Glob World interview with ME!!

I recently finished an interview with a UK based webcasters that does interviews and reviews of comics called MOMBcast.  Check out the site here and read the interview here.  I got a chance to tell some stories (which I love telling) about comics, conventions, original art and even threw in a few about the kids.

enjoy
-Drew

missed a few...

 These were two sketches done recently for Illustrious Bits Sketch Blog that I forgot to post here as well.

The first is an unfinished Killer Croc for "Any Batman Villain" week at IBSB.  I plan to finish it at some point in the future, still needing to add a background and some effects.

The second sketch is Catra from She-Ra for the "Any Character from She-Ra" Week at IBSB.  This one came out pretty quick and looks pretty good.  I like it.

I didn't know much about the She-Ra Universe and had to rely on good old fashion google searches and found Catra.  Her original costume was very basic and I found a couple of re-designs other artist had done and really like them and did my own interpretation of the character.

enjoy
-Drew

Sad day...

Just heard the news about the Comic Geek Speak Super Show for 2012 getting cancelled.  What a crappy day.  I hope everything goes well for those guys and that all things work out in the end.  Guess the way this year is going so far... this will NOT be my year.  He he he.

Back to drawing...

-Drew

week 6 - Death at illustrious Bits

Not sure what happened here but I am happy.

I was on a roll... Gambit, knocked it out.  Spider-Woman, done and done, Starfire... had her finished 2 weeks in advance... Death...

nothin'.

Not sure why this drawing took almost 3 full weeks to get done, maybe it was back to back holidays with a birthday thrown in for good measure... maybe.  But here she is.

Not exactly what I had originally planned but I think it came out cooool.

enjoy

-Drew

Week 5 - Starfire at Illustrious Bits

This weeks pick was by me for Starfire.

Originally I was blanking on an idea for this week and Jamie was torn between Spider-Woman and Starfire and I just went with it.

Starfire is a great character who I have drawn a few times before and none were that good so I jumped at the chance to re-draw her.

The effects did not come out like I originally planned but i think it came out well.  Also, usually I do the black and white then add gray wash later but this time I skipped the gray and just kept it b&w.

enjoy and I can't wait to see what everyone else does.

-Drew

Week 4 - Spider-Woman for Illustrious Bits

HA! Fooled you.

I went with the Julia Carpenter version of Spider-Woman for week 4. Why might you as, especailly since the Jessica Drew version is soooo much more popular?

Easy... Black and White, baby.

I loooove the simplicity of the Black and White costume (plus I HATE my coloring latley and chose this version so I did not have to color it... keeping the trend going!).

Anyway, Great pick Jamie!

Spider-Woman © Marvel Comics

Week 3 - Gambit for Illustrious Bits

Leave it to Rich to recommend a "guy" for week 3 and ruin the party, he he he.

This is my Gambit sketch for week 3. This is actually the third sketch I did with the first 2 sucking.

Actually, this one might go up on eBay next week and who ever gets it will see my first attempt on the back, ughh.

enjoy

-Drew

Gambit © Marvel Comics

Week 2 - Zatanna for Illustrious Bits

Zatanna was my choice of sketches for week 2.

I choose Zatanna for two reasons. One, I'm a sucker for a girl in fishnet... and second, I owed a Zatanna sketch to some one and what better way to get it off my list than to make it this weeks subject. Ta-da.

I've drawn Zatanna several times before... sometimes the sketches some out ok... others sucked. This one came out pretty good.

Looking forward to what everyone comes up with...

-Drew

Illustrious Bits.... the banner

Jamie Fay created a GREAT banner for the new site... check it out here... growing by the day.

-Drew

WELCOME TO ILLUSTRIOUS BITS!

Hey Guys, something new for you to check out...

IllustriousBits.com

A NEW sketch blog venture brought to you by the minds of creative geniuses Rich Bernatovech, Jamie Fay and Me.

Starting this week of November 21, 2011 we will begin posting sketches done by all three artist based on a subject that will change every week. The first week subject is… Wonder Woman!

In the next few weeks we will be picking future subjects and opening up membership via invitation to other artist, so we plan to grow…

Come back each week for new sketches and from time to time we will take suggestions from our fans for an up coming weeks subject. Let us know what you think and keep checking back…

More coming soon...

and here's my Wonder Woman pic of the week...

check out GLOB WORLD

check out issue 0 (drawn by me) and issue 1 (I drew the back up story) of GLOB WORLD on Grapic.ly, brought to you by the guys at Action Lab Comics.

Issue 0 is free and great, especially if you have children. Enjoy... more coming soon.

-Drew

The trouble with Licensed properties...

So I got back from the New York Comic Con on Monday (after missing my early flight and ended up spending 4 extra hours in the airport) and I am jazzed about drawing... Only ONE little problem...

I have 2 projects both due about the same time and one is a Licensed property and even though I just penciled a page that made me really happy... I CAN'T SHOW IT TO ANYONE!!!

As soon as I get approval to post ANYTHING... I will and as soon as I can work on something OTher than these two projects... I will.

Starting in November... I am working on a NEW graphic novel for 2012. I still have not decided if it will be HERO or CORNERSTONE but a new book IS coming.

stay tuned... 2012 will ROCK.

-Drew

a few more sketches done at the NYCC

Just a few more sketches from the New York Comic Con 2011.

Warlock from the New Mutants (had a ball with this one)

Star Sapphire Harley Quinn

an original character

Princess Leia and Darth Vader

Tigra (from a really GREAT Avengers sketchbook)

Bullseye killing Elektra (at first I though this one would be really hard but I liked how it turned out)

a few more coming soon...

-Drew

a few sketches done at the NYCC

a few sketches done at the show...

Black Lantern Wolverine

Captain America throwing his shield

The New Batman and Robin (Damian)

another Black Lantern Wolverine

a friendly smiling Walrus

and Blue Lantern Red Robin, Orange Lantern Kid Flash and Red Lantern Superboy.

I've got a few more I will post a little later

enjoy

-Drew

NYCC Black Lantern Harley Quinn

I sold a regular Harley Quinn and then did a Star Sapphire Harley that also sold do I did a Black Lantern Harley Quinn next.

it did not sell so... eBay... eventually.

This one was fun and I'm thinking about doing a series of batman villains (maybe just the girls) as different lanterns... maybe...

-Drew

NYCC Red Lantern Hulk

yet another sketch from the New York Comic Con... Red Lantern Hulk. I liked this one but no one else did, he he so, again it may end up on eBay sooner or later.

-Drew

NYCC HellGirl

One of the few sketched I did while in NY at the New York Comic Con that did not sell and come home with me... HellGirl.

When I was packing for the show I found a really old drawing of HellGirl from 2004. My "style" was soooo different then that I just HAD to re-do it.

Since it did not sell, it may end up on eBay sooner or latter.

-Drew

a little "making of" Red Lantern Punisher

Red Lantern Punisher

Another pre-ordered commission for the New York Comic Con... Red Lantern Punisher.

enjoy

-Drew

a little "making of" Hello Kitty as Wonder Woman

Hello Kitty as Wonder Woman

yet another pre-order for the New York Comic Con.

Hello Kitty as Wonder Woman.

This one and Hello Kitty as Iceman were just too fun to wait on. I jumped up my sketch list to get these two done.

enjoy

-Drew

a little "making of" Hello Kitty as Iceman

Hello Kitty as Iceman

Another quick commission for the New York Comic Con.

Hello Kitty as Iceman.

This one kind of drew itself... and color was a given and made perfect sense.

This and the Hello Kitty Wonder Woman were a BLast!

enjoy

-Drew

and a little "making of" Steve Rogers Super Soldier

Steve Rogers Super Solider for NYCC

This was the first of a few request I received for pre-ordered commissions for the NY Comic Con.

Steve Roger - Super Soldier.

More coming soon

-Drew

another Frekin' Sweer!!

Another colorist liked my sketch of Samanya from Drumfish Productions comic Neverminds and took a crack at coloring it... WOW!

Armand Strange goes by TheRealSurge on Deviant Art, check him out here.

He did a GREAT job on this one and I can't wait to share it with Rich and the Drumfish guys.

Thanks again Armand.

Pre-Order a Commission for the New York Comic Con

Hey all,

If anyone is going tot he New York Comic Con from October 13-16 (a scant few three weeks away) and would like a sketch from little old me... just let me know...

I will be at Artist Alley table C6. Check out the show link at www.newyorkcomiccon.con to see a map of the floor... it's HUGE!!

I will be doing sketches at the show but if you know you will be there and want a sketch, send me a request here through my blog or to my email at misfitcorner@hotmail.com. At the show I will be charging $25 for a Black/White/Gray sketch on 9x12 bristol paper but if you pre-order, it's only $20 (plus, if I have color and feel like adding it, I will. At the show color will be very very limited, and that's just cause I suck at color).

Also, before everyone asks... I don't take money up front. I have my reasons. Just pay me at the show. If you make a request and DON'T pick it up, you can bid for it on eBay after the show where almost all sketched go for higher than my commission rate.

I will be taking requests now through Friday, October 7th. Any requests made AFTER Friday 10/7 can be done at the show but no guarantee they will be done BEFORE the show. If you send a late request, I will work on it but let me know when you will be there so I can make sure it is done by then.

Few rules... single characters preferred but if you NEED more on one page, it can be done but might cost a little more. Ask first.

No explicit sex or nudity (ok, nudity is OK but I reserve the right to veto any request that is just plain wrong... you know the type I'm talking about).

Creator owned characters are also OK but make sure you send/bring reference... I don't do too well with verbal descriptions... I'm a visual kind of guy, he he.

I also reserve the right to veto any "stupid" requests. What I mean by that is ... example

Guy... "can you draw me Captain America?"
Me... "sure."
Guy... "Sitting on a couch smoking a bong with the Red Skull."

That one I actually did but HATED it so I don't usually do them. You can ask, but I reserve the right to say... "NO".

Also, obsuce characters do frighten me... I like challenges but again... remember the references.

thanks again and I hope to see a lot of you at the show
-Drew

oh my Frekin' Sweer...

Rey Arzeno over at Drumfish Productions kind of liked my drawing of Henko... and colored it last night... WOWOWOW.

This is incredible! I've never seen a sketch I did colored this fantastic in such a short amount of time... I posted the pic last night and he had it colored this morning... WOWOW.

Check him out here and if you are going to the NY Comic Con, he's at table G3. Also, check out Rich and Jaime and all the Drumfish goodness at table T12.

wow

-Drew

a little "making of" Neko from Neverminds

HENKO from Neverminds

Another drawing for Rich of one of his characters from his comic Neverminds.... HENKO.

I don't really know a lot about the character but I really liked his look. Most of the pictures I've seen of him have him showing off an animal-based power but he always looks... cute. Well, maybe... handsome. I wanted to twist that a little bit.

I'm not sure if his powers changes his face but I liked the eyes and the cheeks and the mouth. Hope Rich and the boys like it too.

My original sketch had whiskers... and I thought that went toooo far in the wrong direction. ugh

hopefully there is a few more in me before the NEW YORK Comic Con next month...

-Drew

just an old idea reworked...

a while ago, I worked on a T-shirt idea that showcased three of the four main characters from Cornerstone. I then re-did it with all four characters.

Then just the other night, an idea came to me... so I broke the four images into four individual images, added text and then inverted it all (thinking it would look soo much better on an all black shirt).

I don't know, i think they came out cool. Maybe I'm almost there with this idea... maybe.

-Drew

a little "making of" Jacob and Zoe

Jacob and Zoe as Yellow and Red Lanterns

Just catching up on a few commissions before I head feet first into my next project. This one is for Jacob of him and his cat Zoe as a Yellow Lantern and Red Lantern.

I'm running low on colors so I did not go overboard here but I like it none the less.

enjoy
-Drew

a little "making of" Samanya

SAMANYA from Neverminds

Damn, its been a long time since I posted something new here...

Been working on a project for the last month and have not been drawing anything else (when I can post stuff from that project, I will) and now that I've got a few days... I'm going to catch up on some other drawings.

This one was one I did for my friend Rich Bernatovech of his character Samanya from his comic series NEVERMINDS. Check it out here.

More coming soon...

NEW YORK COMIC CON... here we come!

Just submitted my payment for my Artist Alley table (well, half a table... man on a budget, dontcha know) for the New York Comic Con... WHOO HOO!

Now on to the next step... planning and money. Maybe a combination of eBay and good old fashion begging? He he he.

More coming soon
-Drew

New Sketchbook Covers

I am in the process of re-vamping my 4 sketchbooks for an up coming show. The first time I did each sketchbook I used very similar covers and people could not tell they were different. They would pick up one, check it out, put it down and walk on, never realizing there were two or three different books sitting there.

This time, I am making them distinctive. By adding COLOR, yeah! One 2008 and 2009 have been in any type of circulation and 2010 had a very limited print run and 2011 has never been in print so there's a lot of new stuff in this collection.

I'm also working on a smaller size book, not page count mind you... so far, 2008 is 90 pages with over 80 illustrations. 2011 will be closer to 130. The difference I am working on is size. I looooove the 8.5x11 sketchbooks but they are expensive. 6.625x10.25 or comic size is fine but I think for sketchbooks it's boring. I'm going to give the Digest size a try. 5.5x8.5. I just ordered a proof copy of the 2008 sketchbook and I'll see if I like the size.

More soon.
-Drew

Venus DelMachio with text

Venus DelMachio

Venus DelMachio was originally introduced in Volume Two of Cornerstone but with what I am doing next, she will have a bigger part of the story. This is the forth of four images I had racking around in my brain for my new Cornerstone launch next year... more coming soon... I Promise.

enjoy
-Drew

Andi with text

and with text

Andi

My favorite little Witch from Tales from the Cornerstone, Andi.

This is the third of four images.

Last one coming soon.
-Drew

Cortez... with text

Here it is with the text...

Cortez

My favorite Werewolf... Cortez.

The second of four Cornerstone related character spotlights. More coming soon...

-Drew

and, of course, a little "making of" Ricky 17

Ricky 17

Tales From The Cornerstone... coming back in 2012

I recently made a list of all the projects that I will be working on for the rest of this year and in 2012. The first (of many) upcoming projects will be a return to my "creator-owned" series Tales From The Cornerstone.

I'm going to take a whole new different approach to Cornerstone and I'm really looking forward to getting it out there... more coming soon.

This is the first of 4 teaser images I have in my head. This one featuring my main man, Ricky 17.

-enjoy
-Drew

Artist’s Block, not necessarily a mental thing.

Everyone has heard of “Writer’s Block”. Defined as “a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work.” Well, Artists feel it too. A combination of family issues and a disastrous convention outing lead me to one that lasted almost six months last year.

In an attempt to fight the Block, I made a New Year’s Resolution to do a sketch-a-day, also inspired by my friend Rich Bernatovech who did the same thing in 2009 and produced a Great sketchbook from it. For the first four months of the year, I did pretty good. 120 sketches in 120 days. Well, as of today, June 18, 2011 I am officially 40 sketches behind, and I know why. Artist’s Block.

But this time, it’s a little different. This time it is a Physical Block and not a mental one. Let me try to explain.

When I accept a project, whether it’s a paid commission or a simple freebie sketch for a friend, I set a certain expectation for the final product. I imagine the final picture in my head and I tweak it till I know exactly what I want, and then I draw it. Some times this process can take a few minutes, some times a few days. In one case, I imagined a double sized splash page for several months but when I final figured it out in my head, I completed the whole thing in two days. I actually have dozens of personal ideas floating around in my head that have yet to make it to paper, but that is going to change very, very soon (I will write more on that soon).

Because of my process, I work on several projects at one time. I roll ideas over and over in my mind and work on the one that reaches that final step. Usually finishing up a drawing in a day or two.

Today, I realized why I am currently in a new Block. I have several personal issues, family issues, real work issues and such but those are not the cause of the problem. The problem is a sketch. And not an idea for a sketch but an actual physical sketch.

I have this sketch, currently in the pencil stage, that has been sitting on my desk for over a month. This sketch is killing me. I can’t finish it and because I can’t move past it I can’t finish anything else. I have several sketches ready to go but I just can’t get past this one sketch. I’ve realized what I have to do… I have to trash the sketch. I have to rip it up and throw it away. If we still lived in our old house, I would probably start a fire in the fireplace and burn the thing.

I’m not sure what it is about this sketch. I know it’s not the subject matter. When I first got the request I jumped right into it, knowing almost immediately what I wanted to do. I sketched it out right away and then sat on it. I keep looking at the sketch and something about it just isn’t right. And I don’t know exactly what it is. Would the requester be happy with the sketch? I think so, but I’m not happy with it. And that’s why it will NEVER get done and why nothing else will get done.

So today, this is what I am going to do. I am turning around, right now, grabbing the sketch, tearing it into 20 pieces and starting all over again. I’m going to make myself happy with the final product and then (finally) make the requester happy (he’s only been waiting five or six weeks). I am going to physically remove my Artist’s Block.

Time to draw.

Later
-Drew

SUBCULTURE

I did a "Guest Strip" for Kevin Freeman and Stan Yan's webstrip SUBCULTURE. Check it out Here.

a little "making of" Union Jack

UNION JACK

Catching up on several commissions, this being one from last year (with a few more to go). Union Jack.

enjoy
-Drew