Man vs. Art

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A Man vs. Art moment of joy!

Hey Amigos! Guess what? I sold a painting at my last group art show!

I’m a resident artist at the Casita del Pueblo Gallery in  Uptown Whittier Ca,

Yolanda Garcia the owner  invites me to display  my fine art drawings, sketches, and paintings  in all of  her group shows.  Currently were  working out the details on  a solo show for me!

This past  February, I displayed  four pieces in the   Flores  Y Corazones  show  That’s  flowers and Hearts.  So romance was the theme!

Image number 2 and number 4 are by me!

Victorian influence!

I sold was a  watercolor inspired by  an old José Guadalupe Posada cartoon of a Victorian era Mexican Charro giving softly kissing his wife goodbye  before heading off into battle.  I’ve always loved this piece. The body langauage that Posada gave the woman displayed a quiet and deep apprehension about her husband leaving and at the same time showed that  in  her love and   devotion there is strength.  She sucked it up.  She realized that sending her husband off to war in hysterics would be pointless.  There was a strong sense of dignity, properness, and respect that Posada poured into the drawing that captivates me.

One day I was messing around with some left over paint from another project and I painted the piece below.  I gave it to my wife and forgot about it.  When it came time for the show she framed and delivered  it. What a gal!

My inspiration.

Pics from the show!

My lovely wife Hortencia and your truly.

Raul Sr. and Jr.

Good times with good friends!

Fellow artists and Amigos Jim Lujan and Grasiella Rodriguez as supportive as they are talented!

SALUD!

My good friend and Colleague Javier Hernandez the creator of EL Muerto and I enjoying libations!

The Comics debate.

What are comics exactly?  What can they do?

I Posted a link on twitter from deviant art about a way of making comics with flash .

about DIGITAL COMICS by *Balak01 on deviantART

As you all know I’m an Animator as well as a cartoonist and comic artist.  So when I saw this flash comic, I was very intrigued.  Here is something that  would put all of my skills to the test!  The reader instead of turning a page, clicks on an arrow revealing the next panel.  Though the comic is not animated.  The artist sets it up just like a book. The reader still controls  the pacing is for each panel.

This technique seems like it could be really fun.  Again no sounds.  Only word balloons, captions, and sound effects.

In a response to the flash comic demo one of my followers on Twitter, Rene an artist from the Netherlands  with the twitter handle  rvbelzen wrote:

“Why is this a comic in your opinion? I don’t think it is, but I may be wrong. Enlighten me, please! ”

Self Portrait by Rene van Belzen

So I guess we should start by defining  comics.
Comic Book Nerds (of which I am one) disagree on the definition of comics;  some say it must be printed! Some are all about  the duality of image and text, and yet others its all about sequence. The term “Comics” as a reference to the medium has also come into question.

In his 1993 his manifesto Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud defined sequential art and comics as: “juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer”

Pretty good stuff.

Comics legend Will Eisner established the term “sequential art” and is considered to have popularised the graphic novel.
In his 1996 book Graphic Storytelling, his definition of  comics is “the printed arrangement of art and balloons in sequence, particularly in comic books.”

I like Eisner’s  earlier definition from 1985′s Comics and Sequential Art where he described the technique and structure of comics as sequential art, “…the arrangement of pictures or images and words to narrate a story or dramatize an idea.”  That definition of comics is Perfect!

I feel strongly that the future of comics is going to be in Motion comics. When done correctly they are very cool. They look like traditional comic books, but use sound sometimes and movement for effect.
As of now the motion is pretty simple.  A zoom-in or out,  pans, light effects, etc.  But in the hands of a comic artist with  an understanding animation and acting, the sky’s the limit.  Part of the challenge will be to create a killer page and keeping it simple.  One  must use your cartoonist bag of tricks to figure out creative solutions, and that look epic, but didn’t murder you with man hours of work!

Motion comics are perfect for the web and are a cheap and entertaining way to promote  bigger projects  like movies, video games, or TV Shows.  Jobs for Artists! You won’t get rich doing it, but you can pay your bills!

I don’t think stories have to be printed to be called  comics.  Look at web comics. People can read comics on their, Mac, PC, Ipads, Iphones, Kindle, Sony Reader and more.

Here is a link to download Kindle for your PC for free.  I also included a link to a comic sample for the kindle.  Hey, it’s the future.  We artists should take advantage of the new formats opening up for comics!

So to answer your question Rene,

This flash comic demo of which I speak, is most definitely comics. It fits the criteria and  is the next logical step.

Check out the Man vs. Art Episode 18 podcast for more on this!

All Man vs. Art Minions are invited to these two upcoming events!

An Indy Animation FEST!

Get your ass to Pomona!

I will be showing a new cartoon short I just wrapped!

Check out the this teaser still!

Dracula Sucks

PLUS!!

“EVERYDAY PEOPLE” The art of Jim Lujan

Animator/Cartoonist Jim Lujan showcases some strange and lovely paintings drawings, and stills from his cartoons at Geeks in Whittier,CA. Come down and enjoy some food and drink and music.

Mingle, talk your head off, have some food, laugh, let loose and look at the pretty pictures! All ages and its FREE!