Patreon Page Launched!

I'm on Patreon!

This Spring, I've decided to put together a Patreon to promote my comic making endeavors! If you become a patron, you'll get access to my sketchbook studies, start to finish process for fan art and prints, characters designs, and my entire comic making process! And if we can reach a certain monthly goal, I'll be able to start updating my webcomic Curse of the Eel twice a week instead of just once!

I don't intend to hide any of my work behind a paywall, so I'll still try to post on here and on my other social media regularly, but if you wanted to get sneak peeks at things I'm doing or pdfs of the comics I'm completing, please consider donating to my Patreon if you like my work!

Thank you!

Artist Network Article

On Februrary 6th, my first article went live on the Artists Network! The article is about how I find inspiration from the materials that I use to make art, and how I think some artists might overlook what their supplies can do for them. I'll also post some of the art I created for the article to prove my points.

https://www.artistsnetwork.com/art-mediums/5-essential-artist-supplies/

Supplies: Daniel Smith & Sennelier Watercolors, Holbein gouache, Mitsubishi and Faber Castell Pencils, Stillman and Birn Alpha, Epsilon, Gray and Beige Nova paper.

SketchKon 2018 Fun and Sketchbook update!

On November 2-4 in Pasadena California, the first ever Sketch Kon was held and I had the pleasure/privilege to represent Stillman & Birn at the event. Stillman & Birn, for those who don't know, make my favorite line of papers and are, quite literally, the only paper that I am willing to draw on anymore. I spent that weekend manning the Stillman & Birn booth, talking with attendees about making art and art supplies, and showing them some of my work and talking about my process. It was probably, one of the best weekends of my life. I was surrounded by so many creative people, I was representing a product I believe in, and I got the chance to draw some cool things!

Below are some of the highlights of the sketches I did at the event. These were done in 2 of S&B's newest lines of paper, the Nova series which come in Beige, Gray, and Black toned papers. These were mainly done in my beige and gray books, I'm building up my skills to be able to tackle the black paper, and I used gouache, watercolors, poster paint markers, pencils, inks, and acrylic inks on these. That's a loooot of tools to use, but this paper is amazing!

Character Design painted before my flight to Pasadena

Drawn on the flight to Pasadena

Sketches of restaurant goers on Friday night

Some demonstration sketches and a Moscow Mule from Saturday night

The Westin Bar on Saturday Night

Church across from the Westin, drawn on location and painted at the airport before my return flight

Character drawn during the event and painted after I returned to GA

Portrait Commissions

Recently I was working on two watercolor portraits for a father with two graduating kids, one from college and one from high school. I received these commissions on April 13th, and I completed them April 30th, so just in time for both of their graduations! I'm happy to have heard that they liked their portraits, and that their dad was happy with them =D

So here's the finished product, which I have permission to share.

Media: Watercolors, mostly Sennelier with some Da Vinci colors and Holbein White Gouache. Caran d'Ache watercolor pencils for details
Paper: Stillman and Birn Beta Paper

The Hidden Giant, the Golden Gate Bridge!

I got the chance to fly out to San Francisco last week and visit Riley Street Art Supply store for their anniversary sale! I went and spoke to a lot of really cool and inspiring people, I got to take in a few sights and also, do a little bit of sketching.

Shortly after arriving we crossed over the Golden Gate Bridge and it was just covered in fog. It was such an awesome sight to cross the bridge that we ended up pulling over for a second so I could do a sketch of it from Vista Point. I began with the inks, hoping that by the time I finished all the structure that the fog and mist would have lifted, but it just endlessly poured over the top of that hill. I only saw glimpses of beams and wires, and that made it even more interesting. After finishing the inks, we left for the hotel where I added the watercolor to the inks.

The next morning, unhappy with how the drawing just looked incomplete, I prepared some gouache with French Ultramarine Blue and started painting in the mist. I think this was a gamble that paid off as once the drawing was done, I felt like I managed to capture the feeling of this awesome architecture refusing to reveal itself by hiding in the mist. It's flowery and magical, but I write comics so that's just my imagination.

This drawing is also the thesis of why I love Stillman and Birn sketchbooks so much. This was done in my softcover Alpha, one of the new products, and well, I don't think there's a paper out there that can be this versatile and this much fun to draw in. I couldn't have done this drawing in any other sketchbook and have gotten this level of quality.

Materials: Pentel Hybrid Technica 04 and Zebra Large Brush pen, Sennelier and Da Vinci Watercolors and Holbein Gouache.
Paper: Stillman and Birn alpha softcover sketchbook, 150 gsm

The Caverns Cover

Remember 2 years ago when I made a mixed media comic that played with reading orientation as well as using different art materials? Well I never printed it, mainly due to money being tight for a long time. I've finally dusted the comic off, and I plan to have it as some of the shows I'll be at this year! Now with a revamped cover, I hope readers will enjoy this experiment, even if it is a little old.

The materials here are Caran d'Ache Watersoluble pencils, Copic Markers and Watercolor on Stillman and Birn papers: Beta for the cover and Epsilon and Delta for the interiors.

SPX Wrap Up and some Illustrations

Yoo! It's been half a month since I returned from SPX and I haven't updated cuz wow have I been working. Anyhow, SPX was a blast! I had a great time, I really want to go back next year. I hope it's a show I can keep returning to, but only time and my luck will tell. If you bought one of my books or got a commission from me, THANK YOU! You help make this feel like it's working! It is, but I can get sorta meh about how I do things after a while. But yes, I will share some of the art I did at the show and just some art I've done since.

Thanks!!

Pearl, Steven Universe

Here's a drawing of Pearl from Steven Universe, a bit smaller than the Garnet drawing, but it was a fun little illustration. Pearl is actually the hardest to imagine in my style, her features are very different from how I draw faces and it became tricky to figure out the best way to translate them. I think this turned out well, although it'd be tricky to draw her again.

Watercolor, gouache and color pencil on Stillman and Birn beta paper.

Garnet: Steven Universe

Hello all! I just finished watching the first season of Steven Universe, and I totally get all the hype. It's a great show, so now i have excuse to draw the characters cuz I love their designs. It's also a really progressive show, which I think is important right now to teach kids to be tolerant of everyone and judge people by their character, not what they are.

This Garnet was done all in one go, took me about 4 hours to paint, an hour to sketch. The drawing is about 5 or 6 total paints, all on my usual Stillman and Birn paper. The tricky part was using the carmine, a new paint in my palette but with gouache to smooth things out, it turned out well, I think.

Sketchbook Update and secret item

Why hello! I generally draw in my sketchbooks but I rarely make a post that is just sketchbook images, things I've just played with or trying out ideas. So here's a post from one of my new sketchbooks.

The other thing is, all of these are done in a new product from Stillman and Birn. I'm not really allowed to talk about what it is but I can at least show the work I've been doing in them. It's gonna make sketching in public 100x easier, and it's just plain a cool new product. I can't wait to get my hands on a few more, I'm almost done filling this one up (I've only had it since mid-June).

So yes, there's a lot of stuff here but I hope you all like it!

Jasper: Steven Universe watercolor

A watercolor fan art of Jasper from Steven Universe for my super good friend, Scotty6000! Watercolor and pen on Stillman and Birn gamma paper.

6/30 Urban Sketching: Landscape

Here are the 2 stages of the landscape I drew yesterday. I was outside a Barnes and Noble in Marietta, and it wasn’t the ideal spot/layout/drawing/etc. I’m happy I finished it, just cuz my initial response was “oh wow this is messed up, just stop and do something else.” Which is a voice in my head I need to work on silencing.Overall, twas a fun experiment. I just inked everything in with no pencil underdrawing then added in watercolor for fun.

Kuretake brush pens for the majority, which were great cuz they’re waterproof like champs. I used a Pentel Hybrid Technica in spots, and it was great too, but it wasn’t as waterproof and shifted a little. I’m happy though, its an interesting texture. All of this was done on 11x17 Stillman and Birn Beta paper.

Post-Heroes Con 2015

Last weekend was Heroes Con, and it was a blast! I was super happy to sell mostly books the whole weekend. Comics are my foremost focus, so to be able to say my table was successful from book sales almost solely was really good. I sold out of copies of Requiem Sonata and Curse of the Eel, which I'll need to reprint some by SPX, my plan is to get Requiem chapters 1-2 printed together to save money  and keep costs down. But yes! Thanks to everyone who came by the table, whether you bought anything or not, your kind words mean the world to me.

Here are some commissions I did over the weekend, sadly I didn't get photos of every piece. I hope you'll consider commissioning me again, and commissions are currently open! Here is my info:

Sketchcard 4x5in: $5
Single color and/or B&W 6x8.5in: $10
Full color 6x8.5in: $20
Single color and/or B&W 8.5x12in: $30
Full color 8.5x12in: $40

If you would like me to ship your commission to you, it'll be $1 for every sketchcard, $2 for every 6x8.5in piece and $3 for every 8.5x12in piece. Email me at jorge@jorgesantiagojr.com if you're interested!