Going to SIGGRAPH ASIA 2010

Leaving for SIGGRAPH ASIA 2010 in Seoul. The conference is actually later, but I'll be doing....other stuff. Pit stop in Thailand!

When I was saying my goodbyes, my ol' manager from the days when I had a legit/sort of job asked me, " Which Korea are you going to?"
and I blithely answered, " The one that will let me come back."

...Now I'm not so sure...ooooh well, WELL FULL SPEED AHEAD.
So I'm leaving with this picture that was actually a birthday card/digital coloring experiment/practice/wave goodbye to America.

"Purging the Inferno" Comic in #12 Rabid Rabbit release Dec 4th at Comic and Graphic Arts Festival

My "Purging the Inferno" comic will be in the 12th issue of Rabid Rabbit, " Rabid Rabbit Goes to Hell" on Dec. 4 at the Brooklyn Comic and Graphic Arts Festival (12-9:00 p.m.)

Support awesome comic artists/illustrators!

Free admission...so DO AS SEEN BELOW :

Also, forgot to post before, but got a nice mention by the Comic Alliance for the Monster Project last month.

Food Party's Thu Tran and Friends (and lovers ;p)

Finished a new piece of Thu Tran and Friends from IFC's Food Party. This piece went by faster than the Supernatural one because it was full of subjects I am familiar with,
like....food, Asian lady, and crazy.

But to still be challenging I wanted to somehow incorporate the Bodhisattva Guanyin and vintage Chinese/Asian advertisements.
Success?... Maybe.
Disturbing...hope so.

Gilman International Scholarship Poster

A friend commissioned me to design a poster for her project promoting the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program.

FIIIIIIILLLLLLLLER/ what I've been meaning to post back in the summer.

I AM ARTING, but it's going really slow.
BUT here is some stuff I've been meaning to post for a while:

1. I had a lot of good times from when I was still working at the MICA store during the summer after recently graduating, like sitting in the display window with a "Recent Graduate" for sale sign or putting up advertisements of ourselves as prom dates for the Pre-college students:
Profiles drawn and written by Tim Yingling:


2. I did this to my mom's cell phone a while ago. She's really religious so I just went with that.


3. This is my dad's computer keyboard. Looks like something I would do to it, but I actually think my dad did this himself....
Clearly....WE ARE RELATED.


So now everyone knows some of the stuff I do when I'm taking a break from arting.

Heads up for those in L.A : Theo Ellsworth's Art show "Visitors" at GR2

I recently heard about this and it makes me sad that I'm so far away on the East Coast that I'm missing out on Theo Ellsworth's show next month.

But anyone lucky enough to be in L.A shouldn't miss it and anyone that knows anyone else in L.A should tell them to get in on it! :) :

MORE INFO AND PICS IN THIS LINK

Theo's work is amazing, and on top of that he's a really nice person. Even though he was probably really busy, he was gracious enough to let me interview him along with illustrator/comic artists Sonny Liew and Jungyeon Roh for a school paper.

Here's his interview for fellow fans/illustrators/comic artists:
Theo Ellsworth’s Interview (april 2010):

Theo Ellsworth is more a part of the indie comic scene with the semi-autobiographical and imaginative short stories compiled into a book called Capacity. I stumbled across Ellsworth’s work when a friend pointed me out to his booth saying “this guy’s work is crazy awesome.” And it was true. Ellsworth is a self –taught artist living in Oregon. He used to also manage the Pony Club Gallery, but now he primarily makes his living from his comics:

(ME) How did you get started with comics, especially since I’ve read that you’ve been self taught? Or art in general? How did you first integrate yourself into the art community? Mainly through conventions/ online? Do you feel like you’ve created a niche for yourself in the comic community?

(THEO) Drawing has been part of my own personal vocabulary since I was a kid. Especially in High school when it really started feeling like a vital outlet and life line for me. It took me awhile to actually start making comics. I was always drawing different characters and making things up about them, but drawing the same character more than once, or getting them to move and speak for me was a big challenge. I still feel like I’m figuring it out. Soon after I finally started making comics, I was exposed to some of the zine/DIY culture and realized I could start making my own publications. I got a table at the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco and was blown away by the kinds of work I saw there. Just by focusing on my work and trying to get it out into the world, I feel like I’ve come in contact with a pretty amazing community. I don’t know if I’ve really created a niche for myself or not. I do feel lucky that I’ve been getting by for awhile now, doing my own thing.

What did you do in school? What did you do after school? How did you support yourself in the beginning of your career? What do you consider to be the turning point of your career/work/life?

I thought about going to school for art, then architecture, but ultimately decided to travel for awhile instead. I wanted to develop my own style and way of thinking about my work and the world. I lived out of my car for quite awhile until a felt I needed a space to work. I went back to my home town and sold my car, using the money to kick-start my comics career. When I ran out of that money (which didn’t take long) I worked all kinds of crappy jobs to make rent, while working as much as I could on comics. Moving from Montana to Portland, OR a few years ago was actually a pretty big turning point because I was actually able to start making my rent by selling art by selling my comics and prints at an outdoor art market. The next huge breakthrough was getting approached by the small press, Secret Acres, who published my first book.

How do you find the time to work on your comics and manage your art gallery and read other comics/keep up with the comic scene? Does everything you do relate to comics? Do you also illustrate on the side? How do you feel about comics as fine art?
___
When I first moved to Portland I took up every art related opportunity that came my way. One of them was starting an art gallery with a fellow cartoonist I’d met. It was a great experience, but I had to let it go after 2 years because it ultimately took too much time away from comics. The gallery still exists and is run by some great people. Trying to make a living on comics alone is a huge challenge, but it’s definitely my goal. I do illustration work sometimes. I teach art workshops once or twice a year. It’s a big mix of things that keeps me afloat. Comics are at the core of it all. Comics are also the most challenging and time consuming, so I’m always fighting to make sure the stuff I do to make my rent doesn’t take over.

How did you come up with the idea for Capacity? Did you have an original plan or was Capacity just a compilation of your work over the years?

Originally I started making the Capacity series as practice. I just wanted to launch into making comics and see what kinds of things I could do. It was basically just a way to explore the medium and try to find my voice.
Your work seems very impulsive, do you still revise/edit? Do you write the script first or draw and write as you go? How do you start composing? Or how do you start in general? What is your process?
I get a lot of ideas when I’m walking. I’ve never really written out a full script. I never do thumb nails. It’s been interesting meeting other cartoonists and learning about all these other methods. I usually picture a scene in my head and start sketching it out right on the page. Sometimes I’ll simply draw a panel without knowing what’s going to happen next. It’s always changing. It always seems to take on a life of its’ own. I have half finished pages everywhere right now, and I’m trying to piece it together now and figure out how it all connects. It usually feels like a pretty subconscious process, and I don’t always quite know what’s really going on.

Your work reminds me of a fusion of folk art, Asian monsters, and ancient Latin American/Mayan art, because it is so distinct is it natural or inspired? What art do you look at? What contemporary artist/comic artists inspire you? What things in life inspire you?

I feel like inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere. I feel a strong connection to a lot of outsider artists like Adolf Wolfli. I also love native art of all kinds. North Western Indian art has really been catching my eye, living in the North West. I love a lot of the old newspaper comic artists like Windsor McCay and Tove Jansson. I love Jack Kirby. There’s plenty or recent work that I find wonderful too. I feel a strong kinship with David B’s work. I read a lot of novels too. I’ve been currently really in to David Michell and Italo Calvino. I’m inspired by nature documentaries. Pretty much everything that interests me gets filtered into my art in some way or another.

What are your plans for your next comic or is it a secret? Are you where you want to be career wise/life? Is there anything you haven’t done that you want to do now?

I’m working on a longer story now. It feels like a leap ahead in many ways and a much bigger challenge too. I’m working more with color and having to work out a lot more about characters and the worlds they exist in. Right now it’s called The Quiet Family. The name might change by the time it sees print. At some point I’d like to do a bit of animation too, but comics will always be my main focus I think.

Project Supernatural

Yes. I did it. SUPERNATURAL fan art.
This took longer than it should have, but it was a nice challenge and experiment.

The goal was to combine this:

WITH THIS:

The idea came from one of my London Sketches (back in March that I forgot to post):

of Crivelli's painting of St. Michael vs. the Devil,
where I also took those awesome knee armor from!

Also I just wanted to do fan art. :P

THE MONSTER PROJECT

My submission for THE MONSTER PROJECT organized by the Comic Alliance and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
The original will be donated to raise money for CBLDF.

It's nice to be used for the force of good :)

Busy Working...meanwhile Commissioned Lelouch Sketch

Working on some stuff...but here's a filler post---
A friend commissioned me to do a sketch of her favorite character Lelouch
from one of her favorite shows Code Geass.

This was an interesting challenge for me because---
A. I don't draw pretty things, so I wasn't sure how to approach this (especially when I saw the reference pictures)
B.Lately I've been only drawing ugly pictures of myself either eating or barfing...which is a hard mode to get out of.
C. I'm getting paid either in Korean beef or future dinner

I think it came out all right. Took 2 days, which I blame netflix for. Once you get an account, your eyes are no longer yours.

SPX WEEKEND

SPX was tiring BUT FUN! It was nice seeing people I know again (especially after moving home) and thanks to people that bought my work!

My side of the table. Look things are propped and organized.....sort of.

The rest of "The Society of the Okay" Annie Wu and Emma Rochon.
Dressed up in V-necks for the gentlemen.

Hard at work. Oh by the way that's the look Annie gives when she catches you secretly taking photos of her. She gives me that look all the time.

Hard at work...on that Mcgriddle!!!


Other SPX 2010 Weekend Highlights:

1. Couples walking by my Castration comic poster. The lady always laughs pointing out the comic to her boyfriend. He shakes his head and smiles, but it's a stiff smile that says, "No. we are not doing that." as he coaxes her away from the table.

2. I temporarily suffer from Facial Blindess at these things. I find that I'm not registering facial details for future interactions when I talk to people because I'm busing trying to pass inherent behaviors, like "awkward" into "possibly-charmingly-eccentric". Either way I feel guilty if I do blow someone off by accident, and then I end up chasing them down to apologize...which might actually be more embarrassing...

3. Selling work. Promoting. Buying stuff/ supporting my favorite/new artists (and staying on a budget whoo!)

4. Interacting with people and artists. For me, it's stressful on both ends (being the artist and reg. Joe), but it's important and good exercise for those social skills I picked up in college.
In relation, Annie and I went up to R. Sikoryak. We showed him Magenta Placenta. I don't remember what I said...but I'm pretty sure it wasn't exceptionally stupid. So success!!!!

5. Signed up to participate in the D.C Counter Culture Festival this October 24th and considering a table at the MOCCA Festival this April 2011.

6. Dinner at Joyce's afterwards.

SPX, QUIMBY BOOKSTORE.....maybe ATOMIC BOOKS?

SPX IS TOMORROW!!!!!!!
also Tales of Tiger Balm is available at Quimby Bookstore for anyone in Chicago.....and possibly at Atomic Books in Baltimore. (gotta check on that)

MAGENTA PLACENTA

Instead of interacting with people at this year's Baltimore Comicon, I decided to hide under our (The Society of the Okay/me, Emma Rochon and Annie Wu) table and catch up on my periodicals.
After reading Cynthia Mitchell's "The After Life of After Birth Notes on Eating Human Placenta"
from my issue of Meatpaper, I looked up and asked Annie if she would eat placenta.
Undistracted from her drawings she replied, "Would you eat a placenta if it were magenta?"

And then I left to get a hamburger from Five Guys.....

...with the idea unconsciously brooding in my mind, waiting to surface the day I decide to procrastinate editing resume and cover letters.

SPX 2010!!!!!!!!

"The Society of the Okay" (Annie Wu, Emma Rochon, and me)
will be sharing a table at this year's SPX.

My "Tales of Tiger Balm" newsprint comics and other stuffs will be FOR SALE!
(sample pages preview here)
The best thing about these newsprint comics is that you can be using them for so many things afterwards: lining pet cages, washing windows, cheap gift wrap...AND you'll sleep well knowing that your money went to my well-being and/or student loans.

Unable to make the trip to Bethesda Sept 11 and 12th?
Comics are also available on my online shop here.
IT WILL BE OK. (as long as you buy my stuff)

Behind the Scenes: Tales of Tiger Balm (comic form)

This comic of my process while making Tales of Tiger Balm will be included with the copies of the comic.

Other News....

So I went to the bank with my sister today holding a fake golden alm bowl and a Hello Kitty piggy bank full of my life's worth in change.
Originally I asked my sister to exchange my coins to cash for me, but she was too embarrased to be seen with the piggy bank.
I find that to be silly because she had no problem standing next to me while I periodically fingered Hello Kitty from behind to get the money rattling out onto the
platform.

Inside of a very quiet, very stoic bank.

$43.03. Score!

Also glass stuffed animal eyes equal 5 cents.

FINISHED TALES OF TIGER BALM!

First page of the recently finished Tales of Tiger Balm.

The process: After inking I do colors studies and then I do each color and the text in separate layers of tracing paper to assemble later digitally. If there were a longer more tedious way to do this, I would probably do it..

I had to go to a chiropractor because of this project and get stretching charts.
I try to remember to get up every hour to stretch, but then 2-3 hours go by...and then it's next week.

I haven't been outside for a long time.

Also, side note to self--am easily startled, so NOT a good idea to watch Supernatural while inking.

Meatpaper 12 Cover and Feature and Boing Boing

My burger prints are the cover of the 12th issue of Meatpaper
Also I ended up having two of my paintings from my Holy Hamburger Series
featured inside because they had a number of stories about cheeseburgers

This actually happened a month ago, but I was sidetracked by the Tiger Balm project, which is the reason why I haven't breathed outdoor air for many days.

Also, thanks to Mary Roach, I was able to have my Castration Comic featured on Boing Boing.

Tales of Tiger Balm Inking

First page inked in the Tales of Tiger Balm progress
Text hand lettered on tracing paper.
I have re-inked the same lines and rewrote the words in this comic over and over, like a crazy person.......or the man that created the Devil's Bible.

Is it weird that despite the neurotic compulsions, that the act of inking may be the happiest moments of my life?
Or sad?
At least it is productive.

BOOB BOMB! (new pagus)

another one hour comic colored. also first posted for pagus.

BANGS!

One of my comic-an-hour comic strips. Ink and color added after the hour. I only lasted for 4 hours, so more comic posts later.

I'm a fan of weird/gag manga, like Shunji Enomoto's Golden Lucky or Gyagu Manga Biyori.

NEW COMICS!!!!! TALES OF TIGER BALM Process

The first page of my new comic story "Tales of Tiger Balm" based off of when I decided to cover the hives on my stomach with tiger balm because I didn't have anything else around the house....

This is the longest story yet.....5 whole pages! But I'll only show the process of the first one because I'm lazy. ALSO I want the others to be a SURPRISE if I ever can get the whole thing done and printed with my other comic work.

BUT here is a picture of other pages:

Funny how my comics now look similar to my paintings now...I tend to approach each page like it's the cover. THE COVER OF THE LAST IMPORTANT THING I WILL EVER ACCOMPLISH IN LIFE! Which is why it is taking a long time.

Illustrophilia Resurrection

Now that school is out I suppose it's time to bring back Illustrophillia,
so for more drawings from Monday night visit the blog!
One of the sketches I liked from Dr. Sketchy's last Monday.

ALL SEEING HAMBURGER!

Close up of the small sculptures I made for my exhibition.

Senior Graduation Exhibition Show and Holy Hamburger Goddess

I guess this month is going to be mostly me posting work I didn't have time to post from the last couple of months. I finally finished the fourth painting in The Holy Hamburger series
I think because I did this painting after my comic stories, the style is slightly different from the other three. I'd like to do about 4 more in the future and then be done for the rest of my life....but we'll see. (for early sketches for this painting go here. And to see image in better detail, go here.)

Here is my exhibition for my senior graduation show. The frames and bowls were spray painted gold because I couldn't get gold looking ones in time. The wall alter was provided by my family and I sculpted and painted the hamburgers with acrylic, clear gesso, and sculpey .

My exhibition process is like my art making process, a series of mistakes and problems I had to either solve or hide. What works better than smoke and mirrors?

Gold and Food.

Part of the gallery space, my mother and my sister.


Also, here was my proposal/plans for my exhibition. It's interesting to see how things change according to what is feasible. Good practice for the future. I wasn't even done with the last painting when I had to plan this!