GrantGoBoom

The End of the Beginning..

2007-07-28T02:17:00.000-05:00

After 456 posts, this blog is closin' its doors and entering retirement.. Well, sort of.. I'm actually just combining my blog and website into one package and giving it a new home. :)

So head on over to grantgould.com/grantgould.blogspot.com

Severus Snape

2007-07-26T00:32:00.001-05:00

Horcrux Fever

2007-07-23T22:32:00.001-05:00

3 Quick Things:

1) I am NOT going to be at Comic-Con this week, and as much as my nerd heart cries over having to miss it, I'm honestly kind of relieved I'm not going... I've got so much freakin' stuff to do this week.. I don't know how I'd be able to pull it off... @.@ So.. those of you that are going, please know that I will be stuck in my basement, hard at work, crying tears of jealousy while you're in San Diego having the time of your life.. *sigh*

2) Wizard World Chicago is almost upon us! August 9-12.. From what I'm told, my table (which I'm sharing with rockstar-supreme Katie Cook) will be #3804. You can check out a huge PDF of the floorplan by clicking the image below, so that you can run STRAIGHT to our table and grab all sorts of goodies before they're sold out. :)

3) I feel the need to apologize to those of you still waiting on art from me.. I was naughty and took a 2 day break from work so that I could read the new Harry Potter (and DUUUUUDE, it was so worth it - it was the best book of the series) and I have no excuse. It's all J.K. Rowling's fault, she had to go and write an awesome five-billion-page novel... :(

Which reminds me.. don't post spoilers here in the blog comments... I'll have to delete 'em. I don't want my art blog to ruin the book for people.
GAAAHH!! It's such a good book...

Okay, that's it for this update. Starting tomorrow morning - back to workaholic mode for me.

AR: Zyzeji

2007-07-19T22:44:00.000-05:00

A commission for Checkmark featuring a character of his own creation. :)

Maul vs. Asajj

2007-07-17T23:00:00.001-05:00

I just finished this commission.. Mike B., thanks again for being patient! I'm glad ya like it :)

Click for bigger version:

The final pic is huge (a whoppin' 18"x24"), so I'll post some close-up shots of the faces below. Art was drawn with brush pen, assembled and colored in Photoshop. Definitely one of my favorite commissions I've ever done. If only I could do this sorta thing every day. :)

So who do you think would win: Maul or Asajj? .. Pretty close call if ya ask me..

Harry Potter REVISED

2007-07-14T01:11:00.000-05:00

This is just somethin' I did quickly between jobs... That one Harry Potter picture I did was annoying me.. Thought I'd change a few things. I dunno.. I'm still not super happy with it, but I like it better than before, so.. whatevah.

For those that don't know, I'm finally catching up on the books. I've actually been listening to the audiobooks (which I highly recommend) while I work, so that's worked out pretty well. I'm about a third through "Half Blood Prince" right now. And, yes, I saw Order of the Phoenix -- AWESOME movie! I'm seeing it again this weekend. :)

Update & Maihack's Blog

2007-07-12T15:24:00.001-05:00

Busy busy busy busy busy @.@

I tell ya, sometimes I look at my "to do" list and mah brain starts to explode. I have around 30 separate projects (that includes sketch card sets, commissions, and design jobs) on my plate right now, some big, some not so big... some HUGE.. and about two-thirds of them have to be done by the end of the month, which stresses me out just thinkin' about it.

So yeah.. If you see a few new gray hairs on my head at the next convention, that's why. ;P
AND I wanna try to squeeze in a couple "me" things before WWChicago, but I guess we'll see..

I wanted to post a link to Mike Maihack's blog before I go. I like his stuff a lot, and he posted a cool step-by-step showing how he created this Phoenix pic. So go check that out. Never hurts to pimp out a fellow artist :)

HERE'S THE LINK

WWC Clone Wars Print

2007-07-09T18:24:00.001-05:00

Here's your FIRST LOOK at the print my fellow Star Wars artist Katie Cook and I created for this year's Wizard World Chicago:

Since we're sharing a table in Artists Alley, we thought it'd be fun to combine our cartoony powers and create a piece that showcases our artwork together. The scene was inspired by an episode of the "Clone Wars" where Padme and Yoda arrive on the ice planet Ilum to rescue some Jedi and kick droid butt. Katie took on Padme and I took on Yoda, and the result is the first-ever Cook-Gould-combo! :)

We'll have 50 copies, each one numbered and signed by both of us. It'll be first come, first served. Size will be 11"x17". We're not taking a reserve list, so if you want one, I'd suggest swinging by our table ASAP. We'll likely be limiting them to 1 or 2 copies per person.

Right now we have NO plans to make these available online, unless we end up having a few leftover copies -- If that happens, we'll post info in our blogs (here's a link to Katie's blog) after the show.

Wizard World Chicago is Aug. 9-12, 2007
Click here for show info!

Whooo America!

2007-07-04T01:57:00.000-05:00

'Hero High' Peekage

2007-07-02T14:57:00.001-05:00

Here are two of the characters I drew for Green Ronin's upcoming Mutants & Masterminds RPG sourcebook "Hero High."

Click for bigger version:

The book is printing now, I believe, so it should be in stores soon. This will be the second time I've done work for the Mutants & Masterminds series -- I drew five or six interior pieces for the 'Ultimate Power' sourcebook too. If you're a tabletop RPG fan, check 'em out! :)

Cap Sketch Cover

2007-07-02T03:50:00.000-05:00

A collector commissioned me to draw on one of his blank variant covers for Marvel's "Fallen Son" comic. You can see his full Cap cover gallery right over here.

They put some kind of glossy coating over the blank drawing area (I'm guessing to try and keep it from bleeding through to the interior pages?), so my Prismacolors weren't working very well.. Usually I do a lot of blending and layering with the markers, but I couldn't really do any of that in this case.. Dang glossy finishes! :P But still, a very fun, unique commission.

Solo animated style

2007-07-01T02:09:00.001-05:00

I based this on the likeness of Gentle Giant's Han Solo animated-style maquette. Drawn with brush pen, colored in Photoshop.

Work Update:
This coming week I'll be focusing on commissions, trying my best to get the last of the "April Rules" ones out the door, as well as hopefully making a lot of progress on a design job I've been chipping away at for a couple months.. Then I'll be heading up north for a couple days of much-needed reeeeelaxation. :)

Wizard World Chicago is creeping up quickly. I have much to do before then.. I'll have a few kewwl announcements before then... Oh, and I've had a few people asking me about Comic-Con, so I'll say again: I will NOT be making it to Comic-Con this year.. Sucks, but whaddaya gonna do..

Random update over. Have a great 4th of July week, everyone! Don't be a boring workaholic like me -- Go out and have fun!

Goblet of Fire

2007-06-26T00:03:00.000-05:00

This one's for sale - Bidding starts at a penny
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

DC Legacy - DONE

2007-06-24T11:05:00.001-05:00

I finally finished my DC Legacy cards and will be mailing them off first thing tomorrow morning. 300 full-color cards = done done done :)

For those who might be interested, here's a breakdown of how many I did of each character:

Aquaman - 2
Atom - 1
Batgirl - 3
Batman - 15
Batwoman - 1
Black Adam - 1
Black Canary - 15
Blue Beetle - 15
Brainiac - 1
Catwoman - 5
Cyborg - 1
Darkseid - 1
Dr. Fate - 15
Dr. Midnite - 15
Flash - 15
Firestorm - 1
Green Arrow - 1
Green Lantern - 15
Hawkgirl - 1
Hawkman - 2
Hourman - 15
Joker - 15
Lex Luthor - 15
Martian Manhunter - 15
Mr. Freeze - 15
Nightwing - 15
Poison Ivy - 15
Raven - 15
Robin - 15
Spectre - 1
Starfire - 15
Supergirl - 3
Superman - 15
Two-Face - 1
Wonder Woman - 3

I also drew one Bizarro card, but he wasn't on the approved list of characters to draw (oops), so that one might not end up in packs.. There were a couple other characters I wanted to draw, but they weren't on the list -- Harley Quinn & Doomsday, for example. I'm not sure why they were left off.. but whatever. No mo' DC Legacy for me!

Now I get to deal with all the angry fan emails asking why I didn't draw any Zatannas or Shazams. ;P

Gutz. Paul Gutz.

2007-06-22T18:55:00.001-05:00

I'm selling three rockin' cool Lord of the Rings sketch cards drawn by my pal Paul Gutierrez (he's a fellow Star Wars and LOTR card artist). 7 day auctions, starting at a penny a piece!

Links:
Legolas
Arwen
Aragorn

And speaking of my pal Paul Gutierrez.. Check out this kick-ass Starbuck drawing he did for me. 11"x17" and even cooler in person.. seriously, this scan doesn't even do it justice. Paul, you rock -- Thanks, buddy! :)

Those of you thinking, Hey, I should commission that Paul guy for some art... Yes, you frakkin' should! But unfortunately I'm about 99.9% sure he's pretty backed up on stuff right now, so you may have to settle for those rockin' LOTR cards I'm selling if you want some instant art goodness.. But either way, definitely bookmark his site, which will hopefully be updated soon: GotGutz.com

Back to DC cards for me..
With a little luck, I'll be mailing them off tomorrow. WHOOOOOOOOOOO

Cap Ain't Dead..

2007-06-20T16:30:00.001-05:00

Collector Matthew Reed commissioned me to draw this Cap vs. Death Adder pic last year -- I actually posted a semi-crappy digital photo of it here before (see), but he just sent me this nice scan, so I'm showing it again. :) Thanks, Matt!

11"x14", colored with Prismacolor markers

StarWarsShop.com <3s me

2007-06-19T22:47:00.001-05:00

For anyone who may have missed Celebration IV, StarWarsShop.com is now selling copies of my limited edition art print. Here's the link!

Closed for Commissions

2007-06-17T22:16:00.001-05:00

Thanks for the huge response regarding new commissions, everyone! Alas, my plate is now full again, and I don't wanna bite off more than I can chew, so commissions are closed once more.

Quick update on the "April Rules" commissions:
I finished over half this weekend, which is good, but not quite as many as I was hoping to finish (where does the time go??).. I wanted to be a warrior today and try to crank out a bunch, but to be honest with you, I'm experiencing some bigtime art overload and need to catch up on some sleep. So I'll be working on those remaining pieces over the next week or two.. I'll get everything out the door ASAP.

As always, thanks for your patience! One of my goals for the rest of the year is to take on fewer projects so I don't feel like I'm running around like a headless chicken. I've got a bad habit of underestimating the amount of time it takes me to work on stuff, then I feel bad making people wait for art.. bah.

Anyhoooo,
Happy Summer, everyone - and Happy Father's Day to you fathers!!
Talk to ya soon. :)

AR: Athena

2007-06-17T04:57:00.001-05:00

From "Battlestar Galactica"

AR: Ep4 Obi-Wan

2007-06-17T00:56:00.000-05:00

AR: Ep3 Obi-Wan

2007-06-17T00:08:00.000-05:00

AR: Clone Wars Kenobi

2007-06-16T22:31:00.001-05:00

AR: Ep2 Obi-Wan

2007-06-16T21:07:00.000-05:00

AR: Ep1 Obi-Wan

2007-06-16T18:47:00.001-05:00

Jawa Sketch

2007-06-16T15:48:00.000-05:00

This is a Celebration IV sketch I did for a guy named John Rose -- He sent me a scan of it, so I thought I'd show it on my blog here. Thanks for the nice email, John!! :)