Atomic Bear Press » Commissioned Art

Cartoon Boot Camp – Comic Book Creation

Brian — Wed, 09 May 2012 22:27:58 +0000

Promotional illustration for my Cartoon Boot Camp class at the Cartoon Art Museum: Comic Book Creation.

The class runs the week of July 9 to 13, 2012.

Cartoon Boot Camp 2012 – into to Stop-Motion Animation artwork

Brian — Wed, 09 May 2012 22:22:27 +0000

Promotional illustration for my Cartoon Boot Camp class at the Cartoon Art Museum- Intro to Stop-Motion Animation.

The class runs the week of June 11 to 15, 2012.

‘Brian Kolm: Portfolio 2007-2011′ now avalible through Blurb.com

Brian — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 01:55:15 +0000

I wanted to find a unique way to show samples of my artwork that would stand out, so I decided to create a hard-cover book that I could use at conventions and professional meetings. The book features samples of my artwork from 2007-2011 including illustrations and personal work.

The books are Print On Demand through Blurb.com, who do a high quality job and create a very slick final product.

You can order the hard-cover book (with an on-line preview) HERE

This is the 4th book I have made through Blurb.com and I have been very happy with the results. The books are always printed beautifully and come to you looking very professional and slick.

Now, one of the best things about Blurb.com is that they are constantly updating their services aimed at their target audience: artists. So they have made their own software BookSmart more customizable, but also finally have an option for folks who wanted a more professional options. This year they introduced a plug-in for Adobe In-Design that not only generates the templates for a book/cover, but also a way to correctly output a PDF to upload. This means that you can pretty much layout the pages any way you want and can use files in formats like Photoshop .psd that BookSmart can not use. Considering I have lots of art as high-resolution .psd files, that means I could place them and not have to convert them to .jpg files first.

Uploading the final book as a Adobe PDF was easy to do and the website will let you know if any of your images are too low-res for print, but I would always make sure to carefully look at your PDF yourself to make sure there are not unexpected surprises which sometimes do not show up in In-Design.

If you are familiar with Adobe InDesign I would definitely consider using the plug-in since it was a lot faster and more powerful, but the BookSmart program is really good if you want something pretty nice.

To find out more about editing your book at Blurb.com visit HERE.

and more Wondercon 2011 convention art

Brian — Mon, 02 May 2011 18:00:15 +0000

And the rest of the art I created at Wondercon 2011 (April 1-3), this time all original characters by me.

Octopus – click above for a bigger image

Some creature thingy – click above for a bigger image

Steam punk women – click above for a bigger image

Archer – click above for a bigger image

Fantasy women – click above for a bigger image

Batman Tiki – click above for a bigger image

Cat – click above for a bigger image

Dead pirate – click above for a bigger image

Dragon – click above for a bigger image

More Wondercon 2011 fan art comissions

Brian — Mon, 02 May 2011 05:44:02 +0000

Here are some more art I created at Wondercon 2011 (April 1-3).

Pokemon creature – click above for a bigger image

Etrigan the Demon from DC Comic – click above for a bigger image

Vision and Scarlet Witch from Marvel Comics – click above for a bigger image

the Might Thor from Marvel Comics – click above for a bigger image

Meet me at SF Zinefest 2010 – September 4-5, 2010 -FREE

Brian — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:39:58 +0000

I will be exhibiting at the San Francisco Zine Fest on September 4-5, 2010. Hosted in the County Fair Building on the edge of Golden Gate Park, come and see the latest in comics, art and zines. Admission is FREE and there is something for everyone!

When and where is the SF Zine Fest?

Saturday, September 4 from 11:00am – 6:00pm
Sunday, September 5 from 11:00am – 6:00pm
(Labor Day Weekend)

SF County Fair Building
(formerly Hall of Flowers)
9th Ave. at Lincoln Way (in Golden Gate Park) map
We are very excited to be returning to our new home at the San Francisco County Fair Building! The SF County Fair Building is easily accessible by bicycle (lots of parking right out front) and also by public transit: The N train and the 6, 16BX, 43, 44, and 71 bus lines all drop you off within a couple blocks of the Fest! Parking can be more difficult, the adjacent lot is for loading and unloading ONLY. There are some paid parking lots in the nearby Inner Sunset district.

Find out more at: http://blog.sfzinefest.com/

New Art: Ehyu the half-orc

Brian — Fri, 21 May 2010 20:10:10 +0000

Here is a RPG character portrait I was commissioned to do recently. I am pleased with the energy in the drawing.

The Road to Wondercon 2010 part 1

Brian — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 08:09:22 +0000

We’ll folks, Wondercon 2010 will be upon us in 11 days and I can’t wait. That is, I am excited and also nervous. Nervous because I will be working on some new items and ideas for the convention and excited for pretty much the same reasons. Of course I am excited too for all the awesome friends I will see, the cool new products, the colorful costumes and all the fun and energy the convention provides.

First off, you should know that I can be found in Artist Alley at table AA 48. To help you I have made this spiffy map (below).

hint: click for a bigger image.

This year I will be focusing on art and art prints with the classic comics for sale as well. (all info is subject to change)

- A set of mystery color prints that will feature some new watercolor paintings.

- The last of the limited edition sketchbook from 2008 which features a role playing game theme and included a custom “black and blue” sketch.

- The 25 Penguin prints in both color and the color it yourself print editions.

- Commissioned monochrome and color wash art. Full size, in your sketchbook or on a sketchcard. It’s all good and all one-of-a-kind.

- A new free postcard when you visit the table.

- Classic Comics

- get a sneak peek at some new comic projects in progress as well.

- FREE Easter Treats on Easter Sunday!

All for now, but more info will be on the way–Stay Tooned!

‘Operation Shine’ poster

Brian — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:41:58 +0000

This is a poster design I did for one of my co-workers at the Youth Center I work at for ‘Operation Shine’. The poster is to promote a group of people hiking across the country to promote the issues of GLBT homeless youth. www.pridewalk2009.org/

“Estimates are that 40% of homeless youth identity as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgenders or queer. Considering LGBT youth make up only 5-10% of the population in general, the fact that so many homeless youth are queer is troubling. But what can be done to prevent LGBT homelessness?”

I did not have time to alter the art for the client, so it was done by someone else. I have included it for posterity sake.

click for bigger images at Flickr

Art: ILRCSF Postcard Illustration

Brian — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 21:57:00 +0000

Here is the final illustration for the ILRCSF that will be made into a postcard to be distributed in and around San Francisco.

To see the in-progress photos, visit HERE.

Sneak Peek at my latest illustration work…

Brian — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 23:57:00 +0000

This is an illustration I am creating for a local Non-Profit. I will post the final image when everything is officially complete.

Third Thursday at the California Academy of Sciences.

Brian — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 18:53:00 +0000

A big hello to everyone who came by for a free drawing at the Third Thursday event at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

I had a few spare drawings I did while waiting for people to come by.

I drew the hippo and then Nathan Parker drew the guy,
I later added the heading and the hearts.

I did get a chance to look around at the excellent displays of sea life.
Here is me looking (in my opinion) cool.

Here is the gang at the Cartoon Art Museum table, who co-sponsored the event.
(left to right) Laure, Summerlea and Nathan.

Deviant Art Holiday Art Trade…Alien Magic

Brian — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 03:21:00 +0000

This painting was created as part of a DeviantArt Holiday Art trade hosted by mechangel2002. We were paired up with another artist and then created an original piece which was mailed them.

This is the piece I did for Bobby (aka ~WlfmnXXX). To see the piece of art I get in the trade, check out here. His really is amazing, especially the anatomy and the great inking.

Christmas Card progress

Brian — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 21:22:00 +0000

I finished the art and scanned it in. The above animated Gif shows the final details of adjusting the color and inserting the photo. Now it will be printed and mailed to everyone on the folks Christmas list.

Christmas Card progress

Brian — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 01:56:00 +0000

Every year since I have been able to draw, I illustrate my families Christmas card. This year we are moving away from the holiday icons, and instead using the wonders of the nature near the homestead instead.

The first step is to sketch out the design. This is about my third try. I had to force myself to move away from the stereotyped cute animals I normal draw to better represent the world I wish to capture.

With the design finalized I taped it to the back of a sheet of watercolor paper and placed it on my light-box desk. There I began to paint in the grass and loose details in a brown watercolor.

Here is the art with out the back light on, showing only the watercolor areas.

I will post more tomorrow when I get the animals done. I have not decided if they will be rendered in paint or pen and ink.

Art: In Harmony (auction piece)

Brian — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 06:06:00 +0000

Sketch: Scooter and his rider

Brian — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 23:45:00 +0000

Created at Silicon 2006l. Brush Pen and Watercolor on Bristol Board.

Private Cartoon Lesson to help out the Philharmonia

Brian — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 06:02:00 +0000

On October 28th, 2006 the PHILHARMONIA BAROQUE ORCHESTRA will be having a fund raiser and one of the auction items will be TWO HOUR PRIVATE CARTOONIG LESSON with me Brian Kolm. As part of the silent auction, there is an original piece of art called “In Harmony” It is done in pen and ink with watercolor washes.

Some lucky person will be reciving this lovely piece of art as well as the lesson. Will it be you?

Birthday heroes

Brian — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 20:26:00 +0000

One service I can offer is to provide some entertainment for birthday parties, like this one I did last sunday with a superhero theme. Here are the heroes the boys ( and one girl) created.

Here are the birthday kids and me with the birthday boy.

And here is the drawing I did for the birthday boy. I hope he liked it. I also printed some small prints so all the kids got one.

Earthquake!!! Bay Area Cartoonists Look at 1906, 1989 and Beyond

Brian — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 23:30:00 +0000

I am part of a new show at the Cartoon Art Museum: Earthquake!!! Bay Area Cartoonists Look at 1906, 1989 and Beyond is now on display at the Cartoon Art Museum, and will be running from now until June 25. Please check it out.

*Phil Frank (Farley–SF Chronicle)
*Steven Lait (Oakland Tribune)
*Jeff Walker (Mad Happys)
*Brian Kolm (Beyond the Great Chimney)
*Jon “Bean” Hastings (Terrabella Smoot, Mad Science)
*Keith Knight (the ‘K’ Chronicles)
*Terry Hollowell (Hollow Press Posters)
*Mark Bode & Bill Fitts (Heavy Metal)
*Trina Robbins (The Great Women Cartoonists)
*Lee Binswanger (National Lampoon)
*Grant Corley
*Tamara Lusher-Stocker
*Nate Orman (Mad Happys)
*Floyd Johnson (Tahoe Daily Tribune)
*Paul Madonna (All Over Coffee–SF Chronicle)
*Betsy Streeter (Brainwaves)
*Peter S. Conrad (Attempted Not Known)

for more information:

Cartoon Art Museum
655 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) CAR-TOON, ext. 314
www.cartoonart.org

Tags: Brian Kolm|Earthquake|CAM|Cartoon Art Museum|