1 Day and an epic nap later...

If you ever happen to find yourself thinking 'hey, I wonder if I should do this 24 hour comic challenge thing or not' I suggest you do it. When you do it, there are some things you should know:

1. Bring caffeinated beverages. This is fairly obvious, but if you don't plan ahead, you could find yourself dead in the water

2. If you think you have the time, and maybe even if you don't, you should probably get up and walk around. Going to the bathroom is a good excuse to leave the room for a minute

3. People will complain while they work. This is expected. You should complain too.

4. Have nothing planned for the next day. Maybe not even the day after that.

5. Greasy or sticky snacks are bad news bears. You do not have time to waste in cleaning your fingers.

6. The right drawing and inking tools make all the difference. It takes me most of an hour to do with an unfamiliar pen what I can do in twenty minutes with my pentel brush pen.

7. There is no such thing as planning ahead.

8. Work small. Both times I have done this, I have worked fairly large. It has turned out to have been a bit of a mistake. And also a marker eater.

9. Bring more ink than you think you'll need. You probably won't run out, but if you do you're screwed.

10. Sell the resulting work. There are very few other times in your life where you'll be able to answer the question of what it's about with "I don't even know, man" and have it be a selling point. Also, it's a great thing to trade with other comic artists

11. Get as many people involved as possible. This includes non-comics people. At the very least, even if they don't participate, they can bring you emergency supplies. And if they do participate, then even better.

12. Chances are, the result will not be a masterpiece. If it is, you are a freakish monster and I would like to give you all my money.

13. Give yourself an art-break the day before. Put your feet up, watch some movies, go for a run.

14. Get some sleep, if you can. Most people I've talked to have trouble sleeping the night before because they're too excited.

15. Have fun, dammit!

But of course, that's a small list of things I can think of off the top of my head (because I am simultaneously sleepy and obsessing), and for a more complete list, you should try it yourself.

I plan to post the completed work ...somewhere...on the internet soon. Just as soon as I scan, edit, and find a place to stick it so that it's readable. Possibly here, now that I think of it.

I will also soon post my paintings from Italy (I still have to get good images of them. It's mostly an issue of light, unfortunately. It has to be really perfect, or some of the more conceptual elements of the later ones won't come through.) When I get those up, I'll talk some more about the trip. I'm still digesting it a little bit. It was definitely one of the best times of my life.

I'll probably also spend a post talking about books, which I have been reading plenty lately. Man, I love the summer.

But for now, it's time to hunt down the wild dinner.

Sorry about the spam, guys

Should have put this up in my last post, but I want to give it some room to breathe.

This poster was designed by myself and colored by the ever remarkable Amber, to whom I would link, except that her website isn't up yet.

Please come?

An introduction

At the time of writing, it is 2:18 in the morning. It is the week before finals. The week when all the projects are due. I, like most of my peers, and exhausted and reaching the tipping point into the abyss of constant surliness, and this typeface is getting on my nerves.

What better time for an introductory post?

I know, right? There is no better.

I wish I could point you towards my online gallery, but, uh...as of right now, I'm having some serious troubles getting it to work across browsers. You guys know how that is, right? (all it takes is for one margin, SOMEWHERE, to not be set to 0....*shudder*) So, in the meantime, may I offer you my deviant art page? I do tend to update it fairly regularly.

But very rarely do I update it with in progress stuff. That's what this blog is for.

It's also for promoting upcoming events.

FOR EXAMPLE:

If you are in the East Lansing area on December 16th and happen to be free from 5-7, please stop in at 21st Century Comics and Games, where my classmates and I will be having an in-store signing. With real comic books and everything. I'm only a little bit excited.

But it's not just about me. If you've got something awesome and art related (or maybe just awesome) coming up that you want to spread the word about, let me know, and I'll do my best to give it a little bump.

That's all for now. See you 'round the net?