Andre Szymanowicz Blog

2011-12-22T21:13:00.000-08:00

HAROLD AND MAUDE
This is for something.

2011-12-22T08:40:00.001-08:00

SOME DOODLES

Here are some doodles I had lying around.

I had a feeling that I could do a better re-design of Red Robin's costume than the current one in DC's new 52. I just don't care for the current one. Its got too many elements going on which just gives it a glitzy cluttered appearance. Mine isn't great either, but its way closer to how I imagine Tim Drake. The only thing Im not sure about is the popped collar. I'm using that way too much these days.

This may be it post-wise for a bit, so Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!!

2011-12-08T13:14:00.000-08:00

HELL YEAH #1 COVER

When it rains, it pours. Since Eric and Joe posted this, I'm happy to show the cover to issue 1 that I drew for March 2012's release. Should be in Previews at the end of this month.

Feels like I'm just getting into the car at the start of a really interesting road trip.

2011-12-07T11:29:00.000-08:00

COMMISSIONS HELL YEAH

Just got done a couple commissions in between drawing Hell Yeah pages. Hope ya dig them! I still have room for a couple more, so if you are interested, let me know! I forgot to list my prices last time, so here they are:

1 character, black & white: $50
color: $100

additional characters: add $50

+ shipping and handling, yada yada

Also, Image Comics publisher Eric Stephenson said some nice things about our comic due out in March 2012, Hell Yeah, HERE

2011-10-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

SUPERGIRL

A gift.

Also, I am thinking of doing commissions. Would anyone be interested in that?

2011-10-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

HELL YEAH

Hell Yeah is a new ongoing comics series published by Image coming out next year. Its written by Joe Keatinge and illustrated by me. More info on CBR and Bleeding Cool.

I'm super excited. The first book is done and I'm a good way into the second. There will be more stuff coming, but for now, back to work on this!

2011-10-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

WARM UPS

A couple warm up sketches I drew on the back of a comic script.

2011-10-05T12:34:00.000-07:00

DISCO TIME!

Hey all. I have been sketching on computer paper lately when I practice my figures and faces and whatnot. This is a mere fraction of the amount I have built up in the last year, but I thought it might be cool to see. Mostly I have been going on Posemaniacs and looking at some Loomis and various cartoonists to do my studies. Its been well worth it. I think its getting there slowly.

The other art is Nightwing's disco costume just to get it out of my system. Hes one of my favorite characters right behind Tim Drake, and my first memory of Nightwing when I was a kid, was this costume.

2011-09-16T11:23:00.001-07:00

STARMANMy buddy Matt Taggert reminded me that I have not updated this thing in a while! Hes very right! Here is a Jack Knight Starman that I did as a commission recently!

2011-08-12T13:02:00.001-07:00

MOEBIUS HOMAGE

Brandon did an homage to Moebius's Starwatcher and asked if others would do the same. Here's mine!

2011-07-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

I LIED

Can't help it. So funnnnn.

2011-07-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

MIKEY

A very shiny ninja turtle. As one of my kids calls him, "the funny guy".

2011-06-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

3 AUDREYS

I promise this is it for the Audreys for a while.

2011-05-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

ASTROBOY

Here is an Astroboy! (the story is about his addiction to crack cocaine, right?)

Its not where I got "Astrobrain". It is also not a reference to the Jetson's dog, "Astro".

No one was asking, but there it is!

2011-05-06T18:32:00.000-07:00

FUN DOODLE

Been drawing and doodling a lot lately. Its been really fun and productive to work those muscles again after a little time away from it. Here is a little doodle I did after seeing a Moebius splash page for The Airtight Garage. There is a little thinking about Will Eisner in there too.

2011-04-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

AUDREY AGAIN

I drew another Audrey Hepburn! This is crazy, but I can't resist. Sometimes I imagine having a career where I just draw my favorite things all day long like this. Anyone hiring for that sort of thing?

2011-04-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

AUDREY

Felt like drawing Audrey! Have a great weekend!

2011-04-12T18:12:00.001-07:00

BATMAN!

Hi, its been a long time. I got a new day job, and basically had very little time to draw. I'm trying to pick it back up, so here is a warm-up I did before I get to some comics pages.

Been liking my brush pen a lot lately. You don't have to dip it, and it gives a nice dry brush effect when you want.

See ya soon hopefully!

Andre

2011-02-03T09:47:00.000-08:00

THB
I've been going back lately and buying some of the Paul Pope comics I wasn't smart enough to scoop up when they came out. Whenever I can afford to, anyway. Its great stuff. I own all the giant sized issues now, and I just get jazzed up reading them.

Anyway, I did this as a warm up on one of the comic pages I am working on right now. One of my goals this year is to focus on getting my inking better. That's to say nothing of my drawing! You never stop learning.

2011-01-18T13:33:00.001-08:00

IRON FIST

Iron Fist commission, done! I got to know the character a little better while doing this, and I gotta say, I dig him even more now. There is a really great series out there by Matt Fraction and David Aja (and a bunch of other swell people too).

Yay for non-digital! Well, pencils and inks anyway. I might throw a wash on this and do some better coloring later on. For now, hope you like!

2011-01-11T13:59:00.000-08:00

DIGITALZ

Pencils = Moritat
Inks & color on the computers= Andre

This was a little exercise to see how it would go inking digitally. I still don't know if I am ready yet, but I definitely see how it can improve over time. I will shed many tears the day I really do it all this way. Hope my money doesn't get wet.

:D

2010-12-07T11:22:00.001-08:00

MORE DRAGONS

The first sketch is an Iron Fist study for a commission. Its not the actual commission, but now I feel like I could have gotten a good chunk of the final done, had I just skipped to that step. Good practice though!

The second set of sketches is to get my Savage Dragon down for something Joe Keatinge and I are doing next year. It should be a really fun project. Its just fun to have an excuse to draw this guy too. :)

2010-11-29T12:53:00.000-08:00

TINTIN

Hey there. I just wanted to check in and say hi with this new Tintin image. What's up!?

The Comics Alliance web site posted a really nice article about my art. Really cool of them to do that.

Been very busy with various coloring and drawing projects lately. I love coloring on the photoshops, but my challenge these days, is to find a way to balance it with my drawing time. Self-discipline is one of those life-long lessons I have to conquer soon.

2010-10-18T14:12:00.001-07:00

SAMPLES

Samples. Most people who draw comics for a living do this at one point in their lives. In case you couldn't tell from the rest of my blog, I have always like drawing Robin and his latest incarnation, Red Robin.

2010-10-04T12:46:00.000-07:00

RED ROBIN & SUPERBOY

I've been working on tight pencils so much lately, that this was a breath of fresh air to do. Inking my own work actually helps me see what I need to pencil more definitively as well.

New York Comic Con is in a few days. I'll be there all three days. I wish was going to be parked somewhere, but not this year. Can't wait to catch up with a lot of buddies and meet some new ones though!

2010-09-17T10:31:00.000-07:00

MICE AND DRAGONS

Here are some sketches I did a little while ago to warm up. For the Mouse Guard ones, I actually just spilled some wine out of the glass and right on to the paper. Then, I moved it around with my finger. Not really recommended unless you are feeling super lazy.

Been working pretty steadily lately on stuff. For published work, Elephantmen #27 should be coming around soon to your local comic store and it has two pages I drew of Charley Loves Robots.

2010-09-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

ZATANNA

Just finished this 11 x 17 watercolor commission. Still trying to figure out different ways to make the backgrounds interesting. Its always good to show the texture and liveliness potential of the colors. They really do feel like a living thing sometimes.

2010-09-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

TECHNICALLY, I SHOULDN'T BE DOING THIS

I'm back from the Baltimore Comic Con 2010. When I returned, I sat down and read the new THB comic that debuted there by Paul Pope and Adhouse Books. The stories clicked in my head and affected me in a way comic books have not for a while.

I brought that inspiration over into this quick strip. No layouts, and a lot of it was straight to ink. Took almost a couple hours all together.

So thanks a lot, Paul. Wonderful comic and it was great meeting you.

2010-08-26T13:13:00.000-07:00

SEE YA SOON!

Just did some flats up for fun. I wonder if its too early for me to show this, but whatever! The final will be watercolor.

See you in Baltimore! Look for me sitting with Mr. Richard Starkings at the Image Comics booth! Free sketches!

2010-08-10T08:49:00.001-07:00

COMMISSIONS PROGRESS

These are a few commissions that I am a little behind on. In the extra time I took to get them done, I think my art improved a little though, so that is good news for the waiting party, right? I dunno, but its a great excuse.

Previously, I posted the preliminary pencils for the Zatanna drawing, and here you see the prelim and the ink for the Padme piece. I still have to watercolor these, but I just have to say, I like those Padme pencils slightly more than the inks. Well, they at least each have their merits. I really have to start trying to go right from pencils to watercolors.

One last thing. I will be at the Baltimore comic con in a couple weeks. Its August 28 & 29. I will let you know what my plans are for where to find me as soon as I can.

2010-08-04T11:00:00.001-07:00

MORE SKETCHES - ACK!

This has been my longest dry spell of not posting in my blog.

I posted before about how much I want to draw more actual comic pages, but that goal still hasn't been going like I want. What it boils down to is that drawing comics is very hard, and you have to want something like that very badly if you wish to be successful at it. Wow, thanks for the obvious news, Andre!

Sorry to be a drag. I did do two more pages for the Charley story, which I thought looked decent. That should be out in Elephantmen #27 in about a month.

And as far as anything other comics news is concerned, I think I will just wait for a few more posts so as not to jinx it! :)

2010-06-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

PENCILS RR
Crappy cell phone shot. This takes forever by the way! I seriously gotta step it up.

2010-06-02T14:14:00.001-07:00

HEADS AND STUFF

Here is a head turn around thing I did in my sketchbook, done at a point where I didn't feel my faces were looking too sharp. The sad thing is, they still don't haha. I also just love drawing Madman if you haven't guessed by now.

The watercolor is from a little further back. I hinted at this image in a previous post, but now you can see the full painty goodness. Shannon Wheeler, of Too Much Coffee Man fame, did this in a B/W wash for Elephantmen and I did a watercolor wash over his wash. That does sound confusing, doesn't it?

Oh check out this new site - charleylovesrobots.com
You can learn all about a new project JG Roshell, Gabe Bautista and myself are working on for a backup in the next bunch of issues of Elephantmen.

Other than that, recent activities have included drawing(really?), playing soccer in the summer weather and getting weepy while listening to soundtracks to LOST.

2010-05-19T09:16:00.001-07:00

LETS MAKE COMICS

A Madman fan art and a King City fan art comic. Brandon put the comic up on his livejournal, which was very nice of him to do.

Been getting the bug to make comics really bad lately (my own comics, I mean). They are getting made, (Sushi Nachos) but it doesn't seem to be happening quickly enough. This feeling only seems to happen when such a thing is impossible, however (Spirit deadlines). That's the way this crazy universe works though.

One other thing I forgot to post up here was the interview I did with Mike Allred (creator of Madman, Red Rocket 7 and lots of other stuff). So, courtesy of One Shots Presents, here is me interviewing him at San Diego 09.

2010-05-01T20:04:00.001-07:00

SKETCHY TIME!Some Daredevil I drew for my sketchy time. They were all pretty much swiped from Jim Lee Batman poses. There, I said it!

Except for that Daredevil ballerina pose. I don't know how the hell that got in there!?

2010-04-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

MATT ROCKS SUSHI NACHOS!

So this post is all about Sushi Nachos.

Matthew Taggart, recently married and swamped with his day job at being an all around awesome video guy, (is that your official title, Matt?) made time to put together a sweet video for Sushi Nachos 2. here - CHECK THIS OUT

He also made those little figures himself! You can see them animated in the clip. I'm so happy that Matt is writing this story. I'm hoping I can hold up my end and get the drawing finished before too long, but it will be the first of a lot of awesomeness to come from both of us.

The other thing I posted is a rough and kind of a color test (the final version will be watercolors) for the first page. This basically breaks down the back story a little before getting into the main plot.

Hope you enjoyed this little snippet and stay tuned for more!

2010-04-09T11:45:00.000-07:00

WONDERCON 2010
Wondercon was so cool. It was said by many people that weekend, that it was like a smaller, more intimate SD Comic-con. You could actually move around and talk to people.
I loved doing the free sketches for everyone. All the Elephantmen alumni worked hard and had a good time getting people what they wanted.
It was great hanging out with friends and employers as well. I visited a new town and saw some cool stuff I will not soon forget. Darwyn Cooke stepping in puke outside the Marriott, for instance, was one of those indelible memories.

Also, wanted to post the watercolor version of the Hip Vanity piece. The larger pieces seemed to be more appealing to buyers, while the smaller ones like this came back home with me. No complaints though.

2010-04-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

WORK PROGRESS AND WONDERCON DREAMS

Wondercon is like, tomorrow, so I have been working furiously to try to get as much done as I can. I should have the Spirit pieces and the Elephantmen art you have seen here on my blog at the show. It would be cool to sell some of it, to alleviate the cost of the trip a little bit.

I'm going to whine a little about my stuff in a second, so brace yourself.

I wish I had a photo of it, but I worked on the top two Spirits simultaneously, which was a new thing for me. You may notice, as a result, they have a very similar palette. Kinda tougher to pull off than just dedicating your focus to one thing. I still have a little work to do on them. There was a point that I thought it was going to be un-salvageable, but after messing around in photoshop, I think I see what I can do to save them. Lots of contrast helps. Maybe some white highlights, I dunno, we'll see. I guess that wasn't too bad of whining. :P

Tonight, I'm going to color that Hip/Vanity you see up there, and then its off to the show!

Oh, and the Lady Gaga is for a fan magazine which has some really cool illustrators on board. Should be fun to see. I'll let you know more when I find out!

2010-03-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

WONDERCON STUFF

Forgive the crappyness of the shot. I took it with my phone's camera in a pinch. I am trying to do a bunch of these, which I will watercolor, to sell at Wondercon. I'll post more, as it gets done maybe. Moritat, who is drawing the Spirit, was nice enough to allow me to ink and color some of his art and put it up for sale. So come on by the Elephantmen section of the Image booth and check it out. I will try to get a bunch of these finished to sell, and I will also be doing some quick freebie con sketches at the table.

Lots more to come down the road. I have a couple Sushi Nachos pages penciled and some other art I have been holding off on posting. SO little time, so much to do!

2010-03-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

VANITY AND SALLY
Drew a couple shots of Vanity from Elephantmen and one of Sally from Sushi Nachos, looking very nervous about something. See, this time, I drew my warm-ups AND had time to get the real work done. I'm a little slow, but I do learn!

Sent off some promos for the story I'm doing with Gabe and John Roshell that will start running in the back of Elephantmen 25. Getting more and more excited about it as the stages get done. Should be cool stuff. I'm sure I will post about it when it gets closer!

2010-03-05T05:06:00.000-08:00

ELEPHANTS ON THE BRAIN

Elephantmen #24 comes out next week, Wednesday, 10 March 2010. Go pick one up!

The full version of that image is in the book and is also a desktop you can download from Hipflask.com. I pretty much completely swiped from Ladrönn(for a reason), and the very pretty colors are by Gregory Wright with sweet design elements by JG Roshell.

And then I know I can't say much about it yet, but Elephantmen 25 is gonna blow everyone's eyeballs away for several various reasons. Can't wait for that news to drop.

2010-03-01T09:33:00.000-08:00

MORE BEATLES AND SALLY

This is bad. I always do this. I put time into doing warm-ups and leave very little time for the work I am actually warming up FOR. Well, that's just one of the lessons I have to learn. The Sally sketches are new, but the Beatles one I posted before without the washes. I actually kinda like the younger version. It reminds me of "Hard Day's Night" which has climbed its way into at least my top 20 favorite movies(thanks to finding out about it from Mike Allred's message board where he listed it as one of his faves)

I finished my Star Wars cards this weekend. They don't want people to post them yet. If anyone reading this is an artist and wants to contribute, please contact me about it soon. They still need more people.

I twittered about this a little, but I want to try to stop using the lightbox so much. Drawing without it comes out so much fresher and more full of energy. The main benefit just seems to be in the composition, but that is something I feel one could work out in time with experience. I guess also if you have to provide clean pencils for a professional inker, it would be really tough to go without.

2010-02-18T10:48:00.001-08:00

SUSHI NACHOS PROMO AND SKETCHES

Wow its been a while! HI! Here are a few things. The first is a promo for the next Sushi Nachos. More of like a warm up since I wanted to get the characters in my system a little better after so long. This did not come out the way I wanted. The figures are so stiff and NOTHING is referenced. That Vespa and guitar are just like, sad. I'd go more into it, but it would get even more annoying.
The other is another warm up from the sketchbook and a quick lunch-time rough for one of the scenes.

Oh! And my good buddy, Matthew Taggart is going to make his comics debut with the script for this one. He wrote a REALLY fun story, if that one panel isn't indication enough. I'm really excited to have Tagg with me on this.

Its gonna go slow due to other comic obligations like working on stuff for Comicraft and helping color the Spirit for DC, but it will definitely get there as quick as I can possibly go. I'm so busy, but so much more excited than ever for all this stuff.

2010-02-01T09:44:00.000-08:00

DANGEROUS LIAISONS

These are a few new pieces I did for Richard's Elephantmen Vol. 3: Dangerous Liaisons Hardcover coming out in April. The images are cropped but you can see the whole thing if you pick up the book.

The first one was really fun. It was originally drawn by Shannon Wheeler of Too Much Coffee Man fame. I simply slapped some watercolor on his already kick ass wash of Hip Flask drinking coffee.

The second one was originally going to be just watercoloring a sketch I did at SDCC 09, but I updated it a little. Those sketches are done in like 10 minutes or less so I think the book deserved something more elaborate.

And hey, the lack of updates just means I'm working on good stuff, not that I am playing video games. Nobody asked that, but I just thought you should know, ok?

2010-01-15T14:11:00.001-08:00

SKETCH SKETCH

Two things from random parts of my sketchbook. Some of these I did straight to pen, which I've noticed stays in my brain a little better than when I pencil and erase. I have to get a better hang of that. When it works out, its really fun. Here you see Sushi Nachos and practicing some Gil Elvgren. Look him up if you get the chance. My feeble attempts here do little to honor his beautiful paintings.

Little art projects have been popping up more and more. Its all exciting. Some of it can't be shown till later, but one day you'll come here and there will be a gigantic art post, I'm sure. Till then you get crappy sketches!

2010-01-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

STAR WARS!
Sketches for cards for a charity auction. Pretty much the first time I've really drawn some of these characters with the exception of maybe Luke Skywalker once. I will transfer these onto the cards and tighten them up a bit before throwing some watercolor on them I think.

Been busy as hell lately, coloring, drawing and all kinds of stuff. All kinds of projects going on at the same time. If it rains it pours, never fails. Its gonna be a hectic couple of months, but its welcome after all the holiday downtime.

Been thinking ahead a little and it seems like it would be cool to go to Wondercon this year. I think I should have a nice chunk of work done by then to feel ok about being there. Plus, I've never been to San Fransisco, so why not!? I always wanted to see Starfleet academy anyway!

2009-12-31T18:04:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Just wanted to say Happy New Year!

As I hastily color this picture in the waning hours of 09, its hard not to reminisce a little about the past decade. I certainly never thought I would be so lucky as to get published here and there in the past few years. I think its amazing that it keeps getting better little by little. So here's to 2010, sure to be better than all the ones before. Peace out!!

2009-12-15T11:37:00.000-08:00

ELEPHANTMEN 23

Just wanted to let everyone know about the new Elephantmen 23 coming out tomorrow. Justin handled most of the art, and I was able to do some cool cartoon sequences of the Elephantmen as you can see on that postcard up there from hipflask.com

And that's about all you will see of me till issue #25. But I don't think I will say anything more about that just yet! :D

2009-12-11T10:29:00.000-08:00

MADMAN CREEM MAGAZINE
I was thinking about how many pieces of fanart I have done of this guy since I read my first Madman comic back in like '95. Its a lot, trust me! One of these days I might collage them all together or something.

This is sort of an homage to a Creem Magazine cover I saw posted on the Mike Allred message boards. I just got inspired by it.

Watercolor paintings all wrapped up for a bit, now on to some hard core drawing and comics!!

2009-12-07T13:13:00.000-08:00

EBONY AND VANITY

Hey what's up! I did this drawing a while ago and just finally painted it this weekend as sort of a warm up. Well, it was partly to warm up and partly because I saw this really cool watercolor by Tadahiro Uesugi. Sometimes thats all it takes is seeing something from another point of view, and in this case, it was his colorful backgrounds that inspired my painting.

Otherwise, I've been very busy lately(which I'm very happy about!). Things have been picking up work-wise and like I said before, I'm sure I will be posting lots more about in the months to come. See ya then!

2009-11-12T11:26:00.001-08:00

DC SKETCHES

If one day I am ever fortunate enough to be doing a Robin story for DC, I will finally have achieved one of those childhood lifetime dream things. I used to read every comic that came out that Robin in it when I was like 14 and up. While I ironically have less money to spend on all those comics as an adult, I still get a kick out of the whole adventure and idea of the character. I even think that current incarnation of his, Red Robin, looks kinda cool. Maybe someday...

2009-11-09T09:35:00.000-08:00

AJB!
Hey guys! Have you ever read Mark Smith and Dan Hipp's Amazing Joy Buzzards? I have! Its a cool comic full of Rock and Roll and crazy good times. Mark asked me to do some fan art some time back, so here it is! (you might wanna click on it and make it bigger, the little thumbnail doesn't quite show it off)

In other news of what I've been up to, I've been trying desperately to write a new Sushi Nachos story for Popgun 5. The writing part has been a little tough, just getting everything the way I want it. I have some neat bits to fill a ton of pages, but putting them all together nicely is the frustrating part right now. Its kinda hard to get the kinda depth you want in just 10-12 pages, but thats the challenge, so bring it on I guess!?

I also picked up a new project, so that has me happy as well. Its nice to know I can continue to be published and I'm grateful to the people who have faith in me. I'm sure there will be plenty more of this very project being shown in the months to come.

Finally, one more disconnected thought. I've been reading this amazing comic lately called "Volunteer", illustrated by Benoit Springer. Its all in french, but well worth tracking down if you are into those fancy European comics. Its been a while since I've seen a comic like this that was so rich in backgrounds and pure drawing power. I'm also kinda starting to like the whole hardback Tome format as opposed to building up stacks of regular floppy comics.

2009-11-04T09:43:00.000-08:00

BUNCH a STUFF

Hi there. To make up for lost time, here is a bunch of random stuff!

The first two drawings are a couple pieces I liked that I sketched when I was at the Baltimore Comic Con.

After that, a little bit of progress on a fan art for The Amazing Joy Buzzards! by Mark Smith. I always like this stage so much, right before I start over-working everything. Sometimes I have a really strong urge to just stop at this point, kick it to the side and say "Next!"

If you haven't read Elephantmen #22, then this is probably a spoiler. I re-did the original drawing for the last page in that issue so Richard could have some watercolor texture to lay over it. I probably over color corrected it here after I brought it into photoshop, but John Roshell, the graphic design wizard at Comic Craft put it all together nicely for the issue. In any case, this version wasn't able to be seen in the comic, so hopefully this adds something for you if you did pick it up. By the way, you can also see that the inspiration for the drawing was based on a drawing I did before in my sketchbook, which was based on the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's!

Lastly, I just wanted to show off some original art I've purchased in the past year. I finally got around to framing and hanging it over my drawing table. On the left are some Madman and David Bowie drawings by Mike Allred and on the right is a Kaneda drawing by Eric Canete. Two big inspirations in my comics life. Hope you enjoy!

See ya next time!

2009-10-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

BRING ME EVERYONEThis Wednesday, I want EVERYONE to go out and buy Elephantmen #22 OKAY!!!??

Otherwise, not much else going on right now. I did the Baltimore Comic Con last week. Pictures and some sketches I did are up at www.hipflask.com
It was a really, really great trip. I met a lot of cool people who were big fans of Richard Starkings' epic series. Its kinda funny, I always dig my self deep when I start to tell Richard how amazing it is that so many people love this book.
Usually it goes something like this:
"Richard, Its amazing how many people come up to us and tell us what big fans they are, holy cow!"
"Not that its amazing that they are fans"
"I mean, you know, its just a lot more people than I would have thought"
"I mean but, its like the book is so great so I shouldn't really be surprised."
"Hey, what if I just stop talking now?"

And there, you go. Its like you are there in the booth with us.

2009-10-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

PAGE 5 IN COLOR! Awesome colors by Gregory Wright. Little watercolor texture things thrown in afterward by me.

Can't wait for the 21st! This is page 5 of Elephantmen 22 found in finer comic stores in about a week and a half.

In other news, can't wait for Baltimore tomorrow! Stop by and say hi if you are near the Image Comics booth.

2009-10-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

VANITY VANITY

A peek at my process. Aren't you thrilled!?? I'm a little bothered with some parts of that final B&W drawing, but if I think about it too much, it just drives me crazy. I've been learning a lot by looking at Justin's convention sketching. He makes gray areas on figures with his lines in a really nice, illustrative way, so you might see a little bit of that in here.
I'm gonna post one more thing tomorrow I think? and then I am off to Baltimore on Saturday. I'm so excited. It looks like this con is huge for Image comics, so it will be cool to see what all goes on. If you are there, definitely stop by and say hi as I will be either helping Starkings out at the Elephantmen section or over in the PopGun area.

2009-10-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

MADMEN MADMANI just started watching AMC's Madmen. Not to be confused with Mike Allred's Madman.

But now I bet you might be confused.

2009-09-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

INKING JUSTIN
I really wouldn't be able to say enough about how Justin Norman(Moritat) has helped me these past years in trying to find my way in this wacky comics world. I know myself and a lot of other guys wouldn't have the gigs we have if it weren't for his kindness and advise. To top it all off, he is an amazing, amazing artist. He is the regular artist on Elephantmen, and also does work for almost every comic company out there, impressing people more with each turn.

Justin did this pencil drawing for a fan at the recent Windy City Comic Con. I just inked it and slapped some tones on it.

Some good news is that we will both be at the Baltimore Comic Con this October 10th and 11th along with the even more impressive and amazing Richard Starkings. I think that Sheldon Vella guy will be there too, but that's just because he happened to be nominated for some little award named after a guy named Harvey. :D So free sketches for everyone who stops by the Image booth. Should be lots of fun.

2009-09-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

OKAY THIS IS IT I SWEAR

Seriously. I just have get it out of my system sometimes.

I am thinking about going to the Baltimore Comic Con, which is happening October 10th and 11th. A two day con wouldn't be so bad at least. There seems to be a lot of great professionals going too. Just gotta convince the wife. :P

2009-09-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

HAPPiNESS......is a warm gun, mama.

2009-09-14T14:03:00.001-07:00

A fun time thanks to Tagg and Bert from ONE SHOT PRESENTS!

2009-09-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

RUBBER SOUL

Tomorrow it will have been a month since my last update here. Its for a good reason, but thanks for staying with this thing for so long, all you out there in internet land.

Got a little inspired since yesterday was the big remastered and Rockband Beatles release. Also was feeling like doing something Beatles-esque after seeing a video my buddy Tagg made of him covering one of their songs.

I am looking forward to getting back into some comics once things settle down at home a bit. There is some stuff turning in my head that really needs to get out into the world.

2009-08-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

DON'T KNOW JACK

I've been looking at a bunch of Jack Kirby stuff lately for some Elephantmen pages I have to do. I have to say, I've never been a fan, but now that I have been studying his work, its really growing on me. There is this power in his pages that projects the sort of drama that is needed in a comic. I know my own stuff could use the kind of momentum and interest his art generated.

I thought about it and drew that picture of Robin up there as a warm up in my sketch book. The only homage to Kirby there is those big fists. I'm still working on it.

2009-07-31T08:33:00.001-07:00

SDCC 09 CON REPORT

it started with a low light
next thing i knew they ripped me from my bed
and then they took my blood type
that left a strange impression in my head

Just as a small disclaimer, I did not take that many pictures this time around. I always feel that next year I will record every moment for the voyeuristic pleasure of whomever may read this. So... next year then?

Ok lets do this thing.

I met up with Sheldon, Gabe, Niki, Justin(Moritat) and Richard at a Chinese restaurant the first night, right after getting lost trying to find it in the gas lamp district. I dont have that fancy iPhone GPS, but man, this trip made a very convincing argument for one.

One of the best things about this trip was spending time at the Elephantmen booth doing sketches with Gabe, Sheldon, Niki and Justin. Watching Justin work so fast and at such quality was just an amazing experience. We all took shifts, which worked out very nicely. There were times, even then, where you would just hit a wall, so it was nice to have someone to give you a break. Richard does some amazing preparation, advertising on bike cabs and all kinds of things to get people to the booth, so it all works together to make a great show.

It was really great to see Tagg and Bert again from One Shot Presents. I can't say enough about how cool those dudes are. I'm really glad we got to hang out more this con and maybe next year their hotel won't be on the border of Tijuana so we can see them even more! :D

That brings me to one of the best things to happen for me personally at the con, and that was meeting my long time comics hero, Mike Allred. Tagg had set it up so that One Shot Presents did a special video segment where one artist interviews another. So one morning, Bert, Tagg and myself came up with some questions to ask before walking up to the man himself. I have to say I almost did not go through with it because of nerves, but once the camera started rolling, it got a little easier. What a great experience!!

Other great highlights include meeting JG from Comicraft, meeting DJ and all the guys from PopGun and hanging out with Joe Keatinge, talking about comics and cool stuff like that. It was also great to see all my school buddies, even some I hadn't since first year like Mike, Ken, Geoff, Erik, Shoop, Trevor, Slater and everyone else (sorry if I forgot anyone)

Some other quick cool stuff: Meeting Claudio from Coheed and Cambria again. The Yorick from Y the Last Man poster that kinda looked like me. Artsy Fartsy parties that I now know are a part of a whole different world. Getting my balls busted on a daily, almost hourly basis to the point where I dont know what is truth or fiction anymore. :D Some things never change about me.

It all ended pretty quickly, right about the time it seemed it would never end(if that even makes any sense). What a strange world, full of costumes and fans and people genuinely dedicated to make one genre the best it can be. Getting back to real life is like waking up from a dream or from some unconscious state.

Still feeling a little loopy after the trip. I had a moment the other night where my mind was willing to draw as I put all my stuff out, but then my body just had an epic fail and crashed on me. Gotta see if things are any different tonight.

I still have some pictures coming in, so I'll post those up as well later.

Oh yeah, and apparently, I won an Eisner award for my part in Comic Book Tattoo? Doesn't really count in the way that I would like it to, but nice all the same.

2009-07-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

MY NEIGHBOR HIP FLASKYeah I actually did finish this!! I had some fun doing a watercolor illustration again after so long.

This will likely be the last post before San Diego. Anyone who is going, I hope you have a great time and it would be great to see you there. That being said, here is where you can find me:

PopGun table at the Image booth: Friday 5pm-6pm

** oh and I will be GIVING AWAY copies of my old comic, GROOVE JUNCTION here at this time. First come, first serve. I will proly only bring about 30 copies so boogie on over.

Elephantmen table (booth #2106): I'll be here most often, no set times exactly.

See ya all in a week!!

2009-07-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

NEWS AND STUFF
A quick sneak peak at one of the panels. I actually have to fix this and remove his shoes, but here you can see what it would have been like to see Ebony's argyle socks. I goofed and put shoes on him, unlike what Richard told me in the script, but I will secretly cry for those socks. Oh the magic.

And this my friends is what happens when you have been drawing Hippos and sexy girls and then watch a Miyazaki film. Man, I cant wait to watercolor this when I get a moment.

Oh and the last thing: This year is very special it seems, for a lot of reasons. The biggest is that I will have a new baby boy or girl in a couple months. The other reason is that I have multiple places to be at the San Diego Comic Con this year (yes, my wife is beyond awesome for letting me go). One will be the Image Booth at the PopGun table. Sushi Nachos!!!! Another place will be somewhere that I have been listed as a "mystery guest". Ooooo. I think you can solve the mystery though and track me down. Your reward will be a free sketch!

More on all that stuff in the very near future as I get more details.

See ya soon!!!

2009-07-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

ROUGH FOR MADMAN FANARTSomething I hope I can get done before San Diego comes around so I can show it to one of my comic book heroes.
Still need to fix a bunch of stuff and pull some reference at this point, like the speakers, drums, lights, etc. I am definitely going to mess around with the composition, move some characters around, move the Atomics logo up. Should be fun though. Feels so good to something like this while working on something more serious like the Elephantmen. Although, gotta say, that has been really fun too.

2009-06-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

TRAININGJust getting some training in. My buddy, Justin ran me through the octagon of sexy drawings to help get my women up to speed a little bit more. I'm learning slowly. Still not even close to matching said buddy's female fortitude, but maybe over time my chicks will stop looking like charmless blobs on paper.

Nothing much else to say. Just working on the Elephants and looking forward to San Diego. Peace!

2009-06-18T10:57:00.000-07:00

ELEPHANTMEN 22Yay, just got permission to post this up. You saw the rough for this earlier. Took me a while. Its actually based off of a more head-on view of this scene that was drawn by Ladrönn. This will also be a bit more cropped to the restraints of the comic page size, but I drew everything out just to see what I liked and did not.
Also, I forget now if I mentioned it, but I am drawing issues 22 and 23 of Elephantmen. This would be from 22.

Sorry for not posting stuff on this blog as regularly. These comics are taking LOADS of time. I really want to get it right. Till then, see ya later! Hopefully sooner!

2009-05-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

Oh RIONDid this last night as a warm up. I've been looking for an excuse to try to re-do from memory, a pose I saw Alex Niño draw on a youtube video. Its for a Jack Kirby character thread on Ivan Brandon's message board on the Image message boards.

2009-05-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

ROUGHI feel bad not putting anything up here. This is a rough for one of the spreads in that book I am currently working on.

Otherwise, I do little updates in Twitter now from time to time throughout the day. Who knows how long this Twitter thing will last though. If we are all fortunate, not very long.

Things that have been sizzling through my brainwaves lately while I work have been about Groove Junction. I will more than likely reboot it when I get a chance. My drawing has changed so drastically since that first issue. Its like I will keep everything I've done, but drawn better and with extra stuff to fill it out. And next time, no waiting between issues. I want to get everything done and then release either all at once in a nice self-contained book, or as separate issues that people don't have to wait long for. You'll see, someday. I've been thinking about just putting what I have up online too. But not till I get some time to do it.

Peace out for now.

2009-05-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

NOT TOO LEGIT TO TWITI guess I caved. I joined Twitter. I'm gonna try it, even if it does seem a bit silly in some way. Brandon and James are laughing at me, somewhere in Canada.

Follow me in the excitement of micro blogging HERE

2009-05-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

MORE CRABSLittle more here with most of the inks done. Now to color!

2009-05-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

LITTLE CRABBYThe scan came out horrible. Its tough to get your pencils to show up on bright white paper AND have the inks come out ok as well. I'm a little put off that I always notice silly drawing mistakes AFTER I have inked something that I intend to watercolor. The left arm, for instance, is way too long and should have gone back in space and towards the crab monster more.

What can you do?

2009-05-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

MORE MCGINNISMore practice from some Robert McGinnis paintings. I turned one of the girls into Miki at the bottom right.

Been super busy lately on getting some Elephantmen pages done. It doesn't look like that will change for a while either which is cool. Just hoping I find a way to work faster!

2009-04-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

SKETCH PROCESSJust a little something I was doodling up in the ol' sketchbook. That's the thumbnail for it on the left and some girls I was practicing from some Robert McGinnis. I could have moved it a little to the right for the final, but I'm not gonna sweat it. That's why its a sketchbook.

Also hard at work penciling some Elephantmen pages. Taking way longer than it should, but I am hoping that is because I just need to hit my stride. That, and there is a really detailed spread that I hope comes out sweet. I really, really want it to be great. Nothing like doing comics though to remind you how badly you suck.

I just got the new Elephantmen #18. Marian Churchland is simply amazing. I can't get over it. I read through the issue, then promptly ran to the corner to cry. It was that good. Richard also wrote a touching and thoughful story that went somewhere completely unexpected. I always want there to be beautifully brilliant comic books out there to buy and Marian and Richard did just that.

2009-04-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

LITTLE MORE...Another step. Getting there, but I may just start over on proper watercolor paper instead of hacking this out in my sketchbook. There is a certain charm to the sketchbook, but really I can't pull off the blends and watercolor goodness like on real board. Plus, I royally screwed up those feet and I need to redraw it.
Blargh!!

2009-04-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

NEXT STEP

2009-04-17T11:55:00.000-07:00

TRY AGAINThis is supposed to be a nod to that other Sushi Nachos picture I drew of Danny leaning on his Vespa. The one on the left was my second attempt. The first try on the right was a little too badly drawn and just plain awful in every respect so I just stopped working on it. Now I still think the left one is a bit too stiff though. Maybe I'll just do a third.
One good thing is that I can draw this stuff without having to dig for reference. If anything, that makes me happy.

2009-04-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

NEW INTERVIEW

I'm trying to find something to update this thing with lately, but all I've really been doing is trying to shape up one of my stories.

Indiepulp was kind enough to do a quick interview with me about Popgun 3 and other stuff i am working on. Check it out HERE.

I'll post some new artwork soon I think!!

2009-03-31T13:25:00.000-07:00

SELFBleh, nothing going on. Doodled a little self portrait with Optimus Prime gun out of sheer boredom. Trying to pass the time by doing things like this and working on a new Sushi Nachos.

Wish there was more to say! :P

2009-03-24T07:03:00.000-07:00

PROMOTECool article on Comic Book Resources about the NEW Popgun 3 from Image comics. If you follow this blog (all three and a half of you), you probably know that I have a story, Sushi Nachos in there (due to my incessant ramblings about it). They were even kind enough to post some of my art in the article. With the exception of my own story, this really is looking to be the most amazing Popgun yet. That's saying a lot!!

D.J. Kirkbride, one of the editors on it, says it should be in stores Wednesday, April 8. Throw some currency at your local comic store guy and he will throw one back at you.

2009-03-23T13:07:00.001-07:00

SMOOCHY SMOOCH
Just some stuff I colored up in my sketchbook over the weekend for fun. One is practice for a book I am working on coming up. I'll definitely be posting more on that later.

2009-03-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

MORE PRACTICEJust more practice. This time, hastily inked! Sorta starting to see how to make longer, more superhero-esque legs on ladies. Gotta definitely work on it more though.

2009-03-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

COLORS

Just colored these up last night for fun. Drawing and comics are not always fun, but when you have something stuck in your head and get it out on paper the way you like, few things are more enjoyable.

Not everything came out the way I wanted in that first piece. Its tough getting the hang of the paper in my new sketchbook. The paper is kinda thin and it just wants to constantly crinkle up and buckle.

I just wrote a bunch of story for the next Sushi Nachos comic. Its gonna be a long one. Don't know yet if that is good or bad :)

I also just watched like the first half of Amelie a little while ago. The whole movie is just amazingly gorgeous, but there is this one scene where she is skipping rocks that is just awe-inspiring to me. I don't know if anyone cares, but the cinematography in that film is just mesmerizing.

2009-03-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

MORE AUDREY
If you ever wondered what kind of sketchbook I use for those watercolor sketches and such, wonder no longer. That's it up there.

The other two drawings I left open for coloring later. Maybe I'll get to them this weekend. Every time I see Breakfast at Tiffany's, I want to draw something from every scene (even though that left sketch is more from her Sabrina era). Same thing happens when I watch The Graduate as well.

2009-03-06T12:09:00.000-08:00

SEXY WIMENZI have to practice up on drawing some more dramatically proportioned ladies. This is just one of those sketchbook sessions where I draw models. And also a picture of "within a hundred feet or less" Robin.

2009-03-04T11:24:00.000-08:00

BUCKLES WHEN WETOkay, its been a couple weeks. I've been working on a lot of different things though. There are like 3 different significant projects and one of them is not Groove Junction. :( They are all related to Image comics though. :D

I know, poor Groove Junction, keeps getting pushed back. If I may just say quickly, I really want it to be good on so many levels. The story, to me, is solid and the characters are so much fun. In my mind it has so much potential, but the more projects I work on that get a wider audience, the better it will be for my own personal stories. At this stage, its just necessary.

I will eventually post about the other things I am working on and show off some of the artwork. Till then, here is something from the ol sketchbook that I colored up last night. The new brown paper book is the same material as the last, but is larger. I have found that means the paper buckles more when wet. A trade-off I suppose. I hope to fill it with fun colors. See ya soon!

2009-02-20T13:36:00.000-08:00

MIKIWhat's with all this cheesecake!? The left image was after I had to make some, *ahem*, adjustments. This place is going straight to the gutter...

2009-02-18T06:34:00.000-08:00

HIP AND VANITY
It's Hip Flask and Vanity Case from Richard Starkings' excellent and award-winning comic, Elephantmen. The original from my sketchbook and then colors in Photoshop.
Why did I draw this you ask? No reason at all! :D

2009-02-15T18:30:00.000-08:00

BIRTHDAY PAINTINGExcuse the bad camera shot. This is a watercolor painting I did for my little sister, Nadia's birthday.

2009-02-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

COVER AND SIGN
The cover for Groove Junction #2 and the sign for my table at NYCC 09. The sign printed very dark, so I'm glad I can show it off as it is intended to be seen.

2009-02-10T07:12:00.000-08:00

NYCC 09Hey there. Just a quick note about the con. I'm still alive and it was up and down, but mostly good.
The bad stuff first: What was not as positive as last year was that people maybe just did not seem as into getting commissions maybe. That was noticeable in trying to recoup my table funds. The con people did a horrible job of letting attendees know where everyone was. There was no indication, from what i heard, where to find anyone in artist alley. Some people that were looking for me couldn't find me. A lot of time, the people around my table would bring so many friends to chit chat and do business in front of their small area, that it would just divert the traffic right around me. At one point, the table to the left of me even pulled out a friggin massage table!!? With a million people already crowding in the aisles!!?? Ah what can you do. Obliviously rude is never an excuse.
The good stuff: Sushi Nachos completely sold out early Sunday. Should have made more copies. A lot of people enjoyed seeing the original art for it and commented on how there should be more books in watercolor. Hello!! That's what I think too!! I love that some still feel that way.
It was fun meeting fellow Comic Book Tattoo artists again. Doing the signing was fun as I am not used to just hanging out at Image Comic's booth without like a restraining order or something.
Lastly, there is something that looks very hopeful for me, that I don't want to say just yet. I am working on the early sketches for it and I pray it just works out beautifully. I'll say more when I feel it looks like its working out.

I did not get a chance to take any pictures besides the crappy camera phone pic you see below. Forgot my digital camera. :(

That sketch up there is just one of those little free time doodles I did at my table in my sketchbook. Since I forgot it at home, I'll post a better scan tomorrow, of that Supergirl table sign you see below. I'll also show a much nicer pic of my Groove Junction 2 cover.

2009-02-06T18:12:00.000-08:00

BLURRY CON PHOTOBlurry phone photo from the con. I liked the supergirl pic i did for my sign. Hope Saturday is a bit more busy for me. Still kinda sick.

2009-02-05T06:55:00.000-08:00

READ ALL OF SUSHI NACHOSWHAT!? For free? They just put this up on the main page for Image Comic's Popgun 3, much to my surprise and delight. Pump the brakes on that!

I also just got in the copies of the Sushi Nachos full color comic I had printed up. I'm using it as a sample to give publishers, but I am also selling a few at my table at the New York Comic Con. If you really want one, pick it up early so I don't run out. Table L6. Go now! No, they are closed. Wait till Friday, then go.

2009-02-02T13:33:00.001-08:00

FIND ME AT THE CONThis is kinda cool. If you want to find me at the upcoming New York City Comic Con, click this. If you click on my table, (L6) it brings up this big fancy map. After you get there, you can roll over the tables and see where everyone else is. Some really cool people in Artist Alley. I'm beyond excited about this!

I should have a new Sushi Nachos comic (full color, watercolor), Comic Book Tattoo, Groove Junction and my little sketchbook (only 5 left). I'm also doing a signing at the Image Comics booth at some point.

See you there!

2009-02-02T08:09:00.000-08:00

CON SKETCHLittle bit of cheesecake for you here. :P

Just found this Red Sonja sketch I did for Mike Alligood at the Emerald City Convention in April of last year. I actually like how this one came out. It was an easy choice on how to utilize my red marker :)

2009-01-30T07:05:00.000-08:00

ISSUE 2 COVER PENCILSSo these are the pencils for the cover to issue 2.

I'm just getting more and more excited about the New York Con next week. ITS ONLY A WEEK AWAY!!! AHHHHH!! If all goes to plan, I should have the image you see up there finished and up as the sign for my table.

A couple days ago, I sent the files to the printer for my Sushi Nachos mini comic. Full color! Damn, they were a bit expensive, but it was necessary to have something new to show I think. Hope they come out ok. There will be pictures of them when they come in next week.

2009-01-27T08:54:00.000-08:00

NAUSICAÄI can't even begin to explain how much the story of Nausicaä has inspired me. Hiyao Miyazaki is in what I like to call my "holy trilogy" of main influences. There are a lot more than three, but if I had a gun to my head and had to shrudely pick, it would be: Mike Allred, Hiroaki Samura and Hiyao Miyazaki.
I did this without reference, so that little do-dad insignia on her outfit is proly way off.

2009-01-23T11:53:00.000-08:00

DANNY IN WATERCOLORI've had this pencil drawing in my sketchbook for a while and just got to coloring it last night.

This may or may not happen by NYCC, but it is for the inside of a Sushi Nachos comic. I have 12 pages, but I almost feel like if I am going to put a full color comic together, then it should be more substantial. There is more to the story, so I wonder if I shouldn't just wait till I get 12-14 more pages done, and put it all together after that. That would take a while, but overall, I would be more happy about it.

SO much to do. I have a lot more to show off as I've been getting lots of crap done, so stick around!