NYCC and Other Assorted Chaos

The Shakespeare Shaken book signing at Stormwatch was a moderate success. I didn't sell as many books as I was hoping to, but most of that was because there were customers who had purchased copies before the event and were bringing those in to be signed. It was a bit slow, but I managed to sell enough prints to keep me from getting too disappointed about the turn out.

By the next morning, we were back on the road again- headed out to New York this time. NYCC was absolutely wonderful for me this year! I kicked off the weekend by landing a book cover job with a legitimate publishing house! I can't say about it much yet, but I am super excited about this project and I hope it's the first of many!

Photo Credit: Robert Hoskins

The first day of the con was spent showing my portfolio to every book publisher I could find. I got a lot of positive feedback, so hopefully some of those leads will turn into new projects within the coming months. After I finished making the rounds as a professional, I was free to kick back and act like a fangirl for the rest of the weekend.

I'd been adding some extra details to my Poison Ivy costume, with the intent of turning it into a Queen Titania costume for Halloween. After I saw another Ivy wearing a velvet cape, the temptation to take my dream cloak for a test drive was too strong to resist and I unveiled it a few weeks early. I am SO proud of how this whole get up has turned out. There are a few things I'd like to add, but the area around my face (the hood and clasp and the way my wig just pours out of the cowl) is exactly the way I wanted it.

I found out about a graphic novel adaptation of the Book of Revelations, illustrated by Chris Koelle. It's GORGEOUS and it does a really good job of staying true to the original text, while at the same time, making the story as coherent as possible. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy.

Photo Credit: Jason Torse

I must've stopped by the Jersey Jack Pinball booth at least twice a day. They had a new Wizard of Oz game that they were letting people try out for free.

As far as I know, there are only two pinball machine companies still in existence, so I'd never even seen a brand new pinball machine before! It was SO shiny! It had a gorgeous video display and surprisingly good voice acting! If I ever win the lottery, I'm definitely buying myself a pinball machine. ...And a copy of Magical Truck Adventure.

While at NYCC, I learned about Red Bubble, which enables artists to sell their work in new & interesting ways and customers to obtain some seriously cool items. I now have a brand new online store that's chock full of lovely prints, as well as some t-shirts and even iPhone cases! There's something about seeing my own work on a cell phone cover that is indescribably cool to me.

On Sunday, I worked a one-day comics show
at the International House in Philadelphia.

While there, I did this Batwoman sketch cover for a customer and reconnected with my contact from Dynamic Forces. You should definitely keep your eyes peeled for new LG sketch covers on their front page!

All in all, not a bad way to spend a weekend.

 

Upcoming Events:

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! This year's Punk Rock Flea Market will feature a table manned by yours truly! It'll be in Philadephia on Sunday, December 9th in the "Punk Rock Flea Market Dome", which is a fancy way of saying "the old FedEx Warehouse across the street from The Starlight Ballroom". The building is at 9th and Spring Garden and the event will be open to the public from 10 am to 5 pm.

ALMOST FORGOT! For those of you who haven't seen it yet, here's a mini-comic about the thoughts that went through my head while waiting in line at NYCC.

Daily Special #8 - Elektra

Out of all the "traditional" superheroes, Daredevil is by far my personal favorite- So when I found out there were new DD sketch covers coming to Dynamic Forces, I flipped! I wanted to do several different covers (Elektra, Black Widow, even Ol' Hornhead himself), but I could only get my hands on enough books for one design.

I went with Elektra, a lady ninja who is as lovely as she is off her rocker! Daily Specials only remain on the Dynamic Forces website for 24 hours, so go check it out now!

(click here to read the article after it has expired)

Upcoming Events:

This October is going to be a REALLY busy month for me!

Last weekend was the Collingswood Book Festival and already there's another outdoor art festival looming on the horizon!

I'll be setting up my table again on October 8th for The Barrington Harvest Festival, which takes place in downtown Barrington (along Clements Bridge Road) from 10pm to 4pm. If you're going to be in the area, stop by and say hello!

After that, it's off to the New York Comic Convention on October 14th and the Mid-Ohio Comic Con from October 21st 'til the 23rd. I'll be there with the usual Stormwatch crew, splitting my time between working for The 'Watch and showing my portfolio to anyone who stands still long enough.

Daily Special #7 - Emma Frost

Guess who was the #1 seller for Dynamic Forces yesterday?

Guess who sold out and still was the #1 seller?!

My Emma Frost covers made their way onto the Dynamic Forces front page yesterday and sold out completely before I had a chance to take a look. They also posted about it in the news section, if you're into that sort of thing.

This definitely won't be the last time I draw Emma, but before I can revisit the White Queen, I have a few other projects that need addressing: Some private commissions, a pin-up for Rough Sketch Studio's upcoming title "Daddy's Little Girl", and a Hellblazer inspired piece that is underway right now. I'll be posting some images of THAT later on this week.

I'm trying to get it done before the Baltimore Comic Con this weekend, since I'll be showing my portfolio to representatives from a ton of different publishing houses. I'm cutting it a bit close to the deadline, but as long as I don't run into any problems, I should still be able to finish it in time for the big show.

Wish me luck!

Emma Frost - Pt. 2

Here she is- Older, but lovelier for it.

I also straightened her hair a bit, because I noticed that all of my reference of Emma was pin-straight and yet, I'd been drawing her with full-bodied waviness for some reason.

Emma Frost

I've been working on an Emma Frost pinup for my next set of DF sketch covers. The image I came up with is laid out nicely, ascetically pleasing, and completely wrong.

The character of Emma Frost is a self-serving, cold-hearted bitch, but the girl I've drawn here is too young and soft looking. She's pretty enough to be Emma, but she's too generic and bland for my taste.

My initial attempts to fix the problem went a bit too far in the other direction and made her look more like a witch with a headache than a telepath with sex appeal, but on the third try...

Here's our Emma: a little older, a little more angular

...I ended up with that comes much closer to capturing the spirit of the character than before. I'm still not entirely satisfied with her, but she's getting there little by little. Once I iron out the last of the kinks, I'll post an another update.

Daily Special #6 - Invisible Woman

Sue Storm made it to the DF front page last week, but I wasn't speedy enough to post about it before it expired. Here's the screencap if you're interested in reading about it anyway.

This image might be the first of a set of covers featuring the Fantastic Four in their new white outfits, or it may end up being the only one- we'll see. I have 50 of these to draw and 50 Dominos that are on backorder until we get more X-Force books in, so I'll have plenty of sketch cover work waiting for me when I get back from Pittsburgh.

Speaking of- I'm leaving tomorrow for the Pittsburgh Comic Con! I'm super excited, since this'll be the first con of the year for me. I've been gearing up for it all week, putting my portfolio together and finishing up the missing pieces of my Black Widow costume. I will return with photographs, stories, and hopefully a few new business contacts. Wish me luck!

Sue Storm

I was able to kill two birds with one stone today.

I got a commission to do a pinup of Sue Storm (The Invisible Woman) just a few hours after receiving an email from Dynamic Forces asking me to draw The Invisible Woman in her new costume.

Focus on the face, change the costume and PRESTO!

We've got next week's Daily Special!

Daily Special #5 - Domino

The Domino image I posted about previously has just made it's way onto the Dynamic Forces front page. She's the first in a series of covers I'll be doing soon depicting "The Women of X-Force"

Daily Specials only remain on the Dynamic Forces website for 24 hours, so go check it out now! And if you're reading this blog in the future, follow the link below to recreate what it was like for us primitive homo sapiens from the past, man.

(click here to read the article after it has expired)

Domino

Just finished working on an image of Domino from X-Force. This'll probably be the next sketch cover I do for Dynamic Forces, but I'd like to work out some of the kinks first.

I can't decide if I like it better when her bodysuit is matte or glossy. Usually I enjoy making the costumes shine, but I kind of like the silhouette effect that occurs when I take out all the highlights.

Daily Special #4 - Spiderman/Deadpool

Brian had requested that I draw Spiderman or Deadpool next, since they're extremely popular characters (and probably because they wanted to check that I could actually draw male characters). So, rather than doing one or the other, I decided to go with a silly sort of image that uses both.

I don't feel that it's a very strong piece, but Brian seemed to like it and he's the client. In any case, you should go take a look and decide for yourself.

Daily Specials only remain on the Dynamic Forces website for 24 hours, so go check it out now! And if you're reading this blog in the future, follow the link below to recreate what it was like for us primitive homo sapiens from the past, man.

(click here to read the article after it has expired)

Let me state for the record that I hated drawing Deadpool. You can tell he's been reproduced too many times, because trying to figure out just what's going on with his costume is like playing a game of Whisper-Down-The-Lane.

Sometimes the dark thing around his neck is some kind of collar.

Sometimes it's like a turtleneck.

Sometimes he has ankle cuffs and sometimes they look more like leg warmers.

It's not that his costume is constantly changing, it's more like no one can quite agree on what he's wearing.

Things like that are really frustrating when I'm trying to pin down just what to include so that the character will be recognizable. Spidey was a piece of cake by comparison.

More Vampi Sketches

The Vampi sketch cover that has been plastered all over DF for the last few days will be released in a slightly differently format that what has been advertised. Half of them will be black & white and half of them will be in color... Well, in red.

I'm going to start churning out the new batch of Vampis next week, after I finish the last of the Wasp books. There's also set of Spiderwoman books and a possible Deadpool and/or Spidey cover on the horizon, so keep your eyes peeled and check back here for updates!

Also, I've been "researching" Gonzalez-era Vampirella images and trying to identify all the things about her character design that are specific to her. Y'know... The things that make Vampirella actually look like Vampirella and not just some random chick in a Vampi costume. I'm working up to creating a set of images that might be used as a tip-in for the release of a limited edition Art of Vampirella book. More on that as it happens.

Top Sellers List

So I checked back at the DF front page

and guess who had the top selling item today?

Aww yeah! Score one for team Guzzo!

Daily Special #3 - Vampirella

I sent a email out to Brian from Dynamic Forces asking what he thought of this Vampirella sketch that I'd done. I was expecting a little feedback, maybe some negative criticism and things that needed changing... Instead, I found it on the DF front page as a daily special the very next day! I guess this means he liked it!

Daily Specials only remain on the Dynamic Forces website for 24 hours, so go check it out now! And if you're reading this blog in the future, follow the link below to recreate what it was like for us primitive homo sapiens from the past, man.

(click here to read the article after it has expired)

Daily Special #2 - Wasp

My second daily special for Dynamic Forces is online and available for purchase!!! A lovely portrait of the Wasp on an issue of New Avengers.

Daily Specials only remain on the Dynamic Forces website for... you guessed it.

One day. So, go check it out now!

(click here to read the article after it has expired)

Quick Update

I'm currently wading knee-deep in work, but I'm taking a momentary break from it to bring you wonderful news! There are two new solicitations floating around the internet with my name on them:

Bluewater finally solicited the Hilary Clinton book I worked on. Whether or not I actually do the interior artwork is still up in the air, but I contributed the cover art and I'm pleased with the work I did on that. It's somewhat amusing to me that it's listed as coming out in March and I still have yet to see a script for it. I might be good, but no one can work that fast.

(Click here, then scroll halfway down the page to find it.)

And, I HAD a piece up for sale at Dynamic Forces, but since it was a daily special, I can't really post a link for it. It sold out very quickly and I'm working my butt off to make more of them! My debut with Dynamic Forces was with a Black Cat image and next week, my Wasp is going to be a daily special yet again!

I have a few more projects with Dynamic Forces in the works, but I won't reveal too much about it until I'm sure of the details. Let's just say, I may have a date with the lovely Vampirella in my future. Stay tuned for more updates!

Belated Show Report and New Pin-up

Here's my post-show report for the Polar Express Holiday Art Festival that went down in Gloucester City on December 11th: All in all, it was a small show that went surprisingly well under rather poor circumstances.

We were upstairs at what looked like a VFW lodge, in a room that was absurdly dark, at a table that was as far away from the door as we could be. And yet somehow I managed to sell two pieces and get a possible portraiture job! Not too shabby! I also got to meet Tom Matthews from 98.1 WOGL, which was awesome! I absolutely love that radio station and I've been listening to it since I was a little kid, so getting to actually put a face to such a familiar voice was really cool.

This image is an accurate depiction of the lighting situation in that place. Any light you see was provided by two particularly bright two desk lamps, which is fine if you're looking at the stuff on the table, but I might as well have left the stand-up screen at home.

I was lucky to have Tom along, because once we got there and saw how dark it was, he was able to go back to the house and grab the two table lamps you see in the photo. I didn't pack them because I knew it was going to be an indoor show and I only bring those to outdoor nighttime shows. Silly me.

Anyway, enough of that.

I finished another pair of sketch covers and I'm totally in love with this one! I turned in my trial sketches to Brian from Dynamic Forces, so now I'm just waiting to hear what he thinks of them.

First Blue Willow Egg

I just finished a new painted egg and I'm really pleased with how it came out!

This one is obviously quite different from the mythical creature designs I was doing before, it's based on the Blue Willow china plates. It was a special request and I can't wait to see the look on her face when she sees it!

I've also been working on a set of sketch covers for Dynamic Forces. Some of them will be handed over to Brian and some will be put up for sale at Stormwatch Comics. Take a look:

I should be receiving a bunch of X-Men blanks by the end of the week, so expect some lovely lady mutants in the next batch of comic pin-ups.

Cease & Desist #2:

And in other news, the BBC has found my Doctor Who shirts and has frowned upon them. They will be unavailable for purchase through my Etsy store until this mess is sorted out.