Robert Atkins's Blog, page 55

Cobra - Firefly...

Pretty obvious I think that he was coming next, given his camo and the detonator in his hand. For the longest time I hadn't had the chance to draw this guy, but I've easily had 6-8 commissions with this guy and it's been a blast (no pun intended).

Cobra Commission - Firefly - 307

I'm pretty sure he's responsible for all those explosions in the background of these commissions...


For Questions and Comments email me atRobert@RobertAtkinsArt.com

Cobra - Storm Shadow...

Can't get enough of this dude, or as I like to call him "Awesomesauce" . So I was excited to draw him in his classic look here. Just a couple more characters to go after Storm Shadow here.

I think with this part of the commission in particular on this character you can see the difference in the inking when I use a brush as opposed to the tech pens I've used for convention type sketches. The folds especially on Storm Shadows uniform allow me to showcase how thin, and smooth I can get with the brush. I still used tech pens for the more mechanical or manufactured items like his swords and bow (and the background vehicles). But everything else on the commission was brush work.

Cobra Commission - Storm Shadow - 306
Any guesses on who's next in line?


I remember wanting this figure so bad, my friends had him but it was awhile before I got a hold of it.
For Questions and Comments email me atRobert@RobertAtkinsArt.com

Cobra - Zartan...

I think I've mentioned this a few time already on my blog, that I really enjoy this character. Also that he was one of the early figures I had as a kid. I've rarely had the chance to draw him though in this classic costume, so that's always a treat. Fans of the Dreadnok characters will appreciate the vehicle in the background on this side of the Cobra commission.

Cobra Commission - Zartan - 305

A recently added prized possession in my studio!

For Questions and Comments email me atRobert@RobertAtkinsArt.com

Cobra Commission - Roddy Piper!!!

Yeah....this happened.


Cobra Commission-WWF's Rowdy Roddy Piper - 304
The weirdest thing is that this didn't even happen in the 80's. This figure was created in 2007 when the former wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper came to a GI Joe convention and they honored him by making a figure of him as a Cobra character. 

GI JOE commission inks...

So here's the first half of the combined GI JOEs that I've been showing recently. This half is 14" tall by 24" wide. It was designed as a stand alone piece, but has a similar layout and background to the Cobra piece thats coming up!

GI JOE Commission - 303
Nunchuck, BeachHead, Snake Eyes, Timber (wolf), Shockwave, and Torpedo
Another part of the commission is the vehicles that you've seen parts of in the background all week. On the left is the Snowcat and the right is the Wolverine. These were my favorite land vehicles for the Joes. The only exception being the Bridge layer. I have no idea why, but that thing was too cool and I had always wanted to get one as a kid. I still haven't picked one up, maybe this summer at a convention. 
The vehicles were always one of my favorite things about GI Joe. I know thats kind of crazy since there are so many actually characters to relate to and enjoy. But I wasn't ever able to get the large vehicles as a kid, and now as a collector I'm glad I have something for the figures to interact with. When my kids and I have all out GI Joe battles up in my studio, the vehicles are pretty essential. I mean, where else could Chuckles grab a missile and throw it at someone unless we have a Havoc handy to malfunction?
For Questions and Comments email me atRobert@RobertAtkinsArt.com

GI JOE - Torpedo...

One of the most distinct things I remember about this character was in the cartoon. Like I just mentioned I was pretty young when this show first aired, but I remember very specifically thinking why is this guy wearing his flippers inside?!?

Sure enough, they were so specific to get each of these characters uniforms right so they would reflect the toys, Torpedo would wear his flippers just walking around the GI Joe base. I've wanted so bad to draw that in the comic, but Chuck Dixon hasn't written me a place to stick it in. Probably for the best...

GI JOE - Torpedo - 302
Next I'll show these first 5 combined!

GI JOE - Shockwave

Shockwave, everyone who knew who this guy was, raise your hand?..... His figure didn't come out until much later in the Joe line back in 80's. So he wasn't the first dozen or even two dozen Joe characters you'd think of.

However, he was in fact one of the first character I ever got as a kid. I was born in '79 so when GI JOE was first hitting the scene in the 80's I was still obviously pretty young. I got into the property through the cartoon. Mostly my brothers were watching it...well and my older sister Elaine. heh. She got us all into GI JOE, Thundercats, He-Man...pretty much anything awesome.

Anyway, so it wasn't until '86-'88 or so that I started picking up GI Joe characters on my own. I had friends that had buckets full of characters, but I just had Destro, Zartan, Snake Eyes and....Shockwave for the longest time. His file card is another great example of what made these characters so distinct. Apparently Shockwave has a pretty good singing voice when he isn't breaking down doors from his SWAT training!

When it came to the toys I kind of missed out when it came to GI JOE's until later. Now I'm in my studio surrounded by waaaaay too many making up for lost time I think.

GI Joe - Shockwave - 301



Thanks to YOJOE.com for the image of Shockwave!
Just a quick heads up, this summer I will be attending the following shows this summer.
Project Comic Con - St. Louis - June 9-10th
Heroes Con - Charlotte, NC - June 22-24th
Canadian Joe Con - Toronto - August 11th
Email me directly for Convention Commission Pre-orders! Robert@RobertAtkinsArt.com

GI Joe - Snake Eyes...

Again...heh. I know I draw this guy a lot. This is a pretty classic version though. Not the goggles classic, but still he's rockin' that crazy Snake Eyes sword.

I have also drawn Timber, his wolf, in there, but you see him more in the next character in line.

Not much else to say, except that at this point I was definitely realizing how enormous this commission was. I was only a quarter of the way done and had already drawn larger than a regular comic cover's worth of space (11x17) into this thing.

GI JOE -  Snake Eyes - 300 (Woot! I'm at my 300th post this year!)



That is a seriously crazy looking wolf...
For Comments and Questions email me at
Robert@RobertAtkinsArt.com

GI Joe - Beach Head...

Beach Head for today's post of this crazy huge commission. I've drawn this character quite a bit for commissions. In the GI Joe issues that I've drawn I'm glad I got to do issue #13, which was a Beach Head and Tripwire mission in the jungle. I've liked drawing the character a lot over the years. This was the first time that I drew him very "toy specific" though. Like I mentioned before every detail on this needed to be pretty spot on when it came to which version of that character I was using.

One thing I loved about Larry Hama's GI Joe is how he made each character so individual. BeachHead throughout the books had a serious body odor issue. Why bring it up? Because it made the characters real, and seriously if you wore all that gear all day, you're not going to be smelling like roses either.

This was a commission that I used a brush to ink. Typically for my blog, I've just used felt tip technical pens because they are cheap, quick and portable. But I can really get a softer, deeper line with the brush. I miss inking, and the blog has really allowed me the chance to get back into it...when I have time.

GI JOE - Beach Head - 299



Thanks to YOJOE.com for the Beach Head info and image 
If you EVER need reference on anything related to the GI JOE propertyPlease go check out www.YOJOE.com

Nunchuck....

Nunchuck, it's not just a weapon you can hit yourself in the face with it's also....A GI JOE character from the NINJA FORCE days!

You might be asking "why would I ever draw this character?" I would say that is a very valid question. Well, I got asked to do a behemoth commission with 10 characters in a horizontal format. I chose to do it even larger to the point where it measured 14 inches tall by 48 inches wide. I was given a very specific list of characters, in the exact order from left to right, the desired poses, and what weapons the characters would have. They were to stand in a row without much over lap, and then I was asked to place a couple vehicles in the background. So I was given these very specific instructions, but even as strict as that was, especially once I finished it, I felt it was all worth it.

Over the next few days' I'll show each character (which each were drawn about 11 inches tall), then I'll show the full completed commission all together.

GI JOE Commission - Nunchuck - 298

Behold the Hot Pink and Lime Green Awesomeness that is Ninja Force!


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For Questions and Comments email me atRobert@RobertAtkinsArt.com