LOOK

China is preparing for the Olympics in a big way. If you thought that there were cameras all over America, Check this link. There will be cameras all over Beijing.

Lunch

This was yesterday's lunch. A portobello mushroom, Veggie burger with roasted red bell pepper and ketchup. Sitting on a herb salad on a bun. Tasty!

Computer for Xmas

I am sure that there many lucky people who got a PC or laptop computer for Christmas. But would you be so lucky if it was 1979 and you found this item under the tree? This is an AD from 1979 and I doubt anyone would want this model. Was the hard drive in the same box as the keyboard? Did the TV come with the computer? No Mouse? And did the family get together to look at a progress chart? Why don't they let dad alone to work?

I think computers have gotten much better.

Construction Update

The hole in the ground that used to be a sixteen unit apartment building is officially an eyesore. They tore it down on the cheap and the owner of the property has let the temporary chain-link gate fall onto the sidwalk. There's garbage strewn across the site and The city has put barracades around it. The recent rains took a toll as well. This block used to be nice.

Sketch of the Morning

I am doing another Star Trek story for Tokyopop that should be out in time for San Diego next year. I don't have a script yet, but I started sketching anyway.

More Cats... Now with color!

I am posting a drawing of a cat with color by my friend Jason van Winkle. It's a drawing for the Warriors book out next year!

Another Movie

About five years ago I worked at the Gap in Santa Monica. One of the first things you learn is that the entire store is under surviellance. As soon as you walk into the store, you may be followed by a camera the entire time. Even in the Dressing rooms. After learning this, I started noticing all the cameras in buildings and on the street and everywhere. I don't get paranoid over it, I'm just aware of it.

I saw a movie last night shot entirely from the point of view of surveillance cameras. It's not boring at all! It's like a creepy 'Nashville', with a few different storylines interconnecting. If you want to find out more, visit this website.

The Monkey Threat

I read an article in the NY Times not too long ago about packs of monkeys running loose in India. I hate that! This is not a new problem. National Geographic Magazine has published photos of wild monkeys terrorizing a town. They scare adults and take food from children. I have always advocated removal of these monkey gangs for every city. Maybe now there will be some action taken

What I did today.

I woke up early today around 4:30. I usually like to get a good night sleep and wake at 6:00, but it was not to be. I got dressed and drove to the all night Kinkos in Westwood, CA. It's a nice place that is usually empty except for homeless guys. I had to make some copies for the good people at Moonstone Books. I worked on the Kolchak stuff I am doing for them over the weekend.

So after my Kinkos' run, I got some coffee at the closest Starbucks. That was around 5:30. I got a Venti drip and a cranberry scone. I don't think the barista charged me for it. Weird. I drove home and got to work on more Kolchak pencils. I want to pay attention to the work I am doing on this book because I want to do the Barnabas character right. Hopefully it will look good in print.

I listen to the Howard Stern show until 11:00 while penciling the Kolchak stuff, then I grab some stuff for the Post Office. I have to be in Burbank by 12:00 but I have to put some stuff in the mail! A X-mas card to Rob and Nancy in NJ and a romantic letter to a girl I am sweet on in Hollywood. So busy!

I make my appointment in the valley then I take time to shop at the Costco in Burbank. Vodka...check. Steaks...check. Magazines...double check. With all the basic food groups covered, I head home. I play Madonna's Greatest Hits while on the road.

As soon as I settle myself I put some coals on the grill and light the BBQ. It's 1:30. I have lunch with wine, clean up the dishes and I check my Email. Hey! My editor at T-Pop needs the cover for the Warriors book! No prob.

I will drop off a disk tomorrow, but I am enjoying the day.

There was a lot to do today, and a lot got done. I had a lot of fun and I love to be busy!

Cat Sketch Fever

I am working on the Cat book for Tokyopop and I am at an interesting point in the story. The story involves Feral cats and life in the wild. A Feral cat stops and kills a wild hare as described in the script. I drew the layout and it was approved, but at a certain point, the powers that be wanted a change.

The dead rabbit looks too creepy. I understand that the pre-teen market may not be into dead rabbits, but why write it into the script? They wanted me to change the angle to obscure the hare, messing up the storytelling. My compromise was to turn the rabbit around, and closing his eyes. It's not dead, just sleeping! No trauma, just a sleepy, knocked out bunny.

Tales from the Crypt

Look for the latest issue of Tales from the Crypt! I have a story in issue 3 and I hope everybody buys a copy.

Barnabas Collins

I have never seen the cult TV show, Dark Shadows. The lead character is Barnabas Collins and I am drawing him for the Kolchak comic I'm working on. I should try coloring it and make it look creepy!

Illustrator

A favorite blog of mine has been talking about a great american Illustrator, Jon Whitcomb. Check out the art and see how you like it!Click Here

Work Continues

Three more Kolchak pages for your review!

Art Supplies

I stopped by the Art Store the other day looking for pencil lead and a new product caught my eye. Canson, the paper maker has decided to enter the comic art board market. I bought a pad so I could test it out. This is what I think.

The pad is a standard 11by17 and 24 sheets. It's heavyweight and there are ruled blue line boards with a rough finish. I should mention that the packaging pissed me off! The name of the product is called 'FANBOY, Get out of the basement'. What an insult! They may be a little late getting into the comic book industry, so why diss your market?

So after I got over my hurt feelings, I penciled a test page, with the intention of inking it. Luckily, the inside cover had a how to draw comics tutorial! I am used to a smooth finish and the pencil lead I used left shadows after I erased it. My pen worked well but the finish does not take the brush very well.

My verdict is...SO-SO. I like the heavyweight but they need a hot press finish. I won't buy again. Unless they change the name.

Best Cereal EVER!

I think I like the name best of all.

Balloon Placement Part 3

Allen gave his opinion about making room for the word balloons and it occurred to me. Why not draw the balloons in? The Old-School guys would actually pencil the dialogue in and draw around it. Less work for the penciler I guess. This page is from an old issue of Dr. Solar. Published by Western Publishing. I think they may have typeset the words.

Frazetta Rough Work

I bought a Frank Frazetta sketch book the other day and it's very good! I know that he has a few out there, but most have been reprinted many times and there's nothing new. This book shows his first sketches right from his sketchbooks! Pen and ink studies and quick watercolor sketches. Nice stuff!

Balloon Placement Part 2

I found a comicbook page with some balloon placement. It's a New Mutants page and I think the Editor was Bob Harris.

Balloon Placement

I was an intern at Marvel Comics in the winter of 83-84 and I worked on staff in 1988. I had a chance to see a lot of old school editors work their magic on a few books. One of the skills you had to have, was how to put word balloons on a page and not obscure the artwork. Also, how to direct the readers eye to the next balloon and help with the overall storytelling.

Some editors had a tough job with a writer or an artist that did not think of balloon placement or captions. I try to keep that in mind when I draw. Sometimes I mess up. That might be the case with the page I am posting. I think I could have left more room for the writing. What do you think?

Cat Cover!

For those who wanted to know, this is the approved 'Warriors' cover! A No-Prize to everyone who voted.

I read Iron Man

I re-read some old issues of Iron Man the other day. Issues that I bought in the eighties. Fun stuff! I have always loved the character.

Cat Sketch Fever

I am working on a couple of neat projects! I have been posting Kolchak pencils on this blog for your review. Another job is the 'Warriors' book I am doing for Tokyopop. I've done a few cover sketches for the first volume and they have to be approved by the powers that be. Which sketch do you think was approved?

Kinokuniya Signing

The day started with a friend's birthday party in Culver City, then a quick trip downtown to Kinokuniya Bookstore. My friend Steve had a signing there with a few other Tokyopop authors! I love that bookstore and I managed to buy some regulation manga comic board and some pen holders. The best part of course, was the signing. Why don't you what all the hype is about and check out Battle of the Bands!

Even More Kolchak

The Kolchak work continues!

Afraid of Heights?

Allen left a comment on aprevious post about drawing a scene from above. High angle, yes. High and off to the side? Sure. But he is not a fan of the directly overhead shot. I understand that. There is nothing terribly interesting about seeing someones' bald spot, but there are all kinds of reasons to lift your 'camera' for a bird's eye view. With the help of some photos from my Reference file, I will give a few reasons why you should not be afraid of heights

Panic in the streets! Let's the say the writer is establishing an atmosphere of chaos. How do you show frightenened crowds and whatever goes with it? The fuzzy photo below shows all the players and it looks like the photographer is sitting in a cherry picker.

Death from above! The enemy swoops down on the hero and the point of view is from the bad guy! The hardest thing about this shot is getting the perspective right on the people on the ground.

Sad endings. I have read too many bad funeral scenes in comics. One good way to show a mourning crowd and the open grave is to get right over the coffin. This photo shows some great composition and all you need some long shadows.

When I drew the overhead panel, I had to include a lot of stuff the writer called for. Lifting the camera up was the best choice for the panel.

Quick Sketch

I admit that I want to draw the Fantasic Four.

It's Hot Link Friday!

Sometimes I visit this blogto expand my knowledge. I recommend Illustration art blog to you!

I like to drink! This website celebrates it! Go to Modern Drunkard Magazine.com and check the archive lists. The article about how Captain Kirk drank his way across the Galaxy was priceless!

And there you have it! Happy surfing!

World's Greatest Comic

I was in Burbank yesterday and I stopped in the popular comic shop there. Early afternoon on Thursday is a good time to visit. As I was paying for my two books (Criminal and Y, The last man), I saw that Dwayne McDuffie had come in and he was making his choices. I said hello and we shook hands, then I asked if he was still writing The Fantastic Four. He said yes and It occurred to me that I haven't bought the book in years! I thought I should support a friend, so i bought the latest issue. Issue number 551. I took it home and read it. This is what I think of it.

Not so good. I won't comment about the writing because I am not a Writer. But I will say that the artwork needed help. The most striking thing about the book was how the guy drew The Thing. I thought that there were style guides to keep the character consistent. Is Ben Grimm supposed to look the way Kirby and Sinnott drew him? This current artist draws him with with fingernails and wrinkles around the eyes. And the more recent addition of teeth in The Things mouth continues to piss me off.


I am I not thinking clearly? Are the gods of continuity dead? Enough already. I will stop writing about how the book has changed and let my money do the talking. The next issue of FABLES comes out next week and I will be on line to buy it. No complaints.

More Kolchak!

I am working on a new Kolchak book! As you can imagine, he is investigating the occult and it's a fun story. I am posting the first 3 pages for your review!

Pricechopper

I was a part-time employee of thge GAP from spring 2001 to winter2002. I've had all kinds of jobs during my time on Earth and this was one of the best! The hours were flexible and the perks were great. The management tried to get you excited about the latest arrivals and every so often I would be scheduled for an early morning shift to help unload the delivery truck. By early, I mean 4:00 in the morning. It wasn't so bad. I am an early riser and once you put some music on in the store, it can be fun with a bunch of people.

Once there was a guy who would sneak in the store and steal a bunch of denim jeans that we kept by the entrance. The manager identified the guy from the security tapes. When I was working the floor, the guy came in again and I got in his face. He turned around and left! A little bit of drama, but I felt like I was protecting my turf. Just so you all know, there are cameras all over the store. Except for the dressing rooms, but they can follow you as soon as you walk in. That's why Winona was found guilty.

So the best thing was the discount clothes! I worked at a store in Santa Monica with a large inventory. Jackets, jeans and everything else was kept on the top floor and it was a challenge to locate an item for a customer. Because it was so vast up there, sometimes a peice of clothing would get misplaced and not be discovered for months. When we would check the price in the computer It would be greatly discounted. Check out this groovy discount dude!

My outfit!

I have done it before, and I may do it again. My samurai costume for Halloween!

Halloween Past

I loved to dress up for Halloween! Back in NYC, I used to make the rounds in Joker make-up. I had a complete purple tuxedo at one point, but I tossed it out when it got stinky. In these photos, I have on the whiteface but I was too lazy to put on the suit.
Now I plan on going to the West Hollywood parade. The difference between the NYC Parade and the LA parade is the weather! Look for me there.I remember wearing the orange vest. It was 3 sizes too small and it hurt to inhale.

Nice Book

This book came in the mail today! It's a beautiful coffee table book that chronicles The Four Seasons from it's beginnings, up to the hit broadway show! Just in time for Christmas. I am mentioned in the book and I talked it up during the planning stages back inApril It's so cool...and a little expensive!

What have I drawn?

Just sketching with a brush-Pen.

Color... For once

I am posting an in-progress try at photoshop color. I have a lot to learn, so I will listen to all opinions!

More Hands

I had a post in July that showed a cheat sheet for hands. I found two more pages that I want to make public! If you have a problem drawing hands, I hope this helps!

What have I drawn?

More layouts from the Cat book I'm working on!

I can See!

I just picked up a new pair of eyeglasses and I am getting used to the new reality of them. Since they sit on top my nose and hook on to my ears, I better enjoy wearing them. That's it.

Destroy the Trees!

My Favorite Crash

It looks like there was a automobile crash on the corner. The evidence shows that two cars met and one of them hit the curb and the neighbors hedge! Maybe the property owner put the note on the windshield.

Sketch of the day!

This posting is in response to concerned visitor, Steve Buccellato. He feels that the 'Sketch of the day' should be work done the same day it is posted. I feel that my sketch of the day should be any work of art that catches my fancy, irregardless of the day I drew it. The previous post was of art I did a few years ago, and maybe Steve wanted to see something more recent. If that is the case, here are some layouts from my latest project for Tokyopop.And there you have ...The Sketch of the Day!

Sketch of YESTERDAY!

And what is the sketch of YESTERday? It's the under-drawing to a watercolor peice I did a number of years ago.

My Wonder Woman Poster

It might be just me, but I keep seeing a new-look Wonder Woman every 4 years or so. Theis poster is of a revamp of the character around 1986 or there abouts. The artist was Gene Colan. A later revamp with George Perezwas pretty good. And after that, Mike Deodato added some life to the character! I can't recall the writer... I'm sure he was very good. So I am posting the promo poster for the Gene Colan revamp of WW done a long time ago. I am looking forward to the next revamp 4 years from now.

More Destruction

There is a lot of dust containing unknown materials. All kinds of noise, but on the upside, I get a lot more sunlight in the yard!

Bugging Out

My book tour ended this past Saturday at the Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach. Mike Wellman is the Manager of the brand New store and he made us feel very welcome! Not only did I meet the co-owner Jun, I was happy to hang out with some excellent fans of the Star Trek manga! The Comic Bug is clean and well-stocked! Good comic shops are hard to find and Mike has a great one.I hope that there will be another Star Trek manga that I can be a part of. Wil, Christine and Mike were so cool and the fans rock!

Pirates A-Plenty

I was one of the lucky land-lubbers invited to a pirate themed Birthday party on Sunday! You can learn more at A Bucce of Power It was a party for his son and it was a big success! I did manage to sneak a snapshot of Brian Buccellato as he arrived on the dock!

Back Issue!

If you are visiting your local Comic shop, check out the newest issue of Back Issue Magazine! I sent some artwork scans of Michael Golden to them a while back. They gave me a neat mention!

Barnes and Noble Signing!

If you were not there last night, you missed a lot! There was a camera crew from The TV Guide channel interviewing Wil Wheaton, a nice sized crowd and a lot of signage giving me top billing! The Barnes and Noble at The Grove in LA had a nice signing area and the staff there was so cool.
A lot of Tokyopop staffers showed up at this one, and I can't wait to see the footage on TV Guide channel. I wish it could have been all about me. I tried, but I failed! :)

Destroyed

Another snapshot of the apartment next door. A neighbor told me that the reason they are taking so long to finish, is that they sell the wooden planks to construction companies in Mexico. There are fewer regulations there. Maybe they will sell the plumbing fixures there as well.