Atomic Bear Press » Graphics

Graphics for ‘Once Upon a Dream: the Art of Sleeping Beauty’ at the CAM

Brian — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:34:14 +0000

Here are samples of the graphics I created for the new exhibit at the Cartoon Art Museum.

‘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

Whats happening…Wondercon 2009

Brian — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:55:30 +0000

Hey all,

I have not been blogging as much the last few months and I wanted to say ‘Hi’ and let you know that I am still alive. I have a parent in critical health condition which has put many things in a stand still for the unforeseeable future. Having someone you care about in such serious condition really makes you think about your life and your own mortality. Mix that with an upcoming big birthday in April and it’s enough to make one feel ‘in the dumps’ a bit. But I am blessed to have a very wonderful mother, sister, and extended family and friends who will make sure the family gets through what ever happens.

On a more cheery note,I will be at Wondercon 2009 this weekend doing commissioned artwork as well as selling comics and art prints. If you want to commission an original piece of art done at the convention, you can make a request ahead of time by emailing me at staff AT atomicbearpress.com. I will post prices in the next day or two.

BTW here is my banner on it’s home made display stand.

The ABP banner is here.

Brian — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:05:50 +0000

OK folks here is the banner I ordered from gotprint.com. I just got it today. The material is lighter then the ones I have seen that cost more, but at $30 that is not a surprise. The banner is suppose to be matte, but there is some shine to it still, but I don’t think I will return it at this point. The color looks really bright and good tonight (will have to see it in daylight to know the whole scoop). The only biggie is that there is some black ‘dirt’ at the cat and pirate images, but that could just be my original files. All in all it looks pretty good for $30. It took about 13 days to get it including non-work days and a holiday too.
Now to find a way to display it at a con with no wall to hang it on.

New Banner

Brian — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 08:27:40 +0000

Hey all, I just ordered a banner to get in time for Wondercon 2009 at the end of the month. I found that GotPrint.com makes a 2′x4′ banner for about $30 (including shipping). While I am aware that ‘you get what you pay for,’ I have had great experiences with ordering post cards and business cards so I thought I would give it a try.

I will post a report when I get the actual banner.

Here is the final design…

Update: the end of summer.

Brian — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:46:41 +0000

Labor day weekend has come and gone which, for many, signals the end of the Summer season.

Of late my blogging has gotten more sparse, so I have lots of catch up with news of my projects and cartooning classes (instead of just posting random art and interesting links). I know that folks like to know whats going on, but I find more personal blog post hard to do since I could say the wrong thing. After all the internet is forever and what you say can come back to haunt you. But I would also like to tell you folks a bit more about whats going on. I guess I am just am not going to bear my soul.

The classes I taught this summer were all really awesome. The kids in the four week-long classes all did an amazing jobs and really produced some amazing work. The kids created characters, drew comics, and created animation (both at the Schulz Museum and the Cartoon Art Museum.) I have posted some of the animation on my YouTube account and some of the artwork has been posted here on the blog too. The summer was really busy, but rewarding as well.

I have cartooning classes lined-up for the fall school year with many returning clients. I am hoping that my full schedule starting from a year ago will have provided me with some wisdom on how to do this teaching thing more efficiently (starting next week). Keeping your life/work flowing is always an interesting challenge.

Just last week I just got a new illustration assignment from a previous client with an exciting challenge for me. I am looking forward to working on it.

I am also working on some graphics for Silicon 2008 in San Jose CA in October which should be appearing on the website and other media fairly soon. Well, I am just finishing them up so you will just have to wait and see. But you can get to see some rough sketches I did for the images below.

Well, that is it for this post. I sure wish more folks, besides spammers, would comment. But I don’t keep my breath held too much. After all some of the most awesome artist in this world of ours get only a handful of comments too.

Dang nab it, being an artist can be hard.

Art Show and Parking for Silicon 2008.

Night Time and Information for Silicon 2008.

Activities/Entertainment and Science Alley for Silicon 2008.

Not sure what I was thinking, but there images I like… for Silicon 2008.

Panels and Shopping for Silicon 2008.

Edward Gorey’s Dracula exhibit banner

Brian — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 21:06:14 +0000

This is the banner for the cartoon art museum that I did the graphic design for ( logo,banner,postcard )…

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The show is wonderful. It features Gorey’s designs for the hit Broadway production of Dracula from th3 1970′s. The whole production was Gorey, what a show that must have been.

Mary Blair exhibit banner

Brian — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 06:25:35 +0000

I was proud to recently help create the Graphics for the Cartoon Art Museums new show The Wit and Flair of Mary Blair. The show is amazing and I was pleased as punch to be able to work with a scan of one of her concept pieces for Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. Ms. Blair was an amazing painter and it makes you want to get out your watercolors and goash and create something cool, emotional and real.

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Silicon 2007 Comics Jam w/Flier – October 6 2007

Brian — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 03:10:08 +0000

click for a bigger image

I created the flier for Silicon 2007 Comic Jam. Drawn inPen and ink with text and graphics in Photoshop. I tried to make sure that each panel could have been drawn by different artist.

The jam was pretty fun last year, to see the results, check out the official page with a downloadable PDF.

Tag(s):

silicon

Comics 4 Comix 2007 is TOMORROW NIGHT!!

Brian — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 00:01:00 +0000

*
click for a bigger image

The Cartoon Art Museum’s Comics 4 Comix event is tomorrow night. Be there or be square.

Comics 4 Comix Benefit Thursday, April 5, 2007
7pm-10pm

Tickets: $20 ($10 for CAM Members)

Comics and comix collide as the funnies meet the funny in the third annual fundraiser and silent art auction for San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum, sponsored by The San Francisco Chronicle’s 96 Hours. Join the Bay Area’s funniest folk for a night of food, drink, and entertainment, and bid on original art by some of today’s brightest stars in comics. This year Comics 4 Comix takes place on Thursday, April 5th from 7 pm to 10 pm at the Cartoon Art Museum. Tickets are $20 per person ($10 for members of the Cartoon Art Museum) and may be purchased in advance at the museum, by telephone, or at the door on the night of the event.

The Cartoon Art Museum will host an all-star cast of stand-up comics for this event, beginning at 8pm. Hilarity is bound to ensue as the evening offers a variety of stand-up comedians, featuring headliner Michael Meehan, fresh from his appearance on the Late Late Show on CBS, with special guests including comedian Kurt Weitzman, comedian & cartoonist Nick Leonard, and returning favorite Mark Silverman, as well as host Michael Capozzola, creator of “Cheap City” debuting in the San Francisco Chronicle’s 96 Hours.

In addition to getting a dose of high comedy, attendees will have the opportunity to peruse the museum’s galleries while enjoying a smorgasbord of delectable delights. Patrons can look forward to sampling noshes from Canton Dim Sum and Seafood Restaurant, Hawaiian fusion food from Roy’s, the bountiful baked goods of Arizmendi Bakery, tasty treats from Whole Foods Markets, healthy delights from Rainbow Grocery Cooperative, more munchies from CafÃ© Venue, bubbly brews compliments of Thirsty Bear and smooth cocktails courtesy of True Sake. Additional in-kind support has been provided by The Marriott and Anderson Audio-Visual.

As for comix, partygoers can bid on original comic strip art from popular local and national cartoonists, inclhttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifuding Dan Piraro (Bizarro), Frank Cho (Liberty Meadow), Phil Frank (Farley), illustrator Eric Drooker (Flood), Tom Beland (True Story Swear to God), Lalo Alcaraz (La Cucaracha), Lynn Johnston (For Better or For Worse), political cartoonist Mark Fiore, Michael Jantze (The Norm) and more.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at the museum, via telephone 415-227-8666 ext. 300, or at the door on the night of the event.

* NOTE: I also did the invitation graphic editing working with the original work by Jessica Chen. Visit her site:

Worlds of Wonder postcard

Brian — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 08:10:00 +0000

This is the postcard for the Cartoon Art Museum exhibit Worlds of Wonder. The exhibit will feature twelve different artists and the worlds they have created for their stories. This design will also be the basis of the window banner that will be seen at the museum.

To see my ad for the Wondercon program in a previous post, scroll down below or CLICK HERE.

Worlds of Wonder ad in the Wondercon programing book.

Brian — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 18:45:00 +0000

This ad for the next exhibit at the Cartoon Art Museum will be appearing in the Wondercon programing book. I am responsible (for better or worse) for it’s creation. It was a thrill to be working with the art of so many talented folks. I will post the postcard and banner images next week.

The show has some amazing stunning work, press release below:

A great comic builds a world for its readers. Whether it’s futuristic adventure or medieval fantasy, the farthest reaches of reality or a someplace tantalizingly close to home, comics offer an escape into an unforgettable world. The Cartoon Art Museum’s latest exhibition, Worlds of Wonder, explores twelve different comic-book and comic-strip illustrators and the worlds built from their imaginations. Their work runs the gamut of fantasy, science fiction, folk legend, magical realism, and stories almost too good to be the truth.Featured artists include Linda Medley (Castle Waiting), Charlie Adlard (Astronauts in Trouble: 1959), Tom Beland (True Story Swear To God), Mark Buckingham & Steve Leialoha (Fables), Gene Colan (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Pia Guerra (Y The Last Man), Shepherd Hendrix (Stagger Lee), Kevin Huizenga (Ganges), Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon), Patrick McDonnell (Mutts), Lark Pien (Long Tail Kitty, Flight), and Gene Yang & Thien Pham (Three Angels).

Many of the featured artists will be appearing at San Francisco’s two major comic conventions, WonderCon and The Alternative Press Expo (APE). For more information on these events, please visit Comic-Con International’s official website, http://www.comic-con.org

The opening reception for Worlds of Wonder will be held on Friday, March 2, 2007, from 8:00 to 11:00pm. Admission to this ticketed event is $10 to the general public and $5 for members of the Cartoon Art Museum and any WonderCon attendee (with WonderCon badge). Many of the featured artists and special WonderCon guests will be in attendance. Please visit http://www.cartoonart.org for special updates as the convention approaches.

The Cartoon Art Museum is located at 655 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. Phone 415-CAR-TOON; on the web at www.cartoonart.org

Rejection Collection exhibit graphics

Brian — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 08:08:00 +0000

Click on the above image to see a larger picture of the graphics I created for the Cartoon Art Museum.

Art: Blue Beetle

Brian — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 06:14:00 +0000

I spent all of Saturday drawing and creating with my good friend Linda. One of the drawings I wanted to do was a tribute to the Blue Beetle (Ted Kord version). I am very pleased with most of it except the gun arm, it just looks off to me. I think the color looks pretty good.

NOTE: I am posting slightly larger image on my DeviantArt page for the time being. Let me know what you guys think.

Latest Project "Rejection Collection" for the Cartoon Art Museum

Brian — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 23:54:00 +0000

Click on theÂ image to see a larger version.

Tomorrow is the first day of The Rejection Collection, the new exhibit at the Cartoon Art Museum. The show features cartoons that were rejected from The New Yorker magazine.

I created the graphic material for the show.

For the front of the postcard I took a high-res file from the book cover that the show is based on and carefully removed some of the text. The background has a nice stripe design which made it easy to cover up the un-needed material, but made it impossible to move any original element from side to side.

The back of the postcard features a texture of real crumpled paper that was brought into the design.

The banner features a printout of the illustration which was then trashed and scanned back into the computer and composited with the other elements.

CARTOON ART CAMP: Making Mini-Comics – August 7th – 11th

Brian — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 20:06:00 +0000

I am happy to announce my second Cartoon Art Camp class at the Cartoon Art Museum is official – Making Mini Comics. The last one in June was really fun.

Thanks to modern reproduction techniques we can easily make our own books featuring our own art. These are great for gifts or to sell. Where some classes focus on drawing this one will be about taking ones are and making it into something else, a book. The class is small so there is lots of one-on-one custom help for the kids.

Below is the official press release:

CARTOON ART CAMP:
Making Mini-Comics
August 7th through 11th, 2006 from 12pm to 2pm
$100 for non-members ($80 for CAM members)

The Cartoon Art Museum is proud to announce its second class as part of the Cartoon Art Camp, a series of cartooning classes for intermediate level artists from 10 to 14 years old. The class will be taught by cartoonist Brian Kolm, creator of the comic book series Beyond the Great Chimney (www.atomicbearpress.com). Kolm has been teaching classes at the Cartoon Art Museum since 2002, and has also taught at the Charles M. Schulz Museum, and ZEUM.

The class will meet for five consecutive days, Monday through Friday, from 12pm to 2pm, for a intensive class on creating a mini comic book. The students will learn how to take their artistic skills and create a complete one-to-two page comic story that will then be compiled into a class-produced anthology. This class will cover storytelling, layout and rendering of the comic page(s) as well as formatting the work for print and creating a completed book using common desktop publishing tools. At the end of the session, each student will receive a copy of the completed class comic book.

The cost of the class is $100 for non-members, and $80 for members of The Cartoon Art Museum. [Please note that those with Individual CAM memberships may apply their own membership discount to students who wish to register in the class, one discounted fee per Individual membership.] All basic drawing materials for this class are covered by the registration fee. The class size is limited, and seats must be paid in advance to guarantee placement. Full refund for cancellations made prior to August 1st.

For Registration and information, Contact: Andrew Farago, 415-227-8666, ext. 314 or gallery@cartoonart.org.

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Cartoon Art Museum â‚¬ 655 Mission Street s San Francisco, CA 94105 s 415-CAR-TOON s www.cartoonart.org
Hours: Tues. Sun. 11:00 – 5:00, Closed Monday
General Admission:$6.00 s Student/Senior:$4.00 s Children 6-12:$2.00 s Members & Children under 6: Free

The Cartoon Art Museum is a tax-exempt, non-profit, educational organization dedicated to the collection, preservation,
study and exhibition of original cartoon art in all forms.

Recent Projects…

Brian — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 17:27:00 +0000

I have been a busy beaver lately, so here is a re-cap of some of the projects I have done for clients lately.

First off the newest one: Ghost Crane from Golden Gate Universe Comics. The drawing is by Travis Trono and I provided digital coloring as well as the logo design. Click on the thumbnails below to view the front and back of the book.

Ghost Crane will be available at Comic-Con in San Diego this July.

I also worked on the Cover Coloring for Alexis E. Fajardo/Lexpress on the preview of Kid Beowulf and the Song of Roland.

To find out more about the creation of this piece, check out my previous post.

Kid Beowulf and the Song of Roland preview will also be available at Comic-Con in San Diego this July.

Also for Lexpress is Icarus, a new character based on the Greek myth. Alexis did the drawing at Wondercon’06 and I colored it with watercolors.

Lex has just posted more information about ICARUS on his BLOG, check it out!

Cartoon Tunes & Earthquake!!! Reception May 23-2006 7-9pm

Brian — Thu, 04 May 2006 08:26:00 +0000

The opening for the show Earthquake at the Cartoon Art Museum will be on May 23, 2006. From ~~6-8~~ 7-9. I have a piece in the show. Be there or be square. Here is the official text from the museum… (I also created the above logo)

Cartoon Tunes & Earthquake!!! Reception

Tuesday, May 23th 2006, 7:00-9:00pm

The opening reception for our Earthquake centennial exhibition (featuring 20 local cartoonists) and our upcoming Cartoon Tunes exhibition (featuring lots of great music-related comics from Keith Knight, Robert Crumb, Gene Deitch and others). Admission to the museum is free for this event, and it will be a great opportunity to hang out with your fellow cartoonists and score some free drinks while you’re at it.

The difference between color and black and white.

Brian — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 20:25:00 +0000

I recently did this poster for the Cartoon Art Museum for their upcoming Comics for Comix event. BTW It will be held on Feb 10, 2006.

I originally did the poster in Color using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. One thing I have learned is you can’t take a color image and convert it to black and white with out taking into consideration that color value is very different then black and white value. What seems like two different colors could seem like very close variants of grey when changed. Here is an example from the poster. The sample below was converted to black and white without taking into consideration the differences.

When you’re working strictly on the computer and the image is in layers or some other form that can be changed easily, you want to edit and change the colors to appropriate black, grey and white values. Also take into consideration how the work will be reproduced. If it’s a Xerox you need it to be higher contrast. Here is the final version I did in black and white.

NOTE: It is a bit of different process when you have color images that you are not able to edit the separate areas on. That is a post for another day.

In this final version, the logo is higher contrast with the lighter areas closer to white. At least one of the text boxes has a white stroke to make it stand out. And the restaurant/food logos were edited to show up better.

Another interesting example of this idea is costumes from black and white TV shows and movies. In The Adventures of Superman, George Reeves wore the familiar uniform of the man of steel, but the traditional Blue and Red areas would ended up looking wrong on black and white film.

To explain it more – Jim Nolt writes on his George Reeves superman site,The Adventure Continues:

Superman and the Mole-Men and the first two seasons were filmed in black and white. Because there was not enough contrast between the blue and red when filmed in b&w, a brown and grey costume was used. Beginning with episode #53 “Through The Time Barrier,” the Adventures of Superman was filmed in color…

So the next time you are working on a project, take the time to adjust the black and white version to look as good as the color.

Comics 4 Comix – Art and Graphics

Brian — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 19:54:00 +0000

Here is the graphic work I did for the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco for their COMICS to COMIX event. The fundraiser of stand-up comedy coincides with Wondercon next month.

I took the current logo and recreated it in Adobe Illustrator. I then did the layout for an ad that will appear in the Wondercon program.

I also created some portraits of super-comedians. I don’t know if they will be used or not. They where fun to do.

For more information, visit the Cartoon Art Museum website.