Megacon Orlando '07 wrapup

Had a great time at Megacon this year. I was very inspired by the artwork I saw and I'm excited to finish issue one. I didn't take too many pictures, and have only a few appropriate enough to show here. When I wasn't walking around talking myself out of buying EVERYTHING, and looking at the artists in artist's alley, I was helping Michael Duron watch his table and visiting with the gang at Ka-Blam and Indyplanet.

This is their booth, I took this from reaaaalllllllly far away, but that's Jenny and Barry Gregory and Rene and Thomas Florimonte. They're going to publish Black Cat Bone for me, the first issue coming out some time in the year 2015 or so.

MegaCon Orlando 2007

This weekend is MegaCon. I'll be there Saturday and Sunday supporting my friends Barry and Jenni Gregory and Thomas Florimonte and Mike "Locoduck" Duron. Come geek out with us. www.megaconvention.com I'll have a full report on Monday. (by Monday I mean Wednesday.)

Black Cat Bone- Chapter 1, Page 1

Okay, here it is. The beginning of the beginning. I have pages in various stages of completion, but I thought I'd finish page one and share it with you. Let me know what you think, but please be gentle, it's my first time.

Tyler melts down.

This is a common occurance where I work. I see (and hear) this happen on a regular basis.

Gets funnier every time.

Lewis Black caricature

This guy cracks me up. He's a white hot ball of nervous/irritated energy.

Rex

Here's a dinosaur because, er..dinosaurs are cool.

Christmas 2006: The gifts

The kids got everything they wanted and more this year. They have been successfully spoiled rotten by all parties involved. Above are shots of Alex and Kathy Christmas Eve, opening presents from the family.

Below is Christmas Day; Santa was a complete lunatic this year.

I got everything I wanted as well. In an attempt to keep this blog semi art related, I'll share with you some of my more blog-relevant gifts.

Got some great books this year:Great book featuring a ton of artwork for Gorillaz, of whom I am a huge fan.

Never seen the movie, but the character design is excellent. Unique packaging and presentation as well. I love "The art of:" books. Sometimes the concepts are better than the finished result.

I've been waiting a long time for this book to come out, and I'm actually reading it instead of just looking at the pictures!

I got a lot of other stuff as well, and I appreciate everyone who thought of me this Christmas. I, on the other hand really dropped the ball. I got home made cookies from people, cards, photos and other gifts, but beyond my family I didn't GIVE much at all and I'm very disappointed in my performance. I have an amazing circle of friends who I love and adore, I need to treat them that way. So here it is, 2007 and I have a list of resolutions as long as my arm including being more giving, not just at Christmas, but all year. And update this blog more often...

2006 Christmas cookies

Every year the kids and I make cookies. Usually we make several kinds, but every year we make candy cane cookies and sugar cookies with red and green sprinkles. As with every tradition, funny patterns seem to emerge.

It seems while shopping to prepare for the the annual cookie baking, the red and green sprinkles are overlooked when I make my list of items I need or already have around the house. It appears that every year I buy the sprinkles, not aware that I had some left over from the previous year. This is what I found in my cupboard:

That's right, I have SIX YEARS worth of red and green sprinkles! The containers to the far right are the 2006 edition.

The candy cane cookies are made with regular cookie dough, half with red food coloring, the other half plain (or white). I usually make the dough and the kids twist it around into candy canes. Usually they start out strong, and then the kid's interest fades with each passing batch. The first wave of cookies are perfect, then they become candy cane colored lumps and finally blobs of cookie dough. This year was no exception.

Guess who had to clean all of this up?

Captain Jack sez....

Jekyll/Hyde

Not sure why I drew Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Once I started, I couldn't stop.

Old men

Caught some old guys having a heated discussion the other day, which inspired me to draw this. I draw people all the time and although I love kids and am a big fan of beautiful women, old men are definitely the most fun to draw. That doesn't mean I'm going to go out and try to BE one any time soon...

Some guy named Mitch.

I was doing some doodling and came up with this character. Not sure what his story is, or if he even has one, but I can tell you he's a lot of fun to draw. So far I figure he's an archeology major in college and despite his massive frame, he's a bit of a nerd (and he's a bit dense). He lives with his parents, has a cool utility belt, goes on secret worldwide missions and wears his little sister's pink backpack. ..and his name is Mitch.

What the heck have I been doing?

Haven't posted in about a month, although I have been doing quite a bit of drawing. First of all, Black Cat Bone is steadily moving along. I'll post some teaser stuff up here soon. Also, I've been involved in a weekly drawing challenge over at http://caricatureconnection.blogspot.com/ Caricature Connection artists are invited to submit artwork according to a theme introduced every Monday. It's not a contest, or even a competition. It's just meant to share your artwork with the other artists. I've been helping to run the challenges every week and participate. Here's my stuff.

Week 1: Trick or Treat.

One night at work a guest asked me what I was going to dress up as for Halloween. I told her "A caricature artist" Then I wondered what a caricature artist costume would look like...

Week 2: The Yeti.

Here's the yeti in a candid moment, early one morning retrieving the paper in his wife's bathrobe.

Week 3: The Politician.

Dubya.

Week 4: Whatcha' Watchin'?

My favorite new show Heroes, a very close second behind LOST.

Crockett/Boone, a king and a fool

Here's a couple of drawings from the past few days. They start out as scribbles and shapes and then I try to turn them into something. This is a Daniel Boone/Davy Crockett type guy, in marker.

Here's a king and a jester. The king started as three circles (like a snowman), the jester was an afterthought.

I like doing this stream-of-consciousness type drawing. It's fun just to draw something without "trying" to draw anything. Many of the drawings you see on this blog are done that way. I don't start with a specific idea, I just let my "little dot go for a walk"

NCN con wrapup

Finally I'm able to post about the 2006 National Caricaturist Network convention held recently here in Orlando. The con was a huge success, with the largest artist turnout ever. The guest speaker this year was David O'Keefe www.davidokeefe.com . Inspired by his work, I sculpted a 3-D piece for my studio submission this year.

I got to talk extensively with David (he's a great guy), and hope some of his immense talent and wisdom will rub off on me.

This is my wall space.

I only ended up doing 4 pictures, a new low for me. Good news is, I still won an award Best Cartoon Style, Second Place. Here's me with newcomer Jessica Plummer (who had a rockin' sketchbook) and Spumco artist Marlo Meekins. I'm the dumpy one in the middle. Needless to say, I'm all pumped up for 2007's convention, which will be in Reno the first week of October. My plan is to have some Black Cat Bone books to sell there and a very unique studio piece that I'm already planning...Stay tuned!

"This is NOT a good look for me!"

Every time I'm flipping through the movie channels late at night, I run across this movie (you know what it is). I always end up tuning in near the chest waxing scene. It's brutal and funny, and wouldn't be nearly as entertaining if Steve Carell wasn't ACTUALLY getting his real chest waxed. That's his own blood in that scene. Comedy is indeed all about commitment.

Primates of the Caribbean

Just another in what seems to be an endless series of posts regarding monkeys and pirates. They're just so much fun to draw! Don't worry though, I just about have it out of my system.

Arrrrrgh matey!

Avast me hearties! Today be Talk Like a Pirate Day. Shiver me timbers! Since I be such a pirate fan, I figgered I'd post some scurvy scallywags . Now where's me rum?

Memory sketch: Grandpa

This is a sketch from memory of a guy I saw at the park the other day.

Cheeky Monkey

The other night I was drawing a wonderful family from England. The mother kept referring to her son who I was drawing as a "cheeky monkey" which I think is an absolutely hysterical phrase. I crack up every time I hear it. So I was inspired to do this: