Blalock's Robots and Monsters

Novelty Chattering Teeth Come Alive!

2012-01-25T15:22:00.000-08:00

There is absolutely no point, rhyme or reason to this thing. It just randomly fell out of my brain like an old moth ball. So here you go - a fake poster for some novelty chattering teeth. In concert. And only on a leap year, apparently. Get your tickets before they're sold out!

Here's the original pen and ink drawing, including various sweet lightning bolt options:

"I Am Dracula"

2012-01-16T15:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, so here's something new to my blog: music! You'd think it would be enough for me to constantly draw pictures of monsters; but no, it seems I must also write songs about them. I suppose this is the ultimate indicator of a hopeless, and perhaps unhealthy, obsession. Anyway, I'm still new to recording my music, so the sound quality isn't so great but I hope you get what I was going for. If ever Dracula danced, I hope he would be pleased to cut a Transylvanian rug to this little ditty. So without further delay, behold my musical ode to the Count! I Am Dracula by blalock

Retro Alien Girl!

2012-01-11T17:21:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, everyone! I thought I'd ring in 2012 with some brand new, spacey-retro-alien-girl goodness.

She's from a new hatchling of a comic idea I've started working on. Can you guess what it will be about?

(Hint: it involves monkeys, dinosaurs, cute alien girls, ray guns, outer space, and other random absurdities. But I will say no more.)

Universal Monster Party!

2011-10-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween time, everyone! Yes, it's that special time of year when monster costumes occupy every store; when little plastic skeletons and fake spider webs cover every window; when your favorite variety of candy seems to spontaneously become wrapped in orange and black. And in my particular case, it's that time of year when constantly drawing pictures of monsters doesn't seem quite so odd. So to celebrate this fact, here's a new monster drawing!

Now to be fair, this picture isn't completely new. It's actually an alternate take on something I posted last year for a Wolfman themed art contest online. I added ink and water to this version, and I think it gives it more of a spooky feel. Hope you agree.

Anyway, have a great Halloween everybody, and save me some Reese's if you have any left over.

Batman and Superman!

2011-09-10T13:44:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love Batman and Superman? Certainly not me. They're two of the greatest comic characters of all time, and their "cool" factor skyrockets anytime they appear together. Hopefully that makes this new drawing cool by association.

Madman Colorized!

2011-09-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

Here's my more refined version of the previously posted Madman sketch.

I decided to depart from my usual smooth inking style and go for a rougher, faster look. I kinda like it.

The Fastest Man Alive!

2011-09-08T14:15:00.001-07:00

Here's a new picture of one of my favorite comic characters . . .

In my opinion, The Flash really has one of the greatest costumes in all of comics. I'm always all for simplicity, and I think there's something really striking about the head-to-toe red uniform with lightning bolt accents. I still have fond memories of zipping around the house as a little kid with my old "DC Comics Superheroes" Flash figure in hand. On several occasions, I broke the sound barrier. That, or I broke some of my mother's more fragile pieces of home decor. I can't remember.

Note: the figure possessed amazingly realistic "Running arm movement." Check out the sweet box art here.

Noir Women!

2011-09-07T15:58:00.001-07:00

I've always loved black and white photos of movie starlets from the bygone era. There's alot of character to those images, and I tried to evoke that same quality in these pictures.

The Astonishing Ant-Man!

2011-08-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything. I've been busy over the summer getting married and moving and random things like that. Anyway, I finally got to put my hand back to the drawing board and here's what I came up with.

This is a "first appearance" version of Ant-Man from "Tales to Astonish" #35. I'm sure there's only a few select people besides me who care, but I just wanted to note that fact since his costume gradually changed in later appearances from the way I drew it here; I want my sterling comic book nerd credentials to remain firmly intact.

The Joy of Pork!

2011-02-09T10:41:00.001-08:00

There's really no point to this drawing, but it makes me laugh.

Madman Sketch!

2011-02-01T16:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick sketch I did of Mike Allred's Madman (inked version soon to follow!)
I just recently started reading the comics after years of hearing about them, and now I kinda think they're the greatest thing ever.

Bizarro Holiday Greetings!

2010-12-24T11:20:00.000-08:00

For those of you who may not comprehend the Bizarro language, he is saying he actually DOES wish you a Merry Christmas. See? I know, it's a very complex language barrier to break through. But once you get used to it, it's really not so bad.

Rubber Chicken Apocalypse!

2010-10-18T15:49:00.001-07:00

I worked on this one for quite awhile. My goal? To create a poster for the most absurd movie concept I could imagine. Dracula? Check. Wolfman? Check. Zombie horde, gorilla with a funny hat, plus sultry-looking female? Check check check. Wait, I almost forgot the giant rubber chicken brandishing an M-16 and a Rambo-grade knife! Ok, check.

I kinda want to see this movie now.

Transylvania Postcard!

2010-10-06T12:34:00.001-07:00

Ever wonder what a postcard sent from the far eastern land of Dracula's birthplace would look like? Let your heart be at rest and wonder no more!

I most enjoyed creating the little vampire boy. He just seems so joyous and content to be a blood-sucking aberration of nature. And what exactly are the contents of his red "ice cream" cone? I shudder to imagine.

Monstrous Rubber Ducks!

2010-10-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything, but the summer has kept me pretty busy. However, since it is nearing that very special time of year when I hit my "sweet spot" and my various monster drawings are momentarily in style, I thought I would post some new stuff. First up, some bath toys with a Universal Monsters influence.

Growing up, I would have loved to have had little guys like this to play with in the tub. They would have made the daily drudgery of bath time much more enjoyable. Alas, I had to settle for a rubber duck who was just plain ol' dull yellow. At least I had a plastic shark to liven things up.

New Strato-Boy Cover

2010-04-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

This is going to be the cover for a new batch of Strato-Boy comics I'm putting together. I'll post the new comic pages as soon as I complete them. I know all five of you Strato-Boy fans out there are waiting with the keenest of anticipation for the next installment. Let your hearts be strengthened! The best is yet to come! Or maybe it's already passed. Not sure yet.

Tiny Avengers

2010-04-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what my inspiration was behind this. I guess sometimes a guy just feels like drawing some tiny cartoon superheroes.

New Comics

2010-03-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pages of a new comic strip I've been working on. What do you get when you add together a talking duck, a dull alien, and an excitable little robot on wheels? Eh, I don't know. . . you decide. Also, there is an angry monkey who wears one of those spinner caps. No cartoon is complete without monkeys.

Monster Love

2010-03-01T09:25:00.000-08:00

I like how this one turned out. And nothing says "love" to me like a shambling green monster and a pasty woman with bee hive hair.

Revenge of the Creature!

2010-02-27T07:43:00.000-08:00

Here's a new Creature drawing I created recently. First, black and white. . .

Then color. . .

And just for kicks, here's a color-only experiment. . .

Now some folks might misinterpret the Gill Man's outstretched arms as a sign of hostility; on the contrary, I like to think he is reaching out for love and acceptance. Can't you see the hint of a shimmering tear in his glazed, bulbous fish eyes? Maybe throughout all three Creature films, all he needed was a hug. That's what all that kidnapping of females must have been about! Yeah, that's it.

Wolf Man and Friends

2010-02-23T07:16:00.000-08:00

I drew this one for a Wolf Man-themed art contest on ain'titcoolnews.com.

Alas, I did not win. I didn't even place as a finalist! I guess mine wasn't "photoshoppy" enough. Oh well. Do not mourn for me! I will carry on and live to fight (or draw) another day.

Some of the finalists were pretty good though. You can view them all here.

Frankenstein, Collected!

2010-02-02T08:39:00.000-08:00

If you've spent any time on my blog at all, it's probably become excruciatingly apparent to you that I tend to draw Frankenstein alot. It seems that when I pick up a pen or pencil and decide to doodle, the first thing to always spring forth from my hand is some goofy version of Frankie. So looking back through some of my drawings, I decide to collect the best ones from the past few years and throw them together in this sweet little collage.

I've got a soft spot for that stupid Frankenquack in the bottom left.

Frankenstein

2010-02-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

A new picture of Frankie. 'Cause no one can ever get enough of that green monster goodness!

Monkey vs Robot

2010-01-28T13:08:00.000-08:00

I had this idea, and thought it would be fun to draw. It would probably make a good t-shirt too. Here's three different versions:

There's got to be at least five or maybe even six people in the world who would wear a shirt like this. That includes me.

Creature Memorabilia

2010-01-27T09:23:00.000-08:00

So I decided to try my hand at some photography and layout with Creature From the Black Lagoon memorabilia as the subject. Nerdy enough for you? Oh it gets better, my friend.

True Creature collectors will recognize the 1997 Burger King Creature figure in the upper left hand corner. I also shot the picture of Neca's Creature bobblehead on the right. My personal favorite item is the beach towel at the bottom left. I unearthed this little treasure one day when I discovered it in the back of my grandpa's linen closet!

As a teenager, my grandpa saw the Creature films during their original theatrical run. I suppose he liked them enough that he decided to purchase this beach towel whenever he came upon it. I guess the real lesson to be learned here is that you never know what amazing or bizarre things you might dig out of a closet at your grandparents' house.

There is also a very cool post about all things Creature related over at Random Acts Of Geekery, and he features this same beach towel.

Frankenberry Lives!

2010-01-16T07:59:00.000-08:00

I finally completed my "monster cereal" trilogy by bringing the strawberry-flavored deliciousness of Frankenberry to life. Behold!

Now the monsters can enjoy their cereal brethren's company just as nature intended.

The completist in me feels the need to draw Fruite Brute and Yummy Mummy now.

Monsters in Technicolor - Part Deux

2009-12-24T08:52:00.000-08:00

More colorful monster goodness. I think the Mummy picture is more closely related to a pulp magazine cover than any Universal movie. Oh well, I had fun making it.

Universal Monsters in Frightening Technicolor!

2009-12-08T17:12:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the holidays! Because of course whenever you think of Christmas, sweet thoughts of Frankenstein, Wolfman, and Creature from the Black Lagoon immediately spring to mind.

A Thanksgiving Tradition: My life through illustration

2009-11-27T07:18:00.000-08:00

These are a pair of turkey salt and pepper shakers that my family has had for as long as I can remember. I believe I was five years old when I named them "Gobel" and "Stobel" respectively. I was also five years old the first time I decided to draw them. Since then, it's become somewhat of a Thanksgiving tradition for me to re-illustrate this pair every few years. Behold my ever evolving (or devolving?) turkey cartooning skills:

age 5

age 10

age 14

age 17

age 23 - present day

The Li'l Sketchbook - Part 1

2009-11-04T13:46:00.000-08:00

This is a tiny 4 1/2"x 3 1/4" memo notebook (affectionately dubbed "Li'l Sketchbook") that I decided to start carrying around with me and filling up with nonsense from my brain whenever I feel like it. Sometimes a guy just has the urge to draw a bunch of ducks, a honky-tonk robot, a diaper-clad monkey, and maybe even a gentleman zombie or two. Am I right, fellas? So I'm pretty much keeping a diary of my thoughts, without all the frilly words and pensive brooding.

The book is 160 pages, so I'll keep uploading my "entries" a little at a time.

Frankie

2009-11-04T12:31:00.001-08:00

I don't usually draw in this style, but it's good to try new things, right?

Monstrous Pencil Sketches

2009-11-02T08:17:00.000-08:00

Wolfman, Frankenstein, and The Phantom of the Opera. These are all pencil sketches and I just changed the color saturation in photoshop. Yes, they are a little scary so if you are under the age of 13, avert your eyes!

Duck Dracula vs Frankenquack!

2009-09-12T13:42:00.001-07:00

Here's an absolutely terrifying new comic I created. Warning: the following comic is not intended for the faint of heart; this includes young children, pregnant women (or women who may become pregnant), and the elderly. Sensitive ducks may also wish to avoid the comic, as they may be offended by the blatant portrayal of their species as evil monsters. To everyone else: enjoy!

The Creature Goes Green!

2009-09-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

. . . literally. I made the original black and white picture a couple of years ago. I just recently decided to experiment with it and add some color. I thought it turned out pretty cool. Like some sort of freaky black light poster.

The Various Looks of the Bride

2009-09-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

We all know how particular women can be when it comes to how they look. Undoubtedly, Mrs. Frankenstein must have suffered from the same indecisiveness concerning her appearance as many women do today. Which leads us to wonder, was she nervous before her wedding? How long did it take to perm that hair? Is the lightning-bolt streak natural, or just a punk rock fashion statement? And how many designer dresses did she try on before settling on that famous "white-bed-sheet-and-bandages" look? We'll probably never know.

Anyway, to celebrate the Bride's diversity of style, here are several new pictures depicting her in various shading styles. From top to bottom: pencil sketch, inking, line shading, inkwash, halftone (you might have to look close to see the difference), and sepia color saturation. The last one is my favorite.

Monster Mash

2009-09-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

I recently found a copy of Del Rey's Monsters at a local bookstore. The book is now out of print (although you can find it through various sellers here) so you can imagine my outpouring of nerd-like glee when I discovered it. The lavish photos of classic Universal monsters contained within its precious pages inspired me to create my own little montage.

It kinda reminds me of the Brady Bunch. Can you imagine a 60's sitcom about all these guys living in one house together? I bet Creature would be the "Alice" of the group.

Cartoon Devil Ad

2009-09-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

My personal ad for a generic, red hot candy. I drew the little devil guy for fun and thought he turned out pretty good. So, to give him purpose and meaning in this bleak, cold world, I decided to stick him in an ad for an imaginary candy. Now all is well with his evil little soul.

Monster-in-the-Box!

2009-08-25T14:54:00.001-07:00

Here are a few original ideas I had for monster themed jack-in-boxes. If these things existed in real life I would definitely go out and buy them. Especially that wolfman. What a cute little guy.

Cereal Monsters!

2009-08-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

I have always had a very soft spot in my heart for the General Mills monsters cereals. As a small child, I would often flock to the cereal aisle in hopes of retrieving some precious Count Chocula cereal or, if I was very lucky, his buddies Franken Berry and Boo Berry. I guess I was always more attracted to a cereal box that featured some kind of monster on it as opposed to a fluffy rabbit or friendly bumble bee. Heck, I still am. Anyway, here's my new pen and ink drawings featuring some of the gang.

Character Design - Knockout Mouse

2009-07-16T10:22:00.000-07:00

So basically, I was reading an article about a "knockout mouse" (which is totally a real thing, thank you wikipedia) and thought, "That would be a cool name for a cartoon." So I came up with this guy. I was trying to create a character that was definitely not cute and did not resemble a certain famous cartoon mouse in any way. I guess I succeeded. I wouldn't want to meet this mouse in a dark alley.

Vintage Women

2009-06-04T13:21:00.001-07:00

Taking a break from monsters and superheroes for a moment to try my hand at some old-fashioned ladies.

New Pencil-to-Ink Comparisons

2009-05-12T17:10:00.000-07:00

New Stuff

2009-04-28T09:02:00.001-07:00

The Process - Drawing Swamp Thing

2009-03-31T13:33:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. I started working on a new picture today, and I thought it would be cool to take pictures of it in each stage so you can see how I work. Here goes. . .

I've been reading some old 70's Swamp Thing comics lately, and I thought it would be cool to try my hand at drawing this poor, misunderstood monster. So I start with a simple sketch, like the one shown above (the arrow indicates the direction of my imaginary light source).

Next, I refine the initial sketch and start adding detail and shading.

After I've finished refining the picture in pencil, I start inking. I generally use a size 0 brush for outlining and small details, and a 9 to fill in the larger black areas.

Finally, I sometimes like to apply a little ink mixed with water to a picture. It just adds extra tone and dimension to the overall work, and it works especially well on something that is supposed to look creepy or scary, like our moldy plant friend here. Anyway, that's my process. Pretty much as low-tech as you can get!

Various Works

2009-03-10T10:14:00.001-07:00

A random compilation of some of my work created over the past year.

Some Monsters, a Superhero, and a Girl

2009-01-19T16:29:00.000-08:00

Ok, so that sounds like the title of a bad sitcom. Or maybe the most awesome sitcom of all time. I'd watch it. Either way, here's a random assemblage of some of my new work.

Batman and Villains

2009-01-09T17:53:00.000-08:00

Here are some inked drawings of Batman and a few his famous enemies. I think Two-Face turned out the best. And by best, I mean the grossest looking.

Swift the Raccoon

2008-11-23T14:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a website for a food service management company, specifically for public schools. Why should you be interested in this, you might ask? Well look at that unbearably adorable little raccoon in the corner. See him? I created that guy. My first paying gig as an artist. Aren't you proud?

http://www.schoolflair.com/

The Search For the Golden Joe

2008-11-22T11:21:00.000-08:00

In case you haven't seen it before, I present you with the premiere work from Jerkbag Productions - "The Search For the Golden Joe: Act One." In full, glorious HD splendor. It's pretty good except for the main character, Kevin the Loner. Man, that guy looks like an idiot.

The Search For the Golden Joe: Act One from Jerkbag Productions on Vimeo.

Strato-Boy Returns! - New comics for your delight or dismay

2008-11-22T11:10:00.000-08:00

Hey guys. Here are my newly completed Strato-Boy pages. I'm going to be submitting my work to various comic book companies pretty soon, but you can be the first to view it right here! Don't you just feel all warm and gooey inside?

- Note: These pages are all xeroxes, not the originals (which were too large to be scanned). So alot of the pages
are marked with gray areas
and scratchy lines from the
copy machines. Sorry!

Strato-Boy characters!

2008-11-22T10:44:00.001-08:00

So here's pretty much all the characters I've created so far for the "Strato-Boy universe." These are the character designs to go along with my comic book submissions. Heroes, villains, good-looking lady types - it's all here.

The Space Monkey

2008-04-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

I drew this thing and it's completely ridiculous, random, and pointless.

But it made me laugh.

More random ink stuff

2008-04-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

Some of these were too big for my scanner, so I had to crop them.

Some Star Wars stuff

2008-04-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

Girls

2008-04-09T18:02:00.001-07:00

I just decided to put some of these pictures up so it wouldn't seem like I'm incapable of drawing something that is not hideous or muscle bound.

Sketchbook stuff

2008-04-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

Some of these were drawn for a class. . . and some were drawn during class when I probably should have been doing something else.

Random ink stuff

2008-04-08T16:23:00.000-07:00

Some things I've made over the past year.

Colored type stuff!

2008-04-08T15:50:00.000-07:00

So I don't usually do work in color, but I started playing around and I thought this stuff turned out pretty cool.

Strato-Boy #2: The Girl

2007-12-02T19:11:00.000-08:00

Strato-Boy #1: The Cyborg Bunnies of Doom

2007-12-02T18:53:00.000-08:00

The Blalock Chronicles

2007-10-21T17:16:00.000-07:00

Here's my new zine about my fictitous life story. I would be pretty awesome if all this were true.

But it's not.

Little Book of Horrors

2007-09-23T20:51:00.000-07:00

Some junk I made up

2007-09-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

This is what I draw outside of class. Is it stupid? Pretty much. But I try to make it look cool. Me like comic books.

The Little Book of Matt

2007-09-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

Here's my amazing book of Matt's multiple identities. Enjoy.

Number 1

2007-08-22T18:28:00.000-07:00

So this is my first blog. I feel like I'm in the future.

Not sure what to do now.

Um......

Here's a picture.

That's all I've got for now.