Steel Noodles

This is going to be another busy year with lots of stuff to be done in many fronts. But I start the year right with a sketch of my dear Val who continues to charm and amaze me.

Many of you have been asking about STEEL NOODLES and what progress i’ve been making on the graphic novel.  I’ve always felt a little weird about sharing “work in progress” info especially with books because so much of it changes.  For me it’s easier to talk about the tinkering process after it’s done so as not to be so presumptuous about how and why final decisions are made.

Having acquired a Wacom Cintiq means it’s a no-brainer for the STEEL NOODLES graphic novel to be executed digitally.

Although i’ve pretty much decided to do just that, much of the initial development including A SLICE OF HEAVEN was done in pencil and watercolor and somehow, I still cling to the notion that the book might be done traditionally. Somehow I think a compromise will be struck and i’ll find some part of the book to paint using real media.

Story wise i’ve completed a rough outline of the entire book. Now it’s a matter of fleshing the sections out. A whole lot of writing is still ahead.

Here’s a one of my many digital tests of Val done in Adobe Photoshop using a modified flat-tip watercolor brush. It kind of simulates a 2B pencil which I like but the colors are still a work in progress.

Now back to the lab…..

Reminiscent of Oekaki BBS art, SKETCHCAST is a new way to get a quick doodle recorded and published online. Consequently, you can also record audio as you sketch if you want to expand on your little masterpiece in action.

This also brought back memories of the now defunct FLIPBOOK where one could do cool little flipbook drawings online. (Here was the one I did last year)

I stumbled upon Sketchcast on Enrico Casarosa’s blog. Check it his charming sketchcast of the aviatrix heroine MIA.

…oops my bad. FLIPBOOK actually changed developers and is now HERE.

Here’s a shot of page six of the newly released STEEL NOODLES: A Slice of Heaven for those of you who are curious what the book looks like inside.

This entire page was one of just a few that I re-painted and merged with the ones done last November. It’s subtle but these “new” pages look so much better to me and if deadlines weren’t an issue, I would probably re-painted the who shebang. Good news is that the new specs will just spill over to the big book.

And speaking of Steel Noodles, you can now pick up copies locally at both House of Secrets in Burbank and Meltdown Comics in Hollywood. More outlets to be announced soon. (Both will ship pretty much anywhere for you out of towners)

I‘m also working it out where you can buy it direct from me through my own deal called BRAND X PUBLISHING. It’s my online bookstore and all I need is to establish merchant and shipping operations. More details on that soon but for now you can visit Brand X HERE or click on the sidebar link.

MODBOOK UPDATE!! Per AXIOTRON, the first conversion kits will now ship in the fourth quarter. This means the earliest I would get my Modbook would somewhere around October. At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if I got it a full year later in February 2008! According to Axiotron, all these delays only means they are improving the mod by leaps and bounds. The latest being an official endorsement from Apple Computer itself. The result would be a full cooperation especially in the technical side between Apple and Axiotron thereby improving an already solid modification package.

Again, despite these delays at least I know I’m getting a machine that will do the job and do it well….

In the fantasy art realm, anyone a fan of the legendary SYD MEAD?

Well I am and i’m excited about an exhibit opening on August 16th called VISIONS: THE WORLD OF FANTASY ART at the Forest Lawn Museum in Glendale, California. (Yep, that Forest Lawn) It will feature works from artists Mark Goerner, Chris Hopkins, Dennis Lewis, William Stout, David Willardson and of course, Syd Mead. It will also feature special selections from the Walt Disney Animation Studios, Animation Research Library. The exhibit will run through November 5th, 2007.

Click HERE for the exhibit page on the Forest Lawn Museum site.
Click HERE for the official SYD MEAD website.

During the San Diego Comic-Con this year I was interviewed by freelance web radio host DON KELLY for his show called OLD SCHOOL PIZZAZZ.

Don was kind enough to send me an MP3 of our little chat where we talked about The Wayward Traveller, Hot Mexican Love Comics and of course, Steel Noodles. He’s definitely one cool guy and a witty host.

Click HERE to listen.

You can hear Don as well the show in it’s entirety on DeadlyBuda.com
Old School Pizzazz airs 4pm PST daily.