ART MERCENARY

freddy

2010-09-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

hey All I know its been a while but here is freddy and I'll post the process of how I did him next.

psylocke and friends

2010-08-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

hey all con season has me very occupied so here are a few quick sketch cards and a quick heads up. I will be at wizard world chicago this year at artist alley booth space 3424 so stop by and say hi!

ebay cards

2010-06-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

here are some of several sketch cards I have up on ebay. I'll post the rough art in a bit so you can see how I made these cards.

sccc good fun

2010-05-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

hey all just wanted to post and say thanks to everyone who stopped by my table at the summit city con it was a great show!! It was fun seeing all the great comics folks.

the next con is on!!!

2010-05-13T13:10:00.000-07:00

hey all just wanted to give you a heads up I will be attending the summit city comic con in Fort wayne indiana on sat may 22 so if your in the area come on by and say hi!!

C2E2 we salute you!!!!

2010-04-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

This past week saw the debut of C2E2 the Chicago comics and entertainment expo at McCormick place convention center in down town Chicago and the great space was the show. Now here is the after action report from this local artist’s perspective. Just let me start off by saying that as a exhibiting artist I had a great show. I talked to lots of great people, promoted my properties, met with publishers, and was busy all day every day doing sketches and selling art. I was always busy and had barely a few spare moments, not to mention the busy nightlife jam-packed with fun networking events. C2E2 rocked for me.

Here is a run down of some of my impressions about the event.

1^st. The Convention center space was huge, clean, bright and very spacious no one was crammed not the dealers, the publishers, or the artists. Many people got the impression that there was low attendance which was not the case 28,000 people attended the event. The fact that Reed (the people putting on the show) planned from the beginning for enough room for the convention to grow was what threw people off. Also the event was not crammed full of fringe related vendors. There were no non-directly comic book related celebrities, reality TV stars, and strange or bizarre adult related entertainment booths. So with none of those distractions clogging the aisles with slack jawed gawkers, there was more room to get around the show floor.

2^nd. it was easy to get to and from the convention center via the L trains red line (which was only 3 short blocks from the site). Also on set up and break down days I took my car which was just as painless as taking the train. I hit no traffic and found parking in and around the convention very easy to find. I had heard some people say the convention center was hard to get too or that there was no mass transit which is flat out wrong! The main bus lines stopped in front of the convention center, the red line train was 3 blocks away, and all major roads lead to the event. I realize not everyone comes or lives in the city but you can get maps and info online, from your hotel, or in any major bookstore. If anyone had trouble getting around in the downtown they really need to get out more.

3^rd.The wealth of events after hours was just great, every night there were at least 3 open parties as well as a host of family friendly events. Plus lots and lots of happenings at the hotel bars and local restaurants. For example on Friday night I went and got food at Reggie’s (a great rock club and bar which is only two blocks from the convention center and for the really lazy they had a shuttle to and from the convention center). At Reggie’s I listened to the bands Kirby krackle, and the Fuglees then I went to the Double Door via the red line and blue line L trains, where I attended the Nerd City comic party event with some kick ass burlesque and a super super band Jai Alai Savant, This event was great.

Some of the vendors grumbled about slow sales but what do they expect when the Internet has better deals. The retailers who did well either had great discounts or hard rocking events. A good example of this is Challengers comics they hosted after con events at their store which they promoted at the show and had exclusive items and creator’s such as Mark Waid at their shop every day of the show. Another example is Chicago comics which had exclusive Alex Ross art at their booth. These shops made it so you had to go to them and get something you couldn’t get anywhere else.

Think about it, now when there is cheap or free content on your phone and the ipad as well as the ability to order cheap discounts from the Internet. The only reason to pick something up at the show is a impulse buy or it must be exclusive to the event and sold only at that show.

If you wanted more of a family friendly event or not one for clubs there also was the Neil Gaimon event that evening plus many many more and numerous tourist sites to take in such as navy pier (which had a shuttle outside the convention). Plus the shopping on Michigan ave is not to be missed with places such as Macy’s, the Lego and apple stores. If you wanted something to eat the restaurants were a plenty in and around the convention center here is a short list. Reggie’s, all of china town, Mc Donald’s, White castle, Ray’s chicken, Loe Malnati’s pizza, all of Michigan ave and numerous restaurants in the hotels attached to the convention center. Plus tons and tons of places deliver you are not isolated in a dead zone out by the airport.

Yes there were some flubs at the show but these are all first year flubs or just to ahead of the time thinking. One example is some people complained that they wished there were better-displayed booth numbers for the artist alley and a better more detailed show map. Both points I agree with, but I also wish to point out that the c2e2 app for my phone was a major help it had a great map and enabled me to pin point locations of my favorite artists, publishers and locations on the show floor as well as had a list of all the after show events. The app really was a lifesaver.

Another flub I feel was not really the show organizers fault really and that was getting the city of Chicago behind this show. Most of the attendees were real comic fans who love comics and are regulars at their local shops as well as listen to many of the fine comic book podcasts. Those were the places that really promoted the show and got the word out. I had numerous people come by my table and get something because they heard about me from a podcast.

The city of Chicago which could use the tourism dollars just treated the convention poorly and has no idea how much comic geeks like to enjoy all the area has to offer. For example all the restaurants around the convention center had signs saying welcome kitchen and bath show(another convention going on the same time as c2e2). Even though many attendees wanted to go to places like china town, hot Doug’s, kumas corner, the Webber grill, Wrigley field, Harry careys, The whistler or the violet hour. Their was just no geek love from the ìsquaresî or so called hipsters of the city of Chicago (who all seemed to be occupied with going to record stores even though we all down load music in the year 2010) but the people tuned into the Chicago comics scene were in full force hosting great parties or events and making c2e2 a great time.

In a year or two once the city gets wise and embraces the show (ie exploits the event). when every goon who buys a superman logo t-shirt at a hot topic will be in attendance and every restaurant has some comic book tie in theme, people will complain about how the convention space is too packed and you have trouble getting around on the show floor or the poser’s who will try and tell you that star dog is better than hot Doug’s as they wait in line for a panel.

C2e2 was a great downtown show and will only get bigger and better, so I’ll see you their next year in your superman t-shirt.

Hood pgs

2010-04-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

Hey all just though I would post some more comic pgs. These are sample pgs I did focusing on the marvel villain the HOOD. Since I'm trying to keep this a process blog I have put the working BW pgs next to the finished color pgs and I will post (later) some of my working pencils and panels to help illuminate my working process.

My process starts with sketches and thumbnail layouts they then are scanned and refined using photoshop, painter and a few other programs. I work the image up to a finished grayscale stage and then proceed to the color stage where I tweak elements as well as add textures or other effects. I hope you enjoy these.

green monster pop poster

2010-03-11T14:52:00.000-08:00

hey just wanted to post this poster. I did this for the chicago power pop band Daemon Familiar. This poster was done using the vector program illustrator and one of my objectives for this poster was using the colors green and purple. The pop nature of the band allows for the illustrations to be broad and diverse. The subject matter and imagery are very open open to a very wide variety of ideas and concepts.

april is coming

2010-03-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

hey all just wanted to give you a heads up I'll be post more stuff starting in april. currently my art chores and moving into a new apartment is taking up alot of my time. So please bare with me and I'll be back on track in april with lots of new stuff.

pop posters

2010-02-08T22:04:00.000-08:00

here are some recent posters I have done for the chicago based pop band daemon familiar. These were all created in the vector program illustrator. I'll post the sketchs in a little bit.

Brainstorming!!!!!!

2010-01-15T15:04:00.001-08:00

A great deal if you’re a stranger? That was the situation at Brainstorm comic’s 50% of sale this past week.

This week had a huge everything 50% of sale at Brainstorm comics everything from comics, trades, gear, toys and everything else was 50% off great deal right? Wrong!!! The deal did not include anything in your pull list, that is to say anything you asked the store to order for you. Having a pull list is standard practice for many regular comic readers/shoppers, they order their books and stuff in advance so they don’t miss an issue if they can’t get to the shop that week or what not. This is a practice usually taken advantage of by regular loyal customers of the comics shop.

A few of my friends (who shall remain nameless to protect their secret identities) are regulars at Brainstorm and they were both angry and hurt by this 50% sale stipulation. Simply put the sale did not apply to their reserved books i.e. the stuff they read regularly and the material they want to buy sale or no sale. Also the sale turned them into second-class citizens who are treated worse than a total stranger from off the street.

In my opinion any store comics or other should cater more to their regular returning customers rather than a one time only buyer. I myself could very easily have gone into Brainstorm a bought a great deal of material as well as my regular Wednesday comics and gotten the 50% off discount but I’m loyal to my comics shop and prefer to give them my business.

While I do realize that selling comics and collectables is a business and we all need to make money, I just feel Brainstorm made a huge blunder during their sale. Brainstorm should have allowed the sale to cover everyone and every thing in the shop. The purpose of any sale is to increase business and attract new cliental to boost your profits. If you back hand your regular veteran customers in favor of new rookie customers it is not only disrespectful but also bad for business cause the veterans will say why should I go to this guy when I can easily go somewhere else and get treated better or just the same.

I have heard many, many retailers say that a regular customer is more valuable then any one-time sale. This is because regulars keep coming back even if they don’t need to.

Point of fact in today’s world one can super easily get comics, and collectables over the internet at great discounts usually better discounts than any shop can give their customers. People go to the comic shop for the personal touch, the corner hang out experience and the friendly atmosphere. The regulars want to come in and discuss(argue) about Movies, TV, Comics as well as current events, for many of us the comic shop is like our neighbor hood bar where the bar tender is poring us the usual as we walk in the door or the old barbershop on the corner where our dad brought us and we can in turn bring our kids. We go into the comic shop and everyone knows our name and they’re always glad we came.

So Just word of advice to all the shop owners out there don’t take you regulars for granted.

go for the geek gold!!!

2010-01-10T13:52:00.000-08:00

As the New Year begins its time to establish who is the top comic dog or supreme super geek. Now how to claim that coveted comic honor?

1st head on over to Challengers comics and conversation and register for your throw down with their Challengers Olympics this will be truly a contest of champions. Challengers comics has created the perfect contest of physical comic skill’s and mental fortitude to prove once and for all whose comic Kudos Kick Kiester. So head on over and sign up the Olympics start Jan 16th and run through the 21^st.

If you feel you need to train more before you go for the gold then head on over to Graham crackers comics they will be having a huge new years graphic novel sale. All trades and graphic novels will be priced at 30% off. Also on Jan 13 colorist Jeff Balke will be signing issues of Kickass at Graham crackers so stop buy and pick his brain on all things geek.

Another great way to train for the Challengerlympics is to hit up the huge toy sale at Chicago comics not only is this a chance to get some great deals on cool comic toys but it is also a great chance to expand your data base on all this comic book. Make sure to check out this sale many items are at a massive discount and you can always find some real hidden gems.

A great way to improve your indie cred is by heading over to Quimbys starting the week of Jan 10^th and indulge in the great events they are hosting. Quimbys will be hosting on the 10^th a great muppeet event with author Jessica Max Stein reading from her zine ìThe Rainbow Connection Richard Runt, Gay Muppeteer.î There will be over an hour of great muppeteet clips.

Then on the 14^th Quimbys will be hosting the series launch of ìSo You Think You Have Nerves of Steel. Quimbys will then play host to two great female poets and artists who run dancing girl press an imprint focused on promoting the work of female artist and poets. This event is on Jan 15 so stop on by that evening and explore the indie world.

Finally you can end your training by getting your mind blown by Artist Mike Norton and his vast knowledge of comics especially the Blue Beetle. Mike will be signing at 3^rd Coast comics on Jan 16^th so stop by and pick his brain or if you dare challenge him to a comic’s trivia throw down.

Now begin your training and remember knowing is half the battle.

new year news

2010-01-07T19:50:00.000-08:00

just gearing up for the new year I'll have more art process to post on the months a head as well as more stuff on the chicago comics scene.

holly jolly happenings

2009-12-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

As Christmas fast approaches here are some wintertime events to keep the holiday Grinch at bay.

First off is the Chicago Drink and Draw this is a annual meet up on one tuesday of the month this time its dec 22nd at The Chicago Ale House at 8 pm. This event is an informal artist meet up where comic creators from the chicago community hang out draw and drink their blues away. Its always a fun mix of mainstream and indie artistes. Just grab your pad and pencils and have a great time.

Also is december is full of 24 hour madness. Both Challengers and Gram Cracker comics on dec 23-24 will be having 24 hour events. Gram Cracker comics in Naperville will be open and celebrating for 30 hours in a row.

Then in the heart of the city Challengers comics will be hosting their Blackest Night before Christmas party with special guest artist Art Baltazar so stop by and wish art a happy birthday plus get some cake.

Next on the holiday hit list is the wednesday without comics yes that's correct new comics wednesday on the week of dec 30th will have only one new comic out that week. So what is a hard core comic geek to do?

Head on over to the downtown loop location of Gram Crackers comics their will be a signing by Jiba Molei Anderson as well as some other indie artists. So stop by and get the inside track on the indie comics scene in chicago.

Also that week Mike Norton will have his hostile take over of Challenger's comics. Mike has been plotting all year and on the Dec 30th his plans come to pass. He will be signing and playing host to a wide variety of comics fun and mayhem that day. Stop by and hear is dastardly laugh and his other plans for world domination.

Last but not least the Weaton location of Gram Crackers comics will be having a new years eve party on Dec 30th. This party will have lots of food,fun, and a host a great prizes given away at the top of every hour.

video art

2009-12-09T08:23:00.000-08:00

hey all just wanted to post a link to a music video I did some art for awhile back. I did all the drawings for the video. here is the link

Happy holidays

2009-12-07T12:54:00.000-08:00

just wishing everyone a happy holidays with this holiday card.

Holiday gifts for the Geek pt1

2009-12-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

As the holiday gift-buying season is in full swing here are some gift ideas for the comic and pop culture fans in your life.

I’m not going to waste your time recommending comics of graphic novels if the person your buying gifts for reads comics just ask them what books they want and then get all the details title, artist, and were to get the books. There are numerous comic shops in the Chicago area that have a huge selection of books such as Challengers, Chicago comics, Brainstorm, Evil squirrel, Third Coast, Quinby’s, The Comic Vault, Grahamcrackers and numerous Boarders stores.

What I can suggest are some items that scratch that comics fan’s itch and may not be something they may think of. First are Toontumblers these are pint glasses with comic book and cartoon characters printed on the glasses. The tumblers can be gotten in sets or as singles with a wide variety of comic book characters on them.

Second are Gelskins these are coverings or ìskinsî for computers, gaming machines, cell phones and mp3 players. The skins feature art work from a wide variety of artists many who do comic work such as Mike Mignola and his Hellboy skins, Tara McPherson who as done art for DC Comics Vertigo books. There is also art from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Umbrella Academy, the Goon, Metal Gear Solid and many more.

Third are Mimobot designer flash drives which are super cool looking flash thumb drives great for carrying and storing data. The drives come in fun designs such as Starwars, Halo, Hello kitty, Domo and lots of original designs.

Fourth are T-shirts these days getting comic book t-shirts are super easy Old Navy, Urban Outfitters, Hot Topic and Target have a good variety of classic Comic book characters in fun styles. Also Most of the comic shops in Chicago carry a good supply of current Comic book t-shirts with modern characters and styles. Also places like Threadless T’s and Shirt Fight have a huge selection of fun and funky Shirts for both kids and adults.

That’s all for now coming next time will be fun games, cool clothes, and handy computer stuff for your friendly neighborhood Fanboy.

Holiday Geek Speak

2009-12-03T08:21:00.000-08:00

With the winter holidays coming on fast its time to spot light some of the events going on in the Chicago area as well as how to give Santa your geeky gift demands.

First off I want to focus on how to let your family and friends know what comic book or other geek gifts you want for the holidays. To start don’t use "geek speak" i.e. nerd slang similar to jock talk or gamer speak. Geek speak is any slang or in-group talk that is clear to any other comic geek but is complete gibberish to the outsider or the uniformed. This past thanksgiving my brothers and my nephew were sitting around talking comics and my little niece was lost (and disinterested) as to what we were talking about. For example don’t ask for the "ohotmuî"pronounced O-hot-mu but rather ask for the Official Hand Book of Marvel Universe.

Many if not all hobbies, activities and recreational activities have their own in-speak whether its fans discussing a specific sport and it’s rules or D&D gamers talking about their favorite module or piece of equipment. In every example the slang or geek speak alienates outsiders and is exclusive. Keeping the exclusive nature of geek speak in mind try to translate your conversation into terms outsiders can understand making it easier for them to get you the items you want for the holidays.

Often around this time of year I see girlfriends, mothers and wives venture into my local comic shop Chicago Comics and try to get something for the comic geek in their life. Almost in every case the non comic geek has no clue what their loved one wants or already has and ends up purchasing some random comic related item. This act is similar to when a guy goes into a clothes store to get something for his girl friend and has no idea what size she is or what style she wears and just gets whatever the sales person suggests.

Minimizing geek speak as well as translating your hobbies hot holiday items will help include your friends,family,and significant other into the world of your hobby and insure your holiday gift satisfaction.

Another way to get some holiday comic geek satisfaction is by attending some of the fun holiday events at Challengers comics on Dec 23-24th they will be having the blackest night before Christmas 24 hour event with special guest, Tiny Titans artist Art Baltazar. Also on Dec 30^th artist supreme Mike Norton takes over Challengers and will host a variety of comic fun.

Chicago comics has some cool events on tap for December such as on Dec 11th they with be holding a Reading and Pictures charity event with lots a free comic give aways and free snacks. Then on Dec 16th they will be hosting a C2E2 meet and greet with free swag and a chance to get tickets for the event. This event is also a go chance to get the inside info on this huge comic con coming to Chicago in April.

Brainstorm Movies,Comics,and Games will be having a huge pink tag toy drive and sale on giving store credit and discounts to those who donate toys to the charity drive now throught Dec 23^rd.

Third Coast Comics will have super dooper artist Gene ha in the store signing comics as well as doing sketches on December 12^th.

So head out this December and get your comic geek on, but just remember to have your universal translator with you to aid the geek speak impaired.

defender riot

2009-11-21T14:11:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-19T08:21:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-10T10:17:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-05T09:32:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-05T09:19:00.000-08:00

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!

just a heads up!

2009-10-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

After halloween I will have more art and art process stuff to post

comis ,music,merriment and the undead

2009-10-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

Comics, music, and merriment plus the Undead at the Beat kitchen.
Brainstorm comics is hosting a after Halloween costume bash
On November 8 at the Beat Kitchen 2100 W Belmont with a host of fun
rock and pop bands such as Dead on T.V, Daemonfamiliar and many, many more.

The evening promises lots of fun with costumes and drink specials as well as a chance to chat about your favorite comics related topics in a friendly environment. Also you get a chance to hang out with some of the friendly staff who work at Brainstorm comics. Feel free to chat up Robert with all your Doctor Who questions, not only is Robert a Who fan but he’s also the owner of Brainstorm.

So for all you Halloween comic fans and Fanboys this is your last chance to hang out in costume and geek out in public without causing a ruckus or the need to wear a colored wrist band. I don’t think there will be any candy but there should be lots of booze. So go ahead and be a marvel zombie and head over for a killer time.

halloween events in chicago

2009-10-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Halloween Happenings on the Chicago comic’s scene. Here are some of the up coming comic book related Halloween events in the Chicago area:

The Comic vault is hosting a costume party ìSardoweenî

with drinks specials and DJ Gomsky. Frightful and Fun costumes plus a great time is in store for the adult crowd at this event.

Challengers Comics and conversation on cot 24^th is having a spooktacular event with Chicago artist jill Thompson who will be signing here new comic and doing sketches. Then on Oct 25th challengers will be hosting a pumpkin carving event for the whole family.

Third coast comics on Oct 24th will be hosting a signing by Ivan Brunetti and on oct30 is having a web comic Halloween party. Third coast will be hosting many creators as well as showcasing some great work and there will be candy.

Boarders books on Michigan ave will be having a fun family Halloween costume events with games, music, fun holiday themed crafts.

Alternate reality on Oct 30^th will be taking part in the Halloween walk so stop in for some fun treats.

So whether you’re a little monster or a big monster the Chicago comic’s scene has you covered with all sorts of tricks and treats.

One final note It does seem strange that on a holiday when it’s expectable for both children and adults to dress up in costume, eat lots of candy and go to costume parties. There are not as many comic book related events as there could be. If you go to any convention be it comics, anime, sci fi or whatever there are tons and tons of people in costume but on a holiday that focuses on that kind of stuff the Fanboys fall short. Why don’t comic shops hold costume contests or have more family friendly events? Shop owners could easily get local artists to do in store holiday monster sketches or the shop could host their own monster or animated movie marathons which is very easy due to the nature of comics fans who have DVDs of all sorts of monster and sci fi stuff. This year more than ever there is a large selection of store bought comic book costumes so dressing as you favorite hero is easier than ever that’s not counting the guys with their own handmade perfect star wars trooper outfits or the omni present klingon costumes. Plus Halloween is a holiday that brings out the kid in all of us so hosting a grown up party or event during October is not as difficult as say a day in may.

It is true that there are a wealth of private Halloween house parties taking place this year hosted by many members of the Chicago comic art community (who’s names and locations are with held to protect the innocent) but if your in the inner circle please go they are always fun. One example is the legendary Halloween parties of Chicago comic artist Alex Ross that in past years has seen a real batmobile parked out front, lots of Chicago artist and fans plus a high caliber of costume that would put a Hollywood make up artist to shame. So as ever have a safe and fun Halloween with a good night to all and to all a good fright!

modern comic shops

2009-10-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

Comic shops need to up their game now more than ever. The average comic shop for most readers is a store located in a strip mall or in a counterculture region of a metro area and that’s if your lucky enough to have a comic shop in your state (north Dakota has none). In most cases the comic shop is just a store that carries comics and comic related material that fosters a environment that is unfriendly (some times hostile) to new, female or younger readers with little or no positive personality. The Shop sells comics to comic book readers nothing more nothing less.

The current comic shop can broken down into Five sub-categories each with both pros and cons

1.The gaming shop: a store that sells tabletop games, D&D materials, host many gaming tournaments and has a large amount of gamers hanging out and playing daily. The pros for this shop are hordes of potential buyers constantly in the store and a lot of like mind people to hang out and share your passion with. The con for this store is that the gamers are in some cases anti social to non gamers as well as each other. The gamer tends to be usually whining about rule interpretations or gloating in nerd speak about they’re big win. Also as any shop owner will tell you the gamers just loiter gaming for hours buying little and scare away new potential customers.

2.The Indie/outsider shop: a store that carries a wide variety of hand made Xeroxed mini comics, outsider/adult magazines, out of print materials, and some porn. The pro for this store is that they carry many hard to find non main stream material as well as foster a more independent spirit for outsider artists to show case their work. The cons for this store are their selection is a eclectic mix of work ranging from the obscene (i.e. porn) to the ridiculous (poorly written/drawn sub par work). Also the shop just due to what it has on its shelves does not foster a friendly enviroment for all, basically the vibe is we are Indie, if you’re indie come on in if you’re not indie get the F@#K out.

3.The toy/merchandise shop: a store that carries action figures, 12 inch character sculpts, t-shirts, drinking glasses, and other assorted merchandise. The pros for this shop are they carry a wide array of merchandise and cater to the toy collector market. Also this type of store is a warehouse of all things comic,movie,and tv. The cons for this type of shop are they are usually very crowded with the merchandise organized similar to a closet full of stuff one, wrong move and you have knocked the limited edition sculpt of batman on the floor. This type of shop usually is good for getting a holiday/birthday gift but not worth a weekly visit and again is difficult to get around in during the slowest of days.

4.The big box chain store: Not really a true comic store but usually has a large section of graphic novels, manga, and comic art books. The pro’s for this store are many, a clean friendly environment, a convenient family friendly location, a place to sit a read your purchases, discounts and sales. The cons are many as well, they have a limited selection of graphic novels, little to no new weekly comics, no sense of community or personal relation with the store, They only carry mainstream graphic novels or books related to the most recent movie to be released, and the staff as a very limited knowledge of the material.

5.The evil comic shop: This is the worst kind of store it has no pro’s only cons such as it is usually in a rundown area, The store looks as if it condemned(which it just may be), The staff or owner is unknowledgeable and unfriendly/mean (he doesn’t want any one in his store). The store is dark ,dirty and disorganized as well as has a limited selection of comics. The store is not family or girl friendly full of adult material that is easily accessible to anyone in the shop.

Living in a large area such as Chicago one can find examples of each of these sub categories all over Chicago area. Most comic shops fall into one or two of these categories and cater to what their regular customers want or desire which is both a blessing and a curse. The comic shop keeps their regulars happy and thus makes money but becomes dangerously inbred and fails to reach new customers due to their specialization. Comic shops in general need to up their game or they may fall victim to changing times. One store in Chicago that is working to up their game is Challengers Comics+Conversation which is located in Bucktown across the street from the Western blue line. Challengers is a clean friendly comics shop, they have a friendly knowledgeable staff, they carry a wide variety of new weekly comics as well as graphic novels and merchandise. What Challengers excels in is community building by making the shop a destination for events. Challengers has a strong online presence they are on myspace, facebook, twitter, utube, yelp and have a informative, user friendly web page which showcases their upcoming and past events. Just a few weeks ago challengers hosted a pre-party for the windy city comic con a fun event that was attended by over 100 fans and pros. Challengers has events going on every month from their in store comic book club and discussion group to their in store signings such as Jill Thompson’s (the artist of Scary Godmother, Beast of Burden, and Magic Trixie) in store event on oct24th or the pumpkin carving event on the 25th

Challengers Comics+Conversation focus’s on making the shop the place to be for not only comics but also comic events. Whether it’s a signing of a favorite artist or writer, a fun community based event like a hosting a party, or a family fun time activity like pumpkin carving Challengers has you come for event and return for more. Challengers gets you coming back for more events and has you buying comics or merchandise on a subconscious level you get the material cause your in the shop, plus by having family based events the shop gets a toe hold on the younger generation of potential customers. Challengers as raised its game to be more than just a store front which in this day of digital delivery is more important than ever.

more sketch cards

2009-09-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

hey all as with keeping with the focus of the blog, here is some more insite to my art process. These are sketch card commissions I did the other day they are 2.5x3.5 inchs so they are smaller than I normally work. Since the cards are smaller than my normal taste I worked up a rough at a more comfortable size for each card then scanned them, then scaled each image down to the card's size and printed them out. The next faze is the part on the left I worked the rough up to a more finished/cleaner state in blue pencil then light tabled the image onto each card. Once penciled on the card I started to color each card using copic markers. I usually try to color the lightest colors first then move to darker and darker leaving the black line for last. I do this process to build richer tones and gradual transitions also I use both warm and cool tone grays to add to the shadows. On the B/W cards I focused on using a white silhouette and White ink spatter(via a old toothbrush) to create a more dynamic effect for a simple static pose. Also on a side note I usually keep a few old tooth brushes around some I never clean the ink off so they are much stiffer and produce a different type of spatter effect.

sketch card process iron fist and hawkeye

2009-09-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

hey all as with keeping with the focus of the blog, here is some more insite to my art process. These are sketch card commissions I did the other day they are 2.5x3.5 inchs so they are smaller than I normally work. Since the cards are smaller than my normal tastes I worked up a rough at a more comfortable size for each card then scanned them then scaled each down to the card's size and printed them out. The next faze is the part on the left I worked the rough up to a more finished/cleaner state in blue pencil then light tabled the image onto each card card. Once penciled on the card I started to color the card using copic markers. I usually try to color the lightest colors first then move to darker and darker leaving the black line for last. I do that process to build richer tones and gradual transitions also I use both warm and cool tone grays to add to the shadows. On the Iron Fist card I did one extra step Which is using White ink spatter(via a old toothbrush) to create a energy effect/glow from the characters fist. Also I decided to white over the other fist to help bring the glowing fist forward to the viewer.

chicago comic con and more

2009-08-11T13:47:00.001-07:00

hey all
I have just recovered from the chicago comic con and just wanted to say thanks to all of you who stopped by especially the ones who got art and sketches you help make this con very successful for me. AS for the con on the Whole it was very poorly organized and rather lack luster for a few reasons 1. two weeks after san diego no wonder it was hard to get pros and publishers to show up( yeah thats right no marvel,DC,Dark horse,Top Cow ect.....). 2. the con was on the same weekend as lollapalloza sooo of course everyone and their mother was in grant park downtown at the super huge show which means attendance was down at the con. Don't get me wrong the people who showed we hard core comics folk and great people whole were buying art and getting sketchs. but the whole point of the show is to attract the most people you can get. 3. and MY BIGGEST ISSUE was the con badge/wristbands this year you got a badge(which was a super cheap printed thing) and a wrist band which was the real badge to get on the floor the thing with your name on it was just for show the WRIST BAND WAS WHAT YOU NEEDED TO KEEP ON FOR FOUR DAYS it was cheap,lame and I felt like a dork at the bar during the evening with the stupid wrist band on. Still I did very well at the con this year and would again like to thank all of you who stopped by.

Also here is the link to my new web page check it out if ya get a chance. [link]

chicago comic con

2009-08-03T13:17:00.001-07:00

hey all just wanted to let you know I will be attending the chicago comic con aka wizard world chicago. I will be at my artist alley table space #5104 doing sketches ,selling art, as well as raffling off some cool stuff. So stop by if your in the area!

drink and draw SDCC09

2009-08-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

these are a few of the drunken sketches I did at the drink and draw at the SDCC thursday night at hennesy's. These are just black suit spidy and red rain batman done in marker on the D&D coasters they gave us. It was a fun time with lots of cool artists and crazy stuuf

my web comic

2009-07-14T13:51:00.000-07:00

hey all

I just wanted to let everyone know my web comic is up and running. It's over at webcomics nation and it's a action adventure/horror comic called Sword of the savage samurai. The first story is free so check it out here is the link

http://www.webcomicsnation.com/tommm9/savagesamurai/series.php?view=archive&chapter=39640

warrior werewolf

2009-06-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

these are some character concept designs these are of a warrior werewolf. These focus on a asian theme.

character concept designs the knights

2009-06-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

these are some character concepts designs. I the idea behind these concepts is that of battling avatars. The user will pick one of the knights and fight with the aid of their helpers/squires. Each knight is a avatar of a specific "force" or power.

stage 1 and 2 of hermione process

2009-05-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

These are the red pencil and second stage colors in the process of the hermione illo. I usually do my sketches in red pencil the either clean them up with a B pencil or just scan the sketch into the computer. With the colors o always make a soft gray background then in upper layers ad colors keeping the lines on the top or in a locked black channel.

hermione

2009-05-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

this is just a illo I'm playing around with it's an image of hermione from harry potter casting a spell. I'll post some of the working process stages in the next few entries.

what I'm working on right now.

2009-05-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

currently I'm working on a web comic project and other illustration projects that I will post about once I get the OK to do so. Also I plan to post more of my process and technique in this blog on the days to come so that's some of what's happening right now.

2009-05-18T11:39:00.001-07:00

here are some different view in their simple shaded form.

3d speeder bike

2009-05-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

this is a star wars speeder bike I modeled and textured in maya. this was done as just a personal side project. Also this is the brand new shiny version. I'll post the weathered version later.

Templar illustration

2009-02-15T07:40:00.000-08:00

hey all this is a illustration I did for a short story about the knights templar and the battle of dunkirk during WWII. I did this illo using photoshop and some photos I took and a map of dunkirk england I scanned in. Mainly I used a variety of pshop brushes and custom settings to render the image. A bit latter I will post a color version of this illo.

ginger bread house

2009-01-22T19:27:00.000-08:00

this is a concept illustration I plan to use as a guide to model a CG scene of a fairy tale style ginger bread house

my convention plans for the coming year.

2009-01-17T13:54:00.000-08:00

hey all I just wanted to post some goings on and my plans for the coming spring/summer. At this time I plan on attending the San Diego comic con,Wizard world Chicago(I will have a artist alley table and will post that info once I get it). Also I will have a table at the Windy City Comic Con in Chicago in september this year. The windy city is a really fun con that takes place in downtown Chicago its new but gets some great artistes.Well thats all for now I'll post more stuff soon

alien worlds

2009-01-11T13:42:00.000-08:00

Here are a few concept art designs I did its part of a series of alien worlds. The blue one is more of a high tech environment with the beam towers and the green one is more of a sea base in a rain storm, more to follow.

just testing the blog

2009-01-06T09:20:00.001-08:00

Hey all this is just a test but please check back later for updates and other cool stuff