Commissions

Attack of the Commissions!

June 27, 2018 in The Art Department

A couple weeks ago I went to the Denver Comic Con and here is my report:

1) I did ELEVEN commissions. I love doing these at shows because:

A - I always end up drawing something, or being exposed to something I never really new that much about (i.e Modok?!)
B - I love seeing people's faces when they see their commission.
C - It's a great way to make some extra cash at the show.

Here they are:

Howl and Calcifer from Howl's Moving Castle

2) I made about 20% less money at this show than the last time I went to Denver and I think it's because:

A - I went from selling $30 prints to small $20 prints
B - I had only one table instead of two. It seems like having two tables demands more attention and invites people to inspect your wares. Plus it displays your artwork a lot better. I have a friend that calls it the gauntlet. As people are walking by they see image after image, and if it's just one table they can easily get their attention pulled away by the next table. But two tables has a way of sucking them in by the time they get to the end of it and they have to stop and take a look.
C - Con-fatigue. I talked to a lot of other exhibitors and they said their numbers were down too. I think maybe the good people of Denver are spending less money on things they might not need, or their money is being spent somewhere else at the show. I don't know. Just a theory.

3) Recommended books

I went to an after-party for the book awards that the Denver Comic Con gave out. At the party I met a bunch of Librarians who were flown in to be judges for the award. So I asked them for book recommendations for summer reading. Here's what they said I should read:

The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir

The Tea Dragon Society

The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit

Daytripper

Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World - This was the one that sounded the most interesting to me!

-Jake

On Doing Commissions

March 23, 2018 in The Art Department

At the beginning of the month I tabled at Emerald City Comic Con, my favorite con to attend btw.

I don't normally take on commissions because my day-to-day is pretty packed with projects and jobs. However, when I'm at a con I use it as an opportunity to take on around 10 commissions. This is because I'm away from my family working all weekend anyway, I might as well fill the in the time gaps with drawing something. Not only does this make the con a better financial return on my time out of the studio, but I get to make something cool for someone.

This is also someone's chance to play art director. They get to be a part of the creative experience by imparting their imagination on my drawing skills. And together we come up with something wholly unique: an artifact that acts as the ultimate memento of that event and that particular thing of which the commissioner is a fan of.

With that, I thought I’d share some recent commissions I did for fans at Emerald City Comic Con.

Kikaider, from an old seventies Japanese show that I was not aware of until a fan asked me to do my take on it.

Spent waaaay too much time on this one, but it was for a friend, and worth it.

Miranda from Mass Effect. Thought it would be cool to do her in a more cartoony style since she's always portrayed pretty realistically.

Wake with the commissioner's dog Pip. (I actually did this on in my studio before Emerald City, as a special request)

Sometimes you just want a picture of a raccoon with a remote controlled car.

Venom-Thor! I thought this was a pretty creative idea this guy had me do.

This were a lot of fun. It had been over a year since I last did commissions like these.

If you're interested in getting an original pice of art from me, I post drawings in my shop from time to time. If you're wanting a commission, definitely hit me up at a con, (I'll be at Denver Comic Con in June) or shoot me an email. I'll let you know if I have the time in my schedule or not.

-Jake