Post 125

Happy Friday folks! Seriously, this work-week has only been 4 days for me, but geez has it felt long! The weekend is extremely appreciated to say the least, so TGIF!

Post 124

To answer Craig's question from yesterday's post, I was going through some old sketches I did, and found one from 2004 that I did of a character called Rick Dangerous. It's funny because the style I used for this sketch is similar to what I'm using now, but as Brian Stelfreeze told me years ago, I had problems in replicating effects.

Essentially, I accidentally stumbled across some more advanced techniques, but I just wasn't ready to harness them yet. But he's an adventurer character much in the same vein as Doc Savage and Den (, except he's pretty close to losing his mind from being stranded on a savage planet for many years.

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Post 122

I put in a new nib on my pen, and put a new cartridge on my old pen nib. I tested my old one out...and it was too wide for my tastes, it'll be good for thicker lines, but I like to get really fine with certain things...so I moved to the new nib. I hesitated using it because I only had one new nib for my copic, so I'm going to have to order like 3 or 4 of the nibs. They're a part of me at this point. Lord knows I get enough ink on my ring finger for it to be in my bloodstream (Side-note: I utilize my ring finger for stabilizing the tip of the pen; I make that lazy finger work).

P.S. Why is it that many of my favorite shows get canceled? It's hard for me to get into programs anymore because so many great ones get struck down in their prime. Tonight was the last episode of Jericho. At least it had some elements in it that would lead you to believe that some decent resolution will occur. But shows like that, G vs. E, Keen Eddie, Committed, Threshold, Firefly, and one of my favorite shows of all time, Tru Calling were all canceled far too soon. I don't understand what these channels are thinking. I don't think they give shows enough time or proper exposure to gain success. When stations change the night of a show, that messes with the people viewing it, when they don't give it a good time spot, how are people supposed to watch? I mean seriously, I'm sick from this.

Post 121

This was a request from my brother, did a Clark Nova from one of our favorite movies (note: not family-friendly by any means). I'll tell you, one day I'd like to make one from an old typewriter. Maybe I'll give it a try this summer.

Post 120

Happy Easter!

Sorry I didn't have a post yesterday, but I've spent most of the past two days having a movie marathon at my brother's place. We were watching just about every Cronenberg film we could get our hands on. I love his movies, that's pretty much all I can say. Brilliant, disturbing, horrific, and always intriguing.

Anyhoo, have a great easter. For those of you who can't tell, these are some characters I created a while back and decided to use in the Easter theme (I have a page from my never published 8-page story on this post). I tried to avoid any kind of furry-like depictions. The one on the right is a bunny version of my cyclops character Monmulta and his assistant Jamie is on the right. I'd like to do some more stories with them...

Post 119

First off, I really like drawing zombies, I just don't get to draw them very often, so this was a treat. I was listening to a song, and there was a line I really liked, so I decided to illustrate it. Ultimate props if you can actually figure out which song it is.

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The way I look at this blog is like it is a live acoustic concert in a small venue. At this show, there are only close friends who took the time to show up. There isn't anything fancy, and even though most of the crowd knows all of the stories, they still show up and stay when between songs the artist tells how the song was made, or little bits of their life. There aren't any record deals on the line, and no money is being made.

That's how I feel about this blog, it's just a select few really viewing it, I've pretty much always said as much. Growing up, I don't think many people have expected much from me. At school, I worked harder than anyone, but my friends always got the accolades. I've grown accustomed to it, and maybe it's a little easier to grow when people don't expect you to do great things. For years I tried to find a way to get people to notice me, and it actually just made me more frustrated. When I stopped caring, and started doing my own thing, people actually came to me with work. But the work was never good, and the pay was rarely there. I thought in lieu of payment maybe I'd at least be getting recognition, respect, but that wasn't there either. I've learned to expect very little from this business, because it gives you little.

Of the people I meet, maybe 1 in every 50 or more is a true, genuine person. I've had a lot of horrible dealings with people who just took from me, there are few mutual friendships that I have built, and over the years some of the friendships that I have built have deteriorated as people move to the next step in the food chain. However, at this blog, I feel good, I can do what I enjoy without any expectations, and I know that the people viewing it are friends.

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Lately I've been bothered by certain people. They look like they're 'dead behind the eyes'. Just staring vacantly, and when you try to talk to them, their voice lacks soul of any sort.

Post 113

I had a disturbing dream this morning that I was at a comic convention, and I ran into Carrot Top. He was angry that I was afraid of how freakish he looks nowadays, and then he injected himself with steroids and started to pump up even further...kind of like that guy in Big Trouble in Little China, and he started chasing me around with props that were torture weapons. I'm sure someone would ask what I ate last night, and the answer was spaghetti with mushrooms...I honestly don't know.

Quick explanation of this piece. The part on the left (line art at least) is based on a sketch from around 4 years ago. I was looking in my old computer folders (I've had my current computer for around 6 years now, so it has almost all of my artwork on it). I found an early wacom sketch from my second year of college, and then I re-did it and had fun with it.

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Betcha' thought I had forgot about today! No such luck. Though I'm tired as I can possibly be. It's been a long month, and I need some rest.

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Post 106-Hey Mister, Put a Little Mustard on that Mustard

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By the way, I've now got a commissions section up over at Cadence (my art dealer). I am open to doing just about anything. Just contact my Art Dealer Paolo, and he'll get things started. I know we'd both really appreciate it.

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Guyver was one of my first exposures to anime back in the early 90's, but it left a lasting impression. Even though I consider myself more into American comics, I enjoy comics from everywhere, I enjoy the medium itself more than anything.

I've met a lot of people in recent times that are JUST into manga, or JUST into a certain genre. It's great to like certain things, but I feel it's important to give other things a try. My brother and I have this defense mechanism where if people are talking a lot about something and saying it's the best ever, we don't believe them initially and then maybe a year later we'll look at what they're talking about and sometimes we'll enjoy it, sometimes we won't. He didn't listen to Alice in Chains until a few years ago. I was playing some of their music in the car I think, and he actually liked it I think a lot of people are this way nowadays, they put up this barrier. I think you have to find a way to knock it down without crushing their ability to enjoy whatever it is you're showing them.

It's important to give new things a chance. But yeah, Guyver's stuck around with me for many a year. I wish they'd translate all the other volmes of the comic, but it's doubtful they ever will.

Post 102-The Renaming-Reckoning...

Some of you may have noticed that I changed the name of my blog. My reasoning...my brother told me that calling my blog "THE Sketchbook" sounded pretentious. The fact of the matter is, there are tons of sketchbooks, and that small comment began to fester...until I just couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to go with something like Art-Monster...but that's already taken in some form. So, I like piecing words together...still wanted the art/monstery feel...thus ArtGANTUAN was born!!!

So, same artsy-fun...different name...still by Evan.

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Post 100 !!!!

Well, time to get started on the next 100!

Post 99

My buddy Luan posted some pics from Staple! here. The accompanying picture is from the live art show at the after-party. Lots of fun, we were able to sneak in on the list near the end thanks to Tom.

I'm mad at myself for the picture though. This was my first time doing live-art, and I haven't worked on slick foam board in a long time, and I was fighting the surface of the paper the whole time. It made me go crazy!!!! I'm not trying to make excuses, because it was my fault for not being prepared.

I think I'll have a chance to redeem myself at the Cape convention though...

Post 98

It's nearly 6 a.m., we just got back from Austin and Staple. I'll say more later. We left at 2 after the live art show/after party. Had TONS of fun...almost too much for one day. I have to say, it really helps to have a portfolio and business cards ready for once! Met a lot of new people. Also, I am such a fan of Kristian Donaldson, he is SUCH a nice dude. At this point he feels like an older brother.

Anyway, we JUST got our book in time (at 5 before we left for the show on Friday). It's stories by 4 artists (Jake, Luan, Matthew, and myself), and we each got 9 pages. I did a story in it and the cover, as seen with the post. So check it out, it's for sale at Indy Planet.

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I know I missed yesterday...it was beyond crazy. Here's something my friend Luan made. Shows where we'll be at this weekend. If you can, stop by, it's always great to see a friendly face! Again, check out the site for Staple! if you need info!

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Not much to say today...

Post 92

Went back and colored this one. I'm getting a handle on some brushes that I got from a post that John Rauch (eraserx) put on the Gaijin Board. If you want them, they're on his Deviantart page. I love them all, but there are a few in particular that really play to my sensibilities as a watercolor artist, as well as a colorist. The one that kind of looks like a rounded triangle is what I used on this, when you don't use too much pressure, it gives the effect of chalk at the ends.

I used Painter IX almost the whole summer, and as with most programs I was determined to teach it to myself. But I had trouble with the oil paints, they were a little too sketchy in terms of pressure and everything. However, the way that these brushes were set up, once you get the hang of them, are really fun!

I started off in comics as a flatter, but in college, when I was doing the flatting, I was doing watercolor and printmaking. It was very expressionistic, and doing color flatting is extremely rigid. Granted, I've gotten more offers for flatting, and colors than doing interiors, but flatting is soul draining work. There are people who have systems for it, and can do it for a living. I'm not one of those people. I was working on a really slow computer at the time that would get bogged down in the middle of flatting a complex area and freeze. It drove me to the brink of insanity. So, I was putting together my portfolio to take to this convention next week in Austin that I'm going with my Space-Gun buddies and I noticed how crazy my colors were. At the time I was doing flatting, when I had any time to color my own stuff, I would go all out. I think it was because I had to hold back so much, and I had very little time to do my own work, that I wanted to make the most of it. Here's a couple examples, and another. Honestly, I blame it on the Printmaking. The building we were in was newly moved into, and there was not proper ventilation. We had to use a huge bath of acetone to clean the plates off since we were using oil based inks. After four hours of working in there it was hard to remember much. I had a class after that and there are evenings I can't remember. I just have papers to show for it, thankfully I got A's. I'm kind of worried those months of printmaking will come back to haunt me in my later years...

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that I've kind of reeled it back. The coloring I do, I try to use the color choices more than the application. The two people that helped me learn the most over the years...WAAAAAAAY more than all my years of college (except my watercolor class) were Brian Stelfreeze and Kelsey Shannon. Years ago I used to post non-stop on the Gaijin Boards, Kelsey always had helpful words for me that would slap some sense into me. Kelsey's always busy now, but when I do hear from him, I usually get a nice little slap...otherwise I'll just check out what he's doing, and that's a slap in itself. Kelsey is brilliant in his art and colors...there's nothing that can be said that would make that statement false.

Then there's Brian, sensei. I bring him my sketchbook every time I see him. I've done that since my first year of college, went down to Texas A&M and stood there, listening to him for 6 hours. He tore into me in his own, passive way. The remarks he made are still popping up in my head when I'm working on things. They're time released nuggets of information that he sneaks in and leaves in your brain. He said I needed to get my own style. At the time I was still trying to draw like Adam Hughes and Tony Harris. I just kept working, and about once a year since then, I've seen Brian...it's like a pilgrimage, and it's helped me immensely. I've seen people half-dismiss what he says, and it makes me sad, because if you embrace his words, they change you.

Either way, I started off college only having attempted computer colors a handful of times, hating it. I left college with a lot of experience coloring and loving it. It's just nice to be able to do almost everything for yourself (I still can't do lettering...yet). When you can't afford to hire or hook up with an inker or colorist willing to work with you, it's best to just learn everything yourself. It all helps you grow, helps you figure out your style, and having colored your own work, it helps you understand what doesn't work. Then other colorists appreciate that.

Post 91

So, I noticed it's getting near my 100th post...by far my longest running blog/online journal of any sorts even dating back to when I was in high school.

I was playing around with brushes in Photoshop, and then checking out blogs and seeing if my favorite artists had anything new. I'll say this, I used to REALLY follow a ton of artists, and I used to try and ape their style. I think for most people that's just natural growth unless you're some sort of savant and you're naturally born with your artistic voice. For the rest of us, we have to work at it.

The thing is, when you're trying out those things, at least in my case, it's helping you realize your own style, picking out the things that feel natural, that work for you, and then you're deleting the rest from your brain. For me, I think that my natural style has always been peeking out, but it's only in the last year that I've really embraced it. I'm thinking less about HOW I'm drawing as much as WHAT and WHY I'm drawing. I'm lucky from the standpoint that I get to view a lot of artists at different stages of artistic progression. It helps me think about my own work. So most of the day, I'm living in my head, I'm making art in my brain before pencil touches paper. So, in a lot of ways I'm becoming more and more 'spacey.'

I look to a lot of places for inspiration, movies, music, walking around places, watching people's mannerisms helps a lot. But there are still people that I really appreciate, and respect. Besides the Gaijin guys, there's Eric Canete. I don't know if people understand or respect just how brilliant he is. I look at his work, and it makes me feel warm inside, and that feeling drives me to do more work, because of what he's doing. There's also people like Benoit Springer, Bengal, Sean Murphy, Raphael Albuquerque, Kristian Donaldson, Connor Willumsen, and a bunch of others. I love seeing their work on a regular basis, it makes me happy. I suggest you all check out their work if you haven't. For any of my you guys that I didn't list, you know I'm looking at your blogs and work, but I actually get the chance to tell you on a regular basis, most of these guys I've never been able to talk to, or meet in person.

I think only a handful of people actually view this blog, and even less probably read the words I throw down, but I'm really thankful for you all viewing my progress through this crazy unending journey we call "Art." I better get back to the drawing table...or mish-mash of laptop tables as is my case.

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So, I was talking to a friend this evening/morning, and was talking about my having fun approach to comic art. If I'm not having fun, I'm not doing it. He likened it to a Ringo Starr approach to art. I thought about it for a second, and this is how I'd describe my approach to art: I'd like to say that my art is like a high school kid wearing a cape and no pants playing a whistle pop on a tricycle down a crowded highway holding up traffic for hours while shooting the bird at everyone...all the while smiling.

That's pretty much how I see it. I've been let down by comics time and time again, I just have to have fun with the art. It's all I've got, otherwise I'd quit pursuing comics entirely. It sure isn't for the money. I'll tell you that much.

More art to come hopefully tomorrow.

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Did this during my lunch break.

Post 85

I haven't just been sitting around. After my last convention I felt I needed to get a few things together to be a bit more professional. Here's the swag I've gotten during and since the con.

1. New business card, overnight prints, put the two sides together and it makes one big image.
2. Postcard front, glossy, nightcrawler with black borders on side.
2a. Postcard back, mock postcard set-up, with my contact info.
3. Card case, came with number 4 for free.
4. My other business card, not as high quality for the print, which is why I did number 1. But the overall design of it was good in my opinion.
4a. Back of the card, went for a classy black and white design.
5. Cully commission...over 5 years of waiting...EXTREMELY WORTH IT!!!
6. Dana's sketchbook-chock full of awesomeness. Dana really has a lot of great sketches and needs to start on some sequentials soon, with inks, colors, the whole nine yards. It'd be a shame to waste that talent.

Post 84

I felt like designing a higher grade business card. This is not the final version, you have to run into me for that, but this is what the sides look like joined together. I did a business card a couple weeks ago, but the print job was only 'okay.' Granted, I got a TON for my money, but I wanted some to give to fellow professionals. The others will be great for giving to con-goers and such. For this batch, I went with overnight prints because I love the results I've seen from friends (Sam, Jake, and Luan).

Anyways, hope you like it, and the next cons I'm attending are Staple! in Austin, TX, and NYC Con.

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Last of the 2007 images, to be colored later...

Post 79

I should have one last image up for 2007 by the end of the day! Otherwise, if all else goes wrong...Happy New Year!

Post 78

Merry Christmas everybody!!!

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