WOW! Simone Bianchi rocked this...

So, here I find myself on the blog spot once again... Twice for the month, that's a record. Seriously, I am trying to make a weekly effort become a daily effort. So bear with me and follow the white rabbit!
Simon Bianchi is by far one off the best illustrators that Marvel has under it's roof. It is no joke to ink-wash art work! What a great piece he produced for this X-Force cover. 
BOOM!
Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the view! *I hope that they make this into a poster!

Nuff' said!

J.

Snow White My Way!

My-oh-my haw the time does pass...

I have been noodling around with this illustration for the past 10 weeks. Sketches, inspiration, re-sketch, upside down double checks, and "Hmmmm, she sure needs more hip to match them boobs!" And, hurray! This is the finished pencils...

NOT FINISHED YOU SAY! Correct, this think needs ink-spiration! I am currently slapping on a coat of higgins and will most likely kill a pen or two as well.

AND THEN?! Holy (Top) Cow! I will get color pumped into the damn thing if you demand it! Since this is to be the creme-d'crop for my studio pieces. All-in-all, I'm pleasantly pleased with the progress thus far. Now, I need to get those deadline demons under control.

Enjoy!

J.

My Influences...

So, I was wandering around a few deviant art pages of a few of my favorites and came across J.Scott Campbell's and an "Influence Map" he had. His artists were selected based on his childhood and teen years when he was trying to find his niche.
 I felt compelled to create one for myself. This self indulging experience actually made me think "What made me the artist I am today and how profound was it on my style?" I spent a decent chunk of time on it so that I didn't feel like I cheated myself and the vision(s) I had sought out to discover.
Please, open this up and take some time to think to yourself... "What made me ME and when am I going to contribute to the next Influence Map made." Also, at the bottom of the page is a link... Download the PSD file... Fill in the blanks!


Browse, NOW!
'Nuff said (Stan Lee)
J.

http://fox-orian.deviantart.com/art/Influence-Map-Template-174550753

Nexus Returns!

Hey! It's another piece from the semester that hell created!
*(Nexus is copy written by Mike Baron and Steve Rude)
BUT! I DID NOT STEAL THIS ART!
My assignment was to separate the "inked line art" from the back ground, working through channels, and color the image... SO.... Color separation anyone? It's not as hard as it looks, but it is a process that I think has contributed to my arsenal of comic creation.
Exciting! Riveting! Couldn't move from my seat! (That's what I believe that movie voice guy would say.)

Take a peek!

J.

*Original art : Steve Rude (Dark Horse Comics)

Munny, munny, munny, munny...... MUNNY!

Ok.
Like Aaron Lewis once said, "It's been awhile...", but I'm back and chock full of art... CCS has been the monster under my bed for a lil' bit and I plan to show something for it... Damnit!
This, ladies and gentlemen, was my 80's Rocker Munny for Image 2 this semester (line art ONLY). Lots of fun and learned a ton of Adobe Illustrator technique. I will post the color later... With all the other finished (color) work from the last 4 months!
So, I hope y'all like it... Thing ate up hours of my social life!

Great to be back (hold your applause)!
J.

Behold! Lions and Bees and Muscles! Oh my...

Well, lookie what I found while cleaning... A USB drive with my review work. Damn thing was so small it got lost in a pocket of time that just so happens to be inside my back pack, but not a glimpse of the future anywhere next to it. So, this was my second piece for a class Winter semester and got tore upside and down during critique because I lacked a cool counter in my coloring. Needless to say, I found a touch of purple and some cobalt in to the shadows actually adds a richer dark that the deep earthy colors I had. Ahhh, a sigh of relief when she said the warms and cools felt more balanced out.
The whole idea was based on a "dual portrait" with out showing a face and one must be "inferred". I choose Samson and Delilah from the Babylonian version of the Bible depiction. Great story and tons of imagery to play with. That being said, you can figure out Samson, but Delilah was more of the elements around the central image. He went to great lengths to be with her and once was love turned out to be treachery. What a bitch! (Note: Check out Wikipedia for a quick lesson and story of Samson; click link.)

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson

Enjoy the view!
J.

Remember Wally Wood?

Hello once again. Yes, I know that it has been months since last post. I swear I've been busy.... Working for the "MAN" and doing a random doodle here and there. Mostly there, at work, and on the clock, when bored to tears.
Yet, I shall not plead for pity and cry in my ice cream about not doing anything with my summertime. Alex chilled with Liz and I for a few days, but had to leave for home, so sad. My Lizzy has been busy with casting calls and chasing stars all over Ann Arbor, but I go with to see the "old guy" (Wes Craven).
And then there was me... I do plan to at least write a script for my graphic novel and base it off my life. Kind of similar to a biography except illustrated and edited based on what I feel were my highs and lows in life. Assuming it's gonna get real personal and pull on the heart strings I may take a breath from it so I don't run the ink down the page in salty memories.
O'kay, now I get to the part of my blog where I praise someone or something. I just read an article on Wally Wood in Wizard and remembered the "22 Panels That Always Work" image I had (thanks Matt)! Jim Shooter had high remarks about him and then I realized I read his early work with EC Comics and didn't even know it. Maybe I was too young to recall the name, but I do have a clear picture of the images. So, check out the cool panels and take a minute to ponder... I surely did.
Then check out Marvel and peep the pointers on making comics a career at the link below.
www.marvel.com/news/all.13180.tips~and~tweets~colon~_breaking_in?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Pulse249&utm_term=Link4&utm_content=TipsTweetsBreakingIn&utm_campaign=Pulse249Newsletter07132010

Yeah, I know it's a bit long... "That's what she said!" 'Nuff Said
J.