Princess Leia, Han Solo, Yoda and Obi Wan Original Art

Hey!

Just wanted to share some of my recent art. I did a bunch of Star Wars art for Inktober. You can see a couple of them here.

I am currently selling the Princess Leia & Han Solo original art on eBay. Only 2 days left to buy it! Check out the auction here:

http://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/151874379072

More Star Wars art coming soon!

J.

TMNT Covers for IDW

Things have been pretty busy! So busy in fact that I have not posted here on my blog in a really long time. Well, today I'm gonna fix that!

One of my current projects is doing cover art for IDW's TMNT AMAZING ADVENTURES. I've always loved drawing the turtles, so its pretty cool getting to do the covers regularly.

Aside from this, I recently had a book come out published by DARK HORSE COMICS called REXODUS, I also worked on a short comic for DC comics not long ago and I just finished doing a huge load of cut scene art for a game called WULVERBLADE.

Most exciting of all I'm currently finishing up the long over due fifth and final issue of Gemini which was published by Image Comics.

So... Keep your eyes on this Blog, 'cause I'll be sharing art from all of these projects over the next few weeks.

For now, here are some turtles covers!

J.

My first TMNT cover

Cover for AMAZING ADVENTURES #1

 

Cover for AMAZING ADVENTURES #2

TMNT ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Hey guys!

Just wanted to give you guys a little heads up about this piece of art. I am currently selling it on eBay, and I will be donating whatever it goes for to the ALSA. You can find the auction here if you would like to bid on this piece of art:

eBay AUCTION

Back Story:

I was nominated by a fellow comic book artist, Khary Randolph to take on the ALS Ice Bucket Challnge, but with one important twist... Instead of pouring a bucket of ice water over my head, I had to draw some characters doing the challenge. Of course I picked a couple of Ninja Turtles for the task and added a little chibi twist to it. I thought this would be a great way to help the cause by helping raise awareness through these great characters, and also by donating the funds I get on the piece straight to the ALSA.

I hope the art finds a good home with a real turtles fan.

Please feel free to share this post with anyone you know who might like to buy the art work so I can raise as much as possible for this cause. I have seen what this terrible desease can do to people (not personally, but through some very touching videos online) and I think it is great that they are getting their moment to shine in the spotlight. Hopefully through all of the shennanigans we have made a difference to some of these peoples lives!

OK....Soapbox story over!

More art posts and news coming soon!

J.

TMNT :: Ninja Turtles Covers for sale

Hey guys!

Just a heads up to let you know that my sketch covers for IDW are going on sale today in a couple of hours.

You should be able to get them from the IDW limited site here: http://idwlimited.com/

All up I did 15 covers for them, and they are all original and one of a kind!

Hope you guys enjoy checking them out.

Here are a few more recent turtle pieces I did to wet your appetite!

Happy Hunting!

J.

UPDATE: All covers sold out within minutes of going up for sale. I will be selling off 10 covers as commissions in the near future, so if you are interested, keep an eye out for an announcement. thanks!

Black Widow of the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D

Wow... 5 months since the last update! Sorry about that my poor little blog. Today I will fix this up!

I'm back to my commission list, which means I am making my way through the list one by one until they are all done and the slate has been wiped clean. 2013 has been a year of tying up loose ends for me and it feels good!

This piece is one of my standard 9 x 12 copic marker commissions. Here you can see my pencils as well as a couple of other thumbnails for some poses I was trying out. This was the 2nd page of sketches I did until I finally landed upon the pose that I liked best for the piece.

Here you can see a close up photo of the actual art which gives a much nicer look at the actual colours on the piece. Unfortunately my scanner is a real POS.... they dont make them like the used to!

Thanks for reading!

J.

Wolverine VS The Sentinel Head

copic marker and ink on 9x12 bristol board

Hello? Testing, testing.... It's dusty around here...time to clean off the cobwebs and make some regular updates. Anyone reading this?

Well, I'm still making my way through all of these Ozmosis commissions, so if you are still waiting, here is proof that yours is coming soon! There are not too many left...maybe 15 or so and then I might open up for new commissions. Maybe.

Anyway, this one was cool... I was asked to draw Wolverine, which is always fun. I added the big Sentinel head in the background to create a little more of a story for the piece and to give me something which I could use to help Logan pop off the page even more.

traditional pencil with digital pencil

For you guys who like to see some of the steps and progress behind the scenes...well, you know thats what this blog is for... so here you go. I apologise for the watermarks, but people have been stealing my shit and trying to sell it, so I gotta do what I gotta do. Those scallywags!

So, this is kind of where my process is at these days. I like to start with my pencil and sketchbook as I have always done. Once I have something that I'm feeling pretty good about I will usually scan it and then clean it up and mess around with it a little digitally. In this case you can see below that I actually drew the sentinel head completely digitally because it was an idea I had when I was sitting in front of my computer I suppose, so that's just how it worked out.

Find my on Instagram. User name: sommariva

 Above you can see a progress shot I took once I had done most of the line work on Wolverine. In the scan below you can see that line work with the undersketch removed, but this was the same step here.

inks done with a brush pen

Thanks for reading, and hopefully I will see you guys back here very soon!

cheers,
Jon.

Where the Wild Things Are

Copic Markers on A5 toned paper

Hey guys!

Well, I just finished a smaller commission last night that I wanted to share here.

I loved this book when I was a kid. There was so much imagination on these pages. It's the kind of book you see as a kid and remember it your whole life. You know, I probably havnt actually seen the book for maybe 30 years, but those monsters have always remained vivid in my head.

So, when I was aksed to draw one of the monsters from 'Where the Wild Things Are' by my friend, Charles Santoso, I was very excited. Well, I really had a blast working on this piece and spending a little time remembering the story and characters.

Hope you guys like how this one turned out.

More coming soon!

Jon.

The Glyph - Chibi character

Every now and then I get to draw a chibi version of a character. I like having fun with these. The Glyph is an original character by a fellow who goes by the name Estonius on deviant art. You can find many different artists versions of this guy in his gallery.

I've been mega busy lately as I am working on the last issue of a comic book called Rexodus. It's a really cool story with very cool characters and I can't wait to start showing off pages and designs here. So I appologise for the trickly of updates, but that's whats keeping me busy. For anyone wondering, as soon as I am done with Rexodus, I will finish that last issue of Gemini. It will happen!

On the flip side, me being busy means there will be a lot more art coming soon!
In the meantime, you can always grab a copy of my new art book which is available now! Books are doing well, so if you want one, don't miss out! I'll be posting up a preview of the book for you guys here soon.

The image you see above is an older commission I did of this character. This one was drawn on a small piece of A5 paper, so I was really glad to have the chance to revisit this guy without any size restictions!

Hope you like!

J.

Ariel :: The Little Mermaid all grown up

Hey!

Continuing with some A5 head sketches. For this one I was asked to draw my take on Ariel, the Little Mermaid, and to stay away from any cute/kid version. I really enjoyed this request, because I grew up on Disney films. Something I have always wanted to do was to be able to draw girls as pretty as Disney does (or did when they were kings of 2D animation). When I was much younger and first learning to draw, I thought Disney girls were so hot! I couldn't believe that some hairy old dude could make something look so beautiful with just a pencil and paper. Ariel was my first cartoon crush! So it has been interesting to try and capture some of that beauty. I think my 14 year old self would have liked this drawing.

Anyway, I didn't go for the full on Disney version, because then it wouldn't look like I actually drew it, and to be honest I would probably do a pretty shitty job of it. I don't even know if I could. I havnt tried. What I did end up with was a slightly more mature Ariel with a little sexyness thrown in. And I did have a lot of fun with that hair!

As for the art, this is ink and copic marker on A5 size pastel paper. It's small, but the colour and texture of the paper is nice to work with.

For anyone interested, there are still a couple of orignial sketch commission spots open on my new ONLINE STORE as well as art books. I am planning on getting some previews together (photos) of the inside of the book to help any sceptics decide whether this book is worth getting or not. I think it is!

Hope you like! I'll try and post the rest of these A5 sketches all week as I have quite a back-log built up, so check in if you are interested!

thanks!

Jon.

Instagram user name: sommariva

TMNT Michaelangelo head sketch

Hey!

Just a quick update. I wanted to share this Michaelangelo head sketch.

The art is done on coloured pastel paper at A5 size using copic markers, brush pen and fine liners.

You know me... I always love a Ninja Turtle request. Can't wait to draw some more!

Also, a quick heads up... I will be posting the link to my new online store where you will be able to grab a copy of my new art book in a few hours time. There will also be a couple of extra bits and pieces for anyone interested in original art.

Thanks for reading, and I will be back with another update shortly!

Jon.

Hulk VS Superman :: Blood and Guts

For this commission I was asked to draw Hulk ripping Superman in half, or something to that effect. The request was in Spanish, so I hope I understood it right!

Hope you don't mind a little blood and guts. I'm sure even this would not be enough to kill Superman though. I saw some peeps on instagram haing a proper nerdy chat about whether or not this could actually happen. Fun to read!

For the art heads: This is a 9 x 12 piece drawn on smooth 300 series bristol board. I used brush pen and copic pens as well as copic markers for the tones. You can see my intial thumbnail idea, as well as my rough pencils before I took it to final.

Thanks for looking!

NOTE: For anyone wanting to buy a copy of my ART BOOK, I should have the store set up by the end of the week. You should be able to place your orders starting on Monday 27th Augut 2012. There will be bonus content for the people who get in early! Ozmosis Chills 3 is almost here!

Akuma :: Chibi Raging Demon

Hello Blog!

Today, on this fine Monday evening, I would like to share a drawing I did of Akuma from Street Fighter.

This is one bad ass design for a character. The way he looks says so much about him. He is powerful, angry and full of rage. I love how his hair resembles flames. I'm aware that I am geeking out on this design even as I type this!

So, drawing a cute chibi version of him is kind of tough, cause on one hand you are drawing something kind of cute and fun, while on the other hand you still want to keep the aspects of the design that tell us so much about his character, which in this case are not so cute and friendly. It's not my place to say weather I have succeded or failed in finding the right balance of cute and bad ass, but this is what I was going for.

I have to say that this version is kind of more kid-like than what I would call "chibi". Well, I enjoyed the hell out of drawing this guy cause he is one of my favourite characters, even though I tend to use Guile way more when I play the game. If you played me on Street Fighter you would loose. Just saying! Uness you are Justin Wong, or the dude that beat him in this video of amazing SKILL! Go to 2:37 to see what the fuss is about. I love SFIII.

As always, I thought you might like to see the pencils and inks behind the piece. And in case anyone is wondering, this one is already sold and will be flying to his new home along with a copy of my artbook as soon as I have them in my hands and ready to ship out. Inked with copic pens and brush pen.

So, there you have it... my chibi Akuma.

cheers!

Jon.

Lobo :: A look at my drawing process

Hey guys!

Today I thought it would be fun to share a new piece I worked on last Friday and a look at the steps I took to get to the final piece.

I often get asked to make tutorials on how I work with copics or how to draw. This isn't exactly a tutorial, but it should give you an idea of the steps involved.

So, first of all, here is the finished product. This was a commission for someone who bought a copy of my new art book Ozmosis Chills III.

For this commission I was asked to draw LOBO. I LOVE drawing this character! He is easily one of the coolest characters in the DCU. I like the fact that you can exagerate his proportions and go a little crazy, and I think the more you do this the more it suits the character. I hear the rumour that THE ROCK was going to play Lobo in a film version, and I think that would be really cool! I'm hoping for a great movie, as DC needs to start making some decent flicks! Batman was great of course, but I can't say I was a big fan of Green Lantern. Big let down, that one.

Anyway, To begin with I did a little research on the character. I checked out some past interpreations and read up on him so I had an idea of who he is. Then I started drawing some sketches. I actually got a little hung up on the layout and design of the drawing, when finally I decided to just go for more of a cool looking full body pose. I've done a few bust pieces recently, so I wanted to go for something different.

Once I had decided on the sketch I liked I began with the process of finishing it up and making it all look pretty. The pens I use are actually made by copic (except for the brush pen) and so they all hold up really well when you go over them with marker. No streaks if you are careful. So, in the inking stage I am laying down all the main holding lines to create the forms.

Once I have the bulk of the outlines done, I can move on to laying down the tones. I take a moment to think about which parts will be light, which will be mid tones and which will be dark. You set yourself some restrictions and then let the markers do their thing.

Once that is all done, I go back in and start adding all the extra details, such as hair, highlights, scratches, crinkles etc...

And that's pretty much it!

cheers! Jon.

Ozmosis Chills 3 2012 Art Book Cover!

CLICK IMAGE TO SEE A BIGGER VERSION

EDIT: Check out this review of Ozmosis Chills III on Parka Blogs site, for a preview of the inside pages plus a video flicking through the pages! CLICK THIS!

Hello!

Today I want to show you guys the cover for my latest art book, Ozmosis Chills 3, along with some of the behind the scenes stuff.

The making of this book has been an adventure in itself with a successful indiegogo campaign to back it up, and many pre-orders taken from the conventions I have attended. To those people who supported this project, I say thank you! There is a fun page in the book dedicated to you guys!

For anyone else who wants to order a copy of the book, I am printing a limited number of extra copies, and it will be available here through my blog. More details within the next 2 weeks, as soon as I have the books in my hands and ready to ship. It is currently at the printers getting made! So check back soon if you are interested!

My idea was to incorporate the old cover from OC3:Natural Selections (the NYCC 2011 edition, pictured directly above) in the background of the cover. I suppose it represents how this book is actually the "bigger picture" version of my art book. This book is the most complete package and art book I have created so far, and I hope the new cover image represents this in some way. I also wanted to fix up some funky things on that original cover which I was not happy with. Well, the whole book is a re-tinkering of something I thought I could do even better. Funny thing is, I'm already looking at the new cover as I post this and thinking about how I could have made it even better.

Above, you can see an Instagram snap I took of the proof pages I got from the printers. I have to say I am so pleased with the quality of the print I am getting for this book. I think the quality of the print is brilliant and I could not be happier with the way my art has been transfered to paper.

Those who have been following my blog for a while will know that i like to share all the steps and sketches and making of a piece of art, so here I will also share the ink scan I took of my original art. I later cleaned up this file for colour.

I also thought you guys might like to see a WIP snap I took of the back cover illustration while I was working on it.

So there you go! This is the cover art for Ozmosis Chills 3, and the book should be available to purchase online in around 2 weeks from now.

Hope you like!

J.

Onslaught :: Oz Comic Con Sketch

Hey!

Well, the last couple of weeks have been hectic! Lot's of cons and lots of travel. It's been good times though, but I am always happy to return home and get back to some serious art making.

Oz Comic Con in Melbourne was HUGE! Had a really great time there. It was a very interesting experience. Catching up with other comic book makers was really great as always, and meeting all the fans and art collectors was awesome too. I had some great con sketch requests, which I will talk about more in a moment. I can only imagine this show getting bigger and better with each event. It's exciting times ahead!

One of the highlights for me was sharing a table with Scott Allie from Dark Horse comics. It was really great hearing his advice and insight as many artists came past to show him their work. It was interesting to experience the con from an editors point of view, and Scott had some great stories to share with fans. When I wasn't blabbing to people, I had my radar on and listened in as Scott did his thing. I also learnt one of the best ways to get someone to stop talking... Give them a Mintie! :) I now know why I am often bought packs of these things. More Minties = Less talk = More drawing!

I gotta send a shout out to my good friend and amazing artist, David Yardin. We stayed up every night either drawing or hanging out, and were shown great hospitality by his family after the con. We had some good adventures with Mr. Tristan Jones, Francis Manapul and Agnes Garbowska. Lookin forward to sharing a Hendrix and cucumber with these guys again soon!

OK... I know what you are thinking.... enough con reporting, let's see some art! Well, today I am sharing with you something that is fresh as fresh can be...this one is straight off the drawing board. It is actually a con sketch that I didnt have time to finish. I have made a point of getting better at not taking con sketches home, but I just wasnt feeling the vibe in the last hour of the con, so I decided to take this one home.

So, the request was to draw Onslaught. I gotta tell you, this character was a bitch to draw! I have never drawn him before, and I found him quite tricky. I try to do all my con sketches portrait, and the thing with this guy is that he is really wide, so that makes things interesting as far as placement on the page goes. The shoulder pads are a pain, until you "get" them.

Usually with a con sketch, it is quite off the cuff, and fast as far as layout and structure goes. Usually you are getting the first thing that comes to mind. Since I had more time, I started off with some thumbnail sketches to get a feel for the character, so there was more thought put in to this piece. I actually then took one of these thumbnails to the rough stage, but I felt that the pose was a little static and boring, so I made a 2nd attempt.

I was much happier with the 2nd pose. It had a little more dyanamic energy to it. As far as composition goes, I wanted to give the image a little something extra to lead the eye and help Onslaught pop a little, and so I added a Professor X head in there. His main colours are red and purple, so there is not much variation in his tonal values, which is why I went for the darker space background to add contrast in the piece.

Well, I hope this was not too boring. I have no idea if anyone actually reads this. If not and you just look at the art, well, that is cool too. A picture says a thousand words right, so I should probably type less and draw more, anyway!!

Thanks for reading, and more art is on the way!

Jon.