Author Archive: graphiteman

I am an artist who enjoys the vast fields of fine art and illustration. It's all art anyway, right?

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No Thumbnails, but …

| December 1, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

Couldn’t figure out how to quickly make the thumbnails and didn’t really have time.  However, here is a montage of the total images that I created for the month of November.  These characters are a good start to my planned graphic novel.

Here is a trailer to my graphic novel that features the characters from November’s challenge.

Trailer 1

You can also see the trailer on my blog.

Day #29 & 30 Character Attire

| December 1, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bending the rules a bit again.  Two characters in one piece.  It’s hard playing catch-up!  Can hardly believe I completed the challenge.  Congratulations to all participants.  It’s been great seeing all the great work!

Day # 27& 28 Zombies

| November 28, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bending the rules a bit for this challenge.  Here’s two characters making up for not doing any drawing yesterday.  Also, if anyone is interested, here is a permalink to my blog that has a still video showing some of the process behind the creation of this drawing.  Enjoy at your leisure!

Day #26 Zombie

| November 26, 2011 | 0 Comments

Day #25 Zombie Face

| November 23, 2011 | 0 Comments

Day #24 Zombie Face

| November 23, 2011 | 0 Comments

Day #23 Zombie

| November 23, 2011 | 0 Comments

Day #22 Zombie

| November 23, 2011 | 0 Comments

Day #21 Jackson Wyntrson

| November 23, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jackson Wyntrson

 

  • Albino
  • Billionaire
  • Former philanthropist who has lost hope for humankind
  • Decides to relocate to Titan to seclude himself
  • Is mistaken for a zombie once the outbreak occurs

 

Day #20 Zombie Face

| November 21, 2011 | 0 Comments

Day #19 Zombie Face

| November 21, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Working out some specific facial features for my zombie characters.

Day #18 Zombie

| November 19, 2011 | 0 Comments

Day #17 Nadine Lombardi

| November 18, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nadine Lombardi

 

  • Japanese/Italian
  • Chief executive officer of corporate travel company
  • She has family on both Earth and Titan
  • She worked her way up to a higher social class, but decided to stay on earth to care for her family
  • Has a divided family: Titan (Italian) family is pompous, egocentric, and looks down on anyone that lives on Earth; Earth family (Japanese) is lower middle class that struggles to survive; they value close friends and family
  • Though Nadine is an executive, she still takes on extra work to take care of her Earth family; she therefore has to travel back and forth to Titan; technology allows for her to tend to the corporate travel company
  • Nadine is Thomas’ love-interest, though she unknowingly intimidates him

 

Day #16 James Zombie

| November 17, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks, Melissa Lackman, for the pic of your son that I used for this zombie design.

Day #15 Melissa Zombie

| November 17, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks, Melissa Lackman, for your childhood pic that I used for this zombie design.

Day #14 Victor Gutierrez

| November 17, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Victor Gutierrez

  • Hispanic who is far removed from his culture (bigotry still exists in this future society)
  • Can’t roll his ‘R’s in his last name “Gutierrez”
  • Has worked hard to earn his place in society, even if it meant stepping on others in the process
  • Ambitious
  • Looks down on the poor and uneducated
  • Makes things happen
  • Worked his way out of lower class and thinks that there is no reason why anyone else couldn’t do the same
  • On the outside, Victor is an upstanding citizen
  • However, in a tight situation, i.e., zombie outbreak, he cannot be trusted
  • People have a bad feeling about him, though they may not be able to give a rational explanation
  • Victor talks down to Willie, ordering him to “Fix this”, or “Clean up that”
  • Victory resents Willie for earning his way to live on Titan and would do anything to tarnish Willie’s reputation (Thomas may kill Victor since he befriends Willie)

Day #13 Zombie Half

| November 14, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every zombie story has to have half a zombie crawling around, right?

Day #12 Zombie

| November 13, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Rafael Santos for sending his pic for this zombie design.  There is nothing cooler than a zombie riding a sci-fi motorcycle!

Hope you like it.

Day #11 Willie Bragg

| November 12, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Willie Bragg

  • Is a handyman
  • Is a “nobody” but serves a necessary role
  • Being a Jack of all trades, he is the best at what he does and quietly earns the opportunity to live on Titan
  • Willie does his work dutifully, regardless of what people may say about him; “It’s my job” is his outlook
  • He is an intelligent problem-solver and can fix almost anything
  • When put in close contact with Thomas during the zombie outbreak, he becomes Thomas’ father-figure and his conscience of sorts
  • Willie eventually finds out what sort of person Thomas is (Thomas can’t get himself to kill Willie) and struggles with calling him out or taking matters in to his own hands

Day #10 Zombie

| November 10, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This illustration is of a good friend that was willing to be “zombiefied” for my graphic novel.  I still need a bunch more models for zombies.  Anyone interested can send a pic to my email at [email protected]

Day #9 Zombie

| November 9, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every zombie story needs a ton of zombie characters, right?  Well, as I design my zombies, I am also using actual people as references.  So far I have “zombiefied” myself, and this one is of my son.  I’m looking for more people for zombie models, so if your interested, just send me a pic to my email at [email protected]

This is for a graphic novel, so all models depicted will be mentioned by name in the credits.  The page number where they can be found will also be mentioned.

Day #8 Officer “Babyboy” Garcia (zombie)

| November 8, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Officer “Babyboy” Garcia (zombie)

  • Suspects Thomas Cain of murder
  • Follows Thomas into a shuttle destined for the space transport to the Titan Colony (which Thomas is not authorized to enter)
  • Thomas kills Garcia by slitting his throat with a knife; he then hides his body in the waste section of the space transport
  • The next time Thomas sees him, Garcia is a zombie

Day #7 Trini Tubo

| November 8, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trini Tubo

  • Small, but tough Filipina
  • She is the one that is called to handle human conflicts, especially if things get physical
  • She likes to talk with Angel because the men’s care product company that he sells for has a women’s special occasion jewelry line
  • She likes to read horror books
  • She is afraid of the dark and likes to have Thomas walk with her during her night rounds

Day #6 Sergeant Norm Ortiz

| November 7, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sergeant Norm Ortiz

  • Incompetent site sergeant
  • Doesn’t know how to make decisions and is not one to be caught up in human conflicts
  • Tries to joke around with his co-workers but is not funny
  • Socially awkward
  • Has the inability to grow a full mustache and sideburns
  • Angel is always trying to sell Norm male care products

Day #5 Angel Torres

| November 5, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Angel Torres

  • Works for Infinite Horizons, where Thomas Cain also works
  • Is always trying to sell men’s care products to co-workers
  • He especially tries to sell to Thomas sine he has difficulty with growing sideburns (a sign of masculinity in this future society)
  • Since products are part of a pyramid scheme, he also tries to recruit Thomas
  • One of his pyramid selling lines is that he actually met someone who was so successful with selling that he was able to buy his way to the Titan Colony (where anybody who is somebody resides)

Day #4 Tom Earp

| November 4, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom Earp

  • Retired cop
  • Has a big ego; thinks he’s better than the average guard
  • Everyone calls him “Wyatt” behind his back
  • Likes to carry a bunch of cop gear on his utility belt
  • As a former law enforcer, he is able to use a cellular phone, which he likes to flash in front of the other guards
  • Supporting character for Thomas sub-plot

Day #3 Nicky Amos

| November 3, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nicky Amos

 

  • Loves being a guard, no matter what the task
  • Always carries a clip board to keep track of his daily tasks and write down notes for his reports
  • Has government-approved electronic device* that is always clipped to his belt; he uses it to keep time, track the weather, and get updates on “the game”
  • He checks his device like a nervous tick
  • Supporting character in Thomas sub-plot
  • *PDAs, computers, cellular phones and similar technology are banned and illegal in this future society.  The general public is back to using paper and mostly analogue devices.  Only the government IS authorized to use higher technology.  It helps them regulate and control the public.

 

Day #2 Eugene “Bookworm” Smith

| November 2, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eugene “Bookworm” Smith

  • Thomas’ co-worker
  • Likes to lift weights, eat, and read philosophical books
  • Supporting character in Thomas sub-plot

Day #1 Thomas Cain

| November 1, 2011 | 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas Cain

  • Doesn’t like to be called “Tom”, or especially “Tommy”
  • A wannabe alpha male
  • Slender and slight
  • Intelligent and crafty; scheming
  • Serial killer on the brink of a rampage
  • Security guard for a corporate travel company where lots of “alphas”, both male and female, are employed (at least according to his perception)
  • Paranoid that every one is looking down on him
  • Once he breaks, he prefers to savor the sufferings of his victims.  However, as his psychotic carnage continues, his number of murders escalates as his appetite for the kill and feeling of dominance becomes insatiable.
  • He is almost caught by the authorities, except he evades capture by slipping away in a shuttle that will meet with a space transport to a luxurious living colony on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons
  • When some of his killings come back to life as zombies, and the plague begins to spread, Thomas at first is in Killer Heaven.  However, he finds that since zombies do not suffer, he is dissatisfied with killing them
  • Thomas finds himself caught in the position of being a hero when saving a group of people from a zombie attack.

 

2011 Challenger: David R. Vallejo

| October 19, 2011 | 1 Comment

Hello

My name is David, aka graphiteman.  I am an artist who is interested in way too many things.  My current art projects are portrait commissions, religious paintings and pursuing illustration (mostly editorial).  I’m also kicking around several graphic novel ideas.  To supplement my income, I also do a bit of art instruction with grade schools.

I’m not sure where I fist heard of the 30 Characters Challenge, but I recently came across it on Twitter and thought it would be a good feat to take on.  I’m always looking into challenging myself and have participated in several online challenges, such as Illustration Friday, 30 Days of Creativity, and Everyday in May.  I find these challenges get my creative juices going and help build my portfolio.  The kind of stuff you might expect from me will be characters that will be used in a novel writing contest challenge http://www.nanowrimo.org/ that I will be taking on at the same time during the month of November.  So as if designing 30 characters wasn’t enough, I will be writing an at least 50,000 word novel by November 30th that uses all 30 characters.  I don’t think I’ll be getting much sleep in November.

You can find my work on my website:

http://davidrvallejo.com/

and my very current art projects on my blog:

http://tactilblog.blogspot.com/

While you’re at it, you can also ‘LIKE’ my fan page:

http://www.facebook.com/davidrvallejoillustration

Look forward to seeing all the interesting characters for this year’s challenge.

Peace!