Favorite Movies of 2012

It's time once again for my nerdy "Top Ten Favorite Movies of the Year" list! As always, there were plenty of "want-to-see" movies I missed this year, but out of what I saw, I think I had the most fun with these:

1. Safety Not Guaranteed

Maybe it's just my apparent obsession with time travel stories, but this little indie comedy won my heart immediately.

2. Moonrise Kingdom 
Some people said it was too "Wes Anderson-y" even for Wes Anderson. I don't necessarily disagree. I just don't apparently have a problem with that. 

3. Paranorman

One of the most gorgeously animated movies I've seen in a while, and I enjoyed the story as well.

  

4. Wreck-It Ralph 

Between this and 2010's Tangled, Disney really seems to be back on track with their animated offerings. I enjoyed the original characters and made-up video games as much as I loved seeing the appearances by actual classic characters.

5. Bernie 
Jack Black turns in a great performance in this based-on-a-true story dark comedy.

6. The Avengers 
More or less the perfect superhero blockbuster. And definitely the best on-screen Hulk so far.

  

7. Looper 
Two time travel tales in the top ten this year!

8. Argo
Even knowing the outcome didn't keep this one from being extremely suspenseful. and with a lot more humor than I expected. 

  

9. This is 40

My favorite comedy of the year. Paul Rudd and Lelsie Mann are great.

  

10. Cabin in the Woods

Not generally a big horror movie fan, but this send-up of all the classic horror movie tropes was too much fun not to love. Also, I'm morally obligated to include any movie that features an appearance by  a murderous unicorn in my top ten.

Honorable Mentions include Lincoln, Skyfall, Brave, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, The Hobbit, The Dark Knight Rises, and a few others. It's been a good year for movies! Now to catch up on all the ones I missed...

Creepy Santa

This creepily unsettling Santa was inspired by an even creepier vintage photograph shown in a Mental Floss article. I was so disturbed by the image, I had to create some..."fan art"...of sorts.Enjoy?

-Andrew

 

I don't own the original photo, but the credit link Mental Floss gave in their article wasn't working, so I'm just sharing it here to let you see my inspiration.  You can link to the original article above, as well.

MST3K Santa Claus

One of my all-time favorite episodes of the great Mystery Science Theater 3000 is episode #521, in which they riff the 1959 children's' Christmas movie, Santa Claus. After re-watching the episode for the umpteenth time this season, I decided I was a few years overdue for making some fan art. So...enjoy!

-Andrew

 

Just for fun, here's a sample of the rough prelim sketches I did while glancing back at the movie.

And, in case you've never seen it, or just want to experience it again, here's the complete MST3K episode which someone has kindly placed online:

My Minty Art on Conan!

Let a proud nerd boast, for tonight my "Minty the Candy Cane" fan art was aired as a bumper on "Conan" tonight for the second year in a row! Below is a horrendously low-quality video clip of the art on the air this year, as well as a re-posting of the original art in question. Huzzah!

-Andrew

2012 Christmas Card

Here's the art for my 2012 Christmas card. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 

-Andrew

Kid Sketches

Here are a couple of recent character sketches inspired by kids I saw at the park. The girl with the glasses and the bag is directly inspired by one of the kids who stared (a little unnervingly) at me as I walked by. The girl in blue is less directly inspired--she sort of just came alive during sketching (and I like her quite a bit!) Enjoy!

-Andrew

A Robot's Decision

This was a piece I did for the good robot/bad robot theme over on The tumblr Art Challenge. Who knew a robot could suffer a moral dilemma? Enjoy! 

-Andrew

I'm Gonna Wreck It!

I saw Wreck It Ralph with high hopes, and it lived up to them. Such a fun and creative movie. Naturally, some fan art happened. Enjoy! 

-Andrew

Halloween Witch

One last Halloween piece...a Halloween Witch. Happy Halloween!

-Andrew

Disney Buys Lucasfilm!?

Here's a quick illustration I worked up after learning today that Disney had purchased Lucasfilm, and all the Star Wars characters that come with it! Enjoy!

-Andrew

The Walking Dog

Just in time for Halloween, a sketch inspired by a girl I recently saw walking her dog at the park. The girl in the sketch is only a moderate exaggeration of the actual girl (even the "I heart zombies" shirt is accurate)...her dog, however, was not actually a zombie. Enjoy!

-Andrew

Lydia at the Beach

Continuing what has become a more-or-less yearly Halloween tradition for me, here's another pin-up of (a more grown-up) Lydia from the old Beetlejuice cartoon.

This year she and the B-man have taken a trip to the beach! Enioy!

-Andrew

Don't Blink...

Some more 11th Doctor fan art. I could say it's in celebration of the debut of the new season of Doctor Who, but mostly it's just because. Enjoy!

-Andrew

Commission: Rapunzel Masked

Definitely one of the more unusual requests I've been commissioned to do in recent history: Disney's Rapunzel wearing The Mask (of Dark Horse Comics and Jim Carrey movie fame), taunting Eu--er--Flynn. Enjoy!

-Andrew

Jenn & Bueno: Caldwell & Montgomery Edition

Taking a break from my own art with this post to, once again, showcase some of the most recent Jenn & Bueno commissions I've received. It's a real shame that the first Jenn & Bueno art I've posted in AGES was not even drawn by me...although I did color each of these commisisons...so does that count at all? Enjoy!

(As always, when I commission a J&B piece, I leave every detail of it up to the artist in question, so these visions are purely theirs. And I love them.)

First up, we have Jenn & Bueno by the illustrious Ben Caldwell. I love the humor in the piece--and the fact that he threw in a cameo by several DC superheroines!

And the colors I added to it:

Next, we have Jenn & Bueno by Lauren Montgomery. Her choosing to depict Bueno as a plush toy set me to thinking...what if Jenn & Bueno is really a "Calvin & Hobbes" type situation, and Jenn just never grew out of it? Creepy....

And the colors I added to it:



Here's a link to a gallery of all the Jenn & Bueno commissions I've collected so far,
as well as random fan art that I've been sent.

Face It, Tiger...

Saw The Amazing Spider-Man the other day and enjoyed it well enough. It put me in the mood for some Spidey fan art, which I haven't done for quite some time, so here we have the many loves of Spider-Man (what a tough life poor Peter has had)! I tried to push the cartoony elements in this one (such as the three-fingered hands). Just playing around. Enjoy!

-Andrew

Dum Dum Seduction

While stopped at a gas station/convenience store on July 4th, we witnessed a middle-aged woman trying to seduce a twenty-something man while enjoying a Dum Dum® sucker. It was so ridiculous that I couldn't resist cartoon-ifying them. Enjoy!

-Andrew

Onion Puss Guest Pinups

Here are two guest pinups I did for fellow local cartoonist Chris Garrison's "Zoo Laffs" comics on the Dumm Comics website. The gallery of guest pinups he received followed a storyline titled "Ghost of a Chance", starring Onion Puss. Enjoy!

-Andrew

The first pinup is inspired, generally, by themes from the "Ghost of a Chance" story...

The second pinup was inspired by an off-handed remark Chris made about how he thought people would contribute more pinuppy pinups, like "Priscilla as a sexy Christmas elf, Holly as a French maid, etc." So I couldn't resist taking that idea and running with it...

As I Lay Hungry (T-shirt Design)

This is artwork I did for a T-shirt for Birmingham, Alabama's finest improv comedy troupe (of which I happen to be a new member), the Extemporaneous Theatre Company (ETC). The shirt is based on the skit, "As I Lay Hungry" written by Daniel Martin, which will be performed during shows in July 2012. Enjoy!

As of this posting, the limited-time-only shirt can be purchased at ETC's CafePress store.

-Andrew

The above designs are the ones that actually appear on the front and back of the shirt.
Below are alternate versions of the design which look more aged and distressed.

Garfield Plays Spider-Man

I realize this is the laziest, easiest, stupidest joke one could make about the fact that a guy named Garfield is portraying Spider-Man in the newest movie incarnation. And yet I did this anyway. Enjoy?

-Andrew

Hair Envy

Just a little fan art inspired by the recent release of Pixar's Brave, with a guest appearance by Disney's other...um...hairiest...princess, Rapunzel. Enjoy!

-Andrew

Disney ATC Cards

Here is a set of three Disney-themed ATC's (Art Trading Cards) I did for the Tiny Art group on Flickr. Each are colored in colored pencil, which is not my usual method, but here you have them nonetheless. Enjoy!

-Andrew

SAW'd Flounder

When you're an amateur cartoonist who regularly does fan commissions, you get some strange requests along the way. During a discussion about this topic the other night, Ashley ventured a guess as to what my weirdest request might be. "Flounder from The Little Mermaid wearing the mask from the SAW movies?" Wrong answer, but how could I resist? Enjoy.

-Andrew

(For the record, I've never seen, nor do I care to see, the SAW movies.)

Ren & Stimpy

I was a huge fan of Ren & Stimpy during their heyday (which was way back in high school for me). Back then I used to draw them pretty frequently. I recently decided it was time to revisit them, and so we have this. Enjoy!

-Andrew

The Doctor and Pals

A second Doctor Who-themed piece in a row! I actually drew this fan art of the Eleventh Doctor and his companions sometime last year and then forgot about it when it was still a work in progress. I found it recently and decided to finish it up.

My usual weakness for capturing likenesses is on display. I actually hope to try a take at a much more cartoony/stylized version of the Doctor soon. For now, enjoy!

-Andrew

Sorry about the creepiness of the lack-of-pupils in the pencil sketch.

The 11th Ducktor

Just a recent nerdy doodle that I ended up following up with a quick, finished illustration. Fellow fans of Doctor Who (specifically the 11th Doctor) and/or Donald Duck may appreciate this. The rest of you...scram? Er--I mean, enjoy!

-Andrew

Mustache Guy

Here's a greatly exaggerated caricature of a guy we recently saw at a local Chinese restaurant. His style made him a sort of cartoon character to begin with, so he pretty much had to be drawn. Enjoy!

-Andrew

Basket Bunny

It's a day late for Easter because I only just had time to finish it, but here's a disturbing little Easter Bunny. I don't know what's wrong with me.

-Andrew

The Creative Doldrums

Look! I'm still alive! Though I'm afraid I've spent fully the first three months of 2012 with a complete and total lack of creative motivation. Part of it's been due a busier schedule cutting in in free time, and part of it's been due to who knows what!

Here's a drawing the depicts my experience. I HOPE the fact that I was able to sit down and draw this means that the end of the Creative Doldrums are in sight, and I'll be back to drawing more regularly before long? Time will tell...in the meantime, enjoy!

-Andrew