So I think most people will agree that "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" wasn't the best movie in the franchise. But the movie had great characters- Shortround, Willie, Mola Ram. Take Mola Ram for example- that dude was scary! And Willie- heck it was easy to see why Indy fell for her in the movie. Kate Capshaw is beautiful! 
   When Topps released "Indiana Jones Heritage" and later that same year (2008) "Indiana Jones Masterpieces", that 2nd movie in the franchise probably didn't get as much love from sketch artists as the other movies, but Mike did a few gems from it. Which leads me to this week's card:

   Indy, Shortround, and Willie in the mine car. Mike used various styles throughout these sets, and I love this one. Willie in particular, this sketch captures her to a tee in this scene. She wailed and whined the whole time lol. Shortround lives up the the first half of his nickname as you can only see his eyes, hat, hair, and hands in the sketch. Indy is ever present with his signature hat and has an apprehensive look on his face. And not a nose in the bunch. Classic!
   I am also always a little amazed how flawlessly Mike can draw multiple characters on a card- in this case three plus a mine car. Granted they aren't full body characters, but these cards are 2 1/2"x 3 1/2". Miniature pieces of art, each and every one. 
   So I hope you like this installment of the blog- thanks for stopping by and reading!
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   Back to the Fellowship...
   So far we've seen Lord Elrond and Frodo Baggins. Next up.. Gandalf the Grey. The unofficial leader of the Fellowship. The first to pledge his service to Frodo. 
   Gandalf is such a central figure in Tolkien's Middle Earth. He convinced Thorin Oakenshield to get a Party together to take back their Homeland, and he was lock step with Lord Elrond to send a group to try to protect the ringbearer as he traveled to Mount Doom.

   If you've followed my blog, going the whole way back to the original blog, a Lord of the Rings Masterpieces II "Gandalf" sketch by Mike was my very first sketch card purchase...

   A bit of a difference, eh? I was looking up Lord of the Rings stuff on EBay, saw that sketch, and I knew I had to have it. I don't remember the exact price, but I think it was kinda cheap (maybe $25?). Gandalf always was one of my favorite characters, and this sketch solidified it. 
   Back to the new Gandalf sketch, the look on Gandalf's face is almost meditative. And I love that Mike included his staff in this one too. If you've ever seen Mike draw live in one of his videos, Mike's a genius with how he knows right where to outline a feature with black or use a white marker to make something stand out. The dark shading on his robe to show the folds and the furrows- that takes years of experience to get just the right look. Mike nails it. For me, it all adds up to just a great piece of artwork. 
   Oh well, enough for today. Thanks for stopping by and reading. 
#lordoftherings #michaelduron #Locoduck #locoduckduron #artistsketchcard #artistsketch #sketch #gandalf #gandalfthegrey #gandalfstormcrow #whiterider #mithrandir #ianmckellen #sirianmckellen #fellowshipofthering #thetwotowers #returnoftheking #lordelrond #frodobaggins #bilbobaggins #samwisegamgee #aragorn #legolas #gimli #boromir #merry #pippin @michaelduron @locoduckduron @michaelduronportfolio 

   I've seen Mike do a lot of different "Yoda" sketches over the years, in lots of different styles. So it didn't surprise me when I saw this one in a completely different look than any I had seen him do before (and for that matter, any since). I have come to enjoy and embrace Mike's versatility over the years. I could see Mike's differing styles over the years, sometimes from set to set. 2008 Star Wars Clone Wars were very cartooony, while 2010 Galaxy 5 were more comic book style. And by 2012 Mike was showcasing more of his "sugar boogarz" style. His art was ever evolving, and always refining.

   Back to the card at hand, this 2012 Star Wars Galactic Files "Yoda" sketch. Yoda is my favorite character, so I was happy to grab this one when it became available. I'm assuming from the background that this is Yoda on Dagobah, and I'd go further and guess this is Yoda from "Return of the Jedi". Nearing the end of his life. I like this sketch for the uniqueness of the style. It's not the cartoony style of 2008, or the comic book style of 2010, or the sugar boogarz style of 2012, so for me that makes it special. Plus it's Yoda, the coolest of the Jedi, so that helps too. 

Anyways, thanks for stopping by and reading!

#starwars #michaelduron #locoduck #locoduckduron #sketchcard #artistsketch #sketch #yoda #masteryoda #jedimaster #jedi #jediapprentice #empirestrikesback #returnofthejedi #thephantommenace #attackoftheclones #revengeofthesith  #Dagobah #jeditraining #lukeskywalker @michaelduron @locoduckduron @michaelduronportfolio 

   Mike thru the years. When I started buying/collecting Star Wars sketch cards in 2008 with Clone Wars there was a lot I didn't know. I had found a message board online called Scoundrel Art where a lot of sketch card collectors and sketch card artists posted. The people there were so welcoming and helpful. Although I watched all the Star Wars movies, I didn't know a lot of the minor character names. Ponda Baba? Salacious Crumb? Plo Koon? I had seen these characters on screen but didn't know all their names. And now I was seeing them on sketch cards. Post a picture on Scoundrel, and someone was helping you in minutes. 
   Another thing, there were no signature panels on the back of the early sketch cards, so artists usually "made their mark" on the front of cards. Initials, symbols, monikers, last names, first names, nicknames, and sometimes no names (I imagine it's easy to forget to sign a card when you're under the pressure of a deadline). I was a complete noob, so I knew very few artists. Post a picture on Scoundrel, and again, someone was helping you in minutes.
   It was on Scoundrel where I first heard the term "return card". I didn't know what "return cards" were, but I soon found out. When an artist works on a set, he/she could pick a few of his/her cards to be returned to him/her to sell for whatever they can get. These cards are usually the best of the best. And Mike posted that he was selling his Clone Wars returns on Scoundrel Art. I was able to grab two of them- one with R2D2 and C-3PO, and one with Count Dooku, Darth Sidious, and Asajj Ventress. They were fantastic! 
   Fast forward 8 years. I'm making my 3rd trip to Disney World and I had met Mike during each of the first two trips. Perfect opportunities to also pick up some art from him directly. Topps had resurrected the panoramic sketch (double the size of a normal sketch card) in two of their Star Wars products sets in the two previous years- Star Wars Illustrated: A New Hope and Star Wars Illustrated: Empire Strikes Back. Mike had some blanks from these products, so I definitely wanted one.  Mike's style had progressed over the years getting better and better. Plus he had started utilizing a few different styles, a comic book style and a style he called "Sugar Boogarz". I was a big fan of both, but the comic book style was my favorite. I'm a big fan of main character sketches, and I had a throwback idea- get another R2D2 and C-3PO sketch. Mike agreed and I was really curious to see how this one would turn out. When he gave it to me- Wow what a difference! It was great! One of the things I like is that Mike does backgrounds for his Return sketches as you can see in each of these. I think those little added touches make his art even that much better. Interesting to see how Mike's style had changed in those 8 years. The night he gave me the new card I showed him a picture of the one from 8 years earlier to remind him and he kinda laughed and groaned. I always loved that original though- it was my first Star Wars set and the first returns I had ever gotten off Mike. Where it all started for me. Okay, enough reminiscing for today. Thanks for stopping by and reading!
#starwars #michaelduron #locoduck #locoduckduron #artistsketchcard #artistsketch #sketch #r2d2 #c3po #anewhope #empirestrikesback #returnofthejedi #thephantommenace #attackoftheclones #revengeofthesith  #theforceawakens #thelastjedi #riseofskywalker @michaelduron @locoduckduron @michaelduronportfolio