First, let me define some terms. A commission is when a fan asks the artist to draw a specific character, or even situation. It could be an already existing, and usually popular character, from comics, manga, or films, or it could be a character the fan has created, and would like to see it be given visual form. To see your creation come to life this way is very exciting!

Convention (con) drawings are created to display and sell at comic book conventions, or other related shows. Usually the character rendered is a perennial favourite in comics, or film and tv. Of course, as an artist I have to want to draw it!

Cocked Pistol Sparrow

Lets face it, Johnny Depp is a very popular film actor, and drawings of characters he's created for his various films are very popular as well. So, it was an easy choice to tackle perhaps his most notable character: the irreverent, trickster pirate, Jack Sparrow.

He looks menacing here, but don't let the pistol fool you - he's harmless!

Heath's Joker

A tremendous, tragic portrayal - something I had to come to grips with, and an image I had to draw. I chose a graphic, stylized environment, so that the raw emotion of Ledger's performance could be highlighted.

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle

This time around I was commissioned to do an image celebrating the Golden Age comic book character, Sheena. Created in 1938 by Will Eisner and Jerry Iger, she had enough of a success in comics to inspire a 1950s TV series starring actress Irish McCalla.

I used collage here to meld Sheena's comic book origins with her later television incarnation.

Watch Above the Gargoyle

Can you believe it!? Except for a few random and forgettable sketchbook scribbles, I had never rendered Batman before this Con drawing, which was done for FanExpo.

Some characters don't disappoint in the doing, and throwing in a gargoyle and a few bats to frame the Caped Crusader simply added to the fun.

Sam Gamgee

This image was one of a series of commissions intended to depict all of the heroic protagonists of the Lord of the Rings movies. As a fan of LOTR, and the initial three Peter Jackson films, this was a dream project for me. Hopefully, an intended commission of the villains of LOTR will come to pass.

Bobba Fett

This is an early con drawing of the menacing Star Wars bounty hunter character. Like other popular characters and franchises, this image, in print form, is a popular seller for me at conventions.

Marshall Law

This commission was fun to do, as I already enjoyed the comic creations of Pat Mills (writer) and Kevin O'Neill (artist). So, I plunged in, and delivered what I thought was a flawless execution of the character. But, not so! Can you spot the mistake I made?

Captain Kirk

Both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were guests at FanExpo, so I decided to create separate images to celebrate the two actors and the characters they created. The original drawings were purchased by a fan before the convention even opened, and he took the drawings to show Shatner and Nimoy as soon as they made an appearance. When I post my drawing of Nimoy/Spock I'll fill you in on Shatner and Nimoy's very different reactions.

Raven

Something different in style here in this commission for a local fan. This was a character he had created, and he wanted to see her brought to life visually.

I enjoyed mixing my typical aesthetic with a real manga flavour.

Sherlock Holmes

You've probably guessed that one of the reasons I enjoy commissions and con drawings is the chance to draw characters I really love, whether they originate in comics, film, or literature.

I've long enjoyed Arthur Conan Doyle's great detective, who I first discovered in print, long before I saw the first wonderful Basil Rathbone (Holmes) Nigel Bruce (Watson) films. These films ran from 1939 to 1946, and cemented Rathbone as THE cinematic Holmes.

My Holmes bears more than a passing resemblance to Sydney Paget's 1890s illustrations for The Strand magazine, where Holmes first appeared in print, but I hope Rathbone's spirit is there as well.