Yesterday’s warm-up sketch.

DragonCon commissions!

My Fiesta Equestria Commission List is OPEN!

I'm going to be a guest at Fiesta Equestria. It's my first time at an MLP Show. Hopefully it won't be my last. Knowing that I'll be the only Pony artist at the show, I thought I'd post my rates and make commissions available ahead of time. I'll certainly be doing them at the show, but if you want to be sure to get one, it's safest to pre-order. Also, if you want something really complicated (The Mane Six playing poker a la Dogs Playing Poker) I can do the work in my studio and figure out an appropriate price. Also, I'll have sketchcards and copies of my books and trades. Maybe even a Love and Capes trade or too as well.

Below are my prices. You can order online, but you'll need to then email me to let me know what characters you'd like.

Below is a gallery of some recent commissions, so you can see what you'l be getting. Thanks!

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Head sketch of your favorite Pony in black and white

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[pricing_table column="6" position="other" skin="blue" title="CLR HEAD" price="$30" price_sub_text="" button_size="color_button1" button_link="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ELY3FEXBK29D2" button_text="Order" ]

Head sketch of your favorite Pony in color

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[pricing_table column="6" position="other" skin="pink" title="BW PONY" price="$40" price_sub_text="" button_size="color_button1" button_link="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=XXCFN96JZ8KAC" button_text="Order" ]

Full body sketch of your favorite Pony with graphic background

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[pricing_table column="6" position="other" skin="green" title="CLR PONY" price="$75" price_sub_text="" button_size="color_button1" button_link="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=6PVVZBXSUTWU2" button_text="Order" ]

Full body sketch of your favorite Pony in full color with graphic background

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[pricing_table column="6" position="other" skin="purple" title="BW PONIES" price="$80" price_sub_text="" button_size="color_button1" button_link="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=QZ7ABSQWKDCXE" button_text=" Order" ]

Two Ponies in black and white with graphic background
Each additional Pony add $25

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Two Ponies in full color with graphic background
Each additional Pony add $40

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Comics That Changed My Life: Uncle Scrooge, His Life and Times

This is the fifth in a series of five posts about comics that made an impact on me growing up. I'm not talking about anything I worked on as a professional, but books I bought that influenced me as a creator and as a person. Somehow I wound up with this book. Honestly, I can't remember where I bought it. It might have been when my aunts took me on a trip to Hawaii, because I have some memory of reading it on a plane.

I always loved Uncle Scrooge. He was one of the few non-superhero books I unabashedly enjoyed.[image src="http://thomz.com/blogall/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/unbclescrooge.jpg" align="left" border="image_border" link="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0890875103/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0890875103&linkCode=as2&tag=thozahartstu-20&linkId=B52RLWCML6WSZYUK" alt="" title="" lightbox="false" ]

Barks and Scrooge instilled some pretty important lessons in me. The virtues of hard work, of risk-taking and innovating, and of traveling. But no story stuck with me as much as Go Slowly the Sands of Time.

Scrooge feels old. He wants to be rejuvenated, to be young again. He, Donald and the Nephews go to Khunza and wind up talking to the oldest citizen, the royal treasurer, who has the same love of acquiring and creating money as Scrooge. They realize Scrooge is just as old, or even older, then their ancient treasurer.

"The secret of long life," the ancient one pontificated, "is to be happy with your work. Your daily toil has to be your whole reason for living."

I love being a cartoonist. I love being a storyteller. I love what I do, and the places it takes me and the things it lets me do. It is my favorite thing in the world and the thing that, without question, I was put on this planet to do.

I don't act my age. And I often hear that I don't look it, either. I think I'm doing something right.

Look upon the header! It's a new banner!

Stealing from my friend Sean Tiffany, I'm going to try to update my banner every month. Above: Rac Shade from Shade the Changing Man, part of my "drawing a day" project from December.

You Only Want What You Can't Have

The phenomenal Glenn Gordon Caron TV show, Now and Again, is coming to DVD. Finally! Eric Close, Dennis Hayspert and Margaret Colin rocked this slice of life meets Six Million Dollar Man show in a way that hasn't been done since. I can't recommend this enough.

Have Some Comicpalooza Commissions!

While I'm waiting for United to find the bag that they lost on my direct flight (what the heck?) back from Houston yesterday, I thought I'd share some of the commissions that I did over the long weekend. There was a great mix of Ponies, heroes and some obscure cool stuff. Check out in particular the tae kwon do pony I drew to look like the girl who bought it, and some of the obscure Martian Manhunter characters. Take that David Goyer!