Triple Shot: Han Solo
Speaking of the Triple Shots, I will be showing them off here at the site. 
I'm pretty happy with how the likeness came out,since doing a caricature in my cartoony style is sometimes difficult. And it was fun to look up the reference and make sure that the belt and the gun were right. And yes, I am using my iPad… well, my completely deductible iPad… to pull up reference at my drawing table. It's so nice not have to print out reference sheets any more.
And yes, he totally shot first.
The Announcement! New Sketch Product!
I've got some goals for 2012. Among them are to draw more and, honestly, get paid to draw more. So I've come up with something that I think will help with both of those. I've come up with a new product, these Triple Shots. They're a chance to see the whole drawing process, from pencils to inks to colors. They measure 5.5" x 17" and feature a reproduction of the pencils, the actual inks, and then a colored version of the art. I'm going to take orders online, as well as sell them at conventions.
Here's how I'm going to make them available.
Every week I'll put a certain number of these on sale, based on my workload and schedule. Tomorrow I'll make three of these available, first come, first served, for $25.00, and free shipping during this first week. Most importantly, you get to pick the character.
If I don't sell them out, I'll pick whatever characters strike my fancy. And then I'll make those available for sale for $15.00 for the first week. After that, they'll be $20.00 online and at conventions.
Every week, I'll make another few available. I'll announce it 24 hours ahead of time on Twitter and Facebook, and again an hour before, and I'll vary the time to be fair to those in different time zones. Tomorrow's will go on sale at Noon Eastern Time. The samples seen here will go on sale for $15 at the same time.
So there's flexibility for you. You can get exactly the character you want. You can wait and see what's available and get a deal. Or you can buy them when you see them at a convention. It's up to you.
Always Going Forward
I'm always overly optimistic about how quickly I can hit the ground running after coming back from a trip. I did manage to get a new page of Love and Capes done in my shortened week. I'm well into issue #2 of the new miniseries. Come, see domestic bliss.
This past week I went to Rancho Obi-Wan, the largest collection of Star Wars memorabilia on the planet. They say "private collection" but I can't imagine who has more. It was a great weekend, and I owe you some pictures and stories, but I also need to get some pages under me, too.
For those of you asking why Love and Capes: Wake Up Where You Are has disappeared from Amazon and other retailers, the issue has been identified and there is a plan in place to fix it. I'll let you know when I have details.
Don't forget I'll be at MegaCon next month (more traveling, I know) and you can be on the next print! Details here.
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.)