As I’m typing this up I am getting over the first real sickness I’ve had in a long time. Sure I’ve gotten a little ill here and there over the years but I don’t think I’ve been stuck on a couch or in bed with a sickness in a long time. If it was going to happen though I am not even surprised that it has happened this year though, cause this year sucked big time.

I’m sorry to come off all “Debbie Downer” here but like a many artist, this was the year of just getting by, if you were lucky. I didn’t really expand creatively in ways that I’d hope. Now I take much of the blame for this as maybe I was not being as aggressive as I should, but I do feel that the a lot of the time, there were simply very few options to go. When times are tough the arts usually get cut in all places, commercial art is no exception. I didn’t get as many new clients as I’d have liked, and I  was just happy that the ones I do have needed me when they did. On the personal front I did keep busy with a lot of commission work which was nice. I also did do some cool things like work for the Northstar Rollergirls which was a lot of fun.
On the comic front things were slow. Spending a good chunk of time trying to find work to pay the bills didn’t allow as much time as I’d have liked to do other things. For those hoping on Astronaut Dad book Two, it will be out next summer, and I’m the one to blame there on that. I just didn’t get it done. We are over half way and it’s looking great. I’m very excited for the final chapter to be done and I think a lot of people are going to love it. I also have a secret project I am writing and drawing for a publisher and it’s coming along great. I am having a best time working on it and it’s a dream come true for me. I also had a great time going to Comic Geek Speak’s Super Show, easily one of, if not the best comic convention experience I’ve ever had. Plus me and Nicole made a vacation out of it and had a great time in Philadelphia, one of the few trips we’ve done on our own in a while.
I’ve got some plans for 2009 that are very exciting and I can’t wait to share them with all of you, but for now I’m going back to the couch for some soup and a few blankets. Just the way 2008 would want it.

Brent

Hey gang, I’m taking the rest of this week off from posting so have a great week and hope you relax with your friends, family, or whomever you chose to hang with. Merry Christmas and I’ll be back next Monday. Hopefully with some more art to post. I leave you know with a piece I did of Captain America and Superman, done in original costumes from the early 1940’s.

Brent

Here’s a little animation project I worked on for my art reps, Matt and Renae over at Spectrum Studio. It was a fun little project put together quickly and animated by the talented Kenny Kiernan.

That’s all for today. I’ll be posting off and on next week.

Brent

Now in glorious color!

Brent

I’ve posted several times on the blog how much of a Dick Tracy fan I am. Well today I have a recent commission I did of the famous cop from Chicago. I’m only posting the inks today, but I’ll post the the colored version tomorrow or Wednesday.

Brent

As we come up towards the end of the year I’ve been going through some older art to post. I’ve been wanting to put up art that I did as a kid but sadly our computer is so maxed out I’ve dared not store anything on it that isn’t essential. Unlike those 80’s power ballads I have in Itunes.

This one isn’t really old. It’s from this past summer, I was asked to do a character piece of Mr. Incredible for a project. Nothing came of it yet but it’s led to other things which is nice. I figured I’d share it. I loved the movie and my favorite part was the flashback stuff with his pal Frozone. So I decided to do my interpretation of the character from that time. This one is a little off design but I wanted to try and do my own thing with it, which was encouraged.

Brent

Just got back in from shoveling, not a terrible amount of snow but having a long drive-way isn’t always awesome. So I’m keeping it short today and showing a colored version of the recent Flukeman commission I did.

Brent

Every now and then there is just something too cool on someone elses sight that you gotta post it as well. Recently I checked out comic writer Paul Tobin’s website and he posted this cool old photo he had of a comic shop circa 1965.

Man, what a perfect time to go back and snatch up some old comics. If you read the comment section Paul writes “It’s funny….there’s a side of me that knows there are far better things to do with a time machine than get old comics for cheap, but that’s always where I go. Invest in Microsoft or General Electric? Not for me. Give me those old Timely comics for a dime.” I couldn’t agree more.

Brent

…except the one in the Black Lagoon! Recent commission piece. Had to scan in the inks so I could play with the digital coloring down the road.

Brent

Every now and then you get what I call those “Meh” drawings. They aren’t really bad, but they aren’t good either. This happens sometimes in the concept stage. Maybe the first couple drawings. I have a few examples. Earlier this year I was asked if I was interested in a job. The concept around the job centered on two characters. One was a cute goth girl, the other was her ghoulish skateboard loving boyfriend. I hadn’t committed to the job but one morning I had some free time and drew these two characters up. Eventually the job went nowhere but I still had these drawings. This happens often, I usually think nothing of it. File and forget. Now the client had specific instructions on the look they were going for and reference to styles they liked. My main concern was the “Ghoulish Boyfriend” seemed a little dated to me but the girl was a lot of fun to do. So now months later I’m going back through stuff and I bump into these characters. I almost like them enough to actually complete them and use as samples down the road but at the same time they are also kind of generic. I know I could give them life if I were to move ahead with them but at the same time, why not just created something new? So here they are, banished to a simple post on my blog, where they will probably be stuck forever. Sorry goth girl and ghoul boy. Also, for anybody who reads this blog, if you ever take anything away from it, please let it be known that putting a character or mascot on a skateboard doesn’t make it hip,edgy,cool, or whatever word you are trying to convey. Thanks!

Brent