The Quantum Moment Before the Closure 2011

I'll keep this short (which means, by the end, I'll probably have prattled on way too long);

2011… G'bye.

- First and foremost, many thanks to my incredible family and close friends, and especially my amazing wife, Sarah. We had an unexpected child this year, making the majority of the year an odd mix of excitement and dread.

- With that in mind, welcome again, Xander David Shedd.



- Many thanks to the people at Gallifrey One - easily the BEST convention I've been to as far as fun, lack of drama, and a real tight and welcoming community. I look forward to another visit in 2012.

- Many thanks to mtemplar, who's become pretty much my personal patron of the arts. I won't call her my "Number One Fan" cos that sounds cocky, but she's been easily my biggest backer, outside of my family and close friends, when it comes to my creative endeavors. (BTW - got your baby card, you naughty person you. Thank you - and there's a special thank you note coming your way.)

- Many thanks to my comic making brethren for helping me figure things out and giving me pep talks when needed. Special thanks to Andre Szymanowicz and Erik Burnham for responding to some odd emails at a key time. Hell Yeah, I hope they continue to Bust Ghosts with me in the coming year.

- Many thanks to writer/editor Denton Tipton and the IDW crew for bringing me back aboard Doctor Who (my first 11th Doctor story!) under the skillful penning of NuSuperstar Joshua Fialkov. I got to be part of the 2011 Fialkov Crazy Train™. That's awesome. Also thanks to Denton for hooking me up with Dorothy and all of her Oz-going friends (what? Didn't you see my mention on Twitter and Facebook? No? Gonna hafta wait until my next post then…).



- Many thanks to Dark Horse editor Scott Allie for letting me get some artwork into The Guild. Thanks to Sandeep Parikh for being a fan of said art.

- Many thanks to my Twitter followers for the conversations and RTs. Appreciated.



- And INCREDIBLE-HUGE-GINORMOUS thanks to my THE RAPTOR: FPS financial backers. Thanks for helping an indie project get underway. I'm sorry about the delay, but thanks for your understanding, and I still guarantee a kick ass project that you all had a hand in propping up, and many will have a face in… uh… appearing in (that sounded smoother in my head).

- I am SO sorry if I'm leaving some important folks out. I may have already had some Scotch as of this writing, but no dinner.

So many people out there I owe so much to. Thank you.

Early in 2012, look for THE RAPTOR: FPS on sale (physical and digital - as long as I figure out digital) and from IDW Publishing, the DOROTHY OF OZ: PREQUEL mini-series!

I think I'll end this year's last post like I did last year's;

…for some reason I'm reminded of the last line from a game I used to love in high school; Marathon. Specifically, the last chapter, Marathon: Infinity, where this AI, Durandal, having exhausted all methods of escape from the end of the universe, ruminates on the true nature of the protagonist of the game. And as I know with limited time left there are so many people I'm forgetting to thank, consider this odd little quote a THANK YOU to all who have supported me not only this year, but since I had this crazy idea of doing this comic book thing...

"Now, in the quantum moment before the closure, when all become one. One moment left. One point of space and time. I know who you are. You are destiny."

iAR: iSanta

In my not-at-the-Cintiq-drawing-comics time for the past week (waiting rooms, long Skype sessions), I've been working on this.

Another image on my iPad 1 using ArtRage and a Wacom Bamboo Stylus.

The only Photoshop edits are the watermarks.

I'm pleased with this, but there are still things I wish I had done differently. Another learning experience I guess. I don't think I'll ever get "WOW" artwork on this, but I might manage "that's nice" eventually.

Ho, ho, ho.

iAR: Woman Sketch

I have an iPad. An iPad 1, but an iPad nonetheless. I previously (and still) owned an iPod Touch (3rd Gen) and tried drawing on that with nothing but a finger and Sketchbook Pro.

Needless to say, I never posted any of that garbage... anywhere.

I even purchased a couple of styluses for it - those were pretty hit or miss.

I tried again with the iPad, and still the results were far from satisfactory. This time, I went and purchased a Wacom Bamboo iPad Stylus. Better feel, better grip.

Still not great.

I now use ArtRage for iPad, mainly because I enjoy the faux-mediums and texture. This was my one of my more recent attempts to put together a cohesive image. Still not perfect, but we're coming along.

I'd never do professional work on the iPad - seems like too much effort for minimal quality (hey, if YOU can do it, more power to you).

But it's fun to mess around with when sitting, waiting, or during a long drive when you aren't the driver.

And, who is this woman? No reference, no goal when I drew it. It's near Christmas - let's pretend it's the Virgin Mary. I think she'd be a bit darker in complexion anyway (not "white as the driven" as she's usually portrayed).

So there.