I’ve added a “full” sketchbook to my sketchbook page. It’s my sketchbook from my Los Angeles study trip with Marwen in 2007. Go check it out! Next up, I plan to finish uploading my Pink Metal sketchbook in the next couple of days.

I’m also currently working on some black and white drawings on brown packaging paper. The set I’m currently working on is going to be a 4-piece polyptych self portrait. I’ll post up a preview later on. That’s all for now!

WARNING! The Korean in the first one might not make any sense D:

Supposed to say,
Panel 1: G-Dragon is hiding
panel 2: Escaping! Kekeke

Both will soon be added to my Big Bang FART page

1. Finish the three Hourlies that I need to finish
2. Finish the comic of Thom and I as Bill and Ted
3. Do a self portrait in water color/ gouache
4. scan more work to put up on website
5. make more video blogs
6. Do the big piece of Ben Templesmith/Molly McIsaac in a jeep shooting squid form a bazooka

So… yeah…

How is everyone’s day? I have a cold, I’m trying to fight it off before it gets worse.

Anyway, I don’t feel like retelling the whole thing because I’m finishing up my hourly comic for it. I’m way behind on that, it’s gonna be a long one, (plus, I’ll be updating my hourlies with other days as well), so I don’t know when that will actually go up. Hopefully this week. HOPEFULLY.Yikes…

So I’ll just mention  the reason I went to C2E2 at all, Ben Templesmith… Let me take a moment to try to remember what the hell I wrote in the entry I wrote last night that got deleted…

Right, so, I was remembering the times I’ve gone to get autographs before, it’s been a hassle. I mean, sure, you get excited that you’re getting an autograph from someone you love; that’s why you’re there! But being in a long line, just to squeeze in a tiny, ‘Hello, thank you,’ just to get shooed away by security can be daunting, irritating, and for me, downright scary. It’s the one moment you can say anything to a star. Getting stuff signed by comic book artists, is just so fucking different, and so much better. I’m sure it’s because of the general culture of it all, it’s all rather underground compared to other pop culture ~fields~ and is much more welcoming for the audience. the setting, I’m sure as well, I think a whole convention is probably different from a singular signing (I’ve never been to a con before). I mean, even if you’re there to see a fairly established artist with a strong body of work, they’re not going to have a massive hulking body guard telling you to hurry up. You can actually talk to the person you’re there to see for more than 15 seconds, and that, I think, is really fucking important for establishing a close connection with your fanbase. Comic book people know what’s up.

Anyway, I really just wanted to extended another Thank you to Mr. Templesmith, for being so cool. I went to get my first issue of Fell signed, because that is the same book that piqued my interest in comic books. The story and artwork just took me away, and I thought, holy shit, if this is comic books, I want more! I’d say it was thanks to Templesmith and Ellis that I got a very good first impression of the wonderful world of comic books. I came into the comic book world pretty late too. I started reading when I was a junior in high school. I didn’t know where to start, I was in the comic book shop and just randomly picked up Fell, took it to the counter and paid. The guy said it was a pretty good story, I took it home and became addicted. Now, I can’t really remember if that was the first comic book I ever read, but it sticks out enough as the one that made me love ‘em.

Since then, I bought every issue that came out, except #9, I don’t know why I don’t have that, and I’m really annoyed that I don’t, I didn’t even realize there was an issue #9 for the longest time… but I’m sidetracking. My point is, it was kind of a big deal for me to meet an artist that I’ve really been inspired by and looked up to since high school. I mean, I can’t do that with a lot of my favorite artists, Dali is dead! He died before I was even born. So being able to meet an artist, not a musical artist, a person whose work and career greatly inspires my own work, because visual art is kind of all I got going for me, is kind of a phenomenal feat.

What’s an even bigger deal, and I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, but I’m kind of used to not being noticed, is that he realized who I was when I told him what my name was. It was a scary moment, but scary in a very good way. Partly in a way that it feels like you just dragged out of a shadow for being doing something you’re not sure if it’s allowed, and partly in that really immature grade school way when you get picked first (or just not last) to be on the cool kid’s dodge ball team. Okay, I think I’m getting lost in my head again.

My point is, it was an awesome and very important experience for me as someone who wants to be an illustrator to be able to shake hands with someone I look up to (not literally, Karen, I can hear your short jokes from across town), and even more, to actually be acknowledged by that person… even if it’s just because of twitter.

Also, I’m totally going back to C2E2 next year. I’m gonna buy toys n shit. Anywho, check out my autograph. And congratulations to you if you made it this far into the entry, because I’m near positive it makes no fucking sense.

And once again, thank you, Ben Templesmith, for being awesome.

Books on my night stand