Showing posts with label honor decoded. Show all posts
Showing posts with label honor decoded. Show all posts

Thursday, April 7, 2016

First Panel, First Books

8:16 PM conventions , cyberpunk 0 Comments
Let me start off this post with a double post of inspirational soundtracks.


 

Perturbator in general has been keeping me pumped for the past couple of weeks in terms of the inspiration and drive for my personal projects. That being said... Honor: Decoded is back in session, but more on this later...

Alright, now that the music that's been stuck in my head can now get stuck in your head, let me begin the real purpose of this post. It's mainly to talk about things that happened both before, during, and after MidSouth Con.

Quite a bit has been transpiring since before the convention even began, what with the start and release of two pieces of work that I've been contributing to: Lunch Doodles and a short story by my fiancee, Ashley Webb, entitled the Tawny Woman.




Lunch Doodles is a collection of drawings and paintings that I've done during my lunch break at work. Each one is voted on from about 5AM to about 12PM and the one with the most votes, or whoever got their vote in first, is the one that I draw. If you'd like to be a part of it, check on my Facebook page during the weekdays to vote! I typically post these as early as I can on weekdays so that I can get as many votes as possible. My plans with these are to eventually make a volume every other convention, and then maybe one day turn into a submission based annual or quarterly that other artists can contribute to.

If you'd actually like to be involved, email me or contact me on Facebook and I would love to get you involved. 



 

The second thing that I was going on about earlier is that I actually got one of Ashley's stories bound up in a little book! It was written by her, but I helped to design the layout and painted the cover. It was partially a surprise for her, but she seemed to enjoy it. The awesome part about it is that it's a horror short story! You'll have to either ask her about it, or find us at a convention so that you can inquire about some of her writing. She typically writes horror or dark fiction. In time we'll do even more of these so that she can fill up a table herself with nothing but her writing and tapestries!

If you're an aspiring writer or a writing enthusiast, check on her tumblr page to follow along with her daily prompts or read some of her entries on the topic that she posts for the day!

Fast forward to the day of the conventions...

First, let me say that I had a blast at MidSouth Con and I actually recommend it to anyone that is in the Memphis area. It was filled to the brim with stuff to do and people to meet.

Our table... filled with art and a super excited Fictional Tortoise!

This was an example of one of the days that are table was set up. It was overflowing with art and tapestries. Again, can't speak enough for the con itself. It was filled up.


  
A few of the pieces that I worked on during the con.

I had never actually been on a panel before, so that was a much different experience than what I was expecting... and couple that with the fact that it had been my first run at it, and why not dive into the deep end with six. 

Here's the panel layout that I was on...

Getting Started In The Comics Industry
Our panelists will discuss how they go started & will give tips on how you can get into the Comics industry.
Larry Cathey • Charles Ettinger • Mathew Kaminski • John Martin • Marshall Wood

Gamers Anonymous  
Gaming Addiction? Our team is here to help ween you off of your game... by getting you addicted to a few more!
Larry Cathey • Charles Ettinger • Mathew Kaminski • John Martin • Marshall Wood

Preparing for an Art Show / Exhibit
Ideas on how to determine if your art is good enough for an art show and how to prepare for it.
Larry Cathey • Charles Ettinger • Mathew Kaminski • John Martin • Marshall Wood

The ART of Gaming
Panelists will discuss the amazing artwork found in RPG books, CCGs & boardgames and how that art brings those games to life
Larry Cathey • Charles Ettinger • Mathew Kaminski • John Martin • Marshall Wood


Drawing a Block
Learn how to over come the artists version of writers block and get back to creating.
Larry Cathey • Charles Ettinger • Mathew Kaminski • John Martin • Marshall Wood

Digital Comics
Declining sales and pirating has led some publishers to find new ways to publish their comics, while others are just adapting to the digital age while still having great success with the printed comic format.
Larry Cathey • Charles Ettinger • Mathew Kaminski • John Martin • Marshall Wood

There was a hell of an intimidation factor, walking into that Art of Gaming panel as the definitive newbie in the room. But through all the panels, I got to meet some incredible people, and will hopefully be able to join in on some more panels in the coming conventions. I was terrified at first, but by powering through six in a span of two days, you quickly acclimate, or you fall...


There's always more to come... like soon we'll be most likely heading to Hypericon and then after that it's looking like Memphis Comic Expo might be our next adventure. It's all going to come full circle. It seems like SO much has happened in a year... I started conventioning only one year ago, and I'm already at panel level. Holy crap this is hopefully shaping up to be a very exciting year!

As always... there's gotta be another sample of things to come:



More soon!


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Wednesday, March 2, 2016

The 3-2-1 Rule

6:51 AM advice , carl 0 Comments
There's a Demon Inside


Title: There's a Demon Inside
Medium: Photoshop CS6
Scale: Original is 6" x 8"

Notes: Continuing on the vein of things that scare me...

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I think that laziness sits on our shoulder every day. We just have to learn to shrug it off.
Lazy people tend not to take chances, 
but express themselves by tearing down other's work.
-- Ann Rule

On a pretty regular basis, I feel like I have to give a sort of pep talk to some creatives - trying to boost them up. I don't really mind it so much, and I think that Ashley says it right whenever she catches me trying to fall into a slump, "There are a million other people out there that aspire to do what you're doing. We both have to slog through the muck for awhile to get to where the people that we aspire to be, are." I think that a lot of creatives forget that there's a struggle there to get your work out there. Imagine if it did happen overnight - what would that say about the industry as a whole? I think that ultimately hard work is really what makes one go from being a simple hobbiest to a full-on creative.

There's a simple system that I try to follow to break laziness, and keep in mind, I'm a weird numerologist - so bear with me for just a second...

Take anything creative. This can be art, this can be writing, this really can be anything that you enjoy to do. Break it down into a 3-2-1 system.

For example here's what I try to follow every week (albeit I don't post them as often as I should, but that's another thing altogether).

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3 - Fan Arts.
Typically this is what I do for my daily doodles. Every day, before I head to work I take a vote on who I should draw for that day during my lunch break. This is not only a way to keep me active at every moment that I have free - even during my full-time job - but to keep my pencil moving and continually find inspiration. I love when I get either obscure reference pieces to work on, or original thought pieces. Although these are a bit on the rarer side, they tend to push the limits of what can be done in approximately thirty minutes.


Just a small sampling of my lunch doodle entries...

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2 - Digital Paintings.
These are pieces that I try to pump out to keep my table fresh whenever the next convention rolls around. I can also fit commissioned pieces in here - if life and the full-time job don't get in the way that is. As of late these have been fan arts mostly as well, but see my previous post about how to make a piece your own - no matter what it takes.



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1 - Original Content.
This is really where the week gets difficult, and it's probably the hardest one to keep up with. But I try every week to come up with something that's purely my own - or rather ours (Ashley and I). These are where pieces like the one above pops up, or where Honor:Decoded came from, etc. These are probably the most taxing, but also the most rewarding. Without these, I would find that doing art is more just a hobby and a copy-cat exercise than anything else. What I mean is, without these pieces, it's hard really to express both your creative muscle and really to get the potential for client work. This is more-or-less my portfolio building exercise. Again, it's really hard to cram an original piece every week with working full time, but I really do try. Most of them I just can't show because they are either contest entries that have a deadline or annual entries or just personal pieces (these are luckily the ones that make it to the page the fastest).

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This system can apply to just about any creative exercise... for example I was trying to talk Ashley through the process - and she's a writer - so we went through the 3,2,1 as - 300 pages of a book she likes a week, 2 daily prompt entries, and 1 original content piece. This is just an example and again, these aren't hard and fast rules, but they give you at least a primer to get you started.

And lastly... I can't leave you without a teaser for what's coming next...

Honor:Decoded making a comeback!

Hopefully this little chat got you a start to your day - and as always - for more work, check all over my blog and on one of the social media outlets listed to the right...

Until next time.

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Thursday, October 8, 2015

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Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Concept Art - Honor Decoded (Marionettes)

6:53 AM bfa , character design 0 Comments
Concept Art: Honor Decoded (Marionettes)





Title: Concept Art: Honor Decoded (Marionettes)
Medium: Photoshop CS6, Pencil, White Ink
Scale: Each 'page' is 11" x 17"

Notes: This is some behind the scenes work on the Honor Decoded pieces that I did for my BFA. These are all to be included -someday- in art book that I am compiling that tells the introductory tale of the entire world for the comic that Ashley and I are creating. Hopefully some day we will be able to release the entirety of the project to everyone, until then... more to come!
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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Concept Art - Honor Decoded (Vigilants)

9:31 AM bfa , character design 0 Comments
Concept Art: Honor Decoded (Vigilants)






Title: Concept Art: Honor Decoded (Vigilants)
Medium: Photoshop CS6, Pencil, White Ink
Scale: Each 'page' is 11" x 17"

Notes: This is some behind the scenes work on the Honor Decoded pieces that I did for my BFA. These are all to be included -someday- in art book that I am compiling that tells the introductory tale of the entire world for the comic that Ashley and I are creating. Hopefully some day we will be able to release the entirety of the project to everyone, until then... more to come!
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Monday, May 11, 2015

Concept Art - Honor Decoded (Masques)

7:02 AM bfa , character design 0 Comments
Concept Art: Honor Decoded (Masques)





Title: Concept Art: Honor Decoded (Masques)
Medium: Photoshop CS6, Pencil, White Ink
Scale: Each 'page' is 11" x 17"

Notes: This is some behind the scenes work on the Honor Decoded pieces that I did for my BFA. These are all to be included -someday- in art book that I am compiling that tells the introductory tale of the entire world for the comic that Ashley and I are creating. Hopefully some day we will be able to release the entirety of the project to everyone, until then... more to come!
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Monday, April 6, 2015

BFA is Over (Honor Decoded)

11:47 AM bfa , character 0 Comments
Now that BFA is finally over I can finally get back to my attempts at updating more often.

For those that won't make it to the show, I am going to go ahead and post my BFA show pieces here as well so that people can take a look.

All of these are from a potential graphic novel project. Hopefully you enjoy them.

Honor Decoded









Title: Honor Decoded
Medium: Photoshop CS6
Scale: Square - Originally 5" x 5", Rectangular - 17" x 5.5"

Notes: The digital realm has possessed the world we live in. Each and every day we are taken, mostly unaware, on a trip through this virtual world. After all, the world of human thought is not based on anything tangible, it's based entirely on digital code that our brain naturally executes. At the very core of our cellular level, we are all small transmissions of data, translated and interconnected by molecular machines that are ever-present in our bodies. These biological processes result in chemical reactions that we interpret as emotion.

My comfort level with the digital world has been extremely high for the majority of my life. It has been reinforced over time by my daily use of multiple media facets. The struggle is to link physical media, such as pencils and pens, with the digital painting techniques that I’ve developed. Through this struggle my process has evolved: I use physical media as my starting point. My digital paintings use brushes created by my hand that use tangible media such as pastel and oil paint. Each stroke and smudge is represented in the final pieces to show that digital painting can stand on the same legs as traditional painting.

I bridge the gap between physical and digital processes. I use a stylus in the same way that others might use a paintbrush. Ultimately, this process is meant to streamline the process of painting. There is no dry time, there is no limit to how many strokes can be made, and there is no muddying of the color. This leaves me the ability to experiment without the worry of making a mess.
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