Draw Every Day 211-220

Looking at the characters I had drawn so far this year, I noticed there was a lack of super villains. To try and fix that, I had Bad Guy week and asked for suggests on people's favorite baddies. This post also includes a little more Iron Man practice and my version of Snake Plissken from Escape from New York and Escape from Los Angeles.

TRADING CARDS - Storm

Storm is definitely a powerful and respectable X-Men character, but honestly never really one of my favorites. I think a big part of that was just how she spoke in the cartoon. It was always so over-the-top and grandiose that I didn't get in to it as a kid.

One of the most powerful X-Men Storm wields the awesome forces of nature with skill and wisdom - the same qualities that have earned her the leadership of the X-Men's Gold team!

Draw Every Day 201-210

More Marvel characters this time. I was thinking about X-Men a lot after seeing the new Wolverine movie. I also wanted to do a few heroes I haven't tried in a while and I spent a little more time working on one of my original characters.

TRADING CARDS - Archangel

Anybody remember when I was working my way through the X-Men trading cards from the 90s? There are four or five more that I have in various states of completion, so I thought I'd pick up where  I left off. Angel has had some very different looks. I like the more classic look with the feathery wings and blue and white costume, but he's also pretty cool with blue skin, metal wings and a blue and magenta costume.

The carefree Angel was a founding member of the X-Men - but the archvillain Apocalypse transformed him into Archangel. He now struggles heroically to control his savage nature!

Draw Every Day 191-200

 This batch includes a lot more character requests, a sketch from our trip to a nature preserve in Oklahoma and some X-Men characters as I was getting excited for the new Wolverine movie. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram for daily updates @natexopher

I MET STAN LEE!

That's right, I finally got to meet the man, the legend, the generalissimo - Stan Lee. It was amazing. I just wish I had more time to talk to him so I could properly geek out in front of him, but they had to keep the line moving and give everyone a chance to get their photo.

I actually had a ticket to see him a few years ago when I was a freshman in college, but at the last minute I had to cancel because I had a project due for class. I have regretted not going ever since - how could I think school was more important than the man behind Marvel? Well that decision doesn't have to haunt me anymore, because I have now stood next to an icon and I have the photo to prove it.

Cincinnati Comic Expo 2013

The Cincinnati Comic Expo was a blast this year. I had such a great time with Lee and Janae there, hanging out with like-minded comic fans. There were some talented artists and some great costumes to see - including a home-made Iron Man suit with LEDs that lit up and a moving faceplate. The highlights for me were definitely meeting Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Billy the Blue Ranger (David Yost). They were both super nice and I had fun talking to both of them. Nicholas Brendon was exactly how you think Xander would be in real life - and he hugged both of us before the photo! David Yost seems like a fun guy, too and he even put his hand on my shoulder and said "Nate, I think you're pretty morphenomenal."

It's always great to do a convention and show my artwork to people. Lee and I had a pretty successful weekend selling our work and we're thinking about trying to do more shows next year.