Happy Birthday Ulises!

Kagan Mcleod - History of Rap

this one's for gabe:
History of Rap Poster by Kagan McLeod


image from the article

I love comics

I know most of you guys don't like capes but its got Matt Fraction. And for the record I love capes.

COMIC BOOK CLUB
A Live Weekly Talk Show about Comic Books

Hosted by Justin Tyler, Pete LePage, and Alex Zalben

Tuesday, December 18th @ 8:00 PM

Featuring:
Brian Michael Bendis (New Avengers, Ultimate Spider-Man)
Ed Brubaker (Captain America, X-Men, Criminal)
Matt Fraction (Iron Fist, Casanova)
& Bill Hader (Saturday Night Live, Superbad)

Tickets: $5
Online: ThePIT-NYC.com
Phone: 1-800-838-3006
Questions? 212-563-7488

The Peoples Improv Theater
154 West 29th Street, 2nd Floor
Between 6th and 7th Aves.

Check us out on MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/comicbookclub3

The show is sponsored in part by Midtown Comics
(www.midtowncomics.com)!

Vancouver Voice cover illustration

I got the opportunity to illustrate the November cover for a local community paper - The Vancouver Voice.

Thomas Pitilli in Time Out New York

Tom got one of his awesome illustrations printed in Time Out New York. Unfortunately, they don't sell Time Out New York in Battle Ground, Washington, but I can view a dinky digital version here:

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/article/24103/where-to-catch-a-cab

And I'm sure he'll blog about it, right?

Great work Tom!

Feeling brave?

I feel like there are rumors going around that I go to anime conventions. I'm not really sure what that's all about but in totally unrelated news the Javits Center is having it's first anime con, the NY Anime Fest on Dec. 7-9. There are tables still available (3ft-$100, 6ft-$175) if anyone believes themselves to be brave enough to face some of the most intense fankids (that accounts for both the awesome and VERY un-awesome variety.) And never fear if your work isn't 'manga' or what have you because anime cons draw a big mix people and it's often surprising what ends up selling well. Either way, it's sure to be total mayhem cause it's the first go at this convention which is organized by the same people who did the NY Comic Con.


And uh.... I'll have a table there with Laura W. if you want to stop by.

The Storm

A piece created for my computer class. The theme was 'Storm' where I could interpret in whichever way I liked. I used images from the vietnam war and world war 2. My storm portrayed acts of violence and destruction. Check out my blog to see what layers I used to composite.



I have my own blog now which is http://www.edowynvazkez/blogspot.com
Check it out to see daily work.

The Superest

http://thesuperest.com/

Thought this site was cool enough to share.

We could steal this idea and do it on Art-Burn.
Just a thought.

Jacob's Dream

This is just a doodle I made for the graduate program my computer teacher asked for Autumn. It could have been anything as he was teaching us how to create layers and levels. Next I have to animate this. I titled this Jacob's Dream as I was listening to Penderecki's 'Dream of Jacob'. THis is a combination of mediums slapped together including Gesso, Scratchboard, Digital coloring, and stamp.

-Edowyn Vazkez
www.edowynvazkez.com

Food Blog

Hey all, I want to start a blog about food. It would have restaurant reviews, recipes, food illustrations, things of that nature. Heather and I have a lot of friends that are in the food business and they always talk about starting a blog - I figured a shared blog (like art-burn, but for food) would be a good start. Of course if any of you were interested in joining, you would be welcome. The thing is, I'm kind of blanking on names. If any of you have some ideas that you would like to offer up in that department, I'm all ears. Thanks in advance.

Originally I wanted to use 'Gleaner' for this, but some guy has gleaner.blogspot.com and did one stupid post in 2002, so that name is unavailable. Is there anyway to hijack a blog? Or report it as abandoned?

EDO

New comic strip I'm doing for 'Urban Molecule'. Strip can be seen online very very soon....

Self - Portrait (in response to Edowyn)

In response to Edowyn: This is pretty much what I look like when I play guitar and I am happy. This would probably be me around the end of hour 1. After a few more hours I'm much more frazzled, sweaty and my fingers are gnarled. But still happy.

A stolen moment...

thought i'd use my pirated wifi to pass along these two items of (possible) interest.

Free downloads of the Best Figure Drawing Books Ever according to Process Junkie.

Layer Tennis. click the volleys to see the match.

Ulises in the New York Times

One of our own, Ulises Farinas, got an illustration published in the Op Ed section of the New York Times today:

View it here

so what if i have artist's block?

ok, sorry tom. this is the three word assignment you gave me when i was like 10 years old. i finally finished it. bus, blue jeans, and bubble gum.

Self-Portrait

This was an assignment I had for Grad school, I colored it with knowing a little bit more tricks on the computer.

Have you ever played the guitar? Well I have...I have been playing guitar since I was 14 years old. I am not very good but it makes me happy whenever I play.

-Edowyn Vazkez

devil, worms, japan

3 words = 1 image. Got this assignment from Ed. 'Japan' was a little hard to portray. I went with a bit of a Godzilla theme with an over-simplified and inaccurate Mount Fuji in the background.

Art blog??

I just started an Art Blog on Blogger, here's the link if anyone is curious:

Letters and Lines

Alexander-

D.I.Y. MOCCA

I (Edowyn Vazkez) will be guest speaking for Fly's D.I.Y. comic/zine class again this September 2007. This will be my 3rd time teaching but will be taking over my mentors spot of Page Design and Research. I will be giving a slide lecture showing some of my favorite artists such as Gary Panter and David Sandlin to name a few. This is not an open class, you must register and pay for the entire course to participate.

HOWL!!! Festival 2007

Me (Edowyn) and Jenai took part in this years HOWL festival at Tompkins Square Park in NYC. The Logo for the event was created by Paul Pope and 150 artists painted around the park. There was music and books sold at the event where Fly and World War 3 Illustrated took a part of. Me and Jenai started to paint this painting with no real plan and were just set in having fun. Hilary Florido showed up to give support as well as Robert Pollak. Check out the website http://www.howlfestival.com/ for more information about the event. It was a fun being a part of such a large community project.

Tattoo For A Friend

My friend asked me to draw him a tattoo in three days, for 100 dollars. It was pretty short notice. But i think it came out good. He liked the pencil version. hopefully he'll like the inked version and he'll GET INKED. Awesome.

Lips, SpiderWeb,Dress

Okay, so my last entry of this project was pretty embarrassing, but I have no shame showing it off. With Graduate school I think I was being overwhelmed with all the little comfortabilities of starting school again. Here is something I like more which I did during my Critical Writing class which is helping me even more to open doors in my head. This may be my last digital coloring job as I feel it's getting a bit stale for me. Slowly more and more I'm stripping away the computer and approaching work with more of a hands on perspective. I still think computers are great but for me to comfront what I want to do I have to get back to the ways of past masters.

Word Assignments Mini-Zine

So I think we have enough work to put in an actual zine. If you would like to have the work you have done to be a part of it please send a high resolution of the image to Edowyn Vazkez / 56 Holland Avenue / Elmont / NY / 11003
We (Edowyn & Tom) Do not own your work and you have complete control of what you want to do with it but in the form of the Word Assignment Zine will be in custody of Edowyn Vazkez & Thomas Pitilli. Template copies can be sent to those who participated if they wish to duplicate zines for own personal uses. Permission to copy the template given is allowed but not the selling of the actual entity and ownership of the project.

If you wish to have the work created in the word assignments to be a part of the first zine please send the high resolution disc or copy by September 28, 2007 for an October 2007 release.

Lips, SpiderWeb,Dress

This was the word assignment given by Thomas Pitilli.

Batman, Measurment tape, Stars

A new three word assignment. This one was fun, i got to draw Batman!

important news!

Oh, i'm in it. This is shameless self promotion. Cool huh?

Mouse, Train, Hurricane

I drew this a while ago in my sketchbook from a 3-word assignment from Edowyn. Finally, today I scanned it in, added a little color and cropped it. boo-ya bitches! gimme another!

Priest, Rocks, Sun

This was my assignment given by Thomas Pitilli, Priests, Rocks, Sun. I drew this image while at work. So you can see how fast the problem should be tackled. I pencilled it and inked it at work then colored it on computer when i came back to my room.

HERE COMES A SPIDERMAAAAAN!!!

After speaking with Jonny, not Sperry, but Hill about comics (likes & dislikes), i decided i'd draw a Spiderman comic how i'd like to see it done (By me). So here are the first two pages of a spiderman comic. They are sorta dark, so you can see the lines easier, since i didnt feel like inking them. So check this shit ouT!!!




WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO OUR BELOVED WEB HEAD?! Find out later...

Milk, Hitler, Mars

this is the second of my two 3-word assignments. i mean, you give a guy a word like 'hitler', and all sorts of weird shit starts sprouting. i took full advantage of the icon his moustache has become. and the green lines outlining his face, plus the red of mars, conjurs up the nazi uniform, without me having to actually draw a swastika. cocksucker.

and at the risk of stating the obvious, 'bekam milch' is 'got milk' in german. yes, i did my research this time.

Buddah, Tsunami, Golden Gate Bridge

This is the first of my three-word assignments. It's such a fantastic exercise, and i was really able to let go and have some fun. I actually was so excited to get going on it, i started right away....without doing any research first (doh!). oh well, so the bridge in my illo looks more like a red verrazano bridge than the real golden gate bridge. the art director who lives in my head already yelled at me and called me names, so i'm over it now.
i've got another assignment from Edo, and i'll post it soon. everyone else should really get in on this! mad fun!

cartoon

I did this just for fun. its my first time inking with a wacom. tell me what you think.

3 WORD ASSIGNMENTS

Me and Tom were doing this three word association art work to get each other out of our drawing 'comfort' zones. So we gave 3 random words to each other to illustrate. Not to rely on trying to create a 'masterpiece' which we both fell into for a short instant. But rather to think of just the spontinaity and building of idea to the drawing. Even if the drawing is a thumbnail to show as is. If you really like the drawing then you can always go back and build on it. But that is not the point to all this.

Also the reason why we gave each other words was not to constantly draw the same things we as artists fall into. If doing this assignment on my own i'd be stuck drawing explosions, heads being shot and clowns taking a shit.

So if you are interested in participating, email me or tom to give you your own three word assignment. We try to pull it off in a week but that's not too important if you have other more important work to finish first. Try not to take too long like a month or a year. Me (Edowyn) and Tom will be the moderaters dishing out the words, send a high resolution disc copy of the assignment to Edowyn Vazkez to keep in file and possible publication one day. If you don't want anyone to see then just don't send a disc. Post your low resolution image to this site though. For contact info on Edowyn or Tom look at www.edowynvazkez.com and www.thomaspitilli.com

my address: Edowyn Vazkez
56 Holland Avenue
Elmont, NY 11003
718.902.5930

Godzilla,Russia,Adidas

This is the latest three word assignment that Edowyn gave me. I almost forgot that these were about having fun and breaking away from our usual drawing habits and themes. When i remembered, this is what came out.

Wow

I just happened upon this blog by accident, unsure if you all know who he is and if I'm the late comer on this one, but check it out:

Enrico Casarosa

also check out

Ronnie del Carmen

Really good stuff.

More yet

Here's mine. Enjoy. or don't.

in case people haven't checked out the drawings because the links weren't obvious:
Gabe:


Tom:


Hilary:


James:


Me:

giddy. up.

great site - thanks for the link. here's mine.

i'm not dead, just in queens

It's pretty satisfying to see it replay. link.

Way Calm

Gabe, thats a pretty cool site, nice drawing. Here's mine.

Online Drawing

www.imaginationcubed.com

Use your tablet and/or mouse to draw something digitally using this website. Save it send it to yourself via email.

Then Post the Link, yo.

Here's Mine

One Love,
Gabe

Cars, Bars, Guitars

Another drawing assignment given by Tom PItilli, this one was Cars, Bars, Guitars. This was just a sketch that I colored in, going for a more spontaneous result.

Herge

Here is something I ran across in the New York Times
A Congolese student has initiated legal action in Belgium to have the 1931 comic book “Tintin in the Congo” declared racist and removed from bookstores, Reuters reported. “It’s racist, and it is filled with colonial-era propaganda,” said the student, Mbutu Mondondo Bienvenu, who lives in Brussels. He is also seeking symbolic damages of one euro ($1.38) from Moulinsart, a company that owns the rights to Tintin but does not publish the comic. Belgian prosecutors said a judge’s decision on proceeding with Mr. Bienvenu’s motion could take six months. A spokesman for Moulinsart said: “The book dates back to 1931 and has to be seen in the context of the time. We are surprised to see this complaint after so many years.” Some stores in Britain and the United States have moved the book from their children’s shelves to the space for adult graphic novels. This year is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Georges Remi, the writer and artist who created the popular series under the name Hergé.

Faceball

I nominate this as the official sport of art-burn...



An introduction to Face Ball.

FORK, AMERICA, MONEY

Yep, this is the next one...I'm not TOO crazy about the drawing, but here it is.

Clowns, City, Snow

Here is the three word assignment given to me by Edowyn. I tried to approach the coloring more like a silkscreen, limiting myself to a few colors. The idea behind these 'assignments' were to get each other out of our comfort zones, drawing things we might not otherwise draw on our own. This was good for me, 'cause clowns totally freak me out and i can't remember the last time i drew one. There is a nice surprise factor in free associating with arbitrary words, you never know what yr gonna get...

TUXEDO, FIRE, BICYCLE

An assignment given by Thomas Pitilli. Illustrating three random words into a concept. I was looking at a lot of Japanese postcard prints and loved the design of the page and conceptual ideas behind them. I also enjoyed the bold lines in the illustrations. I attempted to do a non scratchboard piece and to work out pen & ink skills and feel a bit rusty. But I'd rather put it out there to all could see rather than just put out the 'good' stuff.

OH!

Just a doodle comic I made on acetate paper, paint markers and rapidographs. The sloppy look is intentional.

Ink-o-caster

my latest silkscreen project:

King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

This trailer is amazing:
Billy vs. Steve

Adobe Illustrator doesn't suck

At first I hated Illustrator, 'drawing with math? that doesn't make sense'. Then once I figured a few things out, I was okay with it. I realized it was good with typesetting and fast with simple shapes. But now, I love it!!! I've been reading a bunch of tutorials and unlocking the secrets to making awesome crap easily.

Check out these places if you want to improve your Illustrator skillz:

BITTBOX - Not sure how popular this one is, but I found the tutorials very easy to understand and follow.

NDESIGN - A lot of good tips here. Not the most in-depth tutorials, but it got me to use some methods I hadn't before.

ILLCRAFT - Gabe showed me this one, so I owe him a candy bar. Drawing comics in Illustrator?!! It CAN be done! The tip about the pencil tool settings (at the bottom of the page) is one of the greatest Illustrator tips I've ever seen. Now I can draw naturally in Illustrator. I'm going to attempt to ink the next page I do with it - I've already done some 'sketching' and it works great!

Ratatatatatatouille.

next on the purchase list.

Online Comics.... The Future?

I found this pretty interesting.

Do online comics, and get paid. Problem is DC 0wns your work, or at least I'd imagine they would.

Still not a bad deal. Thoughts?

Guy Burwell goes insane!

i've been a fan of guy burwell for a while, but his stuff lately has been crazy good: