Here we go…
So here I find myself in the wake of a new year with a healthy smattering of new projects and goals to complete before the end of the month of January, and as usual, not enough time to complete them all in. But for now, let’s focus on some of the things that have been going on that I hope you all will find some enjoyment in reading. I’m going to make every effort to start updating every fifteen days or thereabouts to this blog, because I tend to focus on these mega updates, and they take forever to actually create. That and hopefully if all goes well, by the end of the month, I would like to have my series of video blogs going full tilt on my youtube channel and use them more often to round out and shorten these updates on here. 
First up…
It's chock full of poetry goodness, kick ass art, and you can improve your social standing for a mere $8.00 (plus shipping). How can you LOSE!?
My first book of poetry is now available online in my store, and thankfully, it seems as though those of you who have read it, have liked it (there’s a few reviews in the store!). That makes this scruffy and tired fellow very very happy. A little bit about the story of how this book came about is detailed in the production notes in the back of this book, but here is a small addition to that. I had the wonderful chance to work at Hallmark for a good year and a half. Now my job there was as a production artist, and also included a fair amount of other aspects that were enjoyable enough, but what really took over my senses were the people that worked there. See, for years, I had worked in various types of jobs where professionalism and decorum were not always at the top of the daily aspects one would encounter. I mean I did work for quite a few really good studios and clients, but I always strove to keep a good distance between me and any sort of corporate entity, in this case, Hallmark. Part of that stemmed from a rather horrid interview I had years ago, about a good fifteen years ago, where I and my lowly portfolio were literally eviscerated because of how utterly inadequate of an illustrator I was presenting myself as. And honestly, my portfolio might as well have been printed on toilet paper for any general usage of utility that it was good for. ;D
Now, I had to tell you that story, to tell you this one. After a good year working there on a contract basis, I had reconnected with old friends, and also made new and dear friends that were just the cusp of the people that I would get to know there. As time allowed, I would often have a quick lunch and take a mid day constitution over to either Crown Center, or maybe around the general grounds of Crown Center or Hallmark. Something happened during those walks, and I started talking to random people, and started, well, for the lack of a better word, “interviewing” them. Not in a rigid way, not in a dissecting sort of way, but one where I took it upon myself to just start talking to random people.
This was the place I started sitting in Union Station because I was in an unusually holiday filled mood most all of December...
The end result ended up with myriad outcomes. First, I managed to overcome my introverted ways, and dealt with my issues of being withdrawn and not wanting to meet new people. Second, in almost every case except for one, I ended up making great acquaintances and heard stories and got views of daily life that I would never have enjoyed. See, much of the poetry in this first release was inspired by the idea that every single person has a story. And I took a gamble that a good 99% of them were worth hearing. There were some that were heartbreaking, some that were inspirational, some that were very poignant, and many that made me see life through another set of eyes. Which led to the third and most apparent change in what my work was currently about. In the field of illustration I am in, original art or creations are some of the hardest things to get out and be appreciated for. I’ve been pretty fortunate and grateful to have a rabid and devout following for my comic which is all original stories based on a time I was in during college, but told through the eyes of the character of Mandy a young artist, who is the age in the comic that I was in college. The story is personal, yet removed from my own agenda, in that I had to create characters and art that would allow me the freedom to tell these tales.
That is what was the gestation for this book of poetry that literally was conceived and illustrated in what I think was no more than a three to four month period. It was capped by the image you see on the cover. A beautiful autumn leaf, that I had found in the middle of the road outside of Hallmark. What many people have no idea about was two seconds after taking that picture with my phone, I heard the charging call of an oncoming bus. KC Metro gets my apology for standing out in the road, but I demand an apology to my bladder on their behalf. At any rate, “Rogue Words: Volume 1 “Age, Beauty, and Innocence Lost” will be available at Planet Comicon in March along with some other rather cool publications (that I will go into in a later update)
Phone Nuttiness…
So my phone has become more of a consistent companion since I always find photo reference and inspiration to write hitting me so very often.
But sometimes that companionship comes at a cost... random midnight rants at butter, and sudsy "sexy time" pics from random numbers...
But those things aside, are modern phones not just modern marvels!? Essentially Star Trek tricorders come to life, they also allow me to capture sights like this that randomly happen while at work at the bar:
Pound for pound cooler things are rarely made with cardboard and duct tape.
It turns out I had run across these fellows in Nebraska a few weeks earlier (see the previous blog post, the big purple robot Shockwave, was in their group.), nerds live in a small, small world.
Holiday Cheer. I hang with people that make me want to be cheerier.
One of the things that did get me into a more Christmas like mood was the fact that I worked at Hallmark and holidays are kind of a big deal there. But that in and of itself is not enough to get me motivated to do anything. Stuff like this, manufactured by graphic design ninjas that sat around me… ARE.
Clearly there is some kind of sorcery going on here... I think my cubicle neighbor built this in like two days.
After that, it was on like Donkey Kong. Thankfully, I was able to get my art on by participating in a side project that allowed me to work in some illustration and hand work. You see, for the two holiday seasons I had been there the group I belong to does this whole “dress up one’s cubicle in a festive sort of way” which is actually pretty cool, as most of the rest of Hallmark doesn’t really do this sort of thing. (Yay for sitting around other insanely creative people. There are always cool things that get printed up for various mockup usage, and one huge display element that had been out by the recycling bins was this large foam core mounted windowed Christmas house. So some members of the group came up with the idea of filling in the windows with various messages and creative elements.
I made two window content elements, the top one was my first foray into trying a new style for an upcoming children's book I am developing, and the lower window was a bit of poetry that I wrote in about 10 minutes that final day. It reflected how I was feeling as the final day of work for me, December 23rd was nearing (it will be one of the writings included in my second volume of poetry coming out in March)
I had wanted to make something that showcased my illustration capabilities, and I thought, well, I would draw inspiration from another project I had been working on for some time, my Pooch Patrol books. I finally decided I would go for it, so about 5pm the day prior to this being needed to be completed, I found some second hand foam core in the recycling bin, got my pens, some bristol board, and my markers and pulled an all nighter and went literally by the seat of my pants in following the measurements and overall construction that were just in my head.
The actual illustration part and cutting out the elements were time intensive, but pretty easy. I actually thought that the trickiest part was getting a decent bit of perspective in the room floor and wall elements.
But right around 4am or so, I managed to get all of the parts compiled and kind of played it by ear in assembling it, and came out with what you see below on the right, which fit quite nicely in the upper left hand corner window in the Christmas house just keenly.
After having done this, I REALLY want to either do comics or something else in this kind of construction.
An Internet Interaction…
I often get out there and play angry internet guy, not because I focus on being the quarrelsome type, but because I want to get people to think, or to at least if they are going to be critical, then maybe they will understand what it’s like to be just as critically challenged by another. The image and comments below are fairly self explanatory, but it was a debate over the story with the two people in costume helping a lost child out.
Anything can have a dark side, but the story if true, shows the inherent trust and hope that many, probably all children are born with. I get tired of people that feel that stereotypes should be reinforced, that anything outside of their understanding is automatically bad or threatening.
As a kid, if I'd seen someone dressed up as one of my childhood heroes, I know I would do the same thing. I've been mistaken for Thorin Oakenshield by a young child, and when my beard was more full, kids would call me Hagrid all the time. I would hope to act no less noble and good than the people that the kids thought I looked like.
Final say.
So with that, I’ll end this entry. It’s been a cold week here in the midwest. Like Hoth cold. Please, check on your elderly neighbors and family, those in need outside and in, four footed and two. In this economy and political climate of crazy, all we really have is each other anymore. Make a difference and support your fellow American. Some people are not hurt by this recession we are in, but the majority of us are. Don’t let pride or indifference drive a wall between compassion and those in need.
Till next time, I’m Mario, the Artisan Rogue, take care!