Tony Stark: Your GO TO GUY!

Iron Angel

2008-05-14T21:42:00.000-07:00

Erik Lervold is the artist behind this unique piece, which he describes as an angelic Iron Man. It certainly has the feel of something you might find behind an church altar -- if it was an Iron Man Fanboy church! Hmmm...thinking about it, that wouldn't be a bad church to attend! I mean, the stainglass windows alone would probably make it worth it!

I love the serene expression on Iron Man's face in this one and the watercolour treatment. And the vertical orientation would also make a pretty hot bookmark -- one you could stick in your Essential Iron Man collection to mark the good Shellhead vs. Titanium man stories.

Poster of Iron

2008-05-13T14:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a nice one from artist and illustrator Paul Shipper. He writes that he felt inspired to make this faux Iron Man film poster for his nieces and nephews after taking them to see the recent film. So, using some existing film promo artwork as a guide, he digitally painted this awesome image. I love the rain/ligthning effect he added, as well as the cool credits and titles. And of course, the kids loved the artwork.

Iron Man in Silver and Red

2008-05-08T12:33:00.000-07:00

Michael Lobasz sent in this one, which he admits he drew years ago. Back then he was a fan of the silver-and-red armour that Tony Stark rocked back in the late 80' - early 90's. Now, I personally didn't read Iron Man during that era (I'm a gold-and-red suit fan), but Michael was clearly inspired enough by those comics to draw up such a detailed portrait. In fact, he admits he even created a homemade Iron-man glove with a flashlight repulsor ray -- now that's a real fan!

Thanks for submitting this, Michael!

Happy Hour!

2008-05-04T12:23:00.000-07:00

Anthony Brennan's Iron Man looks like he's enjoying a great night out. The kind of night where the party's so good that everything is just sparkling! Apart from the eye-catching palette, I also dig the martini Tony's working on here -- its got an olive and a slice of lime in it. Personally, I've never had a martini with lime before, but then I'm not a billionaire industrialist genius. Maybe the lime gives him an extra energy kick!

Anthony's also got a variation on this fantastic drawing on his flickr set, which you should also check out.

Repulsor Blast!

2008-05-04T12:19:00.000-07:00

Jeff Victor sent in this gorgeous pic, which he was inspired to make while waiting feverishly for the opening of the new Iron Man movie. I love the line of action in this piece, and the shapes he used for the Iron Man figure: Tony looks a bit, well, husky in this one -- like he's been eating a few too many bacon-cheeseburgers. But hey, he can still kick some ass with those repulsor beams!

Up up and away!

2008-05-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

Chad Geran is the name, and making cool drawings is his game. Case in point, this charming Iron Man drawing. I love the shapes in this piece, as well as the colour scheme. The whole drawing shows sophistication and restraint, as well as a great sense of fun.

Thanks, Chad!

Ultra-Massive Update pt 1

2008-05-02T13:56:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit lax lately in maintaining this blog. Ok, ok, I've been really lax in maintaining it. Mostly its due to my work commitments as an illustrator and cartoonist and how much it takes out of my time. It's certainly not for lack of Iron Man drawing submissions! Over the last 6 months, I've received an amazing amount of wonderful Iron Man artwork, and I'm very sorry to all the artists who've graciously sent in their drawings that I've been so late in posting them. I'm trying to rectify that, by doing some massive updates in honour of the new Iron Man movie that just opened this weekend.

So, without further ado...check out these awesome drawings:

This awesome 3D design and render is by Lee Anderson and is actually based on a previous drawing submitted to this blog by Jamie Egerton. Jamie created a great concept drawing for a new shell-head armour and Lee was inspired to actually model it in 3D send in this render. I dunno about you, but it looks amazingly real -- I can almost picture myself on a rooftop wearing that suit. Well, maybe if was a super-fanboy or something...which I'm not. Ok, I am.

Derek Toye is the great illustrator behind this piece. I've liked his art since I first saw it, and this piece is exeptional. He's chosen to go with the classic "fin-head" helmet, while incorporating a more modern redesign on the armour itself. Great concept, great lineart, and great colour!

John Skewes sent in this excellent drawing - he admits he was channeling some childhood memories of the big "tin can" armour that Tony Stark wore during his earliest comic appearances. I gotta admit my fondness for that suit as well -- there's just something about that big and clunky outfit that appeals to me. And, as you can see from many other submissions to this blog, it appeals to a lot of other artists as well.

This one's by Sean Hamilton and it features an appearance by War Machine. Now, I gotta admit I never read a single Iron Man comic with War Machine in it (I heard he appeared during the 90's -- a dark time in comic books for me), but Sean's drawing here is so charming that I might just check it out.

Matt Bennett sent in these two drawings -- and they're true Iron Man doodles. I personally love these kinds of submissions -- the kind the artist has drawn on the back of an envelope while talking on the phone. Or as a warmup for a day of boring drawing. I like the way Iron Man is wagging his finger in the second doodle -- like he's telling me "Cho, you chump! You should be updating this blog more often!"

See? I told you people love drawing the tin-can suit! This one's by the ultra-talented Jason Chalker -- and its another great doodle. Believe it or not, he actually drew this on a post-it note while at work. No wonder its got a vacation theme to it. Strangely though, I also sense a weird Magnum P.I. vibe off of it. Maybe its the fact that Tony Stark bears a slight resemblence to Tom Selleck. I dunno, maybe its just me...

Another cartoonist whose work I respect is Dean Trippe, and he sent in this gorgeous and sleek drawing of an Iron Man redesign. He actually sent it in as a promo for a shell-head redesign contest being run at Project Rooftop, but sadly I was way way late and didn't post it until now. I hope you'll forgive me Dean -- cause I think your Iron Man design is tops!

Another cool piece of Iron Man fanart, this time by Michael Langdale. I dig the foreshortening and action in this one -- its a real two-fisted action drawing!

This one's a totally fun one -- it's by Dylan Ekren and features a really cool redesign of the armour, as well as a hilarious and charming pose. I wonder if Tony's all skinny-legged and pear-shaped from not working out enough -- maybe he needs to ditch the armour for a while and get back to the gym...

Well, that's it for this ultra-massive update. Again, my apologies to all the excellent artists who submitted drawings and were waiting patiently for me to update this blog.

Digitally Painted Shellhead

2007-09-18T18:23:00.000-07:00

Carlos Villagra sent in this digitally painted piece -- and its pretty sweet. Being fairly unfamiliar with the recent versions of Iron Man, I'm not sure if this is a wholly new armour created by Carlos or an interpretation of a current shell-head suit, but whatever it is, its really well drawn and coloured! I especially like the textures on the body and the hint of a circuit-board or schematic in the background.

Great work, Carlos! Thanks for submitting it!

Ball-Point Powered!

2007-09-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

Oh man oh man -- this one is a beauty! When I saw this awesome drawing by Dan Boyd in my mailbox, I was totally floored. Not only because its a great drawing, but also because Dan busted it out with a ball-point pen! Apparently, Dan recently purchased a statuette of shell-head in his original tin-can suit, and felt inspired to draw this great pic. And I'm thankful he did -- its just the kind of Iron Man drawing I love: charming, full of energy and enthusiasm and loaded with old-school style!

Thanks, Dan!

Chris Frye's Iron Man!

2007-08-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

Of course, my little Iron Man blog isn't the only site devoted to Shell Head on the net -- Iron Man and the internet kinda go together like repulsors and transistors! Hence, Chris Frye found my blog via another excellent Iron Man resource, Advanced Iron; a repository of all kinds of information on our steel clad hero. After surfing through this blog, Chris was kind enough to submit these excellent pencil renditions of Iron Man in two modern versions of his armour. I especially like the tricked-out War Machine version -- it seems that version of Shell Head is almost as popular a subject for artists as the Ditko-finned version or the Tin-can Iron Man!

Great work, Chris -- thanks for the submission!

All Fired Up!

2007-08-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

Previous contributor and all around artistic talent Kyu Shim sent in another excellent submission -- this time of a beautifully rendered chiaroscuro Iron Man! I've dug Kyu's work since back in the day, when we were buddies in art school. His painting background is quite evident in this drawing, with its excellent light-sourcing and modelling of forms.

Take a bow, Kyu -- this one's a beauty!

Iron Brats!

2007-08-10T15:05:00.001-07:00

Oooh...long delay between new posts lately, so I've got a real treat for you! Jason Quinones has provided a DOUBLE treat, with two great Iron Man drawings. Actually, as he describes it, they're more like Iron Boy drawings, but I can't complain -- they're just too damn charming! I especially like the grey "Warmachine" design -- he makes that character just so huggable!

Thanks, Jason!

Crashing through the 4th Wall!

2007-06-17T22:17:00.000-07:00

Fans have J. Michael Stovall to thank for this great black and white sketch of our favourite Avenger, and like most of his work, its a beauty. I really like how he's rendered the armour in this drawing -- it reminds me of the look of the classic Iron Man comics of the 80's inked by Bob Layton (a sentimental favourite of mine). And the expression and body language here is great too -- no doubt if you just crashed through a granite wall, you'd have a kink in your neck too. Especially if you went head-first.

Thanks for such a fine submission, Mike!

The Tin Man

2007-06-13T22:04:00.000-07:00

Artist extraordinaire Robb Waters submitted this great colour drawing of the original "grey tin can" Iron Man and I can't say enough good things about it. So I won't even try. Instead, I'll leave it to you to just bask in its greatness. Ok, maybe I'll just say a couple things -- 1) I really dig how you can still see Tony's mustache through his mouth vent and 2) I just absolutely love the colour scheme of this picture. That's it. I'll shut up now and let you appreciate the wonder!

Thanks, Robb!

Celluloid Iron

2007-05-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

Chad Townsend sent these in -- and what awesome artwork it is! In case you don't know, Chad was the designer on the recent Invincible Iron Man animated movie that came out earlier this year. And as he mentions in his email, he designed the look of the armour for that feature. Now, I haven't seen the movie yet (actually, my favourite Iron Man cartoon is the old '60's Marvel Heroes show -- especially the theme song!) but I'm definitely more inclined to do so now, having seen these cool designs. That first piece of toned concept art, especially, gets me in a fanboy lather. Check out his wonderful site for more examples of his design work from the film!

Thanks, Chad!

Iron Monkey!

2007-05-11T13:39:00.000-07:00

Here's another fun one -- this one by talented part-time illustrator, Kyu Shim. I've known Kyu for years -- in fact, he's one of the reasons I started drawing comics when I got out of college. When I'd visit his studio back in the day, he'd routinely blow me away with his comic samples. The fact that his submission here has a monkey theme makes this one extra sweet. I love the way his armoured suit is banana-powered --just like mine.

Thanks, Kyu!

More Fins! More Fun!

2007-04-23T23:13:00.000-07:00

Previous contributor Ronald Salas drew up this beauty, which he posted on the drawingboard.org, and which he graciously allowed me to post here. I've always dug his work since the first time I saw it -- Ron has such a great command of lights and darks and shares some of my sensibilities when it comes to lighting. He's also a big fan of the fin-head Iron Man design, and that makes him tops in my book!

Thanks for sharing this, Ron!

The Invincible Iron Ape!

2007-04-11T01:02:00.000-07:00

Talented young cartoonist, Evan Shaner sent in this submission and it's a doozy. I can't say enough awesome things about this drawing, mainly because it combines in one mind-blowing image so many of my favourite things: 1 )Iron Man, 2) the fin-head armour and 3) gorillas! Evan has drawn gorilla versions of some other popular superheroes that he's posted on his gallery, but hey, all I needed to see to make my day was the Iron Ape!

Fins Make Everything Better

2007-04-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

Gregory Giordano, aka Flameape sent in this one -- another fine drawing of Iron Man in his early Fin-head helmet. I like the way Gregory has worked the textures in this one a lot, and the way Iron Man has a big smile on his face. Its always nice to see a superhero just enjoying himself and letting loose with the smile instead of the cliche big "asskicking" grimace.

Thanks, Gregory!

Tony Stark Smash!

2007-04-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

Many, many times I've sat at night wondering to myself "Dang! I wonder what would happen if gamma-irradiated-super-scientist Bruce Banner had worn the Iron Man armour??" Ok, ok, well maybe I haven't. But Mark Osberg has! And he's even taken the time to draw up a fine cartoon with his answer!

I really dig this drawing, especially the way Hulk's legs are just oozing out of the Iron cuff boots. And that expression on his face is priceless. Mark calls his creation the Iron Hulk, but I just call it hilarious!

Thanks for the submission, Mark!

Iron Man Salute!

2007-04-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

Craig Ingerto sent in this one -- and as he writes in his email:

"Here's an old shellhead doodle in pencil I did a long time ago. I'm not sure what's going on with his right hand, but it looks kind of like he's reciting the pledge of allegiance ... anyway, that's why I call this one 'Iron Man Salute!'"

Thanks, Craig! All hail the Iron Man!

More Fin Fun!

2007-03-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

See? Even I can't stop drawing the fins! This one was drawn when I was taking a break, probably while working on a boring assignment or something or other -- I can't resist the urge to doodle Iron Man when I'm drawing something dull. I drew it all out in marker, so even the construction and underdrawing was done with a red marker and then inked with a black pitt brush pen.

Fins make the (iron) man!

2007-03-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

Of the many fine submissions I get for this blog, I'm constantly delighted at how many of them are of the old "finhead" iron man design created by Steve Ditko. I mean, that design was used for only a couple years at most in the comics, yet it remains a real favourite among Iron Man fans. Really, it should be no surprise, since its so damn cool, but I'm always glad when someone sends in another finhead drawing.

Fellow canadian artist Patrick Ypperciel sent in this one, and its a very nice and loose sketch of that classic design. I like the tough expression on Iron Man's face here, and the explosion in the background that seems to imply "watch it, kid -- I'm kicking major ass here!". Thanks for the fun submission, Patrick!

He Lives!

2007-03-16T00:28:00.000-07:00

Wowie! This fun Iron Man was drawn by the talented and charming Diana Tamblyn. As well as being an excellent writer and cartoonist herself (check out her mini-comics!), Diana is also a world-class comic geek and works hard behind the scenes to try and promote canadian comics and comic creators. Personally, I really dig the big head on Iron Man here (I am such a big-headed super-hero fan) as well as the fact that she chose to draw the old grey tin-can armour. Best of all, I actually OWN this piece, since she was kind enough to give it to me as a gift!

Diana writes in her blog entry that this was her first drawing done with the Pitt brush-pen markers -- looks like a fantastic start to me!

Two Tone Tony Stark doodles

2007-03-13T02:03:00.000-07:00

...and here's a post from me! I drew up these doodles in marker while I was warming up at the drawing board one day. I think I was fooling around with trying to come up with an avatar/icon thing for my favourite avenger. Of course, I had to give up once I started getting busy with work again...but maybe another time?