I'm on Facebook

I just wanted to make a quick posting to announce that I've now joined FB. Hopefully I'll keep it updated a few times a week with what's going on in my life. You can find it at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Lawson-Illustration/155495057879245?sk=wall

Colin Panetta, my website guy, pushed me to do this and it seems like something that I should have been participating in all along anyawys. It's all part of my website getting ready to go live and needing an interactive web presence to go along with that. I'm still getting the hang of Facebook, but I'm having fun.

Thanks- Jim

Regarding Paleo

Back in the time when I was actively updating this blog, I talked a lot the progress (or lack thereof) of a comic that I was working on called LONER. It was a continuation of the dinosaur-based series that I'd previously done known as PALEO, and was intended to be a graphic novel that would obviously get published at some point...

My last work done here at the studio, was finishing up the art on Loner. That was a year ago.

Occasionally, I get an email asking me whatever happened to that project. Since that time (a year ago) Loner has sat on a shelf. This week I made the decision to start up a new blog dedicated to releasing that work as a sort of web-publishing type thing.

I hope to post a few pages a week, until the comic is presented on its blog in its entirety.

It can be found at: http://paleo-loner.blogspot.com/

Thanks- Jim

I'm Done

I mean, I really am done. A week ago today, I inked the final page of Paleo: Loner. This means for me that there is no more here to do, other than the production work of the Paleo book. This includes getting printing quotes and scanning all the art and all the preparation and design work that will make the book print ready. This part I don't get paid for so I'll try to get it knocked off in little bits between now and when the orders come in.
So- I'll collect the unemployment for awhile and see what happens. I've agreed to teach some summer classes for 2 places in town that offer programs for kids, so there is that. It's been unusual being at home, but I'm getting some long delayed chores done. I'm not expecting that I'm going to blog anymore- if something of an artworthy nature pops up then I most likely will want to talk about it but it seems like my life is going to go in a different direction, at least for now.

For this last post, I wanted to put up the colored cover for Loner.

Thanks everybody.

Tales 70 Sneak Peak

I finally got to see the finished art for Tales 70 this week. Eric did an awesome job on the inks and it was with some emotion that I flipped through the pages yesterday. They're really cool. Talbot's gritty, edgy inks really fit the story and I have to admit that his talent with the halftones is nothing short of stunning. After discussing it with him it was cool to hear him talk about the book and just what it meant- the strive to try to capture the old Mirage art feel along with the amount of physical work that went along with us deciding to work on a larger size paper.

In keeping with the old Mirage way, it's even a week late to the printer.

Color Turts

This was a cool job. It's a commission- and this individual (I never know if people want themselves indentified) asked for the 4 Turtles to be done separately. This person I know has requested and gotten similar group pieces from Dan and Mike. I don't know how they are to be displayed once turned over to the owner but I thought it was kind of a nifty idea.

RTNY Raph

I've been doing a couple of commissions the last few weeks and this is the most recent one.

Loner Cover

So yesterday I commented about my ever-changing mind with regards to covers. In the case of this Paleo book I'm working on, my desire to find a cover image kept going back to this one panel that's in the comic. The POV is behind the main character and is looking up and back towards the head. Something about it I liked. That panel is the first image. Second is one of my earlier attempts. It came out ok, but something about the head in particular bothered me. The lower jaw seemed too long and maybe the head was just too square. Also the inking seemed a little rough. I tried sketching some more actiony- comic book type layouts, but once again was pulled back to the lone dino scene.

The last image is the one that I'm going to go with. I think. The similarity to the earlier image is undeniable, but it just is a better piece, as in, I'm happier with it. This will be the first Paleo wraparound cover.