From Facebook and Spectrum Fantastic Art Live

Okay so I attended Spectrum Fantastic Art Live now a couple weeks ago, took a week to visit family and just now getting back. It was my second time going and a bit of a different experience than last time. 

The first time it was two years ago it was such a small event I managed to hang out with Iain McCiag two days in a row, talk with everyone there and really mix in with the groups. This time it was bigger, I was at a table which was in artist alley so I was kinda in the corner of the corner since artist alley was in a separate small room off to the side. Since I manned the table alone I didn't get to meet and greet as much especially since the conversations were rushed and I am not an outgoing person. In fact I owe a great deal to Sheena Wolf and Marc Scheff for making me feel welcomed and a part of what was going on; otherwise I was literately sitting in a corner by myself. But is was good to go and experience it from that perspective.

I was on the other side of things for the first time. Unfortunately it was such a last minute decision to go, from supposed to be starting work on the 18th to not really having the finances that I had little to show for being there. That was fine since I had no where to store anything before or after anyway. I was a bit of an odd ball since I work primarily in animation now and hence haven't had time really for Illustration that wasn't a direct commission. I'd love to move over to doing card art - Magic or Legends of the Five Rings or some Star Wars stuff for Fantasy Flight but I'll keep working on that while I plug away at 20 hour days going on 3 months straight now. That week break was a nice reprieve from working so much. 

One of the big things for me this brought out is over coming a lifetime of working in the shadows, literally, and moving out into the spotlight to be noticed, or any light really. I was trained in martial arts most of my life which is actually a very quiet discipline and a solo effort, hence the reason I liked it. If I failed at it I failed at it, if I did well I did well. I never had to rely on anyone else to win or lose. Follow that with time in the military working in intelligence for special groups where sometimes my own superiors didn't know what I was doing and then other quiet nameless groups after that for years where the whole idea was to not be noticed. Plus I think that a well done job should speak for itself. I shouldn't have to jump up and down shouting look at me, look at me, to get noticed for what I can or did do. Unfortunately outside those worlds it doesn't seem to work that way. It is hard for me to even want to share anything personal especially here, and so you will never see me even post a picture of what I look like or talk about my personal life on here. Not even sure if I like others posting things here about me. But I need to move into marketing myself and move away from the other worlds so for now I don't take it down. I still don't get why anyone would really want to make it that easy to get information on themselves though. 

I've been told I have an interesting story. I've been told to and thought about documenting it more. As it would probably help others out in seeing what it really takes and the suffering one goes through to make something of themselves artistically, especially out in LA, and the transition from such an unlikely profession to lead into art. But for a number of reasons I just can't pull myself to post personal information about my life. And to make it worse I especially feel like I can't do it since I am still looking for a solid stable career in the industry. Maybe in the future I will tell my story or maybe I'll just pass on and leave a mystery as to what my life was. But then does any of it matter anyway? 

We are living right now and moving forward in life making new beginnings everyday. My past is separate from my current life dramatically and my personal life should have no bearing on my professional life. I can do the job and that's all that should matter. Not my race, gender, or any affiliation I may have or be but simply am I smart and talented enough to do the job? 

Anyway, so to all my Facebook friends and potential ones sorry if I don't post more. I do this for professional reasons only really, otherwise I hate this. I may share some philosophical and observational things here or may not. If you want to talk I am actually an open person so feel free to message me and we can chat; outside of that I probably won't be very personal here (on Facebook).

All that being said on Facebook I did start this blog to chronicle my journey in developing an IP so I will go back to publishing more here again. How personal I will make it I am still debating which is the big reason so little has been said. Since I came to LA it has been a very personal story. That aside through the animation studio I have a chance to potentially start making my IP a reality. That dark fantasy story about a Rabbit trying to reunite with his father and save his mother and homeland could be developed into an animation. The only thing is now how much of it will I be able to control and hold on to if I let it go that way? For now I will probably stick to developing it on my own know that I know more about the inner workings of animation and have a style that goes beyond apparently most western animation studios but seems fine for Anime or other detailed and subtle storied animations. 

Animation it is apparently

So despite mostly studying Illustration through the years I have found myself ending up working in animation. Storyboards were fun and simple as it was a bunch of sketching for me, and there is nothing I like to do more then just sketch and sketch. I have also been doing layouts, animatics and some clean up. Here's a few of the images I cleaned up recently for A4C Studios on Buckle Bear a helmet safety animation to go along with an illustrated book.

What I have been up to lately

Despite my lack of action here I have actually been pretty busy in life. I have been working on storyboards for A4C Productions and animation studio in Burbank and recently got picked up as a fantasy portrait painter for Scopely Games. On top of that lots of life drawing and plenty of sketching out story ideas at the studio and more. Here are some of the things I have been doing.

Always get a Contract

So, recently I finished up the Rogue Games contract over the holiday break. I turned in my assignment early and saw that it was checked green, which I took to be approved especially since I hadn't heard anything to the contrary. Two days later there is a change in Art Directors the day before my actual deadline. No real information put out except that there was a new Art Director. I emailed him and waited, . . . and waited. Finally after much back and forth between everyone except the Art Director it was established he wasn't paying anyone, decided he wanted different art and expected a bunch of revisions but still wasn't really talking with anyone, I finally got an email from him. He said of the 6 Illustrations I turned in he liked 2 and knew of those 2 only and would pay me a total of $70 for both if that was acceptable. I wrote back saying no it was not acceptable as one Illustration was supposed to be for as much. Besides I had completed my contract and been approved which entitled me to full pay for all the Illustrations. I informed him of where they were located in the dropbox under the folder clearly labeled with my name and titled finished art. I also sent him a copy of the contract and pay scale I was given for the work I was to do. Apparently no one else had thought to ask for a contract. In-fact I was told that the fact that they emailed me was good enough and I didn't need a contract outside of that. I insisted anyway and they meet my request. I am happy I did. It seems I am the only one getting paid for the work done and I am sure the only one getting paid in full. However, it was from the Art Director who was let go and no longer on the project. He paid me. So now my intentions are to let him have the art as he fulfilled the contract and like I told the new Art Director if he wants to negotiate something more with me we could do that but my contract stands as it is. Which means my art has been pulled form the folders and should no longer be available for that project. Not the way I wanted to start freelancing but at least I got paid.

So, learn from the mistakes of those involved. Get a contract up front. We used a simple contract from P.A.C.T. but it was binding. Enough to get me paid anyway. Best of luck to everyone and may the integrity of the business continue to grow.  

Reckless Deck Art Challenge Fire Warrior Concept Design

Here's something I did for a recent competition throughInfected by Art and sponsored by The Art Order. The challenge was to use 4 cards I had Tattoos, Tribal Jewelry, Chain Mail Armor, Laser Gun and the optional 5th Fire Attributes card.

I rather enjoyed it. I went back to doing things that was a mix of graphite with Photoshop colours on top, mostly mixed in using Color and Multiply layers. Judging is just starting so we'll see what comes of it. 

Rogue Games Illustrations

Here are the images I did for Rogue Games. The rifle and the Mech suit are my designs but the other ships and the alien within the suit are not of my design. I was merely asked to collaborate on a project with several other artists and a somewhat established art style. That actually made it a bit more of a challenge. Instead of being able to freely run with an idea for a space ship there was already a design in place that I had to follow. Makes it a bit harder when all of your lines have to match something else. 

I am glad my part in the project is over and surprised how much being able to say I was working for a even a small company helped when talking with other Entertainment Designers and Illustrators. But it  does help move me passed that place of being a student, which I am no longer and almost to being professional which I don't count myself as either since I still can't support myself on just my work alone. That is a bizarre place to be as a student you don't realize how much grace being able to say you are a student brings you in trying to find a job. Once you are no longer a student, wether you went to a good school or a bad one, if you don't walk into a job right away you find your self in a bit of limbo as to what you are now. Unfortunately that just seems to make it harder to get in somewhere especially if you didn't go to a good school. Portfolio is always the key to getting in as an artist but in places that look for credibility in production as well being nothing doesn't help. Not to mention on top of that you still have to work but now you are probably doing something else to pay the rent and that can quickly become consuming and slowly drag you into that and away from the arts. That's where you have to decide what really matters to you. Rough it and keep trying in the arts hoping you will get something out of it one day or make some money and try to find the time to do art as well. I just hope I get to continue the new year as I started it - working on paid art assignments.