HAH! Just getting an update in under the wire! Lots going on lately, working on surviving back in LA, getting out more (I saw Eddie Izzard perform this weekend!), seeing real people, that sort of thing. Making plans for 2008 (yes, already). I have been doing new artwork, but that's not what I'm posting today. Since this is Halloween week, I'm posting a drawing I did last year. I hope you enjoy it, regardless. If I find some time this week, perhaps I can work up something new - enjoy your candy and be safe!

T'day be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, matey! So I gots ta thinkin' - sure'n it'd be nice if I posted some artwork of the piratical nature. Even if that artwork be truly from the days of old. So here y'are, ya scallawags! Enjoy! Arr!

Announcing:

Perhaps the most important thing that did happen at DragonCon (for me, anyway) was I got to casually show off my new book. Yes, book. I finally decided to put my money where my mouth was and constructed a little self-published old-school style sketchbook. Getting it printed in time for the con was like pulling teeth, but it arrived Thursday morning and I have to say it turned out better than I had a right to expect for such a modest project. but, as I said, I got to show it around and have gotten a pretty favorable response so far (even sold a handful at the con, even though I had no table).

Now ask me why the hell I felt compelled to do this for DragonCon and not for San Diego. No idea. I guess I thought I finally had the time and the inclination. I figured I'd sell it for the traditional ten bucks and see what happens. It's called Sketchi.

You can click the image to buy. Go ahead, take two, they're small.

Well, this past weekend has shown me that my good ol' DragonCon has lost none of its lusty verve. If you're not familiar, you might consider doing a search on Flickr to see what I'm tlaking about. DragonCon is partly interesting (to me, anyway) in the way that it is most assuredly not San Diego Comic-Con.For one thing, it's not close to Los Angeles. Here, Hollywood makes it's presence known, it doesn't waylay the entire convention. Comics and gaming still dominate DragonCon. At least until the dealers rooms close up at seven, then the costuming takes over in a big way. The atrium areas of the hotels become a showcase for cosplayers and fetishists of all kinds - it's like the ultimate fanfic collission of worlds, where Jokers and Batmen mix with Spartans (the 300 kind and the Halo kind), where pinup models come out to play with Warcraft characters. It's all one can do to keep up with a drink in one hand and a camera in the other.

Anyway, a good time was had, though I felt like less of a participant this year than I than in days past. I'm just not inclined to drink like I used to and I don't have much of a costume store these days. Ah well. If all goes well over the next year, I'll be more of a participant than ever before long...

He was only six years older than me. Just not right.

There's a tribute thread over at the Drawing Board, so I thought I'd contribute. For those not familiar it's a character named Koj from Ringo's book, Tellos. The character resonates with me because I used to draw an anthropomorphic tiger character (named Barka) very similar to Koj. This one was drawn in Illustrator, if you're curious.

These may be the first iMacs I've actually wanted in years.

Live blogs from Engadget and Macworld, insightful (if colorful) commentary from Daring Fireball.

As long as I'm updating, I should post some new(ish) art I did for the con. This is a re-work of a piece I did back in December for the Penny Arcade charity auction. I rebuilt a lot of this to make a one-shot print for the art show at the convention and I really like how strongly it turned out.

So, the same weekend I was down at Comic-Con, the very talented Danielle Corsetto was, herself, visiting Los Angeles (I've picked on her enough for not actually making it down to the con, so I won't belabor that here, except to say that this better damn well be the last time I have to pick on her for not being there). So, we found some time to (finally!) officially meet and hang out Monday night. So, as a treat I brought along a bagful of con swag for her to flip through to get a taste of the event (without her having to actually spend the money). Turns out we have much the same taste in merchandise —mostly artist-published sketchbooks and artbooks. I got to watch her ink her comic (which appeared the very next morning), which was a real treat, and we chatted about the business and freelancing and just generally geeked out for a couple of hours.

It's an odd sensation when you realize that the march of the passing years is marked more by a gigantic convention than your own birthdays. Comic-Con seems more and more like a New Year celebration for the comic-geek set. So much of what happens in this particular end of the industry revolves around what one can or cannot have ready by Comic-Con, how one plans to approach Comic-Con, the paperwork one has or has not yet filled out for Comic-Con. The ramp-up for the thing starts some six months before, at least, for many.

I'm not being cynical, just thoughtful. SDCC has become so big, I think they sold out of every kind of ticket you could buy this year. Wednesday night, traditionally a low-key opportunity for the vendors themselves to visit one another before the madness begins, was by all reports more akin to a Saturday afternoon this time. Which is to say, crazy busy.

I blame Hollywood. Once they started making the Batmans and X-mens and Lord of the Rings (Ringses?), this collosal Gathering of Geeks became a key focus for the magnifying glass that is the Hollywood PR machine, helped by the fact that San Diego is so accessible from LA. So, Angelina Jolie showed up a few years ago, and then Charlize Theron, and this year it was Jessica Alba – big stars who normally have better things to do than hang out with comic geeks – and the directors and the producers and tons of other actors, with their "convention-exclusive" teaser trailers and autograph sessions.

Which is all fine, of course. Hell, if I were making the movies, I'd do the same thing, and I have to say that by and large the ones who do come down are really good sports about it. The previews and presentations are usually a lot of fun (the Futurama panel I attended last week was hilarious). The point is that these things have driven the popularity of the con through the roof, past the physical capacity of the convention space (no mean feat, if you've ever seen the size of the place). 130,000 people or more.

PLUS, I continually get picked on by other artists for not having a book or something to sell. Well, I've been busy, and with all the moving around I've done it's been hard to.. I know, I know, no excuses, right? Well, okay, fair enough. So, alright, I'm working on something. A project. For selling. I'm not saying what it is yet, but it's in the works and it will be ready to sell, probably sometime early-to-mid next year.

But, in spite of all the body traffic and baiting by my peers, I had a very good time at the convention. This con is the only chance I have each year to hang out with some very nice and talented artist-types (especially at the Saturday night sketch session) many of whom can be found on my links page. I especially want to thank Mr. Sean Galloway for his hospitality (and his damnable karaoke machine) - much thanks, mate!

I'd also like to mention superfan Cathy, whom I met briefly at SD several years ago and have finally gotten to actually hang out with for real. And at Hooters, no less. You rock! Thanks again for the sandwich!

As a bonus, the Braves finally pasted the Dodgers one tonight!

Enjoy!

By way of Daring Fireball: To promote the upcoming Simpsons movie, they've converted a real 7-11 (at Olive and verdugo, in Burbank) into a Kwik-E-Mart, complete with real Buzz Cola (I grabbed a six-pack) and Squishees, as well as other Simpsonian merchandise and other touches like El Barto graffiti on the side of the Mart.

Here's a Flicker set.

I went over at about 1:30, there was a 15 minute line and the place was selling out of Buzz and other things. When asked how long the promotion would be going on, they said for a month, and that they would be getting more stuff in, etc.

Woo-hoo!

update: Apparently they are planning 11 of these tie-in store conversions. From Boing-Boing.

update update: Here's a complete list of the locations.

This is the only time I'm going to mention the iPhone here.

2300 miles in three days, Atlanta to Los Angeles. But yes, I am back. I may be pretty well buried for a while getting things back up to speed (need to get back on top of work cycles and start apartment hunting, that sort of thing) but I have every intention of making this chapter of my life as epic as possible.

To quote my favorite killer military-grade AI from an apocalyptic future:

"Time to hunt."

THIS is a SPARTAN!!

I got into design and typography well after the digital revolution had swept aside the old guard, so I missed out on industrial-age gems like these at Firefly Press in Somerville, MA. A fuller story of these guys (as well as contact data and such – Firefly still has no website – can be found here

Machinery like this always strikes me as something out of a steam-age science fiction novel. Makes me want to travel to Massachusetts just to see this thing in action, to set some steel type for my own letterhead and press it with ink I mix myself by eye. What an art form.

While you're there, check out the rest of Elsa Dorfman's site and marvel at the clever MBTA-inspired navigation map and her comically enormous portrait camera. Great stuff.

So, Adobe has finally released ordering details for the new CS3 production apps and collections, and some people are upset about what they're charging for them. I just want to point out that none of the current pricing is completely out of line with what they've charged in the past.

The Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign/Acrobat collection has always been in the $1100 to $1200 range, and as for the higher priced packages, just look at what you get for your $2500 – pretty much everything. Sure, that's a chunk of change but on an app-for-app basis I think it's a pretty good deal if you really need all of those applications under one roof. Otherwise, it seems to me they're delivering their applications at or near their traditional price points. These are not consumer applications, here. They're not designed to be cheap, they're designed to be powerful. And if they've been worth it in years past, why not now?

No, the real problem is that not only do I want to buy some of this new software, but now I also want some spiffy new hardware to go with it. And the MacBookPro I have specced out is going to set me back more than $2500, I assure you...

What I really wanted to talk about was the ModBook by Axiotron, which was on hand at Wizard World (smart marketing, guys) and available for me to play with for a few minutes. Now, I should mention that I have owned and used a drawing screen before in the form of a 15 inch Wacom Cintiq, and I currently use a PowerBook G4 with a 6x8 Wacom Intuos 2 tablet, so I have some basis for comparison.

The first thing that struck me was the size of the ModBook, which is to say its smallness. Though it has a 13.3 inch screen (in fact, it pretty much IS a 13.3 inch screen) it felt very small to use for actual production. I can't really hold this against it too much, though, since it's at least as large as the available slates on the PC side of things and it is a nicely portable form factor. The irony of this impression is that I regularly work on a 12" PowerBook G4. It may be that having my hand actually ON the screen, as well as the angle at which one is likely to use the ModBook, changes my impression of the useful real estate.

The thing that really stood out as problematic was, ironically, the lack of keyboard. I found the inability to easily use keyboard modification keys like Option and Command to be a real hindrance in software like Photoshop and Illustrator, much less missing keyboard shortcuts like the Delete key (I was embarrassed to discover I didn't know where the Clear command resided in the Illustrator's pulldown menues – it's possible I have never once used it from the menu in 15 years). Even when I had the Cintiq and used it daily, I always had a keyboard on the desk either in front of it or off to the side or above it (when the screen was in my lap).

I really became aware of the fact that almost every aspect of computer interfacing has evolved in a world where a keyboard is practically omnipresent and production apps like Photoshop and Illustrator have built-in dependence on it. True, you can navigate and command almost entirely with a mouse (and therefore the stylus) but you do lose a remarkable degree of quickness and flexibility. Put your keyboard away for a few minutes and try using just the mouse to do some work for a while. You get the idea pretty quickly.

BUT, all that said, where the ModBook really shines is as a portable digital sketchbook (from my point of view – I'm sure people in other professions can figure out all kinds of tablet-y purposes to which to apply this device, but I draw and design and that's what I use computers for, mainly) and that's where the size and lack of keyboard start to become real assets. Couple it with drawing software that really is designed for slates and you could get some real use out of this thing. It's still a compelling reason (I can imagine sketch blogging and other casual, immediate uses that the ModBook would be practically perfect for. Add a bluetooth keyboard and a little easel or stand and you even solved most of the above-mentioned problems.

If I could suggest changes to future models, it would be really great to see a ModBook Pro (converted from a 15- or 17-inch MBP) one of these days. Oh, and guys? Please, please, please re-think the etching of the logo and name into the bezel. Take a cue from Apple and simply put the logo icon (no words) there if you must, and at the very least change the font – the one you're using looks very dated (would have been very spiffy in 1983).

So, yes, I'm still a fan, definitely, and I may yet wind up getting one to really see what use I can put it to. It's just not as close to the top of my must-purchase-now hardware list as I though it might be.

I almost forgot to mention the other thing I did this weekend – attend the Wizard World LA comic show. Now, the show itself I'm not sure I was that impressed by, but I don't think I'm really squarely the target public for this kind of con. It's been a good number of years since I was really into superhero type comics (my burn out of that genre catalyzed by a combination of the homogenization of American comics in the '90s, the price inflation of the books and my discovery of independently-produced comics such as those in the Flight books) and that is exactly what the Wizard Worlds specialize in. But I'm getting to the point where I know some of the people (mostly other artist types) whom I do enjoy seeing from time to time and there are always some gems, so they're never a total loss.

Specifically, my pal Alberto Ruiz has been busy producing books for himself and others under his Brandstudio Press imprint and I have to say the results are really lovely. Hardback storybook-sized editions with matte finishes and spot UV coatings really improve on the old Xeroxed-and-stapled sketchbook handouts. Specifically, I picked up a book called Strawberry by Joe Pekar and it's a real treat, featuring exceedingly cute girls lovingly rendered in his distinctively painterly style. The gloss paper really punches his colors and the book is a real treat.

Ditto for a similar book by Sean Galloway (who is an absurdly talented and prolific cartoonist and character designer), but since Sean sold out before I could grab one (hook me up at SD, yeah?) I can only say that the production is similarly impressive as Joe's book and a worthy showcase for his wonderfully liquid characters.

Young Dubliners at the Key Club

So, my favorite rock/irish band switched it up this year and instead of playing the House of Blues on the 17th, they played the Key Club on the 16th (last night, in fact spilling well over into the 17th - an occurrence they made sure to illustrate to the assembled throng by raising a lovely 17 inch MacBook Pro up on stage that had the time ticking off on it in big, clear numbers).

Their schedule and venue change kind of threw me - HOB on the 17th is such a tradition - but have to say I think I probably enjoyed the Key as much or more. The place is smaller and so every vantage point is immediately more intimate and they held to their capacity limit, so even though the show was sold out, you could move even in the most packed areas of the floor crowd. And the sound was about as perfect as I've ever heard in any live venue.

I used to go to the Key Club regularly when I first moved to LA back in '97, but got out of the habit after a few years for various reasons. I think I'll need to rectify that on subsequent visits. Anyway, they did a great job and I had a complete and total blast - the Young Dubliners are one of the most enjoyable live bands I've ever seen, Irish or not.

Consider this your open invitation to join me next year for the St. Pat's show.

Hope you're having a great Day o' the Green! Slainte!

And this one from this morning, the result of an itch to work up a quick World of Warcraft guild logo for my old guildmate Purin. He seemed pleased. ]:)

Two new artworks for two good reasons. Firstly, because Karen asked me to contribute something to her charity auction (a recurring theme for me ,apparently) and I wanted to do something original. Secondly, because it was high damn time I did Karen's portrait (some of the portrait in my gallery are our mutual friends). I did the warmer toned version first, and then kept playing until I found the second one, which appeals to me in a kind of cool, gothic way that I dig. So, Karen Warm and Karen Cool:

Just to let those who care that I am on my way to Los Angeles for a few weeks, mostly for work, but also for play. When I was there in December it was for about two weeks and I barely had any time to myself. I'm hoping this time the schedule may be somewhat less compressed. I know, I don't really believe that either, but it's a lovely thought.

Artwise, here's a blast from the past, since it's the most appropriate thing I've done for Valentine's Day.

The absence of updates hereabout may be blamed on equal parts being rather busy doing actual work, and the new World of Warcraft expansion. And yes, like a true geek, I bought the Collector's Edition, which not only comes with a great concept art book of the game, but also the soundtrack CD, behind the scenes DVD, a bunch of miscellaneous knickknacks I will never use, and, best of all, a new in-game pet called a netherwhelp (it's like a baby dragon).

Heh, just kidding. I got it for the art book. No, seriously. Really.

I've been waiting for Apple to release a Macintosh Tablet for years and I'm not the only one. It may be that they have been saving up all of their patents for touch-screen doodads for the iPhone and certainly it seems to be technology well invested. But among the iPhone's drawbacks (yes it has some), the fact that it is NOT a Mac Tablet I find to be it's most critical flaw.

I suppose I can't really hold it against Apple, per se. The market for tablet and slate PCs is most diplomatically described as niche and Apple's computer market share is still in the 5%ish range. A thin slice of a thin slice is hardly an argument for introducing a new computer product category. Personally, I think that if they did introduce one with the typical Apple design acumen it would still make a splash and maybe people would finally realize what's so cool about tablets after all. But that's speculation or wishful thinking on my part.

Anyway, I'm not the only one who wants one of these things, and some rather enterprising other people have gone the hell ahead and made one for themselves. And to judge from the buzz surrounding it at MacWorld, if it's what it's cracked up to be, it could be a big hit.

They call it the ModBook.

Their site has plenty of details, but essentially what they've done is taken an actual Apple MacBook and replaced the screen and keyboard with a Wacom Cintiq-style pen screen, held together in a slate form by their own custom frame.Not only does it have all the functionality of a MacBook (including wi-fi and bluetooth) but they've tucked a GPS device in for good measure.

Personally, I'm most interested in the fact that it is potentially a true electronic sketchbook (with 256 levels of pressure sensitivity) that combines the (ironically rather bulky) setup of a PowerBook plus Wacom tablet into a single, simple device. I'm one of those oh-so pretentious Mac users who likes nothing more than working from quaint neighborhood cafés, so any space and weight I can save is worth it - must have room on the table for that coffee and scone, right?

I really hope the ModBook is everything it seems to be - it's almost exactly the device I would build if I had the resources.

I'm convinced that when we finally do get our flying cars, they will sport the Apple logo.

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