b2rianLS

artist. this is where i collect, share, and discuss my inspiration.

[b2rianls]

Jimothy is the perfect mascot for 2026- kinda cute, kinda fucked up, and somehow still surviving!

i drew this in ink, acrylic, and graphite with some Photoshop edits

[b2rianls]

i don't need no damn "Fast and the Furious" roller coaster! i'm fighting for my life on the way to LAX

[geekynerfherder]

'Exquisite Corpses' by Dan Quintana.

Variant cover art for 'Exquisite Corpses' issue #1, published May 2025 by Image Comics.

[b2rianls]

An exclusive cover for Horizon Comics available here!

[b2rianls]

July 4th this year

[b2rianls]

i draw something Lana related every July this is a really weird Independence Day- nobody wants to celebrate it because... just look at the state of our union. America's a beautiful tragedy. Forged in blood, built on deceit, and fueled by corruption. Despite all that, so many people around the world look to the U.S as a light of hope, as a promise, as an example that no dream is too crazy, and that anything is possible. That's what Lana represents to me. Sorrow, heartbreak, and the refusal to see it as anything other than beautiful. An invented mythology, a repurposed pain, all transmuted into the art and beauty that inspires. My portrait of Lana as Lady Liberty is both a celebration of hope and decay, and a reminder that the two can exist simultaneously done in ink, acrylic, and graphite

[b2rianls]

"in love with Mary Jane, she's my main thing pulled 'er right from that webhead- what a lame brain" When i was about 15, i became really frustrated with what hiphop had become, a frustration that led to me removing hip hop stations from the radio presets, and seeking refuge in underground rappers. Rappers that emphasized lyricism, who spoke on politics, experiences, emotions, and good old-fashioned braggadocious battle rapping. i was lucky that in the age of MySpace and Limewire, there were communities of others who preferred this in thieir music, and i was ushered into a whole world outside of the "Laffy Taffy" and "Walk it Out" nonsense that was on the radio. This resulted in me loading up my MP3 player with the music of Immortal Technique, Atmosphere, Little Brother, Aesop Rock, and of course... MF DOOM MF DOOM wasn't rapping about geopolitical issues or documenting real life experiences, he was rapping about food and comic books, and cleverly stringing words together, masterfully collaging samples, and making songs that took your mind on a journey into Saturday morning -with a bowl of sugary cereal. This was also the first time in my life i had a local comic shop, so not only was i getting all this musical inspiration, but i was visiting Secret Headquarters weekly to get the latest "Planet Hulk" or "Civil War" or "Identity Crisis..." they say you have two periods of amplified brain growth & activity, once when you're a toddler, then again when you're a teenager... my brain at 15 was just a constantly blinking switchboard of inspiration. ANYWAY i distinctly remember listening to MF Doom on the bus ride home, listening to certain lines from his songs, and thinking "i wanna draw that!" but every time i tried, i just couldn't get the proportions right or the composition didn't work on a single image, and i would always just get frustrated and abandon it. i heard this song again recently, and i thought "you know what? i could probably pull it off now" So using ink, graphite, acrylic, and some Photoshop colors, here's a silly moment from a DOOM song

[b2rianls]

Woman of Tomorrow i've drawn Supergirl plenty of times, inspired by Michael Turner's take, by the "Superman : The Animated Series" version, even one based on her CW show... but upon reading the graphic novel again last month, i wanted to draw the version of her from Tom King and Bilquis Evely's masterpiece, "Supergirl : Woman of Tomorrow" There are so many moments in that story that i adore, but there were a couple of panels toward the end of the book that really appealed to me. i knew there was no point in me trying to make a pastiche of Evely's art- that's a level of artistry beyond anything i could ever achieve, so instead, i just took that moment and drew it in my style using pen & pencil. i then colored it in PhotoShop i'm very excited to watch the movie, and i really hope it's great- but i implore you to check out 'Woman of Tomorrow' it's seriously one of the most beautiful comics you'll ever read!

[b2rianls]

"Endlessly, She Said"

there are unwritten rules in AFI albums- they're going to be sprinkled with Davey's signature "oh!" they're going to be radically different from the previous one, they're going to start with a song that fires you up for the rest of the album, and they're going to close in beautiful, dramatic fashion. on "Decemberunderground" the closing track is the haunting "Endlessly, She Said" my inspiration for this drawing. it's a concept i came up with in 2021, drawing a couple across different time periods, but for this one, i wanted to mirror the "Kiss and Control" poster i drew, so i drew a pair of 1940s-lookin' lovers. its drawn a little more realistically than the previous 2, because the cartoony style just wouldn't have worked for the look i was going for, but i still tried to keep the heart theme going! it's done in ink & pencil with Photoshop enhancement

[b2rianls]

Miss Murder if you were alive in 2006, you know this song, you know this video. Perhaps the most popular track off of AFI's "Decemberunderunderground" album, this song permeated popular culture in such a big way. How many girls had some variation of "x*MiSsXmUrD3r*x" as their screen name on MySpace or instant messenger? How many Sidekicks played this song as a ringtone? how many iPods pushed it through tangled wires and gel-lined earbuds? While i could tell tales for hours of what the song & album mean to me, i wanted to use the opportunity to forward you to the music video- directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer, The Amazing Spider-Man) at Los Angeles' City Hall. The building, designed by the same folks behind other architectural masterpieces such as The Memorial Coliseum, Bullock's Wilshire, and Union Station, is perhaps THE MOST photographed city hall in the world. It was the central HQ in "Dragnet," the Daily Planet in the George Reeves "Superman" show, and for the purposes of this post, the locale for a prominent leader to address his flock, after having received a message from a lady in black. What does the woman represent? What does the black rabbit represent? Why is Davey Havok dressed like a militaristic autocrat with fabulous eyelashes? Let's discuss! For this drawing, i wanted to celebrate the building's art deco beauty and timelessness, the intensity of the crowd in the video, and sprinkled in some iconography such as the "Black Rabbit of Inlé," the leaf from "Sing The Sorrow" and a flame burning within one of the subjects. i drew this once before in 2021, but revisited the design on a much larger surface, and in acrylic, ink, and graphite

[b2rianls]

"Kiss and Control" to celebrate 20 years of "Decemberunderground" i wanted to revisit this drawing i did, inspired by the song "Kiss and Control" it's a song that always felt so cinematic to me, and i felt that a sort of pulpy movie poster was fitting for it! if you swipe to the end, you'll see the one i drew in 2021- this time around, i rotated them a bit, to allow for more of their faces It's all done in acrylic, ink, and graphite

[b2rianls]

you don't realize how bad you had it, 'til you see how good you can have it

you can apply that to many situations, i'm sure, but as i reach the conclusion of week 1 at my new job, i'm so grateful for what i've got now. The support, the organization, the overall environment... and granted, i embarked during a particularly easy time, with a crew full of folks who know what they're doing, and relatively low-traffic period, but the hours just fly by, i don't feel any pressure, and i know that the manager cares about running things with maximum efficiency and minimal stress. At my last job, i couldn't even go to the bathroom in peace, because since i was often the only one working there, the whole store would be unattended. i never took a lunch break, i never really had time off, wasn't offered a raise in my 5 years working there, and the pressure, the long hours, the mounting responsibilities were just draining after a while. it was a dream job, yes, but toward the end, i didn't have a life anymore. i had to squeeze in my SELF in the days between work. So i'll check back in a month from now, 6 months from now, see if it's still goin' good, but for now, i'm just so pleased with where i am

[b2rianls]

about 2 weeks into the job- i'm good at the register, but i'm slow as hell when it comes to counting bills at the end of the day. My brain runs at 0.75x speed when i have to deal with numbers. Another downside is that i'm on my feet the entire day, except for my lunch, and when i'm counting said cash. So by the time i get off, i'm physically exhausted. i haven't been to the gym in a week for that reason, and have been too tired to draw a single thing. We'll see if i can get into some sort of rhythm during week 3. And if not, totally cool, because then i'm off for two weeks during the holiday break!

[b2rianls]

about 6 months into the job- i'm still slow as hell when i'm counting money, i'm still exhausted each day, and i've been able to squeeze in gym time maybe 2 times a week now, but man, have i grown to love the position. When i get to help people, when i get to make people smile, when i take complicated situations and help people understand 'em... when i get to welcome people back to college after they took a break, when i get to congratulate them as i'm selling 'em their cap & gown. i don't really get to draw & paint as often as before, but when i do, i'm ONLY working on things for me. Even if it takes me weeks to finish a single drawing, i don't have that pressure of "i better finish this fast, i have a bill due!" or "i sure hope the client likes this next draft!" it's all for my own pleasure, in my own time. i have paid off all my debt, i upgraded my car's stereo, i lowered it, i'm never hesitant about buying a new toy or splurging on thrift store finds, because even though i don't make A LOT of money, i'm making more in 2 weeks than i'd make in a month at the previous job. there are frustrations and difficult days, like in any job- but i'm so damn grateful to be where i am now

[b2rianls]

bricked up haven't posted the b2ruiser here in a minute. She sits a couple inches lower now. Here she is in front of one of my favorite old buildings here in Lancaster, CA

[b2rianls]

[b2rianls]

when i was a teenager, i used to draw these old, grizzled, tough guys, and in my mind, they were always 35. Well i'm neither old, grizzled, nor tough, but i AM 35, so i tried to re-create my drawing from 2005. a reality check to my younger self: smoking is dumb, guns aren't cool, and you either wear suspenders OR a belt- not both! In addition to paying homage to my old doodle, i went ahead and updated it, but this time the guy's... 55. We'll check back in in a couple decades to see how i feel about it

[b2rianls]

"Labyrinth" When i was a teenager, i remember art teachers would always discourage us from doing fan art. They'd say that it wasn't 'real' art, or that it cheapened you as an artist. This was disheartening to me, because i ONLY wanted to make art inspired by the movies, shows, and heroes that i loved. It wasn't until i learned about Gallery 1988, that i saw 'fan art' being appreciated. This was a place where my heroes and inspirations were revered, where terms like "pop culture" and "cult movies" weren't seen as bad things, but recognized as the high art i believed them to be. I remember going out to themed art shows, meeting Kevin Smith, chatting with Alex Pardee, and seeing original art by creators that i had admired from the pages of Juxtapoz and the endless scrolls on tumblr blogs. It's been my dream for nearly 2 decades to someday exhibit at G1988, and every so often, the hubris would strike and i'd send a submission email. This last time, they finally said YES. They invited me to exhibit at an upcoming show, and OF COURSE i said yes! Sadly, however,  it would be for their last. "Back to 1986" celebrates film and television that entered the hearts of the public 40 years ago. While there's no shortage of masterpieces that made their debut that year- from 'Top Gun' to 'Howard the Duck' or 'Sabado Gigante,' i had to pay tribute to Jim Henson's "Labyrinth" That movie,  anyone would agree, is a masterpiece of creativity and practical effects.  But what a lot of people seem to disagree on is the meaning of the flick. I've watched countless YouTube video essays about the subject, each one offering a new perspective, and demonstrating a different interpretation. But what i took from it is the importance of holding on to the things we loved as kids, even as we face the challenges of adulthood. Sarah's launched into a difficult situation, where she finds that the friends she's made, both big and small, are her only way through. The way they remain in her life as companions, not only in the Labyrinth, but in her room by the end of the movie, is a reminder to me that the things that mean something to you, even if it was in a previous stage in your life, should always be treasured. There were no shortage of cool movies to pay tribute to, but i love the themes and the visuals of "Labyrinth" so that's what i went with! It's done in ink, acrylic, and graphite, and is available through Gallery1988

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

ON THE TRAIL OF THE JOHN DOE KILLER -- IN FILM NOIR-STYLE ACTION FIGURE FORMAT.

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on Sam and Twitch action figure set, based on the artwork from "Sam and Twitch" Vol. 1 #22, published by Image Comics in July 2001, part of Spawn Series 25: The Classic Covers, released by McFarlane Toys in February 2004.

BRAND: Spawn

GENRE: Comics

PRODUCT TYPE: Action Figure

SERIES: Spawn Series 25

Sam and Twitch sti.022, based on the artwork of Sam and Twitch issue #22.

Sources: www.slabcitycomics.com/products/sam-and-twitch-22, McFarlane Toys, eBay, various, etc...

[b2rianls]

someone at work said i looked like a detective. They said "with the suspenders and the hair..." i wonder what the hell Detective Hair is supposed to look like, but either way, i feel like i'm slowly transitioning into my final form: Detective Sam Burke from "Spawn" i need a donut.