Tuesday, June 30, 2009

A Very Rob Snarky

Heh... just checked out my friend Rob Forest's blog and got quite a surprise.

He gave his patent pending "Rob" touch to my dear character Snarky.

Hop on over to his blog and take a peak, his blog can be found at: http://eggnoir.blogspot.com/

For a more direct path to the posts click on the following links: Blogpost 1 - Blogpost 2

-Jacot

I'M BACK!!!

Hey everybody...

Good news, I got rid of the Gremlin in my computer this means more art coming soon!!!

Someone once said "always to be sure to have a backup plan."... well I'm here to say (in regards to my computer and system) I have a backup plan, a contingency plan, and a backup to my contingency plan. Barring some unfortunate incident with hardware I'll should have minimized downtime.

So keep an eye out I'll have new art posted soon, and to make your trip here not totally wasted on my ramblings here's a little something new...




-Jacot

Friday, June 19, 2009

Falling...

I've finally revisited this piece and finished the inks. It'll be going to colors in the near future. After more Knights of Columbus work.

Let me know what you think...



Now, I would have had this up earlier but I seem to have a small gremlin running around on my motherboard. I've got it cornered though, not much longer now till the issues resolved.

I just hope the gremlin didn't get wet...

-Jacot

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Interviews from S.P.A.C.E.

Thought I'd post a link to some interviews that I did during SPACE (Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo) in Columbus OH.

First is a video interview with the Underground Video Network



The other is an interview done with Comic Related. I really enjoy the Comic related crew and am currently working on creating an Artist Forum. Follow the link below to hear the interview.


I'm working on getting some new things together to post, it's been busy reorganizing everything and really solidifying the relaunch of the Comics Obscura website.

Until next time.

-Jacot

Monday, June 8, 2009

COMICS OBSCURA MEETINGS R.I.P.

I'd like to take a moment of my time to address some recent events.

As of June, 7th 2009 the Comics Obscura meetings are no more.

No that doesn't mean there's not a group of people who meet at Gone Wired Cafe Sunday nights it's just they are now known as Dark Corner Productions.

I'm very proud of everyone who has decided to form a conglomerate and wish them well on their endeavors.

I however will not be involved in the Sunday meetings any more, I have other projects which I can dedicate my time to which are much more personally and socially satisfying. By social I don't mean social gatherings but truly getting a chance to help out those that want to create and increase the output of quality work into society.

Now I'm left with a nearly insurmountable task... to recreate the Comics Obscura name.

You see the name Comics Obscura has become a Joke that's being slung across counters at comic book shops with laughter following the phrase "did the next issue of Comics Obscura come out this week?".

to give you a sense of how this became a joke here's the release dates of the first four issues.

Issue #1: December 16th, 2006

Issue #2: April 28th, 2007

Issue#3: February 23, 2008

Issue#4: May 20th, 2009

You'll notice publications taking longer towards the end, various creators were taking on more responsibility and using less time to produce. These creators were relied on for "submissions" into the first few issues of Comics Obscura as the stories were "to be continued". These stories were guaranteed a spot in each issue of Comics Obscura. This created a false "submission" guideline and caused many prospective contributors to turn towards other avenues to show their work to the public. This limited the amount of submissions being received and reduced the number of people coming to the meeting who want to produce.

Now during this time there were three things happening... stagnation, procrastination, and frustration. The frustration was on my part and I had enough of it. Last year after multiple failed deadlines mounting frustration and the loss of readership I made a decision.

The decision was to no longer be the leader of the Comics Obscura group. The group was left to their own devices, setting their own deadlines and organizing the comic. I had lost too much time focused on other creators work and I hadn't given enough of my time producing my own work. Unfortunately when it came down to finishing issue four I was once against tossed into the lead of organizing the publication and come deadline (by deadline I mean the absolute last date to have the publication submitted to allow enough time to print the issue and get it back in time for Motor City Comic Con) submissions were still late.

For a long time at these meetings I've made the statement that the publication known as Comics Obscura is me. The group was always another entity... It was supposed to be a gathering of like minded individuals to help each other produce work, not a business.

This brings me to another point: communication.

It seems no matter how many times I stated that the meetings and the Comic are two separate entities, it fell upon deaf ears. After reading a post over at my friend Rick Schlaack's blog it was finally recognized that just this past Sunday the Comics Obscura meetings and the publication are no longer affiliated. This came as a surprise to me, even a shock i would go as far to say.

When did this become an event?

Why was a separation of affiliation ever needed?

I don't know the answers to these questions but I guess sometimes questions are better left unanswered (though I have made comments on Rick's blog, fell free to read the post and my comments here, since this post the blog mentioned was pulled down the reply to the post being deleted can be seen here: http://thepenguin12.blogspot.com/2009/06/snafu.html Note - 6/19/09: the intial post that was once deleted has been reposted here: http://thepenguin12.blogspot.com/2009/06/times-they-are-achangin_18.html)

I have other things to say but will retain that information for another day, so in light of the separation of affiliation I would like to make an announcement...

I should actually say a solution...

The Comics Obscura Anthology is a short story comic now to be based entirely on submissions.

All stories must be 2-8 pages long and be "done in one" this doesn't mean you can have reoccurring characters it's only that the stories have to open and close in the allotted space (Kurt Spatrisano hit the nail on the head with this idea over a year and a half ago, luckily some of the creators took almost a year and a half to produce this last issue.)

The website is being reworked and relaunched later this summer (Until the website is relaunched all traffic will be directed to this blog for updates.) It will contain submission guidelines, contracts, links to contributors, links to purchase the various publications, links to purchase digital copies of the publications, and a new forum based around getting creative teams together. This last part is what the meetings on Sunday were partly about the other part was a gathering of like minded individuals getting together to help each other produce work. Now the meetings have become a new entity entirely.

Truly It's a new day for Comics Obscura and myself as a publisher and creator.

I'm looking to fill in the emptiness that was created from the deterioration of the Sunday night meetings as they became more of a social gathering and less about production. Many creators came out for one night and never returned. I'm looking to build a community of comic creators and have made many friends who are working hard to provide quality work and bring the comics medium to the public eye.

I also would like to begin a gathering/workshop one night a month that has guest speakers and creators who come in and explain their production and creation processes. I would like to leave enough time during these sessions for a Q&A panel involving each presentation to get the community more actively involved. I will probably be the moderator of each of the sessions.

Let me know what you think? I'd love to hear some feedback regarding these ideas and the events that have taken place.

Here's something I need to say: You, the person reading this right now, it's because of you that I create new work. Without you I wouldn't be able to produce the Comics Obscura books or any other publication under the Comics Obscura title. Even if you've never bought a single thing I've produced, it's because of you I produce these. If I ever loose sight of creating work you enjoy, please, let me know.

Keep your eyes peeled there's plenty more stuff to come.

-Jacot

Saturday, June 6, 2009

KOC Digital Fun

Working on some projects right now that I can't publish here... yet...

So I just wanted to toss this quick little diddy out there...

I played around with colors and toning as well as inserting a background.



Be back soon,

-Jacot

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Portfolio Pieces

Back in 2004 I applied to get into The Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. I thought I'd share some of my pieces that were submitted in the portfolio.

First will come the image and then the name and description of the piece as required by the portfolio submission.

(click on the images to open a larger image in a new window)


Sitting Woman
Pencil on Newsprint 18”x24”
12-minute study, capturing the female model sitting in a chair, with the pure enjoyment of the joke that was told. 2001


Glimpse of Beauty
Pencil on Newsprint 18”x24”
12-minute study, Female sitting in chair the position chosen on the subtleties of the face just past the hair. 2001


Anger in Ink
Brush pen on Newsprint 18”x24”
20 Minute study, Female model exhuming negativity, chose to capture this feeling and the hard lighting with fast harsh lines. 2001


Lazarus Design
Pencil, Blue Pencil, and Ink on paper
A conglomeration of multiple character sketches done in the preparation of a self published comic book. This character was to be one of two main protagonists. Pasted together using scans and Painter 7.0. 2002-2004


Morgan Design
Pencil, Blue Pencil, and Ink on Paper
A conglomeration of multiple character sketches done in the preparation of a self published comic book. This character was to be the main antagonist. Pasted together using scans and Painter 7.0. 2002-2004


Alastor Design
Pencil, Blue Pencil, and Ink on paper
 A conglomeration of multiple character sketches done in the preparation of a self published comic book. This character was to be one of two main protagonists. Pasted together using scans and Painter 7.0. 2002-2004


Miscellaneous Comic Design
Pencil, Blue Pencil, and Ink on paper
A conglomeration of multiple character sketches that were to play roles in the story of a self published comic book. Pasted together using scans and Painter 7.0. 2002-2004


Agents of Fate Cover
Digital Media
This piece was to be the cover for the first issue of a self published comic book entitled agents of fate. All of the art on this piece were done by hand on the computer using Painter 7 and an Intuous 2.0 pad. This image is to represent the three main characters. Morgan stands in the middle, “The Thinker” represents Alastor, and the dragon statue represents Lazarus. 2004


Japanese Screen
Digital Media
Hand drawn on the computer using Painter 6 and an intuous 2.0 drawing tablet. This piece was created with the essence of the Japanese folding screens; each panel could be separated and held up as an individual piece. 2002


Unfortunately I was not able to attend the Kubert school due to lack of funding. However the experience was worth it. It made me realize I already had a lot of the skills that would havebeen  developed at the Kubert School.

I started to look at my weaknesses and found many things I needed to work on. From there I started to teach myself various techniques. I referenced many great books for material and started dissecting comic pages to find various for storytelling devices.

It's a never ending process and I'll be a student of the Comic medium until the day I die...

But what a life it will be.

-Jacot