Boldtman Studios

Hello Hello!  Blog’s been neglected a bit the last couple weeks as I’ve been preparing for/ and then attending Chicago Comic Con and the Toronto Fan Expo on back to back weeks.  I have to say that I had a blast at both of these conventions.  They were my second and third times ever having a table at one of these conventions and it was well worth it.  I met so many great people at both of these as well I believe I did around 30 commissions in Chicago alone and about half that in Toronto.  Some very busy weekends to say the least.

Chicago happened first so I’ll give the report on that event.  Now I forgot a camera that weekend regrettably, but I can still relay most of the highlights.  Firstly I was set up in Artist’s Alley and right beside me was the extremely talented DJ Welch.  One night a “true” Chicago Deep Dish pizza killed us for acting overly ambitious.  It was worth it though and I will be craving that pizza until my next visit.  Next to D.J. was the incredibly gifted Mike Henry, whose work I have been a fan of for a little over a year now.  Mike and DJ both knew each other and were nice enough to let this Canuck tag along with and even invited me out to their “SketchBomb” club one night.  It was awesome!  Mike was also kind enough to trade his sketchbook for my Farmer Burrows book (yes I definitely owe him much more still).  His new sketchbook is crazy amazing and engrossed me for the entire flight home after the con.

I am still rather new to the convention scene and doing commissions for people, but Chicago turned out to be a fantastic time to practice.  I’ve always seen and envied artists who just pound out amazing works seemingly effortlessly just based off memory.  I was really quite nervous to take on drawing any commissions because although I’m a huge comic fan, I barely know the basic details of the most common heroes and villains.  Thankfully there was a poster “shop” just on that was a basically across the isle and had almost any hero I ended up needing, and those I didn’t either had reference brought by the commission-ee or Mike provided ref for me on his phone.   Also seeing as I forgot my camera, Mike took pics of many of the commissions that I did, and here is that:

The Pirate and “the Penguin” were actually done at the Sketchbomb evening where a whole pile of us went out and drew together one evening.  A really cool time.  Oh and to show how little I know about comics, at the Sketchbomb event we were all supposed to draw anything to do with Batman.  As stated, I drew “the Penguin”.  As I was completing him someone came over and said “oh, nice Oswald Cobblepot.” I was like, “ummm, well it’s supposed to be the Penguin”.  Mike then kindly informed me that Oswald Cobblepot was The Penguin’s real name.

I was also able to meet up again with the Berona’s War fellas who I first met in San Diego a few weeks earlier.  Jesse Labbe and Anthony Coffee are two fantastic artists and creators of the Berona’s War book - and two of the nicest guys to boot.  They have done what I dreamed of doing with many of my friends growing up - drawing creatures from one side of a war who are fighting the creatures created by a friend.  It’s so well executed by these guys it’s amazing.  Check out their stuff if you ever doodled anything with a spear or sword or even liked spears, swords and shields even ONCE in your life.  They exchanged sketches with me (and I feel I came out way ahead) and here’s why:

Super cool right?!!  Yes it is (I know you’re speachless).

After Chicago I basically came home, unpacked and then started packing and preparing for Toronto’s Fan Expo.  I was blown away by how nice the venue was for this expo.  Just outstanding.  People were lined up for hours and hours with the line surrounding the entire convention center.  The show was even extended Saturday evening because people had gotten in so late.  I didn’t really know anyone attending this one and was really sorry to have missed Darren Rawlings, whose creation Agent Orange I adore, but there will be a next time for sure.

As it for this trip I did bring a camera and so here are some of the pics from the show:

Before this convention I had quickly gone out and picked up some prismacolor markers I saw a couple people using in Chicago which looked very fun.  Turns out they were fun though I took a bit longer on each commission haha.  So some highlights in those photos are: Upper left is my brother and myself on the way to the airport at around 4am.  I have the best brother in the world, though he may look scary in the photo, he drove me to the airport for each of these conventions at a very inconvenient time and I am indebted.  Thanks Darryl (oh and he’s an awesome artist to boot)!!  Also my brother-inlaw and his daughters showed up the last day of the show and as you can see, on the left side, his daughter AKA Super Girl, was targeted for many photos!  I also met some really cool people in Toronto.  Bottom right is Graham the creator of the webcomic Postscript and his wife Michelle, as well as Keith Grachow were my isle mates and just really great guys.  The Flash Gorden sketch I did was actually inspired by an amazing piece that Keith gave to me of the same Golden Age science fiction hero!

Though I had a great time I am very tired of traveling and looking forward to getting back on some book projects now that I am back home - though I am already planning for the convention circuit for next year

Take care everyone!

-Mike

The end of my work day is one of my favorite times.  Not because I hate my job, I love it actually, but because my son bursts into my office letting me know I am done and that it is now time to play.  My daughter is often trailing.

So the other day Eli came in said “Daddy, what’s thaaatCan you draw me a Loader.  A Big RED Loader?!!

This is what the next 5 minutes of scribbles resulted in:

Oh, and he also requested that a penguin be operating it.  There were other attachments and extras that I had on it as well but they didn’t make the high standards and strict art direction of my son.

After I was done I asked him if he liked it.

“Yess-let’s go play”

Totally worth it.  I may have to make this a regular weekly (or monthly) exercise.

Now back to preparing for Chicago Comic Con!  If you’re going to be there let me know and we’ll meet up - or come and see me, let me know you’re a FB fan and I’ll do up a free sketch for you!

Take care,

Mike

Hello everyone.  So some time last month I offered to draw FREE sketches for anyone (who was a fan on my FB site) who drew any sort of alien, monster or alligator.  I got a whole pile of really cool aliens and monsters (alligator’s feeling a bit left out but he’ll return) - check them out on the FB site!  Side note - all the drawings were from two fantastic and creative “nephews” of mine.  So apparently they will both WIN the grand prize of a free canvas on top of FREE sketches!

Here are all of their super awesome submissions (Oh and each Alien and monster has a full name and description on the FB site):

So for their free sketch I decided to draw them each my own version of THEIR creation that they sent.  I drew the top left (TinyTim) and bottom left (Fang).

and a quick digital splashing of color:

Here is what Tiny Tim is about (direct quote):

Tiny Tim is hard and pokey with lots of eyes and short red arms and legs. He can swim on top of water.

Second came Fang (with a couple PS touchups - I kept looking for the “undo” key)!

Fang’s deets:

Fang has super sharp teeth and can swim with his webbed feet in the most dark places.

So special thanks to you two dudesters!  Your drawings were so great and I hope you guys always participate in my contests and keep drawing!

Now it’s time to get back to work - new picture book to finish, more Chuck Chance work, and more prep work for Chicago Comic Con and Toronto Fan Expo.

Take care,

-Mike

So I have returned safe, sound, and inspired from the San Diego Comic Con 2010!  What a blast!  Once again I saw more people than I’ve ever seen ….errr, more of my (geeky) people than I’ve seen in one place for the same awesome reasons:  Comics, Movies, TV, Toys, and Video games.  Giants from each of these industries were all present (as usual).  It is quite a sight to behold to see people of every type old and young descending on this convention.  My main goal (as I couldn’t get my own table) was to meet up with some people and gain some more knowledge from the experts.

Here is a brief breakdown of my trip: (match numbers to pictures)

1.  The crowds were crazy again both inside and out.  You have never seen so many people so desperate to get in and also people desperate to give you free fliers and junk.  I was happy just to get in!  The banners covered the buildings all around the downtown “gaslamp” district.  Truly a sight to behold.

2. I am sure San Diego itself felt like this diorama with all 120000 of us geeks descending on their beautiful city.

3. The inside of the convention seems endless, as does the torture of trying to navigate from one end to the other.

4. The costumes are always as crazy as the convention itself.  I think most of the people who dress up don’t get to enjoy any of the convention because if you have a good costume you will be asked to pose for a picture about every .4 seconds.  Stormtroopers are always a staple photo op for me - though they were “a bit short” to be stormtroopers…

5. Many movie companies were there and I just had to take a picture of some of the District 9 stuff.  They had a life size statue of the little “prawn” from the show too.  D9 has to be one of my favorite all time Sci-Fi movies.  It’s just amazing.

6. I happened to run into these comic-con’ers every single day on the trolley.  It didn’t matter what time I happened to be leaving or arriving, the odds we estimated were about 1 in 115000.

7. The Hoff.  There were oodles of celebrities all over the place.  I don’t know were exactly the Hoff fits into with this all, but he was there, on his bus, singing his songs…

8. My good friend “Spidey” posing for a picture with me.  He was shorter than I last remembered him.

9.  Marvel had one of the largest displays at the convention.  I found out later that this was “Thor’s” chair or something from the upcoming “THOR” movie.  Count me as a bit skeptical for this one.

10.  I had a great time, wish I had a bit more money as I would have loved to buy these two lego sets for my son and I to build.

So I met a lot of really cool people too.  Here are just a couple more of my highlights:

Cory Godbey and Justin Gerard of Portland Studios were first on my list.  Two amazing artists and super nice guys to boot.  I must have stopped by and said “hi” in one form or another every day I was there.  Cory even had an iPad with some amazing top secret stuff that he showed me.  I met them last year and I look forward to hanging out with them again about a year from now.  Two gentlemen scholars and awesomely talented guys.

Jake Parker and I cruised the con for a while one day too.  I’ve been a fan of Jake’s work since before blogs existed and I was just starting out.  He signed my Missile Mouse book too.  He is another one of those “coolest nice guy” types with buckets of talent.  Looking forward to MM2 Jake!

Dan Santat is more of a new acquaintance that I made a few months back when I helped color his graphic novel.  Dan and I made plans to hang out one day.  He might be the busiest guy I’ve ever met, and we talked for quite a while about all things geeky and even talked some Hockey! (Dan used to play Goalie!).  I saw a sneak peak version of his finished graphic novel as well as his newest picture book “Oh No”.  Dan also falls in that “most talented guy ever” category with the above people mentioned.  Dan also introduced me to a number of other great guys, James Burks, Kyle Neswald, and Bob Boyle and we hung out one evening.  All really nice guys, definitely check out their work!

One morning as I was waiting for a the trolley to take me to the madness I happened to be standing by a really nice family.  The kids were playing about and I just felt I had to give them a copy of my Farmer Burrows Book, a sketchbook and a couple Chuck Chance posters.  We talked a bit on the trolley and it turned out they were there because the “dad” happened to be Gene Luen Yang who had once again been nominated for an Eisner!  He was a super nice guy who just came across as humble and genuine.  He also gave me a copy of his first Eisner winner “American Born Chinese”, which is fantastic and hilarious.  ***Update*** Gene won again for “Urgent Request,” the last story in The Eternal Smile, was named Best Short Story.  Huge congrats Gene!

John Nevarez is a hero to me.  He surprisingly remembered me from last year too.  The animation guys are so down to earth and real it’s amazing.  John happened to give me a free sketch just for my son of one of his favorite characters.  Just the coolest guy.

Sean “Cheeks” Galloway and I exchanged a few prints and sketches too.  I am in love with his Bastion’s 7 property and it was cool to see how it’s progressed from last year.  We have talked in the past as we both are seeking to get our properties made into toy versions and have used the same sculptor to help us out.

Reed Gunther is now my new favorite comic.  Created by brothers Chris and Shane Houghton, it is just fantastic.  A cowboy who rides a bear, I mean seriously, how cooooool is that.  Not only is Shane’s writing great, but Chris’s artwork is out of this world.  Mark my words, these guys are going places.  Oh, and chalk up two more for the super great guys chart.

There are many many more fine people who I met and hung out with, but for now I must get back to work.  I have much to prepare for, as in August I have a table at two other comic conventions: Chicago Comic Con and Toronto’s Fan Expo!  If you are going to be attending either of these definitely let me know!

Take care,

-Mike

It’s that time again!  San Diego Comic Con is only days…errr, I’m already counting down in hours, and I’m headed down for my second visit on Wednesday!  I wasn’t able to get a table (as it’s nearly a 4 year wait they say!!!) but I’m going none the less and it’s going to be awesome!  I’m mostly looking forward to meeting up with some friends and amazing talents who I’ve mostly connected with over the net.  Jake Parker, Dan Santat, Cory Godbey, John Nevarez, Justin Gerard, Bobby Chiu to name a few, and manymanymanymany others too!!!

I am also once again bringing some goodies to hand out to folks.  Last year Chuck Chance T-shirts and other stickers and such.  This year I’m bringing Chuck Chance again, this time in the form of some posters.  So if you see me around, ask and you’ll get one of these goodies I did up the last couple days:

In case you were wondering “Trip for Biscuits” is the name of the first story I’m doing for Chuck Chance!  I should also have a couple copies of my sketchbook for those who want!  Stay tuned and I’ll hope to be updating some photos of the con as I have time!

Take care!

-Mike

Hello everyone!

Yesterday afternoon I participated in a short, 1 hour contest on Sketchoholic.com.  Bobby Chiu, of Imaginism.com and Schoolism.com has started the site.  I just signed up and it seems to be a lot of fun.  Yesterday he was giving away a sketch, and so during his livecast on Ustream, he gave out a topic and we all had 1 hour to get our drawing for “Baby movie character” done and uploaded.  I didn’t win, but it was a good exercise to keep me moving and thinking really fast.  Here’s my entry:

It’s called “the Next Generation”…

I’ve followed Bobby’s work for more than a few years way back on CGTalk.  He’s always been about teaching and instructing others and just sharing knowledge.  Seems like a great guy and I’m looking forward to meeting him next week at SDCC!

On a side note, my Facebook Contest has one member off to a massive start with a pile of awesome drawings that have been uploaded.  Go on over to my Facebook Fan site, check it out, upload anything, and get a free sketch from me!

Take care!

-Mike

Hello everyone, I am celebrating today as Boldtman Studio’s fan site on FB now has 100+ fans!  So rock this milestone moment, I have decided upon the following contest/giveaway.

Firstly, you have to be a fan on FB to participate. (click the link on the side to “sign up”)

Secondly, and this is the easy participation part.  I will send anyone a free original sketch IF they draw any sort of Alien, Monster, or Alligator and post it on my FB fan site.  I have no idea why those three things but they were the first ones that came to mind.  (Well actually Horse was the original 3rd subject so he can potentially still slide in there if anyone wants).

PLUS ***BONUS*** who ever is chosen as the “BESTEST of the SKETCHEST” for their submission will win a FREE Giclee Canvas Print from me!

So did you all get that?

To get things rolling I did a little cover illustration and who knows what or whose drawings could possibly all end up on the inside one day?!!!

Take care everyone!  I hope to draw 100+ sketches for you all!!!

-Mike

Hey Hey,

I hope everyone is enjoying their July so far.  I sure am.  The weather is fantastic and I am busy busy gearing up for SDCC and two other cons this summer in late August.

It’s been a fun last few weeks as well.  I was asked to come on Breakfast TV again and did a little “bit” on encouraging creativity in kids with some drawing.  It was pretty stressful as my first appearance on live tv, and then moments before we go live I get the advice to “make sure your hands keep drawing while you answer the questions”… bit.  “Oh no”.  If anyone knows me I’m not great at the more than one thing at a time.  The bad news is the car I drew on live TV was not exactly good (downright embarrassing - even my wife confessed), Good news was that at least all the words coming out of my mouth sounded good - even with the strange facial expressions I made trying to focus on drawing and answering questions at the same time.  Ahh good times.  I haven’t been able to get my hands on a copy of the video, but if I do I’ll put it up here for some comic relief!

The Gophers in Farmer Burrows’ Field has also been picking up some more reviews and good press in the media.  Laurie Greenwood did a very nice review of my book on Global TV in her book review segment on the 24th of June.  Here is a link if you’re interested (Gophers is the second book):

Click here for Gophers Book Review

There’s rumors of other videos and reviews out there and so I’ll be on the hunt to find them.

Until then Take care!

-Mike

Hello all.

The other day I came upon this blog: Dueling Banjo Pigs.  It’s fantastic!  What started off as a duel between Guy Francis and Stacy Curtis has turned into a sort of in an open ended competition that everyone’s invited to join in.  Plus, I’ve actually been a Guy Francis fan for quite a long time.  I simply had to participate and so here is my doodle of the morning:

So if anyone of you feels the desire for some banjo ham time get on it and send it on over to Guy or Stacy.

Hello everyone!  I am definitely having a lot of fun with my new wacom cintiq.  It’s crazy!  I’m still trying to figure out a workspace arrangement that will be efficient, but drawing with it is phenomenal.

Late last week I had the pleasure to be interviewed by CFRU 93.3’s (in Guelph ON) Sarah Mangle for her show called : These Things that People Make.

It was a lot of fun and Sarah had some really interesting questions for me and I even did a part of a reading!  You can check out more of her shows here at CFRU’s main Archive (incidentally my interview is Thursday : 2010-06-10 episode at 10am.)

It was a 30 minute interview that I’ve downloaded and split into 3 parts for you to listen to if you don’t want to stream it:

mike-boldt-interview-cfru93part1

mike-boldt-interview-cfru933-part2

mike-boldt-interview-cfru933-part3

I “definitely” said one word a few to many times… but at least the “umm” count was kept to a min.  I am in need of some public media speaking classes I think, but I also know I could have done much worse.

On the media relations note, this morning I was in a short (very short) feature done on our local TV stations morning show - Breakfast Television.  I’m trying to track down a recording I can post here as well.

I also had a school visit yesterday of which I will post more on as soon as I get some photo’s organized.

For now I will leave you with the results of my first drawing attempt on my cintiq.

Colors are a bit off of my normal monitor, but there are lots of things to figure out still and I’m not too worried about it.

Take care,

-Mike