ECCC Day 3

It was the last day of the con, I had to wrap things up. Meet a few more people, make some final purchases, and try to time everything accordingly. The whole weekend I had been looking for Ryan Ottley. Ryan is the current artist on "Invincible," and took over after Cory Walker left the project. Seeing as how Invincible is one of my favorite comics, he's definitely one of my favorite artists in the comicbook field. Ryan has a good eye for detail and line quality, both of which go hand in hand to create very cutting edge and dramatic sequences. Also, his 2-page spreads are unlike anything I've ever seen. With every illustrated punch, kick, and explosion- you literally feel it! So yes, he's awesome, and is legitimately a super nice guy. I visit his booth every year to chat, buy a commission, or just browse through his original drawings. Well, unlike past years, he was only present at his table for short times. It made it harder for people to see him, but it was great that it gave him more time to experience the con as an attendee. I managed to catch Ryan as soon as he got to his booth, and asked him to sign some of my new Invincible trades. Chatted for a bit, praised him like I always do, and wished him a good final day at the con. Perhaps next year I'll ask him to do another commission for me :).

While walking about the convention, Lisa spotted our friend Alberto Ruiz. Alberto runs an awesome book publishing company with a very specific purpose: to help give exposure to talented artists who don't have the means or connections to do otherwise. In other words, it's built from kindness and a love for art. Lisa and I met Alberto at ECCC years ago, and we tend to see him at least once a year at one con or another. At CTN 2011, we ran into Alberto, who let us in on what goes on behind the scenes of his company. To put it simple, it's non-profit. And Alberto does a majority of the work himself. Meaning he puts the books together, gets them printed, shipped to storage, sold, and sent out to customers... With his own hands. He said that people often have the impression that he must be raking in the dough with all the books he sells, but really, there isn't a monetary gain. But rather a way of exposure for artists and the opportunity to have a book published showcasing their art. It's a great idea, and a great way to support artists, especially in this kind of industry, which can be very cut-throat. Alberto is also a very talented artist himself, who has a good eye for good art. His style of art consists of exaggeration and abstract shapes that, together, make for great eye candy. It's always fun to talk with him, as he has a wacky sense of humor and is overall a very nice and honest person.

But as I was saying, we ran into Alberto sitting at a booth, which was being shared by two artists who have had their books published by Alberto. He kindly offered Lisa and I to sit in the booth with him, but seeing as it wasn't his booth,  I was unsure about it at first. The guys there (Wade Schin and Andrew Wilson) didn't seem to mind, (though I hope we really weren't too much of a burden..) and actually entertained/humored us with their talking with Alberto. Somehow the conversation went really weird and Andrew began explaining his in-depth knowledge on duck penises.. which in the beginning we were like wha...? but by the end, were like whoa.... that's crazy! Very educational, really. Haha, but penis-talk aside, Alberto caught up with Lisa and I since it had been over a year since we last saw him. He then brought up the drawing I had done for his weekly drawing challenge he does on his facebook page. Although he has been doing it for months now, I have only entered once, and he was wondering why I haven't been contributing more since he thought I did a great job on it! Hearing Alberto say good things about my work was very exciting and flattering. It made me want to push myself harder in improving my skill and taking on more challenging art tasks. So yes, I feel motivated, and I'm going to do my best to enter his competition weekly. Before we said our goodbyes, Lisa and I got to check out all the brand new art books he'll be selling in the coming week. All of which, top notch stuff, and again, very inspiring and motivating for myself to work harder and try and get a book put together by, hopefully, the end of the year.
You can check out all the books Alberto has published through:
http://www.facebook.com/trinquettebooks or http://www.brandstudiopress.com/

Nearing the end of the con, Lisa, myself, and my two co-workers Jacob and Sean, visited their buddy Russel Roehling and his wife Julie, who were sharing a table in artist alley. Russel attended the Art Institute of Seattle, as the rest of us had. In my last years at that school, I recall seeing Russel every now and then, but I never got to know him. He was good friends with Jacob when he was a student there a few years before myself, so Jacob introduced us. Russel has made it big, as he's currently the artist of the comic book series "Wasteland", which I had heard of before through Jacob, but unfortunately have not had the chance to check out yet. After flipping through Russel's original pages, I immediately loved his art. What stood out most to me was his use of contrast, and composition. They're all very beautiful pages, which made me shocked, when I saw that he was selling them at such a low price... but despite this, he wasn't getting too many people interested in buying them. Madness, we all thought! To help support Russel, Jacob, Sean and I each purchased one of his original pages. And to be honest, it's one of the best pieces of comic art I own. I love the establishing shot, as well as the characters, their composition, and the contrast. I'll definitely be checking out Wasteland soon, as I'm eager to see more!

An original page from "Wasteland", drawn by Russel Roehling

As the con ended, I went back to Cory Walker's booth to pick up a commission I had asked him to do on Friday. He was adding the final touches on it and was very apologetic about it not being done sooner. But to be honest, I didn't mind. As an artist, I know how time consuming drawings can get, and I can't even pretend to imagine how hectic drawing at a convention could be, especially when you're constantly meeting and talking to people. But the end result was great. I had asked him to draw Allen the Alien from Invincible, and it had turned out amazing! I honestly couldn't ask for anything better. After thanking Cory one last time, we set out and headed home, ready to crash after a busy, tiring, but exciting weekend!

Allen the Alien from "Invincible", drawn by Cory Walker

Thanks for reading these journal entries. It really is a challenge for me since I don't really have much to say, which is funny because I used to be a frequent livejournal user... But I just don't have the time to talk in length about everything like I used to, and honestly, have lost interest in doing so. But this weekend merited it. More entries like this will come again. Rarely, but surely. But until then, let's get back to posting art. I've spent at least 2-3 hours a night writing these posts (seriously), I need to catch up on everything else. Yikes! Thanks again!

To close, here's some awesome merchandise Lisa and I got!

Star Wars - Jaina Solo, by Kotobukiya

Adventure Time - Fionna and Cake plushies, signed by character designer Natasha Allegri

ECCC Day 1

Wow! It's been a fantastic weekend so far at Emerald City Comicon. I wanted to write about how awesome day 1 was last night, but I got home around 10:00 and pretty much collapsed.. (yeah, I'm old.. on the inside.) But for sure, had an exciting and eventful day. First of all, they've expanded. A LOT. There were more booths to check out, more areas to explore, and a lot more walking room. After attending the Penny Arcade Expo every year, I know how crowded that building can get, and honestly, with the show size as it currently is, I wouldn't want it to get any bigger, show-wise or crowd-wise. Although Saturday was a lot more crowded than Friday, it was still a lot easier to get around than at PAX.

One of our first stops on day 1 was to check out Tyson Hesse's booth. It may have been because we were the first people to see him last year, but he said he remembered my face.. haha! I'm glad I'm memorable in some way! Lisa and I talked with him a bit, and picked up his B9 book, which is full of really awesome work. This guy never ceases to amaze me. If you haven't read Boxer Hockey, start right now!

While at the B9 booth, we stopped by Yuko and Ananth's table and had them sign our Johnny Wander Vol. 2 and 3. Lisa is a big fan of Johnny Wander and has been a long time reader. For the past couple years, she's always said strange things to me, or performed some kind of weird act, which if I asked what she was doing, she'd say it was a Johnny Wander reference. I had read it from time to time, but never gave it the attention it deserved.. It wasn't until not even a month ago that I started reading Vol. 1. It took me a week, as I was reading it off and on while on the bus, but as soon as I finished, I was immediately onto Vol. 2, which I finished in 2 days, then onto Vol. 3, which I finished in a day. I then proceeded to read the rest online! As you can guess, I was hooked. I have to say, that it was quite the treat meeting those two. I feel inclined to draw what exactly happened because what we witnessed was straight out of their comic-selves in Johnny Wander, which has convinced me that not a single thing in Johnny Wander is exaggerated. So yeah, I could tell the story, or I could have a fun drawing to do. You'll have to wait a few days, but if you've read Johnny Wander, you will (hopefully) find it funny.

Another artist I was excited to meet was Cory Walker. Cory, along with Robert Kirkman, created the series "Invincible", which is definitely one of my top favorite ongoing comics right now. Cory is no longer the main artist on Invincible, but it's always fun seeing him pop in every now and then to do an issue. There's something about his art that really draws me in. I tried explaining it to him the best I could, but he was probably confused about what the hell I was talking about! Honestly, it's hard to describe it, but it's a mix of simplicity and softness that he puts in his art that really reads as something welcoming and well refined. Almost caricature-like, and I love it.

The rest of Day 1 consisted of me trying not to spend all my money on various goodies, while trying to make the rounds to see everything. The day ended with Christopher Lloyd's (Back to the Future!) Q&A panel, and the continuation of last years voice actor script reading of Star Wars: A New Hope. Many laughs were had, and it was a great way to end the first day of the con.

To be continued...