Per Asperam Ad Astra

Omnia Mutantur Nihil Interit

2008-11-10T19:21:00.001-08:00

I just received an email asking
when Tramonto was coming out.
That's a fair question...
not one I'm entirely sure I
have an answer for, but a
fair one none the less.

I should probably change the
name to iteration considering:
Iteration: a procedure in which
repetition of a sequence yields
results successively closer to a
desired result.

because that about sums it up...

here's a version of page 1 that
I never posted on the blog.

Kicking leaves, waiting to fall.

2008-09-26T02:04:00.000-07:00

I don't know, maybe Tramonto
is a seasonal thing. I should
figure it out; it's not something
I've lost interest in...

...it's more like something I'm not
quite sure how to pull off properly.

Technically.

Cobwebbed

2008-09-02T00:37:00.001-07:00

Oh and... it's not blood.

I don't know what happened to the last
two posts.... I must have deleted them
while fucking with the blog settings...

Doesn't matter; those posts feel irrelevant
now anyway. Here's a preliminary drawing.

who, what, where, when, why.

2008-05-14T17:31:00.000-07:00

Things gone and things still here.

2008-04-15T01:18:00.000-07:00

It's my birthday. I'm twenty eight.

It's time for a fresh start. Not a
retcon, but a reboot. A soft reset.
(also a new mp3 in the player)

I'm finally going to set up a
professional/portfolio website
soon as well. So some of the
old art will be there eventually.

See, I'm still lost just like you.

2008-04-13T16:32:00.000-07:00

Here's the other one. I did
not do any color corrections
on this one. I think that these
colors are probably closer to
the actual paintings that the
first pitures colors.

Changes.

2008-04-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

Expect some changes on Tuesday...

See, I'm lost just like you.

2008-04-12T01:03:00.000-07:00

One of the paintings I did for
the second artwalk. There's
a second picture that goes
with this. But I don't feel like
piecing it together right now.

I really need to start making
better use of my time and do
some better work...

This feels so rushed to me.

Even if she can be replicated, she can't be duplicated.

2008-04-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

Despite the complete lack of updates,
I've been busy. Painting a lot, mostly.

Artwalk on Saturday at the gallery.
This is a prelim in the moleskine for
what I'm going to draw today. I am
doing a couple other things as well
that I'll post up when they're done.

This is your warning... your four minute warning.

2008-03-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

(please excuse the really bad photos)

I'm supposed to do a joint show for a
gallery in the near future. But their last
featured artist took his shit early with
no explination, so they asked me to throw
some stuff up in a hurry. These (and a
few prints I had on hand at the moment)
went up, like, an hour after I finished
them... I will properly scan them when I get
them back from the "show". I still would
like to do a proper show with, like, an
opening I can invite people to, you know?

I'm going to do more for them as I guess
this is my show now? No idea. My friend
that I was going to do the joint with has
completely dropped off my radar, so I don't
know where that stands anymore. Shame.

When you say it I can almost see it.

2008-03-06T03:17:00.000-08:00

Adjusted a bit in photoshop...

I can almost see it when you say it.

2008-03-05T02:01:00.000-08:00

Half of art walk. The other half is an
abstract/design panel affair. It is all
mounted on a 20x32 matte board...
I'll post the whole piece once it's done.

You don't even know her name.

2008-02-29T05:16:00.000-08:00

Just working on ideas for larger
originals to show at artwalk. Also
going to do magnets of some stuff
and maybe some small prints...

Once you come to Broad take a right then...

2008-02-25T04:32:00.000-08:00

Adjusted the blacks, painted out the
corners and added the text but it's
from the new Moleskine. You probably
can't see much of the pencil work on
her... not that there's really much to see.

Also, I left myself some room after this
so that I could expand it if I wanted to
at a later date. Not saying I will, but the
possibility exists if I want to take it.

Waiting with bated breath

2008-02-24T03:00:00.000-08:00

Got a new pocket size Moleskine.
Should be painting for artwalk
but I'm fucking around instead.

Idle hands...

2008-02-20T00:42:00.000-08:00

Snow. Title. Birds. Colors.

Now to actually draw it...

As far as moments go...

2008-02-19T20:31:00.000-08:00

Warm up before starting on some
paintings for artwalk, which is in
itself a warm up for the upcoming
gallery show and the month that
Greta and I take the giant hallway
at artwalk. Yes, it's all very exciting.

Better the Devil you know...

2008-02-18T20:45:00.000-08:00

...than the Devil you don't.

Randomly overcome with
the desire to draw a short
Daredevil story. An almost
entirely silent story... shh.

Anyway, in an attempt to
get back to more regular
posting; here's the rough
layout of the first page.

I've lost my fear of falling...

2008-02-17T01:17:00.000-08:00

Preliminary painting.

No idea for colors yet. Don't
want to go red with the wings
again... I know that much.

I'm doing artwalk this month.
Going to do a couple watercolor
pieces for that. @ 15x20.

Going to take the hallway one month
and do a joint show with my friend
Greta in a few months... we're also
going to be doing a joint show at a
local gallery as well. Dates unknown.
These will be big shows... space wise.
I've been wanting to do some larger
paintings for a while now, so this is
a great opportunity to do that. I've
got an idea for a series of paintings
that I'd like to do... I hope that all
comes together in time.

Also? Yes, I'm now on Twitter...
feel free to be a follower

https://twitter.com/r_sail/

Every ending...

2008-02-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

...is a beginning waiting to get back in.

Happy Valentines Day.

(Charcoal and acrylic with a pallet knife.)

Girl...

2008-02-10T00:08:00.000-08:00

I drew a bunch of girls in
t-shirts to work out some
shirt designs that I want to
make, but this one isn't a
very good template so I did
this with it instead.

Also, I am trying to get back
to more regular updates but,
Per Asperam Ad Astra, you know?

Also also, new music in the ipod.
More to come soon-ish. Enjoy.

Tramonto

2008-02-05T04:58:00.000-08:00

Tramonto: Chapter 1, page 6.

It's not quite done, but it won't
really be that different either.

I used an old experiment with
photos that I did for the girl...
she doesn't have to show up
again so I figured I'd give a
one-off homeless piece of
art (that I rather enjoyed) a
place to live... and it is an
important moment, so I felt
needed a little something
extra to sell the lifelessness
of this beautiful young girl.

Enjoy.

Ellipsis

2008-01-30T05:37:00.000-08:00

Tramonto's taken a back seat
to paying work and my personal
life at the moment. I did manage
to do this sketch today... (and all
the fucking colors just washed
out as they usually do...) it's a
Tramonto thing that has been
kicking around in my head for a
while. Just sloppily putting down
the ideas when I get a chance so I
don't forget them... I've got this
stack of images that are like an
ellipsis to the things I'm not finding
the time to get to these days...

Ad Astra

2008-01-20T22:14:00.000-08:00

Here's a sketch I did over dinner
the other night for a piece I'd like
to do... haven't had time to really
do the second panel for it. What
with work and all... I've got a lot
of work to do over the next few
days... I've given up on the idea
of getting any sleep in the near
future... but that's ok. I guess.

Neon noir

2008-01-15T04:51:00.000-08:00

Figuring out how to do neon signs for
Tramonto... I'm just in-fucking-love
with the lighting that neons allow. I'd
love to figure out how to do some edge
lighting that looks like this short film...

[watch or download mpeg4 version here...]

I love that look of a street at night when
really all you can see is the neon polution
of signs that hover over our heads. Think
Blade Runner... that's the excess that I am
thinking about. We'll see...

Tramonto.

2008-01-08T16:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, so fuck it, you know?
Maybe Tramonto is a lot
like City of Glass, but I
haven't read it so I'm just
going to do my little book
anyway and not concern
myself with it anymore.

Here's a random panel.
And yes, it's the same
guy as the image below...
I've got to fix the face in
that one because they do
not look the same at all.

Nonplussed

2008-01-01T15:39:00.000-08:00

Nonplussed. That's the one word
that really sums me up these days,
so that's the name for now. It will
change when I change and continue
to change as I do or until I find the
perfect name... or something.

Above is a pic from Tramonto... this
is one of the working versions I have...
I've since dropped the background
and I think it looks better, but the
page isn't done yet (due to my being
nonplussed) and this version stands
alone better. Speaking of Tramono:

I'm a fan of David Mazzucchelli. I like
his work a great deal, but I've never
come across a copy of City of Glass.
While looking for it online I discovered
that Tramonto is almost a complete
copy of City of Glass... in every way.
Again, I've never even looked at a copy
of City of Glass, but apparently I'm
doing the exact same book. So, now
I'm at a loss as to what to say, think,
or do (nonplussed much?). As such
I've paused work on Tramonto for the
time being while I reassess the situation.
Sorry for another delay in making a
fucking comic already. I've got a fun
short that I should be done with soon
so I'll post that up when it's ready.

Also? I'm not doing any resolutions
this year. I didn't manage but one
of my art resolutions from last year,
so what's the fucking point? There
really isn't one beyond the imminent
disappointment anyway... and thank
you, but I'm going to pass this year.

So that's the current status quo...

Happy New Year!

...and forever

2007-12-28T23:52:00.000-08:00

I need to paint more. I haven't felt
like I've had the time or energy for
it lately... but I need to make that
time, even if it's just shit like this...
which I rather like as a composition
(And for it's lack of technical concern.).

Also, it's time for the blog's new name...

X-Mas 07

2007-12-25T00:08:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone has a good
time unwrapping their gifts!

I've been going through the
5-disc Blade Runner box set...
it's an exhausting amount of
material. The Final Cut is the
most amazing restoration I've
ever seen. Just gorgeous. It's
good to see this important of
a film finally get the treatment
it deserves. Well worth the wait.

Happy holidays, everyone!

The Dress

2007-12-17T18:22:00.000-08:00

I love you less now that I know you.

I was only fucking around but still...
Just a colossal failure in almost every
regard, but I still kind of like it for
some reason. I guess it's the first
and last panels... What those panels
alone say about it is enough for me.

Tools of the Trade

2007-12-09T00:43:00.001-08:00

For anyone wondering here is my most
important tools for the art making.

Paint/ink Brushes:

A putty knife that, yes, I use to paint.

At the top is some random piece of
shit brush that I use for most of my
brushed inking. This is one of the
most important pieces in my arsenal.
The secret, I think, is that I've never
once cleaned the ink from it. Ever.

Next is your standard watercolor/acrylic
brush. I use them in all sizes for inking,
and for watercolor, so yeeah, I have got
A LOT of these fuckers lying about.

Then a cheap ass piece of shit sumi
brush, only in large sizes because they
are cheaper than anything else that
size, but work rather well for washes.

A small oil brush, again, for inking.

A large acrylic brush. I have several
of these in various sizes that I use
for acrylics and only acrylics.

Pens:

Rotring Calligraphy pen that I only
use for large final pieces.

A pentel fountain pen.

Copic Markers. I've got a few of these.
Mostly in varying ranges of black.

A white ink pen. And a Bic White Out
sqeeze pen, but I almsot never use that.
I've got another white ink pen that I like
a lot more, but I can't find it or think of
what it is at the moment. Oh well.

Microns. I love Microns. They're cheap
and they work great for less important
drawings... but I use them in most of my
final work too. I generally ink everything
with a small Micron first basically just as
a foundation over the light pencils I've
light boxed fromt he sketch. I use most
variety of these things. People knock on
them, but god help me, I adore them.

Last, but certainly not least, the 2H pencil.
It all starts here folks. And the Staedtler
Mars plastic eraser. I don't use the gum
erasers... never liked them. Truth, though?
Half the time I don't even erase the pencils.

I'm always trying new things, but these are
the tried and true I couldn't create without.

mock ups

2007-12-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

A photoshop sketch mock up
for a mock up painting that I
am going to do as a mock up
for the final, and much larger
painting. I dunno... it's like
she's liquid, but dripping up
instead of down. Intended to
be a bit unsettling and surreal.
I guess that's the idea. But it
doesn't really look like that so
much here, does it? I like the
figure at least. But I am just
completely at a loss for colors.

Oh well, I'm jsut trying to get
back in the swing of posting
more often than not, even if it
isn't on a daily basis.

解剖学

2007-11-29T01:24:00.000-08:00

I did this a while back as a
cover idea for the square
art book... I did this using
photos and drawing... but
I never figured out how to
finish it with it all feeling
the same. So none of the
wires and cables I wanted
are included here. Though,
I do like it's clean and simple
design without them...

No.

It really needs some wires...

Maybe someday.

I uploaded that Burial song
"Shell of Light". At 3:30 the
entire thing drops out and
fades away... I fucking love it.

Dear, Daily...

2007-11-20T16:53:00.000-08:00

I just don't have the time to give
you the attention you need anymore.

It's not you, it's me. I need change.
I feel that a stigma has developed
from trying to keep up with you.
You live so fast and free. Moments
become memories in the blink of
an eye. I'm changing dates in an
effort to keep up with you. I've been
living a lie and I can't keep doing it.

Putting you first means putting me
second, and I can't keep pretending
that's what I want from my life. You
deserve someone who want's the
same things as you and that just isn't
me anymore. I hope you understand.
People change and grow apart.

Who knows, maybe we'll look out
there at that big, bright, beautiful
world and realize that we are meant
for each other. But I'm going through
a trasitional period in my life and it's
not fair to keep stringing you along
pretending that everything's the same
when it so clearly isn't. I'm not saying
we can't see each other from time to
time, and I hope we can still be friends
at least. I know it'll be hard at first,
but I care too much about you to lose
you over this. I've always loved you.

And I will always love you.

Sail

So, yeah...

I'm going to change the name of
the blog... gotta keep the same url
as the new templates completely
suck and I like my set up here...
but 'daily' just isn't right anymore.
So, anyway, it's 'Occasional Drawing'
from here on until 2008. After that?
Well, I don't yet know... but something.

Maybe I'll go back to Daily, maybe not.

But, don't expect much for a while.

Semper

2007-11-16T04:57:00.000-08:00

All work and no play
makes sail a dull boy.

Trying to draw in my
brief moments of down
time at work... keeps
the muscle memory up.
Even if just scribbles.

Stars and Stripes

2007-11-09T11:13:00.000-08:00

In an effor to be more daily
about this, here's a thing that,
except for her face (which is
complete shit!) I rather like.

Project rooftop is doing a
Wonder Woman costume
redesign that I'm thinking
about... I really don't want
the giant statue of Wondy,
but it's a costume that I've
never understood. Isnt' she
an Amazon woman of Greek
descent? Why's she decked
out in some overly patriotic
American flag costume?

I've been toying with it in my
head, but I don't know if I'll
actually bother sending in
anything for the contest.

Untrue

2007-11-08T03:06:00.000-08:00

Not a cover really, just
a piece of promo art.

The last minute of Burial's
'Shell of Light' from the
'Untrue' record is fucking
brilliant. It's this perfect
little section of sound that
happens so fast and is gone
so quickly that it becomes a
memory before it's even over.

Tramonto

2007-11-04T01:38:00.000-07:00

Basically the cover for the
first chapter of Tramonto...
It's not completely done
and I wish I used a brush
but print is pretty far off,
so I can redo it should the
spirit move me.

I started a Tramonto blog.
I'm going to post the complete
first chapter there so it can
be read in order and not get
lost in the archives.

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T15:19:00.000-07:00

Get lots of candy! Get drunk!
Smash pumpkins! Egg a house!
(no bag snatching, that's fucked
up, man!) Have a quiet night at
home watching halloween episodes
of tv shows and giving out candy to
kids! Whatever you're doing, have a
happy Halloween, everyone!

雪覆日没

2007-10-30T00:29:00.000-07:00

Far too long without an update.

I should probably change the
name of this blog, yes?

Here's an image from Tramonto.
It isn't done but, I thougt it stood
alonerather well. A lot of Tramonto
will be like that. The 9-panel grid
seems to lend itself to splash pages
and larger images. There'll be some
straight up 9 panel pages too, but
they're not as fun to show off.

Dunno if I'm going to do artwalk
this month after all, and I don't
know where it stands after this
month either. Situations change
and I'm always the last to know
the new status quo. Whatever.

Headphones

2007-10-24T03:44:00.001-07:00

Here's one of the other headphone
girls... I'm not sure if I consider this
a final image or not. It wasn't really
intended to be... Kinda sloppy... even
for me. I might add some building
along the bottom to even it out.

Also? http://moleskineproject.com

fourth post down at the
time of this posting.
I'm sure they'll post
anyone's work, but it's
still fun.

Artwalk Oct.

2007-10-23T14:35:00.001-07:00

I think we're doing artwalk this
month after skipping the last
two months... but I don't know
if everyone else is going to do
anything, or just talk about it.

I've got to figure out what I'm
doing... in case the others do
decide to get it together...

we'll see.

Where do we go from here?

2007-10-22T01:07:00.000-07:00

Blogger's been giving me errors
when I try to upload, and I always
forget to use photobucket...

Anyway, I haven't done anything
for the CBI contest. I want to, and
you know, get some work seen by
an editor, as there are a few watching
the play at home thread... but fuck
if I have any interest in drawing the
scripts they're using. I don't want
to draw a naked woman fighting a
helicopter, and even though I thought
I did, as soon as I started thumbnails
...I lost all interest in drawing some
guys high school life. I don't have an
interest in drawing my own time in
high school, let alone C.B. Cebulski's.

There isn't any room in these scritps
to go nuts or be very artistic... not
outside of normal comic book artistic
anyway. Well, not without showing
a complete disregard for the writers
script. Which probably isn't going
to impress anyone. Either way, it's
just not interesting to me lately.
Once I've got the first bit of Tramonto
done (and it might take more than the
first 'chapter') I think you'll see what
I'm talking about. I've been working
too much so I haven't got much done
on that outside of mock ups... but
at least with that, once I've got the
mock ups done, I want to do the finals
and see it in all its finished glory.

So, if I did buckle down and draw
some pages for CBI, and let's say
an editor liked them and contacted
me, I'd just end up doing more work
like that... and I don't think I want to
do that. I want to do my own stuff.
Even if it never takes me anywhere.
I just want to be true to myself and
my vision... whihc feels really, really
pretentious to say but, hell, maybe
I'm jsut a pretentious guy. If so, I
want to be true to myself there too.

I'm in love with Tramonto. I hope it
comes together like I see it in my head
and on the mock pages. I hope other
people like it as much as I do...

Soon. I hope.

Women in art and comics

2007-10-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

I don't have any art to show today
but I posted some general stuff
over at Greg Ruth's message board
the other day and apparently it was
met with a bit of discomfort by some
women and maybe men, I don't know
who or how many but I found it strange
that anyone took issue with the content
of my art. Granted, it was a string of
pictures featuring the ladies, some of
them in the nude... but if you're reading
this, that's not really news to you.

The majority of emails I get about
my work are from women. Most of
the people I talk to about my work
at artwalk are women. Most of the
prints I've sold have been to women.
Half of the people in the studio I show
with at artwalk are women, and they've
never had issue with what I do either.

Women seem to like what I do and don't
view it as objectification. Granted, that's
in the context of art and I suppose that
at Greg's message board it's in the context
of comics which has a different history
of objectifying women, so I can understand...
I guess. Anyway, Greg and I talked about
it to some extent in private and decided
to take it to the public. Head over and
check out the conversation. Chime in
if you've got something to say about it. It's
only just started, and I've yet to say anything.
I'm going to try to later tonight. Now, I'm
not asking for you to come to my defence
here, because that's not the issue, and I have
no real issue with what's happened. So, let's
talk about the role women have taken in art
and comics, and not my work specifically...
unless it comes up. You'll have to register,
but it's a pretty painless process. I promise.

The pieces that were a problem (now removed
from my post) are here here here here and here.

Now, I can't lie, I'm a fan of drawing the
ladies... often nude. I suppose at one
point I was perhaps a little concerned with
how that would be taken, but at this point
in time I've gotten enough positive responses
from women that it's no longer a concern of
mine. But maybe it should be?

So, if you have something specific to say about
me and my work, do it here or to me through
my email. If you've got something to say about
the topic in general, say it at Greg's board.

Thanks. Gotta run.

In Reds

2007-10-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

Just warming up and what
not... I dunno... comics are
exhausting work. I don't
want to come off like I am
bitching about it or anything
because I like it, but it kills
the desire to do anything in
addition to that work... and
I'm just not ready to show any
of the Tramonto stuff yet.

Anyway, fucking Radiohead
really hit it out of the park
with In Rainbows. It's just
on constant repeat... with
occasional breaks to listen
to a Swedish Jazz Trio (E.S.T.)

Music is important to my comic.
There's some casual references
to songs and what not, but mainly
it sets a mood for me and keeps
me in the right place which keeps
the comic in the right place.

Tramonto beta

2007-10-10T00:26:00.000-07:00

Digging back, this is the
original shit right here.
(complete with really bad
dialog and everything.)
Testing the style I had in
my head. I never went
back and drew in the
backgrounds...

Ladies and Gentlemen
they are floating in space.

Also, the new Radiohead
record is really fucking
good. I'll upload my
favorite track tomorrow
when I have one.

Tramonto v.1

2007-10-09T01:26:00.000-07:00

I never ended up posting
the bits of Tramonto that
I originally did. This is the
opening page. It's pretty
much the same now, but
on a nine panel grid.

The characters in the top
panel are place holders.
I never ended up drawing
them properly and I never
finihsed the bottom panel
either... pretend.

Grid Action!

2007-10-03T22:31:00.000-07:00

And now to keep me in the
head space of making comics
everything must be sequential
in some form or another...

oh and I'm skipping artwalk
this month. So, nothing there.
Still need good pics of the stuff
from the August show.

9 panel grid

2007-10-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

I love 9 panel grids. 12 and
16 too, but not like I love 9.

I want to do Tramonto on a
9 panel grid... like, all of it.
Granted, there's quite a lot
of wiggle room in there, so
it's not like it'll be 9 panels
every page, but every page
will start from the grid and
go from there. I like all the
pacing options it allows me.

Here's part of one with the
important bits taken out. I
don't want to spoil anything.

S(hit)ketch

2007-09-28T16:17:00.001-07:00

Just a warm up I did last night
when I got home. It was better
before I raped it with the white
ink and then promptly re inked
over it as much as I could...
but I couldn't paint over it. Eh.

Trying to finish two Tramonto
pages today/tomorrow for the
CBI thing so I can show that I'm
just mostly talk and not all talk.

Tramonto

2007-09-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

I haven't been sitting on my ass
doing nothing, but I've not got
much to show for my time either.

I started working on Tramonto
again for CBI after everything
else just wasn't turning out the
way I wanted, but, I'm having a
hell of a time figuring out how
to approach the art in a way that
works for everything I want to do
with the story now. I've got a few
ideas, but I can't physically execute
all of them at the moment, which
leaves me trying alternate routes
to no avail...

I'd really love to paint the entire
thing with watercolor and ink but
I don't think that's at all realistic.

Deadlines...

2007-09-18T00:26:00.000-07:00

Still working on my submission
for Comic Book Idol... and taking
way way way to fucking long. I'll
never make a five day deadline at
this pace. Artwalk is just around
the corner... I've had two months,
there is no excuse. None. I am
going back to the headphone girls
for Artwalk this month. Here is
the line art from one of them.

I also have to figure out how to
do light painting for a photographer
friend and that's due in November.

I also also need to learn Illustrator
in a bad way for a lot of reasons.

lumière une

2007-09-15T05:35:00.000-07:00

Up far too late working on
pages. I'm trying to get a
few of the Terminal pages
together for the CBI thing...

I really should have done
something that contains
more than one person.

Really.

Pushing up daisies

2007-09-13T04:33:00.000-07:00

Don't have any finished pages yet
as I seem to work on them in stages.
I guess to keep page four or five
from looking better than page one.
This is something I fucked around
with waiting for paintings to dry...

Many happy returns

2007-09-12T16:59:00.000-07:00

A lot of gaffers tape, and a sweat shirt
later we're back in business... it seems
to be sturdy enough. Let's hope anyway.

This is the computer desk where I do, uh...
computer work. Speakers on either side
of the monitor, scanner to the left, and
stacks of sketch books and all manner
of random loose papers, empty cigarette
packs, pens, markers and CDs to the right.

Disaster...

2007-09-11T18:16:00.001-07:00

Awww fucking mother fucker fuck... FUCK!!!
I do not have the money to deal with this.
There goes the comic book idol competition.
What the Fuck?!? It just slid back on the leg,
and fucking snapped off. It's never given me
a single problem, and then this. Fuck.

A rose by another...

2007-09-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

EDIT: The white space on the
right is not colored yet, but
will be.... this is incomplete.

This is the panel that follows
the one I posted before. I've
completely redrawn the page
and it looks much better now.
Alterations have been made
to the story, and the panel that
came before. I'll post it when
it's done, but I'm stalling on
drawing the rose... as it didn't
read as well as it should on the
last attempt.

This is a color and texture test
for the dress and the tears. I
think the tears stand out better
now, but I don't like that color.
I still don't know about the color.
The dress feels a bit too pink.
I do know that this is all taking
me far to fucking long and I'm
not sure I have any right entering
a contest that has such intense
deadlines. But come hell or high
water I'm going to finish this story
and throw it up there. At most
someone important might see it and
think I'm good. At least, this has
been an eye opening experience.

A rose by any other...

2007-09-08T01:19:00.000-07:00

A single panel out of context
from one of the shorts I am
doing for Comic Book Idol's
submission round.

Honest opinions here...

Please. Thank you.

Comic Book Idol

2007-09-06T18:41:00.000-07:00

Jonathan Hickman is encouraging
me to enter the Comic Book Idol
contest that's going on over at
www.comicbookresources.com

So, I'm going to try to get some
shit done for that so I can fall
on my face in the public eye.

I'll let you know (as well as post
them here) when my samples are
up. I'll expect you all to vote for
me... assuming I make the finals
and actually manage to meet the
deadlines each week. Shudder.

(some art later)

Feathers and Furs

2007-09-04T04:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates
but I'm spending more time
on bigger things. I think I
often rush myself for the sake
of the daily blog thing, but it
leaves me without much in
the way of finished work.

I need to work longer and
bigger on better ideas.

So this is something I started on
today. I did a bunch of painting
and now I get to do a bunch of
assembling. I have no idea how
I'm going to do those wings. I
want to get a bunch of real
feathers, so I can paint those
fuckers right onto canvas paper.
It'll look awesome if I do that.
But now I have to figure out
where I'm going to get the
feathers in the right sizes...

... without killing a bird, of course.

Nightwing

2007-09-01T01:06:00.000-07:00

I dunno, whatever, but it was
fun drawing a superhero for
a change... and a challenge.

I'd love to do covers as a job
someday, but I'm not there yet.

Sequential scribbles...

2007-08-30T15:09:00.000-07:00

Just mucking about with
sequentials. Trying to get
used to drawing the same
character over and over and
over and over. Not really
concerned with the quality
of the drawings here as
much as the identifiability
of the basic character design

Also, talking heads are a bit
boring, but simple enough,
so I thought I'd start there.

Though, to be honest, I'm
less and less interested in
traditional pages like this
with each passing day. I
want to play with the page
and see what it can really do.
Push it places most people
aren't. Fuck the beats. Let's
get ambient... tonal... and
experimental, like people
were, say, fucking, thirty years
ago. Which seems almost all
but forgotten these days in
favor of 4 or 5 wide panels
per page. BORING!

But I should probably put my
pages where my mouth is.

PUNKS!

2007-08-29T22:53:00.001-07:00

Probably still a few days out
from a proper update. Life,
work and what not.

Until then, PUNKS The Comic
came out today, and you really
should go out and buy it.

It's got art by the pretty fucking
awesome Kody Chamberlain
who, amazingly enough, didn't
use photoshop to put the pages
together, and regardless of the
story or style, is a comic willing
to step outside of the comic art
norm, so it deserves your support
so that more comics as original
as this can happen. Buy it.

Preview and more info here.

eh...

2007-08-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

I'm probably not going to manage
any updates here for a day or so.

-----------------------------------

I'm pretty unhappy with that last
drawing and I certainly don't want
to base an entire page around it.
That frustration has led me to move
on to something else for a moment.
Sometimes you have to walk away
before you can come back.

I'll try to get something up but, I'm
just worn the fuck out right now.

ジュピター inks

2007-08-25T22:44:00.000-07:00

I'm turning the concept from
the last few posts into a short
comic story. I spent today
planning out some pages and
doing some inking. Here is
what the inks look like pre
photoshop. I'll upload one
of the full pages tomorrow.

ジュピター 2

2007-08-24T21:19:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to keep doing
these and see where it goes.
I don't expect it to make any
sense, but I don't care either.

ジュピター

2007-08-23T17:45:00.000-07:00

Another quick scribble today
as I spent all day working on a
remix of a Blonde Redhead song.

I'll let you know when it's done
so you can go vote for me on
their site. I have no idea what
the winner gets or if there is a
'winner', but vote for me anyway.

冷たいライト

2007-08-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

Just a scribble today.
I actually did the panel
freehand with a brush.
It's all very exciting.

Home is where the art is 3

2007-08-21T23:48:00.000-07:00

This is my painting table.
I like to paint on a flat
surface. It allows me to
build up a lot of water with
out it running all over the
place.

This isn't where I do any
drawing yet, so there isn't
my pen army all over the
place or stacks of paper...
but that might change.

Jigsaw

2007-08-20T23:18:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid my dad did
a painting on a jigsaw puzzle.
It was pretty fucking bad ass.
You couldn't take it apart or
anything but, you could see
that it was a jigsaw puzzle.

I always wanted to steal that
idea. So I am. Different use
of the same idea. I'm going
to see if I can find a blank one
that's big enough. And the
piece where her heart is will
be taken out.

I spent all day moving more
shit. I'm tired. This shitty
sketch is all I have the energy
for. But I got a pretty cool
Cigar humidifier/case/thing.
It's pretty nice. I'm going to
use it for storing all my paints
at the main painting station I
have in the corner where I
get lots of light.

Awesome.

Sleep.

Home is where the art is 2

2007-08-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

I've got a bunch of pencils for
paintings laying around the
desk but nothing done or worth
showing, so here's some more
mock ups for the series I'm doing
for my dining room. I think it's
going to look pretty cool.

Punisher

2007-08-18T03:33:00.000-07:00

Just for shits and giggles.

I wanted to avoid the hand
holding a gun... but, the
more I look at it, the more
I feel like it needs it. I dunno.

Home is where the art is

2007-08-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

I want to do a series of images
based around eating and drinking
to put on my dining room wall.

All black and white with red
elements and backgrounds.

This was jsut a mock up to see
if it would look good painted,
but I think digital colors will
look smoother. Also, once I'd
started inking it I realised I had
used a picture of those chopsticks
that are connected at the top for
idiots who can't manage to use
real chopsticks. The real image
will be real chopsticks, of course.

Inking

2007-08-16T04:40:00.000-07:00

Working on my inking skills.

Using all the tools I have at my
disposal in stead of just a few.
I did this pretty large to give
myself more room to ink in
details. She ain't perfect but
I'm happy with it. Though, the
bristol warped and it fucked up
my ability to get scans that I
can piece together... so it's a
bit off but fuck it, I'm done.

Final smoke

2007-08-15T01:39:00.001-07:00

Kinda blew it with the red
on the second page there.
I guess I tried to emulate
the marker scribble instead
of using watercolor like, well...
watercolor. I've never had
much luck with red watercolor.

And yes, her hair is the wrong
direction in the last panel.

Oh well... only the phoenix
arises and does not descend.

Smoke up

2007-08-14T03:49:00.000-07:00

I ususally do a quick mock up
with the moleskine paintings.
To get a feel for the layout test
colors and see if it all works.
I ended up going a different
route with this one then what's
here. I haven't finished this one
yet, but I think that I like this
more... in all it's sharpie
scribbled glory. Something
about that last open panel.
I might change it back... I dunno.
I'll post the final tomorrow.

___________________________________________

Mike Weiringo passed away
on Sunday from a heart attack.
He was only 44. R.I.P., Mike.
You were a brilliant talent and
you are already missed.

The four

2007-08-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

Here's a crappy picture of the
four ink drawings I did for the
Artwalk. I ended up mounting
them on a giant piece of black
foam core. I think it looks nice.

I can't scan them, as they're on
there pretty good, but I'll get my
cousin to take some good pictures
of them eventually.

女性

2007-08-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

So, I decided to do a large
painting today. I didn't try
to control it at all. I just sort
of let it happen on it's own.
I completely painted over my
pencils, and had to ink based
solely on the shading... a bit off.

This is what the actual painting
looks like. Just a straight scan.

Then I fucked around with it a bit
in Photoshop, for better or worse.

救助

2007-08-09T22:55:00.000-07:00

Just fucking about
some more with the
landscape format
and sequentials.

The colors turned
a blue/grey in the
scan, but I painted
them as a greenish
grey... too lazy to
color correct it.

I'll probably spend
most of this month
filling the moleskine
with ideas and working
out the kinks, and then
launch into a series of
large watercolor paintings.

Returned

2007-08-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

I am returned. And I have brought with me much
faster internet than I had before. It's pretty sweet.

From the new landscape watercolor moleskine I've
started during my move. This is the exact middle
spread of the book... though, I fucked up and did
it upside down. Eh. So, interlude in life, internet,
blog, and book. The landscape format is really fun.
It's a challenge to figure out interesting ways to
utilise a space I'm not at all familliar with.

Also, I'm going to start deciding what I'm going
to put in my art book, and get that out soon here.

So, if there's anything you want to see in it, speak up,
either comment or email. I think I'm going to ditch the
square format, and go with a larger 8 1/2x11"!

Vertical

2007-08-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

*Updated*

I've Been painting
in my watercolor
moleskine... and
thats about it.

*added a scan in
place of the crap
photo...*

Epilogue

2007-08-03T12:43:00.001-07:00

Somehow I managed to not
eat at all yesterday, and that
led to the alcohol kicking my
ass. So, yeah, got drunk and
forgot to take more pictures.

Anyway, after I shut the comp
down in a minute here it'll be
all cellphone pics until I get
internet set up. Probably a few
days before I even get back to
doing any drawing.

2007-08-02T22:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry... I got Drunk... shit its a dance party

2007-08-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

The street out front

2007-08-02T20:22:00.000-07:00

It picks up

2007-08-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

The stairs... Up and down and up and down

2007-08-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

The studio is Fucking packed... Thats my cousin paul in the blue

2007-08-02T19:26:00.000-07:00

Not crazy yet... We'll see where it goes

2007-08-02T18:20:00.001-07:00

My cousin pauls stuff in the studio... This photo really doesnt do them justice

2007-08-02T18:08:00.001-07:00

Second wall and the dj setting up

2007-08-02T18:06:00.001-07:00

My main wall with the outer two by cindy apple @ cindyappple.com

Art Walk August 07

2007-08-02T12:45:00.000-07:00

Updates will start later.

I'll try to get around and show off
some of the cool artists there. If
I find any. It can be hit and miss.
There's one guy whos stuff I like,
but he's a fucking tool. Too bad.

I'm going to use the highest
resolution my camera has, so
pics will be giant blurs of pixels...

Enjoy!

(At some point, I'm going to move
all of these posts over to the artwalk
blog instead, so as not to clutter up
this blog.)

Edit:
Artwalk blog is my other blog where
I post all of the art walk pieces it's here.

Hanging.

2007-08-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

it begins...

Portraits 2

2007-08-01T12:07:00.000-07:00

Here's three of the four paintings I
did today for artwalk. The fourth
is a bit too warped from all the ink,
so it didn't photograph well... even
worse than the one at the bottom.
Not that any of these are 'good'
photos, per se, but at least it isn't
from my cell phone, right? The
scanner is unhooked so, my bad
photo skills is the best option now.

I'll get my photographer cousin to
take some good photos of these
and the flower girl thing later with
his awesome Canon 5D!

I'm just glad to be done with my
stuff for artwalk. I might do a fifth
image to go with these. We'll see.

Portraits.

2007-07-31T04:56:00.001-07:00

I just dont have the time or energy to finish
the fan girl series. It's just too much right now.
I'm about ready to bleed all over some bristle
board for art walk and call it a fucking day. But,
instead I'm going to bust out some portraits like
this one (which is too big to scan, and I'm not in
the mood to piece it together) because that
should be easy. 5 in a day? No problem.

Great, coz I've got enough problems right now.

Fin

2007-07-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

And that's pretty much it. Fix/add a few
hair lines, another once over with the
black matte paint so the levels of black
are even, glue the petals back on and
I'm done. Unfourtunately, there is no
way I'm going to be able to do the
second one in time.

Considering I never work this large I'm
pretty happy with how it came out. I
suppose I could make a few complaints
about it, but what's done is done and
I'm moving on. Now to finish the fan
girl stuff. Ugh. I'm tired of inking.

Also, I'll post a decent picture (instead
of a shit cell phone pic) of this once it's
done done.

Slow

2007-07-29T22:37:00.000-07:00

Ive had a terrible headache all day thats
slowed me down considerably and caused
me to make a few mistakes... and I should
probably quit while im ahead. You might
notice several of the petals have fallen off
now. I'll have to glue them back on.

Paper

2007-07-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

Got the paper and its not as fragile
as i thought and it takes ink with
minimal bleeding so i can just ink
right on it, which is the best news
ive had today. On second thought,
I think I'll use a black matte paint I
have instead of ink... I'm tired of ink.

James Jean: Process Recess 2 is out
now and I NEED that fucking book.

August Art Walk

2007-07-27T17:04:00.000-07:00

Here's the postcard we did up for
the August Art Walk. It's the big
show for Studio O2 where we get
the entire hallway of the floor we're
on. I'm supposed to hand these
out to friends and what not. I'm
going to digitally hand it out to
you here on the blog. I know you
can't actually come, but...

...don't forget that I'll be doing live
Art Walk updates with photos from
my phone. So, tune in here on
Thursday August 2nd @ around 5pm
Pacific Time to see what happens at
Art Walk. Updates will go until I'm
too drunk to do it anymore!

Now back to inking,

Musique

2007-07-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

Updated music player with an iPod
skin... like I wanted from the start.

Added a song called... well, 'Songe'.
It's good. Listen to it. Love it.

Player seems to take a minute to
get a song started, but it does work.

Is anyone even using the thing?