Post 265

Here's something I did today, heard some kids talking about 'girl trouble' and how girls never say about boyfriends...WHAT ARE THEY HIDING IT FOR?!?! But yeah, the kids had a point.

Post 264-I love my Texas...

I'll post a picture in a bit, I just need to get this off my chest while it's still fresh on my mind. I just got back from a long day at work, but I got an e-mail. I know I've talked about the possibility of branching out in terms of conventions, going to out of state ones, but besides the economic climate, I keep getting reminded why I avoided them in the past.

On the heels of the news that Wizard World Texas died, there was barely a tear shed. It was like the state of Texas rejected a transplant and realized the transplant was unnecessary. The flash of a Wizard World show brought little to our community, and the fun part of the show was essentially hanging out with our usual local crowd and fellow Texas comic folk. Essentially it was a Texas show with walking room...and that was the problem. Texas art collectors and supporters love the intimacy of being near the artist and asking lots of questions. We love our live art, and we love to hear all of the latest tips, tricks, techniques, and get an inside scoop on the latest technology and media (any material used to make art for those who haven't taken Art I).

In the past year I've really allowed the spirit of the Texas shows envelop me like a warm blanket. The people running the shows respect the little guy, they respect new artists trying out new things, and they support it in a big way. Not that they reject big name artists, but they love genuine people trying to make it against all odds doing something outside the industry standard...ultimately, it is a love of art and folks of the fine artist mentality.

Many whose only experience or knowledge of Texas is in Pee Wee's Big Adventure might be led to believe that Texas is this place out of a spaghetti Western set, where people all talk with drawls and say y'all...well, most people do say y'all...I don't, but that's because I was born in Indiana...but that's just it. Texas is full of transplants, kids who were born all over the world, but burgeoning industries of the 70's, 80's and 90's (me) were 'dragged' to Texas by a parent who was transferred. I had misconceptions of what it would be like here, I thought there would be tumbleweeds everywhere (they're only in some places, you don't see them that often, but that's not the point), and I thought that you could only eat Tex Mex food. But Texas is a mish mash of people with dreams, with aspirations, and drive to make better lives for themselves. It's a miniature country, and it's become self sustaining.

Getting to why I am writing this. Some of you may have noticed I kind of blew off recapping Baltimore...that's because it kinda sucked. I'll be honest, aside from hanging out with friends and meeting one of the greatest comic art collectors ever. It wasn't a great show, we had bad placement, like really bad placement. There wasn't any thought into who was sitting next to whom, and you're all fighting against the biggest names in the industry for a share of the money. People don't go to that show looking for the new guy, they bring their money to get an Immonen sketch, and if I had a chance, I probably would too. But the disparity in placement is like a slap in the face. Add to that the overall way that the fans were to try and talk with or sell things to. It was like they thought we were evangelical zealots trying to change their religious perception. People would run, or when they'd take your card, and you tried to talk to them they'd run, like full out RUN as if they boosted something from your table. Hardly a good environment.

But I fought my way nearly to cost, but I didn't get to ENJOY the show. That's the problem with working a day job and having to go out of state. I got in late, didn't get to set up before the show, and never got to rest until the end of the day. By the time things died down, I didn't feel like going and hanging out with people because Baltimore at night makes me think of last year, which was like living through a version of Friday the 13th. You have to walk everywhere just like any other con, only it's more humid, and more hostile than going to other shows.

SO...back to the e-mail. I have been wanting to branch out to some other shows and put out my feelers to to see if I could get a bite, or just gather a feeling for if I wanted to spend a bunch of money (even though it's a rough sell to make it back). Essentially figure out if it would be worth shipping paintings across the U.S. and dealing with the logistical nightmares.

I basically got an e-mail where you can easily read between the lines...like where a person holds up their index finger, middle, and ring, but they're only doing you the courtesy of not dropping Mr. Index, and Mr. Ring...get my drift?

I'll spare you the details, but it ended with trying to sell me a table in a separate spot for an amount that is cost prohibitive. I'm not Charest, I can't pull down numbers to make both the travel (425 for the flight) and the table (too many hundreds to think of selling items and sketches to make back), not to mention lodging and travel to and from the hotel to the airport etc. Also, the table I would purchase would undoubtedly be in a portion of the convention center where I'd be lucky to have people walking by to ask how to get to the bathroom.

Sure, the locations for the Texas conventions are pretty small, but you get maximum traffic and exposure. Being in a large center, the space is daunting and ultimately hides you from prospective supporters. A few years ago, at this same show, I was sitting with a friend, and the folks sitting with us were trying to sell things to people in the line in front of us. Around 100+ people in line for a well known artist that was doing free sketches. Now tell me, with someone with a proven name undercutting you, how can you sell anything!?!?!?! Nobody will want to jump out of line to go buy something from you when they're about to get a free sketch!!!! THEN, once they're done, they'd have spent a few hours waiting through the line, so they are ready to go somewhere else or home, so even IF they were interested in you at one point, their mind is on the free goodness they just got. It's insulting of the well known artist, who probably didn't have to pay for a table, and made his money with a couple commissions. It shows a lack of respect for the new guy entering the field.

Now understand me, I know that in the internet, it is easy to put a hostile voice behind words, and in the past I might have had that sentiment. But I'm pretty close to indifferent.

Sure, it was insulting how I was brushed off because I'm a 'nobody' in this business, but whatever. I'm making moves, and climbing up the ladder as best I can. I'm still probably going to this convention and sitting with some friends that have extra space or didn't have to pay for a table, just because it's one of the few conventions outside of Baltimore that all my friends go to, and I ain't going back to Baltimore any time soon.

I am pretty much set on not going to any out of state conventions and just saving money for local ones and going with my usual crews. Easier to make a profit and use it to pay for creating new pieces, and that's ultimately the reason I do conventions...to MAKE ART!!! I don't care about just making profit...or I wouldn't be doing the style I do. But I need to constantly create, improve, and hang out with like minded people, and Texas offers all those things without the stress or disappointment. Even a disappointment at a show is covered up by a meal with 10 or more friends who you've know for years and give you grief because they care!

I know I was born in Indiana, but after living 15 years here (3/5 of my life), I feel like a Texan.

So, I better wrap this up or it'll take up the whole length of the page. I love people of all over, but there are many instances where conventions have lost their way, lost the heart and original meaning of having a convention: a place to find cheap comics and meet the creators. Conventions used to be in church basements, or like the small ones my brother and I went to in Indiana in a hotel lobby no bigger than a Denny's.

My philosophy about this business is having fun, avoiding stress and unnessecary hassle over this business. Art should be fun, and the minute it is work, it's lost its focus for me. I have a day job, and even that is fun, so why should a convention be so much work?!

If you want a fun convention, and are in the northern portion of Texas next weekend, hang out with me at Dallas Comic Con and I'll talk endlessly about anything you want. I'm bad about that, I can talk to you for hours about pens and environmental effects on various ink types...but if that's your thing, I'm your guy. Other fantastic Texas conventions: STAPLE!, and CAPE.

Post 263

New painting I did a little bit yesterday and a little today. Gouache and Acrylic for this one, but on a 12X24 inch canvas. It was a ton of fun working on this piece. I had a sketch I did this weekend, and freehanded it in gouache onto the canvas, pencil always shows through, so if you do a painting in acrylic, it's best to sketch things out and put in a shading guide using gouache or watercolor. I honestly need to paint on canvas more often. I saw some Windsor & Newton large canvases for a steal up at my old college a few weeks back, and didn't pick any up, but I might have to swing by this weekend!

Post 262

Now's that time of year where I now realize everyone gets busy due to work and stops communicating until convention season starts back up. Back when I didn't have a job (this is my first real day job) I didn't understand that people just get tied up with life. The job carries with it more of a 'neediness' factor than any other time of the year, and people are less patient.

In the past, I used to think that people might be mad at me, or avoiding, or just didn't give one about me anymore, but now that I know what the grown up world is like, it's easier to understand things. I've been working on things like that, and it's helped me get better at dealing with situations that would normally be stressful. Nothing helps arguments like learning to let things just slide right off of you. Can't bring any of the stress or aggression back home at the end of the day. You have to keep the home life pure.

I've got another painting in the works right now, letting it dry and stepping away from it for an evening so that I can come back to it with a refreshed mind so that I can tell whether I want to use any black on it or not. I got some 12X24 canvases this weekend and I forgot how much smoother blending is on a canvas...like butter smooth!

Also, I've got some art published, Supermarket: Cash Money Edition came out last week (I think last week) and I started freaking out when I saw that my pin-up was published first in the group of new pin-ups. THANKS KRISTIAN!!!!

One last thing, next week I'll be at the Dallas Comic Con, and I think I'm sitting with David Hopkins, my partner in crime for a story in Popgun Anthology volume 4. Yup, finally getting into it. I was supposed to do a couple stories meant for it, but for one reason or another, the writers became too 'busy.' So I guess third time is the charm, and honestly this is the best thing I've worked on to date. Great script, and I feel like my strongest storytelling. Beats the crap out of my pages for Hammer Sound. I'll keep you updated on things. All I can show you are some character designs.

But it's cool, if you look at the DCC page, it's the first time I'm a guest at a show, it's exciting!!! But understand, I'm still going to be rolling with the Space Gun Kru as always, but I'll just be hopping between tables. I sent most of my original pages to my art dealer Paolo, and I don't plan on doing any new prints until Heroes, but what I WILL have are lots of paintings for sale and what I feel is a really reasonable (Matt would say criminally insane aka 'low') price.

Either way, interesting things going on right now, and I'm just going with it. Praying 2009 is better, I feel like I'm better prepared, and I'm working harder than ever. Lets hope it pays off!

Post 261

Here are some sketches I did while waiting for paint layers to dry. Started on the bottom left and worked to the right, so you can tell there's some improvement and adjustments.

Post 260

I found a wall hanging print on a board (print was of an eggbeater) at an outlet place for a steal of a price, so I sanded off the print and glue, then taped off the sides of the panel, used a layer of white Windsor & Newton white instead of gesso. The reason is I was using some gouache and I wanted the edge of the bloom to dry as if left on plastic, which creates some nice edges. If I had used gesso, it would have seeped in too quickly and lost some of the desirable effects. Following the gouache base coat (the reds, yellows, and some lines), I used acrylic to get highlights. I then went with some brush pen to apply some basic lines, and a #2 round brush to apply some different color lines with gouache. For the last part, I dripped some watered down speedball ink to get some runny effects. I dabbed the bottom so it would dry lighter.

I find that everything I do recently is influencing something else I do. In this case my computer colors were influenced by my painting, and then the colors I did for some recent sequentials influenced this painting.

Hope you all dig!

Post 259

Sorry it's been a number of days and this is only my first post of the New year! I've been working on sequentials and when you see them you'll see all the hard work I put in. Can't say or show anything, but it's a ton of fun! Here's a painting I did in a couple hours. I wanted an older Hellboy, like if you mixed Clint Eastwood with Hellboy. Either way, I had fun with it and like the end result!

Post 258

Had to sneak in one last image! 2008 was a big year for me in many many ways, it led to me really taking charge of my life and making things happen, it led to me choosing the direction I want to take my career(s), and talking to friends I haven't heard from in years. Sure, there has been a lot of stress and pain, but that comes with emotional growth. I feel like I'm actually becoming an adult!

I have to say, this blog has been one of my proudest revelations of 2008. I've been putting up art for years, secretly yearning to have people actually see it, and actually like it. One of those situations where you tell yourself you don't care, but you can't avoid letting it get to you when you know nobody is looking at it. But it changed for me, there's probably at least 20 people that actually look at my blog now!!!!! Ultimately, it started with Craig, he's been such a great friend and supporter! He kept me posting during times when I felt like just forgetting about putting any work up, and for that I thank him, he's kept me motivated to get better and keep a consistent schedule.

Other people I need to thank are Doug Wagner, for being an amazing friend and going through the most stressful month of my life in Zuda. In the same vein, Luan for lettering and keeping me sane during October. Both Luan and Jake helped break me out of my shell and start attending conventions, in a little over a year, we've done pretty well for ourselves in the local scene. Jake and Luan have become some of the best friends I've ever had in my life, and I always hope I'm as good of a friend in return.

I have to thank my 'brother' in NY, Chris DiBari for being there this year, and every year we've been friends. The first time I talked to him was because of a chat on a messageboard and we became friends quickly. I just wish that I lived closer to NY!

I have to thank my friends here in TX that I've made this year, especially Kristian Donaldson, David Hopkins, Nick Derington, ArtLoveMagic, and the many friends I've made at local conventions. I really appreciate the fans here in Texas because they've really been supportive this year and encouraged me to keep going with comic art.

I also got to meet some of my heroes from when I first considered actually setting foot in the comic industry. Invincible was the book that really got me excited to go to the store, and not only oogle the art, but also actually read the story and enjoy it. It taught me about pacing, the birds...AND the bees, and even some general life skills...not exaggerating (maybe a little)! But I got to meet Robert Kirkman at CAPE (the FCBD celebration here in Dallas) and he is one of the most engaging people I've ever seen (outside of Dick Valentine from Electric Six). Robert is like a big brother, he can jokingly pick on you and make you feel like a million bucks in a matter of minutes. I got to do some paintings for him, and for Cory Walker, which blew my mind! Robert introduced me to Cory Walker, and Nate Bellegarde at Baltimore, which made the trip worth it for me (since obviously the convention itself didn't net me much monetarily). I just hope I didn't scare the guys too bad, it was a great experience to meet them, and hopefully get to talk to them more in the future!

I want to thank ArtLoveMagic for encouraging me to get back into painting with acrylics. It's opened up my world, and I can't wait to do more in 2009!

There are so many people that really made this year special for me, and I want to do my best to make 2009 even better...the first step is actually getting some work published...but I'm working on that...hopefully this new year will be the one! I've at least got a couple pin-ups coming out!

Again, I appreciate you all, and want to thank you for your support, and please keep coming back, asking great questions, leaving comments, I love it!

Have a Happy New Year, be safe, and lets really make some great work in 2009!

Post 257

Almost time for 2009, I wanted to squeeze in a couple new things before the new year ends. Did these as sketches at the end of the day. I'm hard at work on some sequential pages, so that's why I haven't been updating too much recently. I have really learned a lot recently and I'm putting it into these pages, I'm really excited to see them finished, the general flow of them is really energetic and reads well.

Anyway, I had this big dialogue set up in my head to write, but now it's the end of the day, and I'm just plain too tired to get it down right now...maybe tomorrow before the new year!

Post 256

Been busy with prepping for Christmas and working on some sequentials...more than some, quite a bit actually. But here's some new stuff for you. The picture of meat is a Christmas ode to the directorial mastery in the area of meat by David Cronenberg. Took the picture with my D60...I assure you, it was delicious outside of the disturbing photograph!

Question: what did anybody else eat for their Christmas meal? I know I'm not alone in the big family get together meal.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Post 255

I pay close attention to how I do things, especially in recent times how I hold my pens and pencils, and how certain effects can be attributed to the manner in which the fingers are placed. I used to use my index, middle AND ring finger held along the side of writing utensils to write and draw, which produced unsure lines and tired out my hand. I fought my teachers in elementary because I thought I was being smart and that it was more comfortable. I had never held the pencil even NEAR what they hoped to see, with only the index and middle accompanying the thumb. A few weeks ago out of the blue I decided to, and my pictures have been better, my writing has become better, and my inking has improved as well! Even with this, I continue to make adjustments, and yesterday I had a mini breakthrough in terms of keeping my ring finger and pinky flat against the paper while the middle finger slightly holds the pen/pencil and rests a bit on the writing surface. The other two are generally in normal positions, the index fingernail faces upward and touches near the nip of a pen/pencil. I know this sounds confusing, but either way it gives much more support, and helps with creating smoother lines in a consistent manner.

The point of this is, question your work habits. If I had been asking myself the right questions, I feel that my art would have improved years ago, and I would be a totally different artist. Look at the way you hold your drawing utencils, think about your approach to creation, question exactly what you like about the specific work of artists. But that is the true basis for artistic improvement. Ultimately, it's not how much you paid for art media that determines how good you are. You can do nearly the same thing with a 2 dollar Loew Cornell brush as a 60 dollar Windsor & Newton sable brush. It's in your ability to adjust, compensate, and ultimately execute.

Post 254

Here is an updated version with some side design elements. Did this since Jake said he wanted a print of this so that the dimensions will fit better in print format and we can avoid any sort of image stretching.

Post 253

CHRISTMAS VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2 weeks of fun! The top picture was drawn, etc. in CS4. The sketches are randomness, and last night I felt like drawing some random DC characters. I don't draw them too much. Too much research for my taste, lots of background info, and if you screw up on costuming then there isn't much freedom with diehard fans. So, a rare chance to see me draw these characters...

Post 252

Things have been all sorts of busy recently, but I guess that's what you can expect around the time of the holidays! Almost to a 2 week vacation, so then I can get really working on a project, so my sketch time will be cut down. I've got a few things that I should be starting soon...then again, I've said that before...but this time I've got some actually reliable writers on the job...ones that live in this state that I can yell at by standing outside their places! Plus, they respect me as an ARTIST, not as an ODDITY! So yeah, 2009 should hopefully be a year with more sequentials produced and or published than any previous year...or it could be a year of me creating a huge stack of unpublished pages that get sent to my art dealer Paolo...but I really hope for the published part, it's kind of the only reason for me to do comics right now.

So, you were probably wondering when I'd get to talking about the picture. My friend Ryan asked me at WW:TX to do a drawing of Toki smashing Lavona Succuboso over the head with a bottle in the Season 2 finale of Metalocalypse. So, I'm bad with directions, sometimes when somebody says draw...I paint, sometimes when I paint, I draw, so it all works out. I'd been searching for my set of Holbein (yes, I just name dropped, but if you've used these, you'd understand) gouaches. I also busted out the dagger brush that I got at a craft store and wow does it work like a dream for gouache! I also used some prismacolor for some finishing touches, and some photoshop to mock up what I wanted to do tomorrow after work.

Anyway, time to get some sleep!

Post 251

I sent this off to Kirkman in hopes that I can get a pin-up published in Invincible. I think this might be my 4th or 5th try over the years. All my other attempts were back when Invincible was first becoming popular and I'm sure that thousands of e-mails were streaming in, so my pin-ups more than likely got lost in the pile. I really love Invincible, have since it first came out when i was in college. It really changed what I thought about comics and my approach to drawing. After my first meeting and portfolio review (looking at my sketchbook) with Stelfreeze I got into the mode of finding a style of my own, and of course, you look around and see what things play to your strong suits. At the time, when drawing without reference, I had those horrible jagged lines, but I decided I wanted to get some smooth flowing lines like Cory Walker's and at the time I was looking at stuff on Penciljack so guys like Nate of course, John Devilman, and Travel Foreman. Their work really got me thinking about how much fun they seemed to have drawing, and it inspired me to experiment. Something that I haven't stopped doing, but in the past year or so I've gotten out of testing the limits to a more controlled approach.

So, here's hoping this gets published!

Post 250

More randomness out of the Marvel Handbook...

Plus, some rare pencil sketches! This is what my sketches look like nowadays, I rough it in, and tighten up with single line strokes of pencil. I've been getting out of my slump and back to form with some more confident lines. FYI, most of my original pages now have lots of sketches on the back, so you get a little more for your money. I don't do it on purpose, it's just convenient.

Post 249

Playing around with traditional techniques and media with ink and some white paint. Then I keep working on use of colors, overlays, etc.

Post 248

I'll tell you, I normally get hit hard by the winter doldrums in terms of artist's block around the time of Thanksgiving. A little block gets in my head that makes it hard to produce art. This year I just kept fighting, and rather than let it linger throughout the next few months, I can't let it win!!!! There is so much opportunity to make piles of art. So here are some things I made once I broke free after a few full pages of sketches.

The thing that makes this season hard is that I question what I'm doing. So I worked through it and realized I can't let myself question what I'm doing, it ruins the flow...you just can't interrupt the flow!

Post 247

Random fun during sketch time...

Post 246

Sorry it's been a while, as I'm guessing most people can understand, last week was busy! I spent most of the week cleaning, getting things ready for Thanksgiving, then Black Friday shopping on Amazon.

I've now got CS4, it's fantastic, already a ton of the things that irked me on CS2 are appearing to have been resolved. Drawing with the Cintiq finally works (the third pic was my first attempt). The top image is a pin-up that'll be in the last issue of Brit (#12).

Getting the Christmas cards printed through overnightprints.com. Can't wait to see how they come out. There is more to the design (interior, back), but I don't want to spoil everything.