new blog

From now on, I'll be using

Please visit, look around, and make it your new home for all things NATE  X!

MONSTERS: the Legends

While cleaning off my computer yesterday, I remembered that I had made this series of 44 monsters - some classic... some not so much - a couple years ago. Some of them turned out pretty good, so I thought I'd share. Rather than bombard you with all 44 at once, I'll be dividing them up in to little categories.

Birds of a Feather: take II

A co-worker wanted a painting of mine, but with some changes. The first change is that he wanted it bigger (18x18), and the second change was he wanted more of a sunrise feel to the sky. I was happy to oblige.

(original still for sale here)

PORTRAIT: Giacomo + Justine

 A friend requested this one to celebrate his 2 year anniversary with his girlfriend. I made sure to include some of their favorite colors and to add their anniversary date at the bottom.

Want to give someone a custom portrait as a birthday present? Email me at nate00x@gmail.com with some photos and we can get started.
Digital print out starts at $35 for up to two people with an additional $5 for each additional person - 11x17"
Paintings start at $50 for up to two people with an additional $5 for each additional person - 14x14"

(payments to be made through PayPal)

COMMISSIONS: Gavin and Tom

Drew up some more of Tim's characters in my style. Above is Gavin Langstrom and below is the day time and night time versions of Tom Cole.

If you're interested in seeing me do one of your characters in my style (or an already established character in my style) email me at nate00x@gmail.com and we'll get started. (prices vary depending on what you want and how you want it)

PORTRAIT: Elizabeth

Portrait for my friend/coworker of his daughter for her birthday present. She is going through a superhero phase, so he thought it would be fun to have her dressed like her favorite --Superman!

Want to give someone a custom portrait as a birthday present? Email me at nate00x@gmail.com with some photos and we can get started.
Digital print out starts at $35 for up to two people with an additional $5 for each additional person - 11x17"
Paintings start at $50 for up to two people with an additional $5 for each additional person - 14x14"

(payments to be made through PayPal)

PORTRAIT: the Bordgerding family

A coworker wanted a custom portrait of her family (including dogs) but instead of the digital option, she wanted a painting. I hadn't thought of this before, but now I am making it an option.

If you are interested in a custom portrait of you, your family, friends, pets, or other loved ones, email me at nate00x@gmail.com with some photos and we can get started.
Digital print out starts at $35 for up to two people with an additional $5 for each additional person - 11x17"
Paintings start at $50 for up to two people with an additional $5 for each additional person - 14x14"

(payments to be made through PayPal)

MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE

I know I've been a little quiet on here lately, but I have been keeping busy. I have some paintings I've finished up, some paintings in-progress, and lots of sketches and inks I need to finish. I've also been replaying MUA and wanted to do a little something to honor some of my favorite characters to play as in the game. I didn't expect to like playing as Mr.Fantastic or Daredevil, but they both have some great moves. Out of these characters, Spider-man and Human Torch are probably my top two, Wolverine can really be clutch if you're having trouble, and Cap and Thor are just iconic. Maybe I'll pick up some more favorites now that I'm on my second time through.

FIGHT!

I can't explain it, but there's just something about Street Fighter that I really like. I haven't played the games much... I've barely played them, really, but every once in a while, I just think it's really cool. We recently got Netflix so I've recently watched the animated SF movies and started the TV show, but I cannot get in to it. Some movies were better than others but it's a franchise with a lot of potential to make a really good movie. I still want to see the old VanDamme, Raul Julia movie even though I know it's terrible. Oh well, here's my little tribute

invasion - watx

hey everybody, sorry for the long delay. Part of it was taking a little break after GCCC and part of it was my job changing gears again. Anyway, this contest deadline forced me to finish an image (I've got some more on the way soon).


1 Million to Save Wolverine and the X-Men on Facebook is holding another art contest (deadline is tomorrow) and this is my entry. There are polls occasionally to see who will invade next, but I don't think the Sentinel will ever win a popularity contest. Still, he makes perfect sense for an invasion. Plus you have to love the combination of a character being terrifying and completely goofy looking.

gem city comic con 2011

Thank you to everyone who came and saw our table (and especially those who bought our merchandise!)

Apparently GCCC has been such a success lately that next year it will be TWO DAYS! Think you can handle it? Yeah, that's what we're wondering too. Hopefully this year we'll be able to go to some other cons to help gear up for next year.

It was definitely a great time. For more photos be sure to check out Janae's recap. Also check out Lee's new website. And check back here for some more updates soon!

deadpool

I just got back from my printer and now I'm even more excited for the GEM CITY COMIC CON! Don't forget to come see us Sunday (and remember to use this coupon).

You can check out all of the prints I'll be selling this year here. Lee will have some classic DC heroes and his first TPB, Rock of Pages!

I've never drawn Deadpool before, but what better reason to try him out than to celebrate my second year at GCCC? One of the great things about Deadpool is that he can get away with just about anything since he's crazy...

I'll (hopefully) see you Sunday!

fantastic four and comic con two

So this is the second year my brother and i will be at the GEM CITY COMIC CON! If you're from the southern Ohio area you should definitely come check it out. Admission is pretty cheap and you can even use this coupon.

So most of my latest posts are the prints I'll be selling this year. you can check out all the prints here... plus I have one more to reveal before the Con. Lee will have some classic DC heroes and his first TPB, Rock of Pages! We are bringing it this year and we'd love to see you there.

In honor of Johnny "Human Torch" Storm dying this year, I reworked my version of the F4. I like the futuristic look of the new team uniforms, so I tried to incorporate some of that into their classic blue.

Hope to see you Sunday Sunday Sunday!

avengers: thor

so i had never read any thor until j. michael straczynski had a crack at him. i loved it. so much so that my wife (or fiancee at the time) bought me cuff links with thor on them. it's crazy how much changed while thor was out of commission, but i really like how he was (understandably) angry with iron man for what tony had done, and when freakin bucky shows up as captain america, thor is more than a little skeptical.

i tried to blend a few different versions of thor's costumes, classic, new, ultimate, and i even referenced the new cartoon for his helmet. i gave him the beard because not many superheroes can get away with one.

thanks for looking!

avengers: iron man

he hasn't really been a favorite in comics for a while, but he's still a hugely iconic character. iron man's first movie was great and janae even really liked it. i think that says a lot for a comic book movie when someone who doesn't really like comics or action movies still enjoys it. the second iron man movie wasn't as great, but you can tell it was just getting pulled in too many directions. i still liked iron man 2, but here's hoping his next two showings (avengers and iron man 3) will be better

thanks for looking!

avengers: captain america

have i ever mentioned my favoritism for cap? it really has nothing to do with his comics or really anything about his official continuity. it's all because i bought an action figure of him as a kid and just loved to play with that thing. all i knew about his backstory was what i learned from the 90s spider-man cartoon.  still, he was one of my favorite toys growing up so i still feel a bond whenever i see him now.

and i am very much looking forward to his new movie. at first i wasn't sure about chris evans playing cap, but the more i see, the more i'm sold.

thanks for looking!

spider-man loves mary jane

well who doesn't love ms. watson? it's been a while since i've drawn spidey on anything more than just a post-it note, so i wanted to give him another go... this time taking his girlfriend (ex-wife?) for a swing. janae told me that mj should always wear purple or green because she's a red head and she should probably never wear a black shirt with khakis (no matter how classic it might be).

thanks for looking!

- nate  x

7 evil exes

scott pilgrim is totally boss. i love the books AND i love the movie. how often does that happen? yes the books are better, but the movie doesn't do anything wrong except be too short. so this is just my little tribute to scott pilgrim and the world. hope you all like my take on the characters

thanks for looking

- nate  x

x-men group poster

so a while back (longer back than i'd like to admit) i drew up all of those individual x-men images hoping to one day compile them in to a group image. for some reason, i could never get it to look quite right. every once in a while, i'd reposition, resize and reconfigure, but it didn't work. so i finally decided to make the changes i needed to make, redrawing arms, changing poses, to make it actually work in a group image. while i was at it, i went ahead and made their costumes a little more mainstream and current... still with a little nate x twist here and there.

hope you all like it!

- nate  x

quick greaser

worked on this one afternoon while debating over another project.

contest entry: wolverine and the x-men comic cover

a little something for a contest on facebook. there are rumors that the short lived cartoon series might continue as a comic, so the contest is to draw a comic cover based on the previously mentioned plans for season two ... which look a lot like age of apocalypse.

i tried to incorporate a lot of the show's character design in to this image because that's probably what the comic version of a cartoon show would do.

- nate  x

firefly- poster

the image all of these character drawings have been leading to. i tried to capture as much as i could from the show... the way the characters look, the lighting, the colors, the western feel and a little chinese thrown in there. i love this show. thanks for sitting through all of my character posts. i hope you dig the big group image.

aim to misbehave

- nate  x

firefly- the doctor and the prodigy

while mal, zoe and jayne may handle most of the plot and action, simon and river tam are the other real heartbeat for the show. simon gave up a promising career as a doctor to save his sister, river, from some creepy alliance experiment. the two are fugitives and while that complicates the lives of everyone else on serenity, it also gives them all purpose. what was the alliance doing to river? what secrets are in her head? watch the show and then watch the movie. seriously. you'll love it.

group image is next!

- nate  x

firefly- the shepherd and the companion

i paired these two together for this post because they both hold more hopeful and spiritual presence, guiding the others and providing some conscience. book is a shepherd, a preacher, and has a very western faith... as well as a mysterious past he keeps hidden. inara is a companion... a high class prostitute... and has more of an eastern spirituality ...as well as a huge crush on mal that she keeps hidden.

two more!

- nate  x

commission: axel

finishing up my work for tim maclaren with his friend's original x-men character 'axel'.

have a character you'd like to see in my style?

email me at nate00x@gmail.com and we can talk specifics. prices vary depending on what you want (original character, established character, self portrait) and how you want it (sketch, finished colored illustration, background, et cetera)

- nate  x

firefly- the pilot and the engineer

rounding out serenity's crew are the pilot, wash, and engineer, kaylee. wash is a leaf on the wind when he's flying, and he's also kind of the chandler of the group. yeah, i dropped a 'friends' reference. while wash provides the humor, kaylee is the heart of the group. and she also knows way too much about ships and machines.

still more coming!

firefly- first mate and enforcer

next up are loyal first mate zoe and i'm not exactly sure what he does (not public relations) jayne cobb. these two are the ones who always accompany mal on missions. zoe the warrior woman and the hero of canton, the man they call jayne. i mentioned with mal that i tried to get the intended look for the character as well as resemblence of the actors, but i forgot to mention i was also trying to get some of the color and lighting the show had.

firefly - malcom reynolds

i recently watched firefly on dvd for the first time. if you haven't seen it, you should. the show is amazing. it's funny, it's dramatic, it's dark, it's light and it has action. oh and it's a space western. anyway, i loved the show so much that i started working on a picture of the crew of serenity, starting of course with their captain. i tried to capture the look of both what mal would ideally look like and what the actor who played him (nathan fillion) looked like.

watch for more of the crew

- nate  x

4 new paintings

SOLD

one thing i've been trying to work on is working harder. i'm trying to not waste so much time. it's easy to sit there and do nothing while blank canvases just sit next to your empty sketchbook... but i'm getting better about it. here are my four newest paintings! (all currently up for sale)

retro birdcage

retro high wheel bicycle

SOLD

little bird

SOLD

and i'm happy to say that as i was writing this, the top image of the boy and girl actually sold!
i guess it actually is good to not be so lazy

- nate  x

portraits ... open for business!

 after such positive feedback on this illustration of me, the wife and the pug, i thought that maybe i could start doing custom portraits of people for our shop.

have you ever wanted to see yourself as one of my cartoons? how about you and your significant other, brother, sister or best friend?

if you're interested, check out the details 

HERE

commission: pellet v2

continuing my work for tim maclaren and his original x-men character 'pellet'. this time he is featured in his movie-style costume.

want to see me draw something?

email me at nate00x@gmail.com and we can talk specifics. prices vary depending on what you want (original character, established character, self portrait) and how you want it (sketch, finished colored illustration, background, et cetera)

- nate  x

commission: pellet

doing some work for tim maclaren on his original x-men character, 'pellet'. this version is him in his comic style costume.

interested in getting your slice of the nate x pie?

email me at nate00x@gmail.com and we can talk specifics. prices vary depending on what you want (original character, established character, self portrait) and how you want it (sketch, finished colored illustration, background, et cetera)

- nate  x

guest blog on twig+bone

 hey everyone, to prove i'm not dead i posted a guest blog on twig+bone about the movie groundhog day. because that movie's awesome. you know you love it.

maybe someday i'll soon i'll be posting on here again ...?

yes i will. i'm not dead, i'm just busy

portrait of an artist as a young family man

i made this little illo for my wife for christmas. i thought it'd be fun to draw out little family and she liked it so much she wants me to print it and have it framed in our living room on top of a book shelf. that's a little weird for me because i don't usually hang up my own work in my living space (unless it's the studio and it's something i'm working on). still, i'm flattered she loved my little gesture so much.

sorry i haven't posted much lately. as you can see, i'm in the middle of fixing up the blog ... it just doesn't look how i want it to look... yet