MATT DYE COMICS

Beards n' Stuff

2012-02-14T21:16:00.000-08:00

Last spring I created a storyboard for the senior 3D animation class at MSU. It was a story about a beardly man who has to shave his beard to look presentable at a job interview. (If you don't know what I'm talking about you can view the storyboard in an earlier post on this blog!) Well that animation has since been finished and I think it turned out great! My only gripe is that I wasn't credited for the story :/ Oh well! Check it out here:

Nine to Five O'Clock Shadow

Gates Tees

2012-02-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

It dawned on me while I was working on the new Gates shirt that I never posted the last one I designed! So here it is!

I snagged these nice photos from their website (http://gatesnj.com). They also include some of the sweet split fountain postcards I had printed for them as a bonus at work.

Check it out! I'll have a new shirt design to post in a couple weeks!

-Matt

Leopold's!

2011-12-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

Nathan and the Land of Robots and The Messenger are now available at Leopold's Books in Detroit! If you haven't been to Leopold's before you should definitely check it out. Its a sweet little book shop with a nice selection of interesting books. Plus Greg and Sarah, the owners, are really awesome people. I like that the shop is not too overwhelming so its easy to stumble on a little gem that you'll want to read. Like this book I picked up there earlier today!

I immediately recognized the art from the "Igloo Head and Tree Head" comics I enjoyed so thoroughly when I read them in the Flight Anthology. This guy's illustration style is so fun and his sense of humor is spot on. Check him out, if you haven't already!

Table w/ Jeremy Wilson

2011-11-10T17:22:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I recently attended the Saginaw Art Market and I once again got to share a table with Jeremy Wilson. Needless to say I had a great time and I thought I would share a picture of the amazing table Jeremy built to showcase his Block Bots. Its pretty eye-catching and he even made some little shelves to hold my comic books. Sweet!

I just got myself one of those rad little Santa Bots to help decorate the apartment for the holidays. I recommend you do the same! ;)

-Matt

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

I spent a few hours today making this illustration of a haunted house for a client of mine and I thought it would be fitting to post it; considering its almost Halloween!

Click here to see an animated gif showing the different steps I took to create this piece. Starting with a B&W line drawing, then moving to flat colors on the computer, followed by some shading, and lastly a bit of texture to finish it up.

I hope you enjoy that little glimpse into my working process! Have a fun and safe Halloween everyone!

-Matt

Metal Heart

2011-09-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

I drew this robot heart slowly in random bits of free time I got at work and I thought it was worth posting. My co-worker Sean Hickey is going to take this drawing and add his own elements and we plan on turning it into a screen printed poster eventually. Should be cool!

-Matt

People's Art Festival

2011-08-26T22:52:00.000-07:00

Hey!

I wanted to let everyone know that this weekend I will be at the People's Art Festival at the Russel Industrial Center in Detroit. The Festival is from 11am-midnight on Saturday and 11am-6pm on Sunday.

I will be sharing a table with my friend Jeremy Wilson, who will be selling his awesome toy robots called Block Bots. You can see a little more about them here. Jeremy also hand built us an incredible table to sell our goods on so be sure to check that out too!

Some of the NEW items I will have for sale this weekend will be: New copies of "Nathan and the Land of Robots", my brand new 24 hour comic "The Messenger", and some new buttons!

I hope to see you there!

-Matt

New Covers!

2011-08-19T21:05:00.001-07:00

Hey!

Earlier tonight, my co-worker from VGKids, Mario Martinez did me a HUGE favor and helped me print my new comic book covers after work. We had a few drinks and a good time knocking these things out. They turned out awesome! Mario did a killer job printing them and I got to run the press for a bit too! Its so nice to be able to work at such an awesome facility with great people who are willing to help me out.

I included some preview pictures of how they turned out. Sorry that they aren't very good pictures! They don't do the covers justice. The cover for The Messenger is metallic gold ink and the new Nathan covers are metallic silver and blue/green. They look really sweet in person!

With a little energon and a lot of luck I will have both of these books available for sale at the People's Art Fair in Detroit next weekend (8/27)!

I will post more on that soon!

-Matt

Nathan 1st Edition: Low Stock!

2011-08-11T21:46:00.001-07:00

Hey!

I wanted to let everyone know that the 1st Edition, hand printed, copies of Nathan and the Land of Robots are almost sold out! If you want to get your hands on one you can place your order now and get them before they're gone!

If you don't get one of the hand printed copies but you still want to read the book, don't worry! By the end of this month the new 2nd Edition will be available! I will release more details about that soon, along with info on other projects!

-Matt

3D MERX gets animated

2011-05-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

3D MERX from Matt Dye on Vimeo.

Hey,
You may remember last spring I posted an image of a 3D model of MERX from Nathan and the Land of Robots. Well, this last semester I took a 3D animation class and decided to take that model to the next level. I rigged it for animation, created a setting and lighting and made a little animation to demonstrate the model a bit.
Anyone who has read Nathan and the Land of Robots may recognize this scene. Its a brief segment where MERX is in the Robot Forest and he hears the crab-like Scrapper robots scuttling around him before they jump out and startle him.
I realize this animation is only 4 seconds long, but I will borrow one of my classmate's words and say, "This was the longest 4 seconds of my life". It really makes it apparent why 3D animation teams consist of hundreds and hundreds of employees with one specific piece of the project to work on. But this was a fun project that let me stretch my legs in all of the disciplines of 3D animation.

Hope you enjoy!

-Matt

Shadow Art Fair Poster

2011-05-04T20:29:00.001-07:00

Hey!

I submitted a poster to the Shadow Art Fair poster contest today and I thought I would share it on my blog. I'm excited about how it turned out. The winner of the contest is chosen by June 1st, so we'll see how it goes! Shadow Art Fair has a history of awesome poster designs, all printed by VGKids. Check it out here.

-Matt

New website!

2011-04-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

Hey there,

Just wanted to let everyone know that I have a new website to check out.

www.mattdyedesign.com

This is my new portfolio website! Please check it out to see some of the work I have been creating. I am also planning on redesigning this website soon to give all of my sites a similar identity. So keep checking back for updates!

Also, you may recall the book cover I designed for "Three Billy Goats Gruff" that I posted a while ago. Well I recently revisited that project and drew up the back cover and spine design. You can see how it turned out on my new website here.

The physical copy of the book cover will be available for you to check out at the upcoming BFA Graphic Design exhibition. I will post more details about that soon!

-Matt

Cool News!

2011-04-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

You know that storyboard that I posted recently? (scroll down a bit if you don't)
It was selected by my 3D Computer Animation Professor to be used by TC447 (the upper level animation class) as their project for next semester! That means that my story about a guy shaving his beard for a job interview is going to be turned into a real 3D animated movie! I am super excited and honored that my story was chosen from all of the hilarious stories my classmates pitched.
Unfortunately, since I am graduating I will not be around to help work on this project any further. I would love to be the art director for that video if I could but I definitely trust it in the hands of my younger classmates. I just can't wait to see it finished!

Storyboard

2011-03-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

I recently drew this story board for my 3D Computer Animation class. We were supposed to pitch story ideas for the upper level animation class to work on next semester. Since I am graduating, even if my idea was used I wouldn't be able to work on it but I wanted to pitch a fun story anyways.
My friend Kevin Folk and I were talking about facial hair in relation to job interviews and we thought this would be a funny idea. After I pitched it in class my teacher thought another good ending would be if he walked out of the interview and there were a row of portraits off all the company's great leaders on the wall and they were all bearded. I kind of like that ending a lot.

Note: For the talking in this I was imagining it being like mumbling or incoherent noises. I didn't think speech would be necessary.

Later,

-Matt

The White Whale

2011-03-03T11:44:00.000-08:00

So I sketched up this whale robot on my plane ride home from NY this fall and I got inspired after studying for way too long last night and thought I would try to color it. I threw everything out the window for this one, as far as flatting and all that jazz. It was nice to just get out the tablet and doodle.

Gates

2011-01-26T18:16:00.001-08:00

Hello again!

I just wanted to make another post today to promote a project that I recently had the privilege of being a small part of. My brother, Kevin, is in a band called Gates that just released their first EP and I can't say enough about how awesome it turned out. I got to illustrate the trees that you see on the album art pictured above (which looks awesome screen printed on the CD packaging). The EP is FREE and can be downloaded here, or you can purchase one of those hand screen printed hard copies for only $5!
The music is beautiful and the effort these guys put into creating this EP is something I can truly respect. This band is worth checking out for anyone who enjoys good music, and the hard copy is worth buying for anyone who loves hand-made, screen printed goodies as much as I do!

-Matt

P.S. I also got to create a T Shirt design for Gates, so be on the look out for that!

Ink Preview

2011-01-26T11:22:00.000-08:00

Hey!

Here is a photo I snapped really quick of a finished page from Nimbus Vol. 1! The progress on this book has taken "slow and steady wins the race" to the next level, and I am sorry for that. But it has been very tough to find time to work on it. Hope you enjoy the sneak peak of how its turning out!
I got a bit of extra time today since my class got canceled so I'm going to take this opportunity to work on the cover art for my 24 hour comic, The Messenger.

Hopefully I will be posting pictures of that soon!

-Matt

Fun

2011-01-11T19:39:00.000-08:00

I just stumbled upon this while searching my computer for a lost design file and I thought it would be fun to post here. I sketched this comic during a long car ride from Florida to Michigan with some inspirational help from my girlfriend's nephew, Jonah (who I'm pretty sure is on his way to becoming a sweet artist). I didn't realize I ever scanned this comic, but apparently I did! So here you go! I will call this masterpiece; Transformers: The Rise and Fall of Soccicon (Michael Bay adaptation coming soon)

Sketch Time!

2010-11-09T18:34:00.000-08:00

Hello!

It has been too long since I have posted an update here! I apologize! This semester is the busiest I have ever had, and unfortunately my comics have been pushed to the wayside.

BUT! This past weekend I made a trip out to NYC to visit my brother and I took advantage of the time in the airport/plane to do some sketching. These are quite literally the only drawings I have done for the sake of drawing in recent memory. So I thought I would share them!

I pretty much love drawing intricate robots. I just let my mind wander as I spend time drawing all the little parts, imagining how it was built and how it works. Creating a back story in my mind. I also love sketching with regular ol' Bic Pens. Something about the simplicity and the ability to get such variation in shade just makes them ideal for doodles. I also love just winging it without any planning or pencils; just creating a mental image and going straight to the pen. Part of me wants to experiment with creating a whole comic like this some day. We shall see...

In any case, I thought I would give a little update on the process of book making for me at the moment.

I plan on finishing Nimbus as soon as possible. It is still in the process of being inked and, as I mentioned before, I can't find ANY free time to work on it. But hopefully with Holiday breaks coming up I can knock it out. I really need to have it done for SPACE this year (which I am exhibiting at again!). I have also purchased some paper to screen print some more covers. I need to screen print the covers for Nimbus 2 and 3 at MSU before I graduate in May so that my book covers will look consistent.

I also have paper that I will use to print the cover for my recent 24 hour comic, The Messenger. I also hope to have these available at SPACE.

So thats that. I will let you know if I make any more progress and try to give you more to look at on this blog. Thanks for reading this lengthy post (if you got this far!) and thanks for bearing with me through this comic dry spell.

Later,

-Matt

PS - There are still more motion pieces being posted to my time and motion blog if you want to check them out!

Time and Motion Design

2010-09-14T13:45:00.001-07:00

Hello!

Sorry it has been quite a while since I have updated this blog. Now that school has started again and I have quite a full semester I haven't had much time to update. But I thought I would mention that I have another blog I am keeping for my Time and Motion design class. So I will be updating that frequently with fun stuff like storyboards and animations and things like that. So if you're looking for some blog updates you might want to head to mdyetimeandmotion.blogspot.com!

-Matt

National Fantasy Fan

2010-08-13T15:14:00.001-07:00

Hey,

I just thought I would let everyone know that I had the honor of drawing the cover art for the June 2010 issue of an awesome sci-fi fanzine called The National Fantasy Fan and now you can check it out online at efanzines.com and issuu.com!

Take care!

-Matt

Nathan Available Online!

2010-08-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I have added a small online store to my blog, so you can now purchase Nathan and the Land of Robots online through paypal! I will add future comic releases to the store as they become available.

Stay tuned for more!

-Matt

The Messenger Preview

2010-07-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hey there,

I finally managed to scan a couple pages of my new 24 Hour Comic, The Messenger. I would have liked to scan more but on my small scanner I had to scan each page in pieces and put them together in photoshop so it was time consuming. So I hope you enjoy these previews! I'm looking forward to making this comic into book format.

I've got more new stuff to post so stay tuned!

-Matt

24 HOURS LATER

2010-07-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry its been so long since I have posted!

This past Saturday I participated in a 24 hour comic day with a bunch of my fellow comic artists. It was my first 24 hour comic day and it was EXTREME! I did not realize how difficult it really is to draw for 24 hours straight. So with a new sense of respect for all who have completed the 24 hour comic challenge I will be releasing a new 24 page comic titled The Messenger. It is about a bike messenger who has a rough night after he catches some thugs in the act of stealing his bicycle. I'm really excited about it and hopefully it won't be too long before I am able to get it printed.

Next time I return to school I will be able to use the big flatbed scanners to post some previews on my blog.

I have also just received my copy of the June issue of The National Fantasy Fan, which I had the privilege of drawing the cover art for. So hopefully I will be able to post an image of that soon as well!

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

-Matt

Sketches

2010-06-24T11:32:00.000-07:00

Hey,

Just thought I would post some recent drawings from my sketchbook, enjoy!

Multi Artist Comic!

2010-06-19T08:20:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I worked on a comic with a bunch of the artists at Kids Read Comics recently and I wanted to scan it and post it so everyone could see how funny it turned out. Each artist drew one panel and handed it off to the next artist. I started with the large establishing shot of the lonely fox in the big city and then started passing it. Unfortunately I lost track of where this comic went and I'm not sure exactly who drew each panel. Although I do know some of the artists; I think in fairness I will leave them all anonymous rather than leave some people out. If you want to post a comment and take credit for your panel, feel free! Everyone did a really great job on these panels, this comic cracks me up.

'Till next time

-Matt

KRC

2010-06-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

Hey,

I had an awesome time at Kids Read Comics this past weekend. It was great to see some friends and make some new ones. I've got lots of pictures I want to post after I scan them, including some sketches I did at the convention and a 2 page comic I collaborated on with a bunch of other artists at the convention including Chris Houghton, Joe Foo, Mike Roll, David Petersen and more!

So stayed tuned for those later in the week!

-Matt

This Weekend

2010-06-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

Hey!

This weekend, June 12 and 13th I will be exhibiting and Kids Read Comics in Dearborn, Michigian. It will be held at the Henry Ford Centennial Library and will start at 10am both days. I will have Nathan and the Land of Robots comics and posters, as well as free MERX mini comics. I will also have the original artwork from Nathan and the Land of Robots on display. I hope to see you there!

-Matt

Post!

2010-05-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Sorry I have been slacking on blog posts lately..And on comic making in general. I hate making excuses but I am currently wrapping up a job doing about 300 color illustrations for Michigan State University's Psychology Department and I just started a summer internship at VG Kids in Ypsilanti. I'm really excited about the internship cause VG Kids is an awesome business full of great people and if you ever need anything screen printed you should absolutely go to them! (VG Kids' Website).

In any case, I figured I would scan some old Nimbus character sketches and an old draft of the Nimbus itself so you had something to look at while I get my act together.

Till next time!

-Matt

I'm Back!

2010-05-20T07:10:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Sorry that is has been so long since I have updated my blog, but I have finally returned from my trip to New Orleans! I had an awesome time and now that I'm back I'm excited to have more time for comics. I finally don't have all that school work to get in the way of my comic productivity: just a couple summer jobs. So I will be posting updates as I progress with the inking of Nimbus and hopefully posting some artsy side projects I may be working on over the summer!

Stay tuned!

-Matt

3D MERX and an Epic Journey

2010-05-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

Hey,

It is the beginning of finals week here at MSU, which means I've got lots of work to do. The good news is, not all of the work is lame!
I have been taking a 3D modeling course (using Maya, for those who may be interested) and my final project was to create anything I wanted! So I decided to see if I could make a 3D version of MERX from Nathan and the Land of Robots. So I have included a picture of how it is turning out so far.

After finals are over, Brenda and I will be heading out on the most epic road trip I have ever embarked on. We will be leaving from Michigan, heading to New York for a few days, and then we will be heading all the way down to New Orleans before returning to Michigan. So, if I am able to access the internet along the way I will attempt to continue updating my blog. But if my posts aren't exactly on Mondays its probably because I'm driving somewhere across the country!
Along the way I hope to find some time to continue chipping away at the inking of Nimbus Part I and scripting Part II!

Hopefully the next couple posts will include some fun stories from the road!

Till next time

-Matt

Return from SPACE

2010-04-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, SPACE (Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo) was last weekend and me and a bunch of my friends made the trip to Ohio to exhibit. I had a really great time and met a ton of awesome people and bought a ton of awesome comics!

It was a ton of fun hanging out with my table mates Austin Hendry and Grace Cichy while struggling to find the pool and repeatedly bumping into Guy Davis (who was extremely friendly and supportive of our little table. If you somehow don't know who he is check him out!). I want to thank my girlfriend, Brenda Shea, for coming with us, making us laugh, taking pictures and helping me with behind the table duties. Also, for providing foodstuffs to our table when we all started to zombify! And I definitely want to give a shout out to my teacher/friend/table neighbor Ryan Claytor. Its always fun hanging out with him and he did a really good job of helping and promoting his former students (as he always does). Speaking of his former students, it was good to see Ryan from Double Clicked Comics, as well as Amber Scharf, Beth Sparks, Diana Busby, and Leslie Anderson.

So there you have it, SPACE was rad and I would love to attend it again next year. It also inspired me to get back into Nimbus and I have already started inking. I will be inking this book twice (sort-of). You see, because the finished Nimbus I-III will be around 100 pages, I may some day have the desire to color it and put it all together. But my typical inking style isn't very receptive to digital coloring. So I will go through the comic in a less ink heavy style and scan it for possible future coloration and then I will go back and make it look extra beautiful in black and white!

Until next week!

-Matt

Late Post!

2010-04-20T15:25:00.001-07:00

Photo Credit: Brenda Shea

Okay, sorry again for the late post folks, but its a busy week!

Last weekend was crunch time for me on the inking of my MERX mini comic, and it is officially done! As you can see from the picture, I started running out of time and I had to employ my girlfriend's cat to finish the inking. That is guest artist, Pitter Patterson. Unfortunately I can't give her credit in the book because all of her lines didn't end up being inside the panel borders.

Tonight I will be drawing the cover art for the mini comic and hopefully getting them printed and ready for SPACE this weekend. Once again my new MERX mini comic will be ZERO dollars at SPACE. All you need to do is show up and find me!

I hope to see you there!

-Matt

Sorry!

2010-04-19T21:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late post everyone! I knew this would happen! The semester is wrapping up and I'm getting wrapped up in unreasonable amounts of work. I will try to create a proper blog update tomorrow (technically later today, I suppose)!

-Matt

MERX Mini Comic

2010-04-12T16:58:00.000-07:00

Heyy,

Well this week I received my copies of the new Red Cedar Review with my artwork on the cover and my comic "Chewski Goes Fishin" inside. Its pretty awesome to see my artwork printed on a paperback.

Also, a piece of my graphic design work is currently up in the Kresge Art Museum's undergrad exhibit and it received an award! Now, before you say "graphic design is boring, I don't want to see that!" I have to tell you, it does include dinosaurs and a small amount of blood.

In more comic related news: I have started inking my still un-named Nathan and the Land of Robots mini comic and I have included the first page of the comic as a little preview. I hope to get this comic done, or mostly done by the end of the week. If only I didn't have so much school work!

Till next week

-Matt

Kids Read Comics!

2010-04-05T18:26:00.000-07:00

Great news this Monday! I will have a table at this year's Kids Read Comics Convention! It will be held in Dearborn Michigan on June 12th and 13th. I will post more info at a later date or you can go check out the KRC website for yourself here. I'm really excited for this event because I think comics are a great way to get kids interested in reading and storytelling and I love to create comics that can be enjoyed by kids. (Most comic artists are just giant kids anyways!) I also think this gives me a target release date for Nimbus Part I. So I'm really hoping to have it done by this convention!

In other news, I have already scripted and thumbnailed my new mini-comic about MERX from Nathan and the Land of Robots and I have started penciling. It will be a short, 6 page story that will be roughly half the size of Nathan and the Land of Robots (1/4 sheet of paper).

I will probably have some inked work from that mini-comic to share with you next Monday!

Till then,

-Matt

Monday Update

2010-03-29T14:09:00.000-07:00

Hey!

As promised last post, I am updating my blog because it is Monday! But not just because its Monday. I also have news to share!

1st- As you can see in the picture, I have printed about 70 new copies of Nathan and the Land of Robots, which used up the rest of the covers I had printed. So when these copies are all gone it will be a bear to make more! They will be available at SPACE in April!

2nd- I had a great time at the MSU Comics Forum last weekend! I met a ton of great people, really talented artists, and I got to read a bunch of great comics! So thank you to everyone who came out to the Forum and helped make it really fun.

3rd- While at the Comics Forum I got thinking that it would be to my benefit to come out with a small new comic that I can give away at SPACE to hopefully give people a glimpse of my work. So I plan on using the month that I have before space to crank out a little minicomic that will feature MERX from Nathan and the Land of Robots. I will keep you posted as this project progresses. I'm really excited about it (even though it pains me to put Nimbus I on the back burner for another month). It will be good to have something new to be excited about at SPACE

That's all for now!

'Till next week

-Matt

Pencils Are DONE!

2010-03-22T18:37:00.000-07:00

Big news! This weekend I finished penciling all 30 pages of Nimbus Part I. I'm really happy with how its turning out and I'm glad to have reached a turning point in the process of this book. The next step for me is to have my friends/peers read and edit my work for me. I consider this one of the most important steps and everyone who has helped me edit my work has helped me take my work to a level I couldn't reach by myself. After editing I will begin Inking and finally, book design and production (minus the covers, which are already done!)

I have also decided that from now on I will update my blog every Monday. I feel that updating without a schedule has made my work harder to follow and having a deadline will add a bit of motivation for me to get more work done in a week. So at the beginning of every week I will post a regular update (probably Monday evenings, FYI)

The rest of this week, for me, will change directions from Nimbus and return to Nathan and the Land of Robots for a bit. With the MSU Comics Forum coming up this Saturday and SPACE coming up in April, I will need to print more copies of Nathan so I don't run out! So this week will consist of late nights at the art building printing books and making some other goodies in preparation for upcoming events!

till next time!

-Matt

MSU Comics Forum

2010-03-19T14:08:00.000-07:00

(Poster Design by Ryan Claytor)

Helloo,

Just wanted to let everyone know about the MSU Comics Forum 2010! Its a great event for comic lovers that will be held at MSU on March 26 and 27. It will include a keynote speech from Guy Davis and an Artists Alley on the 27th located in the Lookout Gallery of MSU's Snyder/Phillips hall (I believe the Artists Alley will be from 11am-5pm). I will be there along with a bunch of other great local artists. So if you've got some time you should come out! I will have fresh copies of Nathan and the Land of Robots for sale along with some other fun stuff, so I hope to see you there! I will probably post a reminder as it gets closer to the 26th with more info.

-Matt

Pencil

2010-03-11T11:28:00.001-08:00

Okay, here's the little preview I promised! Its funny trying to scan the blue lead (something comic artists are generally trying to avoid!) I may post a bigger preview when I return to school and have access to their giant flatbed scanners again. My home scanner couldn't fit some of the larger panels. So stayed tuned for more updates!

-Matt

Update

2010-03-10T20:49:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

Sorry its been a little while since I've updated. I am currently on Spring Break and the extra time has provided the perfect opportunity I needed to catch up on NIMBUS. Now I am almost done with the toughest part; the penciling. After that I'll just have to tackle some editing and inking. I will post a preview of some penciled artwork very soon (I would do it now but I don't have a scanner on this particular computer!) So check back for a sneak peek at Nimbus Part I! I will have it up before the weekend!

Later!

-Matt

Book Cover Project

2010-02-23T18:16:00.000-08:00

Thought I would post this project I did for my Graphic Design class since its essentially a comic illustration and I thought comickers might enjoy it! The assignment was to make a book cover for a fairy tale/folk tale/fable. I chose to illustrate a cover for the old story "3 Billy Goats Gruff". For those who aren't familiar its a story where 3 goats attempt to cross a bridge and have to deal with a grumpy troll trying to eat them. (Spoiler Alert! hah) In the end the troll waits for the 3rd (largest) goat to cross because he will be the most filling but the 3rd goat is too big and he kills the troll. So I decided to put a little spin on the usual cover art for this story, where the goats are fearing the troll, and make the troll intimidated by the beastly goat! Its probably my favorite digitally colored artwork I've done so far. Hope you enjoy!

-Matt

Nimbus Cover Update 2!

2010-02-16T20:24:00.000-08:00

Here's your first look at the completed cover art for Nimbus Part One! I'm halfway done screen printing the 2nd color and I will be completely done by the end of this week. As you may have noticed, the cover price for this comic will be 3 dollars. If you're wondering why it's cheaper than my last comic; I'll tell you! It is partially because the covers are printed on paper that isn't sparkly (Less sparkle=Less $$). I have also decided that since I am selling the first part of a series, I should sacrifice a bit and sell it at a lower price. Since I feel it is harder to get readers interested in a series than a self-contained story. And I really want people to check this story out because I think its going to be really cool when its all done! So that's my shpeal on price in case anyone noticed, cared, or was scratching their head a bit.

To continue the update: I've also been continuing work on penciling the interior pages and I'm really excited about how they're turning out!

Stay tuned for more news!

-Matt

Nimbus Update

2010-02-09T17:52:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Here's a quick update about my latest project: Nimbus. Things are moving along and I am right in the middle of screen printing the covers for Part I. Here are a couple images that give you an idea of what the process is like and you can get a glimpse of the cover art (which doesn't look like much with only one of the 2 colors printed!) I am printing 200 copies so its pretty intense.

So there you have it! I will post an update with some pictures after I print the second color. Hopefully I will post an update regarding the inside of the comic soon. I'm hoping I get a break from school work and side projects soon so I can really get moving on the penciling of the rest of the comic!
'Till next time!
-Matt

See the Giant Robot for Yourself!

2010-02-01T16:04:00.001-08:00

Remember this guy?

If not: That is the largest pen and ink drawing I have ever done. And it is currently being exhibited at MSU's Kresge Art Center alongside other work from my Intermediate Drawing class. The exhibit will be up until Feb 19, so if you're in the area you can go check it out!

ALSO: This week and next I will begin screen printing the covers for my next book: NIMBUS: Part I. So I will be posting updates as I spend many nights screen printing yet again!

Color Comic and More!

2010-01-24T22:36:00.000-08:00

I've got lots of news!

I am officially exhibiting at Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (SPACE) in Columbus Ohio on April 24th and 25th 2010! Check out http://www.backporchcomics.com/space.htm for more info!

On that note, I have just been hard at work creating a short COLOR comic that I submitted to be included in an anthology of comics from the artists exhibiting at SPACE. I managed to complete this 4 page story from start to finish in under a week and I feel pretty darn good about it. It is the first full color comic I have ever produced, titled Chewski Goes Sledding. Anyone who purchased my very first mini-comic, Origins, may recognize Chewski from "Chewski Goes Fishin'" (Anyone who doesn't own Origins can see Chewski Goes Fishin' in an upcoming issue of MSU's Red Cedar Review!)

So here's a preview of Chewski Goes Sledding!

ALSO: I will be drawing the cover artwork for the March 2010 issue of The National Fantasy Fan: A science fiction fanzine. I'm super excited about it and I can't wait to get to work on it.

Thats all for now!

Nathan @ Optical Sloth

2010-01-16T09:56:00.000-08:00

Helloo,

Just wanted to let everyone know that Nathan and the Land of Robots has been reviewed once again. This time its over at www.opticalsloth.com. Also, if you're interested in buying a copy, it is now available (in limited quantity) in the online store on OpticalSloth.com. So a big thanks to Kevin at Optical Sloth for checking out my comic and making it available online!

-Matt

NIMBUS

2010-01-13T19:34:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

The title of this post is the title of my next comic endeavor: NIMBUS. It is going to be rather ambitious when compared to my previous releases so I will be tackling it in sections. It is a science fiction story set in a future when mankind no longer inhabits the Earth and has moved to orbiting space colonies. The story will follow the adventure of a boy as he attempts to leave his life in the colony behind to explore Earth.
In total, NIMBUS will be released as 3 mini-comics. I have already started work on Part I and it will most likely be between 25 and 30 pages when finished.
That's all for now! Stay tuned for more details!

-Matt

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a great new year! Nathan and the Land of Robots has been named one of Justin Giampaoli's Best Mini-Comics and Small Press Titles of 2009! Check out the rest of the list over at the poopsheet foundation here. I'm really excited and honored to be a part of this list along with other great artists like my teacher and friend Ryan Claytor.

I'm looking forward to 2010. I'm already planning my next comic (I plan on revealing a little more about this soon) and I am also planning on sharing a table at SPACE in the spring with my friend and fellow comic artist Austin Hendry. I am also working on making Nathan and the Land of Robots more widely available, both in local comic shops and online.

So hopefully 2010 will be as awesome as 2009, if not more awesome! Thanks to everyone who has been supporting me!

-Matt

Nathan and the Land of Robots Reviewed

2009-12-29T12:51:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that my latest comic Nathan and the Land of Robots has just been reviewed by Justin Giampaoli over at 13 Minutes! A million thanks to Justin for reviewing my comic and for all the kind words. As well as for reviewing other comics from my classmates at Michigan State. So be sure to head over to 13 Minutes and read his review!

Thanks!

-Matt

Holiday Update

2009-12-23T13:16:00.000-08:00

Hey,
Sorry its been a bit since I've updated. Thanks to everyone who came out to the book signing at 21st Century! I had a great time. Anyways, its officially break time. Aside from a billion other things I've been doing, I'm currently kicking around several new comic ideas, trying to decide which to tackle first. Whichever I choose, I will begin work on it soon. And when I do, updates will be found right here! So hang tight and enjoy the holidays!

-Matt

Today's the day!

2009-12-16T10:41:00.000-08:00

HEY!

Today is the official release day of Nathan and the Land of Robots! Head down to 21st Century Comics and Games on Grand River in East Lansing between 5 and 7 and grab yourself a copy for only $4! While you're at it you'll have plenty of time to check out all the other awesome comics made at Michigan State University this semester and meet with the creators! Its gonna be a crazy good time

21st Century is located at:
515 East Grand River Avenue
East Lansing, MI 48823
www.21stcenturycomics.com

Something Big!

2009-12-14T17:16:00.000-08:00

I thought folks who were interested in my comics would enjoy this. This was my final project for Intermediate Drawing. I've been working on it along side Nathan and The Land of Robots for the past few weeks and I just finished it for our final critique today. Its the biggest ink drawing I've ever made. I didn't get a chance to measure it while it was up but it was too big to put together in my apartment. It's a rather mysterious robot drawn on about 24 pieces of Bristol. I'm really excited about it and its going to be on display in a gallery showing my class is putting on at MSU in the spring. I'll update this blog with more info on that when we finalize the dates. I love the fact that two of my final projects this semester revolved around robots. Goood stuff!
Here's a detail:

Another detail:

Size comparison next to my friend Buddy(he's sitting down):

Ta-Da!

2009-12-10T00:19:00.000-08:00

Nathan and the Land of Robots is finished! As you can see, it will be available in two different cover colors. I have titled the one on the left "LASER" and the one on the right "STEEL". Epic.

I hope to see you at 21st Century Comics next Wednesday, Dec 16th!

Now I've got to catch up on a couple days worth of sleep!

Nathan and the Land of Robots pages finished!

2009-12-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

The hard part is over! I've finished the interior pages of my new comic Nathan and the Land of Robots. Now all I have to do is put them in book form!

Nathan and the Land of Robots will be released on Wednesday December 16 from 5-7 PM at 21st Century Comics in East Lansing MI. It will be for sale along with a whole bunch of other great comics made by my fellow MSU students under the instruction of the great Ryan Claytor (www.elephanteater.com). So please stop by and say hi! My comic will be on sale for $4 and I'd be happy to sign it and draw you a picture!

In the meantime here is a preview of one of the pages from Nathan and the land of Robots!

Screen Printing!

2009-11-18T21:55:00.000-08:00

Just finished screen printing the first round of covers for my new comic "Nathan and the Land of Robots". I realize now that the cover I took a close-up of is a bit sloppy, but you get the idea! I can't wait to get these done! Sorry 'bout the cell phone image quality