Comix and Stories: The Aftermath

Whew! Now that I've fully recovered from Comix and Stories, I just want to let you all know that I had a fantastic time at the convention. A gigantic thank you goes out to everyone who stopped by my table to say hi, who bought my art and books, took a business card and/or flyer and flipped through my portfolio.

I am truly grateful for all the great vibes, support, warm words and encouragement I've gotten from everyone at the show. Every ache in my drawing hand, pain in my lower back and cataconic (ha, see what I did there?! ) zombie state was absolutely worth it!

I couldn't have asked for anything better for my first "behind-the-table" experience so once again, thank you.

I can't wait to do it all over again in two weeks!

Con sketch cards to be coming soon!

Comix and Stories Tomorrow!

Alrighty! Tomorrow's the big day: Comix and Stories is going on!

The convention's on Sunday, August 29 (that's tomorrow, ZOMGGASP!) at the Heritage Hall in Vancouver, British Columbia. It goes from 11 AM 'til 5 PM and admission is $4 per person.

I'll be there all day selling some prints, original sketch cards and a small book called "The (E)Motions of Heartbreak" so be on the lookout for that. Also, I'll have my portfolio out so you can check out my original works in the flesh and I'll also draw a few sketch cards on site so you can see me in all my sketchy inky action. Oh, and be sure to give me a shout and a "hi".

For more information on the show and all the talented creators and guests to be at the show, go check out the convention website. Or you could always, well, y'know, avert your eyes to the pretty flyer just below all this text. Yes, I swear, this will be the last time I'll shamelessly plug this thing like crazy. Can you tell how excited I am?

Wish me luck and hope to see you guys there! :-D

Sketch Cards Galore!

If you can't tell, I've been working like crazy on sketch cards lately (or ACEO's as they're often known in the arty world) and I'm going to share a couple today...

First up, I have "Love a'la Comic Mode". I'm highly certain the excitement for the upcoming conventions seeped into my brain for this one.

I was going to sell this one at Comix and Stories tomorrow but I came to realize that I love it too much to part with it. That and um...I'm kindasorta don't feel too comfortable about making money off of someone else's creations, be they characters or logos.

With all that out of the way, the girl is a diehard fan of the superhero comics (Batman in particular being her favorite). The guy's more into the "morbid" comics (with "Johnny the Homicidal Maniac" being his very first comic book in his senior year of high school). Together, they widen each other's perspective on their beloved common ground: comics and sequential art.

So you see, mainstream and alternative comics fans can get along after all! D'awwww. ^_^

And yes, I did read/watch "Ghost World" recently. XD

These ones, though, I am selling tomorrow for $2 each. If you can't get your hands on them, don't fret because I'll be drawing plenty more of these on site.

And now, some quick comments on each card, from left to right, clockwise...

-Awww, homeless snail is homeless.

-Oh hey, it's the couple from "Love a'la Comic Mode". She's making goofy faces in front of her bathroom mirror wearing her rubber Batman mask and he's being all moody and poetic on a breezy autumn day. The latter image was brought to you by Silversun Pickups.

-That one was based off an old doodle in a sketchbook from two or so years ago. The lone white eye contact was a last minute addition.

-Business suits and cyber dreads make for a surprisingly spiffy combination.

-Totally had Little Boots on the brain while drawing this one. God, ballet boots are crazy fun to draw.

Finally, we have a fairly old-ish (well, old because this was done a little while before I got my hair cut and tips dyed black) self portrait done in the style of "Daria". Methinks I'm going to need to draw an updated version. :-P

Drea, My Dreadlocked Darling

Oh "Drea, My Dreadlocked Darling", how I'm still happy with you after all this while. Just kickin' it (slightly) old school this time.

Fun Fact: This was the final time I ever drew my characters' eyes sans pupils.

Facebook: Watch Your Language...Settings!

Just an old, spur-of-the-moment comic strip I created when I found out that you could put your Facebook language settings into "Pirate" mode. This inevitable joke had to follow.

PS, that ominous music in the final panel is the pre-battle "Mortal Kombat" music sting. You know the one. Well, in case you don't you can hear it at the 0:14 mark here. FATALITY, yo.

Fascinators: Original Sketch Cards

Okay, this original sketch card set "Fascinators" has been well in the making since last fall. I've always wanted to venture in that direction and overall, it was a fun experience drawing in such small perimeters. I will be selling these individual cards at Comix and Stories 2010 on August 29 at the Heritage Hall in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Fascinators, from left to right, clockwise, top row to bottom...

Primitive, Artistic, Cinematheque, Futuristic, Widower, Romantique.

That Rave Last Night: A Short Original Comic

DISCLAIMER: The characters in this original comic belong to me.

I've been meaning to post these for a while but this was my four-page comic assignment for a comic book production course I took last fall. It definitely challenged me in certain areas like backgrounds and perspective but overall, I'm really happy with how this comic turned out.

Fun Fact: The top panel in page two took me about 4 1/2 hours to ink. Whew!

Raging Whore Moans Lineart

Voila! This here is the lineart for "Raging Whore Moans" just like I promised. You folks deserve a nice treat like that. ;-)

Raging Whore Moans PLUS MORE CONVENTION NEWS!

Ahhh, who doesn't love scowly, bad-ass, rough 'n' tumble rocker chicks? I originally sketched this character in an old sketchbook from...2006, I think...while listening to "Black Tongue" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I've wanted to update that sketch for a while but I was never happy with the initial re-designs and poses. It wasn't until a while back that I decided to channel some "bad girl" energy into this character and it all started to come together.

This gal, to me, would be the unholy amalgamation of Amy Winehouse, Courtney Love, Wendy O. Williams, Dinah Cancer with maybe just the lightest touches of Joan Jett and Karen O. Basically; the stumbling, trash talking, hard living personification of "Live Fast, Die Hard". Indulging in everything from the strongest of alcohol, the nastiest of drugs, piles upon piles of cigarettes, wild parties, riots (among other things ), she does all that she can to make those fidgety, nervous nellies keep updating their pre-obituaries on her.

Living 'til the age of 80 is clearly not on her agenda...and she's totally cool with that.

There are a lot of things I'm pretty happy with in this picture, one of which being (strangely enough) the Not!Jack Daniels bottle.

I also have the inked lineart for this piece saved on another computer that I might upload soon.

As for the CONVENTION NEWS, it looks like the Vancouver Comic Con in September is a go! If you can't make it to the Comix and Stories show on August 29, you can catch me again at the Vancouver Comic Con on September 12 at the Heritage Hall in Vancouver, British Columbia. For more info, check out the Vancouver Comic Con site here.

When Catastrophe Hits...

One of my favorite drawings from this year was a "spur-of-the-moment" sketch which evolved into something bigger. It was originally going to be some spunky chick with heart shaped goggles but with the music of VNV Nation blaring in my headphones, it went in more of a cyberpunk/post-apocalyptic direction. Thus, "When Catastrophe Hits..." was born.

A little story of sorts came about while I was working on this. Before this scene, this girl was rather flighty, willfully airheaded and careless. After this "catastrophe", she became some sort of rogue soldier or freedom fighter. I hope I was able to capture that "turning point" here.

I might draw a follow-up (or maybe even a prequel) to this piece. We shall see. ;-)