From The Vault - Red Sonja Sketch 2002

Back in 2002 one of the guys working at the local comic book store asked me if I'd draw him a Red Sonja sketch. I'm not sure if he paid me or not or if I just did it to be nice but, honestly, the only way to really tell this was Red Sonja or not is because I just told you it was.

So, maybe I did it for free.

Still, it's not a bad sketch. I came across the piece in one of my old art folders on the computer and I hoped I hadn't posted it before. Sometimes I put up so much old art that I can't tell what I've featured before and what I haven't. So, my fingers are crossed that this piece hasn't been seen yet.

But, if you have seen it before, I'm just going to chalk it up to deja vu anyway.

Enjoy....maybe again...

Have a great weekend!

Finished Sample Covers

Hooray! I got the sample cover done last night and sent it off to the potential client this morning. And, not only did I get one design done, but three! I sent these along with the original colored character sketches for a total of four illustrations as well as a link to all of the Jake Maddox books I have done on Amazon.com.

I don't know...do you think I might have over done it?

The top illustration is based off a photo mock up the client sent me. I simply popped the figures into where they had them and mimicked the layout of the sample as best I could. But, once that was done I wanted to try a different layout with all the kids sharing the space and coming forward out of the background a little bit. And, finally, I toned the characters in yellow to mimic the color style they had sent me on the sample. I aim to please and, when in doubt, better to send off a few ideas and see what sticks.

Usually when I get a call from a potential client and they have a job but they want to see free samples from me I usually decline. I figure if they can't tell what I can do for them by looking at all of the already completed artwork I have out there then I probably don't want to work with them anyway. But, this is a big company and they caught me on a day when I hadn't sat at the drawing board and done any illustration in about a week. So I was really itching to just sit and draw something. Plus, it was a fun challenge to see how much I could get done and how good I could make it look in a little under a day and a half.

So, the illustrations have been sent off and are now being looked at by the "powers that be." Keep your fingers crossed.

And now it's back to messing around with the music and the writing. But I'm sure I'll be back to the art table soon enough.

Have a great day!

Laying Down The Ink

The inks have been laid down on the penciled pieces I did yesterday.

I now have until morning to get this sample piece completely done and sent off to the new potential client. Once I get it done I'll post the results.

OK, off to scan, paint, design, and email off a few cover ideas.

Wish me luck!

Character Sketches

I've been quiet on the blog the last few days because I've been messing around with the OilCan Drive music. I love doing the music but the problem with it is that it's hard to show you a picture of what I've been doing. But, rest assured, work is getting done, just not the kind I can easily photograph.

I have been working on some videos of the OilCan Drive demos I've been working on and, once I get a little further along, I'll share them. I think you'll like them. I do. And from someone who hates seeing photos of himself that must be saying something.

But, the music was put on pause today when I got a call from a new client asking me for a sample piece to see if I was the artist they were looking for. It's been so many days since I sat at the art table to draw it felt good to pencil some new stuff. I think if I stay away from drawing too long I go a little crazy and feel useless. I love doing the music but it's hard to have something to show for days and days of work other than more ideas. But, drawing is always something I can show.

So I'll spend tomorrow getting this sample piece done and then it's back to the music for a while. Or maybe something else. We'll see.

But, even if you don't hear from me for a few days know that something creative is always going on.

Have a good one!

From The Vault - OilCan Drive 2004?

In 2003 I was still working a full time day job as well as getting a lot of freelance art work that I was doing at night. I was doing so much freelance work, in fact, that, by September of that year, I was able to leave the full time day job and become a full time working artist again.

From being in debt to having enough money to quit a job in less than nine months. So, yeah, I was pretty busy.

Of course, I figured, if I was doing OK while doing all that freelance work AND having a full time job I'd have TONS of free time on my hands to do more personal projects if I didn't have the job type job getting in the way. So, I made plans to work on the OilCan Drive comic book. I figured I could easily have the first issue completed and printed by the fall of 2004. I mean, that was a year away. And I would need something to fill all of my free time I suddenly had.

But, of course, there was no 2004 OilCan Drive book. As soon as I left the job type job the freelance art career REALLY took off. I found my self juggling more clients and working on projects that were paying me money I never dreamed of when I started wanting to do art for a living. And, because I got so busy, OilCan Drive got put on the back burner. Again.

I mean, I did make enough money to buy my first house but, still, seeing this little promo piece I put together back then makes me sad now. Even if I had done just one book a year I'd have seven issues done by now. And that's not bad at all.

But, yeah, sometimes life gets in the way of your dreams.

I still plan on doing OilCan Drive comic books at some point. Here's hoping I can learn from my past mistakes and finally get it right this time.

That is, unless the freelance art career gets too busy again. We shall see.

Have a great weekend.

Sports Illustrated Kids April

It's been a while since I showed off some of the monthly illustrations I've been doing for Sports Illustrated Kids magazine. You'd almost think I wasn't doing work for them anymore but, nope, month in and month out they're still nice enough to contact me and ask me to do a few new pieces.

I'm a bit behind on showing these off so I hope you don't mind looking at April's illustrations in June.

At least this way it gives me a few more posts before I catch up so I have a few buffer blogs if I ever find myself with nothing new to talk about.

Enjoy the sports!

Happy June and Finished Henry!

Happy first day of June!

I finished up the Henry Doodle piece just in time to use it for the new June Blog Header. That's one of the reasons I've really been enjoying these OilCan Drive doodle pieces. Instead of using another piece of client artwork as the header for the blog I can use my own personal work that's near and dear to my heart.

And not only did I finish the Henry piece enough for the blog but I also got the finished design done for the original piece as well. I'm not sure what I'll be using these final illustrations for in the future but I have a few ideas in my head already. I'm sure they'll all be turning up again sometime soon.

And Dad, if you need a larger image of Henry for your computer's background, just let me know. I'd be happy to send you a custom piece of art for that.

As for OilCan Drive, after finishing up the book I did for Free Comic Book day and compiling all of the art for the Exit 6 Collected Book the idea of doing another comic book story has really been stuck in my brain. The problem is, I had the characters, I had the drive, I just didn't have any ideas for a good story. I had a few scenes I might want to do and maybe a short story or two but nothing that would support a more long form story.

And, then, last night, during my bike ride, it hit me. An idea so simple that it would allow me to do some shorter OilCan Drive adventures while tying everything together in a larger story arc. So, I'm excited to get some of these ideas down on paper and see where it goes.

Maybe taking the day off yesterday and giving my brain a chance to relax and reboot wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Have a great day and a great June.