Batmax 2.0, now wearable!

Just got back from the Comic-Con... I'll be posting an update about my experience, and some pics of some of the artwork made while there in a later post (have to go through all the pics!).

Right now, however, I'm posting to announce that the most successful print from the Comic-Con is now WEARABLE as a t-shirt, tank, hoodie, or crewneck.  From my TeePublic store!  This is also the first design I've made available as a print that you can order from the TeePublic store as well.  It can be ordered anywhere from a 9"x9" paper print, to a 30"x30" print on CANVAS!   I have no idea why all the sizes are square... but, it'll do until I open my own online store... COMING SOON!

I'M GOING TO COMIC-CON!!!

Okay, so it's not "news" that I'm attending San Diego Comic-Con International...  However, it is NEW that I'm going... AS AN EXHIBITOR!  On May 12th, I received an email informing me how to access the Comic-Con exhibitor website, and related things.  I got really confused, because in January they sent a letter informing me that I was put on a "Wait List" (which in previous years, I've come to realize is the same thing as a 'polite no').  But sure enough, I clicked on the various links in the email and found myself staring at my name... ON THE LIST OF ARTIST ALLEY EXHIBITORS!

Comic-Con is a couple days away, and in the span of less than 2 months, I compiled some art (mostly some of my older stuff, cuz time was limited on being able to make new stuff, though I did make some new stuff), found a printer, got some prints made.  I even managed to assemble a mini-comic with a writer I partnered with at Comic-Con last year.  It's insane how far I've come in just the span of a year.

#inktober - Days 14-17

Playing some catch-up today.  4 new entries, puts me at presently down by 4.  I'm pretty sure I'll make it to 31 on/before the 31st.  Though I think, I might cancel the 30 Characters Challenge in November this year.  We shall see.

These entries show another media swap-up.  I hit up the art supply store this morning and picked up two different sizes of Faber-Castell PITT Artists Brush Pens.  It still uses india ink, but it handles a bit more like a marker... so there's some more control, and less bleeding.  I also bought some better india ink, cuz the stuff I bought earlier this month I feel is not as opaque as it could be... and while that has some advantages, it isn't what I wanted it to be.  So I'll experiment with that later.  I also bought a Sharpie Water-Based White Marker, which I thought I would experiemnt with, but haven't really got the results I was hoping for... again having to do with opaque-ness.  I've had better luck with White-Out in the past (and it was cheaper).

Free Comic-Book Day Drawings...

 

 

 

 Free Comic Book Day was back on May 3rd.  And here's a bunch of artwork I did that day (or... week...).  I had wanted to do SOMETHING for FCBD, but I couldn't figure out what.  My local comic shops already booked their resident artists, and I'm not popular enough to be "requested" by an out-of-town shop, so... I was like "What should I do?"

I decided I'd open myself up to some free comissions from my Facebook friends.  I posted a status, that said if they LIKED or COMMENTED on the status, I'd do them up a drawing.  Originally I was planning on keeping it quick and simple like a Con sketch, or if I had landed a comic-book store post for the day.  But, as i started doing them, I decided to fall more and more on my traditional style of coloring and what-not in Photoshop.  I still tried to keep the actual drawings themselves quick and free flowing... but... yeah, didn't quite happen on all of them.

Some of them turned out really well, others... not so much.  My idea was to do it as a "test run" for if I got an Artist Alley table at SDCC this year (Update: I did NOT get a table).  TO see how quickly I could draw "on demand".  I learned a ton going through the process... and even surprised myself a couple times.  So despite some major flaws on some of them, the things I learned will be of great help!

Comic-Con 2013 Souvenir Book Submission

It's April already?  What happened to March?  Why am I not posting on here as often as I did in... January... or 2011 for that matter?

Anywho, part of my absence was because it is once again time to submit artwork for the San Diego Comic-Con International Souvenir Book.  As you know I did this last year, and the year before.  And BOTH times I saw publication, Once at the head of an article, and the other a full page spread (though next to an ad and not something more important, like an article, but still... FULL PAGE SPREAD!!!).  So hopefully I'll see my art published again (and maybe in a prominent position again?).

This year there were many "themes" to work from. But I opted to go with the 50th Anniversary of the X-Men.  This was for a couple reasons.  1.) I wanted to challenge myself as an artist.  So picking a more popular theme, meant I'd likely have more competition for acceptance, and thus if I get printed, I can bask in glory of being awesomer than others.  (It's an ego thing).  2.)  I've had this exact idea for this drawing in my head for YEARS.  So seemed like as good of a time as any to draw it.  So yay!

I showed the image around to a couple of co-workers, and quite a few of them did not get that I was doing a "parody" of an iconic 1980s movie poster.  Granted I work with a lot of early-mid 20-somethings, so the cultural radar may have been off a bit, where as I was 3 (going on 4?) when the film hit cinemas, so it was naturally around in my upbringing...  so for those who might be as equally out of touch as my "day-job" co-workers... here's what I parodied.

I'm 99.9999999999% certain that next year's themes will include... the 75th Anniversary of... BATMAN!  I should probably start drawing that one... NOW!

Hulk Smash... and stuff?

Yeeesh, another week without a steady flow of art?  This will not stand!  I thought I got my groove back with January...  Well, saying and doing are different things, so I need to stop saying I'll draw more, less... and DO draw more, um... more?   It makes sense in my head.

Anywho, above is a drawing of the Hulk.  Before the Nerd Nation tears me apart... yes, I know his face is a bit too long.  As the Hulk, is more cubish.  Yes, his nose, should be smaller, and a bit more closer to the eyes...  I wasn't really going for accuracy with this, just was having fun with the line work (which I like very much in this one!)... I went to throw some color on, and after putting on the flats, I was like... y'know, the flats are enough.  this does not require shading.  It serves its purpose.  So there ya go.

Crappy sketches of superheroes and whatnot...

So a slight delay in posting... mainly because...

I GOT A NEW COMUTER!!!  WooT!

But yeah, it took a while to get everything set up, installing new software, upgrading to newer versions of some programs.  Figuring out some of the changes to said upgrades, and just getting situated.  So that took some time.

After it was all done, I said... BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD!  And thought I'd draw some epic superhero type action... but it was just frustrating sketch after sketch... all of them kinda crappy and just frustrating.  So, I scanned all the crappy sketches (mostly Spidey) and slapped some color on the sketches in Photoshop... and wah-la.  Today's post!  Yay!

Perry the Platypus... Doing the Spider-Man thing...

Okay, I know that proportionately there is a slight size issue between Dr. Doofenshrmitz and Perry the Platypus... but in order to the parody right, I only had so much I could work with...  I'll blame it on some Size-Proportion-Change-inator or something... those things are always faulty.   Anyway, here's Perry the Platypus striking the iconic pose from Amazing Fantasy #15 (the first appearnce of Spider-Man).  It was fun to do.


I was originally gonna do a different Perry/Doofenshrmitz drawing, but I inked it using a standard Sharpie marker, and it looked all childish and lame.  So a week or two later, I took another crack at it, but this time used the much thinner Sharpie PEN, and the line weight worked much better.  Then I colored it in Photoshop, as per usual.

HULK-du-ken!

So I started doodling this Hulk drawing...  and right before I started drawing it, I realised he was trying to summon up a fireball like Ryu in Street Fighter.  *shrug*  Weird...

Comic-Con 2011 Souvenir Book Submission

So those of you not familiar with the incredible awesomeness that is the San Diego Comic-Con International, let me give a brief summary....

IT'S AMAZING! YOU SHOULD GO!

But seriously... it's pretty sweet, 4 days of just geek culture and win.  Sure, it's become a bit too commercialized lately, but it's still an awesome place to be.  LOVE IT.  Anywho, if you're fortunate to attend you get a bag of free crap right when you get your pass.  Inside the bag is.. well mostly crap.  But there are usually to books.  One is the schedule of events, which I affectionately refer to as "The Con Bible".  But the other book, is the souvenir book.

In this souvenir book is a bunch of articles and art, relating to themes going on in the comic book industry for that year.  And these articles and art come from people, fans and pros alike.  Well...  one of this years themes was the 50th Anniversary of the Fantastic Four.  And they were taking submissions, and I'm artistically inclined so I entered this one in (minus my blog's watermark, of course!).  Click here to see the other choices.

Kinda dangerous choice, as I'm sure it'll be the bulk of their submissions, but I started working on it before they added more topics... I might of done a piece for Jeff Smith's iconic character, Bone, had it been available when I started.  Spy VS. Spy, also could have been fun.  I stuck with the Fantastic Four however.  I decided to be clever about it... the easiest way to not make into the book would have been to do a splashy pin-up (like everybody else).  Also, since they just killed the Human Torch in the comics, there likely would have been many "Rest in Peace" art for Johnny Storm, so i didn't want to go that road.  So I was like... I need to show the strength of the family bond, and still be bold and simple.  So, I decided to go for each of them grabbing each others arms, and formed the above art.  On a side note, this why I did the hand study back in January.  Then it was just simple Photoshop'ing of color, as per usual, and BAM!  My submission was ready.

Now I just have to wait and see if I'm fortunate enough to get published in the 2011 Comic-Con International Souvenir Book!

Grrrr.... SMASH!

In the words of Stan Lee...  'Nuff said.

Lunch time doodles...

I dunno what Wolverine, Iron-Man, and Mr. Peanut are up too... but it can't be good.

Sometimes during my "day job" when I am not feeling particularly hungry... I'll borrow some office supplies of paper and a pencil and/or pen, and just doodle my lunch time away.  These are some of those doodles.


I drew Mr. Peanut from memory, so it turns out that his monocle is on the wrong eye...  ah well.

Favorite Villian of ol' Web-Head

Oh Carnage, you're so awesome.

But seriously, Carnage doesn't get anywhere near as much respect in the mighty Marvel universe that Carnage should.  I'm trying to avoid using pronouns, cuz Carnage doesn't have a gender.  In fact, in the current "Carnage" mini-series by Zeb Wells and Clayton Crain, Carnage latches on to a woman.  But the Carnage of my youth was a dude.  You'll never see Carnage in a Spider-Man film, and just glossed over in the cartoons.  Only in the comics is the awesomeness of Carnage ever explored... so go read a (comic) book!

In other news, they say it takes 21 days to establish new habits.  Most New Year's resolutions are desires to change old habits and replace them with new habits.  This blog was a resolution, to establish daily drawing habits... and overall, I say it's been pretty successful.  I need to ween myself off the ballpoint/pen and Sharpie drawings I've done for the past few posts, and do some more artistic exploring... but I do like that the drawing daily has established some very good habits, and I've seen artistic growth in only 3 weeks.

Now if only the weight loss resolution will be as successful.