Kicking it into gear!

Hey Everybody!

Sorry for a delay in blogging, I was surprised with a vacation to the Bahamas!  As you can tell, I didn't really think about blogging until I got back. My wife surprised me with the trip, I had no idea!  I thought we were going to dinner, it wasn't until we pulled up to the airport and I got out seeing packed bags that I caught on!  I don't know if that is a good thing, or a bad thing if that happened again!  I apparently could be kidnapped without knowing!  LOL  When we got to the Carnival cruise, at Port Canaveral was when everything clicked!  So our adventure started at 4pm, but being that it was a long day of traveling, we decided to take a nap.  When we got up to go to dinner, Cyndi stated she wasn't feeling well, me, thinking that she was hungry because she always says she doesn't feel good when she is hungry, I didn't put 2 and 2 together that she was getting seasick.  And the combination of being pregnant was a recipe for disaster since she can't really take anything for it!  As we proceeded to Deck 10 to get to the dining area, Cyndi blurted out that she needed to go outside, and out she went, over the railing!  And stayed there for about an hour and a half!  Poor girl, she finally said she had a small window to get from Deck 9 to Deck 4 to our room before she had another episode of vomiting!  I ran ahead of her to open our cabin door, and right to the waste basket she went!  I ordered 6 grilled cheeses and pretzels and lots of ginger ale for her to have something to throw up.  She threw up until she passed out of exhaustion.  When we woke up we were about to dock in Nassau, so we decided to stay there for the rest of our vacation.  But we did enjoy the boat while it was docked until it was time for them to leave so it wasn't a complete waste.  When we finally got off, was when our real vacation started.  It was a great place of rest and relaxation, we truly did enjoy ourselves!  And I truly enjoyed the Guava Puffs, man were those delicious!  I must find the recipe and try my hand at it.






But I am here now, and with a few sketches to share with you guys!  I have been still plugging along on my concepting portfolio and applying to every job that opens up in the video game industry.  But I was told that it could take a while before hearing back from anyone, they say it is a slow process.  What is an artist to do to pay bills?  Find other avenues, Trading cards for one, I had been asked to participate in the Walking Dead trading card set that is coming out, and also the DC: New 52 trading card set.  That should keep me busy for a little while, so that's good.  Easy money, and getting artist proofs to sell can double my pay.  So that will be good.  I also have something in the works that I have been working the old noggin with a friend of mine as a collaboration.  More on that in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for that!  Especially you South Hill natives, you definitely will get a kick out of the idea!  In the mean time, here are a few sketches for you guys!

Goblin concept click to enlarge

Angel concept click to enlarge

For fun!  HAHAHA

Alright you guys, I promise to post more!  See you guys in the funny papers!

Putting a "The" on everything..

Hey everybody!

Blogging time again, Oscar night has passed, and all I can think of is there are a lot of movies with The in the title.  The Help, The Artist, The Iron Lady, A Separation didn't have a chance, there was no The!
Even announcing presenters were with a The, The Angelina Jolie, which she certainly looked like a The, the thing!  She needs to eat something badly!  Showing off leg with the dress she was wearing did not help her case!  Brad Pitt made a bad choice, at least Jennifer Anniston looks healthy!  The Brad Pitt, and The Jennifer Anniston, I mean.  But it was great seeing Billy Crystal up there again, took me back when I watched the awards with my mom and dad, ahh, good times.  People can complain all they want on his performance, but he is a showman.  Compared to last year's abomination with Ann Hathaway and James Franco, who looked like he was on a high the whole time, give me Billy!  I enjoy the movie shorts, and the subliminal inserts of the Princess Bride strewn about the awards show.  Billy Crystal, THE Oscar Host!  As for the movies nominated, I will watch them eventually, but nothing really grabbed me.  The Help I did, see, and enjoyed thoroughly, Hugo I wanted to see, and Warhorse. As for the other nominations, that is where they create the ploy, to get to go see the movie, because The Iron Lady just came out, or was in select theaters to where not everyone can go see it.  The Academy, all the actors, have access in seeing these movies, not the general public.  It is this, that I am not keen about.  It used to be that everyone saw these movies, and everyone knew what was good enough to get an Oscar,(American Beauty, surely was not one of them, but what do I know).  NOw, when they make the announcements of Oscar nominations, you are like, "Huh?  I have never heard of that movie!"  But once it has won Best picture, and Best actor, Best actress, then you HAVE to see it, to see what all the hubbub is about!  That is just my opinion on the whole thing, do what you like. Opinions are like armpits, you usually have two of them,(unless there was a freak accident, and you only have one arm),  there is one of that might be ok, but the other one probably stinks more.

I have been a bit busy with applying to jobs this past week that I didn't really have the chance to post a blog until now.  Applying to jobs is a job in itself!  I think it takes at least 45 minutes to apply to each one!  Having to go through page after page of personal information as well as regurgitate your resume and cover letter is quite the chore.  But I have gotten the hang of it now, hopefully will hear back soon.  I hate the feeling of not having work to do except adding to the portfolio.  But it is the journey I have decided to take for my unborn child and I WILL succeed as I did in my comics career.  With hard work and perseverance I shall overcome with God willing.

My Wolverine pose!  hehehe

Another milestone in my life was taking the plunge, Baptism that is!  I had decided to take the next step in my path with God by getting baptized with my wife.  I had grown up Christian all my life, but never was baptized, by choice, only as a baby.  I had decided to change that with everything that has been happening in our lives that God has done, and he has definitely made a grand appearance there!  I wanted to reaffirm my faith in him and show him that I was giving myself to him.  And it was a celebratory day to do it, since it fell on my Dad's birthday.  I wore my Windmill shirt that my wife Cyndi gave me in remembrance of him.  I truly did and still do feel different when I came out of the water like Wolverine did in Origins.   But it wasn't adamantium coarsing through every fiber of my being, but the Holy Spirit, and I welcomed it!  We do love the church that we are in, they accept all who are there, and they are people like me, creatives!  I just feel at home with them, and I thank them for letting us be a part of them.   It's funny, I have had friends of mine ask me if they are supposed to act different around me now that I have been baptized, I say no, act how you want, I wouldn't put myself around people who are of bad influence if they did.  But it has opened up to conversations that I never really talked about in the past, religion, faith and the belief in God.  I think that is a win for God, and for myself, and I am thankful.

Samson kicks ass!  Literally! Click to Enlarge

Who knew this was going to get religious on you guys, but hey, I'm not shy about it anymore, God is there for me, and He is there for you, you just have to take that first step!  Now, since I have brought up religion on an art blog, I sketched out a piece yesterday after the message at church, and got inspired to do a digital painting of Samson!  I love that story, superhuman to the max, who wouldn't?!  But I had this image stuck in my head after listening to it, and I had to put it down on paper first.  So here is the rough sketch to jot the idea down, before I go digital on it!  I will hope to post the final image next blog, it should be a lot of fun!

I will also post the commission I did a little while ago of my interpretation of Isaiah 6:

Isaiah 6:3  They were calling out to each other, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven's Armies!  The whole earth is filled with his glory!"
Click to Enlarge

I wanted to show you guys also, this past Sunday we showed a video for the intro to the sermon called Leverage.  I was asked to concept a Rube Goldberg Machine for this said video.  Who knew I could blueprint something like this and actually see it work!  So for those who missed it, here is the blueprint, and the video!

RGM
Click to Enlarge

I am going to leave you now after giving you the lowdown of my goings on with an Alien attack on a space station!  I know right, you were all, Whoa!  I didn't even see that coming from all the Baptism and Angels and God business!  So here it is!  Enjoy!

"I said Thai food, not Tie Fighter!"
Click to Enlarge

Wherever I may roam

Hey Everybody!

It's Howdy Doody time!  It's not, I kid, it is just my time to show you more art again.  It's Shoopy time, that's better!  Anyways, this week I have been super busy applying to jobs in video games.  Whoever is hiring for concept artists, and I mean anywhere!  I even applied to companies in Canada, Poland, and Singapore!  I guess Lily can be trilingual.  Wherever God wants me to be, that's where we will go.  Good thing my wife can transfer anywhere that has an airport!

So not only am I roaming the job websites to domestic and international jobs, also computer programs.  I am trying to make myself more proficient in all the programs that I own.  From Photoshop, to Painter, to Manga Studio.  I want to be as good as I can be for any job I take on.  So I will show you some work in progresses from each program.

A sketch I did in Sketchbook Pro that I turned into this...

in Photoshop

  

here is the one I started on last week in Photoshop, that I made into more of a speed painting.  Probably will tweak it up later.

This was a sketch I did in Painter 11, messing around with some of the tools to get used to them.  Possibly will be my weapon of choice as I get more proficient in it.

this piece was done in Manga Studio Ex 4, all digital!  Pencils, inks and ZIP!

Well Folks, that is it for today!  I am off to customize some brushes in Painter!  I will show you guys the results next time!

Until next time, see you in the funny papers!

Industry, Shmindustry...

It is that time again my people, for an art attack!   I am glad I got a great response from my last one, but how do I follow up after that?  Hopefully this one will be just as good!

in the immortal words of Peter Griffin, "Do you know what really grinds my gears?"  How much I love the medium of comics, but hate how the industry is being handled right now.  Creators suing companies, each other, countersuing and so on.  Companies not paying for the work that was delivered at a prompt fashion and feeling as though they can pay whenever they feel like it.  Something that I am going through right now.  There is a sign floating around, I believe I had posted it once on my facebook one time, but it is probably the most appropriate statement:

Not my illustration, but it gets the point across!

It is just sad how many of my friends have given up and moved on in a different direction from our once big dream of being Superstar comic book artists.  With everything that is happening, really jades your sense of reality of today's industry.  I am thankful that I have had my go in comics, it was fun, and I am open to do comics, if the chance arose and it paid, consistently and well, I am there.  But as of right now, I am focusing my path in the direction of multimedia entertainment.  That is where the money is, and if someone thinks that is selling out, then call me a sell out.  I am looking out for my family who I need to support, more than ever!  

My wife, Cyndi has been there for me since day 1 of my career, almost 10 years ago, every comic book convention, waiting in line for portfolio reviews with editors, critiques, mentoring with Bart Sears.  To this day, she refers to whatever Bart said, to my work, thanks Bart...  LOL  She supported me through it all, and I thank you!  It is only fair, that I support her in her time of need by actually getting paid consistently, without her worrying when and how we are going to pay next month's bills from the salary of a freelancer.  The stress alone is hard and terrible with a little one on the way.  So I thank you comic book industry for a fun time, but I bid you adieu for now to bigger and more lucrative endeavors!  But I will post some of the most recent stuff I did in comics that alot of you haven't seen, so here you go!

here is my thumbnail process from an unpublished project that won't see the light of day.

pencils

inked by the fabulous Mark McKenna!

and here is a work in progress of what I am doing now for my concept portfolio, taking a sketch to a digital painting.  Again, this is a work in Progress, I will post the finished piece next blogpost!

here is the sketch

work in progress

Well, that is all I have for tonight!  I hope you have enjoyed delving into some of my process, and look forward to showing you more in the next few days!  See you in the funny papers!

It's Lily showing off her spine!

My first time blogging, be gentle.

Hey Everybody!

I have decided to startup an art blog.  A place to discuss my thoughts on the world of art, Pop culture, and multimedia.  And somewhere to share my sketches, works in progress, and maybe even final pieces of work, if you are lucky!  Maybe even share some of my personal life if I am feeling quirky.

I am feeling a little quirky now, it is my first time here and all, I guess I could share a little about myself.  I was born a poor black child, wait, I am quoting The Jerk with Steve Martin.  I'll start over.

I was born in South Hill, VA, son of Donald and Amanda Shoop.  My dad was an insurance salesman, kind of a big deal around South Hill, for a town of 300.  My mom took care of me and my baby sister while he worked.  Born in Honduras, my mom had me, my sister, and the television as her english studies.  My dad had to teach her when he came home, chalkboard and everything!  It was because of my mom, that I started drawing.  She had the most amazing drawings in her sketchbook, cartoons, portraits, you name it, she did it.  She showed me the basics of drawing, techniques with the pencil, I am forever grateful of her getting me started in what I do now.  Both my parents were, and my mom still is, very supportive of my dreams.

My dad put me through art school, supported me on my career choice of being a comic book artist, while still keeping me grounded on reality.  That was his contribution, since he didn't have the skill of drawing.  I do remember his Popeye drawings he would do for me when I was a kid, I thought they were the best!  I found out, that is all he was able to do, so he made it up by his support in my art.  It was because of him, I am a movie buff.  Any movie, we would go see, or rent or buy. It was his escape from the mundane life of an insurance salesman.  From having to deal with people all day, though he was such a people's person, it still took a lot out of him.  His real passion was to write children's books, but being he grew up in a time where having a "real" job to support your family and pay your bills, he did not pursue the career of a writer.  He never stopped writing, there are journals upon journals that he had written, to keep his craft honed.  That and the craft of corny jokes, so corny he could butter his ears, as he would say.  Never a dull moment with him.  So of course, he loved a good comedy, and he never could pass up a war movie, even if he had seen it 100 times, it was still just as exciting.  You couldn't help but to get excited with him with all the jerking and the shadowboxing, and feet twitching as though he was controlling the characters like a video game!  I can't say much, I do it too, now.  So needless to say, movies is a family past time in the Shoop family, my brother, all my sisters, and I, would converse for hours with my dad about who played what, the story, the action scenes.  He loved it, I loved it, my favorite memories of my dad was at the movies.  I lost my dad to Leukemia, coming up 4 years in March.  Not a day goes by without thinking about him, our long discussions on life, movies and comics.  I hope I can be as great of a dad to my kids as he was to me.  I miss and love you Pop!

Homage illustration I did of my dad for his funeral service

I am sorry to get a little carried away there, like I said, first time blogging, just jotting down what I am thinking about.  Which I do have lots to think about now that my wife and I have a little one on the way!  Which is why I have been working on building up a strong portfolio and pursuing my art career in a different direction from comics and doing concept design for video games and movies.  Go big or go home.  I have come to embrace the digital world, I fought my wife for 10 years on the crazy notion of learning anything on the computer, but now, I love it!  Every medium I can think of, right here at my disposal, no more having to head down to the art store and buy paper, and pens, and pencils, and whatever other kind of medium that struck my fancy that day!  Go figure. Anyways, here are a few things I did to show you guys.

Well, I think I will wrap this up and try this again this weekend!  There is lots more stories to tell, Art to show, and movies to discuss!  Thanks for reading, I hope to get better at this and I promise to post more art and less words!  HA!  Maybe...  Until next time, see you in the funny papers!

My baby announcement I made ala Lion King