Mammoth Achievement

 Elephants, Updates
Jun 142007
 

After almost 7 years online, and 6 years doing this NEWS page, this is POST #200. mammoth

My first website launched in Late 2000, initially as part of the MAVERIX STUDIOS site (until I got my own domain and hosting in early 2002). This NEWS page began in August 2001 and I made the posts by hand in HTML until I discovered BLOGGER in August 2003.

The ease of the Blogger interface meant that the frequency of posts went up from one per month to roughly one per week, and the focus broadened from merely listing updates to my site, to posting general ramblings about this and that. In March 2006 I moved to WORDPRESS and I really like the flexibility and features of this platform.

Here are some stats from my administration dashboard: There are 200 POSTS and 703 VISITOR COMMENTS, the most commented post received 32 comments. A whopping 15,418 SPAM COMMENTS have been caught since I installed SPAM blocking software in March 2006. The real-comment/spam-comment imbalance is pretty intimidating…

Speaking of statistics, thanks to all of you who come by once in a while and create a HIT in my VISITOR STATS (I am ashamed to admit how obsessively I check them; it makes me strangely happy). EXTRA special thanks to those of you who occasionally take the time to post a comment and make this blogging process a dialogue instead of merely a monologue.

Having my own little outpost on the web has given me a lot of pleasure and I think that being part of a worldwide art-nerd community is a large part of the fun…

 Posted by James Baker on June 14, 2007  9 Responses »

A Friendly Monster

 Drawings, Updates
Jun 112007
 

Lately, I have been scanning a bunch of doodles, sketches and scribbles that I have done over the years. Here is one from last year.

 Posted by James Baker on June 11, 2007  2 Responses »

New Web Host

 Drawings, Updates, Work
Jun 102007
 

The pic is a sketch I did last year, recently coloured in photoshop.

I have just found my own web host, so even though I am still a part of the Maverix Studios site, my files are hosted by www.digitalriot.org, who I can heartilly recommend. Their prices are very reasonable and they always have speedy responses to my dopey questions.

I have added sample pages from my 2nd Rocket Rabbit comic book to the Comics section, and there are details of how to buy that and my other books in the Store section. Speaking of that, I have also been having fun making artwork for the products in my store, and I will probably buy a bunch of it myself and take care of all my year end present buying in one hit. (hint hint)

Other than that I have been doing some illustrations for a book written by my Dad, wrestling mightilly with a new comic story, and picking Rhode Montijo‘s brains as to how to get my already self-published stuff distributed…

This is probably old news to many of you, but I have recently been getting a kick out of reading and posting on a few graphics message boards; Shane Glines’ Drawing Board The Aimee’s studio board and the Bellefree forum are the main ones. Artists from all around the world post stuff on there and it has really increased my success rate in finding good art sites on the web. Oh, and don’t forget the Maverixstudios forum where you are all welcome to post your pix!

 Posted by James Baker on June 10, 2007  No Responses »

Comic Con: Booth #1329

 Conventions, Drawings, Pin Ups, Updates
Jun 012007
 

San Diego’s Comic Con is coming up, and thinking of Comic Con reminds me of booth-gals posing in the most difficult-to-wear costume of all time:

The gomer-showdown begins in less than 8 weeks, so I still have some time to prepare new stuff, most likely prints, sketches and maybe a mini-comic. Abismo/Nerve Bomb will be exhibiting in the same great spot as we had last year; BOOTH #1329.

Hope to see you all there!

 Posted by James Baker on June 1, 2007  3 Responses »

Auction Results

 Drawings, Friends, Inspiration, Nauti Girl, Updates
May 242007
 

The Maverix Studios and Sketchcrawl Art Auction raised a mighty $13,000!!!! Not a bad effort for a few hours of honest fun.

All the proceeds will go to the charity called EMERGENCY: Life Support for Civilian War Victims.

This is another of the three pieces I submitted; a watercolor of Sephilina, which was successfully bid on by Derek. (I am not sure yet who got the other two).

Derek also put in the top bid of the night; $900 for Patrick Awa’s magical “Little Dead Riding Hood” watercolour. The next highest bid was for Tadahiro Uesugi’s Watercolour, which was won by Ronnie Del Carmen. He was a very good sport, because his bid was already the winner in the silent auction but then, after live-auction bid-battling, he was obliged to pay another $150, or so, which he did with a big smile on his face (knowing that the extra money is all going to a good cause makes it easier to be philosophical at such times). Rhode Montijo’s Ink drawing was won by Ted Mathot and the Steve Purcell Mermaid was taken home by Anthony Hon.

Visit the online galleries of photos of both the artworks themselves and people having fun at the show (pics by Bosco Ng).

 Posted by James Baker on May 24, 2007  4 Responses »

Behold: The Swag!

 Friends, Inspiration, Updates
May 202007
 

Yet another Maverix Studios art-auction fund-raiser has come and gone and I think this may have been one of their best yet. I certainly had a very good time. You can see here the 5 pieces that I won in the bidding (From top to bottom: Ted Mathot, Ronnie Del Carmen, Mike Murnane, Louis Gonzales, and Bill Presing). I am VERY happy to own each of these, and I certainly wasn’t the only person grinning from ear to ear while clutching recently acquired artwork, at the end of the night.

Despite being on the same day as the famous Bay To Breakers Marathon, the auction was well attended, and there were a great number of quality art donations, which inspired some pretty heated bidding over certain pieces. I have no idea of the amount of money raised (they were still adding it all up when I left) but I predict that it may have been one of the more financially successful Auctions that Maverix has yet held.

Most of the artwork was sold to whoever had written the highest bid on the bid-sheets beneath each piece. However, a few hot-properties were selected for the BIG BID-BATTLE SHOWDOWN at the end of the event; a live auction hilariously adjudicated by Auctioneer extraordinare, the mighty Mike Murnane. Being a natural born button-pusher well qualified Mike for the task of needling a few extra dollars out of bidders who had their sights set on the most contested pieces, which in this case were by Rhode Montijo, Patrick Awa, Tadahiro Uesugi and Steve Purcell.

But these shows aren’t only about the artwork and the fundraising, they are also for having fun, socialising and meeting new people. This time I got to meet someone who I had only known before as his avatar in online forums and through his blog; mr John Hoffman (AKA MonkeyFeather). He had done one of the art pieces that I had targeted, but in that case I was out-gunned by some other lucky bidder.

To make a great night even better, someone suggested going to Mitchell’s Ice Cream in the Mission District. Their tasty, exotically flavoured ice cream is made on the premises and they are open till 11pm. Despite it being a chilly Sunday night, plenty of other people had the same idea, and there was a line out the door (you should see the line at Mitchell’s on a HOT day). I have a pathological dread of waiting in line, but I will make an exception for Mitchell’s, only because Mexican Chocolate ice cream served in a chocolate-dipped, nut-encrusted waffle-cone is just such a civilized way to end the day.

 Posted by James Baker on May 20, 2007  12 Responses »

Another Maverix Fundraiser

 Drawings, Friends, Inspiration, Updates
May 172007
 

Here is one of the pieces that I have been making this week for the latest art-auction being held by the good hearts at MAVERIX STUDIOS. The auction is this Sunday May 20th and I have two more pictures that I am trying to get ready before then.

Maverix Studios have held several such auctions before, and they have raised a lot of money for worthy causes, $47,000 was raised in 2005 alone. This time the proceeds will go to an organization called “EMERGENCY: Life support for civilian war victims”

Most of the art-donors are Bay Area animation-artists, cartoonists, visual-development designers and comic-book artists, so it is a pop-culture, low-brow scene. Not high falootin’ but very fun. Typically the art goes for bargain prices as we know people who can MAKE pictures but we don’t know many people with art-collector sized deep-pockets, so a lot of great original artwork goes for less than $100. The auction is done by sign-up sheets under each artwork so the bidding is not obnoxious, and it is possible to socialise and party during the bidding process.

SOME of the submissions are online in a gallery. After I looked at the marvelous artwork there, I almost threw away what I was painting for the show in a fit of shame and frustration, so I am not looking again until I am done… but if YOU see anything you might like, then come by… and BUY! This Sunday’s show starts early, 5PM with bidding closing at 7.30 PM, so don’t be “fashionably late”.

Maybe see you there?

 Posted by James Baker on May 17, 2007  2 Responses »

Sephilina

 Conventions, Nauti Girl, Updates
Apr 302007
 

Here’s another one of the brush-pen sketches I did while sitting at the Abismo/Nerve Bomb booth at last year’s Comic-Con.

As to THIS year’s comic Con, I am still trying to figure out if I have enough time left to make something ELSE to sell, in addition to the new Elephant book (and selling some prints of the illustrations) especially as my work schedule wont leave a lot of spare time in the next few months…

I have already blocked out a lot of Rocket Rabbit stories, but past experience tells me that I wont be able to get any of them done in time for July and I would prefer not to rush them. So I had thought of doing a little book of pin-ups of established characters, but it seems like a lot of work on something that isn’t really “mine,” so now I am leaning towards a MINI-comic of some kind.

 Posted by James Baker on April 30, 2007  6 Responses »
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