Growing up Star Wars

Kylo Ren is the new baddie in The Force Awakens and he's got an obsessive connection to Darth Vader. I created this art for a contest a month or so back. I didn't win, but it was fun since I don't do a lot of Star Wars artwork often.

We are now entering what I call the THIRD AGE OF STAR WARS. After the amazing original trilogy, followed by the newer prequels (which I consider pretty fun and not exactly the complete crapfest everyone likes to call them) we are now entering a time when creative people who grew up being fans of this stuff are now allowed to play in the playground that George Lucas created (even if he’s still kinda moping around and saying he's divorced Star Wars). Disney is the best thing to happen to the franchise and really the only logical step to keep continuously moving forward. I haven’t always been a fan of Disney. In fact for years I hated hearing the name. They used to do some really crappy things (look up Kimba The White Lion to see how they literally stole the ideas for The Lion King). However most of the old bosses are gone there, replaced by some of the geniuses that originally ran PIXAR.

Star Wars has been a borderline obsession and a huge part of my life since I was a kid. Originally I enjoyed it for it's pure science fiction, but even then I knew it was special. Later the original trilogy became more about family and how the love of a son can save the father & vice versa. That really stuck with me. As a kid the special effects and puppets and background matte paintings all amazed me. It was awesome knowing so many talented artists came together to make something truly other worldly and magical. I blame George Lucas (and later Spielberg) for opening my eyes to the magic of cinema. My first viewing of the films together was after getting the VHS box set around 1992. and the special edition versions that came back to the theater in 1997 really cemented my fandom for life. The love of the movies soon turned into a love for collecting. Mostly action figures, but later pretty much anything. 

I still have my ticket stubs for the 1997 Special Editions of Star Wars that ran theatrically.

I had never been to the theater to see one of the originals when it first opened so when The Phantom Menace came out I was pumped. I saw that movie 6 times in a matter of weeks (but looking back on it, it was a fun movie with a bunch of missed potential) and then saw I saw Episode 2 & 3 on opening weekends as well. The Clone Wars show that was on Cartoon Network for several years really fixed a lot of what was wrong with the prequel movies and honestly makes them much more enjoyable when you re-watch them. And let’s not forget that brand spanking new(ish) show Star Wars Rebels. That show is pure Star Wars fun and not watered down a bit. I had my doubts at first but Dave Filoni, the same genius show runner that ran Clone Wars is a true fan and he keeps everything within the lore and world already created. Which brings us to now. The present. I’m beyond ecstatic that my eyes and ears get to witness a NEW Star Wars movie, in less than a month no less. And despite reading literally every spoiler and pretty much knowing the entire story outline I still want to unwrap this movie present like a rabid child on Christmas morning.

Saying that I’m excited for Star Wars: The Force Awaken’s is the understatement of all understatements. My enthusiasm is cranked to 11. J.J Abrams really is the only guy I want to direct this movie, and I was really bummed when he turned down the directing job the first time but overjoyed when he changed his mind. He is a true fan of this stuff. I caught all of those references to Star Wars he would sneak into his show LOST. Heck the guy directed two Star Trek movies and snuck R2-D2 into both of them. Who better to jump start a new round of Star Wars but someone who revived both the Mission Impossible series and gave new life to the failing Star Trek franchise. Last of all his personal mentor is not only George Lucas’s best friend but possibly one of the best filmmakers alive today Steven Spielberg. No wonder George hand picked him. I’m hearing that J.J. has made something special. Something for the fans, the kids and the kid in all of us. I’m excited for the new diverse cast of mostly unknowns who’s lives are about to be turned upside down and I’m overjoyed to see the original cast return as well. Seeing Harrison Ford actually really excited to be in a new Star Wars movie is something I never thought I would see and it’s glorious!

So shoot first, go get a lightsaber, your best friend, a wookie, tissues, popcorn and a young or old person who has never seen a Star Wars film and see this in a theater near you. Maybe this movie will be the spark that opens someones imagination to the possibilities of cinema & life!

A return to purpose

This is my grumpy bunny look. I save it for special occasions like birthdays or when I decide to revive my sleepy old blog.

Hi! It's been awhile since I've posted here. A few years actually. I've contemplated deleting this blog and starting a new one several times, but this once was a place I used a lot. It's kinda special and it helped me get out of a bad art rut I was in for a year or so. My reason and purpose for starting this blog was to show the art I created to the world (or at least the world wide web) and have a reason to make art more often. Thus I named the blog Purpose on Paper. A lot has changed since then. I've gained valuable knowledge about art and life and spent a lot of time honing my skills at both. I got married recently which is the biggest achievement of my life. Having someone who supports my art and interests so fully really is all I could and should ask for. She's amazing.

So I've been itching to write and share a bit more than what regular social media is conducive to (it really is a shame that the short posts on social media are all anyone has the time for). I've got things to say I think. Who will see these is really up to fate to decide. But I think that resurrecting and refreshing this old blog will be just the outlet I need.

So what kind of stuff am I going to talk about? Well... Art or course. My need for artistic expression is a given. Movies and maybe the occasional review. I have an immense amount of useless movie knowledge and a passion for film. I once wanted to be a director. True story. And really (like the header says) anything that is rattling around in my head. And it's a lot. Trust me.

Oh Yeah, I have a blog.

I feel like a neglecting parent to this blog. I used to update it on a weekly basis or sometimes even more often but other things like my facebook page and Twitter seem to have taken over as my place to put my thoughts out there. I still need this blog though, because sometimes I have more to say than 140 characters like Twitter.

I've been busy. Art takes a lot of my free time. I'm a graphic designer by day, but after that 8 hours a day I have to balance art and my social life, or lack of one. I've been doing a ton of work doing roller derby posters and anything else I can. I also started a comic book called The Atomic Blonde which i am planning on self publishing promoting at local comic conventions once it's finished.

I've had a lot of changes in my life in the last year. I am dating my best friend and the only woman I can actually picture being around for a long long time (plus she's the only one who would put up with me). But I've also taken a couple steps backward from my ideal situation and moved back in with family so that I can get my finances and life back on track. So far things are looking up and I'm as busy as ever with my art. I hope it's not another year before I post on here again, but I can't promise anything.

A rough year & a new beginning.

So I love having a blog. But I'm pretty awful at posting regularly. So awful in fact that it's been 8 months since I posted anything. I'm not really even sure if anyone reads this. For me it's a strange thing trying to talk about myself. But since I've been told many times, that if I want to make any kind of living at being an artist I have to be able to talk myself up and network with strangers and market myself like a pro. So since It's still the first month of a new year and I've already blow my first resolution (to eat healthier and exercise), I've decided to try to start posting entries more often. Even if no-one reads this or cares about what I have to say or show, it still helps me to get my thoughts and ideas out of my head and onto something tangible.

This year really marks the beginning of something new for me. I'm starting over in many respects. Last year was one of the hardest years I've had, It was the end of a 7 year relationship that saw its share of ups and a few too many downs. And now for the first time in 31 years I'm living alone. Well, not completely alone, I've got my four legged buddy Chloe, but basically It's the first time I havn't lived with family, friends, roommates or a significant other so it's been a bit strange. I have since met an amazing girl who I really click with and can see a future with, but for now I'm living on my own. Which isn't such a bad thing as long as I get some regular visitors.

As for my the various art projects I've done in the past 8 months, I've been busy. Last year the Gainesville Roller Rebels, a roller derby team from central Florida had me do a handful of their bout posters. They seemed to really love what I did and even did a photo calendar with the teams girls loosely re-enacting my posters. Great stuff. So this season the team asked me to come back and do ALL of their bout posters for the 2011 season. Something I'm really excited and pumped about doing. The first poster with the theme "Big Bruisers, Big Sisters" was started this week and should be finished soon. Check out the inked art below.

Also at the end of 2010 I was asked by my good friend and childhood artistic cohort Joe Kuzma to collaborate and do the colors for the comic Allied Forces that's being published by Earthbound Comics that he is doing the art for. Written by Sebastian Piccione, with art by Joe Kuzma, and Colors by me and Norman Wong. With a cover done by comic book veteran Karl Moline who has worked on many comics including Amazing Spider-Man & Rouge for Marvel along with Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Fray which he co-created with Joss Whedon (who created Buffy, Serenity and is directing next summers Avengers movie) for Dark Horse. The comic is premiering at the Orlando Megacon in March. Along with the colors for half the book, I did a pinup piece that will be included in the book. Check it out below as well as the sample of my digital coloring work with Joe's art that you already saw back at the top.

It looks like 2011 is going to be a crazy year and I'm excited to see what great new things happen.

Self-Centered & Calendar news

This is was done for my cousin Erin who runs Self Centered Wellness, a holistic wellness practice in Hollywood, California. It will be used on her business cards, flyers and other various promotional material. This is the second illustration I've done for her and probably my favorite of the two.

Well, I've certainly been busy the past couple of weeks, Along with this project, I've been asked by the Gainesville Roller Rebels to do 3 more roller derby bout poster, and pleasantly informed that they are going to be shooting photos of various derby girls recreating all of the posters designed from this season in real life pinup girl style. Awesome can't wait to see it!!!

Beachside Caricature

Here's another caricature I did at my day job. A coworker is retiring after 44 years and I was asked to do this as a gift. They wanted to combine her current photo with her hairdo from her early years of employment, plus combine her hobbies and her love for the beach.

Derby Fever & Award

Here is another roller derby poster for the Gainesville Roller Rebels. Decided to go for a horizontal design this time. This was supposed to be the last one for the season, but its possible I may design 3 more for later this season.

Also, I just found out that I took First Place in the Single Illustration category at the Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards for my Rock Hall of Fame induction cover of Cleveland Scene. I'm told that I will be getting a plaque or something rad. I was pretty blown away when I found out.

Memorial Slay Derby Poster

Here's the fourth roller derby bout poster done for the Gainesville Roller Rebels from Gainesville Florida. Decided to go with an alternative punk wonder woman theme since the colors are patriotic. This is probably my favorite one I've done so far.

IRON MAN etc.

So I've been keeping very busy with art projects for the past several weeks. Here are two of my recent finished projects I've got another I'm waiting on approval for that I will post very soon. But for now, I give you IRON MAN.

I remember the exact day I first discovered comic books, I was 11 or 12 and I was spending a day with a friend and his brother and mom. She was driving us back from playing at the park and decided to stop at the local Dairy Mart. We went inside and my friend and I discovered the looming comic rack, filled with superhuman adventures. As we stared at them in awe, I realized at a buck twenty five, I could afford two issues and have some change for candy. So I grabbed two issues of The Amazing Spider-Man (Which I still have today) and took them to the counter to pay. Had I know as I walked out to the car and flipped through the pages, that this new discovery would cultivate and mold my artistic skills beyond what I could have even imagined. I may have put some of the candy back and bought a third issue instead. never the less, I was hooked.

I always gravitated toward Marvel Comics. DC comics was home to some amazing hero's including Superman, Green Lantern and Batman. But I could never seem to connect to them like I could with Marvel's Spider-Man, X-Men and The Avengers. Marvel had characters who I could relate to, normal people who were exposed to Gamma Rays or bitten by radioactive spiders to become who they were, not an alien from another planet who gets his power from the sun. Take Tony Stark, in the comic he had to wear the chestplate to his armor at all times, because the energy unit inside it was basically a magnet that was (same as the movie) keeping deadly pieces of shrapnel from entering his heart. Thus Iron-Man was born. Since I am such a fan of film, it was natural for my love of comics to spill over to the medium. I loved the first IRON-MAN. It's toward the top of a short list of superhero movies I can't get enough of. So of course I'm excited about IRON-MAN 2 coming out soon. What's even more exciting for me is that I know that these two movies are part of something even bigger. Marvel films has a plan of several movies that will interconnect and end in what's rumored to be the biggest superhero film ever made THE AVENGERS. Beginning with IRON-MAN, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, IRON-MAN2 and the upcoming CAPTAIN AMERICA and THOR films will be topped off with the AVENGERS film that will see Ironman, Hulk, Cap, and Thor as a team. It's exciting times for comic geeks like me. So with this inspiration driving me I thought I would try my hand at IRON-MAN.

This second piece is a character created for FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) I am told he will be animated and put into a short film for a presentation. I was basically asked to create an anthropomorphic FAFSA form who has the attitude and sunglasses of the Fonz from Happy Days.

April Showers of Pain!!!

So I just finished this new roller derby poster for the Gainesville Roller Rebels. I was going for an old school pinup look. And I chose to go with cooler colors because of the "April Showers of Pain" theme and the fact that both teams colors are similar. Gainesville's colors are royal blue & black and the Beach Brawl Sk8r Dolls colors are light turquoise & black. I am doing two more of these bout posters for GRR and I was thinking I need to do one with an angrier woman, I like the ones i've done so far, but I think I need to depict them tougher in at least one of these. Because frankly these are some tough women. They are always constantly practicing and working towards getting better. The proof of how hard they play & how dedicated they are can often be seen in the various team photos I've seen. Where there's usually a girl or three with crutches, leg braces and arm casts in every photo. despite their injuries they still wear their uniforms and pose proudly for photos. Although the rules of the game are confusing to me and I haven't actually been able to see my sister (Ruby Typhoon #77)'s team play (because GRR is in Florida & I live in Ohio). I am really proud of my sister and her entire team.

Here's a detailed view of her face.

New Caricatures

Here are a couple of recent caricatures I've done.

HOLD FAST

Just finished this and thought I would put it up, it's a personal project to see how realistic I could get using my Wacom. I'm pretty happy with it. What do you think?

The Fisticuffs of March

Here's the newest Gainesville Roller Rebels bout poster I recently finished. I went for a boxing match theme, I think it turned out great.

SLAM-entines Day!

I was asked to create a bout poster and flyer for the Gainesville Roller Rebels in Gainesville Florida for their first game of the 2010 season. The theme was anti-valentines day. I was free to do pretty much whatever I wanted, which was awesome. If only everyone were as easy to please. I'll also be working on a poster for their second bout as well, look for it soon.

The Holiday Season

Every year I have big artistic ideas for things like christmas cards and different holiday theme pieces to give away as gifts, but always procrastinate until I only have the time to make one. So this year I haven't been in the holiday mood yet so I wanted to make something that wasn't a Christmas theme and wasn't a snow covered scene, so I decided to just draw what I see this winter in the small wooded area next to my apartment. Leafless trees and flying chirping cardinals.

I also have a couple of other project that I just finished, the first is a poster I'm really proud of because it's for my sister's roller derby team in Gainesville Florida the Gainesville Roller Rebels. My sister Ruby Typhoon #77 is Co-Captain of her team and they are planning on using this as a promotional poster to raise money for the many organizations they support. Go GRR!

The last project was a digital color job for my friend and fellow artist Joe Kuzma. Joe provided the B&W art of The Hulk & Wolverine and I provided the color via Photoshop. Turned out pretty great. Nice job Joe!

OUT-OF-THE-BOX gallery show

I'm very proud to be participating in this years Out-of-the-Box Exhibition & Auction. This project was really fun because I got to make something 3 dimensional rather than my usual 2 dimensional work. The piece will be on display at the Summit Art Space gallery in downtown Akron from Oct 29 thru Nov 7. And will then be auctioned off at the Akron Area Arts Alliance (AAAA) awards ceremony on Nov 15. All proceeds will go to AAAA to help with their operating costs.

My box is entitled The Kraken & The Sailboat.

Projects from work...

Here are a few of the different projects I've been working on at my job at the Akron Beacon Journal. Over the last year I've been doing a lot more art related projects for them.

The first is a series of logo and character designs for a new job search related site called Job Jungle.

Also anytime someone has reached so many years of employment at the Beacon Journal they throw a party for them and I usually do a caricature of them to be signed by the staff. Last week I got to do two of them...

Last is a piece, featuring Zippy, the Akron University mascot, high-fiving the Akron Beacon Journal mascot Browser. This will be used on a table setting for a private dinner at the new InfoCision Stadium during an upcoming game.

BLUE MOON #2

Click image to enlarge...

Issue 2 of my new comic BLUE MOON. Comments are welcome.

BLUE MOON - My new comic!!!

Click image to view larger version!

So after attempting to do this for a few years I've finally started what I think could be a really fun project... an online comic book titled "BLUE MOON."

To describe "BLUE MOON", I would say it's an action packed, scary, monster filled, detective mystery, thriller!

It's really an experiment for me too because I wanted to do something that wasn't exactly formatted like a traditional comic book page, but simply a single horizontal panel at a time (Kinda like a widescreen movie). when 3 of these are completed I can combine them and make a traditionally sized comic page (just in case I plan on getting this published or printed some day).

I also am trying a unique approach with this for the writing, because basically I have a really solid outline of the story in my head, but I will be fleshing out some of the details as I go. This will be a good exercise for me because I'm really good at piecing things together to make something great.

Well, I know it's not much today, just one panel, but I promise you are in for a fun out of control ride with "BLUE MOON"!

ABJ Mascot Contest

I did these different characters for a mascot contest they had at work. Basically the sales team split into 4 different groups and came up with these four teams... The Flasher-Roos, The End Zone Warriors, The Beacon Boxers, and the STEALERS. Two of mine were chosen the Warrior and the Boxer.