I visited the Drink and Draw event at Frank’s Power Plant last Friday. It was a good opportunity to meet new people and make connections, as well as draw to our heart’s content. While there, I showed off my portfolio as well as “Drannik & Lizzep” to several different people. Many of them compared my stuff to “Scott Pilgrim” as well as to Skottie Young, another comic book artist whose work I’ve checked out. A good example of his art can be found here.
Photos from the event can be found on the Drink & Draw Milwaukee Facebook page, specifically here.
Although I have no photos of the event myself, I do have sketches that I did while I was there:
I’ve updated the Books section of my portfolio, giving more up-to-date info on Drannik & Lizzep #3. I’ve also added quite a bit of stuff to the other portfolio sections (comic pages, illustrations, and miscellaneous, just to name a few), so feel free to check them out.
On May 12th, I went to the “Heaven and Hell” opening reception at Artworks in Kenosha. Because of how busy I have been over the last few months with the Drannik & Lizzep comic book, I did not enter this show, but I did stop by to see what other people did for it. All the pieces on display had the theme of Heaven or Hell, so most of the show involved religious imagery, but there were a couple where the theme was more allegorical (like a painting of a partly-cloudy sky). My personal favorite was the “tryptich” of Scott Walker, mostly because it was done more like a political cartoon, plus it’s quite the topical subject given what’s been going on in Wisconsin politics in the last year or so. There was also a dance troupe doing their routine throughout the show. I took a few pictures, of course:
Speaking of Artworks, I have Drannik & Lizzep #2 on sale there, so if you ever happen to stop by there (or Lost World of Wonders up in Milwaukee), pick yourself up a copy. They’re only $4 at each location (I also plan on making some more copies and dropping them off at one of the Collector’s Edge locations up in Milwaukee).
I’ve updated the portfolio again. This time, I’ve added some Drannik & Lizzep promotional images under Comic Pages, and I’ve added two images to Illustrations (one of them featured above).
Also, I will be in Kenosha at Rockhead’s Comics and Games on Saturday, May 5th (also known as Free Comic Book Day) selling copies of Drannik & Lizzep #2. If you are in the area, stop by and pick up a comic book.
Unrelated update: I have added some new links, as well as some new stuff to my portfolio. Also, I’ve made the portfolio tab in the menu above clickable in case the drop-down function doesn’t work.
Last Saturday I went to C2E2, which is a huge comic convention down in Chicago. While most people there were there to purchase comics from the big names such as Marvel and DC, as well as dress in silly costumes and the like, I was there to gain some comic career advice, support the indie comic creators, as well as spread my name (as well as Drannik and Lizzep) by giving some leftover copies of Drannik & Lizzep #1 to the vendors around the con (after I bought something, of course). Here are some photos from around the con:
I only went to two panels, but I did take some photos of one of them:
I also took some video of various goings on around the con:
I got to meet some other fellow indie comic creators, including Anthony Del Col of Kill Shakespeare, as well as Trevor Mueller again, whom I last saw at a con over a year ago. Here are just a few of the books I purchased along with the names of the creators:
By David Gruba and Rene Castellano:
By Various Cartoon Creators:
By Matt Chic, a Milwaukee native:
By Russell Lissau and Marvin Perry Mann:
By Trevor Mueller and “Gabo”:
Also By Various Cartoon Creators:
Finally, I got some autographs from Gail Simone, Dan Slott, and Robert Atkins. Also, Autodesk had a booth where they were giving away trial versions of Sketchbook Pro. I got to try out the program, as well as the 21-inch Cintiq they had to demo it. Having only used a Cintiq once, and even then only a 12-inch version, there is something about using a monitor to draw directly onto a computer as opposed to having to get used to a disconnect with a tablet like an Intuos.
All in all, C2E2 was a pretty good time. If ever you want to go to it, make sure you take public transportation like I did, as it is in the heart of Chicago and Chicago is a nightmare to drive through.
Things have been silent here for the past two weeks or so, but I have made some updates to this website in that time. I’ve got it arranged now so that the portfolio link at the top is a drop down menu, and each drop down selection leads to an individual section (e.g. “Illustrations” leads to a page just for illustrations, etc.).
And speaking of the portfolio, I’ve added some new stuff to it, so feel free to check it out.
Before I post my little recap, I want to point out that I’ve put up some new stuff under the portfolio section. Included with that is the cover and a sample page of a comic book I just got done making (the cover is featured above). Also, if you want to have a copy of this same book, feel free to contact me at tonyk@tkcartoonist.info.
Last night, MAG had a Show and Tell where different animators and game developers showed off what they’ve been doing. They have these every once in a while as a way to create rapport with fellow animators in the area, and last night was no exception. Four people showed off their stuff, and while all of them were pretty good, the one who stole the show was the guy from Raven Software.
Raven Software is a game company based out of Madison as well as a subsidiary of Activision, and they are responsible for the DLC for the latest Call of Duty games, as well as creating the game Hexen and, more recently, Singularity. The stuff that the guy showed us was footage for a game that was never released, made about four years ago when he worked at EA and only recently had permission to show. I really wanted to show the little bit of animation I’ve done after he went, but it’s hard to follow an act like that. Here’s the guy’s portfolio for further reference of what I’m talking about.
After all was said and done, we went to a winery just down the street and I listened to all the interesting stories these guys have had in their fields. I also learned something that gamers and game magazines missed: next time anybody plays Medal of Honor: Airborne, pay attention to what the statues look like.
