Anyone who’s clicking on the links I’m leaving strewn about the place and visiting this site will understandably see a website that has a lot going wrong with it. It’s gonna be like this for the immediate future.

In the meantime, just enjoy as I torture myself working on art.

In the meantime, Another new piece. Had tons of fun working on it.

enjoi.

argo. (mtc)

I’m not gonna bother with apologies since no one really reads this site.

Here’s an older piece while I prepare some new stuff to show off.

enjoy.

crews

(more…)

In light of the past few weeks, I’ve let myself down. Fucking website. Goddamn, I hate my job. As soon as I get home from class, I’m hitting the drawing board, finally finishing that Gambit and Rogue piece and cracking the whip on that goddamn site code. I’ve actually gotten a lot done, it’s just that my hours at work and starting a new class kinda weighed down my dumb ass for a while.

I’ll post a sketch when I get home.

crews.

Think of it this way. Rebuilding a website’s backend and doing a redesign on a template is nothing but brain melting goodness, especially when a problem arises and there’s no goddamn way to find the problem without erasing everything you just did and starting from a fresh starting point.

FUCK.

Here’s an advance screening of a commission:

First I’m gonna work on the roughs and pencils for Sweet Will’s Spider-Man. The colors for this one come next.

argo. (mtc)

Here’s a little peek at a piece I’m working on for a commission.

It’s a Gambit and Rogue piece for a girl who loves Gambit, but hates Rogue. This is a bit of the roughs. After this piece’s final inks are done, I’ll be getting to work on Sweet Will’s Spider-Man.

argo. (mtc)

Not much to talk about, I’m trying to get into the habit of posting at least one sketch a day. This is kinda cheating because this is about three months old, but this is the sketch that convinced a lot of people at HeroesCon to pay for sketches like it, so I figured it’d be worth it to show off.

I’ve been dabbling in the site’s backend between classes and working on art outside of school and work. Things are going tremendously well. I’ve even got two commissions that I’m working on that will see the light of day soon enough.

crews.

I meant to post immediately after the con or yesterday, but the instant I came home, I was thrust straight back into my hectic routine.

Here’s the short version of my HeroesCon 2009 experience:

• The con itself was FUCKING AMAZING
• I made about $200 without having anything official for sale. This was just me selling con sketches.
• I’m totally gonna have a table there next year.
• The guys I went with had an unusual fascination with Granny Goodness over the weekend for some reason
• The advice I got from some of the professionals there was fantastic and I totally plan on taking full advantage of that

But now, it’s on to business!

The site is going to get revamped on the backend. I’m going to lose the CUSP webcomic updating software in favor of Comicpress, and lose Movable Type altogether in favor of WordPress. It’s just an easier utility to maintain and work on.

This may take about a week, but I am working on some other things at the same time.

In the meantime, here’s a sketch I did at the con:

argo. (mtc)

It’s been roughly three months since I last posted on the website. I figure: I’m paying for the motherfucker, might as well utilize it. So here we are… me. And like three of you who still check this site. I wish there were three of you.

Those of you ghosts who do follow my bits and pieces of art and life news will take clever note that my planned 100 Heroes marker sketch deal fell through TRIUMPHANTLY! Jesus, I need to get on goddamn track with disciplining myself for those things. Especially for yet another relaunch of the comic.

Yeah, another relaunch. Two updates last September aren’t going to measure up, especially if I’m trying for a scholarship with an incomplete portfolio when I try to get into SCAD for my major studies this fall. I have a lot of work ahead of me. I’m working on ideas for the comic, it’s format, it’s style. I think if I’m going to be serious about it, I just need to go ahead and post some pages and see what works versus what doesn’t. That’s going to be the make or break on this project of mine.

Meanwhile! I’ve got a con, a real, bona fide comic convention, HeroesCon. I’ve got a table at HeroesCon on June 19-21 up in Charlotte, North Carolina. I don’t have my table number yet, but I’m sure to get it soon, seeing as the con is just a hair over a month away. It’s one of my favorite cons each year and this is my first time attending as an artist.

I wanna have at least 15 new items done by the con gets here, at the very least penciled and inked, but colors would be even better. I’m gonna post them all before I go up to Charlotte. Here’s a quick run-down of whats on deck:
– Wolverine (looking fucked up and pissed, like he’s been thrown through an airplane engine)
– Master Chief (Halo)
– Deadpool (Namely, the real Deadpool, not that fucking joke that was in the Wolverine Origins movie)
– The no/fly/zone trio
– A new version of a Batman/Hellboy thing I’ve got
– Sonic the Hedgehog
– Team pic: Classic Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Wasp, Ant-Man)
– Team pic: JLA (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, Zatanna)
– Team pic: X-Men (Cyclops, Storm… y’know what, you get the idea)
– And a couple others…

I’m thinking I may switch out the of the site from Movable Type to the far easier to maintain WordPress. The issue of course is when I’m going to do this since my track record for getting right on such things is fucking awesome.  

I’ve got lots of work ahead of me, in addition to the massive amount of writing I’ve got on my plate thanks to my summer classes.

Speaking of which, last semester went swimmingly, and I should be done with FCCJ and Jacksonville by the end of the year. God willing, I’ll be transferring to SCAD by next spring and be well on my way to an animation or visual effects bachelor’s degree. I’m not sure yet, but I think I’ll minor in a literature degree as well.

Well, I’ve got homework to do, kids. Don’t worry, I’ll post another blog in well under three months from now. No need to hold your breath.

crews.

So, I’m all moved out of the ABC house and now am residing in the Walker Home for Displaced Back Porch Buddies. I regret losing out on a good thing with living with Zac and Jackie, but I know we’ll remain good friends for a long time. Hell, it’s gotta mean something when they asked me to be the best man at their wedding.

There’s still work to be done in my room as far as space management goes. I’ve gotta do some work involving building bookshelves along the top of the room. The day I put that shit up is gonna suck, I just know it. But afterward, I’ll be happy to have all of my books out and easy to get to. Plus, the bookshelves will give me a great opportunity on space for my figures and statues. I’ve just gotta live like a koi in a goldfish bowl for a while.

I’m also working on building a new light box desktop for my drafting table. Basically, it’ll make the entire surface of the desk into a giant light box. It’s gonna be a little expensive, but totally worth it in the long run. I’m also working on a bunch of stuff that I’m gonna have out for show and sale at MegaCon down in Orlando at the end of February. I can’t fucking wait.

Until next time, kids.

argo. (mtc)

Y’know, if someone had told me that this was how 2008 was going to turn out for me, I’d have fucking freaked out. Since January of this year I have…

• Moved out of my father’s house
• Started back into college
• Had my brother’s dog murdered
• Decided on a major for my BA (Animation/Visual Effects)
• Decided on a major for a Masters and eventually a doctorate

And here’s the thing I’ve always wanted to see and never imagined it’d take place in my lifetime let alone on this very oddball year I’ve had:

• Watch as a car becomes engulfed in flames and cooks itself in the crisp night air

Unfortunately, that last one actually happened to my friend Michele. She and her boyfriend were about to leave when her Elantra wagon wouldn’t start, and then there was an eerie glow and smoke flavored smell coming from her center console. Flames began emanating from out of the console and quickly spread about the cabin. Literally, within minutes, her car was blazing in it’s parking spot in front of her apartment building. Her tires exploded, the interior scorched away, and most of the back half of the car melted away.

Luckily, none of her expensive belongings were in the car and no one was hurt. I just wish I had a better camera on me at the time than the shitty lens on my phone because this fire was fucking sweet.

The best part is that there’s still a few more months to go in the year. Maybe, I’ll bear witness to my store being hit by a fucking comet and watch God wipe its existence from this earth. Maybe, while on my way down to Tampa, a bus full of nuns and orphans will crash into a chicken truck and explode. I admit, I’m a bit of a pyro, and even though it was my friend’s car, and I feel terrible that it was hers and not someone else’s, I need to admit the fact that what I witnessed last night was one f the coolest and scariest things I may never get to see save random chance again.

Sorry, Michele. And I’m looking forward to your new Christmas present from your car insurance company. Just don’t go allowing that one to spontaneously combust and you’ll be just fine.

argo. (mtc)