Master and Student (Character Design)

This piece was a submission I sent to Animation Rigs, a company that provides 3-D modeled characters for it's members to use in their CGI reels. They flagged a couple of us down at SDCC this summer, and told us about an upcoming character design contest in the fall. The theme was "Master and Student." (I didn't win, but unlike some other contests I've been in, the entries that were chosen were definitely deserving of the prizes. That being said, I kinda like the way this doodle turned out.)

Avatar time yet AGAIN!!!

Just another avatar is all...

For Cancer Awareness Month: Billy Tucci's SHI

In recognition of Cancer Awareness Month, my friend DJ inspired me to throw down this pic. I'm dedicating this to his wife Pam, Mrs. Deborah Tucci, and the memory of my Aunt Addie Howard, who lost her battle with Pancreatic Cancer this October. If you haven't been tested, please do so as soon as possible. There's no cure for the Big C, but it can be prevented if detected early enough.

Wonder Woman Day 2010

For the second year, my bro-in-arms DJ has managed to cajole yours truly into submitting a piece for the Wonder Woman Museum's annual Wonder Woman Day charity auction to benefit victims of domestic abuse. As I did last year, I drew the piece, and then digitally colored it, but did the final touch-ups with white paint (a licensing stipulation required by DC comics.) And just like last year, I then re-touched the original scan in Photoshop, with which I'm a bit more comfortable:
Just before sending in our entries, we learned that this would be the last year for the auction. I don't know why, but I made sure to get a piece in this year. I hope it does well at auction: good causes that I can actually contribute to are a rare treat.

SDCC Cont... the Storyboard Showdown!

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One of the most rewarding portfolio reviews I've ever had at SDCC took place this year with a wonderful woman from The Cartoon Network. We basically went into detail over one of my sets of boards panel-by-panel, and needless to say, she 'took me to school!!' She really opened my eyes about some of the panel decisions, and at the same time told me that had I lived on the West Coast, she'd have had me enrolled in a special kind of 'training camp' for storyboard artists ready to go to that next level:







I spent so long talking to her, that my three buds gave me crap for almost an entire day afterward. But I have no regrets. How can I?

SDCC time... And AWAYYY WE GO!!!

Ah, and it was time for the 2010 San Diego Comic Con, where the aspiring artists pack San Diego's Upper Pavilion in droves while their fanboy contemporaries swarm the convention floor, desparately craning their heads over one another for just a glimpse of Olivia Munn. Being one of the former, here's the obligatory last-minute-done-on-site color piece, which gave quite a laugh to one Mr. Carlo Soriano. Ah, Carlo, you know me too well:
This shot of the kiddie Boba Fett was the first combination of my Wacom Cintiq and Corel Painter Essentials, the software that came bundled with the tablet. (I included the pencil piece just because...) I may try again with the old Photoshop, just to get a different look...

The Great Comic Strip Contest!

So in the summer, I became aware of a contest co-sponsored by both the Washington Post and some webcomics site. they were looking for a comic strip artists with a novel idea to submit six sample strips. The main prize was too good to pass up: A cool grand in cash, and a 30-day stint on the Post comics page, with the option from one of the big Syndicates to pick up the artist permanently! I went to work on a long-overdue concept, and came up with a pretty decent entry (well, I think it's decent.) I tapped into my experiences as a bartender, teacher, artist, and coach here in DC and came up with "Last Call!"


Alas, I didn't make the final cut. (In my opinion, only a few of the ten finalists had marketable ideas; in fact, one even had a gag that was stole from someone else!) And while the Web guy promised to give me a detailed critique, I haven't heard from him yet. Nonetheless, I'm EXTREMELY happy with what I did, and I'm seriously considering putting together a submission of my own for the Syndicates to judge...