Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (animated)

This year may be the best year to catch animated episodes or specials whatever they are calling it these days, but know this, DC is on a rampage this looks SICK!! (that's actually good for all of those who are not in the know how yet!) Between this movie, the Green Lantern animated movie and the Wonder Woman(Yea I'm a fan... Bring it!!) one that came out earlier this year DC is kickin some superbootay! Check it out and bask in the all the good things that are to come!

Hi, I'm a Marvel...and I'm a DC: Wolverine (Deadpool) and Watchmen

HAHAHAHA! I had to share this!

Work related stuff!

Hiya all! I will have some new pieces up from my own projects soon. For now here are some work related pieces that I've been working on. Some will be around the Chicagoland area very soon actually both in print and web. If you go to Univision.com in the next week or so you'll see a few banners I created for the site.  I also created a logo for a site called theBrideSociety.com along with a popular bag named the Honemoon Bag. I really suck at promoting myself so please excuse my very late announcements! Please go check them out including illinoislottery.com where the poster that I created for the promotion is highlighted! Mostly I'm keeping busy putting my services to good use. Oh Watchmen RAWWKED! Not quite a true rendition to the graphic novel but I really liked it! Wolverine on th.... know what I wont say anymore, I'll stick to what I know and that's to show you all pretty pictures, the kind that don't make your stomach turn and produce vomiting sensations after viewing them, the kind that don't make a grown man cry from the agony of seeing a potentially GREAT picture be turned into something far less gratifying and less enjoyable to behold... But I digress, on with the pretty pictures(or at least I hope you'll like them more than that gawwd awful download that I have not seen yet from Fox that got leaked a few days ago!) Enjoy!!!

Hey Y'all

How goes it people! How has the past month treated you? As for me I've been here bustin' chops and gettin' busy with work. I really suck at writing and making sense of all that's going on around us. Friends and families losing jobs, not getting jobs, jobs not being available the whole thing with our economy and how the "powers" that be still are trying to get away with murder... ahem Roland Burris yea I'm talking to you!! Anyhoo, since last I wrote alot has happened good and bad mostly good so I will stick to the positives. I've met a slew of great people that have truly been blessings. Many I've known for literally decades some I've just met this year! All in all one thing I've learned is always be thankful for your blessings and so here I am thanking them!

First off check out this site I've mentioned in here before it's http://www.pulpfantasy.com/ it's a great site that is getting up there with content. I've even been adding my two sense in there so go check it out! While in there please go into the comics secti

on there you can see and read the

 latest chapter in Bryan Kinnaird's Proclivity, the comic series that is a prelude to the upcoming film the Villikon chronicles. Go read more about it...

http://www.myspace.com/villikonchronicles

Straight from Chicago I got to work with a great producer and musician, House legend Ron Carroll. The man is a top of his game. Thanks to Paulina "Pashii" I got a chance to work on his

 logo for a new label that Ron is spearheading. Read up on my man Ron...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Carroll

This is the Final look for Ron's logo!

I did a similar task for fellow Chicagoan and Gospel Music Legend Percy Bady. He is truly a wonderful person and an amazing artist. I got to create Percy's logo last year and had

 an amazing experience while doing it.

 Check him out

 at http://www.gospelwithintegrity.com/index.php?main_page=artist_info&aID=296

This is Percy's logo for his company!

I also worked with a few others in the music industry. Keep an eye out for these labels I'm just glad I got to contribute to the cause! I'm a huge fan of all music... even Ranchera music but not too much... So every single endeavour I've taken on from last year onto this year has been a blessing!

This logo I created for a New York label called OvahGround Records!

This here logo is for Teethed On Records based here in Chicago! I'm getting a bit hungry!

 

This one is for StreetLight Eternal Entertainment. Also from Chicago, I'm telling you we have some awesome talent here in Chi-Town, keep an eye out for all these labels you might see them in an itunes store near you!

Last but not least I just want to encourage so many of us artists who are honestly in need of a break. As you can tell the businesses are out there waiting in need of our skills don't give up, keep a positive outlook it only helps you go through these times with a lot more ease. I hope to see more of you all later, either here or in one of these many links I've provided! I hope you all have a great week! WATCHMEN... Friday! Can't wait!!!!!!!

TABLE CON is here... no over here! "yooo hoo!"

Woa this Con is sooo darn exclusive I just found out I was in it! Thanks to my good friend and brotha' from anotha' fatha' TMalo aka Toné or as i like to call him, sugaplum! This here Con is taking place in the very part of the city I like to visit most, the northside. Now Parking is going to be a pain in the Bhind but it will be worth the while, since LaMorris will be there, lemesee... Doc will be attending... Art Balt will be there too, cooool!!! hmm... Ohh Nino and Lil' Nino will be there as well... finally more Peruvians!!! Woo Hoo! I miss my peoples... sniff! Well hey I think it will be a blast! I secretly "borrowed" Tony's JPG from his blog that carries all the info about this here MEGA TABLE CON, up in the northside of Chicago. It'll be from 11am to 7pm non stop! It's this Saturday the 31st at 3rd Coast Comics which is located at... wait a minute click on the freakin' Title Link above already... what the crap... I gotta sharpen my pencils so, I'll see you there!

HAPPY belated EVERYTHING!!

SO Christmas is gone, We are in 2009 now, wow where has the time gone and now we have a new President...Mr. Prez Obama... Big O!!! It's a hopeful time in America or at least in my eyes. In these times where a cloud of doubt and uncertainty glooms over our nation I look on the bright spots that still linger in our midsts. I'll admit it, I have a huge trust in GOD, and I don't let times such as these waiver my belief that you must first go down a valley before you reach a summit. Well I know not everyone will be in a happy or great mood now a days, one thing I do to bring me back to that happy state of mind is draw. It helps me focus on a totally different subject each time. Yet in every instance I get a very unique pleasure from the art I produce. Having said that, I've been doing a lot of art this past 2 months and I have a couple of links i'd like to share with you. Both are for the VILLIKON CHRONICLES a project I've been working on since last year. It was a great project and I got to meet a bunch of very talented folks while doing it. I hope that you enjoy it as well. Copy and paste each URL to your browser (Until I figure out how to make them into links!! Grrrr!). The first link is to the 2nd Volume in the series.

http://www.pulpfantasy.org/Villikon/villiconchronicl.html

The second is to an article about yours truly and a bit of the inside process as to how I work.

http://www.pulpfantasy.org/Villikon/atthehelm.html

Both links are to this cool site called Pulp Fantasy. Really great site I'd recommend to any artist, writer, director who wants to see their properties put out unto the web in a very professional manner. Well that's it for now. I'm getting better at posting at least it hasn't been months since my last post, LOL! More to come!

Villikon Chronicles Proclivity Web Comic

Hi all, The web comic Villikon Chronicles Proclivity the prelude to the movie Villikon Chronicles GENESIS OF EVIL is out on the web now, so go check it out!!

http://www.pulpfantasy.org/#

Please support this production by visiting Pulp Fantasy every month until June and catch more on the ever evolving world of The Villikron Chronicles. I'll have more up in a few!

'VILLIKON CHRONICLES: PROCLIVITY' Mini-Graphic Series

Thanks Bryan!! I got involved with VILLIKON CHRONICLES: PROCLIVITY, by chance trying to help out and hopefully be part of something BIG and sure enough I did! I really am enjoying drawing up the comic book Prequel to the movie and hopefully have more work from Bryan down the line. So far it's been a thrilling experience. I'll keep all of you posted. More Vids and art coming soon. In the meantime check out www.myspace.com/villikonchronicles
for more info and sneak peeks of this awesome flick coming next year!

Woa it's been a sec!

Jeeez, well if there is still anyone out there reading this blog, I'm still alive, just BUSY as a Mo'Fo' hence why I am posting like a year later, lol. As many of you know I have a day job as an Art Director and I also Freelance for a living. Not only that but I'm a full time Daddy and Husband, so yea I have little time next to no time to post. Fortunately I've found a light at the end of this here tunnel and I can update this here Blog before I go back to being a hermit! Here are a few samples of some work that has kept me busy most of the summer...

This here was a campaign for the good folks at MHOA. I enjoy coming up with ideas that I can see through to it's final creation, this here was one of those projects. It was a lot of work but it payed off, maybe you might of seen these up a local McD or you happen to attend one of these events, regardless it was fun and I hope to do it again next year. Anyone have a lowrider they can sell me?

Here's another poster that got to see the light of day. It's for a back to school promotion. 

This one is for the Newberry Library exibit of very old children books. I was hoping to create a poster for them but it didn't happen... sigh!

Here's a small intro animation I created for a presentation we did for the Shedd Aquarium.

Here's another Intro i did for the Chicago Historical Museum. No sound or resized pics but you'll get the jist!

I'll post a few TV spots I created along with the fine folks at MasCommunications!

MOB RULE 2 @ WizardWorld Chicago!!!!!

Jeeeez! this piece looks amazing!! It was created by Dan"The Man" Dougherty. It serves the purpose of promoting our second annual meet at WizardCon here in Chicago. This venture has been spearheaded by our very own Master Of Minds aka M.O.M who also goes by his secret code name: Rafael Nieves. It's one of the few events that we get to come together and it's grown since last year so who knows how big it'll get next year!? Come and be part of this grassroots event, phenomenon, EXTRAveganza!!!

Stormrider - Clash of Evils

WOA NELLY! I love this series I got introduced to the world of Wind and Cloud about 10 years ago. The movie Stormriders was and still is a favorite of mine. Come to find out a sequel is being made Stormwarriors in 09, Awesome! Today I found out an animation based as a sequel to the '98 movie is in production to be released this year (I hope!) here's a trailer to that anime by asiaanimation.net

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyPVXpdLSCA&NR=1

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a total geek for this, seriously! The animation looks amazing and very close to the comic. Now I collected as many issues as I could but since I lack the Chinese reading portion that is needed to understand these comics i don't really know who and what some of the stories are about. I try to follow them as much as possible and I tell you the truth they blow me away. Well from the little Manhua I read I have to say this is truly a joyous event and I am really looking forward to seeing these characters come to life in a animated format. Here's a link to the homesite,

http://www.asiaanimation.net/en/movie_storm_a.html

Catch you all later!

My Greatest Creations and my Stunning Sidekick!!

I thought I'd share a blast from my past! these were taken about few years ago of my daughter Bijan MaiLei and of my son Aiden Cruz, I still get a kick out of their imagination and laughter, you'll see why! Hope you get a kick out of them as well. I have to capture my wife Jackie on film one day! She's hard to get on camera, but I vow to get her on this here blog soon enough. She's the main reason why I'm still sane and the greatest LOVE of my life! One day honey ONE DAY! 'Til then here's a couple of pics of this Stunning Vixen along with two of my greatest creations, Bijan and Aiden, I love you both more than you'll ever know! Enjoy.

Dragon Princess 2.0

Hi again! As many of you know the Wizard Con Chicago will be here in just a short time, June 26th - 29th! So I am preparing a few pieces that I will be selling and showcasing in the upcoming Con. This is one of them, The Dragon Princess. I'm hoping that the prints will be a big hit, One of my favorite pin up artists is Jim Silke, and like him I tried to bring the sexiness and fun into my pin ups. Don't know if i did a good job? you be the judge. I'm still in process mode as far as compiling my ideas for other projects so please PLEASE! write in and let me know if you like this piece, otherwise I'm just calling this whole thing off and becoming a librarian! Gracias all!

What I've been up to these past months!

Here's a few things I've been busy creating at home and work. I've been busy preparing for the June Wizard Con here in Chicago. The first piece here is Kalypso the Greek Goddess from the Homer tale. She'll be one of the prints that I'll be selling at the con.

Next it's a pin up I did for a buddy Ash Jackson, of Eve: Vampire Diva for his pin up book he will be selling at the Philly Con later this month, May 30th thru June 1st to be exact.


Next I did this cover (I gotta color it too so this is the before shot) for my friend LaMorris Richmond up at BLAM comics. He's going to be putting out a graphic novel and I'll be providing the cover, logo and some older pin ups I did for JBD. The novel will feature art by the Great Seitu Haydon of "Tales of The Heart" fame.


Here's some poster art I did for McD that will be gracing the Orange lines this summer. If any of you ride the "L" and take the orange line, look up and you'll notice these posters on the roof of each rail car. Let me know if you see any of them on your way to or from work!


Lastly here are some more pieces I've worked on. 'Til next time true believers.

Thanks Ollie, for making illusions come to life!!

Yesterday a "Great" passed, Ollie Johnston went on to join the rest of the 9 in animation lore. He along with eight others were the original animators that brought us classics such as "Snow White", "Fantasia", "Cinderella", "Lady and the Tramp", "Alice in Wonderland", and "Sleeping Beauty". Although he was a pioneer in animation he was best known for his long friendship with Frank Thomas who passed four years ago. They have a magnificent book titled The Illusion of Life, a must have for any artist. He was also "animated" in a few animated films, 2 by Brad Bird, "The Iron Giant" and "The Incredibles". He was a kid at heart and at 95 was still enjoying life. Hope we in the art profession remember those who came before us and learn about the great accomplishments they have given to our craft. Thanks Ollie, you'll be missed!


Frank and Ollie in "The Incredibles"


Ollie in "Iron Giant"

Some more, old and new sketches

The title says it all, Oh the scanner is working again now so expect more posts in the future! I've been good so far, or at least a whole lot better then last year!

Some old sketches and some new ones!

Here's a few sketches from my not so distant past, some of these are just a few years old and some a couple of weeks. Stuff i do in my spare time at work, LOL! Well hit me up my scanner at work is going caca so i might have to get a new one, I hope you enjoy these. You know there's so many projects I have not finished especially with my dear friend Raf Nieves I feel ashamed. Hope this will inspire some of you to continue on with current projects, don't let up, I learned from my mistakes so don't let it happen to you. Well, keep on keeping on and let me know your thoughts!

Woa I forgot I had this!

Back in December I did a couple of pieces for a very talented director, Bryan Kinnaird for his movie The Vilkron Chronicles. I had one of the pieces up before but I never posted this piece. It's of Mystere and it's a non action pose. I just wanted to create her looking hot and ready for action. The character in the movie is played by Cara Fawn, great fit for Mystere and it seems the cast is full of great actors from all over. I'm exited about the project, and even though it's a small contribution I'm proud to be part of it. Well as always let me know your thoughts and I hope to putting some more pieces in the not so distant future!

Messing around with 3D again

Hiya all again! I started playing around with 3D again it's been a sec but I still know how to get around the interface. Now I did this as a part of a pitch for the Chicago Fire, a soccer team here in Chicago, that Hernandez & Garcia has been working on, so far it looks promising. This took me a day to create and a day to render, I'm rusty so give me a break. Regardless it was fun and I really liked playing around with 3D again, it's been too long. I'm actually doing a few projects in 3d and I'll be posting a few as they get approved to be shown. For now let me know what you think of my 2 second end animation that I came up with.

Dave Stevens, Thank you!

On a sadder note another ICON has passed, One which I held in high regard and got a chance to meet in person and who I admired. Dave Stevens passed from a long battle with cancer. Read about it here http://www.aintitcool.com/node/35965


I really loved this man's work and even now I like catching The Rocketeer movie, cheesy as it might of been, it still rocked, no pun intended. Thanks Dave for everything!