Kevin Bandt Concepts

I'm working on things.... HWID

2012-01-30T16:46:00.000-08:00

The Carriers #4 is donezo = Happy Birthday to me!

2012-01-09T11:42:00.000-08:00

So yeah here is the last page of Volume 1 of The Carriers. This took forever to do! Not just this page but the entire book! I have learned so much though that it was all worth it. The next book will seem like a departure from The Carriers but in actuality it will just be introducing some of the changes to my style that I thought would be too jarring to implement in the middle of a book. These changes should help me go faster and push my art in the direction that seems most natural. HWID's plot is done and I am moving on to scripting. I really want to get the thing done for C2E2... Oh yeah hey! I got into C2E2! Yay me! Josh wont be able to attend this year but Gross Grandpa #2 should be ready in time. Jake will be boothing up with me. I get to get all jealous over all the girls he sells his art to. This guy kills at shows. He owes me a Carriers pin up too! I've been wanting one for like forever!

Carriers #4 goes to print this Friday! Steve Schnauzer should be back from the printers this week.

new page

2011-12-26T23:48:00.000-08:00

Merry X-mas 2011

2011-12-24T06:25:00.000-08:00

Merriment abounds. I am pretty much going to try and lay low today before making the trek to the northern woodlands of Pardeeville Wisconsin to see family. I will be hitting the interstate around 8am X-mas day. Should be good.

These were gifts for family members that I thought turned out alright. Yeah I am a cheapskate and make paintings rather than buy gifts. That's how I roll.

Ninth Gate Vogue and a crook of the neck

2011-12-23T06:49:00.001-08:00

Hey-O

So I have been swamped with stuff for the holidays. Steve Schnauzer #1 print files are out! Just waiting for the books to show up at my doorstep. I have a bit of work to do on The Carriers and then I am done with that too.

The first image was done as a commission for a guy I work with. He really digs the movie The Ninth Gate. I was really into making the borders. I was totally aping Mark Buckingham's Fables borders! But it was a ton of fun.

I saw a picture a friend had uploaded to facebook. In the picture was a girl with her head tilted in just the strangest way. I was really facinated by the question of why she had crooked her neck this way. Did she think that was her best angle? Must have been since it facinated me so much that I put her in my sketchbook. I don't think that the sketch really gives the girl justice.

Also some Vogue models in my sketchbook.

Still got a few pages to go before the end of The Carriers.

2011-12-12T12:16:00.001-08:00

I have just a few more pages to color up before the fourth and final issue of The Carriers goes to print. It feel really good to be walking away from these characters for a bit and into something new. I am planning on returning to them someday in some form or another. Until then I have to really step up for the next book. HWID will present drawing challenges that I haven't tackled in quite a long time. HWID will also be painted in an entirely new method (see post below). Lots of work to do!

I am not sure about this...

2011-12-11T08:28:00.001-08:00

I am getting a lot of compliments on the watercolors lately (pats self on back 5x) and it has me wondering about doing original art for comics with watercolor. I love digital though and it took a lot of work to get to where I am with it. So maybe a mashing of the two might work for me. I am enjoying the results on the tests that I have done. It is kind of cool to have base colors to work with in the original scans. It also allows me to be more selective with where I want to spend my time fleshing out the painting. Final art will be a combo of sumi ink, watercolors and digital paint added in post. I know I am not the first one to work this way but it isn't about that. It is about finding a working process that works for me. This feels right to me.

Ignore the shitty test quality of this. Instead think about buying full color orignial art from me at the next show you see me at. Yeah... That would be cool.

watercolors etc.

2011-12-08T16:58:00.001-08:00

So at MIX I picked up a nice set of Russian Watercolors that are the bees knees. I have been futzing around with them. Tell me what you think.

New page yo!

2011-11-28T14:23:00.000-08:00

I have finished all the penciling and inking of The Carriers Vol. 1 (ending on chapter 4). The next two projects that I am working on have really got me pumped up! I have to put together a short story to go into a comic that I want ready for con season 2012. The short story will be put out as a convention exclusive and will feature all three Cuddlefish artists. It is in the early stages and I always underestimate the amount of time it will take to put something out. I do have the goal to get it done before February 2012. I will also be putting out a ton of Steve the Schnauzer over the next few months. I might have two Steve Books out in print by c2e2 2012. That is the goal at least.

New page of the Carriers!!!!

2011-11-15T13:06:00.000-08:00

This page was a lot of fun to do. I skipped the value stage of the coloring and just went at it with straight color. Lots of fun stuff to paint on this page!

Let me know what you think!

Ah MIX and other things

2011-11-08T16:32:00.000-08:00

So where to begin. Well I think I need to start at the begining of last week. I can't start to describe the week without acknowledging the passing of my amazing grandmother. Cancer is a really horrible thing and it was really hard to watch her go. The whole thing stirred up so many emotions and memories that I am pretty sure that I was walking around in a fog all week. Between Thursday (the wake) and Saturday (1am) I went without sleep. We buried my grandmother at noon on Friday and by 2pm I was on my way to Minneapolis for MIX (Minneapolis Indie Expo). We went to the Cloud Show at Pink Hobo first. I was really impressed with the work on the wall. It really made me want to get back into printmaking. Pink Hobo is a really beautiful place with all sorts of cool things on the wall.

Jake Reuth and I bounced off to get some Indian Food. It was delicious and spicy. After diner we headed back to Pink Hobo. There was an organized Drink and Draw event here. Not really knowing anyone, we decide to find a bar and put on our own little drink and draw. We found a little Irish Pub (fitting place to end the night at considering where the day started). We drank. We Drew. We Threw darts.

We got up early Saturday (6 hours of sleep for me) and headed down to the Soap Factory. We were greeted by the beautiful and incredibly nice/ hard working/ organized/ etc etc... Sarah Morean. We got to our table and set up. I hadn't brought much because I knew that this wouldn't be a show where I would do a lot of commissions or sell a lot of originals.

Andy Krueger bopped over and said hello. I kinda thought he was a crazy person at first. But then I realized who he was and I totally got why he was so excited. For Sarah and Andy this must have been pretty amazing to see this show come together. This was a total DIY show and it was really something to see it all come together.

Saturday was a fairly slow day for us. Hell it was slow for everyone. I realized I wouldn't make any money at this show so I should try and get around to as many people as I could and introduce myself (social awkwardness and all). It turned into a nice little networking show. Jake still was able to sell a bunch of prints to little girls that dug his colorful creatures. My stuff looks too much like the superhero stuff that the rest of these guys are rebeling against. I get it though. I don't read a ton of superhero stuff. I would much rather read an indie book that is hand stapled and hand printed.

We headed up to the Bulldog Bar and Grill and grabbed a bite to eat before heading to The MIX Mixer. It was sort of awkward again. Not really knowing people at this show really made things tough. Though I got to sit and hang out with Jake and get into some really deep geek talk.

Sunday was much the same as Saturday. But had a few really cool moments mixed in. I decided that I didn't care if I made a single sale. I made a point of going out into the show and finding new comics that would inspire me. I picked up a Paul Pope comic from the Adhouse guys. They could have taken all my money. They had the most amazing books I have ever seen. They all had this handmade feeling but on a mass production scale. The books all smell of soy ink and expensive paper. I could gush on and on... I picked up Britney Sabo's new book Those Who Travel Alone. This comic is short but awesome. B. Sabo is a real talent! I picked up Blammo #6 by Noah Van Sciver. I finally bought Pranas T. Naujokaitis Beard. He was awesome. It was weird because I don't know him personally but I felt like I knew him since I have been reading his Ink Dick comic all along. I suppose that is the downfall of having an autobio comic up on the web. Lastly, I picked up Lale Westvind's Hyperspeed to Nowhere. This book was my impulse buy. It was so good though in a crazy "I don't give a fuck" kind of way.

I was happy to meet a few publishers and some new friends. That is what I got out of MIX (and I found out what an Arnie Palmer was....sosoooooo goooood!).

I recuperated Monday... Accomplishing absolutely nothing. Tuesday was better.

Links

http://lalewestvind.blogspot.com/

http://www.bsabo.com/

http://nvansciver.wordpress.com/

http://www.adhousebooks.com/

http://ghostcarpress.com/

http://blogchickablogblog.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mplsindiexpo/6323568658/in/pool-1783867@N23

Some new pages

2011-10-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

So based on a few economic conditions I am pushed to make certain creative decisions for HWID. This is just reality creeping in. HWID will be painted black and white full value scale. This is for the same reason that I outlined in an earlier post. Fact is... it will cost me half as much to print Steve The Schnauzer than it does to print The Carriers. Do I love full color? Of course I love it. The cost to print color on a large scale has become prohibitive. If you look around the indie comic scene you can see why I did The Carriers in color. To stand out! And The Carriers does stand out. It's very different from any other indie book out there.

HWID will have to be black and white with full grays. As for The Carriers #4- I will be printing it as a single issue full color very limited print run. I wanted and still want to create a Collected Edition of The Carriers. I will probably be taking another stab at a Kickstarter for that though... its crazy expensive to print a trade paperback!

So Steve The Schnauzer and HWID will be printed black and white. Future issues of The Carriers will be in color. The Carriers will just have to have small print runs and only be available at conventions.

I have just started writing the final draft of the script of HWID and the plot of the second volume of The Carriers.

Expect lots more.... As always.

What does a page of The Carriers look like at the ink stage?

2011-10-14T06:15:00.000-07:00

So if you ever sat alone in the dark on a Friday night listening to emo music and pondering the great philosophical questions and the question of "What does a page of The Carriers look like at the ink stage?" then ponder no more.

This page was born out of a great deal of struggle. I was really pushing how I think about a page and the tools I use to create the page. This is for me the half-way point. The next steps are painting in value ranges and then adding color. The value takes awhile but it is the most satisfying step as it really fleshes out and adds dimensionality to the image.

Tell me what you think about this image.

miles morales spider-man sketch

2011-10-09T05:44:00.000-07:00

new page

2011-10-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

A scary page for me.... I hate leaving it black and white in the second panel but it just worked so well that I had to.

New Page of the Carriers page 13 of chapter 4

2011-10-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

Lots going on these days. I have been feeling pretty good about where the books are going and the work that I have been getting done. Need to really hammer down if I want to meet my deadlines but I think that I can get The Carriers done and to print by the end of November. Then it I am going to focus on the HWID pitch and first issue. HWID will be much more mainstream than The Carriers (at least I think). HWID is something that will be able to get a bigger fan base than the Carriers. I don't want to get into too many specifics but I really like the direction that we are going in and the subjects that HWID will explore.

24 hour comic day was a blast. I drank too much caffeine and ate too much pizza but it was totally worth it. I created a character that can really do anything and go anywhere. Please check out Steve the Schnauzer at http://stevecomic.blogspot.com/ I will be keeping this going as a webcomic to fill the internet void that will come once I stop posting The Carriers and move onto HWID (a book that will not be a webcomic- Sorry).

Steve is such a fun idea that I can see it really taking off and being a ton of fun to do. Please check it out.

24 hour comic Steve the Schnauzer- now ongoing webcomic

2011-10-02T19:59:00.001-07:00

So 24 hour comic day was yesterday. I didn't finish... Sleep deprivation go the better of me and I fell asleep on top of my pages. I got a ton of work done and brought to life a character that I will keep going as a webcomic called STEVE THE SCHNAUZER! I will update twice a week and keep it going for as long as I can. Excuse the little issues in the pages. I was tired! Anywho... bookmark- http://stevecomic.blogspot.com/

Harley Quinn in the good costume (DC... Why would you change this?)

2011-09-30T05:53:00.000-07:00

sumi ink and my new love affair

2011-09-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

I really wasn't going to post this because I hate posting my non-finished stuff. This is shit and I know it. But holy hell is sumi ink where it is at for me. One more tool that will really allow me to have fun on a page. I cant recommend the stuff enough to other comic artists. So yeah this is my first three little putterings with the medium. I just wanted to see if it mixed with my digital painting process and it totally does. It adds a bit of solidity that wasn't there before. I never spotted blacks or really had any blacks on my pages. That will change.

New Page of the Carriers

2011-09-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

Summer

2011-08-30T21:25:00.001-07:00

sketch and a test image.

2011-08-28T18:26:00.001-07:00

Book Publishing- a few thoughts

2011-08-23T20:15:00.001-07:00

Since Wizard World Chicago I have been asking myself - What is CuddleFish? Are we an Art Collective? Not really as we have helped each other in various ways to produce and distribute finished print material. That, in my mind, makes us publishers. This is an Idea that I can really get behind. I think that the other members of CuddleFish can agree that we have done better on our own than we ever have trying to work for others.

I have been thinking about Top Shelf Productions a lot the last few days. A small niche comic book publisher with devoted fans that pick up everything that they release. Mostly black and white graphic novels. This makes a lot of economic sense. With Diamond Distributors increasing their minimum, having a small press "floppy-sized" comic doesn't really make sense. Diamond Distributes to around 3000 comic stores in the USA. To make a profit on a monthly basis one has to hope that each of the 3000 stores buy at least one copy of your $3 comic.

3000 stores buy 1 of your $3 comic= $9000

Diamond pays (best guess) 60% of cover price=$5400

Cost to print 3000 comics with print on demand Kablam-black and white $4755 color $7905

Cost to print 3000 comics with a four color offset printer-$3000 in China (minimum order and must be 6-8 months ahead of distribution schedule.

Now I am just flinging these numbers out at you knowing that I only know these things from research and not from actual experience. There are probably cheaper printing solutions including some of the Canadian four color print presses. But I am just learning and trying to check my logic.

So if you turn the basic bread and butter of your publishing company into publishing primarily Graphic Novels then you can increase the profit difference between what the printer charges and what Diamond (or any other distributor) would be willing to pay for your product.

This will be the tough part of course. Printing bigger means bigger printing bills. That upfront cash to begin the process of getting book to consumer is larger than anything we have tackled yet. We have been reliant on super low print runs and face to face distribution of our products. Lower amount of risk has translated to lower rewards even when we are having successful shows (or selling out of a print run!).

So why am I still awake and thinking about these things despite the fact that I need to be up early tomorrow? Good question.

I want to change the way I perceive CuddleFish. More as a brand. The work that we produce has, up to this point, been intense labors of love. We craft and create each of these books with such a dedication. The plan going forward (at least for The Carriers, HWID, and any other books I put out)- Collected Graphic Novels only. With ISBNs barcodes and distribution.

How will I produce the work? Well, some things have changed in my "day job" that will allow me to focus more on pushing pages out. This is all part of the plan. Scale back and build up. I will be looking to produce a ton of new pages and illustrations. I really want to run a black and white book at the same time that I run a color book. This will be double the production. The black and white book will be a bit more free form and not as precise or detailed as the color work but it will allow me to be more experimental with the art.

Are these lofty goals that I cannot possibly obtain? Possibly. I really don't know. The last year really makes me feel like we can possibly do this. All it takes is putting the time in to put out quality products. Now I have the time.

So this is a letter of purpose. While I may put out a few POD floppies out in the meantime, the goal is to do larger format books with full distribution. DIY all the way.

David Mack sketches The Queen

2011-08-17T18:52:00.000-07:00

A gift from my wife via The One and Only David Mack (Kabuki)!

quick little batman sketch

2011-08-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

Thank You Chicago!

2011-08-15T16:33:00.001-07:00

Had a great time in Chicago! We did a lot of sketching (and drinking). We also met a ton of great artists! New favorite artists- Christopher Mitten, Nathan Fox, Nate Powell, Greg and Fake http://gregandfake.blogspot.com/ , Matt Waite http://waitedesigns.deviantart.com/ , and a bunch more.

Thanks to cool people like Ryan Browne, John Lennon, Franchesco, Matt Taylor, and Matt Hill! See you all at the next show for sure!

The Bright future

2011-07-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

So we are about ten days to go before we meet/fail to meet our kickstarter goal for the collected edition of The Carriers. Megan and I just wrapped up our move to our new place. New town, new studio space, and potentially new jobs for the both of us.

The Kickstarter campaign has been a valuable lesson in marketing. If I would give advice to anyone thinking about doing a Kickstarter it would be this- connect your project with the nearest metropolitan area. For my campaign I said I am from Whitewater. This was stupid because it limits the number of people that are going to find my project based on location. I should have said I am based out of Chicago. Chicago is where I do most of my shows and Chicago has a much more interested audience. So lesson learned. Next time i will make that adjustment.

I am also working on a new project that will be sort of like my own version of Heavy Metal Magazine. A bunch of short stories illustrated by myself and the other Cuddlefish Comics guys as well as artist profiles about our friends and show diaries from the various conventions we go to. Early stages at this point but I really like the idea.

The new apartment has really kicked up my creativity so expect over the next few weeks to see a lot more work out of me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKFw-5OdBgs

new Carriers page!

2011-07-21T19:38:00.001-07:00

The Carriers 4 page 10

2011-06-26T11:06:00.001-07:00

Chapter 4 page 9

2011-06-12T17:54:00.000-07:00

new page of The Carriers Yea! So I continue to fit as much time as I can into this comic. I am pushing to get pages out. It just takes a long time to get them out because I continue to work way too many hours at my day job without devoting enough time and energy to my art. That being said (in my opinion) the pages continue to improve. I have gotten into a nice groove here.

Remember to donate to my Kickstarter if you are able. I am getting closer to being done with the first arc of The Carriers and I really want to wrap it all up in one collected trade paperback. And I need your HELP! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thecarriers/the-carriers-graphic-novel give what you can.
There is an incentive for you to be able to have me draw an issue of your comic! check it out!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thecarriers/the-carriers-graphic-novel

Wizard World Chicago 2011

2011-06-11T08:37:00.000-07:00

Cuddlefish Comics will be at this years Wizard World Chicago! August 11-14th See ya there!

new pages- brain monsters

2011-06-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

May 21 2011 SpringCon

2011-05-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

Hey just wanted to remind everyone of this weekend's events!

This weekend of course is the MCBA SpringCon http://midwestcomicbook.com/ This is the first show that I have been a part of that I am going into with no anxiety or worries. The people putting on this show seem to have everything covered and are going above and beyond.

Some of the people who I'm going to drop some cash on-

Sam Hiti

http://www.samhiti.com/

Zac Sally

http://www.lamano21.com/

Brittney Sabo

http://www.bsabo.com/

Jessica Abel

http://jessicaabel.com/

This show makes me want to live in Minnesota!

new The Carriers Pages

2011-05-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone who has supported my Kickstarter Project so far!

I still have 79 days to go to meet my goal so help me out and promote the heck out of it. float the link anywhere you can! Your help is the key to making this successful.

kickstarter comic THE CARRIERS

2011-05-04T15:28:00.001-07:00

Hi!
My name is Kevin Bandt and I write and draw The Carriers. It is a full color fully painted comic that has been described as Final Fantasy meets mohawks meets a rainbow. So yeah its pure awesome. At least I like it. And my wife. And my mom. So there's three people right there telling you to check it out.

So anywho... I am working on a Kickstarter to help fund the big collected edition of The Carriers. I am really just looking to get people to check out The Carriers and help financially if they can.

Check out the video here
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thecarriers/the-carriers-graphic-novel

God Hates Astronauts Pin up

2011-04-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

Here is my totally unsolicited fan art for the totally awesome and outrageous comic God Hates Astronauts. I wasn't able to get over to this guy's booth at C2E2. i actually found out about him in the Bleeding Cool article we were both featured in. But yeah awesome comic with special guest star Montel Williams! check it out- http://www.godhatesastronauts.com/

The Carriers chapter 4 page 4

2011-04-16T06:06:00.001-07:00

Advice from Chris Burnham Cool points up 25 xp

2011-04-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

Any advice for aspiring artists?

Don’t wait for anyone’s permission to start chasing your dream, and don’t wait until you think you’re good enough. Just fucking do it. (that should have been Nike’s slogan) And don’t waste another nanosecond of your life drawing sample pages for Marvel or DC. That shit is a waste of time, and it sends a signal to the editors that the only way you’re going to draw comics is if someone hires you to do it. It shows you’re waiting for permission, if that makes sense. If you really had the drive to be making comics, you wouldn’t be drawing 3 pages of Batman, you’d be drawing 100 pages of your own thing. A decently-drawn completed book is ten times as impressive as the most beautiful 3-page sample in the world. Work on your own book (or web strip or whatever) with your own characters. You’ll get more out of it. And even if it doesn’t end up working out (and, to be realistic, it probably won’t), you’ll have a stack of comics to show for your efforts rather than a stack of unpublishable pages of Spider-Man fighting Wolverine.

from this interview http://www.mycomicnetwork.com/v2/?p=1053

New Page for The Carriers

2011-04-03T17:09:00.001-07:00

2011-04-03T11:38:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah folks I forgot to post about C2e2! What an amazing show. I was in Artists alley. We killed it! between The Carriers and our other book Gross Grandpa we took home a small pirate's chest full of cash. Saw old friends and made new ones. I loved seeing some of the folks that I caricatured as zombies at previous shows walking around the show floor. I think it made them smile when I would yell out "Hey I know you! I drew you at Wizard World!"
C2E2 was a much more creator centered show than Wizard World was. We actually met people who could get us work in the industry which was nice. Oh and we got interviewed a few times. Best one by far was the bleeding cool interview. The article describes THE CARRIERS as Final fantasy meets mohawks meets a rainbow!
I just frigging loved it! That is going on the cover of the next book If I can use the quote.http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/03/21/more-awesome-booths-at-c2e2-by-samantha-lafountain/

Issue Four is coming along. I am continuing to refine my style and process. Trying to find a balance between two very different approaches. Both approaches have pros and cons to them. So I mix the two approaches to find something in-between.

We have been working on building a collaboration called Cuddlefish Comics. It is a partnership between Josh Filer, Jake Rueth, and myself. We are planning some really neat things that will be seeing the light of day in the next year or so. I have been getting some work done on my new horror book. It will be awesome!
Josh is working on the second issue of Gross Grandpa! and Jake is working on all sorts of magical awesomesauce.

New Page for The Carriers

2011-04-02T20:31:00.001-07:00

We own you now Chicago! You are ours! C2e2 C2E2 C2E2

2011-03-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

c2e2 here we come!

2011-03-16T16:36:00.000-07:00

2011-03-07T17:54:00.000-08:00

this is the direction I've been heading with the under-drawings for my art. Rough as can be! Its been in an effort to just be more emotional with the page. To get out that bit of primal mark making that I had been missing with going pure digital.

I have recently found a new printer scanner from Brother that I am planning on purchasing after c2e2. It is really nice and prints at 11x17 a format that I am much more comfortable with. I have been doing everything at print size because thats all I've had to work with. Going bigger will allow me to have more room to play!

Also I was invited to attend the 2011 mncba SpringCon.... or rather I begged them until they let me in!

Josh Filer and Jake Rueth will also be in attendance!

2011-03-01T15:08:00.000-08:00

2011-02-10T19:47:00.000-08:00

So for the last week I have had this idea that I could model out some base meshes for the comic. These would be simple anatomy models that could be posed and serve as layouts. I got the idea from animatics for movies. That the simple model gives you an idea of the movement of the character through the scene. So I got to work. I built the girl model from a male base (bad idea!). It took a lot of time. I built the highres then did a retopography in zbrush. This is the most advanced retopography I have ever done. Took a lot of work but I also learned a ton of tricks. So I have a male model and a female model. Guns and cars and stuff like that. I hope to integrate this into my art as soon as possible. I know it will be really tough at first but I think it should allow more realism to my work.

How to Train your Dragon

2011-01-28T17:08:00.000-08:00

new cover for issue #4

2011-01-20T20:35:00.001-08:00

Green Lantern

2011-01-08T20:41:00.000-08:00

I have recently become addicted to Green Lantern.... It shares a lot in common with the Carriers (Lots of Glowing colors and some monsters/aliens ) and I think that's why I like it so much. Anywho, this is my rendition of DC's Hal Jordan

2010-12-30T20:08:00.000-08:00

I am compiling some old images for a piece of back matter for the next book and it really struck me as how obsessed with the idea of this comic I have been for at least the last 8 years. Since high school ( I graduated high school in 2003), I was drawing a variation of the root idea of The Carriers. It really blows me away to think of how it started and where it is now. I think I've come a long way but in a way.... I really haven't strayed that far from what I was thinking about when I was 17 years old and drew this chick with red bangs. Ah, nostalgia!

New Home for The Carriers

2010-12-30T19:12:00.000-08:00

hey everyone! I have been working on putting together a nice simple blogger site to run The Carriers off of. Since I am completely useless at web design I pretty much went with the same defaults that this blogger runs on but changed the format to allow the whole page to be viewed on the blog home page. http://carrierscomic.blogspot.com/ I didn't upload the entire series like I had planned. It's all still available on the drunkduck site http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Carriers/index.php

So eventually I will be transitioning this blog to be more just random bits and bobs with notes as to when I update on http://carrierscomic.blogspot.com/ . I am gearing up for a lot of new work to be coming through the steamroller that is my brain and I hope you all are ready.

Also a shout out to all of my South Korean blog readers.... thanks Blogger Stats for that tid-bit of information.

new page! almost done with this book!

2010-12-30T17:21:00.000-08:00

2010-12-23T17:05:00.000-08:00

Merry X-Mas. Hope u're all well n good. Here is some weird stuff-

Chapter 3 page 16

2010-12-18T16:15:00.000-08:00

I am feeling just amazing lately. This is going to be a kickass year! C2E2 is going to be the kick-off for just an explosion of energy from me. I am busting out for sure. I am ready to tackle this next year head on! Two more print issues are due this year from the Carriers, a new black and white comic, a calendar project and a bevy of crazy things are on the way.

The Carriers Chapter 3 page 15

2010-12-14T15:19:00.000-08:00

Echo is alive... at least for now...

Pixar Rant and Page 14

2010-12-11T08:16:00.000-08:00

The other night I watched the Pixar Shorts DVD. The shorts were not the best part for me. For me it was the documentary on Lasseter and the early days of Pixar. It made me think of the early days of this comic. The early days that the comic is still in. The early Pixar Shorts were terrible! But they kept building on the successes of the last short and advancing their work to the next level. I have brought that mentality to The Carriers since the beginning. I want the next page to be better than the last page. That way I don't get completely burnt out from comics. I find new methods and new techniques in every panel. That is why it sometimes takes awhile for pages to hit but everything is getting better from page to page (I hope). Huge amounts of inspiration was pulled out of that documentary. I know that making this comic is hard work but the creative endeavor is worth the work for me. Not saying The Carriers is going to be the next Pixar or anything but seeing where they started was amazing.

some wacky sketches

2010-12-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

just finished my last page on the massive sketchbook I have been working through... pretty much took a year to get through it.

2010-12-02T20:06:00.000-08:00

great news everybody! I have been accepted as a member of the 2011 C2E2 Artists Alley! I am super excited and pumped up! I need to get so much work done it isn't even funny! I have to put together a whole mess of extra products to sell! Issue 3 of the Carriers is going back on track and looking better than ever! tell me what you think!

email hackers can suck an egg

2010-11-30T09:56:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone! My email got hacked as did my facebook! please do not send me money! I am not in scotland for crying out loud! I will post when the problem has been fixed

chapter 3 page 12

2010-11-26T20:54:00.000-08:00

New page of The Carriers page 12. I have the rest of the book about done but I haven't wrapped up the third issue. Working on it though. Going as fast as I can right now after hours from work. It's been an interesting month or two here. Lots of changes and big things happening. Going to be wrapping up this issue and starting on the fourth issue within this next month. Printing issue #3 and doing all the prep work for next years convention season. Megan and I are working on a secret project and I am doing another side project this next year that I am totally excited for. I will be reworking the base website for The Carriers as a blogspot website much in the same way that http://realistcomics.blogspot.com/ has it.

announcement postcard design

2010-11-09T15:30:00.001-08:00

kole & rose

2010-10-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

chapter 3 page 11

2010-10-10T18:39:00.001-07:00

chapter 3 page 10

2010-09-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

new page!

geek kon 2010

2010-09-04T14:59:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to let everybody know that I will be in Artist Alley tomorrow at Geek Kon. Really wish I could have been there the whole show but oh well there is always next year.

http://www.geekkon.net/

new cover for issue 3

2010-09-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

Hi!

I made this new piece for the third issue of The Carriers! I will be making a big change in my life over the next month or so. This change will make the books and the art a much higher priority (the way they should be, Right?)

I have a bit more work to finish the first volume of The Carriers. Then I have two more big projects brewing up in a concept stage. Expect some crazy stuff!

Wizard World Chicago 2010

2010-08-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

wow what a blast! we did really well too! Gosh I really don't know what to say besides thanks to everyone who stopped by and gave my book a chance. Also thanks to my buddies Franchesco! Jacob Rueth Josh Filer and Matt Hill, you guys made the show for me and were so supportive!

Going to be at Geek Kon on Sunday September 5th, then going to be at C2E2 hopefully this spring with the third issue of The Carriers. Really gotta thank everyone who spent time hanging out with us and shot the $hit with us. See you all very soon!

the carriers continues

2010-08-07T11:14:00.001-07:00

new page ra ra ra!

The Carriers #2 cover and Process

2010-07-01T16:07:00.001-07:00

here is the brand spanking new cover of the second issue of The Carriers! I will be at Wizard World Chicago this August 19th through 22nd! this will be my first convention I have ever exhibited at so wish me luck. Also planning on attending Geek Kon 2010 but haven't gotten my confirmation from them yet (fingers crossed).

sketches out of the sketchbook

2010-06-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

figure drawing Monday nights

2010-05-12T17:59:00.000-07:00

a 20 minute sketch on the laptop

post66

2010-05-09T15:09:00.001-07:00

2010-05-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

2010-05-08T15:44:00.000-07:00

2010-05-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

Hi!

Been awhile! How are ya?

Here are a couple scans out of the sketchbook. Figure Drawings and random bits.

Mesmo Delivery

2010-03-27T21:11:00.000-07:00

Gah! What an awesome book. Rafael Grampa is such a find! Helluva Artist. Did a little fan art as a warm up.

shtuff

2010-03-13T06:12:00.000-08:00

new sketches random scribbles and messes

new cover and figures

2010-02-06T18:34:00.000-08:00

Here is the new cover for the print edition of The Carriers that will be done in a few weeks here and some drawings from Monday night FIgure Drawing Session.

alchemy fun

2009-12-16T15:45:00.000-08:00

meh just messing around no sketch (besides the random alchemy sketch featured here)

cold and nasty in december

2009-12-12T13:02:00.000-08:00

yep winter hit us hard this week. over a foot of snow and below zero temps. ugh! saturday morning figure sketches. this is the first time ive ever used the laptop for painting. worked ok. had the battery die on me though....

55degreesdecemberinwisconsin

2009-12-02T15:06:00.000-08:00

back from honeymoon for quite some time and still trying to get back into the swing of things. trying a new experiment with the comic but Im not sure its working. I think its doing the exact opposite and I am updating less... :(

anywho got out for some monday night figure drawing and came up with this.( and a fun honeymoon pic- take that Ron Lim Captain America katchaow!!!!!)

sketches///playing

2009-10-22T07:03:00.000-07:00

getting hitched

2009-09-24T14:16:00.001-07:00

figure sketch

2009-09-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

went to figure drawing this week. got some good stuff some not so good stuff... meh its been awhile since I'd been to figure drawing so i had to knock the rust off some of the gears and get back into the swing of it. here is a sketch that came out of it.

The Carriers

2009-08-30T16:59:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to remind everyone that I am still putting out pages of The Carriers at http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Carriers/index.php
its been slow going but the story continues. Hopefully I can kick back and start doing some more art and 3d work soon. I'm still working on the new schedule and fitting art into every day.

studying

2009-06-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

the last few weeks in between doing pages for The Carriers, I have been working on refining my colors and brush use. The one thing I've learned from the second issue of The Carriers is that my current way of working is too proceedural. I follow the same process every time. This is great for consistency but it tends to slow me down and keep me from experimenting. In the third issue I hope to start to morph my style toward an even more painterly approach. I have been heavily inspired by the work of Jamie Jones, John Singer-Sargent, and Whit Brachna. I want to move toward more controlled palettes and dry media brush work. I still want to retain some of my linework within this new approach but I will no longer be using a 50% grey to block in shadows. I will be trying to use straight color to describe light and shadow.
This is my attempt to connect my digital work with my traditional sensibilities. Hopefully I can continue to grow as a painter over the next few months and make The Carriers even better!

Traume Von Magpie Art

2009-05-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

Are you folks reading this?
Traume Von Magpie By Douglas Frey has been one of the most consistently entertaining comics coming out right now. This is a web comic that is better than most print comics. It is psychedelic at times, incredibly introspective at other times. The art is the star of the show here. It has a very early animation (Popeye; Felix the Cat) style mixed in with some Tony Millionaire influences. The inking is fantastic by the way! Frey uses all sorts of inking styles throughout the pages but the ones that stand out are the pages inked with a brush.

I could gush on and on about this comic. Check it out at-

http://www.drunkduck.com/Traume_Von_Magpie/index.php?p=536553

Here is a piece I made for Mr. Frey featuring his Magpie Man (with steps)-

still plugging away

2009-05-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

Hey people! still working on the webcomic! you can check it out from the beginning here-

http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Carriers/index.php?p=513084

I am working on an illustration for another webcomic. I should be done with it tomorrow. I will post the steps

chapter2 pg 01 and sketches!

2009-04-09T06:12:00.000-07:00

paintover

2009-04-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

zbrush paintover
I was thinking about the tv show gargoyles when I made this... one of my favorite shows when i was a kid. very episodic in its storytelling. a lot of cartoons at the time didn't have an ongoing story that grew as it went along. I liked gargoyles for many of the same reasons I like Battlestar Gallactica. of course I'm older now and my taste has changed quite a bit but I have always been a fan of people creating their own mythologies. that is what im trying to do with the comic.

the carriers btw, was a featured comic on Drunk Duck this week! so yay!
www.drunkduck.com/the_carriers

quick sketch

2009-03-10T09:10:00.001-07:00

LILY Animation

2009-02-05T11:00:00.000-08:00

old man study

2009-01-27T13:31:00.000-08:00

More carriers

2009-01-22T15:28:00.000-08:00

Some more of my new comic... The Carriers (c) Kevin Bandt 2009

Obama Winks too!

2009-01-20T22:47:00.001-08:00

art rage...is kid's play.

2009-01-19T15:08:00.000-08:00

I don't know what compelled me to get into art rage again. maybe its the influence David Hong's work has had on me. Either way, my appreciation of the program has not really faded. It is true that I cannot really accomplish the same polished look I may get in Painter or PS, but that doesn't discredit the software. The incredibly stripped down interface is easy enough for a child. The look and feel of the paint is really believable and that means a lot to digital artists who got their start in oil painting. Long story short... I may be playing in this sandbox again.

The Carriers.... by- Kevin D. Bandt

2009-01-18T21:08:00.000-08:00

This is a first look at the new comic. It is called The Carriers. It is a fantasy story set in a punk future in the Middle East... Oh and some buildings can fly.... oh yes they can!
The plan is to get the website up and going and have the story continously published there. I have all sorts of story to tell so I really look forward to getting more work out for you to see.

2009-01-12T12:28:00.000-08:00

quick character. maybe an hours work.

2009-01-06T00:49:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to give another glimpse at the comic. I learn so much every time I set out to do a panel. I've been pretty lucky to be able to get as much of the comic done as I have. Hopefully I can continue at this pace and me done by the end of the month.

Then the fun stuff starts! When you can actually read the story.

alchemy samurai

2008-12-22T15:50:00.001-08:00