Finally kicking up some dirt!

inDELLible has been going great- though I haven’t been as fast as I’d like. Speed will come with time, and since there hasn’t been an official ‘time-limit’, I’ve been making sure that the art work is the best I can do. I still feel like it’s rough, but it’s a great learning opportunity to work with the likes of Daerick Gross, Sr. I can’t show much right now, but here’s a tidbit I’ve shared on FB:
Captain Tornado!
 I still have a couple of other stories to do for inDELLible. The next story is for “The Masked Pilot”- I’m guessing he’s sort of a Lone Ranger of the air. I’m excited for this one because I get to draw my favorite of all vintage planes: The Grumman Goose!

I’ve been doing quite a bit of illustration for my day job. We’ve been developing a simulation for an economics course based on Dune. Here are some avatars I was asked to create:
The Macroeconomics of Dune avatars.
 I’m continuing to work hard and hone my draftsmanship skills... nothing else really to report, though I’ll make a tighter effort to keep the updates coming more frequently.

I won’t lie; it’s been a rough, historic week. It’s been interesting, and I’ve had a hard time focusing on work that needs to be done. But, it’s time to get back to work.

inDELLible Comic Anthology!

I had posted this in September, 2016. It was my first real attempt at becoming published with a comic book anthology. The book is now being published in a limited print run.

I’m excited to announce that I am returning to my Comic Book roots and will be illustrating two short stories for the inDELLible comic book anthology!

inDELLible is an homage to Dell Comics, a Golden Age comic book publisher whose works are now in Public Domain. Their anthology will include several stories from many talented writers and artists. I’m humbled and honored to be part of the team.

inDELLible is headed up by Editor James Ludwig, Assistant Editor Dave Noe, and art directed by industry veteran Dærick Gröss Sr.

I will be working with Bill Cain on “Naza”- who is a prehistoric warrior looking for his lost love, and "Captain Tornado"- a two-fisted space opera adventurer; and with Brian K. Morris on the “Masked Pilot”, a 1930s hotshot aviator.


We’re in the beginning stages now, but I will be able to share concept art and perhaps a few panels here and there—time to roll up my sleeves and clean up the studio!

10,000 DRAWINGS... will give you such a crick in the neck!

I always get excited when someone takes an interest in my artwork. I get even more excited when that person also likes to draw but needs some encouragement. It really is about convincing yourself it’s okay to draw and not be where you want to be. It should be exciting- it’s like looking out the window and getting ready for a roadtrip! I don’t mean to sound trite- but it really is about the journey. I had heard somewhere that we have 10,000 bad drawings in us, and it’s up to us to get them out. It’s similar to the 10,000 hour rule- spend 10k hours practicing a skill to become world class. I believe it. For me, it will probably be 30k… but that’s all on me.

I had realized something recently- and it’s taken me a long time to come to this conclusion… but if anything, it’s this: Art is more than the final result. You must ENJOY the method.

You have to like the act of actually doing it! The art is secondary to the act of putting pencil to the paper- of putting paint to the canvas. Once you find that feeling, then the rest is easy… you’ll do it because you enjoy it.

One thing, though, is it becomes difficult when you’re not supported by your loved ones. And being tolerated is not the same as support. That said, you have to do it anyway. If it’s a problem with them, they are the ones that are the problem. Doing the art becomes an act of courage- to overcome the guilt they inflict. That’s the hardest thing to do. And it goes back to the first thing- you have to do it because you have to want to do it, you have to enjoy the process. Even if you can’t do it at home, find a place to do it outside of home- whether it be on a lunch break or take a day off and make it a day for yourself.

Then there’s the whole thing of comparing yourself to others. First off, it’s not fair to you or even to the other person. Your experiences are completely different, and you’ll be on different stages of your journey. Personally I find this very hard. There are so many artists I want to draw like, but then I must realize none can draw like me. I am always striving to get better, but I have to learn to love what I draw. And, after many, many, many years of drawing, I do!

I see a lot of younger incredible artists with amazing ability- but most of the stuff out there looks the same. Disney or Anime inspired. Technically they’re gorgeous, but it’s all the same voice and none of it is distinctive. It’s good to start somewhere, I suppose… but why do I feel like they’re all imposters? Controversial statement? Maybe, but it’s controversial because it hits a nerve. The point is that I want to see some fresh individualism. And there is some of it, and I RESPECT it when I do see it.

But back to wanting to draw. Keep a sketchbook with you as much as possible… even a small pocket-sized one. Learn to draw with implements that scare you- like ball point pens. No one has to see your work. Have fun with it. Play in the sandbox. None of it matters… just keep doing it. Eventually, your newer work will look better than your older work. And, if you structure your art with some good old knowledge, you’ll be THAT much further along.

The Bookshelf Academy

Fun little project I did for work. It turned out well, but I knew I was out of practice.

I was listless and uninspired.
I was sitting at my desk in a “Now what?” state of mind. I had just finished a large illustration project for work (a series of illustrations, title page above) , and although I was satisfied with what I had done in the time I had to do it, I felt that I could have done so much more. A large part of it was speed, and to a greater extent, I was severely out of practice.

As I reflected on my past week, I felt a bit empty. I had a vacation coming up which will involve travel, but I know how I am—I get antsy when I’m not doing anything creative. So I sat, paralyzed by the thought of my lack of time, lack of inspiration, and knowing full well I need to put in the hours to get better. “Now what?"

Some backstory: I’m currently in the middle of a personal project—inventorying all of my books. It’s a culmination of 25 years of collecting, and I own quite a bit. I haven’t used many of them. I’m on a long journey toward minimalism and I want to unburden myself with what I haven’t used by selling it all off. I thought to myself, “I sure didn’t get my money’s worth."

Then the internal dialogue started...
Why? Why didn’t I get my money’s worth? I certainly thought there was worth when I found it in the bookstore. I sat with said book for an hour or two after I bought it… what was I hoping I could use it for? After the initial excitement wore off, I would put the book down. They would sit from my small table, then they would accumulate to a stack on the large table, then to unused light table, until it eventually was wedged somehow into my overstuffed bookshelf to gather dust. The intention was fleeting.

I despaired, “Man, if only I could draw as well as these authors that work assignment wouldn’t have been so difficult." Then the thought struck me like a bolt of lightning in the back of my skull: I didn’t put the work into those books in order to get the worth OUT of the book.  It wasn’t the book’s or author’s fault that I didn’t find worth in it—I didn’t investigate it. That puts it all on me because I didn’t fulfill my obligation as a book buyer to put in the hours and USE the book by doing the tutorials and exercises. So many lessons... a repository of knowledge that sits untapped. 

In the tumultuous venture of my life, the obvious USE of the books eluded me. 
 
That was it. I was going to get the book’s worth out of it. Heck, I’m going to get my entire library’s worth out of it. The idea is simple enough: I am going to do the exercises in each book; utilize the book, do the lessons, and not let it go to waste.

Suddenly, I had direction. 
No more sitting around wondering what to draw in the meantime—I have guides now, mentors enshrined on ink-stained paper. I have my own bookshelf academy waiting to be used… an entire university curriculum in three bookcases filled with hundreds of books acquired over 25 years. My personal library is more robust than many small community college libraries. That might be a sad commentary on our society’s value of art in education, but I digress.

I don’t know how well the lessons really are in these. I don’t know if the techniques are sound or not. I do know I will be drawing and discovering. I know I’ll be putting in the time and improving by the very nature of doing. I do know, for whatever they’re worth, I will get the value from what my original intent was.

Going about it.
I’ve been accepted into Bookshelf Academy… great. Now what? I needed to break this down systematically using the typical educational model: course, assignments, and tests. 

Most of the books I have are Instructional Art books: How to Draw People, How to draw comics, how to ink, how to draw sci-fi, how to animate.. on and on. Each book is a course.

One of the things I think that kept me from doing it was my ego. “It’s not going to be my work.” Fair enough- but school had assignments. I needed to shift my thinking- I’m not copying their art, I’m doing an assignment. I can always do it twice- once their way, and once my own way. That is my self imposed assignment.

How do I know it’s working?
I need to find a rubric that would demonstrate how well I absorbed the material. How can I test myself? Well… I’ve always been told that art ability is honest- you know when someone is good or bad by just looking at it.

It’s subjective too… but that’s a whole different ballgame and often tied to the subject itself. A self evaluation is fine, but posting the original art up on boards and getting feedback, and simply posting it on social media and garnering likes… if it gets a lot attention, it’s gotta be good.

This isn’t a perfect way to measure, so it’s a work in progress. Perhaps one of the books has an idea on how to do it. I guess I’ll find out.

Drawing is how I best connect with people

I have lots of interests. I mean A LOT. I love filmmaking- directing, cinematography, screenwriting... I love animation. I love photography- the craft of working with a manual camera, celluloid, and shaping light. And, I love to draw.

It's all cyclical to me. One interest gives way to another during the course of the year. I'll go for long stretches on something than suddenly change, much to the detriment of my career. Luckily, I am now in a position where I am able to be creative, explore and problem solve and have all my interests addressed.

However, the one thing I have noticed that really draws people in (no pun intended) is when I draw. I have very few close artist friends. I occasionally get freelance work, but I prefer to work on my own art at this point and will almost never take a commission. I don't have much personal time, so I'm not likely to give it up for someone else's project. But, it's the best way I can connect with people. They see something that I thought of, something that I felt... and they react to it. I've always been pretty conservative with what I have shown, but I am slowly opening up. I need to open up more.

And, thus, I'm back at it. I admit though that I am a little creatively blocked. One great way is to find local drawing session classes. Some are inexpensive, some are extremely expensive. But being around other artists and feeling that creative energy can really kick start those juices.

I'm at a point in my life where I am looking back, and looking forward and it seems that the distance is the same. It's kind of scary. But I'm not done yet, and I have much to do.


Getting real about wants and needs

As much as I would love the form factor of the Redrock Micro Retroflex-S and the Sony a5100, I need to be pragmatic about where my money is better utilized. The cost for those (including cards, lenses, etc) would cost $1,500. That’s a serious chunk of change, and it’s not including audio. I may indulge at some point, but realistically I need to be more fiscally conservative.


Panasonic’s GH3 has come down in price considerably since the GH4 was introduced a year and a half ago. I’m sure a GH5 is in development… However, for what I need to do in the next year, the GH3 is more than enough camera to handle the needs of my next dozen or so projects- which DP demigod Philip Bloom shows in the video above.

The micro four-thirds sensor is half the size of a full size sensor, but it can use far more lenses- including old cine/tv c-mount glass and Newsie ENG B4 Mount lenses. How cool is that?

More than anything, I want to make a feature length film. I have had a number of attempts, of which I had learned so much… not just about what it takes, but what I can expect from other people. Filmmaking School of Hard Knox.


One of my constant inspirations is Faith Granger, and her feature length film “Deuce of Spades”. She shot her feature on a barebones budget and a lot of favors- and the product looks amazing. She shot on an first generation Sony HD camera, and edited in Sony Vegas.

The greatest thing about this movie is her passion for the project. Finding the right project to immerse yourself in can be challenging, but sometimes the project finds you. That's true art.