[ A R C H I V E ]

New Beginnings

2012-01-23T20:05:00.001-08:00

I'd like to let you all know that I'll be moving to a new tattoo shop. After 3 years at Pretty In Ink Tattoo my time has come to an end. I would like to thank Heidi Ellis, Jayme Goodwin, and Shawn Scheurmier. All three of these amazing artists have made a lasting impression in my artistic growth and I would not be the artist I am today without all of their help. Pretty in Ink gave me an opportunity and chance of a lifetime to learn an invaluable craft that has changed my life forever. I wish all of them the best in all their future endeavors.

I will continue to be at Pretty in Ink until Jan 27th.

I will be making a new home at Side Show Studios in Sacramento starting Jan 31st. I'm stoked to be working next to such an awesome group of artists and I look forward to learning, sharing and helping grow their shop as well. My most current portfolio is at Side Show Studio now as well as up on their Facebook page. If you would like set up a consultation please message me on Facebook, email me at corey_bernhardt@yahoo.com or call and speak with someone at Side Show Studios to book a consultation over the phone.

Side Show Studios
5635 Freeport Blvd. Ste 6
Sacramento, CA 95822

Denizen Tattoo

2012-01-07T18:28:00.000-08:00

Nothing better than being able to make your paintings into a tattoo. Very cool.

Almost done.

2011-12-29T16:51:00.000-08:00

Hairless cat, frogs and flowers?

2011-12-17T11:45:00.000-08:00

Sketching for new paintings. Gearing up for a show show in Feb. Also looking at possibly doing a class on helping some local artists use Photoshop along side their illustrative, comic, painting work. It will be most likely be held in Sacramento, CA so check back for more details. Also started using Instagram to post so you can follow me there as well. Thanks for stopping by. More soon.

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Barn Owl Chest Tattoo

2011-12-09T13:22:00.001-08:00

Stuff

2011-11-18T21:54:00.001-08:00

So here are some of the things I've been working on the past few weeks. Most are works in progress, the last image is a second pass on a piece I've posted before. The sketch was for a tattoo but never ended up being used. My painting time is a little limited lately, but that should change in next few weeks. Thanks for stopping by. More soon.
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Creative Freedom

2011-10-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

I love when clients give me artistic freedom. I think it reflects very positively in any work I do. Thanks to Alston for letting me go crazy on his arm.

I have some free time comming up here, so I should have another painting or two up shortly I hope. Happy Halloween everyone.
more soon.

The emotional bank account.

2011-10-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

Inspiration comes in so many different ways. Just when you think your out of ideas then something will come along to pick you back up and keep you focused again. I've been extremely fortunate to be as busy as I am with tattooing still. November is what usually starts the "slow season" in this industry. This year shows no signs of things slowing down for us at the shop. Everyday it seems that I still struggle with time management, some days are better than others. Keeping what I hear is called the "emotional bank account full" and the "personal bank account full" is very prevalent in my day to day. These metaphors help keep me focused on the time I have to use every day. I play less and less video games in exchange to keep on track with art so that I can do my best to not be in that art mode while trying to spend the little time I do have with the girlfriend and my son. With the understanding when I really need that extra time I can make a withdraw from the emotional account and it won't effect my family as much. Just the simple fact that I'm faced with these hiccups in my career makes me happy and very fortunate to do what it is I'm attempting to do. To go back to the whole inspiration thing, I find it hard that when I do get inspired about a potential painting that I always seem to have to put it on the back burner until I have time to actually start moving forward with it because of priorities. I find that its hard to tap back into that inspiration once you do have that free time to start it... I'm pretty sure this will not change.

I'm moving again soon too into a much bigger place which will allow me to actually have an office/studio again. And be able to ride my bike to work, sweet. Thanks for coming back to see whats been going on. Above are a few goings on lately. More soon.

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New Prints Available

2011-10-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

The Deep Espial is now available as a print. This was originally created with oils on a 16x20 cradled masonite panel. The original has since sold and I would like to offer a print to anyone who might be interested. All prints are numbered and signed. I only have these 5 available prints at this size. Once these 5 are gone, they're gone. I will have 16x20 prints available soon at a lower cost. If you live in the Sacramento, CA area I will hand deliver a print to you. For anyone else please click on the shop link above to be redirected to my etsy shop. more soon.

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"Coney"

2011-09-21T20:40:00.000-07:00

"Coney"
8x10 Oils on mdf panel
Mounted on linen wrapped panel in a 11x14 frame

**Please email me at corey_bernhardt@yahoo.com for pricing

Back from vacation!

2011-09-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

I'm back from a MUCH needed vacation. Spent a week in a car with a very special lady driving between Oregon and Washington seeing as much as possible along the way. We spent a day and a half in Portland, 3 days in Seattle and two days on the coast in a place called West port where this pic was taken. It's amazing what a vacation will do for perspective in your life. I realized/learned a lot of things about who I am as a person and a lot more about what it means to balance how you live and how you work. The short answer is that I'll be sleeping less but the good thing is that I get to be a heck of a lot more productive with the extra time I'm trying to create for myself. I'll have a new painting up probably tomorrow so please check back. more soon.

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Tattoo

2011-09-16T13:08:00.001-07:00

Hexacranes

2011-09-06T18:43:00.000-07:00

For Sale
"Hexacranes"
14x18 Oils on cradled Masonite panel

*please email me at corey_bernhardt@yahoo.com for pricing.

The Garrulous Portal

2011-08-02T17:26:00.000-07:00

12x16 Oil on cradled masonite board. This painting is for sale if anyone is interested you can email me at corey_bernhardt@yahoo.com

OH! and my Etsy store is now open. You can click on the link above if you'd like. I will be adding more prints there very soon as well so keep checking back. Thanks for taking the time to stop by the blog. More soon.

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Shanes sleeve complete

2011-07-14T20:00:00.001-07:00

The Deep Espial

2011-07-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

16x20 oil on masonite panel. The idea was to try and convey an owl underwater without giving to much away. If your interested please email me at corey_bernhardt@yahoo.com for pricing.

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Craziness and Guest Spots!!!

2011-06-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

So much craziness in my life right now. Not in the bad way, actually in the very good way. It's funny and also odd but when the door closes on certain things in your life, automatically another one is there waiting to be opened. It's been a while since my last post and so whoever actually still stops by to see where things are going in this blog I really appreciate it and I'm grateful to you guys. My comics work has almost completely stopped (for the time being). All I have been able to do as of late is paint. I have found a crazy appreciation for painting and between that and the tattoo business painting has proven to be a nice side income. My heart will always belong to comics and I very much plan to get back on track with Cardboard City but in the meantime I just have a ton of paintings I need to get out of my brain. I'll have some paintings for you guys to look at very soon. For now here are a select few tattoo's I've done in the past few months. And since i'm also posting about tattoo stuff I thought you guys might want to know I'll be a guest artist at Industrial Tattoo this Sunday in Berkley. So if you have friends in the bay area and they are in need of a quality tattoo please send them my way.

*Sunday 6/26 from 12-7 (or later, I'm not sure exactly)

Industrial Tattoo
2434 Dwight Way
(between Dana St & Telegraph Ave)
...Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 644-0968

www.industrialtattooandpiercing.com

Denizen Prints Available

2011-04-21T15:12:00.001-07:00

Limited prints of "The Denizen" are now available. I have 3 sizes to choose from, if you would like a custom size please let me know.

8x10 for $25.00
11x14 for $55.00
16x20 for $95.00
...
*All prints are signed, numbered, and come with a cert. from the me/printer. If you live in the Sacramento area I will deliver the print to you myself, or you can come by the shop and pick one up. Please message/email me if you would like to purchase one. My email is corey_bernhardt@yahoo.com

"The Denizen"

2011-04-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

24x30 Oil on Masonite board.

*For Sale, please email me at corey_bernhardt@yahoo.com for pricing

another tattoo

2011-02-22T16:52:00.001-08:00

I'll have some drawings up soon.

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Some Tattoo work

2011-02-19T18:19:00.000-08:00

More Concept work

2011-02-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

Logo concept work for a sports team. This is a perfect example of why you don't see a lot of artists stepping out of most of the art they do for a living. I was asked to do this design which took me a few hours (a few more than I would like to admit) to complete. Of course I did it for a recent friend of mine who is a good guy. Unfortunately when to many peoples hands get into the pie, shit never ends up going right. In the end someone else from their team also had a "friend" who is an artist and well, and so guess who got the shaft. Now yea I'm a little bitter about the situation not so much of how it went down AND lets be honest, most people who don't do art for a living don't quite understand how much time goes into a piece. I'm really more frustrated at myself in that I should know better than to do work that I 1. don't necessarily know who else is involved and 2. that I didn't negotiate some sort of "Kill fee" before I even started and 3. Maybe isn't up my alley in style necessarily. In my defense at least I asked to do it in a style that fit the whole sports logo style to which I was politely denied (who knows maybe he didn't understand what I was asking). Anyway! lately I've been learning things the hard way it seems because I keep making the same mistakes over and over. It's funny because I wonder if the guys that we all talk about as artists as being lets just say "not that friendly" were people just like me who got burned a few to many times, who knows. Also I'm a nice guy and sometimes it's just hard to say no so I got that working against me too. More soon.

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Concept work

2011-02-07T13:27:00.000-08:00

Here are some sketches done for a decal design for a bike wrap company here in sac. more soon.

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Been a while.

2011-02-03T11:56:00.000-08:00

There is never enough time in the day. Lately it's been tough to keep up with everything. Here is a piece I did a few weeks ago, I posted the framed version but this is a more detailed pic. I have some concept sketches I did, logos and decal designs. I'll post those as soon as I collect and format them better. I've made little progress on CC 2 but it's constantly in my mind, most of the stuff I've been doing lately has been tattoo related. Back to work. more soon.

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Tattoo

2011-01-08T16:29:00.000-08:00

This is a piece I started for a friend today. 3hrs on his inner arm and he sat like a champ. It's going to need another 3hrs refinement but heck, it's a good start. Enjoy your weekend peeps, more soon.

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New Artwork for Sale!

2011-01-04T10:56:00.000-08:00

What up everyone!!! I hope your holidays went well. So much to do and so little time. Cardboard City has slowed a bit because of the crazy amount of tattoo work that has come my way lately. I'm hoping to get back on track very soon. For now, please purchase my artwork. more soon.

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Velocipede

2010-12-17T19:44:00.000-08:00

One of the guys that works for University Art gave me a free piece of paper to try. Not bad, I liked the illustration board I use better but working on toned paper was kinda cool. Lots of projects/pieces are in the works. I'll post'em as I finish'em. More soon.

*Inkwash, Charcoal on 8x10 some kind of thick paper.

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New inkwash

2010-12-14T15:29:00.000-08:00

Here is a new inkwash I did a few days ago for a friend. 11x14 inkwash, charcoal, and prowhite on vellum bristol. more soon.

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Tattoo drawings

2010-12-07T14:34:00.000-08:00

Here is a stencil I drew for a tattoo recently. Still not finished yet but I'll post the pics as soon as its done. Also, I've been wanting to do more oil painting lately. Over the weekend I've decided to switch from canvas to wood so we'll see how that turns out. more soon.

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CC 2 Update

2010-11-29T10:39:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lag in posts lately. Busy Busy. Here is a piece of Cardboard City 2.

Another Hanya Mask

2010-11-17T14:15:00.000-08:00

Cardboard City 2 is underway

2010-10-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

Yep, I'm working on the second book as you read this. Mostly still script stuff and a few drawings. Here is a rough of a panel from the next book. The goal is to have the next book done by Wonder Con in Frisco in April.
Still finishing the video of APE, just waiting to get some more video Amador took during our adventures, check out Amadors work at www.allstarkrew.com

more soon.

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APE WAS AWESOME!!

2010-10-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, APE was awesome. Got to meet some people I haven't seen in a while as well as meet some new ones. I would just like to say thanks to everyone who picked up my new comic. The response was awesome and I'm so happy I walked away from the convention knowing that I am going in the right direction with the book. This is just the beginning. I'm editing video now and so hopefully I'll have a video up in the next few days of our shenanigans during my adventure in SF.

For those of you who would like to pick up a copy of my new comic Cardboard City please stop by and check out Empire's Comics on Arden Way:

EMPIRE'S COMICS VAULT
2357 ARDEN WAY
SACRAMENTO CA 95825

CC Update and APE location

2010-10-08T14:00:00.000-07:00

What up! So I have the printed books in my possession. I have to admit that they didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted. Some of the issues I have is with the blacks, Comixpress sent me a lot of issues with banding and cloudiness in the solid black parts. Some of the issues are with the clarity of the artwork, word to the wise never send PDF files for print. It sounds like its terrible but in reality it's not as bad as I am making it out to be. I've gone through most of them and removed the ones with most of these issues. The friends I've shown them to so far say that they noticed what I'm talking about but that it really didn't look bad. I'm angry becuase it seems that Comixpress could give a shit when it comes to quality control. Its not to much to ask if someone who works there could have just opened up one and checked to make sure it was ok. I've spent a LOT of time putting this book together and for the artwork to print less than perfect is uneceptable to me. The other complaint is that I sent an email to them with my concerns and complaints and basically they just kind of ignored me. Sucks to deal with a company that only communicates through email. Anyway just thought I would rant for a bit. This is my first book ever and so I have to just except that there are going to be issues but its all stuff I can change in my reprint and in issue 2 which is being worked on as you read this.

APE is next weekend and I'm stoked. Me and Noir Amador will be in booth 450. Come by and check out the work and purchase something so we can both continue to make pretty pictures for you guys, hah!

I'm going to limit the amout of commissions I will be doing at the show and will substitute this by doing 10 precommissions of my own that will be available for purchase. The reason for this is because I don't get a chance to really communicate with people when I have my head stuck in someones sketchbook. Anyway, here are the first few. I might redo some of these as well just depends on how much time I'll have before now and the event. Also keep checking back because I will be posting video like I did at Wondercon. Stay tuned. More soon.

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last CC pinup, for now.

2010-09-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

Yep, this is the last on I'm gonna do for a while. Trying to start work on CC number 2. more soon.

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More art for prints

2010-09-22T14:42:00.000-07:00

Another pinup. I'll post a colored version shortly.

I apologize for the lag in posts lately. Trying to gear up for APE next month. The printer issued me my proof to look over yesterday and billed me today so its finally actually going to happen. AND in time for APE which is awesome because I don't have the best luck when it comes to most things. I was nervous posting about it until it was actually set in stone.
I've done a few conventions now and I think I'm finally getting to the point where I'm not going crazy trying to get everything together at the last minute. I should have everything printed and done a week or so before the event. Now its just trying to get my the artwork completed and printed. This (above) is the last print I think I'm going to do specifically for CC and the convention so there will be 3 total. I'll have other smaller prints of previous works available at the table as well hopefully. Cost is a big issue this time around because I've spent so much money on this event that I'm going to ask a little more for prints this time around. I'll still have dollar prints available because of how much people liked them in the past. but the full color stuff will be slightly more. The debut issue of CC is only going to be a $3.00 book and so to recoup my cost for printing I'm hoping to make some of those expenses back in print sales... well, that's the plan at least. hah! more soon.

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Old pieces with a little love.

2010-09-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

By love I mean color. So here is two pieces that I've added color to. The hope is that I'd like to make them available as prints at the upcomming APE convention in Frisco where I'll also have (crossing fingers) my first creator owned comic. more soon.

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Experimentation

2010-09-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

Charcoal and inkwash with a bit of pro white for highlights, on 26x20 illustration board . For Sale, framed, if anyone is interested. Please email me for pricing or with any other questions.
more soon.

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Gearing up for an art show.

2010-09-01T16:01:00.001-07:00

Supposed to be doing an art show in Sacramento in November. I've been experimenting with ink-wash and charcoal. more soon.

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Off to the printer

2010-08-31T13:10:00.000-07:00

The book has been sent to print. I'm praying that its done and sent back before APE which I'm assuming it will be. I'm asking $3.00 an issue but if you can't afford that then I'll be releasing a free download of Cardboard City through this blog shortly after it's been released. more soon.

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Check please.

2010-08-27T19:47:00.000-07:00

Done, well 95% that is. Still having a few people look over and edit my terrible dialog to make things a little more readable. The issue will be 16 pages of story, 2 pages of sketches, 1 ad and a thank you page. So far the few people that have seen it have been very receptive to what I'm trying to do in this book. I know that not everyone will like it and I'm ok with that but those people haven't surfaced yet so for know I'm just glad to be done. The book will go to print Monday and as soon as that's been done I'll post the front cover and then later an old print with some love added for this years APE convention, where I'll be debuting CC for the first time anywhere.
I've learned and have grown so much in the short year it's taken me to put it together. It's been about 3 years in the making as a concept and to look back on what I wanted to do originally and to where it ended up has completely changed for the better. If I don't say it enough I just want to thank all the people who have helped me (directly and indirectly) put this project together. I am excited and look forward to continuing this book in the future. Hopefully I can find a home that wouldn't mind publishing more of Cardboard City as well. So far the future is looking pretty good.

I should be back to posting regularly in September. with more details about APE and with an art show coming up in November. I will have my work cut out for me. more soon.

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Inks

2010-08-19T16:54:00.000-07:00

Finishing inking this week then refining dialog next week. Im a little more behind than I thought I would be at this point, but shouldn't be anything I can't get caught up and done by my deadline. more soon.

Drink and Draw is tonight at Fox & Goose Downtown Sacramento. Those of you who are in the area should come out.

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Countdown.

2010-08-01T20:11:00.001-07:00

August 1st marks the 30 day deadline to finish my book to have it available by APE. I have a few days maybe even a week of lead way but I'm confident I can get it done. With that being said I thought I would just give everyone a heads up that I probably wont post much between now and early September. Wish me luck. Speaking of the comic, here is a penciled panel from a page that isn't quite finished but its a least something. At the rate I'm getting things done I think that I'll have about sixteen pages of story and the other remaining pages will be left for groundwork and sketches as well as kind of a background on how the characters developed. More soon.

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Nothing to report.

2010-07-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

I've been daydreaming a lot lately. wierd. So here is a color moch-up of a tattoo that im doing for a client. So far so good. I'll post the finished tattoo once its done. more soon.

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Uh... another tattoo drawing.

2010-07-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

Got a new pair of converse today, nothing better than a new pair of shoes. I am however quite confused as to why they cost so much now. Anyway, have you ever tried drawing a Japanese style dragon? I looked online to find reference and not to sound like a dick but there really isn't anything that is good. But then again I'm not the best at finding reference online. In the end I just kinda drew one up on my own with not very much to go off of. I'd like to finish the entire body too but for the "client" this is really all that's needed. more soon.

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Tattoo drawings

2010-07-11T21:39:00.000-07:00

Hello, so here are a few drawings I've done for tattoos recently. The dragon had different wings originally but the client wanted more "bat like wings" so I changed them. I can't remember the last time I've drawn a dragon but I had a lot of fun drawing this one. The tree of hands was a challenge to put together. I'll post pics of the tattoos as they develop.

Also I should have a few new Cardboard City page(s) to post soon as well. more soon.

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Happy 4th

2010-07-04T18:49:00.000-07:00

Man, it feels really good to get the chance to draw some comic stuff. I've been busy drawing for tattoos and in any spare time I have its been working out the last little bits of script and layout for CC. I finished up a spread this morning and decided it only fitting that I do a Cap today. It still needs to have a bit more done to it in terms of proportion but at least its something to share. I never really had time to ink and color it but I'm sure I'll get to it soon and post that as well. The expression on his face was not intentional but I thought it was a good contrast as to how things are going in America so I left it. Meaning that he has this look (in my opinion) of almost disgust or doubt. Anyway, enjoy you 4th everyone. more soon.

Artwork for sale.

2010-06-29T17:56:00.000-07:00

Hey, just wanted to let you guys know for any who might be interested. I have some original artwork for sale. Right now both pieces are at Empire Comics on Arden Way, Sacramento CA if you would like to go check them out. Both are very reasonably priced (under $200) and Include the frame. The Wolverine is 11x17 and the oth...er piece is 14x17, both are ink on bristol and are matted and enclosed in a 18x24 frame. If you would like more info email me at corey_bernhardt@yahoo.com

I apologize for the crappy iphone pics.

More Inkwash

2010-06-21T12:21:00.001-07:00

Mondays Tattoos

2010-06-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

Some artwork for a friend

2010-06-09T13:06:00.000-07:00

Today I'm getting some tattoo work done and unfortunately im broke as usual soooooo... These are the times that being a tattoo artist pays off because sometimes you can trade work for work between artists. In the end it all comes out in the wash but, some original art and a bottle of Jameson to sweeten the deal doesn't hurt either. Thanks Jason, hope you like the artwork. More soon.

inkwash, watercolor, and a little bit of Pro White on 18x24 coldpress illustration board

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Almost done.

2010-06-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

Almost done. He has one more appointment for a touch up and to render the the clothing a bit more. Then we start on his other side.... Rock and Roll.

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More Tattoo stuff

2010-05-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

Hello, so no drawins just yet but here is pics of a sleeve I started last night on my good friend and comic book partner in crime Amador. You can check out all his art at www.allstarkrew.com. He had this drawing by a female artist who's name escapes me but I thought it was a great choice to have it tattooed. Of course I had to change the drawing quite a bit to make it fit his arm then figure out where all the tentacles should go. I'm really happy with it so far which is good because I've always had a tough time liking almost anything I do haha. Anyway, I'll have more work up soon until then check out the ink.

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Im Back.

2010-05-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

Back from a couple days of the mountains and and snow. This is the second pass of a skull that i'm working on that I did just before I left. more soon.

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In progress tattoos

2010-05-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

So since I haven't finished the print I'm working on yet I thought I would post a couple In progress pics of two tattoos I've been working on. These were taken directly after I was done tattooing them so that's why the skin around the tattoo is so red. You can see the difference in the Scuba guys upper half of his body, that was what I did his last appt. I cant wait to render the rest of that tree. The business man has only one appt left before he's done just to fill in the birds. I really like the conceptual tattoos, I think that is what I'm going to focus mostly on if I can help it. I feel like I've learned a lot in the short year I've been apprenticing at the shop.

Batman and Robin Print Idea

2010-05-07T15:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Jason S. for taking the time to guess who the poor excuse for a likeness drawing was. He didn't even come close which was to be expected but I gave it to him anyway for at least giving it a shot. Enjoy the piece John, you should have it today or tommorrow sometime. And when I mean enjoy, I mean enjoy throwing darts at it or show all your fiends and they can point and laugh at my expense.
So many projects have started presenting themselves lately and that means I start to get pulled in different directions, which isn't good. It's good because of the financial part, but not for the personal projects they seem to supersede. I took some time recently while thumb-nailing stuff for CC to start another print idea. I've been trying to put down some specific interior shots and a massive two page spread of an exterior shot. I like to thumb-nail a LOT, for my book it comes natural and I produce better images because of it. Sometimes it doesn't go so well and I have to change gears and draw something else for a bit before I come back to whatever it is I'm trying to complete. But of course I grab a clean sheet of bristol and just plop down a Batman and a Robin I've had rolling around in my head for a while and realize that what I had in my head didn't translate to what went down on the page. So since I didn't thumbnail out what I wanted to see to make sure it worked I spend more time than I want to admit drawing who figures floating on a page that I can't seem to ground properly some sort of environment. At this point you get stubborn and just try and push through it and find something to fill in the empty spaces. Before I would have just drawn everything separate like the figures and the stuff in settings and then just piece them into Photoshop and arrange them where they work and then just print out a blue line copy and ink away. Lately I just feel that takes way to long to produce a good image and that I should be able to produce a piece on one page in one shot. But it just doesn't work out that way. It's funny that as an artist your very quick to figure out your short-comings but it takes forever to get over what we know full well could potentially make you into a better artist. Any thoughts? more soon.

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Today's Warmup

2010-04-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

I am absolutely terrible at likeness. I avoid it because to be honest I've never been quite interested in trying to capture likeness. For me it's been all about concept. Anyway, if anyone still reads my blog I'm curious if you might guess who it might be. If you get it correct I'll send you the piece for free. I'll even pay shipping.

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Chinese Watercolor technique experiment 2

2010-04-27T17:23:00.000-07:00

This time things were a little easier. I still need to work on my rendering process but overall i'm a little happier about how this one turned out. more soon

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Chinese Watercolor technique experiment

2010-04-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

There are so many things wrong with this but at least its something to post. It started off well, the liquid mask went on smooth but if you don't completely let it dry and then spray the the board down with water then you run into problems pulling it up. The values are totally off, I did what I thought was a simple outline of the skull but should have outlined it in like an 50-80% black. That way at least it becomes more about the values and not me trying to hide the outline. I did completely to many passes that it started to mud up the painting. I need to get a hair dryer becuase I can't seem to wait long enough for it to completely dry before putting a second pass over the top. Anyway, Its definitely not a show piece but I had a ton of fun doing it and I will be doing many more. thanks for stopping by, more soon.

c

New ideas for prints and tattoo designs

2010-04-22T13:37:00.001-07:00

Hey, so here is a tattoo design I put together for a client I tattooed yesterday. He had brought me a pic of the dude walking and I redrew it and added the birds flying out of his head. The Deadpool below was an idea I had for a future print. I'll post progress stuff of this one as it develops. Today I'm experimenting with Chinese watercolor. more soon.

c

Variant Commissions?

2010-04-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

I know right? I didn't quite know weather or not I'm able to do a commission on one of these but after asking a few people I guess its ok. So here is two that I have done recently. Hopefully they like them. More soon.

C

Work, Drink and Draw, and...

2010-04-16T19:40:00.000-07:00

So its been a while between posts but hey, that's the way it goes sometimes. I find it extremely hard to choose witch project is more important than another and in what order they should be completed. Working in a tattoo shop and doing freelance work plus trying to find time for personal art stuff gets confusing because they all seem to constantly overlap. In the end I find myself bouncing back and forth between all of them at once and then it takes forever to get anything completed. I feel like I've lost my mojo since returning from Wondercon. Speaking of Wondercon, I just wanted to say thank you to all of you guys who stopped by the table and hung out to talk or purchased a sketchbook/print. I sold a ton of stuff and I'm so stoked for next year. Drawing is a very odd craft, It's definitely true (for me at least) that if you don't use it you lose it. Then your left trying to learn all over again, and it's this huge mind fuck. When you finally get back up to speed then your even more behind on work. I should stop complaining but this is a blog after all.
Drink and Draw was last night and I tried to do a little inking on some personal stuff with no real results but it was fun to hang out and draw with everyone. I ended up meeting CP Smith which I'm a big fan of his work but I think at that point I had a little to much to drink and I'm hoping that I didn't say anything stupid cause he was a super cool guy. If you haven't seen any of his work please look him up on the Google he's rad. Before I knew who he was I showed him a stupid flip book video I made and he was like "can I show you one I did" and it was the Samsung commercial with the phone and the super hero stuff. It was a very embarrassing moment for me but he was nice enough to check out my CC work and give me some kind words of encouragement.
Above is a day of the dead skull for a poster me and Amador are putting together. I'll try and have some more stuff up as soon as things slow down a bit. Thanks for stopping by. more soon.

c

Me and Amador Noir at Wondercon day 3

2010-04-06T14:49:00.000-07:00

Wondercon Video Post Day 2

2010-04-06T13:46:00.001-07:00

IM ON THE YOU TUBE!!

2010-04-04T01:36:00.000-07:00

Wondercon Starts Tommorrow

2010-04-01T14:41:00.000-07:00

That's right. So here is another page from the CC project. I'll have some crude stapled copies at the table for anyone curious enough to check them out. I'm working out the rest of the preview comic and will have that out asap. BTW, thanks to for the font suggestions. I should have the recap of the con to post by Monday so check back for pics, run-on sentences and misspellings galore. Until then.

c

Cardboard City and Wondercon

2010-03-29T19:12:00.000-07:00

Hey, so its been a few weeks but as promised here is an inked and very close to a finished page from this CC preview I've been working on. Unfinished because I'm really having a tough time finding a dialog text that fits, the one that is being used here is just a place holder. So if anyone has a font suggestion that would be great!

I will be at Wondercon this Friday and Saturday. I'll be there Sunday too but just as an attendee to walk the floor and maybe meet some new people. Please come by and say hello. I'll have a new sketchbook, prints, original art for sale and doing a few commissions so please stop by and pic something up to help support a starving artist. Little Carbon Robot Booth AA040. I'm also going to try and put together a video diary of some sort to post as well. Hopefully if it's not to cheezy then that should be up soon as well. thanks for stopping by, more soon.

c

Cardboard City Progress Report 3

2010-03-14T17:42:00.000-07:00

Inks have started on the Cardboard City Project I've been working on. I had a rough start because I was trying to force myself to try something new (at least to me). I've been obsessed with wanting to ink my work with a nib instead of a Copic/Micron pen. Needless to say I got two pages inked before I realized that it wasn't working out to well so I scraped those pages and started over except this time it was back to what I was comfortable using and I was much happier with the way things were taking shape. I'll be done with the first eight or so pages by the end of next week so please check back to a page or two preview before I send this stuff out to the printer. The goal is to put a short eight page preview together (in a comic format, not ashcan.) and another eight to ten pages of new sketches and some pics and a quick bio to introduce myself and the project before the full issue comes out. More soon.

c

Saccon 2010 Batman, Robin Sketch.

2010-03-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

Thanks so much to Jason for sending me this pic of a sketch I did for him and his two boys. I had a blast drawing this. Jason you are the man!!

c

Saccon 2010

2010-03-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

So, I have returned from the recent Saccon and despite all the negativity from this convention I've heard leading up to It I was very surprised. I brought my son along and told him that if he helped me out during the day I would give him half of what ever we earned. I'm not trying to brag but needless to say I should have thought more about saying that because I ended up making a lot more than I expected. So much that on the way home he was able to make a stop at both the Lego store for a new set and then to Toys'r'us to pick up a brand new Nerf gun and have money left over. He was stoked. To be honest I had a good time, I sold some original art, I sold out of sketch books and sold a TON of prints. I even got to do a couple commissions that I forgot to take pictures of, but that just shows how busy we were. The rest of the Carbon Robot guys seemed to have a pretty good time as well. I really want to thank all of you who took the time to come over and tell me how much they liked my work, that. is. amazing. This is only my third con I've exhibited at and I feel like each one has been better and better for me. I'm looking forward to the next event and showing some finished pages.
With that being said, if I had any bad things to say it would be that I seriously fear for the future of the human race if this whole cosplay thing gets any more popular. These kids really scare the shit out me. I don't know whats worse them... or the fact that their PARENTS drop them off looking like that. I own some of the bigger anime titles like Akira and Ghost in the Shell, you know, the movies that were amazing and inspiring to me as a kid but I didn't go around dressed up as them. Anyway, I don't think these people come out to actually buy anything they really just come out to parade around and annoy the shit out of everyone else. I'm not a religious person but I feel dressing up like that and acting like a complete idiot is a sin. I don't have any problem if someone wants to come out dressed like the Master Chief or Rorsach(don't know if I spelled that right) or something comic related as long as it is tastefull, some of those people spend a lot of time on their costumes and I can respect that. They aren't dressing up like their favorite Anime character and roll playing with each other through the damn convention hall. I went out to get something out of my truck and like 10 of them are singing "little bunny foo foo!!!!!" WTF!!! Some of these people need to be arrested. I saw a 40 year old mouth breather dressed up like Naruto, that guy had pedophile written all over him. My point is they suck and need to find somewhere else to do what they do. I'm embarrassed to be at conventions because of these kids, because I automatically think that people might think I might be into that kind of stuff. I think it also deters people who like comics but just don't want to be in the same place these kids are. What say you guys, am I wrong?
Anyway, I'm inking the first eight pages from my book this week and hopefully, I'll have more for you to look at very soon. thanks for stopping by.
c

Cardboard City Progress Report 2

2010-03-02T09:50:00.000-08:00

Ok so before I say anything go to the Circa Survive site and listen to the new track they released for their upcoming album. Its Amazing.
So here is another panel from the book im working on. And just a heads up, I'll be at the Sacramento Comic convention this Sunday. I'll be sharing a table with the other Carbon Robot guys. I'll be selling just the last few remaining sketchbooks I have and a handful of prints. Come by and say hello. more soon.

c

Sketch 5 of 8

2010-02-25T20:11:00.002-08:00

Maybe someone can tell me what is going on with this post. The thumbnail image is all blurry but once you click on it the image is not blurry? Weird. Anyway, sorry for the lack of posting lately, I've been trying to get stuff together for the upcoming cons I'm attending soooo.... this is all I have to share at the moment. More soon.

Sketch 2 of 8

2010-02-09T23:05:00.001-08:00

Sketch 4 of 8

2010-02-08T19:11:00.001-08:00

More sketches for the split sketchbook.

Moving, Drawing, Painting, Working.

2010-02-05T19:52:00.000-08:00

Man, it's been a while. Many projects have been taking shape lately. The tattoo shop i'm at moved next door to where we were, so that's been taking up most of time the last few days (i'll post pics soon). We acquired a really old desk that had a display case on top and I'm pretty sure we've managed to make the worlds largest light table out of it. Every day we've been painting and moving and painting some more. It's taken me away from a lot of stuff that i've been to wanting to get back to but it's really cool to help contribute and grow a business at the same time. Between setting up drawings for tattoos I've been slowly scratching away at this comic book. I've also been asked to do a split sketchbook with friend, the above pic is one of eight drawings i'll be contributing to this small project. The book will have the inked version. Anyway, Im done talking about myself for now. I hope everything is all well and good with all of you and yours. more soon.

c

Cardboard City Progress Report

2010-01-28T17:30:00.000-08:00

Hello, so no new finished stuff yet. In the meantime here is a a panel from the book im working on. more soon.

c

speed painting

2010-01-14T14:24:00.000-08:00

Project Update

2010-01-13T13:31:00.000-08:00

I find it hard to let artwork things sit on my desktop. I always want to share whatever I do as soon as it's done. When it comes to the Cardboard City project that is slowly taking shape I have to approach it differently. I have to really hold back from posting it for fear that as soon as the book finally gets out there people aren't like "I've seen all of this, he already posted this on his blog". I plan on inking and coloring this at some point but for now I thought I would share a little of what the book is becoming. As things start to get inked i'll post pieces of those as well but for now here is another look at the two main characters. Thanks for stopping by, more soon.

c

Cyclops

2010-01-09T13:29:00.000-08:00

I needed to clear my head while working out some of these panel designs so I thought I would do a Cyclops. It was tougher than I thought, I had done another version with his visor on and it just didn't look right so I left it off. I also kind of improvised on his costume as well. more soon.

Back to the table

2010-01-05T14:03:00.000-08:00

Well hello, hello. Hope everyone's holidays went well. To be honest I'm glad to be back to the table drawing again. The holidays have really set me back on trying to knock out these Cardboard City pages. Since most of my time has been drawing and laying out pages I don't really have anything to post that is finished so instead here is some stuff out of my sketchbook. Some of this is from the book and the other stuff is just randomness I've collected from the last week or so. I like to see artists sketches, it gives people a sense of what is going through his/her head. So that's that.
On a separate note, I know its still a month or more out but I just wanted to give folks a heads up that I have a table at the upcoming Wondercon Convention in San Francisco. I'll be selling lots and lots of color prints and a few more that seemed to be pretty popular at the APE con. Like last time, the black and white prints will only be a $1. The color prints will be sold at $2 unless I can get a good deal when I go to print. Color prints will be most of the pieces done for the Carbon Robot challenge we did a couple months back and one or two new ones. more soon.

c

Tattoo Shop works

2009-12-19T14:53:00.000-08:00

Ok, So here are a couple of designs I've been doing for the tattoo shop I work at. The two logos are for eventual sweatshirt and sticker designs. The photocomposite image is for the owner Heidi who will be painting this image, sounds wierd but I had a lot of fun putting it together. It's been a while since I've done any photo composite stuff. Not sure if I will be posting anything else until after Christmas so I'd like to wish everyone a happy holliday and enjoy the small bit of time off. I'll post some Cardboard City stuff very soon. until then.

c

EEL OIL PAINTING

2009-12-18T13:39:00.000-08:00

Sorry for not posting very much lately. I've been super busy with several projects, one of which is a comic ive been putting together. This was an oil piece done about 3 months ago. I added some tlc in photoshop. check it out. more soon.

c

Digital Painting

2009-12-02T12:45:00.000-08:00

Picked up this great book about digital painting. I thought I would do a little of my own. Its really hard, but every time I sit and try to render something it gets a little easier. more soon.

c

Darkseid

2009-11-28T11:28:00.000-08:00

So with this, I am not going to be posting any more weekly carbon robot challenges. It's been really fun but I have other projects that I've neglected. Good luck to the rest of the Carbon Robot guys, I'll keep checkin in to see what characters they do next. This piece was done on 12x18 vellum bristol board using ink and pro white then colored in photoshop. more soon.

c

Samurai Helmet Tattoo

2009-11-25T17:24:00.000-08:00

tattoo concept I'm putting together for a lower leg piece. hopefully he likes it. Happy Thanksgiving all, more soon.

c

ELECTRA

2009-11-22T13:07:00.000-08:00

Carbon Robot challenge week 4.
more soon.

c

November Drink & Draw

2009-11-18T11:33:00.000-08:00

At this months drink and draw we have decided to try and give a little something back to the community.

We are starting what is hopefully an annual event for the Sacramento Children's Receiving Home. This year we would like to start with what we are calling "Cards For Kids". We are targeting the older kids, kids who be...cause they are older are often at times overlooked. The idea of gift cards is something that these kids can be rewarded with all year long.

We are asking for gift cards starting at the $10 amount. Suggestions for stores are: Walmart, Target, JC Penney, Barnes & Noble and Borders. Almost all of these can be purchased at your local grocery store.

Thank you very much for your donation and please leave gift cards with me or I'll have a donations box at this weeks drink and draw.

hope to see you there.

Sac Drink & Draw
11.19.09 @ 8:00pm
Fox & Goose
Downtown Sacramento

CABLE

2009-11-14T15:30:00.000-08:00

Carbon Robot Challenge week 3, Cable. 11x17 Ink on Bristol board, colored in photoshop. Interesting to do these pieces because I research the character before I start drawing them to kind of see where I might want the piece to go. I have learned a lot about all of these characters so far. I will admit that I did not spend as much time on this one as I did the last two and it shows but, have to move forward. Im finishing a project right now then all my focus will be the Cardboard City project. Can't wait. More soon.

c

CLAYFACE

2009-11-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

Carbon Robot character drawings, week two. One of the coolest Batman baddies. Clayface. Done on 14x17 bristol, colored in photoshop. More soon.

c

The many faces of Francis

2009-11-01T22:22:00.000-08:00

What up, hope everyone's Halloween went well. Been busy with different projects lately but every second I get a free moment I've been working on getting Cardboard City to start hopefully walking on its own. Meaning I've been trying to finish story and character development, names of places and concept work on cities and locations the story will take place in. Layout of the first book is almost finished and I'm super excited to actually start putting the artwork into these panels. In the mean time I thought I would show some concepts of the Francis character that got a little more refined as to what he will look like in the book. I apologize for the stupid watermark thing but you never know. more soon.

c

Green Lantern - Alan Scott

2009-10-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

So the Carbon Robot guys have decided to do this random character a week project. They have compiled a list of about 700 characters. You get issued a random character every week. This week mine was Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern. Check it out.

c

don't underestimate finished.

2009-10-28T00:39:00.000-07:00

don't underestimate, in pencils.

2009-10-23T18:17:00.000-07:00

More concept work for the cardboard city project. I plan on inking this, but I thought I would post the pencils first. I appologize for the crappy pic but since if upgraded to snow leopard I cant use my scanner anymore, anyone else have the same problem?

more soon.

c

APE CONVENTION WAS AWESOME!

2009-10-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

I'm back after only a very short time at APE. I could only stay the first day so I first wanted to thank the other talented individuals that exhibited along side me in the Carbon Robot booth. Thanks to NU, Junior, Timmothy, and Rich for helping sell my sketchbooks on Sunday while I wasn't there, you guys are awesome. Most importantly thank you to those of you who had a genuin interest in my work and took the time to come over say hi and buy a sketchbook and/or print from the table, that on it's own made the whole experience. This was only my second convention I attended and only the 4th convention overall that I have been to in my almost 30 years of age. I pretty much sold out of prints the very first day with only two left the next day and sold the majority of my sketchbooks too, that was amazing to me. The "mechanical invitation" print sold out first and that really spoke well that the Cardboard City project im working on is headed in the right direction. I should have pages for attendees to check out at the upcoming Wondercon convention in Frisco.

The Con was great but afterwords definitely had it's ups and downs. After we left the first night we (me and Amador) went and grabbed dinner with our extremely nice as well as talented booth neighbors Manual and his wife Denise. After sitting in our booths and doing Jager shots on the hour every hour we were starving and found ourselves eating at the 21st Amendment just down the street.
Next was a trip to the Isotope which I had never been to and had a good time watching the awards. I had never in my life seen so many people packed into one comic shop. I also had never seen a bar in a comic shop either, good times.

From there we ended up at the Bloodhound bar after finally meeting up with Nu, Rich and Tim. Heres where my night got shitty. So we finally ran into our friends and decided to walk up the street to find a club or a bar we could hang out at. I happened to park my truck in a parking lot that I knew I shouldn't have parked at but decided that it was ok. So we walk a couple blocks down the street and after finding out they had a $20 cover we said screw that headed back the way we came. On the walk back I was kind of looking for my truck and not seeing it a block or two down the street. When I did see it I relized it was about six feet in the air on the back of a flat bed truck. I imediately bolted, running accross an intersection and catching the two guys just about to leave with my truck. I did the "hey guys, sorry about that. Why don't you go ahead and put my truck back and I won't park here." routine where I was sadly denied. "Alright, how much?" I asked. "$100 bucks", he says. "I got $40 cash", trying to hand it to him. "No", as he's starting to get into his truck. "wow, wow, ok $100" I say, and after barrowing $60 bucks from Amador temporarily the jerk finally took my truck down. Lesson learned. We found ourselves back at the Bloodhound but not long after were somehow able to sneak into some party up on the top floor of a pretty nice apartment complex, they were more like condos or something. Anyway, after about three free drinks I think they caught on that we were not supposed to be there and were politely asked to leave, haha. In the end I think we all had a great night.

I'll have some more art to post very soon.

c

Isolation Chamber APE print

2009-10-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

This is one of three prints i'll have available at ape. more soon.

c

ARCHIVE PORTFOLIO 2009

2009-10-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

I would just like to say that iphoto is the $h*t!! You can make your own portfolio super easy, mine was 32 pages and only cost about $40 plus shipping which is still kind of expensive but its a very well put together bound book, check it out.

more soon.

c

UPCOMMING DRINK AND DRAW SITE

2009-10-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

Being deemed co-creator of the sac drink and draw chapter has its perks. I was given the opportunity to re-design the the sac drink and draw site. Since I'm not a web artist (just print stuff) I layed out the homepage then send it through to my friend Nu who did the current drink and draw site. He then works his magic of the interwebs and presto chango we'll have a new site up and running by the end of the month. Here is a sneak peak. more soon

c

APE CONVENTION

2009-10-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

Hi, so I wanted to let you guys know that I'll be at the APE Convention in San Francisco Saturday the 17th. I'll be walking around the convention with my friend Amador. I will have materials available to purchase at the Little Carbon Robot booth number 535. I'll have new sketchbooks, prints, and a new portfolio for folks to look and purchase if they choose to do so. I'll also have a signup sheet for commissions for those of you who would like me to draw a comic hero of your choosing. Sketch books and prints will only be $5 so please make sure to come by and grab one before their gone. I'll post pics of the sketchbooks and prints I'll have available very soon.

please check out the Ape Convention web site for a floor map and directions.

c

The Shop

2009-10-03T01:05:00.000-07:00

I hang out at a tattoo shop in Roseville called Pretty in Ink. I was bored today and snaped a few pics. We get some pretty interesting people who come through, today we got two who didn't seem very camera shy.

Cross Promotions

2009-09-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

hey hey!! So I was talking to my friend Amador yesterday and he had mentioned that he hid one of my drawings in a panel he did for his book "Waiting to Die". I figured I would repay the gesture by doing this small diddy. The title of my upcoming indi title is called "Cardboard City". I didn't want to post it until I had the copyright locked in. This collection of 4 issues will see release in 2010. Until then I figured I would keep posting progress reports and artwork along the way so please keep checking in for new stuff. Also please take the time to visit Amador's many sites, read his mini comics and make sure to tease him about his decrepit infectious hand he's always complaining about, hah!

www.allstarkrew.deviantart.com

more soon.

c