Sketch Lottery Gets 'Hare-y' With Last Weeks Entry: Usagi Yojimbo!!!!

I have never hid my love for Stan Sakai and his wondrous contribution to the world of comics, samurai rabbit Usagi Yojimbo. I love the character, and always had a soft spot for his depiction in comics and other mediums as well. Most people know Usagi from his stint as a supporting character in TMNT, but he has a long and detailed publication history in his own books that deserves to be highlighted. Well my good friend (and fellow Usagi enthusiast) Tommy Lombardozzi decided to enter Yojimbo into the pool of entries at Sketch Lottery... and last week he was chosen as the subject! So 27 artists gave it a shot, and the results are amazing!!! I picked out my faves (after the jump), but you should click here and check out all 27. Also make sure you check back to Sketch Lottery every Friday for next weeks subject, and check back in all week as they post all the entries start pouring in. Enjoy the art, these guys did Stan Sakai proud....

Super Mario Propaganda Poster by Michael Tyler For Sketch Lottery

My buddy Sal over at the Sketch Lottery has a hell of a site going on... it is getting bigger and bigger every week with every new category they introduce. The amount of participants are staggering, and the varying types of artistic talent weigh in every week on the different characters that are selected. But this week we saw a very popular character being picked... one that almost everyone with a pulse would be able to recognize. This weeks topic was Super Mario, and Sal got 27 submission from a crazy talented group of artists. But one stood out in particular to me... not because it was the best (that is subjective, no?) or because it was the most original. No, it stood out because of the current state of affairs in Russia/Ukraine that made Michael Tyler's submission stand out to me. He chose to take a old Russian propaganda poster that featured Joseph Stalin holding up a flag bearing child and give it the Mario spin. He subbed in Mario for Stalin (the mustache makes that easy) and Toad for the baby, and the rest is history. But when Sal posted the pic on Sketch Lottery's Facebook page, Michael shared the original poster that he used as a guide and inspiration... and when I looked at them side by side I just knew that I had to make a post showing them both. Sal and the gang start a new subject every Friday, so make sure you check back frequently to see what they are up to. You can see the original propaganda poster and Michael's contribution after the jump...

The Sketch Lottery Team Takes On Black Belt Jones

The Sketch Lottery squad is back at it again, and this time they are hitting home with their subject choice. For those unfamiliar with exactly who The Sketch Lottery is and what they do, here is a brief synopsis. Basically they pick a subject, and anyone can submit a version of that subject that they have created. Once a persons piece is entered, they also get to nominate a character that is inserted into "the lottery". Every week a new character is chosen as a subject from the lottery, starting the fun all over again. So the more people who take on a character, the more choices are entered into the lottery... and the cycle grows and grows. They have tackled over 40 + characters so far, and the list of contributors keeps increasing! Our very own Tommy Lombardozzi and Joe Esq often submit pieces, and the best part about the whole thing is skill level and technique are not taken into consideration. You can create any version of the character you like, and it will be posted! Some real great versions end up being produced. This weeks subject is the one and only original blaxploitation kung-fu hero Black Belt Jones! BBJ was portrayed by Jim Kelly in two flicks, Black Belt Jones and Hot Potato... and he is the model for one of my favorite cinematic characters of all time, Black Dynamite! The submissions on this character are still rolling in, so check back at Sketch Lottery throughout the week to see what else people submit. My faves of the current submitted lot are after the jump... enjoy!

Sketch Lottery Presents: Bane

The guys over at Sketch Lottery are still going strong, and their latest subject is a good ole fashion baddie: Bane!!! For those of you who don't know what Sketch Lottery is, it works like this. A bunch of talented artists (of varying degrees in ability) each submitted a character that would be a topic of the Sketch Lottery. That formed the original character pool. A subject is chosen at random and drawn for one week. The works can be drawn in any medium or type of art, and all submitted works are published (no judgement on their merit, all the art is given props!). If an artists submits a pic on any subject, they then get to enter a subject in the lottery pool... so the more sketches a subject gets, the more possible subjects get entered in the pool for next time! Great idea, right? Most subjects get at least 10 entries, but a popular one like Bane got over 20 in the past week! Not only does that mean 20 innovative & creative interpretations of the man who broke the Bat, but it also means 20 more subjects get tossed into the pot! God I wish I could drawn... maybe one day I will submit a piece and get to enter Inspector Clouseau!!! You can also get involved by following the submission rules that are listed here... tell 'em CCD sent ya! Check out all the great work over at Sketch Lottery's main page (Leoric from Visionaries is the current subject, the Bane pieces are just a short trip down the page clicking here), and you can catch some of my faves after the jump...

Sketch Lottery Goes Green... Lantern That Is!!!!

The gang over at Sketch Lottery are really making me proud. These guys are repping hard, and they are knocking out various topics that they chose to take on with Babe Ruth like efficiency. They don't really do the basics, they take on lesser known characters like Power Lords and Bufkin from Fables. But honestly, the thing I like the most about this collective has to be the various mediums that they present their weekly topics in. You have everything from 8 bit GIFs to full on paintings... you couldn't run as much of a gamut as these guys do. This week they are going a bit more traditional, albeit still staying abstract. They are taking on Green Lantern. Now I know first instinct is to say that Green Lantern is a mainstream character, but honestly that really is not the case. He is a second tier character in the Justice League, and the bombing of the Ryan Reynolds movie didn't do the character any favors to boost his popularity. So far we only have three entries for this character, but I am sure there will be many more before the entry closes on 5/12. Check out all the gang has to offer over at Sketch Lottery by clicking here, and check out the first three GL's after the jump...

The Sketch Lottery Crew Takes On Power Lords...

I have been following the Sketch Lottery for the past couple of weeks because it is a really cool site that features the art of a few of my friends. But when their most recent topic came in the vein of Power Lords, I just realized that I had to feature the pieces here on CCD. Adam Power was one of my favorite toys of all time, and I share that love with my boy Joey Esq. There are five pieces in the gallery already, but there will probably be more to come shortly. I am posting the first five, and then if there are more I will get 'em up shortly. Check back to Sketch Lottery often so that you can see some of the great work they do. They take on different topics all the time. For now, it's Power Lord hour!!!!!! Check them out after the jump...