Akron Comic-Con recap!

This past weekend I was a guest at the Akron Comic-Con. It was my first time at the show, and I came away impressed. It's a small, one day show, but it had a great collection of guests, vendors and fans. I think there are a few too many shows that either start out too big or don't have their heart in the right place. That's not Akron. It's creating a solid base for a great comic book show. I'm sure it will only get bigger and better.

The crowds and fans were great, too. I was impressed especially at the cosplay. I wouldn't have thought that a smaller show would have brought out things like this awesome Juggernaut, or this Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham. I shouldn't underestimate the passion of fandom, I suppose. It's great to see.

Heck, look at this phenomenally awesome Green Lantern sweater, hand knit for this gentleman by his wife. He is stylin' to be sure, and a very lucky man. Also, this sweater was better than the silly CGI uniforms of the big screen GL movie, but that's another matter altogether.

Huh. I wonder how hard it would be to get a Firestorm sweater…

The show was great. I recommend you consider adding it to your schedule. And I'll be back next year!

A Month of Sketches Begins (last week, technically)

So this month is NaNoWriMo and, yeah, I'm not doin' that. I'm kind of tempted, honestly, but my plate is a little full. But, I like the idea of a Month Of Something, so I had this idea: I'd draw a new illustration every day. I put some rules on it: They'd be small. They'd be black and white. And, they wouldn't be licensed characters.

My thought is, if this goes okay, I might like to make a little book of the artwork. Black and white is cheaper to produce, and no licensed characters means that I'm clear to print and sell however I want.

Yes, today's the eighth. I've already done seven of these. I'm not going to necessarily show every one here. Some I'll save for the book, if I do it. And while I'm trying to post a lot more her, I think once a day is enough. So if I have a better story or something, I'll probably post that instead.

I think it's good to force yourself to try new things. So I'm using this as license to experiment. Some of these I'll do completely on computer. Some of these will me be trying new things with my brush, or new techniques or new styles. Who knows? But I think it'll be fun. Let's see.

"Rimbatmn!" That's Christian Bale for "I'm Batman!"

This was a commission for a friend of mine at Wizard Ohio. I don't draw a ton of Batman art, with most of my world being My Little Pony these days. It was fun to get into the harsher lines and stylized design of the Dark Knight.

Heroes Hanging Out, Drinking Coffee

One of the more interesting New York Comic Con commissions I had was this one: Draw Power Girl and 80's Disco Collared Nightwing hanging out the way Crusader and Darkblade do in Love and Capes. It was a lot of fun to figure out the staging. Power Girl, for instance, wouldn't hover or have the same standard pose as Crusader does.

A lot of you know that Love and Capes is on a break right now. I'm trying to get some new stuff out into the world this year. But there's something about this piece that makes me think "Wouldn't a Darkblade and Amazonia series be pretty cool?"

In Brightest Day

A quick one today: Green Lantern! This was done at the New York Comic-Con and I had fun stylizing the linework and the pose. I wanted to make it cool and graphic. I also used some Copics to shade, but used them sparingly.

1.21 Babywatts!

There seems to be a growing trend at comic conventions to trick out strollers and their occupants. I, of course, approve totally. Check out this Back to the Future themed stroller and kid. Of course, at that young an age, I don't think he understands the complexity of temporal mechanics. Then again, neither did Marty McFly. The blue piping here actually lit up, which probably isn't obvious in this photo. Also bonus points for the Einstein. (Or Copernicus.)

Happy Halloween with a Ghost Hunter Commission!

I've had a couple people come up to commission me at shows to draw an actor or actress who is appearing at the show and have them sign the art. They're certainly more unique than just the standard publicity shot. And it's been a blast for me, too. I got to meet Ian McNiece, who played Winston Churchill on Doctor Who because of it. At Wizard Ohio, I drew Ghost Hunter Grant Wilson hunting a different kind of ghost. Mariann, who commissioned it, loved it, and so did Grant.

Happy Halloween!

Pinkie Pie! Enemy of the Republic!

I was at New York Comic Con, and a gentlemen came up with his very Star Wars son in a stroller. I think he saw my Han and Leia piece in my display portfolio. He said that his son loved both Star Wars and My Little Pony and wanted a drawing. Immediately, my artist brain starting thinking of ponies with lightsabers and so on. "Who's your favorite Pony?" he asked his son. Pinkie Pie. "And who's your favorite Star Wars character?" General Greivous. He then turned to me. "Can you do a combination of Pinkie Pie and General Grievous?

Suddenly, the cute little Jedi ponies I had in my mind exploded. Pinkie Pie? Grevious? That's not a chocolate and peanut butter moment, that's a chocolate and wood varnish moment. How do those go together? But, I like drawing and I like money, so I said "Yes, I can do that."

What happened was not the drawing I expected, but it might be my favorite drawing of the show. When you get things thrown at you like that, the creative solution is something original and something you weren't capable of just a few minutes ago. So I figured out how to combine everyone's favorite party-obsessed wacky Pony with a killer four-armed droid with a breathing issue. And I loved it.

So did the boy. Look at how happy he looks!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Whew! Five shows in five weeks! Toronto, Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati and Columbus. It sure seemed like a good idea at the time, and they were certainly fun. But man, that's a lot of travel. At the most recent Wizard show, I did a panel on body language and expressions. I recommended a couple of books, and I wanted to link to them. The Drawn to Life books are absolutely fantastic. They are the best art books I've read post-art school. I'm also linking to the Kuratake brush pen that's become a staple of my convention toolbox. It has a great tip, holds it well, and doesn't bleed when you hit it with a Copic marker.

Comic-Con International Coupons Coming Soon!

Last year I tried doing "Deal of the Day" coupons for San Diego. Well, I'm going to try it again.

Here's the deal: Every day (Thursday-Sunday) at 8:00am, the new coupon will be unveiled. The coupon will be good only for that day. Either bring a printout of the coupon or download the coupon PDF to your phone. Cleverly, the coupons are iPhone sized. Show me the coupon on the screen and get the deal.

So keep watching this space!>