New Logo

So, for some reason I really like making logos for my personal properties. It's super fun. Anyways, I trimmed the fat on my Pest Control logo. I cut it down and made it more simple, yet a little more complex and the same time. I always wanted to make it look a little bit 3D, but didn't quite get how to do it until now. Enjoy.

The Process Diary

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know that I was a guest on The Process Diary podcast with Paul Cageggi.

You can listen to it here:

CLICK HERE

Paul Cageggi, Sam Kirkman, Lee Wiley, Warren Belfield and myself talk about our upcoming anthology which is called

8: A Steampunk Anthology

If you do by chance listen to this podcast, a fun game to play while listening is to count how many times we all say "You Know" and how many times I clear my throat obnoxiously. HAHA! Enjoy.

Look through the posts and you'll find a sneak peek at my story for the anthology called Pest Control.

Children

I'm an illustrator. I have children. Sometimes, those two things aren't best friends. Here was one of those times.

I have 3 year old twins. They watch me draw. Of course, they

want to do what daddy is doing. So, when daddy is in the bathroom, they grab a permanent marker (which was just right there on the desk) and express themselves all over my stuff.

Now, the tablet and the keyboard didn't really bother me. They're just plastic and it will come off. My biggest concern was the monitor. But, thanks to this stuff:

It now looks like this: TA-DA!

Everything turned out good in the end. So, for those illustrators out there who are debating on whether or not to have kids: Sure, crazy stuff happens, but you can fix it. Go have some kids.

PEST CONTROL

Hey there followers of this here blog of mine, here is a sneak peek of a new mini-comic that I'm putting together with some of the artists from the 8: A Kid's Book Anthology. This time around we're doing a Steam Punk comic anthology. Mine is called Pest Control.

Above is the Pest Control logo and page 2 of the comic. Enjoy.

Process anyone?

Here's a little process for anyone who is curious about the methods to my madness.

1. First thing I do when I open up Photoshop is create a new layer. Then, I do a rough sketch with the default brush at 7pts.

2. After the rough sketch is done I drop that layer's opacity to 20% so I can then use it as a guide to trace over top of.

3. I create a new layer on top of the rough sketch layer and with the 7pt brush size I draw the black outline. This process is very similar to inking in traditional comics. When doing this I make sure that all of my lines are connecting so that there are no gaps anywhere for the next step.

4. I use the paint bucket tool to fill in the flat colors. If there are gaps, then the WHOLE canvas will fill in with the selected color instead of just the part that I want to color. In the case of the image below, I just want to color the face.

5. The paint bucket doesn't get everything, so I go in with the brush to fill in those areas like the little white spaces below.

6. Flat colors are done. Now for the shadows.

7. When flat colors are done, I then use the lasso tool to make a selection of where I want the shadows to go. Then, I paint bucket fill with a darker version of the base color.

8. To add a little color in the 'RED ZONE' of the face, I grab a bright red with the brush, then drop the brush's opacity to 5% and color on the ears, cheeks, and nose.

9. Almost done. Just adding some finishing touches. Add the highlights to the hair, nose, cheeks and a blue rimlight in the shadow area. And, wha-la! Done.

There will be more process to come. This is just how I do the foreground characters and elements. The background is pretty close to the same process with a couple more added steps here and there.

So there it is. Enjoy.

SCHOLASTIC!!!

Hey everyone, I can now show this illustration I did for Scholastic because it's in print. If you want to see it in context in the magazine you can check it out HERE. Enjoy!

IT HAS ARRIVED!!!

Our little anthology is now ready for purchase! Get your copy today! Go ahead and click on the link bellow!

CLICK HERE!

Cute Kids and Animals

No reason for this one. Just thought I would do it just in case a client wanted to see a "puzzle" illustration. Who owns which pet?

Illustration Friday: "PROVERB"

I'm not going to have a whole lot of time this week to do a proper Bad Luck Becky comic page, so I decided to totally "phone it in" on this one. Enjoy. And. . . I'm sorry.

BIG NEWS!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you:

8: A Kids Book Anthology

I've just collaborated with 7 other artists from around the world to create this super awesome kid's book anthology. 8 artists, 8 page stories. We have illustrators from the USA, Europe, and Japan. The other 7 artists inside are:

Sam Kirkman

Michelle Kondrich

Craig Pirrall

Ben Powis

Christopher Tupa

Denver Wagner

Lee Wiley

The ROBO 6 character that I've been teasing you all with is going to be making his world debut inside this amazing book.

We're going to be getting it printed through Ka-Blam and it will be distributed and ready for purchase through Indy Planet. It should be available online around the end of October or beginning of November. It could be sooner, but I'm not totally sure.

Want to look through the forums where we all showed our process and gave feed back? Would you like to browse through the hundreds of posts where this baby was conceived? The magic took place over at the Illopond that was put together by Ben Powis, one of the artists of the 8 Anthology. Not only did we use that site to communicate with each other and bring this thing together, but YOU can do it too. The Illopond is a place for artists and illustrators to not only hang out and talk shop, but to do what we did and collaborate and create a project together. So head on over and check it out.

Now, not to toot our own horn here, but I don't know if this has ever been done before in the children's book market. Comics do it all the time, so why not us? Why should children's books stay in their little bubble and not participate in the anthology sensation that's sweeping the nation? Okay, I know, I know, that was completely lame and infomercial of me, but you get the idea, right?

As soon as this thing is out and ready for purchase, then I will most definitely let you all know.

But, if you are going to be in the Lexington, Kentucky area the 19th and 20th of November, then you can come by and purchase it in person from yours truly at the UP! Fair.

I can't express how excited I am about this project. It's been a blast being a part of it and we have some super-mega-ultra awesome artists in here. Enjoy everyone.

Illustration Friday: "DESSERT"

Bad Luck Becky is back for yet another Illustration Friday topic. This week is "Dessert." Enjoy.

Avatar Fan Art

It's probably about time I did some Avatar the Last Airbender fanart. Sure, it might not be as dynamic as my other fanart stuff, but I just wanted to keep this one simple. This is my take on the gang as I would draw them. Enjoy.

Bebop 'N' Banjo

I haven't done a banjo pig for Dueling Banjo Pigs so, here's a little something satisfy the urge. I don't know why I haven't thought of this before. Bebop from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles should've been the first pig to come to mind, but sadly, it wasn't.

So, I hope I redeemed myself with this one. Enjoy.

Feeding my FanArt addiction

This one is LOOONG overdue. This is some fanart for a webcomic called Escape from Planet Nowhere by Otis Frampton.

This is yet another awesome webcomic that is part of Space Dock 7. Go read them RIGHT NOW!

Enjoy.

Illustration Friday: "CAGED"

Another Bad Luck Becky one page comic for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

If you noticed, I have a logo for BLB now. I actually have a cover for the upcoming graphic novel I plan on writing, but don't really know if I want to show it yet. It's NOWHERE near any sort of solid ground yet, it's more in the conceptual phase, so I don't want to show the cover yet. But, be patient it's coming. I'll be posting enough nonsense filler to take your mind off of it, so don't worry about it.

Spiderman Banjo Pig

What's with the pig playing a banjo you say? Well, let me tell ya. There's an awesome website/blog stated by a couple of my favorite artists Guy Francis and Stacy Curtis called Dueling Banjo Pigs.

If any of you have a banjo playing pig then send it to them and they'll put it up on the site. It's just that easy. And, who doesn't enjoy a banjo playing pig? Exactly. Enjoy.

Smile

Alright, before I begin with this post let me just be perfectly honest: I'm doing this mostly because of a contest going on at Art and Story. BUT, and this is a big BUT, even though it's a contest, I'm a big admirer of this artists' work. What artist am I talking about? Raina Telgemeier. She was just interviewed by Mark and Jerzy on the A&S podcast. It was a really great interview about doing memoir comics and comics in general.

About 3 months or so ago I picked up a copy of her graphic novel of Ann Martin's The Babysitters Club.

I really liked it. I also bought it because as you may or may not know, I want to take my Bad Luck Becky character and do a graphic novel of my own with her. So, this looked like some good material to reference and use for research. Her work is really good. This may sound dumb, but her bushes and trees look awesome. Anyways, because I liked The Babysitters Club so much I've been wanting to get a copy of her latest graphic novel called Smile.

So, by mentioning Raina and her work and creating a post about her I can win a copy of Smile. I honestly might not have mentioned her if not for the contest, but now I'm glad that I did, even if I don't win anything. Also, even if I don't win, I am going to pick up a copy of Smile anyways. So, there's my plug. Go to www.goraina.com and check out her other awesome work.

I've made this blog all about myself and haven't really mentioned other artists that I like and have inspired me to do what I do and to do what I want to do. So now, because of this post you can expect more mentions and shout outs to other great artists that I like instead of just a link on the side the the blog. Enjoy.

Illustration Friday: "GIANT"

It's about time I brought back Bad Luck Becky. Hopefully you'll see a whole graphic novel for her. (That's a hint of my next big personal project)

The topic for Illustration Friday this week is "GIANT". So, naturally, the first thing I thought of was David and Goliath. I thought this would be a perfect topic for BLB. I'm doing another one page comic as practice for the graphic novel. Enjoy.

MORE more fan art

It's official, I'm addicted to fan art. Here is some more that I did. These characters are from Cleopatra is Spaaace!, another comic over at Space Dock 7. The comic is done by one of my favorite artists, Mike Maihack. Check it out.

More Fan Art

This is the third fan art piece I've ever done, but I'm really starting to like it. As soon as I get done with one, I want to do another and another and so on. I think I might be developing a little bit of a problem.

Anyways, this is some fan art for an artist by the name of Eddie Pittman. It's an illustration of Red and Tawee from his comic called Red's Planet. Along with Dani Jones in the post before this one, he too is part of Space Dock 7.

I really think you guys should check this stuff out. Good good stuff. Enjoy.

Fan Art

Hey kids, I've been reading a really awesome webcomic called My Sister the Freak by one of my favorite artists Dani Jones. You should all check it out. She's part of a group of webcomics called Space Dock 7. All of the other artists and comics on there are super cool too. I highly recommend 'em.

Anyways, I decided to do some fan art because I really like the comic. I'll probably be doing some fan art for those other artists as well.

I don't ususally do fan art, so if I do, then it's a big compliment to the artist.

Illustration Friday "Paisley"

The topic this week for Illustration Friday is "Paisley". It seems like kind of a weird topic, but, wherever.

The first thing that came to mind when I heard the topic was the shape of the fireballs on Super Mario Bros for Nintendo. Ever since that game came out when I was like 7 or 8 I thought that the paisley pattern was a Mario fireball. I would be sitting in church and some lady in front of me would have a dress on with the paisley design on it and I thought it was a Mario fireball dress. So, I drew a scene from Super Mario Bros with Mario shooting some paisley fireballs. Enjoy.

(Okay now Nintendo geeks, I know that in my illustration Mario is not wearing his red and white fireball suit. Well, guess what? I don't really care. I pulled out my artistic license and drew what I wanted to draw. So, don't go all nerdy on me mmmkay.)

Illustration Friday: "Slither"

Every time I come across a topic on Illustration Friday I try and draw the first thing that comes to my mind. So, the first thing that I thought of when I saw 'Slither' was 'Slytherin' from Harry Potter. Then I thought 'Salazar Slytherin'. So, I drew Salazar Slytherin.

Yeah, it has nothing to do really with 'Slither', but whatever. Enjoy.

ROBO 6! Sneak Peek!

Sshhh. Don't tell anyone, but I'm writing and illustrating a story called ROBO 6. Here is a sneak peek of the cover and an interior illustration. I won't say what it's about or what it's for, but just trust me on this: It's gonna be pretty flippin cool in my humble opinion. Okay, that wasn't so humble, but you have to like your own work, right? If you don't, then why do it?

Anyways, enjoy this little tidbit because it's all you're gonna get. Sorry, it's a really short story. By showing you this I've already showed 1/7th of it. So, enjoy.

Substitute Teaching

While substituting I drew this cute little pic for the kids. It's a Griffin fighting a Dragon. I was running out of time so that's why it's a tiny dragon. Enjoy.

SPAM GARBAGE!!!

Hey guys, I've recently been getting comments on my posts from someone who just wants to send me links to porn and stuff, so because of that I'm starting to moderate the comments left by you, the REAL reader. So, if you make a comment just know that it won't show up immediately. I'll have to approve them now.

Sorry for the inconvenience, but that's the nature of the FREE internet I guess. Jeez.

Got 'er done!

This commission is in the can! It feels good finishing work, especially when it's for money. :)

Thanks for taking a look and enjoy.

Commission

Here is the initial sketch (which I got carried away with) for a commission that I'm doing. I usually don't do this type of work. I usually do cartoons of the individuals, but I think this is a nice break from the cartoons. I need the practice drawing more realistically anyways. I would just finish this up and give it to them, but this drawing is on regular typing paper, so it's pretty cheap. That's what I get I guess. Oh well. Enjoy.

Illustration Friday: "Linked"

The topic of this week on Illustration Friday is "Linked."

If you don't get it, then you haven't played many video games. This is a character from The Legend of Zelda. His name is Link. Now do you get it? She's "Linked" HAHA! Man, I'm hilarious. Enjoy.

Robot Sketches

Getting a feel for this robot character. I've got the major plot points down for this story, now I just need to stick in the details and make the narration flow. Three of them are scanned pencils and one is all digital. Enjoy.

Secret Project!

Got some exciting news! I've been invited by an artist friend along with some others to do a collaboration of sorts. I haven't signed anything or done anything really for it, but I still won't say what it is until it's finalized. I was just too excited and wanted to share SOMETHING from it. So, here it is. This is a possible character for this secret project. (of course, this is just a rough character design, so it might change). I already have a name for this character, but I won't reveal it quite yet. Stay tuned for more on this. I think it's going to be pretty darn sweet if I do say so. Enjoy.

Character Design

If you've been following my blog (which is like what, 2 people, maybe) then you will know that I mentioned that I wanted to start making a graphic novel. I've been using this character - Bad Luck Becky (name subject to change). Anyways, I thought that maybe she was a little too old, so I'm "younging" her up a bit. Before, she was at least 16, because she had a car, but I thought the story would work better to be more in the 12-14 year old range. So, here is my attempt (after many not shown) on said character. Let me know your input. Better? Worse?

Whoops. Forgot to mention this is a pencil drawing, scanned, then colored in Photoshop. Enjoy.

A boy and his dog.

This piece is actually for some background practice, but I couldn't just let it go uninhabited, so I put a boy and a dog in it. Enjoy.

No Reason

This is what nerd girl dreams of everyday. Man, I'm not very on model with her on this one. Her face is all wonky and her body proportions are a bit wacky. Oh well, practice makes better.

Illustration Friday: "Expired"

This week I decided to try a comic strip instead of a whole page to see if I could tell a story in a shorter amount of panels and space. The topic on Illustration Friday this week is "Expired."

Enjoy.