Today’s Throwback Thursday is going to reveal how much of an absolute hipster I am. Because here’s why I drew Phoenix from X-Men:
I’ve never read the comics that featured Phoenix. I only ever saw X-Men 3 for context for who Phoenix is. (And looking back on it, X-Men 3 wasn’t that good).
I drew Phoenix because of the aesthetic.
I wanted to play around with shadows and light on a superhero figure, and this sketch was the result. This was drawn back in 2013, so I’ve improved since then.
But yep – I’m a freakin’ hipster. Only hipsters would draw a character because they looked cool, not because of anything actually pertaining to the character.
So please forgive 2013 me.
Still, I wanted to share this so a) you could learn from my mistake, and b) because I’m actually pretty pleased with how this sketch came out.
If I ever do a redraw of this, I would change the character to someone whom I actually know and like.
Last week I packed all my stuff into a car, left enough room for Marc the Boyfriend, myself, and some food, and we drove all the way from Phoenix, Arizona to Saint Clairsville, Ohio.
According to Google Maps, it’s a trip totaling 2,033 miles.
My car is amazing. Not only did she not break down but she’s like a bag of holding, because I managed to fit a bedroom and an office in it.
On Day 1 we made it through Arizona…
Rest area off of I-17 heading north to Flagstaff, AZ.
And we stopped at New Mexico and camped out for the night.
Rest area off of I-40 in north-ish New Mexico.
Marc the Boyfriend!
We hit the road again in the morning and stopped at Albuquerque because the last time I passed through there, I stopped at a place called the Owl Cafe. I freaking loved their food there, so Marc and I had to stop and get breakfast.
There is no such thing as too much bacon.
We kept going and passed through the rest of New Mexico, then the Texas panhandle (we passed Cadillac Ranch), and then into Oklahoma.
Oklahoma rest areas serve coffee, but this one was closed.
If there’s any one thing I noticed about the Texas panhandle and Oklahoma, it’s that the wind never stops blowing.
I’m not joking. All of the trees grow at crooked angles because of the wind.
We stayed the night outside of Oklahoma City, and then the next day we went on through Missouri.
The Road Cone God was spotted at a Missouri rest area. Make offerings to him to ensure your construction project gets completed.
I drove us through St. Louis because the interchanges from I-40 to I-70 are a butthurt-and-a-half and I had driven it at least twice before.
Then we got pizza in Illinois and stayed the night in Indiana.
It was the darndest thing, though.
Marc and I were trying to get to Ohio before we finished the day, but ended up staying in Indiana at three in the morning because we were too tired to keep going.
When we hit the road in the morning, the Ohio border was (I kid you not) right next door to our hotel.
But we made it home on Sunday.
SO. MANY. BOOKS.
I took a few days to unpack and settle in.
But now I’m available for conventions in Ohio and the surrounding states!
In fact, on the road trip over here, my friend Chloe and I secured a spot at the Toledo Art Walk next month!
The Toledo Art Walk is happening July 24th from 6 pm to 9 pm. More details about the art walk can be found on their website.
