D O G _ D A Y _ A F T E R N O O N

"I think Crab, my dog, be the sourest-natured dog that lives."

- Wm. Shakespeare in Two Gentlemen of Verona

I believe that it's safe to say that this is the most mediocre thing I've ever done.

S E L F - P O R T R A I T

Hello again. Here are some self-portraits I did for my Digital Media final project. The first was done all in Illustrator, the second all in Photoshop, and the last two are a combination of the two. Please enjoy my face.

P R I N T S

Hello folks. Here are the final images (not the best of images) of some of the many sketches I've been showing you this semester.

Each four of these are 12'x24' relief block prints.

"Alan" / "Peter" / "Kenny" / "Billy"

M Y _ F I R S T _ J O B

Hello folks. Here's my latest illustration assignment, a book! Our collective illustration classes have been charged with illustrating four pages depicting our first and/or worst jobs. We will then be collection all of our stories, and publishing them in a big collective book, much like that of "Blab!" from Fantagraphics. This is all 12"x12", paint marker on frosted-mylar, inspired by block prints (I would have done them as block prints, but I wasn't too pleased with how the prints came out, so I went over and did it all again in paint marker, using the prints as templates).

The final book will be printed at 7"x7" HERE.

M O R E _ P R I N T _ S K E T C H E S . . . A G A I N

Another sketch ready to be put to print.

This man's name is Billy.

M O R E _ P R I N T _ S K E T C H E S

Here's my latest sketch for my newest print.

This man's name is Kenny.

U N D E R _ T H E _ S E A _ L I O N

The tentacles of the giant Arctic jellyfish can reach 120 feet (36.6 meters) in length.

S O M E _ P R I N T M A K I N G

Hi folks. Here's a scan of a sketch for my latest print. I'm going to be making this into a 3 color print at 12x24. The man's name is Peter [bonus points to anyone who can figure out the reference].

I had done one about two weeks ago of a man named Alan (that will be up whenever I can get the time to scan or photograph it). This one is going to be the second in the series, where I do some research on these haggard men and make prints of them, out of at least four, maybe more. Well see.

R A A B _ P R I Z E - - F I N A L _ L A Y O U T

Hey folks. Here's my final layout for the RAAB prize. I have a copy with the words in the layout, but I'm afraid of copyright problems. So just find the poem (I think I told you guys what it was and who wrote it earlier.....Nope? I didn't?......oh, ok...well it's "Bug Games" by Jane Yolen), and just read it while looking at this, imagining it on the left of the page.

R A A B _ P R I Z E _ B U G S -- R O U N D _ 2

Bugs continued...

Falling grub.

Fly, also playing tag.

Cricket and flea playing hopscotch.

R A A B _ P R I Z E _ B U G S -- R O U N D _ 1

Here's half my cut paper character designs for the Raab Prize poem. The whole image will be up soon enough. And the poem is...under lock and key?...I think. Not really sure. Either way, here's a sneak peek at some nice kid-oriented bugs.

Dragonfly on a swing.

Lazy cricket.

Centipede playing tag.

Beetle taking a bath.

S M I L E S

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."

-Thich Nhat Hanh

Simple repeated linocut. Enjoy!

D I G I T A L _ W O R K

Here's some of my digital work I've been doing for class in Illustrator. The first is a gallery logo and the second are a bunch of different color variations for skateboard design. There'd be more if I can figure out how to upload them without distorting the colors.

M E T A N O I A : T A K E _ 2

Second look at my METANOIA posters, adding some digital color.

womenscenter.uconn.edu

womenscenter.uconn.edu/VAWPP

metanoia.uconn.edu

M E T A N O I A

Illustration poster designs for the Metanioa event on campus in October. Simple lino-cut. I like it. And I like color variations.

metanoia.uconn.edu

S W E E T B E R R Y _ W I N E

"In spite of a sluggish economy, U.S. wine consumption registered its 14th consecutive annual gain in 2007, as Americans drank more wine than Italians for the first time ever and now trail only the French in total wine consumed."

This weeks free text friday. I like my continued exploration of the line work; and I like that this image is much more resolved, tho I don't like how real the forms look compared to my last. I need to find more of a balance.

Also, it looks better smaller, and I like the accidental coloration of the paper after running through photoshop real quick to bring out the quick spot colors.

Enjoy.

F I R S T _ F T F

Hello all,

It's been awhile, and in accordance with Topics in Illustration this semester, here is the (soon to be renamed) first free text friday post!

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

"Nothing measurable matters."

I did one black in white and another in color, mostly because I wasn't sure what the color rules were, and also to see what the effects of simple color can do. So, ultimately I steeled on the color, because it has an added visual influence with the color, as well as all the integrity of the line work from the black and white. Hope you all enjoy!

B A C K _ I N T O _ T H E _ S W I N G _ O F _ T H I N G S

Well, let's see....

Finished my job at Marvel. Sad.

BUT! I left on a good note. Exchanged many emails with artists and editors. Made many new friends. And they'd definitely hire me back next summer. Happy!

And, now that summer is over, that means that school is about to begin. Can say I'm terribly excited. That's not to say I'm not, it's just an odd excited. I am excited for most of my classes individually. But, I'm not excited to have to balance myself between them all, with work, and with my independent projects on top of that.

A tad far from Marissa. Sad. BUT! we're back within walking distance of each other and have two classes together! Happy!

Now when I say "independent projects", I mean the comic I'm co-writing, and solo-illustrating. I'm not going to give too much away. But, with any luck I can have it up and going within the next two months. I've created a character and basic story that I think is pretty good. And I'm partnering with the fantastically talented Daniel Janavey, who is writing the script probably as we speak. So, essentially, I'll be co-creating this creator owned project, and then funding its production myself. Just making comics hopefully on a monthly basis. Leaving piles in dorm buildings, sending out a few to choice friends, family and companies (maybe?), and just letting myself be known. I'm also going to try to get it up online (well see how that goes).

That's it for now kids. Until next time!

GOOOOOOO PLANET!

U P _ T O _ D A T E

Hello all. It's been quite awhile. Been working practically 24/7, so haven't had much time to talk. Not to mention that I can't talk about work, except that I'm just happy to be there all the time, because of my non-disclosure agreement. Which I'm alright with. Let's just say that I'm starting to impress people, and I'm getting a lot more responsibility day by day.

By that same token, I'll be glad to get to go on vacation after next week. I'll be spending two whole weeks out in California. First week I'll be at the glorious and overwhelming ComicCon, and then the second week is touristy things. But, the best part of it all is spending time with Marissa. I haven't seen her in a very long time, so I'm really just looking forward to just...well...just seeing her, I suppose. I really don't know how to describe it, but, I know at least one person reading this will get what I mean. I hope she doesn't have to work much while I'm there.

In other news. I planned a scavenger hunt with me and about 15 other friends for today. I had the whole day cleared, so I thought things would be great. Turns out I was wrong. Keith was the only one who showed. Even with a month of warning, people can't get their shit together and request one simply day off from work. So the whole day was a bust. Poop.

I've also been thinking about getting a twitter account, just for social networking. But, I'm just don't see the point, really.

I like shirt pockets.

"Bruno"...okay.

um...

...I'm afraid of getting lost at the airport?...

OH! I got a web site. Check it out at the top of the page, or right HERE. Still building it. But, there's a beta welcome site up. Haven't had much time to build it up to its full potential, but I'm hoping to have it done and ready by the end of the summer. Also, I'm starting up my art again. I haven't done a lot since I've been home, what with working two jobs, so I've been slacking. I have all of these ideas [mostly depressing], but I think that visually they're really good. Just have to actually execute them. And I'm starting the scripting process on my comic. I've finally settled on an idea, now I just need to get the full story together in my head. It's hard. Very hard. I think I might also make short comics about some of the plays I've written.

It's been a long summer.

T H E _ B E S T _ D A Y _ T O _ D A T E [within the contexts of my artistic career]

So, ladies and gents, today was my first day on the job at Marvel Comics. It doesn't pay anything, I do a lot of paper work and e-mailing to and for a lot of people that I don't really know. But hell if I don't love it!

It was FANTASTIC! I met the nearly every editor, and hand full of artists, and almost all of the production staff. My artistic background is helping me for sure, as I preform quality checks on all incoming sample comic scripts and prints before handing them over to the editors. I get to see it all before a lot of other people do, even within the company. I've also learned that the art world does not solely run on Mac computers. They use PC's there also; go figure? And, I have to use both.

And this was all just the first day. I think most surprising of all was how many of the interns aren't in the art field at all. And by how many, I mean all but me. I was the only art major there that wasn't a full time staff member. A lot of marketing, communications, and english majors. I supposes that was to be expected. But, not expected, was that there's a lot of them that have no background in collecting Marvel, or any other, comics?! A lot of their only familiarity was with the movies. So sad, really.

But, I suppose that just puts me ahead of the curve. SO, all in all, no screw-ups on my end, no one yelled "stop the presses, the new kid f*ed everything up", and the building is still standing. So, I'd say that's a pretty good first day, if I do say so myself.

M A R V E L _ F * I N G _ C O M I C S _ ! ! ! ! ! 1 ! ! ! 1 1 ! ! 1 ! !

Ladies and gents, welcome back to my life. Not much has happened since we last spoke, well, except for the fact that I GOT THE F*ING INTERNSHIP AT MARVEL COMICS!

That's right, I'm now one step closer to actually working there as an illustrator. Suddenly, all of my talk about becoming a comic book artist doesn't feel like just talk anymore. Sure, I'm not making my own comics yet, but I've got a foot in the door. I'm working my way up at my dream job. Hell, just a month ago, I was sure I wasn't even going to get an interview. But, here I am, working at Marvel, getting hands on experience with the pros! It's all so exciting, I don't think I'll be able to sleep for days!

Well, that's all from me right now. I'm so excited, I really don't know what else to say! I've people to tell this too, to spread the good new, and to brag and rub in some peoples smug stupid faces. So, please, take care for now. I'll be back to let you all know how my first day goes. YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!11!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!1111!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111!!!!1!!!1!

A D A M ' S _ B I G _ D A Y _ O U T

Welcome back ladies and gents. I know that since my last post, you are all eagerly awaiting to hear if I got the position at Marvel or not. Well, like me, you will all have to wait a bit. So, sit in anticipation with me for the next few days.

For now, I'll titillate your senses with a tale of how my day went. Today, of course, I had my interview with Marvel, which went very well, if I do say so myself. But, because I live in New Fairfield, I had to drive in with Dad as he went to his job in the city. So, at 9am today, I had arrived, and was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the 1 train to take me down town to my interview at the Marvel headquarters on 5th Ave. With my suit and tie on, briefcase of important business-type papers in one hand, and sweat in the other, I was off on a day of adventure! WOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

After filling out some paper work, I meet interviewed, confidently, leaving them knowing I could handle anything they would throw at me there. The internship isn't me drawing out new comics, but it's a foot in the door and story for another blog. So, after the interview, I simply wandered. I had time to kill before Dad got off work at 4:30, as it was only 11am, so I took a stroll down 5th Ave. over to the MoMA. Which, was nice. Although, it turned out to be a big, "look at me, I'm wearing a scarf and its 60 degrees out, and my pants are so tight, and the lens on my Nikon is huge, so I know more about art than you" competition with about half the idiots in there, as they ran around, taking pictures with wild abandon, so sense of artistic integrity, as other mindless fools with sketch pads simply re-drew art that already existed, or a pretty girl they were trying to impress. Anyone can re-draw something. A drawing is a blue print for a thing that you saw at some point. It's like how you can build anything with the instructions. The hard part isn't putting it together, it's the designing of the final piece. Once something has been drawn, the work has already been done, so drawing it again doesn't accomplish much [at leas that's how I feel].

So, after 2hrs of MODERN and people watching/sketching, I wrote a postcard, then left, had some lunch, took a stroll down memory lane and visited FAO Schwarts, and then strolled on back to W 65th street to meet Dad at the end of the day and fall asleep on the ride home. And, now, here I am, telling all you people about it, and if you're still reading, then good job. The rest of you, FOR SHAME. Can't even stick it out. I'm disappointed. I thought we were friends. But, I guess that if we ever have a long conversation together, you'll either nod off or just walk away, wont you? 

Oh well. Until next time, when I'll have some updates on the whole Marvel thing.

Take care.

M A R V E L _ F * I N G _ C O M I C S

That's right kids! I said it. MARVEL F*ING COMICS. The mecca of comic book production companies. And soon. I will become a part of its woodwork. Hopefully.

Thaaaaaaaaaaaat's right folks. I, Adam Del Re, have an interview with MARVEL COMICS this Monday, May 11th of the year 2009, at 10 in the am! I'm so excited that my head almost exploded. This is a huge step for me in the right direction, so hopefully all goes week and this becomes the start of a band new day of brand new art making in a brand new world!

So, now I must prepare with mock interviews with my dad and a whole lot of other paper work that needs to be done. But, with any luck, I'll be working in the big leagues this summer.

EXCELSIOR!

A R T : F I G U R E - 2 - F I N A L . . . [zoom]

In case some of you were interested, I've added some zoom images of one of the John Paul Leon pictures for a closer look.

Please enjoy.

A R T : T H E - L O N G - H A U L . . . [continued]

So here is my final project for figure drawing 2, with Patrick Hammie. My crit went really well; Patrick liked all of it, no complaints, so all is good.

The assignment was to draw in the style of two artist. The first two are in the style of John Paul Leon, and the last three are in the style of Alex Kanevsky.

The best part about the crit was when Patrick told me I should think about submitting these works to open galleries to get me name out. I told him I was thinking about becoming a fine artist in addition to my goal of being a comic book artist, and he said that [and I'm ad-libbing here] given my talent and commitment, that pieces could command a huge presence in an open gallery show, making sure that people remember my name.