Well all i can say is my day at dragoncon was absoulutly amazing i really couldn't have asked for more out of the day i did everything i had planned to do, this was my second year at the con so i was a little more experienced then i was the first time i went. I'm not a city goer as a matter a fact this was my first time in the city since the last con, and i also went to the con alone so i had to really pay attention and stay on my toes.

The day started of course waiting in line for my saterday pass. i met some really cool people waiting in line a fun guy dressed as obi wan and another dressed as a sith lord kept me company while we waited, thats one thing i'll say about people at the con everyone is very friendly, you'll just start talking to eachother and all of a sudden you'll feel like you've known eachother forever. I guess us geeks and nerds make the nicest people who knew?The line moved pretty quickly even though it was a block long.

Afterwards i made my way to the dragon con parade i foundmyself a good spot and got some amazing shots of the parade itself i'll be making photoe collages of my pictures to post later. I have to sift through all 760 pics i took to find the best shots. Stan the man Lee. Lou Ferigno, and Dean Cain were all in the parade all of whom i got great shots of.

After the parade i ended up in the dealers room where i met the increadably talented Brian Canfield Mitchell [link] we sat and talked for almost 30 min. he gave me some great feedback on my artwork. luckily i had a few erotic pieces to show him which he liked we might even do an art trade sometime.

I bought an amazing wonder woman pvc statue by amecomi and a few other things and made my way to artist alley. very nervous and powered only by a red bull i began to make my way from table to table.

First up was the amazingly talented who i met last year and who has seen most of what was in my portfollio already. The question of the day which i heard from everyone is what is it you want to do? do you want to be a illustrator?cover designer?penciler,inker,colorist, page artist? i really didn't have an answer for anyone mos said it looked like i wanted to be an illustrator.Mr. Cmpbells advice to me was mainly to refrian fom drawing anything that is a direct representation of someones work. and try to work on my anatomy and the core structures of my figures. i may have deprived myself of more information from him because i mentioned that he had seen my art last year do he only took a look at the first 20 pages or so. but all in all he gave me some great tips and i was grateful i also bought one of his which are amazing.

Next i made my way to the legendary Neal Adams. i was thinking i would get a very informative and helpful critique fom him. he told me when i approched that he would pay me 20$ not to look at my portfollio and that he would tear it apart and be very harsh. I should have listened to him. He equated my work to the equivalent of jerking off, he said that i was just producing the same crap over and over and over again. he told me real artists trace not that they trace other work but photographs. basically he said i needed to start over and releard everything that i know about art. He went on to say many other hurtful things that i don't care to remember. there was absoulutly nothing construcive in his criticisms of my work, i stood there sweating and nodding my head trying to maintain my composure and nodding my head. he told me to stop nodding my head, i was thinking what more dose he want from me. to me this crossed the fine line of giving me constructive criticism and just insulting me.
After i left his table feeling extreamly deflated i decided to no let it stop me from goin to other tables and hearing something constructive from other artists.

Next up was the increadable he had some very constructive and helpful things to say about my work.he told me to try and put more backgrounds in my pin ups and try to leave more space around my figures, He also told me that i had some good stuff and to keep at it. the best piece of advice he gave me was to try a japanese brush pen used in calligraphy to ink my work which is goin to really give a finished feel to my work.

After that i went to see who also gave me some increadably helpful pointers on anatomy. he said my work had alot of energy and made me feel great.

Next i made my way to table who also gave me a very informative and kind critique. i'm having a hard time remembering everything everyone said the things i remember most is that many people told me they liked my work with copics, work on my faces, and core figures. i bought one of his skyward is an amazing book i hope it is a huge sucess for him.

I then made my way to the great brian Stelfreeze [link] he gave me an amazing critique saying that had a great volume of work with alot of detail going on. he is very zen in his approch to art and told me to try to look underneath a figure and try to simplify my approch to drawing.he said it looked like i was rushing to the end of a work to finish the piece without geting the underlying strucure in place first. he told me to jus sit and do 20 sketches of anything people chairs whatevers in front of me and then throw it all away, just to losen up. i really to many of the things he said to heart and will try to use his techniques in my art style.

One of my favorite people i met at the con was the increadably beautiful and talented she gave me the most wonderful and constuctive feed back i really took her words to heart. she liked my work with copic makers, told me i need t work on my facial anatomy a little, try to use more lighting and shadow in my work, thinner lines close to a light source thicker ones farther away. she said i had a very cartoony style and that she liked what she saw in my art. but what stuck with me the most is she said to be true to my vision that everyone has a different approch to art and there is no wrong way to look at it. basically to stay true to myself and i really loved that she said that.

I next made my way to the very talented who gave me some awesome advice about using the computer to enhance my copic marker work and using 11 x 17 paper on my pinups to give me more of a canvas to work on.

my final but by no means least stop came up to the dynamic whos comic endevor looks amazing. we really connected he told me so many good things that my art had alot of energy and that i had a good eye for faces. he actually called me a drawing beast because of the sheer volume of work i had brought comming from him thats a real compliment. he also gave me some amazing tips to help me strive forward.

At this point 12 hours had passed i had had nothing to eat and was exausted so i made my way to the front of the hotel to wait on a ride home.
so what do i take away from all of this? thats the big question. i want to try to take all of these ideas and merge it into my art style but i have to face certian facts. the road i have traveled in my art life the last 6 years has built me into what i am today. i don' think i can tear everything down and start over. i want to try and enhance my style with better techniques and styles. do i ever thing i'll work professionally? probably not and thats not me being defeatest its just saying i think i don't have the knowledge or skill to produce professional quality work. does that mean i stop drawing? never but if what i'm doing is just "jerking off" maybe thats what makes me most happy if i can sell a print here or there and if even one person looks at my stuff and likes it then maybe thats enough. and if you made it through this excessively long journal i congrajulate u.
thanks.

i love tim townsend's studio









:thumb35763749:


Create your own visitor map!</