Grand Rapids Comic Con thoughts and Detroit Fanfare

Ok folks, I meant to post sooner, but this weekend has been pretty crazy.  Nonetheless I am back, so let's get to it.

  The 1st annual Grand Rapids Comic Con was this past weekend (Oct. 12th), at the HSB Building in Wyoming, Michigan.  I must say, WOW.  I don't think anyone could have EVER thought the turnout would have been like it was that day.  Grand Rapids has been longing for something like this for a very long time; there isn't much else in Michigan: Cherry Capital Con (North), Motor City Comic Con, and Detroit Fanfare (both in the east side of the state).  Grand Rapids is booming in the areas of art, music, and theatre, and there really isn't much for the comic/pop culture group of people there.

  To put it mildly, the Grand Rapids Comic Con was a MASSIVE success.  I don't know the final head count, but from what I heard a little over 2,000 was turned away; the building couldn't keep up with the demand.  The building was absolutely pack from the opening until about 5 o' clock (it ended at 6).  The people were fantastic, the volunteers did their best under the circumstances, and everyone seemed to have a great time.  It didn't hurt that I did VERY well.  All in all, a fantastic time and I won't hesitate to do that show again.  Of course, they're moving to a bigger venue next year.

  Next weekend is the Detroit Fanfare comic convention in Dearborn, MI. at the Adoba hotel.  This is a very fun show as it is centered on those who create comics, both illustrators and writers.  I won't list everything that's going on because, quite frankly, there's too much to list.  For the rundown of the events check out: http://detroitfanfare.com/schedule/.

Speaking of Detroit Fanfare, there are two exclusive books being released at the show that I was able to take part of.  The first,  'The Book of Tarot' from Transfuzion Publishing, is an introduction to the world of Tarot cards, accompanied by illustrations by artists that will be at the show!  I chose to illustrate the card 'Judgment':

My take on 'Judgment' was heavily influenced by Davy Jones from the Pirates of the Caribbean films; I even gave him a hat similar to Davy's as a nod.  Once a person dies, everything goes black.  Their soul awakens on a pathway and he/she is greated by a man with no name.  He doesn't say anything, but he holds a lantern in each hand.  Each lantern represents the judgment of the deceased; if the lantern in his right hand lights up, everlasting life in paradise awaits.   However, if the lantern in his left hand glows, purgetory forevermore.  I'm very happy with how this turned out.

The second book, 'Zelda's Zombie Zoo' written by Gary Reed and published by Binary Publications, is a children's book about Zelda, a tour guide, who takes the reader through her zoo....full of zombified animals!  I chose to illustrate the hyena:

Again, both books will be released excusively at Detroit Fanfare, with all contributing artists on hand to sign their contributions for the books!

That's it for now; I'm aiming to post one more time before Fanfare with my entire 'countdown' of sorts I've been posting on Instagram (for those interested, @jasondraws is my username).

Thanks for reading!

Village Fest and other goodies

Hey everyone, this post is here a bit later than I intended, but here nonetheless.  I have a few updates for you guys, so let's get to it.

This past weekend was the Village Fest out in Grosse Pointe Woods.  Artists, food vendors, musicians, and everything else you could shake a stick at attended.  The artist group I am part of, Motor City Sketch, set up a booth there again this year, this time dong sketches to raise money for the American Red  Cross.  Other artists on hand besides myself were Ted Woods, Bruce Gerlach, Anne Garavaglia, Lee Gothro, and Franklyn Beasely.  The group of us ended up being completely slammed most of Saturday, to the point where we were drawing literally until the sun was down and couldn't see any more.  Sunday, albeit with shorter hours, was no different.  All in all, it was a blast and we all had such a good time.  Here are a few pictures from the event:

 My little friend here was pretty much the highlight of my day on Saturday.  He and his mother came up to me a little bit after the show started asking about getting a sketch done of him, but she didn't have cash.  Ultimately she said they would be back later (which much of the time, isn't the case and you never see them again), but she stayed true to her word and came back almost at closing time.  Her son, pictured above, wanted to be drawn up like Batman (he picked the right guy to ask to do it); I asked if I could get a picture of him for reference while they walked around a bit more.  At first he smiled, leading to me saying Batman doesn't smile, then he gave me a half grin/ half frown which sufficed; it was obvious he was very shy.  I drew up his picture and the two of them came back, he being as shy as ever, but when I gave him his picture I swear to God the way his face lit up you could have lit an entire room.  His mother was so happy with it and the kid was estatic; made my day.

 Almost set up.  Myself and Bruce Gerlach pictured.

 Getting into the swing of things.  Bruce, myself, and Ted Woods.

 The whole gang.  L-R: Bruce, Anne Garavaglia, Kelly Nemzek, myself, and Ted.

 Our friend James Green showed up for a little bit.  Really funny guy.

 Bruce is showing how he really feels about drawing people.

Ted's got a fan base in the Village!

All in all, it was fantastic time and couldn't have been happier with how everything went.  We were all glad to do it.  Also special thanks goes to Kelly's husband, Steve, for providing us with some Starbucks.  

In other news, I have officially signed on to be at the Detroit Fanfare Comic Convention at the Abode hotel in Dearborn, MI. October 25-27.  I'm not up on the official website just yet, but the contract has been signed and the paperwork is all done and in.  Once the show is closer I'll have all the details.

Last but not least, I recently finished yet another set from Cult Stuff, this time for the 'Beyond Bram Stoker's Dracula' set.  There's so much to go off of in terms of vampires and that whole culture that Cult Stuff decided to do a sub set for that.  I did 31 altogether These were a lot of fun to do, enjoy.

Thanks for reading.  Until next time....

Want to own an original piece of my artwork?

Here's your chance!  I just listed a slew of original sketch cards that have been sitting in the archives for quite some time.  To check them out go to my eBay store:

http://myworld.ebay.com/jasonwestlake84

Here are the cards I have listed, enjoy:

Better snatch them up quick, especially the Bane cards, I have some serious collectors keeping an eye on my work!

This and that.

Once again it's been a minute since I've updated here, but bouncing from project to project really puts and damper on it.  At any rate, I'm back with a few of those said projects.

Back in April at C2E2 in Chicago I met a gentleman who loved my Avengers prints (he loved them so much he bought the set, then two more for his friends after the show!).  He asked if I had a Tron print, which I did not, but it was on my list of pieces I wanted to do sooner or later.  Well, sooner it was.  He contacted me and wanted to commission me to get one (or two) off the ground.  The one shown above is the first one, as I started a second, featuring the antagonist of Tron Legacy, CLU, but I wasn't too keen on it, so I'm reworking it. Once CLU is finished, both of them will be available to purchase.

I recently wrapped up a set of cards for the upcoming "Civil War Chronicles" from Cult Stuff.  Major wars such as this (and World War 2 in particular) have always fascinated me.  The thing that fascinates me the most, however, are the soldiers themselves, particularly the pictures of them not on the battlefield.  I chose to go the route of portraits of soldiers mainly because I always wondered what their story was; for the most part, I couldn't find their names (save for John Wilkes Booth) making them more or less "lost" in history.  I don't know if they had wives, children, I didn't know what they did for a living, what their personality was like, etc.  I did 30 cards for the set and I really enjoyed this trip down history lane.

'Til next time...

Doctor Manhattan

Here's a piece that I almost trashed, but ended up "finishing". I wanted to practice the methods of Drew Struzan (my favorite pop culture artist by far), by using acrylics, colored pencils, and a little bit of airbrush. I'm pretty happy with it.

Mr. Freeze

Looking through the archives I came across this one. I did this in about 10 minutes to take with me to the Motor City Comic Con this past May. I did this with colored pencil, paint, and a little digital enhancement.