Month of August Recap

The month of August was a busy one for me starting with my gallery at the Orland Park Library. During this month the library showcased my art, which celebrated my ten years of self-publishing and making cool stuff. You can check out this behind the scenes video:

AUGUST 5 - The first of FOUR conventions I did in August was Comicopolis in Lockport. I always love attending this show because I feel like the show runners know how to really draw in a crowd and they utilize all of the floors. They even took a chance and added outside tables, food trucks, and live entertainment that paid off in a big way for everyone involved. I also shot an episode of Art 2 HEART with Dave and Rene of Instant Press Comics.

AUGUST 11 - The library scheduled a Meet The Artist event where people can show up, look at my gallery, and ask me questions. I had a wonderful time speaking and some close family and friends came out to share the moment with me.

AUGUST 12-13 The second comic show I did was a new one, RETCon Chicago. This two-day show really celebrated a diverse group of comic creators and I was among some of the best in the indie comics scene. I'm really excited for the potential this show has.

AUGUST 14 - I submitted to the Ghost City Comics Competition in the One Page Comic category. I had a great time creating something fun for this competition. It not only challenged me, but it sparked ideas for a future comic. Good luck to all the creatives who entered! Finalists will be announced September 1st.

AUGUST 17 - Hot Topic along with Kevin Smith was having a contest to design a tee-shirt for the upcoming Jay and Silent Bob Reboot film. I'm a huge fan of Kevin Smith and didn't want to miss an opportunity to throw down on this with the potential to be flown out for a walk on role in the movie and some cash. Why not, right? Not sure I can share the piece I did yet but maybe when the judging is over.

AUGUST 19 - The third show I attended was also a new comic show entitled, Fandom Fest. This one took place at the Niles Public Library. I met a lot of families new to comic book shows and had wonderful conversations with author, Lisa Maggiore.

AUGUST 24-27 - The fourth and final show was Wizard World Chicago Comic Con. This was a long four day show. The Thursday and Friday night crowd was pretty sparse. Thankfully I kept busy on the weekend with two Doodle To Drawing workshops. One on Saturday and one on Sunday. It was nice because I had an overhead camera so people can see what I was drawing. This definitely helped drive people to my table and I got to interact even more with the attendees. I ended my show by recording some Art 2 HEART episodes with creators Gavin Smith, Leo Perez, and Jon Lennon.

AUGUST 26 - Also on Saturday night, I had a signing for the Thing Art Book, published by Printed In Blood, at Chicago Comics. I was really excited for this event because I got to see and hold the book for the first time since it was released. (Still waiting on my comp copies.) All the Chicago creators who did something for the book were there including Jim Terry, Angel Onofre, Tom Kelly, and Jonathan LaMantia who helped set up the whole thing. A big thank you to Chicago Comics for having us at the shop and to all the customers who bought a book and got it signed by all of us.

I'd say it was a pretty packed month of making comics, showcasing art, and conventions.  Next up, I go back to teaching at the end of the month. In October, I attend New York Comic Con for the first time! I'm super excited and nervous but really looking forward to it.

Post: Wizard World Chicago Art Drop

This past Saturday, I attended Wizard World Chicago. I was not only there for the release of Wonder Care presents: The Kinder Guardians #1, but I wanted to do an art drop experiment for the show.

An art drop is where you go to random locations and hide a piece of art in a specific area and give clues on your social media feed (Instagram, Twitter, or both) so that people who follow you can find it.

Since I was only going to be at the convention for the one day I thought it'd be fun to leave a little something, something for the hundreds of attendees. It also gave me something to do at the show besides walking around and spending money. 

I had Miker with me and we got to the show around 10:30 am. We must have walked the entire show floor a dozen times. 

I tried to leave the drawings in places that would have a constant flow of people such as information booths, eateries, and rest areas. 

About lunch time, I hit a snag with the clue portion as I wasn't able to upload my photo clues to Instagram and Twitter. It was quite frustrating not being able to tell my followers where I've hidden my #carsBOREDsketches. There was no Wi-Fi and the cell service was terrible.

I stopped by Victor's table for our Wonder Care signing at 1pm. It went excellent and I hid an art drop in one of the issues which my cousins ended up finding.

photo credit: @eliza_bacani on Instagram

Being fed up with the terrible cell service. I decided not to worry about uploading the clues until I was able. Miker and I took a break for lunch and I shut my phone off. After recharging my battery...and my phone, I tried again. 

Success! The clues were able to upload and I was able to post the photos of where I placed the last four sketches. I also left one at our table.

Getting my second wind the next art drop was the most fun. For my Winter Soldier sketch, I found a cos-player donning the look of Winter Soldier / Bucky Barnes. The best part was he had one of those giant convention bags,which after a few attempts, I was able to drop the sketch into. It was really exciting!

Now, the very last art drop I did wasn't technically an art drop. Back at the Wonder Care signing Victor said I should give the Merle Dixon sketch to Michael Rooker...ya know for fun.

So I did. I dropped that sketch right into his hands. He was super cool about it and even busted my chops with a critique saying, "Why do I look bald, man?!" He said he dug the piece and we snapped this photo:

Hope you enjoyed this recap of my day of sharing. I know of at least 4 of the pieces that were claimed so if you found one, please let me know via @whenuwerelittle and #wwchicagoartdrop. I definitely had a lot of fun doing it. It was a nice warm up to September 2nd...

Wizard World Chicago Wonder Care Signing & Art Drop

Now I don't actually have a table for Wizard World Chicago this weekend, but I will be attending Saturday, August 23rd! I will be walking the show floor and will be signing at Victor Dandridge's table, B31 for our new book, Wonder Care Presents: The Kinder Guardians around 1pm!

... and as a bonus, while I'm visiting with friends, I will be doing 10 Art Drops, randomly hiding art all over the convention floor. Hope you find one!

WIWL meets Space Sheriff and his Happy Space Boy!

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

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

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

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!