Time Traveling Tuesdays, Part 2

Ok, so part one was the first 2 pages of a 6 page comic that I did about 10 years ago. It was some good fun at the time, but looking back makes me grimace. Even the character design (or perhaps that's especially the character design) is cliche and deserves some serious reworking.

Unfortunately the terrible storytelling continues, though page 4 isn't nearly so bad as the preceding pages. I'd even go so far as to say that I kind of like the first panel... But damn am I glad I don't try to render rock like that anymore... blech!

Rough Stuff

A couple sketches from when I was working out the Black Cat print.

Inked these as warm-ups. I've been sifting through the 'net in search of interesting reference material, and I figured it might be interesting to ink over some of it from time to time. Lord knows I could use the practice, so don't be shocked if this kind of stuff starts popping up every now and then (though in the future I'll make sure to keep the original so you can compare...)

A couple more prints from the CCEE

Had a tough time with the Venom piece (as you've likely noticed if you've been following the blog) and it was no different when it came time to print the sucker. Colors were too dark, the background was too similar to the character, and on and on it went. This is the version that I was happiest with though, and I don't think I'm willing to go back into it anytime soon, so this is how it's going to stay... finally.

As for Thor, things went pretty smoothly. Inking was relatively painless, colors didn't take too long, all in all it was a lot of fun.

Oh, and HUGE thanks to Dan Markin, who was instrumental in my getting these pieces done, and looking as good as they do. That boy knows his color, and he's always happy to help. I don't think the con would have been nearly as enjoyable for me if I hadn't had him helping me out behind the scenes for an entire week before hand.

Con sketches

Had a ton of fun with these, and found them to be a really rewarding experience. Hopefully the fine folks who received them are just as happy.

Aftermath

First off I'd like to apologize for not posting in almost a month. A chunk of that time was vacation, and the remainder was prep for the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, which I attended as an exhibitor for the first time this year. I'll try to ease back into the regular schedule over the next week or two, but until then you'll have to forgive me as I would like to spend some time focusing on the convention and related topics.

Cons are a lot of work. A LOT of work. And they should be. I think any artist who took it easy and just "showed up" did a disservice both to themselves and their fans. I paid a hefty price, in that I wasn't properly prepared for this con, and so the last couple of weeks have been spent desperately trying to finish work and get things printed and organized. It sucked a bit, I didn't get to see much of my fiancee, nor was I able to spend much time with my good friend Dan Markin, who was in town for the convention. On the other hand, I think the time I spent digging in and making sure I had some great work to display paid off. My first time at the expo was a fantastic experience, and I even managed to make a bit of money.

I'm pretty happy with the way things turned out this year, and I think next year will be significantly better. I have several ideas for new con specific projects, and with any luck I'll have some personal work (like a webcomic perhaps?) up and running long before the next con arrives. I'd also like to seriously consider branching out and attending some other cons, though I'm not sure that my work is at a point yet where I'd be making enough to pay for hotel, travel and whatever other expenses are incurred by out of town cons.

Anyways, I'll be back tomorrow to talk some more about the con. For now, enjoy a few pics!

A couple shots of my booth, for those of you who didn't get the chance to check it out :)

Did this up when I realized I didn't have any female characters set for print. Turned out to be the best seller!

That's it for today folks. Come back tomorrow and I'll continue my discussion about the con. There's a lot to process, but I think it's worth it to talk about it all.