Dave Dorman on the State of the Comics Industry and Digital Art

Dear Friends,

I thank all of you who came to see me at C2E2. It’s always good to see familiar faces at the show. It was great to reconnect with many of my friends there and some winners of the Writers & Illustrators of the Future Awards as well. One key business dinner meeting resulted in some exciting news about my own action-adventure western series The Wasted Lands and I look forward to sharing that news when I can. Suffice it to say there will be plenty of new Wasted Lands material to see at my Booth #4500 at San Diego Comic-Con this year.

Image of M. d’Cease, the sexy, bad-assed coroner of Mortal City in Dave Dorman’s Wasted Lands.

I was flattered to read today that some of the Star Wars  fans would like to see me do the next movie poster. Here’s their comments: http://bitly.com/137QU69

I did a 2-part interview at Hypno Comics in Ventura, CA a couple of weeks ago with owner George Chase, and a special thanks to Jeffrey Willerth at SliceofSciFi.com for everything he did to create the piece. In this interview, George & I discuss the state of the comics industry and what I, as a traditional artist, really think about digital art, and the deficits I see in a lot of younger artists — deficits that can be fixed if they’re aware of them. Here’s a link to that interview: http://bitly.com/17DN5qj

My next big show is Spectrum Fantasy Art Live in Kansas City May 17th, 18th and 19th, so I look forward to reconnecting with my artist friends and fans there. I will have some original art pieces there that aren’t typical of what you’ve seen from me in the past. Here is a link to information on that show: http://bitly.com/ZHfkTm

Today I deliver my painting to our close family friends, the Haleys, and their lovely daughter Lauren, who patiently posed for this piece I did for the Visions of Oz Gallery Show in Los Angeles, curated by Taylor White:

Dave Dorman’s “Dorothy Daydreams” Painting. Oil and acrylic on canvas. 24″ x 36.”

As always, I thank you for reading. If you have questions, I answer them more readily on Facebook – that link is https://facebook.com/davedormanfanpage. On Twitter I’m @DaveDorman and my wife is @WriteBrainMedia. On LinkedIn, I’m https://linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman. Feel free to connect with me on my social media sites.

Dave.

See You at C2E2? And Other Dave Dorman News

Dear Friends,

I will be at Table P9 in Artists Alley at C2E2 in Chicago this Friday through Sunday, so please stop by if you have a chance. It’s a great show and a great venue at McCormick Place.

At C2E2 on Saturday from 1-2 p.m., I will be doing a signing for Brian Jaye at The Toy Closet Booth #983.

I have copies of my 2012 Sketchbook from San Diego Comic-Con available as well as some new prints and of course, artwork and sketches for sale. Autographs are always free. Feel free to bring whatever you like for me to sign. I will have copies of my Rolling Thunder: The Art of Dave Dorman (IDW/Desperado Publishing) book for sale. If I run out and you want to order a copy with a sketch, please let me know.

In other news, I have accepted a producer role for the documentary Heavy Metal Revisited, which is a documentary my wife Denise and I are co-producing with Bunbury Films, a Canadian production company, about the original 1981 Heavy Metal film. Like many of you, I have always been a big fan of this film, and given my longtime relationship with Heavy Metal magazine, this is a really fun project for me on many levels. I will keep you posted on our progress.

Also, I wanted to make you aware of Jack Kirby’s grandson Jeremy Kirby, who is selling t-shirts of Jack Kirby’s work. I personally made sure the money was going to their family before I promoted it on my Facebook page, but I wanted you to check out their cool shirts here: http://www.shop.home.jackkirbycomics.com/The-Jack-Kirby-T-Shirt-tshirt.htm

I was very lucky to have been in Tony Swatton’s Sword and Stone shop in Burbank on Monday night. As you may know, Tony just made a Minecraft sword on his webisode series Man at Arms, and people are going crazy for it. I got to see it in person – very fun. Guitar artist Pamelina also joined us that evening, so it was a great time for creative buzz. Archaia Entertainment publisher Mike Kennedy and his wife Elizabeth also joined us for dinner and hijinks over at Sword and Stone.

I want to thank Author Services for another wonderful Writers & Illustrators of the Future Awards event in Hollywood last week, and for helping to launch a new group of writers and illustrators to promising careers. Denise and I really enjoyed the time we got to spend with Joni Labacqui, John Godwin, Larry Elmore, Steve Hickman, Cliff Nielsen and his wife Lisa, Tim Powers, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Jill Kirsh, Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta, and so many others I know I am failing to mention at this writing.

When you get a chance, please “Like” my Facebook Fan Page: http://facebook.com/davedormanfanpage as well as my creator-owned property page, The Wasted Lands at http://facebook.com/davedormanwastedlands.

As always, thank you for reading!

Dave

 

Dave Dorman Updates

Dear Friends,

This week I had a couple of nice press mentions. The first was a podcast interview with “From the Booth” which is sponsored by Captain Blue Hen Comics. You can listen to that interview here: http://bitly.com/Zgk25t

The second was a nice press mention on my Star Wars Dark Empire covers from Ryan Britt of Tor.com. You can access that review and the comment I posted back here: http://bitly.com/Y6dZ8x

There are a couple of Kickstarter campaigns you might want to check out, if you’re interested in supporting them. I am providing artwork for British magazine TRIPWIRE’s 21st Anniversary Issue of their Magazine. I think you’ll recognize my work in the graphic below. That link is here: http://kck.st/10Ic33G

TRIPWIRE 21st Anniversary Magazine

The second Kickstarter campaign I have no connection to, other than I think it’s cool and a game-changer for all of the model and prop making friends and enthusiasts (like me) who follow me here. These guys have created a fail-proof plug & play special f/x kit for your models and props – everything from batteries & lighting to smoke to sound f/x. Check that out here: http://kck.st/XxshQn I really hope they get funded. Again, this is a game changer.

Next weekend I will be joining friends Larry Elmore and Kevin J. Anderson in L.A. judging the Writers & Illustrators of the Future Awards. I am told it’s televised in L.A., so if you want to catch me looking uncomfortable in a monkey suit (that is, tux–I won’t be dressing in a Planet of the Apes costume, which it just occurred to me you might be expecting), please tune in.

Right now I am finishing up a labor of love – a story for Dave Elliott’s MONSTER MASSACRE book that will feature my protagonist motorcycle zombie character, HITCH, which some of you may remember from my book, the Bram Stoker nominated, Int’l Horror Guild Assoc. winner in 1996 from Mojo Press, “DEAD HEAT.” Unfortunately we (Del Stone Jr. and I) were way ahead of the times, writing about zombies before the production world caught on to their money-making potential. Publisher’s Weekly said “Hitch, the protagonist of this gonzo post-apocalyptic fantasy, may be the most outrageous superhero ever conceived for the printed page: a meathook-wielding zombie whose exertions repeatedly challenge him to overcome the limitations of his deteriorating body.”

I will be exhibiting in Artist’s Alley at C2E2 this year in Chicago, so I hope you can come out. Reed Exhibits does a really solid job with this show and it’s quickly becoming the Comic-Con of the Midwest, so check it out. I have to dig up my table #, so watch for me to post that on Facebook – my fan page is http://facebook.com/davedormanfanpage, so please “Like” my page when you get a moment. I am at my 5k limit with friends on my personal FB page, so my apologies for that inconvenience.

Lastly, if you are interested in being one of the “Lucky 10″ at “THE DAVE DORMAN EXPERIENCE” this year, please write to denise@writebrainmedia.com for your reservation. Cost is $350 and I blogged about all of the fun swag you will receive, including the potential of winning a fresh Dave Dorman painting, in the last blog post, so check that out. We will need to know your answer quickly, as it takes a while to get t-shirts made.

As always, thanks for reading,

DAVE.

• On Twitter: @DaveDorman and Hashtag is #DaveDorman
• On LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman
• Podcast: http://itscomicbookday.com

Announcing My First Ever 24/7 Dave Dorman Online Store

Dear Friends of the Page,

I typically post a temporary page if I’m having a sale on my prints for a special occasion, but I’ve been thinking it would be wise to have a full-time online store, so here is the link to my new online store:

http://davedorman.bigcartel.com

Please feel free to share the link with your social networks. It would be an enormous favor to me.

Additionally, I have some fun new interviews posted on our podcast, http://itscomicbookday.com, and as always, I invite and encourage you to join me on my Facebook Fan Page, http://Facebook.com/DaveDormanFanPage and on Linked In where I’m an open networker at http://linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman.

As always, I thank you for your support and interest in my work. I’m hard at work on getting my new online school launched, and I will be posting news here as I’m able to start accepting students. If you are interested in being on the early invite list, please email denise@writebrainmedia.com.

I should also mention, I’m in a Star Wars documentary called “The Force Within Us”  by my friend Cris Macht. I will be attending the premiere at the Arcada Theater in  St. Charles, IL on Friday, March 22nd, so if you are in Northern Illinois, I welcome you to join us there.

Have a good one, everybody,

Dave

I Need Your Opinion – Dave Dorman Experience 2013?

Dear Friends,

I’ve gotten more than a few Facebook messages on this matter, and I’d like to check in with you who follow my blog. I’m considering doing another “Dave Dorman Experience” this year during C2E2, but I want to make sure there’s still interest. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this tiny event, here’s what it entails:

• A limousine picks you up at a designated location at C2E2 and drives you to my house.
• A private chef prepares a gourmet dinner, served to you, my guests.
• I give a brief studio tour and my various collections & paintings.
• I create a fresh piece of art for my guests, starting with the preliminary and going through to the final painting. (Last year I did a Boba Fett piece.)
• We draw straws to see who goes home with either one. 
• I offer access to my private vault of prints, prelims and available paintings for sale. (This is great for collectors.)
• This year, I hope to have customized shirts for everyone as a keepsake.
• The limousine returns you to your hotel in Chicago.

Let me know if this is something you’d like to see me do again this year. We had a lot of fun with the fans who joined us last year! Please email my wife & publicist at denise@writebrainmedia.com if you’d like additional information.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Dave 

 

My San Diego Comic-Con Update, Map of My Location

Dear Friends,

Here’s  a map of where you can find me this year at San Diego Comic-Con. For those who come back every year, it’s my “normal” location. Sharing my booth this year will be Blackwatch Comics (artist Christopher Shy and writer Michael Easton) so please be sure to check out their goth fantasy SOUL STEALER: The Collector’s Edition and NORTH END OF THE WORLD books as well.

DAVE DORMAN #SDCC BOOTH #4500

DAVE DORMAN #SDCC 2012 SIGNING SCHEDULE:

Thursday, July 12th, Noon – Booth #2913E– During the “Frak Out” Battlestar Galactica event, I will be in the ANOVOS Booth at the Lucasfilm Pavilion for the unveiling of my first-ever Battlestar Galactica (2004 series) fine art painting. I believe this is happening at noon.

Friday, July 13th, 11 a.m. – Noon, Booth #2615–I will be at the Dark Horse Comics Booth #2615 for a Star Wars Crimson Empire signing with Mike Richardson, Randy Stradley, John Jackson Miller, Tom Taylor and Doug Wheatley.

Friday, July 13th, 8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m., Room #8 –I will be on a panel moderated by MTV Geek’s Bradley Hatfield, celebrating the 35th Anniversary of Heavy Metal, the first publisher to print one of my pieces of cover art. Here’s a description: 

The panel will give fans a chance to peek behind the curtain for an incredible hour of conversation with Kevin Eastman as he and many of the iconic artists reflect on the history of ground-breaking storytelling as well as letting the audience in on plans for the future. Guests include: Kevin Eastman (Heavy Metal, Co Creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Michael Mendheim (Mutant League Football, Creator of Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Dave Elliott (Sponge Bob, Heavy Metal, Ninja Gaiden), Lorenzo Sperlonga (Heavy Metal, Steampunk Dolls, Poison Apples), Dave Dorman (Heavy Metal, Star Wars, Rolling Thunder), and Joe Pearson (Director of War of the Worlds: Goliath, Epoch Ink Animation).

Okay, that’s everything I know about at the moment. Please feel free to email or comment on Facebook.com/DaveDormanFanPage if there’s anything you need.  Any journalists/bloggers/reporters trying to reach me, please contact my publicist Denise@WriteBrainMedia.com or call her at 630.215.5623.

I raise a toast for an entertaining, fun, safe SDCC for everyone this year! Let the games begin!

Dave. (Twitter hashtag #DaveDorman)

Dave Dorman’s First-Ever Battlestar Galactica Fine Art Print Launches at SDCC

Dear Friends,

I’m pleased to announce that ANOVOS, famed for their wonderful costume and gear recreations for Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek, asked me to do their first fine art print, which is also my first-ever Battlestar Galactica art from the newest series (2004-2009). Here is just a pencil study I did of Edward James Olmos/Admiral Adama, to give you a sneak peek at a small portion of the art. Most of your favorite characters will be in this piece – a hangar scene – and I hope that you enjoy the work when we unveil it next Wednesday night at San Diego Comic-Con (heretofore referenced as SDCC).

I Am Doing Three SDCC Exclusives this Year:

As always, I’m in Booth #4500, which is an end cap booth facing the lobby between the two F Doors. We are in that first row that runs parallel with the lobby. Joining us this year is Blackwatch Comics, which is ABC’s General Hospital actor and amazing writer Michael Easton (writer, “The Green Woman” for DC/Vertigo) and artist Christopher Shy of Studio Ronin fame. Their SOUL STEALER: The Collector’s Edition is launching at the show – an award-winning goth fantasy trilogy in a gorgeous Taschen-style book. Be sure to check them out. They are also offering sneak peeks at a cool historical fiction novel called “The North End of the World” about one of my favorite photographers, Edward S. Curtis, who documented all of the Native American Indians’ customs and images in photography.

I will have a new limited edition Sketchbook of my pencil illustration art for sale, limited to 250 copies, signed by me. I started this tradition last year and sold out, so I realized this was a worthwhile thing to do and affordable for the fans at just $10 per book.

My first-ever father-son collaboration on a Kaiju (Japanese Monster) toy for Max Toy Company will preview at SDCC (just the art, not the finished pieces) for founder Mark Nagata, a rock star in his own right when it comes to toys.

I will be joining the panel for HEAVY METAL on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. in Room #8. As you may have read in my autobiography, my very first published piece of work in my career was a HEAVY METAL cover, so naturally, I want to help them celebrate their 35th anniversary. This is my 30th anniversary in the business this year.

My Captain America art will be in the MARVEL Comics Pop-Up book launching at SDCC.

I will be happy to sign my Crimson Empire and Darth Maul Dark Horse Comics covers for anyone who would like an autograph. Autographs are ALWAYS FREE. I will be doing a signing in their booth, so check out their website for the dates/times.

Okay, I think that’s everything for now. If you’re a blogger, reporter or journalist wanting to connect with me at the show, please set up your schedule with my PR firm WriteBrain Media – denise@writebrainmedia.com or call 630.845.4694. If you haven’t already, please “Like” my Facebook Fan Page – I’m very active on there – it’s http://Facebook.com/DaveDormanFanPage. Unfortunately, I’m over my limit for people I can friend on my personal page, so I flit back and forth between the two pages these days.

Thanks for reading,

Dave.

Dave Dorman Art Progressives: Recreating Classic Dave Dorman G.I. Joe Art

Dear Friends,

Most of my fans know that during the mid-’80s to the early ’90s, I worked with Hasbro producing G.I. Joe artwork for their Research and Development Department. This art was done as presentation for the Board of Directors to determine whether any particular character would move forward to future production. My task was to paint the characters designed as 3 1/2″ toys to look like real fighting G.I. Joe characters. None of this work was meant for publication, however, over the years, fans and collectors have seen some of this art via the Web or fan club communications. (One of the future projects I am hoping to get off of the ground is a collection of all of this unseen artwork into a G.I. Joe/Hasbro art volume. I will keep you up to date on information as this project progresses.)

I have many fans contact me directly about the art I did during this period. Recently one of those fans asked if I’d be interested in recreating some of those pieces for his private collection. This is not something that I normally do, but this particular fan showed so much enthusiasm that I thought that it might be fun to see how I would approach these paintings almost 20 years later. I took on his commission for the three recreations and now I present to you one of them as an art progressive:

Pencil on Illustration Board Recreating the Character to Be Painted

Progressive #2:

The original landscape for this painting had a textured rock pattern that I applied with very thick gesso. I repeated that technique on this new board as well.

Progressive #3:

Here I start laying in some of the b/g colors, starting with the explosion in the mid left.

Progressive #4:

The b/g is almost complete at this point with the main figure clean so that when I add color to the figure, it will be unencumbered by underpainting.

Progressive #5:

After the b/g dries, I now lay in the underpainting for the basic colors of the figure.

Progressive #6:

Continuing similar to the previous photo, I lay in the rest of the colors for this figure.

Progressive #7:

With the basic tones being laid down in oils, I now begin the detail work with acrylics, starting with the head and moving downward.

Progressive #8:

Work continues with the acrylics, adding more detail to the body and his equipment.

Progressive #9:

At this point, I've completed some of the finer shadowing details and refinements with various shades of gray markers. You'll note final details on the ground and some color corrections for the background. The above is the finished piece.

This piece was 16″ x 20″ oil, acrylic and marker on gessoed illustration board. It is the exactly the same size as the original Hasbro artwork. If you have comments or questions about this piece, please feel free to post them here.

Many of my G.I. Joe fans have asked me about commission work or recreations. This is the first one I have ever done, and I did enjoy bringing back good memories of working with the artists and creators at Hasbro. I would certainly be happy to do more of this type of work if any of you are interested. Please feel free to email me directly at  dormanart@yahoo.com or message me via Facebook

As always, I thank you for your time and interest in my work.

Dave

Happy Holidays from Dave Dorman & Some Cool Gifts to Share

Dear Friends,

If your household is like mine, Lucasfilm, Amazon and Apple retailers got the majority of your greenbacks this year. Santa was good to me this year and here’s a highlight of my favorite gifts and holiday cards:

I got The Making of Star Wars: The Old Republic, by Chronicle Books, a fine art book that also has lengthy descriptions on the creation of the game itself, not just the preproduction artwork. My son and I have been playing and are on Level 15 so far. It’s a wonderful game.

Me with my new Star Wars: The Old Republic art book

I also received Genius Isolated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth, by IDW Publishing, which is the best book I’ve received all year. It is a beautifully made compilation of Toth’s early formative years as an artist, and it’s the first of three books to cover Toth’s career. It’s an exciting start to the series and I’m really looking forward to the subsequent volumes. The production on this hardcover book was just amazing and the material that the authors dug through and found to represent in this book was truly astounding, covering Toth’s formative work, both in comics and illustration. I highly recommend it. If you are an Alex Toth fan, you should also pick up my friend John Hitchcock’s book, which chronicles his correspondence and friendship with Toth in the later years of his life. It’s a real treasure. John is a master storyteller and if you’re ever lucky enough to hang out with him, you will see what I mean by that.

My Favorite Book in 2011: The Life and Art of Alex Toth

I was also happy to receive this Christmas card, postcard and trading card from our friend Kevin-Kim, TK-1023 in the German Garrison of the 501st. That was a nice surprise. (My son is in his new Star Wars pajamas from Santa).

My Gifts from 501st German Garrison Kevin-Kim, TK-1023

In other news, we’ve been working hard on updating my Facebook fan page. With the rate at which I’m getting friend requests on Facebook, I will have to split my time between my Facebook Fan Page and my Facebook personal page as I fear I will run out of spaces to add friends on my personal page. I do plan to maintain both, but please “Like” my Facebook Fan Page; we are working hard to get that page up to speed this year with decent graphics, contests, fan exclusives and more. We will be doing a Fan Page for my own creator-owned series The Wasted Lands and I will announce that here shortly.

In other news, I am very pleased with the traction my artist friend Dave DeVries is getting with his own creator-owned concept, The Monster Engine. His site went viral again this month overseas and people all over Asia and Europe are discovering him. This project is really deserving of a TV series, a movie and a videogame and I hope we see it happen in 2012.

Thanks, as always, for reading my post. I’m @DaveDorman on Twitter and I do respond to direct Tweets, and I’m an open networker on LinkedIn, so please connect with me there as well. I am happy to review your products online (tech, movie, books, comics, music, nerd and geek products are my sweet spot) and to do so, please write to WriteBrain Media, Attn: Denise Dorman, P.O. Box 417, Carpentersville, IL 60110 and put “Dave Dorman Blog Review” in the subject. If you need marketing, social media or PR advice, follow Denise @writebrainmedia on Twitter or “Like” her fan page at Facebook.com/WriteBrainMedia.

Dave.

Blogger Dave Dorman Now Offering Product Reviews

Dear Friends,

In accordance with FTC blogger review rules, I am now making myself available to review products. Please know that regardless of who sends me an item, and regardless of its monetary value, I will give my readers an HONEST PRODUCT REVIEW. Product managers, please let me know in writing if it is time sensitive for me to review your product and provide me with a clear deadline. As you know, for a freelance artist, paying work always comes first, so if I get deluged with items, the types of products I will give priority to for reviews will include the following:

• Electronics (Tablets, videogame platforms, drawing tablets, PCs, you name it)
• Art Products (illustration boards, canvas, pencils, paints–oils and acrylics–brushes, inks, digital art products and software, etc.)
• Videogames
• Software
• Art Books
• Comic Books
• Sculptures
• Action Figures
• Toys
• Board Games
• Music (my preferences run to female singer/songwriters, world music, instrumental music, and Peter Gabriel/Genesis/YES-style music)
• TV Shows/Movies (I can’t get enough foreign films, so bring ‘em on!)
• Apps (I have an iPhone 4)
• Fiction Books (tastes run to action-adventure, horror and sci-fi, e.g. Stephen King, F. Paul Wilson, Joe Lansdale)
• Organizational Products (think Container Store-type products)
• Anything related to Pop Culture
• Cooking tools and spices

Any products that I can’t or won’t keep, I will donate to the needy families of my charity, USACares.org, or to fellow artists in need. To participate in a Dave Dorman Product Review, please send your items to:

Dave Dorman, Product Reviewer

P.O. Box 417

Carpentersville, IL 60110

If you have any questions, please feel free to email my publicist, denise@writebrainmedia.com.

As always, thanks for reading,

Dave

• http://Facebook.com/davedormanartist
• Twitter: @DaveDorman
• Linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman