Saturday, November 19, 2005

Some mo doodles fo yo noodles...

[ale]

Anotha little sketch. I only give myself an hour on the lineart, and an hour in photoshop. Oh how I want to learn to color, lol! Paint Friday went well! I realized just how crappy I am, doh! I think Scott probably took first, Jim a close second, Sandra's was very nice, and Carlos, well Carlos likes to start over too much, hehe! Mine? Blehhh. I'd really like to learn how to use those tools though, and this definitely won't be my last attempt. Hopefully I can absorb some knowledge from Iwahashi. We should be able to get them scanned, and maybe posted. Till next time, have a good weekend!

-a
WOOT!WOOT!

Friday, November 18, 2005

guess i'm back for a bit...

[ale]

been gettin' work done, and then some. So i figure i could post a little more often. Show some of my recent little warm up doodles. Above is a batgirl i did with dyes. Came out a little janky, but hey, it's a learning process. Today is painting day! We're all gonna jam out with our paint out! Maybe we'll post our attempts :) . Peassss!

-a
WOOT!WOOT!

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Belated Birthday Treats

Belated Birthday Treats Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista2.
[jimlee]

I've had this scan since the summer. It's a birthday gift for a bud of mine; we celebrated during the SDCC but I wanted to get the piece framed so it sat in the office til we saw one another again (couldn't well post it before he saw it in person). We finally got together again so now I can post this sucka online.

He's a big Wonder Woman fan; so much so that his fiancè even resembles Wonder Woman. Some guys get all the luck, right? Anyway, this is the version of Wonder Woman I prefer--big helm, skirt instead of the tights, cape for a more regal pose. And everyone looks cooler standing on a mountaintop.

Here's a closer look.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Quick note


Quick note
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.
[ale]

Hey guys, wanted to let you all know that it appears as if our main event Iron Chef battle will happen after Thanksgiving week. Please make sure to stay tuned and I'll make sure to keep you all informed. :)

-a
WOOT!WOOT!

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

For Yesterday


For Yesterday
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista2.
[jimlee]

Just got this link recently but some of you may recall during last year's Halloween when a gal up north carved up some pumpkins using my art as reference. Well, she has 2 more very cool carvings up on her blog from this past Halloween. Check em out--they are one of a kind pieces of glowing art and a testament to the power of creativity.

Iron Chef update!


Iron Chef update!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.
[ale]

Hey guys wanted to pop in give a quick update. I'm hoping to get our main event up and going sometime this week! With two guys at the level of Jim and Mike, thier schedules make it a bit harder than usual to line up. But trust me, it will all be well worth the wait!

Above is a little doodle i did of ol bats. Did this one with brush pen, ink wash, and some doc martin dyes. Never really worked in color so this was a good test. My trusty colored blindness makes color very daunting for me. I should be getting some Skye Runner quicktime clips up soon also, so keep an eye out fo that! Talk to ya soon!

-a
"http://aleninja.vidiLife.com" WOOT!WOOT!

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Absolute Joker and Clear View auction update

[jimlee]

Here is an image of the Joker I added into an Absolute Hush for a buddy of mine who was celebrating his 30th birthday (the dedication has been Pshopped out). Joker seems to work especially well here in the endpapers since the color of the paper fits so well with the color of his hair.

Also wanted to add something to the Clear View School auction which is happening this Saturday (scroll down for more info). One regular on the blog--Warren--has offered to throw in an All-Star Batman and Robin RRP edition to anyone who outbids him for the Batman piece below (filed under " 20th Annual Dinner Auction for Clear View School"). So not only do you get the Batman headshot, an additional headshot of your choice from me, but also an ultra-rare RRP edition of All-Star Batman!

Now that's what I call drawing a line in the sand...thanks, Warren

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

D'wahashi...


D'wahashi...
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista2.
(entry: Carlitos)

...here's yet another piece I had originally done in black and white just for fun about half a year ago, then Scott (Iwahashi) added inkwashes recently, mainly so I could see and learn from his approach, him coming from a painting background and all.

I've been having A LOT of fun lately just messing around with ink-washes, practicing my 'forms' as far as 'greytones' and 'values' are concerned. I consider this to be the same as when you take a photography class in high school or wherever, first you just want to take photos in black and white so you can get used to good composition, exposure, value structures, etc. Once you have a semi-decent understanding of Black and White photography, THEN you can start messing with color ...same thing goes for painting I think, the variations that come with it are waaay to overwhelming to take in all at once, so I find it better, and easier to 'digest' (for me anyway) to understand the 'black and white' aspect of it first.

It's interesting, but since the advent of 'digital coloring' and computers and software becoming more and more affordable, you start to see more artists take on the 'whole job' lately (meaning penciling, inking, and coloring) ...with the 'conventional' method of doing a 'painted' comic, it would have just been 'time-prohibitive' to do this on any kind of regular basis, not to mention that if you screw up, you can't just hit "command Z", but you gotta 'redraw or repaint' whatever you screwed up ...ahhh, computers, you gotta' love 'em :)

...still, as much as I love my Apple and Photoshop, NOTHING will be able to beat the 'feeling' of putting pencil to paper, or paint to canvas, or a hybrid of the two, as some artist have started to do ...sky's the limit I guess, and that's a pretty damn good thing (^_^)

p.s...aaaaand if anyone is interested, this piece is available over at www.ComicArtFans.com (^_^)

20th Annual Dinner Auction for Clear View School

 [jimlee]

Quick heads up for those who collect comic art--I just donated a piece of art to benefit the Clear View School in Briarcliff Manor, NY. The image is pen and ink with wash and whiteout on 11x14 artboard.

Proceeds go to benefit the school which was incidentally co-founded by the late, great Harvey Kurtzman and his wife, Adele. This year, they are honoring Adele for her continued support and good work at the school, which by the way is a day treatment center for autistic and multiply disabled children. They can use every dollar we can offer so please check it out.

Below is the address; the auction starts at 6pm EST this Saturday and the charity dinner runs $100 but I do believe you can call in with a bid in advance or perhaps even during the event. I am not 100% sure but the contact person to call who can you give the info is Anna Hlotyak at 914-941-4653.

Just to make it more interesting...if the winning bid is from a regular poster here on the Metti (yes, we do keep track of who's who), I will throw in another free headshot of a character of your choice. It may take a long time for me to get to it, but I do have a list and you will get it...

So call in with your bids and inquire about other art that is being auctioned off. Apparently, there are a number of high profile names who have contributed such as Frank Miller and Terry Gilliam and Jack Davis. It's all for a great cause.

The Clear View School 550 Albany Post Road Briarcliff Manor, New York 10510

...a day at the studio (cue theme music)

(entry: Carlitos)

...yup, looking busy as ever :) ...heheheh, this was Rich and I probably discussing such important matters as Monkeys, Ultimate Fighting Challenge, documentaries about cannibals (History channel), or who's gonna get up and buy the next set of Cokes ...or it could have also been the most important topic of the day "where to go for lunch?!?" ...maybe Alé in the office next to ours doing some kind of dance jig, Jim eating, drawing, and typing all at the same time, Sandra in her office with her headphones on working away (probably listening to Death Metal or hardcore gangsta' rap, who knows!) and Scott Iwahashi probably typing away or doodling weird creatures with trees coming out of their heads ...yup, trees! ...all in all, another typical day at WS. (^_^)

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Bat Treat

Bat Treat Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista2.
[jimlee]

Was in Frankfurt recently for the Frankfurt Book Fair. Was great to be back in Germany and hear the language and see the sights, if only the hotel where I stayed at since I spent most of the 2 days locked away in the convention hall. Bumped into Jeff Smith tho and got caught up and saw once again the power of manga as there were literally hundreds of fans dressed up as characters roaming the site the weekend the Book Fair is open to the public.

Afterwards, I went to Paris for a few days to take a break from all the traveling (San Diego>New York>Frankfurt>back home out of Paris) but dropped in on my friends at Album, one of the best comics shops in the world imo. I finally delivered a sketchbook back to Olivier, the manager there...a sketchbook I had with me since February of this year. It's not something I generally do, mostly cause I am worried that I will lose their sketchbooks (I meant this one had a sketch by Eisner in it!) but he's gone above and beyond many a time for me...

Here is a larger shot; it was done across 2 pages so the middle gutter is a bit blurred and messy but you get the idea. This is sort of the view from the hotel I was staying at, IF you removed the 2 rows of buildings blocking this potentially wonderful view. Here's a closer look.

peace...i'm outta here...


peace...i'm outta here...
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.
[ale]

Hey guys, rather than just dissappearing, I wanted to let you know I won't be around fer awhile. I really have to commit myself to my work. Trying my best to do some solid, enjoyable work for all of you. Rich, and Carlos will keep you all entertained. They're both doing some amazing work! I will post the Iron Chef battles but that's about all the extra time I'll have, and an occasional Skye Runner update as well. So, with that I will leave you with a little bonus Daddy Cool it may take awhile to download but hopefully you'll get a good laugh! PEACE!!!

-a
!OOHSP!OOHSP

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

...how to ruin a drawing 101.

(entry: Carlitos)

heheh, just kidding, 'retouching' the "Solid Snake" piece I posted last week (or was it two weeks ago?) was A LOT of fun, and I learned quite a bit from it, so it got me thinking about some other drawing I could mess around with, and this time, mess it up with COLOR!!! :) This is a character from the OUTSIDERS called SHIFT (he's 'Metamorfo's' clone or something like that) and this was originally drawn (in it's black and white form), for a "Secret Files" book. This is the first time I've EVER colored with "Doc Martin' dyes (those bastards are BRIGHT!!!), and also the first time I've colored 'non-digital' in a looooooooong, long time, so it was 'pretty interesting' to say the least :)

I was pretty happy the way that this drawing had come out in just black and white, and it was never meant to be colored on the actual board, so when I applied paint to it, and I had to go 'opaque' on the highlight areas, A LOT of the 'line' detail was lost, same happened with the shadowed areas. The whole time I was painting I felt I was just one step away from TOTALLY screwing it up... STILL, when it's all said and done, for the most part, I'm pretty happy the way it came out.

Invariably, there are always a number of things that you wish you could have done differently in a drawing after it's done (damn hindsight!!!) :), and appling color only adds to the complexity of a piece and choices you have to make, but if anything, this has just made me want to practice painting much, much more ....like a wise man once said: "If you're not learning and getting better, you're only getting worse"

so once again I ask, which one do YOU all like more?!?