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I am helping to organize a special inkDrinkDraw San Francisco event on Saturday May 26, 2012, Mini-Comic Day. The event is FREE and open to anyone interested in joining us.

WHEN: Saturday May 26, 2012 – 11am to 5:30pm
WHERE: The Cartoon Art Museum Bookstore
655 Mission St. San Francisco, CA 94105
(between 3rd street and New Montgomery St., two blocks from Montgomery St. BART) (415) CAR-TOON – http://www.cartoonart.org

COST: FREE!

DETAILS: Mini-Comic Day at the Cartoon Art Museum Bookstore
For the May inkDrinkDraw we will return to the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco for
Mini-Comic Day. Come join us and take the challenge to create and publish your own Mini-Comic with your fellow artists in a day or less. Paper, pens, pencils, and long neck stapler will be provided as well as printed templates to help make your book and there are two copy shops in walking
distance to make copies to trade and share with your fellow creators. (Sorry, you will have to pay for your own copies.)

From the official
site http://www.minicomics.org :
“On Mini-Comics Day, participating cartoonists from around the world will write, draw, and print copies of a mini-comic, completing the entire process from start to finish in a day or less. Anyone in the world can participate. Mini-comics have been democratizing the art of
making comic books since the 70?s or earlier… with the popularization of photocopiers, it became apparent that anyone with an inclination and some spare change could print a little comic book. Wildly varying in both form and content, mini-comics are a wonderful synthesis of cartooning and hand-made art objects.

Guidelines: To participate, create a mini-comic from start to finish on May 26th, 2012 (including writing, drawing and printing it). You can make your mini-comic by yourself or with other artists.
…” (visit the official site for more guidelines for the event)

So, come on down, grab a seat and make a comic. And don’t be shy about bringing down your mini-comics you have all ready made too!

The Two Copy Shops nearby are:

Copy Central 22 3rd street, San Francisco, CA 0.1 mi W (415) 882-7377 ? · copycentral.com - 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Fed-Ex Kinkos – need to verify location do to wonky web listings.

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I will be returning to the Cartoon Art Museum to teach another summer of Cartoon Boot Camp. Our third week is July 9th to 13th, 2012 – Comic Book Creation.

You can sign up for all 3 of the Cartoon Boot Camps at our GUEST LIST PAGE << click here 

 July 9–13, 2012: Comic Book Creation Time: 11am – 1pm – Ages: Intermediate Artists ages 10-14 This boot camp features the process of making a short comic book story (2 pages) through the classic technique of page layouts, character design, penciling, and inking. Skills featured: Basic drawing techniques, storytelling

Time: All sessions run Monday through Friday from 11:00AM to 1:00 PM at the Cartoon Art Museum (For past students: please note the time of these classes is different.)

Number of students: The class size is limited to no more than 14 students. The class is filled on a first come, first served basis.

Cost*: $100 per week for CAM members, $135 non-members – per student for each session. Fees must be paid in full to secure a seat in the class.

Sign up as a member and save! ( http://cartoonart.org/join-support/membership/ )

Supplies: Basic Drawing Materials will be provided. Students are welcome to bring in their personal sketchbooks and materials.

Please also fill out and submit the waiver and emergency contact form. This will be emailed to you when you sign up.
Mail, email, fax or hand-deliver the completed waiver and emergency form to: Cartoon Art Museum; 655 Mission Street; San Francisco, CA 94105 attn: Cartoon Boot Camp, email to: office@cartoonart.org or fax to: 415-243-8666. For any questions, please call: 415-227-8666 x300.

*Cancellation: All participants must be pre-paid prior to the first day of the session. Full refunds given with 2 weeks cancellation notice prior to the first day of the session. 50% refund given within 7 to 13 days of the first day of the session. No refunds given within 6 days prior to the first day of the session.

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I will be returning to the Cartoon Art Museum to teach another summer of Cartoon Boot Camp. Our second week is June 11-15, 2012 – Introduction to Stop-Motion Animation.

You can sign up for all 3 of the Cartoon Boot Camps at our GUEST LIST PAGE << click here 

 June 11-15, 2012 – Introduction to Stop-Motion Animation Time: 11am – 1pm – Ages: Intermediate Artists ages 10-14 Stop-motion Animation is the technique in which objects are brought to life by filming them in a different position for each frame of film or video as seen in films like ‘Wallace and Grommet’ and the ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’. This boot camp will explore different variations of the technique as teams: live action/time-lapse, cut-outs, puppets/objects as well as the basics of telling a simple story. Skills featured: Teamwork, Frame by Frame Animation, Digital Video Editing, Storytelling.

Time: All sessions run Monday through Friday from 11:00AM to 1:00 PM at the Cartoon Art Museum (For past students: please note the time of these classes is different.)

Number of students: The class size is limited to no more than 14 students. The class is filled on a first come, first served basis.

Cost*: $100 per week for CAM members, $135 non-members – per student for each session. Fees must be paid in full to secure a seat in the class.

Sign up as a member and save! ( http://cartoonart.org/join-support/membership/ )

Supplies: Basic Drawing Materials will be provided. Students are welcome to bring in their personal sketchbooks and materials.

Please also fill out and submit the waiver and emergency contact form. This will be emailed to you when you sign up.
Mail, email, fax or hand-deliver the completed waiver and emergency form to: Cartoon Art Museum; 655 Mission Street; San Francisco, CA 94105 attn: Cartoon Boot Camp, email to: office@cartoonart.org or fax to: 415-243-8666. For any questions, please call: 415-227-8666 x300.

*Cancellation: All participants must be pre-paid prior to the first day of the session. Full refunds given with 2 weeks cancellation notice prior to the first day of the session. 50% refund given within 7 to 13 days of the first day of the session. No refunds given within 6 days prior to the first day of the session.

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I will be returning to the Cartoon Art Museum to teach another summer of Cartoon Boot Camp. Our first week is June 4-8, 2012 – Character Creation: Superheroes.

You can sign up for all 3 of the Cartoon Boot Camps at our GUEST LIST PAGE << click here 

 June 4-8, 2012 – Character Creation: Superheroes Time: 11am – 1pm – Ages: Intermediate Artists ages 10-14 POW! BOOM! WOW! Learn how to create and draw your own superheroes. Includes: instruction on anatomy, action, costume, personality, back story, and rendering and finishing with a final illustration. Skills featured: character design, basic drawing techniques, storytelling.

Time: All sessions run Monday through Friday from 11:00AM to 1:00 PM at the Cartoon Art Museum (For past students: please note the time of these classes is different.)

Number of students: The class size is limited to no more than 14 students. The class is filled on a first come, first served basis.

Cost*: $100 per week for CAM members, $135 non-members – per student for each session. Fees must be paid in full to secure a seat in the class.

Sign up as a member and save! ( http://cartoonart.org/join-support/membership/ )

Supplies: Basic Drawing Materials will be provided. Students are welcome to bring in their personal sketchbooks and materials.

Please also fill out and submit the waiver and emergency contact form. This will be emailed to you when you sign up.
Mail, email, fax or hand-deliver the completed waiver and emergency form to: Cartoon Art Museum; 655 Mission Street; San Francisco, CA 94105 attn: Cartoon Boot Camp, email to: office@cartoonart.org or fax to: 415-243-8666. For any questions, please call: 415-227-8666 x300.

*Cancellation: All participants must be pre-paid prior to the first day of the session. Full refunds given with 2 weeks cancellation notice prior to the first day of the session. 50% refund given within 7 to 13 days of the first day of the session. No refunds given within 6 days prior to the first day of the session.

Continue reading »]]> I will be teaching two workshops on Friday March 23rd at the Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa CA.

Making Mini Comics
FRIDAY, MARCH 23 ? 9am–12:30pm
Join cartoonist Brian Kolm and learn to make your own comic book. From story creation, to developing characters, to adding action and adventure, explore the basics of creating a comic and make your own mini comic book in class.

Monsters and Mermaids
FRIDAY, MARCH 23 ? 1–4:30pm
Learn to draw fantastic and mysterious creatures from the black lagoon and beyond. Combine different creatures to make your own with cartoonist Brian Kolm.

Continue reading »]]> I will be helping kick off the grand opening of a new comic book store in San Francisco, Two Cat Comics. The event will be running all day of Saturday March 31st, 2012, but I will be teaching from 2:30pm to 4:30pm and then hanging out after for the party to follow. The Cartooning Lessons will be on-going and free to the public.

The NEW store is beautiful inside with bright lighting and hard wood floors. It’s easy to reach on public transportation by taking the K or M Muni lines from downtown.

Event: Cartooning Lessons with Brian Kolm at the grand opening of Two Cat Comics in San Francisco CA
When: 2:30 to 4:30 on Saturday March 31st
Cost: Free
Info: 320 West Portal Avenue San Francisco, California 94127
Contact: 415-566-8190

View Larger Map

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I will be attending the Image Expo on February 24-25-26, 2012. I will be sharing a table with talented artist Rae Wood in Artist Alley. It’s a brand new convention, so it will be interesting to see the attendance. You can find me in Artist Alley AA 607.

Dates: Friday February 24 to Sunday February 26, 2012
Location: Oakland Convention Center – 550 10th Street – Oakland, CA 94607
Website: http://www.imagecomicexpo.com

Attending: Image Creators included: Erik Larsen, Marc Silvestri, Todd McFarlane, Jim Valentino, Rob Liefeld, Brian K Vaughan and artists/creators Eric Shanower, Andrew Farego, Jeff Walker, Karen Luk Illustrations, Llyn Hunter, and Rae Wood

IMAGE EXPO is a three-day celebration of creator-owned comics happening at the Oakland Convention Center. Image partners Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino, will be the guests of honor, appearing throughout the weekend for signings, panels, and special events. Other special guests include Image founders Rob Liefeld, and Whilce Portacio, plus the creators of today’s best creator-owned comics, including: Joe Casey, Jay Faerber, Jonathan Hickman, Ryan Ottley, Richard Starkings, Fiona Staples, and Brian K. Vaughan.

IMAGE EXPO is Northern California’s premiere comic con experience in 2012. The three-day event takes place at the Oakland Convention Center in the heart of the bustling nightlife and restaurant center of downtown Oakland, CA on February 24-25-26.

IMAGE EXPO isn’t just about Image Comics, it’s a celebration of independent creativity in comics. The exhibit floor is open to anyone who makes creator-owned comics. We’re also going to be hosting unique programming for fans, aspiring creators, and library professionals. We’ll be continuing our tradition of supporting the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s important work to protect creators and retailers by hosting special events including a massive benefit auction.

More info at: http://www.imagecomics.com/news/120/EXPERIENCE-CREATIVITY-AT-IMAGE-EXPO-A-3-DAY-CELEBRATION-OF-CREATOR-OWNED-COMICS-

Continue reading »]]> Hey all, here it is the last of the CAM-JAM 2011 events I am organizing with the Bookstore at the Cartoon Art Museum and inkDrinkDraw San Francisco. The events this year have really been quite fantastic with the final results being Animation and Paper Toy Monsters! But for this one we will be using the inspiration of the new Wizard of Oz Comic exhibit at the museum to draw our version of the iconic characters as well as having a Cartoonist Boutique! The Cartoonist Boutique will allow museum guests to buy work directly from the artists as well as get customized Holiday Cards and Mini-Buttons. (more info below the poster image)

WHEN: Saturday December 3rd. 2011 12 noon to 5pm
WERE: Cartoon Art Museum – 655 Mission St. San Francisco CA
COST: FREE with admission to the museum

Brought to you by inkdrinkdraw.weebly.com

On Saturday December 3rd, 2011 the Bookstore at the Cartoon Art Museum and InkDrinkDraw San Francisco will present the Holiday Cam-Jam and Cartoonist Art Boutique. The Cam-Jams are a series of artist collaborative events that happen a few times of year, but this December a new element is added…our Art Boutique.

Guests visiting the museum will have the chance to watch artist creating work inspired both by the winter holidays as well as the new Wizard of Oz comic exhibit. A selection of great holiday gifts will be for sale directly from their creators including:

- The premier of the first anthology from InkDrinkDraw SF
- One-of-a-kind Holiday Cards and buttons made while you wait
- Personalized comic books, prints, cards and more!

Another bonus is the artist-in-residence Kraig Rasmussen (www.monkeygong.com) will be located in the museum’s lobby signing his books and demonstrating how he creates his work from 1pm to 3pm.

So come on down between 12 noon and 5:00 pm and check out the current exhibits (Archie 70th and Wizard of Oz) while meeting some very talented artists and celebrate the season cartoon-style.

ARTIST:
Artist wishing to participate in the CAM-Jam can sign-up by contacting me at the links below or showing up at the day of the event. Participating artist get free admission into the museum.

Artist wishing to sell some of their home grown items need to contact me by December 2nd, 2011.

We will be making custom cards and buttons to sell to guests, but a donation for materials will be required with a sale.

Contact info: staff (AT) atomicbearpress.com or DM at https://twitter.com/#!/AtomicBearPress

Continue reading »]]> Here is a fun parent-child cartooning class I will be teaching in San Francisco at the Cartoon Art Museum Wednesday December 28th, 2011.

December 28th (Wednesday) Critters, Creatures and Monsters
Ages: Parents and Children (7 to 12 years old) recommended
Time: 11am – 1pm
Cost: $10 per person (all children must be accompanied by an adult, ideally no more than two children for each parent)
About: Adults and Kids team up to learn how to create their own Critters, Creatures and Monsters wheather they be scary, cute or something else. The class will teach basic cartooning skills mixed with lots of fun creativity challenges.
All classes are taught by instructor Brian Kolm (Atomic Bear Press) atomicbearpress.com.

(((CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP TODAY!)))

Continue reading »]]> I will be teaching a parent-child cartooning class at the Cartoon Art Museum on Tuesday December 27, 2011.

December 27th (Thursday) Heroes and Villains
Ages: Parents/Guardians and Children (7 to 12 years old) recommended
Time: 11am – 1pm
Cost: $10 per person (all children must be accompanied by an adult, ideally no more than two children for each parent)
About: In this Adult/Kid combo class we will learn how to create our own Hero and Villain characters while learning some of the basics of cartooning.

Celebrate the end of 2012 with fun classed that will have adults and kids teaming up to cartoon at the Cartoon Art Museum over the winter holiday break December 27th and 28th. All classes includes materials and admission to the museum.

(((SIGN-UP ONLINE HERE)))

Continue reading »]]> Once again I am helping organized another CAM-Jam with InkDrinkDraw San Francisco and the Bookstore at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco CA. Were calling it our Spectacular Super Sonic Paper Monster Party X. The theme will be making Paper Toy Monsters from basic shape constructed of card stock and decorated to add details the models do not have. See below for all the details or visit

Where we meet next:
InkDrinkDraw presents:
Spectacular Super Sonic PAPER MONSTER PARTY X

Location: Cartoon Art Museum
655 Mission St. San Francisco, CA http://www.cartoonart.org
Date: Sunday September 11, 2011
Time: 11:30am to 5:00 pm
Being an artist can be a solitary job, so we want to find a way to meet more like minded artists who are interested in Comics, Animation, Illustration, Video Games and more! After all what’s better than to meet, talk and network with people who “get” what you do as a creative!

For our September InkDrinkDraw SF Meet we have teamed up with the Bookstore at the Cartoon Art Museum for another of their CAM-JAM events aimed at artists of all levels.
In the past we done everything from create animation to draw full mini-comics and even designed a tarot deck, but this session we will be having
a Spectacular Super Sonic PAPER MONSTER PARTY X.

In last few years some new type of art forms have appeared, making customized toys with artistic flair. For us we will be cutting, folding and customizing simple paper shapes into characters, embracing the limitations and letting our imaginations go wild.

Participating artist can sign in at the front desk and then you will be able to come in and have some fun with us. Planning on coming, why not RSVP to us or to the Museum’s Bookstore at bookstore@cartoonart.org.

Note:
We are asking for a $2 donation from participating artists to help pay for the
materials (as well as some treats and surprises) The museums full admission is required for anyone who is not participating.

“Paper Monster/character creation”
Come Cut, Fold and customize characters of paper and… maybe even with other materials. We will have plenty of blank, pre-printed shapes to use and will have some coloring tools too, but feel free to bring your own materials if you like and even your own customization projects.

“Share and Tell”
Bring your current projects, copies of your comics and art prints and share with us and even visiting guests to the museum.

“More monsters and open projects”
Come and just sit with us and draw and create all sorts of monsters and creatures or even just work on your own projects.

(While It’s not “required” to participate in any of these particular activities, we’ll have them on hand if you wish too.)

“Open Projects”
As always “Open Projects” is working on whatever project you brough with you, want to try or are currently working on.
Please feel free to discuss your projects with the group! We love hearing about what people are working on and will gladly give feedback!

To stay in touch you can:
On Twitter Follow:
@inkDrinkDraw or @NoCashComics & @AtomicBearPress

Read the inkDrinkDraw
Blog at inkDrinkDraw.weebly.com

Hope to see you there!

Continue reading »]]> The other night we had the second InkDrinkDraw event in San Francisco. The events are the brain child of George Webber (No Cash Comics) and myself and are monthly artist events that encourage creativity and comradery.

To find out more, visit the InkDrinkDraw page!

For this month’s meeting our theme was drawing faces. As artist it can be easy to end up drawing similar characters over and over again. These exercises were designed for us to work outside our comfort zone and try new things.

We started with a warm-up exercises where we drew a page of shapes and then passed them around and had others make them into faces/heads.

Here is the sheet that I got back after everyone had drawn on it:

Then we did a handout that George found through Deviant-Art called 25 expressions which is a popular meem. DOWNLOAD IT HERE There are other versions of the sheet on-line, but with facial expressions in more Manga (Japaneses Comics) vibe.

Here is an old west prospector characters that I drew based on the head-shape sketch by Jeff Plotkin.

Next we changed gears and did an exercises of evolving/devolving a character based on a photo. This was something I saw in How to draw comic book heroes and villains by Christopher Hart , but the samples were actually drawn by the late great comic artist Gray Morrow. See more of Gray’s work HERE.

My first attempt was using a photo of classic actor ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle which I sketched on my paper and then worked to modify it till there was still a hint of the character, but maybe not obvious unless someone was looking for similarity. I like the result, even though the drawings are kind of rough and lopsided.

Here are a few more I did…

Last I did a few more drawings based on the Shape Heads that were drawn on my sheet at the start.

These ones below were drawn riding BART home from the city.

Want to give the exercises a try? Here is what we did.

1) Shape-Heads: Each artist participating drew some basic shapes on a sheet of paper. Hearts, stars, rectangles, squares, circles, ovals, wedges, etc. Pass around the sheets of paper and have different artists make the shapes into faces. For ours artist did more then one per sheet sometimes and the artist who drew the shapes also added a few as needed.

2) 25 Facial Expressions: Next we picked a Shape-Head from (1) or had someone else pick one for us. We then filled in a pre-printed handout that was labeled with all the expressions to draw. It’s OK to draw hands and bodies in the shot too. DOWNLOAD HANDOUT HERE.

3) Face Evolution/Devolution: Take a sheet of paper and some photo reference and draw on the Left side one of the faces, trying to capture a decent likeness of the person. Moving to the Right take the head you just drew as reference and modify it into a new character by changing some details. Then draw one or more heads just using the second drawing you did and trying to make it into something new.

4) Take your Shape-Heads and try to draw them again with a body, different expression, etc.

Continue reading »]]> My buddy George Webber (No Cash Comics) and I are planning another InkDrinkDraw artist get together for Monday August 22, 2011 at the Church St. Cafe, starting at 6:30pm. This is a chance for Bay Area/San Francisco artist who are interesting in Cartooning, Comics, Illustration, Animation and similar art forms to meet up, hang out, network, work and create. The last meet-up two months ago at Hooters San Francisco was a blast, and this location is easier to get too as well.

The cafe is an old favorite being a former location for the Cartoonist Conspiracy SF to meet and is lively and fun.

Below is the press release from the official blog:

LOCATION UPDATE !

Hello Everyone,

From George Webber / NoCashComics & Brian Kolm of AtomicBearPress !

OK, so here’s the FINAL inkDrinkDraw Meet-up UPDATE !!!

SF Pizzeria could not accommodate our meeting this time around, SO .. New Location ….

LOCATION:
Church St Cafe (260 Church St – between 15th St & Market St – San Francisco, CA94114 (Neighborhood: Castro)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/church-street-cafe-san-francisco

DATE:
August 22nd

TIME:
6:30 to Whenever (10 / 10:30 most likely)

HERE’S WHAT WILL BE HAPPENING:
Being an artist can be a solitary job, so we want to find a way to meet more like minded artists who are interested in Comics, Animation, Illustration, Video Games and more! After all what’s better than to meet, talk and network with people who “get” what you do as a creative!

(While It’s not “required” to participate in any of these particular activities, we’ll have them on hand if you wish too.)

“Meet & Greet with a Nosh”
Come on by and hang out with other artists, talk shop, share what your working on and have some food and drinks too !
The Church St Cafe has nice sandwiches, cookies & coffee, but you might want to have dinner before hand and have desert at Church St Cafe as they don’t have big dinner type meals.

“Working with Faces”
It seems that one of the major challenges with many artists is being able to draw a unique cast of characters without drawing the same character over and over again with just minor differences, so we came up with a few different challenges having to do with drawing faces.

There is NO simple smiley face drawings in these challenges (try one or all of them):
1. “25 Character Expressions” challenge.
2. “Book of Faces” challenge.
3. “iPhone Face Off” challenge for those with nerves of steel.

ALSO feel free to bring some photos of faces that you would like to share with the group as we work to increase our mental database.

“Working with Copic Markers Demos”
George Webber be geared up to do his Copic Demo for anyone that wants to learn about these markers and he’ll have some extra markers on hand for people to try them out a little.

“Open Projects”
As always “Open Projects” is working on whatever project you brought with you, want to try or are currently working on.
Please feel free to discuss your projects with the group! We love hearing about what people are working on and will gladly give feedback!

To stay in touch you can:
On Twitter Follow @inkDrinkDraw or @NoCashComics & @AtomicBearPress
Read the inkDrinkDraw Blog at inkDrinkDraw.weebly.com for updates.

Make sure we have your email so we can keep you up dated !
P.S. please let me know if you got this email, it’s a new list and need to make sure it’s working.

thanks
gWebber & Brian Kolm

inkDrinkDraw Meet-Ups & Events

Continue reading »]]> As you know from my previous posts, I participated in the Cartoon Art Museum’s Sketch-A-Thon at the SDCC2011.

Most of the time we created original art for a donation to the Museum for an individual, but sometimes we did drawings that were just examples while waiting for a customer. A few of mine that did not sell I was able to borrow from the Cartoon Art Museum to Scan and return.

YOU can buy a drawing if it’s still available for a donation of $10+ (plus shipping and handling if needed) and all proceeds go to the Cartoon Art Museum.

All characters are © there respective owners and these are only done as fan tributes and not for reproduction.

I did a few drawings that were “Kick Butt” version of Disney Princesses. This one is Princess Tiana from the “Princess and the Frog” who I saw as a warrior with voodoo powers. (below) To see my version of Belle from “Beauty and the Beast” visit my previous post.

Another Disney character I drew is the mysterious Hat Box Ghost which was a character in the famous Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland. The character did not last long in the ride and was removed shortly after it opened making it a mystery that the fans love. Me too.

The last piece of art is my version of DC Comics Superman as a steam punk hero.