Wacky Reference Wednesdays, No. 63

Woverine's got a hangover and Spidey's trying to keep him from getting into a fight. This is another example of the many "takes" required to get the right pose. What I often have to explain at conventions is that it's not so much about drawing as it is about acting. I can draw a full figure out of my head, but a particular gesture always seems richer when I've tried it myself.

While I didn't actually have a hangover in this pic, I was channeling prior experience.

Philly '09 Costumes

Here are some more costumes pics from the convention.

In other news, I have a cavity. Looks like all the daily brushing hasn't helped. Maybe I'll just stop all together.

Philly 09 Cont'd

Here are just a few more commissions from Wizard World Philly. These were all done on the Dark Avengers covers, which I discussed in the last post. To be honest, these were a struggle to get through, but the recipients seemed happy enough at the end, so I guess that's all that matters.

Spider-Men

So, um, I was asked to paint Spider-Man a lot last weekend. Here are all the results.

I was partly to blame for the endless requests: I told most everyone that Spidey was the only thing I could make look good on those Dark Avengers variant covers. For those of you who aren't familiar with them, they are special versions of the comic that leave space for custom sketches on the front. While the paper is a significant improvement over its Secret Invasion predecessor, it still doesn't absorb paint as well as the watercolor paper on which I usually paint.

I normally use quite a bit of water to vary the color and value of my conventions sketches, something that doesn't work well on these covers. Since my Spidey paintings are basically pure cadmium red and alizarin crimson, it's somewhat less of an ordeal. Thankfully, the last request was on my own paper.

No Ears

Poor Silver Surfer. I guess you don't need ears if you're going to be in space. This is a recent head study from the Philly convention.

Also, Ben Morse has written a pretty extensive post about me on his blog, The Cool Kids Table. I'm a big fan of the title, but then again, I'm biased. Thanks for the kind words, Ben.

Wacky Reference Wednesdays, No. 62

This one's for my homies.

Whenever I take reference photos of myself using a tripod and self-timer, the results can be a little unpredictable. Because of this, it often takes me 2 or 3 shots to get exactly what I'm looking for. Fortunately, the process is quick and easy, meaning I can get back to work drawing straight from the camera.

Young Allies Art

The original art from Young Allies is now for sale at Splash Page.

As for me, I think tonight's going to be an all-nighter. Should be worth it, though — Marvel's having me do a special project for one of their upcoming series. Hopefully, I'll be able to show some of it pretty soon.

Priceless

Head sketch: $60
Finally getting to paint the pin-up you've been wanting to paint since watching the Watchmen in the theater: Priceless.

I had a great time this weekend in Philly. A big thanks goes out to Wizard for having me as their guest. I even ordered room service for the first time in my life.

I'll have plenty of pin-ups and photos from the con over the next few posts, so here's the first batch. Enjoy.







Nothing beats Jack Skellington posing for Jubilee.

Book by Its Cover

Julia Rothman, a fellow RISD grad, recently invited me to share my sketchbook at her blog, Book by Its Cover. Some of the sketches may be familiar to readers of this blog, but there are some new ones as well. I hope you enjoy the tour. Thank you for the invitation, Julia (and thanks for throwing my name in the hat, Mom!

By the way, the above sketch was drawn during my visit to the Frazetta Museum, which I highly recommend visiting.

Wizard World Philadelphia 2009

I will be in Philadelphia this weekend for Wizard World, Friday through Sunday. I'm pleased to announce that this will be my first year as a guest of the show (meaning I get nice room at the Marriott, plus a free table in Artist Alley).

Speaking of Artist Alley, I'll be at table 138. Just look for the big mirror. As usual, I will only be accepting watercolor head sketches. There will be a new commissions list at the beginning of each day — first come, first served.

Also, Saturday will be this blog's second birthday, so you can be sure I'll be celebrating at the bar. You can read my very first post here.

And as if that were not enough, this Sunday is Father's Day, so I'd like to send a special shout out to the man who taught me how to drywall (among many, many other things). Thanks for the "Not so fast, homeboy!" t-shirt. And thanks for posing as Doctor Doom. Here's to you, Dad.

Wacky Reference Wednesdays, No. 61

Here are my good (and patient) friends, Kikuo and Danielle, who are filling in for Captain America's soon-to-be parents.

SCAD

Some kids from SCAD are coming to visit the studio* tomorrow. I think this will be the third year they've stopped by Brooklyn. I painted this skull as a demonstration when I visited the school in 2006. Now it haunts my Mom's sewing room in our house in FL.

I seem to remember painting this pretty quickly. That's the excuse I'll use for not painting the teeth. Painting from life seems pretty easy to me now. Nowadays, I don't have the luxury of my subject matter existing in front of me.

* studio=bedroom

Young Allies Preview II

Marvel has provided Comic Book Resources with a 7-page preview of Young Allies, words and all. The book comes out this Wednesday, so mark your calendars.

Also, I saw an advanced copy of the book and the printing is spot-on! I've never had a more accurate representation of my colors, so I've been happy all week. I'll be sure to do an extensive post on what changed and how I came across the answer.

We'll have a couple guests for the upcoming Wacky Reference Wednesday, so you won't have to look at my face for at least a week. Right now, I'm finishing up a Ms. Marvel cover with a 60s theme, followed by a few promo pieces for a major Marvel event. And Philly is next weekend as well. It's gonna be a busy week.

Identification Day (Done)

I just wanted to say thank you to the American Museum of Natural History for a great Identification Day. I didn't get a chance to take many pictures because we were so busy, but I got some before and after the event. Thanks to all of you who dropped by (especially those who got soaked on the way there).

Firefox and Friends

I have to admit that I was a little late to the game when it came to Firefox. I downloaded the free web browser late last year after hearing good things about it from my roommates. I used to think that all browsers were pretty much the same, but I changed my mind when I saw how the program could be customized using "add-ons," specialized plug-ins that are easily installed.



The add-on that has impacted my work flow the most has been Cooliris, a media plug-in that makes searching for images about as easy as possible. I spend a good portion of my time searching on-line for reference photos (anything from cars to weapons to clouds). Now, instead of clicking through dozens of pages on Google and Flickr, I can simply click on the icon, transforming my screen into a scrolling wall of images (and even video) that is easy to navigate, not to mention extremely fast.

You can even search directly from the plug-in, choosing from the many sites that are Cooliris enabled. One of my favorite features is the "share" button, a small envelope that, once clicked, adds the selected photo to an e-mail. Once all the photos are attached, I send it to myself. The subsequent e-mail provides me with a link to a custom page where all the images are displayed and easily downloaded.



Finally, there is FireFTP, a no-nonsense program that turns your browser into a FTP window, making file transfer easier (and faster) than ever. Now I don't have to open up Dreamweaver every time I want to upload documents to Marvel or my web site.

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Just a reminder, Identification Day is tomorrow. I'll be answering questions and drawing up a storm (although not taking commissions).

American Museum of Natural History
Milstein Hall of Ocean Life
Saturday, June 13
12:30-3:30

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And just for fun, here's a sketch from my 2004 trip to see Body Worlds in LA. Have a great weekend!

Wacky Reference Wednesdays, No. 60

These shots were really only for the hands, but I just couldn't help myself.

Back to Brooklyn

I was lucky enough to return safely to NY today, ending a 5-day vacation in FL that included my 10-year high school reunion (you can actually see some pics at my Mom's blog). Now it's back to work! I've got another variant cover to do and a brand new promotional project from Marvel that should be fun. And pictured above is a recent head sketch that I promised to someone a while back. Better late than never.

Commander Z

She'll "undo" you!

The Ref Ref

I'm blogging from the past now, so hopefully I'll be in Florida (and living it up at my 10-year high school reunion) when this posts.

Pictured above is a preview of my current project. No explanation until I'm all done! I'll have another piece to show on Monday. Have a great weekend! I'll be partying like it's 1999.

Wacky Reference Wednesdays, No. 59

Here I am putting on two of my best poker faces for the variant cover to Spider-Man #590. You can see the finished painting here.

Young Allies Preview

Sorry for the late post. I'm not firing on all cylinders today. Hopefully, I can get back up to speed by tomorrow. In the meantime, Newsarama has a 7 page art preview for Young Allies.

Later this week, I'll be returning to my hometown, Daytona Beach, FL, to attend my 10-year high school reunion. After that is my visit to the Natural History Museum, followed by Wizard World Philly. June looks to be a busy month.