'Here We Gooooooo.....'

First let me say that this bloggin' thing works somewhat backwards when you load a ton of artwork all at the same time. I probably should have started with my oldest work last and my newest stuff first but that just seemed backwards to me. Alas, you can scroll down and see some of my best efforts to date pic by pic. They are a few words of explanation below each pic that I encourage you to read. If not, just go thru and enjoy the scenes! ~WmD. ~p.s.~ as you get to the bottom of each page just click on 'older posts' to see the rest of my work.

Michael Jackson 1958 ~ 2009

'Michael Jackson dead at the age of 50' ...wow... I can still hear the announcement in my head. I'll never forget that day. I'll never forget how he inspired millions with his music. I'll never forget the day that I finally got the 'MoonWalk' down to a science.....May the 'KING of POP' rest in peace. ~WmD.

Yao Ming

There was a time that I joined the NCN.org (National Caricaturist Network) because I'd seen some of the members work on-line. It was a very rewarding experience and I'm thinking about joining them again in the near future. There was a retreat in Orlando FL back in 2003 that I was fortunate to attend. WoW! I'd never been around that many artists before in my life! It was absolutely amazing. At that time I was heavy into my computer-styled caricatures but was slowly realizing that I missed good ol' fashioned DRAWING. So much so that I did this illustration of Yao Ming just based on memory. It was really fun to 'draw' again after spending so much time illustrating on my computer. The over exaggeration was inspired by fellow artist Glenn Ferguson who is defintely one of the Best in the Biz! ~WmD.

Ms. KEYS

Here's my 'Toon of another VERY GIFTED individual. I remember when Alicia burst on to the scene with her song 'Fallin' -WoW. My Fam and I became instant fans and I remember thinking someday I'll get around to doing a caricature of her. One of the things I teach my students when we are working on caricatures is to always 'compliment' females. With guys the sky is the limit as far as exaggeration goes. But females are very sensitive about how they look (even as a cartoon/caricature). This illustration is one of my personal favorites and it was inspired by her song 'Butterflies.'
My Wife and I agree: Alicia + hair braided + behind the piano = UNSTOPPABLE! ~WmD.

Tiger

I guess one could say that my ol' 'Creative Juices' were flowin' on this one. Here's my 'Toon of Tiger Woods out on the course. You'll note that he's wearing gear from my future clothing line 'Original Kreationz' (like Lauryn and Alicia). It was around this time that I started to experiment with exaggerating the features more and more. The results of his face (in caricature) sort of reminds me of his Dad. ~WmD.

Martha

Somewhere around '02-'03 Martha Stewart got into a bit of 'hot water' due to some bad business decisions. It was such a big deal that I was inspired to 'Toon her. If you look closely you'll see she's wearing some pretty fancy clothes. I figured the black and white stripes might be a bit 'over the top.' Glad to see she's back doing the 'Home Decor' stuff that made her famous. ~WmD.

Morgan Freeman

Hey if you remember ol' Morgan from the Electric Company back in the day raise your hand...(raises hand and notices the puzzled look on most peoples faces). Yep, ol' Morgan used to be one of the 'stars' of a show similar to Sesame Street that was based on teaching kids how to read. As most know, he's now a big time Actor with many movies under his belt. I was inspired to do this illustration from the movie he and Brad Pitt starred in as detectives called 'Seven.' ~WmD.

Lucy Liu

After I finished this piece on Lucy Liu I remember thinking 'Did I spell her last name right..?' I honestly did this illustration to add some 'diversity' to my portfolio. I had this idea (once I decided to 'Toon her) to create this cool blend of yellows/oranges/deep reds/etc. to give it a real 'Asian feel.' I also threw in a few 'butterflies' for effect. ~Wmd.

Alan Greenspan

'The Money Man' ~ I don't remember what his actual title was, but I do remember that he had something to do with the U.S. Treasury Dept. (I think)....Anyways, another very interesting person to caricature or as I say 'Toon. Even threw in a lil' piggy bank for emphasis.... ~WmD.

Lauryn

Lauryn Hill. WoW. Truly one of the most talented people ever born. My fam and I have always been fans. I still have (and listen to) her MTV Unplugged CDs. Soooo much truth in her lyrics yes, even today. Here she's featured wearing some 'Original Kreationz' gear (from my future Clothing Line). ~WmD.

Avril

There was something interesting about Avril L. from the moment she hit the scene. In looking for people to do a caricature of, most artists will tell you that the more interesting the person the better the caricature. I was inspired by Avril's apparent 'rip-up-the-stage' attitude for this illustration. I also wanted to experiment with color/positive space and see what I could do with both. ~WmD.

Michelle, Beyonce & Kelly ~ Destiny's Child

Somewhere along the way in my Air Force Career I picked up a few skills using the computer to illustrate. After the A.F. I ended up working for both a newspaper and bag company. During my time with the bag company I was able to even further my skill level using computers and began to use them in my drawings. My Wife, Daughters and I were huge 'DeeCee' fans around the same time so I thought it would be cool to draw them using my 'new technique.' This was one of my 1st computer-based illustrations completed and I was happy with the results. ~WmD.

PiTT

One of my fav comic book characters will always be PiTT. He was created and drawn by Dale Keown of Image Comics (formally of Marvel Comics where he illustrated the HULK~yes, there are similarities in the 'build' of both characters). This illustration placed as 'Runner-Up' in WIZARD Magazine a few years back. Alot of people thought it should have won, but I was happy with the judges' decision since it was my 1st contest outside of the A.F. (note the words: Aiming HIGHER). In this particular contest, artist were to create potential 'covers' for the magazine. You didn't have to include the title 'WIZARD' but I thought it added a nice touch. The catch to this contest is that you couldn't use a computer to illustrate your submission. I illustrated the whole thing and decided to print out the very top portion of the picture (the 'bar' that has Dale Keown and my name) to make it more believable as a cover. Bad move. I think it may have cost me the winnin' spot..... ~WmD.

Spidey in a New Suit

Like a lot of guys I was really into comics growing up. I spend hours drawing my favorite characters on poster board to hang up in my room. I remember thinking that someday I'd become a famous comic book artist....oh well. Anyways, I had the opportunity at some point in my career to create a new suit for ol' Spidey. It was a contest for HERO Magazine and I was happy with the way my creation turned out. Apparently the judges were too since I was one of 3 overall winners! I think they really liked the fact that he had his 'old' uniform in a 'web-bag.' I still didn't get that 'famous comic book artist' spot, but I did get my illustration featured in HERO Mag as well as some pretty cool (signed) limited edition comics! ~WmD.

MARIAHmaid

When Mariah Carey 'hit the scene' singing like a Mermaid, everyone was like 'WoW' I remember picking up her CD 'Vision of Love' on the way to Saudi Arabia (Desert Shield/Storm/Calm) and listening to it pretty much the whole time I was there (nearly a year). Once back, I began working on the MARIAHmaid illustration inspired by the myth of Mermaids who had unbelievable range in their vocal ablities. I sent a copy of it to Sony (her record lable in the beginning) and received a very nice letter from her staff who said they'd make sure to forward it to her. ~WmD.

Emmitt diggin' for Gold

During my time in the Force, I did a lot of traveling. One of my temporary duty assignments was down in Pensacola FL. A week before I left I found out that Emmitt Smith (then a running back for the Dallas Cowboys) owned a Sports Shop there. At this time I did not have access to the 'Net so I went to a local Sports Shop where I found a few cards with Emmitt's face on them. The cards also contained some very cool information on Emmitt's past (nickname, high school, etc.) so I included them into the illustration. While in Pensacola I met Emmitt's Dad, Mom, Brothers and Sis (and his little niece). I presented the illustration to his parents who both thought it looked just like their 'Scoey' ~Since I didn't have time to have pictures of the illustration developed, I was unable to get Emmitt (who I met 1 day later) to sign one (like Tom Glavine did for me below). He told me that his Mom and Dad told him about the picture, but he'd just arrived in town for a Golf Event and had not had the chance to go by his shop to see it.... I sometimes wonder if he still has it, perhaps hanging up at his home. ~WmD.

Tom Glavine

I was asked to do this caricature of Tom Glavine by a couple of his friends who had seen some of my work years ago when he was still a youngin' in ATL. He signed a copy of the caricature (featured) and a baseball that I still have somewhere....as a side note: "Bill" is a nickname my parents gave me eons ago. I go by 'WiLL' now but hey Tom, it's cool. ~WmD.

Chief O'Brien

At some point, after drawing several 'fly-guys' in their F-16s, I got the opportunity to illustrate one of the most important people to the pilots; the CREW-Chiefs. These guys/gals made sure that pilots had a successful take off, flight and landing! The camo he's wearing was a bit of a challenge, but fun all the same. ~ WmD.

Where It All Started. . . . .

A few years back, while I was still a member of the U.S. Air Force, I began illustrating caricatures to help out one of my co-workers. He was very good at studio caricatures and thought that my style of drawing would translate nicely into caricaturing. The 'fly-guys' really loved being 'tooned flying their F-16s. This illustration of Capt Turner & his puppy Hanna will always be one of my personal favorites. ~WmD..

Caricatures are on the way.....

Hello All ~

Well, if you stopped by my blogspot earlier this year (or maybe last year) you'll note that I've made some much needed changes....For a short spell I took up an interest in Political Cartooning and had a lot of fun with it. After posting a few of my toonz I realized that I really didn't have time to keep up with all that is political. Because of this I recently changed my 'header' and overall view of this cool blogspot. I may keep the few political cartoons I did post just to remind me of how hectic a political cartoonists life must be day to day! I'll be back where I'm most comfortable and posting a few of my other works soon!

Stay 'TOONed!

~ WiLLiam D.