SDCC Items: Deviled Haminal

I try to roam around the Small Press Table area of SDCC a couple of times or more. That area is on the other end of the Con, which can take 15 minutes or more to get there. It usually depends on the timing of the exclusives being released at the other booths though. In the past I found some nice looking prints and plush items being sold there. Even Kerry and Darth had a table promoting their Evil Ice Cream there once.

This year there were 2 items I really had to get from from there. One was from Crystal Chesney Thompson the other from Camilla d'Errico.

I think it was at SDCC 2007 that I bought the first Haminal from Crystal Chesney Thompson's booth. I remember seeing one of the plush Haminals at Dan's Mr. Toast booth. The pink Haminal plush came in a rectangular can (like Spam) with a styrofoam pineapple slice (which does not fit in the can). The can itself looked a bit hadmade and the lid did not stay closed. Have to use a rubberband to keep the lid on. I loved the way it looked and just had to have one of them. Another reason I needed to get it was that it reminds me of Spam and I grew up eating that stuff since it is a popular food staple in Hawaii (mom's side of the family is from there). I asked him where he got that from, he pointed me in the direction and I got it. When I heard that she was releasing a Deviled Haminal for SDCC 2009, I had to get that one too. These are limited to 500 pieces. Each plastic can is numbered on the bottom, which she also signed. I got number 30/500. The lid on these fit perfectly, but the pineapple slice still does not fit inside the can. I even picked up a mini plush Haminal. Crystal also has a book, shirts and a plush sushi Haminal plush too. Next time I am going to have to ask if she can do a sketch in my book.

Camilla d'Errico is an illustrator/artist with a manga influenced style. Her brightly colored paintings and prints are gorgeous. She has done some work in manga and even has her own series of books, Burn and Tanpopo. Some of her art style in the books reminds me of illustrations from Serial Experiments: LAIN. The item I had to get from her table was the plush Kuro from her Tanpopo series. He is limited to 1500 pieces. This one is in black. I did see a white one, which is not yet available, on her table and another at the DKE booth. The white one has an open mouth. Unfortunately when I went there to get it she was away at a panel, so I didn't get a chance to meet her. Maybe next year...

SDCC Items: Poketo

So when I went to SDCC this year, I picked up the many exclusives that I wanted to get from the different booths. Got stuff from Hasbro, Mattel and some from many other booths. But there were some that were unexpected pickups for me. First up are a couple of items I got from the Poketo booth. Saw these on Saturday and waited until Sunday to get them. Needed to see how much cash was left by the end of the Con.

A handmade, Limited Edition Poketo x Cupco plush ($40). They are called Gaza Kids and limited to only 9. Each one came individually bagged with a header card, 3 stickers, a removable scarf, Arabic writing printed on the back and a different image on the front shirt. Like all of the plush dolls that Cupco creates, these also have the removable and interchangeable heads (link here). Since these are much, much smaller than the regular Cupco plush dolls, you can only swap the heads between the 9. I have 2 of their regular-size handmades that I picked up from a gallery show years ago: a Green and a Teal Devil.

Then there is this mug ($10). After talking with Ted, one of the co-owners, for an exensive time I spotted the mugs. He showed me about 6 or 7 of them. There were about 3 that I wanted to get (Peskimo and Apak being the other 2), but I only chose this one. I don't know... something about the cute, playful images made me like it. Silvia Portella is the artist on this mug (link here). Hopefully they will be at Felt Club this year so I can get the Peskimo mug and matching shirt.

SDCC 2009 Sketches

Every year at SDCC I try to get some sketches in my sketch book from some of the many artists signing at the booths during the Con. I discovered Debbie Huey's Bumperboy character about 4 years ago while strolling through the Small Press Tables. Thought her characters were really cute on the books, buttons, stickers and shirts she had. Stories in the book are kinda aimed toward a younger audience, but I thought they were very cute and entertaining. She always has a new book or mini-book, buttons or item at every SDCC. I make sure to pick whatever it is up, plus a sketch of a different character. So far I have Bumperboy, Bumperpup, BAM! and now Hugga Hugga Bear.

I got 3 sketches from David Horvath, co-creator of Uglydolls, this year. Would have had a fourth, but I got 2 sketches on postcards for some fellow boardies on the Uglydoll site. Think me and Justin went to almost every one of his signings. He did one of Super Sentai Babo, one of Kaiju Target and one of Bossy Bear and Turtle (could not believe that I did not have a Bossy Bear sketch in my book yet). Didn't get a sketch from Sun-Min, but I heard she was around the Con with Mina and David's sister, Kerry. I did see David's brother-in-law, Darth, but he was working and I didn't want to interrupt him for a sketch at the booth he was at.

Was even lucky enough to get a sketch from Kozik of a Monger Booger surfing and a bear from Luke Cheuh. These two are a first for my sketchbook, so I'm happy about that. Should have gotten on from Crystal Chesney Thompson (creator of the Haminal) and another from Dan Goodsell (Mr. Toast). I can get a sketch from Dan another day, since I see him at other conventions all the time.

This year was a little crazy as mentioned in a previous post, so I wasn't able to get sketches from other artists that I wanted. I can't wait to get more next year though. Hope it's not as crazy...

SDCC 2009

SDCC 2009 was a few weeks ago and I know I am late with this, but the most unexpected thing came up the Sunday I came back from the Con. I got sick with the flu. This thing laid me up in bed for almost 3 days and I still have a slight cough lingering. It didn't help my body to recover when I have a publishing deadline while sick either.

But anywhoo... this has been, by far, one of my worst SDCC experiences. This year I could not go to Preview Night, since I had a deadline to finish that afternoon. Plus I had to buy individual days since 4-day passes had sold out the day I was going to buy them in April. Driving down to SD that night was pretty bad. Had I known that they were doing construction on the 5 that night and reduced the freeway lanes to one, I would have taken the long way around. I got to my hotel at midnight, starving and ready to get some sleep.

So first day line to pick up the badge was unbelieveable. Think I got there a little after 7:30am. I have never seen the line get that crazy. I mean it went out behind the SDCC building, through a parking lot and right to the edge of the docks. It took me almost 2 hours just to get my badge. Which by that time I missed the first exclusive I wanted to get... the SJ Dunnys. Heard that release had all kinds of problems too. Then I heard that some of the other exclusives had sold out on Preview Night... which sucked. Hasbro and Mattel had given out all the tix for their booth. Mattel's were gone until Saturday. Crowds were insane in some areas of the building. Wasn't even able to get the Wonder Twins w/Gleek and He-Ro figures since they sold out Friday.

Eventhough the first day went a little crazy, the rest of the days were much better to get my passes. In fact I was able to get my Hasbro tix right after I got my pass since they were in the same area. The line to get in from upstairs in the Sails Pavillion was really short and went in a few minutes early. Which really helped.

Now the entire experience wasn't all bad. I got to meet and hang with a lot of boardies from KR and Uglydoll. Met SuperBen and his friend Danny; hung out with Just1nj; saw Noella, Ray and Elora; Jmonsuko gave me a tix for a cool Human Target shirt; saw hch05 (didn't get a chance to meet though); saw Josh and always visited Dan's Mr. Toast booth. I think I got a sketch from David everyday of the Con at almost every one of his signings. I picked up everything I need to for the people I muled for. Think I got almost all the items I wanted, even some I just unexpectedly bought, like at the DKE sample sale I got a Green Guni-Guni, 2 Doolie Boxes, 2 plush Tarts and Mothman/Flatwoods Supermarket figures. Then there was the LE Mini Cupco plush and mug from Poketo, Bossy Bear Mimobot from Mimoco and Big Monger Booger from Kozik. Then there were a few action figures that I could not pass up at 3 for $10. Really wanted to get an Uglydoll jacket, but the price was a little too much for my budget.

I'm hoping next year it is not as crazy, but I already know that it will be. I know that the prices for passes will be higher. The advance ticket price for SDCC 2010 was $100 with and without Preview Night. So it's going to be a little more than that next year. Parking was at $20 in areas, hopefully that doesn't go up too much. No matter what, I'm going to go next year... even try to make it to Preview Night I hope.

Bumperboy

I was inspired to work in a medium that I am not very familiar with... Sculpy. Got the idea right after attending the AnimeExpo. But then I got additional inspiration after receiving Debbie Huey's Bumperboy Newsletter. She had a Bumperboy and Bumperpup that she made by felting.

So I decided to try my hand at working with Sculpy and chose Bumperboy as my first sculpt. Had a little bit of trouble in the beginning. Just wasn't sure the best way to build the legs.. individually or molded together. Finally chose to just make the legs as one piece and sculpt it. Formed, shaped, baked and sanded it. Probably could have sanded it a little better, but not bad for a first try.

Here is what it looks like after I primed and painted it. Used a pearlescent additive to the white to give it a little bit of a shimmer. Think I am going to try Bumperpup next and then one of my own creations.

Anime Expo 2009

The 2009 Anime Expo started on Thursday, July 2nd and runs through Sunday, July 5th. I got my usual 4 day pass this year. Decided to pick up my badge the day before since I thought it would save me some time from standing in line to get in on the first day. Guess everyone else had that same idea too. Badge pick up hours for Wednesday was 3pm to about 10pm. Think I got to the L.A. Convention Center around 3:30pm. Could not believe the line of people picking up their badges... it was insane! The line started outside, zig-zagging back-and-forth, in the afternoon sun. Then once you got into the building, you had to stand in somemore lines. By the time I left there it was about 6pm.

At least I didn't have to go early on the first day to pick up my badge. Saved some time for me there. Thursday's hours are shorter with AX starting at noon and ending at 6pm. There was a pretty substantial crowd that day. Even the Artist's Alley seemed a bit busy. That area seemed to be filled with a lot more artists this year and twice the size from the year before. There was a bit more plush and craft stuff last year. Picked up a handmade plush item from there. Not too many companies were there with booths this year, like Gaia, Maple Story, Wizards of the Coast, Tokyo Pop and Viz. Visited the Tomy booth to try out Naruto Shippuden 3 for Wii and Pangya for the PSP. Those games were fun. Some of the costumes people dress-up in are crazy detailed.

Friday was pretty packed, since this was the day that the Jpop group Morning Musume was performing their concert that afternoon. Had to get there early in the morning to get a seat in Christina Strain's 2-hour panel on Photoshop Coloring 101. After that, I tried out a demo for a Wii game called Little King's Story. Might have been there for over an hour with that game. Noticed that quite a few of the items some of the sellers were selling in the Artist's Alley were no longer on their tables. Handmade plush being one of them.

Saturday had an even bigger crowd. I still needed to get there early for part 2 of Christina Strain's 2-hour panel on Photoshop Coloring 102. This is the intermediate class, day before was beginners and Sunday is the expert. Going to have to do it again on Sunday. Picked up a few figures and a Chip N Dale UFO plush set. Got a few more freebies like a Gatchaman watch and posters. Even hung out at Dan Goodsell's Mr. Toast booth for a few hours on all 3 days. Now there is just one more day left for the convention.

Kimono Pillows

As I was fixing up my work space and taking some pics at the newly, redesigned studio. I noticed a few things sitting on the restaurant booth. There were these sofa pillows sitting there all packaged up and ready for selling. They are made from Japanese kimono fabric. They are really gorgeous! You have to see them for yourself, since the pics don't do them justice.

I thought that my studio partner, Ty, made these. Found out later that someone had given these to him for helping out on something. I really thought he produced them since he makes handbags using similar materials. Even kids clothing using Hawaiian printed fabrics. He needs to get his website back up and running to sell these things.

Now that I think about it, the both of us need to get started on that plush project we were going to do a few years ago. I have a couple of different characters I want to do first, but not sure on how that will work in plush form. Hmmm... will it be Diablo... Chowdah... Fang... or someone else...

Rearranged and Functional

In one of my previous posts I mentioned that the floorplan of the studio was being rearranged to accommodate my new studio partner. Wasn't sure how this was going to work out, but I knew it wasn't going to be too much of a problem. My other studio partner and I really never had a lot of things in there to begin with. Basically there was only the 2 desks, tv, sofa, small fridge, restaurant booth and a magazine rack. Majority of Ty's stuff was sewing equipment, supplies, materials, fabric, worktables, cabinets, racks and a few other things. It was a little tough to figure out how to fit them in, but I think it worked out in the end.

The platform with the restaurant booth and the sofa/tv were a bit of a problem. My previous studio partner and I built the platform just for that booth. Only thing is that we anchored it to the floor. So it really can't be moved. The sofa we have is just a little too long with all the stuff there now. TV has a similar problem with it being about 30"-32" and needed to be in an area you could see the screen. Plus the cable connection is there. TV stayed in the corner where it was and the sofa is against the wall next to it instead of in front of it. Think we're still deciding on selling it.

Thought about attaching the corner piece to form my desk into the "L" shape it was originally purchased at. That way it would fit perfectly in the corner of the studio where it was located before. That didn't quite work out. The only way I could make it work is by putting the longer desk behind, me against the wall, with the smaller one in front of me. Actually this worked even better because I have a better window view now. Still have to figure out where I am going to put that color lazerprinter... I think I just worked out the placement of the scanner.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Screening

Just got back from seeing a screening of the new Transformers movie, Revenge of the Fallen tonight. Got to see this at the screening theater on the Paramount lot, which has an incredible sound system and seating. All I can say about this movie is... OMG!... Unbelieveable! This one was way better than the first one. Now I can see how Shia LaBeouf hurt his hand during the filming of his stunts. The action is just incedible and Megan Fox looks absolutely smokin' HOT! Lots of laughs... Mudflap and Skids are two of the funniest Autobots in the movie. Then there are even more Transformers in this movie... there are even Insecticons and a Prentender in this one...

Everyone from the first movie returns to this sequel, along with some new characters. Finally we get to see the Constructicons and Devastator, Soundwave, Ravage, Jetfire and Arcee in the film. Although not quite in the same form as their cartoon and toy counterparts. A little disappointed with that, but can live with it. New Autobots: the Twins (Mudflap and Skids), the motorcycle sisters (Arcee, Chromia and Moonracer), Sideswipe, Wheelie, Jolt and Jetfire. New Decepticons: the Constructicons (plus Devastator), Soundwave, Ravage, the Doctor (Scalpel), Demolishor, Sideways, Rampage, the Fallen and more in their protoforms.

I really, really did not like the first movie. Mostly because the CGI designs of the Transformers and their choices on who they used in the film. But this one has much better CGI in it, I can actually tell what Decepticon is fighting. Sadly some of my favorite Autobots don't look like they survive this one. One thing that seemed kind of odd to me - Are bullets really that effective against a giant metal robot? Maybe a granade/rocket launcher would be a better choice... I'm just saying...

I am definitely going to see this movie again over the weekend.

Reborn

This July marks the two year anniversary of Captain America's death at the end of Civil War in the Marvel Universe. To celebrate this event Marvel is... bringing him back?

Captain America #600 went on sale this week, which is also the launching point for the upcoming Captain America: Reborn mini-series. With all the media attention it's receiving, a sell out is pretty much guaranteed. It has already sold out at Diamond Distributors and a second-printing of this issue is should be out in a couple of weeks or so.

Everyone knows that in comics heroes, and some villians, never stay dead for long... especially legendary ones. I was wondering when they would bring Steve Rogers back from the dead. I really hope they do this in the right way and not make it stupid or senseless. Like Spider-Man: One More Day, which I still hate. Plus what is going to happen to Bucky Barnes, who became the new Captain America. Is he going to revert back to Winter Soldier? Don't think they can have 2 Captain Americas in the Marvel Universe. Guess I'll have to wait and see in 2 weeks.

Total Drama Action!

The series spinoff to Total Drama Island made it's long awaited premiere last Thursday to huge numbers for Cartoon Network. It was the most watched among kids 6-11, 9-14 and all boys for the day. This propelled the network to its best Thursday performance year-to-date.

15 of the original 22 contestants (Chris and Chef also) make their return to this cartoon version of a reality game show. Instead of a camping/wilderness setting this series takes place in an abandoned movie studio. All the challenges revolve around movie themes. The elimination ceremony that took place around a bonfire with marshmallows for awards has been replaced with an awards ceremony and Gilded Chris Statuettes in place of the marshmallows. Storylines and relationships are carried over from TDI which add to the growth of the characters.

I loved TDI and can't wait to see what happens in this series. Think my favorite characters are Duncan, Gwen, Leshawna, Bridgette, DJ and Izzy. Now I can't wait for Stoked and hope they make another season of 6teen.

Who's Side Are You On?

This is one of the games that I really wanted to try out at E3, but was not able to. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, the sequel to Marvel Ultimate Alliance. I was able to see some of game play footage and a new trailer on the huge video screen they had at the Activision booth. Trailer can be seen here. Release date, September 2009.

Deadpool looks so awesome in the game! I hear that he even runs his mouth off throughout the game when you play as him. They don't call him "the merc with the mouth" for nothing. Over 20 playable characters to include: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Storm, Deadpool, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing, Juggernaut, Songbird, Venom, Green Goblin and possibly Bishop, Nick Fury and She-Hulk.

Main theme of the game seems to follow the Civil War storyline that appeared throughout the Marvel Universe line of comics. It involved the Superhuman Registration Act being activated with Iron Man for it and Captain America against it. Heroes, friends and allies all took a side... hero vs hero... friend vs friend. Some heroes went underground, some even quit, while others were hunted down, arrested and put into a super prison.

Studio Restructuring

Going to be rearranging the studio a bit in the next few weeks. Not going to be any big construction, just changing the layout, adding/switching out some furniture and another person is moving in. The main reason for the rearranging. Ty is joining me here in the studio, since it has been only me there. I've known him for a long time and he is a very talented designer. He does a lot of sewing projects like baby/kids clothing and handbags using Japanese/Hawaiian printed materials. We were supposed to collaborate on a plush project a few years ago, he was living in SF at the time and I was in LA, but things got busy for the both of us. Now that we are in the same studio that plush project may be coming back. So you may see some characters I drew in plush form. I'll post some later on. I have to say that I have not been very motivated, within the past year, at using the studio. But maybe this is just "the kick in the butt" I need to be creatively motivated.

It's been a a few years since we last changed the studio. In the beginning phases of getting the studio remodeled there were 3 of us partnered in on the project: Ash, Derek and myself. Just before finishing and relocating to the upstairs unit Ash left on creative differences and we were left with the 2 of us. In 2006 we were set and ready to go. Derek had used the space to edit and film a documentary movie on the history of the fortune cookie, but hasn't been there since the beginning of 2008. It has pretty much been just me using the space.

E3 2009: Square Enix, Konami - Days 2 and 3

No surprises from the Square Enix press conference, other than the previously mentioned Final Fantasy XIV. Can't believe they are announcing this when Final Fantasy XIII has not come out yet. Really no news but FFXIII stuff.

At least Konami announced Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (yes... finally a Castlevania game!) and the previously announced Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot and Peacewalker. In addition to those there will be 2 more Metal Gear Solid games: Rising and Mask Project, plus Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Saw, another DDR and Karaoke Revolution, Pop'n Music Wii, Deca Sports 2 and Wireway.

The last 2 days I was not able to stay for too long at the shows due to deadlines. But I was able to play a lot more of the games. Got to play some of the other games in Wii Sports Resort, Tony Hawk: Ride, Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time, God of War 3, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Left4Dead 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Sonic All-Stars game, Harvest Moon puzzle game and the PSP Go.

That brings this year's E3 to an exciting close... wished this was longer and not during my deadlines though... Picked up some swag stuff here and there... not a whole lot, like the previous E3's I attended. Fewer shirts and bags. G4TV has already announced that the E3 dates and location for 2010, will be at the L.A. Convention Center again on June 15-17.

E3 2009: Nintendo, Sony - Day 1

The first official day of E3 begins today at noon when the doors to the exhibit hall opens. Nintendo gets things started at their press conference at 9am. Announcing Wii Sports Resort, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario Bros. Wii, Metroid: The Other M, Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Kingdom Hearts: 365/2 Days, Final Fantasy: The Crystal Bearers, Style Savvy, new Golden Sun game and Dead Space: Extraction.

Sony's press conference followed, not too long after Nintendo's, highlighting: Uncharted 2, MAG: Massive Action Game, Hannah Montana PSP bundle, PSP Go, Gran Turismo PSP, Final Fantasy XIV, Metal Gear Solid PSP, modNation Racers, Last Guardian, God of War 3, Assasin's Creed 2, Eye Toy 2 and a new motion control.

Excited about Super Mario Bros. Wii with 4 player co-op, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and... Metroid: The Other M... Team Ninja + Nintendo = AWESOME! Although not announced at the press conference, a new Zelda game should be coming out in 2010. Only things from Sony that caught my interest was the 256 player MAG: Massive Action Game and God of War 3.

There were just so many games to play on the exhibit floor I wasn't sure where to start. So I headed to Nintendo first and worked my way around to all the other booths from there. Some of the games I got to try out at the booths were: Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Sports Resort (amazing), Rabbids Go Home (hillarious), Toy Story Mania (based off the ride itself Disney ride), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Katamari Forever, Harvest Moon: Animal Parade, Afrika (graphically stunning), Marvel Super Hero Squad, TMNT: Smash Up, All Star Cheer Squad 2, Tatsunoku vs. Capcom, Lego: Rock Band, Samurai Showdown: Edge of Destiny and King of Fighters XII.

E3 2009: Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft Kick It Off

Microsoft, EA and Ubisoft had their press conferences on Monday. There's a whole lot of stuff coming up from all three of them. Microsoft seemed to have the biggest news so far. Showing off trailers and previews of Rock Band: The Beatles, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Halo: ODST and Reach, Left 4 Dead 2, Crackdown 2, Tony Hawk's Ride, Forza 3 and Final Fantasy XIII. Gotta see the Project Natal controller... unbelieveable! Facebook, Twitter and LastFM streaming coming to the 360. Metal Gear Solid Rising an Xbox exclusive...?

The main thing I can't wait for from Ubisoft's announcements is Rabbids Go Home. A new Raving Rabbids game and No More Heroes 2 for the Wii. I love those Rabbids!! I this new game you have to collect objects to be used in a pile of junk to build a bridge to the moon. Splitter Cell: Conviction and Assassin's Creed 2 look incredible! Their fitness game looks very interesting and could give the Wii Fit some competition. Ubisoft seems to be putting a lot of effort in its tween oriented titles for the DS, making them more interactive and online. Not too sure about the Avatar game based on James Cameron's upcoming 3D movie.

Missed hearing most of EA's announcements, but they do have all the sports titles and have added MMA to that long list.

Missed listing some stuff, since so many things were announced by these 3 publishers. What a start to the 2009 E3! Nintendo and Sony have their press conferences Tuesday, while Square Enix and Konami have there's on Wednesday. Let's see if they have any surprises to top this!

I Ain't Afraid Of No Ghost... Or Am I?

There's a new game being developed for the Nintendo DSi that might just creep me out. Especially if I were to play it late at night... all alone... by myself... in the dark, if that's even possible.

The game is called Ghostwire. It's being developed by A Different Game based out of Sweden. It's kind of like a ghost hunting/research game... Think Ghost Hunters on your DSi. The game takes advantage of all the capabilities of the new DSi system by incorporating the camera, microphone and touch controls. Use the camera to search the area for spirits that will appear on the top half of the screen. Bottom half seems to use ghost hunting equipment, like a frequency modulator for tuning in the spirits. Once you have found the spirits, you can document them and find out why they are there. The ghosts can also give you riddles to solve that will help them find peace.

Not sure how far in production this game is in, but it did win 1st prize in Nokia's N-Gage Mobile Games Innovation Challenge 2008 earlier this year. That version of the game was for your cell phone or other mobile device. I'm hoping it will be at E3 next week. I'd like to see how this looks.

SDCC Sold Out - All Days

It's official... SDCC for 2009 is completely SOLD OUT! Sunday passes finally went earlier today. So if you planning to get your tickets and go... you're a little too late. I've been checking out the Spring Issue of the SDCC Update, I recently got in the mail, and checking to see what exhibtor booths are in there. I should have my "get" list for the exclusives set by the end of June. Once that's done I can tell how many things I can "mule" for people.

Here's something that I came across in a posting on the KR website. Pretty good tips for attending SDCC. There are a few that are quite humourous, but true. Check out the link!
http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/comic_con_by_the_numbers_200_tips_insights_and_cogent_observations_regardin/

Strikeforce

As I mentioned in a previous post, here is an old sketch I found cleaning out an old portfolio. I had to photocopy it to reduce it down so that it would fit on the scanner. Can't remember how old it is... maybe 15 years old or more. It's in regular pencil, on 11" x 17" paper and in an unfinished state. This was an early idea for the characters there and a few have changed since then.

I've come to notice something going through some of my sketches... I seem to have quite a few of them. Some in a rough state, others in a completed state. To top it off, I never do anything with the ideas either.

Unfortunately that's not the problem with this one. I drew this on the beach at a huge family outing. See the blotchy spot toward the top center? That's where a bird decided to add it's own handiwork to my drawing and that was the end of that. I did wipe it off, but that's the stain it left.