Works From Another Time

I recently reopened an old hard drive containing files and scans from a long time ago, all while looking for some pieces I will be posting here some time soon. These three ladies date from back in (in the order posted here):1995, 1987 and 2003 (this last one, "The Venetian Lady", is only a fine tuned guess since it is not dated, but I'm pretty sure it has to be from that time). The black and white piece (pencil on paper)was a character study for a graphic novel project that never became a reality, the "Lady in the Forest" was a one Saturday job (ink, watercolor and gouache on watercolor paper), I put around 13 hours in it I remember, the size of the original is quite big (100X70 cms). The last one (photoshop) is a portfolio piece.

Medieval Mallorca

It was time for a visit back home already, way due. Anyhow, in the next posts I'll be showing some of the shots I recently took while there with a few notes. I'll say I was very impressed by the city of Palma after so many years. I am not biassed when I say it looked so beautiful (am I? :)), with an old town which contains architecture spanning from medieval to the baroque period, courtyards that remind you of the italian influence in so many of them, and the Mediterranean sea right there with its bright, blue, clear light. I had a great time. Everything in the place includes lots and lots of walking, which means you actually get to see, hear and feel the City and its people all around you, with buildings going back to the 13th, 14th centuries and so on, a great visualization of how the city and its people have evolved through the times, almost like seeing the rings of a tree which trunk has just been cut off. Well, here are some pictures I took of the Cathedral, a catalan gothic style building which I deeply love, svelte and elegant with a spectacular proportion between the width and the hight of its pillars given its narrowness. I still remember when, the fact that it was originally built on a spot that would allow it to be reflected on the Mediterranean, was recuperated in the seventies with the creation of the 'Parc de la Mar' bringing back the ocean right at the foot of Palma's old defensive wall. A fantastic cathedral that plays with the light of the Island in a unique way twice a year as this interesting video shows. Finally, the first shot I posted today is a skyline of the old city with a reference to the monuments and churches I could identify (hopefully they are all accurate!), but then again I'm missing a few ones, anyone can help me with the remaining names...?

The Old Days Of 'El Pacifico' (and 3)

The Old Days Of 'El Pacifico' (2)

The Old Days Of 'El Pacifico' (1)

Down memory lane today. It was back in the Sony days when I met Marcelo Vignali and Armand Serrano. ...After a museum visit that included some Milton Caniff originals the three of us decided to start an ongoing, improvised graphic novel online that we would call El Pacifico. That was long time ago, and these are some of the sketches, drawings and pages I produced for the series.

San Diego ComiCon 2012

Another exciting san Diego Comicon weekend! Here are some pictures from last Saturday during the official presentation of "Trail of Steel". Thanks to everyone attending the event, it was great sharing time with you guys and thanks to Scott, Tinti and everyone at Design Studio Press for providing such a great environment for all of us! Here come as well a few more panels from the book.

Two drawings

Two black and white drawings I did for a friend of mine's blog (in which he is coming up with a very intriguing story)

Mentorship Program

Hi everyone, I recently got into an art Mentorship Program called Motivarti. /...Their Mission Statement: "At Motivarti, we believe that luck doesn’t necessarily happen to people who are lucky—it happens to people who are prepared when opportunities arise. That’s why we’ve created an organization dedicated to providing resources, networking, and inspiration for self-motivated people who create art related to the entertainment industry. Whether you’re a working professional, recent graduate, or current student, you’ll find that our lectures, classes, workshops, and services will broaden your creative horizons. We look forward to connecting you with the knowledge and mentors that will prepare you to make your own luck."/ ...In a nutshell the program is taking applications for every mentor involved, out of which one is picked as the ideal match fro the sessions. These are based on a one on one basis for ten weeks - one hour a week. In my case I will be teaching lighting and composition for visual storytellers and the sessions format will be previously discussed with the mentee (could be through Skype, personally, mixed, etc...) The application dates are from June 25th to July 20th 2012, and will be aiming at the Fall Program (September 2 - November 10 2012). Link to my page.

See you Saturday 14th in San Diego!

So I just got the first prints of the books fresh from the oven!, "Trail Of Steel" in both hard and soft covers, and also the reprint of "Framed Ink". I'll say the guys at Design Studio Press really do take care of their products, I couldn't be happier about the results. ...So that's it! the three formats will be available at San Diego Comicon this year, and I will be there on Saturday the 14th between 1:00 and 2:00pm at DSP's booth #1701 to talk and enjoy Comicon with you guys! / / / Before that, also the same Saturday 14th between 11:30am and 12:30pm, I will be having a demo at LAAFA's booth #5567, where I can also see you guys and spend some time sketching. ...All the best in the meantime and happy summer everyone!

New "Trail Of Steel" panels, and delivery update

Delivering a book certainly has a lot to do with landing a plane. All hands are now on the controls looking down on the approaching runway, and working the right switches to make sure all goes soft and smooth. Here is the update we just got from the control tower, as I can already "count the windows in every house, and see the cars on the freeway from my plane window". The presentation of both the reprint of 'Framed Ink' and "Trail Of Steel:1441 A.D." will be done at the San Diego ComiCon (that's this coming July 12-15), and between there and the end of the month of July all books will be already available through Amazon and stores. Thank you everyone for following up on this ride, we are certainly approaching for landing and we have the best crew at Design Studio Press making sure all is safe and well! In the meantime I wanted to post new images from "Trail Of Steel" so here comes a double page spread with most of the main characters staring at a gate that, once open, there will be no going back... and a panel (and a half) that belong to a night pre-action scene in a fortress in the middle of nowhere, as something seems to be lurking outside the walls. More art details from the book to come in the next weeks!

'Condottiero Martin' Designs

Here are a few, out of many more, design ideas I eventually developed for Condottiero Martin's character ("Trail Of Steel"), out of which the final one came out. It's been crazy hectic lately (hence the lack of post updates) but very exciting as we are getting closer to the release date, on which I'll be able to be more specific soon. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying a beautiful spring time!

Panels from "1441 A.D."

Two panels from the book, a view of a location that will play a crucial role in the story, and a group of mercenaries marching into the night, on their way to defend a position where a bloody fight will take place. More excerpts to come soon.

"TRAIL OF STEEL -1441 A.D.", Graphic Novel

"It is winter of 1441 in Spain and Condottiero Martin, together with his son Sancho and a group of mercenaries, gets offered a job ... a mission that will change the course of their lives forever"

I'm very pleased to let you all know that my new graphic novel will be coming out soon, from Design Studio Press, and simultaneously with the reprint of 'Framed Ink'. Here is the cover, turned into a sort of poster for the occasion!
128 action, story and artwork packed pages of which I'll be talking a bit more in the next weeks...