Auction Time!

I just received a notification from a friend asking for participation in another Bonhams auction that is coming up in April. I have begun brainstorming a piece to turn in to support the "Community Word Project." Which, for those who haven't heard of it is a non-for profit organization that helps underprivileged schools afford art programs. Once again, my best idea so far will feature another Hobo Joe project. Looking forward to it!

Best to all my friends,

Nick

Back in the saddle, Whew!!

Well, here I am (finally) and back in the cartooning saddle. Remember how I said I  had just finished a new comic? Well, drumrollllllll I just finished ANOTHER issue of the extended adventures of Hobo Joe!!! (Will be posting more info soon) yes, the fourth one! (Joe Time Travels see cover below)

Now, down to business, March 4, 2013, I will have a meeting with all my fellow Recanati-Kaplan scholars. It will be a time for us to share our work  and work on goals. Our assignment for this meeting is to assemble 50 copies of a kind of propaganda to advertise our work and give an email or blog. I'm brainstorming pins, OR business cards which are easier to manufacture in bulk. Here for now, but in four days I'm off for Jamaica. Bye for now!!!
                                                                            Nick

                    

Long Time No Blog

Hello followers!
I have been away for a considerable amount of time, but all for good reasons. I have created the 3rd book in the Joe series; hereby making it a trilogy. Sorry to keep you waiting but we will uploading new content soon. While we are at it, I will announce that I am having a comic book sale. Those who are not in range of me, feel free to order on line.

I'm brainstorming about a set of trading cards which will have all your favorite characters displayed on miniature cards. They can be circulated among your friends and will help you get to know the Joe set of characters.

That's all for now.

Bye!

Sorry for the late posting (stubborn mom) but I am just now putting my new Hobo Joe comics up for sale. If you are interested, I'm doing a twofer ($3 for 2 books). A great package deal: keep one book and give the other to a friend...sharing is caring! heh, heh. Just starting a new Hobo Joe comic to accompany its brothers. Buy this new one for $1 or get all 3 new ones for $4. Haven't bought the Cowboy comic yet? Will throw that in with the three new ones and charge: $6 for all 4 books. Sorry if I sound money hungry but today is my deal day.

Last night I went to the Recanati-Kaplan reception for the scholarship recipients of 2011-12. I received a certificate which represents my participation in the R-K program. It looks very official. This has been a great year and I have learned nothing short than a truckload of cartooning skills during that time. I would like to say thank you to Thomas Kaplan and Daphne Recanati-Kaplan, Angela Early and Sarah McNear for their incredibly generous support. This is an opportunity I would not otherwise have had if they had not given it to me!

Keep your fingers crossed for 2012-13!

Auction Piece

Sold! to the man in the purple shirt!
I was recently asked to submit a piece to the Community Word Project benefit auction (www.communitywordproject.org). They are raising money for art programs in NYC public schools. This is my first year of giving something. (Check out "Joe in Central Park". Will be framed and autographed, of course). I am excited to be included. And especially looking forward to eating the cookies at the snack table on the night of the live auction.

An Apple for the Teacher

Thanks to this blog, I was recently asked to teach an art class at the Pulitzer & Panetta Creative Studio (http://web.me.com/pulitzerandpanetta/P&P/HOME.html). Besides cartoon classes I have taught myself to draw and cartoon. The students might be surprised because someone who was initially self-taught and then took a few classes might have some different strategies or techniques than what is taught traditionally. A few things I will tell the students will include keep their drawings original by drawing what they see, not what they think they should draw.

Try not to start cartooning right away, read comic books and stay away from cartooning instruction books. It will send a beginner down the wrong path to begin with. The books always have unoriginal ideas and their characters have no life. Another important detail to have is personality like maybe a hat shows character: hat up=happy; hat down=sad.

Once you've picked up styles and ideas from cartoon characters in comic books (DON'T COPY!!) you are ready to begin. Pick a character that has life and remember to include whatever personality traits or drawing techniques. Remember: your cartoon character is unique.

Once you have the main character you are ready to begin. Your main character and setting are the most important things to your comic book. Once you have a plot, begin! There is nothing holding you back except lack of creativity and short patience. If you don't get it exactly right, keep on doing it.

It's good to have a doodle sheet to start or collect ideas for a comic strip. Remember you don't always have to do cartoons and you can just relax and just doodle on a sheet. It may not seem like a lot, but many ideas can originate from it. Trust me it's one of my best strategies and brainstorming techniques. Keep it simple and you can work on your comic strip. It doesn't have to be done in a matter of minutes. Put everything you have into your comic strip, after a while you will train yourself not to accept sloppiness. Cartooning will grow on you and hopefully will become one of your best hobbies.