Oldies but Goodies pt.1 – cartoony

I was rummaging thru my old files at home yesterday from some old boxes containing comics/books and old things of mine such a beat up old notebook full of crap imaginings and some loose papers of still crappy drawing that I did way back 1994 to 1999 or somewhere in between those times. I was planning on getting rid of them but going over them brought back good amusing memories, its like a treasure chest so I decided to scan the ones that I liked for kicks and somehow preserve them digitally for some reason that eludes me now. Posterity, I guess.

I did a couple of cartoony drawings that was used as a patch up to some unsightly place in our bathroom’s wall or door for that matter and this is what I came up with:

I like drawing pigs now and it was evident then, excuse the poor scans on this one’s, I only managed to clean out the second image, the first one is next to impossible for me for I am not that good with PS, the papers are all very yellowy because these drawings were very much exposed. If there is a PS technique that you guys can show me a link, I’d love to know.

Then this here is the Maxx, which I terribly like and all things Kieth as stated from some previous post somewhere in this blog.

One thing I remembered with this here pieces is that I get to color them using the Prang Watercolors that bud Elton gave me then, tnx dude! Its a rare thing for me to color something even today. I am not good (and I am not good with anything mind you) at blending approriate colors here and there. Someday. For now I’ll stick with the trusty pen and ink.

Next post (WTF! there’s more?!groans!..bored/eyes rollover/etc.) would be some horrid (and still horrid now) sketches I did way back, like friggin time machine back. For now, tah-tah. Sleepy as sleepy as can be.

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This post is a self imposed tag meme because this guy here beat me to it but I’m gonna post it anyways .

Free Comic Book Day

As the title implies, Free Comic Book Day is a single day, usually held the first Saturday in May each year, when participating comic book specialty shops around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their shops and now it was my first time to witness such an event at Fullybooked-Ayala Center, Cebu (although it is the 23rd of May today). It is a first, so it means it is something to write home about, or in this case, blogpost about. If I am not mistaken, it is a first also for us Cebuanos to have it and thank the gods FullyBooked is finally here in Cebu and made it happen.

We fellow SDR geeks (that would be me, Motmot and Suede) decided early on that we would line up early there to get them freebies and would drag with us anyone we could find willing to come and give us what freebies they would parchance upon  and come Saturdy we did. Only us 3 and the wife (with a huge question mark on her face and some bribery) came. The place wasn’t nearly as jam packed as I have envisioned it to be (comparing to the FCBD event in Manila) it was still packed yet more loosely. Initially I thought we could get maybe 3 or 4 free comics per person as stated by some FCBD Pros online and offline as it would rightfully be but after we lined up together with them snot-nosed keeds, hostile old fanboys and the clueless like the lambs to the slaughter house we were told only to pick one freebie from a variety of 8 or so comicbook titles. It wasn’t enough but it was free nonetheless so it was still the awesomest because the first experience, like your first *censored* , is always an event etched in stone.

Comparing it to them lucky people in other parts of the world and in our nations capital on FCB Day they have guest appearances and signings of some hot shot artist and we here got none, nada, squat. They have venues and participating shops to go around with while here we got only one. I’m not complaining, mind you, just comparing and then some. I am glad I get to go on one today and hoping for another one next year with a better modus to grab all of them freebies in one go, I am a cheapskate and anything free is good.  And by the way, here’s the freebies (that’s including the wife’s stash) that I got today:

Cool huh. But I should’ve gotten the other freebies such as the Avengers, Wolverine, Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stuff and it would have been more awesome.

And here’s one TPB from one of my fave artist doing one of my fave superheroes that I bought out 20% off with much negotiation and whimpering with the wife:

All in all a very good day. The comicbook geekery in me is satiated for now and inspired to pick up them dusty pencils again and get a move on with this terribly un-updated WIP art blog again.

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p.s. -changed the blog’s theme just for kicks…commments appreciated

So much to do, so little time

Over the weekend, I bought a couple of books via my favorite, cheap surplus book binge at The BookSale in eMall here. Hardbound editions of Greg Bear’s Darwin’s Chidren (P125) and one from the tandem of Debrah Doyle and James Macdonald called The Stars Asunder (P10!!!), fairly cheap. I’m a cheapskate. The former author I have always admired and get to read his books with awe and wonder, although its hard SF I tend to skip the very technical pages and its an enjoying read still. The latter authors I have yet to read their works, if I have the time and the inclination to do so. Now, that’s my problem of late. So much books to read yet so little time. The two books mentioned are now part of the stock pile (or boxed pile) that I have accumulated since last two years ago and believe me there are dozens of them waiting to be read. Not to mention that a good friend of mine gave me a complete set of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series hard bound editions too which I thanked him profusely for it and now has become a part of said pile. It’s a shame to let it wait on me and time management is one of my biggest flaws, next to discipline. Good books (for my taste that is, would be fantasy and sci-fi) still waiting to be read. Always on the back of mind’s to-do list that just keeps getting longer in time.

This of late has become a predicament. I have so little time for reading books, which I have always loved doing since I learned how to read, and honing my so called drawing/sketching skills (deluding myself that I have one),  talent or whatever. Plus, as stated in some previous post,  I have to submit some sequentials for an upcoming indie comic book release come end of May 2009 adds up to the situation I am in. Not good.

I relegate myself to just read/surf the internet for easy access to news, blogs, updates chatting, downloading questionable stuff and yada-yada most of the time and I think I am hooked by its accessibility and it is info overload. It’s a bad thing, I must admit and I hope to rectify that matter all together over the week, so help me god.

I promised the wife last night that I would make some kind of time management list thingee that I will slap my face with everytime I productively procrastinate and/or lazying around. Aside from working 8 hours every week days which is obligatory, the remaining 16 hours  and weekends would be set aside for personal and family time which is not much to divide my time with. Every time I go home after work would roughly be equated to reading time (including comicbooks, I guess), personal necessities time, drawing/sketching time, internet/blogging/oggling time and finally, come here baby time (hu-hummm). And if you guys ever had this problem and already solved such I would gladly consider your tips and tricks on this matter.

Whats in a sign?

Since I have not updated something worthy here I might as well babble on something interesting or not.

Just a heads up. All pencillers, inkers or any artist for that matter would always sign their work. From finished art to the chicken scratchings. Mostly for the purpose of identifying the body of work presented to the public. I always sign any work and what I posted here and some of them can be viewed in the previous postings no matter how lousy they are.

I have had many alterations/variations of signing my work from early on  and here’s the one visible to last years post. Its elvish script or something  of the initials R, L and B which stands for the initials of my full name. Very geeky me, I was and still am a fan of JRR Tolkiens literary works and it is very visible and very obscure to the many and I am doing away with it now, good riddance?.

And for the purpose of finality, I will be signing my works  no matter how  mundane and amatuerish they are from here on end with the one thats fairly visible in my masthead up there in this here blog  and visible here, with this

now ain’t that clear enuff?Damn egotistical yet futile me rearing its ugly head again. Shame what a shame.

OK, now for some real WIP updates…..

Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies…

For not updating this blog, I’m just gonna throw in an interesting article I happen to browse by today and share it with you which really slapped me to my senses and kicked my a$$ real hard(at least for the time being..hahuhmmmm). Now I don’t have any reason for not updating this blog with art that I kept on promising that I would. I feel exposed and ashamed of myself just by reading this article. And serves me right. I have only myself to blame. Maybe I will change and mind you, I do want to change. For the better, hopefully. Open and read the link below if you want….tnx Chris for the eyeopener…

Making the Time by Chris Eliopoulos