Reflection

It’s been a good long time since I did any kind of writing here. I just made all the necessary changes to the Battle Maiden Knuckle Bomb Fan Art Contest webpage and figured, since I’m here, I might as well type out my thoughts. A lot has happened since October of last year…

I’m about to wrap up production on the first issue of BMKB, and I’m so excited about it. I never dreamt I would achieve the amount of success I’ve had thus far with Murakumo Comics, and I will forever be grateful for the support and of the opportunity that I’ve received. I’m thankful for all the new friends that I’ve made too, and am looking forward to future projects that we’ve planned together.

Towards the tail end of 2019 it’s going to get very busy in the studio. There are several announcements that I would like to shout out to the world but can’t… At least, not just yet. Good things come to those who wait, right? I will say that this year has already been my most creatively prosperous and artistically satisfying in my short professional career.

I’m very much looking forward to expanding my business, improving upon my craft, producing comics and contributing to the blossoming independent scene. Seeing so many creators collaborate and go for it, throwing their hats into the ring, has been the best kind of inspiration and motivation. And I don’t see it stopping anytime soon!

Tranquilo

Tranquilo, あっせん な よ -- words to live by from Tetsuya Naito, one of my favorite wrestlers from Japan. Because, seriously, people need to relax and chill out. I personally haven't been posting much of anything lately because I've had my nose to the grindstone working on getting my comic finished. I'll have a reveal for you guys sometime in September, but for now I'm so absorbed in creating sequential art it's all I can think about!

I bring up tranquilo, though, because I've noticed a handful of artists I follow on Twitter have been dealing with a lot of heat and might not be coping with it in a healthy way. To those affected by online toxicity, please remember that it's very easy for people to be malicious and spout mindless drivel through social media. And that's exactly what it is -- mindless drivel. In most cases I've seen, the mindless hatred is steeped in speculation and stem from baseless rumors or simply opinions.

It's very easy for anyone to make a snap judgement and comment with an uninformed opinion. Most people aren't willing to do the homework involved to formulate a meaningful opinion and hence we get social media being bloated with [enter expletive].

As an artist, criticism is valuable and if someone doesn't like your work it's worth listening to the reasons why, but don't obsess over the negativity. If you can distinguish them, take any valid points your critics have and see if you can benefit from the knowledge, but debating your detractors and trying to convince them of the merits of your work doesn't usually pan out well. It's very rare that a person will turn a corner sincerely through interactions on social media.

Also, remember, there are block and mute functions. I've never had to use them, thankfully, but they're there for anyone who could benefit from them. Logout is a good one too. There are also those sleep and power buttons that log you back into the IRL app known as reality. Not to say that social media can't impact your reality but it's really up to you to decide just how much control you're willing to give it over your day-to-day.

So yeah, tranquilo.

Constant Motion

This year's con season was particularly satisfying for me and I'm still slightly reeling from the aftereffects. Mostly because I'm trying to get rid of this nasty flu that hit me from outta nowhere! But as I'm now able to sit up and simultaneously remain conscious I can actually get back to work, and with even more zeal than before!

Well, the zeal will come later, once I'm rid of this damn fever and cough, ugh...

Anime Expo, quite frankly, sucked! They sorely need to cap attendance for that con as it is ridiculously bloated and ill-organized. Despite purchasing the 4-day pass, I did not return after the first day. I won't be returning as an attendee, but I am seriously considering renting a table at the artists alley next year, as that was one of the only parts of the con I did enjoy a lot. It was also one of the only areas you could move around in without having to carve a path through the tumultuous sea of bodies.

Comic Con was the real game changer for me. It was my first time attending Comic Con and the opportunity presented itself to me on the weekend of the event, thanks to my cousin who is a professional in the entertainment industry. I was able to see and meet so many illustrators who have influenced my artistic life, it was the most fulfilling experience I've ever had at a convention. And this was just walking around the artists alley, I didn't attend a single panel.

Being able to meet these men and women and talk shop was an invaluable and inspiring experience. I've been hard at work on the Ehrgeiz Trading Cards, but there's another project I've been working on simultaneously that will be revealed later this fall. One particularly famous, and or infamous, comic artist gave a speech that really motivated me and that drive has already produced something that I can't wait to complete and share with you all!

There are also a couple other really exciting developments that I have to keep to myself due to NDAs, but this all came at me in the span of a single month! I wouldn't say it's been overwhelming, but it's definitely been a hell of a ride, full momentum in constant motion! Until next time!

June Midterm Status

Man, June is already almost over!? This summer is going to fly by, I just know it.

I've sketched out about 45 cards for the first Ehrgeiz series of trading cards. I haven't settled on the number for the base set just yet, but at the rate I'm going I think 72 will be enough. I've already got a printer ready for the project, I've just got to work on the art and the visual design of the cards. The plan is to launch with a Kickstarter, but there are still a couple of details I need to work out beforehand. As usual, I'll keep you guys posted!

For now, here’s a jungle girl-themed cover I finished up recently!

That's a wrap for now, just wanted to post a quick update. Until next time!

Current State of Ehrgeiz

Something I'm constantly asked about is what happened to Ehrgeiz?

Ehrgeiz was a webcomic that I had created three years ago that evolved around the world of joshi puro, the Japanese style and discipline of women's professional wrestling. Though the comic only ran for a few months with one or two pages being uploaded a week, it garnered a small fandom that continues to inquire about the comic to this day.

I'm currently throwing around some ideas for a one shot Ehrgeiz comic, but a lot has changed since the comic's inception. One big change is the time frame of the comic, which originally took place in the '80s. The release of GLOW on Netflix pretty much filled the void I had intended for Ehrgeiz, and the show did a damn good job. So while I stew on what type of story I want to tell with these characters, I figured I'd just focus on the characters themselves for now.

I've finalized the designs of the initial Ehrgeiz roster and am currently working on a set of trading cards that will introduce them and their abilities in the ring. The idea is to present the entire project as a work; All wrestlers will commit to being in-character, a handful of which would fit right in with the zany gimmicky caricatures of the '80s and '90s!

I'll keep you guys posted on the progress of the trading cards. The base set will feature 72 cards, composed of character and wrestling cards. With this being my first outing, I'm going to keep it simple. The base set will be available to purchase in full and will come with a box topper. Later on, I’d like to introduce some chase cards to the set. If it's well received, I might consider bringing in some freelancers for some bonus cards for the next set.

The back of the cards will feature art, profiles, demographics, stats and history. You'll be able to learn quite a bit about each character, and their relationships with the others, through the information presented on the back of the cards.

So that's the status of Ehrgeiz at the moment. Thanks so much for those of you who continued to express interest in my characters! Until next time!!

Stage One

I've had my domain for over a couple years and never got around to actually building my art site because I was so busy with work. I jumped on the bandwagon and gave Squarespace a try and, look at that, in less than a day I've got my website, portfolio and blog all up and running. You hear people shilling for it all the time but I can personally vouch for 'em now. Not having to run everything through FTP and manually coding every page lets me focus on work that I need to get done. So that's that.

In regards to what you can expect on this blog, it's going to be just like my previous blog. I'll be focusing on works that are in development and art-based topics, but now more than ever I need a place to output my thoughts and this is going to be the platform. If I can obtain the hardware for it, I'd like to start streaming off my Wacom device, but for now the focus is, as always, on the work. Until next time!

Press Start

I've finally gotten around to transferring everything over to this new host. It's so convenient having everything tied in to a single platform. Please have patience with me as I try to figure all this out, lol.