Just a quick experiment. When I don’t draw for awhile, when I get back to it, I draw more realistic then I usually want to. I perfer to draw more cartoony or stylized. Which ever word works best. This is what I get when I push it a little bit. The post below is what I get when I have not drawn in awhile. - Kirk

Well, looks like this will be the last Starbast sketch for this blog. This is Starblast in the 60, when he becomes more dejected about not getting any positive attention for his super hero works.

At another point where I need to shift gears again and make some choices. I need to find my voice as far as my illustration work is concerned and get into some kind of grove, if I’m ever going to get to a point where I can make a living doing freelance illustration work. I need to find what works for me style wise that I am comfortable with and that is my own.

Well, take care and God bless for now. - Kirk

Hopefully Cupid will empty his quiver and not his bladder on you.

HELLO INTERNET!!!!  =D

So...  yeah...  'Been a while, hasn't it?  ;)  I've been sitting here trying to come up with a funny reason why i haven't posted anything in 4 billion years, ..but then i figured that's exactly what you'd all expect.  As if coming here with kitties wasn't predictable enough  =P 

Here's something you may not be expecting, though:  i have uploaded 2 RARE pencil tests from the Iron Giant.  You'll want to check those out before WB tells me to take 'em down.

Hey everyone,


NEW ADDRESS :

http://commedesguilis.blogspot.com/


A quick note to let you know I'm closing this blog, and opening a brand new one. It's probably gonna be 100% in French, though you can still enjoy the art whatever your language is (that's the beauty of art actually!). 

I want to thank everyone whole heartedly for coming here and commenting, it's been a real treat. I hope you'll stick around in the new place!

Before I'm finished here, I wanted to pay a quick tribute to Mike Wieringo. Mike passed away a couple of weeks ago. I only knew him through the Drawing Board, but he was certainly one of the most generous posters I'd ever seen on the internet. He was also an extremely talented artist, I've always envied the simplicity of his art and his unique line quality. I think it's safe to say the news of his passing shocked a huge part of the internet community. Not only because it was so sudden and unexpected, but most of all because he was an important contributor to this community. I know I'll miss him around here.  

So for what it's worth, I guess I want my last words on this blog to be : Thank you Mike Wieringo.

My wife and children are out of town this week and I figured that this would be a fantastic time to do some old fashioned painting. It's pretty rare that I pick up a real paint brush and usually when I do it's only to make a small little piece. I decided to go big this time and that really the only thing I decided before I started painting. I'm one of those guys that ususally does a ton of sketches but this time nothing was done before the paint brush touched the board. I decided to take pictures of the process too.

I started with a simple background and added a tree line.

Things were going well at this point so I decided to add more trees and a foreground. I then decided that I wanted a big robot in the background. At this point I realized I had made a mistake as trying to paint in something behind the trees was rather difficult and the robot shape I chose looked like a big phalic symbol. I nearly gave up at this point, but I decided to press on.

After fleshing out the robot a bit more, I started to feel okay with the piece. I was having fun so that seemed more important than what I was actually producing.

At this point it became clear that the robot needed something to do so why not have it destroying things with it's lazer eyebeams. I also needed someone or something running in terror, so I painted in Angry Bear. Bear is a character for a comic strip I have been working on for a while. He instantly became my favorite part of the piece.

I finally added arms and tightened up some things and decided it was "done."

I don't consider myself a serious painter nor is this a serious painting, but it was a lot of fun. I have mixed feelings about the results, but hopefully this will lead to something more in the future. For those curious, I used acrylic paints on illustration board. I have a ton of brushes and it took me a while to find which ones were working for me. This final picture is of my tools. The tupperware thing has been with me for a long time and there are layers and layers of paint in that thing going back to 1993. It's one of those comforting things to have around when creating.

Okay it's become very rare when I post on this blog. Truthfully it's been awhile since I've had anything to post. Half of my current job is doing marketing and the other half deals with document imaging. Well the latter half is really taking up most of my time these days. The image above was started quite a while ago but I was only able to put in a few minutes here and there on it. It is finally finished and I am pleased. This image is taking a step in the right direction for my style. For a while I've been illustrating in the cartoony/retro?/flat style. There are plenty of illustrators who look similar to that, so I've been trying to really push the perspective recently. I'm still using flat characters, but I'm trying to put them in extreme views. It isn't perfect yet but I'm finding it interesting and hopefully so will you.

... Sur autre chose que Spirou. Et oui, faut bien redescendre sur terre de temps en temps...

Going back to other non-Spirou related stuff today...

Pfoula, je n'arrête plus avec Spirou moi... une vraie drogue. Une fois qu'on y a gouté, l'univers est tellement riche qu'on ne peut plus s'arrêter... voici donc, en vrac, toute une série de sketches faits ces derniers jours, pas forcément dans l'ordre chronologique d'ailleurs. 

L'idée est non seulement de m'amuser avec les personnages mais surtout de parfaire mon encrage. Et pour l'instant ça va plutôt dans le bon sens...


Here's today's Spirou fix... it's amazing how much I'm drawn to this character. The idea isn't just to have fun with the characters, it's also to practice a somewhat bolder inking style... and I'm pretty happy with the direction it's taking.

Voici un Spirou qui a l'air un peu plus gentil que mon précédent... 

Here's a somewhat nicer looking Spirou than the one I posted a couple of days ago...

 

Désolé pour le manque de posts ces derniers jours, je bosse sur trois boulots complètement différents en ce moment et j'ai beaucoup de mal à accorder du temps au blog... ceci dit je vais essayer de me booster un peu niveau dessins, genre tenter un speed tous les jours histoire de ne pas perdre la main. 

Petit speed d'aujourd'hui, dans l'air du temps : une version un peu personnelle, dans un style qui reflète assez bien vers quoi je tends ces derniers temps, de nos amis partout toujours,  Spirou et Fantasio.... ah si j'avais le talent pour être candidat...

Sorry for the lack of posting lately, I've been swamped with 3 completely different jobs and it's really hard to find the time and new material to update this blog... that being said, I'm gonna try dusting off my brushes a bit and attempt a quick drawing on a daily basis... let's hope I can stick to this promise.

A new, different approach on our friends Spirou and Fantasio for today... the latest creative team on the Spirou series has recently left so basically, the slot is available... god, I wish I had to talent to fill in that void!

...

Back in college I played a few games of Dungeons & Dragons. I had never played before, but had a grand time and made some good friends through the experience. One of those friends introduced me to the Order of the Stick by Rick Burlew about a year ago and I have been hooked ever since. Though I don't play D&D anymore, the strip brings me back to that fun time. One doesn't need to understand the game to enjoy the strip, but it does help especially in the earlier strips. The link there will take you to the first strip.

The above picture is of the leader of the Order, Roy Greenhilt. For those not familiar with the strip, yes everyone is a stick figure. I've attempted to follow the design of the character yet still throw my style of doing things in there. I don't think any of the characters would translate into non-stick form, at least in my mind.

I am still trying to decide where I am taking this blog and it's lack of posts. I really like to do more with it. Originally I started it so I could participate Illustration Friday, but that has really fallen by the wayside. I'm a big blog reader and most that I enjoy seem to run one or two major themes. I have yet to focus on what those themes are for me, so things will continue to remain random for awhile.

Starting the third week in Burbank, and still haven't found a good cheese place. OK, Trader Joe's is pretty good, but I am missing all my favourites. Why must I be this cheese addict!!
That being said, I am getting back in shape as everything seems to be around 20-25 minute away on foot- groceries, work, etc. That's good :)
Loving the people I am working with; a very nice, very talented bunch. I am learning a lot. I've just passed the very first deadline. Hopefully will reach the next one with not too much trouble either.

I've been noticing these signs a bit everywhere in the studio- first aid and Earthquake kits. Guess it is something seen often here in Cali, but that is a weird reminder for me as to where I am now...




(and for those unfamiliar with Avatar, the girl in the closet is Toph- she controls earth)

Ca y est c'est sorti! Actuellement vous pouvez trouver en kiosques le numéro de Spirou où est publiée ma première histoire courte en tant que dessinateur, intitulée Message avec préméditation, sur un scénario d'Ozanam. Il y a un post plus bas avec des infos/dessins sur ce projet... en tout cas ça fait tout drôle de feuilleter ça. Mine de rien c'est Spirou... un rêve de gamin qui se réalise.

En bonus une petite planche crayonnée :

Et une petite photo piquée à Ozanam :

This time it's out! Our first short comic book story has just been published in the French magazine Spirou... I have to say, it feels strange looking at my drawings in such a prestigious magazine... truly an old dream come true.

Happy Valentines Day all you people out there on the interwebs.

Made it!
After trouble with paperworks, that delayed my trip to LA for a few days, I am finally settled in Burbank, staying with a friend. Work on Avatar has barely started for me, and this is how it felt last Friday, my first day...;)

I recently updated my website. I cleaned up the design and flow and added some new images and a new section featuring my design work. Please drop by and let me know what you think. I've also added a random image code to the index page so feel free to refresh a few times to see what pops up.

Et hop, la bannière du pigeon voyageur n'aura pas fait long feu... et n'aura tenu qu'une journée! Je la mets quand même en lien car j'aime bien les couleurs, mais c'était vraiment trop gore pour être l'emblême de mon blog!

Yesterday's new banner didn't last long... only one day! You can still see it in the link below cause I kindda liked the colors, but at the end of the day, I preferred to opt for a more graphic approach and less ugly piegeon crapping...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/thesalvor/New_Banner.jpg

Bon après moults hésitations, je teste un nouveau look pour le blog, résolument sous le signe du pigeon! J'espère que ça vous plaira. 
Sinon je démarre une nouvelle BD autobiographique, subtilement intitulée "Toto Bio"... à force de lire plein de belles choses sur tous ces blogs BD un peu partout, j'ai fini par me laisser tenter! J'espère arriver à trouver un rythme de croisière correct avec ces planches... au pire, c'est le dessin qui en souffrira!

I'm introducing a new look for this blog, definitely "pigeon-oriented"... hope you like it!
In other news I'm starting a new online comic book, inspired by my real life... sorry it's in French only!


Toto Bio # 1