Pistol, Post-Apocalyptic Pin-Up

Those of you that follow my Facebook Fan Page may recall this progress shot, which I posted on the first of March...

I'd like to think some of my readers get as much enjoyment out of my images as I do, and have been at least a tiny bit excited to see the end result. So, if my hopes are true... At long last! Here is the completed version, for which you've all been waiting in agonizing anticipation!
Enjoy!

Pistol

Post-Apocalyptic Pin-up

I'm happy with how this turned out. I really enjoyed playing with the exaggerated anatomy, fiddling with textures, and sneaking images into the background. The icon of the fighting female existing in a lawless desolate wasteland is something I rather fancy as well. It's probably a safe bet that, in the days to come, you can expect more Post-Apocalyptic themed images coming from my direction.

Here are a few close-ups of selected details...

And this is the original ink drawing...

(I did the original drawing for this piece while on a visit to see my dearest; my darling muse, Mr. Bobby O'Herlihy. This amazingly talented, hard-working, and intelligent young man is the source of great inspiration to me, in my work and my life. He somehow manages to spark within me, a certain drive, which I all-too-often struggle to find within myself... the overwhelming compulsive urge to just get crackin' on a bunch of crazyawesome illustrations, ASAP! So I'd just like to take this time to say briefly,

Thank you, Bobbyo! You light my creative fiahhhh.)

Don't forget to
LIKE ME ON FACEBOOK!
facebook.com/KristinKoefoed


–KLK

Philly's Most Awful Employee of the Month: Feb 2012

And the February winner is...

Miss Euniik´the Wawa Meat Expert!!!

Now, Euniik´'s not a bad girl. On the contrary, she's a testament to following the righteous path. She just wants to do her own thing. On the clock. While you're waiting for sandwiches. With your sandwiches. She's discovered the opportunity to use her daily garb to her advantage, in disguising headphones to help drown out the unpleasant sounds of the crappy establishment. However, in doing this, Euniik´renders herself incapable of hearing your cries as she hand your sandwich to some other guy who placed a completely different order, after you stood there and watched in mouthwatering anticipation as she prepared your crispy foot-long lined with delicious steaming balls of marinara marinated, cheese-drenched, meat. What's worse is her inability to hear what you're saying makes her incapable of understanding why it is so heartbreaking to, after not having eaten since breakfast, watch your newborn sandwich get carried away... and why it is so infuriating to have your exclamations met with "Huh?" and a long delay from an expressionless face before finally saying, "I'll make you a new one." Without a single apology or indication of concern for the thunder emanating from your belly or the poor guy whose probably going to rush home eager to eat, only to be severely disappointed by his supper surprise, Euniik´takes our prize for this February's Philly's Most Awful Employee of the Month competition.

Here's the original drawing:
–KLK

Another human study

Mariana took off her damp winter coat, and settled into her seat to gaze vacantly out the fifteen foot glass windows that lined the gray and burgundy room. This was the first of many coffee houses she would test on a hunt for a new favorite haunt. The graceful steam that rose from her mug warmed the skin of her chin and cheeks just enough so it no longer felt as though it may crack, should she make any sudden facial expression. "It's nice to have seasonable weather at least," she struggled to convince herself. After having recently been displaced from the comfort of her 57th floor condo overlooking Bryant Park, it took a great deal of effort to generate her own positive reinforcement on a day to day basis. North Dakota was not any place for an individual of her skill level and history of accomplishments, but Momma always said, "Follow your heart, girl." And that's exactly what she did. "Never fall in love with an army man," were the words of wisdom her grandmother supplied, which she thoroughly disregarded in a series of affairs with the Army, the Navy, the Marines, and even the National Guard ...the latter of which she often justifies with the old phrase, "It was Spring Break." The last in the line of men in uniform she set out to win over was the man she now called her husband-to-be, and she vowed that she would follow her man to the ends of the Earth, just like the heroines in her favorite fictions would do. Unfortunately for Mariana, her pledge got her plopped in the middle of Cafe Fargo, unaware that off in some subterrainean storage closet at his new base, her fiance Sergeant Folker fiddles around with an androgynously hot female Private's privates.

–KLK

Philly's Most Awful Employee of the Month: Jan 2012

The January winner of Philly's Most Awful Employee of the Month was selected from the pool of contestants to be featured on YourDailyDouche.com. To help promote this new website, PMAEM wanted to highlight the first douche to make it to the Douche Hall of Fame.

We present to you...
Tino the Butcher

The Your Daily Douche writer did such an excellent job honoring this South Philly meatsmith, that this writer sees no further elaboration necessary.

The Butcher, Baby: Douche no. 002. This impudent meat shop employee is guilty of taking every possible opportunity to use the phrases "my meat" and "your meat" with strikingly unsubtle emphasis, as well as making uninvited, not to mention (a higher degree of offense) UN-CLEVER sexual jokes to a female customer. And he did it all while on the clock. And at the end of the day, he was monetarily rewarded for his douchey behavior. All off the books, of course.

courtesy of YourDailyDouche.com

–KLK

Club Girls Kim and Cheri

Stranger Studies no.423 & 424: Cheri Yodsuwan and Kim Libowitz

These two gals, dressed for a night out on the town, seemed to have found themselves lost in Old City Philadelphia on a Saturday night. Despite their most earnest efforts, repeatedly crying out "Where are we?" was to no avail. The two could not, for all the GPS apps functioning at 4G speed in the world, find their own location. Eventually it started seeming hopeless and the two girls stood in a huddle, Capri brand cigarettes pressed against quivering lips that recited their mantra, "Oh my god, what do we do?"

Then! Out of nowhere! Heroes appeared in the form of a motorcycle street gang... clad in leather, studs, Lynyrd Skynyrd patches and unkempt beards. Cheri's face lit up in reverie as she realized the opportunity that had just presented itself. She removed her phone from her glitter clutch, quickly clicked the Instagram icon, and yelled to Kim, "Facebook piiiiic!"

Here are the black and white versions, which as always I prefer:

*This is based on a true story that ended with me shouting "You're embarrassing yourself!"

–KLK

People Watching Maxene Harper

Quick little day projects that involve spying on people, you know.

Stranger Study no.385: Maxene Harper
38 year old mother of two, Maxene Harper lives in Fishtown, in the same three story house she shared with her brother and his band after high school. Since the Badtouched Choirboys moved out, the place hasn't seen nearly as many holes in the walls, though many of the ACDC and Black Sabbath posters that hid the ones made 20 years ago still remain nailed in place. The band dismembered after Stevie died from a heroin and cocaine overdose. When BC lost their drummer, Max lost the father of (at least one of) her children, and she lost the love of her life. She turned to the arms of her "sisters", and discovered a new depth to her emotions. She never looked back. Today Maxene tries to make sure that she never loses her inner child, knowing that it's necessary to maintain when trying to successfully raise children. It is for this reason that she's acquired so many tattoos commemorating the music she danced to as a young teen; and it is for this reason that she makes nightly visits to the bar to get wasted with her local friends, the way they did as young teens.

Here's the black and white version:

–KLK

Human Studies: group II

Here are some more Philly creeps I creeped on and creeped out.

I'm pretty satisfied with my progress in spotting the difference between male and female structures. I think the next round is going to focus on the ladies.

–KLK

ADREA, Modern Homemaker

I present to you today, someone very important to me. This is my nearest and dearest, most beloved little girl, Miss Adrea Collins. Frequently regarded as "rather strange," Adrea consistently finds herself in a position where she's unconvinced that she's the strange one. To her, it seems the entire world and the way it functions is absolutely bizarre. So you must forgive her if she fails to process the information she receives in the same fashion as others.

Today, Adrea the home maker receives an email on her pocket computer that provides her with a glimpse of insight into the way other modern home makers accomplish getting rid of excess clutter in their pocket books.

*click to enlarge

–KLK

Philly's Most Awful Employee of the Month, December 2011

And the December winner is... drum roll please...

buhdtddduhdtuhdtuhdtuhdtuhdtuhdt

Madeline the Pastry Mistress!!!

If you're looking for service with a smile, you won't get it from Maddy! Service with a snarl is this little tart's specialty. Have an inquiry about an item? Prepare yourself to experience what parents go through when they try to ask their teenage daughter a question. Don't think for a second she'll admit to not knowing something and refer you to someone who may. Without missing a beat, Madeline will assure you that even the owner himself couldn't answer your question. President Barack Obama may have given the thumbs up about this establishment, but don't count on getting the presidential treatment when our sour sweetheart is at your service. Did you feel like you were a stupid person before you decided to get a pastry? Well you do now! All thanks to Miss December, whose award of this honor kicks off the upcoming year of Philly's Most Awful Employee of the Month!
Keep tuning in, to see all the incredible employees 2012 will surely lead me to encounter and be insulted by.

For now, here's the original drawing:

–KLK

A Day at the Beach

Here's a little afternoon project I did for myself...illustrated a scene from a story.


Craig said to his father, with the same enthusiasm and amplification as always, "Gee Dad! Thith sunrithe is thimply exquithit! I can tell, today ith going to be a good day!"
Lee maintained his hollow smile as he thought to himself, Today I am going to kill myself.
How was he, of all people, supposed to live with the shame of fathering a son, whose ass he would have personally kicked in high school? Captain of the team with a five year winning streak, proud owner of a 12 foot personal display case of trophies, king of every school event, and now, the coach of current litter of Cougars... and this is what his seed produced. Having never made it to the NFL was nothing compared to the depression brought on by every single word out of Jake's mouth. After 16 years of choking back his irritation and forcing his face into an unconvincing smile, Lee Carson had to admit to himself that this was one game he wasn't tough enough to keep playing.
He calmly replied, "Yes it is, son. Yes it is."

excerpt from Ten Terrible Tales of Failed Family Bonding, by Harriet M. Ford

Suffice it to say, the author has been watching select episodes of Daria as a means of creative stimulation and "getting in the fiction writer state of mind."

–KLK

Somewhere, beyond Route 23...

Somewhere, in my memory...
My girl, she stands on concrete land,
and watches the sun set on the Schuylkill.

Before my current set up, I used to live with another pretty blonde lady... Miss Andrea. As usual, my rendition fails to do her justice. She's so much better looking in real life, but I still think the illustration is worthwhile.

(Here's the under-drawing:)
Andrea and I lived together for two years, in two crummy situations. (Literally, there were crumbs everywhere.) In either location, we'd always hide in her locked room like little kids, shushing each other and struggling to hold back giggles when we'd hear the front door slam. I remember we'd often escape for walks through the upscale family neighborhoods of Philadelphia, which have the best tree-lined streets with the most exquisite architecture. We'd make our way to the Schuylkill River trail, where we'd watch the sun cast explosions of color as it set over the pollution riddled horizon.
Andrea is one of the most passionate individuals I know when it comes to her career goals and her trade. She slaves endlessly on projects, creating draft after draft until every last detail is perfected. For her dedication and hard earned skills, I admire and look up to her. I love this girl.
<3

–KLK

The Captain and the Queen

I recently did two portraits... one of of my roommate, and one of myself. I used colored pencil for the majority of the work and added additional coloring and adjustments in Photoshop.

I decided to work in colored pencil for these because I really miss the more tactile elements of image making. (I get all stuffy working solely on the computer.) I think I may utilize this method in future work.
I'm the Captain because I'm crazed, married to my ship, and engaged on an endless quest for vengeance against an animal that acted on instinct in one specific instance. She's the Queen because she's beautiful, has fancy jewels, and is endowed with the ability to effortless attain the adoration of subjects who thenceforth strive to worship, serve, and protect her, simply because.


–KLK

Smile for me daddy

This is Shawn.

Shawn works in a cheese processing plant.

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Shawn is a conscientious employee who takes great pride in getting the job done while upholding health standards better than his childhood nemesis Phillip, who works at a rival cheese processing plant down the road. He enjoys taking care of his truck and talking to pretty women. His favorite pastime is foosball and his favorite musical artist since the 1999 sixth grade Winter Formal has been Nelly.

–KLK

Oh sugah pie, I'd just die for more men in my life!

And by "life" I clearly mean the bottomless pile of unsorted papers and unfinished drawings. In recent months, I've fallen into the tendency to go with what I know and focus almost exclusively on illustrating the female figure. It's usually easier to draw your own gender. But accomplishing a challenge only requires consistent practice.

So the other day, when I had a little bit of time, I went on out and drew some interesting looking men creatures.
...without their permission. Shhh.

–KLK

Shelly belly!

Sheldon Cooper, B.S., M.S., B.A., Ph.D., Sc.D.

I am a huge fan of the show Big Bang Theory on CBS. Theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper, played by Jim Parsons, is my absolute favorite. I adore him for his social awkwardness and the rigid structure he needs to uphold in order to successfully perform his daily routine. His personality flaws are endearing and relatable... to me at least.

After my recent (potential) completion of a commission that has taken me way too long, I decided to do a quick little fun piece for myself. In trying to figure out what the heck to draw, I thought "Well, what are things you like?" and Sheldon Cooper is what came to mind.

–KLK

The Vanessa and Lewis Show

The other night I stayed up late and drew a cartoon of my roommate and her fuzzy little boy...

Just like every superhero needs a sidekick, every 6 foot fashionista needs a little dog. They simply go together, and have since the modern revival of a trend that goes back to Victorian and Elizabethan times, when the most posh upper class ladies were always accompanied by their small dogs. I'd say my roommate is pretty posh. Though I'm not sure I'd consider us upper class, we rent in a fancy shmancy neighborhood, and I do believe my lady looks better than a large percentage of the wealthy wives on our block.

–KLK

Little Girl vs. Giant Leak

HOW WAS WORK TODAY?

One of my jobs is at the front desk of a local business, which is located in a high-rise building that is otherwise closed on Sundays. Our business is the only one there that day. One Sunday, when I was all by myself at work, a leak started in our lobby. Over the course of an hour, another leak sprang up, then another, and another, until there was water pouring from every imaginable crevice. Huge pimples of water began growing beneath the thick layer of latex paint on the walls... right next to my desk, and right above the power strips for the stereo, telephone, credit card machine, computer, and printer. It turned out a pipe three floors up had burst. Some Eastern European guys came in to fix it. I suspect they acquired very excellent plumber skills on Russian spy submarine. Needless to say, it was somewhat of a challenge to tend to the tasks I needed to tackle that day, but I did, and managed to crank a little cartoon out as well.

–KLK

Life with Lewis

THIS IS LEWIS.

Lewis is a mysterious creature disguised as a four pound miniature Pomeranian. This four year old fluff is my roommate Vanessa's side-kick, and the source of that little scritch-scratch-scritch-scratch you might hear rushing across my apartment floor. But when you hear him, I challenge you to try and find him. He's nowhere to be seen. Maybe he's off in one of his hiding places, or perhaps on some The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe-esque adventure.

In the past few months my relationship with this little fur ball has grown deeper, and the more I realize about him, the more I realize there's a whole secret world of thought behind that deceivingly cute, innocent face. Mr. Lewis is more like one of the goblins from Labyrinth than he is like Lassie. Just by being his weird self, Lewis is always inspiring me to draw little cartoons.
Here's a few:

There will be endless more to come, I'm sure.

–KLK

A is for Another self project

I came up with the idea for this letter at work the other day when, after completing everything on my task list, I was left with a 45 minute time block to myself. I took the time to doodle in my sketchbook while perusing the company blog.
Here's the original drawing:



–KLK

Poconos Girl

This is a piece I did for myself as a means of climbing out of a little creative spell. I often find it's the things that have no meaning that are most enjoyable, and get your juices going.

My main prerogative, honestly, was to just draw a hot girl and enjoy coloring her face. So I picked the hottest girl I know (/the girl who looks most like me), my number one lady Dawn. I haven't drawn her since high school, when I was a hack, so I figured it's about time I pay some homage.

Prints available. Contact for details.

Here's a close up of the face, as well as the original sketch.

Special thanks to my sister from another mister for unwittingly being my subject, and special thanks in advance for not objecting to this being published on the internet.

–KLK