MoCCA

Well, I officially hate my camera. That's what I learned at MoCCA.

My scanner completely and ultimately pooped out on me, and so I wasn't scanning pieces as they were finished, and being that I have a craptastic little Sony point and shoot, I didn't really get any snaps of them at home. It occurred to me once the pieces actually started selling that I didn't have record of them. Duh.

So, utilizing the awful lighting in the Armory, I took some blurry photos of the table.


Not many really turned out too well. Bah.


In this one, I put little asterisks (...which you can't actually see unless you click on the image. ha.) on the ones that I still have, and didn't sell. I actually brought even more in on Sunday, and sold out of all the new items. So out of the 20 or so that I made, the ones you see with the asterisks are all that's left, and going onto etsy in the next day or so.


And quite frankly? I can't decide whether to be upset or glad that this one didn't sell. It's my favorite one. I did it at TCAF and it didn't sell there either. Seriously, people; it's a bird and a donut. How can you turn your back on a bird and a donut? I will probably make a print of this just to have for myself in the event that the original sells either via the blog or etsy.


This was something else I liked, and it sold pretty much right off the bat. A guy pointed at it, and asked his friend if someone would like it, and the friend was like, "If you don't get it for her, I'm going to get it". So that was pretty cool.

The Armory was hotter Sunday than it was Saturday, I think, and a prolonged lunch up the street was most welcome. I then came back and melted awhile. I didn't really get to walk around like I promised myself, except to buy Meredith Gran's excellent third volume of Octopus Pie.

All in all, MoCCA was a fair success. I am looking forward to Comic Con in San Diego, though I know I'll have the opposite issue with the temperature; I will freeze my butt off and run outside for brief moments where I can sit in the sunshine... and watch dudes joust on the terrace.

Ha, ha.

Reader AC posted a comment telling me how I've been mistaken for Jan Op De Beeck!

It's at this link...

It's just a link back to this blog with the title "Jan Op De Beeck makes the trek from New York with ex-pat Rina Piccolo". It's kinda funny-- Do I look like a Jan? I suppose people are thinking it's a feminine Jan, like, short for Janet. But It's Yahn. Jan is a very well-known male caricarurist and illustrator in Belgium. I'm kinda amused. Maybe I should have my actual name on the blog somewhere, eh?

I'm perplexed by how chilly it was in New York today. It'll apparently be back up to 80 on Thursday, which is probably exactly what will make me sick in the next few days.

TCAF- a recap

So this is how it went down: 9am, I piled into a van with fellow artists Joe Bluhm, Brendan Burford, and Rina Piccolo, and we drove a million hours and crossed the border into exotic Canada. I experienced Tim Hortons. I say "experienced" because all of my Canadian friends have waxed poetic about it for so long. My experience was mundane, though tasty.

It occurred to me upon arriving that, oh shit, I didn't have business cards. Cue hurriedly throwing something together on a laptop and then running a thumb drive to the least helpful printers in North America. But whatevs, I ended up with cards.

Essentially, I was there to sign copies of 'Famous Corpses', but I also--at the last minute-- brought some mini pieces of artwork, which sold very well, considering I really didn't bring enough, and particularly didn't bring enough robot pieces, because as we all know: People love robots.

No matter! I'm going to be completely prepared for MoCCA, which is creeping up on me.

At any rate, I had a lot of fun in Toronto, met some fab people, and saw a good number of things. I just wish I'd been able to buy more books-- I did manage to pick up Kate Beaton' book, which I heard sold out. I believe she should have more at MoCCA, for anyone who may be there. It's totally worth getting.

Shock of the Week

I have watched 'Veronica Mars'. Some of you may have as well.

But no one told me that this guy:



Was this kid!




HE WAS IN KAZAAM THE SHAQUILLE O'NEILL RAPPING GENIE MOVIE WTF






Fun Fact: I used to work out at the same gym in Orlando as Shaq and he talked to me a few times, and (a. I impressed him with my prowess at the arc trainer and the stair mill and (b. he offered to give me a ride on his motorcycle

Lauren Gray's Pyrography

Um, so... I just came across this blog recently, and took a good look at it just now. Her work is exquisite! I am so impressed by her choice of tool... she's using a woodburner! Look at this! It's so great!

Something up my sleeve!

...It's my arm.


GET IT?


Ugh, sorry. I'm sleepy, a wee bit warmed by shiraz, and bored. No, what I mean to say is, I'm working on stuff. Diligently. For real. Again. It will BLOW YOUR MIND.


Or not.

Has the weather been amazing for everyone else? It's been glorious here in NYC! And of course, I've had to work, and miss it. I've stared longingly out of windows, but not been able to been in it. Oh bother.

TCAF 2009

Now that I've remembered there's an internet to be on, let me take a moment to say that the answer to your burning question is that yes, I'm going to the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. Art Squared will be at a table (most likely dominated by a banner featuring George Costanza's giant head, as seen on Rachel Maddow (about 18 seconds into this clip) and I'll be sitting there. If someone wants a book, I'm there. If someone wants to steal my chair so they can get drawn by Joe Bluhm, well, I'll be... right over there.

At any rate, WOW! Exotic Canada! I've never been! I one time went to the Canada Pavillion in Epcot. The educational video I watched tried to tell me that everyone in Canada ice skates, and is either a fisherman, a dog sledder, or a cowboy. Scott Pilgrim tells me everyone is a cartoon, and when you fight people, coins appear from the sky. So I don't know who to believe.

Coraline

I finally saw 'Coraline'! I waited much too long; it's been out for a month already. It was, to put it succinctly: rad. The design was great, the stop motion was great, the voice acting was actually pretty great. The British comedy team French & Saunders, Ian McShane, and John Hodgman did excellent jobs. And freaking Keith David as a cat? I was a bit "meh" when I first saw Dakota Fanning and Teri Hatcher on the cast list, but to be honest, they each did pretty good jobs. I just don't think of their voices as interesting or distinctive. And I'm coming off the horror of listening to Miley Cyrus' voice in 'Bolt', a perfect example of an actor being cast just because of her contract with a studio, not because of any discernible voice talent. She sounds like a 45 year old smoker.



But Dakota Fanning was engaging and likeable, making her Coraline not at all cloying or awkward sounding. I was impressed, and that had been really my only misgiving. Even if her performance had been lacking, the design and animation would have distracted me.

Now, to see 'Watchmen', which I fear will invariably disappoint. Oh well. Fingers crossed.

roughage

So, these are just a few roughs from when I was dabbling with some character design for a studio's pitch.