007

Savonnah the Forlorn.

006

005

Zell Dincht. Final Fantasy VIII.

004

Blank. Final Fantasy IX.

003

002

Bateau.
I'll do him again.
I'll do him better.
HATE the ponytail.

001

Here we go.

2011, It's Like 2010 But with a 1 at the End!

So another year, another "who fucking cares?"

Wow. Crass. That was crass. It's the beginning of the year, and even by writing about 2011 I'm buying into the bullshit of "starting over" by contributing a journal like many others have posted before me (and with sweeter sentiments), so what am I complaining about really? Most if not all of us counted down aloud or in our mind to midnight as the ball dropped in Times Square with a little "LIVE" in the corner of the tv even though not all of us live on the east coast and so then the "LIVE" is just perplexing and insincere because it's being rebroadcast, so in the end I guess it's pretty much ingrained in our culture that the beginning of the year is a time of resolutions and rebirths and reboots, and I'm no different than anyone else. Oh, I guess it's also the start of a new decade that VH1 will do a show about, asking us if we remember it before it's even fucking over.

"I wonder what 2011 will be like?"

Well, what was the 31st of December like? And what was today like? Now just throw in the usual tragedy, disappointment, loss, gain, pleasantness and triumphs (like how I started that with negative things then switched to their positive counterparts?) It's like the Dude said, "Oh, you know, strikes and gutters, ups and downs." Re: Life.

So really we're all excited because the future looks bright because it's not here yet— beating us to a pulp with the weight of all our worries and throwing terribly inconvenient curveballs, all while wearing the drabbest grey because it's the present now— and ultimately it all boils down to the fact that we get to write "11" on our bill payments and our artwork instead of "10", and we're all a little closer to the end. I mean come on, for some this will be their last year; they'll never get to see 2012 and THEN get to find out whether or not the Mayans were full of shit (SPOILER! they were, they are. or not. who cares?). Of course, others will live for many many New Years Eves to come. Strikes = The latter. Gutters = the other thing.

But of course even that isn't an entirely correct sentiment, because really the start of a new year is just like any holiday we observe- it's a time where we concentrate our efforts on one particular aspect of something we should be doing all the time anyway if we knew what was good for us. Christmas = giving. New Years = Bettering ourselves, setting goals and being hopeful and unwavering in our pursuits. We should always be doing these things, not just when the calendar tells us it is time. (But boy, that is tiring, isn't it? If only there were more hours in the day, amirite?). I guess what I'm saying is... fuck tradition?

Ultimately, OF COURSE, I'm a hypocrite (WHO ISN'T?!). Earlier tonight I made a checklist to print out and map my day as an unemployment-insurance-collecting "comic artist." Tradition dictated I do so! What was I supposed to do? NOT observe the notion to try and be less of a lay-about piece of shit? Oh, I'm all over that with tasks like "exercise" and "read" and "go for a walk" and "smoke less" and "job hunt more" and "how about some sit ups" and all that shit. "Draw more. Like CRAZY more, because seriously, what are you doing?" I have no idea. Talking to myself? Talking to myself.

Enh. Happy New Year.

.

4 Slips of Paper 03

*SIGH* From left to right: Falkor the Luckdragon, Seraphimera (original character), Rorschach, Samus Aran, and Daredevil.

A note on Falkor-
I am not a fan of Neverending Story. The movie scared me. I was too young. Hated lightning. All I understood was the stupid book was connected to the lightning, and that kid kept fucking with the book and I was like, "I'm done." I have NO idea how Falkor wound up on a slip of paper.

Kate Kane/Batwoman

Movember 2010

This gif chronicles my mustache growth for the 30 days of November, also known as Movember, where people grow mustaches to raise awareness and donations for prostate and testicular cancer.

Well, What Are You Waiting For?

Four Slips of Paper 02

From left to right: Madman (Image), Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII), Mario & Shy Guys (Super Mario Bros.), and the sorceress Edea (Final Fantasy VIII). ("Mario & Shy Guy" was on one slip of paper)

Four Slips of Paper

Three years ago when I first moved to CA and was living with my sister in Long Beach I wrote down a bunch of characters' names on slips of paper and put them in a bowl. I would have my sister pull one out and I drew and colored whatever random character she picked. I drew three and stopped. The slips of paper have sat in an ashtray ever since then.

I've been having artist's block(?) lately, so today I grabbed four slips of paper and drew whatever characters I picked into my moleskin with one thing in mind- Don't worry about it. Make it work.

The four characters in this instance actually gel together pretty well. I've already picked the next four, and they're a little more of an eclectic bunch (UNDERSTATEMENT). So yes, I'll be doing more of these.

From left to right: Laguna Loire (Final Fantasy VIII), Glenn (Chrono Cross), Teekl & Klarion (DC) and Kamandi (DC).

Lantern Eddie

Was warming up today and drew my character Eddie as a Green Lantern. He is not a very responsible nor heroic individual, so it tickles me to see him striking this pose in GL garb.

The circle discs on his feet are a nod to Mister Miracle, because I LOVE THOSE DISCS. I know GLs don't really need those to fly around. We'll just pretend Eddie doesn't know exactly how the ring works, ok?

I guess this is a 2-day late Halloween-ish thing, now that I think about it.

Frog Scout

This was a drawing I did back in late 2007 for the now abandoned Gonzo Smartfruit blog that my roommate Dan Duncan and I were posting to. We would take turns coming up with assignments that we would both do. The blog didn't last long, as I would fall behind in our assignments because at the time I was unemployed and desperately looking for a job, and I was not drawing much. The drawing started reminding me of an ex-girlfriend, which was distressing, so I stopped wanting to work on it, and did.

Three years later, I found the old sketch I did (the sheet of tracing paper taped on top of it where I was reworking the anatomy and everything), and decided to finish it. I'm on friendly terms with my ex and things are ok on that front, so I fully embraced the resemblance aspect that initially distressed me and decided to go for her likeness 100%. And so I did. The end.

What a great story, right? Very exciting.

No colors yet, but I do plan on coloring it. I'll be doing some digitally painted jungle scenery in the background, and I intended for there to be rain drizzling down (it being a rainforest), which is also why the rider has that expression on her face (she loves the rain and it's cooling her down).

Here are the original pencils from '07 that you can find over on Gonzo Smartfruit—

PIN-UP - "The Call Shot"

My pin-up for Mark Andrew Smith's upcoming graphic novel, Sullivan's Sluggers.

I must say, this wasn't the palette/color scheme I planned on AT ALL when I drew it. It was going to be all warm colors of yellow and orange, it wasn't going to be nighttime, there wasn't going to be a super-blue lighting effect, etc, etc, etc. But when it came down to it, I made it nighttime, and everything kind of fell in line behind that choice.

It reminds me of Star Wars, which isn't the feel of the actual book at all... AT ALL.

Bonus! Here are the inks and the breakdown sketch-

My First Ever 24 Hour Comic Book

Happy (Belated) 24 Hour Comic Book Day

I just participated in my very first 24 Hour Comic Book Day. I was not able to complete the story I did breakdowns for when the clock started ticking. I ran out of time after page 6. I had to wrap it up with 16 splash pages featuring a stick figure. Yeesh. Drawing 22 pages of narrative with pencils and inks and letters and no nap-breaks is a rough time. It definitely teaches you to prioritize!

I had a lot of fun though, and I definitely want to do it again. I would like to actually finish the breakdowns I did, so maybe I'll do a 16-page comic in 24 hours? Or maybe two 8-page comics in two different blocks of 24 hours. Either way, really. (But really, it should all be done at once).

So this panel here is my favorite bit I pumped out in the last 24 hours. It actually has a stat panel that follows it, but really- I think this panel says it all. I know I've felt like that when an employer has needed me to do something outside of my regularly scheduled working hours. ^_^

Once I scan all my pages I'll be posting them here, so keep your eyes peeled. They'll be up really soon.

Apropos of Nothing

Sketch Panel Warm-Ups

It's not narrative. They are just a bunch of random images drawn inside some panels.

When I haven't drawn for a while for whatever reason, I rule out a series of panels on a page or two and start to fill them up with whatever. This time around it took me a while to sit back down at the drawing board after I sliced a significant piece of my thumb off while cutting bristol down to comic page size, so I really needed to exorcise the bad drawings and knock the cobwebs loose.

I draw heads, figures, etc. Some get drawn from reference, others not so much. This little exercise just helps me with my brain-to-hand coordination and gets me over the fact that my drawings are going to be sub-par for a little bit and to not worry about it. The panel format helps me get in the mindset of drawing narrative again.

After the last panel is filled I'm usually pretty damn ready to get back to my actual pages.