Aurora Rise 2014

 The Aurora Rise convention of Denver is a new and interesting show.  It is a non-profit endeavor and charity. 

The mission of Aurora Rise is simple- they try to help make the days ahead of those affected by Century Aurora Theater Shooting on July 20, 2012 a little bit brighter.

Here are a few of my commissions I sketched as a donation this year.  The attendees may choose to purchase a blank cover sketchbook from the choice of several different years, and may additionally choose to have a volunteer artist do a sketch original for a price as well.  It's a fun cause.

This is the website for Aurora Rise: http://www.aurorarise.org/

- J.

Comic Cons in the days before Cosplay

This is classy.  Daniel Clowes showing a proper old school convention, in the good old days before Cosplay was a staple of the circuit.

- J.

Colorado Springs Day Two

This is a collection of my favorite cosplays from the Colorado Springs Toy and Comic Con from fall.

These are so much fun.  We have Peter, Gwen, and Wild Weasel.  Additionally here is the 80s figure of Wild Weasel.  These guys who get into the military toy cosplays are usually overlooked.  I can't get enough of this detail stuff.

- J.

Colorado Springs Day One

The Colorado Springs Toy and Comic Con is always a good time.  This is a biannual event, in the fall and in the spring.

There are enthusiasts of all types, a variety of amazing work to behold, and a truly wonderful ambiance to the lobby with the natural lighting through the skylight, and natural foliage.

As is becoming my habit I suppose, here are a few of my favorite commissions from this show.  Enjoy!

- J.

24 Hour Comics Day 2014 : Cover

The 2014 24 Hour Comics Day I attended was at Time Warp Comics in Boulder this year.  This is a great shop, with decades of award-winning history.

Several of the artists who joined this event have submitted cover designs, this is mine.  Tommy Time Warp, his sister Tammy Timewarp, dinosaur teammates Dweezil and Tiberious Rex, and more.  These characters were created by the late great local artist Steve Swink, and Wayne Winsett (the owner of Time Warp). 

I chose to make the dinosaur characters feathered dinos... for instance, the corner box has Tiberious Rex in his spaceship... he is the mascot for Time Warp Comics.  He's also the main character on the cover, in fully feathered glory. 


- J.

24 Hour Comics Day 2014 : Tommy Timewarp

The 2014 24 Hour Comics Day I attended was at Time Warp Comics in Boulder this year.  This is a great shop, with decades of award-winning history.

 Over the years, many artists have drawn different versions of their mascot characters... there are a lot of them to choose from.  Tommy Time Warp, his sister Tammy Timewarp, dinosaur teammates Dweezil and Tiberious Rex, and more.  These characters were created by the late great local artist Steve Swink, and Wayne Winsett (the owner of Time Warp).  Wayne explained to me about how the characters were alternate versions of each other mirroring the different creator's interests, so I chose to finish out my last five pages with a Tommy Time Warp Adventure in space, with the two different ships and crews coming together and encountering my own creation, Aric Thee Redd.

It can be read as part of the Aric Thee Redd comic (as the events fall between and clarify the events of that story) or on it's own.  Here is the finished product, being hosted by Paper Dream Production's Jay Sternitzky, who hosts this event.

- J.

 

24 Hour Comics Day 2014 : Arik Thee Redd 4

2014 marked the fifth 24 Hour Comic live drawing event which I have been a participant of.

This year was unique for me... this is the first time I was not an organizer for the event.  It was refreshing simply showing up to an arranged event and partaking. 

As originator of the challenge, Scott McCloud has established rules for a comic to qualify: 
It must be begun and completed within 24 consecutive hours.
Only one person may be directly involved in its creation, and it must span 24 pages. 
The creator may gather research materials and drawing tools beforehand.
The artist may not plan the comic's plot ahead of time or put anything on paper before beginning.
Any breaks (for food, sleep, or any other purpose) are counted as part of the 24 hours.

Noteworthy:
If the cartoonist fails to finish the comic in 24 hours, there are two courses of action suggested:
Stop the comic at the 24-hour mark, or continue working until all 24 pages are done.
The former is known as "the Gaiman variation" after Neil Gaiman's unsuccessful attempt, and the latter is called "the Eastman variation" after Kevin Eastman's unsuccessful attempt.
Scott McCloud calls both of these "noble failures", which he will still list on his site as long as he believes that the creator intended to finish the project within the specified amount of time.

In my 24 Hour Comics, I generally do story based on Aric Thee Redd, whose appearance and costume changes every issue.  Twice I have successfully completed 24 pages in 24 Hours.  Once I continued the story past through at least 60 hours total (the second Aric Thee Redd... in which case there is an obvious difference between the work done during and after the challenge).  This year I stopped at 24 Hours, with a completed 19 pages.  Then, I added a 5 page secondary story so I could still print it at 24 pages.

Here is the finished product, being hosted by Paper Dream Production's Jay Sternitzky, who hosts this event.

- J.