Stay Tooned: 2005 - 2011

The End.

2011-07-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

October 3, 2005. That's the day I launched this blog. Back then, I wondered why I’d ever need a blog when I already had a portfolio website. And the thought of having more than one website to promote my work seemed crazy to me. Simpler times, eh?

Well, six years, several sites, and literally hundreds (okay, dozens) of blog posts later, I’ve decided to close up shop on Stay Tooned, and move my bloggings over to what I've always considered to be my main site, crushcounty.com.

I’ve debated this switch numerous times over the years. Part of me always resisted – heavily – giving up my own name-branded domain space. The other part of me would have done it sooner, if I knew how. Luckily, progress can’t be stopped, and so, finally, Crush County is becoming the hub I’ve long wanted it to be. One URL to rule them all.

I spent some time last week reading through every post – and every comment – on this blog. Six years of my life have been chronicled in these pages. There are kind words from friends, strangers, and pros who have inspired me for years (some of which, sadly, I only now read for the first time). During the run of Stay Tooned, I created and published my first comic book work, autographed a book for Matt Groening (one of my most surreal moments ever), and made the transition from studio PA to studio artist. In these pages, my girlfriend became my fiancée, my fiancée became my wife, and – just two months ago – my wife became the mother of my beautiful baby girl.

I considered importing all these posts into the new blog, but I’m opting to start fresh. There’s a lot of history for me here on Stay Tooned, however, so it will live on as an archive, at alexdeligiannis.blogspot.com (and alexdeligiannis.com will redirect to the new blog).

Thanks for reading!

Legend Of Zelda! Booth 1802!

2011-07-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

San Diego Comic-Con is around the corner again, and this year I'll have a new print available. I'm taking a break from the TMNT stuff to do something a bit different, but which is (almost) equally as near and dear to my childhood heart… The Legend Of Zelda. These prints (and the original, if you're interested) will be available at BOOTH 1802 from Preview Night through closing on Saturday (I won't be there on Sunday this year, because I'm a daddy now and I'll be missing my new daughter like crazy by then). This is an edition of 75 prints, signed and numbered, and any remaining copies will be available on my site after Comic-Con. If you're attending the show, swing by 1802 and say hey.

Leonardo Bedtime Sketch (04-05-2011)

2011-04-09T12:54:00.001-07:00

The wife and I had to make an unplanned trip to the hospital yesterday to check on the baby, which is never fun. To pass the time, I pulled out the sketchbook. This time it's Leo, and like the Donatello from last week, I finished it while laying in bed watching Conan.

I really like sketching this way. Too often I get wound up about having to draw in the "right" atmosphere. All that does is create opportunities to not draw. Approaching it casually means there's no stress to make a perfect drawing. It's just a fun time scribbling. Whatever happens on the page, good or bad, is ok.

Speaking of ok, the baby checked out great. All is good, and she's on track to arrive next month (yikes)!

Update: I've removed this sketch from the blog for now. Hopefully I'll be able to put it back up a bit down the line. Sorry!

Donatello Bedtime Sketch (03-29-2011)

2011-04-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

With the baby just 7 weeks away, the wife and I have been doing all the first-time parent stuff, including the Lamaze classes (which are full of some great - and scary - info). I take notes in my sketchbook during class, and try to sneak some sketching in when possible. I started this one the other night, but didn't get too far, so decided to finish it up this while laying in bed last night. The bedroom was dim, so I didn't worry too much about what I was laying down; just pulled out a few pens and had some fun.

Update: Well, this is bananas. This just made it onto Bleeding Cool (with a somewhat questionable headline).

Update 2: I've removed this sketch from the blog for now. Hopefully I'll be able to put it back up a bit down the line. Sorry!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-15T11:39:00.000-08:00

Here's our 2010 Christmas Card, featuring our pup Nala for the second year in a row.

Found out last Friday that we're having a baby girl! It's going to be an amazing Christmas in the Deligiannis household this year, that's for sure. I'm feeling more blessed than ever, and I'm already thinking of ideas for next year's card (assuming she makes the cut... Nala's a tough act to beat, so the ball's in her court).

Big Poppa.

2010-11-07T22:17:00.000-08:00

So, this has happened, and it's pretty much the greatest thing ever.

Going Green.

2010-07-31T14:53:00.000-07:00

From my Twitter page, Friday (yesterday) morning:

I know, riiiiight? I'll be contributing to Nickelodeon's new Ninja Turtles series, and one my biggest childhood dreams will become a reality. More info later.

Now, here's that Krang I finally finished, plus a variant version (I had to do a throwback version for the old school). I have prints of them if your wall is bare.

Comic-Con 2010.

2010-07-27T22:50:00.000-07:00

Comic-Con was, as always, a feast for the senses. Had a great time. Below are a couple of posters the Nickelodeon booth handed out over the weekend. They were drawn by Fairly Odd Parents and Tuff Puppy creator Butch Hartman, and colored by me.

Also, I'm posting photos of a few highlights from the show, including Stan Sakai, Thor's throne, a one-of-a-kind custom figure from Kevin Eastman, Cheif from BSG, and Casey Jones holding up my drawing of Casey Jones (which is basically as gangsta as it gets).

Makin' Moves.

2010-07-10T00:28:00.001-07:00

Two moves: Number one, the wife and I bought our first house. We've only been in for 2 weeks, and much of my stuff is still in boxes, but it's slowly coming together. God is good, man.

Number two, Comic-Con is around the corner once again. I'll be there, along with a few artist buddies, at our new location, booth #1802. We've been in the same spot for the past several years, so it'll be interesting to see how we fare with this new placement. Come through and say hi; we'll have a variety of stuffs, including books, comics, and art prints. I'll also (finally) be adding the Krang print to my TMNT set; the color is not quite done, so what you see here is unfinished, but it'll be ready in time for the show.

Raphael Sketches

2010-04-20T14:46:00.000-07:00

A couple of Raph sketches from my sketchbook; the first one was done on my train ride in to Burbank. I used to get frustrated at sketching on the train because I couldn't be precise with my lines, but I've come to really appreciate the bouncy ride. It forces me to stay loose, and I've found that some of my favorite quick sketches come from my morning commute.
The second Raph sketch was done for Rutger's huge TMNT autograph collection, which you can learn more about here.

Krang Remix Inks and Progress

2010-04-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to finishing inks on the new version of my Krang design. Inking was done mainly with brush pens, and then touched up digitally. Final color version soon, hopefully.

Gallery At Nickelodeon

2010-03-19T12:25:00.000-07:00

I and my fellow Fairly Odd Parents/T.U.F.F. Puppy crew mates are exhibiting art in this month's Nickelodeon gallery. If you're in the area and are so inclined, I think you can call the studio and arrange to check it out. It'll be up through Easter or so.

Also, it occurred to me while setting up for the show that, after sharing all the preliminary sketches of my Bebop and Rocksteady, I never bothered to post the final versions. So, here you go, only a year late. (And hey, if the TMNT is your thing, I've got prints of them, and Casey Jones as well, available in my store on crushcounty.com. Krang's next in the series, if I can ever get some time to finish him up).

Krang Remix

2010-03-13T22:19:00.001-08:00

Finally found a little time recently to color the TMNT Krang drawing I inked months ago. Unfortunately, when I sat down to work on it, I discovered that I kind of hated it. Not sure what was bugging me about it (aside from the perspective problems), but the design didn't feel right, so I scrapped it. Here are a few sketches from the remix.

Sharp Pointy Things!

2010-02-03T17:24:00.001-08:00

A couple more doodles from this week; Wolverine and a Cylon Centurion from Battlestar Galactica show off what they're workin' with. The awesomeness of BSG not withstanding, my money's on Wolvie.

Michelangelo Sketch

2010-02-01T13:39:00.001-08:00

Started off the morning with some just-for-fun sketching. Assuming time and deadlines permit, I'd like to start doing this more often.

URL Change!

2010-01-15T19:32:00.001-08:00

I've finally gotten around to updating my URL. From now on, you'll find my blog simply at www.alexdeligiannis.com. Feel free to update your links and/or bookmarks. Thanks!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-18T15:42:00.000-08:00

Happiest of holidays, and only the best in the new year. God bless!

Donatello Sketch

2009-11-20T17:43:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the workload becomes a little monotonous and you gotta take a few minutes to loose up, so here's a quick Donatello sketch to close out the work week.

Krang's Frankenstein Monster

2009-11-11T20:55:00.001-08:00

Here's my design for Krang. Along with my final inks, I've included a page from my sketchbook, so you can kind of see how the design evolved. Looking through my roughs, there were certainly more interesting poses I could have gone with, but I decided to keep the robot dormant, and move the focus to Krang himself, as he prepares to fire up his newly-created body for the first time.

Looking forward to coloring him. On a side note, I've heard that since the Twitter explosion, blogs are being updated less frequently. Mine is no exception. I'll keep posting art here, of course, but I've grown to really appreciate the simplicity and instant gratification of Twitter, particularly for sharing doodles and sketches that might not be considered "blog-worthy," as well as those off-the-cuff thoughts on comics, animation, and whatever else. If you do the Twitter thing, you can follow me at @alexdeligiannis (there's a link in the sidebar on the right). I'm also on DeviantArt now, so if you're a DA user, I'm at alexdeligiannis.deviantart.com.

Morning Train Sketches

2009-10-02T13:56:00.001-07:00

A few sketches from my train rides in to work the past couple of mornings. I want to put my own spin on Krang, but without totally abandoning the campy 80's design. They're quick and dirty, just laying lines down in search of the right shapes.

Wishology!

2009-09-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

Last year, to wrap up season 6 of Fairly Odd Parents, we put together an insanely large special called Wishology. The show consisted of 3 one-hour acts, amounting to a whopping 3 hour trilogy in which we spoofed a bunch of classic movie trilogies (including Star Wars, Lord Of The Rings, Terminator, and The Matrix, among others). It seemed like an unending undertaking at the time, but it was a lot of fun to work on. The designs were done by our superbly-talented character designers (Gordon Hammond, Ernie Gilbert, and Mike Dougherty) and colored by me.

Filo Train Sketches

2009-09-04T11:40:00.001-07:00

A few quick sketches I did on the train ride to the studio this morning. Nothing fancy to look at; most are pretty raw, actually. I'm just trying to nail down the head shape for a character my brother created years ago. I've been pressuring him to tighten up the story he wrote for this lil' guy, because I'm itching to draw another comic. Anyway, none of these are exactly what I'm looking for, but there are a couple in there that evoke something I like.

Incidentally, this is what he looked like when I first drew him in 2004.

2009 Comic-Con Rocked.

2009-07-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

In 2006, I had the coolest Comic-con moment of my life when Matt Groening came up to our booth, bought a copy of our book, and asked us to sign it for him. I thought that was the ultimate, but this year’s Con once again reached insane levels of awesome for me.

On Friday night, the wife and I ditched our entourage and hit up House Of Blues to see Bear McCreary and his orchestra perform their eargasmic score from Battlestar Galactica. Yes, I'll wear the badge of "nerd" proudly: It wasn't Bone Thugs or John Legend, but this was, without a shred of doubt, the best concert I've ever attended in my life. Really. And what we thought would be a night of great music ended up being so much more; it became an evening of partying with virtually the entire cast of the show, including Admiral Adama (the incomparable Edward James Olmos), Col. Tigh and Anders (for both of whom I had the honor of purchasing an ice cold Blue Moon), Boomer/Athena (who was already so toasted she declined a drink, but did dance with my wife), Tom Zerek (Richard Hatch, the original Apollo), Admiral Caine, Callie, and Gaius Baltar. I'm not one to get star-stuck, ever... but if you watch this show, you understand why this night was an exception. It was simply beyond cool.

But that's not all. This year, I had the extreme honor of meeting a gang of guys that - and I say this with complete honesty - were instrumental in inspiring a young fat kid to pursue his artistic dreams. The Mirage Studios gang, the guys behind the Ninja Turtles, made their triumphant return to San Diego for the 25th anniversary of the TMNT, and while it's a shame that it took me almost two decades worth of Comic-Cons to finally meet them, it was an incredible treat nonetheless. Every one of them - Dan Berger, Eric Talbot, Jim Lawson, Michael Dooney, Steve Lavigne, and Tristan Jones - were beyond gracious, even in the face of my obvious fanboyness (which, I hope, wasn't too overbearing). It's one thing to meet people whose work you've long admired; it's a completely different thing to find them to be outright warm, kind and welcoming (even though Steve did call me out for posting too many pictures of my puppy and not enough artwork). Maybe it seems silly, but meeting these guys means a lot to me (even more than meeting the cast of BSG), and it will go down as one of my greatest SDCC memories ever. My only regret is that I didn't bug them one last time to get a group photo with them all. Thanks to all of them for indulging this guy.

Next Stop, San Diego.

2009-07-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, last reminder. Here's my little contribution to all the goodies we'll have at Booth 1034. See you in San Diego!

Comic-Con Next Week.

2009-07-17T12:22:00.001-07:00

I'll be at Booth 1034 next week during Comic-Con, so come by. In addition to the new "Art Of Hard 8" book (featuring a ton of beautiful pin-ups and art by some very talented folks), my good friend Eric "The Gute" Gonzalez will have some awesome stuff for sale, and I'll be offering a couple of prints as well. Here's a snapshot of one that I was tweaking up last night.... hope to see ya at booth 1034!

Some Fairly Odd Paintings

2009-07-09T14:32:00.001-07:00

Coloring an animated show can sometimes get a bit repetitive, but every now and then the board will call for special treatment on a scene, allowing me to play around and do something different for a bit. Here are a couple of such scenes from recent episodes I've worked on.

Also, I'll be hanging at Comic-Con booth 1034, selling copies of the Hard 8 graphic novel, as well as our new "Art Of Hard 8" issue. I should also have a few TMNT prints available, so please come by to check them out and say hello.

Bebop (Part II: Inks)

2009-06-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

Aside from a half-hour game of frisbee with my puppy, the June gloom kept me indoors most of the day, and I was able to get some inking done this morning. I think I can safely say that this is my first time actually inking a entire finished drawing in a long while, probably since college. I'm definitely diggin' the brush pen; surprisingly, despite the finality of ink, it made drawing more fun again, and I'm look forward to inking more stuff going forward. I'll have colors on this soon.

Bebop (Part I)

2009-06-01T22:43:00.000-07:00

Here are two passes for my Bebop print: the initial Cintiq sketch and the final (pre-ink) Col-erase drawing. Not pictured are the other dozen or so drawings that it took me to get from point A to point B. I often re-draw the same thing over and over, tweaking one thing at a time until I like what I've come up with. Sometimes I can work things out in a couple of drawings, other times it takes a few more. Inevitably, there's always some sort of spark or energy I like in the initial rough which ends up getting lost in the translation, but I've learned to deal with it. There's also a photo of a practice page I used to try out a few different pens. For years I've cleaned up my drawings using a 4B pencil, but lately I've been getting back into using ink. In addition to my trusty Pentel Pocket Brush (the "Master Sword" of inking utensils), I tried out several new Japanese pens I picked up recently, including a Zebra, a Pilot Pocket Brush, and a disposable Kuratake. Some I dig, others not so much, but I had fun trying them out and hopefully I can find some time this week to ink the drawing for real. Ok, Conan's first Tonight Show starts right now, so thanks for looking. I'm out.

Bebop. Splinter. Bebop. Magneto?

2009-05-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

♫♪♫ One of these things is not like the other ones, not like the other ones... Hey'a. A few random quick sketches from the train and whatnot. That is all for this transmission.

Rocksteady 4: Color (Finally).

2009-04-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

Hey, remember me? I used to draw stuff. If you're still with me, I'm impressed, and I thank you. I finally got around to slapping some color on that Rocksteady drawing I posted ages ago. I could tell you it took forever because I've been swamped with the day job, but really I've just been playing Wii. Also, I wasn't really feeling my first color pass, so I just walked away from it for a while. When I finally came back to it, I ended up redrawing the entire lower half on the Cintiq to fix wonky anatomy (that's what I get for ditching life drawing classes). Anyway, it's nice to post something new again.

Other stuff:
I got a new puppy, and she's the bomb. Also, I swore I'd never join Twitter. That was a lie. If you're into this social network thing and you care to follow my nonsense, my feed is to the right. Peace!

Fairly Odd Title Cards.

2009-02-12T14:48:00.000-08:00

I'm slowly getting adjusted to my new specks. The initial prescription was wrong, which is why I walked around like a drunk every time I put them on. Now that I've had them tweaked, I walk like I'm just mildly buzzed. Peeing is still interesting, but otherwise, it's better.

I haven't posted artwork since Thanksgiving (!!), no doubt due at least in part to the Wii my beloved wifey gave me for Christmas. I'll try to rectify that. To start, here's some stuff from the ol' day job. I've had the privilege of painting many of the Title Cards for Season 6 of Fairly Odd Parents, a job that I quite enjoy and am very grateful for. Seeing as they have all aired and are available on DVD (and some have appeared on other blogs), I thought it safe to showcase a few here. I didn't draw them (that honor belongs to our superbly-talented designers), but I did do all the color work. And of course, this stuff is all © the fine folks at Nickelodoeon/Viacom, Inc, whom I love.

Change Is Here.

2009-01-26T22:44:00.000-08:00

Wow, blogosphere, it's been a minute. Happy new year.

"Change" arrived in a big way last week, and I'm not just talking about Socialism. I finally got around to getting myself fitted for glasses. This is a big deal for me... Sometime in the late 1990's, I developed a severe (and completely irrational) fear of anything remotely related to hospitals and medical offices. I have no idea why it happened or what brought it on, but as a result, I've avoided doctors of every variety for well over a decade. But in the last 3 weeks, I've forced myself to make it through 2 painful dental visits and an eye exam. That's change you can count on.

I don't really "need" glasses. Technically, I should wear them because my left eye is bad, but my right eye compensates for it so well that, for all practical purposes, my vision is perfect (I can read the smallest line on the eye chart with no problem). So needless to say, I was rather irked to find out that the glasses actually make me see worse. I'm told I need to let my eyes "adjust." That seems completely backwards to me, like breaking my legs so they can fit into crutches.

A Little Holiday Spirit.

2008-11-23T21:54:00.000-08:00

Last year I wrote and illustrated a story for the Hard 8 Vol. 2 graphic novel titled, A Little Holiday Spirit. Its a Christmas story, and with turkey sandwiches on the dinner menu and December firmly in our sights, I felt like sharing it with you. I've posted bits and pieces of the artwork here before, but now I'm posting it all, in its entirety.

If you've got a few minutes, put on some warm slippers, pop in some Vince Guaraldi, and give it a read. You can click on each page below, or you can scroll thru the whole thing > here. Either way, I hope you enjoy it. Merry Christmas!

FOP Season 6 on DVD.

2008-11-19T11:56:00.001-08:00

Just a quick one for my 100th blog post... Season 6 of The Fairly Odd Parents was released on DVD yesterday. In addition to being the first ever FOP season on DVD, it also includes my first-ever animation work. Pretty cool, pretty cool. I'll definitely be picking this up. You should too, so they can make more and I can continue to have a job to pay for bread and milk in the coming months.

Rocksteady 2: Clean-up.

2008-11-10T00:40:00.000-08:00

I like my lines like I like my work area and my bed sheets - clean and crisp. I'm not particularly good at clean-up, and certainly not as good as I'd like to be, but I really enjoy this part of the process - I look forward to it even while I'm still working out the rough sketch. That seems odd, since I mentioned before that I sometimes find the sketching process to be stressful. I would imagine that, ordinarily, one would find the clean-up process to be more stressful, simply due to the precision and control required. But most of the time, I have a lot of fun doing it.

Originally, for a split second, I thought about arming Rocksteady with a huge, over-the-top X-Men/Cable kind of weapon, but I quickly decided that an Uzi was more his style. He's definitely an automatic weapon kind of rhino. However, the Uzi was too similar to his head in both size and shape, so I decided a longer rifle would break up the composition better. The version on the right also has on a helmet, but I haven't decided if I like it enough to keep it yet. It goes with the rest of his get-up, but I think it makes him look less menacing, more stupid (but then, that stays true to his character, I suppose).

Prismacolor Sketches

2008-11-02T22:50:00.000-08:00

The wife needed my Powerbook for a Bible study presentation last night, leaving me without the distraction of the internet (and without any means of drawing digitally). I sat down with a brush pen and some old fashioned Prismacolor pencils and spent a little time drawing - just for the fun of it. I had no intentions of creating anything pretty - and to that end, these sketches are really not worth posting. But I'm posting them anyway, in light of my previous post, because I had a few moments of great fun drawing them. I really enjoyed playing with colored pencils, something I haven't done it a long while. It felt much like it used to feel when I was a kid.

Rocksteady 1: The Process.

2008-10-27T23:27:00.000-07:00

Every time I sit down to draw, I'm reminded of a painful truth: drawing is hard. And because its hard, I don't do it often enough. And because I don't do it often enough, it remains hard.

When I was a kid, I drew all day long. I just picked up a pencil and got right to it. The finer points, like composition and anatomy, didn't matter back then. There was no thinking, just doing. Drawing was always fun, never stressful. But somewhere along the way, that changed. I became aware of those finer points, and they became stumbling blocks for me. They took some of the fun out of drawing, much in the same way a clean line strips a rough drawing of life and energy (all of this is evident in the drawings below).

This is not drawing's fault - it's mine. Like I said, I don't draw enough, and so, I remain weaker in the areas that intimidate me and keep me from sitting down at the table and just having fun with it. The hardest part for me, specifically, lies in taking my initial rough and making sense of it, anatomically, in a final, clean drawing.

As Rocksteady here illustrates, I usually start with some horribly ugly sketches. Then, I draw the same thing over and over and over again, each time trying something different. I chip away at it, drawing and re-drawing, until it starts to come together. I know I'm not the only artist who works this way, but at times it feels less like exploration and more like trail and error. Sometimes I wonder if it's supposed to be this... tedious. I enjoy the process, but I just wish I was better and faster (especially when I see the work of peers I admire, and it looks like they're banging out masterpieces with no effort). Obviously, I'm sharing my flaws here, which isn't easy, but I suppose the only way to get better is to face the problem head-on, apply directly to the forehead, and break the cycle by drawing more. I've got some more tweaking to do on this one - the silhouette was clearer in original roughs - but it's getting there.

I plan to do a whole set of TMNT illustrations. It's odd, in a way, that I haven't done that yet, considering that these characters are what first inspired me to begin drawing so many years ago. I suppose it's fitting that I'm using them to push myself farther now.

Time Off...

2008-10-16T16:17:00.000-07:00

Man. Have I been MIA or what? I had an wonderful month off in between seasons of The Fairly Odd Parents... I had dinner with friends whom I haven't seen in over a decade, took a houseboat trip with the guys, was a groomsman in the wedding of one of my best friends, cleaned my entire house from top to bottom (I'm a clean freak), and re-organized my garage. The only thing I didn't do was draw. Maybe I should feel guilty, but I don't. It was nice to "live" for a bit, and the time off was all too fleeting (I've been back at work for three weeks already). I'm currently working on a new show that I probably can't talk about yet, but I'll be back on FOP in a month or so.

Speaking of FOP, here's some stuff I did for last season (I'm the colorist - the designs are by our talented prop and character designers), and a couple pics of my garage (I'm proud of my garage - must be a guy thing). I like to change the posters from time to time - this time around, I took down the Incredibles set and "Made Mine Marvel." And yes, this is just blog-filler until I get some new work done... I've got another Ninja Turtle itch to scratch, so I hope to have more TMNT-related illustrations soon.

Casey Jones Part 4 - It's out!

2008-08-26T00:31:00.001-07:00

I took a trip to the comic book store on Saturday, which always makes me happy, and was greeted by a nice surprise. Tales Of The TMNT #49, the one featuring my Casey Jones pin-up, was staring me in the face. I wasn't expecting the book to hit store shelves until this week, so this made me extra happy! Eric gave me the OK to share the final version a while ago, but I wanted to respect the book and hold off until it was offically out. Since it's out, here ya go, the final version in glorious color...

Man, I still get all school-girly at the thought of being in a TMNT comic. Incidentally, next time you hit the comic shop, pick up an issue of Tales. It's the only TMNT book still published regularly, and not only do the guys do a kick-ass job every month, but they also use the book to spotlight new talent, which is awesome.

Carlos Meglia R.I.P.

2008-08-15T10:45:00.000-07:00

I just walked in to the studio not 5 minutes ago and I'm greeted with an email from my pal James Ramos that one of my favorite artists, Carlos Meglia, passed away last night. This hit me like another ton of bricks, with the passing of Michael Turner still fresh in my mind (not to mention last year's passing of the awesome Mike Wierengo). Carlos was beyond a phenomenal talent; I wish I had gotten the chance to know him personally, buy my eyes are very well acquainted with his stunning and inspiring work. My prayers go out for his family. Thanks for all the amazing inspiration, sir.

Hard 8 Vol. 2 Photos

2008-08-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

So we officially debuted Hard 8 Vol. 2 at SDCC last week, and it was a great show. If you haven't yet purchased your copy, these photos should sway you. Also, check out the special "Harder Than Hard" hardcover version. There were only 20 of these made, and about half of them are gone. If you're thinking about picking one up, do it before it's too late. Click here to order from the Hard 8 blog, or pick up the softcover version right here from my sidebar. 164 full-color pages for 15 bucks. 15 bucks!

Casey Jones Part 3 - A dream come true!

2008-07-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

Everyone regain their composure after that little tremor we just had? A 5.4, I'm hearing...and centered in Chino Hills, where I reside. I bet my Justice League toys will be all over the place when I get home. Not cool.

Anyway, Comic-con was awesome, despite the fact that Hollywood has bastardized it beyond recognition (did we need a booth for The Office? Really?) and I couldn't find the comics I needed. I'll post some Hard 8 updates when I get my pics uploaded. In the meantime...

One of my childhood dreams has come true. The Casey Jones drawing that I posted down below is going to run as a pin-up in the August issue of Tales Of The TMNT, #49. Can you believe that shiznit? As a kid, all I ever wanted was to draw the Turtles. They're the reason I chose this career path, so I couldn't be more excited to have a piece of my art published in an actual TMNT comic! That said, I'm going to hold off on posting the final colored version until the book comes out. A HUGE thank-you to the amazingly talented Eric Talbot, and to the entire Mirage crew for allowing this to happen.

I'm giddy.

Comic-Con BOOTH 1034

2008-07-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

Assuming all goes well, I'll be picking up several hundred copies of Hard 8 Vol. 2 from the printer this afternoon and taking them down to San Diego. Could we cut it any closer, please? Anyway, I'll try to post some pics of the books tonight if possible. Swing by the Hard 8 booth, #1034, to get your copy (or just come by and say hi, because I love to meet the fellow bloggers).

Also, we'll have a very limited SDCC Exclusive hardcover version of the book for sale, too (it's called the "Harder Than Hard" Edition). See you there!

Casey Jones Part 2

2008-07-06T22:59:00.000-07:00

Here's the "rough clean" and "final clean" of my Casey Jones sketch from the other day. I generally clean up my drawings with 3B pencil right on top of the red line sketch, and then polish it up a bit further digitally (though, I suppose "final clean" is a bit of a misnomer, because I usually continue to tweak the line throughout the color phase, too). Anyway, hopefully I'll find some free time to finish coloring it this week.

Casey Jones

2008-07-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

Over on The 5th Turtle Blog, there's been some debate about a recent re-design of Casey Jones for the new season of TMNT. As far as the design itself goes, I can take it or leave it. The debate rises from the fact that it's veering away from the traditional Casey character as we know him (they've got him armored up like he's a Teen Titan or something). Yeah, he looks pretty cool, but for me, Casey has always been about the elbow grease. I'd rather see him in torn jeans and blue chucks than a polished superhero get-up. He doesn't need "gear" when he's got his golf bag.

I've been home fighting a mean cold today, so I sketched up my take. Still needs some work, but good or bad, I'll paint in up and post the final when I get a chance.

Michael Turner

2008-06-29T17:56:00.001-07:00

10 minutes ago, I logged into MySpace and was greeted by a bulletin from Dan Fraga. I was shocked when I read it; Michael Turner passed away last night. If you're a comic book junkie like I am, you know Michael's work. I didn't get a chance to meet him in person, but ever since I found out he was diagnosed with cancer some time ago, I've been following his recovery. Last I knew, he appeared to have practically beaten it, so this came as quite a shock. Dan and Mike were very close, so my prayers go out for him, and for Michael's family.

Wall-E Screening.

2008-06-26T00:11:00.000-07:00

I just got back from an advance screening of Wall-E on the Disney lot. You know how good everyone says this thing is going to be? It's better than that. At one point, I suddenly realized that I had been staring at the screen with my mouth wide open for several minutes. The character development that happens in the first 3 or 4 minutes is more than you'd get from other films during the course of two hours. Amazing film (and the preceding short, "Presto", is one of the funniest cartoons I've seen in forever).

Hey, here's our Comic-Con flyer. Come buy our book.

Father's Day

2008-06-15T01:15:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning and watched a retrospective on Tim Russert (who died on Friday of a sudden heart attack). It focused a lot on his relationship with, and love for, his father, and it made me flash back to last year, 3 days before my wedding, when I thought we might lose my dad (from what, incidentally, turned out to be a stroke). Tonight I went to see Kung Fu Panda with my wife. Wow, what a film...top quality thru and thru! It starts off with an opening piece of animation which is just bananas, and it never lets up from there. Anyway, there's a nice father/son thing going on in the story. It's done so well (touching and heartfelt, without being sappy), and again it made me reflect. I'm really looking forward to seeing my pop tomorrow and taking him out for what I hope will be a delicious steak dinner.

Here's a piece I drew for my father-in-law this week. He owns a company called La Habra Fire Protection & Plumbing, and my wife thought he might like to hang it in his new office. I had a lot of fun doing it, so hopefully he'll dig it.

I Can Rest Again.

2008-06-11T00:18:00.000-07:00

Hard 8 Volume 2 is officially done and at the printer! It's been a long time coming (I was still single when we started this thing... heck, I don't think I was even engaged yet)! But this here huge stack of pages is the pay-off for seeing it thru... 164 pages of Hard 8 goodness! The book debuts at Comic-Con, so head over to the Official Hard 8 Blog for the 411.

Snoop Dogg's "Where's The Cheese"

2008-04-18T15:58:00.000-07:00

Yeah, it's true. Snoop Dogg is putting out a children's book. You've probably already heard that part. The part you haven't heard (and, incidentally, this is my favorite part) is that the colors are being handled by your friendly neighborhood Big Toon (that's me).

Doggystories Vol. 1: Where's The Cheese is, as the title suggests, the first in a series (ideally, anyway). Snoop let the dog out of the bag during an interview on KDAY just this week, but the book's actually been done for a while. Snoop's cousin Joe Cool illustrated it, and he handed the drawings off to me to color last summer. The two of us have worked on numerous projects together (most recently a line of t-shirts for Supreme New York), and I was happy to be involved. But between my day job on Fairly Odd Parents and my commitment to the Hard 8 Vol. 2 graphic novel (debuting at Comic-Con in July, honest), I couldn't find the time to finish it on my own. Thankfully, I was able to enlist my brother from another mother, James Ramos, to help me lay out the initial colors. James is one of my closest friends, so it was nice to be able to involve him. Since Joe Cool's drawings usually have a lot going on, I'll be taking the book back and giving it a final pass before it goes to print.

Everytime I Think I'm Out...

2008-03-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

...they pull me right back in. This past week, I thought I finished drawing my story for the Hard 8 Vol. 2 graphic novel. But yesterday, as I was laying out the text, I realized there was a big part in the middle that could use one or two more illustrations to go along with the words (my entire story is basically an illustrated poem). I was able to bang out one illustration last night before bed, which is good, 'cuz we're assembling the book this weekend. I'm ready to say goodbye to Hard 8 for a while. I like dude, but I'm suffering major burn-out from drawing all these cute kids and playful ghosts. Once this book is done, I need to bust out on some bad-ass superhero type stuff, for real. But in the meantime, here's a couple of finished images (including the colored version of the pencil drawing in my previous post).

Walk Hard.

2008-02-25T01:06:00.000-08:00

More stuff I'm working on for Hard 8 Vol. 2. If all goes well, the book will be off to the printers in a mere 2 or 3 weeks. It's been a long time coming for this one, but we're finally seeing the tunnel's end. Can't say I'm not thrilled, but it's still too early for that. For now, I gotta keep it movin'. Game don't wait, ya'll.

...And Baby Makes 3!

2008-02-18T09:43:00.000-08:00

With all the romance, all the canoodling, and all the years of wedded bliss, it was really only a matter of time. But now, the moment is here. It's finally happening...

yes, it's true...

Cosmo and Wanda are having a baby! The Fairly Odd Parents returns tonight, kicking off the new season with the birth of the first fairy baby in 10,000 years. What's more, this episode also marks my first work as Color Stylist on the show, a job that I'm having an absolute blast doing. Plus, thanks to the wonderful peeps at FOP, I've had the awesome opportunity to paint a bunch of the title cards that run at the beginning of each episode for this season, and that part in particular has been a lot of fun! Check out the show tonight at 8 pm on Nickelodeon.

Waiting around...

2008-01-30T18:56:00.001-08:00

I'm currently sitting at my desk at work, in limbo, waiting for an approval on a title card so I can head home. While I do that, I figure I might as well say something. I've got a ton of new work to share, which is dandy, except I don't want to share it yet, since it's all going to be in the new Hard 8 book. But I'm restless, and this sketch from the other night is the only thing I have on hand anyway, so I might as well. One of the characters in my story this time around is Horace, a little ghost who, more than anything, just wants to play the piano. The book is, for the most part, almost ready to head to print. My part is still in progress, but it's coming along. I'll be elated when it's done.

Oh, on a side note, CSU Fullerton is celebrating the big Five-Oh this year. There's an "Alumni In Entertainment Arts" gallery opening this Saturday night, Feb, 2nd, 7:00 - 10:00, at the Grand Central Station gallery in Santa Ana. I'll have some work from Fairly Odd Parents on display. More info here.

Hm. 7:15, and no word on that title card. I'm gonna make like Horace here and get ghost. Peace.

"Art Of Hard 8" Gallery Photos

2008-01-13T23:22:00.000-08:00

The "Art Of Hard 8" gallery show opened at Nickelodeon on Friday, and it was great fun. I've got some photos from the event up on my website, which you can view by clicking here.

"The Art of Hard 8" Gallery Show!

2008-01-05T22:32:00.000-08:00

Hey my peoples! I'll be exhibiting some work in the "Art of Hard 8" gallery show, opening next Friday (January 11th) in the Nickelodeon Animation Studios Art Gallery. The show goes from 5 pm to 7pm, so if you're in the Burbank area, come thru and hang with the entire Hard 8 gang, check out some art, and feast on the best Chinese food in town. Peace!

Tak & The Power Of Juju

2007-11-18T00:07:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, Nickelodeon premiered a new show called Tak & The Power Of Juju. The very first episode featured a segment storyboarded by my brother, Emmanuel (who started as a PA on the show but made the jump to storyboarding after only a few weeks). We watched the show together, and it was really cool to see his first professional animation work come to life on the screen. And what's also very cool is that I got my first shot at pro work on the very same show almost two years earlier. Back in January '06, I worked on some character concept designs for Tak, and since the show is airing now, I figured I could share a couple sketches (one of which, in retrospect, looks an awful lot like Ron Jeremy). Enjoy (and if you get a chance, check out the show because it's pretty cool).

Holiday Spirits.

2007-09-09T23:53:00.000-07:00

My story for Hard 8 Vol. 2 centers around three little kids who come calling for Hard 8's help on the night before Christmas. The book will be out in a couple of months, so I'll be posting more related art as it gets closer to completion.

Color Stylin'

2007-08-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

I’ve been praying about my job a lot lately. With the wife off for the Summer (she’s a teacher), the July-August-September stretch has proven even tougher than I expected. Last week I heard there was a new opening in the studio, so I picked up a test and went out for my weekly Chinese-slash-New-Comic-Book-Day lunch with the guys (an unnecessary but delicious expenditure). A gut full of orange chicken and mongolian beef later, I smiled when I opened my fortune cookie...

I guess when God answers prayers, even a cookie can deliver the goods. Next week, I’ll be sad to bid farewell to my wonderful friends on SpongeBob; its been such a blast to work with them all. But luckily, I won't be going far... I’m starting my new job as Color Stylist on Fairly Odd Parents! Can't wait (maybe we'll celebrate with some Chinese and new comics)!

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

2007-07-24T00:35:00.000-07:00

Comic-Con is here! Ah, I love Comic-Con... there's so many people that I normally only ever get to "see" on the blog circuit, but through the wonder that is 'Con, we all get to be together for one glorious weekend of geekdom! If you're attending the show, come by booth 1034 and holla atcha boy, cuz I'd love to meet you! We'll have plently of Hard 8 books on hand, as well as those swanky Hard 8 poker chips, prints, and sketchbooks. And while you're there, check out all the movie posters we've created to promote the upcoming Hard 8 Volume 2. Here's a sneak peek at mine... See you at booth 1034!

Fairly Odd Fathers.

2007-06-17T02:36:00.000-07:00

I've been walking away from conversations without warning, running out of rooms in a frenzy, and flipping radio stations with a fury all week long, all in attempts to dodge spoilers of the Sopranos series finale. So far I've been safe, so if you're a fan of the show, don't ruin it for me cuz I'm still catching up via my DVD's (and yes, I know people say it was bad, but I'll judge for myself when I get there). In the meantime, here's an FOP-style rendition of Tony and Paulie that I did this week. I had a blast with these, so I hope you dig!

Supreme Shirts.

2007-05-07T17:23:00.000-07:00

A couple months back I posted some art I collaborated on with Joe Cool (Snoop’s cousin) for urban clothing company Supreme New York (he drew them, I colored). My younger brothers have a friend who’s a huge fan of Supreme clothing, and when he found out I was working on something for Supreme, he almost flipped. Anyway, earlier today he emailed me to tell me that the shirts had been posted on Supreme’s website, and that they will be part of the new line debuting May 10th in New York and Los Angeles, and May 12th in Japan. If you want to see them, go to www.supremenewyork.com, click on News, and scroll through the images. They look pretty cool (unfortunately, I guess my name doesn’t carry enough clout to be mentioned in their little blurb, but it’s all good).

Back From Hawai'i.

2007-05-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

So according to the doc, my dad wasn’t going to be released from the hospital in time to attend my wedding. According to the weathermen, our record-setting lack of rain was going to be interrupted, just in time to threaten the wedding. And according to me, I was about to faint and fall flat on my face, in front of all those people, even as my bride walked down the aisle.

Well, my dad made it to the wedding. Not only that, he also gave the final benediction. The rain did come. It poured hard all day on Friday, and brought with it some big clouds that loomed all through Saturday. But as I stood there posing for photos on Saturday evening, I felt the unmistakable warmth of a sun ray on my shoulders. I turned to see that the clouds had opened up to reveal an ocean-blue sky, golden sunshine, and a gorgeous, clear day that was a direct result of the previous day’s rain. All of this, moments before the ceremony. And though I almost lost it, I didn’t faint. I wobbled, but I held my ground, and when I saw my wife-to-be, everything was perfect. I told Melissa that this was God’s wedding gift to us... A reminder of who's really in control of everything. If nothing else, He knows how to make a fashionably-late entrance, that much is for sure.

PS: We returned from an absolutely perfect honeymoon late last evening. After all the stress, a week in Maui was just what we both needed! Now back to work... Maybe I can still finish my Hard 8 story before the deadline... maybe.

It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times...

2007-04-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

I stopped by to see my dad on Saturday. I hadn't seen him on Friday (my birthday), and knowing that he was in bed with the flu, I brought him some gatorade (the universal flu drink in our family). He was kind of "out of it", and wasn't very receptive to me, so I let him sleep and went out to run some errands. When I returned, he was a mess: My dad, a brilliant man, a bio-chemist, a high school teacher, a college professor, a man who singlehandedly raised 5 boys from diapers to manhood, was here, in front of me, in the most horrific state I've ever seen him in (I'll be haunted by that day forever). After it was evident that this was no normal flu, we had to call an ambulance because he could no longer even move his feet to walk to the car. He was diagnosed with extreme pneumonia, and what we mistook to be a mild, fever-induced delirium actually turned out to be a lack of oxygen to his brain. By nothing other than the grace of God, he got through that and regained all his faculties. However, by that point, I had lost most of mine, and so around midnight, after it looked like we were in the clear, I took a walk with my fiancee along the Santa Ana riverbed that runs behind Kaiser and had a complete breakdown. Earlier I had literally been standing in the aisles at Best Buy debating on which color of Nintendo DS to get, while at home, my dad was suffering and hadn't had enough resources to clearly articulate this to me. He had looked at me much like a deer in headlights, a look of shock or confusion or perhaps even fear (though I've never known my dad to be afraid), and now, with this image constantly replaying itself in my head in new context, all I could do was cry.

Once the pneumonia was brought under control, a new scare revealed itself: something showed up in the X-rays, leading the staff to speculate tuberculosis. By last night, the first of three tests had come back negative, so we were optimistic. Tonight he is still in quarantine (we have to wear a mask to visit him), but it looks like the rest of the tests will probably be negative as well.

But if it isn't one thing, it's another. Now, without TB as a scapegoat to pin it on, the doctors have no explanation for the big black spot on his lung. And so, early this afternoon, the C.A.T scan entered the picture. It doesn't take a man as brilliant as my father to see where this is going. As it stands, they say he likely won't be released to come to the wedding on Saturday. It breaks my heart, but right now, I just want him to be well again.

I had Game playing in the car today and a line jumped out at me: "I'm supposed to enjoy this but it's quite clear, the last three days have been a fu***ng nightmare." And I thought the wedding was stressing me out.

New Bed, No Sleep.

2007-04-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

I’m pretty much a sleepless, restless zombie at this point. Countdown to the nuptials stands at single digits now (T-minus 9 days as of this morning), and still no rest for the weary. Being an obsessive-compulsive creative control freak doesn’t make it easy to plan a wedding, it turns out. I get up at 6 to catch the train to Nickelodeon, put in my work on SpongeBob for 8 or 9 hours, catch the last train out of Burbank and get home by 8. I walk in, drop the kids off at the pool, and then the real work begins... I’m scanning pictures for the slide show, drawing place-cards for the tables, printing images for the favors, mixing music for the DJ (I’m mixing music ...for the DJ. “Control freak” is an understatement), meeting with the videographers, digitally restoring the aforementioned scanned photos, mixing more music for the slide show, and assembling entertainment units for our new place... all at the same time. I shut down at 2, catch 40, wake up at 6, lather, rinse, and repeat the whole process. Like I said, I’m a zombie. Meanwhile, boxes are in the garage, waiting to be unpacked (which, if you don't know, drives me crazy). Having moved in to the new place last weekend has helped, though. I’m all on my own until after the honeymoon (we’re old-fashioned), so my work space is uncluttered and my focus is undisturbed. The downside is that I’m not getting any time to enjoy being alone in a brand-new house with brand-new furnishings (the latter courtesy of my family), or crashing out in my recliner with the TV on, or the joy of having cereal and beer for dinner. The compromise begins early, I suppose. But I’m not fooling anybody; I’m excited as all heck to marry my best friend. Or at least, I would be, if I had the time. Ah, Hawaii is only 10 days away...

It’s here... It’s finally here...

2007-03-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

10 years I’ve waited patiently for this. And now, at long last, the day has come... Their glorious and inevitable return is finally upon us! Happy New Ninja Turtle Movie Day, everybody!!!

Hard 8 Vol. 2 Teaser Poster

2007-02-28T13:45:00.000-08:00

Hard 8 Vol. 2 pin-up artist Julien Alday is not the first Frenchie to bless the Hard 8 project with his talents, but that doesn't make his contribution any less impressive (and after seeing how kind and generous every single one of our artist-brethren from the land of the "fritte" have been, I'm beginning to think that maybe the Frenchies have been getting a bad rap). Julien hooked up a gorgeous piece of art for us, and was more than happy to let me turn it into a teaser poster for our upcoming appearances at Wonder-Con (this weekend) and Wizard World Los Angeles (in a couple of weeks). A huge thanks to Julien for his generosity (and remember, you can see his entire image, in all its un-obscured glory, in July's Hard Ei8ht Volume 2)!

Shower Time...

2007-02-22T00:09:00.000-08:00

The countdown is steadily moving forward... In just under 2 months (58 days, to be exact) I'll be a happily married man. Planning has been a pretty smooth ride, and Melissa has been more than great about working around my schedule so I can still get some drawing done. Right now we're at the part that I've been waiting for the most: the gift registry (followed by food sampling and cake tasting)! In lieu of a traditional bridal shower, we're throwing a co-ed shindig with a Monte Carlo theme (because my woman didn't want to exclude me from anything... she's that good). So this here is the invitation to the party, as drawn by yours truly. If you find one of these in your mailbox, I expect to see you there.

Going to Wonder-Con?

2007-02-15T19:43:00.000-08:00

Wonder-Con is still a couple of weeks away (March 2nd - 4th), but just a heads up that the Hard 8 crew will be in attendance. Swing by booth AA76 to get your copies of Hard 8 Vol. 1, plus sketchbooks, poker chips, cards and all that other schwag. We'll be at Wizard World LA too, in mid-March, so mark your calendars and stop by to say hi if you'll be at the show.

Vintage Toons 3 (Trouble in Toon Town).

2007-02-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

I read John K's blog this morning. But first, here's another one from 1998, dripping with Joe Mad influence.

I'm noticing a trend. First, as I comb through these stacks of my old drawings, I see that the closer they get to present day, the more simple and less structured they become. Second, I realize that part of why I'm posting old drawings is because, sadly, I don't have much new work that I'm proud to show. A highly unlikely coincidence.

Last night was one of the worst nights I've had in a long time. I spent 5 hours trying to create one drawing. I drew it over and over and over, trying to apply weight and form, but each time ending up with something that looked decidedly flat, and completely void of real structure. At 1am, still unsuccessful, I went to bed, disappointed and angry. I cursed myself, I cursed not studying more in school, and I cursed the fact that over the last few years, I've given in to this modern drawing trend of "designy" flat art. It can be appealing, and it can be fun to look at, but the truth is, it can also be a huge crutch. I used to absolutely abhor it, but somewhere along the line, I embraced it, and I know why: It helps me mask my weaknesses in applying basic principles. And, stylistic choices aside, if you're using anything to avoid applying principles, it's a cheat.

So now, back to John K. Here's what I read on his blog this morning while sipping my coffee ...

I'm purposely putting a lot of effort into these principle posts in the hopes of inspiring animation students, to give you more tools to create with, to make your future career easier and more creatively rewarding. I see a lot of students - even very talented ones who are great at life drawing, being lured by the modern trend of "designy" flat unprincipled drawings.

When you have skills, you will realize how much more important they are than superficial style. Once you're out working for the man, you won't have the time or youthful energy you have now. Take advantage of it so you can be great!-John

What an astounding thing to read after a night like last night. I feel somewhat better this morning. Can't wait to get back to the drawing table tonight and tackle that drawing again.

Vintage Toons 2.

2007-02-04T22:49:00.000-08:00

Here's another one of my old school pieces. This one's from 1998... By this time I think I was starting to get a little bit into the "cleaner" look, no doubt because guys like Joe Mad and Jeff Matsuda had started infiltrating comics (at that point still my only real source of inspiration). If I remember right, I had met some folks from JNCO clothing at Comic-Con, and I drew this to submit as a t-shirt design. I probably won't include this as a kiddie drawing on my website since it was done more than a year after high school, but I figured I'd post it here anyway.

Vintage Toons.

2007-02-02T01:24:00.001-08:00

I drew this drawing of Sabertooth and Wolverine when I was still in high school (back during my "Todd McFarlane" phase). I'm a pretty nostalgic guy at heart, and over the past few days I've been going through boxes of my old artwork, scanning the stuff I drew as a kid. I'm collecting my favorites on my website (which I re-launched last week, as promised, because I'm also a pretty honest guy at heart). I haven't seen this done on anyone else's site before, but I figured it would be a cool thing to do. And while I do hope you take a look and get a kick out of how ugly, sloppy, and just plain bad these drawings are, the truth is, I'm really sharing them more for myself than for anyone else, because like I just said, I'm all about the nostalgia. I'll be uploading more art as I get time to scan it, so if you dig it, indluge me and check it out (but remember, laughing at the work of children is evil).

Getting focused.

2007-01-18T01:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some roughs (and some not-so-roughs) from my contribution to the upcoming Hard 8 Vol. 2. My hands have been tied with a lot of stuff lately (album cover work, mainly), but I'm realizing that I really don't take any pleasure in doing most of it, regardless of the money. And aside from that, sometimes the work I'm being asked to create isn't the type of work I want my talent to be used for (you reap what you sow). All I really want to do is draw. As such, I've started turning away new solicitors looking for album cover work so I can focus on Hard 8, and on my own book (which has been in the making for far too long). I'll be relaunching www.crushcounty.com this weekend, taking the work-for-hire stuff down and replacing it with artwork galleries once again. It feels good.

The Tortilla Parade.

2007-01-01T23:58:00.000-08:00

As a kid, I used to look forward to watching the Rose Parade on TV every New Year's Day. It's been years since I've really watched it (these days the parade's start is usually my bed time), but I confess, even as an adult, I love that kind of stuff (I'm sappy, traditional, and sentimental). So this year, my lovely fiancee and I decided to do something neither of us had ever done before: spend New Years alone, and camp out for some good seats to see the show. I found out after I got there that George Lucas was the Grand Marshall, which was cool (and seeing all the Storm Troopers march in to that ominous theme was freakin' sweet). The only downside was our neighbors... an unruly, deviant, defiant, and foul-mouthed clan (parents and kids alike) that brought with them bags full of tortillas, which they layered with butter and shaving cream... and threw at passing cars. Classy! If that ain't a cry for border reform, I don't know what is. Nevertheless, despite all of that, and despite the bitter cold, we had a blast. Maybe next year we'll do it again (and I'll show up with my own arsenal of pita and feta cheese). All the best in 2007, people.

Staying Inside The Lines.

2006-12-17T14:17:00.000-08:00

Since I haven't posted any art in a while, here's some stuff I worked on this week. It's not personal work, but stuff I worked on nonetheless. These drawings are not mine; they are the work of Joe Cool, Snoop Dogg's first cousin (and the guy who drew the cover to Snoop's first album back in 1993, which I also posted below). The drawings are stylistically rough and somewhat crude by way of draftsmanship, but they still have a certain appeal to them (which, from a designer's point of view, is interesting to me). Anyway, my job here was to color these so that they look like Joe's early work (most of which was actually airbrushed by artists from Death Row back then). Even with the simple coloring-book style pallettes (sky is blue, trees are green, etc.), it was somewhat of a tedious task trying to achieve a similar look. These images are for a company called Triple 7, and I assume that they (along with several more we did for New York clothing company Supreme) will be used for upcoming clothing lines (at least, that's my guess).

One more thing... Remember how I went to all that trouble to move all my content from my Crush County site to a new domain? Yeah... it's probably going to end up going back to the way it was. Don't ask, I'll explain later (if anyone cares). But if you've been kind enough to update your links, I apologize. And if you haven't, thanks for being stubborn. In any case, both links will work, and both will end up soon pointing back to the same site, www.crushcounty.com. Don't hate me.

Why No Art Posts?

2006-11-23T02:46:00.000-08:00

Have I stopped drawing? Hardly. I've been working lately, but unfortunately, I haven't done much stuff I can post. So what have I been up to?

Well, even if you're not a hip-hop fan (and with the garbage today's artists are doing, I don't blame you), it's very likely you've heard the sounds of Fred "Fredwreck" Nassar. As far as beats go, he's the man. A producer from the Dr. Dre school of production, he supplies the music behind the lyrics of everyone from Eminem to 50 Cent to Snoop Dogg. He's got a new production company, and he called on me to draw the logo. I'll post it once he makes all the info public.

I colored several drawings (drawn by Joe Cool) for urban clothing company Supreme, based in New York. Not sure what the plan is for the artwork, but I assume it'll make it to a line of shirts. We'll see.

Wedding plans are going full-steam ahead (according to the handy and convenient calendar my fiancee made me, we've got 149 days from today). I'll probably be drawing a lot of stuff for invitations and that sort of thing, so hopefully I'll have some new personal stuff to post soon.

Hard 8 Volume 2 is in full swing. This time around, we've got the original contributors, plus a bunch of new guys, who will all be doing stories. Newcomes to the '8 include Damon Gentry, David Barkmann (who did a pin-up in Vol. 1), Justin Ridge (who also did a pin-up in the first volume), and more.

Oh. Congrats to my brother Emmanuel. He was a PA at Nickelodeon for only a matter of weeks before they recognized his talent, and so he's getting out from behind the production desk and moving to an art table, where he'll be working on storyboards for Tak. Great job, man!!

Enjoy the bird, people, and remember to give some thanks (there's a reason it's called "Thanksgiving").

More Frenchies!!!

2006-11-14T20:24:00.000-08:00

Stop me if you've heard this one...

No, seriously, I just posted this exact same thing over at the Hard 8 blog, so if you're read it, stop wasting your time, brown eye. But if you haven't yet heard the good news, follow along. Most people who know me know that I'm virtually on the nuts of anything related in any way to French comic book artists, which is why I was elated at the news that Erich Haeger shared with me (which was in turn shared to him by Hard Ei8ht Vol. 2 contributor, and french illustrator, David Barkmann). David sent a quick message to let us know that artists Gomes, Komorowski, and Tiburce Oger (a "real star in France") have all signed on to contribute artwork to Hard 8 Vol. 2! Add that to writer Phil' Chanoinat, and that's more Frenchies in one stupendous volume of Hard Ei8ht than Hard 8 himself could could count on one stubby hand! Let's celebrate with some crepes!

On a sidenote, I've been freelancing for various projects lately, so my posts have been sparse, but I did manage to finally get my Hard Ei8ht Vol. 2 story completed (a full 6 hours before my deadline). It's a tale told entirely in rhyme, and it was a bi*ch to write. But I look forward to drawing it once I get the last of these projects out of the way (gotta pay the bills somehow).

Happy Halloween!

2006-10-31T10:47:00.001-08:00

My lovely pirate wench and I got our Halloween partying out of our system this past weekend, at the new home of our good friends, Mr. and Mrs. The Gute (aka the talented Eric Gonzalez and his new wife Yoly). Among plenty of other folks, also in attendance were our friends Osgood McSonogram (who kept it low-key in stylish scrubs this year), and Erich "Chia Cheese" Haeger (who inadvertently walked in during a screening of "Nacho Libre" dressed as "El Hobo Libre"). Thanks for a fun evening, gang! Hope everyone has a great time tonight, and save me some candy. One more thing before I go... for you OC folks who don't believe in apathy, get up and vote this Tuesday. You might recongnize a name on the ballot... that's my cousin (no, it's not a typo. Women don't get the "s" at the end). She's running for a non-partisan School Board position, which means it won't conflict with any of your crazy political ideologies, so do your boy a solid and put an X by her name if you make it to the polls.

Happy Birthday, Stay Tooned!

2006-10-16T23:45:00.000-07:00

I just realized that the Stay Tooned Blog turned one year old this month! I started posting last October, just a few months after launching my first website. One of my first posts was a sketch of a (somewhat homo-erotic) man-frog. Follow along and see how I tie this all together.

A year later, I've found myself again setting up a new identity in cyber-space. When I Initially launched www.crushcounty.com with my brother, the idea was to use it as a banner for our personal projects and comics. But along the way, the site started receiving more traffic from the hip-hop crowd looking for album cover design, and as a result, the content of the site became unfocused. So for the sake of clarity and branding, I launched a new site last week, www.deligiannisbrothers.com, to house our personal projects (stuff like sketchbooks, galleries and, for plug's sake, info on the upcoming Hard 8 Volume 2 graphic novel). Right now the only difference is the domain, but in the coming weeks I'll give it a full make-over. In the meantime, the Crush County site has been completly re-designed from the bottom up, to focus soley on album cover design and work-for-hire. So, if you're still reading, please consider this a friendly (if somewhat annoying) request to update your bookmarks and, if you've linked us, your website links (unless you think your site visitors might need a mixtape cover).

So how does all this relate to the Stay Tooned 1st Anniversary Birthday Bash? Well, I came across this image tonight while uploading art to the new site. It's the finished version of that man-frog (which, incidentally, was a logo I designed for a client). I promised to post it once it was colored, but never followed through, until now. You can see the original post here. So there you go. Blog > Website > Homo-Frog > Website > Blog. Full circle, all tied together, nice little bow. Thanks for reading.

Stuart NG.

2006-10-04T10:38:00.000-07:00

The sketchbook I sold at Comic-Con, Anatomy Of An 8 Page Story, is up at Stuart NG. It's full of all my roughs, concepts and designs from Hard 8 Vol. 1 (virtually every drawing I did for that story), and it had a print run of only 50 (the majority of which sold at Con). EDIT: Looks like Stuart updated his site and the old link was taken down; Here's the new link (and in case it goes down again, Don't forget I've got a handful of copies available on my website as well, right here. It's all marketing, baby.

Hard 8 Video Teasers.

2006-09-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

The super talented Ben Pluimer put together some Hard 8 teaser trailers for us to show at Comic-Con, and he recently uploaded them to YouTube. The voices were provided by the awesome Jason Makiaris, Derek Wallace, and Chris Tallman (House M.D., Reno 911). This particular clip features artwork by me (taken directly from Hard 8 Vol. 1), with a story written by my brother. I was out of town when they recorded it, so I wasn't able to let them know that they missed a couple key pages (without which, the story doesn't make much sense). But it's still fun to watch. Head over the the Hard 8 Blog to see all the other teasers too.

HARD 8 STORE SIGNING!!!

2006-09-15T17:17:00.000-07:00

Hey gang! I'll be signing copies of Hard 8 Vol. 1 this week at House Of Heroes, along with all the artists from the Hard 8 crew! We'll be there THIS WEDNESDAY, September 20th, from 3pm-7pm, so come on in and show us some love! My good buddy Erich Haeger drew up this swanky flyer, so print it out and tape it to your head (and, at his request, I'll try to get a flyer drawn if I have time as well ;) . See you there!

And in case you can't make it, Hard 8 Vol. 1 is now being carried at all the following locations...

House of Secrets
1930 W. Olive Avenue
Burbank, California 91506
(818) 562-1900

House of Heroes

18214 Prairie Ave 90504
Torrance, CA

(310) 516-7800

Meltdown Comics and Collectibles
7522 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 851-7283
meltcomics.com

Golden Apple Comics
7711 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 658-6047
(323) 651-0455
goldenapplecomics.com

ComicKaze
55178 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117
(858) 278-0371
www.comickaze.com

And of course Hard 8 is available for online order 24/7 right here! Just click on the "Add to Cart" button to the right!

5 Years Later...

2006-09-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning and watched an unedited re-broadcast of the events of Sept. 11, 2001. It was incredibly eerie, and left me shaken all over again. Afterwards, while on my walk, I saw some folks out with flags (the kind with red-white-and-blue), and, just like 5 years ago, cars honked as they drove by. I remember those first days after the attacks as one of the most amazing periods I've ever experienced; there was a kinship and a unity among people everywhere that was just so palpable . We were in this thing together, and, for a short while, there was no such thing as a "stranger." I remember wondering how long it would last, wishing that it wouldn't end, but knowing it would. Regardless of what the bumper stickers say, people did forget. We need reminders, maybe more than once a year.
After my walk, I made a trip to the post office to ship out some packages. There was a long line, so I pulled a number from the machine... It's pinned to the board by my drawing table now, as my reminder.

Eskimo Dave!

2006-09-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

My homies over at Th3rd World invited me to join in on an art jam. The idea was to pit Mike Hartigan's "Eskimo Dave" character against a snow monster of your own creation. I had a blast doing this today, especially since I've been staying away from the drawing table lately in order to get my Hard 8 story written (and to think, just yesterday I was blogging about the perils of distraction :)

Beating the Block.

2006-09-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

I've been writing (or not writing, rather) my Hard 8 Vol. 2 story for about two weeks now. Each morning I'm up by 7, and by 8:30 I end up at Starbucks, my Mac on my lap, and ideas in my head. By lunch time, I'm a frazzled, frustrated mess, staring at a blank screen. I've been calling it a case of "writer's block," but I think it's something else.

I'm writing my entire story in rhyme this time around. If you've never tried it, believe me, it's not nearly as easy as it sounds. I have a very clear idea of what I want to say, but the problem is that when you work in rhyme, you're eliminating almost all the vocabulary you can use at any given time. Consequently, I get tired of trying, and I let myself get distracted by people, annoying coffee shop music, the internet, newspapers, or whatever else I can find within reach.

So, the past two days I've tried something new. Each morning during my "jog" (..."apparently you just run for an extended period of time"... except I mostly walk), I leave the iPod at home and I bring my Sidekick (phone) along instead. And I just walk, think, and type. There's nothing around to distract me (assuming I don't use it to surf the web), and somehow, the ideas flow. Between yesterday and this morning, I've gotten past most of the speedbumps that were blocking me since last week. If I can keep it up, I can get to the drawing stage soon (hopefully I can find a way to bring my Wacom along on my walks...).

More creatures!

2006-08-25T14:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more designs to go along with those from my previous post. Doing these was a lot of fun and it gave me the chance to do something a little different (it's been quite a while since I've drawn animals). But that also made it a little frustrating at times. I drew many of these over and over and over again until I got what I wanted (or, in some cases, until I got sick of trying). I still see some things I'm not happy with, but ain't that always the case?

New art (finally).

2006-08-18T17:05:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Utah; I went on an amazing week-long houseboat trip with my finacee and her wonderful family, and we had such a blast! And the day before we left, I attended the wedding of my great friend, Eric Gonzalez, and his beautiful bride, Yolanda (congratulations guys!). The ceremony was lovely, the vacation was fantastic, but now that all the festivites are done, it's time to get back to the drawing table.

I've been stuck in Hard 8 mode for months (and I thought since Vol. 1 just came out, I'd get a bit of a break from it, but we're already rolling right into Vol. 2). But somehow, I have made time to get some other drawings done as well, even if my posts haven't reflected it. Here are a few sketches I did before my trip last week, for something I might post more about later.

Buy it here!

2006-08-02T01:28:00.000-07:00

So maybe you missed Comic-Con, or perhaps you missed my previous post that Hard 8 Vol. 1 is now available at both House Of Secrets (in Burbank) and House Of Heroes (in Torrance). Well, you've got no more excuses, because now you can buy it right here, right from this very blog!

In case you didn't know, Hard 8 Vol. 1 is a 116-page graphic novel full of art and stories by a ton of talented folks (myself included), and also features pin-ups by Stephen Silver, Joel Carroll, Justin Ridge, Mike Roush, Richard Pose, David Colman, David Barkmann, Eric Robles, and more! The button's on the right! Click it or stick it, people!

Hard 8 In Tha House.

2006-07-31T01:05:00.000-07:00

The lovely Erich Haeger (wait...that's not right...) posted this great bit of news over on the Hard 8 blog, and I figured I'd share it here too, for all my many, many multitude of readers. If you missed out on picking up Hard 8 at the San Diego Comic Con, you now have a second chance! The book is being carried at both House of Secrets in Burbank and House of Heroes in Torrance!

House of Secrets is located at:
1930 W. Olive Avenue
Burbank, California 91506
(818) 562-1900

and

House of Heroes is located at:

18214 Prairie Ave 90504
Torrance, CA

(310) 516-7800

Pick it up and enjoy, people!

Best. Con. Ever.

2006-07-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

I'll post a more in-depth 'Con recap in a day or two, but the good news is that the Hard 8 project was a HUGE success. A big big thanks to everyone who came by the booth to support, and hopefully you dig the book. In the meantime, here's a picture from one of my best moments at this (or any other) Con. Seriously, how freakin' cool is THIS???

116 Pages Of Goodness!

2006-07-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

Yeeeeeeaaaaa, boyyyyyyyyy! The books are in! Pick 'em up at BOOTH 1032, San Diego Comic-Con!

Art and stories by a host of your blogger regulars, including Matt Roberts, Eric Gonzalez, Erich Haeger, Eren Blanquet, and of course, Mr. Big Toon (that's me, people), plus many more! And, for you geeky animation fiends, we've got pin-ups by the likes of Stephen Silver, Eric Robles, David Barkmann, Justin Ridge, David Colman, Joel Carroll, and Mike Roush, among others!

I'll also have a Hard 8 Sketchbook for sale, called "Anatomy Of An 8 Page Story."

BOOTH 1032! BOOTH 1032! BOOTH 1032! BOOTH 1032! BOOTH 1032! BOOTH 1032! BOOTH 1032!

Chips!

2006-07-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

So Erich just posted a picture of these chips over at the Hard 8 Blog... I had to share it here too! Look out for these chips to be circulating at Comic-Con next week as a little promo 'Con exclusive! Collect 'em all... if you can!!! We'll also have Hard 8-branded decks of cards, so make sure you swing by BOOTH 1032 next week! See you in San Diego!

Irony... What's really going on?

2006-07-07T01:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes luck has a hilarious sense of humor. Indeed, the lady knows irony. Last saturday, my brother Emmanuel and I came to the decision to start restructuring the focus of our Crush County Studios. It was a tough decision, but my album design stuff has gotten big enough that we need to separate it from the rest of our personal creative properties (it somehow doesn't feel right trying to showcase kid-friendly comics and Snoop Dogg album covers under the same umbrella). We decided to move all our creative properties to a new site, one we've had reserved for the last couple of years for exactly this type of "just in case" situation. Days before we decided to go ahead and move our content over to the new site, Eman let his old email address expire, thus coincidentally barely missing the notice that the domain in question was also about to expire. On Sunday, just when he realized he needed to renew it, he logged in to find that someone got to it first and swiped it right from under us...on the same day. Funny stuff.
The next morning (this past Monday) Eman's car wouldn't start and he had to shell out 300 bucks for a new starter. On Wednesday, heading toward auto shop to get everything else checked out, he got into a pretty bad accident. He passed out while on the phone with me (before giving me his exact location). It freaked me out to encounter the fire truck while on the way to him; I ended up following it to the scene. Eman's hurting alot and he's gonna need a bit of time to recover from whiplash and all the aches, but thank God, he's alive. Unfortunately, that 300 bucks for the starter already cleared the bank ;)
Today I got the (early) word that The X's (the show I was on at Nickelodeon) has been officially cancelled. It's a shame, as the show was pretty funny. What's more shameful is the way everyone was strung along. But that's business, I suppose.
As for our project, Hard 8, the books should have been back by now, had we not almost got doggystyle'd by World Trade Printing (yeah, I'm calling out names. They're in Stanton, CA. Don't use them). However, the books have now been printed and are getting bound, thanks to our buddy G. They'll be hot off the presses a mere 48 hours or so before we head to Comic-Con.
I'm doing a bit of character design for New York West, another record label that contacted me this week to draw some stuff for their covers. Should be fun project.
Right now, the one thing making me giddy (aside from the rapidly-approaching Con) is that my Sidekick 3 should be here any day now. I love gadgets, so much that its almost unnatural. I can already smell the scent of opening the box and removing the plastic baggies and twist-ties. Ahhhhhhhhhh... ok, enough, you're breathing in all the "new."

Update.

2006-06-28T18:14:00.000-07:00

I was gone for the week; went to the river with my fiancee and her wonderful family. We had a blast, and in between boating, getting caught in stand-storms, and seeing arse-naked couples screwing on the beach, I had a chance to update my website. I've got a new look, and I was finally able to put up some newer art (mainly in the sketchbook section). Also, most of the pesky Internet Explorer bugs should be gone now, so if you're using IE, consider this an open invitation to 1) visit the new www.crushcounty.com, and 2) dump that awful browser like it was piss-warm beer and see the 'net the way it was meant to be seen (yeah, I'm learning to build with compliance, but I'm still bitter at mediocrity ;)

Bugged out.

2006-06-17T23:16:00.000-07:00

I've been redesigning my website and I wanted to go thru and add some of the art that I've been posting here on my blog for the last few months. I came across this sketch that I posted back in Decemeber...

As I was looking at it, I noticed a wierd spot, so I zoomed in for a closer look...

Clean your scanner. Lesson learned.

Arrrgh, Pyrats!

2006-06-16T15:20:00.000-07:00

The superbly-talented Mr. Wayne Unten emailed this link out... If you haven't seen this *GASP* student film yet, STOP whatever you're doing and watch this... it's one of the most beautiful pieces of animation I've seen in ages. And they want you to think 2D is dead. Watch NOW!

Vigilante Justice.

2006-06-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love this kind of stuff. I've been following this online for the last few days. This guy, Evan, lost his Sidekick; someone has it and won't return it. Because of the way the Sidekick works, Evan was able to retrieve info and photos that the thief(s) took, and has now used all that info to start an amazing web assult against them. He's posted all their AOL info, their MySpace accounts, and all their pictures, and now he's getting some media attention as well (not to mention thousands of hits to his site). In one of the more amusing turn of events, people have jumped on the bandwagon using the captured photos to create insulting and amusing (if poorly done) Photoshopped images of the thieves. It cracks me up to think how these morons must feel seeing their faces plastered all over the internet (and they aren't lookers, either). I give much props to Evan; I love seeing people use their own smarts to get justice, instead of wasting time waiting for "the law" to come to their rescue (I've got this "thing" about cops and the legal system...but that's a post for another time).

Hard 8 Proofs!

2006-06-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

I woke up to a phone call from our printer early this morning; our proofs were ready! I'm looking over the final pages now, making sure everything is in order, but thought I'd take a quick minute to share a few pics. Check out the Hard 8 Production Blog for more photos! The final books should be ready in a couple of weeks, just in time for 'Con!

The Bomb.

2006-05-21T00:41:00.000-07:00

My brother Eman and I finished the final revisions on our Hard 8 story tonight (now officially titled "Between Rock and a Hard Place"). We're done! I was telling Marshall Vandruff how referring to the things we'd learned from his classes helped us fix a glaring problem (in the eleventh hour before our print deadline, no less). If you're gonna be at Comic-Con, swing on by the Hard 8 booth and pick up your copy! And speaking of Marshall, CSUF had thier annual film festival tonight. (Sorry guys, I had to miss it this time. I really wanted to be there, but I've been putting the final Hard 8 files together). Eman showed up though, and he brought the DVD's we made of last year's festival (in which animated versions of Marshall and other faculty had starring roles). Apparently they sold out in minutes, and lots more of you guys want them. I'll be getting more ready by next week, so if you haven't done so already, make sure to email me and reserve your copy (and sorry blogger buddies, this is for us CSU Fullerton kiddies only).

Hard 8 Completed.

2006-05-16T01:07:00.000-07:00

Well... almost. More than half the guys have wrapped up their stories (tonite was the deadline we had set up for ourselves so we all hit it or came real close). I'm about done now, just putting some final touches together. This'll be my final Hard 8 update until we get the books back from the printer. I'm excited to get back to doing some other stuff; I've falled behind on a lot of other work, but in the end it's gonna be worth it. Another day on this badboy and it'll be over... and then, you can see the final product at the Hard 8 booth at Comic-Con!