Great Lakes Comic Con

Hey folks, real quick.  Next weekend I will be set up at my first show of the year at the Great Lakes Comic Con.  The show takes place at the Macomb Community College Sports & Expo Center in Warren, MI. on Friday, February 28th from 7-9pm and Saturday, March 1st from 10-6.  There will be a slew of local artists and creators there including Bruce Gerlach, Dirk Manning, John Marroquin, Tony Miello, and Jim Towe just to name a select few.

Hope to see you there!

Seeing in black and white.

It's been well over a month since my last post, mainly because I've been finishing up some projects and planning a few things out which I will discuss in a moment.  In the meantime, I've had a few canvases laying around along with a little bit of black and white paint, so I decided to whip up a couple quick paintings.

 Boris Karloff as The Mummy

 Bane from 'The Dark Knight Rises'

Daft Punk

Ok, I have a show announcement:  Friday, February 28th from 7-9 and March 1st from 10-6 I will be at the Great Lakes Comic Con in Warren, Michigan at the Macomb Community College South Campus Sport and Expo Center.  I've never done this show before, but I have heard really good things about it, so why not?  If you're in the area, be sure to stop on by and say 'Hi!'.  

I also just finished work on the upcoming 'Hollywood is Dead' trading card set based on Matt Busch's series of work by the same name.  The set will be released by Rocket Ink Studios.  I did 10 cards for the set and am really happy with how they turned out.  Once I get the 'OK' to show them, I'll post them.

Thanks for reading!

ULTRA MAN

OK folks, first of all I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and an equally fantastic New Year holiday.  This year, without a doubt, has been my most successful year to date having met so many new people, making so many new friends, and accomplishing more than I could have imagined.  With more shows under my belt this past year, I have more confidence going into 2014, and I hope you've enjoyed the ride as much as I have and continue to ride it with me!

Having said that, the picture above was a commission I did for a friend as a Christmas present for his son (or just him, it's open for interpretation).  He came to me asking to do an Ultra Man piece in the style of my Avengers and Walking Dead prints.  In case you're not in the know, Ultra Man is a precursor to the Might Morphin' Power Rangers of sorts; a superhero grows to towering heights to fight monters and destroys cardboard cities in the process.  There, now you know as much as I do about it.  Regardless of lack of knowledge on the topic, it turned out better than I had hoped for...and my friend loved it.  In fact, he couldn't stop talking about it.  This is what makes doing what I do worth it.

Also, in case you haven't noticed, there is a new format more or less for my blog.  I have added a few category tabs under my banner so you can easily navigate through my work in graphic design, convention work, sketches, and a little bit of freelance work to boot.  If you even feel so inclined to purchase something, I have a store as well.  Check it out!

Again, thanks for going on the ride with me in 2013, let's see what 2014 has in store!

Hail Caesar

Sketchtober

Ok folks, I've been incredibly busy since Detroit Fanfare, which I will do a write-up on in the next week or so, but if you "Liked" my artist page on Facebook (which can be seen here), these are the sketches I posted every day leading up to the convention.  No real reason to explain who each is, they are pretty self-explainatory.  Enjoy.

Until next time...

STORE

AVENGERS PRINTS

Set of four (4) Avengers prints based on the hit 2012 movie.  Each measures 11" x 17" and is printed on 130# Gloss Cover paper stock. Sold as set only.

TRON LEGACY PRINTS

Set of two (2) prints based on the hit movie, Tron Legacy.  Each measures 11" x 17" and is printed on 130# Gloss Cover paper stock. Sold as set only.

WALKING DEAD PRINTS

Set of two (2) prints based on the hit AMC television show, The Walking Dead.  Each measures 11" x 17" and is printed on 130# Gloss Cover paper stock. Sold as set only.



007 CASINO ROYALE PRINT

Print based on the hit James Bond 007 film, Casino Royale.  Measures 11" x 17" and is printed on 130# Gloss Cover paper stock.

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!