Author Archive: JeffWilcox
Hi Gang!! Here I am for my third go around with this art challenge. I have high hopes to finish with at least 30 new characters this year. Last year"s schedule was hectic for me, so I only did 16 drawings. And while that number doesn't count it here; it does mean I already have a dozen characters waiting in the wings, simply because I didn't have the time to draw them out. Onward and upward!!!
There seems to be a few new things happening this year: there are a lot of people who started early, and a lot of them are damn good. This latter should encourage all of us to churn out better characters and art as the challenge wears on. Good luck to us all.
2013 Post# 15 –Miss Bumble
Wilcox Post#15 — Miss Bumble
Another of my “magic girl” characters. She has insect powers; and fights the dark forces along with the Red Ant People.
Also, this will be my last post. Today is November 30th, and the challenge end tonight. This challenge has been good for me, showing me my strengths and weaknesses: I am good with storytelling qualities and composition, but have a weakness in keeping my enthusiasm up for a project (my first year saw me creating 37 characters, the second year 16 characters and this year only 15). I think this will be my last year contributing to the challenge.
Best of luck to the rest of your efforts. And Happy Holidays.
2013 Post#14 — Absu
Wilcox Post#14 — Absu
Absu is a major monster/villian of my series of magic girls (see my posts# 12 & 13) and the Cosmic Fire Action Heroes(coming up in future posts).
Absu was lifted from Sumer mythology. He is the consort and chief lieutenant of the Bad Guy of the these series — Tiamet (chaos dragon)(posted in my 2012 contributions). Tiamet and her monster horde came from a different dimensional space; conquering worlds as they spread out, till they reached Earth. Earth’s heroes and villains alike saw the danger of this invading force, and joined forces to fight back the monster horde.
2013 Post#13 — Evie Petalthorn
Wilcox Post#13 — Evie Petalthorn
Evie is a “magic girl” type wizard. A lot of her powers come from the magic wristband she wears on her left arm. And while she is too mischievous to be one of the good guys of my magic girl series; she does work with the heroines to beat off major threats to their kingdom.
2013 Post#12 — Celestria
Wilcox Post#12 — Celestria
Celestria is a “magic girl” wizard. Her magic happens from pure will power, allowing her to create magic that is close to ESP/PSI. She is one of the heroines on my series of magic girls.
2013 Post# 10 & 11 — TJ and the Avatar of Mars
Wilcox Post# 10 & 11 — TJ and the Avatar of Mars
This a combination manga/anime style with a boys adventure book. As a matter of fact, I’ve come up with five different “cover designs” for a series of stories based around the TJ character: TJ and the Clockwork Citadel;Â TJ and the Silver Pegasus; TJ and the Puzzle of Lemuria, and so on. I’ll have to try the other covers after the Challenge; I don’t think I have a handle on the old school manga art style (not as much as I’d like).
Enjoy.
2013 Post#9 — Johnny Rocket-Butt
Wilcox Post#9 — Johnny Rocket-Butt
What can I say about this guy? I was working on a different character, something I was trying to draw in a Japanese manga style. I am familiar with mangas (bought my first one in the 1970s), but I wanted my Saturday character to be just right. So I’ve been hemming-and-hawing since then, afraid to commit myself. I looked for and printed off source material, and finally sat down to re-educate myself into the manga style. And within a few minutes created the above little character. Just whipped it off.
Johnny isn’t the character I planned to publish (I’ll do that tomorrow), but event mentioned above does indicate the advantage of just sitting down, be confident in your own abilities, and just do the thing you planned.
‘Course, if I do the character in the future, i’ll use a brush technique. Sorry about all those scratchy lines.
2013 Post#8 — Holo-Felix
Wilcox Post#8 — Holo-Felix
Holo-Felix is a character in a series I created, called Foxfire One. This a science fiction series I created some years ago(I never did figure out if I wanted to turn this into a novel or a comic book). Foxfire One is the name of a spaceship (Ridgerunner class patrol ship) that flies off into space for adventures (exploration, rescue,security, etc.). The captain of the ship is Jason Templar(presented as a character in my posts of two years ago). And as part of his “state room/cabin” aboard ship, Templar has a number of personal items that he uses to make the cabin feel more homey.
One of these personal items is a holographic generator for an orange tabby cat — Felix. Felix goes about the room meowing, purring, and brushing up against people, much like a real cat would. Templar couldn’t have a real cat aboard (too inconvenient), so he brought aboard a virtual one. Felix.
As for just a picture of this holo creature at the port window — if you came by my home, most likely the first living being you’d see is the real-life Felix sitting in my first window. 🙂
2013 Post#7 — Forever True
Wilcox Post#7 — Forever True
Forever True is an anthropomorphic cartoon rabbit who is friend of Foxy Dream(who I posted in last year’s challenge).
2013 Post#6 — A French Unicorn
Wilcox Post#6 — A French Unicorn
I guess this falls understand both a “What If…” situation and a play on words. Enjoy.
Incidently, horses don’t usually smile; but I thought a unicorn probably could. 😉
2013 Post#5 — El Gato
Wilcox Post#5 — El Gato
El Gato(Spanish = “The Cat”) is a Latino super hero. His costume is armored and allows its wearer the strength of 5 men.
2013 Post#3 — Luna
Wilcox Post#3 — Luna
Luna is a mysterious woman who look into people’s lives and tries to help change them — for the better. She is not always met with favor, as her appearance is disturbing for some people. Luna’s skin is split in sections of stark white(her right side) and stark black(her left side). Her clothes also have this feature, though the black & white split are on the opposite sides. Still, she is an exotic beauty; and her efforts often lead to the person being helped find romance and love.
2013 Post#2 — Rat Ninjas
Wilcox Post #2 — Rat Ninjas. Rat Ninjas are apart of a cartoon series I call Foxy and the Toon Agents. This a Saturday-morning-cartoons meets a James Bond-super spy kind of an idea. Needless to say, a herd of cartoon rats( as ninjas) would make for fine villains for the series.
Most of the main characters I created last year, and so I’m just throwing in a couple characters I didn’t get a chance to present up till now.
For the newbie participants in our art challenge: how do you create 30 characters in 30 days? Well, beside being a natural for creating this kind of art project, what I do is create a series of characters. That is, a person can create a whole world of characters as if you were creating a novel, a movie, or a TV show. You wouldn’t just have one character for the above, you would create a whole cast of characters to play out the story/stories.
I mentioned Foxy and the Toon Agents above. In that, I have the lead of the series, Foxy, as a cartoon fox with James Bond abilities(he gets by with his imagination, cunning, and stealthy quickness). Foxy’s big boss at the Toon Agents is Ursa(she’s a real bear to work for). Then there’s Miss Kitty, a Persian cat fem fatale; and Lester, a mouse who thinks enthusiasm and active effort are a replacement for knowledge and experience. And, of course, the villains — Professor Lobo(a mad scientist type) and Agent X(a shadowy figure that uses hulking strength and terror to finish his missions). Take the number of characters I just mentioned and the Rat Ninjas, and that’ll adds up to seven characters. Plus, if you run out ideas for characters in one series, then you can also create other series to help out.
Hope everyone here has a great time with the art challenge. I know I will.
2013Post #1 — Max Pendragon
Max Pendragon is a space ranger stationed at Moon Base Alpha Green.
Max Pendragon a space ranger for the Moon Base “Alpha Green”.
Post#16 — Captain Silverfox
Post#16 — Captain Silverfox: Is an anthropomorphic cartoon character set in the Star Trek universe. I designed this character to be a part of my Trek newsletter (USS Silver Fox Newsletter, a chapter of starfleet-command.com).
Unfortunately, this will be my last posting for this year’s Challenge. I’m kinda disappointed with myself for putting out this small a number of pictures. Part of the reason was scheduling, and part of it was me just not feeling like drawing during parts of the month. It was not a lack of creativity, as I had months before this year’s Challenge to whip out more than enough characters (and more characters as the month moved on).
But, that doesn’t mean that this year’s challenge wasn’t worth the effort. The month’s concentrtated push to create all these characters showed me where my strongths and weaknesses are as an artist. Parts of the illustrations I did add this year was an improvement over last year’s efforts. One thing that helped me was having the time to sketch out and expand on each character I developed. This is a common practice; the artist doesn’t just settle for just one solution to a problem, but looking at a character from a number of angles (situations, interactions with other characters, etc.).
Thus, I’m glad to have been part of this Challenge this year. See you guys next year!
Post#15 — Lester
Post#15 — Lester: is apart of my “Foxy and the Toon Agents” series of characters. In this world of cartoon super spies, Lester is “the Kid”. He is the young kid who brings youthful enthusiasm to this realm of action and adventure (he is the mouse that roared); and figures he knows enough to add himself to the mix. He has seen all the super spy movies, read all the super spy books, and even roleplays Dungeon and Dragons. The trouble is enthusiasm can’t make up for knowledge and experience. Until he lerans that, he is makes himself little more than a pest for the professionals in the field.
Post#14 — Agent X
Post#14 — Agent X: is apart of my “Foxy and the Toon Agents” series of characters. Agent X is an anthropomorphic cartoon character in a world of cartoon superspies. In that world, Agent X’s face has never been seen. All anyone has ever seen of him is a large hulking figure in the shadows. He is a danger, a monster, and a terror to all that have run all against him.
Post#13 — Ursa
Post#13 — Ursa: This is a character from my “Foxy and the Toon Agents” series. Ursa (latin word for “bear”) is a she-bear anthropomorphic cartoon character. She is the head of the A.N.I.M.A. superspy organization and Foxy’s boss. And as you might guess, she is “a real bear to work for”. 😉
Post#12 — Doctor Diablo
Post#12 — Doctor Diablo: ” Today, ve conquer Cleveland! Tomorrow, ve conquer de vorld! Bwah ha ha!!!”
This is a character in my “Foxy and the Toon Agents” series. The Good Doctor is a mad scientist character and a villian in the series.
Post#11 — Tiamat
Post#11 — Tiamat: Is the chief villian in a series of characters I call ” The Cosmic Fire Action Heroes”. Why call them the “action heroes”? Because the title “Power Rangers” is already taken. Right, I have my own Power Rangers team… well, Action Heroes. 😉
Tiamat is a cosmic creature of chaos. She was known to the anceint peopele of Sumer (present day Iraq) as the chaos dragon and mother to monsters. At the dawn of history she, her consort Absu , and her monsterous children tried to take over this world, destroying all sense of order and sanity. The records of Sumer say these monsters were cast out, and that it was the ancient gods of Sumer that did it. However it was done, Sumer and her monster children are back to finish what they did the first time — total subjectation of our world.
Tiamat, the Chaos Dragon, has an uncountable number of tentacles. Some are for grasping and moving, and others have heads attached their ends. If Tiamat need a new child/monster to do her bidding, she only has to place a head on the ground, and that head will grow a body. Once fully formed, the head and body detach from the mother tentacle and walk freely of it own will. Each monster child  has its own powers and abilities. These beings are then sent out into the world to destroy and kill as Tiamat commands.
And when a threat to world arises, heroes stand forward to fight the evil and aid the weak. In this time of need come the Cosmic Fire Action Heroes. Each hero is enpowered with the mystic spirit from the natural world, complete with weapons to aid them. Also, each has a giant transforming robot in battles with extremely large threats.
More forces of Good and Evil will appear in upcoming posts.
[Side note: For those that have been following my posts so far — my apologies. I’ve started three different series of characters (Chrono Tigers, Foxy and the Toon Agents, and now the Cosmic Fire Action Heroes) and have so far been mixing them all up. My original plan was to go through each series in turn. But, time and scheduling have screwed me up so that I have put whatever material I have onhand in these posts in order to keep up. Hopefully Some sanity will be coming soon. ]
Post#10 — Miss Kitty
Post#10 — Miss Kitty: this character is part of my “Foxy and the Toon Agents” series. Miss Kitty is a superspy who is a fem fatale during the day, and a ninja cat during the night. She competes with the other super agents in Foxy”s universe, but she does it with style.
Post#9 — Foxy of Foxy and the Toon Agents
Post#9 — Foxy of “Foxy and the Toon Agents”: What if superspy James Bond was an anthropomorphic cartoon animal? Foxy is the answer. This is another series of characters with a superspy theme. Enjoy.
Post#8 — Nix
Post#8 — Nix: is a superheroine in the “creature of the night” mode simular to DC’s Huntress and Bat Girl. I haven’t developed her beyond that basic ideal, but maybe Ill add to her character (meaning she will be apart of another series of characters, and I’ll have more fuel for next year’s challenge…maybe). Enjoy.
Post#7 — Joey Busheroo
Post#7 — Joey Busheroo: years ago I created a mascot for a company I used to work for. It was never used by the company (they didn’t even know about it), but I worked up an iron-on t-shirt design from it. Mind you, the shirt looked like it was designed for a 10 year old; but at least it was my t-shirt design and not a store bought variety. Goo’day, Mate!
Post#6 — The Colonel
Post#6 — the Colonel: This character is part of my Chrono Tigers series. He belongs to a steampunk science fiction world of the late 19th century. Located in London, England, the Colonel is the nickname for the ex-military Lionel Davis. He is part of an organization that does time travel( Her Majesty’s Time Agents). There the Colonel is part of a team of agents (the Chrono Tigers) that fix and amend troubles within the time stream. As such, the Colonel and his team mates have been on missions that have lead them from ancient Egyt to the British colony on Mars.
The Colonel (Lionel Davis) is the heavy equiptment carrier for the Chrono Tigers. He tries to carry the heaviest guns, carries a large amount of the luggage the team sometimes has to have, and tries his best to project himself as a larger than life personality. This, however, belays his soft heart, which is seen in moments of disaster and the sight of small children ( he has been married before, but for some reason has lost his wife and children).
Post#5 — Foxy Dream
Post#5 — Foxy Dream: Here is a cute anthropomorphic cartoon girl. I was considering using this character as the start of a series of characters (complete with a fox boy friend and a bunny girl friend), but haven’t really created a background of cartoon universe for them to exist in as yet. Maybe this is something to think of for next year’s challenge.
If the readers here saw my art last year then you know I am into foxes. So here’s a warning that Foxy Dream is the first of three fox-related characters.
Post#4 — Poofy and Poophie
Post#4 — Poofy and Poophie:  This character really belongs to my grand daughter Kim. Her favorite plaything is a pair of round tiger plush toys named Poofy. Mind you, both toys are called Poofy; and the lady wouldn’t go anywhere without having at least one of them along. In any case, what little kids can imagine is also creative fuel for us adults. So here is my intereptation of the Poofies on paper. (Sorry about the crapy lettering).
Note to the manufacturer of the this plush toy: I haven’t put a copyright on my drawing this time. Hopefully the manufacturer of the toy won’t sue me; this creation above was all in fun.
Post#3 — Princess (Chrono Tigers series)
Post#3 — Princess (Chrono Tigers series) Princess is a character in a steampunk sci fi series I created. The time of the series is the latter part of the 19th century, located in London, and at the time H.G.Wells wrote his novel ” the Time Machine”. Little did the general public know that there were time machines in operation, and part of Her Royal Majesty’s Secert Service. Teams of adventurers, some from the military, some from the royal houses in England, are sent back and forth through time to correct problems created by both humans and by nature.
Last year I presented a character called “Captain of the Time Agents”. Well, this year, the Time Agents are called the Chrono Tigers and we geta chance to see the rest of the Captain’s team. Princess is a young woman from the royal families. She isn’t always considered capable of performing her duties in time travel, but has shown her superiors that she is more than able to handle whatever missions she is given. Quick witted, personable, and resoureful, she works well with the rest of her team mates.
More characters in this series will pop up in upcoming posts.
Post#2 — Kitty Cat
Post#2 — Kitty Cat. A second cartoon I did on a quiet Sunday morning. I got the idea for this character from a name generator program that featured generic descriptions of “cat people” characters. Some of the combinations were quite interesting, so I tried my hand at using my imagination and whipped out the image you see before you. 
Post#1 — Bikini Cat
Greetings! This is the second 30 Characters Challenge for me. The above character is just a character I whipped off one quiet morning.
#30 The Unemployed Cartoonist
#30 The Unemployed Cartoonist (humor) Bragging Rights!! Bragging Rights!!!!!! I made it! Yep, That’s me in the picture. Though if anyone wants to challenge me in this all the drawing included in the challenge are supposed to be fictional, then I might point out that five of the smaller characters running and climbing all over me haven’t been included in the challenge yet. Only Monaka the Monkey (on my right shoulder) has had a post up till now.
It’s been fun this passed month. In doing it I found out what some of my strenghts and weaknesses were in doing my artwork. And as such, I have a clear ideas as to how to progress into the future. I think this is one of the benefits of going through this challenge. That and giving us a platform to show our stuff off.
Thanks Tyler. See you all next November.
#30Characters Chatter…