It's that time of year again. The Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo is a week away. I'll be selling my first sketchbook entitled Heroes, Villians and Cartoons. Oh My...
It's 24 pages of sketches for $10. They're limited to 60 copies. Come by a pick one up if you're there.

New Years Resolution

It's that time of the year again where we make promises to ourselves that we will likely not keep. This year I think I will resolve to post more on this blog and quit smoking. Let's see how this works out.
There are other things I hope to accomplish this year but I hesitate to call them resolutions. I prefer the term plans. It has more of a commitment to them. So here are some of my plans for 2009

.Have the first DVD in the art tutorial series ready for sale by April at the latest.
.Have my first sketchbook printed and ready for the expo in April
.Have my first Graphic novel/screenplay written. (if not drawn)
.Finish as many of the projects I've promised people in the last year as possible. (Not holding my breath on this one.)
.Take a couple more courses(Art, drafting what have you. It doesn't matter what as long as I'm learning something.)
.Draw more (That's just a given. Doesn't matter how much I'm drawing, I could always be doing it more.)
.Start research on the history of the world Illustrated. (This will be a project that takes many years, so the sooner I start the better.)
.Learn better time management.(This should be first on the list if I have any hope of doing the list.)

I'm sure there's other things but for the time being this will get me started.

I haven't posted any drawings in a very long time so here's the pencils for the 2009 Calgary Expo charity book that I've done and am currently doing the digital painting for.

2 in the Morning

So it's 2 am right now and I'm taking a break from the storyboards, so I thought I'd do an entry. I've had a couple fun/frustrating days playing with my new toys. Purely for work toys of course. I finally upgraded my tablet from an Intuos to a Cintiq. Taking a bit of an adjustment period to get used to it but once I'm comfortable it'll be the shit. I also just picked up the Iphone. I've been kind of iffy on whether or not to get it but finally gave in. So now I can be connected where ever I go. Not that I ever leave my studio and really need mobility. But one day I'll set foot outside and now I can with my email/security blanket with me at all times.
When did my life become so completely ruled by ones and zeroes? It's a good thing I can get a tan from my monitor and don't need the sun.
Back to work

Update

It's been a while yet again. So just an update to what's going on.
The Art directing gig I mentioned in the last post I ended up doing after all. The guy that got it ended up leaving after a week to work on something else. It was the most hectic gig I've done so far but it's done and everything worked out.
I'm in the middle of doing my first storyboard gig right now. Came up unexpectedly and well timed. Just as I was trying to think what I should look into for my next job. I won't be putting any of it up here though because honestly I'm not impressed with how they look. Great practice though. A bit mis-timed weirdly enough. I start a storyboarding course in August just as I'm finishing up this job. So I'll be kicking myself when I learn things that I could have applied. The course is through Schoolism.com again.
I enjoyed the digital painting course I just finished with Bobby Chui. Learned quite a bit and now need to practice the new knowledge so it becomes instinctual.
Until next time.
Be good, if not at least be good at what you do.

Recovery

So I'm done the Expo and I'm back from Banff. Had a nice time but I'm ready to get back to work. First thing I have a couple design jobs to clear up that I put off. Fortunately my clients are very understanding. Next after that I'm going to work on a submission for my buddy Alberto's book Eye Candy. Tuesday I start my Digital Painting class online through Bobby Chui's Schoolism
Then I'm going full blown on the graphic novel. I plan on having it as well as a sketchbook done for next years Calgary Expo. Hopefully I'll make it down to Seattle's Emerald Con in 2009 as well, possibly some other conventions next year to sell my stuff.
After losing out on an Art Directing gig called "Confessions of a Go-Go dancer" (awesome title) because of union seniority and availability, I just got a call asking if I'd be interested in possibly finishing the last couple weeks of the show. So we'll see if that happens. I haven't worked on a movie for about three months.
My next post should be some concepts of pretty ladies for Eye Candy.
'Til then

Expo Day 2

So the Expo is done with for the year. I have to say even though I didn't sell much over the two days, it was good. I learned quite a bit for my next convention, got to see friends I only see once a year at the expo and met a bunch of nice people. I even ran into friends from here that I haven't seen in years. I am glad it's over now because I can get to work on next years stuff. 364 days and counting. So keep posted as I finish new things I'll be putting them up, so everyone can give their opinion. I may or may not listen to your criticism but it is appreciated. Off to Banff for a couple of days with some of the expo crew and guests. Thanks to everyone that came by the table.

Expo Day 1

So the first day of the Calgary Expo is done. I didn't sell very many prints. But on a good note I heard a lot of good things from people walking by. There were quite a few people pointing at pieces to their friends, followed by either "cool" or "hey look at that". So I'm not to concerned about not selling as long as people like the work. Next year I hope to have a sketchbook and a graphic novel done, so sales should improve with something more substantial. I did have quite a few come by to get the charity art book signed and I did one quick sketch in someone's book. Maybe tomorrow will be busier and I can cover my costs.