Bees, Beavers, Bodies and Me.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

That is my only (lame-o) excuse for not posting anything here since I promised that I'd post here more often.

I've been working a few freelance gigs (including a F/T in-house freelance position), often putting in "double-shifts"...
(F/T hours designing a catalog - as well as art recreations and whatnot - for my most recent ex-employer, and then coming home to put in late hours on freelance projects for my old former job.)

And, while I'm most grateful for the sudden return of work, and the satisfaction of knowing that all the jobs that "let me go" for one reason or other, still desire my abilities and are trying to work things out...

... I am exhausted.

No time to to draw anything for myself.

Hopefully soon.

Sorry.

TO WRAP UP 2010 - ROM : SPACEKNIGHT Illustration - FINAL * INKED * IMAGE

Well... we're one day from the end of another year... and to wrap up both the 2010 blogging year as well as the recent ROM SPACEKNIGHT original art series of posts (found HERE, HERE and HERE - wherein I went through the process of creating an original piece of artwork made especially for the fundraiser show/ auction to benefit former Marvel comics writer, Bill Mantlo - who was paralyzed and suffers permanent brain damage from a hit-and-run accident in 1992) I am presenting my original illustration here... in all its "final *digitally* inked glory" (if only I could put multiple "quote marks" around the word "glory")...

Click to see in all its """glory""".

 Original art by yours truly; PTOR.

The auction went well, some beautiful artworks made available to the masses for a good cause.
I can't rightly state that I understand the levels of bidding, however.
Some pieces, which, to me anyway, seemed slightly lesser than others, made off with large final bids, while other, artistic masterpieces of design, color and technique went by with only a scant (if any) bids.

I have two theories:

1. Pieces created by famous (or underground) professionals went for higher values - due to their fan-bases and potential high investment potential.
2. Pieces with any nudity and/or sexual connotations went for even higher levels - well... because sex sells.

With no sour grapes in any way, I'll own up to the fact that my own piece suffered, admittedly so, because I did not have time to color it.
Black and white pieces generally don't do well.
Especially, since mine was designed to BE in color, so it lacks the proper chiaroscuro and "spotted blacks" required of a piece meant to stand alone in stark black and white.
Simply put - I dropped the ball.

When reduced to the size of a thumbnail image (which is how they were seen in the auction listings - until one would click on it to see the whole piece made large), mine was unrecognizable as to what the image contained.

To rectify that, I am hoping to produce a fully colored version to present to the committee so that the color version might be used for the upcoming book release instead of the black/white version.

That is not to say that I am ashamed of this piece in any way.
Sure, like any artist, once I finished it, I IMMEDIATELY started picking it apart for all its varied mistakes and glaringly bad bits... that's just the nature of an artist to see where he/she could do better... but, that said,  I DO like it for what it is and stand by it as a sweet piece of comic art.

Best of all... because it was done for a good cause.

See you in 2011!
~P~

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.

---

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.

---
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.

----------------

*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).

---

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~