Edits done

Well, Chris and I have finished all of our revisions to the text. It was quite a tedious process. I'm taking all of my big art for the step by steps to the photographer tomorrow so that I can get some really nice reproductions shot for the book. All of this will get turned over to the layout guy at Impact, who just happens to be named Guy, at the end of next week. I'm very excited to see what he comes up with for the layout. It's nice to see all of it coming together now. Chris and I came up with this idea well over a year ago, and now we're in the home stretch. We're almost done with all of the spot illos, so that means there a just a few big paintings to do that don't have any steps , and the cover.

We got our first big piece of publicity. I had a gallery in this month's Heavy Metal magazine, which had a paragraph on Ink Bloom in it. Also, an upcoming issue of Imagine FX will have a news story about it. Can't wait to see that. I love Imagine FX.

More soon,

Jim

Finished writing and the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

We finally finished the writing, all of it. The steps, the sidebars, the intro, and THE STORY.
"Story?", you ask. "What story?"

That's right. This how-to book will have it's own self contained sci-fi epic. It will be the first how-to ever to come with a story. You will get to follow Hachi Hachimitsu on some wild adventures, and learn how to draw and paint scenes from the story as you go.

Chris and I are very proud of this story, and hope that we will be able to push it into other areas such as comics, young adult books, toys and even animation (if we're lucky).

We'll be revealing more about the story and sneak peaks at some of the art right here, so check back regularly.

You'd check back, wouldn't you Hajime?

"If it will shut you up, then yes."

Are We Done Yet?

Gigantism runs in my family, I'm afraid. (see Jim's post below)

WOW! What a great couple of weeks for Jim and I. The realization for "Best in Show" at Gen Con 2009 just hit me and am seriously honored...Seriously. No time to celebrate as Ink Bloom is in full on finishing mode. Almost all my painting steps are done and Jim and I had a great session today on our first of two author reviews by phone! This book is looking great and we both are very proud to see all our hard work in the first rough layout.

On another note...My DVD workshop will go live on the web soon and will keep you posted when it's up.

On another-other note...I did a couple of Podcasts at Gen Con. I sound way too serious but was really cool. Thanks to the folks at Ninja Mountain Podcast (Ninjamountain.blogspot.com) and Wip Podcast (wippodcast.com) for taking the time to talk to me at my booth. Thanks again guys!

Back to work!

Chris

Goofy Lookin' Dudes

Here's a pic of the dynamic duo behind Ink Bloom. Chris somehow became a giant in this photo.

Thanks to Impact for the photo and write up.

Jim

Finally, some art

Here it is, what you've all been waiting for, a sneak peek at some of the art for In Bloom. I'll leave it to your imagination for now what these are all about, but soon we'll be able to tell you in ore detail what the book will be about.

These pieces were shown at the 2009 Gen Con art show, at which my brilliant co-author and artist Chris Seaman won Best in Show for all of the outstanding work he's done this year. I was able to pull off third place for a Star Wars piece I did for Dark Horse, so it was a great weekend for both of us.

By next week we will be done with all of the step art and writing, and boy will we be glad for that. It's been a ton of hard work, with a lot more to come, but we think the quality of the book will be worth all of our efforts.

More sneak previews soon.

Jim

Gen Con 2009

Chris and I will be debuting our first finished Ink Bloom artwork at the Gen Con Art Show this weekend, August 13-16 in Indianapolis. If you're going to be there stop by the art show and check it out.

Once we're back from the show we will be able to talk more freely about the project on the blog, and give some additional sneak peeks here as well.

Hope to see you there,

Jim

Drawing SBS done

Well, Chris and I have finished up all of the drawing steps, and most of the painting. It's been a ton of work, and still a bit more to go, but I'm really happy with the way everything is turning out. Pretty soon we will be able to start telling you more about the book, and showing you some sneak peaks.

I apologize for the lack of posts lately.

Jim