Hope you had a Happy New Year!
I did.
The wife and I picked up a big old 42" LCD TV and spent the weekend bowling on the Wii! We had a few friends over, talked some comics, played a little old-school R-Type and drank a few beers. It was a perfect New Year's.
My first deadline is this Saturday and I'm on track...
... finally!
I can't show you any pages until they're done (besides, I'm only turning in thumbnails anyway) but I'm excited nonetheless.
Came up with a DOOZY of an idea last week and I spent most of my free time outlining it. You won't see anything from it until 2009 (I'm booked with other people's projects until then) but it should be fun. I'll keep you posted.
Later,
Dave
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Today I created a calendar for penciling and now I'm booked solid through June 2008!
McCoy, Derek and Chuck all have deadlines now and, actually, I feel better about it. If I'm left to my own devices, I'll just sit around and play Nintendo.
I've decided that 2008 is the year I "buckle down".
Meet me back here in 2009 and we'll laugh at me.
Here's the latest Craptastic Theatre for you to enjoy!
Smell ya later,
Dave
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I've dug a hole for myself that's almost too deep to climb out of (check out my dangling participle). I can do it but, damn, I wish there were more hours in a day!
I've got three comics in the works right now and I'm losing my mind!
As usual, I've created a mess and now I have to clean it up. You see, for the past several months, I've been working on my portfolio. Just trying to get some pages together to show that folks at DC and Marvel next August at WizardWorld Chicago. I even went so far as to make up a penciling schedule for the next year featuring 5-6 page stories using characters from each company. I've even outlined most of the stories myself. For the first time, I felt organized and motivated to really get things done.
Then I opened my mouth and got myself into trouble.
While cruising around MySpace one day I ran into an amature filmmaker who was looking to work on a comic book. He wanted something low-key that wouldn't really have a deadline so he could gain the experience of working with a partner. Like a boob, I volunteered. As soon as I realized what I had done, I knew that it would take me away from my carefully crafted plan. And it has. But I really love Chuck (the filmmaker) and I'm jazzed about his script. This is beyond an exciting project and is a comic that I would love to read.
Of course, this lack of dealine thing will come back to bite me in the ass.
Fast forward a month or so and I'm still trying to work on portfolio stuff and get some character designs ready for Chuck. The character designs are taking way too long because I'm a lazy sonuvabitch. Now, I'm getting panicky.
Enter by good buddy, Derek.
Derek and his wife, Amy are new friends of my wife and me. Well, kinda new. We've know them for about a year but we really started hanging out this summer. Turns out that Derek is a comic guy! (I meet so few people who like comic) He took a look at my web-site, fell in love with the Blind Gunfighter and approached me with a story idea that he's been working on with his friend, Robbie. Not only did I want to work with a friend on a comic but thier idea was really damn good! So, like an ass, I accepted.
Now, I've got 2 comics going and a portfolio to whip into shape.
A normal person would look at themselves honestly and say, "Hey, I've kinda overbooked myself here. If I screw this up, I'm not only messing up my life but the lives of 3 other people. I'd better get to work."
I'm not a normal person. I'm Dave Hearn. Lesson number 1 in being normal: don't be Dave Hearn.
Literally 1 week after I agreed to help out Derek and Robbie with their project, I'm messing around on SBC and the idea of Ninja Zombies comes up. A guy I talk to a bunch named Paul McCoy says that he has a killer story idea featuring said Zombies and...
... guess what happened?
Yep! I said, "You write it and I'll draw it!"
As I said, "Don't be Dave Hearn."
Paul crafted a great story! His script is immaculate and outrageously entertaining. I actually have more done for his project than I have for the other two. If I can ever get the damn thing done, you will love it. Trust me!
So, here I am now. I got three projects going and a portfolio to get together. Well, I scrapped the portfolio. I figure, if I can finish these projects, I'll have 32 pages worth of material to use in a portfolio. Besides, wasn't it the point of the portfolio to work on comics? Aren't I already doing that? Sure, it's not Marvel or DC and it isn't paying me anything (yet) but I get to work with 4 incredibly talented people on projects that I love.
4 people whose lives I can affect by working on their projects.
4 people whose lives I can screw up by not getting them done.
I hate pressure.
See, it's hard to be Dave Hearn, but it sure is fun!
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Not much to report. I'm still working on the Blind Gunfighter page and I'm on track to finish soon.
So, to keep you occupied, here's a comic that my buddy Drew and I do every once in awhile.
Enjoy!
-Dave
Yep, you guessed it. I'm STILL not done!
I'm close though. The entire page has been transfered to Bristol board and the "head shots" are complete. I figure to be finished in about a week. I'll have to transfer it yet again to Kubert's "official" Bristol page, but that won't take long. I've got to finish this week. I've got some promised deadlines for character sketches that are looming over my shoulder. I'll post those when they're done as well and tell you about it then.
Oh, I promised to tell y'all about the reason I'm so late on this project. Well... you'll have to wait on that 'cause I plan to post that when the project is done.
Beck (my wife) and I had a great time this weekend. We watched our old neighbor's two dogs, Beck's parents stayed with us Saturday night and we had a cookout with our friends on Monday!
Tip for the day: when making Shishkabobs, soak your bamboo skewers in water for about an hour! Mine burnt up! Amy (my buddy and wife of my other buddy, Derek) hipped me to that tip. I gotta tell you about Derek real quick. I met him in church about a year ago but we just recently started hanging out. Well, he's quickly becoming one of my best friends (his wife and kids, too). The guy has an incredible vintage video game collection and he's into comics! That's a definite plus, comic book people are too few and far between 'round these parts. Anyway, he's seen my drawings and he talked to me last night about "pitching" me a story! I have to tell you that it was surprising to be considered a guy whom you could "pitch" to!! The truth is, I'm not that guy, I'm slow and way too inexperienced at this point. But if Derek wants to do a comic and he would be kind enough to involve me, then I'd be honored to do it! Having a friendship that can be creative in a medium I adore is worth every moment spent.
Till next time, get freaked out by this 'Shop-Chop I did a few months ago.
Disgusting? Yes.
Degrading? Possibly.
Hilarious? You betcha!!
Smell ya later!
-Dave
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I am a procrastinating Sonovagun! I've got project due today and I'm not quite done.
Whether I'm ready or not, it's going to be done Monday night. Below is a rough of the page I'm going to complete. It's just a simple character design and 3 darn panels. I don't know why this has taken me so long. Well... yeah, I do.
I'll tell you more about it on Monday.
Smell ya later!
-Dave
He will have hair, don't fret and, yeah, I know, I didn't draw the guy's hands yet! Wait 'till Monday, Sheeesh!!
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I just got here, give me a minute.
While I'm getting ready, check out this ridiculous drawing:
Smell ya later!
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