Dear Friends,
Most of my fans know that during the mid-’80s to the early ’90s, I worked with Hasbro producing G.I. Joe artwork for their Research and Development Department. This art was done as presentation for the Board of Directors to determine whether any particular character would move forward to future production. My task was to paint the characters designed as 3 1/2″ toys to look like real fighting G.I. Joe characters. None of this work was meant for publication, however, over the years, fans and collectors have seen some of this art via the Web or fan club communications. (One of the future projects I am hoping to get off of the ground is a collection of all of this unseen artwork into a G.I. Joe/Hasbro art volume. I will keep you up to date on information as this project progresses.)
I have many fans contact me directly about the art I did during this period. Recently one of those fans asked if I’d be interested in recreating some of those pieces for his private collection. This is not something that I normally do, but this particular fan showed so much enthusiasm that I thought that it might be fun to see how I would approach these paintings almost 20 years later. I took on his commission for the three recreations and now I present to you one of them as an art progressive:
Pencil on Illustration Board Recreating the Character to Be Painted
Progressive #2:
The original landscape for this painting had a textured rock pattern that I applied with very thick gesso. I repeated that technique on this new board as well.
Progressive #3:
Here I start laying in some of the b/g colors, starting with the explosion in the mid left.
Progressive #4:
The b/g is almost complete at this point with the main figure clean so that when I add color to the figure, it will be unencumbered by underpainting.
Progressive #5:
After the b/g dries, I now lay in the underpainting for the basic colors of the figure.
Progressive #6:
Continuing similar to the previous photo, I lay in the rest of the colors for this figure.
Progressive #7:
With the basic tones being laid down in oils, I now begin the detail work with acrylics, starting with the head and moving downward.
Progressive #8:
Work continues with the acrylics, adding more detail to the body and his equipment.
Progressive #9:
At this point, I've completed some of the finer shadowing details and refinements with various shades of gray markers. You'll note final details on the ground and some color corrections for the background. The above is the finished piece.
This piece was 16″ x 20″ oil, acrylic and marker on gessoed illustration board. It is the exactly the same size as the original Hasbro artwork. If you have comments or questions about this piece, please feel free to post them here.
Many of my G.I. Joe fans have asked me about commission work or recreations. This is the first one I have ever done, and I did enjoy bringing back good memories of working with the artists and creators at Hasbro. I would certainly be happy to do more of this type of work if any of you are interested. Please feel free to email me directly at dormanart@yahoo.com or message me via Facebook
As always, I thank you for your time and interest in my work.
Dave
Dave Dorman 
It’s Dave-the-Happy-Geek Week
Posted in 501st, Action Figures, Blog, Blogger, Busts, Charity, Chicago Comic Book Artists, Collectibles, Collections, Collectors, Comic Book Art, Comic Book Artist, Comic Books, DAVE DORMAN NEWS, Entertainment, Fan Culture, Geek, Geek Culture, GI Joe, Illustration, Lucasfilm, Nerd Culture, Pop Culture, San Diego Comic-Con 2011, Social Activism, Social Commentary, Social Networking, Star Wars, Toys, Twitter, WriteBrain Media, Zombie, Zombie Art with tags 501st, busts, collectibles, collectors, Dave Dorman, Figurines, Geek Culture, Illustrator, Nerd Culture, Save the Lars Homestead, sculptures, Star Wars Artist, Star Wars Fans, Star Wars Illustrator, Timepiece, Watch, WriteBrain Media on January 31, 2012 by DaveandDeniseDormanDear Friends,
I’ve had one of my more interesting weeks in a long time with three really fun surprises in the mail–two being Star Wars-related. The first was a wonderful hoodie from 501st member Daniel Quay, TR-8285 and fan Andrew Marzka of Happy Valley Custom T’s in Pennsylvania. (Andrew’s business phone is (814) 571-2992 if anyone wants great hoodies or t-shirts.) They are concerned I’m not staying warm enough in Chicago, and they are right about that! Here it is:
501st Hoodie from Daniel Quay and Andrew Marzka, Happy Valley Custom T's
I also received my “Save the Lars Homestead” watch in the mail this week with its pure Tunisian Tatooine sand embedded within and the beautiful engraving on the back. My fellow Star Wars junkies are stoked about the watch and the good news is, you can still order them here: http://s395343987.initial-website.com/
Save the Lars Homestead Commemorative Timepiece
Engraving on Back of the Watch
And then there was my bust from Sideshow Collectibles. I ordered this at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2011, and here we are 6 months later and I had almost forgotten about it. Almost, but not quite. What a great surprise! My wife’s friends have insisted she not display it in our foyer, so we’re still finding the right place for it.
My New Zombie Crusade Bust from Sideshow Collectibles
Even better, I just got a Tweet from @MaxToyCo friend Mark Nagata informing me that a box of toys is en route. Could this geek’s week possibly get any better?!? I hope your week is filled with geek touchstones as well.
Dave.
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