An Edit

It's funny how you can be so thrilled with a drawing and then someone points something out to you and you are completely crushed. 

I changed a panel from what I had a blog ago. 

Here is the original page, and then the revised second panel.  The second one is better, I think it looks more solid, and three dimensional.  The cowboy is kicking the coyote towards the camera.  Although it's not finished yet.  The comic is slowly coming along.  Hopefully it will be worth all the trouble.  Oh and don't worry, the whole comic isn't about animal abuse. 

At least I am learning alot about sequential art

A Comic Book I'm Working On

Below are some teaser pages from a comic I'm working on.  My friend James wrote it, and I am illustrating.  It's a western and that's all I can say right now.

This is my first comic and I am pretty slow.  These pages are not completely finished.

Thankfully James has been patient.

Thoughts on Blocks

The problem with the creative process is; it is never predictable.  At least not for me.  There are times when drawing comes easy and I feel as if angels are guiding my hand. . . and then there are those times when I get completely blocked, and descend into limbo.  Currently, I am wrestling with a comic book project that was supposed to be quick. Ha!  Boy was I wrong. Luckly I am collaborating with a great writer friend of mine James.  James wrote up a nice little script, and then I started illustrating with great momentum and before I knew it I was blocked.

The good news is I think I am starting to come around.  I can feel it happening.  The creative juices are beginning to seep into my brain again, and soon there will be no stopping me from making magical drawings. 

I have a couple of thoughts about why I get myself into such a creative stupor.  The main problem is I am not used to working in solitude.  In college I spent most of my time creating artwork with and around other fabulously creative people.  I fed off of that group think energy.  Now that I am outside the protective bubble of school things are different.  I only have my pet dog to call on for company.  It takes serious motivation to sit down and draw for hours with no one prodding you to keep going (My pet dog doesn't get the whole drawing thing, he'd rather just hang out and chew stuff and thinks I should get a life).  However, everyday I get a little more used to working on my own. 

Unfortunately, I can't give too many details about the comic because I don't want to let the cat out of the bag, in fact, James probably isn't stoked on the idea of me blogging about the project. 

I think It's okay though, because I'm pretty sure he doesn't read my blog, so I can talk about it a little. . . 

I will say this: Drawing comics is a tough business, and the more I try it the more respect I have for the people who do it for a living.  I am learning a lot about the nature of sequential art, it takes a lot of research and planning.  You can't just draw a comic willy nilly, well maybe you can, if you're Jack Kirby or something.     

Okay, enough babbling.  Below are some rough images for the comic we're working on, mostly penciling and character concepts.  Most of this stuff will never show up in the finished product, but I am trying to be extra thorough on this project.  I have been doing more research, and rough work on this than anything previous.  Just trying to explore every possibility, so I can get to the creative gold.  I am excited about this comic, and I really want to put out something nice.    

  I think blogging about the comic is helping me break the block, I am starting to get excited about getting back to work!  Look for more updates about my progress in the future!

Zombie Ben Franklin

This week in class my students have been taking the STAR exam. So instead of the normal 90 minute block, students are given 3 hours to finish the test. Of course my students always finish early so that means a lot of down time. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to show movies (school policy), and the students are in no mood to study. Which means I have to be creative.

One thing I like to do is let the students challenge me with different things to draw. It's great practice because I never know what they'll ask for, and I have to draw fast or I will lose their interest. I draw under a Doc-Cam that projects an image on the screen, and students can watch the picture develop. It's a lot of fun, and it's a chance for me to really show off. If you have never drawn in front of a crowd, I'll tell you it's a real adrenaline rush for an artist. It's "extreme drawing."

Below are two examples of the types of things high schoolers ask for.

Zombie Benjamin Franklin

Here's a detail of his face. GROSS!
And the Predator.
Luckily the students always ask for stuff I'm good at drawing.

Oh no! Does that mean I am an artist stuck in his adolescence?!

Character Design

Below are some of my latest character designs. Perhaps for a comic, or video game.

You might be asking: Why hot woman gladiators? When you should be asking: Why not hot woman gladiators?

Pencil roughs, colored in photoshop CS3