theFranchize: Live

More Pendant

2012-01-12T10:41:00.000-08:00

Last Son of Krypton audio drama issue #81

Another Pendant cover! I was really happy with the colors on this one. Plus it's always fun to take a stab at the bad guys. Lots of work and many things going on this week. I'm working hard to stay on schedule and keep all my projects in order. It helps that it is a slower time of year for gigs. It gives me the chance to really put in some quality time at the ol' art table

Pendant to the MAX

2012-01-06T14:28:00.000-08:00

Last Son of Krypton issue #84

This is the newest cover for "The Last Son of Krypton" audio drama from Pendant Audio. I have always loved the warrior queen Maixima (who is featured on the cover). She just has a great look and is just fun to draw. Check out the show and let me know what yall think.

Later!

Back to the Grind

2012-01-04T11:13:00.000-08:00

where the magic happens!

I spent all day yesterday in the waiting room at the doctor's office so I wasn't able to get any work done. The good news is that I figured that would happen so I planned ahead and didn't have any major deadlines or meetings planned. Now I'm back at work and ready to rock.

I haven't been in my new place for too long so Peng and I are still getting the place in order. We haven't put up any art yet, but it's slowly coming together. The photo above is my current work space.

Lali doll for Peng!

And this last pick is the Christmas gift I got for Peng. It is of her character Lali from "The Brotherhood of Fighters" book that the ID studio is working on. I found the artist on DA her name is misscoffee if you get the chance please check her out. she does AMAZING work as you can see.

Later!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T11:05:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! I just thought I would start my first post of the new year with a page from my artbook Start Up Capital . This is one of my favorites because I love sketchin up ol' Supes so much. I reinterpreted a few pages from the first issue of Superman Batman.

I hop u all had a great Holiday season. I had the best time with family and friends. now I'm ready to rock on in the 2012!

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-21T08:58:00.000-08:00

Hey there guys and gals. I know I had promised to start some new things here at my website, but recently I have picked up a few really great gigs that have consumed a ton of time. I'm creating a new work schedule that will allow me to saty on top of things so whatch out for new stuff from me in the new year.

Happy holidays!

How to Draw Like the Franchize!

2011-11-15T18:03:00.001-08:00

Today I'm starting a brand new part of my site. The "How to" section. Every second Tuesday of the month I'll be posting a new "How to" piece to share a little of what I know about drawing dramatic figures.

quick gesture sketch

I figured that my first drawing should be of Superman cuz he is really fun for me to draw and I am most familiar with his look. Plus the tights make it easy to get the anatomy. Today's tools are photoshop CS5 and my wacom tablet. To begin I start with a blank layer and quickly rough in the gesture. This is really the most important stage. If you want to have a dynamic figure it all starts here. The best way to learn to make dynamic poses is to go out and study your favorite artists work and try to figure out how to create a quick gesture based on their art. it will take you a long way in trying to understand the figure in motion.

Squiggley Lines!

Next is the part that I like most... SQUIGGLEY LINES! This is where I find the right pieces of the puzzle and start to fill out my sketch. I really like to push proportion so here you can see that Superman's head is pretty small compared to his chest. I have similarly exaggerated his legs and arms. I have also decided to really play with foreshortening his arms to give the figure a sense of depth. A lot of artist have trouble with this at first, but it gets easier with practice. The trick is if something is close to you its big and if it's far away it's small. I take that a step further and say that if something is close it should be REALLY BIG and if it's far away then it's REALLY SMALL.

refining the art

Here I really get into his anatomy and defining his costume. I wouldn't necessarily encourage anyone to study the way I draw anatomy because my style is very exaggerated. I have done quite a bit of study and really put a lot of thought into how I push and pull muscle groups to get what I want.

Finished!

Last I go over everything and clean up the line work. I only keep the lines I like and get rid of the rest. Because I'm working in photoshop each step is on a different layer so I don't have to worry about erasing anything. Next month COLORS!

Well, that's the end of my first lesson. Hope it was helpful. Thanks for stopping by!

Marvel Universe Sketch Cards

2011-11-02T14:58:00.000-07:00

Cards from Marvel Universe sketch card set

So the Marvel Universe Sketch Card set just came out and I figured I would share a couple of my cards with yall. I've already seen a couple of these on e-bay. My favorites of this bunch are the Captain America, the chibi Wolverine, and the half symbiote Spidey.
The Spidey card was actually a colab between myself and I did the pencil layout and he did the inks and colors. I think it came out really nice.

The rest of them r all me though.

I have a ton of these guys to post plus I have quite a few cards from previous sets that I never posted that I'll be sharing with you guys soon. So keep an eye out for more.

Also, You may have noticed that I have been making a few changes around the site. So hopefully you are digging the new look. I still have a few more changes to make (with the help of the lovely Peng), but I am well on my way. There will be plenty of new and exciting things happening here before the end of the holiday season so watch out!

Enjoy!

We Made it There so We Can Make it Anywhere

2011-10-24T15:23:00.000-07:00

The Identity Comics Studio. from left to right: Bryan "Flash" Turner, Penelope "Peng-Peng" Gaylord, Jerry "theFranchize" Gaylord, Dominike "Domo" Stanton

So New York Comic Con has come and gone and it was a great experience. New York is easily the largest con that the Identity Crew has ever set up at and we did a great job networking and selling. Icouldn't have asked for a better show. New York con goers showed us so much love that it was unreal. I guess what they say is true. "If you can make it there you can make it anywhere".

Everyone in the studio sold a bunch of their new art books as well as The Brotherhood: Behind the Cage (Con Exclusive). The response from Everyone was fantastic.

I do still have some of my artbook theFranchize: Start Up Capital available for purchase. If you are interested just shoot me a note. Each book comes with a free sketch of the character of your choice. The book is $30 plus $10 shipping. It's 72 full color pages of my personal and professional work.

I have to say thank you to everyone who came out to say hi and show support. Yall have no idea how much it means when you guys take time out of your con experience just come and chat with me for a sec.Below are a few of the commissions I worked on at the con. Lots of fun stuff. Hope yall dig it.

The entire studio worked on this one. I did the Wolverine

Batman and Joker commission

Superboy and Red Robin sketch in Start-Up Capital

Juggernaut

Namor

New York Comic Con

2011-10-11T17:07:00.000-07:00


ID Studio Banners for Comic Cons

Come Check us out this weekend at the New York Comic Con. We will be under these brand spankin new banners so hopefully we will be easy to find. Or just look for table numbers T14-15

See ya there!

theFRANCHIZE: START UP CAPITAL VOL I

2011-10-08T17:15:00.000-07:00

Start up Capital front cover

start up Capital back cover

Hey there boys and girls! It's been way too long since, my last post, but there has been good reason. I've been really busy doing live caricature gigs with my company Big Heads Little Bodies and putting together my first solo art book! The book is called theFranchize: Start up Capital. It is 72 pages in full color and will be debuting at New York Comic Con next week. I'm super excited about it and I can't wait for people to see it.

As I mentioned before I'll be at the New York Comic Con with with my Identity Comics studio mates and we'll be rockin the con from 10/13-16th. It will be our fist time setting up at the show so if you are gonna be in the house come on by to tables T14 and 15 and say hi.

Baltimore Comicon 2011

2011-08-18T16:37:00.000-07:00

Blam! Baltimore Comicon is finally here. The IDentity Comics Studio team will be at the Baltimore Convention Center this weekend from August 20-21st. Peng and I will have our brand new mini art books for sale at the show. We only have a few left so come by early and scoop one up. We will also be doing commissions and selling prints (we will have quite a few brand new ones to sell). If you have never been to the show before I can tell you it's a great con with tons of artists and lots of vendors to keep you busy all weekend long. So come on by and check us out. It's gonna be good times!

Look for us :
Artist Alley Tables A113/A114

Baltimore Con and New York Con in Full Effect

2011-08-05T20:27:00.001-07:00

So to start I wanted to give yall a first look at Identity Comics Studio's "The Brotherhood of Fighters". All of Id has been hard at work retooling our ideas for the Brotherhood and we have some really big things on the horizon. We will be producing a brand new graphic novel featuring these characters. The book will be released in time for San Diego Comic Con in 2012. But we will begin promoting the book right now and we will release a preview book at this year's New York Comic Con.

Aww man! The world tour is going strong. and I had a blast in SDCC. We really made the best of our time ( I may have even gotten some work out of it)and had an opportunity to hang out with some of the coolest cats in comics. We got to chill with fellow Deviants like just to name a few.

From there joined and I at the Steel City Con where we got to hang out with our homeboy and we met . We really had a chance to meet some great people and do a bunch of sketching.

Next up is the Baltimore Comic Con which is our hometown show so we are really gonna go all out. You can look for the crew to be in full effect. and myself to be doing commissions signing prints and talking up our book, "The Brotherhood of Fighters". Also the first 4 Deviants to mention this journal will get a free commission! what could be better than that?

Finally and myself will also be setting up in artist alley at the New York Comic Con for the very first time. Again we will all be signing prints and doing commissions plus we will have the preview book for "The Brotherhood of Fighters" in hand and available to buy. Be the first kid on your block to be in on the hottest project we have produced to date!

Its Hard to Come up with a Good Title

2011-07-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

So the days of the Summer are flying by. San Diego Comic Con is just a couple weeks away and the ID crew and I have secured table space at the New York Comic Con and the Baltimore Comic Con. My new mini portfolio The Artobiography of the Franchize is safely with the printer and I am working hard on the new book from ID. Oh! and I almost forgot the new sketch card project I'm working on for Rittenhouse and Marvel

Commission work is still coming in though so here is a sample of some of my latest work.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday USA

2011-07-05T17:26:00.000-07:00

This image has nothing to do with independence day. My homeboy Flash's B day was a a couple weeks ago so Peng-Peng and I put this piece together to be his birthday card. We shoot a lot of zombies in call of duty so it seemed like a good idea and we ran with it. He loved the card so it was a huge success (we may even turn the idea into a comic...who knows!)

Later!

Going Strong

2011-06-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

Work is still nonstop. I'm banging out new stuff pretty much everyday. It's like the race to the finish. I'm pulling out all the stops trying to get a new mini portfolio produced before my Wife and I head out to SDCC next month.

The image is above is a lil Hulk vs Wolverine commission piece I've been working on. I had way too much fun working on it.

Later!

The New Man of Steel

2011-06-13T06:43:00.000-07:00

So, recently DC Comics released images of an new look for Superman. Being a huge Superman fan I think I am at liberty to say that I think it's LAME. There just isn't any need to change something that works and works well. Still I figured if ya gotta change his costume it might as well look cool. This is my take on earth's greatest hero.

Now back to work!

Still on My Desk

2011-06-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

I just finished yesterday's sketch card commission this morning. I can't show the entire piece yet because I haven't sent it to the owner yet, plus I still have to get approval from Marvel. Still, I'm really happy with it. and I feel like sharing!

On my desk right now

2011-06-08T13:02:00.000-07:00

Just a lil sneak peak of a sketch card commission I'm finishing up right now.

more to come!

Artist BLOCK!!

2011-06-07T17:21:00.001-07:00

I have been all over the place doing caricature gigs. The party season is in full swing. Unfortunately for me though, when I am doing a bunch of caricatures my comic art style seems to suffer. I am now solidly experiencing artist's block. I still have a ton of projects on my desk so I don't have much choice except to fight through it. So I just did up this quick sketch of Oki from Sean Galloway's Bation's seven.

Just a lil sumpthin to keep the skillz flowing.

Later!

The End?

2011-05-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

Why is it that things have to bee so tough? Sometimes it's like the world just can't throw enough crap my way. Money is tighter than it has been in quite a while which makes everything tough, plus gas has finally reached over $4.00 where I live. Even Superman has given up on "truth, justice and the American way". I think the worst part is the mood I've been in lately. It's hard to stay motivated when so many things seem to be stacked against me. (Sorry for all the venting folks)

Now that I've gotten the belly aching out of my system I know what I really need to do is buckle down and make something happen. No matter how tough things are I'm not built to quit. There is a great quote from Superman III...little Ricky finds Superman who has been affected with some new kryptonite in a bar getting drunk and terrorizing people with his heat vision. Ricky tells Superman that "He's just in a slump. He can be great again!". Right now I know I'm in a slump, but I can be great again too.

So I'm not giving up. It's time to get down to business and prove that I really am the "World's Greatest" (those that know me best will know about that).

Next week I'm sure I'll have better news to report. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Sumpthin Different

2011-05-06T15:54:00.001-07:00

I felt like drawing something that isn't a super hero. I guess it's good to flex my skills on the female figure from time to time.

By the way, I saw Thor today and I thought it was ok. Yup, just OK. I was hoping for more, but what can u do right?

Fastest Man Alive

2011-05-04T01:27:00.000-07:00

Anyone else hate tax time? ARGH! Uncle same came around last month and really drained my pockets dry. It put me in quite the financial bind this month. I've had to really battle to get ends to meet. Anyhow. That is good news for the blog cuz that means I'll have more art to post!

This piece is the line work for a commission piece for a friend that is loooooong over due. Hopefully He will like it and that will make up for how long it took me to get it to him. I did a color version as well, but I think I'll wait to post that until next time.

Later!

Fingers to the Bone

2011-04-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

I've been on a crazy roller coaster ride full of great projects since February. It's crazy cuz I'm normally just sitting on my hands just praying for work. This year is it's own animal completely. I've been working with Sean Galloway
on some of his creator owned stuff, which has been a dream come true. Sean is great to work with plus he has been schooling me in the finer points of the biz. I have also been working on a few story board projects. One of them is for the USPS. It's so funny that I never would have thought I would do story boarding work, but here we are and I gotta say I have loved every bit of it.

I have also manged to squeeze in some small press comic work here and there. I'll be free to post some that soon.

Plus the biggest news for me is that ID Studio is finally back at work on the Brotherhood. There are gonna be some changes to the concept and all the characters have had some new design work done. When the project hits it is gonna blow yall away. I'll see if I can post a small sneak peak next post.

Then last but not least I am finally breaking ground on my new art book! Again there isn't much I can say about it yet, but you can bet I am gonna post new art from it as soon I can.

So in the meantime I'll leave yall with a lil more Pendant art.

This Changes Everything

2011-03-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

I have waited soooo long to post this teaser! This is just a taste of the work I have been a part of with Sean Galloway and the crew. There will be more updates about this so keep your ears to the ground.

Wait for it....

Written by: J.Torres [link] and Sean Galloway

Art by: Jerry Gaylord

Art assists by: Sean Galloway

Backgrounds by Dario Brizuela [link] and Sean Galloway.

Colors by: Gurihiru [link]

Bastion's 7 created by and copyright to Sean "Cheeks" Galloway

Be on the look out for other collabs by us!

Draw Like the Franchize!

2011-02-02T11:20:00.000-08:00

Hello February! I normally go through a huge slow down with work over the winter. Last year I even had to take on a full time job in sales and put my art on hold to make ends meet. This year not so much. My plate is full with paying projects, and Caricature gigs keep popping up at the last second. I'm not ballin outta control or anything (In fact money is pretty tight right now), but I'm not looking for a day job either. I'm very excited that all the hard work I've put into building a name for myself is starting to pay off.

Anyhow, For today's post I thought I would share a little of my technique with yall. The above art is a cover for Pendant Audio's Last Son of Krypton audio drama. So here is how I break it down:

I started this assignment pretty straight forward. I read the script then came up with an idea. i did the thumbnail sketch with a ballpoint pen. Then scanned it into photoshop and pushed and pulled pieces to create the composition. Then I used the pencil tool and my wacom tablet to draw the line art and made the flats with the polygon lasso tool. From there I use the free form lasso tool to create the shadow shapes and to add volume. Now I select the inverse of the shadows and drop in a light color to give the whole piece a mood. Then finally I add some redering to the faces and a few high lights and glows and I'm all done. And below is the finished piece!

Still Sketchin

2011-01-25T13:34:00.000-08:00

It has been waaaay too long since my last post! From now on I'll be making posts weekly. I gotta make sure yall have a reason to come check me out from time to time! Anyhow. I've been busting my hump trying to get caught up on all my projects since Christmas and here I am. The biggest elephant in my room has been all these sketch cards. I just finished up Star Wars Galaxy 6 and another Marvel set only to pick up 3 more Marvel sets from Topps. Sketch cards can be a lot of fun to work on, but I think it's time I start to cut back on how many sets I'm involved in. They are just too time consuming and the pay doesn't quite match up.

Here are a few of the Star Wars cards that I can show.

I'll be finishing up my Bettie Page sketch cards tonight so I'll be posting those as soon they are approved. Then I'll be focused on the Thor set from Upperdeck.

That's all for now. See ya soon!

Pendant Halloween Desktop

2010-10-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I posted the line art to a desk top image that Peng-Peng and I have been working on for Pendant Audio. We finished it up and here it is for your viewing pleasure! Peng had the great idea to put Kara, Kal and Krypto in Halloween costumes and to have them trick or treating. I think it came out as a pretty fun piece. If you are interested in using it as your desktop just hop on over to the Pendant site, click on the "Let me see some Superman art" link inside the pink box and it's right there.

Goin back to Cali

2010-10-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

I'm headed west to California to be a part of a very good friend's wedding. I'll be gone for about 5 days so I wanted to post some art I've been holding onto that I never got around to sharing. These sketch card commissions are some of the first I ever did with markers. I had been pretty reluctant to try them out, but the finished look I think was worth breaking my old color pencil habits.

I'm working on some pretty cool stuff right now that I can't talk about just yet, but by the time I get back I will be able to post some Marvel Heroes and Villians art as well as some Clone Wars season 2 sketch card art. Stay tuned!

Show Some ID

2010-10-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

IDentityComics.com is back up and running! Peng was able to put together a new site that will be in place until we can finish our brand new site. Check it out and let me know what yall think.

Now that Halloween is around the corner the great folks at Pendant thought it would be a great idea to do a Desktop image for the season. Peng and I are working on it now and I thought I would throw a peak at the line art at yall.

I'll be posting more art tomorrow!

getting down to the biz

2010-10-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

Still working hard. I worked some events over the weekend with pretty long hours, now I'm back in the lab finishing up some layouts and sending some e-mails so I can hit the hay. It is great to actually be doing what I love for a living. Sometimes I have to step back from my work just to take it all in and realize that I am actually doing what I always dreamed I would be doing when i was a kid.

I don't have much work that I am allowed to show right now. I'm working on some stuff that is pretty hush hush. So I'll show a pin-up I did for a friend for his Zombie of the Month comic. This character's creator is an old friend of mine, Don Kunkel check his DA page if u get a chance.

Still Going

2010-10-08T20:13:00.000-07:00

The world has been going pretty non stop for me for the past few months. the projects just keep rolling in. I finished up my 300 Star Wars sketch cards, 100 Marvel sketch cards, 40 Hack/ Slash cards, and picked up a really cool project tht I can't really talk about yet. The Baltimore comic con was amazing. I got to meet my all time art hero Jose Luise Garcia Lopez. He even signed my art board and did a quick Batman sketch for me. The Identity Studio did really well as a group and we had a great time chatting with the crowd and doing sketches.

I'm in for another busy weekend, but before I get nose deep in caricatures and Birthday parties I wanted to share a sneak peak at some new concept art I'm doing for Identity Studio's "The Brotherhood" comic. The whole group is buzzing about bringing the concept back to the front of our project list. We have come up with a really great story and I'll be keeping yall posted as more develops. The art is of my character Impossible (formerly Mr. Impossible). check it out.

Jose Luise Garcia Lopez!

2010-08-27T15:10:00.000-07:00

Oh snap! I just found out that my all time favorite artist and single largest influence on my work Jose Luise Garcia Lopez is gonna be at the Baltimore con this weekend! He is the artist who did the design work for the Galactic Gaurdians Super Friends show (the final season of Super Friends) and did pretty much all the major marketing art for DC comics over the last 25 years or so. Remember Superman peanutbutter or have you ever seen a Superman lunchbox? Yup, he is the guy that did all that stuff and it looks like I'm gonna have a chance to meet him. I have to scramble to find something to get him to sign. I have a few comics that he has done, but I gotta find something really cool for him to sign. I can only hope that when I speak to him I don't get star struck and can still form sentences.

The piece I'm posting today is good example of how his work has impacted my style. I think I just may give him a print of it when I see him at the show.

See yall in Baltimore!

Back to Baltimore

2010-08-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

I'm coming down to the wire with the Star Wars sketch cards. I won't even say how many I still have to do. All I can say is that it's clear to me that I'm gonna have an all nighter in my future.

The good news is that The ID crew is all set and ready to rock the Baltimore Comic Con. The show is this weekend Saturday, August 28th -29th at the Baltimore convention center. The entire crew Domonike Stanton, Jose Jaro, Bryan Turner, Peng-Peng and myself will be holding it down at tables 111 and 112.

I'm looking forward to selling a bunch of prints and doing a bunch of commissions. So if you are gonna be at the show come on down and say hello!

Never give up. Never Surrender

2010-08-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

I am falling behind! I have over 300 sketch cards to complete in under 3 weeks. I seem to be at the mercy of the world around me for the moment. It just seems like I cant string together any consecutive ours of work to really get into a groove. I'm gonna have to rethink my strategy to get everything done in time and still hold onto my sanity.

In the mean time I figured I would post some cards I did for March of Dimes charity auction. I decided that from now on whenever someone asks me to do charity work I'm gonna draw the SuperFriends. I figure they are my all-time favorites so I'm bound to do good work and hopefully bring in big bucks for charity.

Later!

iI'm working on STAR WARS!

2010-08-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

So after months of networking and knocking on doors I finally have a shot at working on an officially licensed Star Wars project! It is the Clone Wars season 2 sketch card set. I'll be working on a bunch of cards that will go straight to the hobby market and a bunch that will be headed to retail stores across America. I have been doing sketch cards for a while now working on characters i have loved since I was a kid, but to actually have an opportunity to work on Star Wars is more than I could have hoped for.

My deadline on the project is pretty tight though. I'll be doing about 17 cards per night for the next 2 weeks straight plus a bunch of caricature gigs next week and a few other projects that need my attention. Then at the end of the Month is the Baltimore Comic con.

I did the sketch of chibi Anikin as a warm-up before I jumped into sketch cards last night. I figured I would throw some quick colors on it and share it with yall.

Wish me luck!

Stitches

2010-08-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

I am really pressing up against some tight deadlines on some sketch cards, but I gotta post this real quick. Peng-Peng and I did up some Stitch personal sketch cards for a friend and she posted hers so I can't let her one up me. So here it is! I really had a lot of fun working on this. Lilo and Stitch was such a great movie with amazing character design work that it made drawing Stitch a breeze. Hopefully you all out there in blog land will love it too.

Otakon!

2010-08-07T22:39:00.000-07:00

So Every year Peng-Peng and I go to Otakon (really big anime show) in Baltimore and we always have a great time. Normally We will hit the dealer room for almost the entire show and buy a bunch of cool anime related knick-knacks and other goodies and generally soak up all the anime culture. This year we had toyed with the idea of getting a table in artist's alley and setting up to do the show like we would a comic con. We applied on the first day that the show opened registration, but, the show is so popular that we didn't make it in. We ended up being put on the waiting list, and we didn't have much hope that we might actually get a table.

So months pass and the date for Otakon arrives. We head on out to Baltimore to attend the show as fans and BOOM! We find out that we are able to get the Artist Alley table after all. It was great, but terrifying. We had to scramble to put our stuff together for the con, plus I had scheduled a caricature gig during the second day of the show. It all felt like a huge gamble. We had never done an anime show before and we couldn't be sure that our art would be received in a positive way.

Well, let me tell you.... The show was amazing! The fans at Otakon showed us so much love that Peng-Peng and I could hardly believe it. We got so busy that we had to close commissions on Saturday! I did have to leave for about 5 hours to do my gig, but Peng was a trooper and powered the day on her own (there was also this whole thing with someone pulling the fire alarm and let me tell u it SUCKED!).

I know for a fact the we will do everything on our power to do the show as artists again next year, and hopefully some of the other members of ID will be able to make it as well. We always seem to have a greater impact when we r all together.

anyhow, I hope u all enjoy looking at these pics of commissions I did at the con as much as I enjoyed sketching them up!

All's Fair...

2010-08-05T16:21:00.001-07:00

I have been all over the place this month! I did a fair in Virginia, and drew tons of caricatures and put a lil money into my pockets at the same time. I thought I would share a few pics with yall so u can get an idea of what a day at the fair is like. wish I had more to say,but I guess the photos will have to speak for themselves

.

Sketch Cards all day long!

2010-07-07T23:28:00.000-07:00

So I am currently in Roanoke VA doing caricatures with my homeboy Dan "The Man" Smith at the Salem Fair. The fair is pretty much the only retail caricature work I do every year (with the exception of the Super Pet Expo which I hope to do every year). The fair gives me a chance to hang out with Dan and an opportunity to flex my selling skillz. It is thrilling to watch sales add up at the end of the day to prove that I still got it.

Now the fair is great and all, but it is really slow for the first few hours of every day. It gives me plenty of time to goof off, or work. This time around I have chosen to work. I have a ton of sketch card projects to work on so I brought some new Marvel cards with me to get a jump on my deadlines. I knocked out rough lines on 50 cards today and I'll do another 50 tomorrow. I'm trying some new things on these bad boys so I'm hoping you all like them as much as I do. I can't show much of that art right now, but I do have permission to show one card from the Pulp Girls set I worked on recently with Super Real Graphics and 5Finity Productions. You can find out more about the Pulp Girls set here .

Enjoy the work and I'll be in touch soon.

Come see me at HEROES!

2010-06-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

I just put the finishing touches on this new Spidey and MJ piece. If u r gonna be at Heroes this weekend keep an eye out for it as a print. I'll be at the table all weekend long so don;t be shy come and check me out. I'll also have a few of my 09 sketch book on hand so don't forget to pick one up!

Heroes Con is this weekend! This is my favorite con of of the year and I couldn't be more excited about it. Peng-Peng and I will be in attendance along with my homeboy Domonike Stanton . We will be holding down the Identity Comics table AA-241. If u r gonna be at the show come on by and check us out. we will be doing a raffle for 2 free inked commissions. All u gotta do is come by and give us your name to enter. We will also have the last of our "Inside the Box" studio art book for sale featuring the art of Jose Jaro , Bryan Turner , Peng-Peng, and me theFranchize (jerry Gaylord) ,and lots of prints. Plus We will have Marvel 70th anniversary, and Iron Man 2 artist proof cards available for commission. And of course we will be giving away free head sketches with every purchase. So come on by and chat with us for a bit. it is gonna be an unbelievable event. I can't wait to see yall!

Bad Dudes

2010-05-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to post this image for a while. I have been doing character designs for the Superman Universe just for fun and these two characters just jumped out at me. I have always liked Darkseid since my days as a youth watching the Superfriends. Doomsday is a character I warmed up to recently. I think he was a great idea, but now whenever he shows up in the comics Superman beats him with one punch and the cool factor is out the window.

Any how. I just wanted to drop this art on yall. Let me know what u think

Getting the Work in

2010-05-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

I spent most of today working on my goals for the year. I had already worked them out, but I'm reading a book about sales and marketing that has really gotten me thinking of new possibilities. I have never been one to set low goals or have low aspirations, but now I find myself thinking that I have been thinking too small after all.

After having crunched some numbers and feeling pretty comfortable with my new goals I thought I would do a quick sketch to stay on my toes. I have never really drawn Goku before, but I was really into Dragon Ball Z for a while. I had always wanted to see what he might look like in my style so I said to my self " there is no time like the present."

Enjoy.

More Pendant Covers and Heroes Con

2010-05-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! I just finished up my latest Pendant Superman cover and I think it looks pretty cool if I do say so myself. Too bad I can't share it yet. However, I can share a couple of older ones that I haven't posted yet though. I had fun working on these and I think they came out pretty cool looking. Hopefull yall will dig them too.

The big news for me right now is Heroes Con. The show is in Charlotte, NC and it is my all time favorite con. I always have a great time (and the sales aren't too shabby either!). I plan on having some new prints and a new sketchbook (I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one) for the show. If you are gonna be in the area you gotta stop by.

see ya there!

Get Green

2010-05-17T20:45:00.001-07:00

I posted this on my deviant page back on Earth Day, but I figured why not share the love here too? I loved Captain Planet as a kid and I always thought he would be a great comic to read. This is what I would do if I was ever offered the project. Bad guys and polluters watch out!

Brand new header again! and me on Marvel.com!

2010-05-16T22:42:00.000-07:00

I just updated my header to be something more colorful. Hopefully yall out there in Blog land will like the new look. I also wanted to say I'm super excited about my art being featured on Marvel.com . My art was used to promote the Marvel 70th anniversary sketch card set and I couldn't have been more surprised to find out. I'm still in the clouds about it. So if you are a sketch card collector or just interested in seeing the full set of cards I did for marvel just check out the link

New Header!

2010-04-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to share this time, but I have been pumping out a ton of new art... like the new header! I fell in love with the sketch so I hope u all like it too. Plus It is gonna serve as the cover for my 2010 sketch book so keep an eye out for that too! Also, here are some thumbs for new DC samples I'm working on. I'm really having fun working on these.

New day job, but still rockin' the pen

2010-03-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

I just finished my second week at my new job and I gotta say it has been a challenge. I'm still doing parties and events, drawing comics and doing some pieces for family and friends though. For a bit I didn't think I had the stamina or will power to keep going and follow my dreams, but I realized that the only thing that has ever been in my way is me. I know that the key is to work hard and be persistent. I will have to be more selective about the projects I take on in the future, but that is hardly a bad thing. I'm looking forward to seeing what I will accomplish with my new focus and determination. 2010 has already had a ton of changes come my way. I'm ready for whatever is next.

The first image above is the newest cover I did for Pendant. I think this has been my best version of heat vision ever. and the second piece is a chibi of Superman and Clark. I just had to do something for me to keep my skillz fresh.

sketchin it up

2010-02-17T21:46:00.000-08:00

hmmm.... I don't really have to much to say today. I'm finally getting closer to being caught up on a bunch of projects and I'm starting to feel pretty good. I just finished up and mailed out these 2 personal sketch card commissions. I really had fun working on these. It might have been because I have never really drawn these 2 before. Anyhow I think I did a pretty good job and so I'm sharing them with all of you out there in Blogger land!

Happy V-Day!

2010-02-15T17:49:00.000-08:00

Yup, I know I'm late, but I thought I would post this all the same. My wonderful wife and I just had a great Valentines day date. We had to do it a day late because we both had to work on Valentine's day. So to anyone and everyone a big ol' best friend hug from theFranchize!

DRAW LIKE ME!

2010-01-28T23:05:00.000-08:00

I'm under super tight deadlines with about 5 different projects right now, but I felt like I had been neglecting the blog (it's been like 3 months!) so I thought I would drop in and show some of what I've been up to.

Here is the process of how I put together the cover for issue 59 of Pendant Audio's Last Son of Krypton drama. After I read the script I grabbed the closest graphite pencil and roughly sketched out what I thought would be a cool cover. I even through in a quick color guide to help establish the mood. After the thumb was approved I broke out a piece of 11x17 blue line bristol and started to pencil the page. From there I inked the lines with micron pens then scanned the art and did the colors on photoshop Cs3. I try to stick with simple cell shades and push the contrast to create a dramatic piece. And there u have it! Now I gotta get back to work!

Birthday Blast!

2009-11-04T09:15:00.000-08:00

Another year has come and gone and this old boy is turning 29! can u believe it? me neither. just thought I would drop that bomb on yall. I figured I would post a birthday nugget. It was a gambit sketch card commission from this years Heroes con

Now back to your regularly scheduled programing.

This is a job for Superman

2009-10-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

I am the new digital cover artist for Pendant Audio's Lat Son of Krypton audio drama! Each month the Superman Homepage posts the new cover art that goes with that month's audio drama. You can check out the post on the Superman Homepage here or go directly to Pendant and listen to the show here

To the left is a look at the cover without the title and other text. The cover features a brand new Supergirl!

I'm also working on a few new Marvel sketch card series. Spider-Man Archives is set to be realeased this month. My promo cards are to the left. I'm currently working on 200 cards for the new Iron Man 2 set, and 200 more for another Marvel set that I can't say much about just yet. Plus I'm wrapping up work on my last 2 sets of cards for 5Finity productions, a Moonstone set and Zombies Vs Cheerleaders.

thanks for reading my first post. It only gets better from here!