Dia De Los Muertos: Jose Guadalupe Posada

"Calavera Oaxaqueña" by Jose Guadalupe Posada (1910)

For those working on the "Dia de los Muertos" Show, you should look at the works of Jose Guadalupe Posada.

Posada was a Mexican engraver and Illustrator whose work has largely influenced the "Dia de los Muertos" holiday.

A lot of Mexican festivities and events are now shaped and inspired by Posada's images, including his character, La Catrina.

Posada's work has inspired many great artists such as Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco, and he continues to inspire many other artists today.

You can purchase a copy of "Posada's Popular Mexican Prints" book at amazon.com

good advice

hey kids-

i know i've been adding stuff way more than i should be and i swear after this i'll stop being such a nuisance, but i just got a link to this video from a friend a coworker. it's npr's ira glass giving advice on anyone starting out in the creative field. just replace tv/radio with art/illustration/music/whatever. i've been saying this for years, but now i have npr approval on it. check it out!

<3tfk!>

Golden Age References

Hey there folks! I've been doings loads of research for my piece for the upcoming Golden Age show.... Ah heck, I've mostly been researching this stuff more for the awesome finds than anything! There is so many amazing treasures out there on the internet! Being the art and especially animation and film geek that I am, I couldn't hold back my excitement at all the goodies I've been finding on Micheal Sporn's blog (or as he says "splog").

Here's his link! Click here !

If you don't know about Micheal Sporn, he is one of the leading men in the field, creating such emotional films like "Whitewash" and "Champagner" (forgive me if I'm spelling any of these wrong) He's also the top guy in creating the "Animation Show of Shows" featuring the current year's best festival films.

A few more links from me, with love.
Animation Backgrounds
Made of Pen and Ink
Lou Romano....for UP art fans =P

Golden Age Inspiration

Looking for some inspiration for the Golden Age show? Well, below might be the right blog to set your eyes on!

GOLDENAGECOMICBOOKSTORIES.BLOGSPOT.COM

Some More Joker Art inspiration...

Today, /Film posted an article on this amazing Joker poster by Brandon Schaefer. The poster's got some great design, layout and colors happening in it! I hope it inspires some of you with the upcoming Joker show in two weeks! It's going to be amazing!

VOTE CHAOS

Recently /Film posted an article on this amazing Joker print by Rhys Cooper.
I figured I'd share this since we have a Joker themed show of our own coming up next month. Which reminds me, more information on the show, submissions, and hanging will be posted and e-mailed soon! For now, enjoy chaos!

Art by Rhys Cooper

*Baltimore Comic Con 08 {Part 3}*

Here's more Baltimore Comic Con goodness. Below are some of the great artists & companies who attended the show.

Guy Davis has become my new hero in comics, for the fact that the man can draw almost anything (especially monsters) and he's also super nice and approachable person. He also drew a sketch for anyone who came up to him and asked. Here's my proof.



Paul Conrad, another great artist I had the pleasure to talk to and actually stopped by our table for a bit. Paul was at the event under AdHouse Books, a great publishing company with volumes of great original titles.



Please check out Paul's Blog when you get a chance. He's got volumes & volumes of amazing work and processes to show! Here are two exclusive posters he made for this year's con. They're awesome!




Emily Dove Gross



Jeremy Bastian



Cereal Geek Magazine


Members of the Philadelphia Cartoonist Society

Dave Perillo


Pat McMullen


Scott Derby


&
Jamar Nicholas


Matt Kindt, who is also a super nice individual, was there under Top Shelf Comix, featuring his book "Super Spy".

Thanks again to everyone who was there, and making this event happen! Cheers!

Charles Dana Gibson

I just thought I'd share a few images from a set of ancient C.D. Gibson books that I acquired from a friend while working on his house. Gibson really knew how to describe form quickly and easily with line. His drawings were simply amazing...especially crowd scenes and interiors. Flipping through the pages made me really curious about the way people lived their lives way back when Gibson sat down to sketch. This was a time (1890's) before the proliferation of cars, where people said "while I was on my wheel" rather than "while I was riding my bike." The books are an odd, beautiful, and artistically inspiring glimpse of a master illustrators work. Enjoy!

For Eric Braddock and all you cartoonist

* The Monkey King and the Olympics *

This is an absolutely fantastic short that tells the tale of the Monkey King (Journey to the West)...and sadly it turns out to be a commercial for the Olympics! Jaime Hewlett (Tank Girl / Gorillaz) was in charge behind this one. That guy should really make entire features like this. For now enjoy this great short gem. Thanks Eamon for the tip!

* Classic Disney *

Recently my Art Director bought an old Disney book, called the "Art of Walt Disney" for only $1! This book is filled with great sketches, stills, and photos. A lot of the artwork comes from the one and only, Ub Iwerks, an animation pioneer, wizard and a huge inspiration and influence for the way I work. I'll be writing more on him later, but for now I hope you enjoy these scans I made from the book.









Cheers!

P.S. Thanks again Eamon for posting on Shotaro Ishinomori. He's amazing and also a big influence on my work, along with Tezuka, Yokoyama & Toriyama!

* Under the Influence *

Thought I'd share this with everyone. Behind the ink with one of the best characters ever created! Thanks to my good friend, Craig Parrillo for sharing this with me and to E.C. Segar and the Fleischer Bros.!

Ralph Bakshi: Surviving Tough Times

Ralph Bakshi is a veteran artist/animator who is best known for his animated features during the 70s-80s (New Adventures of Mighty Mouse,Felix the Cat, Heavy Traffic, American Pop).
Even if you don't enjoy his work his movies he ruled animation in the 70s and is one of the major force who pushed television animation away from the executive/corporation ruled stagnation to a creator/artist focus.

here's some inspiring words from the man: