SHOW & TELL episode: SKETCH COMICS!

Messing Around with Photoshop and Flash animation

I'm trying out some new techniques for my latest animation project. This test is a combination of Hand drawn artwork, Photoshop, and Flash. I like the potential I see in combining these techniques. The early development phase of any project is really the most fun, AND important. It's these early choices we as creators make that shapes the outcome of the final piece.

They'll be many more discoveries I make on the road to finishing this latest project... maybe that's one of the reasons I like making stuff!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM PAPERENGINE!

Thanks to everybody for their invaluable encouragement and feedback! I know there's Loads of blogs and websites and content online, so taking the time to check out what I'm up to is much appreciated!

Hope everyone has a great holiday season!

IDIOT ENGINE Ep.38: KID STUFF!

Me and Illustrator, Storyboard Director and Children's Book Author CHRIS ROBERTSON discuss the process of making Children's Books. I realized only AFTER finishing recording that this ep went almost 2 friggin' hours! This tells me that either me and Chris talked REALLY slow, or there's a whole bunch of content in it. The best thing about podcasts is You the listener can judge for yourself! Take a listen... If you can keep up with us!

SuperMonsters at the Christmas Craft Fair!

I Had a fun time tabling at the Christmas Craft Fair this weekend. I did a lot of drawings and talked with some pretty neat people and even sold a few thing too! While I love making stuff, and blogging about it, participating in a show (craft, book, art, comic, etc.) gives me a real sense of completion. I'm like a farmer who just went to market to sell his freshly picked crop, or a fisherman sailing into market with his freshly caught fish.

It was a good day at the market but now it's time to work the ground again and get ready for the next harvest!

IDIOT ENGINE ep37: What the Internet means to our Art!

Me and Artist/Self-publisher, TYLER JAMES discuss what the Internet means to our Art! Topics include his Really Neat and successful 30 Characters in 30 days Challenge which just concluded, as well as, well... ALOT of topics related to what the Internet means to our Art! Sure it's a "Broad" topic, but don't call her a "Broad" she's a "Lady"!
So, if you get a chance, give it a listen!

PEG HEADS!

Just finished a series of PEG HEADS! They're like mini 3 dimensional action figure paintings! The wooden shape is so simple and smooth it's a great canvas that lets you "paint" with color and value and line. This series is a "ZOMBIEMAN ZERO" series with different zombiemen in it. The big "Kool Aid" looking guy in the back is a separate "Nesting egg" doll I've been working on. I still have to finish all the other egg dolls inside of him, but he's off to a good start! Fun Stuff Man!

Profiles from SUPERMONSTERAMA!

The SUPERMONSTERAMA project is making headway this weekend! Here's two profiles of the Supermonsters from the main storyline! Mutator and Gigantotron!


I'm choosing to use the limited color pallet for a nice contrast to the fully rendered paintings throughout the actual story. It's kinda neat how the limited color in old comics and posters was a cost issue but really created a beautiful aesthetic for the artform. That aesthetic can really be seen in some of the old Hammer posters, which they have recently made a pretty friggin neat book out of.

In a time where artists can use literally countless colors and filters and effects to render, it's good to remember that sometimes less is just what the doctor ordered!

SUPERMONSTERAMA GALLERY page...

Here's an example of an entry in the SUPERMONSTERAMA gallery section. It's really enjoyable writing the copy for the Supermonster gallery entries. Sometimes you can get bogged down trying to make something people will want to buy, or wanting to create an artistic statement on life. My advice is to take a break from making serious, thought provoking, or commercial art every now and then and just have fun. :)

Some SUPERMONSTERS illustrated pages...

Here are some Illustrated pages from the Supermonsters project I'm working on. These will bridge the Supermonster series of Paintings I did. Why do this? Why not just fully painted storybook OR painted cover/comicbook? I'm doing the peanut butter cup equation... gettin' these "two great tastes and making them taste great together!" It also falls under the "Let your passion fuel your Purpose" idea(Hey, that's from the latest IDIOT ENGINE:) I'm passionate about Supermonster Paintings AND Comics so I'm using 'em to Fuel a story! Blast off!

IDIOT ENGINE ep 36 Passion and how it relates to our Artistic Purpose!

A FIRST TIME EVER TITANIC 3-D Idiot Engine podcast! 3 Dimensions of Hosts that is! A big Thank you goes out to Storyboard Artist LUIS ESCOBAR and Artist/Self-publisher JAVIER HERNANDEZ for helping me triple team the latest ENGINE! . It's a scenic trip through the topic of "Passion and how it relates to one's Artistic Purpose" so pace this one out folks!

IDIOT ENGINE ep 35: The Suspension of Disbelief!

Me and Publisher KEITH RAINVILLE finish up our talk on "The Suspension of Disbelief" as it pertains to movies, comics, pro-wrestling and Jerzy Shore! A big "Thank You" to Keith for coming back again this episode (If you missed the last one, Check it out!) and taking this one all the way Home!

The Suspension of Disbelief is something we deal with everyday in the modern media and definitely worth giving some thought to, so if you get a chance, give a listen!

Art is more than ... Art!

Just finished doing a digital mock up for the title page for the gallery section of the project I'm working on and it's feeling just about right. It's one thing to make art but another thing to present it, either in print or on the web or in a slide show or etc.
It can be just as satisfying to design a composition for paste up as it is finishing a piece of art. It's all art after all just different mediums.

Recycling old paintings...

So I reworked an old painting "Mr. Bacon" and turned it into "Green spiderweb of Skull Island" (Yup, I just made up that title...) Feels a little derivative, but that's what that painting is. If you looked at it's DNA the "Derivative" chromosome would be present... Don't deny your painting it's true identity!

More Painted Supermonsters!

Yup! I'm still having a Blast plugging away at my latest SUPERMONSTERS project~

IDIOT ENGINE ep 44:Publisher Keith Rainville!

On the latest ENGINE me and Keith Rainville, publisher of FROM PARTS UNKNOWN and VINTAGE NINJA.NET discuss Ninjas, Cartoons, Gigantor And how publishing has changed with the advent of the digital internet age. Sure, the "Geek" level is rather high in this one, but I've never been more proud to be "Geeky"! Take a listen!

Yet ANOTHER SUPERMONSTER painting!

Yet another SUPERMONSTER painting in the series I'm putting together...

latest SUPERMONSTER painting!

Chugging away at my latest project SUPERMONSTERAMA! Painting is a fascinating medium, utilizing the various aspects of color alone is a blast, AND there's still composition, brush stroke, texture etc! Deep down though, it stokes my early fascination with the GREAT package art done for the classic GI JOE Toys and Japanese Giant Robots and Monsters and Heroes! Advice for the day: Don't ignore the little kid in you, just keep him off my friggin' lawn!

IDIOT ENGINE ep 33:Where do we as Artists/Storytellers fit in a struggling economy?

On the Latest ENGINE me and JERZY DROZD ask the question, "Where do we as artists/storytellers fit in a struggling economy?" You see it in the headlines and on the news every day, unemployment is high and the economy is takin' a big hit right now. It's tough times and Me and Jerzy discuss how Art/storytelling fit into the equation of a Struggling Economy. Thanks Jerzy!

IDIOT ENGINE ep 32: ORGANIZING pros and cons

Me and JAVIER HERNANDEZ discuss the pros and cons of ORGANIZING group gallery shows/conventions/events as well as ORGANIZING ourselves as artists into art groups/associations. Self-publishers/Artists are traditionally "Lone Wolves" in the professional world, heck, just look at the term "Self"-publisher. On this episode of the ENGINE Me and Jav look at how and in what ways us 'LONE WOLVES" can run in PACKS. Jav's been very active in organizing events as well as the artist group the CARTOONISTAS so he's takin' point on this one! Thanks Jav!

More SUPERMONSTERS paintings

Yet more SUPERMONSTERS paintings... I wonder, does this ever get any easier? Maybe the struggle and challenge of the paint is it's charm, then again maybe I just need more practice!

Some More painted SUPERMONSTERS...

Here's another in the series of SuperMonsters paintings I've been working on. It's really neat how Limitations can be seen as a "Yellow Brick Road" of sorts in our art. The fact that I don't have an unlimited pallet (Like I would with a digital medium) and I can't "step back" and erase mistakes with a flick of a click, are actually part of the "scaffolding" that guides me in my work. Sometimes, its easier to at least have limitations and do a MacGuyver than it is to do a StarTrek "Genesis Device" world building from scratch number. Hah! That's gotta be the most Quotation Marks I've ever used in a post!

SuperMonster paintings!

I'm currently doing a series of paintings and here's one I just finished, Yay!

ZOMBIEMAN ZERO PEG HEAD box!

Here's a finished version of my ZOMBIEMAN ZERO wooden "Peg Head" figurine complete with box and "Collect-me-card". I'm a big fan of those Japanese "Candy Toys" and this PEG HEAD toy was totally inspired by them! It's really satisfying to make something in a genre that inspires you! It's enlightening and it lets you appreciate it on a whole new level. So, my Life Tip for the day is... If you like something, Make it!

IDIOT ENGINE ep 31:Compromise or Conquer?

Me and Podcaster, Illustrator, Self-publisher, Teacher and all around He-man MARK RUDOLPH discuss how we as artists Compromise with our limitations and/or Conquer our limitations.



And back after several months is the WARMUP QUESTION! This episode we warmup our discussion with a talk about one of the greatest television shows of all time. Are we talking about oh MADMEN maybe? Perhaps the SOPRANOS? Gimme a Break! You'll have to listen to find out, but in the meantime I'll give you a hint...

Cool Stuff from MARY BELLAMY!

Just got some great work from MARY BELLAMY! Mary does some amazing sketch cards and I was finally able to commission her for my 4 favorite characters, needless to say I was delighted with her renditions of GIANT ROBOT, GAIKING, GIGANTOR and KIKAIDA! I also ordered her plush figures (Hey, a GUY can order plush figures if he wants to!) and they've been initiated into the neighborhood of toys I keep company with. They fit right in with the Bionic Bigfoot and Billy Cole!

Mary's exhibiting at San Diego Comic Con this coming week, and I encourage everybody to stop by and check out her work! Now if you'll excuse me, I think DVORAK(the dark one with batwings!) and Billy Cole are going to have a ROYAL RUMBLE with Bionic Bigfoot and Maskatron, OH YEAHHHH!

You've heard of SKETCH BOOKS, SKETCH CARDS and SKETCH DOLLS... Presenting SKETCH COMICS!

So, what's a SKETCH COMIC? It's a homemade one-of-a-kind comic done completely by hand, from pencil to ink to inkwash to lettering to painted cover to stapled binding. There's a really refreshing immediacy you feel when inking on the ACTUAL pages of your comic and painting on the ACTUAL cover of your book. There's not a wide margin for error, that's for sure. But it's great fun, and a good exercise for your artistic muscles.

Just imagine, JUST IMAGINE how friggin' amazing it would be to find out that JACK KIRBY did a Sketch comic, or STEVE DITKO or HERB TRIMPE or even ALEX TOTH! Well, I ain't no JACK KIRBY, I'm just "me" but I made one and it's not my imagination, and I guess that counts for something!

IDIOT ENGINE EP 30: How Color "Colors" our Perceptions!

A Big Thank You goes out to Mary Bellamy for cohosting the latest IDIOT ENGINE! Mary's a Self-Publisher, and accomplished illustrator and character designer who's work you can marvel at HERE! We talk Color Technique, Theory and Gilligan's Island on this episode! And I dare you NOT to crave a McDonalds Burger after listening to this one!

Mary was the First Lady to be on the ENGINE, so it's only fitting that she be dubbed "The First Lady of the IDIOT ENGINE!" Huzzah! Thanks Again Mary!

GEEKS CON was ON!

A great comic show well attended by the public, Geeks Con was indeed ON! The organizers behind the first Geeks Con have alot to be proud of. This show is exactly what a local intimate comiccon should be, a venue where artists and fans and the general public can get together and have a good time buying and selling merchandise, sketching for each other, and sharing knowledge. I spent the whole day with artists, animators, script writers, teachers, fans, and collectors, with one thing in common, an appreciation for the art that we all do. And as far as I'm concerned, that's what makes a successful comic show.

Me talking with Renato Aguirre of the Nuvein foundation.

Mike Aushenker!


AGIMAT Comics And their AMAZING NEW Video Game!

JIM LUJAN'S DVD!

It's a shame I can't show you guys all the neat people and stuff at the show, from RAFAEL NAVARRO and his friggin Amazing comics and SKETCHBOOK( honestly, every time I look at his work I am filled with equal parts awe and envy! The dude is simply great at capturing the best of the comic art form) to all the other amazing artists and creators in attendance, Jose Cabrera friggin CRYING MACHOMAN himself was there as was SHERM COHEN! Like I said, I can't show you everything, so all I can do is encourage you to check out your local comic shows and meet the people that make the stuff we all dig so much!

Gotta thank Javier Hernandez, Jim Lujan, and Sal the owner of Geeks (and everybody else who took part in the show!) for doing such a great job!

GEEK'S CON!

Geek's comic shop in Whittier is hosting it's first ever GEEKS CON tmo from noon to 10 pm! There's a lot of comicbook buzz going down in the San Gabriel Valley of CA, and a majority of it is coming from Sal's store, GEEKS. If you get a chance, drop by and meet some of the coolest Comicbook creators, Artists, Animators, Bloggers and Webcartoonists around town! A couple things to keep an eye out for: Jim Lujan's latest and possibly greatest DVD of his GHETTOMATION animated cartoons, Mike Aushenker will be signing his just released comic book and Javier Hernandez will be premiering his new EL MUERTO Sketch Dolls! Not to mention Sherm Cohen of CARTOON SNAP fame, as well as a great list of other... greats! I'll also be there hanging out with my new PULPED sketchbook! come on by and say "Hi!"

IDIOT ENGINE episode 29: Using Comics as a springboard for Creating other Art!

Me and Independent publisher/podcaster/teacher/artist/writer (whew, I'm runnin' out of (/) slashes!) JAVIER HERNANDEZ discuss how to use comics as a springboard for creating other types of Art. Comics can be seen as a "gateway" artform, that can branch off to Illustration, logo formation, toy creation, cartoons, etc. Does this compromise the integrity of comics as Art? Answers will vary... That's one of the fascinating aspects of any Artform, there's no ONE answer... Thanks for co-hosting for the nth time Javi!

OVER THE TOP AND UNDER THE PANTS

Here's a short Flash cartoon I put together in Flash. Pretty Goofy!

THE GOOD SAMARITAN

It's Free comicbook Day and everybody is out doing shows/parades/signings! Though I'm not "out and about" sharing the coolness that is comics, I'm "in and around" the 'net, so... Here's a 5 page short comic story done in the EERIE CREEPY PULPY vein... (Done on the cintiq from rough thumbnails scanned.)

IDIOT ENGINE episode 28:How Art makes us Strong

Me and DAVE BAKER of MODERN MYTHOLOGY PRESS discuss how Art Makes us Strong on the latest IDIOT ENGINE. Dave really has a passion for Art and his work shows it. He's a true talent and the sky's the limit for this dude! No, I take that back. The sky's too limiting for this guy! Take a ride on the Idiot Engine and listen to one of the voices that's making the future of comics bright!

IDIOT ENGINE episode 27: "How do you breath Life into your artwork?""

Me and Storyboard Director, Supervisor,Writer, Artist, Cartoonist and Teacher SHERM COHEN discuss how to breath life into one's Artwork. Sherm is a true Scholar of Storyboarding and Cartooning and it was my great pleasure to cohost the ENGINE with him. We discuss everything from Drawing with Confidence to "Ingesting" JACK KIRBY's Artwork! Take a listen and ride the IDIOT ENGINE!
Thanks for cohosting Sherm, it was quite a RIDE!

IDIOT ENGINE episode 26:INSPIRATION where do you find it and where does it take you?

Me and Teacher, Webcartoonist,Self-publisher and Podcaster, Krishna M Sadasivam discuss the subject of INSPIRATION! We talk about Star Trek, fearing Death, Career Self-help books and INSPIRATION! This is why I like riding the IDIOT ENGINE, it always takes me on a great trip! Excuse the technical glitches, but heck, every trip has a few of those! Thanks for cohosting Krishna!

IDIOT ENGINE episode 25 &25.5 Is it important to be "Liked" as a storyteller?

Me and Web Cartoonist, Podcaster, and self-publisher Ryan Dow host the latest IDIOT ENGINE! We try to answer the question, "How important is it to be "Liked" as a storyteller?" Why two podcasts for one topic? Technical glitch is all... It's a long one folks, and we do take a bit of a "Scenic" route, en route to answering the topic, but the key word is "Scenic"! Thanks RYAN!
EP 25


EP 25.5

IDIOT ENGINE episode 24: Is Art Worth Teaching?

Me and Manuel Arellano ask the question, "Is Art Worth Teaching?" Manuel has been an Educator for some 20 plus years, he's been a Teacher, Counselor and Principle, in the school district so I consider myself very lucky he made the time to cohost the ENGINE with me! Thanks Manuel! (And I hope you don't "Grade" this blog post... lotsa typos I'm sure!)

MAKING MYSELF A COMIC: final sequence

This type of stream of consciousness comicbook work is a great way to find a little peace of mind, AND get some good practice in to boot! The nice thing about this type of exercise is sometimes you can find compositions and ideas that you can use for your published works.

MAKING MYSELF A COMIC: vid post 6

MAKING MYSELF A COMIC: vid post 5

MAKING MYSELF A COMIC: vid post 4

Making Myself a Comic: vid post 3

MAKING MYSELF A COMIC :vid post 2

MAKING MYSELF A COMIC: vid post 1

SUPERMONSTERS COLORING UNLEASHED!

I received some cool pics from Talented freelance artist/illustrator OFLODA showing the awesome work his family did coloring the SUPERMONSTERS! Those monsters have never looked better Ofloda! Makes me wonder if those talented artists don't have some supermonsters of their own they'll be drawing some day! Thanks for sharing the Awesomeness!

IDIOT ENGINE episode 23: Technology and how it influences our work

Me and frequent cohost (Thanks Jav!) JAVIER HERNANDEZ discuss the current and upcoming technology and how it influences our work and how we present it to our audience. We discuss using the Cintiq for comics so I'm posting an image of a page done in Photoshop cs2 using the Cintiq. I scanned in a thumbnail, but my rough, finish and graytone was done digitally. Thanks again Jav!

SUPERMONSTERS COLORING BOOK Arrives!

Thanks to Gonzalexx for sharing this pic of his daughter Alejandra with her official SUPERMONSTERS Coloring book! AND here are the FIRST ever colored pages! It's FRANKENSTEIN'S GIANT done by: Pilarcita, Alejandra, and Patricia! They all look like SUPERMONSTER MASTERWORKS to me! Thank you Pilarcita, Alejandra, and Patricia(Artists All!) , and thank you Jose! You've got quite the Artists studio at home!