defender riot

This is a illo I did for the Fair poster(love unites) remix contest over at Deviant art. The idea is to remix the Defend Equality poster done by Sheperd Fairey. Using the template(elements) provided as well as my stuff. I then did my own take trying to capture the spirit of Fairey. I always liked the way he juxtaposed images of authority or the military with the spirit of rebellion and defiance in a cool creative way. So this is my take on the concept, a Riot Cop as a defender of equality.

BLACKEST FRIDAY is coming

On Black Friday Nov 27th from 9am-12pm Chicago Comics will be having a huge 30% sale for everything in the store. The sale includes comics, trades, action figures, clothes, collectables, dvds and toys so stop on by and buy. Chicago Comics has a great store with a huge selection of books as well as everything comics related so you are sure to find something for yourself as well as gifts for the comic book fans in the family. For more info on this event click here.

Then the following weekend Dec 2nd, 3rd and 4th Gram Crackers Comics will also be having giant in store sales. Plus on Dec 9th Gram Crackers will be hosting Jacen Burrows artist on Avatar’s Crossed at their Chicago loop location. For more info on this event click here.

On Dec 12th Third Coast Comics will be hosting comic artist Gene Ha who has worked on titles such as Top 10, Global Frequency, and Batman fortunate son. Gene will be signing comics as well as doing sketches at this event. Don’t miss this event Gene is not only a super talented artist but he is also a very friendly guy and so are a gang at Third Coast Comics. For more info on this event click here.

So all you members of the Fanboy corpse head out on Blackest Friday for major sales on comics and swag. Charge up your power rings and debit cards, hit these comic shops and don’t let one deal escape your sight!

ACT-I-VATE and ART in Chicago!

This weekend some signifigant events are taking place on the Chicago comic’s scene. Quimby’s Books will be hosting Dean Haspiel, co-founder of the premier online comic art collective, ACT-I-VATE.com. ACT-I-VATE.com is a webcomic collective that hosts a wide array of talented comic creators as well as comics for all types.

Haspiel is bringing the ACT-I-VATE salon to celebrate the release of The ACT-I-VATE Primer, A showcase book highlighting the creative talents of the members of ACT-I-VATE. Also this will be the Midwest debut of The ACT-I-VATE Experience, a 30-minute documentary by filmmakers Seth Kushner and Carlos Molina about how ACT-I-VATE is leading the webcomics revolution. Dean will discuss his work in the Primer, “Bring Me The Heart Of Billy Dogma,” as well as discussing the whole web comic to paper comics process. Dean will also be joined by Chicago-area multimedia writer Tim Hall, producer of ground breaking text only-comics for ACT-I-VATE and they will discuss issues relating to web comic production.

The ACT-I-VATE Primer is a comic collection that showcases the work of many talented artists as well as acts as an intro to the ongoing web comics produced at ACT-I-VATE.com. Please stop by Friday Nov 13 and absorb the Activate experience.

Also starting this Friday Nov 13th and continuing all weekend long there will be a comic art show at Challengers comics. On Friday evening there will be an opening reception, which will be full of many of the artists on the Chicago comic’s scene, so it will be a great chance to hob knob with some of your favorite artists. This event will also be raising money for the Hero Initiative a comic book charity that raises money for ageing and sick artist who need help. For a full list of art for sale as well as the contributing artists please follow this link to Challengers Art Show.

No matter what your interest whether it is the ins and outs of webcomics scene and what that means for the future of comics or if you’re a passionate lover of comic book art this weekend is sure to please the Fanboy in you.

thundarr process

hey all here is more art process stuff this time a peak into the process that went into making my thundarr redesign illo. First off my thoughts on the whole concept, this illo was done as a Halloween contest between myself and a few other artists as a personal challenge. The challenge was: if I was given the task to do my version of the Saturday morning cartoon thundarr the barbarian what would I do. My idea was a more modern savage a mix of Road Warrior and Conan with some Jack Kirby styling thrown in.

I felt that Thundarr's look would have war paint similar to Conan's in the first movie but a more stylized look with a Mohawk similar to the roadwarrior villain and jack kirbys Omac. Thundarr's gear would be more of a mix of scavenged items so body armour and clothing would be a mix of football shoulder pads in a roman gladiator style with military belts and a loin cloth. Finally the Sun Sword his signature weapon (it's a light saber) so wanted to add some flair to it. I have the sword burning white hot with a flame like tip and white embers and energy bursts coming from the blade. The blade has a orange to red outer glow to help set the mood. Lastly the blade itself is a samurai sword(due to the nature of thundarr's wandering) this helps add to the fact it was stated he either found the sword or took the sword from a evil wizard it would make sense to have the blade be a non western design.

The art work process. You can see the evolution of the image going from 80's hair metal on the lower left to the final color version on the upper right. I used non repo blue pencil for the roughs and finished pencil stage. I scanned the roughs from my sketch book into photoshop and blew them up to a 11x17 size then printed them out for for clean up and finishing.

Also for the finished pencils I did them on marker paper with separate layers for the main figure and the foreground demons. I the inked this all up using micron pens,then scanned them in and did coloring in photoshop with added effect and textures.

comic art and powerings

Comic Art, Music and POWERINGS!!!!!

Starting Friday Nov13th Challengers comics+conversation will be having a Huge 3 day Comic art show and sale. Featuring original art from Greg land Mike Wieringo, Mark Bagley, Steve McNiven, Cliff Chiang and many more.

On Friday evening there will be an opening wine reception from 7pm -10pm.

This art show will also be raising money for the Hero Initiative. For a full list of art for sale as well as the contributing artists please follow this link to Challengers Art Show.

Also don’t forget this Sunday Brainstorm comics is hosting a comic bash

On November 8 at the Beat kitchen 2100 W Belmont it promises to be a fun comic book filled party with rock and pop bands such as Dead on T.V, Daemonfamiliar. For more info click here Brainstorm bash.

Plus all November long the Comic Vault is having a Green Lantern Give Away.

Each week in November the Comic vault will be giving away a $50 gift card to one lucky customer. All you have to do is purchase the featured Blackest Night tie-in on Wednesday of each week. You will a get a ring and a raffle ticket. If your raffle ticket matches the winning number you win a $50 gift card to the Comic Vault. You have to come in on a Wednesday to qualify. So stop buy and pick up your Power rings for a chance to get real green CASH!!! For more info click here Green Lantern Give Away.

So whether you like to get your party on, check out cool original comics art, or get your mighty power rings November is the month to get your geek on!