Graphite Resistance

Otakon Art

2010-07-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

Original art I'll be putting up for auction at Otakon. Check my Twitter for real-time updates as I scurry about the convention center and engage in shenanigans in the artist alley.

Livestream

2010-07-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

Been pretty active on Livestream the last few days. I'm broadcasting whenever I'm drawing, so come take a watch if you'd like to see how I'd work, and chat it up to help maintain my sanity as I keep pressing on till Otakon.

Earthbound WIP

2010-07-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

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Now playing: Nujabes - Shiki no Uta
via FoxyTunes

Travis Touchdown

2010-07-08T09:04:00.000-07:00

Travis from No More Heroes.

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Now playing: Attack Attack! - Catfish Soup
via FoxyTunes

Drathan Nake

2010-07-07T21:44:00.000-07:00

Drawn to satisfy the girlish whims of a certain Chain.

FeMC

2010-07-07T21:42:00.000-07:00

Female main character from Persona 3 Portable.

Taking requests for stuff to draw as warm-ups.

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Now playing: Shoji Meguro - Changing Seasons
via FoxyTunes

Vash the Stampede

2010-07-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

Today's warmup: Vash the Stampede from Trigun.

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Now playing: The Prodigy - Run With The Wolves
via FoxyTunes

Arson

2010-07-01T13:41:00.001-07:00

How I pictured the protagonist of Estevan Vega's Arson.

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Now playing: Pendulum - Self vs. Self (feat. In Flames)
via FoxyTunes

Toon Link, pt. II

2010-07-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

Link on a bad day.

Toon Link

2010-07-01T13:35:00.000-07:00

"Toon" Link from Wind Waker

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Now playing: Daiki Kasho - Lightning
via FoxyTunes

Haruko

2010-07-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

Haruko from FLCL.

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Now playing: The Pillows - I Think I Can
via FoxyTunes

Robohobo

2010-07-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

A character Zach and I came up with for an Axe Cop guest comic. Ended up not having the time to do it. I like this guy though.

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Now playing: Moby - Alice
via FoxyTunes

Axe Cop

2010-07-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

My current fave webcomic - Axe Cop.
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Now playing: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - The Impression That I Get
via FoxyTunes

John

2010-06-06T16:18:00.001-07:00

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Now playing: Moby - I Love To Move In Here
via FoxyTunes

Steph

2010-06-06T15:18:00.000-07:00

Every summer I tell myself I'm going to practice drawing "real" people. This year, I'm just gonna draw whatever I feel like.

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Now playing: Moby - Ooh Yeah
via FoxyTunes

drawing mood

2010-06-03T08:12:00.001-07:00

I haven't been in a drawing mood since I got back from school mid-May. I'm just gonna have to force myself to warm up and stuff.

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Now playing: Pendulum - Crush
via FoxyTunes

Hoshen #1

2010-04-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

Finished the first issue of Hoshen, working on getting it printed locally. Such a rewarding feeling, holding the first test copy in my hands. It feels so legit.

You can read it online at controlshiftblack.com/hoshen

Two months... countless hours of pushing myself to make this happen. Feels good man. I mean, it's only a tiny, tiny piece of something much bigger, but I've finally finished something.

Can't get over how cool it is to hold a quality print of a story of mine.
You guys that have dreams of getting stuff accomplished, putting stuff out there and telling your story... I can't say it's easy. I can't say it's not hard. I can say that it's possible - you just have to put the time and dedication into it to make it happen.

You don't have to wait on the big guys to allow you to create and publish your work, either. Marvel and DC have no say over what I do with this comic. If you have something that you know is your calling, there is no one that can stop you from creating something with the means that are available to you. You want to write a book? Write it. Borders doesn't want it? Print it yourself and sell it to your friends. Don't stop just because you can't play the big boys' game of commercialized art. Don't be too proud to stoop to self-publishing and missing out on the "fame". It's not as great as it sounds.

John w/ Markers

2010-04-11T17:27:00.001-07:00

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Now playing: Switchfoot - Hello Hurricane
via FoxyTunes

John Aether

2010-04-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

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Now playing: Rabbit Junk - In Your Head No One Can Hear You Scream
via FoxyTunes

The Face Of Love

2010-04-04T10:57:00.001-07:00

Super Mario 128

2010-04-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

Did this for a contest on deviantART - DogmanSP is hosting a project he's calling Super Mario 128, inviting one hundred twenty-eight different artists to contribute, and I was invited - can't wait to see the finished project.

Link

2010-04-03T17:50:00.000-07:00

Samus

2010-04-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

Panera Bread

2010-03-16T14:15:00.001-07:00

Gintama

2010-03-03T18:02:00.000-08:00

Something I did during Katsucon, as per John's suggestion to put something Gintama-related into the auction at the last minute. Didn't get any bids. :( Too obscure? Too crappy? I may never know.

Too lazy to take it out of the mat for scanning. Meh.

Control Shift Black

2010-02-25T15:35:00.000-08:00

The site is up and running. As in, actually has some content now. Check out the portfolio and Hoshen sub-site.

I've switched up my approach to Hoshen over the last few weeks. I talked to a lot of webcomic artists at Katsucon, decided to treat it as a webcomic and release three pages a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 7pm EST. It's going pretty well so far, up to page 4.

Ike

2010-01-27T14:45:00.000-08:00

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Now playing: Malpractice - Dont Hold Me Down (Body & Soul Remix)
via FoxyTunes

Hoshen

2010-01-03T14:17:00.001-08:00

Hoshen has begun.

Er, sort of. I'm still organizing the script and rearranging a bunch of panels. But it is now "in production," starting with Book 1, which focuses on John Aether.

I'm pretty busy over at the Hoshen blog, trying to update daily as I slave away on this thing.

Oh yeah and if I didn't mention it already Hoshen is the new name for that project known as The Twelve. Same story, same characters, same everything, just a new name.

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Now playing: Bossanova - Blue Bossanova
via FoxyTunes

Art Rush Pt. II (Sean Connery)

2009-12-24T13:22:00.000-08:00

Well, the art rush fizzled out pretty bad... I've been working, been hanging out with family... there really just isn't enough time for me to do all the drawings I had hoped to do. I did get some interesting studies in; most of it sucks though, so I doubt I'll end up uploading anything else from it.

Thinking I should change focus to more stylistic things that will be useful for the comic itself... not really sure how I'm gonna do that, though. Realism just doesn't feel like it's going to help me in the short term of starting on the comic.

Starting to feel a bit antsy about the prospect of doing a 50+ page comic in 30 days. Toning is where the real challenge lies... there's so much time and so many dynamics to keep in mind. I'm considering enlisting some outside help on slugging through all that.

And the story is still giving me problems... I only made it to about 50% of the overall plot of the first arc, with tons of gaps between critical events. Maybe I can finish it in time?

Simon Pegg

2009-12-10T21:51:00.001-08:00

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Now playing: Mutemath - The Nerve
via FoxyTunes

VCAR 341 - Graphic Design

2009-12-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

- Design a promotional poster for an event.

- Text layout practice. Lyrics from Wordsmith Legacy by Project 86.

- Design a book cover for a nonexistent novel. Used the theme from the story surrounding hero concept.

- Design a CD cover / insert, front and back. The front image is a fold-out 14x14" poster.

- Create an illustration in the style of an historical art movement. I used Dadaism, inspired by the Blindman archived scans.

Super Mario Bros. 1

2009-11-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

I fancy this will make a nice 8x10" print for cons if I ever get a booth.

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Now playing: Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky
via FoxyTunes

Silver the Hedgehog

2009-11-25T09:16:00.000-08:00

Thinking of turning this into a series, starting with that Shadow one I did in September. Maybe turn it into a screentoned triptych.

John the Baptist

2009-11-14T13:14:00.000-08:00

The Twelve - Movie Poster

2009-11-13T22:49:00.000-08:00

This was so much fun. I probably about 20-25 hours on this. It just feels really rewarding to sink a lot of time into photo-based projects like this. Makes me wonder if I should seek out more work in this kind of field. If you need a poster for an indie film, definitely drop me a line. I'm actually kind of sad that it's finished, I want so badly to keep working on something like it...

This was a very multi-faceted project. I did it for a Visual Communication assignment, a Digital Imaging class where one of the projects was to make a movie poster for a mock sci-fi flick. I took my graphic novel project The Twelve and re-imagined it as a film (which, to be honest, I've already been doing for months, just never this substantially). But I knew that I could make this so much more than just an assignment, so I approached it as a personal project as well, something that I could look to for a tangible reference point as I work on the comic. I really wanted to aim high with this.

The process was pretty straightforward, if not very ambitious for someone with my assets - but it definitely worked out awesomely, as I was able to bump into some awesome people who were happy to contribute. I found a friend of a friend, David Sherret, who lives on the floor below my dorm and was willing to lend us his camera, work it during the photoshoot, and even model as a character. He was also able to borrow his brother Oliver's studio lights, who just happens to be a high-end professional photographer often doing work for Relevant Magazine. So, I had David and Ike Lacey working the lights and camera. Then my classmate Daniel Johnstone called to offer his green screen, which he keeps around for his ministry with Greyvangelism. Couldn't have had more perfect timing.

So legit.

And so, we now had a team of photographers and designers, and a well-equipped studio to work in (the RA's room). Once we had a steady stream of models to work with, the rest worked itself out pretty well, with a considerable amount of labor from Ike and David for which I am eternally grateful.

I considered the piece done when I had enough photos to compose the poster using the faces of the models, but still kept is as a "first draft"...

...since the project was to focus on the science fiction aspect of the movie pitch, I added in materials from stock.xchng to symbolize the elemental powers at work in the story. I had expected them to look horribly cheesy, but I'm pleased with the look of it.

Overall, I'm just so thankful for all the people who volunteered to contribute. I couldn't pay anybody, and yet I lacked nothing in the process of making this piece. It was great to see people take interest in the project, enough to give of their time to help make it happen.

Pat

2009-10-31T17:53:00.001-07:00

KVP

2009-10-26T21:54:00.000-07:00

Shinobi

2009-10-26T20:00:00.001-07:00

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Now playing: Daft Punk - Make Love
via FoxyTunes

Persona 3

2009-10-04T17:47:00.000-07:00

The Joker

2009-10-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

Zero

2009-10-03T13:53:00.000-07:00

Agent J

2009-10-02T17:42:00.000-07:00

Roxas

2009-10-02T17:41:00.000-07:00

Dr. Donez

2009-10-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

Dr. Donez from Neglected Mario Characters.

Konata

2009-09-27T12:54:00.000-07:00

woo, 100 posts!

shadow

2009-09-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

The Scout

2009-09-25T18:37:00.001-07:00

Mae

2009-08-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

doodles

2009-08-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

Zach and I goin' nuts. Check out his new blog here: WHO'S GOIN' FISHIN'

SHARK WEEK

2009-08-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

EVA 01

2009-08-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

hat man

2009-07-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

Business Cards

2009-07-29T09:40:00.001-07:00

Some cards I did for a friend's business.

just how far can you go

2009-07-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

Iku

2009-07-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

Gonna try some Touhou for the next con. Though I need to do less obscure characters... Reimu and Cirno are next.

Otakon 2009

2009-07-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

...has come and gone. I only broke even in the auction (weekend expenses - profits from auction), so I'm a little disappointed with that... at least I can say that I didn't lose anything at all from attending the convention.

I have decided, however, that I absolutely must get a booth next year. Whatever it takes, I need to take it to the next level to avoid stagnating in the con scene.

Been building up a portfolio of my past digital artwork, whipping up some new stuff to add to the collection...

I'm really feeling fired up about this booth thing. Especially because I know what I'm up against... and who I'm teamed up with. I've seen how many good artists there are that I want to buddy up with... and I've seen artists that need to be overshadowed.

Gonna get in the fray and change some lives.

chronicles of otakon

2009-07-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

Business Card

2009-07-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

Mega Man

2009-07-16T13:51:00.001-07:00

Persona

2009-07-16T13:50:00.001-07:00

Princess Tutu

2009-07-14T19:13:00.001-07:00

Shadow of the Colossus

2009-07-14T13:36:00.001-07:00

Kefka

2009-07-13T20:23:00.000-07:00

inb4 "y so srs"

The Jimbo Cave

2009-07-12T15:51:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, time draws short. I must resort to more primitive methods of artistic focus: isolation and meditation.

Found a desk in the loft of the barn at Old Mine Ranch, one of my part-time jobs. Joe said it was cool if I went up there and worked for the rest of the week on Otakon art.

Things are really starting to get tight... At the pace I've been going, I won't be able to finish my 15 planned pieces... which isn't the end of the world, since that's kind of a lot of art to flood the auction with. Still, I figure, why not do it? More art, more money, more exposure. The only reason to not show it is if it's not my best work.

But there lies the problem. In order to get things done in the time I have left (5 days as of this writing), I would have to rush much of the art. This will not do.

So, plan B - I set up a mini-studio in the loft. Surrounded by dust, moths, and animal feces (and a family of chickens, they're pretty cool), I work. No music, either ... I find that I make every movement and thought count when there isn't miscellaneous noise to be processed. Something about the filth and forgotten oblivion of this corner of the ranch helps me focus, so I'm going to take full advantage of it and seize the remaining time I have.

Spent 11pm - 1:30am there last night - got a lot done, but I'm still behind. I need to set aside bigger blocks of time at the loft to see if I can catch up. If not, oh well - but I will continue to push until Friday.

This should be interesting.

L4D pt.II

2009-07-10T19:29:00.000-07:00

new Zelda

2009-06-05T11:48:00.001-07:00

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Now playing: The Showdown - Hephaestus - The Hammer of the Gods
via FoxyTunes

OTHER M

2009-06-02T18:29:00.000-07:00

L4D

2009-05-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

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Now playing: RJD2 - The Horror
via FoxyTunes

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

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Now playing: Demon Hunter - The Soldier's Song
via FoxyTunes

Proteus

2009-05-16T22:47:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Real Fiduciose's gallery... particularly this character here: chemo-front holy crap, this guy is awesome. It'll be years before I approach that kinda caliber.

I saw this character, and thought to myself, "Wow. That's how BAMF I want Proteus to look". I went ahead and sketched up what I had in mind for him... I'll distance it more from this guy's work when I spend more time on it.

I'm not very good at designing outfits and accessories. ;_;

Though I did come up with something interesting for Proteus... that little book he wears on a chain around his neck.

Proverbs 6:21
Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck...

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Now playing: The Showdown - Aries - I Am Vengeance
via FoxyTunes

Aya Shameimaru

2009-05-16T22:08:00.001-07:00

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Now playing: ZUN - U.N. Owen Was Her
via FoxyTunes

Babel

2009-04-23T16:55:00.001-07:00

Done for Digital Illustration class. Used scanned elements + Illustrator.

John

2009-04-07T18:50:00.000-07:00

John

2009-03-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

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Now playing: RED - Fight Inside
via FoxyTunes

Marcus

2009-03-30T19:27:00.000-07:00

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Now playing: RED - Death Of Me
via FoxyTunes

Emmitt Nervend

2009-03-30T19:22:00.000-07:00

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Now playing: Inside Info - Caffiene
via FoxyTunes

YEAH BRO

2009-03-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

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Now playing: DJ Marky & XRS - Infrared Vs Gil Felix - Capoeira (DJ Marky & XRS Remix)
via FoxyTunes

hero concept

2009-03-27T23:33:00.000-07:00

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Now playing: Dieselboy - The More I See You (Urban Flavor Remix)
via FoxyTunes

Yeshua

2009-03-10T23:18:00.001-07:00

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Now playing: Enya - Lothlórien
via FoxyTunes

Mae

2009-03-09T21:35:00.001-07:00

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Now playing: The Faint - Glass Danse (Paul Oakenfold Remix)
via FoxyTunes

Dr. McNinja

2009-02-02T16:24:00.001-08:00

Metal Gear REX

2009-02-01T08:53:00.000-08:00

Time to make some prints for Katsucon.

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Now playing: Concord Dawn - Take It As It Comes
via FoxyTunes

Jimbo's Bizarre Adventure

2009-01-26T08:25:00.001-08:00

Some epic renditions of my bros, inspired by the art of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure...

More fun with markers

2009-01-26T08:15:00.000-08:00

In Which Jimbo Discovers Markers

2009-01-08T11:27:00.000-08:00

The Twelve

2009-01-08T11:25:00.001-08:00

Concept sketches for some guys from a comic series I've been brewing up for a while...

Sepia Sketches

2009-01-08T10:43:00.000-08:00

Experimenting with Prismacolor black and sepia markers.

Drawing I

2008-12-08T22:32:00.000-08:00

Some sketches from my drawing class...

winter

2008-12-06T23:14:00.000-08:00

It snowed pretty hard today. None of it stuck, of course... it just looked really nice. I was still really sore from working out yesterday, so I spent pretty much the whole day in my room watching it fall while listening to Enya. Talk about relaxing.

Batman

2008-11-29T10:54:00.001-08:00

Segata Sanshiro

2008-11-22T10:40:00.000-08:00

Segata Sanshiro is the man.

Blackjack

2008-11-06T15:41:00.000-08:00

Concept character for an idea Megrero and I have been mulling over...

Basically, he's like the Chuck Norris of pirates.

Cave Story

2008-10-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

Control Shift Black

2008-08-28T21:25:00.001-07:00

Temporary studio logo... still not happy with the way it represents the three-word name. I just love the marker effects for the key.

lol, internet

2008-08-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

lulz turtle

2008-08-23T16:24:00.001-07:00

Weegee

2008-08-20T10:14:00.001-07:00

So I Thought

2008-08-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

Based on the song by Flyleaf.

Graphite Comics

2008-08-06T17:25:00.000-07:00

Otakon 2008

2008-07-30T19:21:00.000-07:00