...For all the birthday wishes. You guys are the bomb.com!

BIG HUG TO ALL O' YAS:



Lordie Lordie, I really am 40.

Here are three awesome peeps that even drew me a picture! How cool is that?







Edited 5/31/13 to add...

And yet another!

...play Draw Something? I just joined and I am hooked.

Let me know!

And it is taking some getting used to. I see now what people mean by the crazy spellcheck.

I am anxious to find some drawing programs. I'm looking at pens for this  thing...

So far all in all, loving it!

Hey Compozerz fans!

Are you on facebook? Well, there is now a group dedicated to the Boyz and Connie over there. Pop on over there and join if you haven't already.

[link]

Lots of extra goodies like sneak peeks for the next page, extras, etc etc. FUNFUN!

Yeah I know, sounds like a personal problem eh?

I need to figure out the stuff, but yeah. Got accounts on Ustream and Livestream. I been seeing some of you guys do it and it looks like fun.

I think it would be fun to have some sessions where I take requests.

I'll let you know when I "go live!"

And it just happened to me.

I drew a picture for someone's business card. He said he wanted it semi-cartoony/semi-realistic. I showed him a sketch, he said it looks great so far so I finished it, coloring it, the whole bit. Came up with a good pic. Sent it. He liked it a lot. Well, wife comes along and says no, it should be more realistic. GAH.........

Frustrating since he said it looked good, and I spent a long time on the thing.

This almost always happens when I get commissioned to do things. I draw it, it seems fine, then they decide they want changes. Hell, by the time I am done I am exhausted because most of them can't make up their minds. It ends up not really being worth what they are paying me.

Okay, rant over. I know it should look like they want it, they are paying me. But I work fairly cheap and when they say they like it then change their freakin' mind...THAT is the hair-yanking out part of this I hate.

Sorry, had to vent.

When people throw rocks at you, throw flowers at them.



...just make sure they are still in flower pots.



HAPPY FRIDAY!

EDIT: Once this goes off my front page, it will be CLOSED. So if you want me to do this for you, get your comment in soon. I still have a few to go so hang with me.

Okay, my buddy ~friedmouse did this, and I commented on his journal. So now I am putting this in my journal. Sounds like fun.
I will do my best for those of you I don't know too well.

comment on this and I'll

1) Tell you something I learned about you by looking at your DA page

2) Tell you a color you remind me of

3) Tell you what element I believe you belong to (e.g. water, fire, air, etc. )

4) Tell you which of your OC's is my favorite

5) Ask you a question, and you must answer it.

6) Tell you something I like about you or your art.

7) Give you a nickname.

8) Tell you what I am doing right now.

9) Tell you what food/flavor/smell/sound you remind me of.

10) Tell you to do this in you journal too, if you haven't already~  (I don't hold people to this stuff, so only do it if you want to)

So this morning I get to work, check DA (haven't been around for awhile because I been fighting a nasty sinus infection), and find THIS in my inbox:



This fantastic fan art was done for me by , and I just had to give her a big shoutout and thanks for this bit of epicness. I have never seen the Boyz done in quite this way. It looks cartoony, and you can tell it's my rendition of the guys. Yet, they look like the real guys too. I just can't stop staring at it.

Demona is a hell of an artist, and if you haven't checked out her gallery, it's high time you high-tailed it over there, my friends. It is worth a perusal for sure.

Thanks so very, VERY much for this, *Demona-Silverwing!! YOU ROCK!!

Wow! For some reason a lot of people have been stumbling onto my Compozerz Comic lately. I want to take a minute to say thanks to all my watchers, old and new. I am so flattered at all the nice comments I have received from all of you. Thanks for taking the time to read my stuff, and I am glad you guys are digging it!

"Who are you to judge the life I live?
I know I'm not perfect
-and I don't live to be-
but before you start pointing fingers...
make sure you hands are clean!"
--Bob Marley

Think of this any time someone decides to judge you or tell you how to live your life. Don't let others tell you your life is boring, dull, sucks, whatever. It's none of their business. They have no idea what your life is really like and never will have.

And usually, those who go around worrying so much about what others are doing or not doing are very miserable, sad, lonely people...

Just look up "projecting" sometime online. You will see what I mean.

So, as most of you know, the Compozerz finally hit the big page 1-0-0, and I am so stoked!

I have some other things I am planning right now, which I'll share shortly here.

I want to first take a moment to thank all of you who stuck with me through that last big hiatus. And who stuck with me while I finished up that last page. It took a long time because, as I said in the comments, I really wanted it to be a special one. Cityscapes are not a strong suit of mine. I don't particularly enjoy drawing buildings. But I made myself do it, I felt like it had to be done for that particular page. And as many comic artists will tell you, you should learn to draw backgrounds of all kinds. Even if you hate drawing them. Most comickers I know shy away from drawing backgrounds. I totally understand, I do that myself. But my feeling is, if you are going to make a comic, you need to know how to draw just about anything. You never know what kind of situation your characters may get into.

I have found myself having to draw ocean liners, cities, deserts, mountains, bridges over rivers, cars, trucks...among a few things. None of these items are particularly easy for me, nor do I think I am really all that great at drawing most of them, save the desert scenes. The Compozerz comic was what helped me improve on that, and I am grateful. The desert is one of the places I dearly love--my favorite place is New Mexico, where the story started, in fact. I improved on the desert scenes because I had to draw them over and over. Repetition. It's the key. Practice makes perfect--there is much truth in that phrase.

Comics, to me, are a fantastic way to learn to draw a great variety of scenes because, as mentioned, you never know where your characters could end up. That's one of the big pieces of advice I like to give people (yeah, people actually ask me for advice on drawing comics! ). Draw as much stuff as you can. And yeah, sometimes you have to repeat stuff a lot. It's part of what comics are all about. It's like an animated cartoon that isn't animated. There is a reason comics are called "sequential art". You aren't describing what is going on, like a book does. You are drawing what is happening.

So anyway, I guess in my long and rambly way I am trying to say that I am really going to strive to improve the way I draw objects I am not particularly good at drawing and to try and get better with the backgrounds--namely ones I don't do much, like cities.

Now down to the works in progress.

Of course there is the next Compozerz Page, which will lead us into the big climactic scene. Got that going, ideas written down, lots of them, and rough sketches. I am actually still down to a couple of different ways this could pan out.

Another thing I have thought of lately is the Ants, who have lay dormant since early 2011. I was listening to "Zerox Machine" the other day, and got hit with an idea. I wrote out a parody of it called "Vending Machine" that I'd like to illustrate. I'd like to draw the Ants again. Like I said when I finished that last Ants arc, I'm not done with those boys yet!

And that's all folks. Hope all your new years are going great so far. Here's to a fantastic Year of the Snake!

Don't care about what other people think of you. There will always be those people who want to see you fail because they can't succeed.

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine (also an Adam & the Ants fan) put together a calendar, featuring my cartoonified version of the Guys. Well, back by popular demand, there is an all new 2013 one (with the same pictures, but some of you weren't around to see the first one). If you want a copy, you can go here and get it. Totally free, you can print it out, even! [link]

1.


Rich has a very fun, colorful, whimsical cartoon style that is loads of fun to look at. He is always making fantastic collaboration pieces including many of his friends' original characters. Besides being a fantastic artist, he's an all-around great guy who, for me, has truly been a joy to get to know.

2.


Demona's Deviantart page knocked my socks off as soon as I clicked her name. She has a wonderfully original art style (I need to take more time and really peruse her gallery more). It catches the eye immediately, and I can't wait to really dig into her galleries more and discover more wonderful stuff. She draws the cutest Mozart I've ever seen, by the way.

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I met Shane because of a Daily Deviation, and I am so glad I did. Again, another super nice guy who has created "The Guys of Pie" a.k.a. Pierre and Andre, two French guys who love nothing more than a good pie in the face. Shane has a style that it immediately recognizable and I have never met anyone who has given so much thought to two characters. If you ever read his backstory behind P&A, you'll see what I mean.

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Ready for a huge dose of cuteness? Head on over and read "Ndbag, the Boogeyman." Ndbag is a loveable, harmless boogeyman who lives in a clothes hamper and eats socks. Really a delightful little comic. One of the best I've seen on the web in fact!

5.


Marychain's gallery is filled with some fantastic illustration work, and photography. Her illustrations are nothing short of amazing. There is some of the macabre, a little punk-rock (I guess you'd call it that?) and even some stuff that's almost cartoony. She has a very unique style—in short, this gal can really draw. Her gallery is definitely worth  a look! (It was hard, like many of these, to pick only three of her works because well, they are all so very awesome).

6.


Mark is another guy whose cartoons are instantly recognizable. He has a style all his own, and a myriad of great characters. My favorites are Bob and Flyer, a roach and a fly that are kind of like the "Odd Couple" of the insect world. Mark is busy all the time, because he has a long list of comics he works on. His productivity amazes the heck out of me. Also another one of the nicest dudes you'll ever meet!

7.


If you like "old school" cartoons, you will have to take a gander at Andrew's gallery. Like everyone here, it was so hard to choose just three pieces, because he has a breathtaking  catalog of work. His cartoons remind me of the old cartoons like Scooby Doo and Speed Buggy, with some Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear thrown in, among other things. His stuff is really top notch, he obviously has the cartooning thing down. Lots of fun to look at his work. One of the most amazing things about his work is the detail He puts a lot of thought into his backgrounds. Many of his pictures you really have to study for a while to take it all in.

8.


I haven't known paulwellerfan long, but from what I gather, she REALLY loves the Monkees, American Idol, and The Jam! I think her paper dolls, which she has done a lot of, are really cool. Being a Monkees fan myself, I can certainly appreciate all her Monkees fan art, and her version of the Guys is really adorable.

9.


BadCowboy hasn't been on DA long, nor have I known her long, but her gallery is looking promising! She does photography and writes, as well as draws although she says "my drawing has taken a backseat to my writing for the last few years". From what I've seen, she is good and I hope to see more drawings from her in the future. Keep it up BadCowboy!

10.


Kyle's a guy I've known here at DA for quite some time now, and he is a fellow comic artist whose comic is called "Neil and Ryan" (it used to be known as Jerkwadz). Ryan's got a style all his own, and does the greatest wacky expressions. Being a fan of totally crazy facial expressions, I can really appreciate this. NAR is a fun little comic strip about a boy and his goofy, immature, and slightly missing-some-bricks,  yet well meaning father. Ryan's got a mom and a little brother too, but the comic mainly focuses on Ryan and Neil. I liked his comic so much I bought the book! So go have a look! Who doesn't love a dysfunctional family?

And there ya have it folks! 10 features from fellow deviants. I hope you go give 'em some love.

Wow, those ten slots closed up fast! Features coming soon!

All right guys, as appreciation for all your ongoing support and being "fans" of my stuff, I am offering 10 feature spots right here in this journal entry.

The first 10 people to comment will get featured right here! I will post three of my favorite pieces by you if you comment quick enough!



Ready....set...GO!

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Don't forget to vote!

Also YAYYY THOSE DAMN COMMERCIALS WILL END

Just want to say that my thoughts and good luck vibes are going out to any of you that may be experiencing the wrath of Sandy up there in the NE. Stay safe!! Thinking about you guys!

"You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses".

Saw that on Facebook today. I like it!

"False friends are worse than bitter enemies."

This quote speaks to the fact that it is almost easier to deal with someone who you know from the start is not on your side than someone who you thought was a friend but is really not. Ain't it the truth.