Aang And Friends (And Foes)

Periscope sketch challenge has been a great source of fun for the studio. Sometimes I step past fun into tedium because I try to take on more than I should. It didn't seem like it would be a hard thing to make a mash-up montage between Star Wars and Avatar but it ended up being a lot of work for a somewhat unexciting image. Not enough of either to make something more than the sum of its' parts.


My original intent was to try and throw down a few characters and tip my hat to Luke and the gang in a way that was fun and fast. I used the same ink-wash technique that I used in my ninja turtles picture hoping for similar results. The trick to making a good illustration rather than an OK illustration is not to lose spontaneity or excitement. In this case I was too concerned with the aesthetic of Avatar and I didn't trust myself to make a wholly original composition. Oh well, You draw and you learn eh?

Chalkboard Musings

For Lindsey's Birthday I got us a mini-vacation at the Kennedy School in NE Portland. We have a special relationship to that place in various ways so we like to revisit it when we can.


The room we stayed in had a huge wrap-around chalkboard and some white chalk to play around with so we played. It was fun. I got Lindsey to draw a little bit at the end.

I used my covert skills and snapped a picture of her.
I call him 'angel-bear' because he loves the baseball team in Anaheim...

Yes; I put Star Wars in this too

This is Lindsey's portion. Aliens have come for a man and he is gleefully going with them.

Star Wars Sketchcard Frenzy!

I got a request from a reader to do a few star wars sketch cards. He sent along a few cards; one had a promo piece I had done already printed on it along with my name and title. Now that I'm done with My Work for Dark Horse I have a little time to catch up on little things like this:

Approx. 3 X 7 inches; ink on cardstock
Approx. 4 X 2.5 inches; ink and gray marker on cardstock
If you want a sketch card like this you can send a crisp 20 dollar bill and a self addressed stamped envelope to Periscope Studio Care of Ben Dewey! You can also look for my Star Wars Digest title "Strange Allies" coming December 6th (mark your calendars!) to your local comics retailer. You can also pre-order online

Trek V. Wars

Yes, Yes it's true I'm back from my hiatus and Emerald city. It was a great time. I have a ton of art and a few bucks to show for it (although after final tally I think I broke even.) The subject of Saturday was whether their was a bigger display of fandom for Star Trek or Star Wars. Nathan and I decided to have a friendly competition (actually more of an experiment) to see which would come out on top. I chose the underdog (Trek) in an effort to seem like I care about something other than Star Wars. This is our tally sheet:


Nathan would tell people which side we were on and after some people threatened me in a half-joking manner I put on my new headphones to let them know where I stand.


In the end we decided that the reason Sw beat out St was that for all the great aspects of the message inherent to the Trek universe like considerate exploration and a positive future for humanity; Wars has a much cooler visual vocabulary to draw from and if you think I'm wrong then I say this to you: Lightsaber, R2, Vader, Deathstar, Chewie, Yoda, Jaba and Akbar are relentlessly referenced in memes of all sorts. The themes of Star Trek are intellectual (which the science-side of me loves) while the lasting legacy of Star Wars is sensory (which has inspired my drawings since I was 3.)


You can see that we did a Batman/Superman-off but it didn't have the same spark of intrigue that our initial choice did. It should be noted finally that my underdog pick also had a boost from the con appearances of many next Next Generation cast members and the Trek overlord, Shatner himself, but still didn't win.

In the end we did see one Herculoids tee shirt and Nathan made special mention of it.

Buttons and Yeti-centaurs.

I'm part way through our first mini-comic and it is taking longer than I'd like. The good news is that Nathan should have a script for me as of tonight and I have finished buttons:


The other good news is that my sweet Star Wars headphone arrived and they are just as cool as I'd hoped.

No really, the good news is that I've been getting a lot of little things accomplished and I'm looking forward to seeing my buddy Nathan for our fun excursion north to that gem on the Puget sound. We will have at least one (but maybe two) mini comics in print to promote our big sprawling online comic. The first of them is the side adventure of the troll brothers and the second will be based on our Gnome protagonist.


This is a set of non-sequential pages from the min which will measure, roughly, 5.5 by 4.25 inches when properly sized and collated in finished form. I'm going to produce a cover for them too but that will come at the end of finishing all the interior art. Nathan will be here soon so I'm hoping, once he arrives, to see this whole little side project come together in a brilliant flash of bro-hugs and late-night snacking.

Yes I'm Obsessed.

Lindsey Showed me these the other night:


Even as I sat today drawing Star Wars comics, thinking about these headphones and having just watched the original theatrical cuts of episodes 4 and 5 the previous night I still did not feel over-saturated.

They make Carl Sagan merch too and I want this just as much:


I'll post some art tomorrow; tonight my inner materialist is on display.

Return Of The Thumbnails

I'm working on a Star Wars GN for Darkhorse and since my thumbnails don't reveal any dialogue or give any plot points away I'll post a couple here so you can see my process. I usually take a few minutes to look over the script, write down any specific reference I need and then sketch out my initial impression on printer paper.



The hardest part of comics is the problem solving; choosing the best framing, angles and panel size to clearly evoke the atmosphere that the writer intends. Storytelling isn't about how well you draw. It is about how you think.

My favorite comics artists consistently try to serve the script more than the vague notion of what the fans might want. My hopeful assumption is that fans respect a well crafted script and an artist who can bring that script to life in such a way that never leaves them feeling overly distracted by the flourish of the drawing. I am continually refining my approach to have a balance between allegiance to story and quietly compelling image-craft.

Sunday Ritual.

I am not a church going man but I do spend my Sunday in my own sort of reverent contemplation. I try to reserve Sundays for time with my dearest Lindsey and doing the things I love. That can sometimes mean breakfast out, watching science videos on Youtube, playing guitar through my amps, petting the cats, Star Wars related activities and any other number of things that are just for me.

I like to draw her at breakfast; It's an excuse to stare at her
We went to breakfast again and we are about to head out for the day so I thought I'd offer up this little post in contrast to my super lengthy video game post of the previous day; in part I wanted to show that I do have leisure activities already and that I am by and large happy with my 'fun' choices as they exist.

To Game, Or Not To Game?

On occasion I will inquire about information on certain video game titles from friends who have made the leap into the world of modern systems; this is so I can experience their joy vicariously. I don't know where I stand on those sorts of games because I can see a balanced set of good and bad reasons to engage in (or reject) their use. I have negative associations with losing time to anything but guitar (the study of music in general really,) reading about science or the advancement of my art skills; this is probably why I should find another activity that doesn't reinforce my unrelenting fixation on productivity.


From time to time, I'm told, that just doing things purely 'for fun' is important. I know that there would be aspects to exploring the worlds made by VG artists that could be really thrilling and instructive. I have strong, positive memories of much less sophisticated games (than exist now) that expanded my imagination and live in my mind as real places. Here are the contemporary games (their sequels too) that I'm interested in:

Mass Effect:

Don't all these aliens look so cool that you would want to become a hermit in order to meet them?

Red Dead Redemption:

I love westerns and this would be like directing your own in real time or a grown up game Cowboys & Indians with requisite cursing.

Force Unleashed:

I have a life long obsession with Star Wars. No more needs to be said.

Left 4 Dead:

I am both terrified and delighted by zombies. I love the idea of playing this with my friends.

Dragon Age:

My friend Colleen says this game is amazing and I believe what she says. I also happen to be a fantasy dork, as you probably know.

Old Republic:

I might just be in love with The Preview but I'd imagine that it is probably pretty amazing to explore the world they've built.

Uncharted:

This is supposedly like Indiana Jones meets Tomb Raider and Mission Impossible; What's not to love?

Gran Turismo 5:

I have such pleasant memories of playing this game series with Nathan, Ben Brosius and Bob Grunau that it might as well have been a fifth member in our gang.

The Last Guardian

I missed out on the epic scale and beauty of Shadow of the Colossus so I figured this might be where that aesthetic journey of adventure will meet up with my adult tastes for great puzzles and beautiful environments to explore via a huge gryphon-weasel.

Age Of Conan

I have a mild obsession with Conan The Barbarian. I almost bought the art of book for this game and I still might."What is best in Life?" A good question.

Any Future Legend Of Zelda Game:

The Zelda series has been that irresistible siren song that keeps drawing me back in to the world of video games. It seems to have it all and I can't get enough. Hyrule has a special place in my heart.

There are probably a few more games I've forgotten but these are the ones that stick out as noteworthy. I'm compelled by a few specific types of games; I like puzzle games, racing games and games where you can explore the world while fleshing out a character (BioWare seems to hit a lot of these notes in their titles). I know that some of them are for different systems and or PC but I'd most likely get the system that gave me access to the majority of the games on this list.

If my friends Ben and Nathan lived near by I'd buy an X-box tomorrow but both of them live in other states and have families to spend their limited free time with. I probably won't ever do it but I like to fantasize about how much fun it would be. For the foreseeable future I'll be an art, science and music monk. Feel free to try and convince me otherwise; I'm obviously open to changing my mind!

Plateaus and Launchpads.

I suppose there is a point in every creative endeavor where you look back, at all the work you've done, and you just want to quit and start from scratch because you've learned some new precept or series of clarifying ideas that suddenly color everything a grayer shade. Add watching the final two seasons of "The Wire" (the most brilliantly written show I've ever seen) to the mix and you have a recipe for a good portion of self doubt.


I had such a revelation/doubtfest recently and I can attribute the information influx to a couple of unrelated but mutually relevant (although disparate) sources:

The flawed (any scene featuring the weird misogynistic serial killer subplot) but brilliant (any of the clever academic analyzing) reviews of the catastrophically terrible 'Star Wars' Prequels:

The Phantom Menace

Attack Of the Clones

Revenge Of The Sith

Steve Lieber showed me this memo written by David Mamet to his staff of writers on "The Unit" about the difference between drama and information:

Mamet Makes It Clear

The good news is that after a bit of time away from the initial mind expansion and a few conversations with Nathan about the current state and future of our webcomic we now have an informed way forward. Many of my colleagues at Periscope Studio want me to scrap the project but I've always felt that it was better to admit to a lack of clear communication and see if you can redeem a situation rather than just walk away. It can be a good thing to recognize flaws in your own work/approach and turn that stagnant stage into a springboard.


I am somewhat intimidated but genuinely excited by the challenge ahead. Nathan and I both want to be the best storytellers we can be; that is an ongoing process with ups downs and uneasy middles. Stick with us and we'll do our best to reward that investment.

"When I Left You I Was But The Learner..."

"...Now I am the master"

I Love Star Wars (the original theatrical cut of the first three movies) to an insane degree. For how I feel about the subsequent 'prequels' look no further than this review.

I found out what it means to be "the learner" while trying to draw a sword fight once again. If you want to challenge yourself as an artist try some takes on someone running super fast and/or attempt to convey the struggle of two people crossing blades. It's always harder than I think it's going to be.

In my mind this was supposed to be a little doodle for the blog. I wanted it to be energetic and spontaneous looking along the lines of Eric Canete but in the end it just looks like me (which I suppose is fitting because Canete himself told me not to mimic anyone.)


Here are a few sketches I did before hand. It doesn't much resemble any of them. This is partly because I screwed up the hand position on the lightsaber when I was drawing Obi Wan. According to Darkhorse comics (and I think Lucasfilm too) all Jedi are right handed. I didn't want to commit a blunder so I just made Ben block Vader's blow with a one handed grip. My friend David pointed out that it still looks more exciting than the original showdown so I suppose I feel okay about how it turned out!

Help Me Obi-Wan Kenobi: It's Our Only Post

I have been occupied overly with my industry projects as of late. However, with some difficulty, I've been able to fit in a few commissions. I was recently approached to do a piece that featured 3 female characters occupying the same space without knowing if any of them were favored by the client and or what kind of composition they wanted. The way I start a job like this is to draw out around 10 thumbnail images to get something down on paper. I like to do more depending on what sort of image has been requested of me. You can see the whole process below:









I wanted to post this Before November was over.

Know that I haven't forgotten about the blog. I've just been so busy that, between my professional and personal commitments, I've had to let some things lay fallow. Unfortunately this has been one of them but I'm going to make a vow to post once a week at minimum during December. My holiday gift (to the ten of you that read this blog) will be more posts!