Burgie Awards '13

For next year's Burgie Awards, food critic blogger Burger Beast requested a parody of John Carpenter's slasher classic, 'Halloween' (1978). This was a rather clever challenge that he proposed, trying to make a burger that resembled the jack o' lantern face from the iconic movie poster. I think the solution that I came up with works rather nicely, here, and so did he, which is the important thing.

Check out the previous Burgie Award posters from past years, if you aren't familiar with them:

• 2011 - 'King Kong'
• 2010 - 'A Clockwork Orange'
• 2009 - 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'

Burgie Awards '11 poster

Been waiting for Burger Beast to post this before posting this, myself. This mock-up artwork is for the food critic's upcoming 2011 Burgie Awards, parodying a variant of the 1933 'King Kong' theatrical posters. This makes for the third annual poster that I've been commissioned, having done this for all the Burgie Awards events thus far. And I have to say, this year's poster is my current favorite.

The WIP sketch

Burgie Awards '11 WIP sketch

The first draft sketch for a poster design advertising the upcoming 2011 Burgie Awards. Each poster has thus far been a parody of a film, with this year's being the 1933 classic 'King Kong'.

O.C. Gerxa PSC

Commissioned by Clowie, here's her original character, Gerxa. Have to say, this was probably one of my first few attempts at artwork with a steampunk theme, and it was awesome! The wallpaper in back was more Art Deco than the more appropriate Victorian style that's associated with steampunk. But I felt it needed those bronze and grays often used in the former style, especially after reading the character's biography.

The Holy Family

Commissioned for Susan, a local lady, as a gift for her mother, she requested a portrait of the Holy Family rendered in watercolors.

For our initial meeting, I brought along a big pile of art books from my personal collection. On a whim, I also did an online search for a handful of other paintings, which I took along on my handy li'l netbook. Like the books, I felt that my client would appreciate looking over various renditions of the Holy Family to help her decide on the details. Wouldn't you know it, she decides on one of the last minute, digital images.

As it turned out, this was a good thing. She took a real shine to "The Holy Family" by Janet McKenzie, whose work I wasn't familiar with in the least. So, I did some searching around and found that I liked a lot of her work and subject matter. While I may not completely agree with the artist's beliefs, I can still appreciate the paintings' beauty and themes. (Holiness & The Feminine Spirit: the Art of Janet McKenzie is a good reference.)

After some discussion, my client and I also chose to go with a more historically accurate portrayal of the Holy Family. So instead of White, or Black like in Janet McKenzie's original, here they are Hebrew. For this aspect, I referred to the artwork of James Tissot, whose attention to accuracy humbles me. Tissot's rendering of Joseph can be seen reflected in my own. (James Tissot: The Life of Christ is another good reference.)

Having finally finished this, I'm very pleased with the result. If you would like a print of this, or commission something similar, please contact me at andrew.shirey@yahoo.com.

Cameron in Australia

Commissioned by Janelle, a friend from high school, this pastel piece depicts another acquaintance of mine, Cameron, during his trip down to Australia. The circumstances of this commission were a little saddening, but made as a belated Christmas present, so it was bittersweet. Plus, it has been a while since I last worked in pastels, so it was good to get my hands dirty again.

Apologies for the grainy quality of the digital photograph. This really doesn't do the actual piece justice.

2nd Burgie Awards poster

If regular followers are having a sensation of slight déjà vu, it's only natural and for two main reasons. This commissioned piece parodies one particularly iconic theatrical poster of Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971). The commissioner was Sef Gonzalaz, a.k.a. Burger Beast, for his second-annual Burgie Awards event, the first of which I also illustrated as a parody poster in the style of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).

The Burgie Awards is set to take place in downtown Miami, Florida at the Transit Lounge (729 SW 1st Ave.) on September 13th, starting at 8 PM. Again, like last year, I would go if I wasn't living on the opposite side of the States. However, if you happen to frequent the Miami area then be sure to stop by for good food and friendly competition. Tell Burger Beast that Silent Sketcher sent you.

Petals and Prince Zebulan commissions

Here are a couple digitally-colored portraits, one done a few months back, the other done today. These were commissioned by two separate individuals, but I decided to include them together in this post.

Petals Around The Roses

Prince Zebulan

wedding picture w.c. painting

A friend of the family through our church has been serving in the military and was married some time back. However, because of their separate locations they decided to opt for a proxy marriage, so they weren't able to have a traditional service and ceremony. His mother wanted something memorable for the two of them as a belated wedding gift, so she commissioned this wedding picture done in watercolor. Finished just in time, too, since he arrives back in the States tonight for a brief break. I know his mother has been looking forward very much to this, especially to meet her new daughter-in-law and two (as well as her first) grandchildren.

She requested Irish scenery, thus the landscape in the background, beyond the arch. The scanner included most of the artwork, but cropped a portion off. You can note a very small part of the clovers in the bottom right corner.

Communist portraits commission

Here's Luise K.'s commission, a Christmas gift for the guy rendered on the right end of the row. It was a little tricky trying to stylize his portrait to resemble the other three, who are, from left to right: Marx, Engel, and Lenin. Drawing all those details felt more like topography than facial features.

Makiev commission

Another digitally-colored portrait I finished not so long ago, here's the Soviet assassin Makiev, an original character designed and commissioned by Matt K. I took a great deal of pleasure hammering out this one, as I find the World War II era rather interesting in of itself. For those of you familiar with Mike Mignola's Hellboy, you'll likely notice the similarity of Makiev's mask to Karl Ruprecht Kroenen's. The design of that particular accessory was indeed inspired heavily by it. On another side note, the eyes may seem off. That is due to his left eye, which is slightly clouded over.

Commander Deth commission

A little while back, I created a digitally-colored portrait of mech pilot Commander Ian Benjamin Deth, an original character designed and commissioned by Julie D. She loved it, so much so that she even had it framed, along with a print of my Fast Food Mafia piece that she purchased. Julie sent me a picture of the framed prints today, so I wanted to share it.

Burgies Awards night

Though I couldn't join in on the festivities of Burger Beast's 'The Burgies' it certainly looks like the night went without a hitch, attracting well over one hundred attendees. You can read more about the evening of food and fun at his blog, but I wanted to show a couple of pictures taken that featured my artwork.

John Martin's Irish Pub door with Burgies Awards poster

El Mago, winner of "Best Frita", with son and daughter

Burgies Awards poster

A commissioned piece for Burger Beast and his event 'The Burgies Awards', which is being held in Coral Gables, to celebrate south Florida's "everyman food" as well as commemorate the blog's one year anniversary. So if you live in the area be sure to swing by and enjoy the venue of hot dogs, pizza, chicken wings, and of course burgers, just to name a few items on the menu. I'd go if I weren't living at the opposite side of the States.

Lord of the Rings fonts can be found here.

Motor City Comic Con '09

Yesterday was the last day of the weekend-long Motor City Comic Con held in Novi, a suburb of Detroit in Oakland county. This was my second year as a guest artist, setting up a table and displaying my work. Last year I shared a table with Jason Heuser and Matt Geerling, both classmates at Kendall College. Plans were made to do the same this time around, but ultimately Jason wound up at a different table with some friends of his while Matt was unable to attend. However, I was fortunate to share my table with Jason Westlake, also a former Kendall colleague, whose company I enjoyed immensely. And speaking of good company, I was able to see some other familiar faces, including: freelance artist couple Adam Withers and Comfort Love, Image Comics' The Astounding Wolfman artist Jason Howard, fellow Kendall alumni Scott Wygman, and Mouse Guard writer/artist David Petersen. While I've only met David Petersen briefly when he spoke as a guest at my college, the others I consider friends of mine or at the very least acquaintances.

Here's my table on Sunday near the convention's end.
Jason worked that day, so I spread out my material.

Fridays are always slow at the convention, as I've seen firsthand last year and heard from Adam and Comfort, so business was slim but not unexpected. I managed to sell one print, which I spent the pay on the latest issue of The Uniques, a comic written and illustrated by the a fore mentioned couple. While the goal of attending the convention is ultimately to earn money, it's hard not to spend a little of it. Besides, it's a personal belief of mine to support fellow artists, especially those that are your friends.

The Uniques, issue six

On Saturday it was like the floodgates had opened and the people just poured in. Still, business wasn't much better for Jason and myself, though we did sell some work and do a couple convention drawings. With the economy as it is, it's no real surprise. Even Adam and Comfort, who have been attending as guests for years at this convention and developed a following of regulars, have felt the pinch. Instead of buying a large print, someone buys a sketchbook. Instead of commissioning a full body drawing, someone commissions a portrait drawing. There was a noticeable pattern of people downgrading their purchases, Adam explained, and if they themselves didn't meet a bottom line quota of earnings, they might not come to Novi next year. I certainly hope that won't be the case.

To encourage my own sales I took a lesson from Jason, who did pretty well for himself by selling original artwork. Many of the comic dealers sell trade back graphic novels for half-price, which is a real steal, so I purchased Alan Moore's The Watchmen and did a few character drawings to add to the table. With the popularity of the recent movie, it seemed like a smart move. As luck would have it, however, none of them sold.

While this may be discouraging, I still enjoyed myself. There were plenty of good points that highlighted my time there that Saturday. For instance, my parents visited and took a look around. Before I started coming as a guest artist, my father had taken me, along with one or two friends, to the Motor City Comic Con a couple of times, so he was familiar with the convention scene. However, this was my mother's first time ever coming to one, so I can imagine how unusual some of the sights were, especially the cosplayers. But there were sights and people she did enjoy, like meeting actress Julie Newmar, who she grew up watching as a girl.

Julie Newmar -1960's tv series Batman

Eric Avari - tv series Heroes, The Mummy, Stargate, ...

John Schneider - tv series The Dukes of Hazzard, tv series Smallville, ...

No Motor City Comic Con is complete without a few Star Wars cosplayers.
Jason joked that it would make a good drinking game if we could take
a shot for every stormtrooper we saw.

That Saturday I also met for the first time artist Guy Davis, who is especially known for his on-going work in Dark Horse Comics' B.P.R.D., a spin-off series to Hellboy. Despite being anxious, I knew I shouldn't pass up the opportunity to meet him. Intending initially to get his autograph on my copy of The Marquis: Danse Macabre, I expressed my admiration for his Marquis series. But when I saw him doing miniature convention drawings for free, I knew I had to have one of the Marquis. After Mike Wieringo's passing, who I never got the pleasure of meeting but had wanted to for some time, I've compelled myself to at least see these artists I admire if I'm able. You never know if the opportunity will come again.

Finally there was Sunday, the last day of the convention, which felt very much like a repeat of Friday with it's thinned attendance. However, comparatively, my sales were slightly better than those of the first day. Regardless of the the humdrum, the atmosphere was even more casual than before, which was pleasant. And as things wrapped up near the end, I was given a couple of prints: one from Adam and Comfort, the other from Alan Schell, who I first met that weekend. I didn't know of Alan or his work, but being a stranger didn't stop him from coming over to my table occasionally to make friendly conversation. He was a nice enough guy, who I hope I'll see again next year. After all, profits aside, part of going to the conventions is to make connections.

Comic-style Illustration Commissions

It's difficult to set a standard price on works like watercolor paintings and pastel drawings, since factors like surface size, the subject matter, and other details make each commission unique and as such the price is negotiated. However, I do have a list of standard prices set for the more comic-style illustrations one would find at a convention. But before I get into that, it's important to cover some ground rules in regards to these comic-style illustration commissions, which are as follows:

• I reserve the right to refuse work when I see fit. And I absolutely refuse to do pornographic work. That aside, I'm pretty open and flexible to anything else.
• I accept payment through PayPal. I will not work on your commission until I receive payment AND have come to an agreement on the commission itself. All the details need to be hashed out before I begin.
• If you are interested in commissioning me, contact me at andrew.shirey@yahoo.com, my business e-mail.
• For personal promotion, I will post commissions on Blogger.com unless a client specifically expresses not to. Watermarking your commission is also an option.
• Reference images are helpful and good descriptions are key. I can't help you if I don't understand what you want.
• I keep the original work, unless you're willing to pay extra.
• The time it takes to complete a commission varies. Circumstances may also come up that can affect my work time. Regardless, once we've agreed on a commission, it's a done deal: you will get what you've paid for. Also, I try to work on a first come, first served basis.
• Unless some personal reason is expressed against such, I might be inclined to make prints of the commissioned work available to others for purchase. Keep in mind, this would only be in the case where it seems very likely to sell. Such an example would be a detailed pin-up of a popular, copyrighted character. If the character does not belong to you, I see no reason why not.
• No refunds. Sorry.

Now for the commission rates themselves.

Line Art (pencil):

• character bust portrait - $15
• upper/full body character - $30
• additional characters cost the same, but after 3 characters I'll knock off $5 for each extra
• background - $10-30 (depends on detail)
• example: see below

Shaded Art (pencil):

• character bust portrait - $20
• upper/full body character - $40
• additional characters cost the same, but after 3 characters I'll knock off $5 for each extra
• background - $15-40 (depends on detail)
• can be in standard gray, graphite pencil OR monochromatic in a single color pencil
  
• example: see below

Digitally-Colored Art:

• character bust portrait - $25
• upper/full body character - $50
• additional characters cost the same, but after 3 characters I'll knock off $7 for each extra
• background - $20-50 (depends on detail)
• example: see below

Miscellaneous Details:
Commissions can be done on 8.5x11", 9x12", or 10x15". The first is typical paper while the latter two are bristol. If you are interested in a print or having the original mailed, we'll discuss that as we hash out the commission details. Also, since I find 10x15" (and larger) work a pain, both to draw on and to scan, I charge an additional $5 for commissions of that size. In regards to backgrounds, if you want just a plain color/shade or simple design, I won't charge for that. I understand this isn't a perfect commission system, so there are items it doesn't cover. We will work those out in e-mails.

If you are interested or have any questions, feel free to ask.