Lord of the Trees

Before Jane...Before world fame...In the Jungle he was already a Legend.

Some more illustrations of an upcoming soon-to-be-announced secret project I am a part of!
Artwork © Diana Leto
Tarzan ™ ERB, Inc

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

A fun sneak-peek for an upcoming soon-to-be-announced secret project!

Here's an in-progress illustration for an upcoming soon-to-be-announced secret project (that will feature multiple amazing artists that I am honored to be working with)! This is just one fun sneak-peek as the project progresses, until the official press release is ready. Behold and ponder!

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

ECCE TILLEY DE NOVI YORKER

My entry in the THE 2013 EUSTACE TILLEY NEW YORKER CONTEST!

The contest asks for your own take on the original Eustace Tilley design, the cover of the first issue of The New Yorker in 1925. Since the botched Jesus fresco was a big topic this year, I decided to do my own comical take on it - Tilly style.
Here's my entry "ECCE TILLEY DE NOVI YORKER"

Good luck to all the contestants!
http://www.newyorker.com/online/photocontests/eustace_tilley_2013/entry537115330?nextId=537112608

Happy Christmas from Kermit The Frog

A fun snowy illustration for the holidays.
Happy Christmas from Kermit The Frog and all your little green friends from the swamp.

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

Happy Holidays from The Halloween Legion

A little early holiday greeting from THE HALLOWEEN LEGION!
Happy Holidays from the GHOST Of Christmas Presents (and Autumn too!)

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

Swamp Thing and Abby

Just for fun, I decided to draw two of my favorite characters: Swamp Thing and Abby Arcane (Cable Holland).

Swamp Thing was one of the first comics I read. Almost instantaneously, I adored Alan Moore's writing and his wondrous characters. Moore's collaboration with John Totleben and Stephen Bissette entranced me with their beautifully, and sometimes nightmarish, style. 

Their other-worldly creations have mesmerized me since childhood. Abby was one of the first female characters I could empathize with, anxiously anticipating her next move as I turned the page. 

So, here is my own fantastical creation of Swamp Thing and Abby, based on all the late night readings that brought so many smiles to my face.

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

Martin Powell, The Scribble

Quick scribble I made of the author Martin Powell, who in fact is a scribbler...
;)

My day out with a Scrudlum!

My day out with a Scrudlum!

My friend, banjo player, and fellow puppeteer, David Stephens recently sent me one of is great Scrudlum creations! I had to take some fun new pics with my new Scrudlum friend!

David informed me that Scrudlums have an an overall feeling of grumpiness and gloom to them, thinking the whole world is out to get them! 
However, all this guy needed was a lil' love and fun picture takin' and my Scrudlum's outlook automatically improved! ;)


Each Scrudlum stands 20” tall and is 100% handmade from all new materials by David in his Atlanta studio. I highly recommend getting one and improving both you and the Scrudlum's mood! ;)

They are currently sold out but David will be adding more to his etsy page soon!

NY Comic Con 2012!

The World’s Weirdest Heroes are at NY Comic Con! Well, at least in spooky spirit this year. Next year for REAL!

Molly from The Halloween Legion

Did a quick water color last night of Molly from THE HALLOWEEN LEGION.
I wanted to show her devilish and inquisitive side.
Hope you all enjoy! 22 days till Halloween!

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

Pin-Up Girl: Mary Jane Watson

I haven't posted in a while, so I thought it was time to do a quick sketch. :)

If you're a fan of the blog, you know I love drawing Pin-Up girls and who better to make a Pin-up than Spiderman's long love interest, Mary Jane Watson! 

MJ's always been so fun and quirky and sexy. I had to draw her in a very stylized way that accentuated both her sweet and spicy side!

Hope you all enjoy!

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

Heroes read comics too!

With both Halloween and the HALLOWEEN LEGION graphic novel (From Sequential Pulp/Dark Horse Comics) approaching, I wanted to create a fun illustration of the characters reading together. The children in the illustration are from ONCE UPON A HALLOWEEN (the back-up story to HALLOWEEN LEGION) reading comics with the World's Weirdest Super Heroes: The Halloween Legion. After all, Heroes read comics too!

Comics are a great form of story telling that delivers positive results, from social interactions to educational platforms to just having a good laugh. I've always felt comics are a wonderfully engaging medium for both children and adults.

So be a Hero and pick up some comics for a friend, your kids, or just for you! 

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

Lil' morning coffee sketch

Here's a lil' morning coffee sketch I did over... you guessed it, coffee!
Yeshhhhh... Me luvs the coffee.

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

In memory of Jerry Nelson

Jerry Nelson passed away this week and for those of you who don't recognize the name, you may recognize the names of the characters he has played: Sgt. Floyd Pepper, Robin the Frog, Camilla the Chicken, Gobo Frazzle Mr. Snuffleupagus, Count Von Count, Sherlock Hemlock, The Amazing Mumford, Frazzle, Herry Monster, and Mr. Johnson (aka Fat Blue) and Emmet Otter. 

Jerry Nelson was not one, but several of the characters who shaped my childhood, made me laugh and made me cry. Losing Jerry Nelson is a great loss of an incredible talent. But his characters will live on forever.

One of my personal favorites that Jerry puppeteered was Robin the Frog. My first encounter to Robin was on Tales from Muppetland's Frog Prince.  I will never forget the never-ending smile I had on my face (and still to this day just recalling it) while watch Robin and Kermit sing about a frogs life and hearing Robin figure out what  "Bake the hall in the candle of her brain" means. 

An unforgettable Jerry Nelson performance is "Halfway Down the Stairs" as Robin the Frog (lyrics are from an A.Milne poem). This Muppet Show Segment is such an endearing and timeless moment that I wanted to pay tribute through this magical sequence.

Thank you Jerry for all you have done and brought to the world.
In memory of Jerry Nelson, 1934-2012.

For some more beautiful tributes celebrating Jerry's life and work, please go to the Jim Henson Legacy twitter and web pages. 

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

Don't mess with girls who wear glasses!

I love drawing independent women that have a fun twist to them, and what better way to do that than with Wonder Woman.

I was playing around with 2 different layouts with my Wonder Woman. I do prefer the top one, but tried out a fun sun ray background with text in the burst for the second pic. Hope you all enjoy!

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

Wicked through and through...

I've been obsessed the Wicked Soundtrack and thought I would create an illustration. Inspired by one of the bittersweet lyrics from the song "No Good Deed": 

"Well, look at what well-meant did: 

All right, enough - so be it

So be it, then:

Let all Oz be agreed

I'm wicked through and through"

Since all the Oz books are so enchanting, I felt it was only right that the illustration have a luminous story book quality to it. Therefore, I depicted this Wicked scene by creating some paper-cut characters and green glitter.

Nothing gets the creativity flowing, like some cut out flying monkeys.

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

Late night sketches

Did a few late night sketches tonight...
Just messing around but I thought I would post them  up for fun.

Here's Commissioner Gordon...

I did a fun flirtatious lady who likes a fast ride 

And I had to end the night with a little Harley Quinn sketch for funsies. 

Oh Snap! Crackle and Pop!

Another round of The Sketchbook themed drawing challenge. This week's challenge was recreating cereal icons/mascots to your own style. I decided to redraw up Rice Krispies "Snap, Crackle, and Pop!".

Since I had recently gone through a "My name is Earl" marathon, one character named "Joy" stuck out in my mind. She repeatedly says "Oh Snap!'. I had to combine the two and create this street slanged cereal branding that 'POP'ed into my head.

  

The Sketchbook siteis created by David Reddick and can be found here. David is an cartoonist/artist and I also highly recommend checking out his fantasy comic Legend of Bill.

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

Supergirl

My version of the charming and daydreaming Supergirl.

Sometimes a girl just needs a little peace and quiet...and some flying.

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

Wonder Woman concept images

A little warrior Amazonia Wonder Woman for the night. 
http://dletoillustrations.blogspot.com/

Zatanna - "cigam ni eveileb uoy od?"

A Friday the 13th Zatanna for you all. 

"cigam ni eveileb uoy od?"

Lil' Sea Monkey switch-a-roo cartoon for you!

I'm part of a group called The Sketchbook which is created by David Reddick. David is an cartoonist/artist and I highly recommend checking out his fantasy comic Legend of Bill. 

On The Sketchbook site, there are themed challenges every month and we get to see everyone's interpretation on the theme. This weeks challenge was creating your own version of Sea Monkeys inspired by the original ad.

I decided to do a little switch-a-roo on the infamous advertisement, turning the tables twilight zone style. Hope ya all enjoy!

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

Black Canary

Just a little Black Canary sketchin' today :)

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

Custom Motorcycle Helmet Paint Job!

FUN STUFF! I did the concept images for this custom motorcycle helmet image for my friend Raf. Very cool to see the process from sketch to final!

The final images were done by Nub (yeah THE one who paints the bikes for OCC and PJD)
Here are the sketches I created for the image.

Late night sketches- Mad Men's Peggy Olson

Peggy Olson may be one of my favorite female television characters of all time. Here's a quick late night sketch of her and (part of) one of her most popular quotes...

Once Upon a Halloween!

A new page from "Once Upon a Halloween", an autobiographic story to be featured in Martin Powell's upcoming HALLOWEEN LEGION graphic novel.

This Trick 'R Treating adventure is an origin story in which I had the honor of illustrating Martin as a child and his family. On this page, his mother appears here as herself. The Skeleton and Devil are his older brothers Wayne and Rick. The pint-sized Frankenstein Monster is Martin. 

This spooky real-life adventure indirectly inspired the creation of THE HALLOWEEN LEGION many years later.

From Sequential Pulp/Dark Horse Comics.

The Halloween Legion ™ Martin Powell. Artwork © Diana Leto

Trick or Treat!

A panel-in-progress on a special back-up story, "Once Upon a Halloween", to be featured in Martin Powell's upcoming HALLOWEEN LEGION graphic novel from Sequential Pulp/Dark Horse Comics.

This spooky real-life adventure indirectly inspired the creation of THE HALLOWEEN LEGION many years later!

The Halloween Legion ™ Martin Powell. Artwork © Diana Leto

Dejah Thoris - Late night sketching

Thought I would sketch out one of the greatest female characters of all time, Dejah Thoris.
For Martians everywhere. :)
Enjoy!

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

A few more concept sketches of Mary Shelley, still thinking over her look and feel.
Here I went for a more mischievous, inquisitive look – that personally reminds me of Mary's writing.

While, here I went for a more grown up feel and definitely, more the actual likeness of Mary.

Sketched up a little Frog Princess image. I always found this story (The Frog Princess/The Frog Prince) so amusing and couldn't help but grin as I drew this up.
Here is as a sketch:

And in color:

Happy Birthday to FRANKENSTEIN, the novel!

Sooo, I'm a day late in posting this but I think as I worked through the night that Mary would approve. Here is my tribute to one of the writers that changed my life. Thank you Mary! I hope you all enjoy.

Punkin's!

A fun panel for the special back-up story to be featured in the upcoming HALLOWEEN LEGION graphic novel, entitled "Once Upon a Halloween." 

From Sequential Pulp/Dark Horse Comics.
The Halloween Legion ™ Martin Powell. Artwork © Diana Leto

Once Upon a Halloween- Panoramic panel in-progress

Here's a panoramic panel for the special back-up story to be featured in the upcoming HALLOWEEN LEGION graphic novel. A little more rendering to go but thought I would share this fun in-progess :)

Once Upon a Halloween- Illustrations in Progress!

Thought I'd post a sneak-peek of the first page for the special back-up story to be featured in the upcoming HALLOWEEN LEGION graphic novel. A little more rendering to go but here is a work in progress of my illustrating process.

It's an autobiographical tale of Martin Powell's first experience with Trick 'R Treating when he was six years old. Here I illustrate him (the kid in the  Frankenstein Monster mask) and his two older brothers Wayne and Rick.

From Sequential Pulp/Dark Horse Comics.
http://dletoillustrations.blogspot.com/

The Halloween Legion ™ Martin Powell. Artwork © Diana Leto

Martin Powell discussing The Halloween Legion and more!!!

Martin Powell's podcast interview from The Book Cave with Ric Croxton andArthur Sippo is now available. They mainly talked about The HALLOWEEN LEGION, but also touched on THE SPIDER, SHERLOCK HOLMES, and TARZAN, and more!

Also discussed is my work with Martin on THE HALLOWEEN LEGION back-up story entitled "Once Upon a Halloween." 

Illustrations to follow shortly. 
Thanks for the shout out Martin Powell!

http://thebookcave.libsyn.com/webpage/the-book-cave-episode-181-martin-powell

Character studies for Martin Powell's "Once Upon a Halloween"

Character studies for Martin Powell's "Once Upon a Halloween", a back-up story to be featured in his upcoming HALLOWEEN LEGION graphic novel. It's an autobiographical tale of his first experience with Trick 'R Treat when he was six years old, which indirectly inspired the creation of THE HALLOWEEN LEGION itself many years later.

Here, I am playing around with textures and personalities in hopes of creating something as fantastic as the story itself!


The Halloween Legion ™ Martin Powell. Artwork © Diana Leto

Sketch of the day- Hulkcakes!

My quick sketch of the day.
If you know of my Pancake Luv and have seen the new AVENGERS movie, ... well, then you shoulda saw this comin'!

Sketch of the day

It's been a very busy week (which is good at times, I ain't complaining) but I have definitely needed the Java! Here is a sketch describing my coffeee luvvvvv!

For prints of this piece or more of my artwork please go to my store website here or feel free to contact me at diana@dianaleto.com.

Freddy Fright Finds a Friend

Inspired by Martin Powell's THE HALLOWEEN LEGION, here is my portrayal of one of his Chapters entitled  "Freddy Fright Finds a Friend".

 

In this Chapter,  Molly and the Ghost talk for the first time. It's a truly lovely and delicate scene that instantaneously touched me. I wanted to focus in on the flickering flame so that I could emphasize Molly's sympathetic face when first encountering the Ghost's questioning tale. I hope I've done Martin Powel's 'The Halloween Legion' justice, as it continues to be an amazing source of magic and inspiration to me!

Sketch of the Day

Here a sketch experimentation I did creating the female form with squiggly lines.

Sketch of the day- Greek Mythology

Doing a bit of sketching today. I've been researching Greek Mythology again and what better place to start than Diana the Huntress.
I will definitely be finishing up this one in the near future.