Hello everyone! Happy New Year!
(New Year’s Day is totally in March, right? Right? Oh, ok…)
I have a lot of information about this last year and what I’m planning and hoping for 2019!
Last Year, Michael:
– Graduated from Art School!
I received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Illustration, with a focus on Sequential Design. It was a long haul, but so glad to be done. I was so happy to be with the graduating class I was in! We had a big show, with many amazing pieces!
– Had a great time at Denver Comic Con 2018!
I think it was one of my best years financially, but I know it was some of the most fun I’ve had there. Learned to focus on talking with people, and making my art, and having fun, not worrying about making sales. Had some fun commissions at the Con, and with my sister-in-law helping at the booth, my wife and I were able to wander more and go see panels and David Tennant!
– Did 50 Marvel sketch cards for Upper Deck!
This was such a neat opportunity to get to work with Marvel and X-Men characters in some sort of official capacity. These original sketches were distributed randomly into the Fleer Ultra X-Men 2018 card packs.
You can see the full collection of 50 cards on my previous blog post.
– Spent a couple of weeks after school on a Webtoon for a competition.
My friend Chad Beninati (http://handicapehero.com/) wrote out the beginnings of a fantasy story and I drew it. You can find what we got done here (it’s better on mobile devices): https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/the-knight-and-the-rat-king/list?title_no=220795
It was a bit of a personal challenge since the contest went on for a few months, but with school, I worked on it for only about a month, max. It was fun, but the speed certainly shows. Still, I think it was a good start.
– Went to Scotland!!!
My wife Emily and I had been planning a trip to Scotland for after I finished school. We went at the end of October/beginning of November 2018.
It was amazing and incredible: the place, the history, the locale, the exploring, and getting to spend so much time with each other without going to work or school. We stayed in Glasgow and Edinburgh, explored both those cities a bit, as well as traveled to Stirling and Loch Ness!
– Started selling art on RedBubble!
I’ve uploaded some art and logos I’ve done to a RedBubble Store!
I love the printing they do on their shirts – my wife and brother both have one, and they hold up really well and have quality printing done, not just a cheap iron-on. So go check it out!
– Visited the doctor at the beginning of December
to finally get some hand and wrist pain I had been having for months looked at. They said they suspected a strained flexor and actually had me stop drawing for about a month and on disability from my workplace for two months. It seemed like would be a problem, but was actually kinda nice, to take a step back from the art and my job. I got to spend the holidays with my wife and family without anything really pulling me away, and I was able to spend time praying, reading, refocusing and reconnecting with people. It reminded me that I am a person apart from my artwork and job, which is something I need reminding of.
This year:
– I submitted a proposal to the Adobe Creative Residency competition!
My entry is one of the comic projects I’ve been working on for a little while, called The Artist and the Half-Orc.
The winner receives a job and payment to work on their creative, career-pushing project! So IF I were to win, that would become a huge thing, and of course, modify the plans I have for this year.
– I have some other comics projects I would like to work on and finish, including:
My interpretation and variation of Killer Wolf, a public domain script created by Justin Prime, which you can find details on Here.
– I’d also like to keep pushing my digital painting and keep taking commissions.
Here’s some progress pics from a commission I’m working on of my brother’s Bard/sorcerer character from DnD.
That’s all for now!
I hope this “New” Year is going great for you! I’d love to hear what things you’re up to, excited for, or planning for the future, so please shoot me a message!
“May you always have light for your feet.”
Tales of Warriors and Wanderers Issue 0
Michael Howe