Sharp Lead and Wet Ink-Tales from the Art Side

2007-09-03T21:23:00.000-05:00

All right ya'll,

the day is finally here and Full Moon Craze is featured in the Diamond Spotlight for the September issue of Previews. The item code for it is

Page 326 Order Code:SEP073852

Please be sure to check out your local comics shops and place your orders.

This is the cover for the November debut. . .

2007-07-26T22:24:00.000-05:00

I have been so neglectful of this blog that I am ashamed and surprised that it is still a vialble blog. things ahve been so busy that I have not been able to get anything up. The comic I am working on is finally going to be in Previews by Diamond Distributors and will be on the stands this coming October 2007, awesome.

This image is the cover for issue 2 and 3. I hope that you like them as I really enjoyed the overall look of them and believe that they are very nice images.

See you around, more often than it has been in the recent past. . .Peace Out.

Cesar-

2007-04-01T23:10:00.000-05:00

The following is an image that I did for a recent comission. This is a character design for Secret War Chronicles by Mercedes Lackey and Steve libbey is is copyright of the respective creators.

With this image I went with a bolder inking style as I thought that it would make for a more dramatic image. I hope that you all enjoy.

Cesar-

2007-01-01T01:02:00.000-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007

Alright ya'll.
This is the beginning of a new year and I am looking forward to many things ahead. BUt before I officially sign away last year here is an image from the never realized Monster Squad comic from TightLip Entertainment. The lesson here is never listen to someone that is promising you the moon unless he's an astronaut ;-)

2006-12-20T23:07:00.000-05:00

This image is the next of my sketches referenced from DC Comics' Justice Society of America. This character is Power Girl, the muscle of the group.
Check you out next post.
Cesar-

2006-12-15T22:07:00.001-05:00

Looks like Liberty Belle is becoming a favorite of mine. This is a full figure shot done in ink. It was a pretty quick and rough layout that I finished up in the inking stage.

2006-12-15T22:07:00.000-05:00

Looks like Liberty Belle is becoming a favorite of mine. This is a full figure shot done in ink. It was a pretty quick and rough layout that I finished up in the inking stage.

2006-12-15T22:03:00.000-05:00

I recently read the new JSA drawn by Dale Eaglesham and was really impressed with the way that book is looking. I decided that the characters were cool enough and thought I might take a stab at drawing one of them. This is a pencil head shot of the character Liberty Belle. She is the romantic interest of the superhero Hourman in the comic.

2006-12-14T23:17:00.000-05:00

The above image is me attempting to work with Photoshop 7. I am by no means an expert in Photoshop and am just stumbling through some basics. I drew the image in a more contrasted style and then colored it up and finished by using the smudge pencil filter.

2006-11-27T14:54:00.000-05:00

It has been a very, very, very long time in between post. I have been unable to keep up with things so the blog had to be neglected. But I do have somethings to post and a few comments to make.

I'll start with the post first and then later on this evening I will post something about what has been keeping busy all of these months.

This image is for a cover I was commissioned to do for Masterpiece Comics' Wildboys which will be debuting March 2007.

My fellow artist friend and talented inker Jimmy Tournas will be adding his finishing touches to this. I will post the result after he is done. See ya.

2006-07-29T10:43:00.000-05:00

Hello to all. It has been ages since I posted anything on this blog. There has been so much going on in my personal life that I can't seem to make enough time to be loyal to this blog. as many of you know I am an artist. I draw mostly comic and cartoon type illustrations but have recently been inspired to try something a little different.
Most of my work is very tight and highly detailed. With the image above I decided to just let it all hang out. The subject matter is very near and dear to my heart since as a believer in Jesus Christ and his shed blood on the cross of Calvary I owe all of my life to him. I hope that you all enjoy this piece as much as I enjoyed illustrating it.
God Bless you all.

2006-04-29T20:02:00.000-05:00

Copyright 2006, TightLip Entertainment. All Rights Reserved

This image was done as a pin-up for an upcoming issue of Monster Squad. Lately i have not been inking my own work but with commision pieces I end up doing both pencils and inks. These characters are Vlad Tepis, he's the dangerous looking one and the is is Kid Mummy, I won't state the obvious. I used a mix of Hunt Crowquill #102 ans a Sharff Pure Red Sable Brush. The ink used was Speedball Superblack and the paper was 4-ply Blue Line Pro Board.

2006-03-29T09:04:00.000-05:00

Hello to all. I find myself in a place where I am in-between ideas for my next page layout of sequential panels. When I get like this what I like to do to get the juices going is to look at other art and see if I can get some inspiration. If that does not work then I just practice an aspect of my drawing skills. I believe if you want to be a truly versatile comic book illustrator you need to know how to do many of the different things involved in comic art production. Most of the time I pencil, but my first love is inking. It is how I first started and what I feel is one of my best strengths. While looking at other art for inspiration, I stumbled across this Batman drawing by David Finch, who is currently illustrating Moon Knight for Marvel Comics Entertainment.

/>

I really liked the pencils on this page and thought, heck why not ink it. Well needless to say it was a matter of biting off a little more than I could chew. I had no idea how intense the pencils were until I actually started laying inking on them. Whew, that Finch dude can really draw and his rendering is absolutely awesome and beautiful. The piece took me about 5 hours to complete and although I worked on a really small size, 8 1/2" by 11", I really like the finished piece:

Batman, Copyright 2006 DC Comics and Warner Brothers Communications. All Rights Reserved

One of the great things about doing this sort of excercise is that you learn little tricks and techniques that other artist use and that you can then apply to your own work to enhance it. I am pleased with the way it turned out and it was well worth the time invested in it since I learned so much. Until the next time, keep it real.

Cesar-

2006-03-21T02:43:00.000-05:00

I was asked to do the cover for Fireblast issue #2 due out in July. I was actually asked to do this a while back but kept putting it off because I could not get my mind around these characters. I ended up finishing this in one night, pencils and inks. It was fun to do and helped me to see if I could meet a deadline and produce decent art while under pressure.

2006-03-16T23:16:00.000-05:00

I've been doing alot of art for some upcoming projects and that keeps me very busy. However, there are times when I just start to get a little bogged down with the particular piece that I happen to be working on and need to get my mind refreshed. When this happens I just take out a sheet of paper and doodle the first thing that comes to my head. Sometimes the results are good, sometimes wierd and other times interesting. In this case, I had never really spent much time drawing Green Lantern or Green Arrow (who I find one of the toughest characters to draw) but this came out. There are some things wrong with the face on Green Lantern but what I am going for in doing this type of excercise is a sense of intimate immediacy and spontaneity. This sketch took about 15 minutes to do and it really helped me to get the juices flowing again so that I could get back to the piece I was working on and finish it.

2006-03-15T00:59:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of Promo pieces that I did for an upcoming project (March of 2007). I actually did these about 8 months ago and have slightly altered my style since then. It is good to see however what you were doing and what you are currently doing as far as art. This type of looking back really shows me how far I still need to go if I want to become an upper echelon artist.
Characters Copyright 2005 Rebel Dawn, Full Force Promotions and Masterpiece Comics. All Rights Reserved

2006-02-27T16:58:00.000-05:00

Vlad Tepis Copyright 2006 Cesar Feliciano, Rick Olney and TightLip Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.

As with any story dealing with a group of protagonist looking to serve the greater good, there needs to be an antagonist to pit against those with purer pursuits. In the case of Monster Squad theirs is the dread villain Vlad Tepis. The age old antagonist has his eyes set on the destruction of the Monster Squad who were put together by his most hated enemy and leader of the Monster Squad, to be revealed at a later date.
Vlad is ruthless and cold in his aristocratic approach to dealing with his enemies and those he deems beneath him. Catch the thrilling tale unfold in the pages of Monster Squad.

2006-02-27T12:26:00.000-05:00

Hey ya'll,

Just checking in and letting you fine folks know what's up. I have finished the cover for the second issue of Monster Squad and am starting on the cover for issue three. So far I am having a blast working these up. Also I would like to announce that there has been alot of activity on the press release side for Freedom 3 #1. TightLip Entertainment is still looking to hear back from some other media outlets such as Fox News but in the meantime the feedback has been positive. Also the press release for Monster Squad is in the works and should be out this week. I am pretty muched pumped about this and am looking forward to the response that it gets.

Incidently, I wanted to just mention that Monster Squad by TightLip Entertainment should not be confused with the film of the same title.

But of course, I'll let you wait until it hits the stores to find out. Well, that's all I have for now. I am thinking I may upload an image today or tomorrow of one of the characters from Monster Squad but I'll have to see which one. Thanks for reading. In the meantime, have a great and excellent day.

Cesar-

2006-02-23T21:16:00.000-05:00

III'mm baaaackk. Well after no post in 3 months this is the second time in one day, that is so O.C.D. I don't know where to begin. Alright, so as I stated in my earlier post, I am doing some work for TightLip Entertainment and they have just released a special anounce ment about one of their upcoming titles. The name of the book is Freedom 3 and is based upon three former United States Marines that are given a serum that endows them with superhuman abilities. The first issue deals with a very explosive subject...Osama bin Laden and the War on Terror, the following is the cover for the issue along with the press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Freedom 3 to go after Osama bin Laden in MayMOHAWK, NY- February 21, 2006- TightLip Entertainment is set to publish the most politically explosive comic book ever produced, Freedom 3 #1. Publisher Rick Olney today released the comic book cover for Freedom 3. The image depicts the super hero Globe, a member of the United States Marine Corp’s secret unit Freedom 3, punching Osama bin Laden in the face.In fact, the cover of Freedom 3 pays homage to the most recognized Captain America cover. The Joe Simon and Jack Kirby Captain America #1 cover (March 1941, National Comics) shows the red, white and blue clad Captain America punching Adolf Hitler in the face.The Freedom 3 cover drives home the parallel between World War II’s Adolf Hitler and today’s al-Qaida’s Osama bin Laden. “During this day, when times are just as turbulent as when 1940 led America into tough times; it becomes every American's responsibility to not lose sight of what makes freedom special”, Rick Olney, the writer and publisher of Freedom 3 said.Freedom 3 is about three United States Marines that are injected with a serum identified as the "Freedom" serum, enabling each Marine to take on characteristics and abilities allowing for various changes in their efforts to serve under the United States Constitution. Globe (who is a creature of the earth), Eagle (a mute telepath with wings), and Anchor (has a fiery side that can burn and touch a person’s soul, and granite like viral touch that initially simply stalls people) makes up the Freedom 3 USMC special unit. “The recently awakened members of Freedom get handed an assignment no Marine would refuse; to hunt down and capture Osama bin Laden!” said Rick Olney.Freedom 3 is penciled by Jim (One Shot Press, Trinity Comics) Taylor, didn’t know if he was up to the task. “First off, I was a bit daunted, I mean, taking on a cover of legends in the field like Kirby and Simon? But I totally understood where Rick (Olney) was coming from as far as the intent of the cover, and the relevance of it in today's world experience.”While on the other hand, Freedom 3 colorist; Dash (Savage Dragon: GodWar, SuperPatriot: War on Terror, Outlaw Scorn 3030 AD) Martin was totally pumped about the book. “It's about time someone did it. No sense in modern stories STILL revolving around Hitler when we have a current real world baddie.”TightLip Entertainment Creative Director and Freedom 3 inker, Jeff (Faust, Night Vision, Leatherface, Jack the Lantern, Big Bang Comics, FemForce) Austin realized that, “Patriotic covers have a long tradition in comics.” TightLip Entertainment will continue the tradition in the new millennium. Jeff Austin is excited about what is on the cover, but he’s also overjoyed about what isn’t on the cover. “No bar codes on covers,” he said. “Correcting 30 years of stupidity in the field... It was a mistake to slap a big bar code on the cover. It blunted the impact of the image.” The three-issue hunt for Osama bin Laden starts in May, when the book will ship, with the story arc “What Price Freedom”. The 28-page full color comic book will retail for $2.95. Freedom 3 will be available for pre-orders for both consumers and retailers starting April 15, 2006, from TightLip Entertainment’s web site, www.TightLipentertainment.com, which will launch on the same date. TightLip Entertainment is an independent publisher committed to creating and offering the general reading public a variety of genres and styles in our books and online adventures.We plan to include both new talent and longtime legends in the industry, as we seek to entertain.Retailers and distributors interested in carrying Freedom 3 may contact TightLip Entertainment at tightlip.entertainment.com to learn more. For interviews contact TightLipPR.

I will more to post including the cover to the first issue of Monster Squad...Stay tuned.

2006-02-23T16:56:00.000-05:00

I was warned about starting a blog by my friends. They all told me that it would be impossible to keep up. I told them to go pouind sand that I am nbot like everyone else, I am r-e-s-p-o-n-s-i-b-l-e. They were right of course. I have not posted since November of 2005. I'll have to do better than that.

I have been busy however and still trying to pursue my dream of being published. I am still working on the Full Moon Craze project for MasterPiece Comics as well as a venture I have begun with TightLip Entertainment. I will be illustrating their upcoming mini-series Monster Squad which will debut with issue # 1 on May of 2006. The following is a group shot of the Monster Squad:

I am pretty excited about this it is going to be very cool. I'll have more to say on this later, for now, I'm going to be off but I promise to post more often over the coming weeks. Thanks for reading and looking.

Cesar-

2005-10-04T18:46:00.000-05:00

Well, I must say that the last few days have been eventful to say the least. This past Friday I was at the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, MA. I was manning a booth for my job. In case I failed to mention I work in the mobility industry. I sell handicap vans and vehicle modification equipment. It is a good job and does more than just pay the bills. I really like the job as it is very rewarding work. I really like it when one of my disabled clients gets into their vehicle and is able to go out and enjoy the things that we take for granted. For some of my clients, the first time that they ride away in one of the handicap vans that I sell them, it is their first time that they are able to go out with family to eat at a restaurant for example. In any case I was sitting there at the Big E and pretty much bored to tears when I decided I'd draw for a bit. All I had in hand was a couple of magic markers and copy paper, this was the result...

The Incredible Hulk

Green Lantern

On Sunday I was a the supermarket getting ready to get in the check out line when a man fell off of his scooter and started having a diabetic seizure. Having seen this sort of thing before I helped him up with the help of a nurses aid that happened to be in the check out line as well. We got him situated and I had the store manager get some OJ and a piece of chocolate to get his blood sugar back up. I called 911 and the paramedic came and took over for me. He was very thankful for my help and I left there feeling as if I had made a difference in somebody's day. Man that was a thrill. Then Monday and Tuesday roll around and all heck broke loose at my job. It seemed as if everyone had a problem and it was with me. The sad thing is that all of the problems they had with me I had absolutely no control over. I did the best that I could to help smooth things out but man oh man, talk about stress.
I did however manage to finish the pinup that I was talking about. As soon as I get permission from the publisher I'll post it here. Additionally, I am almost done with the second issue of Full Moon Craze. The last page is a double page spread and I am very pleased with the way that it is turning out. I hope to post it shortly after completing it. Well that is the last few days since my last blog, some of it was up and some of it was down but all of it was living and that is all any of us can do...

until the next blog, peace.

2005-09-28T21:59:00.000-05:00

It is presently 11:00 pm and the pin-up that I was working on has been scrapped. I drew and re-drew the image so many times that the paper got ruined, man that is so irritating. No matter what I put down on the paper it just did not look right. At this time I have put that aside and am working on another project to give my brain some time to de-stress. Sometimes this happens to me and I find that instead of trying to continue plying away at it stepping back for some time actually helps me to figure some things out with layout and composition. I'll be checking back with here when I have something to report in my progress.
On a side note, the New York Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles and were able to take sole possession of first place as the Boston Red sox fell to the Toronto Blue Jays. I also saw Robots and enjoyed this animated film featuring the voice talent of Robin Williams. I thought it was pretty good and the computer animation was top notch.
Alright that's all I have for now, check with you soon.

2005-09-28T15:05:00.000-05:00

Here is a cover for a project I am doing with Masterpiece Comics. It is a Horror/Romance comic with a really nasty vampire lord and an unsuspecting hero. I am having a blast drawing it and I anxiuos to complete it very soon.

2005-09-27T23:35:00.000-05:00

Well, here I am and it's just after 12:30 am Eastern Time and I am at my board preparing an image for a T-shirt in preparation for the Pittsburgh Comicon in April 2006. I am feeling a little tired after a rather long day at work and am fighting a little exhaustion. However I know that if I don't get started on it I will lose any kind of inspiration that I had gathered throughout the day to work on this piece. I am hoping that I can do a good job for the publisher on this and another piece that I am doing. When I get the preliminary pencils done I will post them on the Blog. Well enough idle chatter, off to the drawing board I go.

2005-09-27T16:23:00.000-05:00

This will be the beginning of my venture into the Blogverse. I hope that you will all come along with me for the ride.

Cesar-