Done, for now

Well, I sent my files off to the printer. Now all I have to do is wait for my proof to show up, oh and build a display, and print posters and prints, and think of all the things I have forgotten to do, and, oh yeah...finish the entire book. I found out that the good folks at Stumptown are putting on an art show downtown for the month of April and May. So, I get to put a couple of the originals from my comic up for display, which I am super excited about. The show is at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts (http://www.pcpa.com/) and the opening reception is on April 2nd, for anybody in Portland who feels like coming.

today is a good day

Well, I started the day in a bad mood, but then I sold a drawing....and money makes me happy! I'm currently wrapping up issue one of the ol' comic ( which needs to be sent to the publishers by Tuesday! EEEK! A perfect time to add a whole new page...add details to almost every page...oh, and letter!). Also, my lovely wife made a suggestion of drawing wallpaper in the backgrounds of the comic...to which I scoffed because of how long that would take. BUT, I decided to cheat! So, I went to a scrap store, bought a book of silk upholstery fabrics, scanned them in and did some digital fiddlin'... and voila! Wallpaper!

Oh, I forgot one other great idea Ash had, which was to add more sneakin' salamanders hiding in the panels...so there are three in this one.

Just because

I know I posted yesterday, but I'm online and thought I'd share some panels that I like. I recently had to re size/reformat ALL of my pages (boring), but on the bright side I got to look at pages I hadn't looked at in awhile.

Oh, and thank you to those of you who wrote to me saying that you are a fan and NOT my mom. My self depreciating cry for compliments was successful! Mike 1, Depression 0.

One Away!

Well, I finished page 19 last night. That leaves one more until I'm done...with chapter one....not counting future edits. That only leaves 100 or so to go! Also, I made my handwriting into a font for FREE at http://www.yourfonts.com/ which is pretty much the best news of the day for me!

Before and After

Progress on the comic is blazing ahead at a snails pace (that's fast, actually)!! I've been drawing almost every day and am only a couple pages away from being done with chapter/issue #1. I thought I'd share some "before and after" images of the comic. The top is what I draw in my sketchbook and the bottom is the finished drawing. I've been doing the initial pencils looser and looser lately, which greatly speeds up the process. I don't have my initial story boards scanned in, but they are SUPER loose, drawn in ball point on typing paper in a binder.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaw! I got me a Deadline!

Seeing as how I'm not a famous stay at home professional artist packed to the gills with deadlines, I am thrilled to say that I have provided myself with an honest to goodness deadline (it only cost $70)! I have registered with the Stumptown Comics Fest (www.stumptowncomics.com) and have secured myself half a table. This means that I have to have the first chapter of my comic done and printed by the time April rolls around, or I shall look foolish and my wife will yell at me to no end. So, anybody who considers themselves my friend (or fan...I think I have one that isn't related to me) should stop by my booth and buy a comic, or a poster, or a print, or give me a hi five, or a thumbs up, etc. etc.

Big ol' drawing

My good friend Josh and I made a pact to apply (ie: get rejected) by galleries this year. That said, I have started a series of large (3 feet by 4 feet) drawings...because big art is better art, right? Here are a couple close ups of the first one, which hopefully will be done by monday. Disaster has alread struck though, I set up a large mirror on a seperate easel to use myself as a model...and it fell and smashed across the studio floor. Josh claims that I am due for 7 years bad art luck.