More Ultimate blasting...

As promised, here are some more of my never used roughs for the Ultimate X-Men Vs the Ultimate Avengers....

A Past Blast...

Several years ago (beginng of 2007) I was hired by Marvel/Lionsgate to be the  character designer for their new direct-to-video adaptation of the Ultimate X-Men Vs. The Ultimate Avengers (or something like that).  This was after my stint designing the first and second Ultimate Avengers DTVs and after I didn't make the grade on designing  for Young Avengers or New Avengers or whatever they were called. I spent quite a few weeks  (paid weeks) doing quite a bit of work on these designs. They were HEAVILY influenced by the comics - I guess they still weren't interested in my own style - and so if you recognize some of the faces, costumes and even some of the poses there's a good reason for that. The UXM Vs the UA was supposed to be only half of the DTV and the other half was going to be a Thor adaptation.

The project was scrapped and replaced with the the Hulk Vs DTVs. We thought they might eventually re-greenlight it, but that obviously never happened. I don't know if it had anything to do with the more mature angle that was intended (as evidenced by the Pietro and Wanda realtionship) or if they didn't think there was a big enough audience for this project or maybe there was another reason altogether...

I recently found them on an old hard drive and thought they held up pretty decently. I started posting some of them at drawingboard.org and thought I should post them here as well...consider it a Holiday treat.

I'll try and post more images soon and I might even post some of the Thor images that were intended for the second half of the project as well....

Things are a-brewin'...

It's been awhile and I should've gotten back to everyone and reported what a smashing success the CTN Expo was - or it seemed to me. It had all the trappings and feel of a long established and supported Comic-Con (though not the size). Lots of old faces and many new ones as well. Plenty of demos and panels and recruiters like Blue Sky, Cartoon Network and Sony. If you are at all interested in animation either as a fan or someone in the industry, or wanting to get into the industry, then you should make plans to come next year. I can't recommend it enough.

Anyway, now for an update...I am finishing my third HarperCollins children's book featuring DC characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman - two of the books are printed and I assume will be available at Amazon and your local bookstore soon. I'll post a link for them as soon as I see them listed on Amazon. I've also just finished a book for GrosettDunlap based on the DreamWorks film Shrek Goes Forth which I assume will be released around the time of the film next year.

I'm also working on several projects that I hope will soon see the light of day - including the secret one I've alluded to in the past (though, at this point, they're all secret until they are ready to be announced).

I'm also working on a lot of commissions that I had been putting off for sometime. I'll try to post them as I can.

This one was based on an old EC comic cover with the twist that the commissioner wanted to have an 'erotic' element added - in this case a naked girl replacing the original guy.

Never Before Seen Together Under One Roof

Only 7 days away

Be apart of the rennaissance for this once in a lifetime opportunity when over 100 of the best artists in the history of design and animation converge at CTN-X Nov 20-22, 2009.

1. Schedule: Friday 12noon - midnight, Saturday 10am - midnight, Sunday 10am - 7:30pm.

2. Special Events:

1. Legendary Cartoonist Ronald Searle endorses CTN-X with a tribute to the man and his career and how it's influenced so many. Matt Jones is bringing never before seen artwork from sketchbooks and more to the event.http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/matt-jones/
   
2. Spotlight Booksignings and Exclusive Sketchbook Releases
   
3. Speed Talent sessions show your portfolio, ask questions, meet a mentor.
   
4. Screenings: "The Secret of the Kells", "Banjo The Woodpile Cat", and a surprise late night screening 11pm on Saturday... sshhhhhh!
   
5. Live Demonstrations hourly by the creators of some of the highest grossing films in the history of animation.
   
6. Exclusive Spotlight Interviews: (in alphabetical order)
   Peter de Sève
   Gary Goldman and Don Bluth
   Mike Mignola
   Paul Young and Tom Moore the makers of "The Secret of the Kells"
   
7. CTN-X@nite Networking Parties sponsored by Animation Magazine, The Marriott Hotel and Walt Disney Studios.
   
8. Animation Week: The City of Burbank declares Animation Week for CTN. "We are proud to host the first-ever Animation Expo," says Burbank's Deputy City Manager Joy Forbes. "Our city is known around the world for its state-of-the-art studios and production facilities. This will be such a tremendous occasion for the most talented animators in the country and we look forward to their arrival in November."
   
9. Reunions: Don Bluth Studios, Walt Disney Florida and Rowland Animation and more.

3. Live Demonstrations all weekend.

4. Panels and Presentations...click here.

5. Other:

1. Recession Buster Raffle $1000 cash and prizes. One winner a day.
   
2. ToonBoom: Presentations and Software Raffle
   
3. Z-Brush: Presentations and Software Raffle
   
4. Corel/Wacom Artist Contest: Win a Painter and Intuos 4 tablet.

Everyone will leave this event with more than they walked in with whether it's an idea, a job opportunity or a career mentor.

Remember to use my discount code to buy tickets: 34X09

Old work...young Avengers

I've been going through some of my old files and doing some more posting on the Drawingboard web-site and I thought I'd post some of them here as well.


These were 'tryout' pieces that I did several years ago when I was in play for the job of Charcater Designer for a Marvel direct-to-DVD title called "Next Avengers" (or something). After many, mnay drawings (way too many for a 'tryout') I ultimately didn't get the job and I never saw the DVD so I have no idea if they used any of my designs or not. Though I still like many of them and feel that they make good portfolio pieces.

.








And DO NOT forget to sign up now for tickets and go to the CTN Expo starting on Nov 20th if you are at all interested in animation! Click on the link to the right or above to learn more about it. The more I hear about this the more excited I get. Remember to use my code: 34X09 to get a discount on your tickets.

Breathing room...

Well, the plate spinning has finally relaxed a little.

There are still plenty of plates up and spinning, but I finally have a little breathing room where the deadlines aren't coming one on top of the other. It also gives me time to work on commissions, pitches and some fun projects of my own (that will hopefully lead to something more substantial).
Heck, I might even blog more often -- anything is possible.

Here's a series of posters I created for Marvel and Nickelodeon to promote season 1 of Wolverine and the X-Men. My son painted these and I'm very happy with how they turned out.

Plate spinning...

I know it would be hard to sumise form this blog that I'm making headway and moving forward, but I am. I'm busy at my day job (storyboarding), busy with my freelance (more HarperCollins books), a few misc projects (character design and presentations) and I've actually caught up with all the 'in process' commissions. Now all I have to do is start on some new commissions (please be patient - you know who you are), finish work on a comic for my friend, Francesco Francavilla as well as keep my eyes out for the next job.

The plates seem to be spinning pretty decently so far...though there is always a plate that tries to stop spinning...

Yesterday, in the middle of scanning, my 4 year old scanner crapped out on me. Of course, I needed it to finish some work so I imediately ran out to buy a replacement. I soon found out that it's just about impossible to buy a flatbed scanner by itself these days - at least in a store. The only options at Best Buy were the combos (which , at this point I was willing to do even though my printer is still going strong), but only one of these combos had a scan surface bigger than letter size and it sure didn't seem like an upgrade. Even with my old scanner I already had to do a lot of cutting and pasting in Photoshop for bigger pieces (and almost everything is a bigger piece) so this wasn't going to do it. I took a deep breath and thought I'd look around and see what else was available before I settled, so I wandered over to Office Max (next door) and found an 11x17 scanner and printer made by Brother. Even if this wasn't the best scanner on the market (and the reviews seem pretty good) I was immediately upgraded to a much bigger scanning surface as well as the ability to print 11x17 - something I haven't been able to do for a long time. So, besides being able to now scan full size comic pages (assuming I ever do any more comic work) all you commissioners will also now profit from my scanner crapping out...

And speaking of which, here's the latest finished G rated commission...

Join me...

November 20 -22 there's going to be a very special event happening in beautiful downtown Burbank. The Creative Talent Network's first Animation Expo! Anyone who's at all interested in learning more about animation, breaking into the industry or meeting some of the industry pros should consider going. There'll be panels, recruiting and exhibitions. If you go to the web-site you'll find out a lot more info then I could possibly tell you here.


And since you're friends and/or fans of mine, oy, I've got such a deal for you. Just click on the link or got to http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/ and use this code when you register: 34X09 . This code gives you 10% off any 3-day or 1-day pass.

Back in the saddle again...

First I want to say thank you to all of those who stopped by and said "hi" at the Con...a little late I know, but better late then...

It was fun meeting all of you and the Con was, as usual, quite an experience. If you've never been to the San Diego Comic Con then I highly recommend it. No where else will you see all that you can see there in one place. Even though its 'crazy' and crowded (though this year it didn't seem as crowded) my family and I look forward to it each year and wouldn't miss it.

Anyway just a quick update...things are starting to get busy again and are looking pretty promising for the future. I'm currently storyboarding on a small indy feature as well as continuing my work for HarperCollins on some children's super hero books. I also working on some independent projects. I'm drawing a 6 page comic for a friend who is putting together a cool little book with mulitple stories as well as working on a pitch for a children's book that my wife and I wrote together.

There's also some projects happening in the near future (I hope) and I'll let youk now as soon as those firm up more.

And in between all this I'm still working on some commissions (thank you all for your patience)!

Speaking of which here are some unused roughs for a commission I'm working on...

San Diego...

Just in case you've been living under a rock, there's a little event coming up in Southern California called the San Diego Comic-Con International on July 23 through July 26. This is THE comic (and media) event of the year and if you've never been there it is something to behold...in many, many ways.





The reason why I mention it (they definitely don't need my little blog advertising for it especially since all the tickets are all sold out) is that on Friday the 24th at the Marvel booth (#2429) there's going to be a Wolverine and the X-Men poster signing. Many of those involved in the show will be there - including me. So if you happen to find yourself at the Con on a Friday afternoon feel free to come by and say "hi" and I'll sign a poster for you. Assuming I can find somewhere to park...

Back to 100%...

A couple of weeks ago I had the dire misfortune of having a kidney stone.Ugh, such a pain I've never known before! I assumed this was what women experience during childbirth, but I have it on good authority (from a few women who've experienced both) that this is worse. As if that wasn't enough the painkillers they gave me, Norco, put my intestines to sleep- later I found out that I should have been taking Phillip's Milk of Magnesia pills at the same time to avoid this problem. Two trips to the emergency room, two nights in the hospital, a nose tube (NEVER AGAIN!!!) and a liquid diet for the better part of a week and I'm back and running...in a manner of speaking.

Anyway, I worked as much as I could during all of that (except for the time in the hospital, obviously), but now I'm busy trying to catch up as best I can and I am doing pretty good overall. Unfortunately what is suffering are my commissions. Don't worry, those of you with commissions, I am working on them as my schedule permits. They will all get done. Just bear with me and be patient - and accept my apolgies for the delay.

In the meantime please feel free to enjoy these images that you have probably never seen before. Many are roughs for commissions that went another direction or designs that were never used (as far as I know, at least) and some are sketches that were drawn in sketchbooks.

Listen to me...

...if you can. I'm finally getting used to the sound of my own voice (sort of) so I'll probably listen and cross my fingers that I don't embarrass myself. It was conducted by a couple of nice guys over at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Just go to: http://seqalab.com/ and take a listen and then take a listen to some of the other podcasts there. (I also understand you can get these via iTunes as well)

This is how they describe what they're doing:

The SEQALAB podcast is a production of the students, faculty, and alumni of the sequential art department at the Savannah College of Art and Design. This twice-weekly podcast is for comics enthusiasts and hopeful creators who want to learn about comics and their production, gain industry insights, and celebrate the significance of the medium. Through education, practice, and expert instruction it is the goal of SEQALAB to aid listeners in becoming successful self-publishers or industry freelancers

Sounds pretty good to me and I'm flattered they consider me worth talking to.

And as a special bonus (special?) I came across some old art that I drew when I was just an innocent 15 year old Burroughs fan. Should be good for a few laughs, eh? AND to prove we all have to start somewhere.