Disorderly Conduct Illustrated

...Johnny, I hardly knew ya...

2011-08-24T01:49:00.001-07:00

Or perhaps hardly used you.

I'm referring to this blog, which has been a fun little experiment, but one I've done very little with with. In an effort to consolidate my online activities (and random ramblings) I'm closing this down and moving all future posts to my Google+ profile and my DeviantArt page. You can check those sites if, for some strange reason, you are at all interested in my future activities. I will likely be updating both of them a bit more regularly than I have this poor, neglected blog.

Thanks for reading.

Commissions Closed

2011-03-10T04:48:00.002-07:00

Lots of work, sorry folks.

Commissions Open

2010-12-11T23:24:00.000-07:00

8.25" x 12" Black & white single character or scene - $50
11" x 17" Black & white single character or scene - $75
Colour - add $25
Prices, sizes and details negotiable, payment by PayPal or check.

Daddy's got bills to pay and mouths to feed. If anyone wants a cool piece of art just let me know. I'll take any and all that I can get right now as funds are slim.

A Quick Paint

2010-12-09T14:24:00.000-07:00

Still not a digital painter. A little bit of practice helps tho.

Some Sketchy

2010-11-23T01:50:00.000-07:00

Something Old, Something New

2010-11-17T02:59:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've tried to put one of these guys on paper. Welcome back old friend.

More Practice

2010-11-17T02:31:00.001-07:00

Practice

2010-11-15T03:28:00.001-07:00

Bullseye

2010-02-23T12:15:00.007-07:00

Prints, mugs, postcards, hell, even puzzles from my work are all available for sale here at my Deviant Art Store. I don't make much off these (it all goes to DA), so be sure to buy in bulk.

A Little Bit of the Past

2009-03-27T01:29:00.002-07:00

I thought This might be of interest to some of you who follow my work. This is a flyer from a London games shop where I purchased one of my first sets of Citadel miniatures. I'm pretty sure this was in 1986, the copyright date on the flyer, though the Orc's Nest website (yes, they're still around) says they opened in 1987. Either way, it was awhile ago. This thing has been taped to walls and refrigerators, and eventually stuffed into a old folder where I found it after the recent move. When I was a teenager, my grandparents would make a trip to England every year, and they would always return to the Orc's Nest to pick me up a random collection of GW goodies from the original source.

Here's a link to their webstore. I'm glad to see they're still in business.

Slowly Catching Up

2009-03-25T05:02:00.001-07:00

I haven't been active here in quite a while, but I think it's time to change that. Let's dust off the old blog and make something happen.

More to come.

Total Eclipse

2008-02-20T23:52:00.002-07:00

And on my birthday of all days. There's a total eclipse of the moon tonight, something I'm told won't happen again for several years. I'd like to think that means something, perhaps an omen of some kind, though I'm not sure whether for good or ill. Somehow it's very fitting. It's been one of those odd reflective days. Neither good nor bad, up nor down. One of those days that just can't decide what it wants to be. I feel like there's something that needs to be done, or some decision that needs to be made, or some conclusion that needs to be reached and I just can't figure out what it is.

Funny how that goes. A birthday is a good day to reflect. Clear out the head and try to put everything into perspective. A lot's happened in the past year and I've barely had a chance to stop and think about it. For one thing, I'm drawing for a living. I'm actually drawing for a living. People are giving me money for my little doodles, putting those doodles in books or on television, and selling them to other people. It feels good, but I think there's still a ways to go before I'll feel like I've "made it". I don't know if I'll ever feel like that. There's always more to do.

And so it goes. It's been a good year with Violet and Samantha, and a whole lot of work. And it looks like it's not ready to stop. I've two new projects I'm working now. More on that another time. And a very sincere apology to all the family and old friends who've tried to get in touch or send holiday greetings over the past few months. I've had my nose to the grindstone but I do mean to get back to all of you soon.

And if I can get this post up in the next ten minutes I'll have just made it before the end of my birthday (at least in this time zone).

Take care,

Daniel

Another First...

2007-12-12T22:51:00.000-07:00

My first signing, thanks to the generous folks at Muse Comics & Games. And issue #2 of Blood and Thunder hit stores today.

All The News That's Fit To Print...

2007-12-05T07:12:00.001-07:00

Well, It's going to be a busy month as I'm penciling the final issue of Blood & Thunder trying to finish it off by the 31st. It's been a great series to work on and I hope to do another for Boom! when it's done.

The exciting news of the day is that I've been interviewed by a local newspaper, the Missoula Independent. It's the first time I've been interviewed for anything so it's a bit of a milestone for me. Hopefully it turns out ok. I think I blathered and rambled on a bit more than I should have. I'll post some more info when I have it.

Another milestone is coming up as well. When issue #2 of Blood & Thunder hits stores I'll be doing my very first signing at Muse Comics and Games. The folks at Muse have been great and very supportive of the book. I don't have any details yet but I'll post them when I do.

That's all for now. I'm off to bed.

Grammy DeWick

2007-12-03T05:39:00.000-07:00

Ups and downs, highs and lows. The circle of life goes on I suppose. My Grandmother, Marge DeWick, passed away this weekend. Grammy DeWick (as I will always remember her) played an important and prominent role in my childhood and I will always remember her. She and my late Grandfather helped to make me the person I am today and I will be forever grateful to them.

And Grammy made the best damned Corn Chowder you’ve ever had. It’s funny how the little things like food are so strongly linked to the most powerful memories. Thinking about Grammy’s corn chowder opens up the flood gates for me. There’s a smell that goes with it, a mix of milk, salt, potato and of course corn. I can see the spoon she’d always stirred it with, slightly tarnished, worn and uneven on the tip. I used to love to taste from that spoon. And then I’m in the kitchen in that old New England farmhouse in Maine, with its tall windows, stone sink and hardwood floor. Real hardwood too, not that fake 2mm thick crap that they paste down and call hardwood now. Everything in that house was real, most of it old, a little worn, but very well taken care of, a bit like my grandparents themselves. I spent a lot of time in that house as kid. It had an unmistakable calm and serenity, the like of which I’m never experienced any place else. The time I spent with Grammy and Grampy DeWick was magical. I miss them both. I suppose I could ramble on a bit more but I don’t know what else to say right now. I hope that’s enough.

If you can make it to Bath, Maine (sadly I cannot, though I’ll be there in spirit) there will be visiting hours on Thursday night, December 7th at the David E. Desmond Funeral Home, 638 High Street, Bath, Maine and a funeral the following day, Friday, December 8th. Sadly, I don't know the times of the services buf you follow the link there's a phone number on the funeral home's website.

Blood & Thunder Update

2007-11-04T19:14:00.000-07:00

At long last!

Blood and Thunder #1 is officially in stores and on sale from Boom! Studios. I've finished the line art for issue 2 and am awaiting the script for issue 3. You can find a preview of 11 pages of issue 1 here on Comic Book Resources. You can also see the pencil line art for those pages in my Deviant art gallery. And the book has been reviewed here, here, and here.

Also, the previous Boom! Warhammer 40,000 series, Damnation Crusade, which I made a very small contribution to has been collected in trade paperback and hardback formats.

It's been a wonderful experience working for Boom! and I hope they keep me on for a while longer. I can't say enough good things about my editor, Joe Abraham, who's also a talented artist and penciller on Boom!'s Hero Squared. I think his experience as an artist had made him far more qualified for the job than many editors I've encountered. Issue 2 was a really rough one to get through. It seemed like every time I turned around something else was going wrong. Poor little Violet had a fever which we had to take her to the ER for, and which kept her restless and upset for nearly a week. On top of that my computer died about half way through the issue, leaving me incapable of delivering any artwork to Boom! until it could be replaced. Luckily the paycheck for issue 1 showed up at the same time and I was able to put in a emergency call to Dell. Somehow I got through it, though I know I went a little crazy before the end. I've now had nearly a week to relax since finishing issue 2, which I think I've badly needed. Nonetheless, I feel myself getting antsy and impatient. I'm very eager to get back to work and I hope the new script shows up soon.

That's all for now.

Take care,

Daniel

Beyond the Big Bang

2007-09-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, September 4th on the History Channel, 8pm Eastern

"The universe began with a massive expansion, billions and billions of years ago, and it continues to expand with every passing second. The idea that the universe, and man's very existence, began with a "Big Bang" is no longer a topic of debate among most scientists--it is essentially taken as fact. How has man come to this conclusion, and how has our knowledge evolved so that we can recreate the very first seconds of our universe and all that has developed since? Interviews with theworld's leading physicists and historians are woven together with animated recreations and first-person accounts to explain concepts such as the formation of galaxies, the creation of elements and the formation of Earth itself."

My sideshow paintings of Albert Einstein and the human brain appear in one of the segments. Be sure to tune in if you're in the States. It will probably air a few time in case you miss it.

Thanks,
Daniel

A Small Side Note...

2007-07-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

The best metaphor for the comic book marketplace that I've read in a long time:

"I wonder how much would change if Diamond initiated a first-phase toward making its product returnable? A first step toward growing up and actually being a responsible, professional book distributor? It would take a lot of unnecessary risk off of comics retailers, and it would force Diamond to take ownership of its own place in the grand scheme of things. The current, dying system obviously allows Diamond to possess all the power and virtually none of the risk -- so much so that operating a comic book store with Diamond as your only source of product is clearly a sucker's game -- if not the ethical equivalent of being the black-eyed wife in an abusive marriage, shrieking at the cops "But I LOVE HIM!" as the cops haul him into the back of the squad car once again, certain he'll be back at home with all forgiven within 24 hours. Wednesday's always just around the corner, after all."

Many thanks to Mr. Alan David Doane for putting things so succinctly.

Damnation Crusade #6

2007-07-13T10:21:00.001-07:00

My contibution to the issue was very small (a handful of panel revisions and a few fill-in pages), but my work is in there and the book should be in stores soon. I'll post when the issue is released, but in the meantime you can find more info here and here on the Boom! webpage. Also, a trade collection of the entire series is available for pre-order from Amazon.

Blood & Thunder Day 14

2007-07-10T04:20:00.000-07:00

Or thereabouts. I'm not quite sure how accurate that count is at this point, but it's pretty close.

Layouts have officially been approved, and though I've got just a few character details to sort out, I'm free to move ahead into penciling. There's a small crunch as things are a few days behind schedule, but it should all be fine if I can get up to a good pace. The only delays have been due to the time it takes to get everything to all the right people so the material can be cleared to move ahead. Such is the nature of licensed properties. It means things are probably going to continue at a somewhat frantic pace for the entire project, but so be it. There's really no way around that. The gratifying part was that my layouts were approved without any real requests for changes. I've got a pretty clear vision of how I'm going to move ahead and I'm glad that powers that be trust me enough to let me do so.

OK, that's it for now. I'm going to rule out a few more panel borders and then I'm off to bed. More to come...

Blood & Thunder Day 9

2007-07-06T06:48:00.000-07:00

The saga continues.

It's just about 8am and I can finally go to bed. Layouts are about three quarters of the way done, and should be finished by the end of the day barring any revision work. I'd like to spend some more time on character designs, but otherwise things should be moving to the pencil stage very soon. Everything I've done so far is very "hush hush" so I've unfortunately no art work to post at present.

Oh, and Workaholic got back to me with two more storyboard sequences. It's going to be a while before I can really relax or rest.

More to come...

A Small Reminder...

2007-07-04T04:39:00.000-07:00

...in honor of our current regime of crooks and liars:

“When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

“Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.”

Try to have a happy 4th of July.

Thanks to G. Michael Dobbs for the the above quote.

Blood & Thunder Day 1

2007-06-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

Well, so far so good, though there's not much to report yet. I'm into layouts and character design and having a lot of fun with the material. After Checking with Boom! the word from on high is that I should reveal as little as possible before anything is actually in print. Perfectly understandable of course, but it means I'll have a bit less to put up here than I'd planned. For the mean time I'll be throwing out the occasional warm up-type sketch as seen above. The sketch today isn't anything that's actually going to end up in the comic, just a quick Ork study so I can get a better grasp of the nasty buggers.

More to come...

And so, it begins...

2007-06-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

I’m starting today on a project for Boom! Studios which is going to consume my time and attention for the next four or five months. I’ve signed up to do short monthly series written by Dan Abnett and Ian Edgington, Warhammer 40,000: Blood & Thunder, a story of Orks in the Warhammer 40k universe. I’m planning to use the old blog here to document the process and experience. This means that, hopefully, I’ll be posting a bit more regularly if I have the time. It also means this little blog may finally live up to its name as Orks are very disorderly. I won’t be showing too much of the work here, as it’s intended for publication, but I would like to show some experts and a bit of sketch work as I go. Blood & Thunder #1 should be available for sale sometime in August.

Also, be sure to pick up Warhammer 40,000: Damnation Crusade #6 as I made a small contibution as a last minute fill-in artist.

In other news, I’ve also been doing some storyboard work for a series pitch Workaholic Productions is making to the Discovery Channel. It’s a bit of trying to look at the facts behind oddball science fiction concepts and tabloid newspaper articles (think Weekly World News and such). The story boards so far have been lots of flying saucers and little green men, fun stuff. I’ll try to post some of that here if I’m allowed.

Ok, I need to make some more coffee and start breaking down this first script into layouts. More to come…

Various and Sundry, some random notes in the wee hours of the morning

2007-06-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

Eddie Ching Lives

Honestly, I have no idea what that means, if anything, or who Eddie Ching is. However, EddieChingLives is the online nickname a very talented and funny cartoonist named Ryan Santangelo who’s putting out a humorous slice of life mini-comic with his wife, Renee.

The Stupidity Continues… No.1 is an amusing and honest look at the life of a struggling cartoonist and his wife and son. Check out the preview he’s provided here, and if you like what you see drop him an email (eddiechinglives@gmail.com) and send him 3 bucks and he’ll send you a copy of the book and an original sketch. If you ask nicely he might even throw in a dvd of videos showing how he makes his comics.

Keeping Busy

It’s been awhile since I’ve talked about work, but I’ve managed to keep pretty busy since Violet was born. Shortly before we went into hospital now ten months back, I had started working with a young writer (well, younger than my aging ass at least), Adnan Virk, on an excerpt from a comic book he had written called My Second Life. Obviously I had to put the project aside for several weeks as Samantha and I adjusted to our new status as parents. Eventually I was able to return to work, though I’ll admit the going was rough at first and I definitely learned a lot about the new limitations on my time and energies. Thankfully, Adnan had to patience to let me work through the period of adjustment and I was able to complete the work in a somewhat timely, though very terribly distracted fashion. You can see the results of my efforts here. At present the pages have been lettered and coloured, and Adnan is seeking a publisher interested in the book. I wish him all the best, and if he finds one I’d gladly return to the project if possible.

Einstein’s Brain

Late February of this year I did another project for Workaholic Productions who produced the Sharpshooters documentary that I worked on last year. This time the subject was the Big Bang Theory. A segment of the show was based around the idea of Einstein’s World, a mix of a carnival side show and theme park that focused on Einstein’s theories and scientific breakthroughs. I was contracted to do up two paintings to be used as props onscreen. This was a bit daunting, as I hadn’t painted on canvas in over ten years and I’d have to create two large (I think they were about 3’x4’ or so), camera ready paintings in a very short time. Still, I took the challenge as it sounded like fun, and I had a blast. This was easily some of the most rewarding work I’ve done in awhile, and reminded me how much I enjoy painting on canvas. If I had it to do all over again the only thing I’d change would be to work in oil instead of acrylic. I’d never worked with acrylic and it was a bit frustrating as the paint is so thin and dries so quickly. While I know there are ways to do so, in the short time I had I couldn’t really figure out how to mix and blend the colours on the canvas and build them up in the manner I was used to. Instead I went for a layered colour approach, which is a bit crude but actually fit with the intended look very well. And despite the minor frustrations, I’m very pleased with the results. I don’t have much information on the show besides the fact that it should air on the History Channel sometime in September or August, but I’ll post an update when I have it.

Violet Eve Meets Scott McCloud

2007-05-22T14:49:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture of Violet from the McCloud tour stop at Muse this Saturday.

More photos of the event, courtesy of thewylddream, can be found here.

AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL…

2007-05-21T00:48:00.000-07:00

…this Saturday at Muse Comics & Games in Missoula, MT.

Scott McCloud and clan made their singular Montana appearance for the “Making Comics Fifty State Tour”, and little Violet and I went down to see the show. It was a rewarding day on so many levels.

First, Scott and his family wonderful to meet in person. I, of course, have been a fan of Scott’s work since “Understanding Comics” was a relatively new book. I was in college at the time, writing an undergraduate thesis on comics and how they work. At the time there was very little written about the medium and its storytelling mechanics and language. If not for “Understanding Comics” and Will Eisner’s two books (“Comics & Sequential Art” and “Graphic Storytelling”) I would have had to make most of it up myself. Since then it seems there’s been an explosion of serious academic writing about comics, and serious study devoted to the medium. Most of the small crowd at Muse were University of Montana students writing about, or in, comics in one form or another. There was also Linette Ivanovich, a Missoula Public Library Young Adult Librarian who had helped organize getting Neil Gaiman to come to Montana for a talk the month before. And it looks to me like there’s a rise in programs like the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, VT, all allowing the serious student and artist to really tackle comics academically in a way that was impossible when I was in school now ten years back. I find this both encouraging and exciting, and I think Scott played a big part in getting the ball rolling.

Scott and his little family troupe were very friendly and approachable. The turnout was rather small, perhaps a disappointment, but that just made the event more intimate and friendly. Where else could you spend the better part of two hours talking about comics, fatherhood, and the differences between east and west coast life, or listen, while making a bottle for your baby daughter, to other interested comics academics have similarly diverse conversations with a man who’s changed the face of the comics medium?

Bringing Violet was wonderful as well. Her friendly smile and bright blue/grey eyes just draw people to her, and provide daddy with instant conversation material. (I am, as anyone who knows me can verify, a bit quiet and somewhat conversationally challenged. Having Violet in my arms completely changes that.) The McClouds and the gathered assembly all loved her, and she had several pictures taken. It was very amusing to watch Scott and his wife, Ivy, waving their Doctor Pepper bottles around in front of her as she followed them with her eyes (Violet currently has an obsession with the colour red, and will go out of her way to get her hands on any red thing she sees).

It was also a rewarding day because it was really the first time Violet and I have done anything just the two of us out and about in the world. Little miss was a perfect angel the whole time. She expressed a small bit of fuss when hungry (quickly solved by a bottle) and grew a bit restless as the day wore on. That was easily solved by a quick roll around the parking lot in the stroller.

Many thanks to the staff at Muse Comics & Games for putting on the event, and to Scott McCloud and family for taking the time to make the stop.

Sledding on Christmas Eve

2007-01-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

That's what Samantha and I were doing and we had a blast. Christmas and New Years in Montana were very appropriately cold and white, a welcome change from the brown and balmy California Christmases of recent years. Samantha and I have had a good, though often stressful year. Christmas marked the end of our first year with Violet, from a tiny, yet to be discovered fetus to her current teething, gurgling, often fussy but ultimately charming form.

There she is in all her cuteness and she brightens every day we get to share with her. Really, through all the trials and tribulations, relocating, desperately looking for work while adjusting to a new location, trying to figure out how to work as an artist while learning to care for her, she is the true reward.

This was a little Christmas present I made for Samantha, an attempt to capture a moment from mother and daughter's first night together.

And this was done when Violet was just ten days old on a car ride into town. If you're feeling generous and wish to add to the diaper and formula fund both of these pieces can be purchased as prints.

As I said, it's been a good year, and I'm obviously feeling a bit sentimental this morning. 2007 is also shaping up to be a very good year. I've got some exciting project information to announce and some updates on older projects, but I'll save that for another time.

I'll leave you with a few more shots from our sledding escapades, this time from Christmas Day.

Take care,
Daniel

A Powerful Read

2006-11-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a story about working behind the scenes at a big time comic book publisher. I urge everybody, whether interested in comics or not, to check it out. Start with the oldest post at the bottom of the page. It makes for a powerful, gut wrenching story about personal survival.

Journal 12 - Random Moments of Peace & Clarity

2006-10-15T03:38:00.000-07:00

That’s what my life revolves around now. Like when it’s 4am, the baby’s asleep, Samantha’s asleep, I’ve just put a fresh load of laundry in, and I’m sitting down to do some long overdue character turnarounds and designs. These little moments are magical when I can get them. Stress and worry just slip away and it’s so easy to see what needs to be done.

In other news, this piece here is currently being inked by Diana Greenhalgh for publication by Digital Webbing Press in a future BloodRayne comic book. I’ve also opened up my Deviant Art shop and have just a few items up for sale as prints and mugs. I’ll be adding more as I get the chance.

And I’ve got a few mystery projects in the works, but you’ll just have to wait for more details on those.

Take care,
Daniel

Journal 11

2006-10-03T00:27:00.000-07:00

A Month and a Half

We’ve had little Violet Eve in our lives for a month and a half and we just adore her. We’ve been peed on and pooped on. We’ve had sleepless nights. We’ve had times when we thought she just wouldn’t calm down, or stop crying, or fall asleep. And we wouldn’t trade it for anything. It hasn’t been easy, but I wouldn’t say it’s been hard either. When the little miss needs something, a change, a bottle a burp, or maybe just a dance around the house, it doesn’t matter how tired you are, or how many times you’ve already done it today, or if you even want to do it all. It doesn’t matter, you just do it. And she rewards you for it. She smiles or gurgles, or she looks at you with those deep gray eyes, and you know why you’re doing it. It makes her happy, and that’s all that really matters.

Take care,
Daniel

Journal 10

2006-08-23T05:34:00.000-07:00

She's Finally Here

And a few weeks early to boot. Violet Eve Lapham was born on the 15th of August at 8:40pm. Samantha and I are exhausted.

It was an adventure to be sure. Late Monday night/Tuesday morning Samantha wasn't feeling well, shaking and nauseous, so we took her into the hospital. They couldn't tell us exactly what was going on, but surmised that she'd caught a flu bug or such that was exaggerated since she was pregnant. And it had brought on labor. After a sleepless night and an easy delivery, we had our baby girl in our arms the next evening. Violet was four weeks early and weighed in at a petite but healthy 5 pounds, 12.9 ounces. Little did we know the adventure was only half over.

Since she was early Violet was slow to take to feeding and had some mild jaundice. She spent the rest of the week in the nursery under bili lights, while we moved from hospital room to hospital room, eating cafeteria food and going up to feed her every two to three hours.

By Saturday Violet was starting to breast feed, though Samantha's milk still hadn't come in, and her bilirubin levels were dropping so they finally let us take her home. She seemed to be doing very well. Samantha's milk came in when we got home and little Violet made her feel like a vending machine for the next few days. Unfortunately, her bilirubins have spiked back up since then and we've got her wrapped in a fiber optic bili blanket most of the time. This has the eerie effect of turning her into a glow worm when she sleeps, with strange blue light leaking out of her blanket and bassinet. She had another checkup yesterday, and despite the bilis, she has a perfectly clean and encouraging bill of health in all other regards. We're going back in tomorrow and hopefully her levels will have dropped by then.

It's certainly been a week, a long, tiring, frustrating, happy week. We're both worn out, but we wouldn't trade this for anything.

That's all for now. I've got some exciting new projects starting up as well, but that will have to wait until next week (assuming I can manage work and little miss at the same time, we'll see).

Take care,
Daniel

Journal 09

2006-07-29T23:17:00.000-07:00

Finally.

I’ve been so busy this week I thought I’d never get a new blog post up. It’s been so long I’m not sure where to begin. As you can see, this blog is peppered with shots of my new workspace. It’s been a little funky trying to get settled in here. The space itself is wonderful, but the room gets unbearably hot and stifling when the sun’s up. Luckily I’m fairly nocturnal, but it has made things interesting on days when I’ve tried to get to work earlier. There are a few more photos here if anyone wants to see more.

“Sharp Shooters” has been on the History Channel this week. While my own contribution was very small, it was gratifying and exciting to see my pictures on the TV screen. All of my illustrations had been coloured and animated by the production company and I had no idea what to expect. I have to say I was very impressed by the results. There’s been talk of doing a similar project for the same company, but I have no details yet.

New Projects
Yes, new projects, two of them at the moment. Amazingly enough, the Digital Webbing Talent Search page actually works sometimes (I have to admit I’d just about given up on it). This week I’ve started working MA based writer, Adnan Virk, on a funky little contemporary horror story. I won’t give away too much now, but Adnan’s a talented writer with a very solid script and concept. The project is titled “My Second Life” and I should have some more details on this in the future.

I’m also cooking up a bit of light hearted Lovecraftian horror with my old college friend, Ben Powell. I had an idea for a story, sent it off to Ben, and he, being the uber talented writer that he is, has taken it and run with it. Again, I can’t say too much yet, but both these projects are very exciting, and both creators are a blast to work with. More on both these projects when I have it.

Near as I can tell that’s all the news that’s fit to print at the moment. I’ll leave you with this little shot of yours truly sitting down to work.

Thanks,
Daniel

Journal 08

2006-07-19T02:07:00.000-07:00

A New Space, A Short Post, and A Whole Lot of Work

Well, just a short post for the moment. The studio space is done, and it’s absolutely wonderful. I’d like to put some pictures of it up this week to show it off. Coincidentally, I have the opportunity to take on a number of new projects at the moment. I’ve been busy wrangling them all together and sorting out what my limitations are going to be. It looks like I’m about to be very very busy, but I’m smart enough not to bite off more than I can chew. It's almost baby time and I feel the need to be as active and productive as I possibly can.

Be sure to tune in to “Sharpshooters” on the History Channel this Friday, 8pm Eastern and Pacific. I can’t wait to see it myself.

That’s all for now. Hopefully I’ll get another post up before the end of the week.

Thanks,
Daniel

Journal 07

2006-07-14T02:07:00.000-07:00

This Just In...

"Sharpshooters" on the History Channel July 21st

The "Sharpshooters" documentary that I contributed to will air next week on the History Channel. The show contains several animated sequences which were all drawn by me and then animated by the production company. I've just received this from Luke Ellis, producer for Workaholic:

"We finally have an airdate and it's airing Friday, July 21st at 8:00pm Eastern/Pacific and 7:00pm Central. (If you have Direct TV check your listings.) It was a blast to put together and I hope we can work together again soon."

Here's a bit more about the show, also from Luke:

"Wild Bill Hickok. John Wesley Hardin. Buffalo Bill. Doc Carver. Annie Oakley. Some of these skillful shots used their talents to survive in a hostile and lawless American West. Others honed their abilities on stage to make a living performing for audiences. But it turns out their legends might be the least accurate thing about these shooters. So famous are these historic gunslingers, it's hard to separate the truth from the myth...until now. We stack up some of today's greatest sharpshooters against the legendary feats of the past. Bill Oglesby, Jerry Miculek, and Tom Knapp attempt to recreate famous gun-slinging achievements. We also cast a skeptical eye at many stories culled from newspaper accounts and pulp fiction novels. Along the way, we'll meet some of history's greatest shots. In the process, we might just blow a hole in some of those treasured old legends. So keep your eye on the target, because you won't believe your eyes."

Journal 06

2006-07-11T16:47:00.000-07:00

Tired & Sore

I almost titled this “Stiff & Sore”, but I thought that might be too easily taken out of context. First, happy belated 4th of July. The great experiment that is America continues on, and here’s hoping things only get better from here.

Work continues as my future father in law and I try to set my new studio space. It’s almost done but it hasn’t been easy. The real challenge is that the room available, dubbed the “Sun Room”, was designed like a green house which faces the sun during the afternoons and very long Montana evenings. The room varies between hot, bright, and stifling during the day to very cold at night. High winds have stymied our efforts to cover the room from the outside, and we have yet to find a realistic way to block out the sun from the inside. We’ve got a few more experiments to try and I’m sure we’ll get it sorted soon. It just means I haven’t had much chance to sit down at the drawing table since my last post. The upshot of this is that for the first time in ten years I will have a dedicated, spacious, and well arranged studio area. For me that’s like a luxury suite at the Hilton and I couldn’t be happier. My only frustration comes from the fact that I can’t wait to get into the space and start using it.

At the same time, Samantha and I have started setting up baby furniture for Violet’s imminent arrival. Samantha has done a bang up job organizing the bedroom while her father and I have been working on the sun room. It’s become quite cozy in here, with fuzzy little bits of purple and yellow sneaking into the corners of my vision, and the addition of the changing table and rocking chair. We’re starting the eighth month of pregnancy and we both have been growing more anxious and excited with each day.

Following up the Jim Lee extravaganza from last week, I got a nice little thank you email from Jim a few days ago. He described me as ”..a good, talented egg…” so while I doubt he’ll be throwing work my way anytime soon I think I’d better watch out if he gets snacky. ;)

Also, I’ve added a few more links to the sidebar here. Stephen Bissette’s Myrant, is always a good read, covering comics, film, politics, life, and everything in between. The second link is to Samantha’s sister’s site, Pocket Full Of Posiez, which is chock full of darkly humorous art, characters, and animations.

And that’s it for now.

Thanks,
Daniel

Journal 05

2006-07-03T16:51:00.000-07:00

Well, this has been quite a week. Here (hopefully I've added the picture correctly) is my latest attempt at inking Jim Lee's pencils. This is the third time I've taken on this one and it's been a hell of a lot of fun. I've still got a long way to go to be able to do this well, but I know I'm getting closer with each try. The main thing I think I need is to gain the confidence to stroke instead of pecking and scratching as I'm prone to do now.

(BTW, Jamie, as you requested, I'm sending you this one as a gift for Kael. I'll try to get it in the mail along with that long overdue Cassius piece sometime this week.)

As I mentioned last week, on Friday there was a little charity event for the CBLDF at the local comic book store, Muse Comics & Games. Jim Lee was coming to town to do a signing and auction, and the store had arranged for private screening of "Superman Returns" with Jim and his crew for a small donation to the CBLDF.

I thought that Missoula, Montana was a little off the beaten path and that this wouldn't be that big a deal. I was very wrong. Jim Lee draws a crowd where ever he goes. The signing started at 5pm, and by the time Samantha and I got there at 6 the line was around the block. We didn't actually make it into the store before time ran out and Jim was whisked away to the movie theatre like a rock star. Luckily, Jim was gracious enough to come outside and walk down the line signing two books a piece for anyone that didn't make it inside. When he got to me, I handed him off my little book of samples that I had prepared and let him go on his way. Samantha noticed as he was packing up that while there were several other artists with portfolios there, I was the only one who had given him something to take away with him. This is a very small thing, I know, but I felt like it was a minor victory nonetheless. I'll be sending him a follow up packet in a month with some fresh work. I doubt anything will come of this, but we'll see.

The movie was a lot of fun as well. It's a good, solid piece of entertainment that picks up nicely after the good (ie, not Superman 3 & 4) Superman movies of my childhood. The show was sold out and Jim gave a nice little speach about why we need the CBLDF before it started. The day was definitely a money maker for the CBLDF and I'm glad Samantha and I could add our contributions.

Oh, and this piece here won me a $50 gift certificate in the store's inking contest. Does this mean I can get away with calling myself an award winning inker now? Perhaps not. ;)

Also, a big thanks to the ever generous Stephen R. Bissette, who's taken a little time to promote my blog. Shame on you if you don't know who he is. Hop on over there and educate yourself.

I think that's all the news for now. I'm moving my studio area this week to make room for the baby (the due date draws ever closer). I'm not sure how much time I'll have to work but I'll try to get some new pencils up by next week.

Thanks,
Daniel

Journal 04

2006-06-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

Another week, another blog. I'm beginning to enjoy this.

This week has been both refreshing and hectic, and I feeling an odd mix of relaxed excitement as I write this. At the beginning of the week I regretfully decided that it was time to end a long standing collaboration with my friend, Travis Johnson. Since Speakeasy closed it's doors and our deal with them fell through, we had been attempting to put together a new project to pitch to new publishers. Unfortunately, such an effort doesn't pay the bills and with a daughter on the way I've decided it's best to put this one on the shelf for the time being. On Wednesday I cleaned out the sketchbooks, scrapping the multitude of random doodles and scribbles related to the project, and filing away all the good stuff so we can revisit the project at some point down the road. Clearing out the piles of old work also helped to clear my head, and I feel both refreshed and revitalized as a result.

The rest of my week has been spent gearing for Friday, June 30th, which will be spent watching "Superman Returns" with Jim Lee. Damn, that sounds spicy, doesn't it? The local comic book store (http://www.musecomics.com/) has arranged one hell of a promotion for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Jim Lee will be doing a signing at the store on the day Superman opens, and for a small donation you get to go to the movie with Jim.

I, of course, also see this as an opportunity to get some of my work under Jim's nose. I know there's little to no chance that this will yield more than a few polite comments and pointers, but what the hell. I won't be able to make Comic-Con this year, and I figure my chances of getting a job out of Jim Lee are about the same as they are there. The problem, of course, is that I don't really think I have the right kind of work in my portfolio to really knock his socks off, and knock his socks off I'll have to if I want anything to come of this. So I've thrown my back into it. I've been working day and night all week trying to come up with that certain something that will make Jim go "Wow". And even if he doesn't, I'll have bulked up my portfolio this week with some of the best work I've ever done. Perhaps it won't be enough to win Jim over, but it's certainly going to help down the line.

My first few forays have been inking some of Jim's pencils that have been provided by the store as part of the promotion. Wow. This has given me a whole new level of respect for Jim's drawing ability. Easily the hardest inking I've ever taken on. My first two attempts can be found here and here. I haven't nailed it yet, but I've learned more in the past few days about inking than I had in the past ten years. And I've got a few more on the way. I've also done up this one, from a Top Cow packet they gave out at Comic-Con awhile back. I'm working on some pencil samples as well, I'm post them before the weekend if I get the chance.

Well, that's all the news for now. Back to the drawing board for me.

Thanks,
Daniel

Repost: Deviant Art Journal 03

2006-06-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

06.21.2006

Well, here we go again. Unfortunately, there’s not much to report this week as my time was split between taking care of an injured Samantha and creative negotiations with a collaborator. Samantha has mysteriously splintered one of the bones in her foot, and has been driving herself slightly crazy trying to take things easy. Also, I’d like to say a hearty Happy Belated Fathers’ Day to any dads who may have stumbled across this little journal. This Father’s Day took on a very different significance as my own child will be born soon. To celebrate this, I spent a bit of time going over our copy of “What To Expect When You’re Expecting”, specifically the section on emergency home deliveries. Hopefully it won’t come to that, but we are a good hour from the hospital and it’s best to be prepared. My apologies for such a short post. Hopefully this week will prove to be a bit more interesting.

Thanks,
Daniel

Repost: Deviant Art Journal 02

2006-06-26T16:18:00.000-07:00

06.14.2006

The Week In Review
Well let’s get this thing started, shall we. I’m posting this a little later than I wanted because I’ve already re-written this a few times. I’m still trying to decide what’s the best format to use here, so I may play around a bit for the first few weeks.

Week 1
06.04-10.2006

I guess I’ll start by recapping the week that led up to my decision to start this blog. With a baby on the way I’ve realized that I need to come up with some new approaches to self promotion and turning my career into a more stable source of income. Taking some hints from the 2006 Artists & Graphic Designers Marketplace guide I thinking that blogging about my artistic exploits in a manner similar to Holli Conger (http://www.agirlwhocreates.com/) would be a good start. I’d also like to sit down and hash out a nice business letterhead and some promotional mailers.

In addition to this, I’ve started paying a bit more attention to my fellow Deviant Artists, and I’ve begun to reach and ask for their advice and insight, and possibly a bit of friendly networking. mechangel2002 pointed me towards the various comic book forums such as Digital Webbing (http://www.digitalwebbing.com/) and Penciljack (http://www.penciljack.com/forum/). I’d tried this sort of thing in the past, usually with very disappointing results. At the time the majority of listings had been people who were offering little or no (usually no) pay, or who had no follow through once contacted. I was dubious to go back, but I said what the hell, it certainly couldn’t hurt to look. Much to my surprise, I had three offers for low but decently paid work within one day. I’ve turned one down, as it was just two much of a time commitment for me, but I’ve decided to accept the other two. One is a two month inking stint, the other designing giant robots for a new series. I’ll post more details as I have them.

I’ve also been looking around the galleries here in search of technical inspiration. I’ve been getting an itch to try my hand at digital painting for some time now. Thanks to one of Kyena’s tutorials (http://www.tascha.ch/?page_id=60) I’ve finally figured out how properly blend colour like paint in Photoshop. It may not sound like much, but it’s been a huge leap for me. Hopefully I’ll have some good paintings up in my gallery shortly.

The rest of my week was spent roughing out pages for Acquistions, a comics project with writer, Travis Johnson. You’ll find a few of my initial character sketches in my scraps gallery. I’ll be posting some more previews as the project develops. It looks like it’s going to be both a fun and interesting book. We just need to find a good publisher.

All in all it was a pretty good week, though there were some interesting hiccups along the way. At one point the neighbor’s donkey got loose while they were away, and Samantha, her dad, and myself spent about an hour trying to get him back behind the fence before we finally gave up. I guess it’s true that donkey’s really are as stubborn as they say.

At the moment Samantha’s been a bit under the weather. She’s developed a very mysterious foot pain. At first it seemed like a sprain, though she hadn’t injured herself in any way. We spent Saturday night in the ER getting her checked out, as she was in quite a bit of pain. They couldn’t tell us much, other than that she has a mysterious infection that should clear up with some antibiotics and some rest. That’s been a bit of a problem, as she likes to be pretty active. Luckily, kicking my ass at Mario Party 7 seems to keep her entertained and cheerful while keeping her off her feet.

I guess that’s it for now. I’ll have new post up Sunday or Monday.

Until then, take care,
Daniel

Repost: Deviant Art Journal 01

2006-06-26T16:05:00.000-07:00

06.11.2006

A Bit of Personal History

Well here goes. Blogging, online journals, documentation, self expression, and reaching out to the world electronically, all in an effort to promote myself and my meager career as an illustrator and cartoonist. This is something I’ve wanted to do for awhile now. The problem has been that I’ve always doubted anyone would be interested in my inane little ramblings, that I wouldn’t really have anything to say, and that I wouldn’t be able to stick to it and keep it going. Despite those doubts, I’ve decided that now is the time to give it a shot.

About a year and a half ago I decided that it was finally time to shit or get off the pot. I’d been playing around with my life time goal of being a successful comic illustrator and comic book artist since I graduated from college in 1996, but I just hadn’t achieved any kind of consitant success. There’d been an illustration here, a some pages of comics art there, and just a few pages of published work. All of it was very much under the radar and undisciplined. At this point my biggest claims to fame were that I had graduated from college with highest honors and the glowing approval of legendary cartoonist Stephen R. Bissette (who’s semi-regular and always insightful blog can be found here [link] ) who had very graciously agreed to be one my academic evaluators, I had done a handful of comics shorts for the Games Workshop company, Black Library, and I was the guy who dropped the ball on Deathwatch (a larger Black Library project that I was slotted to pencil and ink, but for various reasons, was only able to produce 14 meager pages before I was taken off the book). In my opinion, not much to show for nine years effort. Oh, and I had managed to go through several inane and low paying day jobs in that time.

So a little over a year and a half ago I decided that it was time to finally get serious and make something happen. A friend, the infinitely generous Chris Hutchings, had hooked me up with my first “real” job in the entertainment industry, working as a designer for the Discovery Channel show, Monster House. That went very well and I had the opportunity to work on two episodes before the show was cancelled. I also went out and picked up a copy of the 2005 Artists & Graphic Designers Marketplace guide. Well, here was a book that I needed. While most of the career guidelines were things that I already knew I should be doing, I hadn’t actually done them yet. Sometimes it takes a sledge hammer to head to get me moving in the right direction and here it was. About that time I discovered Deviant Art and decided to use it as my new online portfolio. I also established a DA print account with every intention of getting some work up and for sale. As you can see, I haven’t really gotten around to that yet, but I’d like to think it’s because I’ve been too busy.

After working on Monster House, I took a job for a friend, Joel Bevacqua, doing storyboard and design work on his movie, Deadly Buda. ([link]) Shortly thereafter I was received an offer from Speakeasy Comics to do a science fiction graphic novel with the very talented Travis Johnson. Speakeasy has since gone out of business, but Travis and I have another project in the works that I’ll keep you posted on here. As Monster House was cancelled, my friend Chris, mentioned earlier, moved on to another production company and brought me on board to draw some pictures the would be animated and included in a History Channel documentary about old west sharpshooters. You’ll find just a smattering of those drawings in my gallery here, and I’ll post some info on when the show will air when I have it.

Oh, perhaps most important, something else very significant happened about a year ago as well. I met a girl and fell in love. Within two weeks of dating Samantha I knew that she was the “one” and I asked her to marry me. She said yes, and we’ve been inseparable ever since. I cannot say enough about how supportive and encouraging she has been or how wonderful it is to have her in my life. We’re expecting out first child this September, a girl to be named Violet Eve, and we’ve moved from Los Angeles to Montana to stay with her family for the duration of the pregnancy.

Currently, I have several projects in the works. My old college room mate, Ben, has me drawing a few ideas for a movie project he’s working on. Travis and I are hard at work making our new book, “Acquisitions”, a reality. I’m also trying to figure out if I can juggle a few offers I’ve received after answering some listings on Digital Webbing ([link]). (Thanks very much to mechangel2002 [link] for pushing me in that direction.) And I’m doing whatever I can to further market myself and get my work out there.

Which brings me, finally, to my point for writing this. Taking a hint from Holli Conger ([link]) and her article in the 2006 Artists & Graphic Designers Marketplace guide, I want to use this journal to document my artistic and self-promotional activities, and to hold myself accountable and make sure that I follow through with my intentions. I also want to use it as way to keep friends, family, and business acquaintances updated on what I’m up to. Perhaps I’ll make a few new friends along the way as well. I’m not sure if what I write here will be at all entertaining, insightful, or interesting. We’ll just have to see what happens. I intend to post something at least once a week, perhaps starting with a simple breakdown of my activities for the past week and moving on from there. Hopefully, I’ll come up with a more interesting format as I gain more experience with this sort of thing. And if anyone has any suggestions or requests, please let me know. I should have another post up later today, detailing the week that has led up to this post, and then another next Sunday or Monday morning.

Until then, take care,
Daniel

An Introduction & Explanation

2006-06-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

Welcome all to the newest incarnation of my online journal started here (http://cronevald.deviantart.com/) a few weeks ago. I’ve decided to move the journal to this site to make it a bit more accessible to friends and family who are not registered with Deviant Art. Unfortunately, you have to be registered with DA in order to comment on any of my posts, which is a bit of a hassle if you just want to leave me a little note. This blog is open to any and all, so just hit “comment” and type away. I will still be maintaining the gallery at Deviant Art, and I’ll be sure to post updates here when I put up new work. For the sake of completeness, my first few entries here will be reposts of my Deviant Art entries. And there will be a new update sometime later today.

The title, by the way, is a bit of fun, a chapter heading from James B. Twitchell’s book, “Preposterous Violence: Fables of Aggression in Modern Culture”, which was my introduction to Fredric Wertham and the Comics Code debacle of the 1950s, and one of the my primary sources when writing my undergraduate thesis so many years ago. That title has always stuck with me, and now I think I’ve found an appropriate home for it. Hopefully Professor Twitchell won’t mind too much.

Thanks,
Daniel