Maintaining the equilibriam

So the holidays are here and with it comes the typical craziness. Last week and this week I had off from Dowling. But as I have been told, nature abhors a vacuum and my time has been quickly filled.

This week I will be working more at the gym, to cover for the boss being away. Also there is plenty of Pronto comics work to be done, as well as new illustrations I want to make. One gift that I got for Christmas this year was a new light box. This will help me out a lot in my illustration career.

As I have learned over time, illustration isn't about art for art sake, it is about art for deadline sake. Being able to make the best image, the fastest and delivering high quality under deadline. In the time which I returned the previous light box to my former freelance boss and now, my ability to turn out illustrations has slowed down.

Granted this is also due to a very busy schedule and my involvement with Pronto, but not having a light box does slow things down as well. So this week, I am sure, will fly by as quickly as all the weeks previously and next week I will be back to work at Dowling.

Its beginning to look a lot....

So is everyone dug out? One hell of a storm huh? I, like everyone, else spent Sunday shoveling snow. The day before that I opened the gym and fielded questions about whether or not we would be open on Sunday.

What parts of my weekend were not devoted to white powder I spent either dealing with Christmas things or just organizing my area and general cleaning. It is not one of the more glamorous aspects of being and artist, but it is necessary.

One of the benefits of this though, is that it feels like my mind got cleared out a bit more, which allows me to focus on more productive activities, such as the several new idea's I want to work on for illustrations, a couple of new blog/rants I want to write and of course the ink samples i am working on. The inking by the way I think is looking quite good and I need to finish up the last couple of test, scan them and send them the to penciler.

Slightly productive

Though my schedule sometimes seems to get in the way of me doing what I want to do, a great paradox, I was able to find time last night to put out more content and start on another alcohol review. last night I was able to do a late NY Times round up blog, type up two new articles for helium and did some research and notes on a bottle of white wine.

Since it is Wednesday, I will be writing up the Pronto Comics blog and enjoying some times to do other things. Tonight I have one of my last shifts at Dowling, for the fall semester. The shift looks like it will consist mostly of cleaning the studio and getting it ready for the winter interim session.

Also on inking front, I have (mostly) finished one ink study for the new anthology and will be starting a second page study soon. Once the studies are done, I'll move onto the actual inking of the pages.

Another day, another...

There is not much for me to write about today. The schedule is pretty normal. I have projects to work on. One good thing is that it looks like my first foray into coloring comics might happen. It is pretty likely that I will be helping out on a friends new book as an inker/colorist.

Aside from that there isn't much news to discuss. I am getting ready for the holidays and running around even more like a mad mean then usual it seems.

All I can say is that I will be looking forward to a little but of down time, in the near future. Might give me a chance to work on some, long postponed projects.

Meeting today

As is my Thursday routine, I got up and opened the gym today. What is unusual is that I won't take my post opening 4 hour nap. I have a meeting today in the city with the new editor and chief of sexherald.com the online adult magazine that I do alcohol reviews for.

Last week I got a call from them explaining that there is a new editor and the she would like to meet the writers, so I scheduled this meeting for today at 3pm. I am not sure what she will want to talk about, I am guessing it is mostly a meet and greet and just a general "get to know you" casual meeting. Either way it should be interesting.

Also last night I was able to get some inking done for the sample I am putting together. Now I just need to set some time aside to color it, then it can be submitted. I am hoping to be able to do it tonight, since I told the guy I would have the sample done today.

Aside from that there are other personal commitments that lay before me today which need my attention. As usual it will be busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Running around today

Wednesday has become the closest day that I have to off. Well that is not entirely true, Tuesday morning to Wednesday evening I have off, I believe I calculated it to about 32 hours or so. Yesterday after I got off work I took my new car to get inspected and then went home to take my post-opening nap. When I got up I ran an errand or two and then went to Adelphi to see what was going on over there.

When I got home I published another Sunday Leftover blog on redgage and then a new food blog. I got some time to do a little inking on a sample page. So it was a roughly productive day.

Speaking of productivity I've learned more about myself in how to be productive. It requires a lot of discipline, which for some might be a no brainer, but can be easier said then done. The thing that I have learned is that I need to ignore or put aside all the distractions that the Internet can provide. Which is difficult because it is pretty hard to not watch TV, or go on certain sites that are pointless, in terms of completing a task.

Now I have been able to do this when trying to complete most things. I feel I have been able to keep track of my personal responsibilities and content. The only area in which I feel I am linking is in inking. I still need to find time and work on these new pages, but I will get it done.

Today I have some more errands to run and then I am going to Dowling to work from 6 to 10.

We've got inking to do

Well it looks like I will be developing a nice inking portfolio, all with in a year for the last comic con. I won't go so far as to say that I am impressed with myself, but I would say that I am happy that I am working toward my over all goal. After my last Pronto Comics meeting it look like I will be inking at least 3 stories for the next anthology. There are also possibilities that I will be working on the Space anthology as well and even on some possible solo projects.

Needless to say, I am living part of my dream, making comics. The next part of course is to get paid to make comics, but hey, gotta crawl before you can walk.

On another upside I am able to update my website again, so I have added new articles and a new video to it. I even started working on fishy suicide again.

There is a slight downside though. I was so busy this weekend that I still haven't made a food blog post, done my Sunday times round up and I need to get a booze review out.

So as always, though some areas of my life are moving along in developing, some others are still rocky and need smoothing out. However, I feel confidant that I am slowly moving out of the building phase and into the maintaining/growing phase.

Gotta do some inking

So my schedule is pretty much back to normal, which I like. As much as I like holidays, I hate playing catch up. Anyway I now have a newy car, completely registered with NY state. Getting this car up and running though has taken up a lot of my time, and since I only get so much, I haven't had the time I would like to spend on inking new work.

Anyway, tonight I've got a Pronto Comics meeting, so i'll show the penciller the ink tests that I've done and we'll discuss ideas then.

On an up shot, I've been more productive on the internet front. I've been able to update all my sites. I added new video and articles to my illustrations site, added new facts to Ed White Facts and even started working on fishy suicide as well. All in all I am pretty pleased with it. Now I just need to get myself in order in terms of info for Pronto Comics. I only have a couple of things that I want to update and then i can focus again on inking and keeping a regular schedule.

Early mornings, mid days, late nights

Last week was Thanksgiving and though I enjoyed my holiday very much, the rest of the week wasn't as relaxing as I thought It would be. I still spent a significant amount of time working and due to finding a new car, I didn't have the time to do a lot of things that I wanted to get to.

But such is life.

The good news this week is that I have found a car and I am now in the process of registering it, getting insurance and so on. The bad news is that this also takes up a good amount of time.

Aside from this, my regular schedule is back and I will be working at Dowling tonight. Luckily it won't be like yesterday, starting at 5:30 am and ending at 11 pm (with a break in between). Other then my paying work schedule, I have plenty of inking coming my way. I am currently doing a lot of ink studies for the first page of a new anthology story. So busy is still my middle name.

Pre-Thanksgiving Rush

Today will be busy, I just know it. I have work from noon to 4. Then after that I have to run errands, most of which are for tomorrows holiday. Later there will be other obligations and cooking. This doesn't sound like much in type, but believe me I'll be running around.

As I have said to several friends though, I am looking forward to tomorrow, simple because it is a day off. A change of pace from my regular routine. Because of the holiday I also choose to take off from Dowling this week. so I am only working 20 hours this week instead of 40. I know, I am a slacker. The upside is that I have Saturday off. All of it. I plan to do so much cleaning and organizing that it will hit a ridiculous level.

Now tomorrow and Saturday are my only days off though. Friday I am working again and Sunday as well. Which is fine, I will use that time to try and get ore personal projects done as always. Also Sunday there are plans to split wood at Adelphi, which is always fun.

So as always there is no rest for the wicked and I am a real evil man.

Inking comics and mixing glazes

Well if I remember the last time I posted was on Thursday. So what has happened since then:

Thursday night I went into the city for a Pronto Comics meeting. It was a good meeting and a lot of issues and ideas were discussed. We might be having some new artists come into the fold which is good. A new anthology is starting to come along. It is titles "Kicked" and will be about sidekicks. Other writers also have their own ideas for solo projects, so that is good too. Finally it looks like I'll be doing some inking as well, which is really nice. I already have a page to ink with probably 4 to 5 more coming from the same artist, with who knows how much more coming from other artists.

Friday and Saturday I worked at Dowling. I got a lot done, made some glazes, fired some kilns did some cleaning. Overall quite productive. I won't be at Dowling this week due to the holiday.

Sunday I opened the gym and read the newspaper. When I got home my father and I ran errands, which included cleaning out my car. Friday night the car blew a hose and seized, so now I don't have one. We are trying to figure out what the game plan is going to be, as to transportation. Anyway everything was looking good up until 8:30 Friday night, now I've got a new problem to solve.

Working the Internet

So I opened the gym yesterday and then cam home and took a nap. When I got up I did my usual Internet work and then went to Adelphi and actually did a little bit of welding. Basically I welded 3 bases for future sculpture I hope to work on next week. When I finally got home, I got down to business on Pronto Comics promotions.

What I did was finally wrap up everything by syncing up the twitter account to myspace and Wordpress. Also I created a Wordpress blog which will be updated every Wednesday. So now the network is in place. There will be further tweaking, researching and expanding on my part of course, but for the overall frame work is completed. Now I just have to get the other members using it to make it a viable form of promotion.

Now for the rest of the day I will continue to work on the Internet. However this will be mostly for myself. I have my own things I need to do for Pronto that relate to inking. Also I have to look into my website and try to update it, which seems to be a problem. So that warrants a call to powweb.

Finally I have work at Dowling tonight at 6. I am quite pleased with how this new schedule works out. As I said, it is providing me with more useful free time, which is most important to me.

32 hours off

Yesterday was a productive day. I felt I got several things done. First I went to work which is always a plus, while there I got a number of tasks accomplished for the place and then I had time to work on my own stuff.

I did another NY Times blog which I titled Sunday Left Overs, it consisted of stories I didn't get to read and discuss on Sunday. I also came up with a new slew of Ed White Facts and typed those up as well. Also I finished another article for Helium, submitted it and posted it on facebook and redgage. On top of that I was also able to get my regular amount of self promotion done.

Today I opened the gym then came home and posted to craigslist like I use to do, and now getting back into the habit of doing. Now I am doing my daily Internet tasks and then I plan on doing some Pronto comics work at some point today. Also I want to go to Adelphi and do some welding, something I have been trying to do for months.

My work schedule has changed a bit I am now going to open the gym 3 times a week, Tues, Thurs and Sunday and I won't be there on Wed afternoons, which gives me a little more productive free time. I like this schedule and hope to keep it. It looks like things might finally be settling into place and my productivity can get ramped up.

New Jersey and early mornings

The works schedule never stops, but it does get interesting. Friday I went to dowling earlier then usual as I had somewhere to be earlier that night. We went over test tiles, fixed a wheel, did some math calculations for glazing and finished taking inventory of the chemical closet.

The following Saturday I took a trip to New Jersey to Ceramics Supply. They had a great open house event featuring the potter Val Cushing. I had an opportunity to observe him and some of his process' in making pots and other forms. It was a good learning experience. Also it was a good chance to get some new supplies, including some brushes that i can use for inking comics.

Sunday I opened the gym and read the paper. While doing so I decided to do something new and write up my opinion on articles that I found interesting. I then typed this up last night, and posted it on redgage.com. I plan on doing this every Sunday and making in a feature of fishysuicide.com when I get the site up and running.

Today I am working at the gym and then going to the Ballroom. Tomorrow I am opening and then have a whole 32 hours off until I go to Dowling on Wednesday. As usual the week should be busy.

Early mornings and Pronto comics

So I've been running on all cylinders, or at least it feels like it, this week. Yesterday I opened the gym at 5:30. In all honesty it is not as bad as I thought it would be, and I've actually come to prefer it to closing. By opening I get to have the rest of the day to myself and work on whatever I want to later on, after I take a long nap of course.

Yesterday I spent a bulk of my time working on another website for Pronto Comics. As it stands right now we have a facebook fan page, twitter account, you tube channel and myspace page, along with our own developing website. Now I have added a coroflot account to our arsenal. I have used coroflot for years, they are a pretty straight forward easy to use, free portfolio site. They allow you to load up, a seemingly endless amount of work. So I figured this was a good site to be on for our artists.

Today, I am working at the gym and then at Dowling. My usual double shift. Tomorrow I am opening again, which I think might become the norm, and then later that night I am subbing at NCC. Friday is Dowling all day and on Saturday I will be going to New Jersey for a ceramics workshop with my Dowling Supervisor. Then it is Sunday and the process starts all over again. As it stands right now I am on track to work 46 hours this week.

God I am looking forward to Thanksgiving.

Weekend work

As most people know I work the weekends.

Typically it is my 2 paying jobs, which I did go to this weekend. While at dowling on Saturday I mixed up some new sample glazes, started taking inventory of chemicals and did a couple of other tasks around the studio.

As for the gym, I did what I usually do there.

A lot of the work I did this weekend though was Pronto Comics related. Last night I started fleshing out our presence on some social networking sites, namely Youtube and MySpace. For both I filled the profiles, but for youtube I threw together and edited a new pronto comics commercial, advertising the anthology. For myspace I started adding new friends and went into more details in the profile. The work itself isn't hard so much as it is time consuming.

Today I have work at the gym. While there I have plenty of things to do, so I should be busy for awhile.

Personal work

Today is a day off. In some ways it is both my Friday and Sunday. Tomorrow the cycle will start all over again. So for today I have plenty to keep me busy. There is pronto Comics promotions work to be done, as well as my own self promotion and projects.

I have one more article to type up, and a couple of new rants that I have in mind. After everything is types up I want to add the articles to my illustration site and start adding the rants to my fishysuicide site. I have been thinking about the webcomics site, and I have new plans for it. It took awhile but I finally have an idea for reformatting it. Hopefully, I will be able to reformat the site by the December/the end of the year.

How much of this that I will actually get done today, who knows? Often it feels on my days off that all I do is spend it playing catch up on my own stuff. Probably because all I do is spend it playing catch up.

Busy ofcourse

So if it is Wednesday I must be blogging. As usual I am busy, at this point I really can't remember the last time I either wasn't busy with outside work, or busy with my own stuff. Now it seems like I am doing both.

Dowling seems to be going well. The job is getting more familiar, as is the studio and the regular students. One of the up shots of working there is that I can make art work. Which I have been taking advantage. Since working there I have made around 4 or 5 pieces, which is cool.

The gym is going well, I have been able to make use of the down time, which I like.

In terms of my own work, I've finally been able to do a bulk of the typing I've wanted to do, so I finally feel like I am getting that out of the way. I still need to make more headway in the illustration department. The balancing act is not an easy one, let me tell you. Though with each week I feel a little closer to being able to manage everything just a little better.

Day off

So today is a day off for me, or as close to a day off that I can come too. As usual I worked over the weekend. Friday and Saturday I worked at Dowling. Sunday I opened and closed the gym and yesterday I opened the gym. Currently I am looking at a nice stretch of time off. I don't have to go back to work until 1pm on Wednesday.

Today there are a couple of personal business tasks to do. I was just catching up on all the Pronto Comics events that have happened recently. Checking out the website, my new email address and just seeing what people want to do. Also I have my regular promotion work to do, and I brainstorming in my head how I can expand promoting Pronto Comics on the Internet.

As always there is my infamous typing that I never get done, that I should try to do. I have plenty of articles and rants written up, now it is just an issue of submitting them. As always there is also the issue of fishysuicide.com. I want to retool it, but constantly seem like I have no time too. I know eventually though I will get to it, just like I am learning to fine time to go back to general self promotion.

One thing I need to focus in is creating my content while working at the gym. That being the beauty of the job, the freedom. Then focusing on promotion, just for a little while, when I am at home.

Aside from that, today, I have a couple of errands to run and places to go, and that is my day.

Yesterday and today

So yesterday I worked at the gym. While there I was able to write up a booze review for sexherald.com, do a little sketching for some political cartoon ideas and started writing a rant. I finally got some overall ideas of how I want to revamp my other website, fishysuicide.com. Rather then just make it a webcomic starring Herbert the Fish, I thought that I could just make it a general platform for my opinions and ideas.

So I hope by the end of the month, if not by the end of next month, to start putting up a political cartoon once a week, links to blog rants on redgage.com, and one shot stills of Herbert. Also down the road I will use it as a beginning platform for my Worst Night Ever series, that i have had on the back burner for some time now.

After the gym I went to Dowling. While there I mixed up a glaze, added a glaze from the kiln room to the main studio and started measuring up another glaze. Overall a busy 4 hours shift.

As for today I'll be running some errands and helping my dad with a personal project. Maybe, just maybe I'll find the time to do some other personal work, like typing up and submitting a bunch of articles I've been writing.

double duty

Today is Wednesday, which means I work my two jobs today. First I'll work at the gym, then I'll work at Dowling. Needless to say it is a full day. While at the gym I have some personal work to do and a booze review to write up.

At Dowling I have a veritable laundry list of tasks to complete, the bulk of which should have be done on Saturday, but I didn't get a chance to do, due to a gas leak that shut down the campus and cancelled the classes.

So basically today I will being playing catch up.

Where I've been

Its been some time since I made a blog post. A long story made short I am adjusting to my new schedule. It is the old dynamic, the work you need to do keeps you from doing the work you want to do.

OK so now for the long story made long and just a general catching up.

I started working at Dowling in the ceramics studio on Sept 25th. I work 20 hours a week on Wednesday night, Friday afternoon into the evening and all day Saturday. I've been slowly getting used to the studio and acclimating to where everything is and how things are done. Typically I spend my time mixing up glazes, slips, loading and unloading kilns and making up clay. Also I help my supervisor with any special projects around the studio. For instance last Friday, we reorganized the chemical closet. Overall, I am liking the job and getting more and more comfortable with it each week.

On top of this I am still working at the gym. Since Ireland I have been opening one day a week, typically Tuesdays. Also I have been working 8 hours on Sunday, opening and closing. Needless to say this means I have little time on the weekends. Typically I average around 18 to 20 hours a week there.

I am also still subbing at NCC. Last week I worked 2 nights in a row. I also subbed earlier this semester in September. Eventually, I would hope that I could get all 3 jobs working together harmoniously. Ideally working 15 hours at the gym, 20 hours at Dowling and 5 to 6 hours on a regular night at Nassau.

However I am always open to other options and ideas in terms of work. As always I am not relying on just one thing, and even though I have 3 paying jobs at the moment, I still have a couple of other things on the back burner that I am keeping my eye on.

Of those things there is of course Pronto comics. We just put out or 1st anthology book and we have plans for new projects. The writers are coming up and retooling ideas for there own side projects, and there are new ideas for another anthology. Plus we have new talent that wants to get involved, a website, facebook page, twitter and plans to get a table at the big 2010 Con a year from now.

Also there is potential to become and instructor at the ballroom studio I've been dancing at for over a year and a half. I began doing teacher training, almost around the same time as everything else started in my life. This is something I have been enjoying very much, and if the opportunity arises I would definitely like to devote time as a ballroom instructor. It has quickly grown from a hobby, to a passion and now an obsession. As I have told others, it is typically what I am thinking about when I am somewhere else and what I concentrate on while I am there.

Finally there is my own content. With all this work, I have found little time to work on my own stuff. Before I went away to Ireland I didn't have as much paying work, but I did have plenty of time and drive to work on, or at least promote, my own work. Now, not so much. Clearly I haven't made any blog posts (professional or food), I haven't had a chance to post on craigslist or to check it, same goes for nyfa. Also promoting myself on facebook and myspace has fallen by the weigh side. I know what I have to do, I need to re organize my schedule at home. I have to adjust to the work schedule and work around it. Also now it is time to re-evaluate my goals and objectives and how I want to achieve them.

The good news is, that the major obstacle of money, has (for the most part) been handled. I have enough work options that I should be good for the time being. Now it really comes down to personal discipline and recognizing what habits I have that are good and which ones, though are not bad, waste my time and need to be curtailed until the home work is done.

Day off

I worked my two jobs yesterday, both being 4 hours shifts a piece. The gym was simple, I did my usual work, some brainstorming, organizing and even wrote an article and started a second. Overall it was a good productive shift.

I then started my second shift at Dowling. It was my second day and first time solo. Overall I would say it was a good shift. I mixed a glaze, loaded some kilns and met some of the studio regulars. Its a nice studio with a good laid back feel.

Today I am doing my usual self promotion/Internet work, then doing somethings around the house. Later I'll be going into the city for a Pronto Comics meeting. We need to discuss future projects, meet some new creators, and talk about the general business issues of creating this company. Several seem to be having reservations about getting involved in a business. I hope it will be an interesting and productive meeting.

Double shift

Today is the first day where I will work my two jobs in one day. I'll be at the gym from 1 to 5 and then at Dowling from 6 to 10. It should be an interesting experience. I know tonight that I have a glaze to mix and a kiln to load.

As far as the gym goes, I will assume the usual duties will apply. If I have enough ambition I hope to write a couple of articles and maybe even some rants, but who knows.

Another thing to do is go over again what goals and tasks still need to be done. I find brainstorming and reviewing these things is helpful to keep me on target.

Early Morning

I got up and opened the gym this morning. For those that might not be aware, we open at 5:30, so I got up around 4:30. while there I continued what I was working on the night before. I also closed the gym last night as well. I have been working on mathematically breaking down the glazes at Dowling to different percentages.

By doing this I am creating a guide for myself in the future, and working around having to do math on the fly. The rest of the day will be devoted to working on the house and various other tasks.

Tomorrow, I will work at the gym and then at Dowling. It will be my first shift alone in the studio. The idea is both exciting and slightly nerve wracking, luckily it is early in the semester so there shouldn't be that many there.

Back after a couple of weeks

As the title suggests this is my first blog post after vacation. Though I got back over a week ago, it took about a week to catch up and get back up to speed on what happened while I was away.

It is shocking how much one misses with just one week off.

Most of last week was spent sending emails, trying to get over jet lag, working and getting my new job started.

Last week really began my new position in the gym as Assistant Manager. I picked up a couple of extra shifts, one being the first time I opened the gym at 5:30 am. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, mostly because I was able to ride the wave of jet lag and still go to sleep early.

Also I spent a lot of time preparing for my new job at Dowling in the ceramics studio. The job is exactly what I have been looking for. It is 20 hours a week with an ok rate of pay. It allows me to still keep my presence at the gym, possibly sub at NCC, and still gives me free time to pursue my own goals as an artist, illustrator and comic book inker. I'll be working Wednesday nights, Friday afternoons and Saturdays. Over all a good schedule, it does hamper me taking part in any future weekend activities for the time being, but it is the trade off.

On the comic book front, there will be an upcoming meeting this Thursday. We will be deciding the future of Pronto, what will happen with the anthology and other matter. I am looking forward to new talent being introduced as well. Also the idea for new stories and projects being put forth. A lot of things have to be ironed out and that is what this meeting should be for.

On a final note, I sent out another mailing last week. I am looking forward to getting mailings out on a more frequent basis. Hopefully every 3 months. Now that the Dowling job is in place it feels like a major part of the puzzle has been added. I hope that it will allow me to be freed up monetarily wise, and I can put more money into my business. Now is the time to really sit down and sort out what I want to do and how to got about it. I can really begin to create a system/machine to run my life a bit more smoothly. At least I hope that I will be able too anyhow.

Accomplished somethings

Yesterday turned out to be a fairly productive day. As you know, if you read the blog, I had an interview yesterday and then went to work. While at work I wrote another article. when I got home I typed up and submitted 2 articles, yesterday's and the day before that, to helium.

Appreciating art without artists or history

Humor: Trying new foods

Also I finally got a chance to work on the cover, beyond a sketch point. I drew it up, did some fast inkng to it and applied the first light watery coat of paint. If you have seen my work, then you might know the next thing I will do I build up the color and paint. I should be able to do that today, either way though it is imperative that I finish the cover before I go to Ireland.

Today I have errands to run and people to see, as well as a couple of other tasks to do before I leave .

working on working

Yesterday I worked and wrote out another article. The main objective for me was to prepare to applications for freelance writing positions at online magazines. Also I spent last night preparing for an interview today. God willing and with a little bit of luck (and prayers), I'll get the job. I am wary though, because it is exactly what I am looking for and the pessimistic Irishman in me refuses to get his hopes up.

As for today I'll be working at the gym. Hopefully I will get some time to work on another articles as well as the cover. Unfortunately, the cover keeps having to get pushed back. This is problematic as I only have so much time to work on it.

Laboring on Labor day

I spent the bulk of this labor day weekend both working as well as having fun. Friday and Sunday I worked at the gym. I did a little sketching and rethinking of the cover submission that I want to do.

Yesterday I finally got a chance to type up several articles that I had sitting around. They can be found on helium:

http://www.helium.com/items/1579597-marvel-comics-character-profile-wolverine

http://www.helium.com/items/1579611-what-is-great-art

http://www.helium.com/items/1579745-human-condition-individual-society-people-humanity-philosophy-evil-good

As far today I've already done a reference search to help me draw up my cover submission. I want to start working on that later tonight, most likely at work. Also I am doing research for another alcohol review. I want to get that written up in the next couple of days. Finally, after submitting those articles I took the time to do some title hunting and have plenty of new titles to write about.

Writing is definitely something I want to get working on again. I haven't forgotten my goal to make $100 a month as a writer. Doesn't sound like much, but when added up over the course of the year it is a good chunk of change and it would allow me just a little more financial leeway. Also I need to start creating concepts for t-shirt submissions. I have completely neglected 2 websites that I was interested in, threadless and modern-t. Finally, there is the mailing to be done. The only thing I need is stamps. i hope to send out the mailing when I get back from my trip.

Working on a cover

I spent yesterday working around the house ans subsequently didn't get to work on the cover like I wanted to, but I have some free time today so I should be able to work on it.

Also today I want to head to the library and look up some books on inking comics. I want to become the best inker I can, so that requires I draw/work in ink almost every day and to study inking as well.

I am working later tonight so I will spend the shift working on the cover. I want to get it done as soon as possible and submitted hopefully next week.

work and a meeting

Tuesday I ran around doing errands and general domestic stuff.

Yesterday I went to work and while there I worked on my idea for the cover of the upcoming anthology. I have done a lot of sketching and brainstorming, but i was able to solidify a final idea and put together a fast sketch.

This was helpful for last nights Pronto meeting. I was able to show it to some and get a couple of notes on it. I hope to have the whole project done withing a week.

Last nights meeting wasn't exactly what I was hoping it would be. For the most part it was another status of the anthology meeting. Not as many writers were there and we didn't get a chance to start thinking about future projects. So that meeting will be pushed back to October. To get the topic rolling though, I sent out an email when I got back last night. I hope that by doing so the writers will start thinking about what they want to do next and be ready to make pitches for the next meeting. If we are really lucky some teams and projects might even get started by the time of the next meeting.

Today will be another domestic day, but hopefully tonight I will be able to muster the concentration to do some work.

Cover

The most recent thing that I have been working on is a cover for the anthology. Several of the writers have thrown out ideas, but I started working on my own idea before them. I've done several sketches and will be bringing the cover together hopefully today.

This is not to say that I don't like some of the other idea that have been put forth. I want to try and come up with some sketches based on some of the other ideas. Tomorrow is the next Pronto Comics meeting, so I am eager to see where we are in terms of the anthology, as well as what ideas people have for upcoming projects.

Another good thing that has happened is that I will be working on CAG's next installment of their Iconic title. This is something that I am definitely looking forward too. The current goal, in terms of comics, is too get my name out on as many published books as possible. So any project is welcome.

Delays, delays, delays

I've been working the last couple of days, but for some reason I have seemed delayed in plans to write. I suppose you could call it writers block. My job allows me plenty of time to write, but sometimes all I can do it just sit and think. Words don't seem to flow so easily, not sure why.

Also I have been wanting to get to typing up what I have written, but life seems to be keeping me away from the computer and thus unable to type.

As for other things, I got a call yesterday from the PR department of the hospital i had some sculptures at over the summer. Because of the oncoming hurricane they wanted the pieces taken down today. They had to come down anyway since the show had run its course, so it was not unexpected.

Finally I am thinking of creating a cover for the upcoming anthology. It will be put to popular vote, but would be a nice feather in my cap if I could come up with something.

Typing

So I did a bit of writing the other day. I worked on an article that I had left unfinished. Came up with some new Ed White facts, researched Johnnie Walker Green for a pending review and just generally organized what I want to do in the future.

Most of this was done while I was at work. When I got home I updated my website adding the recent pages I completed for the anthology. Added the new facts to the site and promoted them on the web.

I have a lot of typing I need to do today. I have to finish my review and I have 3 articles I want to type up and submit to helium. Helium is a site that i have to get back into, and really start working again. It is possible for me to make some money to supplement my income through it. the only thing stopping me is my schedule and drive. Both are things that I can overcome and start putting out more content.

Preparaing for a paper

So for the most part I spent yesterday cleaning my office/studio area. It didn't seem like much, but strangely took up a good part of the day. I put away files, threw things out and did just general organizing. All that cleaning reminded me of what some students would do before having to write a paper.

After that I started editing food images and began working on another food blog.

Today I working from 4 to 10. Hopefully I will be able to motivate myself to start writing and to brainstorm on new projects. Also I find it always help to take a couple of minutes and organize myself in terms of upcoming tasks that need to be done.

What to do now?

Last week I finished 5 more pages for the anthology book. I spent a good amount of time working on it to make sure I got it in so it can be sent as part of a sample to some editors out in San Diego. As some may know a majority of the people I am working with met each other during 2 comic book experience classes. They were run by several editors and artists that work in the comic book industry. Part of the plan of the anthology was to take sample pages out to San Diego to have their teachers look them over and (hopefully) give it some good reviews.

The person who is going out there is leaving is September. So that is why the deadline of the 21st-22nd of August was set.

With these last pages done though, I find myself for the first time since May, with no immediately pending projects. There is the possibility that I might ink some more pages for the anthology but nothing is definite. One thing that is coming soon is that i want to submit some sample pages to CAG, so I can hopefully be a part of their sequel "Iconic" book. Also I know Achilles has some new "Out in Space" stories which I hope to be a part of in the future as well. of course there are the future Pronto projects as well. Our next meeting on Sept 3rd will revolve around that.

But that leaves the question of what to do with myself until then. This week I will be covering some extra shifts at work, which is always good. In terms of my own business though it is a slightly open question. There are things I know I want to get back too, that have been put on the back burner for awhile, which I think I mentioned before. I need to get back to writing for Helium, I haven't done a food blog in a couple of weeks as well, so that needs to be put together soon too. Also I need to buy some stamps and finally put out that second mailing I have been wanting to do all summer.

So as always there is more stuff to do, it is just a question of organizing myself and getting it done.

Pencil Corrections

The bulk of yesterday was spent making pencil corrections on the 5 pages for the anthology. I had thought that I finished all of them a couple of weeks ago, but having left the pages alone for a little while, I saw them with fresh eyes. This made me realize what else needed work.

On top of that I mapped out my inking strategy for them as well. As I said in yesterday's post I studied a lot of manga art to see how those are inked. This work is a little manga infused so I felt that by studying the style it could help and enhance the pencils.

Today will be spent putting my plan into action and actually inking the pages. now that i have a plan of attach this should be relatively easy. At least in terms of knowing what to do, the execution will probably be time consuming at best. Thank God I have nothing but time today.

2 day break

I spent the last 2 days just relaxing, sort of like a mini vacation. Unfortunately it never seems to be able to last. I have the deadline looming for the final 5 pages, which means that I need to move my ass on them. Luckily I did all the pencil corrections already, so the only thing that needs work right now is the actual inking.

Since these are manga inspired drawings I am looking to some other examples to create the best plan of attack that I can. I am not a big manga fan, so some references will be helpful. The original plan of attack was to go heavy on the black, but after looking at some manga examples I noticed that ink wash is used as well. Ink wash worked well on the last set of pencils, so it might work well for these too.

I plan on working on these today while at the gym and then later tonight. Tomorrow will also be devoted to them as well. I know I have to drop them off on Friday and if I remember right I work on Friday night so I better get these done quick.

What I've been doing and where I've been?

It has been some time since I have posted blog and as most know it has been an eventful/busy summer. Not necessarily a financially prosperous one, but definitely a busy one. The pinnacle of the busyness seemed to have hit over the last two weeks.

At the end of July I was covering 2 shifts for the last 2 weeks at NCC. On top of that I was finishing up my SVA class and working on 5 pages of the upcoming anthology. I handed in the first set of pages which many believe came out excellently on the 6th. It was at our monthly Pronto Comics meeting, which as always, was very productive. We discussed ideas for the future, the logo and the upcoming deadline for finished stories on the anthology. The second set I will finish this week as the due date is the 22nd. There is already the idea of another anthology, and hopefully other products and content. The next meeting will Sept 3rd and I hope it will be a brainstorming session for ideas and projects.

On the 8th I went into Brooklyn for a CAG meeting/BBQ. I enjoy these meetings for the same reasons I enjoy the Pronto meetings. It allows me to discuss goals and idea with people who share the same drive and desires. The CAG group has an upcoming project called Iconic 2, a sequel to another book. I plan on submitting for that, which needs to be in on Sept 3rd. Ultimately right now my major goal in comics is too get into as many printed projects as I can.

This past week though had to be the craziest week of the summer. It started as usual with me going to work on Sunday, then I went to Home Depot to pick up materials for the project I worked on this past week. Back in June I was contacted by the manager of the local TGI Friday's to create a piece of art for their annual Bartender Olympics to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation. The budget was $300 for materials and whatever being left over, my fee. I worked on the project from 1pm on Monday till 3:30 pm on Thursday, including install. It came out well and they were happy with the result, but I am never going to work on a job of the magnitude for so little money ever again. The picture is up on Facebook and I am planning on adding it and the sketches to my website.

With the completion of the TGI Friday's project the majority of my art responsibilities are done. Aside from finishing the next 5 anthology pages this week, nothing else is booked at the moment and for the first time in a while I see free time. So the question for me is, "What to do now?" I have ideas and goals bouncing in my head. There is of course Pronto comics, as well as CAG. So between these 2 groups I should have things to keep me busy in terms of comics. There are other idea's that I want to pursue as well. I want to draw more in ink and keep going with my journal, so I am looking to start going to some Dr. Sketchy's events as well as some opinion cartoons. Also I've ignored working on some T-shirt designs a for websites. Something that I was gung-ho about in the beginning of the year, but fell to the weigh side. So I would like to get involved in that again. Finally there is my writing. I haven't written any helium articles in some time, and I want to devote myself to that as well.

So as the summer wraps up many things have been accomplished. I worked on 1 comic, will have 10 pages in another anthology, made new friends and contacts, worked a lot at the gym and NCC, created my first installation piece and there are a lot of good possibilities in the future.

A mixed bag

I spent yesterday doing a mix of things. At the beginning of the day I did a lot of online work, my typical self promotion, wrote out the blog and updated my website heavily.

After that I turned my eye to more domestic affairs.

Then I went back to work cleaning my studio area, writing out a new food blog and finishing the updating of the website.

Later I worked on inking some pages.

Today I will continue my usual work, working on inking and later this afternoon working at NCC.

Extra Shifts

If memory serves me correctly, my last post was last Wednesday. Since that time I have been quite busy. For the most part I was picking up a lot of extra shifts at several places last week.

So to recap:

Wednesday night I worked.

Thursday I went into the city to meet with someone interested in creating a comic book. As it turns out this person was a pastry chef. He has several ideas for comics and had interviewed 2 pencilers. He seemed very interested when I told him that I specialize in inking. The meeting lasted about 20 minutes and I found it to be very good. It is an opportunity that I hope comes to fruition. Later that day I covered a shift at NCC and then finally came home.

Friday I started off the day helping out a friend in the early morning. He was moving to a new apartment and I and another friend gave him a hand. Later I came home and showered because it was very much needed and then went to work. Originally I was on the schedule to work from 1 to 5, but due to a coworkers lack of follow through it turned into 1 to 9. I don't mind working 8 hours, in fact I am happy to because I always need the money, but I just like to know that I am going to.

Saturday I worked again as well as on Sunday.

Finally last night I finished my animation. It is something that I have been wanting to finish since the spring and now it is finally completed and here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5byAwpXk9QE

So that is what I have been up to, busy busy busy.

Missed a couple of days on the blog

I was busy the past couple of days and wasn't able to post.

On Monday I covered a shift at NCC. Nothing of particular note happened. Summer session are pretty quiet. Though I did feel old when one student remarked that she first heard "I Shot the Sheriff" on American Idol.

Yesterday, I worked on pages for the anthology. I am finally coming to the end of the tunnel in terms of pencil correction on these pages. I did an ink study and the writer/penciler liked it, so I know that I will be inking these pages in a gritty, noir style. Similar to Frank Miller or other styles.

Cleaning house

Today I am focusing on the hosue a bit. There are several domestic tasks that need to be done around the house and i want to take care of them.

I finished the review yesterday and emailed it off to my editor.

Hopefully after doing some work around the house I will be able to get back to inking and working on other art projects.

Internet, writing, inking oh and work

Well as the title of today's post shows I have things to do, but then again these days when do I not. I don't think I have ever written a blog that said, "well I got nothing to do today." Anyway I am trying to go through all the websites, as well as my own, and updating my status and information.

I also have a booze review. So I need to do some research into a product, taste it and then write up. Also I got in a sample article to write for a job opportunity, so that needs to be written and submitted by tomorrow.

While working yesterday I wrote up a Helium article, something I haven't had the time to do in a while. Over the next several weeks, basically the rest of the summer, I want to do as much writing as I can. I need to really work that site as much, if not more then I use too.

Also yesterday I received more pages to ink which will be a challenge. I won't start working on them though until I finish, or at least get to a certain point, with the pages i am currently working on.

Overall, I plan on working on these projects both at home and while at work later tonight.

Working today

So yesterday I kept working on the first set of 5 pages for the anthology, finishing a small ink study.

After that I took the pages to my inking class at SVA. This class has come at the perfect time for me, because it is giving many more options and ideas that I wouldn't have had. Since these pages can be quite problematic, it is nice to have another set of eyes with more experience. The teacher also agreed that this project will be my assignment, other then the original idea of me penciling and then inking my own story.

Today I have work and so far that is about it. So I will try to do some more work correcting the drawings and hopefully get to some long procrastinated writing as well.

And the inking continues...

In some ways this is turning out to be a good summer. Specifically in the working towards my goal as an inker. Suddenly I went from working on patents and doing one inking test, to finishing a comic and currently working on 5 pages for another book that will be self published with 5 more coming. This is will be very good for my portfolio, since I will have 2 works in print with a range of artists. So in that respect this summer is exciting.

Yesterday I ran errands, did some much needed tasks around the house and worked on some ink studies for the current 5 pages I have for this anthology. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten a chance to pencil any pages for my story for my class. Hopefully I will get some time today to put a page or two together for tonight.

My idea for the 5 pages I am working with now is to go very comic noir with them. The idea being to minimize the pencils as much as I can, but also to serve the story as best as possible as well. Luckily, it is a fairly gritty story, so the look should work with it.

Today's plan is simple, to work on some inks and then go to inking class. The same plan I have had on Tuesday for close to a month.

Weekend come and gone

It was a good weekend, which is always nice to say.

Friday I caught up on some Internet work and priced out materials for the up coming TGI Fridays installation.

Saturday I worked from 12 to 6 and then attended an artist reception in Bellport. It was a lovely evening and I got some nice positive feedback on the work I installed.

Sunday I went to Yankee Stadium with my dad. He got the tickets for his birthday. It was a very good time and I discussed the stadium amenities in my food blog: http://www.journeythroughfood.wordpress.com.

There is plenty to be done today. I have several errand that I need to do. I have 5 pages for the upcoming anthology to start working on. I spent a good bulk of Saturday look at them and devising an inking strategy on how to make the most out of the pages. Also I received and email yesterday telling me that I should get 5 more pages from another artist. So this is an excellent opportunity for me to build my inking portfolio further.

On top of that I need to get moving on penciling my own pages for a little story I have written for my inking class. I might have mentioned this before, but in strange irony I have been so busy inking a comic that I haven't had time to work on my Inking Comics class.

Long term goals for the week are to finish the animation (I know I know, I always say I am going to work on it) and to update my site with a lot of new imagery, articles and general changes that I need to make.

Caught up... a bit

So I spent the bulk of yesterday in front of a computer. Whether it was my mom's laptop or my own downstairs. I spent that time doing my usual Internet work, i.e posting on craigslist, writing this blog and my general self promotion tasks. On top of that I wrote out several emails to the Pronto Comics group, other pencilers, other collaborators, a talent recruiter and some other people.

Also I finally finished addressing all the envelopes for my next mailing. the only thing i need to do now is get the stamps and finish editing my animation. Actually that was the only goal I wasn't able to achieve yesterday. It seems to be the most allusive one, for reasons I don't understand.

I have no particular plans for today. There are several things that can be done, none of which need to be finished for tomorrow. I guess I will just see how the day goes.

Internet work

I spent yesterday at work, putting the final touches on the inks. Later I went into the city for a Comic Con meet up at the Dave and Busters in Times Square. It was a good experience. Achilles liked the inks a lot and felt they were good enough that he could get away with doing a first printing in black and white.

We had another general meeting talking about where the anthology was, as well as discussing plans for Pronto comics. Also we met another penciler with good quality work and invited him to join in with the group. Several other things were discussed, all of which encouraged my hopes that we get Pronto Comics up and running and moving like a smooth machine as fast ass possible.

Now that the large inking job is done, I can focus on the anthology inking. Currently, I have one whole story to work on and I am expecting other pages to be coming soon.

Today i plan to be doing a lot of emailing, organizing and general computer/Internet work. Also I want to finish editing an animation that has been sitting around for several months. It is time to get back on the self promotion track full steam.

Another day of ink

As the title suggests today has been and will continue to be filled with ink. I am happy to say that all the complicated, detailed backgrounds are finished. Now all that needs to be done is the figures, which are faster and easier for me to accomplish.

Also tonight I will be going To SVA for my inking class, hence a day of ink.

Ink, ink ink ink ink....

God willing many of my days will be filled with ink, and money in the future.

Inking comics

So this weekend was spent like most days, inking the comic. It has become a time consuming obsession I guess. When I finish this comic, I have the pages from the anthology to work on as well. Suddenly, I am building a nice sized portfolio. When the anthology pages are done, I will have worked with at least 4 different pencilers.

Aside from that my weekend was pretty typical. I spent Saturday working around the house and as I said before, doing some inking. Sunday I went to work, and ...inked, then came home and did some stuff around the house again. I also spent last night finally putting out a new food blog post, promoting this months booze reviews, printing out a job application and general online work.

The plans for the day are, you guessed...inking. I really should buy stock...

Catching up

Well lately it has felt as if I had been burning the candle at both ends. This past week I drew up plans for the TGI Fridays installation, finished the children's book drawings, went to SVA for class, covered an extra shift at the gym, covered a shift at NCC and then worked another shift at the gym, continued to ink pages for the comic book, picked up more booze to review, dropped off the children's book drawings and had a meeting with the other comic book collaborators on the anthology.

All this and the week isn't over yet. Because of all this work I have been unable to keep up with my own projects and self promotion. I discussed this in a post earlier this week. It seems like the trade off and a strange double edged sword. I haven't been making my regular daily posts and advertisements. On top of that I still haven't edited my new animation, or sent out the post card mailing that I have wanted to do for over several months.

Eventually though I can see myself running as a smooth machine. That has always been the eventual goal, to get things in such a way that the routine practically takes care of itself but also allows me to be flexible in my schedule. Will I ever achieve it, who knows? Life happens while you make plans as they say.

So today I have several plans and tasks to take care of. Mostly catching up on Internet work, as I have said there is much that I have neglected. Also I have errands to run and of course I want to work on another page of the comic. So there we have it....

Where Have I been?

Work work work, work work work, work work work !

I have been juggeling 3 projects at once and man it is diffiucult. It is perhaps the great irony that all the self promotion leads to eventual projects, but at the cost of continuing the promotion, and thus getting new projects. Needless to say I am trying to multitask: continuing my daily promoting while completing my projects. It is not an easy balancing act.

Hopefully though as Sun Tzu advizes I will be able to keep the momentum going.

100th post, woo-hoo

It was quite the long weekend. I spent most of it in the kitchen cooking. I was either preparing for or working during my father's birthday party. As this is food related, I will deal with it in my other blog http://journeythroughfood.wordpress.com

Yesterday, I worked from 8 to 4 and continued inking the comic I've been working on. I am hoping to have the pages finished for tomorrow so I can drop them off to the penciler. I am enjoying this work immensely and hope to get more of it soon.

Today I have to pick up the sculptures from Adelphi and install them in Bellport for the upcoming show. It will be a busy day, probably a busy week and hopefully a busy month. There are still plenty of professional and personal projects to work on.

It always seems like there is so much to do and so little time...

Work around the house

I pretty much just worked around the house yesterday. I will be doing the same for the most part today, hoping to get some more illustration work done as well.

Aside from that I have very little to write today.

Long Day

I got up yesterday and started doing a little cooking for an upciming party. After that I had to go into the city and do some errands, which inculded picking up a free sample of vodka to review later on in the week.

I got home sooner then I expected so I went to work an hour earlier. While there I was able to finish the first page of the comic I've been inking. That was pretty much it.

Today I'll be working around the house a lot. Also I want to finish up sketches and continue to work on inking.

Sculptures Done

I finished my 2 sculpture for the upcoming show yesterday. Now all I need to do is install them at the location. Aside form that I didn't do much art work until later last night.

I produced and submitted another sketch, hopefully this time I captured the vision correctly.

I also started work on the inks last night, working directly on the boards.

As for today, I plan to continue what I was doing last night. I had an interview scheduled for today, but it got moved back to tomorrow. Unfortunately tomorrow doesn't work for me, so we shall have to see when I have it. Also since it is Tuesday, I have my inking class tonight. Should be a busy day.

A sequestered weekend

As the title suggests I didn't get out much this weekend. I spent the bulk of it downstairs working.

Friday and Saturday were filled with drawing and emailing. I worked on several inking tests and emailed them to the artist to get his feedback. He was quite happy and when he made his choice I did one more just to confirm. According to him it was better then he could have dreamed. That is always nice to hear.

Also I spent the day working on sketches, something that I have to continue working on. My client liked one of them first off, but I am still tweaking another. I need to do another sketch and get it back to him tonight.

Sunday I did work around the house, in between the rain, and started writing up a review. Something else that I need to finish and submit today.

Today there is plenty on the agenda both professionally and personally. I'll be heading to the studio to finish off another sculpture and complete the other jobs I listed above.

Welding yesterday

I spent the bulk of yesterday doing 2 things.

1. Sitting in traffic as the rain poured down.

2. Welding. I have been preparing for an up coming show. The show is out doors, so the pieces I am working on are bigger than usual. I completed one yesterday and have another one I want to finish.

Aside from that I did some more emailing to people and applying for other positions.

Today I have several things planned. Most notably working on some inking tests.

Juggeling

So the day started off with a call from a woman in an HR department. One of the many positions I applied for lst week actually got back to me. I have an interview next week. The position is part time and summer only, but it would allow me to make money for the summer and even put away some of it for the future.

After that I went to work, which was suprisingly busy.

Later that night I started working on some projects and emailing people. For the most part I did a lot of photo reference searching and then some (what I call) photoshop sketching. Basically using photoshop to put together the reference images into a rough image of what I want the illustration to look like. From that I can do an actual sketch and start working on the actual drawing.

Last nights class

I started off the day going to Adelphi. I didn't do much but I was able to cut apart some previous pieces I made that I no longer like. I will use the new pieces for upcoming new sculptures.

Other then that the majority of my professional day was my SVA class. We learned several things: First we learned to correct our inkng. The idea by the instructor was to first get us use to ink and then to learn to correct, so we would feel fearless about inking. I think it worked.

The next thing we worked on was learning to tell a story through inking, or rather enhancing the story. Basically the idea was using the inks to direct the eye through the pictures designating the visual hierarchy. Simply put, what you will look at first, second and third.

Overall it was another good class and I am very happy to be taking it.

My Computer is back

So I finally got my computer back, Yay! As it turns out they had to replace the motherboard, power supply and modem. Apparently this was due to a power surge. It came to around $1,200 worth of work. That is more then I paid for the computer. Luckily though I had that warranty and it covered everything. So it is like I have a new computer for free almost.

Also the didn't have to touch the hard drive, so they didn't need to do the data backup. That means they didn't charge me the $100. That worked out well because at the time I didn't have $100.

Now that it is back I can pick up working on certain projects, namely my new animation video. That being said, I have grown accustomed to working from my mom's laptop. I like being upstairs and working on it focuses me. So I am going to continue working form it on certain tasks.

As for today, it look like it will be an art day. the plan is two-fold. 1) To work on sculpture at Adelphi. 2) I have my class at SVA tonight.

Everybodies working for the weekend, well I know I did

Well as the title suggested and as I told some friends I spent my weekend working. I opened the gym on Saturday at 7 and stayed till 10.

Then I drove out to Long Island City and had 2 meeting meeting. One was with an artist who I met at Comic Con and have been in contact with for a couple of months. This is the same artist I met with a couple of weekes ago for that large meet up. He has a seperate project he wants me to ink, and will be paying me to do so. This is very exciting and I will be attacking the project hopefully starting tonight.

After that I went to a CAG meeting, which is the Comics Artist Guild. Several topics were discussed and I found out a little more about the group. So this is a new area for me to network and get involved. I like surrounding myself with like minded creators and illustrators, I find it inspires me and motivates me. Also it lets me know that I am not the only one who has this as a life goal.

Finally on Saturday I came home and typed up 3 articles and published them on helium.com. You can read them here:

Thoughts on robotics
http://www.helium.com/items/1481888-robots-machines-terminator-dune-the-matrix-battle-star-galactica-blade-runner

Food: What we live for
http://www.helium.com/items/1481926-food-sex-pleasure-mario-batali-anthony-bourdain

Bruce Lee's one-inch punch: Theory and execution
http://www.helium.com/items/1481952-bruce-lee-one-inch-punch-jeet-kun-do-martial-arts

Sunday was a little quieter...sort of. I opened and closed the gym that day. I did this because I thought it would be easier for me then getting there at noon like I normally do. Sunday was the LI Pride Parade. However, the parking lot was already closed off and so my plan was for not. After work I came home and typed up a beer review. Then went outside and did some yard work.

Finally today looks to be busy with a mox of professional and personal projects. There is yard work to be done, I have to pick up my computer which is finally fixed and I have at least 3 art projects I need to start working on.

Busy, thank God

It is interesting how life works. I am not a particularly spiritual or religious person, but I do categorize myself as Agnostic. I believe that there is something greater in the universe. For awhile now I have been putting it out there that I need more work and that I have other goals that I want to achieve.

Now it looks like these desires and goals are finally coming to fruition. More work is coming my way, last night at NCC, tonight at another job. Aside from that I have more projects coming to me as well, both in illustration and in sculpture. What is really exciting is that some of these projects are of a comic book inking variety.

Having hooked up with a penciler at comic con i am now going to be inking his comic, for pay...Awesome! Also I recently got an email from a Marvel editor telling me that he will be sending me pencil samples shortly, which is also cool. Combine that with the inking class I am taking at SVA I feel like I am moving close to my life long goal finally.

As a sculptor I currently have my work in one show and I am preparing for another one in July. Also there is a job I will hopefully be doing for a local restaurant. So things are getting very busy, this weekend I will be working, going to meetings and working on personal projects. I like being busy.

metal and clay

Yesterday after work I went to Adelphi to find out when it would be best for me to come by to makde some sculpture. As it turns out mornings and early afternoon are best. So today I will be heading to the studio to do some welding.

I got call yesterday as well changing the day that I would be covering at NCC to tonight. So after working at Adelphi I'll be headed over to NCC. It will be a long day, but hopefully a good day.

Work work work

A couple of days ago I was called and asked to cover tonight at NCC. So today after my shift at the gym, I'll be heading to NCC tonight. This will be my first time covering a shift during summer sessions. I am sure there won't be much of a difference, if any, as always though it is good to be working.

Last night was my second class at SVA. We worked live from a model using nothing but ink and rush. It has been some time since I did life drawing, and I have never used just ink and brush before. At first it was a rough start, but as usual by the end of the night I had gotten into a rythm just in time for the end of the class.

The idea was to get full ink immersion and to work on line sensitivty. Next week we will work on correcting. The idea being that if we know how to correct our mistakes, we will be bold enough not to be afraid of making them.

Rough night

Yesterday was a simple day. I did some work and ran some errands. At around 6 I got an email from the illustrator I freelance for. He was unhappy with the work I had done. This led to a phone conversation and a loose idea to meet later this week to discuss further.

Needless to say I have a lot on my mind and I am not in the best of moods.

I have plenty of things to do today and I have my class at SVA tonight. Hopefully today will be better then yesterday.

An OK weekend

As the title siggests this past weekend was ok.

Friday I did some work, had a meeting with my freelance boss and got some more from him. That is always a good things. After that I went to the opening at Mather Hospital. It was rainy and the turn out was not as good as I hoped, but it was still nice. It's always a good time being able to go to an openign that you are involved in. Finally, that night I went to the dance studio and did a final practice and hung out for awhile.

Speaking of dancing the showcazse went very well. I was told that my cha-cha was excellent, and everyone kept raving about the tango routiene. It was a very nice night. My parents nerver thought I could move like that, which was a very cool thing to hear.

Sunday I went to work and then came home and did things around the house. Later last night I worked on the job I was given on Friday.

Today I got up and finished off the job. Aside from that I have my general every day work that I do along with some other tasks.

Tomorrow I have my second inking class and I am looking forward to that, as well as generaly less stressful week.

A day of meetings

So yesterday was the day where I had 3 art meeting.

The first was at a local TGI Fridays. The manager of the restaurant got in contact with me. She was looking for basically a set piece to put in front of a three step stairway to the bar area. It is part of a "bar Olympics" she told me. The budget is modest, but I think I will do it, if for no other reason that a lot of people will see it.

The next meeting was in the city with a woman who was looking for someone to do 20 sketches at $25 a sketch. It sounded like a good pay day, but when we were supposed to meet, she never showed. I waited for half an hour, but then had to get moving to another meeting. I found her number and called her, it turns out she was sick and at the doctor. My question is, if you are sick enough to go to the doctor, that means that you were sick earlier in the day and the day before. Therefore you could have sent an email letting me know you couldn't make the meeting. Anyway it has left a bad taste in my mouth, and I have to think if i want to work with this person now.

My last meeting of the day was with a group of comic book creators. It was a good meeting. I always enjoy meeting with other illustrators, because it feels me with enthusiasm and hope. It looks like at some point I will be getting some inking work in, which will help me build a portfolio, and the really cool part is that the work will be printed. So this could lead to an excellent marketing tool for me as well as meeting up with a great group of people.

Meetings, meetings, meetings...

So today is the day of all the meetings. At 2:30/3 I am going to a TGI Fridays to meet with the restaurant manager. She is looking to create, what would be called an installation, with a space ship theme. This I am sure will be an interesting meeting.

After that I am hopping on a train going to the city and meeting someone dowtown. This person needs 20 sketches done. They are paying a fair amount, so I am intersted in this meeting.

Then at around 7 I am going uptown for another meeting involving comic book creators. This is something that I have been hoping for ever since Comic Con and the networking meeting I attended.

It should be a busy day, I am looking forward to it.

SVA, today and tomorrow

Last night was my first class in my inking comics course. It was a good class. We showed our work, did a little drawing, reviewed the syllabus, went over the basics of inking and wrapped up the class by looking at comics and seeing the different styles of inking. It looks to be like an actual art class, where we will be doing work and making art in class. I haven't had a drawing class like this in years. Often in the past I would work independently for a class and then have the work reviews.

Even the last class I took at SVA was basically a portfolio review based class. After the portfolio's were reviewed we discussed the business and took notes, which was great, but still there was no drawing in class. So I am excited about this class and can't wait to get immersed in it.

Today is a simple day of me going to work and probably just cooking dinner tonight. I'll probably do some writing and other things at work.

Tomorrow I have a bunch of meetings. The one I am looking forward too the most is the one I am sure I have been discussing here for some time. At the comic con I got a bunch of names and numbers to collaborate with, well tomorrow I get to meet up with some of these people and get to see what's going on. Hopefully this will lead to something, someday.

Back to SVA

I am a bit excited today. Tonight I have my first class in inking at SVA. This is a class that I have been wating to take almost all my life. Not that I knew that SVA had it, just that I always wanted to know more about how to ink comics. It was what I always wanted to do since I learned about the position when I was a kid.

The next thing that I am looking forward too are a bunch of meetings I have on Thursday, including one with several other comics creators. Which will be helpful to me for the class as well, good timing.

The weekend that passed

It was a busy weekend. Saturday at 10:30 am I had an eye check up. Things look good, my prescription only needs a slight change. all the other tests look good as well and my ocular nerve looks healthy so that is always good news.

After that my dad and I started to do some work outside and opened our pool. my friend came by and lent a had as well which was very helpful. Then I went over to his house and moved a couch out to a guest house.

Sunday I worked and then came home and put the pump for the pool together and did a bunch of online work and some typing.

Today it looks like I will be running errands: getting pool hoses, going to the bank, Home Depot and picking out new frames for my glasses. Then the rest of the week will be filled with meeting and trips to the city. culminating with the Saturday showcase at the Ballroom.

It is going to be a long week.

The Comp Continued

Well the drama of my computer continues. I went down to Best Buy yesterday and talked to the Geek Squad, they don't know what is going on with my computer. Apparently it was real pain in the ass for them, because every time they tried to run a diagnostic it shut down. So they will be sending it out for service, which means (depending on if they have the part or not) that I will be without my computer for 2 weeks. So it will be 2 weeks of hobbling along for me...oh well I guess, at least I am not paying for it.

When this is all done I am going to look into extending my warranty to be safe. Right now it is paying off in spades, so why not get the extra protection if I can.

Other then that I wrote 3 new articles yesterday, which I am going to type up and submit today. I also have another booze review to do and other general personal tasks.

Motivation

For awhile I have felt less and less motivated. Probably due to burn out and stress, but having gone away for Memorial day weekend, I feel a bit more energized. I've been getting up earlier and overall feeling more productive.

Strangely what also is helping is not having my computer around. Since I am using other people computers, it has forced me to focus and get what I need to do done and not dick around.

Speaking of my computer again, I got a call from the Geek Squad, they aren't sure what is wrong with it and I believe they need my approval to send it out to be worked on.

Anyway I am feeling more energized and motivated which is good of course.

My comp

As some may already know, my comp is down. I brought it to the Geek Squad yesterday, where I was told it was most likely the motherboard. Luckily when I bought the computer I paid for a 2 year warranty, which covers the computer. If i hadn't I would have to pay for a new motherboard which is equivalent to practically buying a new computer.

For the time being I will be using my mom's laptop and my dad's pc. However, this still hinders me working on my animation, as well as editing any other images or accessing any articles. Not too mention it is just a major pain in the ass.