501st and Warlord Of Mars Artist Proof Sketch Cards

Here are listings for some more Artist Proof sketch cards that I have done. The top two are from a set done for the 501st for Celebration VI and the the rest are for the Warlord of Mars set put out a while back from Breygent. The links are below:

Dengar    Tusken Raider

Tars Tarkas    John Carter 1    Dejah Thoris 1

John Carter 2    Dejah Thoris 2    Dejah Thoris 3

Yoda

I am participating in a fundraiser for a little boy named Matthew from northern Michigan who is receiving treatment for a brain tumor, which is being put together by the Cherry Capital Con's very own Rob Humphrey. Matthew is a huge Star Wars fan, so Rob contacted a bunch of us arty types to draw up something Star Wars related that we could give to him to uplift his spirits during his struggle. And from what I have heard, Lucasfilm and the 501st are involved with the assistance of creating a book of the artwork that can be sold to raise further funds for Matthew and his family. I will definitely post further details as I receive them.

Some of the other artists on tap for this project seem to be mostly Michigan based and they include such talents as Jay Jacot, Guy Allen, Jeff Manley, Matthew Minor, among others.

Above is my contribution, an aggressive Yoda fighting the good fight. As usual, click on the image to engorge.

And keep Matthew in your thoughts while he fights the good fight.

As You Wish Project

The official Star Wars convention Celebration VI is currently underway down in Orlando, Fl. Late last year I was asked by the 501st to contribute to the Make A Wish Foundation's As You Wish Project, where we the artists had to alter a clonetrooper bucket in some artistic way, add our own special touch to it. So, after submitting two designs and being approved for both I chose to do a Deep Sea Diver Clone. A sort of steampunk version, of sorts. Here is the official helmet bio:

Deep Sea (DS) Clone Diver

Helmet Bio:

My deep sea diver clonetrooper helmet is based on just that, a deep sea diving helmet. I often use a deep sea diver in my artwork as a symbol of myself as an explorer of the sometimes wide and deep chasms of the sub-conscious. An adventurer mapping his own way of where he’s been and why.

I like the idea of having this futuristic clonetrooper juxtaposed with a more anachronistic and foreign aesthetic. I could say that this has a steampunk feel to it, but that might be stretching it some. I’ll leave that for others to decide. And having an airhose strikes me as being a little sarcastic, if not completely out of place in the Star Wars universe. The Jedi have used re-breathers, after all. Then there are the bolts that just tied it all together for me. It was not my desired helmet until those bolts were put in.

I began my project by cutting out the side and top visual ports and adding bars across all the visors. I wanted the bars to look as though they were welded onto the bucket. I used a combination of plastic and metal, as well as some found objects for the added parts. I also saw this underwater helmet having an organic feel and bought some fake coral at a pet shop and applied pieces to the top and sides, as a living, breathing extension of the helmet, which is why it is painted the same colors as the helmets copper and brass. 

There are other artists that also contributed to this project and all of these helmets are up on ebay as I write this to be auctioned off and all of the proceeds will go to the charity. You can go here to bid on my helmet (which already as a bid!), but please check out all of the other helmets as they are spectacular. My friend Thomas Spanos did a clonetrooper/Alien helmet that is the talk of the show, I am sure.

501st Sketch Cards

Above are the sketch cards that I did for the 501st Legion that will be distributed at this year's Star Wars Celebration VI, which will be held in Orlando, FL. I will be using the Dengar and the bottom Tusken Raider as my return cards, with the Dengar already being spoken for. These cards are one of two projects that I will have a presence with at Celebration, the other will be an altered clonetrooper helmet that will be auctioned off for the Make A Wish Foundation.

The Art Of The Comic: A Comic Book Art Show

Tomorrow night is the opening of the Art Of The Comic group show at the River's Edge Gallery in Wyandotte, Mi that will feature the pop culture works of Tony Miello, Katie Cook, Jay Fosgitt, Jay Shimko, Bill Pulkovski and myself. I believe that I heard that a couple of stormtroopers from the 501st will be on hand, as well. This gallery has three floors of awesomeness and there is plenty of other artworks to check out, so come on down and have a good time. All of the artists will be there to make you feel super special.... or maybe you will make us feel super special. I don't know.

All the pertinent info is on the top image and it will engorge if you click on it.

Motor City Comic Con 2010, Part Two

Here are a few pictures from last weekend's Motor City Comic Con:

The 501st Republic Commando Chris Brown and me.

Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) and the print that I gave him.

Wolfman Mac amazed upon seeing my cartoon book.

Chris Brown taking a break from his 501st duties.

This was by far my best con yet and it was great to see some old friends and meet some new ones. A big thank you is in order to everyone who stopped by my little niche at the con!