Updates - Month of Love, Extra Bitches

Setting up at Hudson County Art Supply in Jersey City.

So, I realized I'm not ready to try and update this blogger three times a week, let alone once. I am going to be better on this. I mean, I'm participating in so many web-related things already. Month of Love, a 30-Day Drawing Challenge, and this week--Extra Bitches! The Wesley Allsbrook run tumblr is always a treat to see in my feed. I'm happy to be able to participate.

Thank Jeanine Henderson for the lettering, and then Marc Scheff for the additional copy.

Month of Love has been a great time, like the 30-Day Drawing Challenge I started in late-January. Essentially, it's the same format at the 30-Day, except we don't know all the challenges ahead of time, and of course, they all revolve around love. I'm not really a Valentines' Day person, but I thought it would be good to exercise my image-making abilities. Really put them to the test. Besides, a person can only handle so much mushy content. Here's a few of the MoL challenges I've uploaded so far.

Norm & Luca

Keep Tryin'

Love at First Sight (Maps & Atlases)

Aside from all these blog-related things, I'm still working on Instigatorzine and my own personal work. Here's a peek at a quick spot I did for IZ's next issue due out in March.

Okay, well, it's not really a peek, but I own IZ, so tough.

Be back soon. Really, I will.

Ronin

I think it's customary for illustrators to only post images of the artwork they do for magazines after the piece is published, but I think posting this cover I did for Instigatorzine 18 (which is released next month), is only good for both me and Instigatorzine. I entered this illustration into the Society of Illustrators Annual, Illustrators 55, along with the artwork I posted yesterday. Essentially, I submitted both pieces to Creative Quarterly 30, however, I didn't have this version completed at the time, and I gave an earlier render of "Ronin."

I was expanding the original version, a commission for Felix Duran, a friend and supporter of IZ, into the cover for Instigatorzine 18.

Oh, you forgot? I run this thing called Instigatorzine. I'll say it again: Instigatorzine. It's a mouthful, but it's pretty easy. Instigatorzine. INSTIGATORZINE.

Oh. Link doesn't work? http://instigatorzine.com

(Not sorry.)

.n

Learn to Lick the Goitre Laughing 2 Fin

Intimate.

Learn to Lick the Goitre Laughing 1 (pencils)

Lots of fun in the field. 

Learn to Lick the Goitre Laughing 2

Spot for Instigatorzine, Vol. 14.

Will be colored (for once).

Blender Pencils

Smudgy.

Layer 2

Well, this is crawling to the final surface, but all the layers will be worth it, I promise.

IZ13: Instigator/Month

Martin Wittfooth

I met Martin Wittfooth this summer at 3x3 event, Nuts & Bolts. I was part of a group that visited his studio in Brooklyn, NY. All the paintings he was working on were magical. At the end of Nuts & Bolts, I went out with Wittfooth, Matt Rota and other artists and professionals.What a fun time!

In December, Martin Wittfooth will be the featured artist in Instigatorzine, Vol. 13! Until then, check out his first solo show, "The Passions,"  in New York City at Lyons Wier Gallery.

http://hifructose.com/the-blog/1801-martin-wittfooth-the-passions-.html

I'm excited!


Okay! Back to work!

Instigatorzine @7B Drink & Draw

I could work on it some more. We'll see where it goes.

Way to Sleeping Child: Girl in the Water

A short, sneak peek into the next issue of Instigatorzine, Vol. 12. I really enjoyed doing the spots for this short prose. There were chunks of imagery to work from, a lot of it, very interesting. 

Deserters

So, usually, I have sketches up with these, but I can't seem to find them. I draw on anything really, so it could be scribbled on a copy of The New York Times for all I know. Anyway, here we go:

 Still wasn't sure which type layout and color looked better. I tried a couple of different colors, but there was still a conflict. Would have liked more time to experiment, but these are all done on deadline. -_-

My 300th Scan.

So, I've used my printer-scanner a lot. This is my 300th scan. I call all my scans "kupo" because I used to play a lot of Final Fantasy. I'm going to get back into posting---everywhere. I miss it.

The summer's been unusually busy, but I promise I'll be back in a couple days with more.

Instigatorzine @Kickstarter

artwork by Ellis Clark

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1895169077/instigatorzine-0

Hello everyone. I haven’t really been active on the web anywhere. Don’t worry. I’ve actually been busy setting up a lot of things.

For example, Instigatorzine has been catching steam and rolling along at a very swift pace. We’re working towards legitimizing the periodical on a professional level. That means getting a LLC, a P.O. Box, appearing at the 2011 New York Comic Con, etc. A lot of major moves.

That said, Instigatorzine needs everyone’s help raising money for expenses towards this professional stage. The link featured will take you to our Kickstarter profile which will enable you to contribute to our cause. We’re nothing without you, and you are our strongest attribute. Without your art and your literature, the ‘zine wouldn’t be where it is right now.

Please help us make our goal by Monday, August 22, 2011! You’ll get neat prizes for your greatly appreciated contribution. :)

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1895169077/instigatorzine-0

More updates about other things I've been up to later this week. :)

Failure?

I'm kind of sad I didn't get into Creative Quarterly 23 (CQ23). I submitted the cover I did for Instigatorzine #1. I guess it wasn't good enough.

I guess... I'm not good enough.

HA!

I'll see you in the fall, Creative Quarterly. I'll get in. Even if you bounce me out again!

----

Creative Quarterly 23 Winners - http://www.cqjournal.com/winners.html

Creative Quarterly - http://www.cqjournal.com/

Stumble

I think this is one of my favorite spots I did for Instigatorzine.

Published way back in April 2010, this neat sepia ink painting was illustrated for a poem called "Divorce" by Sean L. Fitts.

Every time I

stand from my chair, I

reach for the old couch,

but the old couch

isn't there.

The old couch

was higher than

the new one

in its place.

So, every time I

reach for it, I

stumble.

Instigatorzine

I don't know how to say this.

If you know me well, I'm never truly satisfied with a lot of my artwork once I've "completed" it. You might hear other artists say something similar: "The next one's always better." In many ways it's true.

But that's not the way I feel about Instigatorzine.

I can honestly tell you that Instigatorzine is the only thing that I've helped create that I can continually feel proud of. I'm proud that Keith, the IZ staff and contributors and myself help to put a solid product that has no equivalent on the newsstands. Instigatorzine is one of the biggest reasons that 2010 will stand out in all the years I've lived.

That said, the future for Instigatorzine is a bit weary and mysterious. Several key members of our staff have departed for greener pastures and it leaves me very concerned for the one thing I've diligently worked to create. I'm not going to complain or cry about it. We're going to try our best to keep delivering the best we can. (I'm aware of our typo rate, but we're trying our best.)

Support your (only) local Instigatorzine today. There's good stuff in here. I promise.

(P.S.: The fancy cover is by Erin Dodge.)

Plusfive

Granted, I'm not very good at any of the Call of Duty or Modern Warfare games. I don't play enough to be very good at any game. I love fighting games, shooters, platformers, action/adventure. I know I don't have any time for RPGs, but I do give some a try.

(Mass Effect 2, you'll be done soon enough!)

Riot Laugh

I usually don't like uploading until illustrations are published (even if it is for my own magazine), but I can't find anything else I've scanned at the moment.

You can find this one in Instigatorzine 9.

www.instigatorzine.com

100: Retribution

Hi. So, my initial plan for my 100th post here was a special illustration of either Dexter, Firefly or Caution, my own personal project. I started thinking of a kind of mash-up with the three groups, but then it started to get out of control. While I'm still planning some kind of special illustration, for now, I present to you how I worked through an Instigatorzine spot illustration for a short story by Robert Jason Clark, called "Retribution."

First up! Pencils. Not actually first up. I went through, maybe, five pages of thumbs trying to get something interesting. This first drawing, which is actually the last in the story, took forever for me to figure out.

For Retribution, I decided to do something different from the usual brush and ink finish. This might look like ink here, but it's really grease pencil (Chinese marker or whatever) on acetate.

'Cause paper don't shine like this.

Invisible.

Usually, if one chooses to use this method, the image underneath the transparency is fully rendered and realized. Here, I just blocked in some colors to save time.

And here are the finishes.

I was inspired by a post on the Today's Inspiration blog, featuring Bob Peak. It quoted him using grease crayons on acetate. It was an interesting concept. Probably try to work with it some more.

Maybe at the next landmark-numbered blogpost, I'll be prepared with something special.