So Cal Comic Con!

I really need to update this thing more often, especially since it's the "hub" of my digital footprint... for now.

Anyway, uhm... TOMORROW, Sunday, Oct 18th from 10am-5pm, I'll be exhibiting at SO CAL COMIC CON, in Oceanside, CA!  It's a smaller show, but it's been growing steadily over the last 6 years, and the exciting part, is it's in my hometown!  So if you're in the area, or can get to it, by all means come out and see me!  Or come see Guest of Honor, ROB LIEFELD (creator of DEADPOOL, among many things).  Or come see Special Guest GEORGE PEREZ (a living legenary artist of too many things to count, but a LOT of classic Marvel titles...  INFINITY GAUNTLET to name ONE). Or come see KEVIN EASTMAN (co-creator of the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES).

And again... I'll be there too!

I'll have all the things I had available at San Diego Comic-Con International, as well as a BRAND NEW PRINT, that will be making it's debut tomorrow at So Cal Comic Con.

See you there!

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.

Comic-Con 2014 Souvenir Book SubmissionS

It's that time of the year again... When I submit my entry for the San Diego Comic-Con International Souvenir Book.  This year, I decided to go with THREE submissions.  That was a first.  I might have done more, but these 3 took more than enough time to do.  There were too many good themes to choose form this year.  I knew the 75th Anniversary of Batman was gonna be one of them.  But the 30th Anniversary of the Ninja Turtles, and the 20th Anniversary of Hellboy came as a surprise.

This is the 4th consecutive year, I've submitted for the book.  I had previously submitted for the 2013, 2012, and 2011 books, and each year I got published.  This is the first year that I didn't slap the "Anniversary Year" on the image.  Previous years I had "50 Years" or what not... this year, I just went with a stand-alone image.  This was 2-fold.  One, in past years, it felt... forced, and it was awkward sometimes to put years on the image.  Also, I keep convincing myself that one of these days, the fine folks at SDCC will give me an Artist Alley table.  As I haven't heard from them yet, and it's getting too close to the actual event for me to produce some "original" work, I figured I'd just save these, and run them off as "prints" to sell at the Con.  At least then I'd have 'something' to sell.  We shall see...

Another thing of interest, this was the first time I allowed myself to make some rather drastic changes between what I had drawn on paper, and what eventually came out in Photoshop.  Almost all the art was tweaked a little (some cases a LOT) in Photoshop.  Fixing proportion issues, or some cropping, and just various things.  The most drastic of changes, was what I did in the Batman piece.  Once I had finally settled on my design, I drew it out.  I knew I wanted the murder in Crime Alley depicted, cuz that's when Batman is actually "born".  So I drew the murder, and took it into Photoshop.  I got as far as placing my "flat" colors when I realized... I did not like Martha Wayne AT ALL in the original drawing.  I kept trying to convince myself that it wouldn't matter as Batman was the focus of the image... but Martha Wayne just kept bugging me.  So I bit the bullet, and decided... I'd completely redraw her, insert her in via Photoshop, re-ink, and then color as if she'd been there the whole time.  It was the first time I'd ever make such a drastic change between the paper and the digital.  But, in the end, it was the right decision.

Here is the before and after of Martha Wayne.  Seriously, what the hell was I thinking with that first image?  I mean, SERIOUSLY!  I'm glad I convinced myself to take another stab at her.

Now, I sit back and wait to see how many (if any) of this years submissions make the cut... c'mon July!!!

UPDATE:  Only the Turtles made the cut.  Bummer, because I REALLY LOVED the Batman.  Ah well, I can sell it as prints. Maybe.

Google Image Serach: Random

So I sat down to some artsy doodling before work, and I couldn't think of anything to draw... So i decided to challenge myself, and let Google decide for me.

So I went to Google Image Search and I typed in the word "Random."  Then I started sketching/doodling whatever it was that came up, so there's a bearded ballerina, an old lady smokin a cigar, the apple logo, a turtle, a raven, some sort of lamp, and a weird looking doodle girl.

Sometimes exercises like this are good to free up the mind and relax the creative muscle.

Turtle Power!

So before I got all in love with Batman... I was crazy obsessed with... POWER RANGERS!


But before I was all crazy obsessed with the Power Rangers, I was hardcore obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Raphael was my favorite.  Kinda of a loner, kind of a smart ass, the only one who's colors didn't change when they brought them to TV in the 80s (yes kids, originally ALL the turtles wore red!).  Also, his name began with an R, my name began with an R.  When you're 8, that's important stuff!

Anywho, drew this last night in Sharpie and ballpoint pen (high tech, i know!), and then colored digitally.  Fun Fact:  The base colors before all the shading were taken from a pic of Raphael from the classic 80s Ninja Turtles cartoon.

I should take crack at the Shredder sometime...