Big Damn Hero Six

I'm looking forward to checking out Big Hero Six. I hear great things about it, and it's a great way to blend Disney and Marvel. Every commercial so far has looked great. Amy pointed out a tweet from Nicole Campos reading: I'm not the only one who keeps saying "Big Damn Hero 6" by mistake, right?  Then Amy said, "You should totally make that happen." And she was right.

So, I present to you Big Damn Hero Six. One of these days I might make a print of it.

Happy Halloween!

I'm down at Wizard World Columbus dressed as Rick Castle for the convention. Come on down and see me if you can. And whatever you do, have a great Halloween!

Disney Art Drop Wrap-Up

I did my last Disney art drops on Sunday. I'd had a couple days where I didn't get to place any, so I released my Jack Skellington, Up, and Frozen pieces all on Sunday. I found a particularly good hiding space for the Frozen one, behind the Nikon Picture Spot sign by the carousel in Fantasy Land. I was actually afraid no one would find it. In one of those moments of utter perfection, a young girl did right before she got to meet Anna and Elsa. Her mother emailed me about it (since I helpfully included my email and Twitter on the note inside) and it was just the sweetest thing ever. I'm so glad the art went to someone who so perfectly was the target audience.

It's the only feedback I've received, so far, but I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Doing these were so much fun and, whenever I can, I'll continue to do so. It just makes the Disney experience so much more, well, Disney.

Disney Art Leave Behind

I have seen more than a few artists go to the Disney Parks and leave some behind. Under the sage advice of Amy, I have decided to do the same. I'll tweet about them when I leave them behind with some hints. It'll start on Wednesday, so be ready.

New York Comic-Con 2014 sketch roundup

I had an absolutely amazing time at New York Comic-Con this past weekend. Big thanks to Mike Negin and his incredible staff of volunteers. I'll write more later, of course, but I wanted to share my commissions from the show. Enjoy!

My Disney-Marvel Team-Ups, Infinity Style

I've been fascinated by the Disney Infinity figures, not because I play the game but because those designs are just so freakin' cool. (Please, Disney, put out an art book of these designs!) They do a remarkable job of scaling every character to a similar shape and style so that they can all work in the same universe. So, I got it in my head that I wanted to draw some in that style, with a little bit of a my style thrown in. Along the same time, I started thinking of Disney/Marvel pairings that were just too good not to draw. And hence we have these drawings.

I'll be selling the originals of these along with one digital color print. I'll have them at New York Comic-Con, and then they'll be available on my site and at other shows (like Wizard Columbus and Akron Comicon).

I don't think I'm done with these, either. I have some other ideas for pairings that are in my head.

Two Weekends, Two Appearances

This weekend I'll be at Nyancon in Mentor, Ohio, talking writing and drawing My Little Pony and Love and Capes among other things. I don't get to do a lot of shows that are this local, so I'm looking forward to it. Then, next week, I'll be in New York City for the aptly-named New York Comic Con. I donated a hand-colored classic Wonder Woman piece to the charity auction, which you may notice has become the new header for the website, as well as doing a kids' drawing panel. And, of course, the aforementioned talking writing and drawing My Little Pony and Love and Capes. I seem to do that a lot.

"Cosplay Killing" Follow-Up

Denise Dorman has posted some clarifications to her earlier piece. She points out emphatically that she appreciates cosplayers, and that Bleeding Cool went with a click bait headline… which certainly worked. I take her at her word on this. Her first piece did reference the cost of costuming as being a factor in convention spending patterns, so I think it's understandable to draw the connection. But sometimes we make clearer points in our drafts than our finished pieces. I know I certainly meant to mention the headline being dramatic and not being written by the author. I worked at a newspaper long enough to learn that.

To my reading, her clarified point is that the convention market is changing, largely by people who just want to be there because it's the cool thing, and that these people are happy to get a photo with a costumer and move on, rather than recognize and support the awesome talent in the room.

That's fair, though in my experience it isn't the case. It's anecdotal of course, but I don't pick up on many "here because it's cool" people. Lots of families, first timers, and one person in particular at the last convention who didn't realize that she should bring money to the show. But I don't get a vibe of people going to be seen.

The bigger point, though, is this: The market is the market. You can either find a way to work it, or you find another market.

Just this year, I've had to cut a show because, financially, it's just not feasible for me to exhibit at it. Deciding when to pull that trigger is part of being self-employed.

And, I don't think anyone would look at the convention market ten years ago and say "That's a market that's looking for a funny, happy relationship book" like mine, but I found a way to find those people who were being underserved and give them something to enjoy.

But ultimately, you don't get the choose the people in the pool, only the pool you play in.

Baltimore Comic-Con 2014!

We’ve hit the point where I just can’t be objective about Baltimore Comic-Con anymore. I just adore the show and the people and the staff. It’s just the best. This year, I got to be on TV, drawing for Fox-45 Baltimore and Amber Miller, being called upon to draw her as a super hero early in the morning. Fortunately, I had coffee.

The show was in a new, bigger part of the convention center and while the layout took some getting used to, sales were up from last year.

I was on the “Sexy or Sexualized” panel (check out the write up here) which was fun to be on, especially with such a stellar line-up of talent. It was my only panel of the show, but it was a great one to be on.

The Baltimore Yearbook seemed to be a hit, too! It was tight shipping them to the show (apparently, my printer didn’t account for the Labor Day holiday)  but they arrived on time and everyone seemed to like them. I signed a crazy amount of them, and driving traffic to the table is part of what they’re about. Best of all, the auction raised $10,000 for Seth Kutchner’s medical treatments.

Baltimore will be a little later in the year next year, but it doesn’t matter to me. Whenever there’s a Baltimore Comic-Con, I’ll be there. You should, too.

Weekly Warm Up Round Up: Disney Villains

I'm really enjoying doing these warm up sketches. They're expanding my digital drawing technique and they're also a lot of fun. Inspired by Walt Disney World's upcoming Villains Unleashed event (which, man, I'm tempted to make a stupid road trip down to) I started drawing Disney baddies. Chernabog, from my beloved Fantasia is well-known as my favorite villain. I love the design of Hercules' Hades so I had to do him. I'm a huge Uncle Scrooge fan, so Magica De Spell was a natural. I think Princess and the Frog is vastly-underrated so I did Dr. Facilier. The Mignola-artwork that was the basis from Atlantis was just too pretty to ignore, so I did Roarke and Sinclair from that movie. And I wrapped up with Ratigan from Great Mouse Detective. It's one of Disney's largely forgotten films, and I have the one-two punch of one of my Kubert instructors having worked on it and telling great stories of Vincent Price re-recording his voice to do it better and the great memories of taking my younger brothers to a dollar show to see it.

So enjoy my walk on the evil side.