Red J :: The Blog of Jon Sommariva

Megaman :: Best Bosses

2011-09-15T09:21:00.003+10:00

Hey guys!

Just thought I would update ye olde blog today.

Yesterday I received my copy of the Udon megaman tribute book which was chock full of amazing art and artists from around the world. I really enjoyed looking through this book. So much good stuff in there! I was really surprised to see that my piece was on the first page. Not that I think that is a better spot than any other, but I was expecting to be tucked in somewhere near the back.

So lets talk about megaman. Here is a fun fact: Did you know that megaman is hidden in just about every comic book I have ever drawn?! Have a look at your old copies of Gemini and see if you can find him. This is because I have always been such a huge fan of the original games. Good memories I guess. I only ever owned Megamans 1, 2 and 3. So, when Udon decided to do this book, I was all over it! I did 3 pieces, but this is the only one that got printed. I did an airman level piece which I thought was kind of cool. I don't know if you guys want to see that though.

For my tribute piece, I wanted to draw my favourite bosses. Weather it was because of their design or the awesome stage music, these were my faves. I wanted to draw Topman in there since his music is one of my favourites ever, but his lamness meant he didnt make the cut. haha.

As always, on the blog you get the behind the scenes exta sketchy goodness. Here you can see my rough sketch and then clean lines.

Hope you like the art!

Jon.

Deadpool Evolution!!! Junkyard Jump.

2011-08-24T10:04:00.003+10:00

Hello!

So, I've been slack with the blog posts of late. I'm a hoarder, and I'm hoarding all my art in a secret vault. The good news is that I will be unloading a shit load of this into my newest art book, Ozmosis Chills III which is in the early planning stages. I am going bigger and better with this one. Details will follow shortly, once I have an idea of what I'm doing. ETA is that it will be ready in time for NYCC this year.

Speaking of Ozmosis Chills, the piece featured in this blog post appeared in OC2, but only in pencil form, so now for the first time I will show you guys the inked and coloured piece.

I had actually abandoned these pencils back in 2009. Mostly cause I just didn't get the time to finish it, and once pencils get past a certain point all you see is your mistakes and then you just loose the heart to finish it.

Earlier this year I attended a few cons and an art collector buddy saw the piece in my folio and asked if I would finish it off as a commission. I agreed, and so 2 years later I had the challenge of polishing this turd into a proper masterpiece... At least that was the goal.

You will see a bit of a step by step below. That is so you can see how the piece evolved in the pencil stage. I think you can get a feel for how much polishing I did to try and get it all looking right. You can see some of the adjustments I made to try and "fix" the problems which would have been there if I had inked it back in 2009. I think my forms and structures feel more solid, which is something I am always wanting to get better at. You want your objects to feel like they have volume. The composition isn't necessarily better, but I had a goal in mind for the colours, and I felt the new background would work better the way it turned out.

So there you have it folks... History of a piece which no one probably wanted to know. The end result is a styalised teen looking Deadpool with a post-apocalyptic junkyard background. That sounds like something fun to me and I had a lot of fun drawing this one.

Hope you like!

thanks for reading,

Jon.

Pirates pencils to inks and NYCC

2011-08-03T08:28:00.007+10:00

Hello Ninjas!

Once again my blog was feeling alone and lonely, so it is time for a little update.

Last weekend I was tweeting the process of a commission piece I worked on. It was a pirate piece, and now I present to you that piece in its inked and ready to colour state.

Also in this nifty blog post you will find my rough pencils and then my more polished pencils ready for inking.

I hope you like seeing this stuff!

ANNOUNCEMENT: I will be attending this years NYCC. This will be my first time in New York. I'm super excited, and I hope to meet lots of artists and comic fans alike at the con. I will keep you guys up to date on all that here, so if you are planning to go, you will have the info to stop by and say hello! I will be sharing my table with old friend and artist Greg Titus who is amazing.

Thanks for reading guys! Expect more art in the lead up to NYCC!

Jon.

Black Ladies and SupaNova Sydney

2011-06-13T13:08:00.010+10:00

Hello friends and finders of this secret little art stash! I am well overdue for an update, so along with some recent art, here are also some ramblings...

First the art. These pieces are from a set of 11 that I have done for a bunch of people who pre-ordered sketch pieces from me in time for SupaNova in Sydney. I've had a great time working on these. All pieces are done on 9 x 12 bristol board using pencil, ink, copics and artlines.

In total there are 11 in this set. I'm hoping to add more to that in the near future. Stay tuned!

I thought it would be cool to start with the ladies with Black in their name:
Black Cat, Black Canary and Black Widow!

Also, cause I love all my ninja follwers on the blog, I'm gonna share some snaps I took of my rough pencil work for those who like to see a little bit of my unpolished mess.

Slight brag: I'm going to watch Kung-Fu Panda 2 today. I'm so excited! This is one of those films where I can't help but be very hyped up for it, which can be a set up for either a HUGE dissapointment, or massive satisfaction. We'll see! Apparently Jack Black is gonna be there.

SupaNova Sydney: It is ON like Donkey Kong...Next weekend. Super excited to do my first Sydney con as a local. I will have limited prints and comics for sale, and I will also be doing head sketches. If you want one of these I recommend getting in early as my list does fill up. I am also thinking of taking a list of commissions which will be just like the ones from this post, so if your interested, let me know. We can dance!

Thanks for reading! As always, more art is on the way!

Peace!
Jon.

Commissions :: Rogue and X-23 + THOR thoughts.

2011-04-26T14:37:00.006+10:00

Hi guys!

Hope everyone is enjoying the Easter break!

Have you seen Thor yet?! I did, and I loved it. I don't want to spoil anything. All I want to say is that Marvel have made a fantastic film and got me very interested in a character who I had no interest in at all before. Go see it! Oh, and while I'm at it, can we please at least be given the option to see this movie in 2D?! I find 3D so pointless. It adds nothing but gimmick cheese to the film. The film has a solid story and great characters, and the setting is beautifully done. These qualities are present weather the film is in 2D or 3D. Again I say, it adds nothing! What do you guys think?

OK...let's talk about art. I worked on a couple of outstanding commissions this week, and I'm getting into a good fun groove with these. The choices were great of course. Who doesn't love Rogue or X-23? I'm loving working with markers and inks and getting my hands dirty. It makes me feel like an artist :)

The business table - (Don't read this unless you like to buy and own original art): These pieces are already spoken for, but if you want a commish done to match this set or if you would like to pre-order one for supanova Sydney, get in touch. $100 each. I will have limited spots available as time allows, but for now I am OPEN FOR COMMISSIONS. Alternatively you can get an inked and toned head sketch like the ones I posted earlier for $50.

Thanks for looking guys!

Jon.

Batgirls :: raw pencils - finished colours

2011-04-19T07:53:00.005+10:00

Hello!

Some of you may have already seen this floating about on deviantart, or perhaps in person at supanova. Well, now it is also here on my blog. The good news is that here you get to look at my original pencils also.

One of the first DC books I ever got into was Batgirl. A big part of the reason was the gorgeous Damion Scott artwork, but also that Cassie design which is just so slick and cool to look at and draw. The book stood out among all the other titles, and it had more than enough storywise to keep me hooked.

I would love to draw a Batgirl book like this some day. I think she is a very cool character, and such a fun addition to the Bat family. I'm definately hoping to draw her some more in any case.

For anyone interested in buying the original pencils, I'm sorry to say that the original is now SOLD! to a handsome buyer I met in Melbourne. I miss them already, but I know the piece is in a good place :)

Pencils: Me
Inks: Sean Parsons
Colour: Aron Lusen
It's always a great pleasure working with these guys!

Jon.

Supanova: My sketches

2011-04-15T10:19:00.006+10:00

Hey guys!

Well, it has been a crazy past 3 weeks. I spent a week in Bali, and then a week in Brisbane followed by a week in Melbourne! I've had a blast catching up with old friends and making lots of new ones too.

The Supanova conventions in Australia just keep getting better and better. I'm now looking forward to Supanova in Sydney, and hopefully a con over in the states. I'd love to make it over later this year, but we'll see what happens.

So, without further ado, here are some of my pics from the convention, along with a selection of the con sketches I did. Hope you like, and keep your eyes peeled for more new art on Mondays!

Jon.

Tides of Hope :: Art for Charity

2011-03-28T23:36:00.004+11:00

Hello!

Sorry for the short break between posts there. I have been off on an adventure, but I'm back for the moment. I'll be at Supanova in Brisbane 1-3 April 2011 and Melbourne 8 - 10 April 2011. Hope to see you guys there!

Here is a piece which I finished recently. I was asked if I wanted to contribute to a book which would help out a little for the victims of the recent floods in QLD, Australia. More info about the book can be found HERE. While I worked on this I couldn't help but reflect on all the crazy natural disasters which are happening around our globe. So while this piece will hopefully help out the people of Queensland specifically, my thoughts also go out to all our friends in New Zealand and also Japan.

The piece I worked on was written by Chris Claremont. It was a really fun and interesting challenge. I did my best to remain faithful to Mr. Claremonts script while also injecting my own flavour and design sense in there.

I think the original will be available for auction also with all funds going to charity. Please do check out the book if you make it out to the Supanova conventions.

For the art heads: I took a couple of snaps of the piece as I worked on it, so here is a little look at the work in progress/ behind the scenes. Combo of traditional with digital.

Thanks for looking!

Jon.

Red Monika

2011-03-08T11:05:00.005+11:00

OK, so technically it is not Monday where I am, but it might just be where you are. The point is, it is the beggining of the week, and here is some art which you have not seen, AKA new art!

So here is a Red Monika sketch I did for someone who bought my book. I loved Battle chasers...Man...what an Epic book that was. I do hope Joe Mad gives us some more someday. As for me, I would love to draw some more BC stuff, cause it is so much fun to draw! I have a bunch of head sketches I did somewhere of Gully and Garrison. Maybe I'll twitpic them one of these days...

By the way, if anyone wants to have a go at colouring these lines, let me know if there is interest in the comments section and I'll put up a link for some hi res inks for you guys, otherwise you have my coloured version and so it shall remain for all time...

EDIT: Grab the hi-res inks from HERE.
Hope you like!

J.

Darkstalkers :: Dimitri & Morrigan

2011-03-07T10:13:00.004+11:00

Darkstalkers :: Rikuo

2011-03-02T16:26:00.004+11:00

Surprise! OK....so I don't want to make any promises here, but I will be updating around these parts a little more regularly than just Mondays, but only Monday is guaranteed! Cool? Deal?

Here is another Darkstalker I did for Udons book a little while back. I never got around to posting them up when I did 'em, so here they are...now...today...2011.

Told ya there was more coming soon!

Jon.

The green MOON face

2011-02-28T22:16:00.005+11:00

For today I thought it would be interesting to show you guys a cheeky little sneak peek of the week. That's what I'm gonna call it. This is the most recent thing I have been up to. I am working A LOT with colour and learning and absorbing as much as I can about that world. What you see here is just the top half of the piece, and that area is about 75% done. Once I am finished with it all I will post up some actual finished stuff. I'm rather proud of how this thing is looking actually. :)

This is from my current job which I will be finishing up by the end of this week. After that I am free...sort of.

Thanks for reading amigos! More is on the way...
Jon.

Sketchbook Seshing and Experimentation

2011-02-21T10:33:00.004+11:00

Monday, Monday! 'tis a lovely day for my blog...

Here are some sketches scanned straight from my sketchbook. I find that it is a great way to loosen up or unwind. Sometimes you get so caught up in a project drawing the same things over and over, and it's nice to break that up with a good sketchbook session. In this case I was playing around with my copic markers once more as well as various pencils and inks.

On a side note, this was my first attempt at drawing Galactus. I actually drew him and Silver Surfer on a card recently, and I did this to get an idea of how to draw him. Such a crazy design when you think about it. Who has a spaceship on their head?!

The second piece is a colour study. Nothing really other than me trying to come up with an interesting painty type of look...

More art coming very soon!

J.

Valentines Day Crush

2011-02-15T10:35:00.005+11:00

Heeeeeey!

Sorry about that title. It was too cheesy to resist!

This was the cover art I did for issue 7 of Free Realms. It was then used as the cover for the trade collection of all the issues I drew. You can see that over here on Amazon.

You can see my rough layout/pencils and then the finished pencils. It was all pretty straight forward on this one. Inks on the final piece were done by Allen Martinez and Colours by Bill Crabtree.

Wi-Fighter :: Modern Day Super Hero

2011-02-12T21:17:00.005+11:00

Hello Amigos!

This is Wi-Fighter. Another character I created for fun. The idea here was to design a guy who could travel using the power of the internet. He also uses the net to learn special skills on the fly. For example he can watch Ryu performing a Ha Do Ken on Youtube, download it into his suit and perform the manouver on an enemy.

That is all...

Jon.

PS: What do you guys think of the blog face lift?

Dr. Sucker Punch

2011-02-08T03:02:00.006+11:00

Hey guys!

Monday means new art on this here blog, and todays art is as fresh as it comes. I don't mean "fresh" as in "what makes a DJ...", but I mean fresh as in, I literally just finished this! 2011 styles all the way.

World, AKA all 100 awesome people who follow my blog...allow me to introduce Dr. Sucker Punch.

OK....so I spent my day creating and fleshing out some characters for fun today. Two completely different characters to be precise. Here is one of them. This guy was a lot of fun to draw and colour, AND also to write... I never really considered that side of things as writing, but coming up with a backstory is exactly that if I'm not mistaken. If I get time I will develop his story further and see what comes of it. Some of that depends on whether you guys want to see more, but mostly it will be a time thing.

Hope you like!

Jon.

megaman sneek and the internet rassum frassum

2011-02-04T12:49:00.005+11:00

Hey guys!

Well, I'm back!

Not having internet in this day and age sure does suck! I don't know how I survived as a teenager, but maybe thats why I spent so much time drawing! No net to distract! haha.

Anyway, I will continue to post new art on Mondays as promised, but here is a little something extra since I missed a couple during the dark ages!

First up, a little teaser of one of my megaman submissions for the UDON tribute book. I had a lot of fun working on these pieces, but I think I am definately mega-manned out for the time being! haha. I think this is probably the weakest of the 3, but I think the colours are kinda nice.

The other piece is a scan from my sketchbook. I will be posting the clean finished versions very soon, so stay tuned!

Hasta Lunes!

Jon.

Wolverine & Deadpool :: Copic Ninja

2011-01-17T11:00:00.004+11:00

It is Monday once again, and so here is some new art! (Or rather art that I have not shown yet!)

This is a commish I did recently. I wanted to do something special for this one, so I decided to go for a full colour piece. It's my first traditional colour commission, and it was done using copic markers. I've been playing around with these a little lately. They are fun to work with, and I love being able to get instant coloured results. I thought it might be interesting to show a little of the progression on the piece, so I took some iPhone snaps during the making of the art.

There will be more copic marker art soon!

PS: Since I am in the middle of moving houses right now, I may not have any internets for next Monday, but I will see if I can find a way to keep the blog stocked with new Monday art...There may be a way! See you soon!

2011 :: New art every Monday

2011-01-10T17:35:00.006+11:00

This year I have decided to try and be more organised. One of the things I want to try and do is keep this blog updated with new art every week. SO my challenge to myself will be to post up a piece of new art every Monday for the rest of the year. I can't promise everything will be pretty, but there will always be something, and hopefully I can keep you updated on current projects.

This week I am working on some illustrations for a childrens book. More details as I am able to show and tell.

See you soon!

Iron Man 2 cards for sale!!

2010-12-21T17:05:00.004+11:00

Hey guys!

I am just gonna say this...I will make it my goal for 2011 to post on this blog at least once per week...Something...anything...There will be art! Enough with the secrecy I say!

For now though, here is something which I have been putting off for a while, and here it is...These are my AP cards from the Iron Man 2 card set I worked on for Upperdeck. You can also see some of the actual sketch cards I did. I worked on those very quickly over 2 days I think. I ended up doing 30 cards all up. It was great working fast and loose and I think I like them more than I hate them, so that can't be a bad thing, right?

The cards with price tags are available to buy as of now...I also have 4 blank ones left for anyone who would like to commission a card of their favourite character. just sayin....

Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays! Bring on the New Year I say!!!

Talk soon!
Jon.

The free sketch collection

2010-11-18T13:54:00.009+11:00

Hello!

Well, it's been a little while since I posted new art here. I have been doing these sketch requests for people who have bought my Ozmosis Chills 2 sketchbook. Get them while you can!

I am also showing you guys a little bit of a behind the scenes look at how I have been working on these. You can see my rough sketch versions of the wookie and also Bob Marley. The Bob piece is actually sketched half pencil and half digital. The final piece is all traditional inks with digital colour, so it really is a mix of the 2 techniques.

I'm having a lot of fun working on these sketches. I have had some really great requests!

Please enjoy!

Jon.

Astro boy & Mega man

2010-11-03T12:40:00.004+11:00

Free sketch art

2010-10-25T13:53:00.007+11:00

Greetings!

I've been meaning to update my blog for a while, so thats what THIS is all about...

A warm welcome to all the new people who have found their way here. Lovely to have you checking out my stuff, and thankyou for all the kind notes and words. I always appreciate that.

SO....I have been doing sketches for people who have been buying my art book, Ozmosis Chills 2. You can find out more about that by clicking on the link over to the right there. I'll post up a few of them here for you guys to check out. They are good fun and I have been pushing myself to get good results from these, so if you want one, now is a good time to sign up!

I will say no more, and let the art speak for itself!

Also, if you guys want to follow some of my other art stuff I am now on facebook too. That's called pimping your ass all over the net :)

Thanks for reading, and I hope you like the new art!

Jon.

FreeRealms pages

2010-09-07T12:09:00.002+10:00

Helloooo!

I've put a stack of new art up on my deviantart site, and I thought it would just be unfair to leave my poor blog ignored and neglected.

So here is a stash of the stuff I have been posting, and maybe a couple of bonuses :)

Thanks for stopping by as always!

Jon.

Free Realms covers

2010-08-29T14:50:00.002+10:00

OK. So it's already August 2010. Almost September actually. Time sure is flying.

So, here are the rest of the covers I did for Free Realms in pencil mode. Issue 12 is already out there. It came out this month, so you can check it out if you want to at any comics shops that may have ordered it. If anyone wants copies of these comics with my art, just drop me an email and we can work something out as I have copies for sale. These are the covers for issues 10, 11 and 12.

I'm living up in Sydney now and getting settled in. I've been making good progress on issue 5 of Gemini while simultaneously working on another really cool project. I'm learning so much and having lots of fun drawing, so hopefully you guys will see all this stuff soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jon.

PS: I have added a link to a blog you should all check out. It is the art of the great artist ZALOZABAL. His art is great!

COVER ART :: Back to the BLOG

2010-07-15T12:30:00.004+10:00

Wow...The last time I posted anything on here was in 2009! That is just nuts! Where the hell have I been?

Well, for one thing, I have been working on a comic book series called FreeRealms. I'm all done with that. I drew 6 issues all up and they are cming out as we speak. In fact, I believe issue #11 is out today.

So, since I have been so absent from my blog, I thought I should make this posting rather juicy, so what I will do is post up all the covers I did for this series in pencil. First are the first 3 covers. I'll post the rest in the next blog entry.

I had fun trying different things with these covers. I think some turned out pretty nice (the later ones) while others were not as pretty as some of the other stuff I have drawn. It's all been a great learning experience though, and hopefully I have come out a better artist on the other side.

I will try and stay regular on this blog for the next little while. I'll keep you guys updated on the progress of Gemini issue #5 (the last of that series). I havn't started on the actual pages just yet as I am in the middle of moving houses, but it is gonna happen so soon now. I can only hope it is worth the wait, and with Jay's script, that side of things is locked in (and awesome)...so it's up to me to bring the ruckus!

OK....enough blabbing and more art already, yeah? If you have any questions I will do my best to answer them in the comments!

Thanks peeps, and see you all again real soon!

Jon.

F04 :: Punisher & Wolverine.

2009-11-20T12:25:00.003+11:00

If I just act like nothing happened, no one will notice that I missed my posting last week, right?

OK...so I said i would post a little process info on the making of this piece I did earlier this year. I did draw this one pretty quickly. I wanted to get it done in time for San Diego. For those who are savvy, it was also included in Ozmosis Chills II.

The original is available for sale too if anyone is interested.

Anyway....what we see here are the first breakdown sketch, followed by tightening of the pencils and followed by the inks. Hopefully we will see some coloured versions popping up around the place sooner or later.

And with that I shall disappear. I need some sleep. Hi-5 on getting some sleep.

J.

Friday 03 :: Sketchier than ever

2009-11-06T14:45:00.003+11:00

OK....so this is the place for sketches and stuff that you normally don't get to see. At least that's what they tell you once you get here. So today, I'm gonna slap you with a few sketches.

1 - purple head. This was just me playng around with some colour as I do from time to time. Havnt had a chance lately cause Photoshop loves to crash on my new computer with Vista. I think Vista sux dogs balls and I hate it and I wish I had never got it.

2 - The Poindexter Farm. This one is 1 page of about 16 I did for a cd cover job. Had a lot of fun with the pencils.

3 - Sketchbook sketches. These arn't great, but I thought it would be nice to throw up some old sketchbook doodles.

Thats it for now...who says I don't keep it regular around here? eh? eh?

See you next week!!

Red J.

Friday 02 :: OK...so it's really Monday!

2009-11-02T10:10:00.004+11:00

For shame! It's only the second week, and I already missed a Friday.

Well, I'm here now, so all is well, and I will make up for it with a double feature.

What I am posting up today is a couple of sketches. One of these was to get a gig with Wildstorm drawing a comic book for them, and the other is a sketch I did after I got the gig to get a feel for the actual character.

I probably won't be posting much more art from this project for a while since I am still really only in the early stages, but it is a sneak peek at what I am working on at the moment.

For you guys waiting on the last issue of Gemini, unfortunately it is going slow right now, but I want you guys to know that it is really important to me to get that done, and I have done a little work on it so far. It will happen eventually.

Thanks for looking!! Hope you enjoy the new art.

Jon.

Friday01::Wolverine vs Venom

2009-10-23T14:17:00.005+11:00

OK...so I'm back.

The plan is to post new art here every Friday and not leave my poor blog out there in the cold with no love and affection.

I just realised I havnt been getting notifications from peoples comments on the blog here which would explain the lack of resposes. I will keep an eye out and get back to you guys who take the time to say hello :)

I won't blow my whole load here right now, but there are a couple of things to talk about. First, lets talk about the art.

What you see here is the under sketch for a commission I did for some guys I met at a convention. They asked me to sketch on one of those Marvel Dark Avengers sketch covers. This is what I did on the back as a bonus cause I took so long to finish the cover for them. I think they were happy with the bonus. You can see the same cover inked and grey toned over on my deviantart to which I will provide a link for you all here: http://fav.me/d2c1gnt

The other thing I would like to talk about is the new movie Astro Boy... (this is spoiler free by the way)

I saw this movie last night. I really didnt have high expectations for it. I was kinda disapointed when I first saw the trailer and the direction they had taken with some of the character designs, but eventually I got over that, and I think that Astro himself looked really great.

In fact, I will say that this movie did look really good overall. Really nice 3D work, and the animation was also pretty awesome, moreso on the action than the emotive stuff.

Where this film fell flat for me was with the story. There were some really cheesy bits (Robot revolutionaries?) which I wasnt a fan of. I know they think they need to put stuff in there like that to make the kids happy, but that is exactly what i hate about a movie like this. You dont need to cheese things up for the kids! Look at PIXAR! they never do that.

There was a particularly emotional scene in Astro which should have been emotional, but I felt nothing! There was something missing there, and really this scene which I am trying not to spoil, should have been given a lot more attention since this was the reason why Astro is then created!

I think I might have chuckled once through the whole film, and that is a pretty bad sign for someone who wants to get something more than a visual feast out of a film.

The potential was there for such an amazing film, but unfortunately I was quite disapointed. Thats coming from someone who grew up watching Astro boy as a kid in the 80's, so take my movie rant for what its worth... Anyone else catch this? agree? disagree?

See you all back here soon!

JKS!

Ozmosis Chills II & San Diego

2009-07-15T17:06:00.002+10:00

Just a quick little sneak peek here....

This is the cover for my new sketchbook which i am launching at San Diego comicon.

The book is 40 pages of all new unseen art. Lots of colour stuff, and lots of material straight from my sketchbook. I'm only printing 100 copies of it, so get them while you can!

Soon as I get them back from the printers, I'll post up a few photos. So watch this space!

See you soon!

Jon.

Darkstalkers :: Felicia

2009-07-01T10:23:00.004+10:00

First up, I just wanted to show the inner workings of one of my Darkstalkers pieces. For those who don't know, UDON is putting out a tribute book for fans of the Darkstalkers property from Capcom. I ended up drawing 6 of these characters, and I did them all in the 'baby' or 'chibi' style.

The others will surface eventually, I'm sure. If you come and visit me at comicon in San Diego, I will have them all there for people to check out. For now though, here is Felicia.

I thought you guys might like to see the before and after, along with some of the thumbnails and other ideas I threw out for this character. Please do let me know if you enjoy seeing the sketches or not as it helps me figure out what more to post up in the future :)

thanks!

Jon.

Three things:: Transformers, Darkstalkers and New Chills

2009-06-30T12:43:00.002+10:00

Three little things to talk about:

One: Tonight I will go and watch Transformers. I'll let you all know what I think after I see it.

Two: The sketch you see here has nothing to do with my Darkstalkers pieces which are included in the UDON tribute book...maybe.

Three: Been working on Ozmosis Chills Book II with my buddy on the design. When you see the cover, I think you are going to want it.

That will be all for now. Back to work I go.

Red J.

Watch me draw Gemini on YOUTUBE

2009-06-29T16:01:00.004+10:00

Dear blog,
I wanted to post this up about 2 years ago, but never got around to it. I recently posted it on my Deviantart website, and I felt that you missed out. So here I am making it up to you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbD9BdvWFY0

This is a little video I made for fun one night using a web cam.
The art is from Gemini #1 page 12. Hope you like it!

So, my little blog... Here is a little side news for you. I went and saw Tommy Emmanuel play live last Wednesday night. I came out of the theatre feeling very inspired indeed. Not to pick up my guitar, but rather to push myself further and try and reach even further with my art. An amazing man.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, go see him on YOUTUBE here: Tommy Emmanuel playing Classical Gas.
cheers!
Jon.

It's a wrap!!

2009-06-24T08:32:00.005+10:00

Just taking a celebratory moment here to say that Gemini 4 is ready to go!

I have seen the full issue lettered. I gotta say, I love getting the lettered pages. It's when the art finally becomes a real comic book. Very cool. Props to Rus Wooton.

And, while I'm sending a shoutout, check out the lovely new colours from Fares Maese.

Keep your peepers peeled for some new non-Gem related artwork to appear here shortly.

See you soon!

Jon.

Gemini:: issue 4 finished

2009-06-21T15:34:00.003+10:00

Hello readers of this blog!

A quick update here. Just want to say that Issue 4 of Gemini is officially out of my hands now. We wrapped up colours on the last page last week. It has been a tough journey, but most of us made it safely.

With any luck this comic will be out in time for San Diego comicon, which I will be attending. You can buy copies of the issue direct from me, and I may even scribble a little something on it :).

thanks for looking!

Jon.

Gemini 4 :: Almost finished!!

2009-04-20T20:51:00.003+10:00

Hello!

Just wanted to let anyone who checks in here that issue 4 of Gemini is almost finished! I have 5 pages left to go, so that makes me very happy!

Here is a sneak peek for your trouble.

More soon!!!

Jon.

Green ninja strikes

2009-03-24T22:33:00.002+11:00

Ninja.

There is nothing more fun to draw.

Just something I had lying around from my sketchbook.

Hope you like! Too fuckin' hungry to write anything else.

Jon.

Phone Doodles I

2009-03-23T17:49:00.006+11:00

Just a quickie here...

It has been a LOOOOOOOOOONG time between posts....but I'm gonna try and get on a little more regularly.

As some of you who have been around a while may know, part of the purpose of this blog was for me to be able to post the stuff you wouldn't normally see. The sketches. The doodles. The more raw looking stuff.

For the past 4 months or so I have been working in a place where I talk on the phone a lot. I have a sketch book which I keep with me, and what you see here are some of the pages. In fact the first 4 pages from that book. Not necessarily the best sketches, but I guess you guys can keep an eye on the progress of that book here as I post chunks of pages from time to time.

These are my phone doodles.

Jon.

See you guys back here real soon!

Gemini 3 reviews

2008-11-07T10:39:00.004+11:00

Well, the reviews have started to roll in. So far so good. It's always fun to hear peoples thoughts on your work. i'm especially glad to hear that people are enjoying the story, because I really do think this is one of the more fun comic books out there, and I am always excited to read the next instalment (and then of course I get to draw it!). Gotta hand it to Jay...He really knows what he is doing!

Here are some of the reviews which have come my way so far:

http://ifanboy.com/reviews/RipperSix/image_comics/gemini/3_(of_5)

http://bravenewworldscomicsblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/brave-new-worlds-blog-review-has.html

I'll keep adding them as i come across them and when I blog.

Will be away in Sydney over the weekend catching up with my buddy, so hopefully I will have something interesting to tell or show next week.

The Art: The first image is just me playing around with some colours. Slightly different to what you see printed in the book. I like to indulge every now and then. Second image is the pencils from the spread I posted yesterday. The trem 'loose' might be used to describe them, but thats how I doos it.

Peace!

Jon.

Gemini # 3 :: It's out. GO GET IT!!!!

2008-11-06T13:19:00.005+11:00

So...we meet again!

November is a special month for me. Probably cause I was born in November. So yeah...it's all about me. I'm sure I will announce my own birthday and everything...

The long-awaited 3rd issue of Gemini is out there for the world to consume! Please go grab a copy and let me know your thoughts! Would love to hear from anyone. I have a copy of it sitting on my drawing table, and I have to say that this issue printed really nicely. I thought issue 1 also printed beautifully, and issue 2 was kinda muddy, but issue 3 looks as good as it could as far as printing goes.

Issue 3 is like our Empire Strikes Back of the series. It is the mid-point of the story I guess and of course leads into the battle royale which takes place in issue 4 (which I am currently drawing). Can't wait to have the whole story done, cause I, much like you, want to know how it all plays out!

I have more art than I know what to do with to post up on the blog guys, so keep them peepers peeled, and check back often!

Jonos.

Wisdom level has dropped

2008-10-29T17:18:00.003+11:00

Hello there!

I had a colourist jam over on my deviantart page. I provided the little Spidey lines and many colourists came along to show off their skills. These 2 guys here inspired me to put my wacom away and stick to drawing. That's a good thing. It means I draw more, and the colours look better than what i could ever do. Love it. The artists who provided colours here are known as 'Clunkworld' and 'Zaratus'. Both very nice guys.

I had a wisdom tooth removed today. It's feeling OK at the moment, but I'm not enjoying the taste of blood in my mouth mixed with anaesthetic. That tooth was a big fucker, but it popped right out. I think I experienced more discomfort having my teeth cleaned by the dentist actually.

See you soon!

Little Spidey sketchyness and....

2008-10-25T11:47:00.003+11:00

Blog-o-rama!

Just wanted to chuck couple of bits of art up here.

Firstly is a little baby chibi Spidey. Just another warm-up sketch I did to loosen up, and I kinda like how he turned out, so here he is making an appearance. Hopefully he will be making a colour appearance soon enough. He is the subject of my latest colour jam over at deviantart.

The other pic here is the head sketches I posted the other day with some more colour added for fun.

thanks for reading!

Little Leo

2008-10-21T13:43:00.004+11:00

Another very small ink warm-up done the other day, which I coloured this morning. I've been meaning to draw a proper Leo piece for ages... Still havn't got there, but this will do for now.

I'll be posting up some inks very soon for everyone to have a crack at colouring and show me what you can do :D

I realised today that i am a sucker for the simpler things in life... Butter on Toast, Vanilla flavoured ice-cream, meatpie with no sauce... Perhaps I am becoming an old man!

Enjoy!

Head Shot III

2008-10-20T16:33:00.003+11:00

Dam...it's been almost 2 weeks since the last entry. Where has time gone?

I have been busy...that's for sure.

I am back inking Gemini pages at the moment, hence the warm-up inks you will see appearing on the blog over the next few days.

Not much to report right now. The art you see here is a direct scan from my sketchbook. I felt like playing with a little colour there too, and now I am ready to hit some actual comic page stuff...

Good to see some people clicking the 'follower' button on the blog here. Definately plan on keeping it funky n fresh for you guys!

I'll be back soon!

Marvel Masterpiece sketch cards

2008-10-07T11:08:00.007+11:00

Here are some of the sketchcards I did for the latest Marvel Masterpiece set. All up I did 30 cards, but I still have 20 Artist Proof cards to do.

What are artist proof cards? Well...I'm glad you asked. They are the same as the cards pictured above, except that you don't have to buy hundreds of packs of cards to find one...You buy them direct from the artist, and you can even choose which character you would like to see on eyour card! Not bad eh? These cards are officially approved by Marvel Comics and Upperdeck. So they are the real deal. Not only that, but they are one of a kind cards. The art is original artwork.

If you are interested in owning one of these for yourself, please click on the link below to find out how to get one from me. http://scoundrelpublishing.com/spart/viewtopic.php?t=8871

SPECIAL OFFER:

thanks!

Loose ends :: Gemini Inks

2008-10-06T19:14:00.003+11:00

I spent the day doing a massive spring clean up of my house today. Every now and then you just gotta do it I guess. Feels nice, clean and refreshed in here now. Makes me want to sit down n draw actually! I might even take a few pics of the 'studio' for you guys to check out. That's what you do after a clean up, right?

I thought it would be nice to show the finished inks from the sneak previews of issue 4 I have posted up here. I think this issue is shaping up to be the best one of the series so far. I mean, it has Dynamo 5 in it, and they are just dam cool characters to draw.

Anyway...it's off to finish the vacuming. Good times.

Head Shot II

2008-10-05T12:57:00.004+11:00

Just a quickie today. Think of it as the calm before the storm.

Captain America. I tried something a little different. Inks with pencil shading. I thought it was relevant since this was one of many tests I did before deciding upon the style i wanted to go with for my marvel cards.

I'll be posting up a bunch of my Marvel sketch cards in the coming days, as well as info on how you can own an official piece of hand drawn Marvel art from me. So keep your peepers peeled! I have a very small limited number of slots available, and I expect them to fill quickly.

In Soccer news...no game on tonight. Apparently it is a long weekend. So hooray to all you people who work normal jobs!

Enjoy responsibly!

Gemini :: Early concept art

2008-10-04T09:30:00.005+10:00

Top of the morning to you!!!

It's good to see a little traffic coming through recently. I like it. Keep visiting, and I shall keep the art flow going.

For todays small delight I am going to give you an early piece of concept art I did for Gemini. Pictured here are the 2 characters we first get to see in issue 1; Rumble and Gemini.

Both characters ended up looking quite different in the final book, but there is still something about these designs which I quite like.

In my original idea for Rumble, I thought of him as a UK punk bruiser type of dude who had been genetically enhanced. Like he had taken way too many roids or something. Very aggressive. But then I designed the guys who fight Gemini in the junkyard scene, and they had a sort of punk/gothic vibe about them, so I decided to go a different route with Rumble. He became more of a military experiment gone wrong.

As for Gemini, this here was pretty much the first of about 2000 designs I did for him. I slightly exagerate. But as you can see I was on a completely different path to what we ended up with.

Does this info actually interest anyone?

See you again soon blog!

Jon.

Smack! What was that?! Gem issue 3

2008-10-03T09:41:00.002+10:00

Heyas!

I found out today that issue 3 of Gemini is being assembled like an atomic robot waiting to be unleashed upon the world. Yes....that's right. Issue 3 is just inches away from hitting the printers and then your local comic book shops.

I have found it very hard to find something suitable to post from issue 3. No one has really seen anything apart from the cover, and that is because we dont want to spoil anything! So here is your snippet. Take what you can. Once the issue is out, I'll post up more rough pencils and other art for your consumption.

Faerber has written some really fun stuff, and if you have enjoyed issues 1 and 2 so far, I don't see how you wouldn't enjoy this ish as well! It really gets better as the book progresses.

Gonna take my little sister to watch Wall.E today. Can't wait. I heard it's pretty good.

Head Shot I

2008-10-02T13:17:00.005+10:00

My poor neglected blog....

Well, it could be worse! I havn't updated my deviant gallery since June!

The good news is that I have been rather busy working on Gemini ish 4... 5 pages of inks complete so far (minus 1 little panel which I am working on right after this) and then it's onto the next 5.

For today I decided to post up one of many headshots we are bound to see here on the blog. I often draw heads and faces. I have sketch books full of them. I think it is what I practice most. Today I did this one and decided to colour it, since I havn't had the chance to play around with colour for a while. I like how it turned out, although not really all that impressive. Just quick and fun. Sadly, I didn't scan the initial pencil sketch for this one before inking, but I will try to do so in the future.

Oh yeah...one last note: I saw Wall.E the other night. Here is my review: Fucking Brilliant. Go watch it.

I'll be back.

Cinnamon Donuts and a Ninja Turtle

2008-09-18T01:13:00.004+10:00

Just another quicky...

Today I ate 3 cinammon donuts. I know they are not good for me, but they sure do taste good! I now have a donut for a belly. Nice.

Here is Leonardo all inked up and ready for colour.

Let me know if you want some Hi res action so the world can see what you can do with your colour skills!

I will colour him some day, but for now it's all Gemini, Gemini, Gemini for me!!

Little Juggy comes to life!!

2008-09-18T01:13:00.002+10:00

Hello!

Bit of a different sort of entry for today.

I sporatically receive very cool emails from people who have found an interesting use for my art. I'll try and feature these every now and then as they come in. They will range from clay models like the one you see here to tattoos, to just completely bizare stuff.

The artist responsible for creating this nice little model can be found here on Deviant art: http://dmeversion1.deviantart.com/

I believe he is taking commissions, so if you want to see your art in clay like this, get in touch with the dude.

In Gemini news, I have finished 1 page of inks so far...more is on the way. I'm really happy with how this first page has turned out, but you will all have to wait to see it. I may post it in the future. maybe.

Inking in progress...

2008-09-15T19:24:00.003+10:00

Just a quick one today.

The inking is coming along. I'm enjoying myself so far. Here is a snippet. I'm sure I'm not spoiling anything by telling you that Dynamo 5 appears in issue 4 of Gemini, and it will be one hell of an appearance!

Aside from that, I have enabled anonymous comments as it was pointed out to me that only registered users were able to leave comments, so there ya go. It's open territory. Don't be shy now!

Soccer Sunday

2008-09-14T23:03:00.004+10:00

Sunday night is always soccer night for me. My team is called the Golden Monkeys. Tonight we lost our first game this season, but it was a good game. It's always good to be reminded that you are not as good as you think you are. I'm feeling a little sore, but no injuries this week! Time to get back into some inking before hitting the sack.

Today I scanned a little snippet form my sketchbook. Just some quick head sketches to get the stylistic juices flowing. I always enjoy drawing the good old classic SFII characters. Incase you didn't know these guys are called Zangy and Chunners. Yep. Thats their names.

Gemini 4 COVER pencils

2008-09-13T18:13:00.003+10:00

Dear Mr. Blog,

It is just after 6pm and I am yet to begin these inks I have been talking about doing today. What is wrong with me?!

I can still get a page done, it's a good time to work in the evening. I was just commenting on the nice spring weather we are experiencing. Almost feels like Christmas eve.

Before I get into my inks though, I'm gonna have a crack at some pacman...Am I the same guy who just asked what was wrong with me before? hmm.

The art you see here today is my rough sketch and then slightly tighter pencils for the cover art which will appear on issue 4 of Gemini. Issue 4 is currecntly in production. Watch this space to see it come to life!

Raw and slightly tighter...

2008-09-13T01:13:00.007+10:00

Hello blog!

Although it would seem that I have missed a day, I would argue that i have in fact not, since I havn't slept more than once since the last post...that makes this the next day in my eyes, and it may also look like I have made 2 posts in one day when I post something else tomorrow...

Don't mind me. I am enjoying an apple cider before I get to bed.

Today I finally got those afore-mentioned Gemini pencils nice n tight enough to ink. There is a cool Dynamo 5 splash in amongst this batch. I have decided to tackle this issue in blocks of 5 pages at a time. So I now have my first 5 pages all penciled up and I will be hitting the inks starting tomorrow. I'll probably put some inks up here as I go along. Anything can happen on the blog really, which is why it is so much fun!

Let me talk about todays art.... First up is a very raw bunch of sketches. I was having trouble drawing a particular character on this day, so I just drew her head and expressions many times, very freely, to get back into the character. Sometimes a piece of comic art board can be voodoo cursed in a particular area, and no matter what you do, it just never comes out right. The cure is to draw on a new piece of paper with no restrictions and then hit the cursed piece of paper with confidence!

The 2nd sketch I have shown here is a tightened up version of the Ninja Turtle sketch I posted yesterday. These pencils are now ready for me to ink, which I will be using as my warm-up for inking over the next week. We may just see a finished version of old mate Leonardo here, and you can watch it all happen right here on the 'secret stash'...

I am off to sleepy dreamland now! Goodnite!

Tree Climber

2008-09-11T11:47:00.003+10:00

Hello and good day to you all.

Yesterday was National BBQ day here in Australia. Apparently. So I had a BBQ with a nice group of friends. As if we need another excuse to drink beers and sit ouside in the sun!

Todays sketch is of another ninja turtle...I did a bunch of warm-up sketches, and felt like drawing turtles again. I might ink this one when I am ready to start inking Gemini. Just to break in the new pens, and limber up a little. Y'know? The sketch was very quick. No more than 15 minutes if even that.

The 2nd sketch you see here of a little man climbing a tree was something else I drew on the same page, and this morning I tried some painty paint experiments on it. Had fun with that, and learnt a thing or two for next time around.

Now be gone, and return soon with hungry eyeballs!

Gemini Snippet

2008-09-09T00:36:00.005+10:00

Hello there Blog. My lovely blog. Sorry I missed you the last couple of days. Dam...already blown the post a day thing.

Well...I just havn't had the chance to get to a computer and write anything, but here I am now. Do you forgive me blog?

Today was a good day! Quite productive really. I penciled 2 pages of Gemini issue 4, and also brushed up the pencils of another page. I'll probably pencil 2 more tomorrow, and then hit some inks. So it's coming along. And since you probably don't care about words and would rather see some art, I have attached a little snippet of some of the pencils. I'm really enjoying drawing this book, and I think it is gonna show in the newer stuff.

That is it for now. Must go sleep!

Trapeze

2008-09-05T16:09:00.009+10:00

Feeling a little bloated as I write this. Right after I took a lunch break from drawing, I decided to watch some random crap on you tube as I finihsed a 1 litre tup of Lemon Sorbet...So tasty. But I feel so full now. Makes me want to go lie down rather than keep drawing.

Today (besides being a pig) I have started to teach myself how to paint backgrounds. I'm doing a little side job which will require lots of painted backgrounds, and I want them to look kick ass, so I have to learn how to do this properly. Not easy after years of colouring inside the black lines. When I have something worth showing (which I am allowed to show) I'll post it all up here on the blog of love.

As for todays art...A while back I went and saw the Cirque de Soleil when it came to Canberra. The show was Varekai. I was floored! I have to say that this was the closest I felt to being a kid again while watching a live show. There was so much atmosphere. A good friend of mine met one of the trapeze girls, and now, over a year later they are still together, and he is travelling the world with the circus! Not bad eh?

My travelling buddy wanted to give something nice to his acrobatic lady, and asked if I would draw something....This was the result. I would love to find the time to colour it someday, and perhaps I will eventually, but for now I am showing the steps I took to get to the finished inked piece.

I am talking to myself...

2008-09-04T16:18:00.003+10:00

It just hit me. I'm talking to myself here like a crazy man.

Just about to go to work (my other job), but I wanted to make sure I keep the posting a day alive!

This is a pretty crappy sketch I did of Leonardo... I planned on colouring this at one point, but once I scanned it, I didn't like it. It feels forced to me, so I ditched it. Now it appears on the blog since I didnt have the time to scan anything new. I still don't like it. Must draw a good Leo.

And in case you hadn't seen it, I have posted my take on Michaelangelo... This one didn't turn out so bad.

I'd better tell someone about the blog soon or I will just keep on talking to myself.

Get well soon!

2008-09-03T22:34:00.003+10:00

I love the fact that i can post anything I want here. More the art than my words really, cause I havn't ever really held back on what I have wanted to say in the past...

I have always felt very self-concious about what I post as far as art goes though, but I think this blogs purpose is for me to get past that, and post art freely. Dosn't have to be perfect...in fact the more raw the better.

For example, this one here is a straight scan from my sketch book. I sometimes ink sketches in there to warm up before hitting the actual comic board. I have a lot of this kind of stuff lying around, and I guess over the coming weeks some of those will pop up here.

On a side note, my lovely girlfriend is suffering from some sort of cold at the moment, so I just want to say that I hope she gets better real soon!! I'm feeling a little tingle of a cold trying to take me over, but hopefully I can resist.

Finished pencils for page 1 of issue 4 of Gemini today also. I'll have to post some of those up as I get them done too.

Regular like Muesli

2008-09-02T11:49:00.003+10:00

So, I got up to begin work today (drawing of course!) and I felt like posting on the blog...Then I realised 'hang on a sec! You've only just started this thig yesterday'...and then I thought to myself, 'well, why not!?'

So here I am. I wonder if I can post something new everyday? I think it's a good challenge. Surely I draw at least 1 new thing each day which I can show, right? I think it's a worthwhile experiment.

I have noticed that no one has discovered the secret stash as yet. I havn't told anyone about it either, but I'll put the word out there once there is a few good things worth checking out on here.

Todays art is from a series of Marvel Sketch cards I drew for upperdeck. I had a blast working on these. Really fun and relaxing mostly. All up I have drawn 30 cards for this set. I picked 4 of them sort of randomly as a little taste to wet some appetites. I'm proud to say that all of my cards were approved already. Don't know if that is really a big deal or not, but I guess it means there were no duds! You get brownie points for naming all the characters shown.

Hasta la proxima!

Welcome to the secret art stash!!

2008-09-01T10:40:00.003+10:00

Testing 1, 2, 3.....

Hello there!

I finally decided to start up my own blog. Don't know why it has taken me so long, but I felt that now was a good time. I plan on using this space to post up more of my ideas, rough sketches, finished pieces, commissions and pretty much the overall ravings of a semi-crazy man. Chances are that entries will not always be art related. I'm experimenting here, so hopefully that will keep things fun. The plan is to post regularly though, so do visit often!

Here is a sketch to kick off the festivities. Some concept art for the character LYNX from my current comic book, GEMINI.

Peace!

Jon.