Denise Dorman has posted some clarifications to her earlier piece. She points out emphatically that she appreciates cosplayers, and that Bleeding Cool went with a click bait headline… which certainly worked. I take her at her word on this and have more to say.
My Regular Con Carry
Following up on our discussion on the last episode of Comics Assembled (Wait, you're not listening to Brian Ward and me talk about the business of comics every week? Shame on you! Check it out here right now.) I thought I would post my regular Con Carry. All of this lives in my Brenthaven shoulder bag so that I don't have to worry about remembering it. It's always stocked with these things, which are duplicates or travel versions of things I have in my studio. Buying two things is sometimes much easier than remembering to bring one.
Read on to see what I bring with me to shows.
Hello, Sweetie
[image src="http://thomz.com/blogall/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/riversong.jpg" align="left" border="none" link="#" alt="" title="" lightbox="false" ] A River Song commission that I just wrapped up this morning.
Baltimore Comic-Con 2014!
We’ve hit the point where I just can’t be objective about Baltimore Comic-Con anymore. I just adore the show and the people and the staff. It’s just the best. Read more on my blog!
Late to the party: My DragonCon wrap-up
I just did DragonCon, which continues to be a delight. It is a convention with it’s own flavor, one unlike any other. It’s fan run, has multiple programming tracks and is capable of becoming exactly the convention you’re looking for it to be. Read more on my blog!
Hawkwoman Warm Up Sketch
Since I did Hawkman yesterday, I thought I’d do Hawkwoman today. I see a lot of pictures of her with a mace, but I like the sword and shield from that awesome Hawkman #6 cover.
Since I did Hawkman yesterday, I thought I’d do Hawkwoman today. I see a lot of pictures of her with a mace, but I like the sword and shield from that awesome Hawkman #6 cover.
Since I did Hawkman yesterday, I thought I’d do Hawkwoman today. I see a lot of pictures of her with a mace, but I like the sword and shield from that awesome Hawkman #6 cover.
Weekly Warm Up Round Up: Disney Villains
I'm really enjoying doing these warm up sketches. They're expanding my digital drawing technique and they're also a lot of fun. Inspired by Walt Disney World's upcoming Villains Unleashed event (which, man, I'm tempted to make a stupid road trip down to) I started drawing Disney baddies. Chernabog, from my beloved Fantasia is well-known as my favorite villain. I love the design of Hercules' Hades so I had to do him. I'm a huge Uncle Scrooge fan, so Magica De Spell was a natural. I think Princess and the Frog is vastly-underrated so I did Dr. Facilier. The Mignola-artwork that was the basis from Atlantis was just too pretty to ignore, so I did Roarke and Sinclair from that movie. And I wrapped up with Ratigan from Great Mouse Detective. It's one of Disney's largely forgotten films, and I have the one-two punch of one of my Kubert instructors having worked on it and telling great stories of Vincent Price re-recording his voice to do it better and the great memories of taking my younger brothers to a dollar show to see it.
So enjoy my walk on the evil side.
Your Guardians of the Galaxy
As part of my continuing sketch warm-up/Manga Studio expanding process, I decided to draw the Guardians of the Galaxy… the original Guardians. Well, the 70s versions that I remember. So Starhawk, Yondu, Vance Astro, Charlie-27, Martinex and Nikki. I also tried to expand my drawing techniques in Manga Studio. I tried a few more things with guides and rules, especially on the Charlie-27 rivets on his uniform. I also did a couple of things as separate layers, such as the brush-like highlights on Starhawk which I could just change the color of in Photoshop. I also had a lot of fun figuring out the fastest way to do Martinex's look.
I kept the characters close to their Bronze Age incarnations. I wasn't looking to re-invent them, though I did tweak some gloves and other accessories to help delineate each character.
And want some Bronze Age fun? Check out the first Guardians collection on Amazon or Comixology.
Baltimore Comic-Con Yearbook
For the last couple years, I've been designing the Baltimore Comic-Con Yearbook. Year one was Liberty Meadows, year two was Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo. This year we're tackling Matt Wagner's Grendel. [image src="http://thomz.com/blogall/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/baltimore14_cover_regFINAL.jpg" align="right" border="image_border" link="#" alt="" title="" lightbox="false" width="200" ]
Baltimore is one of my favorite shows, and it's always an honor to work on the book, it's also a challenge to work with so many artists and find a way to make the next year's book better than the last. We've definitely done that this year. New artists! Returning artists! More artists! And a surprise I'm not sharing quite yet. But wait until you see the book.
Right now the book is safely at the printer and all that's left is waiting for the shipping information. I'd say waiting patiently, but let's be honest, I'll be nervous up until Marc Nathan calls and tells me those books are in his hands. But it's all worth it. I think you're going to love the book.
A Secret of Sketchbooks
While I was at San Diego, I was asked to do the inaugural sketch in someone's sketchbook. She was starting an all-Hydra sketchbook. First up, she wanted a piece involving the Hydra Skull/Octopus logo. Let me let you into the mind of an artist. I always look through a sketchbook I'm given. And while I never do a bad piece, at least not intentionally, there's a point when you see a sketchbook will pieces by comics' legends or pieces that should be legendary and you think, "I gotta bring my A-game to this one." We're competitive, we artists, and sketchbooks bring that out.
So when I got this request, I knew I had to start the book out right. I think it's your holy mission as an artist to start a sketchbook off so well that other artists go "Crap! I have to keep up with this one?!" She wanted the skull. I gave her the skull, a Hydra goon, and a bunch of SHIELD agents. (Also, to heck with all those periods in the title. It's SHIELD to me. I'm not wasting six characters on a tweet on all those dots.)
For more sketchbook insights, Amy Ratcliffe posted an invaluable piece on starting one, too. Check that out here.
[image src=" http://thomz.com/blogall/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hydra.jpg" align="left" border="image_border" link="#" alt="" title="" lightbox="false" ]