DESIGNER CON 2013 COVER......WOOHOOOO!!!

Last year I was lucky enough to be giving the opportunity to do the back cover for the Dcon 2012 program. I must have done an ok job, because they offered me the front cover shortly after the show. Of course I waited till the last minute to do this one. Oooops. Here's some of the stages of development.

I used my Rhino models as underlays and actual elements for the final illustration.

I probably do some unnecessary steps every time I do an illustration, but that's how my brain wants to work. I print out low opacity images and trace/redraw stuff. It's similar to using a lightbox for doing overlays.

The sketch on the left was done on a Cintiq, then printed and cleaned up on copy paper with a pen. The sketch on the right is a rework of the middle clean version. I didn't want this illustration to be super clean like last years back cover, so I went back in and put some life back into it.

These are the 3 teaser images that I posted on Instagram.

This cover was a challenge for me. I was pretty happy with what I did last year, but I didn't want to do a complete retread of last years concept. The 2 images on the left we too boring and just showing off the new characters. To me, Dcon is about artists creating stuff, and I still wanted that represented in the illustration.

 Here's the final, but it still has the bleed on it. So, the actual printed program won't have such a thick ink border. It's also missing my signature. Is it better than last years?? Maybe, maybe not, but I still like it. 

Everyone that attends Dcon 2013 should get one, so you can't complain about that price. I'm also doing 10 Preview Editions of the each Ante Ups figure, but those might be pricey. Stop by booth #332 at the Pasadena Convention Center Nov 9th and 10th and say "hi". I'll be on my best behavior, so I should say "howdy" back. 

DCON EXCLUSIVE FOREST STROLL LORD

 Way back at WonderCon in March, I was in the middle of the Mini 10-Doh! Series2 Kickstarter and was still trying to plan out the rest of the year. I knew I needed to do some more Limited Edition Mini 10-Doh! figures down the road. SpankyStokes stopped by the booth like he always does, and this is the result of our conversation.

Spanky teamed up with Playful Gorilla and they came up with the Forest Stroll Lord Mini 10-Doh!.

I made up 40 of these guys for them. 

soooooo pretty.

 We split the 40 figures, so we'll each have them at our booths. I doubt there will be any left after the show, but if there are, we'll be selling them online as well. 

Don't miss out on this or all the other great stuff at Designer Con Nov 9th and 10th at the Pasadena Convention Center.

Check out more of their stuff at www.spankystokes.com and www.playfulgorilla.storenvy.com

DIE JAR JAR DIE!!

This terrible character might not be the only reason that I'm no longer a huge Star Wars fan, but he is a major contributor. I wasn't really planning on being a part of this show, but once I thought about it, I couldn't resist showing my disdain for the existence of this character. 

This was the original sketch I did in my sketch book. Pen and ink like usual. I had a loose idea of what I wanted to do, but it wouldn't fit on the page.

I roughed out the 8.5" x 11" layout in photoshop and printed out a really low opacity template to ink.

These are the 3 teaser images i put up on Instagram a while back.

 Here is a scan of the final illustration. Of course I modified some things while inking. It's a bit chaotic, but I'm pretty happy with the it overall.

You can see and buy this heartfelt homage to Jar Jar at Dcon in Pasadena on Nov 9th and 10th. Here's more info about the show. Tons of great artists involved.

DKE Toys presents “The 99 Deaths of Jar Jar”

A two day only group art show exclusively at

Designer Con 2013

Saturday, November 9 & Sunday, November 10,  9am – 5pm

Pasadena Convention Center, 300 East Green Street, Pasadena CA 91101

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DKE Toys presents “The 99 Deaths of Jar Jar”, a group art show featuring 99 artists. Each artist was asked to submit a black and white, pen and ink illustration on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper and chose one way to maim, torture, and/or kill our least favorite Gungan.

Participating Artists Include:

64 Colors - A Little Stranger - Doktor A. - akirophoto - Ardabus Rubber - Asaad - Atila - Jason Atomic - Super Cooper Berella - Bigfoot - Joemm Blanche of CBNC - Botsch - Jon Burgerman - Candy - Nate Carle - Luke Chueh - Nicholas Dewey - Luis Diaz - Mike Egan - Dez Einswell - Brent Engstrom - Gus Fink - Frédéric Fleury - Brian Flynn - Steve (Go Hero) Forde - Free Humanity - Renee French - Gregg Gibbs - Darren Goldman - Dan Goodsell - Grenadier Stinny - James Hakola - Gary Ham - Nathan Hamill - Joshua Herbolsheimer - Jesse Hernandez - Francisco Herrera - Kerry Horvath - I Heart Guts - Jay222 - Jeremyville - JSalvador - kaNO - KiLL! - Sun-Min Kim + David Horvath - Scott Kinnebrew - Jim Koch - Frank Kozik - Wade Lageose - L'amour Supreme - Leecifer - LiLJAPAN - Abe Lincoln Jr. - Andy Linke - Jerome Lu - Madtwiinz - Jim Mahfood aka Food One - Man One - Manly Art - Randy Martinez - Mauricio Tubesteak - El Maz - MCA - William Luke Miller - Miso - Nate Mitchell Squid Kids Ink - Nick the Ring - Brent Nolasco - Mitch O'Connell - Odio - olive47 - Jordan Owen - Virva Peikko - Ritzy Periwinkle - The Pizz - Playful Gorilla - PodgyPanda - Poulin Eurlegg - Dave Pressler - Ted Rall - Rob Reger -   Renone - Jermaine Rogers - D. Ross "scribe" - Johnny Ryan - Phil Ryan - Dave Savage - Nick Sawyers - SERBAN - Skinner - Bwana Spoons - Scott Tolleson - Triclops Studio - Tracy Tubera - twerps! - Gustavo Alberto Garcia Vaca - valleyDweller - Denise Vasquez - Scott Wilkowski - Neil Winn - David Zajdman

Jar Jar Binks was contacted for comment about the event and noted about the show, “Why meesa so hated?”

This art show is not sponsored or endorsed by Lucasfilm, and has no relationship with them in any way.

Jar Jar Binks and all related intellectual property is copyright and/or registered to Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. But who would really want to own the rights to Jar Jar anyway.  Go step in poo doo.

Rumor has it that there may or may not be a corresponding collectable program (er.. crappy zine.. er..something) but that remains to be seen. Show up for more details…

Images will be posted here  http://www.flickr.com/photos/dketoys/sets/72157635662424295/

MINI 10-DOH! SERIES2 COMPLETE SET UNVEILED

 well, if you haven't heard, i have a Kickstarter Campaign goin on right now. i unveiled 1 figure per day over the 1st 16 days of the campaign. there are 4 common, 4 uncommon, 4 rare, 4 ultra rare. there's still time to contribute and get the Kickstarter Exclusive figures, so please don't hesitate.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/185624469/mini-10-doh-series2

i'll be posting more add-ons soon, so stay tuned and please help spread the word.

MINI 10-DOH! SERIES 2 KICKSTARTER IS LIVE!!!

so, it finally happened. i finally managed to sit in front of a camera and get a video done for this project.  thanks to Chito "Kwestone" Arellano for putting up with my fear and hatred of cameras and speaking. ha.

so here are the pledge levels. 

 pretty self explanatory.

Kickstarter My Heart is a combination of a few things. obviously, i used the Kickstarter colors, but the heart is a nod to the Energy Meter Heart from Zelda, and whole idea is a play on Motley Crue's song Kickstart My Heart. yes, i used to listen to Motley Crue way back when.

the black version, ooohh.

the Gold version. ooooh, with metallic label. oooooooooohhhhh!

this is a brand new version of Mini 10-Doh!, but without labels, instead they have a insert with graphics printed on both sides. 2 of the Ultra Rare figures in Series2 will be similar to this bad boy. 

each one of these pretty white label will get mucked up with little sketch by me. i might even take requests. ha.

the combo pack for people that don't like black or gold figures, but you get a sketch and a clear one. woohoo!

the best way to get all of the exclusives. and a blind box of course.

the easiest way to get a complete set of Series2. it's pretty difficult to get a complete set as blind purchases. relieve that stress by jumping in at this level. this set will only be available through Kickstarter, so grab one while you can.

so, these are completely Kickstarter Exclusives. these will never be available any other way. so, if no one orders them, they'll never be made. boohoo. don't let that happen. ha.

the main prize here is the 1st Shot. these were the 1st Mini 10-Doh! figures ever made. they are what i looked at and made revisions. they are missing all legal markings (cuz those are add at the end of tooling), the surfaces aren't polished or refined, and the inside doesn't have the friction fit pegs that hold the top together. what all that means is that they are extremely rare and can be made again. i only made 2 available and 1 is already spoken for. 

if you've ever attended a convention we've exhibited at, then you've probably seen my Giant 10-Doh! on display. there's only one in existence right now, but that could change, if there are some high rollers out there. 

this is the same Giant Sized figure. a whopping 29.5" tall. but now you can choose from any of the other 11 label designs from Series2. you also get a complete set of Series2 and all 5 KS Exclusives.

so much stuff and you get to design a label. if you just have a money tree and don't want to design the label, i'll do the art based on your art direction. what a compromise, right?

there you have it. things are off to a great start and hopefully they continue to go that way.

Kickstarter has some new guidelines that kept me from offering a couple of pledge levels that were really fun. i wanted to offer full case packs, but that wasn't allowed. i'll see if i can make them available as add-ons. the others were high dollar but cool. i'll try to figure out away to make them available. 

head over to http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/185624469/mini-10-doh-series2 to pledge and don't forget to spread the word.

if we exceed the goal, i have some great Stretch Goals planned. i hope those get unveiled and reached. but for now let's focus on the main goal. woohoo!

AND THE WINNER IS..........lots to read.

soooooo, after pondering over the 70 entries for the last 12 days, i've finally made a decision. it was incredibly difficult and there were a bunch of entries that could have easily won. here are some of the major determining factors as to how the winner was chosen.

Series2 Artists: i asked 11 artists to be a part of Mini 10-Doh! Series2 and they had the same Jan 31st deadline to deliver their label art. just like the contest participants, they had almost complete freedom for the label. this presented a couple problems, like when 2 artists wanted to do a label based on the same game. it was solved by first come first served, but i couldn't communicate that to the contest participants. i felt it was best to let the contest run it's course and any similar or duplicate game entries would be second in line to any of the labels created by the designated artists for Series2. 

so, i had to wait and see all of the art for Series2 before choosing a winner. even though there is one label i'm still waiting on. anyway, the winner had to fit in the series, but too much. 

Color: it really boiled down to color for some of them. if i already had a heavy white label in the mix, all white label entries weren't likely to win. i know that might suck for those that chose white, but i couldn't tell them to not use white. i didn't know what colors the artists would be using. there also ended up being a lot of black labels from both artist and contest entries. so, a lot of great classic looking labels weren't chosen because there will be plenty of classic styled labels already in Series2.

Content: others weren't selected because the subject matter was too similar. i didn't want to have a series full of a certain animal. so, if one of the artists used a specific animal, all entries with that same animal probably wouldn't be selected.

Decision: the final decision was mine, but i did ask some friends for their top 5 and then discussed them further once i showed them the rest of Series2 as a whole. like i said, there were at least a good 10-15 entries that had a solid chance at winning. 

AND THE WINNER IS.........

Zonbey Kong was designed by Riccardo Bucchioni. it's not heavy on black or white. and none of the other artists chose to do zombie gorillas, so no overlap there. but seriously, it's funny and well illustrated. it will also be easily recognizable for lots of people. i have no idea who Riccardo Bucchioni is, but i soon will and so will some other folks out there.

UPDATE: check out more of Riccardo's work at http://www.riccardobucchioni.com and https://www.facebook.com/riccardobucchioniart

i was incredibly tough to choose the winner. i'm amazed at all of the great entries, so i want to try and do some other stuff with the entries. below are some ideas on how to do that. 

Series3: i may select a couple of the entries to be part of Series3, but i have to get through Series2 first. 

Limited Edition Mini 10-Dohs: i'm planning at least 2 Limited Edition figures using the art from the contest. i've already contacted those 2 artists, but i'll reveal those later. 

Kickstarter: i'm trying to set up a Kickstarter project to fund Series2. counter to popular belief, i'm not made of monies. this may also give me a chance to produce other So Analog characters like A-Drive and B-Side, but again, i have to focus on Series2 first. so, stay tuned. i may also open voting for backers to select other contest entries to be made into Limited Editions Mini 10-Doh! figures.

Everyone is a winner, kinda. i'm also working on having a Custom Mini 10-Doh! art show where i can show off all 70 designs. it's in the very early stages of planning, so i'll post more once anything gets solidified. 

i'm sure there was a better way to run the contest, but i'm just one guy trying to make some toys that also help other artists get their stuff seen by more people. i'd like to do another contest at some point, but it will be probably being more specific or something. i learned a lot during this little adventure.

i really want to thank everyone that took the time to read this, but more importantly, thanks to everyone that took the time to enter. the quantity and quality of the submissions was impressive. i truly appreciate the support. 

CYBER DEMON DEVELOPMENT

i guess this is a companion piece for my Mech Cyclone that i did late last year.

i got this reference image from http://www.joystiq.com. i also watched a couple videos on youtube. there wasn't a ton of info on him as a character, but i found enough.

 

these are some of the elements i used and didn't use. i wanted to use the Japanese symbol that appears on Akuma's back after a victory, but that proved difficult. it's supposedly means "destruction", but i couldn't find a symbol that looked like his. so, i just went with the symbol from normal Akuma.

i had a hard time drawing Akuma for some reason. i'm not happy with the side views at all, but they are small and secondary. oh well.

some Instagram teasers.

some more Instagram teasers.

i always bounce back and forth between Photoshop and Illustrator. it gets really annoying, cuz i basically do twice the amount of work for the layout. 

final layout without some layers and effects. looks more like a real blueprint this way. ha.

 
and here's the final. i thought it would be easier to do this one, since i already did the Mech Cyclone, but i was wrong. this took way longer than expected. overall i'm happy with it, but it was challenging.

there will be some for sale at BAIT in Diamond Bar, CA from 1-9 on this Saturday. Feb 9th 2013. i'll be around at some point gettin my butt whooped at Street Fighter. check it out if you can. should be a good event with great art and Street Fighter. can't go wrong with that.