At the drawing board again...

Work still continues as I struggle with myself page after page. I'm having a difficult time learning the lesson of settling on work I've produced instead of nagging myself into apathy about its aesthetic quality. If I were to let a sketch or a rough page set for a few weeks, maybe months, I'd come back to it and correct it and maybe even improve upon my previous work.

There's just no time for that kind of nonsense.

I am forcing myself to sit down, sketch, draw, and finally ink what I've decided will work for my panels. Some of it bothers me and some of it surprises me. Regardless of my feelings on the look and my desire to try and retry, I have a book to get out.

I'll post more progress photos as time goes on, and I WILL have the book done before the end of this month. I don't have any other choice.

Till next time, friends.

A switch has been flipped

Something happened to me today while I was listening to Wil Wheaton read his book "Just A Geek" over the car stereo. I was thinking about all the unfinished work I have sitting around and all the neglected ideas I have floating around in my head. Hearing Wil talk about his move from actor to writer and his feelings on what was most important, in an odd way, inspired me.

I think I've not only found my drive to finish projects I began a while back but a general renewed confidence in my abilities. This might be just the thing I need to not only finish the zine/comic I've been promising but to also tackle all the other comic and writing projects I've had on the back burner for close to a decade now.

I'm tired of working for the Man and letting my heart stay sunk in the lowest parts of me. It's time to suit up, kick this pig (sorry, oh, little porcine one), and light some fires. It's time to finish my comic, get it into the hands of those who've supported my efforts and not given up on me (a trillion thank yous to them/you), and time to work myself into a life supported by my talents.

Wish me luck.

For all of you who have been waiting for a bit of the comic, here's a completely finished page!

Break from Projects - Inspirations

Sifting through the back stock boxes at my local comic book shop yesterday I noticed that most of what I was finding was solid gold. These were the "Under $1" boxes, though. It is this problem that I wish to address.

Nowadays the comic industry is divided between the hero books of the Big 2 and the hipster indie books of one or two bigger than small press publishers. It's like a warped, two-partyish system for comics. Like the same system in politics it's not only not fair, it isn't an honest representation of what's available. If it wasn't for the few zinesters out there and the solo folk printing their own comics, those who follow the self-publishing efforts of Dave Sim, there would be nothing on the shelves or in the market to interest me.

Back to the boxes at my LCBS. I found tons of fascinating stuff from Fantagraphics' Anything Goes! to the single issue, Viz-published manga of Rumiko Takahashi. In my opinion comics like these are to be treasured. These comics, instead of receiving a place in at least the back stock boxes alongside the billionth issue of X-Men or Detective Comics, were placed in what some may call the "junker" boxes. That's incredibly frustrating.

I can't complain too much though because if not for that mindset folks like myself who appreciate these old treasures would have to pay full price or mark up for them. I'll continue to enjoy my pocket change books that give some of the most interesting comic stories with the most peculiar characters and hope that one day my kind can take over the industry and put things right.

Until then it's back to the drawing board/image editing.

Work Continues

Here's an update on the zine's status. Currently I'm working on a new story that just came to me in the last week. I understand that it's risky and perhaps irresponsible to have done so much work and then tossed some out for a new, unfinished story. That's how this ship sails, though.

I hope to have the new story complete by week's end. I can apparently nail down a page from panel measuring to inking in about three to four hours per page. I don't think it's unlikely that I'll have it finished by next week's printing deadline.

The zine's contents will include sixteen pages still. Five of those pages are dedicated to my interview with Mike and Laura Allred. The other eleven will contain the new story and a short autobio piece I felt I needed to include. Speaking of which, I've decided to show you some images of the bio piece as it was being worked. Here are the rough pencils.

Nearing Publication...a zine's a'coming!

I'm currently working to wrap up everything for the publication of my first zine project. I hope, if the gods of money allow, to have everything printed and prepped for distribution by the end of the month, possibly early June at this point.

I've also been making exciting leaps forward in my approach to my artwork and my style. I just hope that those who show an interest in my work feel that it's worth their time and money. I just want to entertain and excite through words and illustration. If I could do that from now till I die, I'd die an extremely happy man.

In the meantime here is some artwork I've been fooling around with on the side. I've also included some photos of my tools and process. The page your seeing in the photo is an example of pages I'm working with to produce the zine. Their dimensions are 5.5"x8.5" with 0.5" borders. The Fantastic Four drawing is intended to be a gift for a gal who was truly a life saver earlier this week. Enjoy!

New ATCs to Herald Springtime (kind of)

Here are some new ATCs that I've drawn and inked lately. I can't say I like how a scan of my pen and ink work looks but it will take some fooling around to figure some other way. For now, enjoy!

Oh, yeah...new stuff

Here are a few new ATCs I've completed. Enjoy!

I thought about normal, small town people trying their hand at "Superheroing" and Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks." This is what I came up with.

The Tick, one of my favorite comic book superheroes.

The Batman

Why Arrow-Eye?

No one's asked me this question but I thought I'd answer it in anticipation (sad, I know).

It all started in 1066 with a little bit of visual storytelling in a wondrous piece known as the Bayeux Tapestry. As some of you might know this item detailed the defeat of the Anglo-Saxon residents of Britain by the Norman invaders under William the Bastard. Being a history buff and all around nerd I decided to go with a name for something that was both visual and true to my interests. In the tapestry it is said that poor King Harold Godwinson, the doomed Anglo-Saxon monarch, was depicted as having an arrow through his eye.

It was the idea of this image and my mourning of the old defeat (yes, I'm a true Tolkien-like scholar when it comes to this series of events) that inspired me to adopt the name Arrow-Eye. That and I thought the image would look pretty cool.

So there you have it. If you're still awake after all that history stuff you now know the reason behind why I call it Arrow-Eye Studios.

Until next time, friends!

ATCs (Artist Trading Cards)

I have discovered a new way to create the illustrations I want in a format that is both compact and fun. Artist trading cards are the niftiest things out since they started making brush pens that didn't suck.

The craze began in 1997 with Swiss artist M. Vanci Stirnemann who created an installment of 1200 individual cards. From that time forward there have been trade gatherings the world round where folks bring in their work displayed on 2.5" x 3.5" cards and trade or sell them.

My love of illustration, specifically comics, has inspired me to try my hand at creating a couple different sets of cards. I'm currently attempting to gather folks in my current town of Grand Rapids, MI for a trade and chat show.

I'll continue to post updates on new cards and any progress I make with the future show.

Until next time here are some of the cards I have completed thus far.

Actual publishing on the near horizon...

Well, I'm officially announcing that this Spring/Summer I will be releasing my first complete comics zine.

If you're interested please email me for more information or check out Arrow-Eye Studios on Facebook.

I hope to be releasing pre-print artwork, covers, and the like real soon.

Stay tuned!