Jimbo Jabber

More sequentials

2011-12-27T21:26:00.001-08:00

More sequential snippits

2011-08-29T00:24:00.000-07:00

...a continuation from my previous post. More to come!

New sequential snippits part 1

2011-08-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

Despite my lack of posts, I've actually been very busy. Some artwork I still cannot fully post publicly, but as long as I refrain from showing anything TOO revealing I believe (?) it's a-OK. Anyhow, here are a few snippits from sequential panels of a publication I had the EXTREME honor of being a part of (to be specific, a bound sequential/comic book sampling of a few chapters from my wife Laini's newest book DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE. It was done for her UK publisher and only available there.)

Sketchbooking once again

2011-05-20T23:59:00.001-07:00

Another sketch before turning in.

Sketchbooky-wooky

2011-05-09T01:12:00.000-07:00

A sketch before turning in.

Sketchbooking

2011-05-02T23:27:00.000-07:00

Forgive my long absence. Many (good!) life-things going on, not the least of which has been me tackling some major home renovations in a new (very old!) home that we bought this winter. But all the while I've been working on art as well and here are some recent sketches I did for fun. Once I know it's OK, I'll post some art I've done for other projects. I'll also soon (ish!) be posting some artwork prior to the San Diego Comic Con. If anyone's still out there, thanks for reading. Cheers!

Booklist chooses Lips Touch!!

2010-09-17T04:58:00.000-07:00

Laini and I were very excited to hear that Booklist (which is the digital counterpart of the ALA's (American Library Association's) Booklist magazine) has chosen LIPS TOUCH as one of their 2010 top 10 YA Romance novels! And it was also pretty flattering that they used my cover art for the list's logo. We're both very honored! And congrats to all of the other books and creators mentioned (including our awesome friend L.K. Madigan and her wonderful novel Flash Burnout. Go Lisa! And also our super-talented friend David Levithan and his novel Will Grayson Will Grayson!). Go here for the full list.

Sorry for the lack of activity here as well. I've been working on a few projects, but they're all at the "You can't show anybody" stage either because they're under a non-disclosure agreement by the publishers, or because they're collaborative pitches that those involved don't want to share to the masses until they're further along and seen by publishers. Anyhow, I hope everyone has had a great summer. Cheers!

Art snippit

2010-07-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

A snippit of art from a story that may see the light of day in the (near? distant?) future...

Morning sketch

2010-07-20T05:55:00.000-07:00

Drew and painted this over coffee early this morning (for fun) and messed about in Photoshop with it. The 2nd two are clearly digitally manipulated whereas the first is a straight scan. Not sure which I like best...probably just the initial before I touched it with Photoshop. Hmph.

Fractured Fables comics anthology has hit stands!

2010-07-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

The short story Laini and I did for the Shadowline/Image Comics anthology has hit stands this week (the first two panels from the story above). While we won't be attending the San Diego Comic Con this year for the official signing (dangit! That con is TOO much fun!), as I understand it, most bookstores should be carrying it if you're interested. Also, I've added the book to my site here over to the right (click to purchase). Again, it was an honor to be asked to contribute to the book and we're thrilled to be among some great creators. Cool beans. And thanks to Jim Valentino (Shadowline's publisher and Image Comics V.P.) for the invite!

Cheers!

Some adorableness and some art

2010-07-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

First, the adorable (11 months old already. Yikes!)

And secondly, some art:

So children actually DO take up some time after all (doi!)

2010-06-27T22:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I'd whole-heartedly planned on a total website redesign with tons of new work uploaded, but those lofty goals are, alas, not meant to be for now (*see post title!!*). I came to the conclusion that my work time was better spent, well, working, than on a redesign, but I still managed to upload some of my recent work. I'll get the remaining "Color" gallery dead links connected soon too (most, but not all are operable. The samples of my artwork for the novel LIPS TOUCH will be linked to full pages soon...I'm pretty sure at least). In the meantime, here's my new "Home" page, but I plan on rotating that image around every few months.

Much is being worked on and much is brewing (woohoo!), and Laini and I are having a blast with our li'l Clementine and her first summer in the world!

Thanks for checking in!
Jim

Up early working and listening to...

2010-05-27T06:20:00.000-07:00

...some old PJ Harvey. One of my all-time favorite musical talents. Wow she's awesome:

(But why does Blogger crop YouTube clips? What the heck?!) (***Update: Thanks to "Somebody" for leaving a comment for me showing me how to fix the vid-squish. Much appreciated!***)

Art snippit

2010-04-15T00:46:00.000-07:00

Messing about searching for the look of a project that might be forthcoming (how's that for ridiculously -- probably unnecessary -- vagueness?).

WIP - pt. 2

2010-04-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

So I decided to make the next step be some oil paints. It felt gooooood. Here are a couple of pics after about 90 minutes of wet-in-wet. Not the best pictures, and although you can still see some of the watermedia and charcoal in the piece, the camera didn't really pick it up. I'll save some of that underpainting stuff along the way and hopefully the final scan (once dry!) will pick it up for the blog.

Work in Progress - post 1

2010-04-05T00:44:00.000-07:00

I'll try to scan this as I go to keep track of the progress for the ol' blog and post the same zoomed-in snippit along the way...

Sketchbook

2010-04-03T23:06:00.000-07:00

Sketchbookin' once again

2010-04-02T23:28:00.000-07:00

...with juuuust a touch of Photoshop at the end.

Goth Girl Follies (3rd installment)

2010-03-24T15:32:00.001-07:00

GGF part 3!!

Again, go here to Barry Lyga's site for a collection of the strips (with higher-rez versions too).

The sketchbookin' continues

2010-03-24T06:51:00.001-07:00

Sketchbookin'

2010-03-23T02:27:00.001-07:00

I'm loving this sketchbook by "Global Arts." Great paper texture for drawing and it takes watercolor, gouache, and charcoal beautifully. Now I just wish we were headed on a long overseas trip so I could do some travel sketch pieces. Sigh...

Goth Girl Follies (2nd installment)

2010-03-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

Another strip from collaborating with the prolific and super-talented Barry Lyga:

And a link to his site that has a collection of the strips (with higher-rez versions too).

Sketchbookin'

2010-03-20T15:41:00.001-07:00

And now, Barry Lyga and I take over...THE WORLD!!...

2010-03-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

...or we at least release the fun collaborative strip we worked on for his AWESOME novel "Goth Girl Rising" (which is the sequel to the AMAZING novel "The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl"). Barry was nice enough to hire me to do a few of these strips, and working with him was nothing short of an honor and a pleasure -- I mean, I was a fan before we met and now I get to work with him? How cool is that? Anyhow, I hope we get to work together again. For now, here's the first strip in the series, as well as a link to his site to keep track of the upcoming installments. (Oh! And buy his books! They're all fanTAStic!)

Our PBS-Plus Television interview (yikes!) for LIPS TOUCH

2010-02-22T06:29:00.000-08:00

We're just happy that we didn't freeze up too much on camera and sweat all over the place! Thanks to the WONDERFUL host of "Back Page" Jody Seay, the director Eric Gleske, and their awesome crew and staff! We had a wonderful time!

Birthday art gifts for friends

2010-02-22T06:18:00.001-08:00

Two of my best friends had a co-birthday party over the weekend, so I whipped up a couple of pieces of silly art for them and figured I'd show them here because (1) I haven't posted near enough art on here lately, and (2) I can't really show any of the art I've been working on lately so this will have to do for now.

As you can see, one friend is into boxing and the other is into punching old-timey criminals. OK, not really (the latter), but it was an image that just came to me. The "We're From Japan" word balloon is referencing the AWESOME band he's in. Super talented group of guys.

Reading Neil Gaiman to your baby will get you noticed!

2010-02-22T05:53:00.001-08:00

I was contacted by a representative of the Frisco (Texas) Public Library after my interview with the AWESOME Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast blog, asking if they could use the picture of me reading to Clementine on their promotional brochure for their "Books for Babies" program. I couldn't say "YES!" fast enough! What an honor! They have this fanTAStic program that's a partnership between the library and other organizations that provides a board book and information on nurturing readers for new parents for EVERY baby born at the Centennial Medical Center in Frisco, Texas. We have a similar program here in Multnomah County and we LOVE it!

Anyhow, thanks to the organization for contacting me (and Clementine!) and whether it's a Neil Gaiman picture book or not, read to your kids! And use (and appreciate!) your public library!

(Ooh, and in other Neil Gaiman-ish news, Laini's second DREAMDARK novel, SILKSINGER won one of the same awards that the former's Graveyard Book won last year! Namely the Middle Grade Fantasy/Sci Fi 2009 CYBILS Award! Congrats to Laini!)

Quick catch-up and Happy Holidays!

2009-12-27T16:29:00.000-08:00

So while LIPS TOUCH didn't win the NBA for Y.A. fiction (see previous post), Laini, Clementine, and I (and Laini's mother who accompanied to sight-see and help with baby-sitting) had a FABulous time visiting NY once again and the awards banquet and show were amazing. We were truly honored just to have our book as a finalist among other such wonderful works of literature and art. A HUGE thanks to our Publisher, Arthur A. Levine (and everyone at his imprint!) for bringing us out and showing us a such a great time. Here we are upon entering the event (we haven't been this dressed up since our wedding!):

Congrats to all of the other finalists and even bigger congrats to the 4 winners! It was a pleasure to meet them all and also to get to meet all of the judges. If you're interested, here's Laini reading an excerpt from LIPS TOUCH the night before the banquet at another event for the finalists (click over to YouTube to avoid the screwy cropping of my art slideshow that Blogger does...)

Recently I've been working on art for several projects. One of them is a small but VERY fun project was with the incredibly talented Barry Lyga (of "The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl" fame, as well as "Boy Toy," the newly released title "Goth Girl Rising," and other books out and in the works). More on that to come in early 2010.

Laini and I also collaborated on a short sequential story for an upcoming Image Comics fairy tale anthology (out sometime in mid to late 2010). Our talented writer/artist/publisher friend Jim Valentino (he was Image's publisher at the time when THE DROWNED was acquired. Thanks Jim!!) asked us to contribute and it was a BLAST working on it. It'll be published by Image under one of Jim's imprints -- Silverline Books -- to be exact. Anyhow, some of the other contributors to the anthology include Mike Allred, Doug TenNapel, and Ted McKeever (and a BUNCH of others). Here's a panel from our story (written by Laini & art by me):

I was honored to be interviewed by Jules over at the how-do-they-have-time-to-put-this-all-together too cool for school blog Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast Thanks Jules and to everyone for their kind comments!

Lastly, one of the other projects I've been working on is hinted at in the (7-Imp) interview and I hope to have some news to share sometime in the coming weeks or months. I'll only say that I'm SO excited about it and I can't wait to get to work on the project as a whole!

Happy New Year!

LIPS TOUCH named as 1 of 5 Y.A. finalists for the National Book Award!

2009-10-14T09:01:00.000-07:00

We are SO honored and excited! And I'm SO proud of my wife and her beautiful writing!

Go here for a list of all of the nominees.

Booklist Starred Review for LIPS TOUCH that compares Laini's writing to Neil Gaiman and Charles de Lint!

2009-10-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

*Lips Touch: Three Times*
Taylor, Laini (Author) , Di Bartolo, Jim (Illustrator)
Oct 2009. 272 p. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, hardcover, $16.99. (9780545055857).
"...Taylor’s three novellas form a triptych of beautiful fantasy writing reminiscent of Charles de Lint and Neil Gaiman. Kisses are the unifying theme, with each story offering a different sort of locking lips, from giddy seduction to harsh power play. In “Goblin Fruit,” misfit Kizzy meets a fascinating new student, an unbelievably gorgeous young man who ignores the popular girls to seek her out. Taylor tantalizingly foreshadows the ambiguous ending, teasing and enticing the reader much as Jack Husk entices Kizzy. “Spicy Little Curses Such as These” is set in India and offers intriguing and culturally respectful glimpses of both Indian religion and British colonialism. “Hatchling” reveals a fully- realized world of sometimes malevolent immortals who steal and raise human babies as their pets. Present-day teen sensibilities blend with artful allusions to mythology and magic, pulling the reader into rich fantasy realms. The cover’s close-up of a lovely woman’s red lips, with red-orange flames licking at the super-imposed title, lacks the powerful, delicately structured, and subtle poetry of Taylor’s stories. But Di Bartolo, Taylor’s husband, provides skillfully detailed pen-and-ink illustrations that are a fine match for the lyrical, romantic text."

— Debbie Carton

Congrats Laini (and LIPS TOUCH!! (well, OK, and to me too) That makes TWO starred reviews so far!!

So in honor of the comparison (or "honour" as Mr. Gaiman might write) this morning I read Clementine one of Mr. Gaiman's more age-appropriate books. Plus it's a great early introduction to the amazing work of Dave McKean for her!! You can see that she enjoyed it! (Now I'll need to see if Mr. de Lint also has picture books, or if she'll need to wait until she's older to delve into his creations).

Messin' about with art

2009-10-03T23:51:00.000-07:00

I'm working on some projects I can't show here for a while, but here are a couple of non-project-related cartoony portraits I screwed around with for fun recently. Thanks for stopping by!

LIPS TOUCH starred review in Publisher's Weekly and book trailer!

2009-09-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

From Publisher's Weekly today:

Lips Touch: Three Times Laini Taylor, illus. by Jim Di Bartolo. Scholastic/Levine, $17.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-545-05585-7
Taylor offers a powerful trio of tales, each founded upon the consequences of a kiss. She explores the potentially awkward conceit in three dramatically different fantasies, each featuring a young female protagonist out of place in the world she inhabits: contemporary Kizzy, who so yearns to be a normal, popular teenager that she forgets the rules of her Old Country upbringing and is seduced by a goblin in disguise; Anamique, living in British colonial India, silenced forever due to a spell cast upon her at birth; and Esmé, who at 14 discovers she is host to another—nonhuman—being. The stories build in complexity and intensity, culminating in the breathtaking “Hatchling,” which opens with a spectacularly gripping prologue (“Esmé swayed on her feet. These weren't her memories. This wasn't her eye”). Each is, in vividly distinctive fashion, a mesmerizing love story that comes to a satisfying but never predictable conclusion. Di Bartolo's illustrations provide tantalizing visual preludes to each tale, which are revealed as the stories unfold. Even nonfantasy lovers will find themselves absorbed by Taylor's masterful, elegant work.

WOW! Thanks Publisher's Weekly! (And congrats Laini for the glowing comments on your writing!) More reviews are pending and I'll try to remember to post them here. Also, here's some of the interior art from the book:

And a trailer for the book that the Marketing people at Scholastic put together! How cool of them to do this?!!

A bit more...

2009-09-01T01:36:00.000-07:00

A larger clipping excerpted from the (larger) final piece:

An angry me with a mustache...

2009-08-31T16:44:00.001-07:00

...(and thicker hair) from the White Wolf pieces I'm finishing up today:

Art snippit & baby pic

2009-08-19T10:10:00.001-07:00

An in-progress art-snippit from the new White Wolf job I'm doing. I'll post more later on.

And...

...a pic of our new addition to the family! Clementine Pie Di Bartolo! We're crazy about her!!

Baby girl!

2009-08-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

Name, details, and more pics to come soon!

Sketch & paint

2009-08-06T17:56:00.000-07:00

I would LOVE to illustrate a book or comic book in this style someday. TOO much fun watercoloring off of quick loose sketches like this!

Sketchbookin'

2009-07-31T09:50:00.000-07:00

As our due date gets closer, we've been going to the midwife's office every week for brief check-ups which leaves us with some waiting-room time. Instead of reading while we wait I've been sketchbooking. Above are some quick sketches from yesterday and a drawing I did from a photo of a friend a couple days ago.

Old piece new again

2009-07-30T08:48:00.001-07:00

I just bought a SCSI to Firewire adapter for my OOOOoooooOOOOOooold (but large-format & awesome!) scanner so I could at last get rid of my even OLDER blue & white G3 Mac and hook the scanner directly to my newer-ish computer. The whole hook-up not only worked, but it was about 10 thousand time easier than I thought it would be. It was just a matter of connecting the two with the Firewire cable, installing VueScan software that I bought on their site and POW!. Should have done it years ago!

Anyhow, to test-scan something I grabbed an old oil painting that I did for THE DROWNED years ago and scanned in a portion of it. It was a piece that I liked certain parts of, but never got it to look just right. I was looking at it earlier and started messing with it in Photoshop over coffee this morning and like it a bit more now. It's still NOT fit for publication in this state or anything, but I do like it enough to slap it up here.

Lastly, today should be the final day of our 100+ degree heat wave -- relief is in sight!

Batman sketch (and refinishing floors = DONE!)

2009-07-29T16:47:00.000-07:00

Hours or days or maybe even (possibly) weeks away from Laini and me welcoming our first baby into the world (CAN'T. WAIT!) and I've been working on some art for another project I'll hopefully have reason to talk more about soon. For a small diversion, I did the above Batman drawing and mixed-media quickie painting after lunch today. I liked small parts of it well enough to post the whole messy thing, but now back to the aforementioned project.

Also, as promised from my last post, here is a "before" pic of our floors, an "after" sanding pic, and an after "varnishing" pic to show how our hardwood floors turned out.

While it was a lot of hard work, it was SO rewarding and worth it (but I'm damn glad to be done with it! :)

Book sketch and J.I.G.T.R.T.D.H.F.

2009-07-01T11:06:00.001-07:00

This was the drawing I did in the inside front cover of an ARC of Laini's upcoming DREAMDARK novel "Silksinger" for the winner of the online benefit auction for our friend Bridget Zinn. The organizers of this particular event have done amazing work in helping Bridget with her medical costs. What awesome people to have organized something like that. I'm humbled to have been able to help even just a little.

And lastly, today is the last day before "J.I.G.T.R.T.D.H.F." (or, more long-windedly: "Jim is going to refinish the downstairs hardwood floors"). I'll try to remember to take some pics as it all happens. Wish me luck internet!

What's this? A post?

2009-06-29T16:13:00.001-07:00

So I've been a bad blogger of late, and I'm going to try and be better, but we'll see how impending fatherhood (WOOHOO!) treats me and my hit-or-miss blogging habits. Since giving this interview to the so very nice Shelli Wells earlier this month, I've been trying to kick myself into gear in regards to blogging. I mean, I kind of made a pledge there to the Blog-gods, and I don't need their vengeful ways hunting me down, so here we go.

Before I get into what I've been up to, I should note that the above painting is the kind of stuff I'm going to try and do a bit more of as a warm-up (**EDIT: I should correct that and call it an "exercise" or "practice piece" rather than a warm-up. While this didn't take me hours and hours or anything, it didn't fly off in a few minutes either**), and also to keep my traditional-media chops intact. There's definitely a different sort of "reward" feeling (for me at least) in doing a piece completely by hand instead of with digital aid. So anyhow, I'll be trying to do more of this kind of piece for myself and my blog in the coming weeks.

As for what I've been up to, Laini and I had the AMAZING honor of attending the annual BEA (Book Expo America) convention in New York late last month to promote some buzz for our upcoming book with Arthur A. Levine Books (a division of Scholastic) entitled LIPS TOUCH: Three Times. Here we are with (the too nice to be real!) Arthur Levine himself in the Scholastic booth with my cover illuminated (which was a thrill to see!)

We had a fantastic time visiting the offices of Penguin/Putnam, Scholastic, Scholastic Educational, and Simon and Schuster. It was really a day the likes of which I'd dreamed of earlier in my career and almost had to pinch myself as we went from place to place meeting everyone involved with various projects that I've been a part of both with Laini and on my own. Here are a few pics from those visits and NY in general:

and last but certainly not least, a pic of me with my mother, sister, and 2 (beautiful!) nieces when we were visiting them in CA (thanks for dog-sitting Mama! xoxo:)

Now if the small house-remodeling that we're having done (and me re-finishing our hardwood floors later this week! Woohoo!) doesn't distract and absorb all of my time, I'll be posting once again very soon.

Book covers and a website update

2009-05-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

A snapshot of some of the book covers I've done for various publishers. LIPS TOUCH, The DRAGON'S PEARL, and SILKSINGER are all advance reader's copies (ARCs) and therefore in paperback form for now. Once I get hardcovers in the coming months as their release dates approach I'll probably put pics of them up as well.

Also, I did a small website update and plan to do a much larger one in the coming months once I'm given the OK by the publishers to show more of my recent work.

LIPS TOUCH cover artwork

2009-04-16T10:08:00.000-07:00

I won't be able to show the interior artwork until the book sees publication (October 1st), but here's the cover. For a great, more in-depth post about the creation of the book, check out Laini's blog entry here. We are very excited about 2009 for many reasons and this book being released is among the the top things we're feeling lucky and proud about. Collaborating on an illustrated novel has been something we've dreamed about since we were dating in art school. Thank you to Arthur Levine for helping us see this through and for pushing us to think about an illustrated book in new and unique ways.

Art catch-up (a little at least) and Project Book Babe

2009-04-10T09:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent cropped portions of art for a couple different projects that I've been working on. The two fantasy clippings are from Laini's upcoming Penguin/Putnam DREAMDARK sequel out in September entitled "DREAMDARK: SILKSINGER" (the cover to which is over in my side blog column). The pencils are from an upcoming (creepy!) project for Scholastic's educational department. More on this project as it (quickly!) progresses.

And lastly, here is an ink sketch I did for a donated ARC of Laini's and my upcoming illustrated teen novel (published by Arthur A. Levine Books) entitled LIPS TOUCH. This ARC -- as well as a sketched-in copy of the first DREAMDARK harcover and a SILKSINGER (ARC) -- is all going to be auctioned off for the "Project Book Babe" fundraiser that Laini and a BUNCH of other talented authors contributed to (the main event of which happened last weekend, but the auctioned items will be available over the coming week or more). It was a HUGELY successful event for a great cause. Cheers to all those involved and (of course!) to Faith, for whom this event was created to benefit.

Dave McKean interview

2009-03-09T06:40:00.000-07:00

(*image borrowed from the 7-Imp blog interview*)
I was flattered to be asked by Jules of the AMAZING blog "Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast" to give a hand in her interview with one of my all-time favorite artists, Dave McKean. Make no mistake, I contributed at most .0025% of the overall work involved, while Jules and Eisha (also of the aforementioned blog) did the rest along with an assist by Farida Dowler. It's an amazing interview that's both inspiring and laugh-out-loud funny at times and it's PACKED with a TON of Mr. McKean's art. This guy is creative down to the bone.

Thanks...

2009-02-24T21:44:00.000-08:00

...Stephanie, for the cool superhero generator link!

After choosing different features and colors from the plethora of choices, it creates the finished version and adds a name to your creation. This is what mine looked like when I was done:

Dreamdark SILKSINGER cover!

2009-02-19T08:20:00.000-08:00

We just got the OK to unveil the cover (art by me!) for Laini's upcoming novel DREAMDARK: SILKSINGER. Due out in September. This is, of course, the sequel to her first novel DREAMDARK: BLACKBRINGER, both from G.P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin Publishing.

Both books are unbelievably great!

Painting away and discovering Faunts and White Flight

2009-01-24T13:26:00.000-08:00

It's been a while, but I've been busy and I LOVE it! Since I can't show you what I've been working on, I can at least show you (along with some blurred-out-art areas) my work space:

By the way, that drafting table has been THE BEST purchase I've made in a long time. My old table was about 3 feet wide, and while it served me very well over the years, this "new" one has been incredible. I say "new" because I got it off of Craig's List in the early Fall for $100! I'd been keeping an eye out for a while for just this kind of table and after seeing them pop up and then disappear within hours I POUNCED on this one when it showed up online. It's an architecture table with drawers and it's as sturdy as hell! I was tired of my old table squeaking and getting semi-wobbly if I didn't tighten it every couple of days and this new one is solid enough to climb up on and take a nap. And once I got it home and realized that my old chair wasn't high enough, what did I do you might ask? I jumped back on Craig's List and within a couple of days I found a used (nice!) drafting chair for $10 that was missing some screws. One stop off at the mom & pop hardware store on the way home and it was as good as new. Anyhow, enough pitching for Craig's List. It was actually kind of fun at first, working without the chair and drawing standing up (but it got old pretty fast leaning over the table). I've already posted this a while back, but here's one of the pieces once again that I did on my feet & hunched over:

Now on to music. I'm an eMusic monthly subscriber (LOVE. IT.) and I had some credit that was itching to get used this past week. At first I wanted to find a few songs from some obscure bands (to me at least) that were in the "My Bloody Valentine" realm. Someone I'm working with had mentioned his enjoyment of that band and I've been wanting to make a mix for him, but I ended up LOVING a few of the bands myself. For today I'll only mention Faunts and White Flight, and while I'd never seen their videos before, I thought these were pretty good. It's funny because as a child of the '80's, I TOTALLY got into music videos growing up, but since I haven't had cable TV in over 10 years I sometimes forget that there are still videos being made. Anyhow, if you're interested, here're the Faunts with their video to the song M4-Part II. (Crabs at war? Strangely sad) :

And here's White Flight with the song Pastora Divine:

And because this video is just a bit too fun and cool NOT to show, here's another one (it takes a minute for the song to start, but it's a little too much cheesy goodness to look away in the meantime. I think so at least) :

Goodbye 2008!

2008-12-31T14:31:00.001-08:00

An olllld sketchy drawing just for fun:

(P.S. - stupid time moves too quickly. That whole "Y2K" malarky seems way too recent to have been 9 years ago! Sheesh.)

Marco Polo and a quick catch up

2008-12-16T10:22:00.001-08:00

So this is the full front of the MARCO POLO cover I did for Simon and Schuster a couple of months back. The full image is a wrap-around. They've released the image on their website and on Amazon among others so I think it's safe for me to post it here. It comes out in May '09 and I'm really looking forward to it hitting the shelves! I had a blast working on it and I hope it does really well. Fingers crossed!

I can't post anything from the several projects I've been working on lately, but once things are released by the publishers I'll announce and/or post more work here. Until then, I'll just say that I'm working on some of the most fun projects of my career and I just feel very thankful right now.

I have managed to see a few movies and listen to some good music (the movies on our rare, quick outings, but luckily I can have music on in the studio to provide a soundtrack to my work day). Despite not kicking butt in the box office, Laini and I LOVED the following: RocknRolla, Let the Right One In, and Role Models -- all GREAT and each VERY different from the next. In fact, I'd be hard pressed to list three more varied movies if I tried. As far as music goes, I've been listening to "TOBACCO" a lot. Like a LOT LOT. Also "The Impossible Shapes," old albums and EPs from "Midlake," "Modeselektor," and "Tut Tut" (among many many others, but those stand out to me right now -- check them out!)

Lastly, since it's not going to appear in print anywhere, here's a snippit from a piece I did for...something. But again, it won't see print, so here's part of it. I'll put the whole thing and a lot of other new art on a big website redesign in the Spring once projects are farther along and ARCs (advanced reader copies) are released. Oh, and it's very mixed-media with some digital patterns and touches added at the end:

Happy Holidays everyone! Support your local artists and crafty-folks and small shops if you can. They make the best stuff anyway.

Phew! Thank you voters!

2008-11-05T08:59:00.000-08:00

Charles meets Barack Obama

2008-10-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

What a GREAT touching video:

Vote!

Anniversaries!

2008-10-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

So, Laini and I just celebrated our 10-year first-date-iversary, I just wished Tone a happy 1-year wedding anniversary, and I just did this fun piece of art for two of our dearest friend's 3-year anniversary (the theme being that Aaron is "the bee's knees" to Chary -- her nickname for him and what she wanted as a theme when she hired me to make this gift for her to give to him).

Anyhow, happy anniversary to any and all of you out there celebrating!

Tagged by Laurie...

2008-10-02T14:56:00.000-07:00

These are 2 images resulting from typing in "Tagged" (one from Corbis and the other from Google). I like that the guy is getting tagged out in the face. Good stuff.

Here we go:

1. What are your nicknames?
Lots from Laini (and several we've sworn to secrecy, so...). Here're some of the ones I can share that have been assigned to me throughout my life for various reasons: Rev, Randy (the name, not the British slang), Monkeyboy, and Smokestack

2. What was the first movie you bought in VHS or DVD?
VHS was "Above the Law" starring Steven Seagal.

3. What is your favorite scent?
Apple pie

4. What one place have you visited that you can't forget and want to go back to?
The Amalfi Coast (or Venice...or Rome)

5. Do you trust easily?
Nope. There're too many ninjas outside in the bushes for me to let my guard down (not to mention that I think my dog's a double-agent for the Commies)

6. Do you generally think before you act, or act before you think?
This question took me 2 hours to ponder, so...

7. Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days?
Politics. Racists.

8. Do you have a good body image?
Sure (but only to a point). Why? Do I look fat in this?

9. What is your favorite fruit?
Mangoes (my wife's converted me. But a freshly picked nectarine is an AWFUL close second).

10. What websites do you visit daily?
The Daily Kos, Salon, Newsarama, Grow Wings, eMusic

11. What have you been seriously addicted to lately?
Politics (but that's not anything new).

12. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
Incredibly friendly (when she's not kicking asses and taking names. Right Laurie? :)

13. What's the last song that got stuck in your head?
"I Wanna Be a Sheep" by Ezra Furman and the Harpoons

14. What's your favorite item of clothing?
Any one of my Threadless or Gama-Go t-shirts

15. Do you think Rice Krispies are yummy?
Meh. (the "treats" are a whole other story however...)

16. What would you do if you saw $100 lying on the ground?
I'd look around, step on it, kneel down like I'm gonna tie my shoe, pick it up and tuck it away and run like the wind! (Although I've gone so far as to return stamps to the post office counter when I found a bunch of them outside in the parking lot, so who knows...)

17. What items could you not go without during the day?
Wife and dog not withstanding I'd have to say coffee (I should make it clear that "coffee" is a VERY distant 3rd place :)

18. What should you be doing right now?
Drawing. Thanks for the distraction Laurie!

Me vs. a Velociraptor (and the AFL-CIO vs. racism)

2008-10-02T08:29:00.000-07:00

I tried to MOSTLY tell the truth, but I may have given myself too much credit on a question or two -- don't think I'll ever know for sure though (thankfully) -- anyhow, this was the result:

1 minute, 44 seconds

Oh, and MUCH more importantly, this speech is one of the most powerful and encouraging that I've seen on racism in my life. Maybe there's hope for our nation to turn the page on racism after all:

Marco Polo

2008-09-23T15:23:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I got a great call from the always stylish and always charming Laurent Linn (Art Director at Simon & Schuster). We've chatted several times at various SCBWI functions but haven't ever had the opportunity to work together...until that very welcome phone call/job offer to work on the book cover for a really fun upcoming teen novel about a young Marco Polo! Since I can't go into the plot details of the novel, I'll just say that the "released" info about it can be seen here. Also, I can't show the cover in it's entirety just yet either, but below is a snippet from it just for teaser-sake.

What a great experience working on this project has been! Thanks to Laurent and everyone involved!

My art (okay, and Laini's book too) in Germany!

2008-09-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

We received news about this months ago but a little promo package just arrived showcasing Laini's book coming out in Germany! We're VERY excited about this and our fingers are crossed for more foreign rights in the future. Thanks Penguin team for making this happen!

Some color added (and calling a liar a liar)

2008-09-09T10:18:00.001-07:00

I posted this upcoming White Wolf piece a bit ago prior to anything added to the drawing. Here it is again with some ink, watercolor, and digital colors.

And FINALLY!:

**UPDATE**
Does he think American's are stupid? I guess he must, or it's just that he doesn't care WHAT he does to win...

John Bush? or is it WcCain?

2008-09-04T23:36:00.000-07:00

Whoops! Freudian slip!

RADIOHEAD (!!!)

2008-08-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

OK, so I know I posted this art before, but my AMAZING wife Laini and I just went to see them live last night because she bought tickets for us as an anniversary gift to me a few months ago and ZOWIEEEE! was it was fanTAStic! Here is a video from last night (though not recorded by us -- we didn't bring our camera -- but we were VERY close to the stage in the pit area (HUZZAH!) And it was the calmest "pit" I've ever been in at a concert, but we definitely didn't mind. I suppose we're getting old, eh? :)

They played so many of my favorite songs, and came back for two very extended encores, but I was still hoping for "House of Cards" and "Karma Police" before they wrapped for the night -- sadly I didn't get my wish (guess we'll have to see them again sometime!) While they did play a few older songs, they mostly stuck to tracks from their last two albums (I'll bet SOMEwhere out there somebody who recorded "Bodysnatchers" caught my scratchy-voiced scream of joy when ol' Thom started to strum the opening (geez I love that song!). Anyhow, great to finally see them live as I've been a fan since The Bends.

Thanks to the internet, I found their set list from the show. I think it's accurate if memory serves:

15 Step

Reckoner

Optimistic

There There

All I Need (see video from last night above)

Pyramid Song

Talk Show Host

National Anthem

The Gloaming

Videotape

Lucky

Faust Arp/Tell Me Why (Neil Young cover)

Jigsaw Falling Into Place

Climbing Up The Walls

Dollars and Cents

Nude

Bodysnatchers

FIRST ENCORE

How To Disappear Completely

Arpeggi/Weird Fishes

Idioteque

In Limbo

Street Spirit

ENCORE 2

You And Whose Army

No Surprises

Everything In Its Right Place

Oh, and I recommend that anyone who attends a concert at the White River Amphitheater: just plan on napping in your car for a couple of hours after the show while you wait for the traffic to clear out (which we did) instead of getting stuck in a line of unmoving cars (for 2 hours!). Sheesh, I'm glad we got some sleep instead of trying to leave right away. I should add that the wait in the parking lot didn't even begin to spoil the 2 and a half hours plus performance they put on (did I mention ZOWIEEEE! ??)

We also had a GREAT time hanging out with some dear SCBWI and other creative friends before the concert:

Thanks for coming to lunch guys! We loves ya! :)

And a HUGE thank you to our friend Nina for the tour of the Wizards of the Coast offices! WOW that was cool!

A great day indeed.

And now...back to work for me!

Richard K. Morgan books

2008-08-19T22:22:00.000-07:00

So I'm reading the very good sequel (BROKEN ANGELS) to the very good ALTERED CARBON and Laini snagged my newly purchased stand-alone novel by him (titled THIRTEEN) and now she's really digging his big-brained writing too. There's no flying through his writing as it's extremely dense, but thoroughly enjoyable. Check it out!

The above clipping is some preliminary/concept/style-sampling work from a much much larger piece for an upcoming book that I'm working on out in 2009.

What's her problem?

2008-08-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

Ticked off vampire lady for White Wolf (in progress & cropped for the ol' blog).

Ever have one of those days?

2008-08-15T18:42:00.001-07:00

Okay, so it's actually been a great day and a great week, but that title just seemed too good to pass up for this piece that I'm working on for White Wolf :)

Happy weekend all!

Jim

Kidlitosphere 2008 Conference (t-shirt design!)

2008-08-12T21:44:00.001-07:00

I did this design for the aforementioned conference. Click here for more info about this second annual conference coming up in September in Portland, Oregon. And click here for an AWESOME design that Laini did!

Ciao!
Jim

Bow-chicka-wow-wowww-Pt. 2 (and a dude with a spear)

2008-08-06T02:12:00.000-07:00

Lock & Load

2008-08-04T20:54:00.001-07:00

Bow-chicka-wow-wowww!

2008-08-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

Hmm, wasn't sure how many "w"s to put in that last warble sound effect. Too many? Not enough? Hmm. Feedback welcome.

Anyhow, here's a snippit in progress (prior to inking and watercolor washes) for a White Wolf 1970's werewolf hunting piece for one of their upcoming RPG books. COOL! Sideburns baby! YEAH!

Vampires Need Love Too

2008-07-21T09:55:00.001-07:00

Another clipped part of a gaming card for White Wolf. Don't they look so sweet? Makes you wanna NOT impale them through the heart with a wooden stake, huh? Awww. Adorable ;)

Oh! And while we have NOT yet seen the (supposedly "Great!" or "Hmm, not so hot" depending on who we talk to) new Batman movie, we have been watching the pretty fun and entertaining first season of "Burn Notice." It's not as good as The Wire, The Shield, or Buffy (what is really), but so far it's pretty dang enjoyable. And another "Oh!" -- the U.S. DVD version of the Britcom "Spaced" is FINALLY out now starring Simon Pegg from "Shaun of the Dead" and the like. I saw them all a few years ago and it's SO funny! Very highly recommended to anyone who enjoyed his movies or is a fan of either version of the TV show "The Office."

Gaming cards

2008-07-19T02:57:00.000-07:00

A couple of clipped portions from larger pieces I'm doing for some White Wolf gaming cards.

Golfer...ASSASSIN!!!

2008-07-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

Another piece for White Wolf but I added some tones to it just for fun (seems to be a pattern for me, yes?).

The Office

2008-06-29T23:28:00.001-07:00

I've been finishing up a few of the White Wolf pieces today while listening to season 4 of The Office on Hulu.com (a legal & free collection of a bunch of TV shows online) and while I really liked the season every week this past year, I freaking LOVE it now. It's weird how the "No way! That's ridiculous!" moments when we watched them the first time made me just lose it today. Geez, so many laugh-out-loud moments. Absolute genius.

...a little bit later & still in progress...

2008-06-28T20:58:00.001-07:00

I decided to use these White Wolf pieces to experiment a bit (I hope the A.D. doesn't mind!). Digging it so far...

White Wolf art clipping (in progress...)

2008-06-28T16:26:00.001-07:00

Again, part of a bigger piece with a tone slapped on cuz I thought it looked kind of cool. I'll post the full finished piece when I'm done...

Tattoo design

2008-06-28T16:03:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of one cool dude. His name is Kyle, and while we've never met, I can attest to said "cool"ness because of his kind online support and words over the past almost 4 years. When Laini and I had THE DROWNED published by Image Comics in 2004, he was quick to contact us to express his enjoyment of what we'd created and even put up some supportive message board threads on various comic book sites publicly praising the book -- like I said, cool guy!!!

We've touched base here and there over the past few years and a few months back he hired me to design this tattoo for him (as seen in the surprisingly awesome "Constantine" movie). The symbol is called "The Sulfur of Perfection" and is used with very cool results in the flick.

Anyhow, I know that others have gotten tattoos of my work, both by hiring me (awesome!!) or by swiping designs (still very cool) but to further along Kyle's "cool guy" rep, he followed through and sent me a pic of the tattoo once he got inked. LOVE IT! Thanks Kyle!

**(If others "out there" have gotten tattoos of my art and are reading this, feel free to e-mail me photos of the results! It's a cool honor indeed and I'd love to see them!)**

Werewolf art snippit

2008-06-22T23:38:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post with a snippit from a larger piece for White Wolf. Don't worry, the paramedic being chased gets away in the end. (But, he was scratched by the werewolf, so...)

New favorite (almost) cussing rant!

2008-06-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

Here's another small portion of a White Wolf piece that I couldn't help adding some colors to. Ultimately this'll be inked instead and printed in black & white just like the last posted piece.

As for the blog post title, yesterday I was listening to one of my top 5 favorite podcasts, Fanboy Radio, (they cover movies, comics, video games, etc. -- all things nerdy) and the host (Scott Hinze) said my favorite new cuss-rant: "What the crap, mother-crapper?!" HA! Cracked me up as I was drawing. So...use it often and pass it on! ;)

Art & ramblings

2008-06-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

Working on a few different projects right now, but here's a clipping of some pencils for a White Wolf job I'm squeezing in (like I've said in the past, they're just too fun!). Even though the finished piece will be inked and ultimately printed in black & white, I couldn't help it, I had to toss some quick colors on part of it just for fun.

Saw "The Incredible Hulk" with a buddy of mine the other night. Hmm, about what I thought it would be (about 6.5 stars out of 10). It was better in parts than I thought it would be but it was also worse than I thought in parts. The mysterious scientist friend of Bruce Banner that's introduced about 2/3 of the way into the movie just stood out as TOO corny and badly acted (which is weird because that actor's usually good in other roles). Worth seeing on the big screen though in my opinion.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jim

7 Years! (well, actually almost 10)

2008-06-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

That image is basically a character study I'd done for one of the stories for our upcoming illustrated novel LIPS TOUCH (with Arthur A. Levine Books), but (!) that's not what the illustrations will really look like, AND she's cut from the actual piece I did and plopped onto a digitally manipulated pic of an outdoor mountain photo. Anyhow, just thought it looked kind of cool AND didn't spoil anything from what the art in the book's going to really look like.

As for the post title, it's in reference to our 7 year wedding anniversary (but 9 years 8 months as a couple) that lands on today but was celebrated yesterday. Here's us at dinner at our still reigning champ restaurant Bombay Cricket Club:

Me staring down my favorite drink, the tasty (and deceptively dangerous!) Snake Shake:

And Laini eating onion naan. Okay, so maybe this isn't how she eats it (it really isn't), but it kind of looks like I interrupted her chowing down, huh:

We didn't go with the traditional "copper or wool" 7 year anniversary gifts. Instead, I tried to get some sculpture from the awesome local artist Ingrid Hendrix (but nothing that she had available felt anniversary appropriate--still fantastic stuff nonetheless, but they didn't quite say "I love ya!"), same goes for our amazingly talented artist friend from L.A., Ver Mar. Seriously, both of those artists produce incredible pieces but it seems like they sell everything they make as soon as they're done! Crazy. So, I went on Etsy and found a GREAT selection of very cool sculptures that I knew Laini would LOVE. Only one has arrived in time for the celebration, but the others are on their way. Here's the first to arrive, made by the Ohio artist Michelle Steele. She's just begun her sculpting career, but she's sold everything she's made too within days of putting them up for sale:

And awesome awesome wonderful Laini got us Radiohead tickets for later this summer! My FAVORITE band of all time, but I've never seen them live -- I'm told that they're about the best band ever to see live so I'm SO excited! Thank you wife o'mine! And now I'm not having to live vicariously through Lori and her hubby or Steph and her hubby! Take that you two! ;)

We left dinner and went to see a VERY well reviewed play that I won't name. Mainly because neither of us thought it warranted those stellar reviews. Sigh. Don't you hate it when you go to do something on a big day or a special occasion and it just falls short? We did get a few laughs from the play, but it was mostly just awkward and not very well written (plus one of the actors made you want to strangle him whenever he delivered -- no, YELLED! -- one of his lines. The female lead really stood out though as being better than what she was a part of).

Anyhow, it didn't spoil the evening and I suppose it DID give us something to say "Really?" to one another about for a while to come. ("Really" as in: "That's the final script for this production...really?")

Art and a Heart Shaped Box

2008-05-24T00:06:00.000-07:00

The above is a quick piece I did today since I was going a little bonkers doing just rough sketches and thumbnails for a couple of different projects all week and I was itching to take something to a bit of finish (even if it's only roughly so). I drew and painted it from a photo I took of a friend of ours (Cameron) several years ago in Portland. We've lost touch with him since then, but on the off-chance you're reading this Cam, get a hold of us man, it'd be great to catch up!

Also, Laini's mom gave me a scary book a couple weeks ago that I tore through (and now Laini's doing the same). It's called "Heart Shaped Box" written by Joe Hill. I can't recall offhand the last ghost story I read OR the last book that actually scared me just a bit, but this one definitely did. He manages to weave in enough unsavory macabre details that make you feel a little icky reading it but they help create the mood and texture of the main story pretty masterfully. Check it out...if you dare!

White Wolf inks - pt. 7

2008-05-06T03:09:00.000-07:00

...last one for now. (Edit: I should point out that I used a pic I had of my talented and very creative brother-in-law Alex for reference for the main character in this one. It doesn't quite capture him, but it's close I think. By the way, all of the pieces I've done recently are for the "Hunter" gaming manuals (not sure when they'll be coming out though...)

Oh, and we saw "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" today and really enjoyed it! I suggest it to anyone liking the other Judd Apatow-ish movies (he produced this one).

White Wolf inks - pt. 6

2008-05-04T13:45:00.001-07:00

...a clipped portion from a piece featuring a warlock politician...

White Wolf inks - pt. 5

2008-05-02T00:54:00.001-07:00

This is a cropped portion of another White Wolf piece, or better known as "Attack of the giant naked dude rampaging through the streets!"

White Wolf inks - pt. 4

2008-04-30T15:55:00.001-07:00

...a clipped part of one more...

White Wolf inks - pt. 3

2008-04-30T02:18:00.001-07:00

...and another...

White Wolf inks - pt. 2

2008-04-29T19:23:00.001-07:00

...another one...

White Wolf inks

2008-04-29T18:18:00.001-07:00

This is a portion of one of my previously posted pieces, only now with some inks & a quick hue added for some fun.

More later...

Western Washington SCBWI Spring Conference 2008

2008-04-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

Laini and I got home late last night after one fanTAStic 3-day trip to Seattle! (well, Bellevue, WA to be exact). We were attending the above-titled conference and while we would have had an unbelievably good time regardless, being first-time faculty made it even more special and fun (and stressful too I must admit! :) A HUGE "Thank You!" to Sara, Jolie, Laurie, Jaime, and countless others in organizing such a successful event!

Here's a small photo collage from some of our good times this weekend with just a fraction of the amazing people we had the pleasure of interacting with:

Our weekend was made so tremendous by being able to spend time with so many kind and talented folks. A GIANT special thanks to Arthur Levine of Arthur A. Levine Books for spending so much time with us to discuss Laini's upcoming book that I'm (YAY!) doing the art and cover on--fun and exciting brainstorming sessions that I'm so thrilled to be involved in! The top left pic is of Arthur, Laini, and me on the last (sniff sniff) day of the conference. Always so sad to say goodbye to Arthur and see the conferences end!

We also really enjoyed spending so much time with Laurent Linn (Art Director with Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers) and sharing our mutual appreciation of cool dress shirts for men. Word on the street was that he knocked everyone's socks off with his Sunday afternoon presentation. That's me with him (in the middle) on the upper right-hand pic. We were enjoying lunch with the very artistic David Hohn and a table full of other amazing talents.

In the next row of pics is the very successful and SO fun to talk to agent Kate Schafer, (Laini and me), Jolie Stekly and Sara Easterly (2 of the main uber-organizers of the weekend), and the busy author Royce Buckingham (when does he sleep? So many books and screenplays on the horizon for him!). To the right of that pic (and in the center of the next row too) is Laurie Thompson, who also is very much responsible for such a smooth and HUGE conference weekend. As you can see in that second pic with her, my birthday fell on last Friday and I was treated to some surprise b-day Mochi at the sushi restaurant we were chowing down at that night! Thanks for remembering SCBWI ladies!!!

The 3rd row of pics has Laini with the very dance-y, REALLY fun, award-winning Author/Illustrator Margaret Chodos-Irvine.

The last row has the SO sweet and kind-hearted award-winning author Kirby Larson, and the talented and FUNNY Jaime Temairik in the first pic, and a plethora of others with yours-truly in the final frame. They include the cool agent Stephen Barbara, author/illustrator Jim Averbeck, the fun and influential Elizabeth (Fuse #8) Bird, Jaime again, the always smiling and sweet Kim Baker, the author Joni Sensel, and Sara Easterly again. (It should be noted that the last photo I just described was taken during the drinks night on Friday and MAN can Laini and I par-tay it up! (At least we planned to.) Knowing how INSANE we can get at a club, we opted for leaving at about 10pm instead of the inevitable getting-kicked-out-at-3 a.m. if we would have let loose (yeah right! :)

Also, Laini and I each had "breakout workshop sessions" that we put together and presented (thus the "stress" I mentioned above). Public speaking doesn't make me too terribly nervous, but I wanted to provide some valuable information to others that were hoping to make the most out of their conference weekend -- I hope I was helpful in what I covered. Thanks to those who took the time to attend and participate, it was GREAT fun! Here's a panoramic pic from the front of the room of some of those in attendance (a few more trickled in as I spoke & thanks to you too!):

While I covered a variety of basic career info, some conference attendee tips, and some "what makes a good cover" info, hopefully my over-arching message of "MAKE THE MOST OUT OF YOUR TIME AT THE CONFERENCES YOU ATTEND!!" hit home. And for those of you wanting to write or make art professionally, I can't recommend strongly enough that you attend conferences like this as often as you can afford to (and really, you can't afford not to...)

Thanks!
Jim

Mexico trip, family, and friends

2008-04-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

Laini and I just returned from Mexico (southern Mexico actually, and the state of Chiapas to be exact). For those not familiar with that area of the Mexico, check out some of the info on Wikipedia. In a word, WOW! Strangely, almost no Americans travel to Chiapas, tending to visit Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, and the like (which I'm sure are great too), so we mostly met travelers from within Mexico (traveling from Mexico City or Monterey), Germany, Italy, France, and Israel while visiting and exploring what we could of the region in a little over a week there. We also managed to squeeze in some visits with family in CA while we were there too (some of those pix are mixed in above).

Instead of our travel-norm of doing things more leisurely on our own -- finding opportunities to sit and draw the surroundings for hours and days -- we opted for day tours with small groups and sometimes a guide to give us more of a chance to get places we normally couldn't--mostly because this was going to be a shorter trip, but also because, as I said, there were certain places we just wouldn't be able to access on our own. Pretty much without fail we were overwhelmed with the kindness from the locals, amazed at the rich colors of the buildings, and blown away by the beautiful textiles and leather goods. For anyone looking for a little bit of an exotic location to go on their next vacation I can't recommend Chiapas enough! Our home bases were primarily San Cristobal de las Casas and Palenque and there's SO much to see I only wish we could have stayed longer, or could afford to go back very soon! But alas, there're things to do in the "real world" that we need to attend to! Back to work! (which is fantastic too, don't get me wrong! :)

And for more pics about our trip and Chiapas in general, check out Laini's blog. She'll be doing several posts about our trip and the area we explored over the coming days.

Be well everyone...and do some traveling yourself!

Tigers in progress...

2008-04-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

This is a clipped portion from a larger piece of something I'm working on. The piece isn't quite finished yet, but I'm having a lot of fun! I have to be mysterious about it for now, but hopefully I'll be able to show more clipped portions of pieces sometime soon. Anyhow, I've learned that I really LOVE drawing and painting animals over the past few years and I'm excited at some upcoming projects for the opportunity to do more!

Jim

...another White Wolf piece in progress...

2008-03-31T21:20:00.000-07:00

...of a faceless angel hovering over/protecting a modern-day holy knight of the church.

some White Wolf "Hunters" art in progress

2008-03-30T01:42:00.001-07:00

Above and below are some more White Wolf pieces in progress at the penciled stage. I'll be adding a few more pieces here in the next few days (probably) and then once I've done some painting and inking (and maybe a small bit of digital tweaking) I'll post some of the finishes. Many of these pieces are a bit edgy/PG-13 as they are depictions of human "hunters" who are at war with demons, witches, and ghouls in one of the fantasy worlds within the White Wolf universe. Creepy fun! :)

Charlie Huston rocks!

2008-03-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

Just a quickie to say that I finished the the "Henry Thompson" trilogy written by Charlie Huston. They are as follows: CAUGHT STEALING, SIX BAD THINGS, and A DANGEROUS MAN. As I wrote in a previous post, I wasn't sure if I'd like these as much as the SO good Joe Pitt vampire P.I. books, but now I'm completely torn on which I enjoyed the most (for similar and very different reasons).

Anyhow, I just wanted to publicly tip my hat for the man. He's got 2 trilogies out as well as a stand-alone that came out last summer (next on my list) and another book due in September. Quite an accomplishment considering his first book came out in 2004.

I should have some new art to post shortly. Until then, read some books, watch the final season of The Wire (YOWZA!) and check out the FX series (now on DVD) "Damages" -- solid serialized TV!

Bit more art and 30 Days of Night

2008-03-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

One more clipped portion of art and a character pose for an upcoming White Wolf book. Always a lot of fun!

Saw "30 Days of Night" last night, and while it was missing certain story elements that could have made it stronger and more compelling, we enjoyed it more than we'd hoped (we gave it 4 out of 5 stars on Netflix). It even gave me a creepy nightmare last night that is too weird to explain, so I won't even try. For any horror movie fans that aren't afraid of a little blood (okay, more than "a little"), check it out!

Art and Charlie Huston

2008-03-01T10:55:00.000-08:00

Here's a clipped portion of one of the previous images with some ink and washes added.

Oh, and I'm on to the author Charlie Huston's other (non-vampire) novel series that begins with "Caught Stealing." I wasn't sure if I'd like it as much as the others (which were GREAT) because of the lack of vampires and zombies, but so far it's quite a page-turner. If you're looking for well-written, edgy, gritty noir that'll grab hold of you for some escapism, then I highly recommend his books!

Happy weekend all!

Jim

Some Art (and Gone Baby Gone)

2008-02-26T22:53:00.001-08:00

These're some small cropped clippings of art (at the pencil stage -- there's more to be done indeed!) for a fun White Wolf book I'm working on amidst other projects. These books are always a lot of fun!

Also, has everyone out there seen the movie "Gone Baby Gone" ? Laini and I Netflixed it and watched it last night and WOW we enjoyed it SO much! It has much more of a noir feel to it than I ever imagined. Plus, I'm such a freaking sucker for movies/novels/comics where the main character isn't necessarily the baddest in the room, but they sure as hell aren't about to take any crap. It makes me want to re-watch the clever little movie "Brick" from a year or two ago.

Along those noir lines, lately I've been reading the Charlie Huston novels featuring the vampire P.I., Joe Pitt, AND having a weekly "Revenge Movie Night" with the guys (okay, and a few girls too sometimes), so I'm feeling very immersed in that vibe lately...and it's gooooooood! :)

Later!
Jim

BANG! and bass

2008-02-12T02:09:00.000-08:00

First off, many thanks to those who left kind comments about our baby news (!!), to all those who sent e-mails and called, and for the generous gifts that we've received already too! Amazing kindness out there, so thank you again! We're very excited!

Secondly, I've been hired on to a VERY cool book project that I'm pretty sure I can discuss fairly soon, but I'll just say that it involves one of my all time favorite authors, creepy kids, and aliens! The deadline will probably come up pretty quickly and I'll see if I can post some art in the near future.

Lastly, the drawings above are just some images that I'm using as part of two gifts for some great friends of mine -- but they don't blog, so this shouldn't result in any spoilers (I hope!).

Be well!
Jim

Radiohead (and other music & podcasts too!)

2008-01-30T11:34:00.001-08:00

Working in the studio I have a rotation of what I listen to depending on my mood or what I'm doing at the time. For example, whenever I'm reading a script or story to illustrate -- straight on through the brainstorming and thumbnailing/layout stage -- I'll usually have either classical or ambient music or just plain old silence. Pretty much all of my other working time I am SO thankful to have such great options to listen to while I work. There's streaming internet radio from around the world (for free!!), or I can listen to music from my iTunes library (most of it purchased through eMusic.com but organized in my iTunes player), or choose from the fantastic variety of podcast options that are available for free (!!) online and at the iTunes store. I also toss in a fair amount of listening to C-SPAN (especially during election season), and of course NPR and some selected Air America programming.

Anyhow, nothing profound to say here (obviously!) but having so many options to choose from for a soundtrack of sorts to one's working time (when you want it) is a plus in my book.

This rambling post is accompanied by a Radiohead sketch I drew while Laini and I watched some Masterpiece Theater the other night. The likenesses aren't necessarily the greatest, but I tried to do it loosely and without erasing, so that's what you get I suppose ;)

Adequan Canine for Dog Arthritis

2008-01-23T09:41:00.000-08:00

I've titled this post with care much like Laini had over a year ago for canine nasal tumors, so that if someone out there was Googling the subject, this post and info would come up.

Briefly here, our dog Leroy has had a limp for about 4 years. Initially, we started putting him on human Glucosamine Chondroitin as suggested by some friends AND our vet. His limp never seemed to get any worse from that point on, and he mostly only limped a bit right after he'd get up from a long nap. He still went on his long walks with us (30 - 45 minutes a day) and he still ran like a maniac in the back yard. Then, early in May '07, his right leg swelled up quite profoundly one morning after he and I returned from our walk. I called the vet and we took him in for x-rays. The X-Rays showed "severe arthritis" and that Leroy actually didn't have much padding (if any) left between his bones on his right leg elbow joint (the doctor assumed that it was the same for his left leg since, until that morning, that had been the leg he'd been slightly favoring for several years).

So, the vet prescribed Synovi G3 (to provide fatty acids and glucosamine), and the non-steroid pain reliever Rimadyl. The latter helped to reduce his swelling, and along with a break from walks for several weeks, on-leash visits ONLY to the back yard, and being carried up & down the stairs of our home, his swelling went down in a couple of days. However, the combination of meds wasn't really seeming to get rid of his limp, which had gotten fairly substantial at that point. What to do, what to do?!

So, wanting to do more for him, I did some research on the internet and found this, this, and this. (Now, I'm not necessarily sales-pitching the last site, but that's where I've gotten Leroy's Adequan ever since and it's about $25 cheaper per bottle than it would be at the vet). Anyhow, after this research, and knowing not to necessarily trust everything you read online, I consulted with a couple of the doctors at our fantastic vet clinic. One doctor hadn't used it but had heard great things about it, and the other had used it quite successfully in the past. I ordered 2 bottles online and we began the twice-weekly IM (intramuscular) shots in his butt muscle for the recommended dosage for his weight for 4 weeks. Then once a week for 4 weeks, and then maintenance shots every 2 to 3 weeks thereafter. I should note that IM shots can be done at home after you've been trained on how to give them, but since we live so close to our vet, and since their techs there REALLY know what they're doing, we've had them give him the shots all this time.

I should also explain that basically, the Adequan provides a cushion in the joint where there used to be cartilage, etc. and keeps him from having bone-on-bone contact in his elbows every step of the way all day long.

Now, I'm certainly not proclaiming that Leroy's AMAZING recovery is purely because of the shots, because he's always been a very muscular, strong, and amazingly tough dog, but 8 months later, we've been slowly returning back to his long-walk route (we got there about 6 weeks ago!). Also, he still takes Rimadyl as prescribed by his vet, and he still gets Synovi G3 mixed in with his food (but not on or around the days where he's getting Adequan shots). We have to keep him relatively lean to reduce the weight his legs have to carry, and he can't ever be outside off-leash because he still wants to take off running like he used to, and the threat of a piece of bone breaking off at the joint is much more likely if he goes off running like a nut. BUT all of that is a small price to pay for having him around, happy, and pretty darn healthy for a 14+ year old dog.

For anyone who might be reading this with a dog in similar circumstances, I hope this information helps!

2008 already? Yikes!

2007-12-31T17:33:00.000-08:00

A message from our buddy Leroy:

Ditto! And from all three of us: Happy New Year Everyone!