ALA, Film Festivals, Comic Con

This weekend is big for Moonbot Studios, William Joyce, Morris Lessmore, and thusly -- BOOKS.

The American Library Association (ALA) Conference is being held in New Orleans and the Keynote Speaker is my boss and buddy, writer/director/illustrator, William Joyce. Bill will be touting his new robust books series with Simon & Schuster, The Guardians of Childhood, as well as mentioning our short film and iPad App, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

We are quite proud of all this hard work, and it is not often that you get to look at a one-page of what a film is doing and how an independent, small project gets noticed... but in sending out our film poster for festivals, I had a moment of "wow":

I can't help but be proud to be a part of that.

In other news/update-landia, Danielle and I will be at San Diego Comic Con again this year! We will be in a slightly cooler section (closer to my buddies David Colman, Alberto Ruiz, Stephen Silver, Bobby Chiu...), and we will have new statues! We are in the sculpting phase of making casts and molds of some new resin toys. Hopefully Binkus will have a friend this year.

We will also be offering the usual:

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Commissons
Caricatures
Original paintings
Statues
Exclusive sketchbooks (new!)
Hardbound books
...

I'm also going to be doing commissions BEFORE the show, by request only. You can contact me (email, twitter) and request a sketch. They will be $50 and you can easily pay via PayPal, then pick them up at the show. This is something I've been considering for a while... The time and demand of drawing caricatures at the show is big, and when fans want commissions or other sketches, I don't want to shortcut them (especially if they seek me out). So let me know if you'd like any specific request or drawing (other than live caricature) and I can put some good time into it before the show, then bring for you to pick up in San Diego.

(samples below - final 'look' and style can vary)

More sketching!

I've had some fresh influences lately. Just having fun and trying to get better.

Sketching

Here are more recent sketching pages. Relaxing and brushing up on old man faces:

(click image for larger view)

and setting a goal with drawing ability for graphic novels, sequential art, illustration and storyboards...

Task 1= hands:

(click image for larger view)

These are all done with a light Copic marker then inked with a Pentel Pocket brush pen.

I'll post more Morris Lessmore design work and production art soon, as well as some other little things we're working on here at Moonbot.

Just on a random fun note, I watched Pixar's UP again last night... once again, brilliant.

Sketchbook!

Here's another little comp from a few pages in a new sketchbook. I'm just having fun and getting inspired by a few artists I'm currently checking out. Hope you enjoy (click to enlarge):

Doodlin'

I haven't been drawing much since we ended our shoot schedule for the short film (catching up on emails, etc) but I'll be drawing a bunch this weekend and also doing a painting for some dear friends. In the meantime, here are a few doodles/sketches that I grabbed from my sketchbook, from December (click to enlarge):

Sketch hour

I've been working hard on an animated short film lately, handling character and prop design, so in between work and life I try to still give myself at least a couple hours a week to just sketch for fun and practice. This is my time to relax, watch television and just let my brain wander... sort of stretching my sketch-muscles.

Here a sketchbook page from one such session a couple weeks ago:

(these are Prismacolor markers and Prismacolor colored pencils on paper)

Sketchbooking

Here are some recent sketches from my sketchy von bookus. I am enjoying the errant line of the pen and how charming it can be on its own. Sometimes small areas are nice in their simplicity:

details:

Another Moleskine scan

Here are some sketches from a popular reference book for fun clothing and outfits, called "FRUITS", containing photos of Japanese fashionistas in the streets. It's really fun to look at simple gestures and poses with interesting fabrics and try to capture some of it.

Details:

PS, Thanks to those who have tossed a few dollars my way to help me get to the ISCA convention. I can't express how grateful I am.

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More Sketchbook scans

If you dig these, feed the monkey and grab my cheap-yet-top-quality sketchbook collection, HERE.





UPDATE: I also hope my buddy Dan doesn't mind, but he is REALLY GOOD, so I had to share this:

New Sketchbook

More Sketching

Thanks for the great responses to the new post, and my sketches. If you like these at all, then my new book is something you will love. It's much more than a sketchbook, it's advice and inspiration from MANY artists that I respect. You can check it out here.

Here's a sketch done of two guys playing chess (cheezy '70s/'80s collage layout) in the local Shreveport, LA Barnes & Noble cafe. I originally observed this two months ago, but was inspired to resurrect and share it after I bumped into the [lower] guy at a coffee shop reading a really sexually driven poem during an open-mic night. Egad!

Sketchbook: cheetah

Drawing from a "BIG CATS" book I picked up at Barnes & Noble. After a couple pages of quick gestures, I finally liked one enough to play around with some sort of finished rendering. This is with Prismacolor pencils (4 colors) and markers (2 colors, only in spots/edges). This took just over an hour while watching Tiger Woods kick ass on TV this past Sunday. It fills a 9"x12" page in my new sketchbook. It started off really line-based and cartoony, but the more I worked it out, the more rendered it became. I guess it was just a good image for me to experiment with.

detail
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Sketchbook: animals

BIG update!

Leaving New York

Well, temporarily. I've done a good amount of work in the animation industry, in short spurts over the last three years and it's something I'm ready to take on full-time. While I don't want to get rid of my own ambitions like painting, illustration, publishing, and other new projects, I am pushing towards a career in animation, through visual development and character design.

This brings me to my new job, starting next week. I'll be heading to Shreveport, Louisiana on April 1st to help create storyboards and design on a new project with William Joyce of "Robots" and "Meet the Robinsons" fame. I'll be down south for about three months, and I'm really looking forward to working around the clock and creating a fun portfolio for this field in animation.

Sketch Infectus is out there

The pre-orders have been mailed and the book is stocked in the warehouse and ready for sale. I've seen a few reviews online (and won't discourage more!), and they are really positive and exciting! If you haven't seen it yet, drop by the Art Squared publishing website and take a peek. I'm quite proud of this book and hope you'll pick it up and get inspired.

Daily Sketchbook

With the aforementioned projects and time-consuming preparation, I've slacked a little on my updates and new personal goal to share something new from my sketchbook every single day. I'll do my best to keep updated, and here's another page from my sketchbook. This was just one of several fun warmup pages the other night... more sketches to come, this week.

Comic Conventions

I've been attending a few shows on behalf of myself and Art Squared Publishing, and they have been going great. Everyone visiting, getting their caricatures and books, have been delightful. Here are some photos from the most recent show, MegaCon in Orlando, FL:

The next appearances will be at the always amazing Toronto Comics Art Festival in May, then MoCCA in NYC. Hope to see you at either of those events. They are really fun and inspiring.

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Sketchbook: crocodile

I am nearly obsessed with creatures and life... people, animals, and anything in between or near them. From one of my many animal encyclopedias, I've scribbled a little loose, exaggerated sketch of a fat-necked crocodile. When they gain weight, it looks great, as their body bloats out in the middle and near the head, then this long, clumsy, cartoon-like jaw points out of it. They are threatening animals that look far too comedic for their ominous threat.

Sketchbook: Robots

Here was a quick attempt at having some fun creating cheesy robots. I really admire concept artists that can do this the "right" way, and I thought it'd be nice to warm up today by using a brush pen and a Prismacolor French Gray 30% marker on a small pad.

Daily Sketchbook

I've decided to post my sketchbook drawings or whatever I'm working on, as frequently as daily. I'm sure I won't keep this schedule perfectly, but I'll try my best.

Here are some new animal sketches. I'm playing with style and weight. Still (always) a long ways to go. And if you like these, then you should clickety-click over to get my new book. It's still warm from the oven.

Last day for book special...

Today is the LAST day for the special offer on pre-orders for my new book, SKETCH INFECTUS. See the Art Squared Publishing blog for details, and get your copy today... the pre-order period will extend for a couple more weeks, but this special offer is only available until the end of TODAY!

Check it out, and I'll see you at booth 2341 at the Javitz center here in New York this weekend, at New York Comic Con. :)

Get Your Sketchbook!

I decided to give the art away:

Sketch Infectus contains nearly 400 drawings... It's been set at the modest price of $20. It's a hardcover book. I've been told by friends that this value is insane, but that's the point. Now let's break it down in mere terms of art:

The book contains about 390 drawings and costs $20.00 (US). That comes to less than 20¢ ($0.20) per drawing. As silly as that already is, you get advice from the likes of Steve Brodner, Phillip Burke, John Kascht, Steve Silver and dozens of other amazing artists.

BUT I'M NOT DONE (infomercial voice)...

Anyone who pre-orders by February 5th (happens to be a good friend's birthday!) will get an original sketch. And by sketch, I don't mean I'll draw a little 5 second scribble... I mean I'll actually be cutting out the sketches from these and other sketchbooks and giving them to you! You might get something IN the book and you might get something else! Your sketch might have a doodle on the back. Who knows!

But this is reserved ONLY for pre-orders on or before February 5th.

Because of the shipment date of the books, the pre-order will extend to mid-late February, (actual date TBD) however this special is ONLY good until the 5th (books will be shipped late February or early March).

Anyway, go on over and buy 2 or 3 copies (don't forget your friends!), and here are some more low-res previews from my upcoming sketchbook collection, SKETCH INFECTUS:

Go get it!
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Sketch Infectus

Over the last seven years or so, I've been stashing scrap paper with doodles, keeping my sketchbooks hidden under the bed, and scanning artwork and forgetting about it. I decided that 2009 was the year that I dusted it all off and shared it with others. A good friend of mine recently said "...in a sketch you see the hand of the master..." --not that I consider myself a master-- but it is quite true that sketches inspire. The loose, confident secure mindset of trying to teach yourself something, all alone, in a book that you never intended to show off, is powerful and wonderful.

I realized for years that nearly every book I purchased and every inspiration I had, came from the sketches and sketchbooks of other artists. One of my good friends, Stephen Silver, has been a big inspiration and motivator for me over the last few years. How? His sketches. His doodles. His scratchy sketchbooks.

Well, after talking to many peers and inspiring artists, I've captured dozens of quotes and tips and supplied them along side a dense collection of drawings and doodles. This will most likely be the most art-heavy little book you've ever seen, and I think it looks pretty snazzy. You will be able to get it over at Art Squared Books.com, pre-orders coming up next week (with a special incentive for those who order early!).

Here are some previews. I'm really excited about this book, and I hope it continues to inspire someone out there, as much as other artists have (and continue to) inspire me:

* More to come soon...
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