Unholy Paladin Studios: New DevilSaint character, Charon!

Hey everyone!

 Those who've been following the story development for DevilSaint may've seen this one coming; but here's finally a finished illustration of the river Styx ferryman and part-time familiar for Phobos, Charon.

That glorious craggy bastard.

 Check out the SUPER-HIGH-RES version on my DA page!

 Character description and other stuff after the jump!

I Can Cooking! #12: Bakin' Bacon Mac & Cheese!

YEAH!!!

 Ahem.  (sorry, but all things bacon-y get me excited)

 Anyways, comfort foods!  Bacon!  YEAH!  Mac & Cheese has always been one of those classic comfort dishes; no matter the day or mood, a nice bowl of that creamy noodly goodness never fails to fill the stomach and soul.  And baked mac & cheese?  All the better.  And then adding bacon on top of that?!  Ohhh man.

 Fellow I Can Cooks, you're in for a treat.

It's totally okay to indulge once in a while.

So... yeah...

Alas, I've not fallen off the face of the Earth!

That said, I feel the need to explain / apologize for my absence of late.  Yeah, I've been working on projects and also had other things going on in my personal life that have gotten in the way somewhat, but that excuse doesn't really cut it as far as covering 2 months of not posting after a period of regular activity.

So ultimately, what it all boils down to is the question of why I blog.  For a while, I was starting to get solicitations both online and in mail form from Google, wanting me to pay them to upgrade my ads on here.  The thing is though, in years of running this thing, I've yet to see a single cent from the ads I do have.  It felt almost insulting that they wanted me to pay them for something that would really only benefit them, and above that, the solicitations made it sound like the only reason to run a blog is to profit from it.  That was probably one of the most demotivating ideas that's crossed my mind since I first started blogging, and made me take a moment to seriously look at why I even doing this to begin with.  I mean, sure the blog takes a lot of work to write and update regularly, but at what point does it stop becoming fun and turns into... work?  And potentially for nothing?  Who am I even doing this for, anyway?

And after a while of soul-searching and consideration, I remembered:  it's for my readers.  It's for you all, who might share some of the same hobbies and interests as me, or may simply enjoy reading what I write.  I guess I lost sight of that with the whole adverts thing, and also a decline of feedback on here... I just thought maybe my efforts were being ignored or worse, that these postings were an annoyance or waste of others' time.

But something changed.  Some friends of mine started asking about why I haven't updated in a while.  Said they missed the articles, and even better, were able to make use of some of my recipes!  I was floored.  I had no idea that this thing was actually appreciated by... someone, anyone.

So to those who've stuck around, and those who've given me feedback, thank you.  For letting me know there is some value in doing this, and convincing me to throw my hat back into the ring.

So for the reboot 2.0, I'm thinking maybe I should implement some sort of "release schedule" for the blog... like have certain features come out on certain days of the week or something.  I mean, it'd be great to make it so people would know when to check by, but... I kind of like not having a set schedule, since there's honestly not always something to write about.  Suggestions?

I Can Cooking! #11: Steak n' Taters

 Steak and potatoes.  A simple, yet delicious classic.  Granted, potatoes are a relatively recent crop to be put into such widespread culinary use, but the idea of pairing root vegetables of some sort with a big honking slab of meatbeast has been a thing ever since humanity first discovered cooking.

 Now first, a disclaimer:  Yes, I know that grilling can yield tastier results.  But of course, not everyone has a grill (or like me, live in an apartment with no yard to even put one in!).  The idea behind I Can Cooking! is to help fellow amateur chefs to really wow themselves and significant others by being able to create a great meal with stuff most kitchens should have on-hand, and far cheaper than a restaurant.  Besides, grill or no, you can't deny that this looks darn tasty:

Admit it, this makes your mouth water.

Portraity things, part 2!

Hello again!

 Sorry for the delays in posting; just been super-busy lately... and I hate to waste a post just to provide a smidgeon of content.  Go big or not at all!  So anyhow, here's another batch of sketch portraits for your viewing pleasure!

Not bad looking for nearly a million years old.

Portraity things!

 I was bored the other day and decided to color in the sketchbook page with the portrait of Adrian I posted a few days ago; since I didn't bother to put down clean lines on a fresh piece of Bristol board, I decided to do the coloring in a similarly sketchy style.

 Weelllll... the result ended up being quite a bit cooler than I expected.  I then decided that I was going to start making this a thing, and did some more of other characters!

Prince of Hell and of glam-rock.

 More characters after the jump!

I Can Cooking! #10: Tzatziki, Vinaigrette, and the Meal to Make With Them

 Sauce edition!

 Sauces are an important part of many a meal.  They add moisture, flavor, and deliciousness to the foods they go with; and even if, like my cooking, yours needs no sauces for this purpose (not to brag or anything, ha!), a complimentary flavor can take something good and make it truly phenomenal. 

 Of course, thought the sauces are the theme of this edition, I'll still show how to make the meal that goes around them.

Super-fancy dinner?  Actually a lot simpler than you might think!

What's on my desk: 9/24/13

Hello!  It's about time I did another one of these, so here's a look at the sketches that're on my desk at this moment.

Totally convincing as a priest there, Adrian.

I Can Cooking! #9: Lo Mein

Chinese food is delicious, there's no doubt about that.  It's delicious, usually pretty cheap for the amount you get... but darn it, sometimes the restaurants just work odd hours and you need your lo mein fix ASAP.  Well, I'm here to help!  This staple dish and co-chief Chinese food carbohydrate (lest we forget fried rice... but that'll be an I Can Cooking! for another time) is a lot easier to make than you might think... and quite possibly faster than delivery too.

Lo mein, the ultimate Chinese comfort food.

Drinklage #7: Like the Soda-Jerks of Olde!

 Who said Drinklage had to only be about booze?  :D

 Lemon-lime soda.  It's one of the classic flavors to be sure, but like many things, it could always be better.  So many of the store-bought brands tend to be full of weird ingredients and have tons of calories; wouldn't it be nice to be able to make a lemon-lime soda that's not only decently healthy, but also has a flavor that'll knock any of the name-brand ones out of the water?  Well, it's far easier than you'd think!

Totally worth the extra effort.

I Can Cooking! #8: Swordfish and Steamed Vegetables, also Bechamel-based Homemade Cheese Sauce

 For today's edition of I Can Cooking, we eat healthy!  But don't worry, for those who don't care for the vegetables and fish and whatnot, I'm also going to show you how to make a dynamite cheese sauce that you can use for pretty much ANYTHING!

Because cheese makes everything delicious.

 Let's get started!

Drinklage #6: Caipirinha

 Caipirinha.  This drink is the official cocktail of Brazil, a place with a reputation for its year-round balmy, tropical heat.  Coming from a place like that, you know this has got to be naturally ideal for these hot summer evenings (well, for the few weeks remaining of summer, at least).  Sort of a boozy limeade, it's an exceptional drink which is quite simple to make!  Just 4 ingredients, and you've got the ultimate thirst-quencher.

The Caipirinha... almost as fun to say as it is to drink!

What's on my desk: 9/4/13

Hello!

 It's time I share some of the stuff I've been working on lately!  Though I haven't had much time to do completed illustrations, a good buddy of mine, Craig Scott, has been doing this "one sketch a day" thing and well, darn if it's not an awesome idea.  So, I figure I'd do the same.

 Content after the jump!

I Can Cooking! #7: Chicken and Veggie Skillet

 So, I was originally going to make this an Aliens in the Supermarket due to the use of Chayote, which is a somewhat unusual ingredient; however, since I used it in a somewhat more complex recipe instead, I figured an I Can Cooking! was more appropriate.

 This is a really easy dish to make, and is amazingly good as well (not to brag or anything).  Since I just kind of made up the recipe as I went along, there really isn't a name for it... so let's allow the picture to speak for it instead:

I call it... Chicken a-la McCurdy.

 Recipe after the jump!

Still kicking!

Hey everyone!

 First off, let me apologize for the lack of recent updates; the reason for that being I've been really sick for the past week or so, and most of the time I've had off-work has been spent sleeping and otherwise recovering.  BUT!  I'm feeling mostly better now, so I can get back into the swing of things.

 For those who've been sticking around, and those readers yet to come, a huge thank you for sticking with me!  I'll be sure to make it worth your while.

 In the meantime, here's a preview for a drawing of the Echo Deity I've been working on:

Drinklage #5: Rusty Nail

Scotch.  Cocktail.  (dodges incoming thrown objects)

 For so many Scotch aficionados, these two words evoke a feeling of utter revulsion; that it's an act of blasphemy to defile such a finely-crafted liquor by mixing it with anything.  As a Scotch man myself, I'm inclined to agree, for the most part.  HOWEVER... there is one mixing ingredient which we should consider to be okay to mix with Scotch, as it is made of Scotch itself.  That ingredient:  Drambuie.  The cocktail:  Rusty Nail; an age-old classic which every fan of Scotch (or, you know, of drinking in general) owes it to him/herself to have an open mind about and try at least once, not only because it reveals a new potential for our favored brown nectar, but also for the simple fact that it is DAMN GOOD.

Ladies and Gents, the Rusty Nail.  Beautiful, ain't it?

Aliens in the Supermarket #4: Kohlrabi

 Kohlrabi.  This odd-looking vegetable, with its purple skin and odd swirly bits (which are actually just where the sideways-growing roots have been removed) is a bit of a mystery to many of us in the Western world.  There really aren't many recipes at all outside of Indian cuisine which call for this cabbage relative, so it tends to be overlooked, as... well, what really is there to do with it?  The answer is:  just about anything.  This vegetable has a flavor similar to cabbage hearts or broccoli stems, yet a texture pretty close to that of an apple, with a fairly hearty skin.  It can be eaten raw, steamed, stir-fried, or my personal favorite method:  roasted.  Today, I'm going to show you how!

It's strangely pretty.

What's on my desk, MOE EDITION: 8/16/13

Hello all!

 Sorry for the slow updates; just been pretty busy in real-life stuff the past few days.  Anyways, here are some updates on stuff I've been working on!

I Can Cooking! #6: Potato Pancake Breakfast Sandwich!

 So, let's say you've made up an excessively huge batch of mashed potatoes, and as much as you love them, there's just no way you could possibly get through them quickly enough.  Also, it just happens to be a Saturday morning, and you feel like having a hearty breakfast. Pancakes sound good, but darn it, you're out of syrup!  If only there was a way to make savory pancakes, using stuff you have an abundance of already...  Oh wait, THERE IS!

GET IN MAH BELLEH!

Of course, just savory pancakes by themselves can be a bit boring.  Let's make a full breakfast of this!

Drinklage #4: Irish Coffee, the right way!

 Irish coffee.  Such a delicious and wonderful way to bring oneself to consciousness on a nice relaxing weekend morning.  Yet for so many, this classic day mood-setter / hangover cure has been confused for the overly sweet, tongue-coating ick that is simply Bailey's and coffee.  That is not a real Irish coffee.  Over the next few minutes, I'll show you how easy it is to make the best Irish coffee you've ever had, and even some suggestions for other flavor additions!

The mug's really not all that small; I've just got huge hands.