I was asked by a friend to do some designs for plush toys that she could sew and give as gifts. The parameters were that the design had to incorporate Siamese Twins, Monsters, and Clowns. I added the extra-creepiness.
This is a piece I recently did for a PR firm in town. They wanted to represent a hometown feel to their website. The image was created as a vector file so that each element could be animated. I'll post the final URL for the site when it is active.
Bertha is a fine ship. In this cut-away we can see the inner chambers, bridge, and living quarters of her pilot, Resin Methas, the Sower. We see Bertha, berthed in her hanger aboard the Muthaship in a remote galaxy on there never-ending quest to bring "the plant" to all. Pre-launch, Resin discusses a foul leak with the resident janitor, Tick-Raf.
The events of Winter's Tale take place about 2/3rds into the first year story ark. It is a turning point in the story and the tone shift in the artwork to dark reflects the direction for the first year close. I was experimenting a lot during the process while working on this story. I drew the line work in ink, scanned the panels and added tonal shifts on the computer. Text is all done as a font...lazy, I know.
I was commissioned recently by a friend to do a caricature piece for a Father's Day gift. I really enjoy doing these personal pieces for people, and am always interested in commission work of any kind. I did this piece for the equivalent of two tanks of gasoline. I started by sketching the image in pencil on a 9" x 12" bristol board. Then I used markers to rough in the color. I worked with prismacolor pencils, ink, opaque white, and even a little acrylic paint in the sky to finish. The car is a 69' Camaro SS, and a favorite of the subject "Big Chuck".
Contrary to rumor, the man depicted is not my father.
Just getting around to posting some previous work. I used a pen and tablet for the final render for the first time. I was slow to adopt it, but now feel pretty at ease with it. I still occasionally move back to the mouse for clipping or just to rest my hand. I also included a small shot of the actual card with the graphics done by a designer at the speedway (inset).
Anti-Man is creating his bionic arms using all the tools at his disposal. He occasionally runs afoul of henchmen sent by the Power Co. to shut off his illegal siphon.
FutureDick is the living embodiment of corrupted power. Through unknown means he has returned from the future to reek havoc on the denizens of The Flip.
Rave has caught Anti-Man's bloodshot eye. She's a hard partying waitress at The Flip and dreams of a day when robots are self lubricating. She is allergic to shellfish and drunken astro-frat boys.
This is a preliminary design with color for the cover of the comic Meridian Road. It was sketched, scanned, and then rendered in Photoshop in about 10 hours.
is a minimally known illustrator and graphic designer with 20 years of professional experience. He lives in the Midwest but has worked internationally for most major publishing and entertainment companies. The majority of his career has been spent creating posters for companies like LucasFilm, Marvel Comics, Warner Brothers, Disney, Sony, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, and Nickelodeon. Darren's illustrative work has appeared in the programs of the Brickyard 400 and Indianapolis 500 Motorcar Races as well as on albums covers and flyers for local and national rock bands. Darren's current home is also his business, STRECKER GRAPHICS. A year ago he began building a business with the help of some fantastic clients. He's been creating storyboards for commercials, website graphics, trading card images, and Christmas cards. He is also building a body of work to present to comic publishers. This site is dedicated to his creator owned comic projects Berke and Binky™, Meridian Road™, and The Flip™. Darren also enjoys volleyball, creating music, and conserving petroleum.