How to draw Nick TMNT

A couple times of year the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) holds a book fair. Part of the proceeds of all the purchase go to the PTO and they use the money to fund projects around school.

I always try to support the PTO when ever I can. They do a lot for the kids and our school. I like to get a book or two for my classroom, and often times I buy something for myself.

This time I picked up a How to Draw book based on the Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show. The book shows step-by-step how to draw the four turtles, Splinter, and Shredder. I think it's kind of funny they left out April. I guess they don't think boys would't want to draw her.

 Over a couple of pages the book shows how to draw each character.

I always loved the how to draw books by Lee J. Ames when I was a kid. I generally found that I got better results if I use the books as a reference and not really a step-by-step guide. I like to look at the 2nd step to get started then skip to the final step. I'm not sure why that works for me.





I was feeling artsy so I did a few drawings last night.

Leonardo is the leader in blue. He does anything to get his ninjas through.

He's outlined in marker but colored with colored pencils.

 Michelangelo, he's one of a kind, and you know just were to find him when it's party time.

Mikey is outlined and colored with markers.

Blade - MOTUC

The Four Horseman keep knocking the sculpts for the Masters of the Universe Classics figures out of the park. Blade, a villain created for the 80's live action film has been translated into an amazing figure.

 This guy's armor is cover in little details, like the links of chain that make up his armor. He comes with three accessories, a "movie" sword, a "vintage style" sword,and a laser whip.

 This guy is loaded with details and may be one of the coolest looking figures from this year
s subscription. The 2014 sub has been insane.

 

I really like his head sculpt. He's so menacing.

Hero Blade Logan

Hero Blade Logan is another recent score from Five Below. He is dressed in jeans and a black wife-beater. His claws are extended and his face sculpt looks kind of pissed off.

Logan has five points of articulation and comes with a katana sword accessory. Unfortunatly his claws were kind of warped in the package.

Cobra Eel - Kre-o

A while back my buddy John from The Clawful Punch sent me an Eel in a package of goodies. I later picked up a second one while buying Kre-o blind bags. This really is a nice looking figure. He has the classic gray, black, and red color scheme of the classic figure. He comes with a spear-gun, knife, flippers, and helmet with a visor.

I think it is interesting that the figure has a breathing mask printed on his face under his SCUBA helmet. The vintage Cobra Eel was one of the first GI Joe figures that I ever had a duplicate of, long before the term "army building" was coined.

Iron Man - Mark V

The Suitcase Armor was probably my favorite part of Iron Man 2. It just seemed like a really cool way for Tony to transport his armor without wearing it. Iron Man came with a semi-open hand and a fist for his left hand.

Mark V Iron Man even came with a suitcase version of the armor. Now I need a Tony Stark figure. I just recently picked this figure up at Five Below.

Mutt & Junkyard - Kre-o

I've been picking up a handful of Kre-o figures from every wave. I even traded with a fellow blogger for a handful of them. When i saw Mutt & Junkyard were part of the second wave I knew I had to get them. Mutt was one of my favorite figures as a kid. I always loved the figures with pets.

Mutt is decorated like his v1 figure wearing a green outfit with a brown vest. Mutt came with a gun, nightstick, helmet, and gas mask. Junkyard is kind of a brick (ha ha) and seems more like a black bulldog than a rottweiler..

Warrior Claw Wolverine

I recently stopped by Five Below on the hunt for cheap GI Joes. While there I was checking out all the Marvel figures, and ended up picking up a few. Warrior Claw Wolverine is a great representation of Wolverine's 90's blue & yellow costume.

Wolverine comes with a blue clip-on "slash trail" accessory. He also features five points of articulation.

I had to look them over carefully to find one with nice paint apps. All the figures at the store has warped claws. I think it's the way they were put in their package. Even though Wolverine has swivels at his hips, he can't really sit down. His legs don't quite move enough to allow him to sit.

Flea Market Finds #23

Today I got up to go the the bank and then hit up my local comic book store for Free Comic Book Day. After that I started driving around hitting up yard sales. There were quite a few today. I hit a few but I didn't buy anythingt, but then I hit a couple I was very glad I stopped at.

I have been a huge fan of the Max Rebo Band since I was a kid. I loved them in the movie and was so happy to find out there were toys of these cool aliens. I was born in '82 so I was behind the times and my entire childhood Star Wars collection came from yard sales. I've bought several sets over the years. Slowly upgrading from three plain figures to a band with an organ, later buying another set to get the flute. I bought this set today because they have their two microphones. My buddy Derek and I featured the band in the 7th episode of Action Figure Adventures the series.

Kind of like the band, I buy any cheap vintage Star Wars figures I find. I bring them home to see if they are in better shape than the figures in my collection. I used to make custom figures using a lot of them. Lately I've been shipping the duplicates of to fellow bloggers looking for some classic figures. The little R2-D2 is an eraser. I'm not sure if he's official or a knock off. The guy threw him in for me since I bought a bunch of stuff.

I'm a sucker for Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. I picked up this large Red Ranger today. He's got some paint wear on his chest and a little yellowing on his foot, but I'm adding him to my Ranger shelf.

I never owned any Sectaurs as a kid, but I was very aware of them. We rarely got toys at the store except for Christmas or Birthdays. So as a kid if I wanted a big GI Joe collection I had to really focus on that line when making wish lists. So many cool 80's lines never made it into my collection. Now I pick them up cheap at yard sales. I think this guy is a bad guy. I was impressed that he still has his harness, sword, and gun. It looks like the wings on his little bug buddy are broken, but they still flap.

I snagged this Transformers card game. It looks like everything is there including the instructions. The card art features the first wave heroes and villains as well as the Dionbots and Insecticons.

I grabbed the horse from Toy Story 2. He is articulated at the legs and head. I'm going to take him into school and add him to the box of toys the kids can us when they do their stop motion animation videos in middle school Technology Education or after school photo club.

I'm real happy with my haul. I spent $16 today. It works out to around $1.50 an item.

Beachhead by Paul Gulacy

I had the honor of meeting comic artist Paul Gulacy when I was in high school. I've always really enjoyed his art. As a kid I read a lot of comics he drew because he has collaborated on dozens of titles with my childhood best friend's father, Doug Moench. I previously posted about a Batman sketch Paul made for me and a page from Star Wars Crimson Empire her gave me.

Most recently I had been reading IDW's GI Joe Special Mission by Chuck Dixon and Paul Gulacy. I contacted Paul about a year ago and bought a couple pages of original art from Special Mission. That comics just recently ended and Paul reached out to see if I wanted any other pages from GI Joe or to see if I wanted to get on his commission list, since we was going to have time to bang out some art.

Since Beachhead is my favorite GI Joe (besides Snake Eyes) and he was featured as a character in the Special Mission issues I asked Paul to draw his for me. I made one request, and that was for Paul to include Beachhead's clips going across his tactical vest. This was one of the things that made me think this Army Ranger was a bad ass as a kid. I was totally impressed with how fast this piece of art arrived. I was blown away by how great it turned out. I really love it.

Cross Country - GI Joe Collector's Club

The 2014 GI Joe Collector's Club Exclusive figure is Cross Country. Based on the classic GI Joe vehicle driver, this new figure is a great update of the character. Cross Country has his iconic Civil War hat and Confederate flag belt buckle.  He is wearing a green vest and gray pants. All his paint apps are very clean and nice. His new head sculpt by Boss Fight Studios is very nice.

Cross Country came with a file card, figure stand, rifle, pistol, and a wrench. Considering the vintage figure came with no accessories, these are a nice selection of weapons. I really like the wrench. I think it would have been really funny if he came with a tape deck accessory to be installed in the HAVOC.

Okay, Duke. I've got to lube up some grease fittings and then we'll be ready to roll. Yo Joe!