MID OHIO CON!

May very well have been two of the best days of my life. I did a ton of sketches for people, (a lot more commissions than I thought I'd get!) and met some really terrific folks. Gave out a lot of business cards and got my work seen, which is always good to do! Someone even wanted to get their picture taken with me after I did a sketch for them, which honestly is something I'd never dreamed would happen! (wherever you are, buddy, thanks a million!)

Did a lot of superheroes, a portrait, and 4 Dungeons and Dragons monster pictures for a guy who'd been collecting sketches of them from different artists. He had plenty of dragons so I was more than happy to draw him his first beholder.

I met so many awesome people at the con, the guy next to my booth Mike Eshelman (and his awesome perler bead sculptures of 8-bit video game characters) really drew a crowd. I also met the nice fellas at Broken Icon comics who really liked my work. I also did a sketch of the wonderful Michael Berryman, gave him the original and got him to sign a copy for me. One of the nicest people I've ever met and my first meeting with a true movie star.

So in conclusion, yes I had an amazing time, and can't wait to do it again!

E.T.

My 1st Convention Booth

November 6th and 7th I'll have my first-ever booth at a convention. At this year's Mid-Ohio Con I'll be selling some prints, maybe drawing some stuff, and hopefully get to know some more artists and get my work seen. I've got a lot of prints and cards to make until then, but if you'll be in the Columbus area on the 6th or 7th, come by and visit me at table 03.

I also got first place in last month's Sketch Theater contest! It was a great theme (Sea Monster!) and there were some terrific entries. For mine I chose to sketch my version of H.P. Lovecraft's sea god Dagon.



Naturally, I had to color it too, so here he is all painted up.



So anyhow, apart from me having started school at CCAD (columbus college of art and design) a month ago, that's all that's new around here. Hope to see you in Columbus!

E.T.

Contest pieces

Here's a couple pieces I made for the Gnomon Workshop's annual online contests. The first one's theme was the phrase "the descent" so I drew up an image of a fallen angel plummeting through the atmosphere. (I didn't get a place in the contest, but it was a lot of fun drawing and coloring this piece.)



Here's the piece for this month's contest, wherein our theme is the phrase "the road". Mine depicts a scene where a prison inmate, assigned to roadside cleanup, finds some unusual roadkill. I always thought the side of the road would be an unexpected place to find a supernatural creature.



I also recently joined Sketch Theater (a division of Gnomon). This piece was created for their monthly contest, the theme was combat android. Hadn't drawn a robot in long time, so this was a nice exercise.



In other news, I have finally caved in and joined facebook (though many of you already know that). Though some of my art is also on my facebook page, I have a new blog that will function as my real online portfolio. Check it! http://ectart.blogspot.com

E.T.

Happy Birthday to Me!

As of 9:30-ish this morning, I'm now 21. This means I'm considered almost adult enough to be able to rent a car, (3 more years!). Anyhow, we celebrated the 4th of July yesterday by watching Jaws. The way I see it, not only does the film take place on the 4th of July, but the Star Spangled Banner is also a great song to blow up a killer shark to. It also helps that Jaws is one of my all-time favorite movies, I even got a t-shirt at Heroes Con featuring Robert Shaw's cryptic chalkboard drawing. I can't drag my fingernails across the shirt to make that same noise, but I suppose that's just as well.



In other news, I will shortly be sending out promotional postcards of my work to several magazine publishers to advertise my illustration and cartooning services. These examples omit my contact info, but this is roughly what they'll look like.



If you would like one (and need any cartooning or illustrating services), drop me a comment and I'll see what I can do.


Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies,
Farewell and adieu to you ladies of Spain.
For we've received orders for to sail back to Boston,
And so never more shall we see you again.


E.T.

Sanctuary

Here's a Deinonychus piece I recently finished coloring. We were visiting my aunt and uncle in Minnesota last month, and I drew this picture as soon as I saw the amazing garden they had in their back yard. The waterfall and plant arrangements had a really peaceful look to it.



E.T.

Heroes Con 2010

Hello all, just got back from Heroes Con and it was a huge success. I got to get my portfolio reviewed by some of the best artists in the comic and concept art biz, like John Tyler Christopher and Dustin Nguyen. The great Ben Templesmith even asked me if I was on drugs when he saw some of my crazy creatures. (I'm not, of course, but you know your art's unique when the artist behind Wormwood suspects drug abuse!) Everybody was very kind and informative, and the whole Con was a blast. Special shout-outs go to John Tyler Christopher for his awesome advice, and to the very talented Sara Richard, who recommended a place to help me start making prints of my work (be sure to check out her awesome art site, especially her dinosaurs!) Everybody can expect to see me putting prints on sale and taking commissions in the near future!

Here's one of my new pieces I showed at the Con, one of the Polypous creatures from Lovecraft's Shadow Out of Time:


Hopefully I can have my very own booth at next year's Heroes Con. Thanks to all the artists who gave me a chance to show my portfolio and gave me such great feedback!


E.T.

Dinosaurs!

Ever since I was a little kid, I've always been obsessed with dinosaurs. Besides the fact that they're freakin' awesome, dinosaurs are really fun to draw. I haven't drawn dinosaurs in a long time, but I'm happy to say that I've picked up the habit again.




Also, here's the last Best Lunch Ever cartoon of the season. Don't worry, the gang'll be back next year.



E.T.

It ain't no man

After a lot of drawing and a LOT of coloring, I finally turned one of my Predator pictures into a finished scene! I feel he's more suited to the jungle than an empty void anyway. As it turns out, the new movie Predators comes out 2 days after my birthday. From the look of the trailer, my favorite race of alien hunters is going to be rocking out loud once again!



In other news, the new Best Lunch Ever cartoon is done. This time it has nothing to do with Predator....for now!



On the 18th I'll be drawing portraits at UC Clermont's Spring Fling (costs 2 bucks, all proceeds go to charity), so come on down if you want to be immortalized on paper. I'm just sayin'... immortality for charity's a pretty sweet deal. (no I won't draw you as a Predator or a cartoon, unless you want me to.)

E.T.

Esgaroth Under Siege

This month's theme for Gnomon Workshop's 2-D contest is Esgaroth, the Lake-Town from The Hobbit.



E.T.

Family Photo

I Recently discovered the Gnomon Workshop site, a great place that sells instructional DVDs from the best artists in the biz. They are holding their monthly theme based art contest, and I couldn't pass up an opportunity to show some art and maybe score some of those DVDs! The theme for this month's contest was Norse Mythology, so I drew up the three mean children of Loki: Fenris, Hel, and Jormungandr.


Loki's Children: (graphite on paper/color by corel painter)

Hopefully I can make it to The Gnomon Workshop Live event this summer and meet some of the artists I've admired ever since I was a kid. With demonstrations, Q&A, and industry professionals and companies looking for talent, it's bound to be a blast.


E.T.

El que hace trofeos de los hombres

With the new Aliens vs. Predator game out, I've been on a Predator kick recently, as evidenced by next month's cartoon I made for the Lefturn (the Lantern's goofy/parody/spoof issue released at UCC every April) The character of Tab in "Best Lunch Ever" shares my love of all things Predator (or Yautja, as they call themselves).



And with that said, here are some Predators I've been drawing recently. It's amazing what you can accomplish with a pencil when you should be paying attention in class.





Have a great weekend, and spread the word about my site! I could always use new feedback!

E.T.

My favorite villain

When I was a kid, I only owned one superhero-associated action figure, and it was of my favorite villain in the Marvel universe, Carnage. And so, feeling nostalgic, I decided to draw the meanest symbiotic alien who ever lived, in all his crimson glory.



If Carnage is ever featured in a Spiderman movie, I DEMAND that he be played by Steve Buscemi (he'd be great for his voice acting alone). Speaking of Marvel comics and its characters, be sure to stop by Paolo Rivera's art blog and have a gander at his magnificent paintings, featuring the aforementioned spiderman and many others.

E.T.

Love is in the air

As some of you might know, this blog is the second home of my comic strip "Best Lunch Ever". It's first home is UC Clermont college's newspaper: "The Lantern". (special thanks to Kim Taylor for recommending me, and Phoebe Reeves for making it happen) For those unfamiliar with the series, it revolves around four girls fresh out of college, renting out a house together. Starring the eccentric and artistic Tab, the quiet and computer-savvy Tiff, no-nonsense yoga enthusiast Nancy, and the tattooed athlete Sam. For those of you who can't pick up your own copy of The Lantern, all the cartoons will be archived here on my art blog for your enjoyment. (Some of these cartoons, especially the older ones, are by no means my best work. crappy pen and ink alert!)

Here are the three cartoons that have appeared in The Lantern so far, in order of publication. (click for larger picture)







And now, just for you, here is this month's cartoon:



Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!

E.T.

The two things you're likely to see on my site

This blog is for ALL my artwork, and I do two very different types. This site is where I post my conceptual artwork, comic book art, as well as personal pieces pertaining to science fiction, fantasy, and the like. Most of them are monsters, some of them more gruesome than others. If you saw my first post and my Spectrum Competition pieces, you already know what I'm talking about.



But this is also where I'll post cartoons, like "Best Lunch Ever" currently being published in the University of Cincinnati Clermont College newspaper "The Lantern". If you're a UCC student, it's probably the only way you found out about my blog in the first place. If you aren't a UCC student, but would like to see Best Lunch Ever comic strip (I loves me some feedback), I will be posting them here on the blog on the date they're published in the paper.



So if you came looking for my adventures of four girls renting a house together, don't be put off if you find the devil playing a golden fiddle. Likewise, if you were hoping to see some badass monsters oozing terror and disease, don't be angry if you see the girly antics of four roommates, or the occasional stylized illustration for a fashion magazine. They are all equally my artwork and all equally loved. If you came to see BOTH, you (sir or madam) are in the right place.

E.T.

IT BEGINS!!!

This is the first post of my new Art blog. Now I finally have a place to showcase my artwork, get feedback from the masses, and maybe, just maybe, have a little fun while I'm at it.

As for the topic of my first post ever, I was a little stumped. But I decided I'll show the pieces I entered into the Spectrum Fantastic Art Competition's unpublished category. I'll be judged alongside artists from all over the world, so here's hoping at least one of these gets in the book.






Yes, that Charlie Daniels plays a mean fiddle.

So anyways, there be the first post of my art blog: Monstrous and Free. Maybe if I'm lucky, someone will read it!
As for the Spectrum competition, I'll have to wait until April to find out if I'm in the book, so wish me luck!

E.T.