Thermopylae ... the last stand

Don Lawrence and the Trigan Empire

Along with Frank Bellamy I have been "discovering" the work of Don Lawrence who drew Trigan Empire for British publication. I was so impressed by his use of light and shadow, as well as his rendering of folds that I did some studies of the figures from the comic book that I got. It was fun and educational for me :)

Legend of Mouse Guard signing at HIJINX in San Jose

On June 12th HIJINX COMICS in San Jose is having their annual sidewalk sale with tons of 50 and 24 cent books for sale, as well as a great selection of graphic novels at excellent prices. I will be there as well, promoting Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard #1 (in which I have a short story), both volumes of Robotika, as well as my 2010 Sketchbook. So if you are in the neighborhood, stop by and say "hi".

As an interesting note, I want to add that my "relationship" with HIJINX goes w-a-a-a-y back. I used to buy comics there when it was called Mike's Coliseum and had one of my first signings there for "Moonstruck" and "Bloodlust". More recently, I have gotten to know Dan Shahin, who now runs the shop, and did a couple of Robotika appearances. Thanks to Dan, the shop has great atmosphere and it is always fun to hang out.

African Warriors...a tribute to Frank Bellamy

I recently picked-up a book of Thunderbird strips drawn by Frank Bellamy. One of the stories takes place in Africa. I just loved how he drew the backgrounds and the native warriors. These sketches were inspired by his work on that strip:

Blue Pencil: Warlock and Star Thief

My take on Warlock's fight with Star Thief:


Just playing around with Thanos...did not get him right, just not menacing enough:

One last Gelfling.....

Gelflings and thiings....Dark Crystal #3

Another shot at Dark Crystal...in ink

It seems to me that my progress through art is like playing "leap frog". I work hard to get to a certain level at something, and because I concentrate on that one thing (composition, storytelling, human anatomy, animal anatomy...), I get ahead in one area and not in other areas.

When I realize it, I stop and try to "pull up" the rest of my skills. Penciling and inking are perfect examples. I have been inking a lot last year and I started to feel like I could ink just about anything I could pencil and make it better than the original pencils. Once I realized that, I started focusing on my penciling...and if I compare this piece with the penciled drawing I posted just before, I can say that I now need to switch and try to sharpen up my inking again because I am penciling textures that I am just not being able to ink properly :)

Dark Crystal pin-up