Hi Folks Havent posted in a couple of days... which is GOOD...in a way. I mean if I was a STARVING artist, Id have plenty of time to post, but since Im a working artist, I have to take care of business! Ive got some great stuff coming up in the form of new Ebooks and such for you to download and learn from, as well as an upcoming seminar at Jack Dempsey Bar in NYC April 20 on the art of character design ... but more on that later
Heres one great caricature Ive worked on for client, Bob Garton , a Fitness trainer specializing in exercising with the Kettlebell. Bob has LOTS of great stuff going on at his blogsite which you can view here: http://www.bobgarontraining.com/ I highly recommend you go to Bob's site. Kettlebell training is is unlike ANY strength program that you will ever practice, and works simultaneously in developing incredible levels of balance, coordination, physical strength and flexibility.Me, I just like the kettlebells because they look so cool! LOL dont do this on your own! let trained professional like Bob show you how to do this RIGHT.
Speaking of RIGHT, thats exactly how I drew Bobs Caricature/LOGO check it out! Bob loved it so much that he made The SUBWAYSURFER a Commercial Testimonial! hows THAT for a satisfied customer? No need to be jealous of Bob, you TOO can get your OWN cartoon , caricature Avatar, Logo to put on your Blog, Ebook or whatever. All you need do is shoot me an email explaining exactly what you want and i will work out the details with you.
Im having a ball doing this digital Ipad drawing! and in all my excitement, I called to mind a true inspiration, and a pioneer of this whole digital cariacature movement, that may have been previously "unsung"
That person is Rhoda Grossman
Rhoda is one of if not THE "MOTHER" of the digital caricature movement, who had the foresight/insight to jump headlong into digital caricature at a time when most of her peers, myself included, were busy sharpening our pencils and buying paper. Rhoda is being "academic" on this vid for educational purposes obviously and doesn't come CLOSE to exhibiting her engaging humorous personal that makes her a joy to be around .
You don't just "meet" Rhoda, you ENCOUNTER her! Rhoda is a pint sized force of nature with a large personality that dwarfs the size of her physical frame.
I encounter her at my very first NCN Caricature Convention in Las Vegas. I was relatively new to the industry, v4ry green, and Rhoda, a respected professional in the industry, made me feel welcome and part of the group.
Even after all these years, I still tear up, recalling the words, she said to me, "you're home. You've finally connected with a group of people who are just as wacky as you are!" And it was true/ Sometimes as an artist in the "real world' "regular people" just dont "get you". Her words gave me a lot of encouragement that day and carried me throughout the week.
Many times she would "check on me" during the week long event, to see how I was doing, and was always encouraging, with both words and advice. She was the first person who advised me on how to draw in the Speed Competition, and although I didn't win, I made it the last heat of the finals.
Some of the best times I had that week was sharing lunch with her and her crew, where we talked for hours.
Rhoda was the first one I ever got a digital caricature from , and its one of my prized possessions. I marveled at the ease with she drew on this thing and more than once I was scratching my head, wondering how she was even doing this!
Whats even more remarkable about Rhoda is that she was doing this as an "older artist". Most of us "old folk" resist change, and like doing the same old things the same old way. Now, the rest of the world is catching up with HER!
All I've got to say to her is, "THANKS MOM!" you lit the match up under me, now stand back and watch me burn!!
That's right folks! It's OFFICIAL! I didnt want to talk about it until I actually had the physical item in my hands, but YES, your's truly, THE SUBWAYSURFER, thanks to the wonderful folks at authorSTREAM, is now a "member" of the "Steve Jobs Apple Club!"
I've wanted to be a member for YEARS!! Before I tell you MY story, which I KEEP retelling, let me tell you about authorSTREAM. If you like using powerpoint presentation software as much as I do, then you'll love their platform. the folks at authorSTREAM enable you to upload your presentations for your friends and clients to download,and share. There are conferencing features also that I haven't investigated, but best of all, their platform offers a way to load your presentation straight to youtube, faster than you can say...er... YOUTUBE! LOL! That was ultimately MY reason for signing up in the first place.
I use POWERPOINT extensively for my sequential art work and presentations. It's the first graphics program I learned how to use , so there was always this nostalgic value associated with it as well. I wanted to upload some of my presentations to the web but became increasingly frustrated not being able to find a program that would do it EASILY. I dont owe a CURRENT version of PPT which I guess would make this easier, so I was at a loss what to do...
Until I found authorSTREAM that took all the guesswork out of it.
I uploaded my "Father's Day Comic/presentation" to the site first, because it was completed, for one, and It was something I was very proud of. I drew/wrote the story for my own Father as a Father's day gift. I wanted to share with him a memory, rather than the usual "tie and card". Who would have ever guessed that presentation would touch the hearts of so many? Literally overnight, the presentation got close to a hundred views in less than a 24 hour period! and WON!!! For those of you who think GOD DOESN'T perform miracles today, all I can say is, You have your opinion.... I have my iPAD!
It warms my heart that people in other parts of the world are actually using the medium of COMICS to DO MORE than just make "funny pictures" "soft porn" or "autobiographical egotistical meanderings " as we do so often here in the states where we're either looking to "get paid" or get a photo op. People in Asia, Africa and parts of Europe are using this to make statements, call attention to social and political issues and to give grassroots people a voice to build community. As a political editorial artist myself I see the power in this and definitely want to be a part of it... heck, I AM a part of it already. I need to play a BIGGER PART.
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