New Art Board Test

I tried out a new brand of paper recently. Strathmore Bristol semi-smooth surface. I am looking for a new brand of comic size paper, so I got out the pencil and ink.

It was unsuccessful. I am used to paper that won't bleed when I use a Quill.

Maybe this board is meant for marker, because I could not be true to my own pencils because I kept getting snagged up.

I will keep looking for a good board.

Self-Portrait

Yes, It's me. After a long absence, I am making a modest return to the blog. Let's start with a self-portrait.

Drawing of the Day

I miss you Las Vegas. I shall return to you one day soon.

Brian Buccellato Writes THE FLASH!

Yes, my friend Brian writes The Flash for DC Comics! I was impressed to see a recent cover of the book at the Apple store in Santa Monica recently.

That's cool! He was also asked a curious question recently at a convention. Check out the video Here!

Frazetta Sketchbook

I've bought the newest Frazetta Sketchbook and I give it a thumbs up! I've been down on a lot of the previous books because they've reprinted much of the same art. This book finds some unpublished figure studies and book cover prelims. I had to have the hard cover, but if you can wait a few months, there should be a soft cover version at a book shop near you.

My Visit To The DMV

I finally paid my car note! No more payments! So I spent most of my morning waiting at The Dept. of Motor Vehicles to transfer the title. I got in a few quick sketches of some of the other people.

Mad Men art!

The new season of Mad men is just around the corner and I am exited to watch it! What really caught my eye is the teaser art on the advertising poster. Old school AD art from Brian Sanders! Really smart hire by the creatives over at AMC. Read the newspaper article HERE!

Fun With Words

It's been a while since I have posted anything, so I want to post something that will engage people! Can  you write a funnier line to this drawing? Give it a try!

Sketch of the Day

A quick sketch done in Photoshop!

Illustrating Modern Life Gallery Opening

This past Saturday, I attended the 'Illustrating Modern Life' Gallery Opening at Pepperdine University!

I was eager to see an original Leyendecker up close. I wanted to see his brush strokes and the true colors on the canvas. I only know his art from old magazines and 80 year old posters. It did not disappoint! The larger size paintings looked bright and well cared for, having been in one man's collection for years.

There were also originals by N.C. Wyeth and Dean Cornwell and I loved the Pen and Ink illustrations on display. If you are going to be anywhere near Malibu, Ca, visit the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art and see the exhibit. It's worth it!

I Continue To Ink Myself!

Another instance where I penciled a page of art many years ago and decided to ink it recently. This page was drawn from a Pirates of the Caribbean script. I remember that the great artist Bret Blevins used to draw an ongoing series in Disney Adventures Magazine featuring these characters from the movie. Maybe he did this story! 

I Ink Myself!

In 2002, I penciled a story for the anthology magazine, Comiculture. It was inked by Klaus Janson originally and colored back then. I loved how it turned out, but as the years passed, I wondered if I would have done anything differently. With that in mind, I inked two panels of the story!

I did not make it!

I regret to announce that I did not make my goals for my Kickstarter Campaign. I tried to reach as many people as I could. It's all about a lot of people contributing a little bit. I did not reach enough people. I want to thank everyone who backed my project and the good people who re-tweeted, posted on their Facebook and wrote about it on their Blogs (Cap'n's Comics Shout Out)!

You have not seen the last of Gunpowder Girl and The Outlaw Squaw! I am committed to publishing the graphic novel and I will post any news on my ever-loving' blog.

Support my Kickstarter!

As we start the final 4 days of my Kickstarter campaign, I am still banging the drum! This short vid was taken at this past Saturdays Long Beach Convention! My friends Scott Lobdell and Dave Wohl are on the team! Thanks guys!

Rudy Nebres Art! Cap'n Comics Shout out!

It's great to know that there are people willing to support you out there! That's why I am giving a big shout out to Cap'n's Comics! Also, I am posting some great art drawn by Rudy Nebres.

He is a great artist with a brush, and these pages prove it!

Gunpowder Girl Art

Here is a panel from my new Graphic Novel 'Gunpowder Girl and The Outlaw Squaw: Escape to Mexico!' The first shows how tight my pencils are and then the inked version. I haven't had other people ink me lately, so maybe my pencils are too loose for others to follow. Check my Kickstarter Campaign!

Advertising Art

This is some recent Advertising Art. The idea for this job was to keep it fast and loose. They had the same idea for the color as well!

Art By Gil Kane

Two Drawings from Gil Kane! The first shows some anatomy studies and the second is a really powerful Green Lantern cover!

Art by John Buscema!

Three pencil drawings by John Buscema! The first two were for the Labyrinth movie adaptation and it looks like the center was for some character studies. The third comes from a Silver Surfer Graphic Novel. Really powerful pencils!

T-Shirt Designs! Pick One

As I continue to seek backers for my Kickstarter campaign, there is a level where I have offered a T-shirt as an incentive. That means designing an attractive item of clothing that promotes the brand! Take a look at the offerings and choose one. A, B, or C

The T-shirt will be in full color and sent with the book. Anyone can vote! Which shirt would you wear?

THOR Splash Page with Stewart Johnson!

I did a lot of inking in the 90s for Marvel and I made a lot photocopies! I inked issue 477 of the Mighty Thor with pencils by UK based artist Stewart Johnson. This was a really powerful splash page! Not any room for error on my part because the pencils were so tight. I enjoyed working on it and I inked some other books he did for Marvel.

I'm On The Kickstarter Staff Picks List!

I guess the staff at Kickstarter took a look at their Graphic Novel offerings and decided that I had a worthy product! It's exciting!

My Kickstarter Campaign!

This is what I have been preparing for for years! I published my first Graphic Novel with Active Images in 2005 and for the sequel I am hoping to get funding with your help! My western adventure book is drawn and am proud of it! I just need money for production costs and printing.

I'm going to reach as many people as I can to check out my Kickstarter page and implore everyone to donate. As little as Five bucks will get you in with the in crowd!

Seriously, I think my book 'Gunpowder Girl and The Outlaw Squaw: Escape to Mexico!' is a worthwhile project and a really excellent, action-packed book. There will be all kinds of updates on this blog and on my Kickstarter page. Check it out, watch the video. Thanks for stopping by!

Drawing of the Day!

A lone rider! Our Drawing of the day!

Art By Alan Weiss

I have posted these pages before, but I want to let more people see these excellent pencils from Alan Weiss!

Check this link  for the full story behind these pencils!

Art by Alex Toth

I will continue on the Western vibe and post some Toth Western art! I loved seeing the halftone art in the Magazine Comic Book Artist, and I wanted to share it.

Western Covers by Kane and Severin!

I got a neat shout out at Cap'n's Comics, so I'm gonna throw some Western covers at him!

Cowboy Sketches

I am having fun with the brush and the pen lately. I thought I would try a cowboy kinda sketch.

New Sketch of the Day

I hope that no one minds me posting some practice sketches. These drawings were done with pen and ink!

Quick Sketch Of The Day

BAZAAR Mistake!

I found a funny comic book related mistake in the pages of the Australian Harper's Bazaar. Superman is a DC Comics character but maybe the fashionistas don't know the difference!

Spider-Man 700!

I was an inker on one of the Spider-man books in the 90's and I loved it! It seems like my time on the book is remembered on the cover of Spider-man 700. You can spot my name behind Gil Kane's! It's a lot smaller than Gil's but bigger than a few others.

Fill In The Blank!

I wanted to write a funny caption to this drawing but I fell short. Can you help?

Digital Comics Movie

About 7 or 8 years ago I did an on camera interview for 'Adventures Into Digital Comics'. The film observed the events surrounding the sudden decrease of comic sales in the US in the early 90s, followed by the surge of online comics. The producers used some of my artwork, like my cover for Comiculture issue 2, but I was cut from the film. I just saw it for the first time last night (took me a while, I know) and I will recommend it.
Watch itHERE!

Sketch of the day!

I have been preparing for the winter convention season. I don't know if I will make the commitment to travel the country and promote an upcoming project, but I am thinking about it. The above sketch is meant to be a banner behind me. The first drawing on the left is of my Western heroine, Anuteh. The next shows Amber with guns blazing and the last shows the cold blooded Jenna, innocent Pearl and the Elephant God. You could tell that I like writing strong female characters! My thought was that I would draw this piece and have it colored. I still might do that! Until then, this is the Sketch of the day!

Fill In The Blank!

I wanted to write a funny caption to this drawing, but all my ideas fell short. Can you help?

Drawing of the day!

It has been a while since I have last posted! I will have some interesting news in the next few days that I hope you will like! For today however, take a look at a recent advertising piece.