Post Show Recap: Wizard World Philly

I have my post show recap for X-Con ready to go, but I'm still waiting on some photographs 

before I can publish it... So, while we're waiting for that- Here's what happened in Philly!

I had less than a week after X-Con (just enough time to complete that Luna commission and catch a nasty head cold) to get my stuff together for Wizard World. It was the first time I've ever had an Artist's Alley table all to myself and it ended up being the most financially successful con I've ever attended!

I had a great spot in Artist's Alley, right across from Red Stylo Media and down the aisle from my friends Ken Haeser (of Living Corpse fame) and Mike Capprotti (cover artist extraordinaire).

Rough Sketch Studios was there in force as well, with Steve, Brielle, and Andy all taking up residence just one aisle away.




Directly across from my table was a talented young artist I've never seen before. Her name is Sasha Yosselani and her work is incredible. Take a moment to check out her website, you'll be glad you did.

I also had the pleasure of running into Alex Saviuk!
I'd been looking forward to showing him my work ever since meeting him in Chicago, but I wasn't expecting to see him in Philly! He did me the honor of looking through my portfolio and was a joy to chat with. I'm looking forward to the next time we cross paths.

I was assisted by my own personal booth babe, Thomas Mitchell. He spent the weekend dressed as Doctor Strange and was, dare I say it, the belle of the ball. If Tom hadn't taken time off from work to help me run the booth, there's no way I would've made it through the weekend. He is the best show partner anyone could ask for, and I suspect he likes to rave about my artwork even more than I do.

Having Tom nearby to take care of customers also freed me up to work on more show sketches than I would've otherwise been able to do. Almost a third of my income from Wizard World this year came from show sketches. I've never done so many at a single event... They haven't gotten easier or quicker, but they have gotten a little bit better.

<-- The first was Black Widow for a
customer who liked Marvel redheads.

The guy who gave
me a tiny zebra print
sketch book in Chicago
made an appearance!
His name is Chris
apparently and he was the recipient of this
(somewhat mannish)
Wonder Woman.

                                                                                                                                                                             Emma Frost as The White Queen of The Hellfire Club, complete with condescending bitch face.

This Octopus Mermaid is my personal favorite from the show! I LOVE how she turned out! I'm planning on coloring her sometime in the future. It's fortuitous that this sketch turned out so awesome, since the customer is planning on getting this tattooed on his body!

And last, but not least, is this drawing of Wonder Woman having a tea party with X-23.
I get the feeling it's some kind of inside joke between the customer and a friend, but she was absolutely delighted when she saw the finished piece and announced that I'd "made at least two people very happy"

Those four days sapped a LOT of energy out of me... I definitely learned how exhausting it is to work a convention when you're sick. I returned home on Monday with a bone-deep weariness that I have yet to fully recover from and had to keep on truckin' since the RAW cosplay fashion show was only a few days away... I'll blog about that eventually when they post the photos/video.

Now, if you guys don't mind, I'm going to go collapse in a corner for a few days.

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.