HELPING During the HOLIDAYS. FUND-RAISER AUCTION ARTWORK

Hello Art lovers, comic fans, and collector-enthusiasts of all ages...

I am here (after a few weeks of personal limbo - which I'll get to another time) to hawk the original artworks that are up for sale / auction over at the fund-raising event known as SPACENITE2 that Floating World Comics is holding to raise money for the medical bills of long-time comics writer, BILL MANTLO!
The link to Floating World's site is HERE - so you can preview the artworks in all their glory.
Their eBay auction link for the artworks can be found HERE.

As you may recall from my last post(s) -linked to [HERE] - I have a piece in the auction as well.
I submitted a finalized digitally inked Black and White piece of artwork which they are selling as a high quality, archival print.

MY piece is featured on their site [HERE] .
And the AUCTION for my piece is HERE.

For your convenience, I'll post a pic of the piece at the end of the post.

Now, remember, only ONE of each artist's work will be available.
Some are original works, in a variety of styles and media... some, like mine, are prints (since many artists work digitally there IS no "original").

The auctions end between December 26th and Dec 30th (depending on which images you're interested in).
So you have to bid early and OFTEN to make sure that you secure the one(s) that you want!

And also, (and most importantly) give some much needed funds to help pay for the continued medical care of a man who believed in the better aspects of humanity, and wrote about them in his many comics stories... and then... when he LEFT comics behind (or more accurately, comics left him behind) he became a legal defense attorney for those who had neither voice nor funds to pay for an expensive legal team to help them in their hour of need.

Bill Mantlo put his beliefs up front where he could use them to do good.
A real life super hero.

But, after being struck by a hit-and-run driver, he was left in a serious state of incapacitation, permanent brain damage and physical trauma. He will never be the same man again... on the outside.
But within him still exists the heart and soul of a fighting hero.

Please, be his hero now.

Bid early and often and while you get a sweet piece of artwork (AND a justly deserved feeling of do-goodery), Bill Mantlo gets to know that his words meant something to us all.

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You don't have to bid on MY piece (but I'd appreciate it if you did)... but here is the blue-line artwork (before digital inks were applied).

Click to make "Galadorian" in size.

original work is

11" x 17" in blue pencil

Artwork by yours truly - PTOR

It's a jam-packed piece, showcasing nearly all of ROM SPACEKNIGHT's foes!
From left to right, top to bottom are;

• Female WitchWraith
• The "Dweller on the Threshold"
• The "Most High One"
• DeathWing
• Another female WitchWraith
• A "Thornoid" plant
• A WatchWraith android
• A Hell-Hound (in phantom form - in Rom's grip)
• A Male Wraith
• The Horror known as; HYBRID
• Another Hell-Hound (in Phantom form, with the Doberman dog form it morphs from at its feet)
• Another "Thornoid" (tangling ROM's arm and legs with its tendrils)
• Another Male Wraith (getting blasted into Limbo)
• Another Male Wraith (who is. Freaking. Out!)

And of course, ROM; SPACEKNIGHT in the center of it all.

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Thanks for looking!
~P~

ROM : SPACEKNIGHT Illustration - FINAL IMAGE - For the Spacenite2 Bill Mantlo Fundraiser

Hey all,

Well, I actually DID get to finish the ROM artwork for the Bill Mantlo benefit (that I mentioned last post - HERE) , but it wasn't until this past weekend that I actually had more than a moment to do so.

Luckily, Jason from Floating World comics (the awesome people hosting the Bill Mantlo fundraiser - linkee HERE) told me that late submissions were still accepted.

I just need a few more moments to transform my blue-line artwork into "digital inks" in photoshop, but alas... time is not my friend.
(* See crazy story at end of this post)

But, without further ado... here is the image that I managed to work up.

original work is
11" x 17" in blue pencil
Artwork by yours truly - PTOR

I had wanted to actually INK and/or digitally color the piece, but time... that fickle mistress likes to kick me.

It's a busy piece, showcasing nearly all of ROM SPACEKNIGHT's foes!
From left to right, top to bottom are;

    •    Female WitchWraith
    •    "Dweller on the Threshold"
    •    The "Most High" One
    •    DeathWing
    •    another Female WitchWraith
    •    a "Thornoid" plant
    •    a WatchWraith android
    •    A Hell-Hound (in phantom form - in Rom's grip)
    •    A Male Wraith
    •    The Horror known as; HYBRID
    •    Another Hell-Hound (in Phantom form, with the Doberman dog form it morphs from at its feet)
    •    another Thornoid (tangling ROM's arm and legs with its tendrils)
    •    Another Male Wraith (getting blasted into Limbo)
    •    Another Male Wraith (freaking. out!)

And of course, ROM; SPACEKNIGHT in the center of it all.

 I'll transform this into digital inks and submit the file, and in the meanwhile, will try to find time to actually INK it, so that it'll be a completed piece for the auction.

Maybe, when I have time, I'll colorize it.

So, let me know what you think.

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*Crazy story found here:

So, as it turns out, with all the craziness of my life, I managed to finish the artwork and drove to Staples to get it scanned in on their over-sized printers, but got into a car wreck on the way.

My car could be "totaled" but I did manage to get to Staples to get the job done.

Then I tried to post this last night but my laptop seems to have some kind of virus or something and wont boot up, so I had to wait until now to quickly type this as I try to squeeze a few seconds out of another crazy day.

But... hey... it COULD be worse.

ROM : SPACEKNIGHT Illustration A Work-in-Progress For the Spacenite2 Bill Mantlo Fundraiser

If you recall, one of my previous posts showcased a piece that I had drawn for a charitable organization / event (for the MDA - Muscular Dystrophy Association) - as seen HERE.
In that post, I mention the worthwhile nature of doing such unpaid volunteer work for charitable purposes.

Well, this is another such instance.

I'm hurriedly trying to complete an illustration for the SPACENITE 2 - Bill Mantlo fundraiser event held by those fab folks at Floating World comics - link to site HERE.

Long story short, they have had some events in order to raise money for the medical bills of creator BILL MANTLO, former writer (of every issue of ROM and many other Marvel comics) whom, after leaving comics to become a public defense lawyer - has been incapacitated since 1992, after a hit-and-run driver struck him, causing irreparable brain-damage.

Sadly, while I KNEW about the fundraiser, I thought the artists commissioned were by "invitation-only", and so I never thought to inquire about submitting a piece.

Then, a blogger-friend sent me a note that submissions are indeed open for one or two more slots... BUT (and here's the rub) they have to be completed and submitted by Sunday, November 28th!
TOMORROW!!!

I only found this out on Thanksgiving day (Thursday).
So, I worked up a few sketches yesterday, and one "semi-final" rough, but still need to redraw it, to smooth out the rough spots, rearrange a few of the figures, add a bunch more and add tons of details to the background and such.

Unfortunately... with all that I have going on today... I'm not sure if I'm going to make it.

BUT, I will work on it anyway.

In the meanwhile, HERE is the "semi-final" rough (minus a TON of details and ideas that are present on the other sketches - which will, hopefully be added in the final image. Such details will include: A Deathwing, more Male and Female Wraiths, a Wraith getting blasted into Limbo, a few other Spacknights - shown in cameo and whatever else I can cram in from the ROM comic lore).

The original is to be 11x17, and this scan crops off a big chunk of it all around.

Be kind. It's just a rough sketch.
ROM: SPACEKNIGHT vs from top left to bottom right:
Female Dire Wraith, Watchwraith robot, HellHound,
Hybrid, Hellhound
and Male Dire Wraith getting blasted into Limbo by ROM.

Enjoy.
And wish me luck.
Oh, don't mind the watermark.
It's a comic-book related piece, so I put the logo of my comic blog on it.

Original artworks will be auctioned off some time in December, and prints will be sold of many others, all to raise funds for Mantlo. So, save your pennies and bid early, and often.

If you've EVER enjoyed an issue of ROM, or any of Bill's other comics (of which there is too long a list to recap here) feel free bid OR... if you aren't the bidding-on-artwork kind of person, feel free to make a donation.
Those wishing to make direct donations may send them to Bill's brother Michael who has long been caregiver of his brother.


Michael Mantlo
425 Riverside Dr #12-E
New York, NY 10025

Of course, if PayPal is more your speed, drop by this link to make a direct donation at the Floating World Comics site.
[HERE]
Make a private donation to the SPACENITE - BILL MANTLO FUND directly from your Paypal account. 100% of the funds go to Mike Mantlo.
Or, if money is tight, drop a letter to tell how much you love Mantlo's work.

To recap the past few months... What's the deal with my new gig?

So, as I mentioned last post, I have found a new job.
One that has been taking up most of my time.

I've been there now for about 2 months, and have a probationary period that ends on January 1st, 2011.
I can't say for sure that I'll still have the job after that, but at least one came along at a time when desperately needed.


After being downsized from my old job, which I had held for nearly 7 years, I was then unemployed for about a year and a half.
The pickings for employment in my area are meager to say the least.
Jobs in my field (as an artist/ illustrator etc...) had been slim-to-none.
Of course, aside from some freelance assignments, I was looking to do anything and everything far removed from an art-based job, as well.
I was looking into everything from customer service to driving a school bus (again).
Not many bites.

Were I to have been more inclined to commute to New York City again, I may have found something sooner, but then a good portion of my paycheck would have gone to the commute, so it seemed best to look in my area for something at a lesser pay, but closer to home.
(Especially, since due to the overwhelming number of applicants-to-job ratio, many positions I was seeing were asking for more experience and responsibilities for far lesser pay-scales than once offered.)

Oddly enough, I almost didn't reply to the ad for this new position, as a printing "pre-press" technician, as it is a bit "afield" of my more traditional artist abilities. It's more "art-adjacent"- with some actual design and creative opportunities here and there.

However, after reading the ad, and quickly researching the company online, I redesigned my resume' to look similar in look and feel to their web-presence.

Sending my resume off on a Wednesday afternoon, which I thought was going to be a day too late to be taken seriously, I was amazed to receive a call the next morning asking for me to come in for an interview.
A Monday morning appointment was scheduled and the meeting went well.
Well enough, in fact, that the next morning I was called again to see if I would be willing to come back to show them what I could do on the computer (Apple Mac) and if I could handle the programs (Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator).
So, the next day I went in, and after spending some time learning their processes, ended up pitching in to help them meet a deadline - learning and working (pro-bono) from 11am - 5pm!
With that positive experience behind me, I wasn't surprised that the next morning I was asked to come back in for another meeting - so that on Friday, the job was mine to take.
(The entire process went by so fast, I never had the opportunity to send in the oft-touted traditional "Thank You" letter for the initial interview.)

Supposedly, the ad for the position drew over 200 applicants.
More than 50 of which were called in for interviews.
The final pick was between myself and two others.
I won out.

My new position (at a company whose name I won't disclose, as there is a lot of non-disclosure info that I needed to swear to) is as a pre-press artist/ designer / technician.
I'm pre-flighting artwork and designs that are sent in, recreating some designs, and the occasional complete original work-up, while producing printing plates for these - which will grace products and print work that will be seen and purchased by many the world over.

Through channels there, I also managed to get a side-line into a small print-firm with a facility of high-quality over-sized printers, vinyl plotter/cutters, multi-color/station silk-screen machine and more.

I was worried that if a position that paid enough was not found, we could conceivably be forced to give up our house. You may recall that in preparation for that looming possibility, we had packed the whole place up to move to a slightly more affordable rental.

What many do not know, is that I had indeed MOVED more than half of our belongings to the new location, but within a few days of that - while prepping the rest of our stuff for the journey - I received a call telling us that the rental property was no longer going to be available to us as it was instead going to be sold off.

So, I then had to move ALL that stuff BACK here - and still had to find a job - after losing valuable time which I had spent packing the house and looking for work in the new area.

Anyway, I finished the last of the re-move the day before my new job began, loading up the basement with every box and bauble (and desperately needing to organize it all again).
The place looks like the warehouse scene from "Raiders of the Lost Arc".
We basically have to move in - all over again, but, as the gig has been very hectic, I have had zero time to do any of that as of yet.

So, while I AM employed and can try to enjoy blogging - with a lighter heart - once again, I DO still have a LOT of technical stuff to learn at my job (keeping my mind occupied) and a ton of things to organize around the house (keeping my body busy) for the foreseeable future.

I'll still be blogging when I can, and hope to get back up to a ratio of more frequrnt entries, but until then, know that I'm "on the job" (both figuratively and literally).

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MANY THANKS go out to all of you - my friends and followers on the world wide web for your positive thoughts, wishes and prayers.
The universe has answered.
Thank you.

The ART of the Journey...

Well, it seemed that, for all intents and purposes, anyone looking at this blog would think that I had stopped blogging here (which explains why some of my "followers" have since pulled out from following).


I assure you, I shall continue.

My absence is explained by a (not-so) simple tale of job-loss, packing up the house and proceeding with a relocation, and then, after finding that the new location was no longer to be available, RE-locating all the stuff BACK to our original home.

That took months.
The journey of which could be an epic poem... or, at least could be represented by a Sisyphean-themed Rube Goldberg machine.

Well, now that it seems we are here to stay (since I have once again found employment as a Full Time in-house artist - which I will blog about next) I need to get back to showcasing some of my old (and also the new) works.

I am still in the UN-packing stage of things, and with the new F/T gig, time is against me for the nonce.
But, in time,  (hopefully soon,) I plan on dredging out many more hoary old projects, and creating new ones, to showcase to you all right here.


Thanks.

~P~

Children's style artwork Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) - 1997

I'd like to take this opportunity to present a piece of artwork that I was commissioned to do for a charitable organization; the Muscular Dystrophy Association (M.D.A.), for their annual Awards Ceremony in 1997.

I say "commissioned" but I accepted no payment for it - this artwork was donated to their cause for their usage free of charge.

Most people know the MDA as the organization with whom world-famous actor and comedian Jerry Lewis (and his "Jerry's Kids") is affiliated - most notably with their annual fund-raising telethon.

Representatives from the MDA offices approached me and asked that I produce a piece, after seeing some of my work elsewhere, to be used as the cover for the program book as well as for the invitations of their annual Gala Event dinner.

The theme that I was presented to work from was called "Night of a Thousand Dreams", representing the fulfillment of the goals, hopes and wishes of the many children who deal with Muscular Dystrophy's neuromuscular diseases.

Taking that theme to heart, I worked up several different concepts - but kept coming back to the image of children, unfettered by any challenging "handicap" or ailment, literally flying as high as they could.

Sadly, as usual, the deadline for this was pretty short. I don't think I had more than a week or so (two weeks at most) from the day that I was contacted to the day that it was due.

Still, I think it worked out fairly well.

This is the final piece that I submitted.
(The finished, printed cover is further below)

*click image to enlarge*

Wanting to keep the general feeling of the piece light, free and full of dream-like innocence, I worked in a children's book style of simplistic forms.

Also, I opted to obscure any details of faces by back-lighting the children via starlight.
This helped to eliminate any off-chance of accidentally coming close to anyone's actual likeness, or offending anyone by not representing any ethnic "type".
It also suggested an open, empathic nature to the piece, so that the children could sense, more than actually see, themselves - and identify with whichever body they wished.

The absence of much detailing maintained a feeling of pure form and lightness of being.
More "spiritual body" than physical form. Their dream-selves taken flight.

The artwork was drawn in my oft-used manner of black pencil finishes over blue pencil roughs on vellum-finished bristol illustration board.

"Old-school" rub-on, dry-transfer stars of varying sizes were dispersed across the background.
I could have drawn the stars in by hand, but having the uniformity maintained via the dry-transfer decals aided in keeping the piece balanced.

While in the design stage, I experimented with font styles and placement, and when I found what I liked, I typeset the text of the piece on a separate layer of paper (making sure to keep registration marks aligned for the printer, thus ensuring that the text wouldn't be misprinted).

Finally, I was asked my opinion of what single color to be used in the printing process.
(I'm not sure if the printer volunteered their services free of charge or at a discounted rate, but still, single-color printing would ensure a low cost).

We all felt that blue was the way to go - helping to maintain the "cool night air" feeling of the artwork.

This is what the final printed piece looked like.
(without my copyright "branding" of course)

The gently windswept hair and garments, with the blue-tinted, muted colors, suggesting a cool night's air as the children rise, unencumbered, to great heights.

Inside the program, the image would be reproduced several times, in "5th" color metallic inks of bronze, silver, and gold - to coincide with the sections within the ceremony where awards were bestowed.

The following year, in 1998, the MDA offices contacted me and asked if I would let them use the piece again. While I would have been willing to produce a new image, they all loved this one so much - it being requested by multiple people, that they wished to reuse it for that 2nd year.

Honored, I agreed.

In the career of every artist, the likelihood of being asked to do "pro-bono" work (or even "work-on-spec") is a certainty.
However, whether one agrees to do free work for other professional agendas, it is always good and rewarding to do so for a worthwhile (and/or quite possibly charitable) cause.

Comic Book Themed Art "The DEFENDERS" - 2002 web-site banner header artwork

Welcome!

Today's post is the fifth entry in a series of "flashbacks" at some of my old comic book style artwork.

Previous entries into this series are:

• A series of magazine cover submission samples from 2000- as seen [HERE]
• An 11-page comic book story from 1993 - of the "Secret Defenders": - as seen [HERE]
• A 6-page comic book story from 1989 - featuring one of my earliest takes on "Doctor Strange" - [HERE]
• A diverse set of 7 drawings, in various styles, going all the way back to a drawing by 13-year-old me from 1980 - [HERE]

*UPDATE*
05-03-2010
(see the end of this post for an additional bonus piece to this set.)

Today's post, is different than those others in a few aspects.

First, these are single "panel" images that were designed exclusively for the purpose of being used as banner headers on a web-site (a message board forum).

They also feature some of my earliest attempts to colorize my artwork via Photoshop.

And, for those who are sick of seeing "Doctor Strange", they also feature some other, perhaps more recognizable Marvel heroes; The Incredible Hulk, Namor the Sub-Mariner and the Silver Surfer.
These four characters are (or were) the central characters in a team called "The DEFENDERS".
The web-site for which these banners were created was a message board dedicated to that team, where fans could gather to discuss anything related to that team: their comic, history and assorted characters.


Drawn one image each month - from January to April 2002, (although, each one didn't take more than a weekend from start to finish - from rough sketches to color final) each image tries to tell a brief story scene.
A different character "headlines" in each image, showcasing that character's unique environs in the background (backgrounds which are only revealed in the final color works).

I will show each, the black and white original artwork and then the colorized final images.

Each original is drawn with

black pencil finals over blue pencil sketches on vellum finish bristol board

13 inches wide x 4 inches high

However, each image, when colored, would then be reduced greatly in size, so I tried to keep them only "moderately detailed".

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*click pics to enlarge images *

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The art was then scanned into my computer, digitized, colorized in Photoshop (not very well, I'll admit) and then reduced to a mere 600 x 200 pixels.

These color versions are not reduced that far in size, so as to better showcase the detail.

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*click pics to enlarge images *

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Doctor Strange's scene is in a vast other-dimensional realm.

Namor the Sub-Mariner's scene is obviously underwater.

* note, Dr. Strange casting a spell to allow Hulk to breathe underwater *

The Hulk's scene is somewhere in the deserts of the American mid-west.

The Silver Surfer's scene is in a vortex in the center of the cosmos.

* note: Dr. Strange is in his "astral form" *

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As with much of my own work, I am torn in my feelings for these images.
I like certain aspects of some while disliking much of the rest of each image.
Each has strengths and weaknesses that relate to my then inexperience in the digital medium, and experimentation with "creative license" of character aspects and likenesses.

When they were originally posted to the web site for which they were created, they were received - as much in the realm of fandom - with either very positive or very negative reviews.

I'm happy to say that most of the feedback I received was very positive.
Certainly, some critiques were made about certain variations in style or what liberties I took in how I drew a character (which may or may not be in keeping with how any particular fan "envisioned" the character), but only a very small number were overtly negative in their overall review.

Still, with these four images I taught myself how to "silhouette" images in Photoshop (for ease of coloring), the use of layers, playing around with settings and effects and took my first steps into producing work digitally.

Not bad, when you think about it.

*UPDATE*
05-03-2010

I came across this sketch in a folder.
It was the rough start to what this series of DEFENDERS banners would become.
So, it seemed appropriate to include it in this post.

blue pencil on regular 8.5 x 11 photocopy paper

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That's all for now.

I'll take a step away from the "comic book" themed art for awhile.
We'll change it up and showcase some other styles of work; storyboards, book covers and the like in the next few installments.

I'll come back to comic art soon enough however.
But, I'll try to change it up a bit more often.

Thanks again for stopping by!