Chidi Okonkwo's Blog, page 34

MORE CHEESECAKE ART - PHOTOS, PINUPS AND DRAWINGS

Figured I'd do a new post today, since I haven't updated this blog in a while [I've been busy as hell with work, plus DSNG Book 8 is being worked on this month]. As showcased by the variety of pics in this blog, I collect a lot of art from the Web, storing the images on my desktop and utilizing them as modeling and coloring inspirations. And some of the archived stuff on my old hard-drive dates back to 2006. Its strange how some beautiful works of art literally get lost in the uncharted depths of the Web... and often this Internet can be considered as a deep sea, full of a myriad of mysteries.



Anyway, Cheesecake Art is something that I do as an artist and there are a ton of other artists that utilize the same gimmick in their drawings, to make their drafted works more appealing to fanboys and fangirls. One of the most famous Cheesecake characters is Jessica Rabbit, from the 1988 cartoon movie. And I've included several pics of her here, along with images of other sexy cartoon, video game and anime characters. Often fangirls that attend the Comic Cons adopt cosplay costumes of Jessica and I've included a few cosplays pics in this gallery:





 

  

Photographer LJInto took the first pic, while Reiq drew the fourth one.

All right, the second chick in the top row is not the classic Jessica Rabbit. She's an urban hip-hop model who goes by the name Miss Jessica... but since she has an hourglass figure, then I assumed she was close enough to the theme, so I added her to the mix.





 



The digital art shown above in the first row includes work by Adam Hughes [Black Cat], Kenneth Rocafort [Starfire], Digital artist Xaxaxa [he drew Mai], and DSNG Artist [I drew the last classic Ashoka pic]. Not sure who drew Iroha, the video game vixen wearing the french maid costume; its one of the Cheesecake posters that I found while browsing through the Web.



There's more cosplay of Jessica Rabbit over HERE and the extended gallery of Marvel's Black Cat is over HERE.

You should also check out the article on Red Monika -  a sexy redhead heroine, created in the mid-90s by the trailblazing Marvel artist Joe Madureira [Joe Mad!], the guy behind the Darksiders I and II video games. Red Monika --> HERE- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

TAKEN 2 - LIAM NEESON PROOVES THAT HE'S A BAD ASS [AGAIN]

Brief Movie Review and Official Posters



Some actors just have IT.... the IT factor that draws you in, forcing you to instantly feel their emotions and readily accept their reality. Liam Neeson doe that perfectly in this thrilling sequel, which is set against the foreign backdrop of the city of Istanbul, Turkey. The story in this movie unfolds about a year after the original. The cool hero, Retired CIA Agent Bryan Mills [played by Neeson] is taking a vacation in Istanbul and he is granted a surprise visit by his daughter Kim [played by Maggie Grace] and his ex-wife Lenore [played by Famke Janssen]. But the demons from the past seem to catch up with the protagonist and his family, since an Albanian mobster named Šerbedžija [played by Murad Hoxha, whose son Liam Neeson electrocuted to death last year while searching for Kim], seems to have an agenda of vengeance on his mind.





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[You may need to click on the word link that says "Read More" to the see the rest of this article with more pics of Maggie Grace!]




Maggie Grace Photo Gallery:

 



 







 

In this thriller movie, Kim was played by Maggie Grace, the same kidnapped girl back in the original Taken that was released in 2008. And I'll give the director a salute on that choice of continuity, since Kim looked more mature, in Taken 2... like a hot lil' spicy mama. Maggie Grace was born in 1983; thus she is 29, but she looks 8 years younger than that. Fanboys who like the American Maggie Grace will probably like the British blonde Actress Alice Eve as well - I did an article on Alice over HERE.



Staying with the movie plot in Istanbul, on a casual lunch date in the city, all hell brakes loose, and Liam Neeson and his wife get TAKEN....

Of course Liam is practically an ex-CIA Hitman in this flick, so he knows a whole lot about kicking asses and takin' names, with or without handguns.



His daughter Kim plays a major role in helping her dad gain liberty from his abductors... but that leaves his kidnapped ex-wife still in harms way. Thus, after exhilarating car chases and explosive action, Liam shows that he doesn't care about who he kills or what he destroys along his path, as he strives to rescue his ex-wife from the remorseless vengeful mobsters.



Liam is the kind of actor that seems to get better with age... he's like "an old-school Jason Bourne" kinda guy. And he could probably kick James Bond's ass, if Bond tried to seduce his daughter. Liam has a strong presence about him; he seems to dominate everyone he comes in contact with in this movie. Per the design of his character, on a Bad-Ass scale of 1 to 10, Bryan Mills is an 11. There's just no stopping him.



The way this Taken 2 movie placidly ends, the door is left open for a Third Installment, since before he dies the main bad guy claims to have 2 more sons that are not on-site in Istanbul. Yet Liam says in his gritty strong voice, "If they come for me and my family, I will kill them too."



A pity the Albanian bad guy, Šerbedžija, doesn't know Liam like we know him....



LIAM NEESON PLAYED A GIANT TALKING LION, IN NARNIA

LIAM NEESON PLAYED ZEUS, ON MOUNT OLYMPUS

LIAM NEESON TRAINED THE GODDAMN BATMAN, IN GOTHAM

LIAM NEESON TRAINED OBI WAN KENOBI, IN SPACE



SO HOW ON EARTH DO YOU EXPECT YOUR 2 SONS TO KILL HIM?  :)



And since this movie has already made 117 Million dollars worldwide [about 50 million in the USA] in about 3 days, there is a good chance that there will be a TAKEN 3, in a few years.

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Check out the movie review of Wrath of the Titans, which also stars Liam Neeson over HERE

And explore the characters from the DSNG sci fi series over HERE


- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

JUDGE DREDD 2012 MOVIE WALLPAPERS [FEATURING KARL URBAN]

Brief Movie Review and Official Posters!



This explosive sci fi flick was very dynamic.... and it was something that classic action fans will probably enjoy. Based upon the cult British comic character created back in 1977, Judge Dredd is the personification of hard justice, since he plays the role of an indifferent Judge, Jury and Executioner in his futuristic city setting. This movie was definitely better than the one that stared Sylvester Stallone, back in 1995.



In the new Dredd 2012 Movie, within the Dystopian North American location of Mega-City-One, Judge Dredd [played by Karl Urban] and his rookie psychic apprentice [played by Olivia Thirlby] respond to a peculiar act of triple homicide in one of the massive 200-story buildings in their city, called the Peach Trees Slum Building - three men were tossed out of the balcony of the top floor by the evil female kingpin/drug dealer, who goes by the Moniker of Ma-Ma [played by Lena Heady, who was best known for playing the role of "Sara Connor" on the TV Series of Terminator, in '08 - '09].

 

Anyway, being executors of justice, Judge Dredd and his rookie [who goes by the name of Judge Anderson] head into the 200-story building to find out who tossed down the three drugged men [who had  lethal does of "slo-mo" infused into their bloodstreams] and the unbridled action unfolds from there. Ma-ma sends her right-hand-man to tackle the Judges, but that tough guy gets his candy-ass kicked by the stoic Dredd, right before the entire towering building is put on lockdown [all windows and exits are sealed with thick sliding blast-shields, the sort of thing that I assume was installed in the towering skyscrapers to protect from nuke-shockwaves], sealing-in the heroes and one of their captured suspects named Kay. So the heroes have to fight their way up to the top of the building, to face Ma-ma.



 



In the mind of many fans, Karl Urban is probably best known for his role as Lord Vaako [or Vakko] in the Chronicles of Riddick 2004 movie. And in that movie, he was married to  the cunning and insidious Lady Vakko, played by Thandie Newton. It is rumored that Karl will be back in the role of Vakko in the next Riddick movie, which should be out in 2013. Olivia Thirlby is also shown below with Karl at the premier of the Dredd 2012 movie.





  

[You may need to click on the word link that says "Read More" to the see the rest of this article!]




BTW, Karl Urban wears his "Dark Dredd helmet" throughout the entire 2012 Dredd movie, so he was forced to utilize his body-language and the lower half of his face to express his unfolding emotions. But the thing is, he is so indifferent in the movie that his happy face, angry face, compassionate face and thoughtful face all look like the pic on the left side.... looks like a damn mugshot :) But don't be too had on him... check out the flashback pic of Sylvester Stallone acting as Judge Dredd, from the first Dredd movie back in 1995 shown on the right! Now that's a damn face that only a Judge's mother could love - hopefully.





In the Dredd 2012 movie, the shoot-em-up action is intense from start to finish, and beyond the countless hordes of gun-totting cronies that work for Ma-Ma throughout the skyscraper, there are even crooked Judges that come against the heroic duo of Dredd and Anderson. Judge Dredd also has a bad-ass motorcycle that can project twin machine-guns from beside its front wheel.... too bad he couldn't use it inside the tall Peach Trees building. About 80% of the movie's action takes place within the vast 200-story skyscraper, which almost gives it a rather claustrophobic feel. But for the showcased theme of "cops hunting thugs and robbers", it still works; and the 3D feature makes many of the dynamic scenes to "pop" quite well.



Judge Dredd really is not a superhero, although he is a British comic book character. But he does have incredible strength and can lift hefty loads - or toss people like ragdolls. He also has an awesome sub-machine gun, which fires what looks like explosive rounds [which technically should be fired from some sort of huge M16 variant] and cluster bombs [which belong in the arsenal of a fighter jet's artillery system].



Anyway, if you enjoyed movies Rambo: First Blood, Terminator, The Expendables 2 or even Starship Troopers [yes, I had to bring up that awful olddie], you'll probably enjoy Judge Dredd. I would have added the 2012 sci fi remake of Total Recall to the list.... but that one wasn't really good enough to make the cut, in terms of the plot.







 



 



Check out the Preview and posters from The Expendables 2 over HERE



And you can see the official wallpapers and behind the scenes posters from Total Recall over HERE


- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

MECH / MECHA GIANT ROBOT CONCEPT DESIGNS - PART 1

Some people simply call them "Mecha", while to other fanboys these mechanical units are simply known as giant robots; yet they are not always Transformers or Morphers that rapidly evolve from one structural form to another. Even comic fans are familiar with Mecha, due to the giant robot Sentinels that battled the X-men in the Saturday morning cartoons shown back in the mid-90s; while the popular Gundam anime franchise also showcased a variety of Mecha based upon evolving design themes and classic model frames. In terms of their origins, giant robots are concept based out of Japanese anime, along with giant monster like Godzilla. Many video game franchises including Starcraft 2, Mass Effect 3, Starwars and Borderlands 2 have giant robot mecha / combat machines in them, assisting the heroes or villains during the intense action scenes. In the past, I did a blog article that talked about the MECHA SCI FI GENRE; yet often fans seem to run Web searches in this blog for "sci fi armor / combat exo-suits" while they are envisioning "Mecha and Giant robot costumes", in compressed human-sized formats. There is really nothing wrong with that, as I've got several other blog articles that feature collections of various concept art of futuristic combat armor designs over HERE.



For those interested in female Mecha Concept design, you should check out the DSNG blog article on an anime titled Godannar, which features Volspinna - she's a sexy female Mecha /giant robot.

And with the success of the Transformers: Fall of Cybertron video game released in August 2012, it is clear that fanboys and fangirls have an innate thirst for dynamic action sequences involving mecha robots that are larger than life in their size / stature.

Today we shall take a look at a collection of concept art that I've gathered from around the Web. And if you are an aspiring artist / designer, hopefully these various models will inspire you. Some of the 3D works below are done with Zbrush and Maya, while others are created with Photoshop, Painter or Corel Draw.

 



 







 



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[You may need to Click on the word link that says "Read More" to see the rest of this long article!]





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Thanks to the following pro-artists for their outstanding works: Robert Simmons, Ignacio Bazan Lazcano [he did outstanding work on the "Section 8: Prejudice" video game], SprayNation, Twitchfinger, neisbeis, reaper78, markerguru, ImagineFX Magazine, Dhilip Kumar Somesh, Mark Brooks [who did the fantastic Xmen Sentinel wallpaper above], Blizzard and Bioware.



You can check out the concept art from the Transformers: Fall of Cybertron video game HERE!



Also Check out the archived DSNG blog article that showcases official concept art from the 2011 Transformers 3 Movie over HERE!- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

HALO 4 CONCEPT ART - ARMOR, SCI FI WEAPONS AND VEHICLES

Following the big announcements made at this years E3 game conference in California, its clear that another installment of Microsoft's golden Halo franchise is set to be launched later this year. And I've gathered several sci fi wallpapers and concept art posters that were created by the concept artists at 343 Industries [and Bungie Studios, who did a lot of background work on previous Halo games].



Check out these sci fi infinity soldier armor designs for the Halo Spartans. They probably look familiar; but honestly, they have slight variations from the classic Spartan armor used in the previous Halo, Halo:Reach & the Halo:ODST games:









And here are some of the cool sci fi weapons and vehicles rumored to be utilized in the forthcoming sci fi game:





 





 







 





[You may need to Click on the link that says "Read More", to see the rest of the wallpaper pics in this lengthy article!]  






 

 









Above we have some digital artwork of the enemies from the game: the Grunt, the Forerunner and the Zealot [the alien villain with the energy sword]. There is currently no word on whether or not there will be any female Spartans in Halo 4 [there were female game sprites in Halo:Reach, released back in 2010]; but at least fanboys can enjoy the sexy sci fi soldier cosplay shown last, above.



There are a couple of new online multiplayer game modes in Halo 4, such as:


Halo Infinity Multiplayer
Spartan Ops
and War Games


The descriptions on those game modes are rather long so, the die-hard Halo fans can read more about that stuff over Here



Anyway, check out this vid that shows amazing Halo 4 Spartan cosplay from the recent PAX 2012 Game Convention:



 






 Halo 4 will debut on November 6 2012, exclusively on the Xbox 360.... which is a gimmick that Microsoft uses to sell more game consoles. After all, in a year, you can buy one new console, while in that same year you buy up to 4 or 8 new games.



Check out more futuristic weapons Here

And sci fi dropship designs from various game franchises are shown Here 


- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

CHEESECAKE COMIC ART AND PINUPS BY ARTHUR ADAMS

Born back in 1963, Arthur Adams has been working on mainstream comics since 1985, when he joined Marvel Comics and did a miniseries called "Longshot". Arthur has a distinctive style and his works are rather easy to identify, once you understand his drafted faces and aesthetic themes. I believe that the image on the left is the cover of one of his latest sketcbooks, which can be found online if you run a search with his name. The lady wearing the skimpy daisy-dukes on Aurthur's sketchbook cover reminds me a bit of Jessica Rabbit, or even Red Monika; but its probably just due to her red hair, which gives her a feisty look. Not sure who that Original Female Character drafted in the Cheescake art style is, but she probably has a fondness for stray alien pets...



BTW, The past blog article on the sultry comic vixen Red Monika [which will open in a separate window] is over Here. And Red Monika was created by Joe Mad!, the guy behind the Darksiders 1 & 2 video games.



Cheesecake art is a style of drawing that features voluptuous pinups of female characters, with often exaggerated proportions. That same technique can be applied to creating masculine characters as well; Remember He-Man and She-Ra back in the 80s? Well, those cartoon characters were actually done in the Cheesecake art style, per the striking hourglass figures of the female characters and chiseled V-shaped torsos of the males... who walked around most the time wearing just their undies and their mystic / barbarian combat gear.



More of Arthur Adams art for Marvel and DC Comics is shown below:



 

 

Arthur's artwork of Emma Frost [Xmen], the Baroness [G.I.JOE], Zatana [DC Comics New 52], Red Sonja and classic Wonder Woman are all lovely and distinct. 



The previous article showing copslay and pinups of Red Sonja [along with pics of the model Bianca Beauchamp] is over HERE.

And Check out the original blog article on the Cheesecake art style over HERE!- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

LAURA DORE, SEXY HOURGLASS GLAMOR MODEL

Gallery of A Certified Pawg  :)



I've posted articles on Laura Dore in the past. Her ethnicity is quite mixed, having a heritage related to French, Italian, Puerto Rican and Black roots. Her striking hourglass figure made her a hit amongst the fanboys years ago, after she attended one of the NBA AllStar Games that was hosted in her hometown of Austin, Texas - that was where she got discovered by a photographer back in 2006. And since then she's graced several magazine covers and done photoshoots around the world. She stands at 5 feet 6 inches tall and her archived dress measurements are 34C-23-40 [she may have evolved a bit and gained more sexy curves over the years, but I'm not certain]. I utilize her as a model in many of my drawings. And even the cover for the popular ebook  DSNG Book 4 was inspired by one of Laura's posses in a tight latex outfit. Check out this picture gallery showing some classics and exclusive pics of Laura Dore:


 








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More pics of Laura are in this previous article over HERE and there are more posters of her in the popular article on Cheesecake art HERE- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

THE NEW 52 SUPERMAN COSTUME & THE MAN OF STEEL MOVIE COSTUME

Comparisons of the new Superman comic costume, the Man of Steel 2013 Movie Costume and Superboy's new costume.



Earlier this July at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con, Jim Lee the co-publisher of DC Comics announced that there would be a flurry of Zero issues to commemorate the 1-year anniversary of the New 52 relaunch, which featured new runs on 52 different superhero titles from DC Comics. And the #Zero issues slated for launch in August / September are supposed to reveal something new about the featured character, perhaps an extended back-story or a hidden fact about their life prior to the events of the book #1s that were presented last year.










[The Wallpapers of Superman and the New 52 Justice League above are by Jim Lee, JPRART and the DSNG Artist]


Personally, I didn't follow a lot of the relaunched titles in the lineup of the New 52. Yet there were actually some breakout comic books that sold better than expected [like Animal Man]... and there were others that were cancelled even before the reached the benchmark of 7 issues [like Static Shock] for a graphic novel. Yet most of those cancelled comic titles were actually poor concepts. And by that tag I mean a low-grade idea is destined to be a low-grade product. But a high-concept will commonly lead to above average or exceptional results. For example....



[You may need to Click on the "Read More" link to view the rest of this lengthy blog article!]


....Consider the video game franchise Halo or Gears of War. Both of them are sci fi high-concepts. And both have transitioned between media platforms, moving from game consoles to comic books and toys. But if you think of a game like Lollipop Chainsaw... in which a blonde high-school cheerleader runs around and slices off the heads of infected zombie  kids.... well, that's destined to be a mediocre game, due to the low-grade idea.


Anyway, roughly a year ago, Superman did get a makeover that had fanboys and fangirls applauding with approval: The Man of Steel finally got rid of his classic red speedos! And it was about damn time that the adjustment was made. Thanks to superstar artist Jim Lee for having the guts to do that redesign, along with the redesigns of all the major iconic DC Comics characters. I've done some new fan art of Superman's new costume shown above, close to the top of the page. And this drafted costume was actually linked to the costume worn by Henry Cavill, the main actor in the forthcoming Man of Steel movie slated for 2013. The poster shown on the left showcases a comparison I made last year, which includes Henry Cavill wearing the Man of Steel Costume. As you can see, it has a slight resemblance to the costume design by Jim Lee shown above.



In the relaunched Earth-Two [Earth-2] Universe of DC comics, the superheros there are practically cut off from the rest of the main DC Universe, thus giving more creative freedom to the writers, so that they do not have to worry about conflicting themes and main storylines. And in that Earth-2 Universe within the umbrella of the New 52, Superman has yet Another costume, shown on the right side [Jim Lee designed that costume as well]. And the comic cover image from Eerth 2 issue #1 is shown on the left side.



For the sake of comparisons I've added the pic of Superboys new costume below, which was drawn by Brazilian artist R.B. Silva [his blog is over HERE]. Being an author and a fan of sci fi concepts, I do like the Superboy costume design by Silva; and if you study the linear nature of the costume, you should be able to see traces of TRON LEGACY within it. In the New 52 storyline, Superboy is a clone created by an evil clandestine organization known as NOWHERE [Yes, that is the fantastic name that the editors sanctioned] and he was designed to be a weapon of destruction. But as expected, Superboy defects from NOWHERE, joins other young heroes and becomes a weapon of justice. Durign the cross-over storylines, Superboy often works with members of the Teen Titans and the Legion, helping them combat a variety of foes.



 



Returning to Superman, his new costume also has sci fi elements intertwined into the design. Just look at the sleek lines on his blue latex and even the stylish belt he sports. It is a good design, and that appeal should be credited to Jim Lee, who kept in mind that he was redesigning an American Icon.



Perhaps sometime in December 2012 we'll see more behind-the-scenes photos from the Man of Steel movie set. But for now, under the direction of Producer Christopher Nolan [the guy behind the latest Batman Trilogy], the Director Zack Snyder [the guy behind 300 and the infamous Sucker Punch] isn't showing a whole lot of movie pictures to the fans or the media. And this secrecy will only make the fans eager to see more of the new Superman movie costume... 



Check out the blog article showcasing classic posters of Batman and Superman by DSNG Artist and Jim Lee: HERE!


- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

BIANCA BEAUCHAMP, SEXY STAR TREK COSPLAY - PART 2

I've done several articles in the past showcasing Bianca, the popular Canadian latex model. Today I'm presenting one of her classic pics in which she boldly goes where no other models have gone before... or something like that.



Anyway, Old-school Trekkies and new Star Trek enthusiasts will love this
poster of Bianca [on the left]. And the second poster / pinup shows her in a sci fi
futuristic latex costume, with lots of straps and buckles. Bianca took off her
corset in the second pic, but she really doesn't need it, due to her natural hourglass
figure.



And as for Star Trek news, despite all of the various rumors on the Web about the new movie villain, I am not worried about the details; I'm just glad that there will be a new ST movie in the summer of next year, 2013. 



Although she is a natural redhead, Bianca is actually really short; she stands at like 5 feet 2 inches tall. There are other articles in this blog that show her in various cosplay costumes, like Supergirl or Silk Spectre from the Watchmen movie.



Bianca as Supergirl is over HERE and the other article with her posters [Part 1 of this post] is HERE.

There is also a third article with her and other models that dressed up as Catwoman from DC Comics - HERE!- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

FUTURISTIC MOTORCYCLES & MOTORBIKE CONCEPT DESIGNS [PLUS THE SUZUKI G-STRIDER]

I did an article on this topic last year, showcasing various motorcycles and hoverbikes done by some phenomenal artists. Today we continue along that same vein, showing more sci fi motorbike concept designs from around the Web. The first three images are digital paintings, while the fourth image on the right is a real-life cartoon prop from an anime convention.





 



Below is the Suzuki G-strider and it was designed as a flashy prototype back in 2003; it was debuted by Suzuki at the prominent Tokyo Motor Show yet it has never gone into mass production. It is one of my favorite bike concept designs because of the futuristic look that it displays. Plus its main controls have several screens embedded into the handle bars and right beneath the shadow of the windshield visor. One of the main themes that a lot of designers strive for when they create sleek motorbikes  & motorcycles is to ensure that the two-wheeler looks "fast" even when its parked. And the cool feet-forward design of the G-Strider definitely creates that sort of fast vibe, even when it is viewed from different angles.

 



 







And above [in the last two images] we have the G-strider compared to the motorbike utilized by Snake Eyes in the G.I. Joe 2 Retaliation movie [slated for release next year, 2013]. The G.I. Joe bike was actually on display at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con. And you can see that it has some related design themes that link it to something that was featured way back in 2003....



You should check out the former article tat shows a host of other futuristic hoverbikes & sci fi motorbikes over HERE! - Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]