Friday, February 25, 2011

ELGIN SUBWAYSURFER BOLLING DRAWING LIVE!

A picture is worth a thousand words, and my pictures are worth a thousand and ONE! Here Im caught doing what I do best drawing a caricature for another satisfied party patron.

As a professional live caricature entertainer, SPEED and ACCURACY are keys to my success. Ther IS NO SCHOOL that teaches a course in "Drawing Fast" it just aint in the sylabbus. Being able to do this has been instrumental to making me one of
New York City's most sought after Professional Caricature Entertainers. 

 Feel Free to contact me for bookings.

My New Pen of Choice is a Double Sided  Marker called a UTRETCH DESIGN MARKER which can only be purchased exclusively at UTRETCH ART SUPPLY STORE. If you are a NYC Resident, go to 111 4th Ave NYC in the Union Sq Area

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS42JTpSE18

Thursday, February 24, 2011

BUILD A SIGN and they WILL COME Product Endorsement By Subwaysurfer

Before I even start my praise of this wonderful online company called BuildASign.com  let me give you their website. You can contact them at
http://www.buildasign.com/CustomBanners
Even though we are living in tan incredible age where we now do much of our business ONLINE, most people make the incorrect assumption that so called "old skool" methods like "hanging out a sign is dead.
The FACT is that
Signage is the least expensive form of advertising – and the most effective of all forms of advertising. (US Small Business Administration)
I found this and other eye opening facts located on the BUILDASIGN website below:
http://www.buildasign.com/p/CompanyOverview.aspx
WHY is that? its simple. EVERYBODY is not online, but EVERYBODY can view a sign. Since it is the LEAST EXPENSIVE and MOST EFFECTIVE form of advertising youd have to be a fool not to invest in getting one if you are serious about running a business.  I dont know about you, but Im interested in increasing my visibility through every available channel.
I wanted a three foot by five foot replica of my business card put on a banner to advertise my services. I spoke to one of their excellent salespeople who answered every conceivable question I had. Let me tell ya folks, I can REALLY get on a salesperson nerves with my constant questions and what if type of scenarios. I was treated with the utmost respect and courtesy, and that is something I value in a company that Im spending money on, which, was also pretty inexpensive! The results were MORE than phenomenal. I got the banner within a 48 hour period, and know that it will be one of my most used marketing tools used to increase my visibility. Dont just take my word for it, find out for yourself! The company creates every conceivable sign imaginable, and saves your original templates for future projects. I KNOW that I will be using their services again, and so should you!
This is a copy  of my business card used as a template

This is a picture of the banner they made
(artwork is coming)

I love email, but  I am definitely an "over the phone" type of guy. A company can hide behind an impersonal email, but there's something about that PERSONAL interaction that I especially like.call them at

1-800-330-9622

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

SUBWAY CARICATURE DRAWINGS ON DOWNTOWN A TRAIN


Man, I was SOOOOOOO Hyped from the days events at the Comic Con, and Drink and Draw At Dempseys Bar that i could NOT turn OFF! LOL! I started caricaturing everything in sigh practically on the return trip home! LOL! Here are some of the best pics.  It felt good to go old skool again, not using the ipad but good old reliable pen and ink, and also pencil. I used a Tombo Brush Pen, and a Number Two Pencil  to put these together.




obviously , this is the Pencil Drawing. The gentlemen I was drawing was so dignified and Dapper, he actually called for a pencil treatment. He realized what I was doing and patiently posed and smiled for me. I wanted to give him the caricature, but before i could finish the hair, he arrived at his stop and was gone.

THE UNAPOLOGETIC
 SUBWAYSURFER CALL TO ACTION MESSAGE:
Folks, if you like what I can do drawing people who are UNAWARE that Im drawing them, just imagine what I can do when Im intentional focused with a willing client. That could be YOU!. If you liked the look of these pen and ink and pencil caricatures, then you can get your OWN done personally!. Just email me at
send me at least a front and side view pic of you, along with a list of your favorite hobbies, sayings, jobs etc. and I will have your caricature back to you faster thatn you can say.... well, whatever it is that you do say when something is done fast. Looking forward to hearing from you!

CARICATURES FROM DEMPSEYS BAR DRINK AND DRAW

I dont Drink, except maybe for an occassional Cucumber and Lemon juice cocktail... But I sure do like to draw! here are a few faces I drew after the Comic Con at The Drink and Draw Afterparty. Included are a few Caricatures I drew of fans...of  my work... at the Comic Con Earlier.







 

MARK MAZZ of ATLAS UNLEASHED



http://www.mazzstudio.com/MzFrmSet.htm
Caught up with Mark MAZZ at a recent comic con. He had an irresistible face that reminded me of a retired Tony Stark, which I told him! Great face also!

Caricature Of woman drinking coffee at Starbucks

When you're under the spell of that Starbucks Coffee.... you are oblivious to anyone and everything.... including caricature artists drawing ya....heh...Drawn with Pen and ink the traditional way.

Caricature From Female Shopper at Staples


I stopped in Staples to price a wireless printer, and waited patiently in line for the tech to become available....then I saw HER...a ace so gorgeous that Basil Wolverton would be howling with delight.

Did this one the traditional way with plain old pen and ink and it felt good to get away from the ipad for a little while. I did the original pic on a old starbucks advertizement i had in my pocket

Friday, February 18, 2011

ipad caricature of Manhattan Female Yuppie with Latte By subwaysurfer

There she was withher bag, her boots, her designer Jeans, Her Two Inch Waistline, her Golden Locks, and her Yuppie Latte.... the universe is complete now. How could I NOT draw her? As beautiful as she is... I bet her feet stink in those leather boots...ah! The price of fashion! What's rancid feet, if you're being fashion forward!

THE MAKING OF AN AVATAR Creating "Captain Actuary" Part two

In My previous post I explained how I crashed and burned on an assignment because I made the mistake of putting "more of myself" into the project than was neccessary. In This Next attempt, I restudied the picture, and decided to draw it with "more estrogen" in mind than Testosterone.


STEP ONE ROUGH SKETCHING
Like in the previous example, I still sketched very rough and very fast in order to ride that wave of emotion neccesary to get the life into the drawing. THIS time, I was thinking on a more whimsical level. As a result, my line quality is less sharper, more rounded.

STEP TWO TIGHTENING UP THE ROUGH
Here is where I really start finding the forms. I concentrated a lot more on making things more proportionate, although there is still a level of exaggeration. The Abbacus has more of a prominent role, and Ali, The Allosaurus, has a more "Dino Essque" feeling about him. The facial proportions are a lot more "human" looking, the dreadful Hood on the cape thing is gone, and I've also payed a lot more attention to the "CA " Insignia on his chest. Remembering that he is a runner, with very well developed leg muscles, I wanted to emphasize that, so I put him in running shorts and shoes, showing off the bare legs. To add more comic relief i reasoned that if I was riding a dinosaur he would feel pretty rough, Hence, the addition of the pillow.

FINALLY COLOR!
It goes without saying that Coloring is the best part of the whole thing! Once satisfied, I immediately mailed it off to the client who went absolutely nuts over it!

If theres any lesson to be learned here, its that you should always please the customer first when doing freelance work. Dont be afraid to be critical of your work, take a step back and observe it, you may surprise yourself.

It goes without saying that If you want your own Cartoon Avatoar where i make you into a superhero you, or just plain cartoon you, dont hesitate to drop me a line!

cartoons4u2@aol.com

THE MAKING OF AN AVATAR Part One Creating "Captain Actuary" By Subwaysurfer

"...I WANT YOU TO MAKE AN AVATAR OF MY BOYFRIEND, HE'S AN ACTUARY!..."
I recieved this email from an enthusiastic female client, who wanted to surprise her Actuary Boyfriend with a unique Valentines Day Gift in the form of an Avatar. I was glad that she couldnt see me scratch my head as i wondered just what an Actuary was, and did. I found out that  an Actuary is a financial professional who specializes in risk analysis. They use statistics and other mathematical formulas to calculate the risk of financial instruments. Which means her Boyfriend is a pretty smart guy.

As always, I asked her to email me some great pictures of him that showed front side and three quarter view, and to include a character description of his personality, work habits traits, etc. So that i could use my genuis imagination to construct a humorous caricature/avatar/  I then had to put my genuis on hold as she gave me one of the greatest things that any client can give a caricature artist. A BACKSTORY!!!!  It seems that her pet name for her beau, was "Captain Actuary". She explained that he solved problems with his "ABBACUS OF TRUTH", and being an amatuer paleontologist, he rode. as his Noble Steed, "ALI" the ALLOSAURUS! Continuing on, she explained also how her boyfriend was an avid runner, and as a result, had very large leg muscles. In the course of our conversation, she had provided me with more than enough "visual hooks" for me to  sink my caricature invested  brain into !
We had almost too much fun on the phonecalls devising ways i could have fun breathing life into "Captain Actuary" and I said my goodbyes, and enthusiastically went to work.

STEP ONE:  ROUGH IT OUT FAST!
Whenever I create a character I ride the first wave of emotion that comes to me and immediately rough out the look and postion of the character. At this stage my emotional connection to the drawing is the most important aspect. I like my pictures to have the feel of the character either "getting ready" to move or "in the midst of moving" and drawing quick enables me to do that.  I draw very quickly using the other side of the Tombo Brush pen, which has a nice fine tip marker that is excellent for making rough sketches. As far as the face goes I look for really strong geometric shapes that I can exploit. I do my initial drawing s on tracing paper  knowing that i will go over the rough sketch in the second stage.


STEP TWO: B:OCK IN THE MAIN FEATURES;
Once satisfied with the initial quick sketch i slow things down a bit and really start looking for the main shapes that are going to define the drawing. I start paying attention  How all the propls that make up the caricature will be presented. The face is very important6 at this stage so i really take my time to get that right.  I also start esperiementing more on how individual proportions relate to each other. Even though one pictue is shown here I due about two or three progressions before proceeding to the final stage.


STEP THREE: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER!
Once Successful In the two previous stages, Im not ready to go full out and ink it before taking it to the coloring stage. Once i get to the final inking stage i get very meticulous about my linework and never rush. It's important to love every stroke you do, and not to '"veg out" on your drawing. I want to have as much an emoritonal connection at this stage as i did in the beginning. Since I am now adding very definite expression to the drawing, in the case of the Allosaurus  especially i want to be sure to get that right. At this stage ive also added additional elements like a kind of collar to the cape, the "Captain Actuary" "CA" Insignia to his chest, as well as refinitng the look of his Abbacus of Truth.  Once this final Inking stage is done, I do one of the hardest things that i have to do as an artist. I divorce myself emotionally from the piece, and take a hard objective look at it.  Within minutes, i can see that I need to do this over, because Ive gotten it
ALL WRONG!
There was nothing wrong with the physical likeness, perse, but one look at the picture made me realize that instead of drawing for the client, I had "drawn for myself."   My client was a female. This was a gift for the man she loves, and while she allowed for a certain "comic license " on my part, Im sure she didnt want me to "drive off the road" Trying to look at this from a womens point of view, I asked myself would I like this? Probably not. The Allosaurus was too ferocious looking, and the foot was obstructing  the view its head besides. The "BIG FACE" little body angle wasnt really working, here and ended up making her boyfriend look kinda goofy in this pic. Im sure she wouldnt appreciate that. The Abbacus of Truth, seemed like it should have a more prominent role in terms of size, and the "CA" Captain Actuary Insignia, was just downright Lazy! Oh yeah, and what was up with the collar on the cape thing? Overall, I had done an exaggerated wacky portrait that I WOULD HAVE LIKED, but when we are drawing for others we must think in terms of them. As an artist, you must be willing to swallow your ego and start at the drawing board again...... which is exactly what  I did..... See part TWO of
HE MAKING OF AN AVATAR Creating "Captain Actuary" By Subwaysurfer

Friday, February 04, 2011

ipad caricature of Scuzzy Scarey Subway dude by Subwaysurfer

he looked like a combination  burnt out rock star,slash homeless war veteran slashmaggot invested crackhead..... for all I know , he was just an undercover cop totally immersed in his character. Whatever he was, he is one of the reasons I love riding the trains of this city. You just cant find these kinda people anywhere else. Its like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are gonna get.... HEY! I should patent that line!

Id be interested in knowing who and what kinda... er... extraordinary people youve seen on the trains. Please feel free to comment! I wanna hear from you!

ANNOYING EXPRESSIONS THAT MAKE ME WANNA SCREAM

I don't know about you, but there are some expressions that I hear on a daily basis that makes me wanna scream to the top of my lungs until I'm breathless. It's almost as if the people who say these things routinely don't have a definable personality, no original thoughts, and couldn't have an idea if you handed them a light bulb.

Feel free to add your own annoying expressions, here are some of mine...

Here's my list
YADA YADA YADA
KNOWWHUTI'MSAYING?!
IT BE LIKE...
YA KNOW...YA KNOW..YA KNOW...
WHUTS UP WITH THAT?
OOOOOHHHH KAY...
YEAHHHHHHH RIGHT.
YO CHILL
YO CHILL HOMIE
YO HOMIE, CHILL
WHUT UP DOG?
JUST CHILLIN
WHUTS UPPP?
YO, SON!
THEY HAD ME ROLLIN!!
I WUZ ROLLIN!
YO, I WUZ ROLLIN, SON!
YO, I WUZ ROLLIN, SON......word.
WHY IT GOTTA BE LIKE THAT?
WHY I GOTTA BE ALL THAT?
OH, SO IT'S "LIKE THAT,"HUH?
WHY YEW ILLIN?
WHY YEW ILLIN, SON?
YO, WHY Y'ALL ILLIN?
YO, HE GOTS MADD SKILLZ!
JUST HANDLIN MY BIZNESS...
KNOWWHATIMEAN?!
SO,WHUTS UP WIT YEW?
YO, YEW MY BOYE!
YO, THAT'S MY GURL, .......word.
FERGETTABOUTIT!
WHATS THE DILLIE OH?!
YO, DAT WUZ KRAZIE...
IM MADD TIRED
IM MADD HUNGRY
IM MADD!

www.subwaysurfer.blogspot.com

Thursday, February 03, 2011

WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW KAHLEEN GAGE



In a previous post, you heard me sing the phrases of author and social media consultant, Kahleen,"Pure Water"Gage, and if you weren't motivated enough to visit her blog at
http://www.kathleengage.com/Kathleengage.htm
Maybe this particular stat, taken from her blog, will make you thirsty enough to drink from her well:

Successfully sold over $7,000 in 48 hours of one eBook as a result of a very well planned and implemented Internet marketing strategy. Over the years that one product has produced well over $250,000 worth of direct and indirect revenue.

I'm not naive enough to "guarantee" that the exact same thing will happen to you, if you follow her advice, but I will say that I'd rather learn from an expert who has DONE IT, rather than a writer who is just "talking about " how to do it. I almost feel guilty about giving you access to her info! I originally wanted to selfishly keep it to myself, butt hats not being a nice cyberspace citizen, so I share....

Kathleen Gage an Oasis of Water in the Cyberspace Desert

“HOW TO SUCCEED IN SOCIAL MEDIA!!”
It seems everywhere you look online today, someone is preaching about how they can help YOU strike gold in the cyberspace hills of social media! Sadly, though after you’ve sold the farm and stalked your claim, you find out that you’re only stuck with fools gold in your hand, stranded in a desert wasteland. I know I was.

The truth is, a lot of these so called social media experts, are nothing more than cyber-con artists, whose advice and methods are not backed up by practical experience, and measurable results. The frustrating thing is that you KNOW the truth MUST be out there, but where do you go to find that water In the desert of Cyberspace? How to you keep from chasing after mirages?

Kathleen Gage is an oasis in the desert, who provides that water. In fact. “Pure Water,” is the LITERAL meaning of her first name! Her last name, “Gage” beautifully supports the first name. It’s meaning is “Oath, Promise, or Pledge” “The Promise of Pure Water” That’s what Kathleen Gage is all about, and if you are
thirsty for knowledge that refreshes, sustains and satisfies, you should drink routinely from her well.

In fact, if you need a drink now, just go here! http://www.kathleengage.com/Kathleengage.htm

I had an opportunity to drink from her well the other day as I listened to a broadcast of hers explaining how to effectively use the social media tool, Linkedin . Kathleen provided straight forward, idiot proof information on how to use linkedin and I immediately went to work to impliment what I had learned. I KNOW its going to get me results. My next step was to write Kathleen to thank her personally for giving me great information in the best way that I know how. By offering her something as valuable as she gave me. Her own personalized subwaysurfer style avatar/caricature. here is an excerpt from the letter that i wrote. Be sure to read the letter folks, as there is valuable information in it FOR YOU TOO.

Dear Kahleen, I listened with great interest to your broadcast on the Feb 2nd edition of the Author Helping Authors site. Your insights about marketing on linkedin gave me some very useful ideas,particularly on how to target a specific group in your local area. A couple things you said specifically caught my attention regarding setting up the profile.
"Make sure when you put up your profile, that it's a complete profile, and it's interesting" "you really want to add some character to it"
I couldn't agree more! Especially about the "character" part. In addition to being an e book author, I am also a professional artist who specializes in turning people into characters, literally, through the art of caricature. Ive found it to be a very effective way in personally branding yourself, and the caricature does double duty as an avatar, to be used in online correspondence, and also offline for periodicals and other promotional items. I  provide this service specifically to online marketers at a price that it affordable and within any budget, however modest.
Please accept this one I did of you as my gift. I dont like to get something for nothing, and just wanted to give YOU something to help enhance YOUR business. Thanks So Much!

Elgin Subwaysurfer Bolling
http://www.subwaysurfer.blogspot.com/
http://www.caricatures4u2.blogspot.com/



VIEW KATHLEEN GAGE VIDEO ON SYLVIA MASSARA'S THE LIT CHICK SHOW
http://www.litchickshow.com/2011/02/authors-helping-authors-kathleen-gage.html=

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

HOW TO BECOME A SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERT by subwaysurfer

" How to I get more views on my YouTube videos?""how can I get more tweets on twitter?"" how do I get people to read my blog?". These are the questions that loom in the back of the mind of each person striving to not just exist online, but to have a presence, and succeed, whatever that may mean to yhem...
While relaxing today, I watched Gladiator, one of my favorite movies, starring Russel Crowe. While viewing it I was startled to hear a line in the movie that offered some insight on how to become a social media expert. Following is the excerpt originally posted on my facebook page. Enjoy.


Elgin Bolling
MAXIMUS: You were a gladiator? PROXIMO: Yes, I was PROXIMO: . I wasn't the best because I killed quickly. I was the best because the crowd loved me. Win the crowd, win your freedom. MAXIMUS: I will win the crowd. I will give them something they have never seen before


Elgin Bolling BEST advice for becoming a social media expert
14 minutes ago · Like

Elgin Bolling WIN THE CROWD! thats talking about the online community who looks at your blog, your text messages, ALL the material you put out there.  Do things with THEM in mind, rather than always thinking about yourself! Give em something they've never seen before, and they go to your webinars, buy your ebooks, download your podcasts, comment on your you tube bids, tweet you, read your blog, and friend you on facebook. Apparently I have a long way to go....Heres to all you online gladiators out there!
12 minutes ago · Like

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

SPRAY CAN GRAFFETTI CHARACTER by Subwaysurfer

According to my stats, THIS particular character, is getting a lot of attention from certain viewers and has become one of the most viewed, and probably downloaded pics on the subwaysurfer Blogg. This just goes to show you that you NEVER can completely guess what peope are going to respond to. Ive ALWAYS been a fan of Graff art and writing since the seventies and eighties, and elements of the style have appeared in my caricature work. I did the original spray can just as a drawing for myself, and uploaded it because I thought it ould be kinda cool. Apparently, other people think so also, which is why I did an updated version.

DOWNLOADING AND SWIPING PICTURES AND ARTICLE POSTS
Im not one of these, come at ya will all guns blazing if you swipe some of my pics off the site and use them in your blogs or to accompany your articles. In fact, the web being the social media beast that it is , I have come to expect it.

FEEL FREE TO SAMPLE WHAT YOU WANT FOR YOUR ARTICLES AND BLOGGS WITH CONDITIONS

Lets be fair about this. Im a professonal artist. I do this for fun AND profit. If people are lifting pictures without even ASKING permission, AND not compensating , thats not cool. I am reasonable and can work out deals financially via paypal that are affordable, AND will even be willing to draw something custom made. I recently stumbled across one of my pics used by a fan to illustrate one of his articles, which was, quite excellently written, by the way! LOL! I contated him on compensating me for the pic, the price was more than reasonable, and now we have a working business relationship built on trust and respect. Thats all Im asking.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO SWIPE INCLUDE MY URL AS A LINK
Give me credit for what I have taken time to create. Web Traffic is as valuable a commodity on line as a monetary reward.

IF YOU'RE USING MY ART ON YOUR SITE,LET ME KNOW SO I CAN GIVE YOU A SHOUT OUT!

Like I said, Internet traffic is a valuable commodity. You help me, I help you. Lets keep the traffic flowing in a positive direction.

Enjoy the illo. Feel free to share.