Shang Chi

[Mowgli]

Hey there! I just did a quick drawing of Shang Chi for a draw off on another site. I liked the look and thought I would share. Comments and criticisms are welcome. Thanks for looking!  :)

[zuludelta]

I've always had a love/hate relationship with the Shang-Chi character. On one hand, he was one of the few lead Asian characters in American comics... as a kid, I always wondered where all the heroes of Asian descent were... apparently, most male Asians were only fit to be supporting characters in a version of the "magical Negro" mold and the females were typically the "exotic" girlfriends of "(white) man-without-a-cross" types... although I'd only read a single appearance by the guy (his comics were hard to come by then), he quickly became one of my childhood favourites. But on the other hand, he was pretty much a token character that was equal parts stereotype and 1970s kung-fu movie. I imagine he was as much a cultural paradox to Asian readers as Luke Cage was to black readers. I'm just glad that Paul Gulacy and Doug Moench (the guys associated with popularizing Shang-Chi) were able to develop the character beyond his initial roots. 

But I digress.

That's a very solid rendering of the character. Not too fond of him doing a b-boy flare in the full-figure drawing, but that's more of a design preference than any criticism of your technique. You should really post here more often man, I love looking at your work.

[Mowgli]

Thanks Zuludelta. Yeah, I can see the "flare" now that you mention it. I was looking at a photo of Tony Jaa actually doing that kick and hitting someone. But without the guy reeling in pain, it does looking very much like a dance. LOL! I always appreciate input, especially when it's from an artist whose work I respect. That makes it very satisfying. So thanks again for taking the time.

I have three pieces I will scan soon with a pretty high level of detail. So we will see more soon!  :thumbup:

And where is Seniority? (I really want to read that! )

[zuludelta]

Speaking of Tony Jaa, what the heck happened to him? He was the coolest thing in martial arts movies for a while there and then he sort of just disappeared from Western-release cinema. You'd think he'd have at least made it as a Bond villain bodyguard or a buddy-movie sidekick by now  :D

As for Seniority... the learning curve has been a little steep for me. I don't think anything in my prior art-related work experience (which really, has just been the odd texturing/rendering job for small studios and doing print banners, advert posters, and silkscreening/t-shirt transfers) really prepared me for the rigors of storyboarding, drawing, colouring, and lettering a comic book all at the same time, so the past few months have been a lot of trial and error, self-education and re-education, and critical self-evaluation.

It's both an educational and a humbling experience.

I've been reading a lot of comic book art trade publications (mostly the instructional/retrospective stuff put out by TwoMorrows Publishing as well as some cartooning textbooks), studying up on basic film and camera techniques, and of course, digging up my old anatomy and figure drawing textbooks and trying to develop that "drawing as second nature" thing I had before I decided to "grow up" and give up on the notion that I could ever illustrate a comic book for somebody besides myself. I was actually about a third of the way done with the first issue when I made the conscious decision to push the reset button and re-illustrate the whole thing from the ground up. Good thing that it coincided with Tortuga re-plotting his story and re-working the dialogue and pacing, otherwise, I would've felt so guilty about throwing out all that previous work  :P. I might have a page or two to preview in a couple of days, though, if I get the okay from Tort... maybe in my art thread here or in the newly minted Seniority blog.

But enough about me   :lol: can't wait to see your other pieces.   

[Tortuga]

And where is Seniority? (I really want to read that! )

Me too!

I love the musculature in that drawing, Mowg.  You do great work!

[MJB]

Very solid line work Mowg. Love it.

-MJB

[Mowgli]

MJB: Thanks man, I always look forward to your input. When are we going to see some more of your work?

ZuluDelta: Tony made the Protector after Ong Bak (some good fight scenes with absolutely no story). Then he made "The Bodyguard 2" which is an action comedy that did nothing. He has finished Ong Bak 2, which is in post production. Wouldn't it be great if someone in Hollywood would notice his talent and get him a decent script?