SPACE STATION NATHAN

The Great Sick Week of 2012

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. We're just going to make a clean break with the whole week. See you Monday. Should be put back together by then.

One More Day

2012-01-25T23:09:00.003-07:00

Bear with me for one more day. Three out of the four people in my house have some kind of bug or other. It's no fun.

Should be back on track tomorrow, though.

Sick Days

2012-01-24T00:00:00.001-07:00

Never in all my years of blogging have I had a story with so many interruptions. I'm currently fighting the stomach bug that's going around. I hope to be up and posting tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

Taco Hell Drive Thru Part 2-6

2012-01-21T00:10:00.002-07:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru Part 2-5

2012-01-20T02:01:00.003-07:00

I don't want to leave you all hanging here over the weekend. So come back tomorrow, we'll do a special Saturday edition because of the two days missed this week.

Taco Hell Drive Thru Part 2-4

2012-01-19T00:05:00.000-07:00

Eyeball Massacre!

2012-01-17T16:55:00.003-07:00

Okay, so my appointment this morning was a screening to see if I was a good candidate for LASIK surgery. My eyes have been bad my entire life--really, really bad. I've worn glasses since third grade, contacts for years, etc. I've wanted LASIK for as long as I can remember.

So I set up this appointment at the high-tech Moran Institute at the University of Utah. I thought the screening would be a five minute sit-down talk with an eye doc. Boy, was I wrong. They tortured my eyeballs for three and a half hours! EYE carumba! (Get it? EYE...never mind) I stared deeply into at least twelve laser beams, had yellow goo dripped into my eyes, stared up, stared down, etc. They did NOT use the worst machine--that wicked thing that shoots the puff of air into your eye. So, at least there's that. But they used everything else.

And guess what? I DON'T qualify for LASIK. The doctor said my corneas are too thin. According to him, LASIK is "Out of the question!" I do qualify for super-awesome corneal implants--which I would totally get, if they weren't, ulp, $4,000 per eyeball. (by my math, that's over $12,000 total!)

So I'll be wearing my glasses and contacts for a few more years, until the price drops.

My eyes were so blitzed that I had to drive home with crazy dark glasses. When I got home and looked in the mirror, they looked like this:

The light on my face is bright afternoon sun. That's some crazy dilation.

Needless to say, I don't want ANY extra staring at the screen time today. So you'll have to wait until tomorrow for the next part of the Taco story.

Late Post today

2012-01-17T01:57:00.002-07:00

I will have a post up today--just later on in the day. I've got an early morning appointment that's messing my schedule up. Watch for the update this afternoon/evening!

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

2012-01-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

I thought I just announced several weeks of no holidays. I was wrong. In any case, Happy MLK Jr. Day. See you tomorrow.

Taco Hell Drive Thru Part 2-3

2012-01-13T00:23:00.001-07:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru Part 2-2

2012-01-12T00:49:00.002-07:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru Part 2-1

2012-01-11T01:05:00.001-07:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru Part 2

2012-01-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

TACO TUESDAY!

2012-01-06T07:15:00.002-07:00

Hey guys, I know everyone's excited for the second half of TACO HELL. I'm not drawing it out to build suspense. Well, I am--but not on purpose. My bottomless deadlines have chased me through the holidays and I'm still catching up. A big one ends Monday, so next Tuesday will be TACO TUESDAY.

(scary voice) T-a-a-a-a-a-co Tu-u-u-u-esda-a-a-a-y.

Last One, I Swear.

2012-01-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

Donut, Unicorn Horn, Goggles and Bunny Ears.

Okay, I think I've gotten it out of my system.

Also a Hat and Clown Nose.

2012-01-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

Blue-feathered Star-Faces LOVE clown noses and bowler hats.

Okay, okay, enough already! I just like this little guy so much--he's so fun to accessorize!

A Monster with a Banner

2012-01-03T00:00:00.001-07:00

Woops! I forgot something important--the banner! My site's not called Space Nathan. I had to put the STATION banner in there. That's better.

Space Nathan, out.

Happy New Monster!

2012-01-02T00:00:00.002-07:00

Brand new year, brand new monster!

Mr. Turvildog has retired with the year. We have a new banner mascot! Say hello to the Blue-feathered Star-face!

I had a great break over the holidays. I'm looking forward to getting back into my blogging groove. This is my favorite time of year, the January to April corridor, no holidays, no school breaks, no nonsense, just a clean, unbroken set of weeks--it's beautiful!

What do we have lined up in the coming months...let's see...we have the Picture Book Marathon next month. That usually comes with a journey to the Land of Doom. I've got another Rick Walton spoof waiting in the wings (remember when we did Frankenstein?) I've got a big LEGO project on the horizon. And, of course, we have the exciting conclusion to the Taco Bell story--that will most likely start later this week.

I'm going to push my books more this year. 2011 saw zero books released from me, but 2012 will be a record year--THREE books will be coming out this summer/fall. You'll be hearing a lot about those.

So, off we go!

Name That ELF! Day 7

2011-12-22T23:40:00.002-07:00

And here they are--everyone's elfs!

Yesterday's winning name was "Dean," by Shannon Hale. Santa is a big fan.

That's it! Have a Merry Elf Christmas everybody!

I'll be back in January! Maybe I'll post something over the break--but I've never needed a break so badly, so I might not. In any case, big things are coming in January. Starting off with the second half of Taco Hell Drive Thru.

Thanks for a great year of comments!

Confused Elf Day

2011-12-21T09:31:00.002-07:00

Hi guys, one more day to enter your elf--tomorrow I'll post it and we'll call it a year!

Reverse Elf Name Day!

2011-12-20T09:18:00.002-07:00

Oh this should be fun. We're flipping the tables for this elf.

You name and describe it first, then I--I mean SANTA--will choose the one to draw for tomorrow! Name that Reverse Elf!

And keep naming yesterday's light-hanging elf. I--I mean SANTA--didn't get a chance to choose a name for him yet.

Name That ELF! Day 6

2011-12-19T07:11:00.003-07:00

This elf is in charge of hanging lights. Name that light-hanging elf!

Day 5's elf was named Hampton, by Gretchen Alice. Hampton the scooper.

Thank you to everyone who came to the signing on Saturday. It was fun. We SOLD OUT of both 12 BOTS and DINOSAURS NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS! I was happy to sell out (in truth, they didn't have that many copies to sell...) but there was a little boy there who wanted a 12 BOTS soooo bad, and we were sold out. It was very sad.

A special thanks to the Allred family who brought EVERY BOOK I'VE EVER DONE to the signing. Wow! (okay, not EVERY book, but a large number of them) It was fun to sign so many at once. Thanks!

Name That ELF! Day 5

2011-12-17T02:43:00.003-07:00

This elf's job is following the reindeer around.

Yesterday's name was the first one posted, Lipnick, by Stuart.

I will be signing books today (Saturday) from 12-2 at the Orem Library with a whole bunch of authors. Who? You'll have to come and see!

Name That ELF! Day 4

2011-12-16T05:39:00.003-07:00

This poor elf has been overworked at the doll factory.

Yesterday's winning name was Crenshaw by Tanei Atagi. Santa laughed and said, "Oh She's totally a CRENSHAW! Ho ho ho."

I'm going to keep the elfs coming (I know it's supposed to be "elves" but "elfs" is so much better. Also, I don't put an "an" in front of elf. No, I say it, "A elf." Plural, "Elfs.") Anyway, gonna keep the elfs coming through the weekend, since I missed the past two days and there is only so much time before Christmas. We've got to name these elfs while we can!

Space Elf DOUBLE Overtime!

2011-12-15T07:33:00.003-07:00

Sorry Elf Namers. You get TWO days to name the space elf. What a wild and fanciful name she will have!

Guess who just turned in the finals for two mega graphic novels. It'sa ME!

I'm currently uploading the final files via the publisher's ftp site. The files are so huge it'll take a while. I wrapped the last page about 15 minutes ago. It's a wonderful feeling.

The finals for my first few picture books had to be shipped to the publisher in boxes. As in, the ORIGINAL art packed into homemade safety shipping containers. It was a humongous nightmare. I'd be coming off a series of late-night/all-night sessions to finish the art, then I'd have to scramble to pack the finished pieces into protective boxes and spend a FORTUNE at FedEx. Then wait in terror to see if they arrived safely. It was a terrible time all around.

Technology can be a wonderful thing. To be able to finish 256 pages of artwork, then send it to the publisher with a mouse click--that's magic.

Ahhhhh, I can't think of anything nicer that watching these FINISHED pages load one after another onto the publisher's site. So relaxing.

We still have to work out the cover...and the back cover. Possibly the endpaper...

But at least I won't have to box anything and stand in line at the UPS/FedEx/Post Office whatever.

I'm rambling, it's all the caffeine. And the euphoria from finishing something. I'm going to crash hard in 3...2...1...

Space Elf Overtime!

2011-12-14T06:58:00.002-07:00

Hi Elf-namers. You get an extra day to name our friendly space elf. I'm right at the very edge of my deadline. I'm putting everything I've got into finishing on time. Thursday is the deadline, I won't be sleeping much between now and then. Crunch, crunch, CRUNCH-TIME!

Name That ELF! Day 3

2011-12-13T07:08:00.005-07:00

This one's another lady elf--a space lady elf. Name that elf!

Santa chose "Dinah" for yesterday's elf. Thank you , Gaby Seeley.

ROBO-Santa has just appeared in the title bar of this blog. He has an advertisement for the 12 BOTS. This is the time of year--the ONLY time of year--you can read that book. Make sure to buy seven copies! The TWELVE BOTS OF CHRISTMAS! Word is Amazon even has a few at a special Christmas price!

Name That ELF! Day 2

2011-12-12T07:04:00.003-07:00

Santa has picked the name of his first elf. That name is Ronnie! Sent in by Heather Hoyt. Thank you Heather. Ronnie is a "Nice" name (which means everyone else's name was "Naughty.")

Name that Elf!

Name That ELF! Day 1

2011-12-09T06:25:00.004-07:00

I can't do it, guys. I can't kill the blog and recycle a whole story (as much as I love the LEGO BOTS--go visit the December '10 archive if you haven't seen them--and oh yeah, go BUY a copy of THE TWELVE BOTS OF CHRISTMAS!)

So, instead of killing and recycling, I'm doing a holiday version of an old standby favorite (an easy-to-do, quick favorite.) It's time to...

NAME THAT ELF!

Name that elf.

And the textbook is...

2011-12-07T04:33:00.004-07:00

...the Bible!

I usually keep pretty quiet on the jobs I work on. But this one will be so long-term, I figured I'd let you in on it.

I'm illustrating the WHOLE bible--Old and New Testament--for St. Mary's Press. It's a textbook bible for grade school level religion classes.

Here's an early sketch from one of this week's pages:

I'll give you five guesses which Old Testament (hint!) story this is for--but only five.

If you guessed Noah's Ark, you are correct.

I Must Save Christmas!

2011-12-06T07:11:00.002-07:00

Gang, I have some bad news. Christmas is in danger this year, that's right. Christmas might be canceled. My deadline situation has grown so dire, so ridiculously down-to-the-wire, that I may be churning out illustrations on Christmas morning! I'm close, SO CLOSE to wrapping everything up. But the loose ends that pile up on a graphic novel project (or two projects, in my case) are astounding!

I have until the 15th of this month to get everything in. These things include, but are not limited to:

Covers
Title Pages
Endpapers (?)
Bibliographies (in comic form!)
Author pages (you saw one yesterday)
Timelines
Short biographies of each historical figure to appear in the books (and portraits)
A mini comic about Historical Research
A mini comic about Crispus Attucks (hardly mini--it's seven pages!)
Proofreading passes for both books (since I'm hand-lettering them all, there is no spell or grammar-check built in. Everything has to be reviewed, then carefully re-lettered by hand.)

Not to mention the other big job I'm working on (the big textbook has heavy deadlines each week. Three spreads a week, each spread features around six full color illustrations)

If I slip up on any of this stuff it will RUIN Christmas. So I have to get it all finished--I have to SAVE Christmas.

What does this all mean?

It means you are going to have to wait for the end of the Taco Hell story. Cliffhanger and all. I just can't fit it into my horrific schedule right now. I can't do it. To save Christmas, I must kill the blog!

I even had a Christmas story all lined up for this month--I'm scrapping that entirely. We'll see that next year, I guess.

We're going to re-run last year's TWELVE LEGO BOTS OF CHRISTMAS posts starting on the 13th. And the conclusion to the Terror at the Taco Hut will resume, deep breath, in January.

I'm sorry. Is there anything worse than an interrupted story?

Yes, a ruined Christmas--a ruined Christmas is worse than an interrupted story.

But trust me, in January, when the story picks back up, I'll make it really good.

Now back to the deadline death march.

Monday Morning Again?

2011-12-05T07:19:00.003-07:00

You know how this goes. Monday mornings are almost a lost cause lately. Today is no different. But I do have SOMETHING for you today. This is the author bio page on one of the graphic novels I recently finished. We're just wrapping up loose ends, like the cover, backmatter notes, and this author page:

What do you think? I like an author bio with a lot of practical information in it.

Taco Hell Drive Thru 23

2011-12-02T07:09:00.001-07:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru 22

2011-12-01T07:01:00.001-07:00

Looks like we're now entering spooky December.

In a horrible case of life imitates blog, I've now returned to the crazy, flip-flopped sleep schedule that this story started with. Spooky December indeed.

Taco Hell Drive Thru 21

2011-11-30T07:02:00.002-07:00

Pasted

2011-11-28T01:02:00.004-07:00

Uuugh. I really, REALLY wanted to post the next part in the Taco Bell story today. The next part is SO good. But I am being ground into PASTE by my deadlines right now. I have two continent-sized jobs vying for my time right now. ALL of my time. I've barely had time to eat turkey.

I need to wrap the Taco story soon because I've got a Christmas story I want to do. Taco Hell is the winner for most-interrupted-story of all time on the blog.

Bear with me.

{EDIT} Bear with me another day...

Rapunzel and Jack on Turkey Day!

2011-11-24T00:12:00.004-07:00

Hey everybody. I haven't drawn these guys in a long time. So here are Rapunzel, Jack and Goldy! Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy a one day break from the horrors of the Taco story.

[Edit] Make that a TWO day break--see you Monday!

Taco Hell Drive Thru 20

2011-11-23T00:44:00.000-07:00

Black Tuesday

2011-11-22T02:19:00.001-07:00

Hi Guys, the trouble day is Tuesday this week. Once again, the story has to be held up by mean, mean deadlines. Back Wednesday.

Taco Hell Drive Thru 19

2011-11-21T01:31:00.001-07:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru 18

2011-11-18T00:02:00.002-07:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru 17

2011-11-17T00:56:00.001-07:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru 16

2011-11-16T01:48:00.000-07:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru 15

2011-11-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

Tell me why, I don't like Mondays.

2011-11-14T07:40:00.003-07:00

Hey everyone. I've been having a hard time with Sunday night/Monday posts lately. I'm trying to balance my current deadline schedule. I'm going to have to skip today again. I will get back into the regular, non-day-skipping flow of this comic soon. I've gone full years without this many missed days.

Or maybe it's just this story. It could be too scary for regular daily posts.

Muahahahaha. AAHahahahahahaha. (that's my best Vincent Price laugh.)

Taco Hell Drive Thru 14

2011-11-11T00:25:00.003-07:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru 13

2011-11-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru 12

2011-11-09T02:24:00.000-07:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru 11

2011-11-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

Running late...

2011-11-07T11:52:00.002-07:00

A Taco Hell post WILL be up today, I'm just running behind.

[EDIT] Strike that. I'll have a new post tomorrow!

Taco Hell Drive Thru 10

2011-11-04T00:50:00.002-06:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru 9

2011-11-03T00:00:00.000-06:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru 8

2011-11-02T01:34:00.003-06:00

Okay, here we go. Now we're getting to it!

I apologize for the spotty posts. I've felt nine kinds of rotten for the past few days. But I think I'm now over the worst of it.

This was supposed to be my spooky October story. It is now November. And that means NaNoWriMo! So the story will pause here for the next month and probably forever...

...just kidding. I'm not doing NaNoWriMo this year. No way! I've got to finish this story. This is better than some lousy speed-written novel any day.

Prepare for spooky November!

Double Cursed

2011-10-31T22:48:00.002-06:00

Stomach flu, heavy deadlines and a candy-based holiday.

I feel horrible.

Bear with me.

This Story is Cursed!

2011-10-31T07:52:00.001-06:00

Honestly, I've never had a story get so many interruptions! The story itself must be cursed! Back tomorrow!

Taco Hell Drive Thru 7

2011-10-28T01:34:00.001-06:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru 6

2011-10-26T22:57:00.002-06:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru 5

2011-10-26T03:47:00.002-06:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru 4

2011-10-25T00:47:00.003-06:00

Sorry to pause the story. It was Fall Break for my kids, so we went to red rock country and did some hiking. I completely forgot to bank some blog posts to cover the days off. Woops. I have no regrets, it was super fun.

But now we're back. So on with the story!

Bad Timing Again!

2011-10-21T02:47:00.001-06:00

Hi Guys. Sorry for the missing day yesterday. And today. I've had a few things pop up. The story will continue on Tuesday.

Taco Hell Drive Thru 3

2011-10-19T00:13:00.002-06:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru 2

2011-10-18T00:25:00.002-06:00

Taco Hell Drive Thru 1

2011-10-17T00:00:00.002-06:00

October is here. Time for a spooky story.

Believe it or not, this story is not ZOMBEANS. This is a different scary story involving Taco Bell.

CALAMITY JACK takes home the Utah Book Award!

2011-10-16T10:24:00.003-06:00

Calamity Jack won the Utah Book Award in the children's book category last night!

The nominees were; a picture book (Rick Walton's Mr. President Goes to School,) a novel (Kristen Landon's The Limit) and a graphic novel (us!) It was a diverse trifecta of book types.

Hooray for Calamity Jack!

Princess BATMAN 13

2011-10-14T18:44:00.003-06:00

Is this the end for Princess BATMAN?

Yeah, pretty much.

Thanks for participating in the Princess BATMAN posts. It's been fun! Maybe she'll return someday in a big story!

New thing--new spooky thing--starts Monday!

DELAYED!

2011-10-14T00:08:00.002-06:00

Uh-oh, the final image in the Princess BATMAN series has been DELAYED! Yesterday's drawing style was such a hit, I thought I'd do another picture in that style. I started it, but it maxed out my B.A.T. (blog allotment time.) I need another day! I'll put it up tomorrow, a rare Saturday post of the final image.

I need two B.A.T.s for this one. Be back tomorrow.

Princess BATMAN 12

2011-10-13T00:00:00.000-06:00

If you're gonna be Batman-like, you have to spend some time striking poses on top of a building, preferably in the dark. So here's the Princess on top of her castle.

Today's scene was supposed to be an action scene. But I ended up going out last night (*gasp* out of the studio!) My wife took me to hear Barry Lopez, the National Book Award-winning author. I brought along some paper (on a clipboard. I'm not a sketchbook guy. I'm a clipboard guy.) I listened and drew this night scene of the Princess watching over her domain.

I took the drawing and laid a digital layer over it (for the grays and yellows) and here she is. It's fun to do a different style. I haven't drawn on paper for months!

Princess BATMAN 11

2011-10-12T00:00:00.002-06:00

Another peek at the Princess as her mild-mannered alter-ego.

She's a Princess who disguises herself as a Princess.

Here, she's having hot cocoa and scones with a fat duchess. You can't spend ALL your time fighting bunnies.

This is the last week of Princess BATMAN. We'll have two more images, then start with something new next week. (Something Halloween-y!)

BREAKING NEWS!

Remember a week or so ago, when I was up for a big job? Well, I just found out that I got it! Hooray! It is the rarest of all freelance illustrator jobs: a long-term, well paying, BIG job. It's a full textbook for an educational press and it will keep me in LEGO bricks for many months to come.

I don't usually talk about my day-to-day contracts here on the blog, but this one caused so much commotion last week, I thought I'd share the news.

Princess BATMAN 10

2011-10-11T00:15:00.000-06:00

Here they are, the million billion bunnies.

Princess BATMAN 9

2011-10-10T00:00:00.004-06:00

All this time we've been focusing on our princess in superhero mode, but we haven't seen her mild-mannered alter-ego. Here she is:

The horse has an alter-ego too.

Princess BATMAN 8

2011-10-07T00:00:00.001-06:00

Princess Batman doesn't like riding side-saddle in her dress. So she stands.

Princess BATMAN 7

2011-10-06T10:29:00.003-06:00

D3 is the one! Here she is in full action mode! She's wielding her princess scepter (which is usually small, but transforms to a staff) and her shield fan. Action petticoats!

Tomorrow we'll see her riding her action pony "Blackie!" Maybe next week we'll see her normal princess identity and some of the villains she fights (including the "Million, Billion Bunnies!)

Watch This Space

2011-10-06T09:00:00.002-06:00

P-Batman is running late! She'll be up later in the day.

I accidentally fell asleep last night without doing the drawing. I promise, it had NOTHING to do with my awesome new awesome video game.

Princess BATMAN 7

2011-10-05T00:19:00.002-06:00

Okay, it sounds like the longer/puffier dress with petticoats was liked by many! Yesterday's "B" struck a chord. So here is Monday's D2 with a longer gown. And different hair. Some of you requested her hair up.

D3 has flat shoes (better than boots?) tails on her mask and a big skirt with visible petticoat frill. D4 has Goldilocks ringlets and an empire waistline.

I like the blonde hair. I think blonde girls have been relegated to sidekick/comic relief or snob/villain roles lately. Can you think of any popular blonde girl heroes in children's media right now?

There are probably tons--I just don't pay attention.

Dark Souls Update:

I went with "Hunter" class. A female character. I'm shooting arrows at EVERYTHING! So far, so good. But I must admit, the female gait in the game is a little wonky. She swings her arms in a funny, elbows-in/forearms-out style. Must be a Japanese thing. I wouldn't walk that way if I was hunting demons in a zombie castle.

Princess BATMAN 6

2011-10-04T00:00:00.001-06:00

Wild cards!

Okay, it's Wild Card Day, where we try a few last crazy ideas before going into the final. A note about Wild Carding--never, EVER do this on a real job with an art director. It almost never ends well. Either you get stuck with your worst idea, or you end up starting all over again.

These ideas are more princess-y. I feel there are lots of sassy, gear-laden, multi-belted girl-heros. But I can't think of anyone who fights crime in a poofy gown.

What should we plug into our existing designs?

Warning! The following is video game talk!

Dark Souls, the sequel to Demon's Souls (my favorite video game this generation) comes out tomorrow. I've had it pre-ordered since May. And speaking of character design, I have to choose a starting character class. In Demon's Souls, I played as a "Soldier." When given a choice, I like to play games as the everyman (no thief or magic classes for me.) There is no "Soldier" class in Dark Souls--they swapped it for "Warrior," which I don't care for.

I'm thinking of going with a "Hunter," or possibly a "Wanderer." And I think I'm going with a female character this time. In Demon's Souls I was a dude.

Anyway, I'm very excited. I haven't picked up a controller for months. Some quality game-time is just what the doctor ordered.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Princess BATMAN 5

2011-10-03T00:00:00.001-06:00

Okay, so the two most popular designs were d2 (but with puffy sleeves!) and B2 (with d2's hair.)

Here they are, back in a static pose., and with a few tweaks.

Did the two weeks off give you any fresh insights? I still think we aren't quite PRINCESS-y enough...

D2 is on the left, B2 on the right. Tomorrow is WILD CARD Princess Batman Day--I'm going to throw out some fresh concepts, we'll see if any of them add to D2 and B2. Then we'll take her to final!

Graphic Novel Timesheet

2011-09-30T01:46:00.003-06:00

Sorry for all the craziness everyone. It's been a very silly week in the studio. Total pandemonium. Moments ago, I turned in the samples for that new job audition (everyone cross your fingers!) The art director and the publishers will have a meeting tomorrow to see if I'm the right artist for the job. I'll let you know how it goes.

I am a man without a sleep country. I don't know when I'm supposed to sleep (or eat.) This week I've been using a horrible, cobbled-together, two-shift sleep schedule. 2am to 6am, then 5pm to 8pm. I think they call it "Polyphasic Sleep," I don't think it works. I feel crazy all day.

This should all be remedied by next week. We'll jump back into Princess Batman like the last two weeks never happened. I've also got a fun spooky Halloween story planned.

We'll have a fresh start Monday. In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy these papers. This my graphic novel project bible. The timesheet, (remember, I was into that timer app.) with columns for lettering, inking and coloring. And the ever important page cross-off chart (the last row seems to have been cut off by the scanner.) Anyway, this documents the times for each page (starting at page 40) in graphic novel #2. Kind of interesting, if you are into charts and time trials for graphic novel pages. (super boring if you aren't.)

See you Monday!

Brincess Patman

2011-09-29T00:17:00.001-06:00

Bad Timing

2011-09-28T01:26:00.002-06:00

Boy oh boy, has the disorientation set in.

My body is angry and confused. Here's a long tale of life in the freelance illustration game. If you like that sort of thing, read on. Here's what happened:

I wrapped the book on Monday. I delivered it and waited for confirmation that the files were where they should be. When I heard they were safely delivered, I brushed my teeth and dove into bed like an Olympic diver.

Forty minutes after falling asleep, my phone rang. It was my illustrator's rep calling about a possible job--a fairly lucrative job. They wanted to see samples. Luckily, I had some samples ready to go. I sent those files (waited for confirmation again.) And a few hours later was back in bed--at that point I was pushing into the 30-hour zone. I was wiped out, but happy, because the big job was done, and an interesting new job was possibly opening up.

I got a few good hours of sleep then popped up at 10 pm on Monday, ready to roll. But, as you saw in yesterday's post, I decided it was time to reset the clock. From about 1 am on, I forced myself to bed, but since I was used to being awake at that time, I couldn't sleep. At all.

Tuesday morning, I felt okay. My rep called and said the job was looking good, but the client needed a new, specific illustration sample in the format of the project--and they needed it ASAP. Fine with me, I was feeling alright. By the time the client called with the info on the new piece, I was starting to flag. I got the specifics, and jumped back in the illustration saddle. I had nothing. The piece was fairly simple, an the possible job was a VERY nice-can't refuse-type of offer. But I had burned through all my illustration juice.

I tried to push through. By now the exhaustion was really hitting me hard. I had done several attempts at sketches but nothing was working. Oh, also, today was the last chance to get our business taxes in for last year, so my wife was running around trying to pin down all of our business expenses from last year. ALSO, this week is parent teacher conference, so the kids are home at noon every day.

Around 5 pm today, I took a two hour nap on a bean bag. I'm now back in my nightshift mode and feeling fairly awake, just tired and confused. The good news is, I got my drawing mojo back, and am about a third of the way through this illustration sample (due tomorrow--I hope I get it!)

Long story short. No Princess Batman tonight. Although, I think I hallucinated a Princess Batman a few hours back.

Hard Reset

2011-09-27T01:10:00.002-06:00

Oh boy. Folks, I'm going to need another day to get back into the groove.

I finished the books, now I need to reset my sleep schedule. The nightshift schedule worked WONDERS, I couldn't have finished on time without it. But now it's time to go back to the dayshift.

Disorientation, here I come!

Graphic Novel is a Wrap!

2011-09-26T11:08:00.002-06:00

Hey everybody, I'm happy to announce I finished my big graphic novel today! On deadline! (the extended deadline, anyway.) Two complete graphic novels in five months. That's an all time record for me--one I hope I never have to beat!

The week off from blogging was extremely helpful. We'll get back into the groove tomorrow. Batman Princess ON!

Princess BATMAN Wallpaper and Week Zero

2011-09-19T00:50:00.003-06:00

Princess BATMAN is really shaping up. I think we are closing in on that elusive final design.

BUT...

...this is week zero on my big graphic novel deadline. I can't do Princess BATMAN (or anything, really) on week zero. The deadline is a week from today, Monday the 26th. I have 20+ pages to go. I'm on lockdown-crunch-time.

I leave you with this parting gift to hold you over and keep P.B. on your mind:

It's the official Princess BATMAN desktop wallpaper! Tile it up so the princesses are tiny--so CUTE! You could tile it up and print it out as wrapping paper, or REAL wallpaper! The possibilities are endless with Princess BATMAN!

I'll be back next Monday (better make that Tuesday, I need a day off) with more Princess designs, and exciting anecdotes from my week zero adventures.

See you on the other side! Shutting down internet connection in 3...2...1...

Princess BATMAN! 4

2011-09-16T00:00:00.001-06:00

It's time to see these outfits in action. Here are the favorite combos, but in an action pose!

I know there were some cape fans out there, but I'm afraid I have to veto the cape. She has to have a dress, and a cape + dress is too much (think of the fabric costs!) I mean, a dress is a cape for your butt, right? --wait, that was good. Let me re-type that in bold caps:

"A dress is a cape for your butt."

--Nathan Hale

That's going on my short list of quotes for my headstone.

E.2 has the minimized crown-under-mask, and a little highlight at the waist.

G.2's dress is a very different in action. The long middle flap section is problematic. Although Chun Li from Street Fighter doesn't mind the long front flap. I like the gray leggings, they give her a dancer vibe.

B.2 has some die-hard supporters. It's got a little Sailor Moon action going on. For this version, I've cut the hair and put in the pirate tie.

D.2 has the suggested super-hero mask with a crown built-in. Does Wonder Woman have that? Reminds me a little of Wonder Woman.

Lets hear your favorites! The elements in these four are the semi-finalists, we'll cut these down to two, then the final costume will be chosen!

Have a good weekend!

By the way, would somebody PLEASE leave a comment on my Wednesday post. Do you hear that whistling sound? That's the wind blowing through the zero in the "0 comments" on that post. Based on comments, Princess BATMAN is 33 times more popular than American History. Please, show some love. For bonus points, can anyone guess the historical event that is happening on that sample page?

Princess BATMAN! 3

2011-09-15T00:00:00.001-06:00

Okay, round 2 of the Princess:

E. and G. are based on your suggestions and likes from round 1. Puffy sleeves, the strap the B. mask, pigtails etc. F. and H. are wild cards, just to keep things interesting.

F's long sleeves (dagged sleeves? Is that what they call those?) can be found on villains, but never on good guys. Why is that? They look like fun. Think of the stuff you could hide in there.

H. has a ninja mask. There is something fun about not seeing her mouth. I toned the crown down. overall. I like a slimmer, less chunky tiara. I mean, if she's a princess in disguise, wouldn't the tiara be a dead give away? We have to keep the tiara, but it should be subtle. I like the ninja tiara, where you only see part of it through the mask.

I like how all-black E is, so stealthy. (and with new frilled cuffs.)

Have at it, and feel free to say you like aspects from A-D better.

Now back to today's 2.75 pages!

Collating Princess BATMAN input...

2011-09-14T06:08:00.003-06:00

Holy mackerel! There was so much input for the first round of Princess BATMAN concept art! Feel free to add more comments today, but as it stands now:

D seems to have the most overall appeal
Pigtails are the favorite hairstyle, with the white hair of C coming in second
B has the mask of choice
The puffy sleeves of C are well-liked
Nobody likes A's crown (it is kinda Sauron-y)

Thanks for the input. I've never designed by large committee before, this will be a fun experiment. Round two, using your feedback, will come tomorrow. It would have come today, but I was running behind on my graphic novel page count.

Here is a recent page. I've got twelve days to my deadline, and 33 pages like this to go. Which means I need to finish exactly 2.75 pages a day.

The sketches are already complete, they look like this:

I do the lettering (all hand-lettered, much more organic and in sync with the line-work than digital, font lettering, I think.) I ink the drawing (while making a few cuts and changes--you may spot a few) then I add the tone layer. I'm also doing a single color pass that, due to the spot-color printing process, doesn't read as a post-able jpeg. I've done about 210 pages like this since May. It has been a KILLER workload. But the end is in sight!

I don't think I've ever been more excited for a project, though. I can't wait for these books to arrive on shelves next year. Can't wait!

Princess BATMAN! 2

2011-09-13T00:00:00.005-06:00

Okay, now I'm sorta fixated on this Princess BATMAN concept.

I did some high-speed concept costumes for PB. What do you like? Mix and match. I like the pugnacious helmet on A, and the sturdy leggings on D.

Curse those neighbor kids, this is fun.

A princess-based superhero has to wear a dress, right? Princesses = dresses. Short or long, I think she has to wear the dress. I also made her a cute kid. Because the internet is already full of grown-up lady-BATMANs. Google it you'll see (on second thought, maybe don't.)

I like the thought that she's a fairy-land superhero. Not a gritty, urban crime fighter, but a fairy tale princess with a secret superhero identity.

She's BATMAN's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother from fairy tale country. Yeah, that's it.

Princess BATMAN!

2011-09-12T06:50:00.003-06:00

I don't have time to mess around drawing PRINCESS BATMAN for the neighbor kids.

But if I did...it might go like this:

Still figuring out what a PRINCESS BATMAN would look like. I think she should be more PRINCESS, less BATMAN--I don't want to use any of BATMAN's signature gear (don't want to get sued if this idea has legs...) (I mean, I don't want the neighbor kids to get sued...yeah, that's it.)

Here come the BATMAN PRINCESS concept sketches. I'll have to work on that name... PRINCESS MANBAT maybe. PRINCESS BATH-MAT!

Neighbor Kids 4

2011-09-09T05:59:00.005-06:00

And there you have it. The story of the neighbor kids. Pretty funny huh? I never, ever draw licensed characters, but the analogy was just too spot-on to pass up.

What do you think? Should I grant their wish? Should I draw PRINCESS BATMAN?

Have a good weekend.

Neighbor Kids 3

2011-09-08T04:07:00.001-06:00

Neighbor Kids 2

2011-09-07T03:30:00.002-06:00

Neighbor Kids 1

2011-09-06T00:00:00.000-06:00

It's a brand new story! Good grief--it's been a long time since I've put myself into one of these comics.

Note to Neighbors: (if you see this comic) This is all for fun--these kids are mostly fictional.

More Turvil Dog

2011-09-02T01:34:00.004-06:00

I've got a fever. And the only thing that can cure it is more Turvil Dog! Here's a view from inside the new banner.

Have a great weekend. Long weekend--Monday's a holiday. Be back after Labor Day.

Banner Part 2

2011-09-01T00:00:00.000-06:00

Somebody's at the window.

I like this little guy. He's like a corndog/turtle/devil--a Corturvil!

That sounds like a medication. Restless-leg-syndrome? Ask your doctor if Corturvil is right for you.

How about Turvil Dog? Yeah, that's better, he's a Turvil Dog.

Holy smokes! The site redesign is complete! Now I have to figure out what to do next. Last year at this time I was doing "Sgt. Snookums Patrol Cat"--possibly the best story I've ever done on the blog. I'll have to come up with something good.

Banner Part 1

2011-08-31T00:00:00.000-06:00

Folks, we may have a winner for "Dullest Blog Series Ever." (Okay, the cowboy joke was pretty good.) At this rate, next week's posts will be an exciting play-by-play of me cleaning up the icons on my desktop, the grand finale will be me emptying my computer's trash.

Snooze. Anyway. Here is the banner--part 1! That's right, I'm spreading the banner into a two-day post. What will pop up in that window? My guess is the word "STATION."

Side note, does anyone remember how Bill and Ted (from the Excellent Adventure) used to say, "Station!" as a slang term? In place of, say, "Radical!" or, "Righteous!" It never stuck--I think it only existed in that movie (or maybe it was the sequel.) Station! Say it, it's fun.

The most popular gnome seems to be young Scintellshine. She has a Hermione/Rapunzel thing going for her--so studious! Scintellshine will return in some form or other. Keep an eye out for her.

Science Break!

2011-08-30T03:46:00.007-06:00

I'm not the only one re-doing my website this week. My illustrator's rep, Shannon Associates, is revamping their site too. Over the weekend I had to assemble a portfolio for the new format.

Building a portfolio is tricky business. You want to show your best stuff, but you don't want to show your hardest-to-create stuff. Because the pieces you show will, ideally, be the type of work you will get. For example, graphic novel work is HARD and doesn't pay super well. So I don't include many graphic novel/comic style pages in my portfolio. I've got the covers for Rapunzel and Jack in there, but no interior pages. Cover work pays nicely, three or four good covers can pay the same as a whole graphic novel. A cover can be done in a week or two, a graphic novel can take a year.

I love doing graphic novels, don't get me wrong, but I like to create those jobs myself.

In any case, one kind of job I NEVER get enough of is the natural science illustration. A few years back, I got to do some prehistoric amphibian scenes for National Geographic (for their children's publishing dept.) THAT was cool. I love those kind of jobs--I feel like a scientist when I do them. (I ought to get a lab coat.) I always keep this image in my portfolio:

This was a company job. Before I went full-time freelance, I worked for a company that did graphics and murals for natural history museums. This painting shows the fossilization process.

New banner tomorrow, I swear.

Final Background

2011-08-29T00:35:00.004-06:00

Okay, I think I've got my background finally figured out. I made it brickier and the carvings less recognizable. I'll keep it for now. Tomorrow, the banner!

Best Background EVER!

2011-08-26T06:41:00.004-06:00

On second thought, the white totems are kind of boring. This is WAAAAY better.

Have a great weekend!

Some Devils You Know

2011-08-25T07:04:00.004-06:00

I thought I'd take a break from the thrills and chills of re-skinning my blog to post this cartoon I stumbled across. I thought I'd seen all of the Disney shorts, but I've somehow missed this one. It's funny and creepy at the same time--I love these ancient black and white shorts. Carl Stalling did the orchestration--he did practically ALL of the music in the Looney Toons shorts, I didn't know he worked for Disney at one point.

Note to the people working on The Devil You Know movie: You should do the opening credits like this.

Space Station Overhaul 2

2011-08-24T06:58:00.003-06:00

Hmm, I like the white block background, but I think the larger patterns were distracting. Here is a variation with smaller bricks and a few new shapes. I warmed it up with a tiny it of yellow too.

I don't want the background to compete with the day's actual post. I want the background to be the background. This may still be distracting. It's fun to play with tiled artwork, though.

By the way, for those of you following the deadline drama, I had to ask for more time. I'm now 4 for 4 on graphic novels missing their original deadline. I had to ask for two more weeks, putting me back up to 30+ days.

One day I'll finish a graphic novel on time. One day.

Space Station Overhaul

2011-08-23T00:56:00.004-06:00

Hey everybody. I'm starting a new thing today, but not a story--I'm renovating the site! If you follow this blog in a reader, you won't see what I'm talking about. So make the long trek over to the actual site.

The "Octopus Train" banner is now gone. I liked the sentiment of the Octopus Train, but let's be honest, it wasn't one of the better looking banners we've had here. The replacement banner is being worked on now, as well as a new background that looks like a tiled version of this:

...also not quite finished. Usually, when someone redoes their site, they just do it all at once-WHAM!-new site. But I think it would be fun to build the site in an analog manner, where you see the drawings of the banner and background, etc. progress as I work on them. Feel free to throw out suggestions for this theme.

And don't forget to vote yer Gnome.