And now for something completely different

Classes start tomorrow, and so I think I shall leave you with this:

You're welcome.

[found in a whole foods in Naperville, IL]

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.

Brush Pen!

There have been questions in a couple different places as to what brush pen I'm referring to when I start singing its praises (because....I always manage to forget to link to it. This is your brain on derp.) You guys! It is totally this one and you should buy it:

http://www.jetpens.com/product_info.php/products_id/1793&utm_source=pr&utm_medium=site

No html for you today.

Space: the reaction post

It's been a while since I promised a reaction post, and while the delay is true to for m for me, I'm afraid that this will be something of a let down. Especially considering that I had planned drawings and graphs and things specifically for this, and then my scanner died.

Well, that's what editing is for, isn't it?

My general reaction, boiled down to basics, was this: good convention good! Although there was the usual comedy of errors that seems to crop up whenever I get involved with anything, I managed to float around in happy land for most of the weekend.

This doesn't mean that I didn't notice some of the, shall we say, inherent problems that managed to crop up. I've built up a bit of a buffer for these things because I'm a frequent reader of communities like wtf_sexism and fanficrants (warning: may break brain. Basic knowledge of fandom recommended before entering), but the way that many writers rely on easy tropes and obvious sexism is something that does need to be addressed. My friend Leslie does a wonderful job of this in her reaction post here.

As an addendum to the above, I would like to say that if you ever find that I am falling into the same traps with my work, let me know so I can correct my course. I do try, but cliches and comic books go together like strong earth magnets and computers: they're so hard to separate, but they're so bad for each other.

But, as I was saying, the convention on the whole was an awesome experience for me. I met a lot of really excellent people and spent way more money than I made (and I am happy to report that I did make back the table cost and a little more besides), which is what I was looking for going in.

Besides the usual familiar faces (most notably Ryan Claytor, my teacher and creator of And Then One Day; Jay Jacot of Comics Obscura; and Matt Feazell, creator of The Amazing Cynicalman), I want to mention Max Ink of Blink and the lovely team over at Ringtail Cafe. I had many great conversations with both Jackie of Ringtail and Max over the course of the weekend, and thinking back on it now I'm still grinning. I'd like to give a special bit of thanks to Max, who put me on to this great new brush pen that I'm a little bit addicted to. As terrifying as it is, inking is one of my absolute favorite parts of the process, and finding a tool that does what I want and doesn't hurt my hand the way using a brush and ink does is exactly what I've been looking for.

...that for which I've been looking? Gyah, I don't even know anymore.

In conclusion: A++, would exhibit again.

post-SPACE pt1

This post is a placeholder post, letting everyone know that I am back and alive after experiencing SPACE. I still have to go through everything that I picked up, finish a last minute sketch commission from the folks at Ringtail Cafe, and organize my thoughts.

Mostly, though, I need to sleep.

I'll also have a post with one finished and several in progress paintings. Promise!

Some upcoming events, etc

Wow, so it's getting to be the end of the semester. Which means that it's time to buckle down and get crazy with the self promoting.

Places where both my work and I shall be in the near future:

MSU Comics Forum

March 26th (keynote speech) and 27th in the RCAH on the MSU campus

I was fortunate enough to be able to snag a table at this event. I went to some of the panels and skulked about the artists' alley last year, and if it's even a tenth as awesome this year then I shall be pretty happy.

For more information, I offer this website.

SPACE

April 24th and 25th at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Columbus Ohio

I will be sharing a table at this even with at least two other people, possibly three, depending on how things shake out. I will update you as we get closer the event and actually know which table we'll be at so's you all can fiiiiind me.

WEBSITE!

Oblique Patience (at Scene Metrospace)

May 7 - June 27 at Scene Metrospace in East Lansing Michigan

Opening Reception on Friday, May 7th from 6-9 pm

The website for this one just went live a little while ago and I've avoided looking at it because I signed on to take part in this project about a year ago now. It seems so unreal. Work is still rolling in and it sounds like the site is going to be updated a lot in the near future, so I suggest checking it out now, while it's still young, and going back to check it again and again in the future.

Please please please go to the website.

---

Hopefully, I'll have another gallery show to add to that list in the near future. I may not have much job experience to put on my resume, but I am determined to have a list of exhibitions as long as my arm by the time I'm done with school (assuming a very large point size...)

In the meantime, I should probably mention that my recent application to the BFA program here was accepted, which means, among other things, that there is no way I am graduating at the end of next year. But! It also means that I am one step closer to getting into a really fancy pants grad school.

And now, I'd like to leave you with a sketch for my next painting:

(must...paint....rational....lightsources)

The culmination of about three weeks' worth of crazed research has lead me to the purchasing of my very first netbook. It is this:

The Asus eee pc 1005peb. It's working out really well. I'm in the middle of getting everything set up to where I want it to be right now, actually. But I did turn away from it for a moment, and it fell asleep.

It fell asleep. And then started playing elevator music. I can't decide whether that is awesome or horrifying.

Either way, that feature is getting turned off NOW.