The Rider is coming to DanCon 2012!

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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

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!