Entry 305: Blast From the Past- Part 28

In 2007 I went clear-line style for a few issues of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. I went from rendering everything completely in gray-tones in my first Star Wars issues, to scaling back a little, and now I was jumping to pure clear lines with no rendering.

Entry 304: Blast From The Past - Part 27

So after the King Kong comic I jumped onto Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. We're going back to 2006 in this Blast From The Past Entry. 

Entry 287: Blast From the Past Part-23

Have I really done 22 Blast from the past entries? That seems like too many. I never expected these entries to go on so long. I seem to want to share everything I've ever done. I know some artists really hate their old work. They act like they'd like to bury it so no one could see it again. I mean, I understand looking at your work and seeing all the mistakes, but honestly that's something that happens to me a lot more when I'm working on a thing. It often takes some time for me to see what I did well. I enjoy reassessing old work. Each time I do I see new things, some good and some bad.

Entry 281: Blast From the Past- Part 21

This blog hasn't become exclusively about my older work. I swear I'm working on new things. I've got like three projects that I'll be able to talk about real soon. There are exciting times for any fans of my work right around the corner. But while we wait, let's get another Blast from the Past entry done.

At the San Diego Comic Con in 2004 I was back to spending some amount of my time there trying to get work. I stopped by Lee Bermejo's table to say hi and he told me that there was a new editor named Jeremy Barlow at Dark Horse working on Star Wars Tales and that he was looking for artists. He suggested I show my work to him. So I did.

I soon wrapped up my work on The Tenth Circle. I had also moved out of my Grandparents house and was now living with a girlfriend. I was working on my Wildcats pitch and issue 4 Assassins Guild  pages. I was out of money. I started drawing pieces to sell (I'll show that stuff next time).

But just then Jeremy Barlow and Dark Horse came through for me. I'm not sure how much my connection to Chris Warner and my having done a little fill-in on Alien Vs. Predator played into my getting a job through Jeremy, but I think it must have a little.

Entry 182: Comic Con' France

That is a picture of me eating snails, which could only mean one thing. I'm going to tell you all about Comic Con' France!

It's actually been a few weeks now since my trip to Paris and I'm sure everyone on the entire Internet has been waiting with bated breath to know how my trip went? Well un-bate your breathes because it's time for my full Comic Con' France report, complete with photos and my commissions! Plus I have an extra bit of something as a bonus. So strap on your strap-on's and lets get this party started.

Entry 117: FCBD sketches

I don't have as much to show you from this Free Comic Book Day as I've had in the past. Last year and the year before I spent the whole day signing and sketching. This year I was only there for a few hours, so I was only able to do a few sketches.

Still, it was a lot of fun.

Entry 112: Blast From The Past Part 9

Hi-
I'm overdue for a new blast from the past post. So lets all step inside the time machine and take a little trip back to 1999... Or maybe it was 2000. I gotta be honest I don't know what year we're going back to. I thought that the first year that I went to the San Diego comic con with my portfolio was in 1999, but when I count backwards each year, it has to be in 2000. I'm missing a year!

Entry 86: Dath Revan

Here's a little something for the Star Wars Kotor fans.

This is a commission I did not long ago. I don't really do commissions from home. I'll do them at conventions but I'm not into doing it at home. It has a lot to do with not knowing how to charge. I guess when I'm not doing work I don't want to be doing a commission. I want to be spending time with my family or working on something for myself. It's hard to know how to charge for something I don't want to do and don't necessarily need to do and make it worthwhile. It's a dilemma.

 This commission I did because the guy hung in there a long time. He continually e-mailed me, was polite, and eventually I thought I should do something for him. Also, what he wanted (Darth Revan) I knew I could have a little fun with, since when I was working on Kotor I was anticipating drawing this guy and never really got to. 
So now, here he his, Darth Revan.

Entry 63: When there's touble you call DW

I think I had just started Kingbreaker when Randy Stradley at Dark Horse asked if I could do a Dark Times cover. He said it would be a Doug Wheatley layout and that I had months before it was due. Since I had such a long time to get it done and Doug was already doing part of the work and since I like Doug's work, I said yes. While I was working on KB 2 I got an e-mail from Randy's assistant wondering if I had the cover done yet. I didn't. I hadn't even started. I thought I still had a long time before it was due and so I was focusing on KB which was behind schedual. So, thinking that they needed the cover right away I took a couple days break from KB to do it. Only now are they soliciting the cover. I probably could have waited till I was all done with Kingbreaker before doing it, instead of getting myself even more behind. Oh well. It's all behind me now. And I like how the cover came out. It will be the cover for Star Wars: Dark Times #16.

I worked pretty closely from Doug Wheatley's layout on this. Sometimes when you're working over another artists layouts you end up wanting to change a lot, but when I saw Doug's sketch for this cover I wanted to retain as much of it as I could. He's a really great artist and I encourage you to check out his work in Star Wars: Dark Times. Also, check out his blog here.

The title of this entry is from the theme song to the Disney cartoon DarkWing Duck. The line has staid with me all these year. You know, because my initials are DW... I wonder if Doug has had the same experience...

Anyway, here's Doug's sketch that I turned into the piece you see above.

Entry 48: Rebellion 16 Preview, Comic Con, EU Cantina interview

Star Wars: Rebellion #16-Vector part 8
Writer: Rob Williams

 

 

Artist: Dustin Weaver

 

Colorist: Wil Glass

 

Cover Artist: Dan Scott

Darth Vader successfully lures Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia into a trap that could cripple the Rebel Alliance, as "Vector"-the most important Star Wars event of 2008-concludes its third arc, setting the stage for the final galaxy-shaking showdown in Star Wars: Legacy!
On the dark surface of a desolate moon, Luke and Leia meet their first Jedi since Obi-Wan Kenobi, only to realize too late this Knight of the Old Republic is far different than their fallen friend--twisted by the Sith's Muur Talisman and enraged by Darth Vader! Together, Luke and Leia must make a choice with far-reaching consequences, not just for themselves, but for the fate of the entire galaxy!

 

Publication Date: August 27, 2008

There you have it. Rebellion #16. It's the last issue of Rebellion for a while so check it out... after checking out #15 of course.

So I got back home to Portland from the San Diego Comic Con the other night. What a great show it was. It was crazy as usual. Most of my time was spent face down doing commissions, which I wouldn't have any other way. I really wanted to thank everyone who stopped by my table. I really enjoyed talking comics and art with everyone. I also wanted to thank Christina Strain for being an awesome artist alley neighbor, and of course my lovely fiancee, Lauren, for helping me at the table.

While I was busy trying to keep up with the commissions a guy came up to me and asked for a quick head sketch. I was in between commissions and I knew I could do a quick head sketch before starting the next commission so I said sure. Then he busted out a video camera and told me he would post it on youtube. So no pressure right? I was torn the whole time I drew it with how finished I should to make it. I also wanted to do it pretty quick so that it was watchable on youtube... Anyway here it is.

 

 

I've also done an interview with EU Cantina.net that you can check out here: EU Cantina Interview
... So there you go. Lot's of stuff:)

Entry 45: Legacy #29 cover

Solicitations for this issue have Brad Anderson credited for this cover, but in fact, it was little ol' me who drew it. If you look closely at the stripe on the floor you can see my signature in white.
 This is the cover for Legacy #29 Vector Part 10 (of 12). This marks my first time doing anything for Legacy and my 4th Vector cover. It's pretty cool to get to do a little work on these other Star Wars eras. The only era I haven't gotten to draw now is the Dark Times era.
 I actually did this page from start to finish in 4 and a half days, which is really fast for me. Randy (the editor) called me up and asked if I could do a cover in 4 days. I said I would try and I almost made it.
So... I wish I could have taken more time. there are a few things that I don't really like, but over all, given the constraints, I'm pretty pleased.
This comes out Oct 29.

Entry 42: Rebellion 15 Preview

Everytime I post any kind of preview for an upcoming Star Wars issue I usually ask the editors at Dark Horse first if it's cool to post what I want to post. Sometimes they say no, like in the case of Entry 39 where all I could post was a costume design for Luke. But, it seems thees 2 pages have been posted by Rob Williams on his blog already. So I assume he got permission to post them.
Something to note on these pages: they were drawn at a reduced size almost at the size they will be printed.

Star Wars: Rebellion #15

Writer: Rob Williams
Artist: Dustin Weaver
Cover Artist: Travis Charest
Colorist: Will Glass
The biggest Star Wars event of 2008 has reached the Rebellion era. Now, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewie will have to deal with "Vector" as it crosses their paths and changes the galaxy!
It has been twenty years since Darth Vader's encounter with the power of the Muur Talisman. As the power of the Rebellion grows, Vader's thoughts turn to the ancient Sith relic: though he was unable to harness its power, might it be used as a weapon against the enemies of the Empire?
Luke and Leia are walking into a trap, one which may close on both sides!
Publication Date: Jul 30, 2008

Entry 41: Emerald City Convention Report

This past Friday I made the drive up from Portland to Seattle for the Emerald City Convention. Lauren and I checked into the hotel at 3:30 pm. Our room was a corner room on the 21 floor with a fantastic view of the city.
(What a lame picture) After an hour of settling in and unwinding we went out to walk around. We headed down to the Pike Place Market. I've been up to Seattle a bunch of times now but I've never gone to the Market. It was alright. We stopped into eat something at a Russian pastry place called Piroshky Piroshky.
(I didn't take this picture. Just fond it on line) We had some Piroshkies and Borsch. They had a notebook that you could leave comments in so I took the opportunity to leave a little sketch.
The first day of the convention was pretty crazy. It seemed like a lot of people showed up. I shared a table with my friend, former editor for Dark Horse, and now full time writer, Jeremy Barlow. I spent the whole day face down doing sketches. It was a blast.
I did a lot of Star Wars related commissions but some of my favorite ones were pretty strange mash-ups like a Jedi Ninja Turtle and a Chewbacca Skrull. I don't have pictures of those commissions. Unfortunately I was only able to scan one of the pieces.

(No reference on that piece, by the way) My girlfriend, Lauren, who makes clothes, decided to make a special shirt just for the convention. She likes Gryph from Knights of the old Republic. She's never actually read any of the comics she just thinks that he's cute. Every time I draw him she has to comment about how she likes him. When I told her what he was and how he's a member of an obscure alien race in the Star Wars universe she thought it would be funny to make this shirt.
At one point I had to leave my table to use the bath room and while I was rushing passed booth after booth I suddenly realized I had just passed one of my heroes, Juan Gimenez. I was so surprised to see him there. I had to stop and tell him what a big fan I am. I wanted to talk with him more but he didn't seem to speak much English. Luckily Lauren speaks Spanish so I had her tell him how much I like his work. She went on to have a long conversation with him while I sat at my table. She went on to me about how nice he is.
Over all it was a really great time. Met some cool people. Hung out with friends. And I think that the convention is a really great one. I can't wait to do it again next year. Also, if you got a sketch from me at the show it would be great to get a scan of it or good picture. So, feel free to e-mail it to me:)

Entry 39: Rebellion 15

  This is a quick sketch of Luke in a costume that he will be wearing in Rebellion #15 and 16. This is also about the only art I'm allowed to show at the moment from these issues. Rebellion 15 and 16 will be parts 7 and 8 of the 12 part Star Wars crossover, Vector. And they are being drawn by me:) It's really exciting for me to get to work on this era of Star Wars. After working on Star Wars comics for the last couple years I'm finally getting to draw some classic characters and ships. Till now I've only drawn books that take place in the Knights of the Old Republic era. It's been fun, but I haven't really had the geek out moments drawing Kotor that I'm having on Rebellion.

  Also, I'm finally getting a Travis Charest cover for one of my issues! Travis did the first 6 covers for the Kotor series and stopped there just as I came on the series. Then he did the cover for #25 right after I left on issue 24. But now, I finally get a Travis cover, and what a cover. I'm posting it below. Out of the 3 vector covers he's done so far this is my favorite.
 This issue is set to come out July 30.

Below: Travis Charest's cover

Entry 32: KotOR #30 cover

Another cover by yours truly. What was fun for me with this cover and the last was drawing these super buff alien guys. It reminded me of all the excessively muscular heroes I used to draw when I first got into reading comics. With this cover I was mentally referencing Jim Lee's covers to Uncanny X-Men #267 and his Batman Hush cover #612.

Entry 28: KotOR #29 cover

A new cover! What's with Jarael?... Who cares. It's all about the Gryph. Every artist who draws the Grygh seems to have their own take on his look and some of those takes are very different from others. I can't say why other artists draw him the way they do, but I can say why I draw him the way I do.
 My take on Gryph's look has changed over time.  When I first started working on the series I didn't actually know what Gryph was. I thought that he was an original species created by JJM and Brian (the creators of Kotor). I didn't know he was a species featured in the Star Wars films that I could easily reference. Nobody told me. So my original take on him was based solely on Brian's version of him. He seemed to me to have a kind of ape-ish snout so that's the structure I went with. I made the style choice to draw him with squinty eyes and a frown almost all the time. It wasn't till the end of my first issue that I figured out what he actually was. So from that point on I started subtly changing his look little by little. When I made the jump from issue 10 to 13 I made the biggest change to his look and, in my mind, the final change. It was hard reconciling how I made him look in issue 7 and how that alien species really looks. My version had squinty close set eyes and that species has bulbous wide set eyes. My version has a frown the other has a kind of permanent smile. My version had a narrow head with a longish snout the other a rounder head. I played with a lot of different variations before finding one I liked.
 To me the version of Gryph on this cover is the same one I've been doing since issue 13. If it looks different on this cover it's because I colored it myself. Coloring him myself gave me the opportunity to show exactly how I picture him. The differences are in the separation of the hair color from the skin tone and the eyes are shaded to look more bulbous... That's pretty much it.

Entry 24: KotOR 28 cover

This has been on the internet for a few days now so I guess it's cool for me to post it hear. On these last 2 covers I've been using my usual gray tone markers to render them, but I've been using more pencil to render as well. So if you see a difference in the covers for issue 27 and 28 from what I've been doing that's why.

Entry 22: Kotor #27 cover

Here's my third cover for Knights of the old Republic and my second self colored cover. For you Kotor fans, when you're wondering who this evil guy is, remember there are a lot of Mandos in yellow armor. That's really the problem with everybody having the same armor, but there are details to what this guy is wearing that help indicate who he is.

Entry 20: KotOR #23 Preview

Due out November 28. If this comes out on time, and I think it will, that will be 3 books of mine out in 1 month.

Here's a link to the Preview on the Dark Horse sight with dialog.

Entry 19: Kotor 22 Tidbits

Kotor 22 has a lot of return characters,locations, and vehicles. It also has a lot of game characters making there first comic book appearance. A good deal of vehicles that I've created for this series make appearances in this issue, like the Mandolorian Star fighters, Fast attack ships, Carrier landers, Mando swoop bikes, there was even one of the Mando attack skiffs that I drew in issue 7 but it was covered by a word ballon. With all that was packed into this issue there wasn't much room for anything new, but in the back ground in a few shots you might be able to pick out this thing.

It's a Mandalorian attack land vehicle. It's like a unicycle-tank. When Zaerdra runs in shouting, "The Mandies are bringing in more firepower," in the background you might be able to make out one of these along with some Basilisk war droids.
Another tidbit:

 Sometimes I like to throw in some non Star Wars characters just for fun... or at least, characters who look a lot like non Star Wars characters. In this panel you can see a guy who look a lot like The Metabaron and a guy who looks like Kaneda in the background. Moebius's Incal and Akira are 2 of my favorite comics. The Incal in particular was something I thought about while doing this issue. Just check out the first few pages of the Incal 1, the free fall that Zayne takes in this issue was very inspired by that scene. In the past I've slipped in a girl who looks like Nausicaa from Miyazaki's "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" and a Chihiro robot from Osama Tezuka's "Phoenix." Along with The Incal and Akira, Nausicaa and Phoenix are among my favorites.