Armadillos, Cthulhu, Mad*Ls and Geeks

July 2014 marks the first time that I participated in a convention. I shared a table with my uncle, Gorg Huff, at the 36th Armadillo Con. He is an author and it was a Science Fiction/Fantasy convention. It was hosted at the Omni Southpark Hotel in Austin, Texas. I learned a lot those three days and met some really great artists.

Those of you that attended may have seen me working on a

Cthulhu 2014 

 new drawing of Cthulhu. It was the most detailed drawing that I have done in a long time. In all it took about a week to finish. I just picked up. The prints on Monday. I will only have 20 printed and I have signed and numbered each of them. Cthulhu Print

In other news, I will be participating in this year's Vinyl Thoughts Art Show #5 : Mad*L Makers. This year there is a theme and it is the MadL blank which was created by JEREMY MADL and promises to be a very fun night.

Mad*L

I have bought three 5 inch ones to customize and I am halfway through the first one. I hope to customize a second one soon so that I can include a non-Mad*L piece.  The creator of the Mad*L will also be at the show this year. I have already asked for the day off from work so I will be able to go as well. I missed it last year and from the pictures it looks like it is so much fun.

I will also be at another small vending event at the end of August. It is the first Geek Market and it will be in Round Rock, Texas at the Wingate Williamson Convention Center. It is a two day event.  I won't be able to be there Saturday because of work, but two of my friends will be working the table for me.

I am also keeping an eye on the Staple Independent Expo site so that I can get a table next year. It will be here in Austin in March 2015. I will keep you posted.

Until next time
T

Product Review: Foldio by Orange Monkie

Since I began making my Steampunk Buddies three years ago taking pictures of them has always been a challenge. I would take pictures outside when I could, but honestly that is not always an option. Taking pictures inside was always a challenge too because of the lighting. The best spot was at the stove and I would set up to white sheets of paper or some black foam core for the background. Such a pain.

Back in November I came across a Kickstarter project by Orange Monkie. They wanted to create a foldable light box that was easy to store and transport and could be used with a smart phone. When I saw their project I had already been looking for a light box option but the reviews on the lights were always crap. 

Here is the video for the project. I decided to take a chance and go in on it. They were successfully funded on Jan 2, 2014. Their goal was $10,000 and they raised over $170,000! 

It took a long time to get the Foldio because first it had to be made and they had some slight kinks during that process. I JUST got it this month (April 2014). 

And you know what? I don't even care how long it took to get mine. The thing is awesome. I upgraded for the two LED lights. They are slim and run on 9 volt batteries. There is no off switch for them you just unhook it from the battery. The LEDs stick to the Foldio. I am a little worried about replacement lights, but I will cross that bridge when I get to it. Hopefully by the time I have that problem Orange Monkie will be selling these directly from their site with replacement lights if needed.

Here are some pictures of my set up and the resulting pictures. It came with a white,black,grey and bright green backdrop. For now I have only used the grey. It easily clips in the back. The backdrops are made from a foam like substance so they don't wrinkle like cloth does. I love that I can set it up anywhere. Here it is on the kitchen counter/bar. The box itself is made from a thick plastic and feels very durable. 

The first picture here is of the Foldio in it's bag. It is easy to store anywhere. The backdrops do not fit in the bag unless you want to crease them. The back drops measure 11 x 17 inches. 

I was taking pictures of a small painting I had just finished. I used both my iPhone and my small Cannon camera. The LEDs provided plenty of light. 

Here you can see the 4 x 6 block of my Robo Poe in the Foldio against the grey backdrop. The Foldio is held together by magnets. The batteries for each light are also held in place by the magnet. It's pretty awesome. My lights are placed on the upper lip of the Foldio. 

The final picture of the painting was taken with my point and shoot Cannon camera. The photo set of the yellow Foomi was taken with my iPhone. Both came out great and I am very happy with this. The total cost for me to go in on the Kickstarter was $45. I suggest you keep an eye out for when these things are sold directly to the public. 

 

Staple!, Free Art Friday and Other Stuff

What's been up?

Staple! 2014

Well, I have been super busy being sick, working on a commission, going to the day job and then getting sick again. BUT it looks like all is well again. 

Earlier this month I checked out the Staple! Independent Media Expo.

It was really great. It was focused on independent artists and there were over 150 vendors. I bought quite a bit of art and made some new contacts. I think I will try to have a table at it next year. I just have to get some inventory together for it. Right after the Expo I was inspired and worked on a new illustration.

Steampunk Penguin Engineer

You can see the progress from sketch to finished piece on my Instagram. The original was done on a 5 x 7 inch illustration board. I had some watercolor prints made that are 6 x 9 inches and will be signed. They are available at my Storenvy shop.   

I also uploaded the image to Society6. There you can order prints at different sizes and framed, but these will not be signed. Other available products are cards, phone skins, phone cases, mugs, pillows, totes, canvas prints and shower curtains. The shower curtains are brand spankin new as of this week!

And this past Friday I participated in Free Art Friday here in Austin. It is when local artists hide a piece of their art in the city and post picture clues on Instagram. Others go on a hunt to find it. It is a great way for people to see your work and it's just plain fun. The tag on instagram is #atxfreeartfriday. You can use that to pull up all clues. You can also follow Spratx on instagram (@spratx) and see which artists are playing that day and some of the clues. Spratx is a collective of street artists that have opened a shop and gallery. It is definitely worth a look. 

I hid my piece at one of my favorite places, a comic book store. Below is my clue. It was found within the hour. I will be hiding something different this coming Friday. I will have to do it before or after work. 

That's it for now! Back to work.

T.

Zukie Time!

The Zukie

To start the new year off I tried a new vinyl platform,The Zukie. It was created by Alison Perez. She has a store at Storenvy that offers the blanks and some other great art. 

I had been watching her work with the Zukies on Instagram and had been wanting to try one out. They are about 4 inches tall and consist of the body and head. 

I bought two and then had to figure out what to do with them. They seemed perfect for a bear don't you think? Me too. I started playing around with the idea (at work) and came up with The Duke.  
  

          

Meet The Duke, my first new character of the year. I imagine him to be a wealthy Panda that is an inventor and adventurer. As for his name I am leaning towards Sebastian. I am working on a larger sketch with him piloting some sort of airship, but I have no idea how that is going to turn out.