Skin 'em alive!

So I got a new job! About time man and it's just not any job either, it's working at Whole Foods. I got hired on the spot too! My bright and winning personality must've won them over. I'm extremely excited about this job because if it's up to me, this will be my last retail/cashier job. I'll work at Whole Foods until I can work full time as an illustrator/graphic designer. Until then, WF should keep me more than afloat esp if I work full time. I take this as a sign of moving forward and getting things in gear. I needed this job and I am so greatful!

Also,unemployment and being broke isn't my kind of thing.

This also means I can move by the end of the fall yay!

I haven't done any drawings in awhile, mainly just working on projects for school and they are driving me crazy. I am glad this semester is over! Ugh. Here are some sketches from the sketchbook:

I need to start drawing alot more guns and combat scenes if I am trying to do an action comic. I use to draw them all the time. I wonder why I got lazy and stopped?  Oh yeah that lazy part. I am glad I grew out of that.

                                           

I did this for Rendering Techinques. I know,I didn't use alot of the photoshop tricks on it but really, all the other versions of this looked tacky and really over done. I don't know, I am taking baby steps with this whole color with photoshop thing. I know if I want to learn I need to get out of the comfort zone, but really I thought the others looked pretty crappy. Plus I like flat color I think I work well with it. 

Since I am done with school, I will start to work on "The Unadventures of Jay and Nikki". I haven't done anything with comics since I started school, so the first thing I need to do is work on this comic. I am not expecting it to be any good off the bat. The jokes will be corny and the drawings will be different alot of the time because this is what I'll be using to help develop my work and start learning my basis.

Today was the last day of class for the semester. I did pretty well even though I felt rushed and disorganized for much of the spring. 

I am really into Typography now. Which is strange because I never really care too much about it, but now after taking this class I think I will try to do more work with it. Funny though, I took typography at Columbia and hated it. Guess it was probably just the way it was taught.

Here are some of my final posters.

For my final project I had to make a brochure to go along with the first poster:

For my first time ever using Indesign I think I did pretty well. I'll try to keep it up with typo during the summer.

The National's new album is pretty sweet! I wish they'd tour and stop by cleveland. I'd love to see them in person! I love all the songs on the album but my two favs are currently, Anyone's ghost:

And Bloodbuzz Ohio:

You weren't much of a muse, but then I weren't much of a poet

Nothing really to update, other than I am going to be spending the next two weekends on all my projects and during the week I have to spend alot of time looking for a new job! I got things to do and I need some monies. Going to clean out my closet, sell some clothes and other crap I do not need. I am trying to rid myself of clutter and junk. I also realized that I mainly own books and I need to get rid of some of those too. There are some crappy ones I can probably donate.

Spring is here! I plan on spending alot of my days biking, taking pictures for observational pictures and  working more on my drawing progress. The things I am currently learning will be used when I do Jay and Nikki this summer. I promised myself that in June I'd start posting a daily strip. Gotta start keeping promises to myself!

No work to show of my own currently, But here are some artists I have been into:

Brian Dettmer does these wonderful sculptures made out of books or other materials.

Edwin Ushiro another amazing Illustrator. 

And check out these awesome but creepy illustrations done by Suehiro Maruo

Good stuff right there man. 

Look at these awesome Hello Kitty(s)!

I need one in my life.

Live Transmissions.

A beautiful day today and I spent most of it in class. Not that I really care. Heh, I was inside, in the a/c, on thecomputer like a nerd should, lol. My Friday classes are probably the most interactive and interesting. Our teacher is also pretty helpful. She's always giving helpful hints and really pushing us to be creative as possible.

She also told us that we needed to get a proofreading book and find a buddy to proofread with. I know I really need one, ha ha. I have really bad typos and I do not catch things until later. That's why I decided to stop posting soon after I write it. No one wants to read my bad writing. :)
There are these guy's in my class that think they know everything and say the most inappropriate things. Our teacher has probably said everything but "Shut the fuck up" to them. It's hilarious.

I had Jury Duty earlier this week and now I understand why people hate it so much. It's probably the most boring thing you'd ever have to do. I spent Tuesday stuck in the Jury bullpen all day. Doing nothing but feeling my ass fall asleep. AND they don't have free coffee or donuts. They drag you all the way down there, wasting your time and they don't even give you donuts. Lame man. I did get out of it for the rest of the week when I told them I couldn't get down there.
Oh wait,I did get some work done on my projects. In Graphic Design Drawing, we are making a calendar. My teacher really wants us to do it all on Illustrator but I realized that I will never be a person who does all their work on the computer, I like to draw with pen and paper too much.  So I drew the basics and will add color and patterns in illustrator. Here are some of the finished months. (taken with my camera,not scanned)

Objects still in pencil are going to be re-done on Illustrator. I also realized I should've left out alot more detail. Don't want the teacher getting sassy about that.

As you know I like to draw bodacious ladies. I get alot of inspiration for old pin ups,60's go go dancers and Barbarella!

Barbarella is ridiculously awesome and has great cheese. (Flash Gordon is up there too)

Plus Barbarella had awesome coustumes.

I drew a quick sketch in Barbarella style while I was wasting away in the bullpen:

And another pen sketch:

All my calendar sketches are done except for January. I didn't have thing clever to draw for January or august. 

Now off to finish some tasty food.

Always should be someone you really love

I don't know why it takes me so long to update this thing.
I need to quit being distracted on get with it!

I had an awesome Spring break. Got to go to chicago and see all my friends who I had missed dearly.
Spent the days hanging out, doing random shit and catching up.

Here are some Touristy pictures I took while Paul,Ericka and I hung out downtown.









I miss Chicago soooo much! If nothing pans out, I want to move back there eventually.

I finished my Superhero project, I didn't like the original drawing, so re-drew it and started from scratch


For a beginner it came out pretty well. I think I will try to do more coloring in photoshop. Our final project is doing a full page illustration all done on the computer D: D: D: D: I am not a good at drawing on the computer. But hopefully I can just draw,scan and add things in photoshop. That should work.

I have three other projects to do. (A calendar, a logo and a typography project.) I have basically been drawing my ass off and for the next 3 weeks I'll be spending alot of time at the computer center.
Here are some of my sketches I have recently done.







I pretty much draw all the time, nothing else to do.

However, I did go to MELT and it was amazing!
I need to go there more often.



So Tasty.

While in Chicago I spent way too much money on comics, but it was worth it because I got a signed copy of "Strange Tales"

So even if I didn't get to the signing I still got a copy! So happy.

I'm off to do more drawing and reading.

Ready! Steady! GO!

School is going pretty well. I love most of my classes and slowly I am getting the hang of using photoshop/illustrator, i just gotta keep practicing and not getting frustrated with them and quiting! I am not a quitter! I am a do-er. Something like that. For my rendering techniques class,we are making our own superhero. here's my sketch of it. 

My powers are the ability to see through objects and hypnotize others. Codename: Spex. My teacher told me I need to redraw it and make it focus on the glasses (which the powers come from) because right now, you focus on the suit. I am going to look up a bunch of "Superhero Poses" because I have no clue on what I want my final drawing to look like. Going to spend wednesday going through all my comics and books. Fun times.

I have also been doing alot of drawings out of magazines and random images I google. I have one drawing I'm working on which maybe used for class:

This is the first drawing. I am going to redraw it and if I like how it looks I might use it for the Rending Techniques class for our 2nd project. 

Here's some other sketches:

All I do is draw and waste time on the internet. Oh and making my way through Battlestar Galactica and Lost.  I lead such an exciting life haha. However in a couple of weeks I'll be heading to Chicago for a couple of days. I haven't been back to chicago in like almost 2 years. I am really excited. Will take lots of pictures, since got my new camera,which I love. 

When I come back most of my time will be spent on school,drawing,looking for a job and more drawing. AND I get to finally see Matthew Good! I think I have been waiting since I was 15 to see him live. Should be an amazing time!

Let's Jam!

Starting off my 2nd week of school. So far it's going pretty well. I need to get some books. (Hoping to find some at the library so I don't have to pay for them. The Library= the first textbook renting place.) Oh yeah I get to learn illustrator. So excited because I have been wanting to learn it but I am a visual person, I learn by demonstration more than anything else. Which is why I am glad to have an instructor to teach me,I was not going to learn on my own.

Been doing more thrifting. The Salvation army near the Agora has all the great finds. When it gets warmer, I am going to wear more dresses and skirts. I am getting really tired wearing pants. They have become such a hassle. I have been looking for old vintage dresses and some mod type styles. I also need to get some pencil skirts and a couple of blouses. This is a pile of dresses I recently found at good ole Sal

Oh one is a blouse. (the green and white one)
Next week I am finally going to a Dr.Sketchy Night and I am going to check out the vintage shop below the beachland.
Speaking of music venues,I went to the grog shop and picked up my ticket for Ted Leo!

It will be a great show yes,yes! I also need to buy my Matthew Good ticket and I might see Cursive as well. 


I need some live music in my life!


So I got into Anime and Manga when I was 15-16. I landed a job at a library and was friends with the teen librarian who sugguested manga to me. I started reading Battle Angel Alita and Akria. I'm a huge fan of Battle Angel. (I have recently had a huge desire to re-read the series plus the continuation with the 2nd series. )and Akria is the must read for any Manga beginner. However cartoon network exposed me to one of my all time favorite Animes,
Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy is full of drama,action and characters worth rooting for. There are so much anime that is full of crap (i.e Ikkitōsen  which is just a fan boy's wet dream.) and having waaayy too many damn robots. (lol anime stereotyping  but it's true.)  

Anyway Cowboy Bebop is wonderful and much needed series for your anime collection. 

Later,Space Cowboys. ^_^

New Year brings new challenges and changes.

First off, let me tell you about the letter I received from the Center for Cartoon Studies. It wasn't an acceptance letter, but it wasn't a rejection letter either. It was a letter basically saying I needed to learn more fundamentals of layouts and design and work on those. They enjoyed my artwork and thought I was soild on that. I just needed to work on the "nuts and bolts" of the creation of the comic. Once I have those down I'll be ready to create something solid. Also realized that the classes I was suppose to take at Columbia for my last two years, are the classes they were talking about. Which is why I am glad I was already registered to take these classes. Because if design and layouts are the reason for me not becoming a cartoonist I'd be pissed. So now it's up to me to finish what I started. I start taking classes in 2 weeks and for the first time in awhile I am actually happy about it. I feel that I have answers now. School is the main focus at this point and I have to find some kind of work if I want to find an apartment. I have to be living on my own if I really want to focus. As they say, "It's time to bust ass." Besides been sitting on it too much anyway. My OCD tells me that I really should be writing out some sort of plan. Get myself organized correctly. I should get on that. I think this is a good step for me. I can go to school,learn what I need save up and be at a better position if this is what I want to do in my life. I maybe in school forever awhile it will be worth it.

my brother's malik jerkin videos






They are cute Awesome videos that him and his friends make. Best thing is he does the editing too.