Announcing an Announcement
My plan is to announce on Tuesday a new convention and commission based product. I'm getting a bunch of things in line to roll it out, but I think it'll be something fun for everyone. So watch for it, because some of it might be time-based. And that is what the pros call "a tease".
The Closest You'll Get to Seeing Me Dance
My friend Paul Storrie, among others, has occasionally mentioned that I have a passing likeness to 70s teen heartthrob Donny Osmond. For reasons which don't need exploring at this juncture, I was looking up the Weird Al video White and Nerdy (which does feature Donny wearing the same outfit I wore when I got my picture taken with William Shatner) and found this video highlighting all the Al/Donny scenes. So, you know, enjoy...
One More (maybe two) Chances to Be on a Love and Capes Print!
Riddle me this, Batman: How do you do a con print featuring a city when everything memorable about that city is protected by copyright and battalions of lawyers?
Like this:
February is MegaCon and that means a trip to Orlando for me. Yeah, I know you're not sympathetic. But on a day where my flight to LA got out and out cancelled thanks to snow in Chicago, let me assure you that it's not as glamorous as it looks. (I typed this Thursday night. By the time you read this, I'll hopefully be on my way to LA.) That also means the start of the con seasons.
I started these con prints in June at HeroesCon, so I figure that'll be a cycle. Which means Orlando, Anaheim, Seattle, Chicago and Houston are yet to go.
Now, where some artists say "Oh, no, not a crowd scene!" I see an opportunity. So I'm going to sell spaces in line for this print. That's right, for $50 per person, you can be waiting in line with Mark, Abby and whoever else I draw in to fill the spaces. For that, you'll get an exclusive signed and numbered print (a $25 value right there). You can pick it up in Orlando, or I'll mail it out.
I figure I can fit about 15 people on it, and that means that if it sells out, I'll have only ten of them in Orlando, which will make them all the more exclusive.
And, one randomly selected participant will also get the original art!
The button to sign up is below.
While I'm on the subject… WonderCon. The show's traditionally in the target-rich landmark environment of San Francisco. This year it's in Anaheim, mostly known for a theme park of its own. So, I put it to you… If I can get fivepeople committing to be on that print, I'll do a sister print. If not, I'll do San Francisco, as if Mark accidentally went to the wrong city.
The choice is in your hands!
Project Secret Ghost Protocol Black Ops
Yes, I have two secret projects going.
The major one is a Valentine's Day-related Love and Capes promotion that I'm working on. There's an opportunity there for a corporate partner to get on board for some advertising, too. So, if you're interested, send me an e-mail at tz (at) thomz.com and I'll let you know about it, as long as you keep it under your hat.
The other is a potential Kickstarter project. The more I think about it, the more awesome it could be. I'm really thinking through that, but if it goes, hopefully I'll have something very new for Comic-Con.
Less secret is the idea of doing a caricature-available print for my appearance at MegaCon Orlando. If you're interested in that, e-mail or tweet me or something so I know if it's worth doing.
Tebow Tebow Romney Paul! (but really: ART!)
Man, it seems like there's only two things everyone's talking about these days, doesn't it?
Although, I have to say, I'm rooting for Tebow. I've got friends in Denver and if Tebow can get a Browns fan to root for the team that kept Cleveland out of the Super Bowl repeatedly, that's a minor miracle of it's own.
You can tell they're a couple and that they like each other. Abby's pose involves twisting her spine in a way that was a challenge to draw. And, as always, making Mark and Abby relate to each other size-wise is always a bit of a challenge in and of itself.
Click on the indivdual pictures to see the full pencils and inks. I had to draw through the pose to get it accurate, so there's more to be seen.
That's it from here. You may now resume your Tebowing and polling.
Help End Human Trafficking with the Comic Creators Alliance
I'm participating for a third year in the Comic Creators for Freedom project. Here's a little bit about it:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead
Wednesday, January 11th is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. To participate, we formed the Comic Creators for Freedom– a group of over 100 comic book creators who volunteered our artistic talents to raise money and awareness for this cause. You may not know it, but there are currently 27 million enslaved people worldwide- more than double the number of enslaved Africans during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million children every year are sold into slavery, most of it sexual. The US Department of Justice estimates 16,000 victims of human trafficking are brought into the United States every year. Unlike slavery in the past, what is happening today is happening in secret. It won’t end until awareness is raised, and people like you and me take a stand.
So here’s what we did: each creator contributed an original drawing of one of our own female characters, and combined them into a single wallpaper image! The wallpaper features characters from all over the web, including Girls with Slingshots, The Dreamland Chronicles, Kukuburi, Earthsong Saga, Looking for Group, Love and Capes, The Dreamer, and tons more! Donate today to download this unique, once-in-a-lifetime wallpaper.
The Donations Drive will last for two weeks, from Monday January 9th – 20th. All proceeds will be split evenly between Love 146 and Gracehaven House- two organizations working on rehabilitation of victims and prevention of this crime.
To learn more about the CCA visit www.comiccreatorsforfreedom. To learn more about the problem, visit http://love146.org/slavery. (Note: contains adult themes and actual accounts of sex slavery.)
All I'm Gonna Say
When your special lady asks you to draw a tauntaun, you do two things:
1. Thank your lucky stars that you've found a lady that likes tauntauns and Star Wars.
2. Draw the hell out of that tauntaun.
Justice, Like Lightning
When I was young, I created my own superheroes. Now that I'm older, well, I still do. But way back when, Young Thom came up with the name for a crime fighting duo named Black Thunder and Black Lightning. Then, just a couple months later, DC must have sent someone into my bedroom, because they stole my idea and created their own Black Lightning.
Years and years later, I'm good friends with the creator of Black Lightning, Tony Isabella. I've gotten over our parallel ideas (or was he the one DC sent into my room?) and we've had all sorts of adventures together. At Wizard World Mid-Ohio we sat next to each other and Tony asked if I could do a commission featuring his character and mine, Darkblade.
I was glad to. It was fun to draw Black Lightning in his classic costume, and there were some cool lighting effects to play with. I pushed myself with Darkblade, too, interacting with his cape a little more than I usually have opportunity to draw.
Tony got the piece and pronounced it good. I wanted him to post it on his site first, which he did, and now I'm sharing it with you.
And incidentally, my commission list for 2012 is very much open. If you've been thinking of getting a piece done, now's a great time!
I Built This City Listening to Rock and Roll
Hey! Two posts in two days! It's a New Year's miracle! I've been working on a secret Love and Capes project, which I've variously called "Project Ghost Protocol", "The Project That Dare Not Speak It's Name" and "Project I Can't Tell You." The project is still very much hush-hush, but I thought I'd show some production art from it. I took the opportunity here to draw some new backgrounds for some of the scenes.
My LNC process involves having a library of backgrounds that I can reuse in a variety of locations. These also show a shift in style, as they are not precisely inked with a technical pen, as so much background work is, but instead are inked with brush so that it's a little more lively. At least I think so.
There's a city that, in this case, will be Darkblade's home city of Chronopolis, and a couple shots of buildings for the Downtown Willoughby/Wrigleyville inspired neighborood that Abby's bookstore resides in.
As always, click and embiggen!
Monsters and Dames You Won't See
Not everything makes the cut.
More artists than pages, decisions to be made. These things happen.
Anyway, I'm pretty proud of the piece I did. I pushed my style, eschewing the brush-heavy linework I normally do and working in a much more "dead" line. I also pushed my colors on this piece, too, mixing cut color and airbrush and colored lines to get something new. So, I definitely wanted to share with you.
I'm trying to figure out where else I can use this piece, but in the meantime, there's no reason you can't see the art right now. So click and see my Angel and Demon piece.
Oh, and I'll be back at Emerald City Comicon this year, sharing space with Ben "Badass of the Week" Thompson. I'll let you know the booth number as soon as I know, and I'll see you there! I'll probably be in line for George Takei, asking him about Celebrity Apprentice, and trying to get Wil Wheaton to read Love and Capes.