When I Was Little...

The Rider is coming to DanCon 2012!

2012-01-29T08:57:00.000-08:00

As the convention season starts for me I will be creating some new 8x10s over the year. They will premiere at different conventions but I will carry them with me where ever I "con". The older prints from 2009 and 2010 will eventually make its way on to my store as they sell out at conventions. The idea behind that is so that I don't have the same 4 prints every time you pass by my table.

With that being said, the first print on my list is Ghost Rider. In honor of the new flick that is coming out this February I will be debuting this at Dan Con in March. This image will also be part of Mutant Cactus' 52 week release schedule so be on the look out for that! Check out his sweet ride:

The kids are alright!

2012-01-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was an especially fun. Earlier I had the wonderful opportunity to talk to Ms. Punke and her 2nd graders of Lincoln Elementary School. Before the Skype session they were read the entire series so they can ask me questions and share their favorite pages with me. I told them about my inspiration to write the series and was asked a lot of artistic questions. That lead me to tease them with a page from Heart. They oohed and aahed and gave me a tiny 2nd grade standing ovation.

I was informed by Ms. Punke that the kids art project for this year was to color pages from the Coloring book. I was excited to know that and hope that they have a great time with the book.

The Skype session filled me with motivation. I ended up doing 7 pages for the new book and wrote up two blog posts. If all goes well I might be able to knock the entire thing out this weekend!

Here's a picture to capture the moment:

I told them about the power stance that the kids do on the cover of my books. And I asked them to strike a pose. I also mentioned that my 3yr old niece has been calling it her princess goodbye....hey maybe there's a book in there somewhere? ;)

Where have I been? What to expect in 2012!

2012-01-20T14:15:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the lack of updates but during the winter season I tend to hibernate with my new projects. I did announce a new book and I am really excited about the project. Since it's not WIWL related you can read more about that over here. As far as WIWL is concerned I am still actively involved with that. I will still be touring with the Coloring book as earlier conventions missed out on it's summer of 2011 release. I am also going to be releasing buttons of my 8x10 prints under my good friends, Mutant Cactus. I am extremely excited about this collaboration so please check them out for all your button and magnet needs!

I am currently developing two final projects for the WIWL series that are sure to amaze. I can't say anything because I want them to be a huge surprise and if everything goes well, one will make their debut in May. *FINGERS CROSSED!

I hope to have more Drawing workshops in 2012 as well as participating with more organizations that are all about kids and comics. I am excited for the year and what opportunities may open up. When I Was Little will never go away and I hope you are okay with that. It's all about going beyond books...it's about evolving the brand.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T05:30:00.000-08:00

Usually during the holidays I do a When I Was Little Christmas card. This year I decided to change it up and include the lovely Nicole on the card. Yay! Our first holiday card together. Woah Ross and Mona, right? Right?

Anyhoo since they are hitting the mailboxes this week, I figured I'd post it up. Happy Holidays!

Post: Drawing When I Was Little

2011-11-22T18:15:00.001-08:00

This past Monday I had the pleasure of hosting the first ever Drawing When I Was Little event at the Gail Borden Library. There were two workshops in which I talked to kids, shared info about myself and the books, and help them create their own When I Was Little page.

It was such a great event. The kids and parents participated and had a great time. I had Nicole help me with sales afterwards and she snapped a few photos of myself doing the presentation and helping the kids with their art. It was so fun and something I will definitely want to develop and grow for other libraries and schools.

Here are some of the photos that were taken that day:

Big thanks to Bob Cassinelli and the Gail Borden Library for helping setting up the event. Thanks!

Drawing When I Was Little!

2011-11-20T13:00:00.001-08:00

Hi all,

This Monday I will be at the Gail Borden Library in Elgin for the first ever, Drawing When I Was Little. I had the pleasure of meeting Bob Cassinnelli at this past year's Comic Book Mania Convention and wanted to put together something with the library. We came up with this event where I would show kids how to make their own When I Was Little pages.

I will be doing two workshops one at 9:30am and a second one at 11am. I will also be selling some books and coloring books and the kids will go home with one of these nifty activity sheets I made this past week. So come on down!!!! Can't wait to meet everyone.

- Justin

Post: Mid Ohio Con 2011

2011-10-25T06:23:00.000-07:00

Hi friends!

Mid Ohio Con has come and gone. This was the first MOC run by the Wizard World group. I think a lot of artists and comic creators had some doubts but the show was excellent. The presence of the convention was on a much grander scale yet it still maintained that independent spirit that Mid Ohio Con is famous for. I was surprised and impressed with this year's turn out.

Another change on our part was that Nicole and I took Friday off and we took our time driving down there. The road to MOC is usually a unforgiving six hours and the past two years we've attended we would leave after I got off of work which would be around 6-7pm and arrive at 1am. Having the day off really made a difference. The six hour drive became tolerable and it was smooth sailing.

We arrived Friday night and went to the Kroger around the corner to grab dinner and food for tomorrow morning's breakfast.

Woke up Saturday morning and I was nervous about the Artist Alley being split on two levels, something I learned about days prior. However, when we got to the con Saturday morning, we realized that decided to keep everyone on the same level. I was relieved but a bit saddened to find my location in the back corner which I felt was apart from the actual convention.

That sadness didn't stay for long. The people traffic was so congested in the middle with artist interaction and on-lookers that they eventually flowed into the the sides and corners making the convention quite a busy affair on Saturday.

I got a lot of unique sketch requests that day which made for some of the best sketching I've done at a con. You can check those out over here. The steady flow of traffic made for a comfortable pace of book selling, interaction with the crowd, and sketch requests. I never felt overwhelmed but I was never bored or sitting around either. It was a great pace and a great first day.

Last year Nicole and I went to Dirty Frank's Hotdog Palace for dinner and we decided to make a return trip and start a Post Mid Ohio Day 1 dinner tradition. We stuffed our faces and I had chili mac for the 1st time since I decided to give up meat. Four years and counting! Slept on full stomachs.

We woke up a bit earlier on Sunday to make breakfast and pack the car for our drive back. We bought some meatless breakfast patties and made sausage, egg, and cheese, biscuits. They were awesome!

Sunday was a slower day at the convention but I still had a large number of families come by and pick up sketches and books. Nic and I were able to walk around more and look for potential birthday/christmas presents for people.

Sunday was also a good networking day. I talked with some familiar faces and comic creators such as Lora Innes, Trevor Mueller, Dustin Carson, Ryan Claytor, and the creative team of Mutant Cactus and Victor Dandridge.

I also met some new comic creators like Steve Harpster and Barry Deutsch. Nic and I picked up a few things and tried really hard not to spend all of the earnings.

The convention came to a close and I wrapped up the last few sketch requests and said goodbye to my Ohio friends. On the drive home, Nicole and I talked about potential projects for the future and we mapped out my convention season for 2012.

At the halfway mark we stopped for dinner at Red Robin, recharged our batteries, and made it home just as the rain started to fall.

It was a great way to end the season and as I go into the "off" months. I am going to be busy working on the next few WIWL projects (that's right…plural) and some newer book ideas that I've been wanting to complete.

I hope to do a smaller amount of shows next year so that I can focus on these other books all the while evolving the When I Was Little series.

Until next time, friends!

Mid Ohio Con 2011

2011-10-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend I will be attending the Wizard World Mid Ohio Con! I will be at table 1324 in Artist Alley! UPDATE: Here's the new map, Artist Alley is set up on two floors this year? anyhoo I got top bunk ...apparently #1324

I will also be debuting a new 8x10 print. I actually had a lot of requests for Thor so I thought to end the year with the God of Thunder. Enjoy!

Post: Detroit Fanfare 2011

2011-09-29T21:21:00.000-07:00

Hello! Now that almost a full week has gone by and I have come off my con high I can talk about the weekend that was Detroit Fanfare!

It was a long drive but not as long as the haul to Iowa the weekend before. Nic and I had the great pleasure of staying with Mike Roll during the Fanfare. Miker and Tina were great hosts and we had a blast hanging out with them.

As far as the Fanfare goes, I had a great time at the show. However, mostly half of the Saturday was spent with Nic and I taking turns standing in line to meet and greet with the great Kevin Eastman, creator (with Peter Laird) of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...or TMNT if you're fancy.

I got to say that made the whole convention for me. It was a blast getting to meet and talk Turtles with him. He was very kind and professional. I read that he changed his flight on Sunday so he can keep sketching and signing for the fans. (seriously who does that? AWESOME)

On my sketch blog I've talked about a TMNT book that I am eventually going to fill with different artists' renditions of the Turtle-verse. Like a dummy, I FLIPPIN' forgot the book and was super bummed as I wanted him to be the last page when it was all said and done. (and sketched) BUT I did have some sketch cards with me and asked him to sketch a Casey Jones and a Krang which I will just frame in the book. I also gave him a copy of my turtle's print which he loved! It was seriously one of my highlights of...anything, EVER.

Ok, now back to the con. From what I heard from other creators, it was a slow show and the attendance was pretty small from the previous year. I would agree, I didn't have that many people stopping by the table (maybe because I was gone for half the day). I think they might have moved the convention to a bigger venue prematurely and they should have kept it at the hotel for at least one more year. That way it would give the show time to grow and really find its audience and then expand it. The Cobo Hall center itself was massive and had the space to command a large crowd, it's just that the people weren't there which was unfortunate for the artists and programmers.

Sunday was a busier day for me. I did quite a few sketches and sold some prints. I got to visit with some comic creators and my good friends Jeff and Aireen came out to support me and take in the show. I know they had a blast!

There were highlights to the show for me and I did tweet them earlier in the week:

@DetroitFanfare #1 #highlight She is my bestest friend and I love her @nfsolis

@DetroitFanfare #1 #highlight is having the best time with @nfsolis. Letting me geek at these shows, encouraging, motivating, being there.

@DetroitFanfare #highlight @nfsolis starting her Mulan themes sketchbook with @artbaltazar

@DetroitFanfare #highlight table chat with @katiecandraw about Gronk, Halloween, and poverty! lol

@DetroitFanfare #highlight Meeting @AXECOP and @Bearmageddon's Ethan Nicolle, great artist very humbled! Scored some sketchbooks and a TPB!

@DetroitFanfare #highlight the talented super cute designer @aerialardour and her super cool hubby going out the way to visit @nfsolis and I

@DetroitFanfare #highlight drawing a special tmnt bag n board sketch for real life April O'Neal @RachFromOH!

@DetroitFanfare #highlight great table time with @JoeFoo22 @mikerroll

@DetroitFanfare #highlight: Meeting Kevin Eastman, creator of TMNT. Holy Cowabunga!

It was a great networking and really talking to other creators about collaborations, upcoming shows, and their respective projects. If you made use of your time rather than complain about the low attendance and not selling anything than you had a good show. Oh! This is cool: One of our table neighbors was Ethan Nicolle of Axe Cop fame and my favorite web comic of the moment, Bearmageddon. He was such a cool guy and very humbled to talk about his projects and all around awesomeness. I also loved the evenings spent hanging out with Joe Foo, Mike Roll and their significant others. We went to a sushi buffet and I ate til I couldn't move. GREAT TIMES.

Post: Story City Festival

2011-09-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

A little over a week ago I had the honor of attending the Story City Festival in Story Ctiy, Iowa. Nicole's aunt is on the committee for the festival and invited me to be a part of it. I really did not know what to expect but I had an idea of what I would be doing there.

Nicole's aunt, Susan, had discussed that since this is a story telling festival I could have people tell me their stories and make a little drawing of it for them. Basically, it's like doing my custom Signature Prints but I a bag n' board sketched version.

It was a little challenging with the weather and being the only vendor the entire festival so I had to adapt to these things through out. Story telling was broken up with show times and during those breaks I was able to interact with people who had stopped at my table.

All in all it was an interesting festival and Nicole and I got to sit in on the last night of story telling and have brunch with some of the tellers at the festival.

I did feel a bit out of place and having being a vendor all day Satruday I eventually felt like I was done in terms of selling books. If they had a children's theme and more vendors spread out I could see myself being a part of this festival again. If anything I would go back to listen to the story tellers as it was the highlight of the festival for me.

The event ended with a ride on the Antique Carousel that's been around since 1913.

TMNT Exclusive Print for Detroit Fanfare!

2011-09-21T23:45:00.000-07:00

Every since I got back from Iowa this past weekend it's been quite a hectic week for When I Was Little and company prepping for the Detroit Fanfare. As soon as this crazy month of shows is over for me, I plan to blog about the Story City Festival and Fanfare as well as other events and projects I have been up to. But for now take a look at my new TMNT print in honor of Kevin Eastman being in attendance this year!

These ones are going to be a very limited run with 15 copies being exclusively sold first at the convention with the remaining ones [if any] to be sold on Shopping When I Was Little.

These ones will also be larger at a hefty 11x14 print size!

Detroit Fanfare:

Saturday, September 24th
10:00 am - 7:00 pm

Sunday, September 25th
12:00 pm --6:00 pm

Cobo Hall
1 Washington Blvd.
Detroit, MI 48226
313-877-8777
fax 313-877-8577

Artist Alley: Table 404-406 with Mike Roll and Joe Foo!

Post: SPX 2011

2011-09-13T07:08:00.000-07:00

Hello,

This past Saturday/Sunday in Behtesda, MD. I was part of the SPX 2011 show at the North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center. I was joined by the Joe Foo, Mike Roll, and Kelly Tierney. This was my first time attending and I was quite impressed with the turn out. Saturday was a non-stop crowd and it was quite over whelming at first but eventually I was able to adapt to it and being able to talk about my books to interested on-lookers. I really got a lot of one on one interaction with people interested in the series, even though the size of the show was quite large. I had a great time and a lot of coloring books were picked up so THANK YOU!

I didn't sketch as much as I usually do at conventions but this being a big independent show, a lot of people were really into buying books. I was also one of them. It was definitely a show where you could spend a lot of money and everything was great. I really love indie books and this was THE indie book show.

I think I would attend this show again. I would need to work on a few new things and maybe invest in an easy to assemble sign. I already have a big foam board sign that I've used in the past but it would have been hard to fly with.

The best thing too was Nic and I were able to schedule a vacation around the show which we'll talk about in-depth (maybe) on our blog.

Next up for me is the Iowa Story City Festival.

To here all about the great stuff I picked up at SPX, click here!

Fall Con Season starts with SPX

2011-09-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

Hello! I took a break from conventions this month to pick up some side work and catch up on my commission list. I decided not to attend some August shows as I have booked some pretty big ones in September and October. Working most of the summer getting Coloring finished and the big shows in Louisville and Fort Wayne, I needed the break.

With that being said, break's over! We are gearing up in September with my first big show of the fall, SPX! Which will mark the first time I'm flying to attend a con. Nic and I are super excited.

I will be joining Joe Foo, Mike Roll, Kelly Tierney and the Draw Sucka Draw crew! My cousin also lives out there so we turned it into mini "workcation" where we can spend some time with him before and after the show.

Here's the show info:

A small hiatus and plans for the future...

2011-07-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

With the completion of the fourth book, Coloring When I Was Little, as per usual I started thinking about what is next for WIWL.

I know I had mentioned in a prior post about wanting to end the series. That hasn't changed but with the positive response from the coloring book, I think I can find a newer and even more fantastic way to evolve the series so that it can still continue w/o reusing the same formula of the first three books.

So that being said, I have two big When I Was Little projects to go out with a bang. One of which I laid out on the ride home from Derby City Comic Con. From there I will make the transition into a different outlet to tell the stories.

I have some other book ideas that I have put on the back burner for quite awhile so I could focus on finishing this coloring book. Now that it is out of the way I want to go back and finish them. I will be taking a tiny hiatus from When I Was Little in order to complete these other book ideas.

Don't worry it won't be too long of a hiatus as I will still be doing 8x10 prints, Signature Prints, and promoting Coloring throughout the rest of the con season and book events I have planned.

I hope to come back next year with two new When I Was Little projects for you. So stay tuned!

' Til next time kids!

Post: Derby City Comic Con

2011-07-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I attended the 1st annual Derby City Comic Con in Louisville, Kentucky. This was a great convention! I had the pleasure of getting to know Eric Banister, found of the Derby City Comic Con, over the last couple of months. It was a well put together show. His passion for comics really came through as his show brought out the crowds of all ages.

It was cool to see the poster I had done for him as one of the banners for the show. I had a great table location next to my good friends of Mutant Cactus and the always hilarious Victor Dandridge of Vantage:Inhouse Productions.

The crowd was great and met some really nice people. So nice that I hardly stepped away from the table. I was so busy talking to the crowd about When I Was Little and doing sketches for I didn't get a chance to walk around as much as I would have liked.

It was okay though because Eric had set up an auction that was happening right where my table was and Nicole was able to snag a limited leather bound edition o f Jim McCann & Janet K. Lee's The Return of the Dapper Men.

All in all it was a fantastic convention and I got to meet with some great people including Punch-Up's Frank Cvetkovic and Dustin Carson, writer of No Gods.

I look forward to next year's Derby City Comic Con which I know Eric's already planning. After the convention, Nic and I spent a few days in Louisville and Frankfort area for a mini-vacation which was amazing. More on that later...

I ran... to Derby City

2011-07-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

A couple months back I got an email from Eric Banister who said he was putting a comic convention together in Louisville, KY.

He really like my worked and wanted me to do some promotional material for the show to put in libraries and local comic shops around the area.

I showed him two concepts that he both really loved. This one ended up being the poster which captured the "kids about comics" theme he was going for and the other concept was of The Flash racing a Derby Horse.

It turns out that he was a huge fan of The Flash which ultimately lead me to doing this new 8x10 that I wanted to debut for this show.

I had a great time making it and I hope a lot of you Flash fans out there dig it, Eric included.

I ran... by ~happyfestivus on deviant ART

Post: Comic Book Mania!

2011-07-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday was the Comic Book Mania Convention at the Gail Borden Library out in Elgin, IL.

The convention was such fun and today I had to ride solo with Nic being on a family weekend. I really liked the library back drop. It was such a comfortable atmosphere and the flow of people coming in was steady. I did not expect the huge turn out of kids and the Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic Tournaments. It was cool to see the amount of participation with the young crowd. It got me thinking of getting into card collecting....and I've already got an idea planned.

The sketch requests were kind of light but it was surely a button crowd. The kids responded well to the When I Was Little button sets.

I met with Bob Cassinelli, who organized the event, and we discussed a possibility to get together for a future event.

All in all it was such a great time and definitely one for the kids. I look forward to more!

Afterwards my brother, Serena, and I took in some dinner and saw the film, Horrible Bosses. It was hilarious.

Up next: Derby City Comic Con!

When 2nd Graders Were Little!

2011-07-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

Remember when I blogged about skyping with the Lincon Elementary Second Graders?

Well they really enjoyed the Q&A that they hit me up with a very special surprise. There art project for the year was to create their own When I Was Little page. They collected all of them in a book and gave it to me at the end of their school year! How cool is that? There's some amazing pages in here and I took a few snap shots for your enjoyment.

Comic Book Mania!

2011-07-06T06:38:00.000-07:00

Hi kids,

Hope you had a great Fourth of July holiday. After some much needed relaxation my convention season picks up again with Comic Book Mania! I'll have my three books on hand, my 8x10 prints, buttons, and I'll be doing bag n' board sketches all day. Since it's at a library, I'll be giving away my When I Was Little bookmarks so stop by my table and pick one (a few) up. You can even get a sketch done on the back! Thank's to Bob Cassinelli for letting me be part of the amazing show and to Keith's Komix for the invite.

Here's all the info:

Comic Book Mania! Convention 2011

Saturday, July 9

Gail Borden Public Library, 270 N. Grove Avenue, Elgin, Il 60120

10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Admission: FREE (AWESOME)

Coloring When I Was Little

2011-06-27T05:07:00.000-07:00

After making When You Were Little I was thinking of what the next book should be. I really loved the participation that came from the last book and I wanted to think about how I could go bigger with that. Then I realized that the younger audience could participate even more if they had more to do in the book. So I decided to put together a When I Was Little coloring and activity book.

Filling the content was easy. I had thought about doing theme books, like sports, holidays, but I felt the ideas weren't strong enough on their own. I also decided to make the book bigger, filling it with matching games, connect the dots, and lots of coloring pages.

It's black and white, 8 1/2 x 11, and thicker...about 60 pages.

With the title of the subject, I can't really bury the lead I tried to...but yes, I made a coloring book!

Oh by the way here's the cover to Coloring When I Was Little!

Post: Summit City Comic Con 2011

2011-06-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday I attended Summit City Comic Con at the Grand Wayne Center in Fort Wayne, IN. We had an early drive ahead of us leaving about 5am in he morning. We got there just in time to set up and start the show. It was a great turn out and my first time doing a one day show. I was amazed at how well the show was put together and how much space the artists were given. I also got a sweet parking spot too!

The crowd was great as I had a lot of kids come up to the table. However, talking to fellow artists, I found out there were fewer kids than last year. At about mid-way through the rain came and the attendance dropped a bit. I had more opportunities to step away from my table and meet with other artists and get a few things signed. I was also able to get some new sketches done in my TMNT book. I also met with Derby City Comic Con's Eric Banister and we talked about his upcoming show and he gave me some posters to sign and we talked about things to do in Louisville, KY.

Right around closing time we said goodbye to friends and made our trek back. I was feeling a bit tired but we found a Red Robin where we stopped for dinner. (YUMS) The best surprise is that we came home to find my parents babysitting the grandkids. It was awesome. So we spent the time playing with them before completely crashing into a deep slumber. Only to get up early again and watch Nicole and her family take on the Warrior Dash.

All in all it was a great show from start to finish and one I would definitely do next year. Up next I have the Comic Book Mania! Convention in July and as I mentioned previously...Derby City Comic Con. We hit the ground running in the next few weeks. I hope to have my new book completed and available for the rest of my con season. Also, please check periodically at the store as I will be uploading some prints, original art work, and more.

And lastly, here's some of the sketches I did at the show:

Summit City Comic Con 2011!

2011-06-16T15:01:00.001-07:00

Hello,

Just a quick reminder of where I'll be this weekend:

I'll be at table G15!

...I ate a lot.

2011-06-06T22:23:00.000-07:00

Hello,

This past weekend I tweeted that I wanted to do a new print for Summit City to go along with the new business cards I am getting done. I am still working on the new When I Was Little book and I'm hoping to have it done by end of June. So with that being said I thought a new print would be a great addition to all the things I have to offer for the upcoming Summit City show. This print will be a vertical 8x10. I tend to do two new prints one vertical and one horizontal. I will be working on a new print for Derby City and that one will be the horizontal.

I know I wanted to do a villain from the comic universe this time out. It's hard to make certain villains fit in the theme of the When I Was Little prints. I think the rogues gallery from the Batman universe is the easiest but I did not want to keep doing Batman villains every time. So after racking my brain suggesting characters like Mystique and Sinestro (how can fear be cute?), I had a vision early this morning.

I seriously had a dream drawing the Silver Surfer scooping up a planet and feeding it to a baby Galactus, the devour of worlds. I woke up and did this today.

Creative spark comes from the strangest places at the strangest times. Either way I'm really happy at how dopey and goofy and cute this print looks. I hope you guys dig it.

I ate a lot... by ~happyfestivus on deviant ART

PS - Don't forget I'm taking commission pre-orders for Summit City. Just take a look at the convention info and give it a go!

Shopping When I Was Little ...

2011-06-01T23:15:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

If you follow me at conventions, this past March I was saying I was going to open an online store where I would sell my art, prints, books, and anything else that would fit in the world of When I Was Little. After months and months I signed on with Big Cartel and have begun creating my store. There isn't much there yet but I will be sure to add some of the 8x10 prints you see at the conventions as well as some other items yet to be named. SO check back often and enjoy Shopping When I Was Little...

- Justin

When I Was Little for Joplin Tornado Relief!

2011-05-30T22:38:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

I got wind of this via twitter. I will be donating some books this week to the Joplin Tornado Relief. Please visit he Hurley's Heroes comic shop to read more about it:

Recap: FCBD 2011

2011-05-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

Hello this past Saturday was Free Comic Book Day. I was at signing at Dreamland Comics with Art Balthazar and Jeff Balke. A lot of families came out which was awesome and I gave out some free When I Was Little book marks and did some sketch cards for the kiddies.

After the event, I hung out with some of my good friends. We had linner at The Village Tavern where I had something amazing called, The Nachorama....oh yeah good eats:

Aftewards we continued the hangout where we played the new Mortal Kombat for the 360. I. Must. Own. That game is incredibly fun.

After that, I caught a double feature of Thor and Fast Five. Thor was amazing and it grows on you after the fact. The epic scale of Asgard and the humanity of it's characters it is definitely a great summer flick.

Free Comic Book day was a blast. I hope you got some good comics and met some great creators. On to the next: Summit City, June 18

FCBD 2011!

2011-04-28T06:34:00.001-07:00

Free Comic Book day is coming and I will be at:

Dreamland Comics
Schaumburg Plaza
1415 W. Schaumburg Rd.
Schaumburg, Illinois 60194

The good folks at Dreamland were nice enough to have me back. Art Baltazar and Jeff Balke will be there. I'll be doing free sketches and they will have free face painting, balloons, and of course COMICS!

Check it out!

Questions, Anwers, and Interviews

2011-04-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

On Wednesday April 20th I was delighted to answer questions via Skype with the 2nd graders of Lincoln/McKinley elementary school. A friend of mine works there and heard that the Art and Technology teacher has these Skype meet and greets and were looking for an illustrator. She got in contact with me and we set a date for me to talk to her class.

I was amazed at how much they loved the series. There were a lot of great questions asking me about my background in art and where did the idea for the series come from. They were so inspired that their art project for this year is to create their own When I Was Little pages which they will collect into a book and show to their fellow classmates and parents! How exciting and amazing is that?! I will be keeping in touch with Ms. Punke and her 2nd Grade class' progress on their own When I Was Little.

In other news, I was interviewed for ESCapism at c2e2 about my career in art and my children's books. They wrote up a very nice piece and posted the video interview just recently. So click on the image to check it out!

Persevere

2011-03-30T22:27:00.000-07:00

per·se·vere: to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly.

I was inspired by the SkottieScott art blog to do my own piece to help in the aid of the Japanese tsunami/earthquake. So I am offering up this 5x17 Bristol piece of one of my favorite cartoons, Samurai Jack. Here's a character/show that exemplifies qualities to continue on, have faith, and believe in one's own inner strength.

I'm selling this one at $65 +$10 for shipping. All proceeds will go to Red Cross to help Japan and not only that but I will match the money so Red Cross will be getting a cool $150 and you get a great piece of art!

So for a chance to get your hands on this, E-mail Me! Put in the subject: persevere

Post c2e2

2011-03-26T10:03:00.001-07:00

Hello all,

I've been away from the desk a bit after the dust has settled from what was a terrific start to the convention season for me.

The show was bigger and better in every way in terms of Artist Alley, vendors, guests, panels, and layout of the show floor.

I wish I could haven taken more advantage of that but in a good way, I was at my table for most of the show. I shared my table this year with Mike Roll, whom I went to Detroit Fanfare with last year. We plan on going to SPX and plans are in the works of returning to Fanfare in September!

Sitting on my left side I met the great Cary Kelley, author of Fallen Justice and the DynaGirl web comic. This guy was my savior when it came to odd sketch requests. He busted out his ipad with me and talked good ole' Austin Texas BBQ with Nicole. He is probably THE nicest table neighbor I have ever had at a con. The man knows EVERYTHING about EVERY CHARACTER in the comic book universe.

Friday night Nic and I had dinner with some new friends I met last year at Mid Ohio Con. We went to Jerry's Sandwiches. Where I had the best burger ever, the Crab Cake Burger.

Saturday day was busy day. It was also family and friends day as some came out to support me. I also re-met a few people who contributed to When You Were Little and stopped by my table to check out the book. It was great reconnecting with them and having a few moments admist my busy sketch-dule (hehe) for the day.

Sunday was kid's day and also Nicole was attending my niece's baptism so I was on my own. It was a bit nerve racking trying to take sketch requests, handle book sales, and draw at the same time but Cary and Mike were real helpful in watching my table during bathroom breaks. A lot of kids and parents responded to the new prints...it seems the Green Lantern from last year and the Captain America and Catwoman were the cutest of the bunch.

c2e2 was quite the experience and I look forward to the how the rest of the convention season turns out. Keep an eye on the blog, twitter, and facebook, as I'll eventually be adding more show dates and book festivals as they come to me.

Thanks all for the support and please stay tuned for what's in store in the When I Was Little series!

Here's some select sketches from c2e2 that I thought you'd enjoy:

c2e2 2011

2011-03-17T06:20:00.001-07:00

Just a reminder that I'll be at the c2e2 convention this weekend at Chicago's McCormick Place. I'll be sharing a table with Mike Rol l in Artist Alley, table i5. Come check us out! Here's another look at some of the new prints I'll have for the show.

A second look at the new...

2011-03-10T19:41:00.000-08:00

Here's an image I'm going to be using in the upcoming When I Was Little book. As you can see the big difference is that I'm inking these drawings. I also wanted to see what I can do in terms of shape and proportions. If I really push it, give it a lot of squash and stretch, I can get a lot of playfulness and character. So be on the look out because I plan on having it done by summer. Still not going to reveal the title yet but you guys can wait, right?

Introducing the When You Were Little Signature Print

2011-02-28T19:14:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

I made some changes to my commission list, the most notable being the added When You Were Little Signature Print. It requires some work from you though:

All you need to do is drop me an email describing one of your fondest childhood memories. You can be as descriptive as you want and you can include a childhood picture of yourself or of the person you are getting this print made for, so that it will be just as personal. (Don't worry I don't keep the pictures.) All prints come signed on a nice 8x10 linen stock and will go for $50 (plus shipping). It's one of a kind, it's unique, it's when YOU were little!

Here's an example I did recently of my good friend Aireen over at www.aerialardrour.com. She sent me a picture of herself and her dog Max, when they were young, telling me a story of how Max would at times defy gravity.

And I came up with this:

(please excuse the watermark heh)

See folks, it's that simple. The best part about it is...there's no one else in the world who has your exact print! It's yours, it's unique, it's one of a kind!

I am going to open up a store soon and I really wanted to offer something exclusive to fans of my work. I dialed back to how great the participation was for When You Were Little and thought this signature item would be a great way to connect with them. At the same time, people can take home a little piece of When I Was Little but having the art represent them too.

Sneak at some new prints for con season!

2011-02-22T20:52:00.000-08:00

Hello,

Want to see some new prints I've been cooking up for the 2011 con season? Well here you go:

I present Cap, Spidey, and Mj. I have two more to prep before the big c2e2 in March but I will have these available throughout the year. They will be going for $10 a piece. Enjoy!

Art Jam at the United Methodist Church in Geneva

2011-02-14T21:11:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

The subject of the post says it all. My good friend, Minister E, invited me to be a part of their youth groups art jam session this past Saturday up in Geneva, IL. I brought my books and some concept books and portfolios to share and talked to the kids about my sketch process a bit. After the quick introductions, we warmed up with the hat game, which is when someone picks out topics from a hat that the jammers would then have to draw.

We then used the rest of the time for the kids to focus on their own personal projects. E and I played catch up whilst my wonderful girlfriend made an attempt to draw herself. Her sketches are GREAT! I will have to show them to you sometime...as long as she is ok with it and doesn't punch me in the face.

Anyhoo, here are some of the sketches from the nights event:

A look into the new...

2011-02-03T22:56:00.001-08:00

One more post before I turn in for the night. I tweeted two hours ago that I was working on new pages for the next When I Was Little project. So I thought I'd share some info on that as well as future plans with the series.

I really liked the audience participation with the last book and for this next project I wanted to have a bit more fun with that idea...but you won't see me at a con with a submission box this time. Also it will be tiny bit different from the previous books but it will still have a lot of call backs to those three.

I plan to finish this one mid year and get started on what will be the final When I Was Little. This last one will not only evolve the ideas but it will also bookend the series.

Right around the time the last When I Was Little comes out I hope to have another book idea finished. It's one that I've been playing with for almost two years now and I feel like I've spent too much time away from it. So I have to turn my multi-task skills to +11 and really get cracking this year.

I think there will still be more When I Was Little ideas to come from me, just not in book form. I feel like this series has been my pre-school and I'm ready for kindergarten, big boy pants and Snoopy underoos.

As promised here's a little snippet of the new project:

2011 Season

2011-02-03T22:42:00.001-08:00

Hi! Real quickly I'd like to tell you about the conventions I have lined up so far. Obviously as soon as the dates for these get closer I will talk about them more.

My first con of the year is going to be in sweet home Chicago!
c2e2: March 18-20 at McCormick Place

I have some one day cons lined up in June and July as well. I'm really excited to be a part of these two, they are shaping up to be great!

Summit City Con: June 18 at The Grand Wayne Center in Fort Wayne, IN

Derby City Comic Con: July 16 at Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, KY
I did a poster for this convention so be on the look out for that. I'll post pics and links when they go live.

And I just added this one about a week or two ago. My good buddy Mike Roll, whom I shared a table with me at Detroit Fanfare, asked if I would like to join him and Joe Foo at the Small Press Exp o in Bethesda, MD! I was so excited to be asked to come. That's going down in September 10-11 at Bethesda North Marriot Hotel and Conference Center.

I went to Maryland last year on a family road trip vacation and I'm excited to go back and bring the When I Was Little series with me.

Well that's it for now, I've been looking into book fairs and other types of festivals I could participate in so I'll keep you all posted.

Holiday Card 2010

2010-12-20T16:51:00.000-08:00

Ever since 2006 I've been designing my own cards. What I usually do is draw a Christmas image and find a quote that best represented the image I had in my head. Last year, I designed a card based on my books. As it turned out great and quite humorous, I felt it didn't quite have a Christmas spirit about it as the cards done previously. So I wanted to get back to what I originally did. I had two ideas in mind but at first only thought to do one depending on which quote was the strongest. Luckily I had my wonderful girlfriend find me two great quotes that I was inspired to get both ideas done this year. So some of you will get this:

And the others will get this: http://justincastaneda.blogspot.com/2010/12/holiday-card-2010.html

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! We'll see you in 2011!

Human Centipede Exclusive Print @ Atlanta Comic-Con

2010-12-03T16:50:00.000-08:00

If you're heading down to Atlanta Comic Con this weekend stop by and visit table 1105. Drew Blank, writer of Memoirs of an Anti-Hero hit me up with a print based off the disturbingly bizarre horror film, The Human Centipede in honor of the film's stars attending the weekend's convention.

This was such fun to work on! Click for more info on this limited print exclusive to Atlanta Comic-Con:

Human Centipede Print by ~happyfestivus on deviant ART

Links:
Drew Blank - Memoirs of an Anti-Hero: http://www.drewblank.com/shop.html
Atlanta Comic-Con 2010: http://www.wizardworld.com/home-atlanta.html

Mid Ohio Con 2010

2010-11-09T07:01:00.000-08:00

Mid Ohio Con marks the end of my convention run for the year. Wow, I thought I had a good show last weekend, MOC was just great fun all around and a terrific way to wrap up the year.

This year's show marked the 30th Anniversary of Mid Ohio Con and they really made it worthwhile for the artists. There weren't a lot of Media Guests and dealer shops but a big focus on artists, writers, independents, and comic superstars.

Saturday was a huge success. I probably ended up leaving my table once or twice to go to the bathroom and the rest of the time I was glued to my seat responding to sketch requests.

I think by the end of the day I did about 25+ sketches with another 10 carrying over into Sunday. It flew by so fast! I think posting some of the unique character sketches (at least to me) on the blog, I gotten a lot more of those requests from people at the shows.

I've also noticed that whoever I make my sketch sign of for the weekend, that is usually the most requested character. Hence the army of Iron Men:

Big win for the Pixar prints I framed as within the first two hours, [I think, I have no concept of time, the day was a huge blur of amazing-tude] I was able to sell it.

I seriously thought I'd be taking it home after Sunday.

The only thing that stunk about the show which isn't a real huge complaint, was that I missed 75 percent of the artists/creators who were there. Nic was a real trooper scouting the tables for me and keeping me in the know with what was going on with the show. I was way too focused into drawing to even pick my head up. I tried my very best to meet and greet with all the folks who stopped by the table.

Sunday was nice and light but I was consistently busy. I was able to take some time to meet with some new creators but not really a chance to talk shop. I did get some things signed and met with friends I've made at the show last year.

With the spending spree Nic and I went on last weekend, we decided to put a limit on purchases and instead we focused on getting stuff for other people.

Sunday worked out perfect for me, heck the WHOLE SHOW worked out for me. I am always surprised by the amount of people who dig my work and have a really affection towards the book series. So to all those who got a sketch, prints, or books from me, a big thank you goes out to all.

It was a great time and I hope to do it again, I'll see ya next year. ;-)

Detroit Fanfare 2010

2010-11-01T20:47:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I attended the Detroit Fanfare at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn, Michigan.

The Fanfare was a great con for me and quite a fun one. I think having it take place on Halloween weekend opened up the flood gates for creativity on Detroit Fanfare's part. They had a Zombie Walk, a kid's costume contest, charity events, and a well rounded group of artist and creators.

It was nice to walk around and see an enormous amount of talent everywhere you turned. There weren't any ex-wrestlers, porn stars, or tv stars in attendance at all.

This year I shared a table with the very talented Mike Roll whom I met at SPACE back in July. There I picked up Apooka, his Adorable Zombie book. Check out that and some more great artwork here:

Having Stan Lee as your guest of honor really drew in the crowd and the flow of people was consistent. I did tons of sketches for people and met some great new creators and book dealers who were looking to purchase books for the comic shops.

The movie geek in me couldn't pass up the chance to meet Brian O'Halloran, better known as Dante from Clerks and Clerks II. The guy is real nice and very welcoming of the fan appreciation for the work he's done.

On Halloween there were a lot more people dressed up and even some artists passing out candy for the kids. It was a bit slower that day but I did manage to sell quite a few books and sketch some more unique requests like an Iron Fist and a Thanos. The guy who wanted Thanos actually went and bought a comic for reference. I thought that was real nice of him considering he told me he just dropped 2 and a half Gs on an X-Men #1 for Stan Lee to sign.

And the award for most requested character sketch goes to:

The volunteers at the Fanfare were really accommodating, always coming by with snacks and water for the artist. One of the coolest things was that they gave out one of the Fanfare exclusive comic books that they were selling at the welcoming tables.

Overall it was a nice weekend getaway and even nicer introducing my art and the When I Was Little series to a new audience.

Updates and The Detroit Fanfare!

2010-10-23T19:50:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

Sorry for the lack of updates but I've had some busy weeks with welcoming two new additions to the family. My brother just had his second child, a beautiful girl they named Jenevieve Pearl or "Vie, Vie" for short. My cousin also had his first child, a healthy baby boy named Nicholas Apostole. They've taken to calling him "Stole.

With all the hoopla and baby excitement it's been hard to manage the blogs and keep you posted on my where-abouts. So let's get right to it!

A while ago I had mentioned on twitter that I had a few things to share, I was just waiting for information to come my way so I can give you all the proper details.

On Halloween Weekend I am invited to be a part of the inaugural Detroit Fanfare Convention down in Michigan at the Dearborn Hyatt Regency. That is October 30 from 10am-6pm and October 31 from noon-5pm!

I will be at table 85 with the very talented Mike Roll. It should be an exciting time and please click on the link to see more details and buy your tickets.

If you're in the area, come on by and say hi! And for more news....

Mid Ohio Con 2010

2010-10-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

This has got to be one of my favorite cons and I will be attending again this year. The Mid Ohio Con goes from Nov.6-7 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus,OH. I will be at table CC22! I'll be selling my books, a variety of prints, and doing sketches for the weekend. I hope to see you there!!

Click on the banner to find out more!

Recap: 57th St. Children's Book Fair 2010

2010-09-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

It was a bit chilly on Sunday but people still came out to attend the 57th St. Children's Book Fair. It was my first time attending so I was a bit nervous on what to expect. I heard someone say it was one of Hyde Park's biggest events and it did show. They had a nice balloon archway to greet you and stage performers and a parade to kick things off.

My brother and his family came down to see me. My niece is super cute and she was dancing to the music they had playing at the festival. Also my coworker came down with one of her friends to see me and they told me how amazing the 57th St. Books was.

As an exhibitor at the event I'd have to say it was a bit underwhelming. The key reason being location, location, and location. The entire event was a stretch along 57th St. and Kimbark Ave. and if you looked at it from above it was kind of a reverse L shape. I was one of the last tables on the end, a bit further from where the main intersection and balloon archway. 57th St. Books being at the central tip obviously drew the most traffic.

Being where my table was, I missed a majority of the people coming in and got a lot of people coming on there way out who have already purchased for the day.

I still made a good chunk of change just a little less than I'm used to. It was a good experience and I was able to talk to some fellow exhibitors and the locals about my books. With the amount of kids that showed up and it being a book fair, I was expecting to connect with the audience instantly. It was not the case, and it seems the comic-con crowd is really where I fit. It doesn't hurt to reach out to a different market. Hopefully with all the business cards and mini one-on-ones I did, I'll see a spike in online orders.

After the fair, Nicole and I checked out that 57th St. Books and it was an impressive book store. There are about five rooms filled wall to wall with books. It was like a cave with each room descending further and further back. If you are ever in the Hyde Park area, you should certainly check out that store. It was hard to walk away and not buy anything. Our post fair dinner was at Giordano's and we ended the night with a trip to Family Video. It was quite the Sunday.

Until the next show!

Special items for 57th St. Book Fair

2010-09-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

Just a quick reminder that I will be attending the 57th St. Book Fair this Sunday (please weather, keep the rain away!) and I have some special items that I will be sellin' at the show.

I was informed that the theme for this year's fair is Mystery and Science: What Will You Discover at the 57th Street Book Fair? So I decided to do a special print based on that. I'll be selling these limited exclusive prints for 10 dollars a piece OR free with any book purchase.

57th Street Book Fair Print by ~happyfestivus on deviant ART

Also my wonderful girlfriend had the idea to design some bookmarks I can sketch on the back of. So come on down and pick up one of these $2 dollar sketchmarks and you'll get a free doodle done by me!

Once again, here is the link to the fair: http://www.57cbf.org/

The 57th St. Children's Book Fair

2010-09-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder:

Click on the poster for more info!

I'll be attending this year!

Buttons!

2010-08-30T17:29:00.001-07:00

My good friends over at Mutant Cactus were kind enough to make some When I Was Little themed buttons which I will be debuting at the 57th St. Book Fair this coming September.

And please if you haven't yet, go check out Mutant Cactus, they have some great stuff for sale and even have their own web comic, Blue Collar Invasion!

Thanks MC!

Process: Green Lantern Print

2010-08-19T23:32:00.000-07:00

Hello all. It's been a while.

I finished a new print that I'll be having for the Mid-Ohio-Con this November. I've been doing these special When I Was Little limited prints this year for my 2010 con tour. I thought it'd be a cute way to put my own personal spin on well known comic characters and incorporating the idea of my children's book. The response to them have been great.

I have two new ones I want to do for the end of the year which I'll be selling well into my 2011 con tour. One of them is Green Lantern and the other I'm working on is Bat-Girl.

I thought I'd share you my process. I've seen other artist do this and found it interesting to see the layers that go into a finished piece. Here's my take on it.

Whatdya guys think? Click for big!

Starting with top left: rough, inks, flats, shades, highlights, glows, and the Final.

Save the date! On a side note, don't forget I'll be at the 57th St. Book Fair this year on September the 19th. I'll be selling my books and other goodies too (more details to come).

57th Street Book Fair deets

2010-07-10T22:36:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

I hope everyone had a good 4th of July! I just came back from vacation yesterday and I'm ready to get into things again. Here are the details on the book fair I will be attending in September.

57th Street Children's Book Fair
Sunday, September 19th
Hyde Park, Chicago
www.57cbf.org

Hope to see you there!

Character Design and updates on books to come.

2010-06-22T21:16:00.001-07:00

I've been on an art funk and I'm slowly coming out of it. Did a bit of character designing for a new story idea I've been tinkering with. These designs are for a main character I had in mind, a little girl with a giant treasure chest on her back that she wears like a back pack. Now, this isn't the new book I've been tweeting about. That book is written and I've been doing some art style tests and character designs for that as well. That goes into production July/August and I hope to fish it around some publishers. Wish me luck! Anyhoo here are some concepts I've been playing with:

Here's some concepts for a story in the works...WAY in the works. It's fun to play.

P.S. - New blog header! YAY!

Mid Ohio Con Nov. 6-7 2010

2010-06-08T10:43:00.001-07:00

Hello,

Sorry for the lack of updates but my freelance and commission work has kept me occupado, as well as principal concepts and character designs for my new book. (what?! new book!)

And on to even more awesome news, I'll be attending the Mid Ohio Con's Creator's Common again this year. Click on the icon for more info:

Commission List open for June

2010-05-26T22:07:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

I'm going to be taking a road trip fourth of July weekend to visit some family and I need some extra cash. I'll be opening up my commission list starting in the month of June.

Here's what I'll be offering:

5 Sketch Cards done with Prisma Markers - $5
5x17 Black & White or Water Color Drawing (one character) - $20
12x12 Water Color Character Bust - $25 (one character)
14X17 Black & White Drawing - $30-35
11x17 - Hi-Res Colored Digital Print sent to your email - $40-50 (price varies on complexity of piece)

Shipping is not included in these prices. I will be accepting payment only thru PayPal. I'll have 15 slots to fill so if you are interested, email me at wheniwaslittle@gmail.com with what you want from the list above and your address you'd like it mailed too (digital prints will be emailed). The sooner I receive payment the sooner I can get it to you.

If you have a special piece in mind that is not listed from the above, email me and we can talk about what you'd like to get done.

I'll keep you posted as to when the list fills up.

FCBD 2010: recap

2010-05-04T18:37:00.001-07:00

I wish I had more to post about FCBD but my partner in crime had to work so I wasn't really able to capture any pictures. The main reason was because when I got settled in at Dreamland Comics, I threw this sign up:

The sign really worked and the store got really busy in the afternoon. I was amazed at the number of parents coming in with their kids getting them interested in comics. I met some nice people who really took a liking to my art style and said it was perfect for their kids. All in all it was a fun event. I drew a lot of Supergirls and Wonder Women for the kiddies. I want to send a big thank you out to Laurie and the staff of Dreamland Comics, they were all great! Next year, I'll remember to bust out the camera and snap some photos.

Of course I didn't walk away empty handed:

Funny I picked up mostly the kid comics...go figure. My coworker was kind enough to give me War of The Supermen #0. I spent the other day reading up on the back story and must now collect the entire 2 years worth in hardcovers and trades to catch up. I can't wait! Buuuut I gotta read all these comics first.

If you live in the Schaumburg area, please check out Dreamland Comics.

www.dreamlandcomics.com

1415 West Schaumburg Road
Schaumburg, IL 60194-4051
(847) 524-6060

Free Comic Book Day: Saturday, May 1st!

2010-04-29T12:22:00.001-07:00

Hi all! I'll be at Dreamland Comics in Schaumburg doing a signing and free sketches from 12pm-3pm on Saturday May 1st, for Free Comic Book Day! Come on in get your free comics, get a sketch, and peep out the awesome store that is Dreamland Comics. See you there!

www.dreamlandcomics.com

1415 West Schaumburg Road
Schaumburg, IL 60194-4051
(847) 524-6060

c2e2: 2010 Recap

2010-04-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

C2E2 was simply an amazing show for me. This was my third comic book show and my first for the year. As always, I went into it super nervous because of the huge crowd this con was going to turn out. I was surprised by the amount of business I did on Friday and thought that it would be equally as busy Saturday. Boy...was I wrong. Saturday was just a constant flow of people. I was so busy interacting and sketching, I barely had time to leave my table! It was an amazing turn out and I had a lot of support from family and friends. Nicole's parents and younger sister even came out to show their support which meant a lot to me. Nicole was quite busy herself as she was meeting the stars of Kick-Ass including her new boyfriend, Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

Saturday was also wonderful in that I reunited with an old grammar school friend I haven't seen since 1992. My friend, Aireen, has come into her creative own as well, as an art director and graphic designer for hire. Please click on her name and check out the wonderful work she does. She is amazing.

Sunday was the slowest day and that is when I was able to make some quality purchases and catch up with Eric Rampson and my good friends over at ComicRelated.com. I met a lot of artists that I admired like Katie Cook and Skottie Young. I even got some great inking tips from the incredible Sanford Greene. I ended up not really spending that much money which was odd because everywhere I looked I saw something that I wanted to bring home.

All in all, it was the best show I exhibited at and really set the bar for me. I'm excited to continue this positive uphill toward building my art career.

Of all the comic book characters in the world, Krypto was the most requested...ain't that some shiiii......

I was ready for the S.P.A.C.E. show...

Heading into SPACE

2010-04-23T08:03:00.001-07:00

Just a quick reminder of where I'll be this weekend:

If you're in the area stop by table 145.

When You Were Little...NOW AVAILABLE!

2010-04-08T15:06:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: 4.12.2010

Now available on Amazon.com! Click here now!

About a year ago, I announced plans for the third installment of my picture book series. After all the conventions, submissions, emails, tweets, and facebook posts I can now say that When You Were Little is available to own! The book goes live on Amazon in two weeks but if you can't wait, go here and pick yourself up a copy!

I will also be bringing all three books of the series to the comic book conventions I will be attending this year starting with c2e2 at McCormick Place in Chicago, April 16-18.

SPACE table and floor plan

2010-04-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

After posting my table number for c2e2, I just got informed of my table number as well as the floor plan for the 11th Annual SPACE Convention on the 24th and 25th of April.

I will be sitting at table number 145. They provided a link to the floor plan that you can check out here: http://www.backporchcomics.com/hotels.htm

c2e2 Bio and Table Number!

2010-04-05T15:00:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

C2E2 is just another 2 weeks away and I'm getting excited (nervous) to be a part of it. Just to let you know, they put up my creator bio in the Artist Alley section of the convention's website, so give that a glance when you get a chance. They also emailed me my table number which is O2...so if you plan on going, swing on by and get a sketch done or pick up a book and print. We'll see you there!

Final PrevYOUs

2010-03-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,

I finished illustrating my third book and it's being put together as we speak. (er I mean as we blog) I'm hoping to order a proof this weekend as the process is quite tasking. I'm kind of nervous buuuuut I'm keeping my fingers crossed we get it right on the first try. (I sometimes go through two or three proofs before I get it just right) Well either way, I thought I'd offer up some final previews for you before it gets put together. I've also been getting my books in as well so I'm getting organized before c2e2 which is a month away.

I also brain farted some sweet ideas for comic book prints to sell at the conventions as well. Must.....draw........more.

Comics for Cures Sketch Cards

2010-03-03T11:02:00.001-08:00

I'm back from sick leave. I got hit with some nasty fever, sore throat, chills, about a week ago and haven't had the time to work on my book OR do any type of drawing whatsoever. Fresh from my Lazarus Pit resurrection, I'm getting back into the art swing of things. I finished a new page in my book (coming up on a 3 days past the personal deadline I set [so annoyed by that but I was sick, what was I going to do, turn in a completed book with the last few pages drenched in vomit and sweat? I don't think so, Tim.]) and I mailed off my Sketch Cards for the 3rd Annual Comics for Cures Sketch Card Benefit Auction. These will be auctioned off on Ebay on April the 3rd. Please visit http://www.comicsforcures.com/ for more info.

When I Was Little...@ C2E2!!!

2010-02-22T17:47:00.000-08:00

So the big news that I was talking about on twitter is that I was asked to be a part of the Inaugural Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, better known as c2e2.

It's a great honor to be a part of what should be an amazing convention!! I'll post more updates as I get them.

Here is the main info:

C2E2 - April 16-18, 2010 - McCormick Place

Click here for the FAQ.

Preview Too!

2010-02-13T10:24:00.001-08:00

Hello!! I have been working hard on trying to get this book done and I have a deadline that I want to stick to. It's been rough but it's also been a lot of fun working on these pages for you guys. There's some really cool stuff coming your way and here's a look at the new batch. More to come!!! Enjoy weekend!

P.S - I have some announcements to make in a few weeks, so please stay tuned and hit me up on all the usual spots. (facebook, blog, email, etc)

A little sneak peek!

2010-01-13T19:25:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I made the announcement that I'm attending SPACE. This week, I thought I'd share a sneak peek at some of the pages I've been working on for When You Were Little.

The goal is to have it done before the convention, wish me luck!!!

When I Was Little...in SPACE!

2010-01-08T18:41:00.001-08:00

Hi all!

I'll be attending the 11th Annual Small Press & Alternative Comics Expo in Columbus, Ohio the 24th and 25th of April this year. I will be selling my books, some prints, and doing sketches. Stop on in and say hello.

Click for more info: SPACE 2010

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T21:04:00.000-08:00

Every year I draw up my own holiday card and mail it out to family and friends. They are all centered around a theme of children and Christmas. Since this was such a big year for me and When I Was Little... I decided to do up the card in the style of my children's books. Have a very merry and safe Christmas!

- Justin

Interview from the Mid-Ohio-Con brought to you by Comic Related.

2009-10-15T06:33:00.001-07:00

I had a great time recording an audio interview for Comic Related @ The Mid-Ohio-Con. My interview starts at minute 13.

Deadline to submit is October 30th!

2009-10-14T22:10:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

The date to submit a favorite childhood memory is October 30th because on October 31st, I'm going to pick the submissions I want to put into the new book. If you are selected, you will receive an email and a disclaimer asking if it's okay for me to turn your memory into a When I Was Little... page. So if you haven't already, email me, or hit me up on the facebook group and tell me what you did when YOU were little!

A shout out to Freestyle Komics!

2009-10-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

Hello,

If you haven't checked these guys out, click here and take a look at the amazing work put out by Freestyle Komics! They were the ones that hosted the sketch battles and were nice enough to let me participate. Check out their comic, Hotshot...it's crazy awesome. Well they mentioned me in their Mid-Ohio-Wrap Up so I thought I'd give them a shout out like I did Mutant Cactus! Thanks guys for mentioning me and my little book project!

A big shout out to Mutant Cactus...

2009-10-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

...for mentioning me in their recent blog post about the Mid-Ohio-Con. Check out their custom buttons and their Tales of Awesome. These guys are great! And I'm proud to wear the mutant cactus button on my messenger bag. Thanks guys!

Mid Ohio Con 2009: The Swag

2009-10-05T20:49:00.001-07:00

Here's some of the stuff I picked up by some of the best people in comics. Take a look!

Our Superman and Lois sketches, as well as the Giant Size Collection of Patrick The Wolf Boy by the insanely great Art Balthazar

The Dreamer by the very talented Lora Innes

Custom buttons by the good folks over @ Mutant Cactus

Once Upon A Time... by the awesome Eric Rampson

The Machinist by Ryan Claytor of Elephant Eater Comics

Selected prints and The Chase: A Twist of Fate by Jay Jacot of Comics Obscura.

Jay Brant of headsupstudios.com

Mid Ohio Con 2009: Wrap Up

2009-10-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well I'm back from my trip to the Mid Ohio Con. It was my first time there and only my second convention. Nic and I had such a great time and the convention was a success. I nearly sold out of my book stock, networked with a lot of great creative people, and did some really great commission work for people. I am definitely coming back next year and hope to attend S.P.A.C.E.D. as well. A lot of people I talked to, especially the good folks @ Comic Related told me that I'd fit right into the atmosphere of the S.P.A.C.E.D. convention, so I look forward to doing that too. Well here are some pics of the con! I plan on posting what I ended up walking away with as well as links to all the talented people's sites. Enjoy!

Mid-Ohio-Con 2009 Creators' Common

2009-09-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

Hi! The list for this weekend's Mid-Ohio Con 2009 Creators' Common is up. It's on Oct. 3rd and 4th. The show is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

I'll be making an appearance there. Stop by table CC20 and say hi!

Some small updates for ya!

2009-09-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Progress on When You Were Little...or as I affectionately refer to it as, Book You, is moving along nicely. I'd like to show you some sketches but I really don't want to give any of the pages away as they are some of the funniest I've drawn.

Also, I've uploaded the site with some quick links to Amazon over there on the sidebar, so check it out! Nifty right?

And lastly, I'd like to remind everyone that I'll be attending the Mid-Ohio-Con this year the first weekend of October. It's my first time attending and I'm really excited to be in it.

I'll be doing sketches, selling prints, and my books.

Well that's all for now. I'll be sharing a link to this post on my facebook group. So please tell your friends about it. If they'd like to join the group and maybe submit an idea for the new book, all they have to do is find the group page and send me a request. I'm not sure when I'll be no longer accepting submissions so get them in while you can. I'm still deciding on a definitive cut off date.

Well that's all for now! Happy (....maybe?) Monday!

PS - Stay tuned for another big announcement within the next couple weeks or so!! Catch ya later Bills & Teds :P

WIWL meets Space Sheriff and his Happy Space Boy!

2009-08-25T12:03:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post while I take a break from work.

While at Wizard World I met Spanky Cermak, creator of the series, Space Sheriff and Happy Space Boy. If you've never read it, follow the link. You can read the issues there, order shirts, and check out all his other projects on the site. It is awesome. While at the con he asked me to do some fan art for his website. Check it oot!

Well, thats all for now. I do plan on sitting down and really updating you on the status of the new book. I've been laying out some sketches for the new pages and been writing up the book's intro (in my head of course). As soon as I start laying down some pencils I'll keep you posted.

Later Gators!

Chicago Comic Con 2009 Report

2009-08-19T06:44:00.000-07:00

Hello! Sorry for the late update but it takes me quite a while to get back into work mode and I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to talk about my first comic book convention appearance. I thought I'd share the When I Was Little... side of the Comic Con where as I'll post (hopefully soon) a more detailed NERDY version with more pics and more sketches on my sketch blog.

I was a bit nervous...who am I kidding...a LOT nervous right from the start but by the end of Day One I was feeling a bit more confident. It helps having a support team there and that was my incredibly wonderful girlfriend and my awesome older brother who would check up on me once in awhile. I can't thank them enough for watching my table, getting me lunch, picking up TPBs, and just being there to support me and my art.

According to my table mates and friends from Comic Related, I had a really good first show. Nic and I created a "submissions" box for the new book where anyone could submit a favorite childhood memory and if they did I would draw them a sketch of whatever they wanted. I didn't expect to get any submissions but I was amazed at how many people loved the idea and wanted to participate.

I didn't know how well I would fare in a big guns and sexy woman type of comic crowd but I was surprised at the amount of families that showed up. I got a lot of moms and dads stopping at my table with their kids telling me how great the idea was. It was good feeling especially going in with the mindset that I was an underdog and crazy to think that I could sell children's books at a comic book convention. But thats what was so great about the crowd and being on the other side of the table. I was able to see how well my idea could fit not only in a children's market but a market for art lovers and independent artists. I expected other artists to walk around and dis my stuff but everyone was helping everyone out. When people would stop to look at my neighbor's art they would quickly mention my stuff and sort of pass the on-lookers over to me. I thought that was just so cool. It wasn't about who could sell the most or who's stuff was better it was artist appreciation and respect for their work.

By the end of the convention I had made a lot of new friends and did what I set out to do. Get my name out there. The response to the books was amazing and I didn't expect to get the amount of submissions that I did. I've gone through them and it's safe to say that I can officially start working on When You Were Little.

I'll keep you posted on its progress and let you know of it's release.

Wizard World's Chicago Comic Con 2009

2009-08-04T06:16:00.000-07:00

I'll be attending Wizard's Chicago Comic Con 2009 this week where I'll be selling copies of my books, 7 prints, and a limited edition When I Was Little... print created just for this year's convention. I also be handing out my business cards and asking people to participate in the next book by submitting their ideas via suggestion box. I hope to see you there. My table number is 3104A.

Wizard World Guest: Justin Castaneda

2009-07-31T13:03:00.000-07:00

That's right folks, When I Was Little... will be making an appearance at Wizard World's Chicago Comic Con 2009 next week from 6-9th: http://www.wizardworld.com/justincastan.html

More deets to come!

Total Geek Moment #2

2009-07-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

So a couple posts ago I talked about giving my favorite artist, Skottie Young, a copy of my book.

Now I can geek out that Lori from Amazing Fantasy stacked my signed copies next to The Wimpy Kid Series by Jeff Kinney!! Awesome.

Take a look, here it is on the shelf:

Now head out there and pick it up!

PS - sorry the photo is a bit blurry but the green sticker on their says "signed".

Price Drops!

2009-07-06T15:40:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

I hope everyone had a good 4th of July weekend. I wanted to share some great news today to start off the week. When I Was Little... is now going for $12.95 and When I Was Little Too is selling for $15.95 both on Amazon.com, as well as the CreateSpace sites for both books!!!

Don't forget that signed copies are available at a great price courtesy of Amazing Fantasy comic book store @:

20523 S. LaGrange Road
Frankfort, IL 60423
815-469-5092

So what are you waiting for, go grab yourself a copy!

Now Available @ Amazing Fantasy!!

2009-06-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

I am very pleased and excited to announce that Amazing Fantasy Books & Comics is now carrying signed copies (that's right) of When I Was Little... and When I Was Little Too!!! Quantities are limited so get them while you can!

The store is located at:

20523 S. LaGrange Road
Frankfort, IL 60423
815-469-5092

It's a wonderful comic book store and I'm very happy they let me have my books in there. So drop on by, check it out, and buy some stuff!!!

And check out their MySpace page!

I gave Skottie Young my book!

2009-05-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

So if you know me, you'll know that I'm a fan of the comic book artist, Skottie Young. Who, right now, is doing a run on The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz for Marvel comics. Earlier this month, he made an appearance Amazing Fantasy off of La Grange Rd. in Frankfort, IL for Free Comic Book Day.

I heard two great things before I headed out there:

1. He was creating his own children's book
2. He and his longtime girlfriend, Casey McCauley, are expecting their first kid in November.

I thought it would be a cool idea to give him a copy of When I Was Little... just to see what he thought. Being the cool guy he is, he graciously accepted it. I can only hope that he peeped it out and loved the idea and art behind it. Either way, it was a total geek moment for me.

Introducing "When You Were Little..."

2009-05-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

New look, new book!

I wanted to give fans of the book series a chance to give feedback AND participate in the creative process with me!

So, I'm looking for your help, I want to know what you did when YOU were little. Please feel free to email me at wheniwaslittle@gmail.com or just leave a comment on this post.

Let's keep it clean cause its for the kiddies but YES shoot me your "when I was little..." and yours might be picked to be a page in "When You Were Little..."

Thanks so much for participating and I'll keep you posted.

I haven't decided on what the chosen people will get, maybe a signed copy along with a personal sketch!

The book won't be possible without you. So start posting people!

- Justin

PS - Also, I created a facebook group so if you're on there, send me an invite request. Once you join, you can post your ideas right on there.

Speaking of little...

2009-01-31T16:38:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry I have not been around lately, but I recently became an Uncle! My brother John and his wife, Jackie gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.

Please welcome to the world, Juliet Frances Castaneda!

She's so cool she even has her own blog: http://johnandjackplusone.wordpress.com/

Now available from Amazon and Createspace.com!

2009-01-31T16:10:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

My second book, When I Was Little Too, available on Amazon.com and Createspace.com . Click on the links to go there and purchase your copies today!

Help Wanted!!!!

2008-12-08T10:33:00.001-08:00

I've shared my childhood memories with you so now I want you to share yours with me. Drop me a line at wheniwaslittle@gmail.com and your memory could appear as a funny page in the next When I Was Little book!

Coming Soon...

2008-12-08T09:56:00.000-08:00

Hi all. Finally I'm back with an update. I'm sorry that I've been away for so long but I've been pushing pencil to paper. I'll try and update more frequently sharing stories about the books and little insights and original sketch ideas to make the blog worth coming back to plus it'll be a good way to promote both books. Yes, I said "both". Oh did I forget to mention?

Coming Soon(er) then you think!!!! When I Was Little Too

The Email!

2008-06-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

I'm really trying to make a big push in the upcoming months with marketing my book, so if you guys have any ideas and or just wanna share some thoughts on what you thought of it. Please email me at wheniwaslittle@gmail.com.

Thanks and a have a happy Father's Day to all you dads, new and old.

- j

Now available on Amazon.com

2008-02-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

The book is doing well and word of mouth is really getting it noticed. I just so happen to click through Amazon.com and I'm happy to report that my book's amazon page is up and running. So you can buy it through CreateSpace of if you click here, you can buy it through Amazon.com.

Cheers,

Justin

Have a closer look!

2008-01-25T14:42:00.000-08:00

Well, here are some pics of the cover and title pages...if you want to know what's inside, you know where to go!

~ Justin

Welcome.

2008-01-25T13:17:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

Welcome to the "When I Was Little..." blog spot. Here you can be directed to where you can purchase the book and pretty much and read any updates on all things "When I Was Little...". So, come back soon!

~ Justin

So, if you would like to purchase yourself a copy, by all means click on the title!