Vince Inked

And the inks for Vince are done.

Now, on to the color!

I'll see you tomorrow with this piece all finished as well as a new blog header for October. I love it when things work out just right!

Have a good one!

Vince Pencils

I went into this weekend and suddenly realized, "whoa, it's already the end of the month! I'll need a new blog header in a few days!"

So, I sat down at the art table this morning and penciled out a quick sketch of Vincent Spicer, lead guitar player for OilCan Drive. In the last two months I've had Ryan and Nicole on the blog header so I figured it was time to give Vince his due. I guess that means Henry is up next month but I probably won't worry about that until it's almost too late.

So, here is Vince. He just needs a bit of inking and coloring and he'll be all set. If all goes well he should be done by tomorrow night and ready to be featured at the top of the blog on Monday.

Have a great weekend! I have some work to do!

From the Desk!

It's been far too long since I've taken a photo of the work I currently have sitting on my art table. But, this last month has seen me doing a bunch of client work that I can't really talk about just quite yet.

I've also been working on some new OilCan Drive stuff that I'm still not sure if I really want to show off yet but I figured, what the hell, how much harm can one tiny photo do?

So, here are a few half inked pages from the newest OilCan Drive story that will be premiering next April on the OilCan Drive webcomic site. Why April, you ask? Well, since last April I've been putting a lot of my old OilCan Drive work and stories on the site and, by putting up three pages a week of the old stuff, it means I have until next April to get some of the newer story done. So, I have a little bit of lead time. It seems like a lot of time now but at the pace I am going with these new pages I'm already getting a little worried.

But, I figure no one can really fire me from this job so I am simply enjoying drawing my characters and telling their story at a nice, comfortable, non deadline fearing, pace.

It's been going great...and it's only just begun.

Have a great weekend!

Back To The Drawing Board 9

Geez, you stop blogging for a little bit and the next thing you know Google has changed the whole blogging interface on you. Right now, I actually really hate it. I like what I am used to and what I know works so trying to figure out where everything is again feels like a huge pain in the ass.

But, what is our society today if not obsessed with the newest and shiniest way to do something we've been doing for years?

It just makes me sad.

Anyway, things have been going well. I've still been doing client work and have just really got my hands muddy with my own personal project. I'll try and take a few photos of the work on my desk but I don't know if I'm ready to show anything off just yet. But, we'll see.

The good news is that the second part of the Tim "Jom" Campbell interview is up over on the Back To The Drawing Board podcasting site. I think it went well and this time I got a chance to hear some of Tim's own music as well. It definitely made for an interesting afternoon. You can check it out HERE.

As things get busier with client work and starting my own project I've been thinking of letting the B2TDB podcast slide. I hear good things from a few friends but I've never gotten any feedback from anyone I don't know, good or bad. So, I don't know if continuing to do it would be the best thing or not.

Actually, I don't know if anyone would even notice if I stopped doing it.

We'll see. For now, enjoy the newest podcast and I'll talk to you all soon!

Sports Illustrated Kids June

It's still been a busy week around here and I'm actually finishing up the newest Sports Illustrated Kids "What's The Call" illustrations for a deadline tomorrow morning.

But, I figured I could tear myself away from the drawing board for a few minutes and show off a few of the previous SIK illustrations and try and get a bit more caught up on showing these things off.

These illustrations come from the June issue and the idea is that you're the official referee on the field and something happens. It's always a little odd so it's up to you to make the right call.

Here we go:

1. An NBA basketball player goes up for a layup and the defender smacks the player on his right hand, which is still on the ball. Is this a foul?

2. In a Major League Baseball game, a batter rips a line drive that hits an umpire in the foot and then is caught by a fielder before it touches the ground. Is the batter out?

3. A hockey player cuts toward the goal and sees a pass coming his way, but he slips and falls on top of the puck, and then slides through the crease, past the goalie, with the puck still under him. Is this a goal?


So, you're the official on the field. It's up to you.

What's the Call?

Back To The Drawing Board 8

Geez, it's been another busy week doing client work and personal work that I just can't show off yet. I really don't know where the days go but, next thing I know, it's Wednesday again. But, with as busy as it's been, the good news is Wednesday means another Back To The Drawing Board podcast!

This week I sat down with comic book artist and musician Tim "Jom" Campbell to talk a bit about living in Boulder, his work, horror movies, and how he deals with fan interaction. It was great to sit down with someone who I hadn't known for the past ten years and actually do a cold interview. I was a bit nervous at first but it turned out so well that this is actually the first of a two part podcast.

So, head on over to the Back To The Drawing Board site and have a listen. I hope it's as much fun to listen to as it was to talk about.

Have a great one!

Back To The Drawing Board 7

It's been a really busy week here around the studio but, unfortunately, it's all stuff I can't exactly show off yet. From client work to work I am doing under a non-disclosure agreement to new pages for the OilCan Drive story, nothing is quite ready to be thrown out into the public just yet.

But, the good news is that there's a new "Back to the Drawing Board" podcast up today. This time I bring my good friend and artist Ken Truhan into the studio to talk a bit about how we both met, his days at college in California at the Disney founded CalArts, working in animation in Los Angeles, and finally how he found his way to Colorado. We finally wrap it up talking about his new comic book idea called "Troop."

It was definitely a fun one and you can check out the podcast blog HERE or simply go right to iTunes and enjoy the conversation HERE.

Have a great one!

Sports Illustrated Kids May

I've been really remiss in not posting some more of the Sports Illustrated "What's The Call" illustrations I've been doing lately. The months just seem to go by so fast that, before I know it, I've finished one set and another is on my table.

So, I'll try and catch up. I just can't believe I'm only getting to the May illustrations now. I'll try and do better.

OK, once again, it's What's The Call. Different sports scenarios happen and, being the referee on the field, it's up to you to make the call!

1. In a baseball game, a pitcher throws off a hitter by throwing a really slow pitch. The batter takes a swing and misses, but the ball is going so slow that he still has time to swing again, and this time makes contact with the ball. Is it legal to swing twice?

2. In football, a field-goal kicker boots the ball directly over one of the uprights. Is the kick good?

3. In a women's track and field race, a runner sneezes at the starting line, causing several runners to false start. Should anyone be charged with a false start?

So, it's up to you, what's the call?

Back To The Drawing Board 6

The podcast just keeps rolling along!

This week I brought fellow artist and my former "mentee" (yes, I was his mentor for a bit) Josh Thorne into the studio to talk a bit about life and art.

Josh and I first met back in 2003. As part of a program through his high school, Josh was allowed to try and find a place in the Boulder community where he could help out and be an apprentice. So, for three years, Josh would come over to the studio, learn the art of illustration and comics, and help me out on various client projects.

With how great the conversation went you can be sure that Josh will be invited back to the show for round two at some point in the future.

You can check out the newest Back to the Drawing Board podcast HERE.

Enjoy and have a great one!

Happy September!

Happiest of Septembers, everyone! I, for one, am looking forward to it cooling down and, once football season starts, hockey season can't be that far behind (fingers crossed that there isn't a lock-out this year!) So I'll finally be able to think clearly again!

Fall is definitely one of my favorite times of year and September and October are the best.

For this month's header I took the piece I inked earlier this week of Nicole Baylor, painted it up, and popped it into the template. I've really been trying my best this year to only use my own creations in the headers and not fall back on using art I created for clients. I think I'm doing better this year than the last few but I can't promise it will continue if things get busy. But I will promise I'll do my best.

And here is the original painted piece I did of Nicole. In the original pencil sketch there was a bit more of a background and even a drum kit behind Nicole but, knowing I was going to use this piece for the header, I cheated a bit and left out the parts I knew I wasn't going to use.

So, last month I used Ryan and this month I used Nicole. That means Henry and Vincent will be in my head soon enough wondering why they aren't getting their fair share of screen time. So, we'll see if I can placate at least one of them next month.

For now, have a great September and I'll talk you soon!