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H O N 02 130112 - 13:55.0

2012-01-13T23:43:00.000-08:00

[960x540 - 54.38MB 02:25min Music: DIZZIE GILLESPIE 'The Champ' - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

Second video. I promise I will learn how to center the damn camera for the next installment.

Promise.

I hope everyone made it through Friday the 13th.

Eric.

H O N 01 110112 - 13:33.9

2012-01-11T17:15:00.000-08:00

[960x540 - 55.13MB 02:25min Music: BLACK KEYS 'Next Girl' - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

So..How was everyone's holiday? Good, I hope.

My Christmas and New Years was spent working away until all hours of the night and early morning. Hooraay! I've been so busy, in fact, that I've managed to neglect this little blog of mine since I got back from Lucca, Italy of 2011 - evidence being the last uploaded image.

I'm ashamed.

That said, I'm going to start updating again. But this time, considering I'm working on A LOT of different projects that won't allow much time for the extracurricular drawings I used to be able to do - which I then used to continuously update this blog - I will just upload videos of my projects' drawings as I finish them. Make sense? A panel here, a section of a page there - anything to put up new content. (*Note to my Editors: I'm not gonna spoil your books. I swear.)

Be forewarned: There will not be any fancy-schmancy editing in these upcoming videos - just whatever iMovie and time will allow. The most complicated will probably be like the footage above, which has been heavily time-lapsed so's I don't bore the sh*t out of you with 13:00+ minutes of real time drawing. That, and also to keep you from hearing my near-perfect rendition of Celine Dion's 'MY HEART WILL GO ON' as I sang it while I drew that panel.

Yeah, I said it: Near-perfect.

Eric.

TEKKAMAN, CASSHAN & POLYMAR_commission

2011-11-08T08:17:00.000-08:00

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

This was such a challenging monster to draw because of its dimensions. Also, when the fellow asked me to draw the trio, I had no idea who the character was on the far right. And when I mentioned to them I was uninitiated to the cartoon that's based on this character, they looked at me like I had just fallen out of an alien space ship. Seriously - I had no clue.

Later on, I found out through FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA that his name is 'HURRICANE POLYMAR'. What?!

Anyhoo... when I previewed the image on my TWITTER account earlier last week, even more Italians got excited at seeing only the first two characters (the ones I'm actually familiar with) - TEKKAMAN and CASSHAN.

Hm. Who knew? Apparently, the Italians love them some old school anime. Respect.

IVY_commission

2011-11-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

TANK GIRL_commission

2011-11-04T09:48:00.001-07:00

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

FOTO - LUCCA COMICS & GAMES 2011_update

2011-10-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

'FOTO' - A Collection of Art by Eric Canete (2011) 8.5 x 8.5 in (21.6 x 21.6 cm) - Full color cover, full color interior pages on vellum, heavy stock. 64 pages. €25.00+ shipping and handling. Available at Lucca Comics & Games 2011, exclusively from Lateral Studio.

On October 28th to November 1st, I will be attending LUCCA COMICS & GAMES 2011.

And the people who are responsible for inviting me to experience such an exciting event (not to mention the ones who'll be responsible for curbing my embarrassing tendencies) are Messrs. ALESSANDRO VITTI and ELIA BONETTI - both of whom are part of LATERAL STUDIO. They were kind enough to publish a book featuring my grey marker illustrations and I will be at their table at specific times the entire weekend of the convention, signing and drawing sketches for those who are kind enough to visit.

(It should be noted that I've never included my grey-tone marker sketches in any of my previous books - not even in monster that is ENCORE. And as per my agreement with Alessandro and the guys at Lateral, no incarnation of this book nor its contents will ever be published elsewhere except through his company. 'Exclusive to Lateral' means they get the goods. Exclusively.)

So, yeah. I'm going to go and make a complete fool of myself on a whole different continent.

Anyhoo.

'FOTO' is a collection specially designed for Lateral to debut at Lucca Comics & Games, and afterwards to be distributed for the European market exclusively. Simply put, it won't be available anywhere here in the US. But if you'd like to get your hands on a copy, please feel free to click the link above and contact Lateral Studio directly - I'm sure they'd be more than happy to send out a copy to you (with the proper international S&H charges, of course).

I would like to thank all of you in advance for taking the time to drop by and say 'Hello!' at the show. I'd like to warn you now that my Italian is piss-poor at best. And at worst, it's gonna get me to accidentally donate my liver and then drafted onto a ship full of Spanish pirates. That said...

"Grazie mille, i miei amici. Yo tengo un gato negro in mi pantalones."*

*Only a part of that gratitude is applicable, Italia. The other part is just nonsense or a weird pick-up line for those same Spanish pirates.

ABE_commission

2011-10-17T09:24:00.001-07:00

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

I, SPY_commission

2011-10-17T09:23:00.001-07:00

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

DEATH_commission

2011-10-17T09:22:00.002-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

EVIL-LYN_commission

2011-10-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

GALACTUS_commission

2011-10-17T09:20:00.001-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

PSYLOCKE_commission

2011-10-17T09:19:00.001-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

THE GOON_commission

2011-10-17T09:18:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

ENCORE - NYCC 2011_update

2011-10-12T21:02:00.000-07:00

'ENCORE' - NYCC 2011

Full color clamshell w/ spot UV accents. Hardcover cover interior book, full color cover w/ spot UV accents - 11 x 13.5 x 2". 356 full color pages. $100.00USD. Limited to 1,000 copies.

This book will be first made available at NEW YORK COMIC CON 2011, at Booth M13. And if you're up for a challenge and building some muscle mass (the book weighs around 8 pounds - which is about 3.6 kilos to the European contingent), please drop by and get a copy for yourself. It will be my great pleasure and honor to meet all of you in attendance.

A special thanks to all those who've contributed to the making of this art book. It would not look as polished nor as impressive without your generosity and support of my work. I owe you kind folks many great thanks.

Another exemplary individual who deserves my utmost gratitude and respect - an individual whose keen eye for color the clamshell of this book made it look as good as it does - is the very tireless, very patient, and very talented TONY WASHINGTON. He is a true professional who not only helped to add the beautiful colors on the first image you see above, but also delivered it in such short notice that I'm beginning to suspect that he's actually less human and more like a painting super machine. Thanks, Tony. I have your copy waiting.

Finally, I'd like to offer up my eternal gratitude to AMANDA LI - the person directly responsible for formatting, assembling, and designing this entire monstrosity of a volume. She not only had to deal with me and my art, but also had to engross herself with the business of printing - from double-checking proofs of the book, to addressing and amending any and all notes/concerns about the book during pre-press (and post-press, for that matter), to fielding and answering a whole set of incidental yet important questions that a first time publisher has to deal with. She did it all with style and it wouldn't have been as impressive a product without her artistic touch. Thanks, Amanda. You're all class.

Hope you all have an enjoyable week.

Eric.

THE MORNING AFTER?_update

2011-09-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

[12 x 9" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on bristol board]

It could be argued that if I don't like it, then I don't necessarily need to read it. That's very valid.

Ah. Fanfic porn. I love you.

PS - I think I did it wrong; I actually showed her face in the first panel instead of just... you know... not.

ALICE & COMPANY_kickstarter

2011-09-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

[8.5 x 11" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on bristol board, PS/CS 4]

One of the limited edition prints to be included in 'Encore', as part of the KICKSTARTER reward for supporting my new art book.

This image was beautifully, digitally rendered by designer and environment painter, AMANDA LI.

FAIRY QUEST_update

2011-09-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

[14 x 17" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

When HUMBERTO RAMOS (a luminary artist, illustrator of the highest kind) asks you to contribute to his upcoming, self-published book called 'FAIRY QUEST', you not only say 'Yes!', you try to not look foolish next to all the other people he's asked to be in the book with you. Couple that with the fact that Humberto has drawn some of his best sequential work ever, and it's not surprising that it turned out to be a pretty nerve-wracking experience for me.

Anyway, here was my offering.

I am proud and honored to be part of of the book and I will never be able to thank Humberto for thinking of me and including me in his most recent, exciting venture. I am so very lucky.

If you are interested in the book - I understand that it's in very high demand and in very short supply - you can order a copy for yourself by writing to this e-mail address: culturevandal@hotmail.com.

Have a great week, all.

VICTOR_kickstarter

2011-09-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

"Think of it--- To never again walk upon a summer's day with a hot wind in your face and a warm hand to hold. Oh, yes, I'd kill for that."

MOLOTOV_kickstarter

2011-09-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

LASER ZEPPELIN AT THE PLANETARIUM

STEVE_kickstarter

2011-09-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

"When Captain America throws his mighty shield, all those who chose to oppose his shield must yield.

If he’s led to a fight and a duel is due, then the red and white and the blue’ll come through

When Captain America throws his mighty shield."

PETER_kickstarter

2011-09-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

"Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a spider can.
Spins a web, any size, catches thieves just like flies.
Look Out! Here comes the Spiderman.

Is he strong? Listen bud, he's got radioactive blood.
Can he swing from a thread? Take a look overhead
Hey, there! There goes the Spiderman.

In the chill of night, at the scene of a crime.
Like a streak of light, he arrives just in time.

Spiderman, Spiderman, friendly neighborhood Spiderman.
Wealth and fame, he's ignored. Action is his reward.

To him, life is a great big bang up, whenever there's a hang up,
You'll find the Spider man."

ELEKTRA_commission

2011-09-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

[10 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

Commissioned image for a birthday gift. The original made itself all the way to Italy.

Pretty cool, man.

LARA_kickstarter

2011-09-16T10:33:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

I've never played this game extensively.

Actually, my first thought was to type "I've never understood the appeal of this character."

Then I looked at the image again.

HIGH COST OF LIVING_kickstarter

2011-09-10T00:03:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

VADER_kickstarter

2011-09-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

“Remember, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."

"SOMETHING, SOMETHING...ENEMIES..."_kickstarter

2011-09-03T16:54:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

"..something, something...lamentation of their women."

PS - As a kid, I used to think he said 'lamination of their women' - which seemed more painful-er.

BLACK CANARY_kickstarter

2011-09-02T01:27:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

Another random image to be included as a reward for KICKSTARTER art book, 'ENCORE'.

KICKSTARTER_update

2011-09-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

Some original images to be included as part of the rewards given to backers of the KICKSTARTER program for my forthcoming art book 'ENCORE'.

More to come later. Please stay tuned, and thank you for your continued patience.

PS - It's been brought to my attention that there are those who have asked about requesting specific character images for their reward. Sadly and respectfully, the answer must be "No." Honestly, it'll just be too difficult for me to provide that option for everyone. I am grateful for all the kind, generous and supportive patrons who have contributed to financing the production of the book. But as it is, this project is already a coordination challenge for me with all the new art I have to generate coupled my current workload and deadlines. And if I were too add trying to accommodate specific requested images... well, I hope you can sympathize with my situation.

So, the plan is to draw random images and distribute them just as randomly.

My sincerest thanks to all of you for your understanding and participation. I promise you that I will do my very best to give you something you can be proud of, and I swear I'll try to not draw a stinker.

Key word: Try.

CHAMPAGNE, RED SHOES_commission

2011-08-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

[10 x 14" - red pencil, brush pen & COPIC marker on sketchbook paper]

SERRA, KOJ, JAREK_90 minutes

2011-08-14T00:43:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

Sometimes, there is nothing left to do but wait.

But if we are lucky, we can wait in a field of fireflies.

GATCHAMAN JUNE_commission

2011-08-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

Forgot to upload this one from SDCC.

Looking back, I realized a lot of people asked me to draw women characters at that show. Which is surprising on multiple levels, not the least of which is the fact that I draw females terribly. Also, I've never thought of myself to be the 'T&A' type artist guy.

And in keeping with that line of thinking, I drew June with her skirt up so's you can see her panties - because as you know, that's neither 'T' nor 'A'.

Enjoy.

PS - I just referred to myself as an 'artist'; that statement is technically wrong and gross on a sleazy car salesman wearing obnoxious amounts of 'Old Spice' or 'Brut' aftershave level.

SDCC_commissions

2011-07-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

This was a large convention. I didn't suffer much. There were a lot of people.

I am understating things a bit.

COSPLAY FOR A CAUSE_update

2011-07-19T15:21:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

I was invited by RIKI LECOTEY invited me to participate in a calendar project called COSPLAY FOR A CAUSE 2012. I was honored to be included in the line up with such amazing artists - on both illustration and cosplay fronts - in a collection of photographs and 'chibi' interpretations of popular Japanese characters.

If you can, please follow the link I've given above, buy yourself an amazing calendar and support a worthwhile cause.

JUMP DOSSIER_update

2011-07-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

JUMP DOSSIER - SDCC (2011) 8.5 x 5.5 inches, landscaoe - Full color pearlescent cover, B&W interior pages on vellum, heavy stock. 40 pages. $15.00USD + shipping and handling.

I've generated a sort of dossier of this creator-owned work that I've been working on for a while now called 'JUMP'. It contains script page snippets, page thumbnails, character concepts, background and prop design work, and one of two inked panels from the finished pages themselves. But in order to stave off the shutting down of my brain due to my crippling obsession with perfection, I've limited the run of this 'preview book' to 300 copies. I'm so very self-conscious of the perception of this whole thing before it's ready for review and public consumption but I understand the need for early promotion in order to get the positive, forward momentum. It's a vicious circle.

However, for the sake of my neurotic mind, I will not show you preview images from the interior of the book here on my blog as the idea of people seeing my rough sketches and unfinished work will drive me absolutely crazy. You're just going to have to check it out for yourself in person.

Copies of the JUMP Dossier will be available for purchase at SAN DIEGO COMIC CON 2011, at my Artist Alley table, DD-10.

PS - JON TSUEI, writer of the JUMP comicbook will be at my table to sign copies of the book as well. And I share this with you now - I dislike him with a mild passion. It's going to make for an awkwardly tight Artist Alley space, folks. Come by and say 'hello' to help break the tension, won't you?

MURDOCK_commission

2011-06-23T22:03:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

I'm a few commissions behind and I'm finally getting to them now. Thanks for your patience, everyone who I owe an image to. This one's for you, Richard. I appreciate your waiting.

So, yeah - Daredevil. I watched this gem of a movie the other night; it was so bad it came back around to 'good' again. I swear. Best part? When, after each and every time he killed or maimed someone, Colin Farrell (as the villain 'BULLSEYE') would flamboyantly and moronically point to the scar on his forehead. As if to say, "Yeeeessss. I killed him. Because it is I, Bullseye (points at the scar on his forehead), the never-miss... (pause for dramatic effect)...assassin."

Just..man, it was bad.

THE GODDAMN BATMAN_commission

2011-06-22T11:34:00.000-07:00

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

Feels good to be able to do just a plain black and white image again.

Thanks for all your patience over the weekend, Brandon. This thing is on its way to you just as soon as I can get to the post office. Maybe over the weekend? Maybe I'll just scrap the thing and start from scratch? Hehe.

Back to work.

CALGARY ENTERTAINMENT EXPO_commission

2011-06-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on sketchbook paper]

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on sketchbook paper]

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

Fun show, great city and rockstar-to-be/good friend FIONA STAPLES won her first SHUSTER AWARD for 'Dessinateur Couvertures Exceptionnel de Bandes Dessinées' which is fancyspeak for 'Outstanding Comic Book Cover Artist'. Big congratulations, girlie.

Awesome. And the CALGARY ENTERTAINMENT EXPO? Also, awesome.

Anyway, I'd write something more extensive, but I swear I can barely keep my eyes open due to convention fatigue. Enjoy the update.

ALPHA FLIGHT_90 minutes

2011-06-15T02:21:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

As promised on my TWITTER account earlier today, here's an image of Marvel's preeminent superhero group from The Great White North - APLHA FLIGHT. Yes, I know; I substituted Vindicator for Guardian took liberties with the designs of the characters and their costumes. You're just going to have to deal with it.

Anyway, I don't recall too much about the group except that at one point artist JOHN BYRNE did an issue called 'WHITEOUT' where several pages were nothing were blank panels with captions - presumably because the antagonist used his powers to create a blinding snow storm. People have cited it to be brilliant. I called it hooey.

That said, it's a perfect time for me do some shameless self promotion.

I will be at the CALGARY COMIC AND ENETERTAINMENT EXPO this coming weekend (June 17-19) with dear friend and artist extraordinaire, Tim Sale. I'll have copies of CHOCOLATE, as well as some original art available for purchase. And if you're so inclined to request one, I will draw a commission for you. Please visit me at Table I-12.

I hear nothing but good things about Canada. I hope to find out for myself in a couple of days.

HEROESCON 2011_commissions

2011-06-08T12:19:00.000-07:00

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on sketchbook paper]

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board

[6.75 x 10.25" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on sketch cover stock]

It was another fine year at HEROES CON, in Charlotte, NC. - the greatest comic book convention in North America.

I've got to keep this report short as my day is full of wonderful deadlines that I'm going to miss, and drawings that I'm going to try and avoid because I'm lazy like that. Here are some highlights:

The flight from Los Angeles was a fun and entertaining plane ride over to Charlotte because I had the pleasure of traveling with DAVE JOHNSON, DAN PANOSIAN, and ANDREW ROBINSON. Dave kept things interesting by trying to instigate drama between me and JASON SCHACHTER - a plot that would've worked if I wasn't so short and they realized ahead of time that ALL seats on an airplane was First Class to me. You can read more about it on my old TWITTER posts recounting Dave's First Class seating while Dan, Andrew and I were packed like sardines in a can back in Economy Class.

Arriving at our hotel is always an adventure because you run into every professional in attendance wanting to say "Hello!" before you get to the front desk or your room. I was personally exhausted because of traveling all day, but I didn't mind; it was like coming home.

Met with KEVIN CHURCH and BENJAMIN BIRDIE of AGREEABLE COMICS. And with them, Ms. MING DOYLE - the Matrix to my Optimus Prime... if that makes any sense at all. She warmed my heart with that undeniable smile of hers and with that, I knew right away the weekend was going to be a fine time.

The Italian contingent were also at the bar - MATTEO SCALERA and ALESSANDRO VITTI, my partners in crime when we were at C2E2 this year - and we caught up since that last meeting as well as shared in a few laughs. Remind me to tell you the story of Ale passing out due to exhaustion on the couch in mid pencil stroke and waking up with, what we have now dubbed as, 'The Devil's Bite' on his face. Hilarious.

Then finally - what I would later find out to be the one of the best persons to ever share a table with - Ms. BECKY CLOONAN happened.

(I'm going to pause for dramatic effect.)

This woman is, in my humble opinion, the most pure definition of a comic book illustrator and storyteller. She is an artistic and comedic force to be reckoned with; forward thinking in all of her creativity, gives as well as she gets when it comes to jokes, and unassumingly inspirational with a 'lead-by-example' motor. Over the weekend during our several conversations, she imparted words of knowledge and wisdom about her art, comics, perspective and approach which resonated with me during my flight home and even until now. If you haven't had the opportunity to see, much less read any of her work, then you owe yourself the experience and the pleasure. Put simply, go buy WOLVES. If the weekend brought me the tide of overwhelming stress due to over reaching with my commissions list (among other things), then Becky represented the safe port of sanity. Dramatic, yes? But absolutely true.

And speaking of 'dramatic' - I ran into KEVIN NOWLAN at the hotel elevators as we were both heading downstairs to the lobby. If you know of the level of hero worship I have for this man - for his draftsmanship skills as well as his overall good nature as a human being - then you cannot imagine how far my jaw dropped as he walks into the elevator and says, "Hey. There's Eric Canete." My mind shat itself. Kevin Nowlan recognized me and what's more - he knew my name. The weekend could've ended there for me and that would've been just fine.

But then I would've missed the whole reason why all of these inspired people were there in the first place - Heroes Con.

The convention itself, as you can imagine, was phenomenal. Nothing much has changed with the show since last year - and if they have changed, then it did so only for the better. The atmosphere was joyful and kid-friendly . The crowd was pleasantly if not unnervingly polite (it's the South, I keep having to remind myself), as the fans of the crew's works lined up on the first day to sign up for our commissions request list. The whole ESSENTIAL SEQUENTIAL (joined by the incomparable TIM SALE) gang got to the business of drawing for our customers starting the first hour of the show's opening and I don't think we looked up until near its end. It was a good energy and I for one, was very grateful that my work warranted that sort of attention. (BTW, our crack 'staff' did a top notch job of facilitating art/book sales, taking orders and answering customer inquiries, and making sure all our needs were looked after. A load of thanks to Genn and Brian - you guys are top notch)

I would try to recount each and every person whom I met over the weekend (you know... when I wasn't head down in the middle of drawing) but there were so many wonderful, kind people who dropped by and had a small conversation that I'm afraid that I would end up insulting all the ones I'll inevitably/accidentally forget. Let me sidestep that social land mine and instead, as personal as a blanket 'Thank You' will allow, let me thank those of you for your visits, your friendship and words of encouragement. I am very fortunate to know each of you talented, supportive and giving individuals.

Speaking of support, many people dropped by the table to buy copies of CHOCOLATE - all of them enthusiastic to give what they could in order to contribute to CLEMENT SAUVE's In Memoriam donation to the Cancer Foundation. I am humbled and touched at such a kind and generous outpour.

I'm going to have to come back and add more to this post when time permits. I've just been told that my deadlines have been bumped up earlier in the day and now I must get back to the business of drawing for a living. So let me give my most sincere thanks to SHELTON DRUM, RICO RENZI, and all the event staff from HEROES AREN'T HARD TO FIND, who made the weekend as seamless and as enjoyable as possible. Visit their store if you're in the area. It'll make your mind explode.

Okay, that's it. I'm tired of writing and I suspect that you're tired of reading. Enjoy the art and have a great week. Please forgive the typos.

Eric.

PS - For those of you who I still owe art to - from either this past convention or ones previous - do not fret: they are well on their way to being finished. I thank you for your unending patience and understanding. I promise I'll give you guys something to look at once they're done.

CHOCOLATE_update

2011-05-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

CHOCOLATE- A Collection of Art by Eric Canete (2011) 6 x 9.25 inches - Full color pearlescent cover w/ dust jacket wrapper, B&W interior pages on vellum, heavy stock. 56 pages. $25.00USD + shipping and handling. (Available at HeroesCon 2011 and for pre-order.) 50% of all proceeds from the sales of CHOCOLATE will be given as an IN MEMORIAM donation to the CANADIAN CANCER SOCIETY in honor of artist CLEMENT SAUVE who passed away on January 26, 2011.

Health effects of chocolate include both positive and negative effects. While chocolate is regularly eaten for pleasure, there are potential beneficial health effects of eating chocolate. Cocoa or dark chocolate benefits the circulatory system. Other beneficial effects suggested include anticancer, brain stimulator, cough preventer, reduced risk of heart disease and antidiarrhoeal effects. That chocolate has an aphrodisiac effect is yet to be a well supported claim.

On the other hand, the unconstrained consumption of large quantities of any energy-rich food such as chocolate is thought to increase the risk of obesity without a corresponding increase in activity. Raw chocolate is high in cocoa butter, a fat which is removed during chocolate refining, then added back in at varying proportions during the manufacturing process. Manufacturers may add other fats, sugars, and milk as well, all of which increase the caloric content of chocolate.

Chocolate absorbs lead from the environment during production and there is concern of mild lead poisoning for some types of chocolate. Additionally, chocolate is toxicto many animals because of insufficient capacity to metabolize theobromine.

A study reported by the BBC indicated that melting chocolate in one's mouth produced an increase in brain activity and heart rate that was more intense than that associated with passionate kissing, and also lasted four times as long after the activity had ended.

Cocoa products also contain pharmacological substances such as n-arclethanolamines that are related to cannabis. When drugs are used to block the brain's opiate receptors,the desire for chocolate disappears and confirming the addictive nature of these types of foods. ...

Chocolate contains a variety of substances, some of which have an effect on body chemistry. These include:

Anandamide
Arginine
Caffeine, present in smaller amounts
Dopamine
Methylated xanthines (theobromine, caffeine & theophylline)
Monoamine oxidase
Oxalic acid
Phenethylamine (an endogenous alkaloid sometimes described as a 'love chemical')
Phenylalanine
Serotonin
Sugar
Theobromine (primary alkaloid in cocoa solids and chocolate and partly responsible for mood-elevating effect)
Theophylline
Tryptophan (an essential amino acid and precursor to serotonin)

FOR KATIE & GRAYSON_commission

2011-05-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

[8.5 x 11" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on sketchbook paper]

I didn't have any affinity nor any familiarity with these characters, the book that they came from nor the author. It's been dubbed an American classic and has since gained the acclaim of children, parents, critics and fans world wide. It even spawned a full length movie. That said, I never understood its appeal.

Then KATIE COOK comes by my table at MOTOR CITY COMIC CON and asks me to do an image in a themed sketchbook for her beautiful daughter, Grayson - a gift she'll eventually give to her once she's come of age. Katie provided me with reference material in the form of the original publication, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by MAURICE SENDAK, which was helpful because I always try to familiarize myself with the subject matter as much as possible before I draw it; I believe it helps with the narrative of the image if I know a little about it. Reading it took all of 5 minutes as it's only 40 some-odd pages long, and with the help of Wikipedia and other informative articles online, I quickly grew to appreciate why it has endured for as long as it has, why it has garnered all its critical success, and why it has resonated with young and old alike.

But beyond any and all of that, I was drawing the image for Grayson - and that made the experience extra special.

It was such a huge privilege to be able to contribute to Katie's collection and it was a bit of luck that, through her request, I was able to read the original material and learn a little bit more about its author (I learned that even if you can't draw a horse, you're going to end up writing and drawing a classic. But it's probably good if you learn how to draw a horse too). So, I guess you could say, in a weird round-about way, Grayson has already done her part to make me a better illustrator.

Thanks, kiddo.

PS - Your mom is awesome. Love her always.

"YOU STAY. I GO. NO FOLLOWING..."_commission

2011-05-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

Every once in a while, I'm asked to do an image from this movie and I am reminded of how perfect it is. It represents a warm nostalgic glow inside of me and as an artist, I wish I could some day be part of something just as special.

Do yourself a favor - if you've never seen the movie IRON GIANT (or it's been a while since you've watched it) take an 86 minute break, sit back and enjoy a brilliant classic.

Oh... and bring your kids. They'll thank you for it later.

VAMPIRE SLAYER_commission

2011-05-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on sketchbook paper]

One of my biggest fears as an artist is when someone asks me to draw the likeness of real people. Some illustrators have the skill set, some do not. Not only do I lack the ability, but when I try it, the final image just looks awful. So much so that when asked, my level of anxiety shoots through the roof and 99% of the time I decline the commission request all together. In short, I'm not good at it.

So maybe I was feeling my oats this weekend at Motor City Comic Con, or maybe I was just bored to death and wanted some perverse stimuli, the kind brought on by thoughts of panic which says, "Oh my god. This is gonna suck, this is gonna suck, this is gonna suck..." - but for whatever reason, I did this image.

As it turns out, I don't think it's not half bad. But that also means it's not half good. But if you're a guy like me, who couldn't work at Disneyland doing portrait caricatures of families on surfboards at the beach or next to Simba on Pride Rock, then you'd be pretty ecstatic at the idea that this commission image looks sort of like a young woman who stabs vampires in their hearts with wooden stakes.

Anyway, there is it. I hope everyone had a decent weekend and that your Monday isn't as half bad as this image.

ARTIFACTS_cover

2011-05-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

[11 x 17" - red pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

I'm way behind in uploading this image because I never know if I'm allowed to do it before solicitation. I was informed that this book was not only solicited, but it's actually been on the stands already. So... here you go: a cover with a butt-load of Aphrodite robots.

I'd like to give a huge thanks to Top Cow and their dedicated editorial staff for dealing with me. I was in the middle of doing some storyboards and designs for various animated projects, I was up to my neck, drowning in those deadlines, and guys like Filip Sabik (and the assistants in his office) did all they could to accommodate me. They're a classy organization and they bent over backwards in order to make sure this looked as slick as possible by the time it was all colored up and released for public consumption.

Anyway. Thanks all. I hope everyone is having a good weekend.

MASTER_commission

2011-04-13T23:26:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

“Remember, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware; anger, fear, aggression - the dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Do not underestimate the powers of the Emperor or suffer your father's fate you will. Luke, when gone am I the last of the Jedi will you be. The Force runs strong in your family. Pass on what you have learned."

"Luke... there is another Skywalker.”

WONDERCON_commissions

2011-04-05T22:16:00.000-07:00

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

[12 x 9" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on sketchbook paper]

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

[8.5 x 11" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on smooth comicbook cover stock]

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

[9 x 12" - red pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on loose sketchbook paper]

San Francisco's 2011 WONDERCON has come and gone. If you and I didn't get chance to shake hands or say 'hello' at the show it's probably because you didn't visit the restrooms enough. I say this only slightly in jest, but my booth was only x-amount of feet from a bathroom stall.

Really. It was.

Anyway, let me focus on some good stuff. I had a lot of fun while I was in Nor Cal. I had dinner with friends and I met up with a whole lot of artists - some are the creative people I've gotten to know and admire in the past (I'm speaking about you, JOEL GOMEZ, J. SCOTT CAMPBELL, and RYAN OTTLEY) , and then there were the few who are the great new finds. One such talented artist is a woman by the name of LIANA HEE. She's a very humble, Bay Area artist who's starting to do the convention circuit more and more. The reception for her work has been pretty great, and rightfully so. I hope more people get hip to her stuff.

I'm gonna name drop some more here, so deal with it. I had dinner with HUMBERTO RAMOS, FRANCISCO HERRERA and LEONARDO OLEA. I had such a wonderful, educational and entertaining evening with these fine gentlemen. After dinner, I had a chance to chit-chat with Humberto and if there was such a thing, I believe he could lay claim to the title of the most generous man in comics - by way of time, imparting knowledge, and friendship. It was a memorable evening and I hope the photos taken there don't make their way around the internet.

One more thing: I've said this earlier this week on my TWITTER account (yes, that is a blatant/obvious request for you to go follow me), but I think I've come to the point in my life where I don't have the constitution and longevity to last though a long weekend convention any more. That said - and I'm not 100% certain about this - I'm guessing these commissions are going to start becoming more sparse starting the end of the year because I'm planning on cutting back my convention appearances considerably - or else, you know... I'm gonna die.

Or something less dramatic. But just as lethal.

Just kidding.

DR. MRS. THE._commission

2011-03-31T08:57:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

This is a pre-show commission for the upcoming convention in San Francisco, WONDERCON. If you are in the area, or if you are in attendance, please drop by Booth 1338-1340. It would be great to meet fans in the bay area.

Have a great weekend and I'll see you at the show. As for me, I still have a seven hour drive to look forward to.

Now where did I put that energy drink?

C2E2 & THE ITALIANS_commissions

2011-03-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

I'm back from Chicago and C2E2 convention. I had loads of fun, met many of my talented and revered contemporaries, and tried to buy as much as their works as my small piece of luggage could hold for the trip back home. Also, maybe because of the fatigue, I feel like I'm drunk. At least I don't feel sick as a dog as I was when I got back from Emerald City Comic Con. Yikes.

Let me say 'Thank you!' to all the people who dropped by the table. The experience was even better than last year, and with MATTEO SCALERA sitting with me, I couldn't have enjoyed the show more. Also, Matteo introduced me to his friend ALESSANDRO VITTI. I'm saying this as seriously as I possibly can - there is something in the water over there in Italy that's making these guys draw like monsters. After seeing Alessandro's originals, I was immediately impressed with his output quality and the amount of issues he's done in ONE year working for the big companies. I gained respect for him on many levels - he's a funny guy, he's a disciplined illustrator and he's a giving individual. So between me, him and Matteo, we had a great time talking about art, technique, design, family, words/phrases I should learn before I visit there again - the entire gamut. Like I said, I had a very enjoyable weekend. It's also safe to say that these boys know how to drink. And fart.

Have a great week.

PS - In case you're wondering why there's been a lot of marker rendering in my recent commission work (*Note: these marker renderings are not standard operating procedure for me. So please, future commission peeps - don't get used to nor expect it. Thank you), it was simply to explore and see for myself what the big deal is all about whenever I see other commissions elsewhere that are done in the same fashion. My conclusion is that, if you'll pardon the analogy, you can cover a cake with the best icing in the world but if you've baked it using 'poop' as a key ingredient, all you'll have in the end is Poop Cake...with icing.

Simply put: I gotta stop baking Poop Cakes, man.

SONJA_commission

2011-03-14T23:42:00.000-07:00

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

LESTRANGE_commission

2011-03-13T20:42:00.000-07:00

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

CORRIGAN_commission

2011-03-12T22:49:00.000-08:00

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

Thank you very much for waiting, Mike. I hope this will do for now until I get the painted version finished for you guys.

Also, dead faces are hard to draw.

That is all.

EMERALD CITY COMIC CON_commissions

2011-03-09T10:14:00.000-08:00

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, technical pen, COPIC marker on 300lb bristol board]

On Wednesday, the day before my flight out to Seattle, aggressive influenza hit me to the point where I thought I was going to die. So, as per the advice given to me by the girlfriend, I bundled up for the night and stayed in bed until I saw Thursday's sunrise.

Feeling good enough to travel and the effects of the flu having seemingly subsided, I left for LAX, got on the plane to SEA/TAC, met up with my friend Jason Schachter, and caught the ride from the airport to the hotel.

Then, like a great white shark movie sequel, the flu came back - with a vengeance.

By the time Thursday night rolled around, I was in so much pain and discomfort, I was actually yelling out, "I'm going to die," in the hotel room. I'm sure illustrator supreme JEFF WAMESTER and Italian artist phenom MATTEO SCALERA who joined us for the trip had a good chuckle as they watched me running from death's scythe but I have a feeling that the severity of my health dawned on them when I started to uncontrollably shake in bed; flu shivers, man - they're the worst.

Anyway, I had three days of convention to look forward to and considering that the kind coordinators and event planners of ECCC brought me out to their show free of charge, flu or no flu, I wasn't about to let any of them down. Jason, doing his part, was industrious enough to McGuyver together an IV filled with a Theraflu, DayQuil, and Gatorade cocktail. He stuck the thing into my arm, let me sleep for 12 hours straight, then we went to work.

The images you see above are a handful of examples of what came from my Flu vs. Modern Medicine induced haze.

I hope you like them.

VISION... AGAIN!_commission

2011-02-21T00:12:00.000-08:00

[10 x 14" - red pencil, watercolor, brush pen & COPIC marker on 140lb. watercolor paper]

OCTOPUS HAIR_commission

2011-02-16T01:46:00.000-08:00

[12.5 x 9.5" - red pencil, watercolor, brush pen, COPIC marker on 90lb. watercolor paper]

HELL'S CHILD_commission

2011-02-08T00:29:00.000-08:00

[10 x 14" - blue pencil, watercolor, brush pen & COPIC marker on 140LB watercolor paper]

HELL SPAWN_commission

2011-02-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb. bristol board]

TURRET_commission

2011-02-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

[10 x 14" - blue pencil, watercolor, brush pen, COPIC marker on 140lb watercolor paper]

This is my part of an art trade with a friend - an art trade that started at SDCC '10 and I'm barely getting to now. Yes, I know - I'm a jerk. I just really hope they like it.

Thank you for your unending patience and support, Cory. Apologies for taking so long.

PS - The colors are bit off as the damned scanner can't calibrate worth sh*t.

WIND RIDER_commission

2011-02-05T16:56:00.000-08:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb. bristol board]

ODINSON_commission

2011-02-05T08:13:00.000-08:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

DISH WASHING_sketch

2011-02-02T22:53:00.000-08:00

[5.25 x 8 - blue pencil, technical pen, watercolor on sketchbook paper + PS/CS3]

TIGER & LILLY_commission

2011-01-26T06:52:00.000-08:00

[11x14 - graphite, watercolor, COPIC marker, color pencil on sketchbook paper + PS/CS3]

This was one of the most uncooperative sheets of paper I've had to paint on. It was 'thirsty' to the point frustration - there was almost no way to manipulate the watercolor as I normally would. Definitely an exercise in patience.

A ton of fun to do, a lot of learning, a lot of, "Oh, sh*t. Well, how do I recover from that?" I was gritting my teeth the entire time. I think may have even bitten the side of my mouth.

Anyway, there it is.

MERMAID SURFACES_commission

2011-01-12T01:30:00.000-08:00

[11x14 - blue pencil, brush pen, watercolor on sketchbook paper + PS/CS3]

WOMAN WITH WINE BOTTLE_watercolor

2011-01-09T13:45:00.000-08:00

[10 x 14" - graphite, watercolor, pen & ink on 140lb cold press watercolor paper + PS/CS3]

I accept and I collect upon my body the memories of your devotion.

WAITING LINE_sketch

2011-01-05T23:24:00.000-08:00

[5.25 x 8 - red pencil, technical pen, watercolor on sketchbook paper + PS/CS3]

Everyone's saying different things to me.
Everyone's taking everything they can.
There doesn't seem to be anybody else who agrees with me.

SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO SHUT UP_sketch

2011-01-04T14:21:00.000-08:00

[5.25 x 8 - red pencil, technical pen, watercolor on sketchbook paper + PS/CS3]

...and listen for just a little bit.

YOU CAN DANCE...FOR INSPIRATION_sketch

2010-12-14T13:56:00.000-08:00

[5.25 x 8 - red pencil, technical pen on sketchbook paper]

Only when I'm dancing can I feel this free,

at night I lock the doors, where no one else can see.

I'm tired of dancing here all by myself,

tonight I wanna dance with someone else.

Get into the groove, boy... you've got to prove your love to me.

Get up on your feet, step to the beat... boy what will it be?

YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THIS ALREADY..._commission

2010-12-11T19:29:00.000-08:00

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

Back in October of 2009 (probably while I was on that cursed Schengen Tour), a fan of my work commissioned me to do a VAMPIRELLA image for them - the only caveat was that I make her as sexy as possible. To which I thought, "It's a woman with huge breasts and red dental floss for a costume. It's not gonna be difficult." I then took a first pass at her image HERE but wasn't really satisfied with the result. After sleeping on it and still coming to the conclusion that it didn't feel right, I had Jason Schachter e-mail the client asking for more time and that I would attempt a second one. I also had Jay send along a copy of the first, supposedly rejected version of the commission as a sign of good faith that I was working on their request.

I guess I had drawn her with the right amount of sexy the first time around because a couple of days later, the client got in contact with Jason telling him that the image was to their exact liking, and that I shouldn't bother trying to amend what they already wanted. Little did they know, in the two days they had taken to get back to me, I had already penciled a whole new image and was just on the verge of starting to ink it before I had gotten their reply. Considering that everyone was happy I said to myself, "Eh... go figure," put away the second version in one of my portfolios, and that was that. A couple of months pass and with the help of the mess that is my office, the portfolio (along with the image inside) had fell out of sight and inevitably, out of mind.

Fast forward to a year later, and I was doing a workshop in the Atlanta campus of SCAD. Before leaving for my trip I find a seemingly unused portfolio in one of my storage boxes and begin to stuff it with as many samples of my current work to show at the event. Lo and behold, the already finished penciled commission was again found. And since I was showing a demonstration of inking techniques to an eager group of young students, I figured this was as good an image as any to use as an example. I didn't ink the entire thing during that workshop - I think I focused the majority of my attention on rendering her hair, a section of her boots and parts of the background before my time was up. But because I'm an anal retentive person, I simply couldn't let an unfinished drawing go back into a storage box, so I decided to put the finishing touches on it as I was waiting for my clothes to dry in the laundry. And finally... here it is. It took a little over twelve months, from pencils to finished inks, before completing this illustration. You can tell by that little DATE (e) YEAR thingee I always put in all of my commission work; it says October of '09.

And that's the story behind why you may have seen this image before. Thank you for reading.

Eric.

PS - Yeah... I know. That's probably the most boring, most flaccid blog entry I've ever done. It reads like some 4th grade kid's f*ckin' book report, doesn't it? [sigh] It's an exciting evening in the Canete household full of laundry duties, hardwood floor scrubbing, and inking comicbook pages, folks. It's gonna be like this for a while too. I mean, at some point - having no original nor any insightful anecdotes left to write about - I'm just gonna leave a blank spot here and open it up to your guys' captions instead.

Anyway, thanks for visiting. I promise to try and have something more entertaining to say the next time around (no guarantees) and I hope everyone has a great holiday season.

PSS - You're next, Cory Walker.

KANG THE CONQUEROR_commission

2010-12-07T16:53:00.000-08:00

[11 x 14" - red pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol]

Do you think he gave himself that nickname, or do you think a bunch of his relatives called him that so he'd fit in with all the other tyrants in his family?

I know one thing, it sure beats 'Kang The Small Wee Wee".

THE VALKYRIE_commission

2010-12-07T01:04:00.000-08:00

[11 x 14" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol]

If you've read anything about DANIELLE MOONSTAR then maybe you'll be left scratching your head as much as I was when I found out she was endowed with magical Asgardian powers which turned her into a Valkyrie.

Confused? Yeah, I know. Me too. Welcome to my November 2010.

Enjoy your X-mas, everyone. I'm gonna wish that Santa brings me more height so America's elite corporate billionaires will accept me as one of their own.

"OH, MISTAH JAAAAY..."_90 minutes

2010-12-06T22:53:00.000-08:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

ORORO_90 minutes

2010-12-06T20:33:00.000-08:00

[9 x 12" - blue pencil, brush & technical pen on 300lb bristol board]

ONE OF THESE THINGS FIRST_sketch

2010-11-24T18:11:00.000-08:00

[8.25 x 5.25" - red pencil, technical pens on sketchbook paper]

DEMONA_commission

2010-11-23T09:32:00.000-08:00

[16.25 x 8" - red pencil, COPIC and STAEDTLER markers on sketchbook paper]

Drawn and rendered in a sketchbook for a delightful fan I was introduced to at this past weekend's CTN ANIMATION EXPO. It was great to see their reaction as I handed them back the finished piece.

At one point this image was an exercise in frustration as the COPIC markers I was using were starting to run out. Damned non-renewable art resources.

Note to self: Start buying markers (or the inks that refill them) in bulk quantities.

CTN ANIMATION EXPO_commission

2010-11-23T09:02:00.000-08:00

[9x12" - blue pencil, pen & ink on 300lb bristol board]

[9x12" - red pencil, STAEDTLER watercolor on 300lb bristol board]

The images were done for this past weekend's CTN ANIMATION EXPO. It was a very nice weekend and I had a very enjoyable time. The majority of the attendees were students from schools far and wide, looking for any sort of feedback from working professionals, from recruiters of major animation companies, and to be exposed to enthusiastic camaraderie of their own peers.

I'm making plans to attend again next year as the energy of the event was how I remember San Diego Comic Con to be back when I first started; when it was still a show celebrating comicbooks and their creators, their products and their accomplishments - only this event was more animation-centric. How awesome is that?

Hope you're all well and I hope you have a fine Thanksgiving. Take it easy on the tryptophan.

BTW, I have no idea why I finished BEKKA and BATWOMAN with sepia and burnt umber colored inks (as opposed to the standard black ink used on WW2 Captain America). I guess when the little green faerie inspires you to ink with different colors, you don't question it - you just enjoy the ride.

MONSTERS & DAMES ARTBOOK_commission

2010-11-15T08:13:00.000-08:00

[11x14" - red pencil, COPIC and STAEDTLER markers on 300lb bristol board]

For EMERALD CITY COMIC CON and their upcoming 2011 convention souvenir book. I don't know which other artists and creators will be included, but I'm sure their monsters and/or dames will be so much more monster-y and/or dame-y than mine. I recall the one they released a couple of years ago to be pretty humbling and exciting by way or art and participants. So if you go to the show, please pick one up and show your support.

Hey. Do you like the fact that I'm not posting here as much as I used to? Yeah? I don't. I despise it. The new year is coming around and I think that'll be my New Year's resolution. Which is a little lie on my part since I don't believe in that sort of drivel, but it's nice to say and think about.

Anyway, here's hoping I'll be more consistent next year. Because I know between now and the end of January, my schedule is gonna be a bitch. A bitch.

TEAM 7_commission

2010-11-04T22:40:00.000-07:00

[14x17" - blue pencil, pen & ink on 300lb bristol board]

Two things:

1) I think this image was commissioned specifically to pay homage to the original TEAM 7 COVER back when Wildstorm published it. Or maybe I was told to copy the original cover verbatim? Whatever. My memory fails me.

Anyway, I can sort of squint my eyes and convince myself that this turned out okay. It's not flawless, mind you; I believe there's still too much going on in some places and it just hurts to look at for extended periods of time but over all I think it's semi-decent. Not to say the source material/composition was weak, it's just that I couldn't find a legitimate reason why I'd put one of the team members between Deathblow's legs. That's just ridiculous.

2) My friend TJ COLLINS' new book called 'MONSTER MYTHOS' is now available for purchase. TJ is a talented character designer and artist working on Cartoon Network's Ben10 and this is his first published work. I just wanted to give him a little plug in hopes that if this first project is a successful one, he'll continue to do more in the future. Won't you show him some appreciation and support by ordering a copy of his book? It's a steal at $20USD. Please click on the Monster Mythos link above to find out more details.

Okay. Back to work for me. I'm gonna start previewing images for this hush-hush project in a few months so please return and check them out. Hope everyone is doing well.

PS - I know I've done this composition before (screaming guy with heavy machine guns firing off screen someplace), but at least I didn't have them standing, knee-deep in milk as I did the original. Sigh... I swear I'm out of ideas.

LONG BEACH COMIC CON_commissions

2010-11-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

[11x14" - blue pencil, COPIC & Staedtler markers on sketchbook paper]

[9x12" - red pencil, COPIC & Staedtler markers on 300lb bristol board]

[11x14" - red pencil, pen&ink on 300lb bristol board]

[9x12" - red pencil, pen&ink on 300lb bristol board]

Long Beach Comic Con passed this Halloween weekend and people were kind enough to ask me to draw for them. The challenge for me is to do their commissioned images that will actually resonate. Given the limitations, I think these turned out quite well.

The colored commissions (drawn using those marvelous COPIC markers) were for a couple of guys who had asked me for them a year or so back. I've finally gotten the opportunity to get to them so that I don't feel so guilty every time I see them at the shows. I hope they like them okay. Apologies for the wait, fellas - thanks for your patience.

I haven't uploaded too many updates because there's just so much to do these days that isn't about this blog. I hope you'll pardon me for the time being so that I can really give you something to look at for later. I will do my best to start posting more regularly just as soon as all my other assignments clear up. Thanks for waiting.

SIREN & QUORRA_commission

2010-10-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

[11x14" - red pencil, pen & ink on 300lb bristol board]

More TRON: LEGACY art, commissioned after I did the original exercise - this time specifically asking for some light cycles. I thought I should include my two most favorite things from the trailers: the drop-dead gorgeous bombshell females. This is also slightly smaller by comparison, which made it an intriguing challenge to simulate the intricate details of the former piece. It was a worthwhile endeavor and I believe it yielded decent results.

This piece should've been delivered at this year's NYCC (a show that I did not attend - again, my apologies to those who I had made plans to meet with) and I hope the buyer can find it within themselves to forgive me for the snafu. I promise that it will be delivered to you soon. Thank you for your patience.

I hope that everyone who attended the show had a great experience.

FERRO LAD_commission

2010-10-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

[11x14" - red pencil, pen & ink on 300lb bristol board]

I joked very lightly earlier this week on my TWITTER account about no longer being interested in doing any sort of recognizable background - as in, I'm not going to draw any more backgrounds from here on down because I'm such a lazy bastard. It was, of course, intended as a joke, but you'd never be able to tell that I was kidding based on this commission; the background of which resembles the same same technique I used for the Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem I just finished a few days ago.

Though given more thought, maybe this speaks less about my inability/apathy to draw legitimate backgrounds and more towards my lack of originality. I mean, if I can get away with drawing the same background over and over and over again? I genuinely don't have a problem with that. God help me - I'm turning into a comicbook curmudgeon.

Anyway, here's Ferro Lad in his original costume as he was inducted into the Legion of Superheroes. I'll leave it up to you who the other two inductees are.

HELLBOY & DIANA_commission

2010-10-07T09:21:00.000-07:00

[11x14" - red pencil, pen & ink on 300lb bristol board]

I won't be able to go to NYCC this year. It's not a big deal - I'll go to the next one; that convention isn't going anywhere.

I did want to address the pre-convention commissions like the ones I've posted here the past few days. If you've requested one from me via Jason at JASON@ESSENTIALSEQUENTIAL.COM, then you can pick up your commission from him directly at the show. He's running back and forth between tables as he's also representing DAVE JOHNSON, ANDREW ROBINSON (Table F16), and MATTEO SCALERA (Table F15). If you would like to be absolutely sure as to where Jason will with your original art, then *PLEASE* e-mail Jason and set up meeting with him on the show floor to pick up your purchase.

I'd like to thank all of you for your continued support and I hope each and every one of you has a safe trip into town. Enjoy your weekend and have a great convention.

ROMANOV, NATASHA_commission

2010-10-06T13:05:00.000-07:00

[11x14" - red pencil, pen & ink on 300 lb bristol board]

This commission, along with the other previous ones, are pre-show images done for this weekend's upcoming NYCC. I wanted to get as many of them finished and ready for pick up once the show started that way there's less stress on me getting them done at the actual show.

It's been quite the enjoyable challenge to get them all done, especially since the people who commissioned them from me asked for a really wide variety of things to draw - surprisingly, there were a few of them (especially the Muppets one) that I had never drawn in my life. Superheroes are easy, in my opinion. It's the characters that have a certain history that really throw me for a loop - those are the ones that I get super nervous about.

Anyway, I'll upload more as the show gets closer. Or... who knows? Maybe I'll do it all in one post hereafter. Whatever. Point is, you get to see them, yeah? Here's the first - Black Widow. Enjoy.

CLASSIC VISION_commission

2010-10-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

[11x14" - red pencil, pen & ink on 300lb bristol board]

When the request to do a CLASSIC VISION commission came in, I had to really ask myself what that 'classic' part meant. To me, The Vision was just The Vision, you know? He's what I remember of the character from my childhood, growing up on JOHN BYRNE-drawn Avengers comics. I guess that was a bit naive considering that was years ago, and if Captain America can have slight costume tweaks then it would only make sense that the Vision would have his look updated as well.

And so it goes that I drew this commission with the spirit of the classic design in mind. If I didn't hit the proverbial nail 100% on its head then I would hope that the person who commissioned me to do this believes it's closer to the original source material than the Vision's current incarnation - and that my patron excuses some of the flair I put into the image.

I miss those good John Byrne comics, man.

DR. STRANGE_commission

2010-10-05T06:29:00.000-07:00

[11x14" - red pencil, pen & ink on 300lb bristol board]

It was a long day of uninspired design followed by a long night of watching bad/disturbing sci-fi. I'm tired like I haven't been tired in a while so I don't have anything clever or insightful to say about this commission - outside of the fact that I did the thing twice. Again. And that's not really all that clever nor insightful. It speaks more towards my neurotic and obsessive/compulsive mind preventing me from going through with something unless it 'feels' right.

Anyway, here's Dr. Strange fighting (conjuring?) magical ghost eels. Which, I guess if you could fight any sort of eels, would be the preferable choice as eels in real life are quite horrendous and nightmarish. Enjoy.

DR. TEETH & THE ELECTRIC MAYHEM_commission

2010-10-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

[14x17" - red pencil, pen & ink on 300lb bristol board]

In my life, I never thought I'd get a chance to draw anything or anyone from THE MUPPETS. Come to think of it, I don't ever recall drawing anything Muppets related - until now.

A HUGE thanks goes out to the person who commissioned this from me. I had such a fun time doing my rendition of the band and though these guys aren't really the typical line up that people think of when you mention The Muppets, I think I enjoyed drawing them that much more because of the fact that they weren't your standards. Besides, I think I'd be wholly intimidated drawing the classics; I'd hate to do Kermit, Gonzo or Fozzy an injustice by not capturing their essence correctly.

Hope you all had a fine weekend.

BTW, for those wondering - I will be at Table F-14 at this year's NYCC. Please drop by, say hello and support my terrible donut habit by buying a sketchbook.

JUDGE DREDD_90 minutes

2010-09-27T08:07:00.000-07:00

I remember losing my mind way back when SIMON BISLEY ('Biz' for those in the...uh...biz) did a painted graphic novel using these title characters. His work on that book was such a high water mark for me visually, I genuinely believed that from there on down Batman should always look all 'roided up - like his muscles were about to pop. I clearly didn't have my head screwed on straight.

I'm ashamed to say that don't know too much about JUDGE DREDD except for what Sylvester Stallone told me and I'm going to guess that ol' Sly's portrayal is not an all-inclusive definition of this character. As a matter of fact, I can't remember anything from that movie except for the overused tag line, "I... am THE LAW!" Oh, wait! I also remember the timeless Diane Lane playing JUDGE HERSHEY.

Mmm. Diane Lane.

PS - Yes, I drew him standing in 'milk' again. I guess I should go and find bigger paper than the 9x12" bristol that I've been using. Or draw smaller? Whatever.

TRON: LEGACY_90 minutes

2010-09-26T03:20:00.000-07:00

In all honesty, it took WAY longer that 90 minutes as it measures 14x17". But this thing is neither a 'commission' nor a 'sketch', so the best classification I can come up with is '90 minutes'. Add to that all the damned hatching to emulate the digital/polygonal effect for Sam and design elements in the background, and it's safe to say that it took way longer than it should.

Also, before you crazies start in with the e-mails about specific inaccuracies in regards to this TRON: LEGACY inspired image, let me just say this first:

"I KNOW THAT IT'S NOT 100% ACCURATE - YOU OVER BEARING, OVER CRITICAL, SAD SACK OF A MAN! GET OFF MY JOCK!"

Ahem.

The reference you can find online were a challenge to decipher, so I did the best I could in interpreting them for this image. You're just going to have to deal with the liberties I took, and I guess we're just going to have to do what we can until the movie comes out during the winter season.

Until then, you get my jacked up version of Tron. Enjoy.

BELLDANDY_commission

2010-09-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

Here's the thing: If you have no concept of what a character is all about you're going to sometimes get into a situation where you're just drawing for the sake of drawing. And that's not really a bad thing, per se. That sort of thing allows you to explore nuances and details that you wouldn't normally be paying attention because you don't draw that person, place or thing on a regular basis. I think that's the fun part of drawing, designing and taking on commissions; sometimes you get asked to draw a character that's completely out of left field and the challenge is to have something original to say when it comes time for you to draw it. Because, let's be honest - why bother drawing it at all if you're just going to draw the damned thing just like every body else would?

All of the above is all well and good, unless of course someone is actually paying you to draw that specific subject. Then the added dimension of doing something that your client may want to own will naturally come into the whole equation.

In the case of this AH MY GODDESS! commission, I wasn't really all that familiar with the title character, BELLDANDY. Nor did I have anything to say about the series itself. So, to my folly I just started drawing. It wasn't until after I finished, went to bed, and looked at it again the morning after that I realized it was the most generic thing I'd drawn in a long time. It was, to me, very underwhelming to see, disappointing to realize that I was capable of that level of mediocrity, and I wasn't about to take a guys hard-earned cash on something that I wasn't very happy with. I believe the image needs to 'sing' as I'm drawing it and it was obvious that it really wasn't working from the very beginning. I was just really hoping that by finishing it, I'd come to some level of satisfaction with the final drawing. I didn't. Not at all.

Here's the saving grace of the whole experience: I now had blueprint of how I would do things differently. For one thing, I'd sidestep certain design flourishes from the original to keep things legible in the commission. I'd do a better job with the composition and I'd try to pose her smarter in order to make sure she had 'life', as opposed to having her come off as posed and unnatural. And last, I'd have an approach on how I would handle those large anime/manga eyes that, while seemingly commonplace in its original form, would look absolutely moronic once I applied it to my style.

And that's what I did with this - the new version of this commission.

The final image you see above is the second attempt at getting things right, at fine tuning, and finally coming up with an opinion about a character I wouldn't normally draw. It was frustrating to not to do that the first time I drew it as I pride myself in nailing things on the initial attempt, but sometimes that just can't be avoided. What I did walk away with (at least I think so - here's hoping the the owner of this commission believes it as well) was a better image over all because, as I've said already, I sort of knew what I was doing the second time around.

Anyway, there she is. Enjoy and have a great start to your weekend. BTW, poppy blooms are a b*tch to draw.

PS - If you'd like to see a snapshot of the first pass, all you need to do is go and follow me on my TWITTER account and you can see a link to it there. That's not too much to ask of you, yeah? I mean, I'm practically bribing you already.

GOLDEN EGG_update

2010-09-16T09:18:00.000-07:00

If you follow my TWITTER account (and if you're not following me then why aren't you? What? I thought we were friends and that you cared about the drivel that comes out of my mouth?) then you'll recognize that all I did was cut and paste the entry below from that account about the images above. Yes - I've become *that* lazy. I'm not proud of it, I promise you. It's just a busy morning and well, honestly I've got A LOT of things to do. Forgive me. I'll try to come up with something more original to say with the next update. Anyway...

When we printed 'EGG' (which are still available for purchase - just click on the handy-dandy BUY NOW button on the left hand side of the side bar of the blog) we also had these limited edition art books printed called 'GOLDEN EGG' - a dozen of them, appropriately enough. And if you ordered this expensive bastard, your copy would include an original image rendered in COPIC markers by me. The images themselves have already been finished ahead of time, so you get whatever random one we send out to you. So, NO - you cannot pick and choose which one you get because I won't post what the images look like until after they've been sold and we've shipped them. And since these three have already sold, there's only nine copies left. If you're interested in getting one for your very own collection, please contact Jason Schachter:

JASON@ESSENTIALSEQUENTIAL.COM

Thanks for reading and as always - THANK YOU for your support.

DR. MOTHERF*CKIN' DOOM_commission

2010-09-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

I had this one tucked away for a while and I don't know why. I just plain forgot about it, I guess? I'm not sure at this point. There's a lot on my mind because there's SO much work to finish between now and the end of the year.

Before I forget, for those of you going to this year's NEW YORK COMIC CON (or 'NYCC' for short), I am taking a pre-convention commissions list of ten (10) images in order to get a jump on things. If you'd like to get on that list, please contact my art dealer Jason Schachter with your request. He'll set up all the details with you as well as a booth and time you can pick your commission at the show. His e-mail is:

JASON@ESSENTIALSEQUENTIAL.COM

Okay, that's it. Back to work for me. Oh, one more thing: I say a lot more garbage on my TWITTER account than I do here (you can actually read it on my sidebar there on the left of this post). So if you miss my long-winded ramblings or if you'd like to see those occasional sketches I do that I never bother uploading here on my blog, then to follow me and my 160 character missives/diatribes/hateration would be divine, and to err is human. Or something like that.

Enjoy.

MARVEL MASTERPIECE SKETCH CARDS_sketch

2010-09-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

They were fun to do. I hope they come out legible enough.

Click on the image above for a closer look.

CYCLOPS & PHOENIX_commission

2010-09-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

I still believe it's odd that it's pronounced 'fee-nicks' and not 'foo-nicks'. Stupid English.

You wanna know what else is stupid? People who ask me for a Phoenix commission at the show and who *don't* bother to come to pick it up later. Which basically says to me, "Hey, draw this character for me and waste your time during the weekend because I'm not really gonna buy it from you."

Well, that's a bit harsh. Admittedly there are a myriad of reasons why the person didn't bother coming back to pick up the image - the simplest of which is that they simply forgot. I've done worse during a convention weekend as there are just so many things a brain can process and keep track of. In the end, all is well and the Phoenix image found herself a good home (Thanks, JJ!).

Still, I think from here on down, I will start taking money up front as I take the commission. And based on the unanimous opinion of the ESSENTIAL SEQUENTIAL crew, that's going to be standard policy among all the guys. While that up front commission fee doesn't guarantee you an automatic image, it does hold a place for you on the queue of my commissions list. And should I not be able to get to your request, it's easy enough for me to return your payment. If anything it'll light a fire under my ass to get the image done for you since I've collected your hard earned cash already. I believe that's fair.

Wanna know what else is an odd word? 'Queue'.

PS - My Cyclops can kick your Cyclops' ass any day of the week. And twice on Sundays.

BISHOP_commission

2010-09-01T06:44:00.000-07:00

This was a commission done for a very patient fan at this year's Baltimore Comic Con. I never understood this character or what he's about. Even now as I read his Wikipedia entry my eyes glaze over - he just seems like one of those characters that has yet to find his footing in the Marvel Universe. Take that with a grain of salt as I haven't read enough of his stories since he was first in the X-books.

That said, this is how I remember him from when he was introduced in X-Men, oh-so long ago. I loved those days; characters would be introduced with a 'Holy Sh*t!' quality to them almost every other issue. With Whilce Portacio providing the art, I can recall the issues being jam-packed with energy and overloaded with power.

The fan who commissioned the image waited all weekend and I'm so happy she liked it after all was said and done. I stuck the rabbit ears antenna on him and I thought that might've gone too far. But I figured that's par for the course when it comes to this guy's design sensibilities. So futuristic bunny ears it was.

Enjoy.

IRON MEN_90 minutes

2010-08-23T23:13:00.000-07:00

"I'm gonna fight them all, a seven nation army couldn't hold me back.

They're gonna rip it off, taking their time right behind my back.

And I'm talking to myself at night because I can't forget.

Back forth through my mind behind a cigarette.

And the message coming from my eyes says leave it alone.

Don't wanna hear about it, every single one's got a story to tell.

Everyone knows about it, from the Queen of England to the hounds of hell."

SHE-DEVIL_90 minutes

2010-08-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

This woman's full name is SHANNA O'HARA PLUNDER. She used to wear a fuzzy, one-piece bathing suit with leopard prints on it and fought hyenas with a spear.

Since her introduction I'm guessing she's become allergic to leopard prints, or clothes, or both because now she's wearing less and less of them. So she's now opted for wearing dinosaur skins instead. That's right, I said dinosaurs.

Have a fine T&A Sunday night, all.

ILLYANA NIKOLIEVNA RASPUTINA_90 minutes

2010-08-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

Otherwise known as MAGIK.

BLACKBOLT & GORGON_90minutes

2010-08-22T15:30:00.000-07:00

I've always found the INHUMANS family very strange. But short of THE NEW GODS, I believe that their designs are the best that Kirby has ever done.

Obviously, my favorite of the lot is Black Bolt. He's pretty awesome.

BARONESS_90 minutes

2010-08-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

"I want your love, and I want your revenge.

I want your love, I don't wanna be friends.

J'veux ton amour et j'veux ton revenge.

J'veux ton amour, I don't wanna be friends"

SAMUS_90 minutes

2010-08-21T23:22:00.000-07:00

My dear friend, mentor, and animation director extraordinaire SAM LIU bought himself a brand new sketchbook today.

We went to the art store and he found one that was the perfect dimensions and perfect cover stock. Everything was to his liking - except for the first page which already had a little squiggle on it from some inconsiderate bastard who drew inside the book and didn't bother buying the item. So as best as we could we tried to find another one, but I guess this specific sketchbook was the last one in stock in the whole store. To be honest, we didn't really ask an associate (which I think we should've done before buying this one) to check if they had them displayed elsewhere, but whatever - we went with the one with the blemish.

Sam was *this* close to not purchasing it at all, until I promised him that I would draw something on top of the little pencil smudge in order to cover it up. I also told him that for all the trouble I'm going through in order to cover up such a hideous scar, he should open up a Twitter account so I can berate him if he doesn't draw in this brand spankin' new sketchbook he made me doodle a sketch in. So, being a man of his word, Sam now has a Twitter account. You can start following him HERE.

Above was Sam's sketch request for one of his all time favorite characters from one of his all time favorite games: Samus from Metroid and Metroid Prime. I know that not every detail on here is character accurate but whatever. It's done. And it served its purpose - I managed to swing ol' Sam away from the stupidity that is Facebook and now he has to deal with a social network portal that limits him to a 140 character commitment. If you know Sam as I do, Twitter is so much more of a better fit for him.

Okay, more later. Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far.

PS - This new sketchbook gave me a paper cut that stings like hell right now because it's getting infected. Stupid Sam Liu and his stupid sketchbook that I have to cover up a stupid random doodle on with a stupid sketch of stupid Samus.

"HELLO, MISTAH J!"_90 minutes

2010-08-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

The plan was to have this drawing colored and made into a print ready for BALTIMORE COMIC CON where I will be in attendance next weekend. Well, that was the plan anyway. But with my unforgiving deadlines and schedule, this image will just have to wait another day to see some color on it. Sorry, all. At least now you can see it for free on this here blog!

Have a good weekend and I hope to see you at the show.

BTW, I will be putting up about a half dozen NEW images (maybe more) in the next few days, of which the originals will be for sale at the Baltimore show - or even before hand if you're so inclined to purchase it ahead of time. For inquiries regarding pricing and availability of the originals, please contact JASON SCHACHTER of ESSENTIAL SEQUENTIAL and he'll gladly walk you through the process of acquiring it for your collection.

Next up, BARONESS.

ATREYU_commission

2010-08-19T00:07:00.000-07:00

I had to be very quiet about this image and not post it right away because it was commissioned as a present for someone and (as I understand it) the recipient was a loyal visitor to this blog. Based on his e-mail thanking me after receiving it, the cloak and dagger was well worth it. That makes me very happy that they're so happy.

A while ago I was mentioning on TWITTER that I watching this movie for specifics as well as inspiration. The meeting between the title character on NEVER ENDING STORY (Atreyu) and the Gmork really left an impression on me as a child. I recall that the creature in the shadows with its glowing eyes scared the bejeezus out of me back then. But let's take that with a certain grain of salt - I was afraid of The Count from Sesame Street too. Also, the premise of the movie was really cool. I'd always wished that whatever I was reading was happening someplace in actual time; I guess it was all due to my overactive imagination.

Anyway, enjoy.

OH! Quick thing, as I was watching TRON the other day, playing in the background scene in Flynn's arcade, is the main title song for Never Ending Story! How awesome is that?! Well... not really awesome unless you're a big nerd for both films like I am.