"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KEVIN!!!"

This one went out to Kevin Blankenship at www.randomtoons.com Check him out!

ALIEN SODOMY: THE EPIDEMIC!

Do YOU want a drawing of alien's 'doing' it? You CAN: just order one of my ART OF ANDY hardcover sketchbooks (link in column on the left). I've been feeling pretty generous lately; I've been including commission sketches with each order at no charge. Not sure how long that will last...

MARKERS. SIGH.

I'm currently culling through what seems to be endless files searching for additions to do an updated portfolio (I'll be back on the job market soon!), when I came across this old freelance job I had done ages ago. It was being developed from a children's book called MOON DOG, if I'm remembering correctly. I was particularly pleased with the fact I was able to do this giant marker comp in one take (I think it was the scale of this thing that was so daunting)--I remembered being terrified I'd make a stupid mistake three quarters through. Markers are a lot less forgiving than photoshop and the convenience of a "command z"!

"THIS IS GOING TO BE A BUSY MONTH..."

SOME EARLY DEVELOPMENT...

I can't tell you what this is just yet...other than it'll be brought to you by the same guys that did CHARLATAN BALL...


More to come.

IT'S BEEN AWHILE SINCE I'VE POSTED...

...anything "STRONG". Or from Charlatan Ball. Here's both.
He's not The Hulk, he's not The Thing...he's THUNK! And he will break you.

CSI: Part II

As promised, the colored version of the piece from 2 posts ago. Man, what a great eps. Way to go, Wally (and Liz)!

THANKS FOR ORDERING MORE BOOKS!

I was super excited to find a couple more orders of my book and tees after the last post! Not only for the sales, but the opportunity to step away from my current freelance and deadline to draw some craziness just for the fun of it. Here's one I was sad to part with but happy to give a good home...
Check back next week; I'll have more time and will be posting daily (or attempting to in any event).

"I USED TO BE SEXY!"

Uncomfortable post title aside, I recently dug up a couple of character designs and development from eons ago. The project was called: "Sexy Deadly". Originally developed as "Birds of Prey" with DC Comics at WB Animation--DC pulled the plug due to either legal, TV, or feature conflicts. Not wanting their hard work to go to waste, they changed the name and added about 50% more raunchiness. The man for the job? Paul Dini, of course. As enamored to work with him as I was, I couldn't say he felt the same way--culminating in my witnessing him asking for another artist right in front of me...sigh. God bless them though, they kept me and put up with my recently evolved--or DEvolved "gross" style of designs. Again, this was years ago--before the recent trend and tendency towards this style (i.e. "Flapjack", etc. ). I smoothed a couple designs out the best I could--trying to let go of any ego I might've had for not being known as the "sexy-girl" artist. I think my favorite part of this experience, aside from working with Paul Dini, was going to MTV for a video-feed meeting on both coasts, where each team of development execs looked like super hip veejays and were literally hung-over from their no-doubt, ultra-cool festivities the evening before. Actually getting a "oh, my head, please don't talk to loud" comment through a satellite feed was priceless.

These are some cleaner models...





This drawing below is still one of my favorite designs...



The drawings below remind me of THIS recent message board where readers were talking about how my Power Girl design in BATMAN: Brave & the Bold looked like a tranny...




Yeah, sort of gross.

"HELLO AND GOODBYE"

...And on a completely unrelated note--

"SPEAKING OF COVERS..."

No, do not attempt to adjust you monitors, this is my cover for CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #56 (I believe). Yes, obviously an homage (or blatant rip off) of ANDY WARHOL's (self-)portrait(s). This one was inked by Mike DeCarlo; the colorist's name escapes me, wish I could remember who Liz said, because they did a great job.

What's cool is, Comicbookresources.com ran a "Judging a book by it's cover" feature--where they described this one as: "Very clever Cartoon Network Block Party cover by Andy Suriano. Definitely the sort of cover that stands out on a rack." Made me smile--and appreciate an editor like LIZ GEHRLEIN for providing me the space and encouragement to take risks and think outside the box--(yes, even on a CN offshoot book like this). Check out all the covers, HERE.

And here's the devolution of the process...
This was the color comp I sent with my penciled page. The final penciled page.

Then, here are some of the rough concept sketches I initially did...

HOW-TO-BE-ME

I thought this was both flattering and humbling, Kathryn Alcorn and Jonathon Conner over at UTRECHT Art Supplies invited me into their catalog and website as a "spotlight artist"!

In the marker paper section of the catalog, Kathryn asked to put up one of my marker comps from CHARLATAN BALL. On the websites Learning Center area, I broke down my marker illustration process, step-by-step, even paper selection. It was so much fun and such a challenge to try and articulate things both learned and stumbled upon. Check it out HERE

LEAPIN' LAGOMORPH!

...or is it Leporidae?



Either way, buy a shirt.

BACK TO ME...

Along with illustrating the further animated adventures of BATMAN: BRAVE & THE BOLD, I've been compiling a TON of early conceptual sketches and roughs from CHARLATAN BALL, to put into the newly solicited CHARLATAN BALL TRADE PAPERBACK!

In addition to collecting issues #1-6 of the first series, the tpb will include endless pages of extras, drawings, color process and outline to final page comparisons--a virtual smörgåsbord of insight into our collective creative process. Not being satisfied with merely regurgitating and repurposing old artwork, I decided to include never-before-seen marker comps like the ones below. These will be special chapter breaks, 12 total, depicting an important character or element from the series. I'm not going to post them all (gotta have something to look forward to!), so enjoy these while you can.

--And please, PLEASE ask your local comics shop for a Diamond/PREVIEWS ORDERING CATALOG and ORDER the CHARLATAN BALL TPB YOURSELF(!), do NOT count on your shop to do it for you. Serious. Seriously. For reals. I don't want to hear about how your shop didn't carry it. They will if you order it. (All you do is fill out the form and hand it directly back to them!) Do it NOW; the deadline is any day now.

MANNY TRIED.

SLEEP TETRIS

KIDS AND ROCKETS...

I had another pitch for this project the other day. It's been 3 or more years in various stages and to be honest, felt like talked to death--so I decided to update a few drawings and sort of re-energize any interest I had. It worked, sort of. Even in the room, during our song and dance, something felt missing--you know, that one, key element that ties it all up in a neat, nice bow? That one sentence, X-ingredient that makes all good ideas great. It wasn't until I was driving home (!) from the meeting that I had the epiphany of what that was.

These drawings were done very quickly (like all my marker comps) and don't reflect that dramatic change yet (I'm not that trusting!)--but thought they were safe enough to share.


I like the texture I got on the big alien dude.

(NOT SO) DYNAMITE.

Sigh.

Well, after being juggled between different networks and production companies the past few years, Dynamite Jones finally got his day this week when I pitched my storyboard for Cartoon Network's Shorts Program: The Cartoonstitute. I bombed. Bad. Inherent, initial story issues aside, their decision to pass was completely justified. About a quarter of the way into the pitch, I could feel the energy drain and I knew I was way off mark, comedy-wise. The worst part about finding yourself in that position is knowing you have at least 3/4 more to go. That's when the sweats start! Ha. Regardless, I had a blast getting to explore Dynamite's world further than before, though I am a little bummed that I won't get a chance to play with other storylines, at least not immediately--
IN MEMORIAM. DIG IT.


DR. DOOMENTHAL D.D.S. was the antagonist for the short, along with his mandroid indentured servants...get it? huh? huh?

About half-way through doing the storyboard, I had the idea that the dentist-inspired villain would be more visually interesting based on MODOK versus Dr. Doom. But I really liked the acting I was able to get out of the previous design, so worked both in--y'know, like wedging a shoehorn into a shoe that's already too small. haha...now are you starting to see why it didn't fly?

Thanks to BATMAN: BRAVE AND THE BOLD's BEN JONES for helping me with the design!CHARLATAN BALL colorist Marc Letzmann sent me this image below to help me smile. Perhaps making him one of the JONas brother's would hit a key demo! hahaha Thanks, Marc.
Who knows, maybe eventually I'll be able to do a really funny Dynamite show somewhere. In the meantime, I was thinking of doing some comics for the hell of it. What do you think?

ITTY BITTY COAST TO COAST!

And on to a less controversial topic: I have art pieces in not one, but TWO "ITTY BITTY ART SHOW"s on not one, but TWO COASTS! Completely unrelated. 'Great minds' and all that, I suppose. The 1st is at my favorite new place: Leigh Medeiros' YES GALLERY AND STUDIO in RHODE ISLAND. I created two very small, very affordable mixed media HARLEQUINS. You can see my pieces on her site HERE.

Here's the 4x9...

And look how cute the gallery is!

Her show opens this FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7th, running until the end of the month.

And here's my "fire sale" priced piece for Mayra's MONKEYHOUSE TOYS & ART GALLERY Itty Bitty Show:

A decidedly different piece than what will show @ YES. This opening will be this SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8th, 5-8pm.

So, depending on your zip code, go grab some affordable art from a smorgasbord of amazing talents. Landlocked in middle America? Go to their websites and feel free to contact them.

YES Gallery and Studio
146 Water Street
Warren, Rhode Island
02885
(401) 245-7174
yesgalleryandstudio@gmail.com

Monkeyhouse Toys & Art Gallery
1618 1/2 silver lake bl.
los angeles, ca 90026
323-662-3437
monkeyhousetoys.com

VOTE!

I know, I know, the last place you want your politics is on an artist's blog...but even these lines blur, not only for political and editorial cartoons, but with the recent push of the DEVIOUS "ORPHAN WORKS BILL". Hideous, truly. I Urge you all to check out the latest (if you haven't already). This affects you and your work, everything on our blogs could be taken away from us and used by giant corporations, in effect, we'd have to buy back our own drawings!? And believe me, none us could afford to.

Anyway, I want to talk to you about another of my, er, urges...tomorrow is election day, please, dear God, vote! As a fervent supporter of a greater-than-two party system, I understand any cynicism about finding actual change and the Herculean task to bring it about--but my urge is to ask all of you Californians and fellow transplants to look closer at the propositions, namely PROP 8. If you have a TV and you've turned it on once in the past couple months, you've seen what you probably thought were SNL "skits" showcasing performers pretending to be parents, preachers and teachers, attempting to BAN (i.e. discriminate) gay marriage. Hilarious AND repulsive, no matter which way you "swing". Ah, who could forget such classics as "The King and the King", you can buy it HERE on Amazon! Speaking of swingers, my favorite is when the rosey-cheeked (see: "fat"), woman and her chubby-chaser hubby cry: "they are eight years old for God's sake" or some such thing. To which I propose, WHAT'S WRONG WITH TEACHING CHILDREN TOLERANCE??? I might add, most of those impressionable young beings could grow up to be--GASP! tolerant adults! Could you imagine? Oh, the horror...
...speaking of, you know that couple in the ad are into twisted, kinky shit behind closed doors. The priest, teacher? Total pedaphiles.

That's why I ask you, I mean, urge you to look closer, think about what it means to eliminate rights, because that's what allowing the proposition to pass will do. Regardless of how you "feel" about same-sex relationships, it shouldn't be our place to tell people they can't be miserable like the rest of us married folks! hahaha VOTE NO ON PROP 8!!! I'll say it again: NO on 8!

I might add, NOT voting is the same thing as allowing it to pass!

For more info, check out NO ON PROP 8 DOT COM



And now some art! These marker designs were from a freelance gig with SIX POINT HARNESS a couple years back called "Capital Zoo". Can you name, spot all the pundents, politicians, mayors and muckrakers?