OC3 update :: Thor, TMNT and Indiegogo VS kickstarter

Hi!

Just wanted to post up a little update on the progress of my art book, Ozmosis Chills 3.

It has been a week since I launched the book campaign on indiegogo. As of writing this I just made my goal of $3500, so I guess that is not bad! It is going pretty much as I had hoped so far. With a little luck and hopefully more people interested in my book and my art, I will be able to get together slightly more than my target amount, and create an even better finished product. For anyone wanting to see the campaign, please follow this link here: CLICK and feel free to share it with anyone you think might be interested.

I have begun work on the perks for the campaign, so people who have paid for art are starting to see what they will get. I will post a couple of them here for you all to check out.

CLICK THE IMAGE TO MAKE THEM BIGGER:

I would like to also point out what I have left up for grabs as far as art goes. If you want a commission from me, now is the time!:

Head sketch bundle: 17 of 20 left

Chibi bundle: 1 of 10 left

9x12 inked and toned commission: 1 of 5 left

Bigger commissions are also available. I will try and update the numbers here as I can, but your best bet is to check out the actual site.

Indiegogo VS Kickstarter

A question that has popped up a couple of times is "why did you go with indiegogo rather than kickstarter?" It's a really good question, because the logical choice for anyone looking to crowd-fund a creative project is kickstarter. They have the brand, and they have the traffic numbers to back it up (ranked 800). The number one reason why I went with Indiegogo (ranked 5000), was simply because I live and work from Australia, and Kickstarter does not allow people from outside the US to set up campaigns. The next best choice is Indiegogo, and I must say it is not a bad alternative.

I found out that kickstarter is trying to open up to the rest of the world, but so far no luck. I guess they havn't figured it out yet. So, the next best option for us non-US creative types is Indiegogo. You will find mostly comic projects on there from Canada, Australia and the UK, and I'm sure from many other countries. As far as traffic goes, kickstarter wins, but indiegogo is a close second, so I don't feel that I am at too much of a disadvantage. The thing I have learnt with crowd-funding so far is that you will get most of your traffic through your own hard work and letting others know about your project, and then word-of-mouth, so whether I am posting a link to kickstarter or indiegogo, it's all the same. If people are interested, they will click that link, and if they like what they see, they will pay for it. I really do have to say a big thank you to everyone who has been facebooking and tweeting about my project. You guys have been a massive help!

One advantage that I think IGG has over KS is the flexible funding. With IGG you can set it up so that no matter how many contributions you get, you will still get the funding. With KS, if you don't make your goal you get nothing. I think the flexible funding is great for people doing comic and print projects. Particularly those where all the work is already done. Essentially what we have is a pre-order system, which allows you to guage exactly how many copies of a book you should get printed. I would advise that it is wise to set your goal at the minimum amount you can work with, and then see what happens. With IGG, if you don't reach your goal, you will be charged a higher fee (9%) than if you do make your goal (only 4%). I believe KS takes 5% from successful projects. With flexible funding, any contibutions made can be considered sales. Just make sure you can do a very small print run as a back up plan.

So that's the long version of why I went with Indiegogo. Don't hate it just cause it's not as popular! There are some cool projects from all around the globe on there, so don't be shy. Both KS and IGG work much the same, and both sites will give you results.

Hopefully this info will be usefull to someone out there, in a similar boat to me, and if not, at least you get a little bit of pretty art to look at!.

Now go buy a copy of my book, yeah? :) cheers!

Jon.

Jon Sommariva Art Book :: Ozmosis Chills III

After months of planning, I am happy to announce that my latest art book, Ozmosis Chills III is finally ready for ordering!

I have a campaign running on Indiegogo (Just like Kickstarter!) which will run for 30 days from today. To claim your copy, you will need to click on the following link. There you will find many options to get your copy of the art book. CLICK THIS.

This book is by far the biggest and best book I have made to date. I am really happy with how it is looking, and I can't wait to show you guys!

Anyone who has wanted commissions from me should also click the link, as there are many options for getting original sketches from me for this campaign.

Here is the link, now go get some Ozmosis Chills! PS: Don't be shy to let any friends know about this too. The more the merrier, and it will all help me be able to keep making new art and sharing it!

Ozmosis Chills III.

Many thanks, Jon.

Venom, Little Gladiator and a bunch of Instagram sketches

Hey guys!
Wow... Long time between blog updates!

I'm gonna keep this one short and sweet for now, but it will be heavy on the art :)

So, I have been using Instagram to snap some sketch book stuff, and here are some of my favourites from the past couple of months. (user name is: sommariva)

Heads up: I will be revealing some info very soon for you guys who would like to pre-order and ensure that you get a copy of my art book OZMOSIS CHILLS 3. It is on it's way!

OK... More art soon!
Jon.

This was a con sketch I did recently at Oz Comic Con in Adelaide. Venom finally gets to eat Spidey... Sorry Spidey.


This is a character I created and designed for fun. He might come back again in the future if you guys like him.


This was just an olden day photo head study. Drawing moustaches is fun!


WW2 soldier. Again, just for fun. I thought the paper and markers I was using would suit WW2 pretty well.

Hope you like! Thanks for looking.

Megaman :: Best Bosses

Hey guys!

Just thought I would update ye olde blog today.

Yesterday I received my copy of the Udon megaman tribute book which was chock full of amazing art and artists from around the world. I really enjoyed looking through this book. So much good stuff in there! I was really surprised to see that my piece was on the first page. Not that I think that is a better spot than any other, but I was expecting to be tucked in somewhere near the back.

So lets talk about megaman. Here is a fun fact: Did you know that megaman is hidden in just about every comic book I have ever drawn?! Have a look at your old copies of Gemini and see if you can find him. This is because I have always been such a huge fan of the original games. Good memories I guess. I only ever owned Megamans 1, 2 and 3. So, when Udon decided to do this book, I was all over it! I did 3 pieces, but this is the only one that got printed. I did an airman level piece which I thought was kind of cool. I don't know if you guys want to see that though.

For my tribute piece, I wanted to draw my favourite bosses. Weather it was because of their design or the awesome stage music, these were my faves. I wanted to draw Topman in there since his music is one of my favourites ever, but his lamness meant he didnt make the cut. haha.

As always, on the blog you get the behind the scenes exta sketchy goodness. Here you can see my rough sketch and then clean lines.

Hope you like the art!

Jon.

Deadpool Evolution!!! Junkyard Jump.

Hello!

So, I've been slack with the blog posts of late. I'm a hoarder, and I'm hoarding all my art in a secret vault. The good news is that I will be unloading a shit load of this into my newest art book, Ozmosis Chills III which is in the early planning stages. I am going bigger and better with this one. Details will follow shortly, once I have an idea of what I'm doing. ETA is that it will be ready in time for NYCC this year.

Speaking of Ozmosis Chills, the piece featured in this blog post appeared in OC2, but only in pencil form, so now for the first time I will show you guys the inked and coloured piece.

I had actually abandoned these pencils back in 2009. Mostly cause I just didn't get the time to finish it, and once pencils get past a certain point all you see is your mistakes and then you just loose the heart to finish it.

Earlier this year I attended a few cons and an art collector buddy saw the piece in my folio and asked if I would finish it off as a commission. I agreed, and so 2 years later I had the challenge of polishing this turd into a proper masterpiece... At least that was the goal.

You will see a bit of a step by step below. That is so you can see how the piece evolved in the pencil stage. I think you can get a feel for how much polishing I did to try and get it all looking right. You can see some of the adjustments I made to try and "fix" the problems which would have been there if I had inked it back in 2009. I think my forms and structures feel more solid, which is something I am always wanting to get better at. You want your objects to feel like they have volume. The composition isn't necessarily better, but I had a goal in mind for the colours, and I felt the new background would work better the way it turned out.

So there you have it folks... History of a piece which no one probably wanted to know. The end result is a styalised teen looking Deadpool with a post-apocalyptic junkyard background. That sounds like something fun to me and I had a lot of fun drawing this one.

Hope you like!

thanks for reading,

Jon.

Pirates pencils to inks and NYCC

Hello Ninjas!

Once again my blog was feeling alone and lonely, so it is time for a little update.

Last weekend I was tweeting the process of a commission piece I worked on. It was a pirate piece, and now I present to you that piece in its inked and ready to colour state.

Also in this nifty blog post you will find my rough pencils and then my more polished pencils ready for inking.

I hope you like seeing this stuff!

ANNOUNCEMENT: I will be attending this years NYCC. This will be my first time in New York. I'm super excited, and I hope to meet lots of artists and comic fans alike at the con. I will keep you guys up to date on all that here, so if you are planning to go, you will have the info to stop by and say hello! I will be sharing my table with old friend and artist Greg Titus who is amazing.

Thanks for reading guys! Expect more art in the lead up to NYCC!

Jon.

Black Ladies and SupaNova Sydney

Hello friends and finders of this secret little art stash! I am well overdue for an update, so along with some recent art, here are also some ramblings...

First the art. These pieces are from a set of 11 that I have done for a bunch of people who pre-ordered sketch pieces from me in time for SupaNova in Sydney. I've had a great time working on these. All pieces are done on 9 x 12 bristol board using pencil, ink, copics and artlines.

In total there are 11 in this set. I'm hoping to add more to that in the near future. Stay tuned!

I thought it would be cool to start with the ladies with Black in their name:
Black Cat, Black Canary and Black Widow!



Also, cause I love all my ninja follwers on the blog, I'm gonna share some snaps I took of my rough pencil work for those who like to see a little bit of my unpolished mess.


Slight brag: I'm going to watch Kung-Fu Panda 2 today. I'm so excited! This is one of those films where I can't help but be very hyped up for it, which can be a set up for either a HUGE dissapointment, or massive satisfaction. We'll see! Apparently Jack Black is gonna be there.

SupaNova Sydney: It is ON like Donkey Kong...Next weekend. Super excited to do my first Sydney con as a local. I will have limited prints and comics for sale, and I will also be doing head sketches. If you want one of these I recommend getting in early as my list does fill up. I am also thinking of taking a list of commissions which will be just like the ones from this post, so if your interested, let me know. We can dance!

Thanks for reading! As always, more art is on the way!




Peace!
Jon.

Commissions :: Rogue and X-23 + THOR thoughts.

Hi guys!

Hope everyone is enjoying the Easter break!

Have you seen Thor yet?! I did, and I loved it. I don't want to spoil anything. All I want to say is that Marvel have made a fantastic film and got me very interested in a character who I had no interest in at all before. Go see it! Oh, and while I'm at it, can we please at least be given the option to see this movie in 2D?! I find 3D so pointless. It adds nothing but gimmick cheese to the film. The film has a solid story and great characters, and the setting is beautifully done. These qualities are present weather the film is in 2D or 3D. Again I say, it adds nothing! What do you guys think?

OK...let's talk about art. I worked on a couple of outstanding commissions this week, and I'm getting into a good fun groove with these. The choices were great of course. Who doesn't love Rogue or X-23? I'm loving working with markers and inks and getting my hands dirty. It makes me feel like an artist :)


The business table - (Don't read this unless you like to buy and own original art): These pieces are already spoken for, but if you want a commish done to match this set or if you would like to pre-order one for supanova Sydney, get in touch. $100 each. I will have limited spots available as time allows, but for now I am OPEN FOR COMMISSIONS. Alternatively you can get an inked and toned head sketch like the ones I posted earlier for $50.

Thanks for looking guys!

Jon.

Batgirls :: raw pencils - finished colours

Hello!

Some of you may have already seen this floating about on deviantart, or perhaps in person at supanova. Well, now it is also here on my blog. The good news is that here you get to look at my original pencils also.

One of the first DC books I ever got into was Batgirl. A big part of the reason was the gorgeous Damion Scott artwork, but also that Cassie design which is just so slick and cool to look at and draw. The book stood out among all the other titles, and it had more than enough storywise to keep me hooked.

I would love to draw a Batgirl book like this some day. I think she is a very cool character, and such a fun addition to the Bat family. I'm definately hoping to draw her some more in any case.

For anyone interested in buying the original pencils, I'm sorry to say that the original is now SOLD! to a handsome buyer I met in Melbourne. I miss them already, but I know the piece is in a good place :)

Pencils: Me
Inks: Sean Parsons
Colour: Aron Lusen
It's always a great pleasure working with these guys!

Jon.

Supanova: My sketches

Hey guys!

Well, it has been a crazy past 3 weeks. I spent a week in Bali, and then a week in Brisbane followed by a week in Melbourne! I've had a blast catching up with old friends and making lots of new ones too.

The Supanova conventions in Australia just keep getting better and better. I'm now looking forward to Supanova in Sydney, and hopefully a con over in the states. I'd love to make it over later this year, but we'll see what happens.

So, without further ado, here are some of my pics from the convention, along with a selection of the con sketches I did. Hope you like, and keep your eyes peeled for more new art on Mondays!

Jon.