Drink and Draw DFW: Nieves

So this is the last for the year! lets end the year with a bang and stuff. if you are one of the first 3 persons to show up to the meet up you will get a special prize...well maybe not special but a prize none the less. we have lots to celebrate. the end of a year. the end of a semester. the end of my life...no wait! so grab a pencil and sketchpad and a beverage of your choice and lets drink and draw! well i hope to see you guys there. this is me signing out! December 18, 2011 Sunday Time 6:30pm until 9:30pm

The Flying Saucer

14999 Montfort Dr, Dallas, TX 75254

Comicbook Couple #5: Daredevil & Elektra

Matt Hearts Elektra by Samax Amen

Comicbook Couple #4 Logan and Jean Grey/Phoenix/Dark Phoenix

Logan & the Phoenix by Khalid Robertson

Dope rendition of Marvel's #1 bad-boy and the girl he can't have. Holler at Khalid on Facebook, or hit his website khalidoscope.com.

Comicbook Couple #3 Batman and Catwoman by Joshua Boulet

Bat Love by Joshua Boulet

Josh Boulet is one of my favorite local artists and a good friend besides. His comics work is varied and impressive, with comedy, horror superheroes and arthouse stuff under his belt.Get familiar at JoshuaBoulet.com, tough guy!
-samax

Comicbook Couple #2: Bone & Thorn by Michael Anthony Lagocki

Bone and Thorn chaperoned by Smiley by Michael Anthony Lagocki

Hopefully you recognize the cast of Jeff Smith's awesome fantasy comic Bone. If not, you are totally sleeping and need to get your hands on this. But you should also familiarize yourself with Michael Lagocki, founding member of ArtLoveMagic and GhostWerks Comics. He loves comics and works overtime to develop and sustain a healthy art and comics scene in Dallas. Check out ArtLoveMagic.com or GhostWerks.com to behold the fruits of his labour, or get at him on Facebook!
-samax

Comicbook Couple #1: Danny and Misty

Danny Hearts Misty by Samax Amen

Ever since I drew the Iron Fist piece for this blog awhile back, I have wanted to draw Iron Fist again... and all my friends know I love Misty Knight... so the sketch theme right now is comicbook couples. Feel free to do yours. This will be the theme until I come up with a better one or get tired of it (or both), so you can expect more from me if no one else gets in on it... If you post one on Twitpic or link on Twitter, just use the hashtag #metrosketchual.

anyways, let me know what you think!
-samax

(p)REVIEW: "God Of Rock" by Paul Milligan

Rock is dead! Or is it? Not if the God of Rock, fresh out of retirement, has anything to say about it. With his trusty ax, his best girl and a few surprising allies on his side, the God of Rock must take on the forces of Anti-Rock and make the world safe once again for Rock, Rebellion and all that other stuff your parents really, really hate.
This God of Rock collection spans over three arcs, each one created on one 24-Hour Comic Day.

Drink and Draw DFW: Decadence

yo. check it! i hope everyone here had a great labor day weekend. enjoying this cool weather and just enjoying life in general.

lets get this party started the right way. we has some drinking and drawing to do! the weather has cooled off and its football season so everything should be all right. i hope to see everyone out this sunday. as always the meet up starts up around 6.30pm and if noone is there just wait up a bit we'll get there soon enough.

if anyone lives in ft. worth and would like to recommend a place to hold drink and draw there please do so.

this weeks poster was done my me. jose ramirez, el che-che. pardon for the nude boobies with pasty stars on them. if there is a problem with this let me know. had to crudely get something together here. thanks!

Time	Sunday, September 11 · 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Location	The Flying Saucer 14999 Montfort Dr Dallas, Texas

WIN this original page from "Spider Island: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1"

Dallas-area tracer inker, heart-throb and all-around fresh dude Joltin' John Lucas (Conan: Road of Kings, Uncanny X-force) is offering up a page of the original artwork from Spider Island: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1 (which comes out this Wednesday, August 31st) as part of his contest on Twitter

You could TOTALLY win this page!!!!

"Spider Island: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1 comes out 8/31 and your's truly is the ink-slinger on the book." John let slide on Facebook... "So, in an attempt to get as many suckers, er, people to buy it as possible, I'm having a drawing. If you tweet me a picture of you holding your copy of the book, you will have a chance to win, free of charge and shipping, a page of artwork from that issue.
Tweet me here @himwhatjolts 
I'll make my completely random choice the following Sunday [September 4th]... Am I generous, or what?!"
Yes, John.
Yes you are...

-MetroSketchual

This week's Sketch theme...

In honor of the fact that local tracer inker John Lucas is working on one of the Spider Island books (where people all over Manhattan end up with Spider-man's powers), The Sketch theme this week (and until I get tired of it) is Spider Island-DFW (I know, DFW isn't an island... it's just a sketch topic, jeez...). So the idea is to draw DFW-based Spider-man art... c'mon, it'll be fun! Well, it will for me. I looooove Spidey (even though I'm not reading his books right now). I posted this old pic of a Spidey convention sketch I did long ago just so this post would have a picture, but I'll submit a REAL Spider-Island DFW piece later in the week!
So anyways, if you need ideas, learn what the Spider-Island thing is about on Marvel's website, then just pretend it's in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, etc and draw something sweet!
Fans can also submit pieces on Twitter, just use the hashtag #metrosketchual and I'll repost 'em here!

:D
-Samax
MetroSketchual

Drive Down to Austin Labor Day weekend and get some COMICS!

Here's a cool ad for one of my favorite shops, Austin Books. The ad is by the one and only Yehudi Mercado, author of the sweet graphic novel series Buffalo Speedway.

Check out some Sci-fi goodness: Peacekeeper by Erik Reeves

If you're not familiar with his work, Erik Reeves is an example of a largely unknown cartoonist whose stock is rising in the comics world. Besides being a go-to guy in the design world, Erik is carving out a niche in the Dallas comics scene with his self-published sci-fi-action comic, Peacekeeper: Old World Order. I snatched the preview below from the jaws of Indyplanet, where the first issue is on sale now.

DFW Cartoonist writes a great article on how to get new readers

A lot of lipservice is paid to "Gaining new readers" but I'm convinced that the major publishers don't really care about growing the overall readership. The majors mostly seem like they just want to take people who are spending more than they can afford on comics and convince them to spend a little more. And they are pretty good at it. But now that they have snagged the low-hanging fruit, let's try some actual marketing...

Marketing is a hobby of mine. I feel fairly confident in saying there is no marketing to speak of in the comics industry. Well, there is marketing to current readers, but not to new readers (or even lapsed readers). Right now, a large number of the general public doesn't even know that comics exist. I meet people and talk to co-workers all the time that are convinced that comics are not printed anymore until I show them a new one. Then there are people who insist that comics are not "for them" even though there are comics on just about every subject, for every audience. Marketing is important because it is the way you find out that you need or want something. The first step to reaching new readers is to let them know you exist! The good news is there is a lot of opportunity out there, and one of our local DFW area cats Vinh-Luan Luu of the mighty Space-Gun Studios crew has figured it out for you. Click here to learn something about gaining new  readers!

DALLAS COMICON IS HERE!!!

I heard the world was gonna end this weekend, so I figured I should be in the same building as Stan Lee. And just about all the local comics artists I know will be there too... so it's all good! Get the info here.

Drink and Draw 46: Cara a Cara Con el Diablo

All right Gents and Lady like beings. we got another session for the drink and draw! it is starting to heat up and we need to cool things down. so come chill with us and down some cold ones and do some scribbling. flex some creative muscle or just let loose and go with the flow.

i have announced this before but will emphasize here. the ABOSG's group has set up a sweet 10 dollar figure drawing sessions on tuesdays at Janimation near deep ellum for the next 7 weeks. they had a pretty good turn out and it was all practice. doing 5 minute quick sketches and so on. i highly recommend this for those that are having trouble with anatomy and for those who need to freshen up on your anatomy and gesture drawing skills and for those who just need to get some practice out of good habit. no matter what skill level you are you can always benefit from such sessions. i would like some drink and draw presence there. wickity wack! here is a link to the event info to get address and a little bit more info on it.

http://abunchofshortguys.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=245%3Alife-drawing-2011&catid=943%3Anews-2011&Itemid=91

all right! now thats done with. this weeks poster was done by one who has not been with us physically but in spirit he lives inside everyone of us. and i aint talking about da jesus or allah or thor or what ever superhero you beleive in. i is talking about Terry Haller. dude donated his talented skills and time to bust out this poster for our little ol' drink and draw DFW group. terry runs the drink and draw chapter in milwaukee. so a tip of the hat to our bretheren up north. you can check out more work from him here.
http://brotherhaller.deviantart.com/

again thanks for the time and effort for creating this fantastic poster widening our pallet of style and talent that represents drink and draw.

welp! this was the last poster i had in the works. so if anyone wants to volunteer to draw a poster for us. just shoot me a message.

i also want to give thanks to everyone that has supported us through the past couple of years. drink and draw DFW has been going strong for over 2 years now! thanks for support. THAS NICE!!!!!

signing out.
jose ramirez. (pardon the grammar i didnt proofread.)

Time	Sunday, May 15 · 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Location	The Fllying Saucer 14999 Montfort Dr Dallas, Texas

Drink and Draw DFW 45: Liquid Sunshine

all right guys. so we will skip drink and draw on easter weekend and continue it the following week! so the next meeting is on MAY 1st.

sorry for the delayed message here. but i have been busy with some freelance and had no time to update the status on the next meeting.

ok. lets prepare for the summer heat by kicking it with the drink and draw crew!

this weeks. poster was drawn by fer galicia he is pretty slick with them pencils and markers. check out more of his stuff right heer at http://ferah11.deviantart.com/
boy spits them sketchcards out like no other! so thanks for your time, skill, and effort that you put into this weeks poster fer! its much appreciated.

Time	Sunday, May 1 · 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Location	the flying saucer 14999 Montfort Dr Dallas, Texas

PREVIEW-Dead@17 Vol6 by Josh Howard #inStoresNow

 Here's a preview of Dead@17 Volume 6: The Witch Queen by DFW cartoonist and rising star Josh Howard...

Sale on The Bramble Vine Cartoons Book - 25% off

I have an online sale going on now through March 31. My latest book, The Bramble Vine Cartoons, will be 25% off the cover price when you order online through Lulu.com. All you have to do is enter the code "SPLISH305" at checkout. This book is a collection of my single panel gag cartoons, 128 pages of weirdness and hilarity. If you can't make it to any of the shows I'm exhibiting at this year grab the book online for some excellent savings!

Nate Bramble - www.bramblevinecomics.com

Awesome New Pop Art Exhibit in Dallas!

Opening Art Reception
Saturday April 2, 2011
6-9pm
(on display through April)

The Cameron Gallery
1414 Dragon Street
Dallas, TX 75207
214-747-1414
http://thecamerongallery.com

Drink and Draw 43: Sprung

all right fellow artists, nerds, and geeks! time for some more drink and draw. last time we had a pretty good turn out. lets see if we can keep it up!

stay tuned for news on meetups in ft. worth!

have a great week and hope to see you this sunday!

Time	Sunday, March 27 · 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Location	The Flying Saucer 14999 Montfort Dr Dallas, TX

"Morning Glories" artist Joe Eisma Signing at Zeus Comics in Dallas Tomorrow!

Metrosketchual's own Joe Eisma (Morning Glories) will be signing at Zeus Comics this Wednesday March 16th from 12pm-6pm. Eisma drops by in support of this weeks new release of Morning Glories #8 and the first trade collecting Morning Glories #1-5. Don't miss this opportunity to meet Joe and get your comics signed!
Get more info here

Straight out of Gallifrey!

I have finally caught up watching season 1-4 for the new Doctor Who series.... David Tennant is def my fav doctor so far. I also like the art style of the old series (Tom Baker) so I threw in the old school logo and aura.

Drink and Draw 42: Spring Clean

ok. fools! sorry for the late notice. but it is time for drink and draw!

we will have some drink and draw stickers and buttons to give away.
also hope to hear some stories from staple for those that went.

aint got nothing really to say this time around. other than hope you guys have a great week. and see you soon at the drink and draw meet!

Time	Sunday, March 13 · 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Location	the flying saucer 14999 Montfort Dr Dallas, TX

some video from the "Women of Sci-fi" show...

The fine folks at You Plus Dallas recently posted this footage they shot at Sci-Fi Expo's "Women of Sci-fi" show back in January

I didn't go to this show, but this dude does a good job of making me feel like I should have... Hit up SciFiExpo.com for details about upcoming shows (including Dallas Comicon in May) and sign up for the email list so you won't miss the next one!
-samax

Staple! is this weekend.

A lot of DFW comic creators will be at Staple! this weekend, including myself and the entire Space-Gun Studios Crew.

I'll have prints, some remaining copies of Senryu and my new 2011 sketchbook for sale.

Come out and get your geek on, Sat-Sun March 5th & 6th @ The Marchesa Hall & Theater in Austin, TX. Check out all the info at the Staple! website.

Hack/Slash

Samax had suggested that I upload this to this blog (its been a looong time). Right now I am working on some submission pages and this illustration is a companion piece.

The initial image was done using Copic Markers and Col-Erase pencils. I went in Photoshop and finished up the rest (The photoshop part took less than four hours!).

Enjoy!

Terry Parr

Drink and Draw 41: Revolting

all righty here we go now, here we go!

another episode of drink and draw this coming sunday. the spirit of the comic cons is alive and kicking there has been talk of people getting involved in these events. dont be afraid to make your announcements on the drink and draw page here on face book. i will also make announcements on the board if you put down your conventions that you are attending i will try to promote it on the blogspot.

welp. i hope everything is good with you guys. i am freeing up on freelance. so i will start a concept on a template to get a drink and draw DFW artbook. to showcase all our talents in one book.

hope you see ya this week

Time	Sunday, February 27 · 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Location	Flying Saucer 14999 Montfort Dr Dallas, TX

original X-Force pages (and more) for sale by John Lucas

Hey neighbor! Looks like Dallas area inker extraordinaire John Lucas has original art for sale from his work on Uncanny X-force over pencils by Esad Ribic!

There's also pages from Arkham Reborn and Batman: Streets of Gotham for sale, so high-tale it over there to get 'em! Just click here

Josh Boulet's "Green Reefer Year One1/2" Available now!

Josh Boulet is back with a brand new issue of his hilarious stoner comic The Green Reefer, which he gleefully describes as "The Tick meets Cheech & Chong." Click the pic to get your hands on a copy of The Green Reefer: Year One 1/2, or feel free to click here for a free sample of some of the good stuff he plants on his website!

HUGE art show! Saturday February 12th in DALLAS

The Bramble Vine Cartoons Book

My latest book is now on sale online. 'The Bramble Vine Cartoons' collects my series of single panel gag cartoons that I have been updating to the web through my online blog over the past six months. The book is 96 pages and includes a bonus section of scans from my cartooning sketchbook in the back. 

Find out more about the book, including cartoon samples and details on how to order a copy ($6.95 - a bargain!), on my personal blog site www.natebramble.com.

The book is available for purchase online now and I'll also have them for sale in person at comic conventions around Texas throughout the year starting with STAPLE! in Austin, the first weekend in March.

Drink and Draw 40: Mal Amor

Having another Drink and Draw Session.

Time	Sunday, February 13 · 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Location	The Flying Saucer 14999 Montfort Dr Dallas, TX

Æon Flux- women of sci fi sketch topic

i am free from freelance for now. i get to have some fun.

i decided to do a sketch for this past weeks topic.

this is my take on Aeon Flux.

Introduction: Jose Ramirez "che-che"

hello... i don't really know what to say. i wanted to introduce myself. on this blog. my name is jose ramirez aka che-che. For the past 7 years i have worked for several production studios doing everything from 3D modeling, photoshop compositions, to concept art and graphic design. Currently i am a 3D modeler and texturer for a military flight simulator company by day. At night i am a freelance illustrator, concept artist, and graphic designer. i consider myself a digital artist. i dabble in it all.

I aslo run Drink and Draw DFW sketchgroup which i started about 2 years ago. When i was in san antone i bought the Drink and Draw Social Club art book. I wondered if dallas had a chapter knowing that there was atleast a handful of comic book artist in the area there surely had to be one. but alas there wasn't. So I went ahead and started the group. Got me self some postcards made and i went to all the comic shops that i knew of and spread the cards around. We had a great response. Thanks to the metroplex artist! We are still going strong. Drink and Draw meets up every other week at the Flying Saucer in North dallas. near belt line and the tollway.

My goals as an artist is to complete several comic book short stories. Do some character designs for an animated series or feature, maybe even a video game. i also have a couple of ideas for video games. which looks more feasable now thanks to smart phones and XBLA.

well i hope i didnt bore you too much with my story here and wish you all the best.

thanks,

jose

links to drink and draw sites.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=64739297644

http://drinkanddrawdfw.blogspot.com/

links to my art work and portfolio site.

http://artofcheche.com/

http://che-che.cghub.com/

http://ch3che.deviantart.com/

Senryu Digital Edition, only $2!

With direct-to-consumer digital downloads all the rage I thought I’d jump into the fray and offer up Senryu in a special digital collected-edition for anyone who likes to read comics on their iPad, iPhone, laptop or other PDF e-reader of choice.

That’s right kiddies, you can now get a beautiful high resolution digital copy Senryu, complete with extras and colored pages for only $2.

The time seems right and with more creators offering up their work directly to their fans and consumers I thought it would be a good experiment to release Senryu this way and see what happened.

Click here to buy the book.

Anna

Sionce it's women of sci-fi theme here on Metrosketchual I decided to get the ball rolling with Anna from V!

In Stores Now: Morning Glories #6

Every issue of Morning Glories has sold out so far... so MAYBE you can get your hands on a copy of #6 if you try hard enough... props to area phenom Joe Eisma who turned in the killer art once again! Peep a 5 page preview courtesy of the fine folks at CBR.

THIS SATURDAY IN DALLAS TX!!!! COMICPALOOZA!!!

We are helping some awesome folks put together a wonderful event in Dallas Tx on Jan 22. 2011. Here are the details and a flyer!

“A NATIONWIDE live art event to take place January 22, 2011. Citites all over the country will hold live events that will feature artists you can watch creating art, then bid on their works in an auction and take the art home!

Proceeds from the art sales will go to benefit the Hero Initiative (http://www.heroinitiative.org/), a charity whose mission is to provide financial or medical assistance to the comic creators who gave us their stories, their labor, and their love but all too often ended up without pensions, royalties, or insurance. This is a serious problem for artists who created work in the golden and silver ages of comics, before creators had fair work contracts. Writers and artists who created the characters you cherish are now in their latter years and facing poverty.

Comicpalooza reached out to artlovemagic because of our ties to the local art community and asked us to be involved. We reached out to a number of friends including Arnetic to hold the event, Complete Nerdom to provide live DJs, and an array of local artists to create live comic book related masterpieces.

Live artists include James O’Barr (the Crow) Samax Amen (ghettomanga.com & magazine) Khalid Robertson (Champion of Children) David Rodriguez (renowned Dallas painter) Jerod Alexander (graffiti artist) Isaac Davies (graffiti artist) Bob Luedke (Eye Witness) Michael Lagocki (ghostwerks, artlovemagic) Trayce Cochran (street artist) Lawrence Alexander (painter) Cal Slayton (Shades of Blue) Christopher Garcia (Marvel/WildStorm/CrossGen colorist)

Come be a part of a special night that benefits the people who created the characters that shaped our lives. Incredible music, mind blowing live art, and rare comic collectibles for sale to benefit the charity.

18 and up. Only 3 bucks to get in. ”

She's Just Too Bad

State-of-the-art bad ass Colonial Marine and totally-not-a-man, Private Vasquez is one of the most kick ass, hardcore women in science-fiction. I mean, just look at that gun! Even her death was bad ass.

Big thanks to Samax for giving the Metrosketchual blog a kick-start! It's good to be posting here again.

Drink and Draw DFW kicks off 2011 Sunday Night!

Time	Sunday, January 9 · 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Location	The Flying Saucer 14999 Montfort Dr Dallas, TX
Created By	Drink and Draw DFW, Jose Ramirez
More Info	yeah! another effin year done with. start of a new one. i hope it will be a prosperous one for everyone. so we got another drink and draw session coming up next week. i hope to see everyone there and kick off the new year the right way!

Women of Sci-Fi convention, January 29-30

"Join us January 29-30 at the Plano Convention Center as we welcome some of TVs biggest Sci-Fi ladies. Guests include Morena Baccarin (V and Firefly), Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica's Six), Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica's Starbuck), NIchelle Nichols (Star Trek Uhura), Alaina Huffman (Stargate SGU and Smallville), Erin Gray (Buck Rogers), Yvonne Craig (Batgirl), and more!"

-Sci-fi Expo

For the full guest list, click here.

General admission only $10.00. We still have a limited supply of both VIP and Priority tickets available online here.

It's like "The Tick" meets "Cheech and Chong"...

I just noticed yesterday that there's new episodes of my boy Josh Boulet's action comedy smash The Green Reefer available FREE on the internet (for medicinal purposes of course), which will appeal to anyone who would like to read a comic best described as "The Tick meets Cheech & Chong" (who wouldn't).