Halfway there!

First, this!

Danielle Feliciano is one of the most talented, free-thinking illustrators I know. We both graduated from SCAD and I esteem her, and the brush she wields, very highly. Her art has a crystal clear voice, and it's beautifully amplified through its execution. This is different than the past 2 projects I've plugged, which is why I think you should take a minute and watch the video. Support her if you can. This is going to be a brilliant project to follow! Click the image to watch!

So, I hope everyone had a great holiday break. I really wanted this announcement to be a video update, but couldn't make it happen. Maybe next time!

The past couple of months have been quite the trek for me, artistically. The holidays never seem to perpetuate productivity, and these past two months have been no exception. But, with only a couple of days left in 2011, I'm extremely pleased to announce that Dust Bunny has finally hit the half way point! With (roughly) 80 more pages to go, plus a handful of revisions, this story is well on its way to actually being told. I've read this thing more times than I can count, and at the end of the day...I'm really pleased with it. So, here's a snippet from the (in-progress) midway point in the book.

With that being said, I wanted to once again express my gratitude to everyone who has financially backed this project. Because of your support, I have been able to dedicate 5 months (interruption free) to the production of this book. Truth is, I don't know if this story would have ever taken its first breath were it not for you. That's a blessing I still can't get over, folks. So, here's to Dust Bunny's 160+ adoptive parents!

Subsequently, the start of 2012 marks my leap back into the freelance world. In order to keep the book going, I have to keep myself going by taking on work. It's hard to tell how this will affect the book's progression. But I have every confidence in its completion in the beginning months of 2012.

So, thank you all, again! Here's to being half complete! Or...half incomplete, depending on your outlook on life. But really, isn't it all about what's in the glass that counts?

$#!& with a capital $

Frustrating week for the novel, I'm afraid.

This isn't worth a full update. But it's probably a healthier way to handle my frustrations than putting my head through a computer monitor...

Getting my fix...

Growth as an artist is a wonderful feeling.

From time to time, you'll have that 'eureka' moment right in the middle of your process, acknowledging to yourself that you just learned something new - whether it be a coloring technique, or just the way you decide to hold the pencil. But for me, more often than not, I find that my journey is lived in hindsight. I rarely know what I've achieved until I go back and look at where I might have missed the mark the first time. That's what creative development is all about. And it's what this post is all about.

Above is a snippet from page 15 of Dust Bunny. Incidentally, this is also Mite's very first appearance in the book. When I first illustrated this panel, I was happy with it. Excited, even. But as nearly 80 pages have come and gone, I've found myself becoming more and more invested in these characters. Subsequently, I've become more intimate and familiar with how they work, both physically and emotionally. And though the script was done before a single stroke was made, each character has found an individual voice throughout the evolution of this book - void of any script. And it's amazing to watch.

Just in this one panel, so many things have grown from first run to revision: the perspective on the goggles, a cleaner skull structure, better black placement, a tighter pose. Even Mite's "burst" that you'll often see him contained within has become cleaner. He just seems to better encompass my original vision for the character at this point.

As rewarding as this small change is to me, the challenge is to keep myself from going into a complete overhaul with my first 30 pages. This panel was a glaring exception in my mind. And there are a handful more that I plan on revising. But I have to be very selective. Part of the joy of this book is witnessing its inception, its vitae, and ultimately its end. It's the terminal nature of the whole thing that makes it so precious to be a part of. I want the life of this book to be real; imperfect. I want to look at page 1 and then at page 101, and see a clear advancement in my craftsmanship. As it has already proven to be, I want this to be a visual diary of my growth as an artisan. White-out and spilled ink have little to nothing to do with the oversights of story telling, or graphical aesthetics. And as Dust Bunny has gone completely digital at this point, I'm realizing that more and more.

I hope you're all enjoying watching this baby brave the world as much as I'm enjoying holding its hand while it does so. This has been an incredibly satiating experience for me so far, through both the first-run successes, as well as the lip-biting frustrations. I'm eager to see what this child of mine decides to be when it grows up. And I'm glad it has such a great starter family to encourage and nurture it through its growth. You all have been amazing platforms of inspiration throughout this whole process, and I can't thank you enough.

After all, it takes a village...

Bathroom Humor.

I posted the rough image to this panel a while back. But I thought it turned out pretty nice, so here's a little process work for you! In the photo, we have Aiden Flint and Chip Hoffmazor sharing a moment with Potty Mouth: Basement City's most celebrated commodian! And yes, that may very well be a line taken straight out of the book.


Ok, so here's another great project worth checking out! Jason Bienvenu has just launched the Kickstarter phase of his in-progress mini-series entitled The Kingdom! I highly recommend taking a gander at his video. Very professional, cool story concept, and great artwork! Boom!

Watch it HERE!

Hi, Atus! How are you?

BIG UPDATE!

But first, I actually had someone ask me how the "dirty rabbit" was going this week. An interesting epithet for my lead character...but I think that's screaming to be turned into a club dance.

Do the dirty rabbit. Now slide left.


It's been almost a month since my last solid update, and a lot of great things have been going on - both related and unrelated to Dust Bunny. And since it's been a month, a hefty teaser is definitely in order for you patient patrons. So, please, enjoy the above image - page 64 of the book, showcasing an excerpt where Dust Bunny and Aiden Flint meet for the first time.

My hope is to have the book nearly halfway complete by the end of this month, which is a big part of why I haven't been updating as often. The pages siphon my time. However, I couldn't be happier with the story and how it's developing. Those of you that are receiving a copy of the Dust Bunny script will have the opportunity to flip through it and compare some of the original text to more appropriate alterations that I've made during the process. As well, those of you that purchased the production book will get to see where certain pages have departed from their thumbnails in order to create a better rhythm to the story. All in all, it's been really satisfying to see this project take on a life of its own.


Unrelated to Dust Bunny (but still slingin' mad flava - pun always intended), Jason Sheedy and I put together an entry for the Crash the Superbowl Doritos commercial contest. It was one day of shooting, and our commercial was just posted yesterday. You can view our entry here.


And finally,my good friend and fellow artist Derik Diaz has started work on his second graphic novel, entitled Air-Heart: Mirror's Edge. This is an episodic continuation of his first novel, Air-Heart: Taking Flight (which you can purchase here). He recently launched his Kickstarter campaign for Mirror's Edge, and is working on gathering up support for his book, while simultaneously putting the pages together.

If you would, please take a couple of minutes and check out his Kickstarter video here!

Do the dirty rabbit. Now slide right.

Dust Bunny Vlog #3

Well, the last couple weeks have been huge leaps and bounds in the world of Dust Bunny.

The pages are looking great (as great as I can make them), and with one third of the book's art now complete, here's a celebratory video blog update recapping some of the exciting opportunities I've had in correlation with the book's progress!

Also, I talk to a goose.

Enjoy!

All Work and No Play. Sort of.

Amazing supporters!

I hope everyone is having a great week so far. Dust Bunny pages have been my life ever since Kickstarter ended, and the end of this week should mark the 1/3 point for the book's completion (art, that is).

I'm averaging about 1-1.5 pages per day. That includes roughs, inks, toning, and texturing each page. It's an incredible undertaking, but I am loving every one of the 600 minutes that it costs me every day to work on this book. I couldn't be happier with how things are turning out. The more I work, the faster I get. I'm seeing clear advances in technique and comfort with the pages, as well. And for me, personally, that's a very exciting thing to witness.

I'm dropping you a little snippet of art here. It's difficult to choose what I disclose in these updates at this point, simply because the book is full of a lot of fun characters and I don't want to spoil any surprises.

But as for now, here's a frightened sponge running by Dust Bunny, and a work in progress of our hero punching a rat. Enjoy!