elementary, watson - it's another pmc thank you

title says it all... (at this rate, i'll have my "thank you sketches" done by the next PMC...d'oh!)

-c

kida!

realized i hadn't posted this one from the baltimore con... my pal robert (on the sage advice of his niece) has got a sketch theme of disney princesses... and one of the more obscure choices he presented me with was from "atlantis" and i couldn't say no! (i've already told him jane from "tarzan" is next - his niece added her to the list since she's with tarzan, king of the jungle, so it's kinda like being a princess, right?)

hope everybody had a swell halloween (and now, back to work!)
-c

first of the pmc sketches

work's crazy busy, so it's another quick one...

finally getting a chance to get to the "thank you" sketches for the PMC donations (i haven't forgotten, honest!)...

-c

invincible iron man!

so, since the book is coming out next week (check the amazon link), i figure it's safe to talk about what's been keeping me soooo busy these last few months... marvel storybooks for disney press!

disney press has gotten into the marvel superhero storybook business with its very own "marvel press" imprint... the first book i worked on was the 48 page hardcover "the invincible iron man: an origin story" written by rich thomas with art by me and hi-fi design. all the artwork i've done has been pencil art, digitally painted by the fine folks at hi-fi design... mighty fun stuff i'm glad to be a part of (and it's stuff i know i can share with my kids and their classmates and friends)...

i'm sure i'll have more to post soon... but in the meantime, here's iron man!

if you're at the NY comic con next week, i'll be at the disney press panel sunday at noon (and signing at the booth later on sunday)... stop by and say "hey!")

doom!

another baltimore commission...
-c

real quick batman beyond sketch

busy working away on stuff i can't show yet, so... here's a quick sketch for a charity auction (always fun revisiting batman beyond in MY style and donate to a good cause... and probably the only way i'll get to draw a dc character anytime soon) 

-c

pmc print... in hellasweet color!

so, my new pal lawrence basso really knocked it outta at the park on this one (you might remember his sweet colors on my avengers 1 homage and the promo stuff i've done for kyrra with rich woodall)...

everyone who made a generous donation of $25 or more to my PMC ride will be getting this one in the mail (along with sketches for folks who made even more generous donations... i'm still getting in touch... haven't forgotten, just swamped with work)...

speaking of work, plugging away on the haps motion comic and the next arc, due out starting in january 2012...!

-c

baltimore in the rear view... next up, detroit!

had another GREAT show in baltimore last weekend (as always, BIG thanks to mark, brad and the rest of the crew!) this 2 day show seems to roll by SOOOO quickly, and this year with family (and in-laws) in tow, it seemed even quicker (well, not the 8+ hour drive, but...)

todd and i sold out of the 'haps trades we brought and put a BIG dent into the new shipment of tees (soon to be available at the haps webstore) ... didn't get to see much (or many folks) with my head down as i sketched all weekend... waiting for a few scans of the color pieces, but in the meantime, here's one of the pre-show pickups!

getting back on track with work and whatnot (wooohoo, the boy starts SECOND GRADE next week!), re-watching "sons of anarchy" and listening to the new fountains of wayne and they might be giants over and over...

i'll post later this week with the suh-weet lawrence basso colored version of the pmc print (and getting in touch with generous donors as well)...

-c

quidditch!

first off, the PMC was a great day and a great ride and i'm thankful for all the support of family, friends and everyone else... managed to raise a good chunk of money directly for the dana farber jimmy fund to help find a cure for cancer, so THANK YOU! if you made a donation and i haven't gotten in touch yet, expect an email in the next week or so about a sketch request... (got a few more than i hoped, so it'll take a while to get through on top of work!)

the baltimore comic con is JUST around the corner this weekend... one of my absolute favorite shows and i can't wait to head down and spend with fans, family, and friends... one friend who's been waiting SO patiently for a drawing in trade is none other than david (mouse guard) petersen... after giving me not ONE, but TWO sweet harry potter themes sketches (and by sketches, i mean beautiful illustrations), i promised david a quidditch drawing... years ago. figured i HAD to get it done before seeing him and julia this weekend so... (granted, this is just the line art - i'm also gonna do a finished canson paper piece to go with it...)

back to work (got a few commissions to finish before heading down south... and plenty of "real" work on my plate)!

see you in baltimore,

-c

pmc donation print all inked up!

well, been mighty busy since my last post 3 weeks ago... wrapped up the "jim henson's storyteller" story with ron marz, working on the haps motion comic, and got around to inking this piece... (which, if you read my last blog post, you'll know is going to be all colored up and given as a thank you for folks who donate $25 or more to my PMC ride.... love to post more, but i gotta get out for a training bike ride!


http://www.pmc.org/profile/CR0137

pan mass challenge 2011

this august 6th, i'll be riding my bike with trish* (along with thousands of others) in the pan mass challenge, 84 miles from wellesley, ma to bourne, ma... this 2 day bike-a-thon event raises more money for charity than any other in the country, 100% of which goes to the jimmy fund and dana farber cancer institute.

simply put, cancer sucks.... and i'm hoping you can help me raise money to fight it.

since i don't work in an office or have a "real" job with fellow employees, i'm asking YOU to help me raise that money and make a donation...

but one of the perks of MY job is the stuff i make... and i figure, if you can help me out, i'd like to return the favor...
-every donation made gets you a free, signed comic.
-any donation over $25 gets you an EXCLUSIVE free choopie print (still in the works, but that's the pre-lim above)
-any donation of $50, i throw in a free headsketch (your choice)
-any donation of $100 or more, a free full figure b/w sketch (your choice)...
-and $150 or more gets you the free sketch AND a page from a recent marvel project (my pick)

anything higher than that, we'll talk ... and here's the link to my rider profile page:


http://www.pmc.org/profile/CR0137

here's hoping you can help me out and raise some money for a great cause.

-c

fleischer superman!

so, a quick one with a recent commission - my take on the classic fleischer cartoon superman.

alright, off with the kids to catch "cars 2" (with any luck, it'll be better than "green lantern")...

-c

shield throwin' fun!

cap commission... 'nuff said.
-c

assembled... and now in color!

year in, year out, heroescon in charlotte is my favorite comic convention (with baltimore edging ever so close... if only it were three days )... had a great show, met and talked with plenty of friends and colleagues, old and new (you ALL know who you are)...

didn't get a chance to have a copy in color for the show or auction, but lawrence basso (who's gonna be doing the "kyrra" project down the road) knocked this one out of the park...

speaking of projects, hoping to get the ball rolling on "kyrra" soon, but still have plenty of 'haps in the pipeline (finishing up the next arc, getting the (first?) motion comic underway) as well as the "jim henson's storyteller "story to wrap up (but i did manage to get through the last big gig, which, with any luck, will lead to more down the road)...

-c

with apologies to jack and dick...

here's my piece for the heroescon auction this weekend (man, i can't say enough good things about this show! shelton drum really puts on a show that all other shows aspire to...)

-c

quick one for heroes!

doubling as my jetpack comics sketch night drawing, here's a commission to be picked up at heroescon... NEXT WEEK?! wow, that came up quick! (if any other folks are interested in lining up a commission, drop me a line)

sent the finished art for the haps convention print over to mike for him to work his magic...

REALLY looking forward to seeing old friends and new in charlotte next week... with any luck (and little sleep), i'll hit my deadline on the current gig before jumping on the plane (and get right into my story for "jim henson's storyteller" - as well as the next issue of haps)  

-c (feeling pretty good after getting out for an 18 mile bike ride this afternoon - better get cracking if i'm riding the PMC in a few months...)

rocket, i'm takin' a rocket!

my drawing i did for jetpack comics' sketch night... tonight's theme, dave stevens' "rocketeer" in honor of the new "rocketeer adventures" series from idw.

(like the batman piece from a few weeks back and a few others, this one's for sale here)

-c

batman beyond

just another canson piece i finished up after having the prelim lying around for YEARS... (this, and a few other sketches are for sale over here - every now and then, i'll be posting a few odds and ends for sale)

let's see... work's moving along nicely, besides the main (paying) gig i'm doing right now, i'm also 2 pages from finishing my story in issue 2 of the next perhapanauts arc, jumping on issue 3 AND the motion comic next week...

the tv season is wrapping up strong (great finales from "fringe", "community"and "justified") which is good, i've got plenty to catch up on...  not to mention all the audio books to listen to!

-c

kyra, alien jungle girl!

okay, so after coming up with the character for the emerald city comic con art book this past winter, here's a new project i'm putting together with my pal rich woodall co-plotting/scripting and lawrence basso on colors... not sure when in 2012, exactly - or what format yet - but the wheels are in motion... (rest assured, the haps will be back in a big way later in 2011 as well)

-c

had a GREAT weekend at the boston comic con with todd out for a visit as well - even managed to go catch "super" at the cable care in providence ... the show just keeps getting better.

he who must not be named...

so, i've had this pre-lim sketched out since i started doing my harry potter character sketches... and with the dvd of "harry potter and the deathly hallows part 1" sitting next to my board i figured it was finally time to get to it...

besides that, working hard on my current project as well as more perhapanauts and commissions... and a  few pre-orders for the BOSTON COMIC CON coming up in less that 24 hours! stop by if you're in the neighborhood - todd and i will have plenty of swag to peddle...

-c

back to beyond

another commission, tried using heavy black for a change... always fun drawing terry again.

-c

convention noodling...

just found this in my portfolio from the emerald city comic con... after finishing up my sketch list, starting doodling and ended up with this... (figured it's appropriate for today's post, after getting the absolutely BEAUTIFUL - and massive -  walt simonson THOR omnibus yesterday)

not much to report, work-wise - busy working on the current project (not sure when it's scheduled to be out - or when i can discuss it) as well as the 'haps (diving into the second issue of the next arc - as well as getting the boston comic con print ready)

speaking of boston comic con (yay!), todd and i will be there, selling all sorts of 'haps swag, so come on by! i'll also try to get a few sketches done before the show so if you're interesting in arranging a commission for boston, drop me a line...

-c

(gotta go, JUSTIFIED is on in a few)

hero initiative!

getting ready for megacon in a few short days (eep! going to do taxes later today... wheeee!)

so, here's the 2 cover sketches i've done for the hero initiative so far ... (tough thing about sketch covers is there's not much room for making mistakes... oh, well)... i was happy to donate my time to such a great cause.

-c

arrrrgh, pirate supergirl!

another megacon sketch...
-c

another megacon commission...

seem to be on a roll with all the projects i've got juggling so far (he says, hoping not to drop any of said jobs)... and even had time for another pre-show commission...

-c (heading out tonight to catch "paul" on the big screen)

megacon is coming up quick...!

while i won't get out to the c2e2 show this weekend in chicago (maybe next year), i will be getting ready to head down to florida the following weekend for megacon... it's been more than a few years since i did the show for the first time (pre-kids!) and really looking forward to heading back... even with my full slate of work, i have managed to get a few of the show commission requests out of the way - like this tigra -  and hope to get a few more done before i leave (if you're going and interested in getting a sketch, drop me a line... not sure if i'll bother packing all the colored pencils and paper at this point)

seems like i end up hauling portfolios of original art through airports, back and forth to the hotel and to the shows... and only sell a page or 2... so, i've decided to leave'm at home this year and just tell folks to surf over to comic art house ... (unless there's something specific you want and you drop me a line beforehand)

okay, back to the drawing board.

-c

(tv talk - just CAN'T get enough of "justified" this season... and the original "being human" on bbc america has been great so far)

the times are a changin...

so, my last issue of captain america and the korvac saga just came out last week... and i'd say that's the last semi regular comics work you'll see from me on the stands for a bit... which isn't to say i'm not CRAZY busy!

besides getting ahead on the next arc of the 'haps (we want to have most in the can before soliciting for a fall 2011 start... issue 2 is underway and i've been designing away for characters who'll show up in stories by other folks and eventually in my main story) and the convention prints  - all 4 now available from the web store (we plan on new ones for boston comic con in april/may and heroescon in june), we're gearing up for an exciting new 'haps project, the perhapanauts motion comic from motionworks.

and on the non 'haps front, i'm mighty swamped with a pretty fun job for the next few months at least (which i'm not allowed to mention yet)...

had a great time in seattle at emerald city comic con - check out todd's blog for some pics! and here's a few sketches i did... (need to get a portable scanner for stuff like this)...

lots to do (crazy how quickly time's flying... gotta get ready for megacon next week!)

-c

miss marvel sketch card

 well, i don't do much color marker work these days, but here's a miss marvel sketch card commission...
-c

cleaning up the imac...THOR!

... and found this scan of a quick sketch i did a while back for a possible "marvel adventures" type THOR book. being a HUGE fan of the simonson run all those years ago (and various runs since), i was really bummed that it never got any further than this one sketch as other things came down the pipeline (would've been a fun gig with a crazy talented writer friend i dig lots, too - nope, not todd)... 

but i can't complain TOO much, since i ended up doing IRON MAN: THE ARMOR WARS (and then HER-OES and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE KORVAC SAGA)... AND i got to read (and LOVE) the series that did end up coming out  - THOR: THE MIGHTY AVENGER .

who knows, maybe someday i'll get my chance.

-c

oh, that ron stoppable!

so, here's a series of LONG overdue commissions featuring kim possible and her faithful sidekick (and boyfriend, as the show went on), ron stoppable...

after a 24 hour bug knocked me for a loop yesterday, back at the drawing board working on the perhapanauts!

-c

(woohoo, new justified tonight!)

brave and the bold

so, another year, another commission for an old friend's now teenage daughter (who's a big comic fan)... last year was supergirl/wonder woman, this year's choice was batman /flash... hmmm, who knows what next year's will be?

besides this commsion, i managed to get through all 3 b/w kim possible pieces this weekend, too... AND enjoy several get togethers with friends (mid morning coffee with our very own perhapa-booth boy who was nearby for work, old high school friends, 40th birthday parties, housewarming dinner party with a proud new home-owning friend.. whew.)

so, also managed to start design work on some of the main players in the next 'haps arc and really getting into a groove after a LENGTHY hiatus from our gang (besides the occasional con print we've done... which reminds me, should have todd post the emerald city print soon!)

back to work!

-c

another kim possible

so, a few of the crushing deadlines have passed... issue 4 of captain america: the korvac saga is in the can (issue 3 came out this week and rachelle did a killer job on the colors) and a quick job for hasbro is all wrapped up for now... that means, back to commissions for a few days (clearing out the backlog for a VERY understanding customer) before devoting all my time to getting some haps done (and sleep)...

here's the first of several commissions to get done... haven't watched the show in a while (wish it was out in seasons on dvd to watch with the kids), but still have a soft spot for kp (which is good, 'cause there's 3 b/w pieces next in the queue )...

-c

cap and ... galactus!

okay, so issue 3 of captain america: the korvac saga is out very soon and i'm crazy busy wrapping up issue 4 this week (whew)... up next, i'm finally getting to a few long outstanding commissions and trying to make headway on the 'haps (seem like a broken record on that front, but i'm really itching to get back to 'm)... besides that, who knows?

and for your viewing pleasure, here's the cover for issue 4... as well as an unused version i did as well...

(and shameless plug time... pages from issues 1 and 2 - as well as PLENTY of other pages from other books - are already up for sale at comic art house - and covers for 1, 3 and both versions above are still available...)

-c

the iron spider

okay, almost done with the cap:korvac project (and working on another haps print for the emerald city show coming up soon, as well as the next haps arc)...

taking a quick break from the rest of the tall tales stuff i've got to post (pecos bill and old stormalong)... here's another piece i did in b/w at the mid ohio show for andrew varcho, who was kind enough to send over a sweet colored version he did!

-c

(so, gotta say, i'm glad i wasn't home to watch the pats have an off game yesterday... of course, one off game in post season is all it takes. least i can still root for matt's green bay... and hope big ben can lead the steelers right over the "school on saturday"* jets)

*no class, just sayin'.

paul bunyan

well, here's another of the tall tales paintings (and the b/w spot illustrations i did to accompany it)...

-c

working away on captain america: the korvc saga 4 (which is good, because issue 2 hits stands this week!

how do you like d'em apples? (tall tales redux)

okay, so i got a very nice email the other day asking about the john henry painting i did a long time ago (and posted on the blog years ago - which reminds me i REALLY need to update the galleries with the pieces i post to the blog)... seems i only posted 2 (pecos bill and john henry, steel driving man) of the 4 i did (each is about 14 x 17 or so).
and since i've got no new stuff to post, here's johnny appleseed! (and i found the scans of the smaller b/w spot pieces i did to go along with the paintings... )
-c
hope you had a merry new years (and did not, like many of our new years day party guests, come down with "the ick" that seems to be going around)