Today's Sketch: FIREBREATHER

This was supposed to be just a head and shoulders black and white sketch, but I felt like trying something with the color, and the piece just kept rolling.

If you're not familiar with the character, this is Duncan Rosenblatt, aka Firebreather, from the comic by Phil Hester and Andy Kuhn published by Image Comics (and recently starring in the Cartoon Network TV movie of the same name).

I strongly advise you check out the comic and movie.

UPDATE: Now Phil Hester and Andy Kuhn approved. Thanks guys!

oneGemini Studios v3.1

UPDATE: I'll need to take newer photos at some point. There have been slight changes and major ones (the major ones include an "upgrade" on the 15x to a 12wx and a new printer.

This is a big image. Click it, and it'll open in a new window, which will make it easier to follow along;



A benefit for many freelance artists is that we can work out of our homes. I’m no different in that respect, so with that in mind, I thought it might be time to update a view of my workspace in 360˚.

For those of you who started following me after my Doctor Who gig, this is the place where I illustrated those books. For those of you who have seen my past photos of this room, this is what it currently looks like (a few different decorations than last time, and a new computer and desk).

As the images go top to bottom, we spin counter-clockwise...

A. My main work area starts off with this, my reference area. We’ve got everything from anatomy books, How To Draw Comics the Marvel Way, the Ultimate Spider-man Scriptbook, Cerebus Guide to Self Publishing, bodybuilder magazines (for that over-defined-big-muscle superhero look), to comics and graphic novels I’m inspired by to a couple CDs of Visual Reference For Comic Artists (volumes 1 & 2) . Of course I got some aspirin and Aleve ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Beneath that part of my computer desk is a filing cabinet with paperwork, blank CDs and DVDs, labels, printer paper, and other various stuffs within.

B. Various odds and ends, with empty workspace in front of it. Major features here are my main pencil sharpener (a 20+ year old Boston electric sharpener – still works perfect), one of my computer speakers, and a document stand.

C. An upright document holder holding a few more inspiring graphic novels and comics. If I’m on a deadline, often fatigue will turn my brain to mush. Paging/reading through these particular books often kick my butt back into motion (or if I’m extra tired, depress me due to their awesomeness).

In front of it is where I hook up my iPod Touch and iPad. To the right of that just behind the screen is the power and volume control for my speaker system.

Behind that (also partially hidden behind the computer) is an air can, hand disinfectant, LCD screen wipes, and LCD screen spray.

D. A plain old TV tray I use as a side table. Atop this are another upright file of inspiring comics, reference books (including The DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics), and a few menus. A coaster sits next to that where the diet soda of my choice usually sits (diet soda is generally crappy, but I likey my soda, and I really shouldn’t have non-diet anymore. But I digress). There’s a small wastebasket under the tray.

E. My DVD rack When the tray isn't there, it easily slides out, giving me access to all of my cartoon and comic book related DVDs. The rest of our DVDs are in the living room.

F. “F” is for “Fire hazard.” Seriously. The computer-tower looking thing is my subwoofer.

G. My rusty, trusty all-in-one printer. Specifically, a HP PSC Photosmart 2410 scanner/fax/copier/printer. Very useful, but really showing its age; fax doesn’t work (who faxes anymore anyway?), and often I need to reboot the computer because the scanner refuses to talk to it. Atop the printer is usually paperwork; bills, various non-art bits. Atop that is a toy of the USS Enterprise (from the new movie) NCC-1701. Just out of sight to the left of the printer is my right speaker.

Below this part of the desk are my various sketchbooks, a artbox/artkit/art-tackle/whatever, a couple of drawers of comic books (mainly indy books made by friends), and various markers, tape refills, and toy guns (for photo reference).

H. My computer, an iMac (early 2010), 3.06 Ghz Intel Core Duo 2, 4 GB RAM (not yet maxed out), 1 TB internal HD, and a 27" widescreen display, currently running Mac OS X, 10.6.5. For those not in the know, these iMacs are contained within the "monitor casing," which saves room for other things on the desk.

To the right of the iMac is my Antiq Cintiq (as I call it), a 2003 Wacom Cintiq 15x (look it up if you don't know what a Cintiq is). Behind it, out of sight, is my 1 TB external HD. B the Cintiq is one of my 4-port USB hubs. Unlike my other hubs, this one happens to look like the TARDIS. One of the house phones next to that, and the Airport (wireless router) beneath, the Cintiq's stylus (an $80 stylus!) in front of that. Wireless mouse and keyboard round that out. A pen cup and my right speaker are next to those.

I. I'm not vain -- yes, on the left are pictures of me through the years. On the right are pictures of my father growing up. Surrounding both are my class pictures, K through 8th. The house was previously my parents. Not all of their wall decorations have been taken down, and until I get the proper wall fasteners, I can't put any new images in these places. So, for now, they fill space. Listen, I'm not crazy about staring at bowl-cut me either.

J. My lil' corner of achievements. At the top of the cross is my "Outstanding Achievement In Art Award" from 8th grade. On the bottom of the cross is my "Excellence in Art Award" from high school. Right in the middle is my diploma from the Joe Kubert School of art. The left arm of the cross is my letter of acceptance into the semifinal (top 100 of 5000) round of the Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (look 'em up), for my screenplay Wayward Son. The right arm of the cross is my registration certificate from the WGAw for the same screenplay (not an award -- I just like to have it up).

K. Just where I keep some boxes, including the Batman Arkham Asylum Special Collector's Edition box (crappy Batarang and case within – though the art book and other stuff included was great), Halo: Reach Special Edition Set (which I highly recommend both the game and the gear that came with the set), the box for our Wii, Xbox 360, and a complete and working Sega Genesis (yes, it's in there). Atop that sits a plushie of Jeff Smith’s Phone Bone and a bottle of pure Chaos (from the Superhero Supply Store – Google it).

K. My TPB shelf. Lovem the comics. Above that, some select toys. Everything from The Crow, to Dawn, to Powermaster Optimus Prime, to Spawn, Batman, Secret Wars Spidey, Death, GoBots, and PacMan. On the right of that there is a plastic container that has a glass vial of Pure Cap in it (capsasin), which is 100 times hotter than jalapeno (500,000 Scovilles). In front of that is a 9th/10th and 11th Doctors’ sonic screwdrivers sitting atop psychic paper. Front and center on this shelf are a pumice stone from Mount Pinatubo (look it up) and behind that in the plastic is… well… I’m actually not going to say. My cousin got it for me on a trip abroad. No, it’s not drugs. It’s something quite special, as is the thing in the small box below it also given to me by the same cousin, but from a different trip. I’ll never mention online what these things are, but those who have seen them in person, those who I have told, have been floored by the deceptively normal objects they are. Yeah, I’m being cryptic.

L. A big poster of the 10th Doctor and Donna. While I had plenty of reference of the Doctor, this poster kept me honest during the drawing of Doctor Who for IDW. I’d finish the Doctor’s face and look up to the poster thinking “does this really look like that guy up there?”

In the closet behind is random junk.

Below the poster sits a lil' shelf that contains on the top tier; a random bird puppet, a nice Kermit puppet, and a nice Animal puppet. Below that (but sadly not in the picture) are a large die-cast model of the flying DeLorean from Back to the Future II and below that the Batmobile from Tim Burton's Batman (1989). Both with working doors, and in the case of the DeLorean, flip down wheels.

M. Simple enough, a CD rack, though it's equal parts music (which I hardly ever listen to as most of my CDs have been digitized) and software. Atop this is some various odds and ends (including more pumice) and an incense burner tray thingy. All this sits atop a filing cabinet which contains more paperwork (most of it my wife’s). Above this is a mirror and a clock.

N. An old piano bench which has atop it the Halo 3 Special Edition Master Chief Helmet (Halo 1-3 are stored within), an upright rack with my weekly pull of comics and graphic novels. To the left of that is a few oversized TPBs and graphic novels, concept art books, and Doctor Who reference books. The big book on top is the full collected Bone by Jeff Smith. Beneath the table is the box to my TARDIS interior playset. A bathroom scale sits next to that.

The Joker (from The Dark Knight) graces the linen closet door, while above him, the faux-vintage sign states “Psychiatrist: One Flight Up.”

O. A lil' movie-version Watchmen poster by Dave Gibbons. Below that a free, yet awesome, calendar of Normal Rockwell paintings.

P. My drawing table. Not used all that much anymore, but it does come in handy once in a while, like when I penciled some of the pages of Doctor Who earlier this year. Below that is storage for various art stuffs, and my con-going gear. To the right of that is also storage, for CDs, electronic bits, etc.

Q. A colorful painting that came from... somewhere. No one is exactly sure where. It's flanked by two black and white photos my father once took. A big Crow poster here, and a few little ones, including drawings from high school, and something more recent. That's a David Mack and Joe Quesada Daredevil poster.

R. Stuff from my childhood in the red desk my father made for me so many years ago. Atop that is a pencil/pen holder or two, TARDIS interior playset (with Dalek and 10th Doctor), and Alien Facehugger “mask” from NYCC. Below that is a few of my comic boxes.

S. The tragedy mask is my father's but he gave it to me before I went to art school. The picture to the right of that is a signed and framed picture of basketball player Dee Brown. Got it signed when I was still heavily into following the NBA. Below the tragedy mask is a little faux-kabuki mask I painted.

The framed documents surrounding those are my father's certificates and degrees. Like I said, I haven't taken everything off the walls yet.

There are a couple of my son’s pieces here as well – the painted one is a collaboration between my wife and son.

T. More comic boxes, boxes of supplies, and my inbox for bills and the like.

U. A filing cabinet that contains various tech odds and ends in the top (like a video digitizer) and manuals and such in the bottom. On top of the cabinet are my mini-paper cutter, stapler, various tapes, a hand weight, some various papers, etc, and a vintage Spider-man phone (no longer working).

So there ya go... let me know if I missed something, or if you want me to elaborate on something else. Cheers!

MR. TURKEY SAYS...

A Happy Thanksgiving to all my Stateside friends (and those abroad)!

Now... fear Mr. Turkey.

BATMAN & VENOM on eBay!

Hey, look! Artwork!

Trying to gather up some last-minute cash for the holidays, so...

The two sketches up top were drawn over the weekend at Double Midnight Comics' Grand Re-Opening Event this past weekend. No one picked them up, so now both are up on eBay.

Venom can be found here.

Batman can be found here.

Thanks for looking!

I could really use your opinions...

UPDATE 2: These two polls are now closed. Thanks for your feedback!

UPDATE 1: I thought it went without saying, but yes, this is a free webcomic. Free to read. If I end up collecting it up and publishing it in print, that I would sell for money. But reading it on the web at the site would be free.

Without going into spoilerish detail, it's no big secret that I'm prepping to launch a webcomic. This'll come as no surprise to those who followed my questions and musings on Twitter last night. In between working on commissions, I've been writing the series bible and collecting up reference for the project. That's going well, but...

...here's where I need your help.

In order to get out a webcomic in a format many people will enjoy, I want to hear your ideas as to what you guys like when it comes to the practical side of webcomics.

First off, some vague background on the comic; this is not a humor comic, like PvP, Penny Arcade, or XKCD. No, this is a plot-driven drama, sci-fi/superhero in nature, like WarriorBorn or Retake.

I have two polls I've set up, and it'd be great if I could get you all to go to them and vote, so I'll have a better idea how to setup this comic in the coming months.

My first question - how do you prefer a webcomic page layout?

Vertical, like a standard comic book page, and the webcomics The Dreamland Chronicles and the above mentioned Retake (click on the titles of these two comics for examples)? Pros of this: it's like a standard comic page. Con: depending on your screen size/resolution, you may have to scroll around to read the comic.

Or do you prefer them Horizontal, like the offerings from Zuda Comics (click the title for examples)? Pros: depending on your screen size, this'll fit on screen without scrolling. These comics were designed for your computer screen first, and a printed page second. Cons: I won't have Comixology's setup for zoom and all that navigational coolness. Also, you might just not like reading a comic sideways.

So, here's the poll (please vote);

POLL CLOSED




My second question; how would you prefer your webcomic updates?

Now, "seven times a day" is not an option. No, I've gone ahead and given you five choices of what I believe are realistic update schedules that I can stick to (barring any big paying comic project coming up - but I'd announce that if that happens and would make that clear, and yet still find a way to update semi-regularly). Whatever the choice, the first posting of the story pages won't be a single page, but will most likely be five to ten pages in length. These schedules below would start up after that.

Keep in mind, I'm telling a longer comic story. This isn't like the Sunday papers which open with a recap, give you a couple panels of new story, and tie up the scene for next time. No, this is like reading a single page out of a 22+ page comic. The format assumes you read the previous pages - which of course would be available for you to read if you hadn't. There will be a section for a "Previously" synopsis-style recap of the plot.

So the choices are - 1 page every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday - 1 page every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday - 1 page every Monday Wednesday, and Friday - 3 to 4 pages on Wednesday - 3 to 4 pages on Monday.

Pros to the to the "1 page every" choices; you get a pretty frequent update schedule. Cons: like I said above, you're only reading the one page new at each update.

Pros to the "3 to 4 pages" choices is that you get a chunk to read during each update. Cons: the updates won't be as frequent, and I've been warned that means you (the audience) may "forget" to read, or get bored while waiting for the next weekly update, and just not bother to come back.

So here's the poll for that (please vote);

POLL CLOSED




So there you have it. Those are my two major questions for now. Please pass this blog post around to your webcomic/comics loving friends and have them chip in with their feedback. Your opinions are greatly appreciated and will go towards making a webcomic that I hope you will all enjoy.

Thanks!

Imagination, life is your creation...

Yup. I quoted "Barbie Girl" by Aqua. Sue me.

So who are these two very plain peeps above? They're part of the presentation I'm giving tomorrow at the Howe Library in Hanover, NH.

From my earlier entry;

In Blair’s program, he’ll present artwork from his elementary and high school years,along with current published and private commission artwork. He’ll also give a breakdown of the mainstream comic book “assembly line” style of production, from writer, to penciler, to inker, to colorist, to letterer, to editor, and then to press. As the majority of Blair’s work is created via digital means, attendees will get a behind-the-screen look at how the work is created via Wacom tablets and Adobe Photoshop.

Time permitting, there will be a question and answer session, and an opportunity to try out traditional methods of comic book artwork production.

Wednesday, November 17, 1:30-3:30
Ages 10 and up

(For more info on the presentation and the Howe Library, follow this link --> [CLICKY])

For the "you-try-it" part, the two above have been printed out (in dot pattern form to make them lighter) on sheets of paper which will be given out to the attendees. They will then pencil over my lines (or not) and add features (hair, masks, spikes, fire, whatever) to make their character unique. This'll be sort of what a comic book penciler does.

After a period of time (ten/fifteen minutes), they'll then sign their drawing, and swap it with someone else's. Using pens, they will then ink the other person's drawing (much like a comic inker), following over the lines of the previous artist, and perhaps adding a bit of flair (adding a bit of thickness to some lines, etc), but without deviating from the set pencils (as in, not adding long hair when the penciler made the character bald).

After that, the inker will sign the piece, and hand it back to the penciler. Hopefully everyone will go home with a little piece of artwork.

I'll try to take photos of what they come up with, and post the results here on the blog in a day or two.

So if you're in the area, free, and want to check out what should be a fun presentation, come on down. We'd be happy to have you!

DOCTOR WHO: VOL 2 - TESSERACT

Yup, my name is on the spine (and the back cover - not so much the front cover).

As mentioned on Twitter and my Facebook Fan Page, Doctor Who: Volume Two - Tesseract TPB (trade paperback) is out now.

The TPB is 136 full color pages collecting IDW Publishing's Doctor Who Ongoing comic;

The ongoing tales of Doctor Who continue as master storyteller Tony Lee puts the Doctor and fellow travelers, Emily and Matthew, in one unpleasant situation after another! This volume collects issues #7-12 of the series comprising of the two-part “Tessaract” [illustrated by Al Davison] and the four-part “Don’t Step on the Grass” [Illustrated by Blair Shedd].

There are various places online (and possibly in person, at bigger book stores). I'll let you pick where to get it, but I'll give you IDW's shop page as a starting point for all the vitals --> [CLICKY]

If you have all the issues in single floppies already, it's up to you if you want to run out and grab this (though they do publish my alternate cover to #9 in the back, and I know not all of you managed to snag a copy), and my art is all over the back of it.

Also, I have a couple of copies myself, and would be willing to sell a signed one, perhaps with small Tenth Doctor rough sketch on the inside cover. If you're interested, contact me via email and we can discuss it.

If you've already grabbed it (or the other issues) drop me a comment here and let me know what you thought.

Thanks!

Catching UPdates.

So. Yeah. Been gone for a while. Been working on stuff.

One project is pretty cool, but became a headache due to file errors and internet snags. I'll talk more about that soon (see the column at right for a clue).

The other project was boring, almost for no pay, and frustrating.

But both are pretty much out the door now. So it's time to get back to commissions and this blog.

Gonna skip the Weekend Wayback again this week, and pick it up again next week. I wanted to mention the thing teased at in the graphic above.

On [this] Wednesday, November 17th, I'll be giving a presentation at the Howe Library in Hanover, NH. From the description;

In Blair’s program, he’ll present artwork from his elementary and high school years,along with current published and private commission artwork. He’ll also give a breakdown of the mainstream comic book “assembly line” style of production, from writer, to penciler, to inker, to colorist, to letterer, to editor, and then to press. As the majority of Blair’s work is created via digital means, attendees will get a behind-the-screen look at how the work is created via Wacom tablets and Adobe Photoshop.

Time permitting, there will be a question and answer session, and an opportunity to try out traditional methods of comic book artwork production.

Wednesday, November 17, 1:30-3:30
Ages 10 and up

For more info on the presentation and the Howe Library, follow this link --> [CLICKY]

I don't expect anyone to fly in from across the country to check this out, but if you're local to the Upper Valley, it'll be a fun thing.

So there will be a bunch of blog posting this week, a little Doctor Who follow up stuff, some sketches, and perhaps a live drawing show or two.

Thanks to y'all who have stuck to the blog through this posting dry-spell. It'll be more interesting again, count on it.

Cheers!