30 Day Challenge

What's up peeps.
So yesterday I spoke about pushing myself to finish and post one commission a day for 30 days. I've suffered from chronic lateness last year and my goal is to fully catch up on my commissions sooner rather than later. As an added bonus as I post these daily commissions I will be doing breakdowns of some of my thoughts behind the pieces. I'm already at Day 8 over on facebook, so I will post 3 of the pieces here back to back to get you caught up. Let's go!

Day 4: The Blackbird..a reinterpretation of one of my student's characters. The student's name is Safiya and let me tell you, this girl is going to be a superstar one day. She came to my workshop SUPER prepared. Just 11 years old with the full story thought out, a mini-comic done, full background, the works. AND she just got accepted into an apprenticeship program of the Moore College. Great things to come. For this character since she's only about 21, I wanted to make sure I showed her on the slim side and a little underdeveloped. She's also now starting out in the crimefighting game and I like her stance being a little shaky. 

 Bonus colors by Renee Clarke

Day 5: Crimson Hood..a reinterpretation of my student's character. This character was created by a kid called Jason, another young artist who will be a force to be reckoned with. He originally chose the name "Red Hood", but I convinced him to change it to avoid Disney suing his young ass homeless. It was also a little funny drawing this character due to some similarities to Street Team's Aaron, but such is the creative process.

Bonus color piece done by Kamau Mshale

Day 6: Frank Stein...reinterpretation of one of my student's characters. The character is a big kid trapped in this super powerful body. He's also not the knife in the cutlery, but has the classic kind heart, and I wanted to make sure I gave him a shy smile. I also made a point to make his feet huge and give him that awkward stance, once again to highlight his uncomfortableness. Note the bath-towel cape. At one point I was thinking of pushing the "Frankenstein" pun and giving him a neck tattoo of a nuts and bolts.

Day 7: Yes, I will be working personal Aizan pieces into the rotation..got a problem with that?! Here is the revised version of the postcard that will be offered. I wanted to show Aizan in a different light..one where you can tell she's been in a HELLAVA fight. As I said before, I'm a fan of the underdog, and I love characters like Batman, Wolverine and Spider-man, who can take a licking and keep on ticking. Aizan's real strength is the fact that she's incredible stubborn and a risktaker..she doesn't have it in her to back down. This leads to all kinds of ice-baths in her new occupation.


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And that's it for today folks. Thanks for taking the time to check out my scribbles. Hopefully I'll catch y'all tomorrow.

Peace

"React with the speed of a panther/Impact of a hollow-head only faster with no evidence after.."- Geist

HPNY and The 30Day Challenge

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! Since we're still in January I think it's ok to say that. 2012, you were one HELL of a year...and 2013, I'm excited to see what you bring. Thanks to everyone who made the past year what it was, good or bad. I pray that I learn and live to the fullest of my potential, and I wish the same for all of you guys. 

To cement that mentality in the early, I'm pushing myself to finish and post one commission a day for 30 days. I've suffered from chronic lateness last year and my goal is to fully catch up on my commissions sooner rather than later. As an added bonus as I post these daily commissions I will be doing breakdowns of some of my thoughts behind the pieces. I'm already at Day 7 over on facebook, so I will post 3 of the pieces here back to back to get you caught up. Let's go!

Day 1: Glyphx! This was done for a client by the name Ced Pharaoh as a promo piece for his illustrated novel Urban Mage, which is a project on Kickstarter. URBAN MAGE is aimed at science fiction & fantasy lovers and is labeled as an Ancient Urban Sci-Fi Fantasy Adventure that mixes action inspired by African Mythology & other cultures.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/348619251/urban-mage-the-legacy-chronicles-book-1-0.

For this piece, Ced (who I'm also proud to call a friend) wanted something showing Glypx in that classic bad-ass, coming out the shadows, no fear pose. The important thing for me when I do a piece is to show some sort of motion, and there's nothing I love more than swirling energy or smoke. Glyphx channels 2 form of energy, one more of a flame emanation, and the other an electrical like charge, so I tried to show contrasting line forms. The only thing I would like to alter is how old I made him look-- he's supposed to be around 19 or so, and I feel I made him look a few years beyond that. The original challenge of this piece started way back when I first designed the character. Ced asked for a futuristic dashiki, so I had to do a lot research of African designs, but the crunch was how to make it look modern AND have a wider audience appeal yet still keep certain Afrocentric elements. The good thing about Ced is he has pretty clear visions on how he wants his characters so it was a great collab.

Day 2: Omega! This is a reinterpretation of one of my students characters.

I have been teaching my Character Design Workshop Course now for a few years now around Philly, and my latest class just ended at the Lenfest Center in Hunting Park. The curriculum of my course focuses on having the students come up with their own original character, then I take them through the basic steps of writing and drawing using their character as a foundation on which to build on. I really like the look of this character. As anyone who knows me can tell you I love ninjas and scarves (sound familiar), and the mohawk is the icing. So this was fun...and easy. My students already did all the hard work.


Day 3: Shadow Catcher...Reinterpretation of one of my students characters..

I don't know why, but I was having a hard time coming up with a comfortable pose for this character. To be honest, I'm still not all the way happy, but sometimes you gotta move on. One of the other things I don't like is how skintight I made his shirt..looks like he's naked. lol Someone mention my student having a Naruto influence, and yes the mask has that swirl effect, but I like the face he gave it his own spin.

More to come tomorrow.

Peace

"Brainstorming insane thoughts to form a bloody reign/rain"- Geist

Aizan Resurrection

I'm sorry..I can't do it..I can't wait. We survived the Apocalypse people!! That's gotta earn us something, right? Why should I wait till January 1st to give you a taste of Aizan's new look? Well, here it is. Like I told you, just minor tweaks. Let me know what you guys think.

Now, as some of you may or may not know, my Aizan project was recently held up due to a copyright dispute-- an artist claimed that Aizan was too similar to a character of his design. Well, after all this waiting, the case has moved on. And I pray to God this is the end of it. 

What does this mean for Aizan overall? It means Aizan will still be published!! Obviously the original publication date is completely obliterated, but the new release date is set for MAY 1ST, 2013! 
Why so long? Well, I have no choice but to go back to the very beginning and rework all of the artwork and product I spent so many months prepping. I'm also working with the guest artists who would have contributed to the book to have new/revised artwork included. In addition, the story has been re-worked a little as well. This new date will give me and the team all the time needed to recover from this roadblock. This will be a rough road, but I'm committed to seeing this through. That is the essence of Aizan.

I want to thank all of you guys for your incredible patience. I can't say thank you enough to everyone who sent me a word of encouragement..to everyone who offered to donate money to help me out..just an amazing show of love. Thank you all. I'm even grateful for this ordeal...how else will you know what you're made of if you don't fall once and awhile?

Now, one last thing. Like I said, I really am sick of this and I personally don't want to talk more about the matter. I also personally don't want to give this guy anymore attention, but I've had people asking me to see the character in question as well as ask who was the artist and  what more details can I touch on. I won't speak on it more here, but for those of you interested, a good friend of mine by the name of Kamau Mshale, wrote two amazing blogs about the whole thing, with pictures of the character in question. They're really quite insightful and done with a fair, analytical tone. If you want to find out more, I'm sending you his way. While you're there, stick around cause he's a great artist and will be featured in the Aizan book.
Part 1: http://kmshale.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-barrel-of-crabs-pt.html
Part 2: http://kmshale.blogspot.com/2012/12/thats-just-nasssty.html

And that's that. Thank you once again and I'll see you all soon.

Cheers everyone.

"You're fire, I'm butane.."- Nas

"Still I Rise"

"You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise."

Maya Angelou says it best in her poem "Still I Rise", and I shall not seek to best her. All I can say is, prepare yourself.

Peace!

Pyroglyphics Sale

What's up peeps! You all know what time it is-- time for those holiday gifts. And for that special fanboy or fangirl, nothing beats some sweet art and/or fashion. Check out all the posters and shirts I have available this season. Inbox me with questions, comments and orders.
Peace
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.206007222784611.64756.198162636902403&type=1

Aizan Kickstarter Wrap-up

What's up peeps?! It's feels like it's been forever. Well, it's official, the funding campaign for the Aizan Kickstarter has rapped and it's a success!! WOO-HOOOO!!!!

I'll be honest, when I first thought of doing this Kickstarter thing, I thought I might hit my goal if I begged and pleaded enough, but I never would've thought everyone would respond they way they did. I can't thank everyone enough..this is truly humbling.

There are also a ton of people behind the scenes who have helped me through this roller-coaster creative process, and I would love to thank them all, but I don't want to make anyone upset by forgetting a names...you know who you are.

Last but not least, I want to thank the people who tried to throw up roadblocks in my path. It's because of the negative than I can learn and rise to the occasion.

Now, the real hard work begins. I'm looking forward to path ahead.

LET'S DO THIS!!!

The revised version of my creator owned character Aizan. Although the kickstarter has wrapped for it, you can learn a little more here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/751261014/aizan-the-demo

Aizan Kickstarter

Hello All.

This is looonngg overdue, but I'm excited to share the news with you that the Kickstarter for my creator-owned project AIZAN has been launched!!And not only launched, but it is BLOWING UP!! I can't thank all of the amazing supporters enough.

 This is a project that has been in the works for a while, and I hope you will check it out by clicking the link below.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/751261014/aizan-the-demo

Aizan is my creator owned property that tells the story of a young woman by the name of Hela St.August, a passionate artist and graffiti activist who lives in a world where as a result of a super-powered war, her city is left devastated. Angry, bitter and rebellious to start with, Hela's life slips into disarray, and with the new emerging superhuman and vigilante community, she begins to feel disgusted by people with powers and views the superhuman community as parasites. Her life turns even more topsy-turvy when she not only discovers that SHE has powers but that she is also heir to a superhero legacy.

Themes of story include: Truth; Heritage; Legacy; Life and Death; Religion; Anarchy; Capitalism
Elements of story include: Hip-hop; Sci-fi; Martial Arts; Par-kour; Graffiti; Superheroes

A donation would be spectacular if you can, but even if you can't, I ask that you PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!!

As I said in the video, Aizan is a new type of hero, and I would love to be able to let her story be heard.

Thank you for your time.

Shawn Alleyne