Sketch of Miss Marvel

“The mighty Ms. Marvel packs a mighty punch!”

Sketch entitled, “Miss Marvel.” Illustration done on tone paper with black and white color pencils.

Sketch of Billy Idol’s, “Dancing With Myself” Music Video

“On the floor of Tokyo
Or down in London town to go, go
With the record selection
And the mirror’s reflection
I’m dancing with myself…”

Sketch entitled, “Billy Idol: Dancing With Myself.” Illustration on tonepaper done with black and white color pencil. I had the random idea of, “what if the music video to this song had a montage style movie poster?” This is what I came up with, lol. Long Live The 80s!!!

The Steampunk Legion Art Show at The Into The Woods Art Gallery and Body Art Studio!

The Steampunk Legion Art Show at The Into The Woods Art Gallery and Body Art Studio!

Come out this September 28th to The Steampunk Legion Art Show at The Into The Woods Art Gallery and Body Art Studio to witness Steampunk inspired artwork done by many of the local artists including yours truly!

As a huge fan of Steampunk, this will be the second time I will be submitting work to The Legion’s show (You can see my blog entry to the first show here). Again, I also want to give a special thanks to Vaughn Reynolds for inviting me to this awesome exhibition and look forward to doing many more in the future!

Please share and join in on the fun! If you’re on Facebook, RSVP by visiting the event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/544689215586103

Artwork is now available for purchase on Society 6!

Johnny Tie Studios now has a brand new store on Society 6 where you can by my artwork!

Hey folks! I’m proud to announce that my artwork is now available for purchase on Society 6! You can now get everything from prints, shirts, hoodies, tank tops, iPhone cases, iPad cases, tote bags, throw pillows, and much more for sale!

Links to my Society 6 store front has been added to the navigation menu on this blog, found here. As well as onto the navigational menu bar on my personal site, found here.

You can also directly check it out, by heading over to society6.com/johnnytiestudios!

Battle Angel: Alita – Gally from GUNNM

“You gave me my life, Daisuke… If I’m an angel, what does that make you?”

This illustration is inspired by one of my all-time favorite manga series besides, “Ghost In The Shell”, “Akira”, and “Full-Metal Alchemist”. Gally (also known as Alita, in the American translated version), is the protagonist of the manga series, “GUNNM” AKA “Battle Angel” and “Battle Angel Alita: Last Order”, which tells the tale of an amnesiac female cyborg. Whose interacted head and chest are found by cybermedic expert Daisuke Ido in the local dump of the futuristic dystopian world where this story takes place.

She is both lethal as she is beautiful… Not to mention, the only fictional character I’ve had a crush on… I’m not ashamed to admit it! Lol. Also, I hear rumors about James Cameron possibly adapting this series into a live-action film. If so, Mr. Cameron… If you’re reading this; feel free to hire me as one of your concept artist… It would definitely be a dream come true!

Sketch of Logan – The Wolverine

“I’m the best there is at what I do, but what I do best isn’t very nice.”

As part of my never-ending practice in my quest to improving my drawing skills further, here’s a sketch I whipped up of Logan; the immortal mutant better known as, The Wolverine. It’s the first time I take up the medium of using grey tone-paper along with black pencil and white charcoal pencil to render out a figure. It’s an awesome technique I’ll definitely be using in future sketches.

Sketch of Amy Pond as played by Karen Gillan

“When I was a little girl I had an imaginary friend, and when I grew up, he came back. He’s called the Doctor.” – Amy Pond.

Here’s a sketch I did of Karen Gillan as the lovable ginger Amelia Jessica “Amy” Pond, and faithful former companion of The Doctor. She shall be missed! 

Sketch of The Eleventh Doctor played by Matt Smith

“The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and…bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don’t necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant.” -The Doctor (‘Vincent and the Doctor’)

I am man enough to admit that I honestly cried at the last moments of The Tenth Doctor. In the two-part send-off The End of Time, the Tenth incarnation confronts the Ood about their original prophecy and is led to present-day Earth where, in the second part, the newly-resurrected Master (played by John Simm) restores Gallifrey and the Time Lords to existence, although he redeems himself by assisting The Doctor to defeat Time Lord President Rassilon (played by Timothy Dalton) before disappearing alongside the other Time Lords. The Doctor sacrifices his life to save Wilfred Mott, exposing himself to 500,000 rads of deadly radiation and thus triggering his regeneration.

He holds it back and is shown visiting several of the companions we came to know during his run on Doctor Who.^[a] He gives Donna Noble (played by Catherine Tate) a winning lottery ticket on her wedding day, buying it with money he borrowed from her late father in the past, saves Martha Jones and Mickey Smith (played by both Freema Agyeman and Noel Clarke) from a Sontaran sniper, saves Sarah Jane’s son Luke (played by Tommy Knight) from a car, introduces Captain Jack Harkness (played by John Barrowman) to a potential romantic interest (played by Russell Tovey), and finally, just before regenerating into The Eleventh Doctor (played by Matt Smith), he informs Rose in 2005 that she is about to have a “great year”. As he begins regenerating, his last words are “I don’t want to go”.

It’s here that I began sobbing like a baby, and most Whovian fans would agree, one tends to grow attached to a particular Doctor they have connected with, and The Tenth was truly my Doctor. Besides brilliant storylines courtesy from the amazing Doctor Who writers and production team, the actors themselves with their flawless acting give you no choice but to believe in their performance and thus you click with them on an emotional level as you would with someone like a best friend or loved one. It was sad to see The Tenth Doctor go and it was an amazing ride. To David Tennant, thank you for giving us a memorable and definitely unforgettable Doctor.

But like always, Doctor Who is about looking forward and pressing on. Thanks to new show runner Steven Moffat and the rest of the Doctor Who production team, the future of the series continues to flourish with the wise casting of Matt Smith as The Eleventh incarnation of The Doctor. At first, I was a little taken back by this new Doctor, and funny enough, I found myself withhold from opening myself completely to a person I apparently didn’t know anymore. But that didn’t last long as The Eleventh Doctor ultimately wins you over with his newly reconfigured energetic and eccentric personality, while at the same time doing and saying things that will remind you that he in fact is The Doctor… But just a little different in the noggin.

The Eleventh Doctor is portrayed as a brash and lively man who is rather arrogant and vain but has a great deal of affection for his loved ones. He’s at times arguably downright childish, which allows him to connect very well with children. However, there are also times when he acts his age, such as when he retires in Victorian London after the loss of Amy Pond and Rory Williams (two companions that the newly regenerated Doctor befriended earlier on in his new life, and are played by both Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill) and becomes a grumpy and solitary man who refuses to interact with others until he is charmed by Clara Oswald (played by Jenna-Louise Coleman).

Unlike his two most recent incarnations, this Doctor seems oblivious to details about human mainstream pop culture, besides a few references to classic literature, and is often seen embarrassing his companions with his attempts to be cool (including enthusiastic dancing). He even seems unfamiliar with certain adult activities such as sharing a bed, providing bunk beds in the TARDIS for the married Ponds, and drinking wine, spitting it back into the glass after trying it. He is also helpless at responding to romantic advances, acting awkwardly when River Song (played by Alex Kingston), Amy, and Clara try to seduce him; however, there are times when he behaves more maturely in romantic situations, frequently flirting with River and eventually marrying her, despite his usual discomfort with romance.

The Eleventh Doctor takes us through several adventures that introduce us to both new villainous alien life-forms as well as marking the return of some old ones, New friendships are made while old ones come to an end, and among anything else, he takes us through several new story arcs that not only reinvents the manner clever time-traveling plot devices are used, but how we see The Doctor himself. This becomes even more apparent when we finally discover the very secret The Doctor has been hiding this whole time; In “The Name of the Doctor“, the Doctor falls victim to a plot devised by the Great Intelligence, who holds the Doctor’s friends captive on the planet Trenzalore, where the Doctor will one day die and be buried.

Within the Doctor’s tomb, the Great Intelligence uses the Doctor’s remnants—his disembodied “timestream”—to spread himself across the Doctor’s history, turning his many victories into defeats. Despite objections from River Song, who at this point in her timeline is dead and is guiding Clara from beyond the grave, Clara goes after the Great Intelligence and is scattered throughout the Doctor’s timeline, where she undoes all of the Great Intelligence’s work, becoming Oswin Oswald and Clara Oswin Oswald, among others in the process. The Doctor has a sorrowful conversation with River’s phantom, and with a kiss gives his dead wife some closure. The Doctor enters his timeline to retrieve the original Clara; while rescuing her, she discovers a previously unknown incarnation (played by John Hurt) that he says broke the promise he made by taking “the Doctor” as his name, even though it was for the sake of peace and sanity.^[34]

This is where we are left off in the whole history of Doctor Who, and will find out more when The Eleventh Doctor comes back during the Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary Special episode, which also includes the return of The Tenth Doctor (played by David Tennant) and his companion Rose Tyler (played by Billie Piper). Finally, we will learn of The Doctor’s ultimate destiny during the Christmas Special and beyond.

In closing, sketching these eleven Doctor Who portraits were a blast to do, and it will definitely not be the last time I do something like it again. I have some really cool ideas for future Doctor Who inspired pieces. But till then I’m going to be focusing on further improving my illustration skills, exploring new subject matter, and aiming to perhaps changing or modifying my rendering style. Till then, folks! Thanks for watching!

Sketch of The Tenth Doctor played by David Tennant

“I’m the Doctor. I’m a Time Lord. I’m from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I’m 903 years old, and I’m the man who’s gonna save your lives and all six billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?” – The Doctor (‘Voyage of the Damned’)

As previously mention in, Sketch of The Ninth Doctor played by Christopher Eccleston, we  are re-introduced to a brand new Doctor Who with Series 1, and with that, we come face to face with the Ninth incarnation of the legendary Time Lord solely known as, “The Doctor“.

At the moment we met The Ninth Doctor, we came to know a man who has carried a great amount of pain and guilt from what is unfortunately a dark past. But this battered Doctor soon gets a second chance at finding peace and redemption with the help of his new companion Rose Tyler. Near the end of The Ninth incarnation’s run, The Doctor confronts that from which he has been running from all his life… The Great Time War. The Doctor is shocked to find out that not all the Daleks were destroyed during those violent moments, and that a single fleet has managed to expand their numbers by cloning more Daleks. With an Armada fully established, the Daleks set out to begin their conquest of the universe, but not before starting with the destruction of the planet Earth.

The Doctor along with Rose Tyler, Captain Jack Harkness, and a small band of friends he has made throughout his adventures, they set out to take down the Daleks even if it means death. In the end, it’s actually Rose that helps The Doctor destroy the remaining Daleks by looking into the Time Vortex concealed within The TARDIS itself and using that power to wipe them out. Of course, no human is meant to look into the Time Vortex and as a last act of compassion, The Doctor sacrifices his life by absorbing the radiation that coursed through Rose’s body and was slowly killing her. It’s at this very moment that the Doctor enters a sort of Catharsis. As his Ninth incarnation dies and begins his metamorphosis into the next regeneration, The Doctor is letting go of the past and starting a fresh new beginning. With one last smile to Rose, the newly vindicated Time Lord becomes The Tenth Doctor.

I loved The Ninth Doctor, but it’s The Tenth incarnation I really came to connect with as an adult, this experience was both nostalgic and easily comparable to the same moment I connected with Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor back when I was a kid. From his sharp pinstripe suit and awesome converse shoes combo, to his fresh new outlook on life, the performance that David Tennant gives as The Tenth Doctor re-ignites that familiar feeling I used to get so long ago. Ugh! I can’t help how cool this version was. He had this distinct light-hearted, talkative, easy-going, witty and cheeky manner to himself. But also on the flip side, he repeatedly demonstrates a vengeful and unforgiving streak as well. In a nutshell, The Tenth incarnation turned out to be a very complex and interesting character as The Doctor has always been known to be. Other great aspects include, that it’s also with The Tenth Doctor that the series started producing storylines that re-introduced elements from Doctor Who history, many of which came in the form of the lovely Sarah Jane Smith played by Elisabeth Sladen and K-9!

Mr. Tennant, you rock sir! I so can’t wait to see your return during the 50th Anniversary Special Episode along side Billie Piper!

Stay tune for, Sketch of The Eleventh Doctor played by Matt Smith!

Sketch of The Ninth Doctor played by Christopher Eccleston

“No! ‘Cause this is what I’m gonna do: I’m gonna rescue her! I’m gonna save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek fleet! And then I’m gonna save the Earth! And then, just to finish off, I’m gonna wipe every last stinking Dalek out of the sky!” – The Doctor (‘Bad Wolf’)

Entering the newly revived series of Doctor Who in 2005, we are re-introduced to The Doctor in his now Ninth incarnation. The Ninth Doctor is characterized as a “stripped down” version of previous Doctors, depicting a less eccentric and less foppish personality and appearance. As Russell T Davies would say, “He travels in time and space, he’s got two hearts, he’s a Time Lord — that’s eccentric enough to be getting on with”.^[35] Other aspects of The Ninth Doctor includes speaking with a distinct Northern accent and choosing to wear a more modern wardrobe consisting of a black leather jacket, shirt, and jeans.

Also, upon us meeting The Ninth Doctor, he quickly gives the impression that he’s almost like a personification of The Doctor’s trauma after experiencing the many unspeakable horrors of past battles, including “The Last Great Time War” that claimed the lives of the much feared Daleks, but at the cost of destroying his race The Time Lords in the process. When it comes right down to it, The Ninth Doctor carries alot of survival guilt and pain from which he tries to keep in the past by solely focusing on the “here and now”, to him the present is all that matters.

But what’s The Doctor without his faithful companion? This time around, that title goes to the independent and courageous Rose Tyler as played by Billie Piper. Unlike past companions, Rose is far from being “vulnerable” and along with having tons of bravery, she even manages to save The Doctor’s life on countless occasions. These qualities make The Doctor see the great potential in Rose, and along with growing a strong bond with her over the course of their several adventures, the Doctor helps Rose to reach her full potential and in return, Rose helps The Doctor find peace and hope once more.

Christopher Eccleston plays this Doctor brilliantly, and it’s because of him and his outstanding performance (along with an ensemble of talented supporting actors and actresses that include Bruno Langley as boy genius Adam Mitchell, Noel Clarke as Rose Tyler’s working class ex-boyfriend Mickey Smith, and John Barrowman  as the charismatic ex-con time traveler that can never die Captain Jack Harkness) that the Doctor Who series was given a second chance. Mr. Eccleston, thanks for bringing Doctor Who back to the masses and for paving the way for the future incarnations of The Doctor that are just as memorable as yours has been!

Stay tune for, Sketch of The Tenth Doctor played by David Tennant!