Countdown to Big WoW Con Blog Series - Part I

Convention Banner, Lines n' Dymes

So this blog over the next 18 days will be my chronicling of the days leading up to Big WowCon in San Jose CA, on May 18,19 2013. I'm going to be showing some drawings and some behind the scenes stuff regarding my preparation, and hopefully some of you will be able to use some of what is in this blog series to help you prepare for a convention that you have to go to this year. This will be my third convention that I will attend, and I am really excited. Big WoW is slated to be one of the newest and biggest cons in California, and I wanted to make sure I jump on this bandwagon because when it goes live, I want to be able to say I was there. Nothing wrong with that, right!?

So anyway, to start off this post, I have a pic of my convention banner that I got for myself. Can you believe that this banner was only $80!? It was a great buy for my first convention banner. I know that I may be changing it soon considering that I will be going into pinups and illustration in the next few months, but this is great. Finally makes me feel really official as an artist.

Another thing that i will be debuting at the Big WoW Con is my newest sketchbook Lines & Dymes - Volume 1, which is a collection of lineart sketches, greytone, and full color pictures, and pinups of various female character artwork that I did. I lay it all out in here. The good and the bad. There is no sparing anything in here. Anyone that purchases this will see the growth and hopefully appreciate what is contained in it. There will be a limited run of this sketchbook of only 50 copies! After these are gone, that is IT!!! I'm doing the brown cover so that I can do a head sketch of a female character on the cover of the book. These books are 28 pgs. and will be sold for $20 a pop! So be sure to stop on over and grab one!

So this week I'm going to make sure I get to Kinkos and get these covers printed up and then following the next day, maybe get the pages redone, and printed up as well. I'm thinking of doing a video blog but we shall see. Anyway guys, that's what I got so far. Talk to you all tomorrow!

Talk to you later!

I'm going to be at Big Wow Con in San Jose!

Hey guys, just wanted to do an update on what's going on in my art world here. Just received an email, and I  was just approved to be in the Artist Alley in San Jose at the Big Wow Con at the San Jose Convention Center! The con happens on May 18-19th, and I can't be more excited!

This convention is like the little brother of WonderCon which abandoned the Bay Area to go to Los Angeles. But that's alright, because I can be here! I am going to have TONS of artwork available and taking commissions as well as promoting my webcomic, The Swaggernauts! Also there I will have my newest sketchbook and selling that as well. I may be giving away some goodies and things there as well to folks that really support me and what I am going to be doing there. I have a lot to look forward to, and am really excited to reconnect with some other artists that I met at WonderCon back in 2011. So it's gonna be a good time.

Come mid-April, I will be doing a commission list for those attending the convention that may be interested in getting a commission from me. Those commissions will be a limited number, and they will be available at the convention for pick up. I will be updating when we reach the official 30 day mark, and then counting down! I will be updating with more news and revealing things I will have at the convention. Until then guys, talk to you soon!

Ian Walker

New Swaggernauts, & Improvements

Hey everyone, it’s time for another week of artwork and of course, THE SWAGGERNAUTS! Be sure to go over and check out the new page that is up right now! Click the link below to check it out. You will also see a nice homage to something really cool this week as well. Hope you movie buffs pick up on it. 

Page 3 teaser of The Swaggernauts by Ian D.Walker
Live now at: http://www.theswaggernauts.com

I have been pretty inspired as of late to get my art going as well. Making money is really essential right now, and so the best way to do that is to show off more of my artwork, and do pics and get them sold.

I talked with a friend who saw my art sales site, and gave me some advice that I think I’m going to start following. Initially the work I had up there is for the collectors, and the ones able to shell out the cash to collect the artwork I draw. But I am finding that I do need to realize where we are in the economy and that original fan art is a luxury and not a necessity. But if I make it affordable, I will not have to feel like I’m making someone choose between feeding their kids or picking up my awesome Teen Titans Robin piece. So over the next few days, if you go to my site, you will notice subtle changes. I will be integrating the Facebook page with my blog site, making it easy to view my art work and easier to purchase it as well. Commission products will be available as well. So look for that really soon as well.

One thing I’m going to be making sure I do, is put up more of my sketches and artwork on a regular basis. I need to make sure I stay in you guys faces, and build up a presence! My first con will be in July, over in San Jose, and that gives me plenty of time to make sort of a name for myself, and become that professional that I know that I can become. You’re not going to see me take on lists of commissions on DA sites or any other site like that. I will just do everything through my blog here, the art store blog, or the Facebook page. I’m talkin streamlining it up!

Well with that said, I’m going to take off for now. I’m sure you guys all see my Instagram feed, so be sure to take the time to check out my pics, and follow my Instagram account. Make sure you follow @theswaggernauts as well. They need some love. They are on a strange planet after all. See you guys later!

Gettin mah DRAW on!!! Render Sketchbook Review

Here are a few sketches that I did last night in my new Render Marker Sketch book. This thing is amazing. It's the first ever sketchbook made specifically for marker work. This thing does NOT bleed through the paper and is incredible! I think that even with really heavy alcoholic base markers like Prismacolor, or Copic, you will do very well. I'm an avid Copic user and they held up pretty well. I did a few sketches in it so far and they are pretty cool.

 Wonder Woman

 The Black Dame

Spiderman

 Zion - T / K-Pop Artist

Leonard & Sheldon

What I like about the book too, is that the colors displayed when u draw are still really vibrant and nice looking. They don't blend into the page or dull at all. The book was only about $30 at my local art supply store, and I think it was well worth it. Any marker artists out there that do comics, grafitti artwork, or tattoo art, this is a sketchbook for you! Never have to worry about losing valuable sketching space in your books due to marker bleed! Out of 5, I give the Render Sketchbook a 5+! 

Hope you guys found this useful! Leave comments or questions below, and be sure to share this with friends and fellow artists! Talk to you later!

Super Bowl... The Day After.

So I'm gonna start off by saying first that I am NOT a Niners fan. I am a Dallas Cowboys fan. And with SuperBowl being a disappointment yesterday, I know that my life is in danger, and I must tread lightly at work today. I'm gonna man up though and face the fire and take it for the next 24 hours though. I'm surrounded by Niner fans at work, and I deal with customers who are also die hard fans. So I think it's gonna be a bit rough. We shall see. My real question though, is how many were on the bandwagon? I have always loved it when there are folks who rep one team, but when someone else is winning, they switch wagons and suddenly are die hard fans. But when they leave, they are nowhere to be found.

Though I know at work, there are folks that are die hard fans. No fakers there. It's going to be interesting to see how things will turn out regarding the fan base of the 49ers over the next year or so. I am curious to see how the bandwagon looks over time too. I'm thinking it will look like what is pictured below... Haha! Too soon?

Anyway, as you can tell this is not another commentary blog about the game and all of that. That stuff is all over the interwebs already and you are NOT gonna get another one of those here. Instead, just let me know what you are thinking right now if your heart moves you. Vent, take out frustration, whatever, u can do it here. I would love to hear your thought about last night, the halftime show, commercials, whatever! Love to know what you guys think! Talk to you later!

Ian Walker

Swaggernaut T-Shirts Available for Sale!

Hey guys, it's Ian Walker here. I just wanted to take some time to update more information here on the blog to let you all know about the line of t-shirts that I am coming out with in relation to my webcomic project The Swaggernauts.

Swaggernauts is an all ages book, but not all are too into comics. But no one is too old enough for fashion. I created a unique and simple line of t-shirts for Men, Women and Kids that is cool and fun. Also these will be able to spread the word about the comic as well. These t-shirts are not your cheap run of the mill 4.99 a shirt cheap copy shirt that will turn into a dust rag in 3 months. These are high quality t-shirts that can be worn for a variety of occasions. I look forward to getting these out to you guys and in your hands. There is a flat charge per t-shirt of $30 for adults, and $22 for kids large. Let me know what you think of this line.

To order your t-shirt, please click on the link The Swaggernauts Online Store to go to the storefront and get yours! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and let me know! Below are some shots of the t-shirts. Please enjoy!

The Swaggernauts Webcomic - February 1, 2013

Hey everyone, just wanted to send out an update about the Swaggernauts project. There is a lot of amazing progress going on right now, and I am proud to say that the webcomic is ready to go live, and we have a release date for the webcomic! The comic will be released on various websites to try and get it seen by as many people as possible. A special thanks to Dallas Hoisington who allowed me to have some space on his site to publish my webcomic. His stuff can be seen over at FreakAnimes.com.

Here take a look at a few pics of the process that I am doing for the comic book. The amazing work is being done by myself and my amazing colorist Steven Lisefski out in New Jersey. I can't wait to finish this incredible project with him. I'm having so much fun with this book and finally a huge accomplishment for me as a comic book artist as this is my very first official and full project.

I can't wait to see what you guys think of the comic and the first issue that you will see all online! Talk to you folks really soon!