...Buh... So I guess I chose a heck'uva week to come back to Deviant. ^_^; Just after I started posting again, I caught one massively lame summer bug. On the second day of antibiotics and already feeling a world of difference - especially after carrying a high fever for about four days straight. But now I'm already playing more catch-up.

If you've e-Mailed me via my personal/work e-Mail (mattherms@hotmail.com) - either about commissions or just to say hi/ask a question... I will be getting back to you soon. Sorry 'bout the wait. This flu really knocked me on my butt this last week!

Meanwhile, I made a few more additions to the Gallery last night. I created a folder for Level-Up Studios, a T-Shirt and gaming pop culture merch website/designer run by *StacMaster-S that I've done a little bit of work for on shirts inspired by Halolz.com. Also another big update to my Archie Comics folder, featuring a few of my favorite interior pages from the last few issues of Sonic the Hedgehog, with commentary. AND a first look from Mega Man #1! Enjoy!!

// CURRENTLY WORKING ON...
- Sonic the Hedgehog #227: Genesis, Part 2 (colors)
- Mega Man #4: Let the Games Begin, Part 4 (colors)
- unannounced project
- Overdue commissions! ^_^;

// COMMISSIONS (closed)
Unfortunately, due to my current workload and my desperate need to catch up with already active commissions, I am not currently accepting any work. A full list of active (both still being worked on and completed, awaiting pick-up) commissions will be coming soon. In the meanwhile, if you have inquiries on your status please contact me at mattherms@hotmail.com and I will get back to you ASAP.

Currently, I'm on schedule to wrap up all existing commission by the end of the summer. Will update you guys if and when I begin accepting new clients.

Thanks for your patience and understanding!  

// CONVENTIONS
NA

Hey guys! How's everyone been? I promise to update w/ a slightly more informitive Journal sometime soon. Right now I'm just reacquianting myslef with DeviantART. It's been a little over a year since my last log-in, I think... And even longer than a couple of years since I was at all active on here. That's alot of piled up DevWatches, Messages, Notes, etc to get through and I'm doing my best.

In the meanwhile, I also reorganized the Gallery here. I put alot of older, irrelevant work into Storage but you can still find much of my older (and embarassing) works in at least one of the galleries. Galleries Fan Art and Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic fan art) are still there, and I made a major update to my Archie Comics gallery last night with a massive dump of covers I had colored for. Also created a gallery called The Archie Sonic Portfolios, which included alot of my sequential samples and color tests for Archie from 2005-2007. Organizing the gallery, I thought it was kinda' cool in a "time capsule" kind of way to see those. So, uh... Yeah. ^_^;

Bear with me while I handle a bit of maintenance and catch-up. Much appreciated!

// CURRENTLY WORKING ON...
- Sonic the Hedgehog #227: Genesis, Part 2 (colors)
- Mega Man #4: Let the Games Begin, Part 4 (colors)
- unannounced project
- Overdue commissions! ^_^;

// COMMISSIONS (closed)
Unfortunately, due to my current workload and my desperate need to catch up with already active commissions, I am not currently accepting any work. A full list of active (both still being worked on and completed, awaiting pick-up) commissions will be coming soon. In the meanwhile, if you have inquiries on your status please contact me at mattherms@hotmail.com and I will get back to you ASAP.

Currently, I'm on schedule to wrap up all existing commission by the end of the summer. Will update you guys if and when I begin accepting new clients.

Thanks for your patience and understanding!  

// CONVENTIONS
NA

Heya Deviants! My current and awesome employers, Archie Comics, recently joined the mega-popular Twitter ! Check 'em out for the latest news and buzz coming from the company! And check out Sonic the Hedgehog #202, which'll be in comic book stores tomorrow!

Speaking of Twitter, I, too, have joined the masses. As has Davey. Kinda'.

Right, yeah... So, I know I'm pretty late to this party and all, but I signed up for that Twitter thing and I dig the crap out of it!   Just figured I'd post that up for now and such. Laters!

Hey there guys 'n' gals 'n' undecided's! So with Christmas time fast approaching and such, I'm looking to unload some of my old video game-age - and other scandalous artificats - that otherwise haven't been touched in years well-spent, and hopefully scrounge together some extra cash for this holiday season.

When my fiance and I moved in together last year, I'd gathered boxes of video games, toys, books, and miscellania with the full intention of eBay-ing the space-suckers off as soon as possible. About six months later, we moved into a mucho bigger apartment, and all this junk was conveniently hidden in the corner of my studio closet... Until now!

So the first run of eBay-age is almost exclusively of the video game variety, with a few books and comics thrown into the mix for good measure. A select few of my favorites also include original sketch artwork that will be included if you win! So if ya' wouldn't mind, take a gander and hopefully somethin' will strike your fancy. Happy bidding!

Brave Fencer Musashi(PlayStation) + Guide

SaGa Frontier (PlayStation) + Guide

MegaMan: Network Transmission (Strategy Guide)

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (GBA) + Artwork

Final Fantasy X-2 (PS2) + Guide + Artwork

Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis (GBA) + Comics + Artwork

Resident Evil 2 (PlayStation) + Artwork

More to come! Happy holidays, everybody!

Matt Herms is the co-creator, always illustrator, and usually writer of the smash-hit (and rarely updated) webcomic Sticky Floors, hosted on Snafu-Comics.com. Matt also does comics in the traditional dead-tree format, including penciling and coloring for the acclaimed all-ages comic book Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics). No stranger to the anime and comics community, Matt got his first professional break fresh out of high school in 2004 and has done conceptual, promotional and interactive artwork for video games, magazines, conventions and toy companies since. Matt is currently based out of the Washington, DC, area.

// COMMISSIONS
Please forward all commission and other inquiries to mattherms@hotmail.com, thanks!

// CONVENTIONS
Oni-Con... Houston, TX (December 19-21, 2008)

IkkiCon... Austin, TX (February 6-8, 2009)

KatsuCon... Arlington, VA (February 13-15, 2009)

Okay, so yesterday the last Deviant comment on this page - my page here - was from August 22, 2006. Today I wake up, and I got stuff from the rest o' August and all of September suddenly. And... Well, dayumn. That's a slow-ass load time right there, yo.

Anyway. But aside from that. I figured I'd update this journal with something new being it's been a few months again... Though there really isn't much to update on. Oh, except....

Sticky Floors is back and on Snafu-Comics! I think we've been online... six weeks now? It's a blast doing the comic again, and we're keeping up the pace. It updates every Wednesday and Saturday.

Oh, I'll be at Oni-Con in Houston, TX, October 20 to 22nd, by the way. So if you're in the area - and I know some of ya' are, 'cause we've done alotta' TX cons together now - totally come and hang out and all that.

And, ah! A-Kon's Artist Alley director Steven Heinrich, con-Buddha ~hightower67, and comic artist ~junobean have been putting together a sorta' "Con Artist Community (con as in convention, yo). It's designed as a sorta' meet-'n'-greet for artists, a resource on what conventions are coming up (and the inside scoop - how are they for artists?), and helpful hints for those that are just starting doing Artist Alley or want to step up their game. It's something they just started putting together, and want to grow it. So if conning is you're thing, it may be worth a peek.

Updating every six months… ish… Ain't so bad… Is it? XD

Oh… Balls. Who'm'I kiddin'? I'm fuckin' lazy about the whole Deviant Art deal. I'm trying to catch up – answer notes and questions 'n' comments and otherwise. (I've gotten as far back as the end of 2005, finally…) Part o' me always saw this strictly as a sort o' free gallery-space, but even I gotta' admit I feel bad that I'm not more DA-active. 'Cause I do ready every comment and note and I appreciate every one, and there are so many awesome and talented people here that I admire and I never really tell them that often enough if at all 'cause I'm really, really fucking lazy about DA.

So. My New Year's Resolution is to be more Deviant-active! (Yes. I know it's six months past the new year. Again: Really lazy. )

Not much going on, otherwise. Things are crazy and busy, and I've been living on 24 to 30 hour days for most of May. (Ugh. This can't be healthy…) It's getting toward summer-time, so there's a li'l bit of the usual "graduation blues" – the typical retrospective. As I get closer to achieving the goals I set for myself two years ago, I'm discovering a very different interest in art – an almost academic interest. Which is a li'l difficult. The head tells me it's the wrong move – that it'd be just another handicap to the things I've set out to do. (And really – I've pro'lly over-extended myself enough as is.) But the heart… Oy. You know how it goes.

…I really need to go to the beach or something. Fuck. I do live in Florida.

I'll be at A-Kon 17 in Dallas, TX – June 9-11. A-Kon last year was… Awesome cannot begin to describe the awesomeness. And from the looks of things – I'd have to do a head-count of all the crazy fun folks that'll be around – this year is gonna' be spankin'. So, you know, if you're in Dallas... Drop by. I'm in Section A, last I checked. I think, uh… We're across from the shitters.

Anyway, hope you peeps have had a groovy 2006! See ya' in 2007!

Holy handbaskets! It's almost December??

I've lost time before, sure, but I could usually tell you what I was so preoccupied with that I'd miss sleep over or whatever. This time though? It's like the first day of November, and before I know it - BAM! - it's Thanksgiving and just about December. And I have no idea where the time went. I mean, there was important stuff I needed to do this month, but it feels like I slept through November entirely. A little disheartening, after being so in the zone during October. Near as I can figure, I just got sick and didn't even realize it - just breezed through the month, exhausted and sleepy, maybe actually up (and awake) at my desk a couple hours per day. Which is nothing. I'm not the sort to get sick very often - we're talking coming down with a cold or flu every five years or so. So I guess I just didn't realize how out of it I was until realizing I needed to cross out nearly the whole damn calendar.

Updates since August:  Computers STILL suck. Haven't touched Photoshop in two months - consequently because of the computer difficulties, also because... I've been falling out of love with my Photoshop mistress. Been doing alot of pencilling and other kinds of stuff recently that I otherwise don't get to do as often as I used to, since I'd switch from traditional to digital mode and back and forth several times in any given day. I'm just enjoying the time spent with a pencil more than I am with a tablet pen, I guess.

Done three conventions since August, too. My first since A-Kon last June and all the stuff that went down last summer, and also my last of the year: Anime Fest in Dallas in September (slow but steady, lots of fun), Oni-Con, October, in Houston (successful and entertaining, yet the hotel was hell), and Anime South (tiny and slow, with the usual first year con bloopers - but we did get to sing Broadway showtunes, and go us for finally getting a con in NorthWest Florida! ) Not doing anything in December, save the usual holiday travels (and catching up on what I SHOULD have been doing in November). Next convention is Ushicon ([link] in January in Austin, where I'll be hamming it up in Artist Alley with the usual Texas Con Crew.

Otherwise, not too much else to talk about right now. Got some things I need to sit down and take care of in this last week of November. Working on some things for 2006, seeing if some other things come together for 2006, too. ^^ And maybe I'll even get back into the swing of Deviancy if time allows, since I certainly haven't been doing so - or doing anything else - these last handful of weeks. Keep it easy! Laters!

...Oh. And happy turkey day. Ma-a-an, after today, I could hibernate for a whole 'nother month, I'm so stuffed.

Son'of'a'bitch...!

Just curious if this has happened to anyone else before, or if it's just my continued bad luck. But my computer woes have finally been put to rest - this month has been hell, so to speak. New tablet. Computer fixed. MOST of the files lost to a horrible back-up redone. I bang out finishes on a pic - one I'm not really all that happy with, but I needed the practice. I bang it out and I submit it - and when I click the Upload button - BAM! A giant orgy of pop-ups attack my monitor. But it isn't pop-up advertisements - oh no. These are those nefarious "We've finished downloading such and such program and will now install. Would you like to install?" You know, THOSE pop-ups. The ones that ask you a yes or no question like installing some evil monster onto your computer, but only give you the YES option.

So I'm on like a mad-man trying to bail out - Abort! Abort goddammit! And suddenly my Start bar disappears. And suddenly the whole damn thing disappears, replaced by a window of gibberish (really gibberish) that wants you to click OK. But everytime you click, it pops up again. And again. And again. And again. And so on. And then you realize your desktop's disappeared, too. So you reboot. And when it comes back on - everything is still gone. CPU usage is 100%, you're running processes you've never even heard of before. But worst of all, you CAN'T GET TO YOUR STUFF.

It hasn't been that long since the last computer meltdown. I really hadn't done much new, aside from the new pic and a new page to a comic book. The prob with that is that the new page was done. Not half-way done like last time, but really done. I would've made a copy of the high res for print if I didn't have to make some minor adjustments to it - which was next on my To Do list. I've got low res copies of it - not the fixed and final version, but low res copies of it. And I can't get access to the PSD right now. I can't get access to anything right now. I'm on a different computer right now just to rant.

Fuck you, Internet. Fuck you and your pop-up insta-download EVIL that somehow managed to get through every damn pop-up blocker, advertisement eater, window washer machine I've got on that laptop. GIVE ME BACK MY COMPUTER DAMMIT!!

I'm not very good with technology. In fact, I'm a caveman. "Comp-you-tar no work. BANG with rock!" I'm the friggin' grim reaper of electronics, right? I've lost computers to spyware and malware and adware and winter-wear and two computers died from hardware complications. It doesn't have to be my computer, either. God knows, I should never touch anyone's machine, because it's likely it'll die within the week. That's the way it goes.

A big part of the job that I do is Internet correspondence, though. See, if I have a machine that can't get online, it's basically like having half of a machine for me, 'cause SO much of the job I have to do online. It happened recently that the Internet on my recently inherited desktop crashed. I tried to fix it ala rebooting - which then launched it into a vicious cycle of rebooting itself until finally it just didn't turn on again.

But there was hope! The laptop I have, it hasn't been able to connect online since November. A victem of SpyKiller, sad to say. Bu-u-ut, in our recent move, we found the long-lost recovery CD for it. Reformat, Internet alive again. I'm not a dummy, though. I made sure to back-up everything off the machine before running it.

Or so I thought. See, the backup CDs are only readable by one machine in the house - and it's not even the one that burned the disks! And while they're perfectly readable off the disk, they refuse to transfer ANY of the content to that machine, so that I can re-burn to a new CD to put them back on the laptop. Which basically puts me in that very very bad, but well known place of psuedo-losing all my crap.

Sorta'. I mean, with MY track record of computer killing, I've learned to keep all the uber-important stuff - biz stuff, high-res of arts and pages, yadda yadda - on back-ups. Zip disks, actually. I've had trouble with CDs before, too. But the Zip disk - never failed me. That's my baby. So I'm not TOTALLY fucked. Just, ya' know, pretty danged close to it.

I've gotten all my equipment reloaded. The Photoshops and all that stuff. I've gotten most of my arts and documents transferred from earlier backups. I'm just missing a freakin' GIG worth of PSD files related to a current project. Thankfully most of those were for things that were otherwise finished and had the "OK." Still frustrating, though...

And my knee hurts like a mother-... This weekend is a nice BBQ/Halo-fest, though. Haven't had myself a good Halo-ass-kicking in a few months. But meanwhile, I'm gonna' go break stuff with rocks.

Admired artists, amigos, criminal associates, and persons that have naked photoes of me.

Just got back home – Dennis was a pansy after all. Home's good (Let the moving commence!), I have electricity. I spent the weekend in Atlanta nonetheless. So bring it on, Mother Nature. Next hurricane next week, maybe? You're on!

So. Home, finally. June… Well, June kicked my ass all over the place, so to speak. It started out great – very great. The kinda' financially successful, opportunity opening bang kinda' great. And then, e-e-eh… June started sucking. Not that I'm complaining – there are times that some things happen and it's the important – and right – thing to put everything on hold. To concentrate instead on the other stuff happening. But it's still very frustrating.

This weekend, while in Atlanta – it was the first time I'd sat down with drawing in mind in near a month now. And I sorta' tore into the papers. Felt good to, and I'm glad that I've got plenty of work sitting on my plate right now. Because it is on, baby.

By the by, the PSM sitch was resolved very hastily. Thanks to everyone that e-Mailed me tellin' me about it, and muchos gracias to Bat-Chuck for the scan hook-up, PSM senior editor Eric Bratcher, and all the peeps that apparently e-Mailed the mag. It's an awesome feeling to know that people got your back out there. Thanks dudes!

And speaking of groovy-ness, BumbleKing Comics indie-web-comic-studio-people is coming together, finally, piece by piece. Sorta'. I mean, there's nothing there. Yet. But the site's in its infancy and the forum is online. And readers of Jon Gray's recently re-launched web-comics Time Trouble and Chip and Walter have a new place to chill. So, uh… We have a message-board. It's just sorta' nice to have an actual website to link to up to uptop, is what I'm sayin' I guess.

Other than that… Think that's about it. Back to the grind, and boy I've never felt better sayin' that.

Artists, amigos, criminal associates, and persons that have naked photoes of me.

Dear Hurricane Dennis (and friends),

Fuck. Off.

Lots of love,
-- Matt

So, A-Kon… It was really awesome. And by really awesome, I mean best convention ever awesome. Or at least ways the best that I've been to, thus far. It was really an experience – from the very gay Black Eyed Pea (think stereotyped gay – the fat man in leather hot-pants stereotype) to the near decapitation (I heard a beach ball was involved). It was really just THAT much fun. I met there – we hanged for the better part of the first two days, chatting Sonic and comics. Man carries a suitcase of sequential arts, by the way. Really. A suitcase. Yeah, my jaw hit the floor too – just never seen such a giant stack of Bristol boards. And the dude's got skillz – we had a crazy-fun Sonic sketchathon, practically, on Day 2. Always at least some five or six dudes, gathered around the table, either drawing or talking about Sonic. Anyhows, he totally freestyled a buncha' Sonic pics, one of which I colored and posted up all ready. Check his stuffs out. ^^

Speaking of Sonic and comics, also met a buncha' Other M readers. THAT was pretty damn cool, too. And on the subject of webcomics, I got to hang with again this 'con – we dueled in Rock/Paper/Scissors. Dueled… to the death. Or actually to trade off merchandising. I scored a slick black T-Shirt, in trade for a few prints. Also went to a couple o' his and Soto's panels – was aiming to crash the "Humor in Webcomics" panel. I figured I'd go and make fart noises. Or get naked. Whichever seemed funnier at the time. But couldn't find the goddamn room. Anyhows, you can check his comic at [link].

Sunday was the big Deviant Art meet-up, which was actually just some lame life-drawing shindig. I dunno – regretfully, I failed to pick up any of the other peeps' names there. I just hanged in the back with a couple of non-Deviant Art users, talking about pornography and the like.

Speaking of Deviant, though… , , and dropped by the table to say hey. Or they dropped by to say hey and let me know who they were. Freakin' EVERYONE is on Deviant, after all. But dammit, I can't remember names to save my life, so you know… Practically everyone from Kamikaze was there, too, so it was a nifty reunion. Hightower, Steven Gonzales, Amelie Belchor and… dammit all, I can never remember her name, but she cosplays as YuGiOh every time and comes with her mom and friend and family, who are all awesome. Anyhow… was there too – we saw each other at Kami K, but never got the chance to hang. Didn't much this time, either, but I did score an ass-kicking Scarlet Spider sketch from him, in trade for a Cloud Strife.

So anyway… It's really hard to describe JUST how ass-kicking this convention was in so few words (and this is all ready gotten long-winded XD). Suffice to say, it rocked. It rocked hard.

Artists, amigos, criminal associates, and/or the people that really should've filed a restraining order against me some time ago. Because I get naked around them. Alot.

Been awhile since I updated this ol' thing – lotsa' stuff has been happening the last couple months. I've been to lotsa' places and've met lotsa' cool people. Summarizing the absolute awesomeness of my last two convention stops (Kami K in Houston, JaCon in Orlando) would take forever, but suffice to say they were really fuckin' great. Pimping your wares for a li'l monthly side money is always nice, but just hanging out with other artists and the constant conversations with passers-by that're into the whole comics and 'toons thing is the REAL highlight. That and the costumes. Damn crazy fun, those people be. Conventions be ass-kicking.

And speaking of, my next stop is A-Kon ([link] in Dallas, TX. A lot of the peeps I met at KamiKazeCon recommended it as THE place to go as far as Texas conventions go, so I'll be there with my cousin (who is actually a pretty ass-kicking salesman, for a 13 year old) in the massive Artist Alley army this coming weekend. So drop by and say hi if you're gonna' be there! Any fellow Devy's in AA, lemme' know, too – can't wait to meet you peeps!

I might even be hitting two cons this June – one at the end too – if things work out. But that's looking doubtful, as that will occur simultaneously to what SHOULD be my final move, into a house in Crestview. (Which is thankfully a relatively short distance from where I currently live – Crestview is REALLY tiny. No comic book stores. )

By the by, I hit the one year anniversary of high-school pseudo-graduation. That means I have now officially been doing the full-time art thing for one year. Part o' me wishes I'd accomplished more in that time, but the other part is just happy that at least now, in year 2, I actually have some sense of direction as to where I'm going and what I'm doing. Which is actually pretty reassuring. And by golly, it's gonna' be a hell'uva' year.

Artists, friends, fellow Romans, partners in crime, and/or the peeps I've sexually harassed on a semi-routine basis… You know who you are.

First and foremost, a big mucho thank you to for renewing my Deviant-subscription-thingie. Thanks!!

Well, I've been home since Tuesday night, and I'm still pretty wiped out from it all. Which, you know, is impressive when considering I actually skipped out on alotta' the con, too. But anyway, I'm still pretty zombified from the weekend, but the run-down in a nutshell starts last Thursday.

Thursday (Pre-Con)
The larger chunk of the drive to Orlando. Yes, drive. As it happened, there aren't nearly as many trains going to and from as there used to be. (Repairs due to the hurricanes still). And going by plane was a bit… high-priced. So I did the larger part of the 10 hour drive to Orlando Thursday. Was pretty out of it that night. (By the by, if I seemed unresponsive – on AIM or in the Ken Penders chat, which I think I actually nodded off during - that's why. )

Friday (Day 1)
Finished up the last leg of the trek that morning, checking into the hotel. Ricky, an old high school pal, picked me up there and we went to the Orange County Convention Center. And… It was fucking AWESOME. I mean… I dunno, I pretty much geeked out to the point of stunned silence – which combined with exhaustion and an unyielding sinus headache made the rest of the day a blast in that "This is so cool I'm gonna' fall over" sorta' way. I mean, when giant robots with crotch-batteries come out of the men's restroom all in a line while you're sitting by eating lunch… I tell you, it's pretty trippy. But cool trippy.

Went to a couple of panels that day – one which was on publishing. As it turned out it wasn't on comics, actually – something neither Rick nor I realized until about five minutes in. Having gone in late and then having interrupted the panel with a phone call after being in there just a minute, though – we were both too embarrassed to just get up and leave. So I busted out the book they gave us and started doodling on the pages. One thing I noticed about many of the panels, btw – particularly these "break in" panels – is that it's pretty much the same old shit. Seriously. Chances are if you're at all serious about getting into whatever industry is there, you all ready know everything they're gonna' talk about – if not more. So yeah, panels were boring.

Incidentally. I didn't realize it until Day 3, but I actually made a rather notorious "first-timer" mistake. Anime Sushi is a big-ass anime club in Orlando, and they host some of the cooler events going on at the convention. But none of these are actually listed in the Events list for the con – but rather are in a small part of the book, tucked between some Yu-Gi-Oh card tournament shit and the celebrity guest list. As a result, I missed some pretty awesome happenings – the Artist Jam on Day 1 (which woulda' fucking ROCKED, as it went into the wee hours of the morning ) and a dance party on Day 2. (DANCE PARTY-Y-Y-Y!!)

Not aware that any of that was happening, though, Rick and I went back to his apartment, meeting up with an old friend of his and his roommate Griff, a dude I've known since we were li'l kids. Halo 2 ensued, and I learned that I suck more ass at Halo 2 than I did Halo. Then I crashed on their couch.

Saturday (Day 2)
The combined exhaustion of the trip down to Orlando, the first day of the Con, and a late night of alien exploding gun-fighting meant waking up late. Real late, actually. All four of us went to the Con for about two/three hours. And it was fucking PACKED. So much so that it was near impossible to stand still for a moment, or else you'd get trampled. So the four of us packed up early (nothing was happening that WE knew of – again going back to the fact that I missed a good chunk of Anime Sushi's stuff), and I slept off the day at the hotel.

Sunday (Day 3)
I hauled ass into the con late again on the final day, though I'd actually woken up early enough… It just happened that it took a couple hours to find an ATM machine. Which, for a tourist trap like Orlando, is pretty uncanny. But after throwing a good $100 away on bootleg DVDs and some new art boards (I out), that was it for the day. I hanged around for awhile, doing a li'l business ala cell-phone and calling some friends in Gainesville (who all happened to be on an uber-early Spring break, so they're all back up here in the panhandle ). Oscar-watching that night, then the drive back up the next day.

---

And that was pretty much it. It was fun as hell, despite the fact that I pretty much missed out on a huge chunk of it. But you learn from your mistakes and all that, so I'll be better prepared next time. Speaking of which, I'll be back down there – in Daytona Beach actually – for Anime Express 8 on the 17th to 19th, then I'll be in Houston for Kami Kaze Con on the. And I should have tables at these. You know, so that I can sit and draw and pretend to be important. But maybe turn enough of a profit that I can actually afford to keep going to these things. So if any of you guys are gonna' be in the area – or are going to the conventions, lemme' know! So see ya' guys later. I'm gonna' go back to sleeping off my desperate need for sleep again.

I, uh… Fiddlesticks.

MegaCon. Orlando, FL. February 25, 26, and 27.

I completely forgot about this. I'd meant to go down for another convention this last weekend, but that got canned by other potential travel plans for the weekend which got canned (which basically meant I did nothing this weekend). So with all that going on, I'd completely forgotten that MegaCon was at the end of this month. And, well… Shit!

To be totally honest, I'm completely unprepared for convention season. It'll be my first, you know. And despite all the legendary hijinks I've heard, I'm really not 100% sure what to expect from all of this. I know con's are a great way to get your name out there, show your work off and get input. But I really haven't touched my portfolio since last year, when I was applying to SCAD. Which means I have just a little under a month to totally re-haul that shit. Which… You know… is a lot to do in a little bit of time. (But, then again, I LIVE for tight deadline crunching and the adrenaline soaked thrill of sleep deprivation. :3)

I'm not too worried about the travel plans themselves. I haven't worked THOSE out yet, either. But I'm thinking train. Maybe train to Gainesville, meet up with a few old friends to hang out and party a couple days early and then drive down to Orlando. (If there isn't another train scheduled to head that way at the time – I really prefer traveling by train. It's relaxing.) And I'll be going to the convention itself with another couple old high school chums.

Of course, I'll also be going up to NYC for a few days smack-dab in the middle of the month, too. Which will be a HUGE conflict in trying to get a portfolio finished. Not that I don't love NYC – every visit is like a creative shot in the arm, it's just so incredibly inspiring walking around Manhattan. But it just sorta' pops up right in the middle of everything, which is gonna' be a drag. As I said, I like traveling by train. Plane or car? They're exhausting. So much so that I'm practically out of it for a good few days afterwards. So more than likely I won't just lose time while in NYC, but also in the week immediately afterward.

I'm not even sure if we'll have any Living Minority stuff to show at this convention. Ian and I have been working hard on it – the character designs for the first book are finished, and Ian is hard at work (he's got alotta' other projects on the table, too) fleshing out the scriptage for it. More than likely there won't be any LM at MC, but that's no big, really. As said, it'll be my first con. So in many ways I'll be too busy getting a feel for the atmosphere, anyway.

So yeah… Anyway. This month is gonna' be fucking crazy. A lot of traveling. A LOT of drawing. Maybe some partying. A really shit-load lot of drawing… Oh yeah. Fast-times, my friends. Let's get crazy!

Incidentally. I'm thinking, as far as the portfolio goes, I'm going to focus on Spider-Girl. The Avengers. And Spider-HAM. Seriously.

So, uh… Anyone else going?

[link]
XfuckingD, baby.

There are really only a handful of webcomics online that I read on a regular basis. You know, as in "Oh hey, it's Monday. That comic is updated!" Penny Arcade and Mega Tokyo are not such webcomics. In fact, I could probably count such webcomics on one hand. Not that I don't read a lot of webcomics – it's just the others I choose to take in big occasional gulps. But, just in case you're not reading it, I want you to check this shit out. And laugh. Laugh good and hard. And then buy their book.

Chugworth Academy. By Dave "Scribblekid" Cheung, with the helping hand of Jamal "Jay Esthar" Joseph Jr. I've been keeping up with Scribble's art for a good few years now – since well before I knew how to draw, even. He and Jay were part of this big-ass amateur RPG Making community that myself and some good few thousand frequented on a daily basis. Back when Deviant Art was in its infancy, Brad and Jen were still an item, Justin was with NSync, and we were all just a little bit confused about our sexuality. Or something. Anyway, one day Scribb's, much known for boobies, cum-shots, and the slick-looking game-in-progress Lx:Lonely Hearts, 'lo and behold posts this kinky cool webcomic on the forums. And then it dies after a few strips and some jokes about cheese and dog-fucking. Really though, it was classy.

Anyway. Chugworth Academy 02 (I believe they've since dropped the 02) hit the scene a year back give or take. And though there's yet to be a Benny (that was the dog) joke, it's STILL classy. And visually appetizing, as Scribbles has really refined his anime stylings and the CGing quality is extra nifty. Cel-shaded, but it's that cel-shaded that you look at and go "Damn, I wish I could cel-shade like that, yo." Oh yes. But most of all, it's damn funny.

So if you're not reading it, READ it. You bastards. But also buy their book. They took a good chunk of their first year and published it recently, and it's well worth the money. Not a fan of reading reprinted webcomics you can read for free? Think of it as supporting the artists. But there are some nice extras in there – profiles and sketches and PANCAKE MOTHERFUCKERS, which is the greatest translation of hangover to comic ever. Serious.

And if THAT's not reason enough to buy it… The book was published through indie Internet publishing service Lulu, which I'm sure ANY of you artists out there might take an interest to. You can publish your own comics through them, or even art books! And hey, you'd want to see what kinda' printing quality Lulu puts out before you sign on, right? Why not check it out with Chugworth.

So, recapping…
READ:  [link]
BUY:  [link]
GO SEE:  

Do it. With love.


Oh. And in other, otherwise unrelated news. I got me one of them there Sheezy things and stuff. ([link] Even more unrelated, I like chocolate cake. *Eats breakfast.*

Happenings…
Haha! Oh, hell – I disappeared again, didn't I? Actually, I've been in Houston all this time – not entirely disconnected from the 'Net, no. But I tend to avoid Deviant Art – and just about anyplace that isn't my e-Mail folder – when downsized to ye olde 56k. But I'm back in Ft. Walton, now – fat and happy and just a wee bit frustrated, what with having just spent a good three weeks with relatives.

Don't get me wrong – I love 'em to death. But I refuse to be my cousins' dancing monkey. (Even though, you know, I was just that. Literally dancing. Dancing the revolution, if ya' know what I mean. And… fuck… I shouldn't dance.) I mean, I've played more video games in these last weeks than I do in a whole year. I don't have the patience for gaming anymore – not like when I was a kid, and could log a good few hours daily into the Legend of Zelda or somethin'. Although, I will say this:  Donkey Konga is a neat little game. But I think it'd be more of an experience to play it while naked and stoned. Just sayin'.

So anyway. I'm excited, though. This'll be my first full year as a full-time drawing person, and I can't wait to kick things off with the new Bumbleking book I'm on!

Comics
The Living Minority – Since Ian all ready mentioned it in his journal, methinks it's okay for me to, too. I'll be drawing the Bumbleking book The Living Minority. It's a pretty interesting concept, serialized on the Internet and published through ComiXpress. Or it will be. Right now we're finalizing the concepts for characters appearing in the first book. :3 This is one of four BK books in production right this minute, all written by Ian Flynn. Fellow art-mates for the other books include Robin Dempsey (Shades of Grey), LockON (Metal Skies), and Jon Gray (Sonic the Hedgehog). It's pretty exciting. ^_^

Not Quite Ludus – Third time's the charm, as they say. Since Sticky Floors crashed-and-burned a fiery, alcohol soaked death – and since I'm still bound and determined to break into cheap-and-quick comic strips – Mike and I are resurrecting NQL… again. It's a web comic about… well, web comics. And comics in general. Yeah. Fuck all those video-game parodies, and "real life" stories! To hell with college and computers. We're gonna' make fun of the very thing that gives us form – the Internet and art in boxes!

Other M – I'm finally sitting down to draw my OMS4 assignment. (Shit, am I lazy…) I'd actually gotten a fair amount of it sketched, but the combined distractions of moving and holidays, all rolled into two very hurried months, kept me pretty laid back. I'm sketching right now, too – mostly to relearn a feel for the characters, since it'd been so long. XD

Anyway… Live long and prosper and all that crazy jazz. Hope you all had a pleasant holiday season, and muchos apologies that I wasn't here on the hour to say so in a more timely fashion. Catch up with all of ya's laters! Happy Christmas and merry New Year and all the rest!

*Dances*

Happenings…
I'm ba-a-ack. In Pensacola. Or Ft. Walton Beach, rather, which is only 45 minute to an hour away from P'Cola. Not that the whole "traveling artist" thing isn't kinda' cool in its old-school way or anything, but I was always under the impression that any given relocation would last a bit longer than almost a couple months. But ah well. I suppose it's a good thing I hadn't gotten too attached to a routine or anything in West Palm. Tis' good to be home – and 'least ways guaranteed a residence for the next six months.

Moving does have its perks, though. I mean, dammit if it doesn't take a huge chunk of your time – even when you barely have anything to pack. -_O But the cool part is that my apartment here is right next to a comic book store! A big 'ne, too, that stays up late hours even. I could, like, live here all my life and die happy, I tells ya'. It's a lot farther away from most o' my college-mates, but I hadn't seen any of 'em at all while staying down in West Palm all this time, anyway. Hurricanes, you know. The poor bastards gotta' make up classes on weekends to makeup for all the time missed. (And Pensacola itself got beat up bad, too. You can tell, even two months after the fact.)

I finally have a computer setup that can connect via DSL, though. As opposed to borrowing a 56k one as was the case this last week, the random occasion I'd sign on. XD So, like, I'm gonna' try and catch up with all the Dev-ity that I missed in my infinitely slow-ass connection speed.  I also have a table and a chair, which means I'm back in business!

Comics
Sticky Floors – Work on the Keenspace site got delayed a lot by the move, though I've been in touch with Jes and he's working on some stuff when he's got time between school projects. Florida State keeps its film students a-busy.

Hookshead – Mike sent me the second draft of the script awhile back right before I had to pack up for the move. I've read through it a few times and worked out the page-pacing. It's looking to be about 60 pages, give or take, which oughtta' be a couple months' worth of work. All ready started sketching out the layouts for the first few pages, and now that I'm settled someplace (for a definitive period of time) I can get right to work.

Other M – Again put off 'cause of the move. (Sorry Ian!! ) Back to work as usual, though, on my next assignment: which'll be a ten page slot on Super Special issue 04. Which, uh, is a ways away. But better to be early and on time than late and last minute. (Though truth be told, the rush of my issue 27 assignment felt great. :3 Which, you know, if drawing on a tight deadline is what gets my blood-pumping, you can obviously tell I live an "adventurous" lifestyle. XD) Speaking of ish 27, though – a shout-out to the cover artist for the ish, ! Check out the dude's stuff! (Sorry I missed ya' last Journal, man. Didn't know you had a Dev-account. ^^)

Anyway, busy, busy, busy. I'm not sleeping on the floor anymore, though. I got one of those air-mattresses. Which, lemme' tell ya', are damned comfortable.