Jay Piscopo: Art With Pop!

Jay Piscopo

He's a very busy artist.

So, let's get to it.

Meet the Artist - Jay Piscopo

Jay Piscopo is the author and illustrator of The

Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli all-ages graphic novel series.

Jay has been making state-of-the-art children's entertainment for nearly 20 years. His passion for using the computer as his canvas led him to develop his unique signature style of

combining 2D characters with 3D backgrounds.

He served as an art director at Tom Snyder Productions, where he led the creative team in the production of educational CD-ROMs, including the award-winning Fizz and Martina Math Adventures and was as an animator on the ABC Saturday morning show Squigglevision.

He was also the co-creator of the internationally distributed comic book series featuring the world's first disabled superheroes,

The Scrap City Pack Rats, which he created in partnership with Goodwill Industries. They published a six issue series which received national media attention for its

 groundbreaking approach and subject matter.

Jay is an engaging presenter with on-camera and radio experience who has conducted hundreds of comics workshops and classroom events teaching drawing and storytelling techniques. He resides in his home town of Portland, Maine.

Contact: jaypiscopo@captneli.com

My primary work is on the Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli at

http://www.captneli.com/

there's an 8 page story with Captn Eli coming out in the

Reading with Pictures Anthology

http://readingwithpictures.org/Reading_With_Pictures/Anthology_Creators.html

There are 2 books available and a third coming out later this year--

there is a Sea Ghost one shot coming out as well.

I'm also working on developing a webcomic called

The Last Dominion featuring public domain characters and

an anthology of science fiction comics called Star Police Adventures.

The Last Dominion: The Heroes

The Dominators© Gladius© War Chief© The Giant©

The Purple Zombie© Blue Bird © story Frank Schildiner

Hip Knox©

Captain Commando©

The Smasher©

Free Commander X comic

http://www.captneli.com/xmascmmdr09.php

Facebook gallery

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Art-of-Jay-Piscopo/112769612079000?ref=ts

Sea Ghost on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/TheSeaGhost?ref=ts

Find out the connection between

The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli and

Capt'n Eli's Soda HERE!

Wow! That's no where close to being all Jay's work.

We'll let you cruise thru the many galleries that you'll find by

checking out his links...but CCU must share this with you

because they're so darn cool. Enjoy and thanks Jay.

Come back soon. 

Read more »

Cool, Really Cool, Dud

This week I went deep into THE BIG BOX

and came out with a bunch of cool covers, a few 

cooler covers and one not-so-cool darn near

painful front sheet.

First up:
BATMAN

no.331 JAN, 1981

Cover Art by Jim Aparo

This is a sweet cover produced at the start of

what would be a very tough decade for cover art.

New printing technology and young artists

made this simple style tough to find for a while.

ZERO HOUR:CRISIS IN TIME

no.4 Sept, 1994

 Art by Dan Jurgens and Jerry Ordway

This is just one of many very nice covers from the

Zero Hour saga. Each story kept my interest much like this

Superheroes mask/cowl themed cover. So cool.

I love Hawkman's cowls along the bottom.

I do not love the bar code box.

POWER MAN

no.29 Feb, 1975

Art by George Tuska

Very good art, composition, color and fun 'make' this cover.

Another reason I miss the 1970's pop art.

And by the way...Cage won't be joking about your looks

now that he's heard your name. "Mr. Fish".

GHOST RIDER 2099

no.10 Feb, 1995

What can I say. It's creepy good.

It's so weird you've got to pick this issue up and read.

Inside you'll see lots of splashy art (that was the 90's) and

not a lot of dialogue. I kinda like that.

You will also find a four page Fleer ball card ad. 

DAREDEVIL

no.327 April 1994

Cover Art by Scott Mcdaniel

The outstanding cover art was carried throughout the

"Tree of Knowledge" storyline. The almost non out-lined

artwork on the interior matches the covers appeal.

MOONSHADOW

no.1 Sept, 1994

I just dig the orange Moon thing and his funny grin.

It is a neat cover to a strange story.

The inside pages are also low gloss water colors of a

child like story for adults.

A nice piece to hold in your hands.

Did I say it's suggested for mature readers.

And now this public service message.

FRONT

BACK

"One bad habit leads to another". Now I collect comic books.

I don't know where I got this but it worked. I don't smoke.

Thanks super friends.

Having fun? Not so fast.

DEMOLITION MAN

no.4 Feb, 1994

I wouldn't have signed it either.

Simon Phoenix in the back there only has

one and a half legs... but he's drawn well. 

The colors are fine too but 'what up' with John Spartan?

What's he looking at for one thing?

Do I even need to bring his arms up? It's anarchy.

The page art is much better.

I dare say it's good.

Sell this one inside out.

Read more »

Kyle Ferrin

What can I say people?

You are in for "...an Extra Precious Experience...".

Kyle Ferrin

I was born in the Great State of Utah around 23 years ago,

and have lived in a town called Farmington for a majority on my life.

 My first introduction to comics was from watching the

X-Men and Batman TV shows on Saturday mornings before

going out to work in the orchard or shovel the snow.

I'm the oldest of eight kids, and as my mom always says,

 "We just didn't know you were anything special
 when it came to art

until you went to kindergarten, because
we had nothing to compare

a 4 year old who could draw Garfield strips from memory to."

(I think my mom still has some of those Garfield drawings.)

I've loved illustration my whole life, and I'm currently going to

 University to get a bachelor's degree in Graphic Design

with an Illustration emphasis. When I'm not doing four times the

 work load of other students, (this is not a joke,

my professors give me extra work so I don't get bored,)

 I'm working from home on social media websites like Twitter.

I LOVE Twitter. You should definitely follow me!

 http://twitter.com/d20plusmodifier

or to get straight to some of the pictures I've posted to twitter,

 then just go here: http://twitpic.com/photos/d20plusmodifier

You may notice from some of those pictures that

I'm a HUGE fantasy nerd in addition to loving comic books.

I play Dungeons and Dragons, and I keep a blog

with mainly just artwork in relation to that great hobby: http://d20machine.blogspot.com/search/label/Illustrations

I'm also a big science-fiction appreciator, and

most other things associated with

the stereotypical nerd are applicable.

 I'm happy to live in a generation where being a nerd is "cool".

 I think I figured out when I first got to high school that if

you are popular in Junior High, you will be greatly outnumbered

by the unpopulars when you move up to high school...

and then be forgotten. Nerd power.

(To give an example, as a senior in highschool,

 I was voted to be "king" in the school Christmas dance. At the time,

 I had braces, a roller backpack,

 rode the bus to school, had a cast on my left arm,

 and was the lead in the school musical. Nerd Power.)

Recently, with the help of one of my Twitter friends,

I got a comic strip website together about my life.

It's called "...an eXtra Precious experience..." and this is the link: http://www.xp.omnivangelist.net/

There's only about five comic strips on there right now,

but I've only had it for 2 weeks, and I'm still working out the kinks.

And yes, I really do have a red-plaid hoodie

that I wear all of the time.

 Extra Precious updates every Monday and Thursday for now,

 but may update more regularly when summer rolls around.

I love doing commissions, and I'm pretty versatile

when it comes to different art styles. When I'm not drawing strictly on

 Adobe Illustrator or Corel Painter,
you can find me watercolor painting

or putting some good old fashioned pencil to paper.

(In fact, some of my favorite work can be found

amidst the notes of my non-art classes.)

I just got a scanner,

 and I will be posting these doodles on another blog called http://qualitydoodles.blogspot.com/

I appreciate Comic Creators United showcasing my work,

and although I'm not as polished an artist with as large a portfolio

as some others, I've got talent, and I think I'm doing pretty good

so far for being a 22 year old who has been married for a

 little more than a year. ;D Thanks for checking out my work!

Good stuff, Kyle.

 "...an eXtra Precious experience..." can't miss.

CCU is proud to have such fine up-and-coming talent on board.

You can create more artwork but, we'll still want more.

Thanks and come back soon. 

Read more »

Daniel Strickland and his StrickArt

Please Give a Warm Welcome to StrickArt’s Very Own

Mr. Daniel Strickland

*applause*

Um, hi. How are you? I’m Daniel. You may also call me

Strick, Strickie, Danimal, Danislaus, or Big D if you’d like.

Just please don’t call me Dan …or late for supper.
(All art clicks to view larger)

Moving on. I was born in the marshy primordial bog of

 Baton Rouge, Louisiana back when He-Men and G.I. Joes

roamed the earth. I became an obsessed comic book aficionado

 at a very early age and began crafting my own characters

 as soon as I could fit a pencil into my wee left hand.

 Yes, those were the years I created such cherished childhood

favorites as “Robot-Man” and “Guy With Daggers For Eyeballs.”

 Ah, those were the days…

Some time had passed and, in the year 2000,

I began my attendance at the Savannah College of Art & Design 

to further explore my love for the comics medium.

At SCAD, I had the great pleasure of learning directly under a few

noted industry professionals including George Pratt (Enemy Ace),

 Scott Hampton (The Life Eaters),

and Mark Schultz (Cadillacs & Dinosaurs).

 I graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sequential Art

 (i.e. funny books), Summa Cum Laude.

Since then, I have obtained work doing book cover illustrations,

 mini-comics, posters, portraits, web-comics, an inking gig,

and the occasional graphic novel.
Let’s see. One of my proudest recent comic outings has been
the honor of penciling and inking the web-strip saga entitled
M.O.P.S. (The Martial Organization Protecting Sanitation)
for the kindly folks at ICON Studios.

Working with creator/colorist/graphic designer Heath Tullier,

 writer/letterer/web developer Patrick Rills,

and writer Sean Jandle is always a veritable blast.

To read the fully-colored and lettered strips, please visit

http://www.wefightdirty.net/. If you like what you see and want the

 M.O.P.S. adventures to continue, forget writing to

your local congressman, please write to Heath and Patrick!

Tell them how much you enjoyed the series

 and that you want it to keep going!

Inking other pencilers is a skill I practice honing whenever I can.

I learn so much by doing this. I think inking gets a bad rap

in these days of Photoshop-darkened pencils and whatnot.

 But, I’m gonna tell it to you straight:

IT’S JUST NOT THE SAME! IT’S NOT JUST TRACING!!!

If you’re still skeptical, just print out any large

professionally-penciled comic page you can find on

 Google Images and try it out for yourself. You’ll see that it’s HARD!

 The old-world craftsmanship of inking with a brush

 is all about embellishing forms through use of varying line weights,

 emphasizing focal points, enhancing textures,

and composing in black and white. It’s a noble craft indeed

 and it’s a real shame to see it currently going the way of the dodo.

 

These sample pages are from two different Star Wars books

put out by Dark Horse Comics. All rights reserved.

If you do like what you see and want to hire me to

 ink your next project, please shoot me a line at

dstric21@bellsouth.net.

I’ve also been known to delve into Pin-Uppery.

Just for the heck of it.

I plan on drawing more single images of

classic character favorites and bodacious ladies when time permits.

 If you have any character requests and would like a Pin-Up,

 I am available for commissions. Just write dstric21@bellsouth.net.

 Serious inquiries only, please.

Next is a project I’m super-jazzed to be currently working on

 called Fisher-Cat. It’s a collaboration with Erik Van Buren 

of the Baton Rouge Cartoonist Society (BRCS)

for their latest anthology book.

I’m pleased as punch to be working with him on it.

 Tell Erik how much you liked it here.

Lastly, but definitely not leastly,

 there’s my secret project: GODSPEED.

It’s a character and story I’ve been forming off and on

 for years now. My wonderful girlfriend and art partner

Chandra Potopsingh helped me flesh out this initial story.

 It will be included in the upcoming BRCS  Pipe Dream collection.

 Here’s a sneak peek:

Thank you so much for reading this and a BIG thanks to

 Comic Creators United for having me.

Graciously, Daniel

In summary:

Cool stuff……………………………….................………www.comicspace.com/strickart

Oldish stuff………………………………............................…………..www.strickart.com

If anyone still uses this……………………………….....……www.myspace.com/strickart

F word....…http://www.facebook.com/people/Daniel-Strickland/1557676520?ref=search

M.O.P.S. awesomeness………………………………..…………….www.wefightdirty.net

Web-comic comrades………………………………..........................www.iconstudios.org

Mini-comic comrades/Anthologists..…………….……http://www.comicspace.com/brcs/

Serious inquiries………………………………...........................…dstric21@bellsouth.net

Thanks to you Daniel. That's a lot of top-quality artwork.

CCU can't wait to see more "GODSPEED" and expects

you to come back when it's up to full speed.

Drop him a line folks. I don't think he sleeps.

Read more »