WonderCon 2008

This was my first con of the year and it was one of the best conventions I have ever attended. This was in large part due to the fact that I got to share a table with two other ASP creators: Marvin Mann and Patrick McEvoy. Apart from being way talented, these two are the nicest guys and were a fun bunch to hang out with.

It was also a blast to met some folks who read Robotika and to sell the book to a few new potential readers. In fact I sold out of the hardcover collection of the first mini-series...wow!

I spent most of the time at the table, which kept me from walking around and spending money (good), but also limited my ability to pick up new art (bad). However, I did manage to re-introduce myself to Alex Nino and again express my appreciation for his past and current work. I was very excited to hear that he will have a new art book out for San Diego, and a new illustrated Graphic Novel in March. Also by accident (and kind of rudely) I introduced myself to Timothy Green II whose work I have followed from Aeon Flux (Dark Horse) to Starlord (Marvel). He was great to talk to and we chatted about old school illustrators and different rendering techniques. Timothy showed me a few of the pages from his upcoming Image project "Robota", based on a Doug Chiang art book. The pages look absolutely beautiful, and it was great to see someone else draw robots other than myself!

Richard Becker (the artist on anything and everything that has to do with pirates) and Joshua Dysart (the talented writer of many excellent books like: Violent Messiahs, Swamp Thing, 1946), as well as my old friends whom I met at signings around the area, stopped by and were super supportive of my current efforts. I want to thank everyone who took a few minutes to chat and encourage me. Thank you!

Here are a few images from the convention:

Marvin and Patrick on Friday before the start of the show.

"Robotika" in full force!

Working...

Working harder...

Marv doing a sketch for one of the fans.

This is Patrick using the time to pencil one of the panels from the upcoming Starkweather issues.

A late dinner with Ryan, Nick, and Chris.

Issue #3 is done!

I am now done with issue #3 and I feel it is the best art I have ever done. Here is the inside front cover:


And here are a few other pages:

Robotika #2 Available for Pre-Order

Issue #2 of "Robotika: For A Few Rubles More" is now available for pre-order through Diamond Previews. Order Code: DEC07 3393

So now, all of you who did not order #1 and felt guilty about it, have a second chance to make good :)

Issue #3...moving along

Robotika #1 Pre-Reviews

I have sent out a number of copies of Robotika#1 PDF for review purposes and there has been three reviews so far...very positive reviews :)

Broken Frontier

Jazma Online

Comics-And-More

Robotika #3, Page 13, Panel 5--Romper Stomper

I am getting into the whole "drawing fight scenes" thing.

Color Preview Pages

Colored and lettered pages from the first issue are just up on Newsarama. I am hoping that will help raise the awareness about the book.

Newsarama

Leif turned me on to "The Ultimates" and I am enjoying it a lot...I am spending more time reading instead of drawing.

Issue #3...my first 2 page splash!

Working on Robotika continues to broaden my horizons. Here is my attempt at a 2 page splash...I hope it will print alright.

Robotika #1 "For A Few Rubles More"

Robotika #1 is listed in Previews Magazine for pre-order. It is featured on page 226 along with other great titles from Archaia Studios Press.

The pre-order # is OCT07 3263 and I hope you will take a chance on ordering the book.

A new review

I just got an e-mail about a review that was done in current Rain Taxi journal:

9.25.07 – Robotika reviewed in Rain Taxi.
This quarterly review journal said in its Spring 2007 issue, “Like the organic machine technology of its future world, Robotika fuses disparate elements into a quirky, but surprisingly catchy concoction…. Sheikman’s characters face their world with an energy that mirrors the eye-catching layouts that depict them, giving the comic its engaging personality.”

I am very much looking forward to hearing what sort of responce there will be to the second series in December!

the REAL job

When I am not drawing (or hanging out with my family, or working on the house, or...) I work building up test stands. Here is my current project, a UH-60 Blackhawk rotor.

Robotika X

Since San Diego I have been focusing on pin-ups, covers, and illustrations. Here is the latest Niko idea.

Archaia Panel at San Diego Comic Con

There are two short reports of the the panel that I attended at San Diego.

The Pulse

Post San Diego

I saw lots of art at the San Diego Con and one of the realizations was that I might have been limiting myself to only working in ink for a long time. I am going to attempt more pencil/marker sort of projects and see if I can learn something.

San Diego-2007

The convention at San Diego is the biggest
convention I have ever been to and it seems to get bigger every year.
This year was pretty amazing for me because I could show off a
collected edition of the firstRobotika mini-series and also preview the first 2 issues from the second Robotika mini-series coming out in December.

The huge news from the convention was that David Petersen, the creator of Mouse Guard, has received
the Russ Manning award. David has had an amazing year and it is
wonderful to see him being recognized for all of his hard work. I had a
great timetalking to David and Julia AND I got to read the first issue of David's second series, which is simply awesome.

I got to met and talk to Ted McKeever and Ron Marz
who have been super supportive of my efforts and were kind enough to
write introductions for the collected edition. I got to spend a few
minutes talking with friends who live too far to see on regular basis.
I did not catch everyone, but I had a great time talking to Ryan, Leif,
and David Moran.

I also got a chance to connect with some folks whom I have only known through e-mail up to his point: Brian Churilla, Jeremy Shephard and his wife Julia, Joe Suitor, Joe Illridge and the whole new ASP crew...it was pretty sweet.

And
the "wow, can this really be" moment of the convention was when I
bumped into David Williams. I met David 12-15 years ago when he was
living in Oakland, since than he has worked for every major comic book
company and every animation studio in US. He also worked as a designer
on a bunch of movies, including the Harry Potter franchise. David is back working at Marvel and he has a sweet sketchbook out.

I sound silly

I got interviewed at Indie Comic News by Miguel Rodrigues. This was sort of different because instead of doing it by e-mail, Miguel interviewed me over the phone. It is odd to hear my own voice...I sure say "you know" and "well.." a lot. I am not sure if I always made sense, but I tried to give honest answers.

Indie Comic News

BA-BooM!

Backgrounds

I am trying something different for some of the backgrounds in the series. Since my figures are inked pretty tight, I decided to loosen up on the backgrounds that are not establishing shots and hopefully create a nice contrast in the artwork...sometimes it works...sometimes it does not.

Page 6, Panel 3

I got an award (!)

This is pretty cool...I have never won anything before, so this is pretty awesome. I think everyone knows what it feels like to put-in work everyday, week after week...not even knowing if anyone outside your circle of friends is even aware of your efforts. It is such a gift to hear that there is an audience out there looking at my work!

ForeWord Book Awards

BasketHead

As silly as it looks, I am actually pretty happy with the straw basket on teh guys head. After 10 inked pages I am feeling like I am getting my "inking feet" back and moving along through tha pages.

Had a great visit with Ryan who shared some of his work with me and inspired me to no end...after he left Barbara and I started pulling the kitchen floor apart. We are getting ready to install the same floor as in the living and family rooms, before you know it we will have the same flooring through-out the house (what a concept!).