Class Photo

Today saw another great day at Alternative Press Expo.  Thanks to everyone who came by the table.  I had a fantastic time meeting new folks and reuniting with fans.  I hope everyone got as much cools stuff as I did (my favorite is the evil, stuffed bunny I got my girlfriend… yes, its face comes off) and are reading some great new comics.

As another great year at APE ends, I thought everyone might like to enjoy this updated group shot of all the Father Robot character from issue 1.

Free sketches!

Normally I try to charge for sketches at con tables.  I do this because, in the past, I’ve found that if I open it to the concept of free sketches I quickly find myself drawing all day to the neglect of my table.  I set out to charge at Comicon this year, but I discovered that with Kristopher doing all the work bringing people over to the table and talking about the books, I had time to draw and draw and draw.  And so, I did quite a few sketches for people who asked, and quite a few for myself.  Here’s one, done at the table with Copic markers.

Inspiration-Con

I learned a lot at this year’s Comicon. Much of it had to do with upcoming projects, and even more had to do with long-term plans for how to approach work, in terms of tone and focus, for the future. One of my favorite take-aways from an event as big as the one in San Diego is, are the inspirations I get from other people’s work. One in inspiration came from the table I sat at. Kristopher White, writer of Father Robot, had another book at our table last week called The 36. In it was a monstrous Golem. I was called on to draw said Golem a couple of times during the convention. Here’s one of those drawings.

While Kristopher harassed convention-goers giving out all the awesome free buttons he had made, I tried to tempt people to the table with frantic drawing skills.

Comicon!

As the big convention in San Diego gets closer, I seem to be spending less and less time at the drawing table.  Not to worry, though!  There’s more developments on the horizon.  For now, I hope everyone who can will come check out the Father Robot awesomeness at table L-06 in the Small Press Pavilion next week.

 

Also, check out the preview of issue #1:

 

More pages will post at fatherrobot.com in the days leading up to Comicon.

A little time off

I haven’t posted in over in month, but it’s not for lack of something to post.  The comic I’m collaborating on with Kristopher White for Comicon, Father Robot, is ready to go, and that’s because I’ve been doing little else but work on it since the beginning of May.  I even quit my day job to focus on it entirely for a while.  Well, it’s done.  I hired a colorist (the wonderful Jenny Gosk) and Kristopher hired a letterer and now the book is going out to the printer.  So, I should have some time off to work on a few other projects.  While I get some artwork together for such promised things, check out some line work from Father Robot #1.

Get ready for Father Robot!

Check out this image from the upcoming comic, Father Robot.  The story takes place in a future where wars are fought with robots instead of people. The ‘bot in this promo image thinks he’s the father of a little girl, and will do anything to protect her.  Look for the first issue out soon!  The book is illustrated by yours truly and written by comics pro Kristopher White.

I drew this by hand, vectorized it in Illustrator, and then colored it in Photoshop.  I really like the “clean-up” that happens to my line work when it’s vectorized.  Also, it really makes the magic wand  and other tools interact with the artwork better when coloring.