Sketchbook Diving

Spending years staring at computer screens for 10+ hours a day can do all sorts of things to you. Aside from gently frying your eyeballs, you may also develop a hankering to get back to the traditional side of drawing. Digital can be great for all sorts of stuff, but lately I’ve really missed pens and pencils. As a result I’ve been trying to make a point to stay active with the sketchbook and tend to bring it around with me. It can be a bit awkward at times, especially during those romantic times with my wife, but I’m gradually learning to adapt.

For sketching I tend to go for the tools that feel right at the time: Ballpoint, Pitt pens, brush pens, col-erase pencils, etc. I’m going to try and put a post together that covers some of the madness pretty soon. I’m always up for new tools, so if you guys are using anything fun, hit me up!

Ratchet and Clank: Cover 2

Greg and I are still cranking away on the Ratchet and Clank covers – which puts us in a comic state of mind – which makes us miss the San Diego Comic-Con even more! We’re having a great time with the images and the creative team putting together the interiors are doing a wonderful job. If you’re curious, you can check out some samples over at IGN and the Playstation Blog. The whole shooting match starts up in September! Tell your comic shops folks!

Turf War

I’ve never seen time go by this fast…it seems between blinks (or random bouts of unconsciousness) entire weeks are trotting by. Greg and I have been buried in all sorts of things but we talk about the site every day. We’re working hard to get back on our posting schedule as we limp through a few more commitments.

We wanted to send out a huge thanks to everyone who has picked up the sketchbook over the last several weeks. The support is greatly appreciated and we’re blown away to see so many of you returning from last year, and the year before. We’ve started to brainstorm a few ideas for the next book, but more on that in the coming year.

For those going to Comic-Con, we’re jealous! Unfortunately we won’t be able to make it to the show this year which is a huge bummer for us. If you’re looking for the best assortment of international graphic novels and sketchbooks, be sure to stop by our pal Stuart Ng at booth 5012. He’ll be the only reseller at the show with our sketchbook for sale. Tell em’ CreatureBox sent you!

Rock onward!

Bubble Pinked!

Francisco Herrera asked us to do some pin ups for him of his lady Bubble Pink and her little rodent friend. Francisco’s one of those artists who when you see his work for the first time…you calmly place your pencil on your desk…ease yourself out of your chair…walk to the nearest wall and slam your head against it in a fit of defeat. So hell yes I wanted to do the pin ups!

After a long couple of weeks of tough deadlines and late late nights, it was a ton of fun to get to draw something just nutty for no reason. So this is my take on the creepily grimaced bombshell Herrera calls “Bubble Pink” and her little horny rat?!?!

Ratchet and Clank Comics

Recently Greg and I had the pleasure of working with the great folks at Wildstorm, creating the covers for an upcoming Ratchet and Clank comic series. The franchise has been a pretty big part of our lives over the last decade so we jumped at the chance to help bring the characters over to comics. Here’s a peak at the cover for Issue 1 along with the summary from Newsarama:

RATCHET AND CLANK #1
Written by T.J. FIXMAN
Art by ADAM ARCHER
Cover by CREATUREBOX
The best-selling Sony franchise finally becomes an action-packed comic!
With Dr. Nefarious defeated and the universe safe, galactic heroes Ratchet and Clank return to the Solana galaxy for some well-earned rest and relaxation. But when entire planets begin disappearing from the universe without a trace, Galactic President Qwark calls them back into action to solve the mystery. As the rest of the universe erupts in panic, the duo must embark on an epic adventure that will pit them against their most capable adversary to date: a Markazian planet thief named Artemis Zogg!
On sale SEPTEMBER 8 • 1 of 6 • 32 pg, FC $3.99 US

The War Rages On

Heroes Con has come to an end and we’ve made it back to our humble abodes. Thanks to everyone who stopped by – we had a blast talking shop and catching up with old (and new) friends. We certainly have plans to sneak into next year’s show so if you’re in the area, you owe it to yourself to soak up a great convention centered around some amazing comic art.

In other news, the shop is now live with Thoughts, Scribbles, + Madness: Vol. 3! We’ve also added our first foray into prints: a groovy Palindrone poster collecting 25 designs. You can never have enough robots in your life.

Finally, if you happen to have an attic studio and the air conditioning goes out just before you head off to a comic convention, you just might return to 95 degrees of blog posting bliss…indoors. Just sayin’.