Commission update -- Venomess #2

Finished up another commission piece over the weekend! Fun piece to do... the next couple of commissions I have slated will be a bit different in style and tone, particularly the second which will be very involved. I'll share the big piece in- process since it'll be a long project. I think I'm almost ready for it though -- excited!

Commission Time!

Realized it's been awhile since I've updated; sorry about that :\  It's been busy times.  The good news is, I have a lot to share since Alamo City!  I'll space it out a bit so as not to overload, but for now I'll just show off a piece I wrapped up over the weekend.  I've had a number of commissions waiting in the wings for awhile as I've dealt with work-overtime and the #Inktober challenge and moving to a new place and a lot of busy personal-life scheduling --  Finally getting to a place where I can settle in to knock out some artwork for folks!

This was a commission for a fellow who wanted to see a female Venom, mid-transformation.  I spent #Inktober trying to develop my inking technique, and looking at how this turned out I'm glad I did.  I'm not sure I could have pulled it off quite the same way even a month ago.  That's how I try to see all my work; every piece a step-stone to improvement.  I need to be honest -- I have three commissions remaining on my queue right now, and I'm afraid of the last one.  I'm gradually refining the pencil-work on it but it's huge, and it includes many characters who are real-world people, and it's based on a famous illustration so I need to make it at least as good as that guy.  It's intimidating, and it's taking forever to Rocky-montage my way up to it -- But I remind myself, the dude who commissioned this believed in my work strongly enough to put money on my ability to pull it off.  It's on me to prove him right.

Anyways, that's my philosophy on commissions.  Creators, art-buyers, how do you look at commissioned artwork? What do you look for, or what repels?

Prepping for Alamo City!

Next weekend, if you’re going to Alamo City Comic Con be sure to check out my table along with all my art-buddies in CCP Comics! I’ll have bunches of art-prints, sketchbooks, and comics on hand, plus equipment for sketches and commissions. If you’re quick enough, you may even be able to score one of these two exclusive prints! They’re adorable, they’re very limited and the only set of these pieces that’ll ever be made, and the only place you’ll ever see them will be on that grand showfloor unless you take one home with you! Priced at only $10 each, or $15 together :)
Hope to see you there!

Dr. Sketchy's -- Sky Candy Edition!

I just got in from a most unusual evening.  Sadly I hadn't had to chance to go figure-drawing for awhile due to this or that, but tonight's Dr. Sketchy's was too tempting an offer to pass up -- A special session held with an entire team of aerialist performers at their studio downtown!  What I didn't expect was that they'd all be modeling poses in the air at once -- Sometimes in paired-poses.  Holy cow, figure-drawing overload!  Most of the poses held for only 5 minutes or less, so it was a scramble to just scribble down everything I could.  I worked mostly in Sharpie-marker, kept things simple & gestural, and broke out pencil for just a couple of tighter drawings (one of which I gave to the performer it was based on; sorry)

Fun fact -- The pencil drawing I've included here actually won me a free class in aerial-acrobatics :D  Looking forward to that, and hoping I don't get cold feet before I can make it happen!

They had some running themes going through the session -- This one was for "Best Incorporation of a Mythical Sea Monster."

Near the top-left you can see the original sketch I based the pencil sketch off of!

Top-center is some pretty abominable cropping |:\  Gotta pay better attention to that.

Nerd Poker Drawing

This time it's Houg Denning, the daffy illusionist with 1 HP played by Ken!  I sketched this as a warm-up drawing on day one of Comicpalooza!  Had a great time at the show... Unfortunately I pretty much only have this I can share from it; couldn't charge my camera for the occassion :(

My next show'll be Denver Comic Con next weekend -- Good times to be had!

Dr. Sketchy's, 5/19

This afternoon I found out that there was a Dr. Sketchy's event going on downtown a few hours later --  As luck would have it, I had time enough to make it!  The model was a burlesque performer/cosplayer Ms. Gemmi Galactic.  Great time had!

Started off with warm-up sketches, featuring Gemmi in a Dorothy-in-Oz costume.

After the first break she changed into a Poison Ivy costume, complete with face paint I never did justice to.

One of the contests they ran throughout the session was for everyone to interpret a pose as a comic panel.  I won a pop-up book!

I was pretty tired before going, but fortunately my lady-friend was able to talk me into it.  I know I need to train up -- ComicPalooza is not even a week away, and I'm slated to run a table!  I'll be drawing all weekend, and I'll have a couple of new prints to show -- If you're going, I hope you'll hunt me down at Table 1433 and say hi!

More Nerd Poker Fan-Arts!

Quick practice-painting to keep myself learning....  So, everybody's a rat!  How're they gonna get outta this one?

To join me in finding out, listen to Nerd Poker on Earwolf or your favorite pod-catching softwares!

Figure-Drawing, 3/25

More sketchery from the AVAA!

Started off with 1-minute gestures in Sharpie markers...

(This isn't even all of 'em.)

Then moved to pencils for the rest'a the night.

Tiny head! \:[

SketchBomb: March Edition!

All drawn at SketchBomb! Austin, hosted at Mister Tramps by J Hause!

Theme: "Draw your personal hero."
I'm sure not the most flattering rendition, so...
If ya know Mike Mignola, kindly don't show this to him :)

Theme:  "Space Wizard"

Theme:  "The Ultimate Deterrent of Zombie Hordes"

Nerd Poker Fan Arts

For those who haven't listened Nerd Poker is a podcast by Brian Posehn & Friends, all professional writers/actors/entertainers, and since its beginning has been one of the most entertaining and thoroughly fun parts of my iTunes feed.  It's made its way to my easel before and probably will again in the future... The latest episode, not to spoil anything, gave me a lot of visuals to consider :)  But for now, some sketches!  These were done on toned paper -- The first using black and white inks, and the second with a Tuscan Red Col-Erase and a Conte pencil.

Damien Wormwood Darkommen, Brian Posehn's dark cleric and Priest of Judas.

I was actually able to give that Damien drawing to Brian Posehn at his Austin Books signing on Saturday :D  I didn't have time to chat because there was a long line and I'd actually sneaked away from my table at Staple! to be there, but it was great getting to say hi at least!

Blaine Capatch's pragmatic Blackie Green chooses not to waste a perfectly good Levitate spell even though its recipient was, shall we say, no longer using it.

Fun stuff :D  If you haven't already, give the show a listen!

Figure-Drawing, 3/4

As usual, all drawn at the AVAA Monday Night life-drawing session!  The model rocked a lot of really great, dynamic poses, and I regretted having to leave early before any roads decided to start freezing.

1-minute sketches, drawn in Copic brush-marker.

Unfortunately, I kinda killed the pen on these.  Too much furious scribbling, trying to get all these complex poses down in time!

10-minute pose.

15 minutes, drawn with a Sharpie pen.

Fairies, Pretty Final

 

More progress made, more lessons learned.  Onward!

Fairies WIP

Just slinging more paint around -- Hoping to finish it in the next day or two!

Close-up detail of the caterpillar-fairy

Staple: Independent Media Expo!

One of my absolute favorite shows of the year is coming up a couple of weekends from now -- STAPLE! Austin! 

It's an art show glorifying the self-published, the creator-owned, the dark horses, the weird and the wonderful from all genres.   Over two days you get to shake hands with comic artists, game developers, filmmakers, animators, and podcasters in rockin' Austin -- And I'm pleased to report that I was able to squeeze into a table setup with my buddies at CCP Comics, booths 73 & 74, so come out and say hi if you can!

Other folks for watch for?  In addition to the awesome guest-artists Francesco Francovilla & Chip Zdarsky and the game-designers from the lauded (and local!) Stoic Studio, you should also keep an eye out for the amazing designer/illustrator J Hause (who's hosting a digital painting demo, I hear!), cartoonist and caricaturist Jeremy the Artist, the playful character-work of Jessi Jordan, Jamie Kinosian's lovely watercoloring, and Kevin T. Chin's all-around amazingness.

Also look to Toni Shelton, to Emily Rose Romano, to Mark Nasso with Doom Ranch 5000, and Isaiah Broussard of Brass Comics fame with Transyltown!

Sorry -- That's a lot'a links, but there are a lot of great people to meet.  Hope to see you there!

Austin Zoo Sketching!

More life-drawing to report today -- This time, however, with some very different models!  I went downtown with a few friends to spend a few hours at The Austin Zoo & Animal Sanctuary, which is a great place to support and a great place to draw.  Animal drawing is, if you'll pardon the expression, a very different beast from human figure drawing -- Along with having to analyze and teach yourself whole different configurations of anatomy, you have to work really quick because it's entirely coincidental on the animal's part if it holds a pose for you.  It's great practice for control and accuracy -- Both of which I still need way more practice in, but that's why I was there.  Here are some of the more decent sketches to come out of the afternoon -- Hope you enjoy!

One day I'll find a way for these Col-Erase pencils to survive scanning...

Drawn with a Prismacolor brush-tip marker.  There was a lot of snoozing goin' on around 1:00.

Fairies Painting WIP

More progress!  There's still more to do on the headdress/saddle and the fairies are still just blobs of magenta, but things are starting to come together...

Figure Drawing, 2/11

1-minute poses

1-minute poses

Fairies WIP

Progress ~!

Austin Motion Artists Group animates "Mmkit" by The Octopus Project!

This is a project that I had the pleasure to work on a couple'a weeks ago!  The Austin Motion Artists Group, wanting to showcase and celebrate the local animation scene, organized an event in which a bunch of talent was corraled, each one given a beginning-frame and end-frame, who then had 48 hours to animate ~12 seconds of animation.  The final product came out pretty amazingly:

Austin Anijam 2014 - The Octopus Project "Mmkit" from Austin Motion Artists Group on Vimeo.

It's passed 100,000 views and now been labeled a Staff Pick on Vimeo, which I really kinda can't believe.  Watch and enjoy!

I was part of the crew that produced the segment with the 2d-animated cyclops and octopus.  We all came up with the direction together and then Ryan Cullen animated the cyclops, Louie Granda animated the octopus, I made animate'able assets for the environments and the explosion, and Willis Bulliner did the compositing. Awesome job, guys!

Figure-Drawing, 2/4

All figure-drawings were done last night  at the Austin Visual Arts Association!

1-minute gesture drawings

More 1-minute gestures..

The top pose was 5 minutes, and the bottom one 10.

15 minutes.

Fairies

I guess it's a start?  Paints to be applied as time allows..

Life Drawing sketches, 1/28

A check of this morning's traffic reports tells me that every major intersection along my commute to work is either covered in ice, or covered in cars that have crashed due to ice.  While I wait an hour or two for the city to thaw out, I thought I'd share some figure-drawing sketches I did last night at the Austin Visual Arts Association!  I hope to get back in the habit -- Lord knows I need the practice.