DEAD WORLD

Well, here are my approved cards for the upcoming Dead World trading card set from Breygent Marketing. I did 31 cards, so obviously some weren't approved, but that's ok. It was a fun set to work on and of course with each project I tackle, a learning experience.

MEGA POST

Sorry it's been a while since I've last updated this. I've been swamped with freelance and the dark cloud known as deadlines. But alas, I figured I have quite to show so why not do a mega post of everything I've been working on. So, without much more rambling, let's get to it, shall we?

I recently wrapped up on two sets for Unstoppable Cards, the first, The Avengers 50th Anniversary (above), and Night of the Living Dead (below). I signed up for 30 cards and decided to do them all in black and white and I was very happy with how they turned out....until I was asked to add color. You see, the card stock wasn't necessarily in my favor this time around as it's very glossy, read: very smooth. In the past, I would ink everything and wait a day or so to add color, yet the blacks would still run and everyone would end up looking like they have 5 o'clock shadow. I didn't get around to scanning the new ones in due to time constraints, and I'd like to remember the cards looking how I originally intended. Not to say that I learned my lesson from the past by adding color, I did it in limited quantity this time around, I just like how these turned out. Moving on...

The second set I did for Unstoppable Cards was 'Night of the Living Dead' and I for one can't resist drawing the undead. These were really fun to do, especially the title puzzle I did, pictured first. Sorry about the quality of the picture, by the way; my scanner wasn't really agreeing with me at first so for the sake of time, I just put them all together at once, but you get the picture. Anyway, for this set I focused soley on the zombies, because that's why we watch these movies, right? These were very fun to do. And like the problems I had with 'The Avengers', glossy card stock reared it's ugly head, but I decided to do all of these in black and white, with a little grey....and of course, red, so that helped overall. Next up are two small sets I did for Unpleasant Dreams, Britannia (10), and Dead Sexy (5).

Both featuring my Achille's heel for drawing: women. Drawing women has always been my curse because they always end up looking like dudes with boobs. Considering that, I think they turned out pretty well. And lastly, for the moment, I finally got a chance to work with Breygent Marketing on two sets I'm very excited about: Transformers and Deadworld. Robots and zombies. Awesome. Below are the 24 cards I did for Transformers:

I opted to draw the 'formers from the Michael Bay movies. They were incredibly challenging because of how complex the designs are, but I'd be lying if I said they weren't the funnest cards I've ever worked on and I'm VERY happy with how they turned out. I have a few AP's (artist proofs) from this set, and once I get them done I'll post them. I don't have the Deadworld set done yet, but that deadline is rapidly approaching and I'll post them here, of course. Well, that's it for now. I have some more stuff, including some new longboards I designed, but I need to get the images from work, so that'll have to wait until next week. Until then...

Motor City Comic Con 2012

Hey everyone, I meant to post a follow up earlier, but I've been pretty busy with freelance, work, and other personal issues. Nonetheless, MCCC this year was a great success. The show seems to be profitable for most artists and the people who attend seem to really embrace the work all the artists put out. This year I shared a table with Ted Woods who had his first MCCC experience. Every show you are part of is a different experience as you don't know what people are into at the moment or how they will respond to the art in general, but I've always done very well in Novi and this year was no different. Doing shows like these is a learning experience; seeing what other artists have is a huge inspiration, how to display your work, what work you are displaying, etc. I've taken away mental notes that will no doubt help me in the future; I just need to do more shows in general. The Avengers prints I had on hand were a HUGE success and people loved them. If anyone is interested in snagging one, or all four, let me know. They're 11x17, and you can get one for $10 or the whole set for $35. Here are a few select pictures of some of the costumed guests on hand: As you can see there were some pretty colorful costumes. I personally loved the Bane outfit; I gotta get that mask. In other news I'm lined up to be a part of quite a few sketch card sets that will be coming out in the near future including The Avengers 50th Anniversary and Night of the Living Dead. I'm almost done with both of those sets and once I'm finished, I'll post them up here. I'm pretty happy with what I've done so far. The other sets I'm going to be apart of are very exciting, but I can't talk about them yet. More on that soon! Til' next time!

Motor City Comic Con 2012

Hey everyone, again it's been a minute since I've updated this thing, but with between work, getting ready for the convention and other personal issues I haven't had a chance to catch up. Having said that, the Motor City Comic Convention in Novi is this weekend and I am very excited as this show is always a good time and all the artists seem to do extremely well, which is awesome for everyone. I'm going to have a lot of stuff on hand, but I am going to have 4 brand new prints available featuring 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes"....The Avengers. For this series I decided to highlight the main four heroes (Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man, and Thor, respectively) minimalist style and maybe somewhere down the line I'll get to Black Widow and Hawkeye. At any rate, these were a blast to do and everyone is responding to them very well. They are all 11x17 and will be $10 each, or the whole set for $35.

I'll also have other prints on hand, sketch cards, a few painted skateboards, and some other goodies to boot. I don't know what table I will be at until I get there on Friday, but I'm sure I'll run into a few people I know. Also look out for Ted Woods (whom I'm sharing table space with), Jay Shimko, Adam and Comfort, Bruce Gerlach, and many others.

Catching up

WOW. It has been a hot minute since I've last updated this. I've been incredibly busy with work, but I've also been doing the art thing. Couple things to bring up:

First things first: People are still asking me about the book I did the coloring work on, as well as Ted Wood's lettering work, "My Father's Keeper". Things are moving along with that and I hope to have a few on hand at the upcoming Motor City Comic Con in May, which I will touch base on in a bit. Not only that, but I got the opportunity to do the cover for the book:



In other news, I'm tapped for a few more sets for Unstoppable Cards. I'm not sure if I'm at liberty to say which sets I'm on, but as soon as I can say, I'll let everyone know.

If you have me as a friend on Facebook, you'll notice I'll post stuff from my work at TGM Skateboards from time to time. For those who don't know what I do, I design graphics for skateboards, promotional material, website design (actually just the designing, not throwing it together for the web), etc. For those who haven't seen any of my board designs here are the first batch I did for the in-house Paradise Longboards line:


PARADISE CRUISERS


TOMMY 1


GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS


FROM BELOW


TIKI


VOLUME 1


ZOMBIE PANDA


TOTEM


NAUTICAL MAP

A new batch of Paradise Longboards is slated to come out around June, and I'm very excited and happy with the work we came up with. I'll keep everyone posted on that as well.

Getting back into the sketch card scheme of things:

Phoenix and Rogue from the X-Men universe.


Red Skull and Bane, from Captain America and The Dark Knight Rises, respectively.

Ok, finally I will be in the Arist Alley at the 2012 Motor City Comic Con, which takes place May 18-20. I'll be posting more news about that in the weeks to come.

Until next time.....

Detroit Fanfare 2011 Recap

Ren Cen.

Well, it's been a while since I've updated this and to be honest I was pretty burned out for a while after Fanfare. Looking back on the event, I have no complaints. It was even bigger than last year, and overall a much more enjoyable event. These conventions are learning experiences and there's so much to take in, but it's completely worth it in every aspect. I made some new connections, made some new friends, and took in alot of inspiration. This scruffy guy can't complain. Onto a few select shots...

Good ol' table set up. The thing is, my fellow artist and good friend Andrew Shirey and I were going to split a table, but during set up, one of the volunteers approached and informed us that the guy next to us cancelled, so we ended up having tables to ourselves. Win!

Myself, Kara Pierce (rad chick), and "Hollywood" Jay Shimko

Group shot of our crew (and some new friends) along with.....wait for it......Brian O'Halloran (Dante)!

My studly self along with Dante. Very cool guy!

Best Costume Award.

In other news:

-"My Father's Keeper", the short story I did coloring work for is FINALLY printing and should be available soon. I'll keep everyone posted. I've also begun the coloring work for the second part of the story.

-I'll be on a few upcoming sketch card sets from Strictly Ink which I'm pretty stoked about including The Avengers 50th Anniversary and Night of the Living Dead.


That's about it. Peace!

Detroit Fanfare 2011 Deets

Well, next weekend (Sept 24th & 25th) is the Detroit Fanfare, and I am incredibly stoked. It promises to big much bigger than last years, first of which is because it is at Cobo Hall in Detroit. And from the looks of it, there will be at least 3 times as many artists on hand. So if anyone is interested in scoring some amazing artwork, see some crazy costumes, and get some awesome deals on books and other memorabilia (Spider-man) this is the place to be.

Not only that, but someone who I would personally like to meet is going to be there: Bruce Campbell. Those who are unfamiliar with him, he is the star of the Evil Dead movie,s which kick my balls into the ground every time I watch them.

Hail to the king indeed.

In other business, this year I will have more stuff on hand than I have before. I've worked my ass off, but I'm incredibly proud of what I will have and I hope people will enjoy everything as much as I've enjoyed creating it. Having said that I want to unveil two prints that I will have on hand for the show....


The first is Heath Ledger as the Joker. This first started off as a sketch card (which I will also have on hand), but I liked it so much that I decided to turn it into a full-color, full-sized print. As of right now, it is either going to be 8.5x11 or 11x17, but that will be finalized in the next few days.


This 11x17 print will be on hand as well. This piece will be featured in the artists collection book that will be on hand for all attendees at the show. After a little tinkering in Photoshop to make it looked aged and a few scratches here and there, I'm really happy with how this turned out.

Finally (I think this is the most I've ever written on this), Saturday night, Sept 24th at 10 PM at Andiamos Restaurant in the Ren Cen, Motor City Sketch will be hosting "Shots 4 Sketches". This unique event will allow people to get a personalized piece of art from their favorite artists....all for the commission price of the alcoholic beverage of the artists choice. This means, you buy us booze, we draw you stuff. I recommend getting something early, as the quality of work will most likely go down as the night goes on, ha!

I cannot express how excited I am for this show. Be sure to check out all the artists that are listed on the flyer at the top of this entry, along with my good friend and Kendall Alumni, Andrew Shirey, and also Josh Werner of As Fall Leaves Illustration who will no doubt have some amazing stuff on hand.