn't be more ecstatic!