Filed under cool shit that shows up in my inbox. Artists Aaron Crawford and Scott Saw have joined forces to put out a new print. Aaron ‘redrew’ one of Scott’s paintings in his style. We’re big fans of Aaron Crawford here at Optimum Wound and were pretty stoked to get a chance to interview him last month. And now I’ve been officially introduced to the art of Scott Saw thanks to Aaron.

It’s cool to see more poster artists making more waves at Comicon as well.

From Aaron’s blog:

I only recently became familiar with his work through the power of twitter. We started chatting one day about collaborating, and long story short,
WE FINALLY DID! It wasn’t your traditional collaboration, because we live 28736 miles away from each other, but with the power of the internet, and a few massive file exchanges, we made it happen.

He sent me one of his paintings titled “The Good Fight” and I basically went and redid the concept in my style, which is going to be made (by Scott) into limited edition prints that will be available at this years COMIC CON!

I’ve always hoped to be involved somehow in the Con, so Scott is sort of making a dream come true here, by having this print available at his booth. (#4632)

I unfortunately won’t be able to attend, but you if you are going, you HAVE to, I repeat, HAVE TO go check out his booth and all of the art that will be available there. There will also be a few other goodies available from yours truly.

And here’s the original Scott Saw painting ‘The Good Fight’ that this new illustration and print is based on.

Aaron Crawford and Scott Saw Collaborate on a Wicked New Print is a post from: Optimum Wound

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There was just something too crazed, twisted and fun about Aaron Crawford’s artwork to not ask him to do a Masters of Ink interview. I love talking to artists who work in the music biz and get a chance to generally be as wild and imaginitive as they want. Especially on art for more underground metal and hardcore bands who would typically seek Aaron out BECAUSE his art is so badass. Aaron and I connected on Twitter and put this together pretty quickly. I have thank him for supplying all of the technicolor eye candy. Let’s get to it.

What inspired you to first start drawing? Did you struggle in your formative years or did it come easy to you?

I can honestly say the first thing that inspired me to start drawing was my mom. She would paint these awesome landscapes that just blew me away, and it got me hyped to want to draw. The second thing would be horror movies and shows like Tales From the Crypt and Tales From the Dark Side. I’d see guts, contorted limbs, and eyeballs hanging out, and want to recreate those on paper my own way. Most of the drawings sucked I’m sure, but I guess you learn from your mistakes, right?

First professional work (piece / year) and maybe a quick story behind it.

Wow, never had that question before. I actually had to go back into the long lost files of my old harddrive to figure that out. Turns out it was a piece for a band called Darkened By Reason. They were a local metal band, and great friends. I think that’s honestly the very first shirt design I ever completed, and actually got to see printed back in 2003. The design was a pretty simple muscle diagram I went and redrew and added some stuff to. Nothing too crazy.

Were you self-taught or formally educated? (or mixture of both, mentors etc…)

I went to a tech school for graphic design for less than a quarter, and quit because there wasn’t anything inspiring about the course, nothing was pushing me. I gained more knowledge by sitting at home and fucking around on the computer and drawing pad and making my own mistakes, and learning from them. I’d just sit around and try and recreate Pushead art and old pictures from Fangoria magazines. I would never tell anyone to not attend an art school, but I think it’s overpriced, and that learning your own way to go about things is the best route, because you’ll probably make a ton of mistakes, and look back, and learn from them. It’s much more fun that way. Also, Persistence and patience, and an open mind.

Tools of the trade: Taking a quick glance over at your pens, brushes etc…what tools have you mainly been using over the last few years?

I mostly use inks, acrylics, and watercolors. For shirt designs, I illustrate on bristol board, then scan it, and do the coloring in Photoshop. A pretty basic method. As for paintings, I paint on whatever I can get my hands on. Everything from canvas, to wood, to old records, anything.

How has your toolbox evolved compared to when you first started out?

I’ve branched out and found other tools and supplies that I never imagined I’d be messing with. Just experiment with different stuff, that’s my best advice. You might find your niche in something you never thought you’d enjoy.

Favorite brand of ink:

I mostly use windsor newton, Higgins, and Faber-Castell stuff, but there’s a ton of different stuff out there that’s just as good.

Type of paper:

Mostly bristol board, but not really limited to that. I draw on everything. I’ll draw on your face if you want.

Which artists or creators do you return to for a quick boost of inspiration? Who are the masters of ink?

Lately if i get in a stale spot, all I need to do is go to http://www.theartofskinner.com and BAM, I’m on inspiration overload. There’s so many artists that keep me pumped up. Lately it’s been Skinner, Tastes Like Gold, Craola, David Choe, Neckface, my good friend Brian Mcgrath, and a ton of others.

Once a client has handed off an illustration job to you, how do you first tackle the job? Could you give us a quick overview of your process?

We’ll usually discuss concepts, maybe go over some lyrics, and then HOPEFULLY settle on something we’re both happy with. Then I start with sketches, and if the client approves those, then I go into inking, then coloring digitally. It’s all about communication, man.

How have digital tools affected your creative process over the past few years?

I don’t really try to depend on digital tools as much, but when it comes to shirt designs, you kind of have to depend on Photoshop for the coloring. I think it’s a good thing, but I don’t necesarrily like the way digital line work looks all the time. It almost looks too perfect and robotic, because, it kind of is. You can’t really recreate the style you get by using real ink and your pen / brush.

What would be your best and worst professional experience?

I really enjoy almost every single client I work with. of course, there’s concepts you might not be too stoked on, but you have to make the best of it, and you’ll at least gain something out of it. The worst experiences would have to be when there’s a massive lack of communication, waiting on payments from certain labels for weeks at a time, or just having to tamper with a design over and over to make the client happy, it just ruins the process of creating the actual art. It doesn’t happen very often though, which is good.

What was the best advice you’ve ever received but may not have listened to the first time out?

Something my mom would tell me when I’d draw something, and completley hate it. She would say “you might look at that and think it’s crappy, but in someone elses eyes, it might be beautiful” which is actually true. I’ve done paintings and looked at them and thought “wow, this is shit” but then a friend would come over, and fall in love with it. You never know.

What’s your vital daily ritual?

I wake up, maybe a bike ride, usually get food, then check emails and start sketching. Sometimes coffee and a redbull fits in there somewhere too. My schedule fluctuates so much. Being my own boss is great though. I pretty much make my own hours. It’s all about finding the balance between personal life and work.

What’s currently sitting in your mp3 / CD player / turntable?

I’ve been listening to alot of music by a band called Clinging To The Trees of A Forest Fire. I’m an avid music fan, so instead of lisiting every band because there’s about a million, I’d say just check out my last fm page @ http://www.last.fm/user/aaroncrawford

What’s hanging on your walls and what is your favorite piece of art that you own (not created by you)?

I recently bought an American Psycho print by an artist named Erik Jones. His work is beautiful and dark at the same time. Besides that, some random movie posters, and some creepy little characters my friend Tena painted. Besides that, just pictures of stuff that inspires me. Random cut outs from Fangoria and Rue-Morgue, and whatever else I find to be cool or fun.

What’s the last novel you read and last movie that you saw that you’d recommend? Which movies and books do you always return to?

I don’t read as much as I’d like to, but the last thing I read was Haunted by Chuck P. The story “GUTS” blew my mind. As for movies, I always end up returning to classics like Dawn of The Dead, Friday the 13th, Halloween, etc. I just went back and re-watched Planet Terror and Death Proof, and I can’t stress enough how much of a genius Tarantino is. I really love most of the stuff Eli Roth does as well.

Current and upcoming projects?

Where to start… hm. I’m working on a ton of new shirts for KITTIE, some shirts for WRETCHED, cd art for an upcoming full length for WITHIN THE RUINS ,and a limited edition print release collaboration type thing (that was a mouthful) with artist Scott Saw that’s going to be released in July at Comic Con! I also have a new urban art project called “THE BOX MONSTERS” that me and my friend (and rad artist) Brian Mcgrath started, where we hide little box monsters around different cities, and photo document them. Just taking another persons trash, and making something creepy and silly out of it. (Follow us on twitter: @theboxmonsters ) We’re also launching something in July, but I don’t want to sound cliché’ and say it’s a “clothing line” cause everyone seems to have those nowadays, but you MIGHT be able to wear it, If it turns out the way we plan. It’ll be fun! Just trying to stay busy.

What would you tell an aspiring artist who is working his ass off but still needs and wants to break through to the next level?

Just keep working at whatever you are doing, even if it gets frustrating, and most importantly, have fun with it. There will be times where you feel like everything you make is utter shit, but you have to just work through that, and not give up. Keep creating, no matter what medium or type of art you are doing. I’m terrible at giving advice. I hope that was ok.

What’s been the most effective means of marketing yourself both online and off?

The online revolution has been insane. Between the use of facebook, myspace, Twitter, and blogs, you’re able to now reach all around the world, and it’s giving artists a means of exposure that they never had before. I’m a HUGE fan of twitter, and I think it’s one of the best social networking sites to be in existence at the moment. It’s simple, and allows updates directly from the person’s mouth. (or finger tips I guess). It allows you to connect with some of the people that inspire you, and see into their lives like never before. As creepy as that sounds, it’s a great tool in promoting yourself as a brand / artist.

To find out more about Aaron look for him on Twitter and visit his website.

Aaron Crawford and His Technicolor Artistic Nightmares is a post from: Optimum Wound

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The first time I saw Wes Craig’s artwork was on a Texas Chainsaw Massacre comic from Wildstorm and to be honest I had never heard of him before. Once I looked inside though his artwork blew me away. Ever since then I’ve been a fan and I really wanted to share his work with everyone so that you can enjoy his work as well.

First professional work (piece / year) and maybe a quick story behind it.

My first pro job was on “Touch” from DC comics, it’s rare in comics that your first job is for a major publisher, usually you have to climb through the ranks of small publishers and small paychecks at the beginning. I got really lucky on that one.

Although I never really even sent my samples to smaller publishers so, who knows? Maybe I could have started working earlier if I had. But I’m happy with how it turned out. Touch was part of a new line called DC Focus that disappeared pretty quickly, but it was all about the learning experience, and it was really valuable to me.

Self-taught or formally educated? (or mixture of both, mentors etc…)

Self taught in terms of the usual tools of comic books: pencil, pen and ink, etc. I made my own comics for years as a kid, full stories, inked on full size board, hand lettered, the whole deal, and when it came time to go to college I took the closest thing I could find to Comics 101 in my area which was a three year course in Illustration and Design, which prepped you for a career in commercial illustration.

I didn’t learn anything new about comics, in fact they were looked down on by most of the teachers, but I did get my first education in acrylics, watercolor, Photoshop, etc, so it was really useful for that.

Tools of the trade: Taking a quick glance over at your pens, brushes etc…what tools have you mainly been using over the last few years?

I use a lot of Faber-Castell Pitt pens and Microns, the brush and calligraphy types. I like the beveled edge of the calligraphy pen. If I have the time I like to use those along with a Windsor-Newton brush and Speedball ink, do some spatter and get messy, the fun stuff.

Favorite brand of ink:

Speedballs the best for me so far, but I’m not an ink snob, you can get cool effects with watery inks too.

Type of paper:

Strathmore, I’ve used the smooth kind for years but i just started using the vellum kind for one project and I love it, lots of tooth, makes the ink very scratchy, if that’s your thing, which for me, it is.

Which artists or creators do you return to for a quick boost of inspiration? Who are YOUR masters of ink?

Hmmm… I like guys who can bring their own voice to the pencils, it’s a rarity and getting rarer by the day, also pencilers who ink their own stuff, which is one of the reasons I do it myself. Kevin Nowlan, Bill Sienkiewicz, Brian Bolland, Paul Pope, Moebius, also Klaus Janson, who I didn’t like when I was a kid but I’ve grown to love, I didn’t like Jack Kirby when I was a kid either… apparently I was a stupid kid.

Once a client has handed off an illustration job to you, how do you first tackle the job? Could you give us a quick overview of your process?

I sit down with the script, analyze it, try to figure out the best, clearest shots to tell the story, pencil it on 8.5×11 printer paper, keeping it small so I don’t get bogged down with details, then blow it up to 11×17 Bristol board (by that I mean scanning the pencils into my computer, increasing the size in Photoshop, and printing it out in non-repro blue on my big-ass printer), and ink it over the blue line, trying to keep the life and energy of the pencils.

And this may be getting off the point but bear with me, the most important thing to me is getting the emotion of the piece, because above all you want to connect with the readers emotions. Technical prowess and the proper tools are important but to me, emotion is what matters above all, putting your own emotion into the work. It’s like hearing a band that’s the most technically skilled band ever, but that’s all they are, and at the end, you’re unmoved.

I’d rather hear music by a bunch of novices that play it with heart and with urgency and feeling over the technical stuff. Which brings us to our next question…

What’s currently sitting in your mp3 / CD player / turntable?

Tom Waits is a constant, every album Radiohead’s ever done, Spoon, Metric, Arcade Fire, Death From Above, lots of other stuff too, some rap, jazz, lots of punk, pulling inspiration from as many sources as possible is important to me.

Looking back on what I just wrote, why does every rock-loving white guy have to mention they like rap so they can seem cool, but they never mention any names? Mos Def, K-OS, Native Tongues.

There, see? I know my stuff.

What’s hanging on your walls and what is your favorite piece of art that you own (not created by you)?

Sadly, I don’t own any original art, but I hope to change that some day soon. On my walls in poster form is an Alphonse Mucha, “Starry night” by Van Gogh, a Japanese print, and just so I don’t get too artsy-fartsy here I also have a Mike Mignola Hellboy, and a Jack Kirby New Gods splash page reprint that I cut out of a book.
But the gold is really on my bookshelf, tons of art books, convention sketch books, graphic novels, etc.

Last novel you read and last movie that you saw (that you’d recommend)?

This isn’t the last novel I read but the one I’ve read most recently that blew my mind was Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow, and in comics I’d say Parker by Darwyn Cooke, and Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli were both amazing. The last good movie I saw was A Serious Man by the Cohen Brothers. And just for popcorn fun, I thought Iron Man 2 was really good, but that’s me.

Current and upcoming projects?

I’m working on a creator-owned series for Wildstom right now, it’s a five issue series, created, written, drawn, inked, colored, lettered, and designed by me. So as you can imagine, it’s pretty labour intensive and it’s taking me about two months to finish each issue, so it won’t be out until early 2011. For updates you can go to http://mojoblender.blogspot.com/

What would be your dream project to work on that you haven’t yet have had the chance to?

Working on my own comics and getting paid enough to live, is my dream, so, check. But aside from that there are certain characters I’d love to work on; Superman being the biggest, also Thor, the Hulk, the Flash, The New Gods, and the Joker.

As an artist you continue to grow and improve with each new body of work, how do you motivate yourself to do this?

Well thank you kindly good sir. I’d say I’m in a constant state of trying to get better, with occasional fits of laziness where the work looks like crap to me. I don’t want to get to a level where I think I know how it’s done and there’s nothing else to learn. I want to keep on learning until I’m in the ground. I’m always studying other artists, practicing different techniques, and trying out new tools.

What would you tell an aspiring artist who is working his ass off but still needs and wants to break through to the next level?

You’ll never make it and you’re a failure.
Too harsh?
Really, if you’re working your ass off then you will get there eventually, you just have to keep marching onwards. If the next level means company work like Batman or whatever, then you have to hit the comic conventions and show the editors of the company your stuff, if the next level is doing your own work, you can do it right now, put it up on the internet. Right this minute, damn it!

For more info on Wes visit his blog and his original art pages.

Artist Wes Craig on Combining Ink and Emotion is a post from: Optimum Wound

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Yesterday we collected four awesome videos that showed up online this week. Now it’s time to take a look at some of your other favorite stuff around the web.

This is where I take a look at the 10 most popular items that YOU clicked on in my Twitter feed over the past week.

Hands down this week, Chris Sims’ post The 18 Best Batman Panels Ever over at Comics Alliance was your favorite thing on the web this week (after the Mortal Combat 7-minute short film). If you haven’t seen the piece yet just head on over there.

Chicago Now’s Life and Style section had a slideshow featuring 36 regrettable tattoos and they definitely chose some doozies.

Comics Alliance also had a hilarious piece on possibly the world’s worst Batmobile. The car is described as a “wrecked 1994 Pontiac Grand Am purchased for $100 last summer at Dave’s Towing in Ann Arbor, Michigan.”

Environmental Graffiti featured half a dozen incredibly realistic pencil renderings of animals. The drawings were done by Hong Kong artist Paul Lung who takes between 40-60 hours to complete each drawing. And this is just his hobby which he fits arounf his day job as a graphic designer. Beautiful Life has even more of Lung’s drawings.

Tim Bradstreet Covers Judge Dredd – Tim was hired to provide the cover for MEGA CITY MASTERS: VOLUME 1 coming out soon from Rebellion Publishing. It’s great to see The Judge finally get the Bradstreet treatment.

Blogger and writer Sean Kleefield pointed us to How to Build a Comic Shop where retailer Terry Grant documented in photos how he constructed Third Coast Comics.

SlashFilm pointed out that “Warner Home Video has greenlit a DC Universe animated adaptation of Frank Miller and David Mazzucchilli’s Batman: Year One. According to the report, the film will be directed by Sam Liu” who has previously directed Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.

99% presented us with the 10 LAWS OF PRODUCTIVITY. My favorite was number 5, Work on your project a little bit each day.

“With projects that require a serious infusion of creative juice – developing a new business plan, writing a novel, or just learning a new skill – it’s incredibly important to maintain momentum. Just as when you run everyday, the exercise gets easier and easier, the same thing happens with your brain. Stimulate it regularly each day, and those juices start to flow more freely.”

And finally for the writers: Over at Write To Done Brenda Hineman wrote about the journey of a writer and conquering that first sentence.

Weekly Wrap-Up June 12, 2010 – Batman All the Time, Incredible Realistic Pencil Drawings and Tim Bradstreet’s Judge Dredd is a post from: Optimum Wound

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Mortal Combat

The internet was taken by storm when a Mortal Combat 7-minute short hit the web on Monday. As I write this the video has been viewed 2.4 million times via YouTube. The clip was put together by Fame director Kevin Tancharoen in hopes that Warner Brothers woud give him a shot at the franchise. SlashFilm has more details on this.

This was really well put together and more polished than a ‘fan film’ due to the fact that it was Hollywwod pros donating their time to put this together making it look many times more expensive than its’ reported $7500 budget.

This was really well put together and more polished than a ‘fan film’ due to the fact that it was Hollywwod pros donating their time to put this together making it look many times more expensive than its’ reported $7500 budget.

Red Dead Redemption Short Film by Director John Hillcoat

Director John Hillcoat was commissioned by Rockstar Games to create and direct a short 30-minute based around their Red Dead Redemption video game universe.

“It was created and directed by John Hillcoat (the director of The Proposition and The Road) and chronicles a slice-in-time of protagonist John Marston as he tracks down his former fellow outlaw and friend, Bill Williamson. Along the way, Marston encounters many of Red Dead Redemption’s eclectic cast of dreamers, misfits and liars.”

Parkway Drive – “Sleepwalker”

Metalcore may not be your cup of tea as far as music genres go but hot damn is this a visually stunning music video. I’m not sure where an Aussie hardcore band would obtain the funds to pull something off this dazzling but I’m not complaining. This video hauls ass. High contrast black and white imagery, swarms of locusts and buildings that come alive as monsters. I had to watch it a couple of times to take it all in.

If metal or hardcore ain’t your thang then keep the volume low. Personally I turned it UP.

Alien vs Ninja – Trailer

Damn do the Japanese know how to have fun or what? Twitch Film posted the Alien vs. Ninja trailer this week and I’m stoked. Usually I like my movies hard and serious but I’m a sucker for any film produced by anyone that anything to do with VERSUS. Yuji Shimomura was the action director on VERSUS and the director of DEATH TRANCE which I also enjoyed. Yeah I’ll be checking this one out.

It’s been a good week.
-Jay

Did Your Head Explode From All of the Amazing Videos Posted Online This Week? is a post from: Optimum Wound

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Nike has been opening Nike Stadiums all over the planet. They’re described as ‘multi-purpose destinations in Berlin, London, Milan, New York, Paris and Tokyo. Stages for inspired performers, labs for innovative expressions, spaces where stories are told and others are written.”

They’ve been hiring a lot of respected creators to make unique and branded films, photos, books etc…

Artist and Graphic Novelist Danijel Zezelj has been heavily involved in this ongoing project lending an immense hand in the creation of the Heroes of Speed trailer. It’s a short that celebrates legendary moments in soccer (football if you prefer) history.

Danijel Zezelj’s Heroes of Speed animated short

Interview With Danijel Zezelj

And in this video Danijel talks about creating these memorable moments in sports history as well as his paintings that he created for Nike Stadium Milan.

Danijel Zezelj Creates HEROES OF SPEED Animated Short for Nike Stadiums [VIDEO] is a post from: Optimum Wound

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If you’ve been following our Masters of Ink interviews you’ll know that we’re big Dan Mumford fans around here. He was one of our first MOI subjects and it has been one of our most popular.

The London artist has now teamed up with IndieMerch to form Mumford Clothing. The first series ‘The Heretic’, is a tale of the occult told through the medium of tee’s. Dan says:

the 8 new designs are numbered and have a very specific order to them. The reason for this is we wanted to tell a tale through the tee’s and try and make the whole set as cohesive as possible. The amazing Travis Ducsay from the always awesome Rockett wrote these after i gave him some very meagre descriptions, and managed to take the tees to the next level with his literary skills! So for easier consumption, here in its entirety is the narrative that weaves throughout The Heretic.

The 8-shirt series was released on May 15, 2010. They can be found in Mumford’s Indie Merch Store site. Looks killer. – Jay

Artist Dan Mumford Launches a Badass New Clothing Line With IndieMerch is a post from: Optimum Wound

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by Jason Thibault and Richard Serrao

Now that we’ve had a week to contemplate artist Frank Frazetta’s passing it’s finally time to post something up here. Rich and I have always been huge fans of Frazetta. His much lengthier and more eloquent words follow mine just below.

I spent some time this week revisiting the monster Comics Journal interview with him. I remember reading it in the print version a decade ago and it was a pleasure to revisit.

Then I sat down with the missus and watched the Painting With Fire documentary made with his cooperation. Again, another pleasure. Especially watching illustrators that we look up to gushing over him.

You’ll read a lot of accounts of many artists when they were still in their teens (or pre-teens) leafing through those soft-cover art books of Frazetta’s that were published in the 70′s and 80′s. I never had a chance to buy one of those volumes but I can vividly remember leafing through them in a shopping mall book store in Halifax when I was a kid. I don’t think my mother would have bought me one so I didn’t bother asking.

Now I’ll let Rich weigh in. – Jay

It’s already been a few days since Mr. Frazetta died and to be honest since I heard the news I still can’t believe it to be true. I’m still hoping it was all a big mistake and that he is alive and well. I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting him and I don’t know him on a personal level, so why am I writing these words? His passing has affected me more than I would have thought. The heaviness of the last few days have begun to sink in and the sadness of losing another artistic legend that inspired me and continues to inspire me on a daily basis makes me think back to my earliest memories of discovering Mr. Frazetta’s artwork.

As the artistic community loses yet another Icon that has left behind a rich legacy for all to remember him by, I’m sure they’ll be a lot of other people that will have their own stories to tell and I think it’s important that we remember how many people he inspired with his artwork. I know that just between my buddy Jay and I we were both HUGE fans of him and when we first heard the news Jay asked me to write a few words to commemorate his passing and celebrate his artistic career, so I’ve decided to talk about Mr. Frazetta’s art from a personal perspective.

It’s funny thinking back so many years ago to the first time I saw his work. It was the mid 70′s and it was on the cover to a black and white magazine called Vampirella. A good friend of mine at the time who was in my class in grade school had a framed copy of the book in his room mounted on the wall. I only got to see it a few times when I visited him at his home but each time I did see it was like being hypnotized. I’d literally lose myself in the artwork, mood and textures he had created for that cover.

Afterward as time passed I had no real idea about how to find out more about him and his work, I was still a little kid after all. I started going to the library trying to find books with his artwork on the covers. It was a long and arduous process but I managed to find a few. Sometimes when I least expected it I’d find some of his work on the cover of a pulp novel. I started borrowing them to try and replicate them for my art class. While his images at first glance seem simple, they are anything but. While trying to draw them I realized just how much more I still had to learn as an artist.

I eventually turned my own art teacher onto Mr. Frazetta’s work. My art teacher encouraged me to continue and push my own boundaries as he helped me to learn from Mr. Frazetta’s work.

It wasn’t until I was 18 years old and had moved to Montreal that I discovered Mr. Frazetta’s work in several volumes for sale at a local bookstore. Unfortunately I was broke but still had just enough cash to buy one volume. Shortly afterward as I had begun working full time and had a bit of money available so I decided to go back to the same store…all of the volumes had sold out and the store went bankrupt not long after. I was devastated. I have never forgotten the feeling of having so many different art books by Mr. Frazetta in my hands. It was quite a feeling.

The one volume I did have though went everywhere with me, unbeknown to most of my friends at the time. I practiced sketching all of the time, no matter where I went. For months and months afterward I impressed my little cousin with my dedication to drawing with all of various pieces of artwork I had finished going to him. Every time I opened this book the artwork inside inspired me to create.

Even Mr. Frazetta’s sketches were incredibly powerful and demanded closer scrutiny.

The true mark of a master illustrator is his/her ability to inspire others to excel and better themselves artistically.

Mr. Frazetta was a Master of his craft.

A Legend.

An Icon.

He will be sorely missed. – Rich

There were a lot of tributes and appreciation pieces posted in honor of Frank Frazetta all over the web last week. Artist Tim Bradstreet wrote up a touching one and Kody Chamberlain said some words as well.

And here’s a sampling of some of the other better ones that I found.

The Beat, Aint It Cool News, The New York Times, The Toronto Star, MTV’s Splash Page, Bleeding Cool, Topless Robot, Comics Alliance, Comics Mix, CBR’s Robot 6 and their Frazetta Tribute – His Warren Covers and a Shining Knight Story, Forbidden Planet, Ink Destroyed My Brush, Johnny Bacardi and Comics Comics.

Some Thoughts on Frank Frazetta’s Passing and a Roundup of Tributes is a post from: Optimum Wound

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Today on Twitter he posted the following:

Who am I to refuse such a request?

Here’s some nuggets from his tweets from mid-March, 2010. I believe he wrote these after returning from the Emerald City Comicon in Seattle.

- Don’t approach an editor you don’t know at a con with sketchbook/mini/samples in hand. Start a conversation first then ask if they’ll look.

-Don’t feel you have to talk to just editors. Assistant & associate editors also control their own books and are often better to get to know.

-Don’t lurk if the editor you want to talk to is talking/reviewing with someone else. Leave and come back later. (This is my big pet peeve.)

-Don’t set unrealistic goals for yourself. You work your way up to Marvel & DC, you don’t break in with them. Think smaller publishers first.

-Don’t lurk if the editor you want to talk to is talking/reviewing with someone else. Leave and come back later. (This is my big pet peeve.)

-Don’t set unrealistic goals for yourself. You work your way up to Marvel & DC, you don’t break in with them. Think smaller publishers first.

-Don’t make excuses for your artwork while your portfolio’s being reviewed. Take responsibility for what you put on the page. Listen & learn.

-Don’t ever go to a con with the intention of pitching an editor a story. It doesn’t happen. Go solely to meet people and make contacts.

-Don’t ever bring your portfolio to the bar after the con. When the show ends, work ends, and the creators & editors just want to unwind.

-Want a comics’ “do”? Always include a cover letter with your samples. Keep it short and simple, polite and professional.

-Always personalize any communication you have with editors. Use their names. Mass “Dear Editor” e-mails and packages tend to get trashed.

-If you get an editor’s contact info, I recommend sending a follow-up e-mail without attachments first. Ask if you can submit samples.

Comic news site CBR also had coverage of Emerald City’s panel, ‘Breaking into Comics the Marvel Way‘ which includes more wisdom from CB along with some other creators’ input.

This is all killer info and should be followed. Most comic publishers practically tell you exactly what they’re looking for within their submission policies (if they do still accept creator submissions).

And as luck would have it we have a handy directory of all the comic and manga submission guidelines out there.

-Jay

Marvel’s Talent Scout C.B. Cebulski Tells You How to Break Into Comics is a post from: Optimum Wound

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Artist Christopher Williams Draws a Zombie from Jason Thibault on Vimeo.

My longtime friend and collaborator artist Christopher Williams began an imfamous series of custom zombie portraits in 2009. He’s been fascinated by zombies for as long as I’ve known him. He started re-imagining the people around him in his everyday life as the undead in pen and ink.

I wanted to document him drawing one of these illustrations from start to finish. So one afternoon in February, 2010 I headed up to his studio and spent a few hours filming him at work.

I chopped it down to 4 minutes of footage capturing the raw pencils and then ink work. As he progressed throughout the drawing he scanned in each phase. Below is a step by step recreation of one of his portraits. Enjoy.

How to Draw a Zombie [VIDEO] is a post from: Optimum Wound

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