Remodeling for next year

I've decided that I will remodel this blog differently for next year. It won't exist in this format, and I haven't quite decided on how I will present it, but it'll be different. Better things are on the way.....

Long time....

Wow....

Like all other artists, I have neglected my Blogspot. :( For New Year's, I PROMISE to keep this spiffy and current with some more "behind-the-scene" drawings and have some different things on here versus on deviantART and on Facebook. So yeah.....see y'all around!

Frankendoodle

Something I doodled up on my lav duty at work. I over-rendered and over-worked it, but it was fun experimenting on the heavy-tooth Strathmore art paper.


Prismacolor colored pencils.

So quickly forgotten about...

Hey everyone-

As expected, I've neglected this little blog. But no worries, I do plan on utilizing it more as a sketch dump blog, so look for some scribbles and scratches starting...now. No better time then the present, right?

Just foolin' around with white colored pencil on black construction paper. From earlier this year.

We're a bit like Lucas...

Good day all-

Soon, I'll start posting some art up here. I promise. But for now, you'll have to deal with my ramblings and rantings.

Let me preface this by stating that I am not a Star Wars fan. My fandom and nerdiness extends into many areas, but it never permeated that galaxy far far away.  I do however appreciate the Star Wars franchise on several levels: as a creator, I'm impressed at just how huge and deep that universe is and how 33 years later; it continues to expand and grow. I appreciate the impact that SW has had on popular culture and opened the gates for a slew of new concepts in all facets of storytelling. Heh, I even like the mythology of Star Wars and characters it borrows from other stories, yet turns them into something unique. But you won't see me at a con dresses as a Stormtrooper or as Salacious Crumb.

This past weekend I was reading Leanne Hannah's Star Wars parody strip Blue Milk Special www.bluemilkspecial.com and again, while not a SW geek- I found it hysterical and even I got many of the references. One of the recurring gags is old George Lucas returning throughout certain moments of the original trilogy  to confront young Lucas about certain changes, like Han shooting Greedo first and changing some of the creatures in the Cantina. As many of you know, Lucas is infamous for tweaking the original trilogy with major and minor things because he wasn't satisfied with the technology available at the time. This got me thinking about how we artists have that urge to look at something we did in the past and say "Damn, this sucks goat balls. What was I thinking?!?! If I only knew/had the skills now back then..." and so forth. How many of us already do such things? If you use traditional means to execute your work, you can easily go into Photoshop to fix something such as color saturation or even re-draw and paste new things into the work. In a way, isn't that what George Lucas does? He has a vision of what he wants and will go to any means to get what he envisions. How many of us look at our older work and make small tweaks and adjustments because we learned something like PS? In some ways, we're all bit like Lucas- working to achieve a vision we have in our minds.

What are your thoughts on all of this? Am I way off base or somewhere in the middle? Again I'm observing this from a neutral stance and thinking about what people complain about, but in some way we do to some degree on a regular bases.

Until next time,
~Nick~

Musings On My Mind...

I guess this will count as my first "official" posting here.

For the first time in three years, I will be attending a convention as a fan and not as an artist: New York Comic Con. I applied to be in the Artist Alley but due to a lack of space I was rejected. Wasn't bummed out by it- actually was kind of happy as the cost to set up would have been ridiculous: $450 for the space, $45 for train tickets, and God knows what else in printing and supplies. So this time I'll actually get to meander about a con and enjoy it versus working it and not getting to see all of the glory that is being a nerd.

Though, there still is some stress. DC Comics (or is that "Entertainment" now?) is hosting one of their "Talent Search" programs in which you drop off your portfolio samples to them and bite your nails to see if you get called to Oz. I'll wholeheartedly admit that this sha-bang is causing some anxiety on my end. Mainly, what do I submit? Just pencil sequentials? Inks? Painted covers? And to what division- DC Universe, MAD, Vertigo, All Ages? This exact issue has plagued me and had held me up for about two weeks now. I still have plenty of time to get my wits about and nail this work to a board, but knowing me- I'll sweat the issue until I'm sick to my stomach. This is perhaps my biggest downfall- not knowing when to draw the line (no pun intended) between concept and execution, over-thinking everything.

When I applied to Marvel in January 2005 (damn- it's been that long?), there was that cock-sure attitude and fun attached to the submissions. Sure I submitted the wrong stuff (I applied as an inker and inked my own stuff- not what you're suppose to do, but what did I know?) and knew I wouldn't get hired, but that wasn't the point behind it. I did it for myself- to say that Hey, I applied to Marvel. I tried. How many people say that they want to work in this industry but don't create any samples? Lots. I proved to myself that I could lit a fire under my ass and get to step-in. Now though.....
I guess the main difference is that unlike then, now I ACTUALLY have a chance of obtaining work. It's not a pipe-dream or wet dream. It's a tangible prospect that's slipping out of reach because I spend way to much time ruminating.

Wow, that's a lot of writing. If you read through all of that, you get a cookie. Or a Jack-and-Coke.

Over and Out,
~Nick~

One of Us! One of Us!

Welp.....I've broken down and got myself a Blogspot. :D Check back for some new pics and general braindroppings.

Peace out!
~Nick~