Goodbye 2014 Hello Infinite Red Panda 12:01 PM

It's been a long year and now it's a step away from being over. I have had a good year, I've been lucky to have no lack of work, exhibited at some fantastic festivals, illustrated some great books, and made some awesome comics and silkscreen books.

I've been fortunate. 

Not everyone has. It's been a rough year for many and tragic one for too many. Let's hope and make 2015 a better year.

Guts & Glory: Civil War is out! (buy it...) 3:50 PM

I've been pushing pencils and brushing ink on the second book in the Little Brown "Guts & Glory: Vikings" series (and already have sketched the cover for the 3rd!) when I found out that "Guts & Glory: Civil War" is available to be purchased. I had a blast drawing this book. It combined more than a few of my favorite things- History, Accuracy, Action! I love illustrating history as exciting/terrifying and as closely to how it actually was that I can... and this book let me do so!

Ben Thompson is a terrific writer to illustrate for. He's understands that history and non-fiction is exciting and is often done an incredible disservice by how it's taught and presented in textbooks. I wish I had more time and couple of extra arms to illustrate every cool or surprising moment that he describes! I've done a lot of American Civil War illustrations and Comics and when this book came up I was wondering if I was burnt out on the subject (A few articles and sites have said I'm Civil War Buff- I am not. History Buff, yes. Civil Rights Buff, yes. Civil War has a lot to do with those) Thompson's text was so much fun and enjoyable without downplaying the severity of war that I was excited to draw the Grey and Blue all over again!

So please purchase it! I promise you will learn more than a few things new about the Civil War!

•The Illustration above is the 1st Louisianan Special Battalion "Wheat's Tigers"
•The Illustration below is of the CSS Hunley- the Confederate Submarine and my favorite thing to have drawn in the book!

The Degenerate Art Fair 2:01 PM

I'll be exhibiting this upcoming weekend at the Degenerate Craft Fair in Manhattan for the first time this year. I"ll be selling my comics, handmade books, and silkscreen prints and textiles. It should be a lot of fun and I look forward to exhibiting.

The particulars are below

THE 6TH ANNUAL DEGENERATE CRAFT FAIR!

The DCTV Firehouse

87 Lafayette Street
Between Walker Street and White Street
6/N/Q/R/J to Canal Street
Opening night reception from 6 pm - 9 pm
Featuring music and free beer!

December 6th: 12 pm - 9 pm

December 7th: 11 am - 6 pm

First 50 guests get a free tote of goodies!

The image above is one of the post-it's a I painted for the Giant Robot Post-it show

Post It Kittens! 1:21 PM

I've been invited to participate in the Giant Robot Post-it Show which is awesome. I finished these three famous, going to hell in a hand basket, rock n' roll Kittens this afternoon inspired from this silkscreen poster I did earlier this year. I wish I could go to the show cause it sounds awesome!

If you're in L.A. please check it out! all post-its are only $25 bucks from the most famous artists to the ones like me!

POST IT SHOW EIGHT
December 8-16, 2012

Over 260 Artists!
Over 2000 Post Its!
$25 each
Cash & Carry


Opening Reception:
Saturday, December 8, 2012
6:00 - 10:00 PM
GR2
2062 Sawtelle Boulevard
Los Angeles CA 90025

Lightening Roy 3:03 PM

I started this comic a while ago but it kind of lost direction and I set it down until I could figure out what was going wrong. I knew I wanted to do a non-fiction comic about Roy Cleveland Sullivan, a guy who was struck by lightening seven times. My first attempt was becoming either too didactic or way more interested in drawing a guy getting struck by lightening over and over and over, which, I'm not gonna lie, was one of my early motivations (he did survive every strike!) I want to take a broader look at this subject this time- figure out all the elements that are at play. Wish me luck. I want to have it out for MoCCA 2015

CAB! 4:53 PM

Ready or not. CAB- Comic Arts Brooklyn is tomorrow and I'll be exhibiting my prints, comics, and other things that I've been making! All that cool stuff pictured above! Come check it out! I'll be at table U39!

The festival FREE! and has so many awesome artists and stuff you'll be doing yourself a diservice if you don't attend let alone you'll be totally be letting me down! :)

November 8th + 9th 2014 
at Mt. Carmel church and additional locations 11 AM to 7 PM 

SVA MFA 30th Anniversary! 9:02 AM

A couple of days ago I attended the alumni opening of SVA MFA Illustration as the Visual Essay 30th anniversary show and to say the least it was both humbling and awesome to see such a display of stunning work covering every aspect of illustration, comics, and things that are created.

Attending and graduating from that program has made me friends for life and I can say with out a doubt that my career as an illustrator and cartoonist would not have been the same.

They also had a case dedicated to my publication- the Rabid Rabbit Comic Anthology!

The public opening will be on the November 11th. Check it out well worth it!

Octopied! 8:50 AM

As Comic Arts Brooklyn approaches once again I fond myself in a mad dash to screen print, draw, make, cry, draw some more, separate, ink, pull, and dry as much as possible. I'll have some awesome new stuff to unleash on the unsuspecting public!

The octopus above will be there in force and so should you!

KITTENS! 11:11 AM

Just finished the line art for my next silkscreen poster. Meet the new rock sensation- “Kittens!” no, not “The Kittens!” just “Kittens!” they’re punk rock like that. I’ll be debuting this limited edition silkscreen poster at this years Comics Art Brooklyn- CAB so come and check it out!

Back from APE now to prepare for CAB! 3:22 PM

Got in from San Francisco yesterday night and still suffering from a bit of jet lag and a lot of fun fatigue. "Fun Fatigue" you might wonder? well- it's cool to visit a city like San Francisco on ones own but it's amazing to do so when one of your traveling companions a local and is determined to get not just easy fun stuff in but the uber-cool  a bit out of the way stuff and all of the best food and dancing that a pack of cartoonists can handle (which surprisingly is a lot) Thank you JEN TONG! made this trip amazing! (Like the view above from Marshall Beach!)

Next up in the roster- CAB!

Silky Screening the KRAKEN! 3:36 PM

Silkscreen MADNESS! or something like that as the March towards APE continues! 3 of the 4 colors are done! Just need to print the back and the cover! This is my second edition of this book- I’ve changed the colors up a bit and added a pattern to the back. This version will debut at APE

APE! San Francisco! 4:24 PM

Print! draw! print! silkscreen! Prep! new stuff! old stuff! pack bags! Get ready! Going to the Alternative Press EXPO! California here I come with my studio mates Jen Tong, Tory Sica, and Kim Sielbeck! Joining us will be our old compadre and studio mate Sung Yoon Choi!

See you there! Above is another sketch of for an upcoming silkscreen poster

SPX bound! 1:13 PM

Once again! Time to load up my wagon with my humble comic book and wares and venture south to the cartooning utopia of Bethesda, Maryland. Ok, maybe not as romantic as that but I'll along with my studiomates Jen Tong and Tory Sica, along with a former studio mate Anuj Shrestha will be exhibiting at the Small Press Expo this year! We'll be there all weekend partaking in all sorts of poor decision making that happens after the festival every year!

Find me at table C2- come check out my stuff! The image above is a sketch for series of silkscreen prints I'm working on

fight!Fight!FIGHT! (the webcomic) 2:31 PM

There probably few who are familiar with my comic "fight!Fight!FIGHT!" Mainly, actually completely because I've only released it as risographed zine that I only sell at festivals. That's changing RIGHT NOW! I'm going to put the entire thing up on tumblr as a webcomic- is it just gnarly ol'scans that I'm putting up? no sir, completely remastered and colored for a medium. I will be putting up a new page everyday (that I'm around the computer) until they run out- and since I've already posted 4 pages to get it running there's about thirty or so days left- Check it here!

http://fightfightfightcmbutzer.tumblr.com/page/4

So RIPExpo! and Lucha to the LIBRE 3:13 PM

RIPExpo was good for it's first year and I'm looking forward to it next year. There's one thing I'd really like to see different- a date change so that the festival happens when RISDI/Brown are in session. I talked to a few locals who were concerned if that were so it'd be overwhelmed with RISDI kids/influence but I don't think a) that'll happen and if it does whether it's a bad thing and b) There are a ton of SVA/Pratt/FIT/whichever NY artschool attending/exhibiting at MoCCA and no one would ever assume those schools are a dominate influence at the fest. That said Providence is a smaller town and RISDI is a big influence there- so maybe they're right, but I think by not having during school session is cutting off an audience who would have really dug the festival. That's two cents right there.

Next up! SPX!

Currently working on new silkscreens and this pile of Luchadors is a study for my next large poster- 100 Lucha Libre-

so RIPE! 8:29 AM

Possibly the worst/best festival name ever. I'll be exhibiting at the Rhode Island Press Expo (RIPE) this weekend along with my studio mate Jen Tong. So if you're in the smallest state swing by and check out some comics and prints and stuffs!

http://ripexpo.tumblr.com/

It came from the BLACK LAGOON 10:01 AM

First, I am no animator- cheers to those with the patience and tenacity to bring drawings to life- I barely can constrain myself to comics let alone 32 plus frames a second!

This is my ode to the Creature from the Black Lagoon- One of my all time favorite monsters! Such an amazing design! I just had to chart its growth cycle. 

Illustrating a new book for Little Brown about VIKINGS! 3:17 PM

Little Brown signed me to illustrate another book! Which is awesome- what's more awesome? It's about VIKINGS. I'm gonna get medieval! Above is the cover in process! 

Viva la Revolución! (sort of) 8:50 AM

If I hit a wall of creative limbo I often find that if I meticulously reorganize and clean my desk, my computer, the flat files, the supply drawer, and sometimes the rest of the studio... I find that everything is much cleaner and that a mouse has been pooping behind everything, particularly the on top of the cable box (I share his sentiment with Time Warner cable)- so yes, I have a sense of accomplishment and am still blocked.

But I found this comic from Rabid Rabbit Numero Uno! ENJOY!

He's pretty FANTASTIC 1:09 PM

I did this as an illustration earlier this year and couldn’t stop thinking it would be a good silkscreen print- here’s the mock-up for the print. I’ll be screening it tomorrow! I've also set it up as T-shirt at Tee-Public. 

On side note. I hate humidity. I really do. 

Girls 8:37 AM

Whoa, Back from the dead! So many deadlines converged to form a super dense black hole that ate my life! But- back and strapping and will be posting in haste! Above is a sketch for a silkscreen print I’m pondering called 100 girls

A Boxing Chicken T-shirt? It's gonna knock you out! 8:40 AM

I've designed another t-shirt for Tee Public. This time it's the very image I ever silk screened. "Boxing Chicken"! You can check it out and buy it right here  Thanks!

A Chainsaw Kitten and other Strangness 10:35 AM

I'm having a small art show at Brouwerij Lane tonight consisting of many of my silkscreen prints and a couple of choice comic pages. The show will be up for a while so if you have a chance to check it out please swing by!

The reception is May 1st 7-10pm
78 Greenpoint Ave, NY 11222

From the deep! 4:20 PM

I was commissioned to do this design for a tattoo. I treated here so it’s more of an illustration. I may take it farther along and create it as silkscreen print 

MoCCA 2014. Done and good fun 12:52 PM

MoCCA was fantastic this year- It was compounded by the fact that my entire studio had bought four tables and made one long line of OddLot studio awesomeness! I sold out of a few specifically the 100 ninjas and 10 cats print that I made specifically for the fest!

Bravo to the Society of Illustrators for reviving a near dead festival!

Full MoCCA Prep GO! 4:24 PM

I’ll be exhibiting at the MoCCA Fest 2014 with new comics! prints! and some textiles! Including an exclusive version of my new print “100 Ninjas & 10 cats) that I made specifically for MoCCA (it’s two post before this)

I’m at Table C-20!

MoCCA 2014! 8:48 AM

It's been a couple of years since I've exhibited at the MoCCA festival and I can happily say that I'm excited to do so this year- That is a significant change from the past in which poor management and ever increasing exhibitor/attendee fees had seen the sink into a rapid decline from it's glory days at the Puck Building. Now that Society of Illustrators is running the show (which I had serious trepidations about- the society had treated comics like the red headed step child in the past) the show is on uprise- even though it's still in the Armory- the society has done some simple but dramatic changes to make the MoCCA Festival so much better!

So, come by! I'll be at Table C-20! Along with my studio mates- Aya Kakeda, Jen Tong, Tory Sica, S.Y. Choi, Kim Sielbeck, and our studio mascot- Anuj Shrestha.

I made this print "100 Ninjas" specifically for MoCCA!

For more info about the festival is found HERE

fight, Fight, FIGHT- webcomic cover 11:58 AM

I'm working out the kinks on putting up my Risographed mini-comic on line in it's entirety for free via tumblr- and like all things that I do I must make it so much more complicated than it should be. That. Withstanding. Here is the cover I've designed for the webcomics in all of it's cartoon violence glory

Storyboarded 2:23 PM

I've just updated the storyboard section on my website- it's been a while and I've done a lot of new boards as of late. In other storyboard related news I was headhunted last year by storyboard and concept art agency and am now happily represented by WayArt. You can check out their site and my profile and gallery right here.

Next up- adding a concept art section since I now have a pile of it hiding on my hard drive.

The frames above were from a Benadryl pitch that never saw the light of day- too bad funny concept

Fantastic! 3:24 PM

Here's my rendition of Roald Dahl'd Fantastic Mr. Fox. I really wanted to steer clear of copying Wes Anderson's animated version. a bit more 60's mad men stylized than british country side. Enjoy!

I've been drawing a lot of foxes as of late- I think with Mr. Fox here, I think I'll draw something else. Here's some of the sketches I've been doing.

A Kindler Gentler Harpy 3:31 PM

My last Harpy was pretty dark and creepy- which is worked well for that drawing but for this one I wanted try something different- take a mythical beast and completely rethink how it's been traditionally illustrated.

So Harpy version 2. I'm considering coloring it if I have time.

I'll be at MoCCA coming up and hope to see you all there

Pinned- a show of contemporary Pin-Up art at Shag, Brooklyn 2:45 PM

I curated a show of awesome pin-up art at Shag, Brooklyn! It's been so crazy that I'm just now posting about it here! The opening went fantastic and the work that my friends and colleagues produced for this show was simply amazing. Here's a list of the amazing artists who are showing Tory Sica, Reuben Negron, Jess Ruliffson, Wendi Koontz, Matt Rota, Brendan Leach, Jess Worby, Jen Tong, Aya Kakeda, Pat Dorian, Kim Sielbeck, & Sungyoon Choi 

NEW YEAR KAIJU! 3:05 PM

Happy New Year. No better way than to start with a monster drawing- Sometimes I think I could just sit around all day and draw monsters. But I think that falls under the category of too much of good thing just might ruin it. So for now, monster drawing is an indulgence of mine that I've yet to get tired of- this is my tribute to Pacific Rim- which I thought was great. Did this in my sketchbook using pen and ink with inkwash.