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DECEMBER 7th, 2011 COMICDOM INTERVIEW Click here--- http://www.comicdom.gr/2011/10/11/interview-corner-63-chris-bachalo/ How do I sound in greek? Be sure to scroll down. My broken english kicks in soon enough. Best! CB DECEMBER 6th, 2011 XMEN NINE Greetings! Released original art for XMEN issue 9 today at the Gallery0 store on the website. Nice rug for sale too! Check it out! All the best! CB DECEMBER 3rd, 2011 KRUEGER Posted to a link to Sebastian Kruegers site. He's an mazing celebrity portrait artist that, unfortunately, has strayed away from interpretive work and more into photo realism--which I've never been that enamored with. I understand that it takes great skill to pull off realism but If you're going to put a large of amount of time and energy into making a painting look real then be creative with it. A good example of this is Sebastian's pic "Trust me, I'm a Doctor" from his website gallery. Very real but not something that you're going to easily replicate with a camera and photoshop-- and its a great example of SK's sense of humor. I'm very inspired by Sebastian's work from the nineties. His work from that time period demonstrates a nice range of creative style and of editorial prowess--with much focus on the Rolling Stones. Its great fun and inspiring. The guy can draw like a beast. I own copies of his books, Stars and Stones published by Morpheus press. Highly recommended. His website includes a nice, time compressed vid of SK painting a portrait of Michael Jackson. CB NOVEMBER 30th, 2011 SIZE DOES MATTER. A smidgen of bathroom humor... CB
NOVEMBER 29th, 2011 11/22/11 COLORS! Chris asked about how I color. Here ya go-- All coloring is done on Photoshop. I primarily use three brushes--soft round, hard round and sponge-- at various pressures on top of layers. A few others as well for textures. I also use photography-- especially for skies, walls and rocks- mostly landscape stuff. Its fast and convincing and I often pull colors from them to create my range of colors/color palette for the page/scene. I'll start with BG's and then use a hard round to fill flats and figure out my palette. Textures might go in now. i'll then take a very low pressure--around 5%-- sponge brush and start blending and rendering to satisfaction followed by detailed rendering with a soft round at 100% pressure. Takes me 1.5--2 hours to color a page. All the best! CB OCTOBER 3rd, 2011 STYLE Richard is writing a paper for his English Composition class and asked me about style--- 1) Has any physical or emotional problems effected or approved/evolved your particular art style in the past or recent? no... 2) I’m very familiar with your particular art style and I’ve been following your work since Shade: The Changing Man to Death: The High Cost of Living and to Generation-X & the X-Men as well as your creator own book SteamPunk. Your art style seemed to had changed the most when you were working on Generation-X, and I was wandering what made your work change from the style in Generation-X#1-5 to what I kind of referred to as the more “puffy bubble” style that readers had saw after Generation-X #25 and again once you started drawing The Uncanny X-men, and so on with Steam Punk? Did the constant drawing have anything to do with your own particular art style, or was there something else? Style can be influenced by many things. More often than not its a manifestation of your exposure to what's around you, what you enjoy, your skill level and the subject matter. I took a big swing in style with Generation X because I left the independent imprint Vertigo and entered the world of Marvel and superheroes. I found myself working in a different genre and was exposed to a different style of art. I went from Dave McKean and Duncan Fegredo to Jim Lee and Joe Maduriera, to dark stories of realistically portrayed characters to heroic people with powers that dressed in costumes. It wouldn't feel right to me to draw them with the same style. Late in my run on Gen X I embraced a cartoony , manga-ish style. I was looking at a lot of that around that time. On Steampunk, being a creator owned book, for the first time I could draw just about anything I wanted and I let it fly... I'm also looking for ways to advance my work. I don't want to stay in the same place. I don't want to be stagnant. I'm always looking for styles that interest me and sometimes what interests me, inevitably, finds its way into my work. I guess you could chalk it up to boredom creeping in and wanting keep the work fresh and new. Sometimes its a result of just wanting to draw better. If Im not satisfied with the way that I draw hands, for example, I'll try something different to improve upon them and see what happens. There might be a slight change of style and, over an extended period of time, a large change of style. Constant drawing affects style as well. Hopefully, with the time invested, you get better. Ultimately, style is a reflection of the individual, what he or she is attracted to and a reaction to the stimuli around them.... 3) Can or has a tight deadline affected or put strain on your particular drawing style? Maybe. I know I draw comics in a certain way as its efficient to do so. If I had the financial persuasion or time I might put in more details or render the figures with more detail-- draw every page with Travis Charest fanatical detail. I may cut a few corners from time to time if i need to get a page done in a hurry--less BG's maybe-- but nothing that I would say affects the style. OCTOBER 2nd, 2011 INSPIRATION MEAHGAN is a design student that is considering illustration. She asked about my inspiration. My inspiration-- Collecting comics was a hobby as a kid and I found out in HS that I enjoyed and was good at art and figured I'd pursue the dream. I earned a BFA in Illustration as i wanted to learn as much as I could about producing art that I could as, typically, artists in the comics field exclusively pencil, ink or color and I didn't want to limit myself. The thing I liked most about comics is that I enjoy telling stories and that creating art in comics is a fast medium--I don't focus on a single drawing for several days at a time--which I don't enjoy so much. The most important thing is to do is what you really enjoy and get the most satisfaction out of. If you become a pro and are successful you will be doing just that all day, everyday. Is it something that you can spend that much time on? The best advice I can give is to work harder than everyone else --as that's where most peoples talent comes from. A good book to read is called Outliers. Talks about how the Beatles and people like Bill Gates became really good at what they do. I assure you that if you are really great at design or illustration and work hard you will be very busy. I don't know any really great starving artists. And remember that you're getting into is a business with deadlines and creative directors that will give you plenty of direction--that sometimes is really awful. Being in the art business is not often about what feels good and expressing yourself but is more about what is necessary and appropriate for the job at hand. In the beginning, more likely than not, it will be very hard to find jobs, but with hard work, a great style and a little luck you can persevere. All the best! CB 6/15/11 STORM GAMBIT Original art from Storm Gambit has sold out. XMEN issue 7 will go up for sale in July. If there are any pieces that your are interested in share your list with me and I will do my best to take care of you. All the best! CB May 6th, 2011 DRAW, DRAW, DRAW! Advice for Cain who is 36 and considering the pursuit of his dream job-- Hey, if you've have the time, resolve and resources go for it. Scroll through my News section. If you can get past all the bits about my kid there's a few good nuggets of advice for aspiring artists. If there is anything specific that you would like to know please ask. The bottom line is that you need to learn how to draw EVERYTHING really well. There's no magic wand for this. You have to put in the hours. Go to school if you can. it was invaluable for me. If you can't, start searching websites, books whatever you can get you hands on for insight an advice and then draw. Draw your room, your friends, your cat, your car, your phone, trees, airplanes etc. Copy what other artists do and how they solve problems. You may adapt their style for a short time but , eventually, you'll develop your own. Spend a three day weekend drawing 12 hours a day and see if you can hack it. Hopefully, by day three you'll find that all your jitters are gone and you'll find out how really good you are and if this is really for you or not. I just put in a 20 hour day coloring Avengers issue 13 to make deadline. No problem. Eventually, you'll be called on to draw just about everything and you'll have to do it fast with confidence and style. Good luck. Hope you make it! CB MAY 6th, 2011 STUCK IN THE SIXTIES Hello. Just back from Minnesota where my 10 year old was playing in a hockey tournament. We refer to him as our hobby. As most of our weekends—and many weekdays-- are spent in a cold hockey rink or at a dusty baseball diamond. I just completed Avengers 13 and I’m commencing work on issue 15-- Yes, skipped 14. This is welcome as I’ll have a reasonable amount of time to turn around art. Its fun working with Bendis. Issue 13 was a very fast turn around. I think 3.5 weeks for pencils and colors and contains what may be a new record for headshots. I think the final tally was around136 heads --give or take a few. Brian apologized for the head count --as he called for numerous pages with 10 headshot panels --but he shouldn’t. I have fun with them and expanded the head count to 12 on each page–adding a few of my own bits—to create a balanced 12 panel grid. The busy grids are extra work and not big on large scale visual drama but I really enjoy them. The real tricky part about jumping on a book like this is learning to draw the large cast of characters. It takes a few practice swings before I figure out a character and, I confess, that there are a few drawings that ‘d like to have back. Nevertheless, I think the book turned out reasonably well. Brian is in top form. Hope you enjoy it. It’ll be out sometime this month. Issue 15 is great fun. Its part of the Fear Itself event and I’m constantly amazed with the ideas the writing team at Marvel continues to come up with. Fear is another great example of their creativity. Wait until you see how much fun they are having. Happy to share that Tim and I will be working on a new monthly that will launch in November . It’ll be the first book that we can call our own since X-Men back in ’08-- I don’t count ASM as it was published weekly and I was part of a rotation. On that series it felt like I was starting on a brand new book each arc as a great deal of story had taken place–and I would be working with a new writer. The new book has a fantastic writer on board--my first time working with him. It promises to be great. We’ll have a big lead time and hope to get in 7-10 issues to kick off the series. Just finished watching Dexter season three. Thought his season started a little slow but picked up at the end. Great series. If you haven’t seen it check it out. The new show Chicago Code is also very good. I made it a point this year to listen to more books while I work. I’ve been pretty lucky as all the books that I’ve read have been very good. When I was kid travelling back and forth from California to Manitoba by car we’d often catch a show, I think it was called Mystery Science theater, something like that, in which voice actors dramatized stories on the radio. It was a great listen despite the fact that the show would occasionally drop out as we moved out of reach of the signal. I think it’s a fondness for those days that especially brings me pleasure listening to the readers/voice actors tell the stories. Thus far, I’ve listened to Bill Bryson’s At home. He’s probably my favorite writer and he’s very good at narrating his books. My favorite of his is A Short History of Nearly Everything. If you like science this will have great appeal. I’ve listened to it three times. At Home is a book about…the home. He tells amazing, fact filled stories about how, historically, each room of the house came to be and about the people and cultures that created them. I’m a big fan of Johnny Cash and listened to A Man Called Cash. He’s one person I really would have like to have met. It was a testament to his creative skill and talent that he was making great music into his early 70’s. I listened to Stephen Kings Full Dark, No Stars. Nothing ground breaking here but he ‘s a wonderful storyteller. Always a good listen. Listened to the Beatles biography by Bob Spitz and Life, the biography of Kieth Richards. Can you tell I’m stuck on the sixties? I was not a big Rolling Stones fan until recently. As time moves on I’m convinced that the music of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s were the renaissance of rock’ n Roll and pop music. I look at my itunes library and 90% of the selections were from that time period. There’s nothing like that quality of music being produced today and I don’t think ever will again. I’ve discovered Philip K. Dick. Listened to several of his books the most recent being Ubik. Good to Great by Jim Collins, Liars Poker by Michael Lewis and I’m currently reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. It’s the amazing survival story of Louis Zamperini who ran track for the US in the 1936 Olympic games, shook hands with Hitler and then was stranded at sea on a small raft for 46 days after his bomber went down in the Pacific Ocean only to be rescued by the Japanese who beat and starved him nearly to death for 2.5 years in prisoner camps. It’s wonderfully read by “ Lost Boys head vampire” Edward Herrman. My next door neighbor is a promoter and had Lou as one of his guests at a party. Lou was a part of a military tour he put on for our troops overseas. He’s in his nineties now and still full of life. An amazing man. I understand there’s a movie in the works. Its a great story. Read/listen to it! On the graphic novel front, I read Scalped on my trip to Minnesota and really enjoyed it. Great work by Jason Aaron and R.M. Gerra. I’ll be picking up following volumes of the book. Another great read are the Oz books being created by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young. My son and I read the books aloud, each of us portraying our favorite characters. My son gave Jack Pumkinhead a southern accent. It’s hilarious. I especially enjoy Skottie’s work. He’s a rare and unique talent. I enjoy his passion for the medium. After 20 plus years in the business sometimes I need a little inspiration and he provides a great lift. He’s very friendly too! I haven’t posted any art for sale of late at Gallery0 as-- I’m happy to share-- that everything has been selling out off line. Three of the four X-Men covers sold quickly, the last of which sold before it was drawn, and interiors for the ASM 630, 631 and 632 are gone. It looks the same for issue 633. If you ever see a page that you are interested in please contact me and I’ll do my best to take care of you. Its May and the days are moving along quickly, but I still hope to publish sketchbooks this year. Maybe a few prints as well. Looking into that. I hope to start selling my published books on the website as well. Completed a bunch of concept work recently for a Disney animated series and for a video game development company neither of which I can discuss at this time. Tragic part is that I don’t think that either project is going to see the light. They wont let me put up art right now but I’ll see about getting them up at some point. I put up a few of the concepts that I did for Oakley about 8 years back in the concept section. I am pleased to share that it looks like the Nintendo DS video game that I worked on 3-4 years ago is going to finally ship. I’ll share details when I know more. Sorry to share that I do not have any plans to attend a con this year. My website main man, Kevin Cates, went to Mali back in March. A fun read. Read his blog here http://kevloucat.wordpress.com I dont do this often enough but I would like to give a special shout out to my main man of the inks, Tim Townsend. He’s a great example of someone who works very hard and consistently provides high quality work --not to mention that he is very patient with my inconsistent schedule. I thought for sure that he would start to slip in his old age but no cracks in the veneer yet. He always makes me look great. To all of you that are on the commission list thank you for your patience. I wasn’t kidding when I said it would take years… To all of you that continue to write, thank you! Sorry, that I don’t always get back to you but I read them all. And a great big thank you to all that wrote offering their thoughts , prayers and support for my wife Helen as she battled through breast cancer last year. They worked as she just had her follow up and she’s cancer free. I’m considering putting up a FAQ section on the site as I receive many inquiries about the business--mostly about how to get in. The simple answer is to draw very well. If you’ve an attractive, appropriate style, can draw anything and have a good work ethic it’s easy to find employment. The hard part is learning how to draw well. You have to put in the hours. No magic wand here. Hope you’re all doing well. Please keep in contact. Always great to hear from you and I assure you that I will provide the next update sooner than later. Maybe I’ll see you at the local hockey rink hooked up to my itunes, stuck in the sixties. All the best! CB MARCH 13th 24 HOUR MONSTERS I can't participate but I can spread the word. Support Jamie in his monstrous undertaking to raise $ for comic relief. Details-- http://jam-wah-art.blogspot.com/p/24-hour-monsters.html All the best! CB 2/22/11 SO YOU WANT TO BE A COMIC BOOK ARTIST Gianluca has decided that he wants to become a comic book artist and asked a few questions about the business--- I require your assistance however with the answering of these two questions which would greatly help in my future endeavors; 1. What is the official name of your occupation? (mostly so i have an answer to give to people) 2. And what steps did you- or should i- take to end up in the career you already find yourselves in (college courses, equipment, practices, etc.)? MY REPLY-- Hah, I had that same moment of reckoning a long way back during my sophomore year of High School. I thought it was crazy, that I'd never make a living doing something that I enjoyed but made the commitment and never looked back. If I hadn't I always would have thought what if...? Couldn't live with that. I have a few regrets along the way , but don't regret that decision. Its turned out great. What is my occupation? Some refer to the job as a being comic book artist. I answer that I'm an illustrator. I'm trained to be one (BFA in illustration from Long Beach State hear in CA). I didn't want to limit myself by training to draw comics only. I wanted to able to do everything in the arts, to aspire to be someone like Bill Sienkiewicz or Dave Mckean because life is really big and long and you never know which direction that it will take you. Best to be prepared for anything. Its worked out great. I've painted covers, worked on video games, designed costumes and created T-Shirts and album covers. I took art in high school and then entered the Illustration program at Long Beach. I learned everything that I could from life painting, to watercolors, art history and 3d design, but focused on comics when appropriate as that what is what I wanted to do. The last semester of school I took a class with an open curriculum designed to round out your portfolio. I made a comic book. The best class that I ever took was 2d Design. Best advice I can give is to work very hard--I regret that I didn't work harder when I was younger--and go to school and learn the trade. You should be the kind of person that is self motivated and to be able to work long hours in a studio all by yourself. i touch on this a little in response to another aspiring artist that I posted today in the news section. Also, review the previous news posts. I've offered advice on the trade in a few segments that may be of interest to you. Equipment? I use a lead holder with HB leads, lead sharpener, Kneaded eraser, Staedtler mars plastic eraser, I draw on Blue line pro 400 strathmore smooth surface boards, faeber Castell Pitt pens, waterbrushes for broad inks, copic markers for commissions and do all coloring and some design work on a wacom Cintiq display using photoshop CS3. When you're in school experiment with style, technique and tools and when you get in the business keep things very simple at first, show that you can do the work and then grow from there. Keep in mind that comic publishing is a business. Make yourself valuable. Do good work, make your deadlines and editors will fight for you. And, very important, If you work hard and have a friendly style you can make very decent living in the business as of today. All the best! CB 2/22/11 IF YOU REALLY LOVE THE BIZ THIS PART WILL BE EASY Louis wrote-- "I'm a big fan of your work and an aspiring artist myself.I was hoping to get some advice about how to get into comic art, specifically what I should have in my portfolio Any advice you can give me is greatly appreciated ANSWER-- Getting in this business is is really easy if-- you draw really well and... can tell stories with pictures... and can draw a page day ... and have the self discipline to work very long hours in a studio all by yourself. To draw really well put in the hours and--if you are able--go to school to learn the trade. Take a 2D design class. Best class I ever took. To learn how to tell stories with pictures, look at how they photograph scenes in a movie. Animation is a great example, especially the Chuck Jones produced WB shorts. Bugs Bunny, ect. Look at how your favorite artists break down scenes. Portfolio-- Keep it simple. 5-7 pages of sequential art. Show that you can tell a story using pictures with a variety of characters in a variety of situations. Sitting watching TV, sitting eating, talking on the phone, driving a car. Draw nice establishing shots and then draw 2-3 pages of an action scene. Draw characters that you would like to spend time with. If your goal is to work on XMEN draw short a story with a member of the X-Men. Keep it all very simple. Nothing too complicated. Provide a link to a website or deviantart.com or whatever so that an editor can look and see at a glance. Great way to show your work off. Again, keep it simple. And ,finally, work hard and be more reliable than the next guy. High turnover in this business because people don't show up at deadline with their best stuff. If you really love the biz this part will be easy. Best of success to you. CB JANUARY 25th, 2011 NEW ART RELEASE Hello! Hope you are all enjoying a prosperous and safe 2011 thus far. Sorry for the absence of late. Better part of my time has been occupied pencilling and coloring the upcoming XMEN arc, issues 7-10. I've 2.5 issues down and 1.5 to go. After that, I'll be filling in for two issues on a very special book with a very special writer. These will ship in May and June. Announcement forthcoming. There will be a new original art release from ASM 631 on monday Jan 31st at 4:00 PM PDT at the Gallery0 store on the website chrisbachalo.net. There are only 8 pieces available and all feature either Spider-man or the Lizard. I hope you find them to your liking. All the best! CB 11/2/10 NEW ART RELEASE FROM DARK AVENGERS ANNUAL ISSUE ONE! Greetings! New original art release from Avengers Annual number 1! Nice selection of pieces from my 34 page one shot with Brian Bendis available RIGHT NOW. Even if you're not buying you may want to check out the descriptions of each item as I share a few "behind the scene" comments that you may find interesting. Check 'em out! Peace! CB OCTOBER 11th, 2010 BACHALO HOCKEY RAFFLE WINNERS! Greetings! Thank you to all that contributed the hockey raffle! We raised a total of $970.00 for the fighting OC SQUIRT B's! Excellent job!! Dylan drew the winners from the hat this morning. The winners are-- 3rd place--Justin Porter! 2nd place--David Mandel! 1st place-- Ivan da Costa! Congratulations to the winners! On behalf of OC Squirt B's thank you for your participation and for helping make this season a great one! All the best ! CB AUGUST 17th, 2010 JUNE 7th, 2010 TALKIN' DOPE ABOUT METHRAEGHOST INTERVIEW WITH PITCHFORK http://pitchfork.com/news/38379-take-cover-method-manghostface-killahraekwon-iwu-massacrei/ Peace! CB JUNE 1st, 2010 PROCESS Kayode wrote and asked about my process for drawing a comic book page. My process-- I break the script down into simple beats making notes on the side of the script--Usually one or two words. Something like, Close. Spidey. Thumbnail the beats on the board and design layout. This is the hardest part. Light erase followed by tight pencils--characters first followed by BG's. No rendering. I make a 60% copy of the pencils on which I'll ink in blacks--to give me good idea of black placement and how the final art will look. Render and fill blacks. All done! CB MAY 5th, 2010 Greetings All! I want to apologize for not getting back to everyone that has been contacting me in the past couple of months. A lot going on with various things and I've an immediate family member that is very sick and I have not been in the studio FT. Please know that I have been receiving your emails--read them all-- and that I will get back to you very soon--probably sometime in June. Thank you for your patience and for enjoying the work! Godspeed! CB February 23rd, 2010 JANUARY 18th, 2010 HAPPY NEW YEAR! NEW ART RELEASE! NEW AVENGERS 51+52! Hello! Sorry for the late notice with this, but at 4 PM PST today new art will be released at the Gallery0 store at chrisbachalo.net Art will feature selections from New Avengers issues 51 and 52 and will include several backing board and concept pieces. Also, prices have been reassigned on many of the current offerings at the store. Definitely worth taking a second look! I'll be in touch with further updates very soon. I hope everyone is having a terriifc new year thus far and I thank you for your continued support! Best regards, CB November 18th, 2009 October 19th, 2009 OCTOBER ART RELEASE Hello Friends! Sorry for the short notice , but we've new art going up at Gallery0 this monday afternoon, October 19th at 4 PM PDT. Featured work includes art from ASM 576, two backing board drawings and a really cool Wolverine concept piece. And apologies for my absence of late. Dark Avengers Annual is taking and its toll on my time. I read all that you send me and all your comments are very much appreciated. I'll do my best to get back to you shortly. Thank you for your continued support. Best regards, CB SEPTEMBER 21st, 2009. Can you draw and Paint like Alex Ross? My response to John in regards to finding work in the comic book business as an illustrator. From John-- I guess my question is what advice would you give to someone who is trying to break into the art market? hopefully some publication in comics.
Hi John! Honestly, if you can draw and paint like Alex Ross you'll find an audience and tons of work super fast. The thing is can you draw and paint like Alex Ross? If you've a non-distinctive style and very average talent like most of the posters on the Deviant art site you might have a tougher time. You'll recall that there is an old cliche about the starving artist. I like to contradict that statement by saying that I've never met a GOOD artist that is starving. I assure you that there is no way that Alex Ross will ever be able to get to all the work that he is offered. I can't paint like that guy and there's no way I can get to everything that I'm asked to do. So, the million dollar question is how good is your work and --if you want to work in comics--can you tell stories? A few ideas to get your work out there and find out if you're up to snuff-- First, It doesn't matter where you live. That's an excuse. I found work via the mail. These days its easy to get your work out there via the internet. Every publisher has a website. Send in a few jpegs of your work. If its really amazing, someone--eventually- will see it and respond and It only takes one reply to get the ball rolling. Put your portfolio on a site like deviant art. Show off your stuff. Find writers that want to get their stories drawn. I'm sure there are several sites on line where you can track someone down. Draw their book. Put it up. Share it with anyone that will look. Mail the work to every publisher--specifically books that you would like to work on. If you've a manga style don't waste everyone' time sending your samples to the X-MEN office as that's not what they are looking for. If you like drawing spandex probably not a good idea to send you work to Vertigo, etc. Make plans to attend a con that will have portfolio reviews and publishers. I'm sure Wizard Chicago in the mid-west has a lot to offer. Visit the publishers. Ask if they will will look at your work. If you are looking for scripts to draw hang out at a writing panel and ask if anyone is looking for an artist to draw their script. If they make it big someday , maybe they'll bring you along with them... Keep the sample of work small for portfolio review stations. 1-10 pages of sequential art and maybe a few examples of your best cover and color work. if that is what you would like to do. Early on, take any work that you can get. In High School I drew art for a guy that made t-shirts. My first job out of College was painting ceramic pots. My second working for the ad department of a real estate firm. Its all great experience. The most important thing to concentrate on for comic book work is to demonstrate that you can draw well, draw quickly (can you draw a page a day?) and tell stories with pictures. Hope this helps. Best of success to you. CB AUGUST 24th, 2009 FRIDAY: 4:00-6:30 - signing table DD 6:30-7:30 - Marvel Booth-- 538 SATURDAY: 11:00-12:00 - Marvel booth -- 538 12:00-1:00 - Signing table DD 1:00-2:00 - Sketch dual--room 714 Available drawing time is a little shorter in this version. I'll do my best to get to as many pics as possible... See ya'!! CB August 21st, 2009 The world tour continues and ends in Canada next weekend--the 28th and 29th. Current table schedule-- Friday--4-7 Saturday--11- 2 Table schedule is subject to change as I may be assigned to Marvel booth... I do not know where I am sitting. I'll be available for a few drawings. I may be able to get to 5-7--maybe more-- in the six hours. I'll do the best I can. Sorry, No guarantees I will get to you. First come first serve. $40-$70 price range. You can sign up when I arrive--and then take off and enjoy the show-- so that you don't have to wait for me to get my act together... It'll be great fun meeting everyone! See ya' in Canada, glorious and free! Best! CB AUGUST 7th, 2009 DOG DAYS OF AUGUST: ASM 575 ART RELEASE Hello Friends! Getting back to normal around here after SDCC. It was a brisk two days of action. Met a lot of great people, saw a few friendly faces that I’ve not seen in awhile and my spleen is still vibrating from the woofers at the EA booth--They had about a dozen large screen video game displays, manned by gamers with the volume cranked up. The place was rockin’! EA announced at the show my participation in their new game Army of Two: The 40th Day. Been writing and illustrating this PT for about six months now and its been great fun. We’re wrapping up production this month and the game is tentatively scheduled for release shortly after Christmas. Here’s a trailer… http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/23/new-army-of-two-40th-day-trailer-takes-aim-at-morality/ I’ll post a few frames of the art at the site very soon. Apologies to anyone who stood in line the Marvel booth expecting Tim and I at 12 PM Friday. Apparently Tim and I became stuck in an alternate reality in which we had confirmed with Marvel that we would appear at the booth from 1-2. In this reality Tim and I showed up at 1 and were just in time to watch the Stan Lee extravaganza. Not much action for us, but we had good seats for the show. Next up on the world tour—TORONTO. August 28th and 29th. Passports are in and we’re ready to party. Spike the punch bowl! I’ll post details and show times as the dates draw near. Wrapping up Sinister Spider-man. As I mentioned in the last update, deadlines were tight on this and it was going to be a miracle for me to complete the entire four issues. Here’s the final breakdown—issue one -22 pages, issue 2 -17 pages, issue 3-7 pages, issue 4—22 pages. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into with this gig but Brian Reed turned out some fun material. The last issue is a party and includes a bit with a poodle and corn dogs that’s a kick. Next up—Dark Avengers annual with Bendis! Long delays on this, but pleased to announce that a new release of art will take place Monday at 4 PM PDT. The subject at hand? Amazing Spider-man issue 575. Pieces up for grabs include the awesome double page spread with Spidey from pages 2+3. We also have several backing board drawings and concept pieces available for purchase. Check ‘em out at the Gallery0 store at Chrisbachalo.net on Monday JULY 17th, 2009--SDCC!! Hello all! This is it! We're kicking off the first leg of the word tour is at SDCC next week. Here is where I'll be and when--
FRIDAY: 11:00 - 12:00: 1:00 - 2:00: 2:00 - 4:00:
SATURDAY: 2:00 - 4:00: 4:00 - 5:00: That's about it. Its been awhile for me--attending a con-- so be gentle. I can sign books, chat, take pics, kiss your children, flex my muscles or show you my awesome new scar--I had hernia surgery about a month ago. And if you catch me at the right time and smile real nice--flashing your money clip full of cash works too-- maybe draw a doodle or two. Sounds good! See you at the show!! Godspeed! CB JUNE 19th. 2009 CB'S 2009 WORLD TOUR ADDENDUM! Okay, relative to the amount of appearances I make it looks like a world tour. Two Dates--- USA--COMICCON --July 24th and 25th. Plan is to attend friday and Saturday. I will be on Andy Schmidt's--my former X-Men editor-- portfolio review panel at 4 PM saturday. CANADA--Toronto Fan Expo-- August 28th and 29th. At this hour, I plan to attend friday and saturday, three hours each day. Except, I still need to find a passport and it's very important to me that the US lets me back into the country. The way I look at it, if I'm there, I'm attending, if not , I'm not.... Typically, I don't have a sketch list at these things. Its a case by case, time permitting situation in which I try to attend to as many people as possible in a very short amount of time... I will not have art for sale as everything that I have for sale is already up on the site and, well, you can buy it from there anytime. And carrying around thousands of dollars worth art in airports just makes me paranoid... I'll update with specifics as each show approaches. Looking forward to hanging out with you guys! I hope to put up ASM 575 up for sale in the next month or two. I'm under a huge crush for the next two months but will find a way to get these items out there... Same goes for commissions--that I have not been attending to. Apologies to all the folks in line. Thanks for being patient with me... Speaking of crushes--Sinister landed on my lap with a huge THWACK and a tight deadline. Time is pressing and shipping schedules were moved around and, as a result, I will be drawing 19 pages from issue two and 5-6 pages from issue 3. Weird as it seems, I will draw and color the entirety of issue four. Issue one of Sinister will ship this month as scheduled... There is a variant cover for New Avengers 54 . The variant edition was delayed one week--a result of that crush thing... That will be followed by my triumphant return to ASM! I've also been working on a big project for EA. Announcement at COMICON. You are up to speed! Thanks a bunch and best regards, CB JUNE 18th, 2009 CB'S 2009 WORLD TOUR!! Okay, relative to the amount of appearances I make it looks like a world tour. Two Dates--- USA--COMICCON --July 24th and 25th. Plan is to attend friday and Saturday... CANADA--Toronto Fan Expo-- August 28th and 29th. At this hour, I plan to attend friday and saturday, three hours each day. Except, I still need to find a passport and it's very important to me that the US lets me back into the country. The way I look at it, if I'm there, I'm attending, if not , I'm not.... I'll update with specifics as each show approaches. Looking forward to hanging out with you guys! Best regards, CB APRIL 21, 2009: BEEP! BEEP! My response to Kev regarding drawing action poses-- Man, if I had a magic wand or pixie dust that would just catapult you into dynamic action land I would let you have it. Rotten truth of the matter is that you have to do the work. Have a decent understanding of anatomy and anatomy in perspective. One thing about action is that the characters are almost never standing upright -- they are almost always leaning over, upside down or bent in an unusual direction... Look at artists whose work-- you feel-- are good at action. For me, growing up, I really liked the way John Buscema drew Conan action scenes. He had a wonderful gift for drawing characters in motion. Frank Frazetta was another favorite. His characters move really well. Michael Golden is really good with action and I especially enjoyed Jim lee's action shots in Uncanny X-Men. Todd MacFarlane pulled off some crazy angles on Spider-man. Integrating animation into your work is very helpful. I'm a huge fan of the Chuck Jones Bugs Bunny and Road Runner stuff and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The actions scenes in The Incredibles are the best! Stop on a few frames and see how Brad Bird sets up the action. Faces/heads are very important. Nothing kills a dynamic pose more than an uninspired face. Is the subject gritting his teeth? Mouth open? Tongue sticking out with saliva spraying about? Eyes bugged out or slammed tightly together in determination? Hair furiously flying about? Lots to think about... The rest is practice, practice, practice. You 'll arrive!! Best of success to you! CB APRIL 21, 2009 : I’M GONNA CRY My response to Patrick in regards to being frustrated with the creative process-- I get frustrated just like everyone else-- sometimes I just want to cry. Boohoo! Some remedies-- Time and practice--the more experience you have the easier the process will become. So, lots of patience with this... If you feel frustrated walk away. Drop everything and take a nap, leave the studio for a day or two, ride a bike, exercise, do something that burns off the tension. Starting on new books is my biggest headache and I often get stuck on familiarizing myself with the new characters and locations. Yesterday was a frustrating day. I was scheduled to work the evening , but I figured that it would be better to take the evening off, relax and hit the table fresh the next day. So far so good... Relax and think. If I'm looking for an good idea I have found great success by, simply, stretching out on the bed before going to sleep and working out concepts-- or whatever-- in my head... Look at the work of illustrators that you like for inspiration. I try and make it a point to look at other illustrators work for a few minutes daily. Hope this helps. Best of success to you! CB APRIL 4th, 2009 PROCESS In response to a question from Maurice regarding process-- Well, you could write book on this question, but, in general terms, I find the best moment on each page, make that the biggest image and then work the rest of the panels in around it. The process--I do thumb nail pencils on the page- unless its a splash in which I'll concept on another board an then transfer to final board--then medium tight drawing of entire page, erase with kneaded eraser to clean it up, then tight drawing with no blacks or rendering. I then make a 60% copy using a copy machine, indicate blacks with ink on that, check for any necessary edits, and then go back to the big image and --using the copy with blacks as a reference-- edit, fill in blacks and render with pencil. On average a page takes 4-6 hours. Best! CB APRIL 4th: THE RULE OF TEN THOUSAND Elian wrote-- I needed some advice. Ive beenw anting to be a comic book artist since i was 5. Now that im 20 i want to be great and go forward with my dreams. I was wondering if you could give me advice or tips regarding my path into the that realm. I dont exactly knkow how to start and i dont know if i should take any classes or even if an art degree is desirable or available in that area of art? Please help me. My reply-- Lots of directions you can go. Unless you're loaded with remarkable talent, I would recommend school. Take a look at the Joe Kubert school--they've a website and correspondence courses or my former X-Men editor , Andy Schmidt has a program called Comic Experience that may be worth a look. I've a BFA in Illustration so if you've a school nearby that has a art/illustration program that works too--my back up plan was to be an illustrator. They'll teach you how to draw, color and design well. Concentrate on drawing, life drawing, painting and 2D design courses. If you want to draw comics, draw comics. That means storytelling with panels--not pinups and covers. Some of the work is really dull, but great artists make even the most dull of subjects look really cool. I'm sure you can track down a few aspiring writers online that will share their scripts with you, if you don't write yourself. Know how to draw everything, not just superheroes, because you will get to draw everything. Study artists that you like. Don't copy their style , but see how really good illustrators tell stories with pictures. Note how they set up location, position heads that are speaking, choreograph action, etc. Most important, and this bears repeating, draw a lot!! As a serious artist you'll be drawing everyday, all day! If this is what you want then it'll be a pleasure. I'm listening to a book by Malcolm Gladwell called Outliers. It's about excellence and one of the subjects he talks about is the rule of 10,000. Devote 10,000 hours of time--about three hours a day, everyday, for ten years-- into a particular task and you'll become an expert at that task--that "talent" is more about hard work than inherent skill. He sites examples such as the Beatles and Bill Gates who spent inordinate amounts of time on their craft before making it big. I started drawing at the age of 15 and was as "talent-less" as they come, but I liked what was doing, spent a lot time in my room drawing and painting and eight years later--and I was still pretty raw, but was good enough-- landed my first illustrator work on Shade. If you're really good you'll get a job in a snap. Know that comics publishing is a business and good art helps sell books. You'll start poor in the industry, but if you work hard and have a nice style you can work your up way up to the nice books and --maybe not Beatles and Gates money-- make a really good living. And If comics doesn't work out, or your interests change, you'll have a nice skill set that you can devote to other disciplines such as design, illustration or video games. Draw about 200 pages--about what I draw in a year-- stop on by and show me where you're at. We'll roll from there. Godspeed! CB MARCH 30th, 2009! Good to go! MARCH 18th On occasion I do interviews or answer questions from those who drop on by to say hello. I'll put a few slices up here for all to see. THE POINT OF DIMINISHING RETURN Questions from Nick-- Hi Nick! okay my questions are: Yes. I often wonder if what I'm doing is the best way to tell the story, or the best image to convey the best emotion. There is a point of diminishing return and its important to realize when that time arrives for each and every panel or page, cover or whatever. It took awhile to learn how to let go and move on, to not get too emotionally attached to the objective. do you ever have doubts about something youve done? any freak outs? Yes. Not as much these days as I've figured out ways to solve problems faster. I still have the occasional problem that arises and is hard to solve. Its the hardest part of the job. I was real close to total frustration on a cover that I just wrapped for the Avengers. I couldn't figure out how to make it work and ended up starting from scratch on the main character on the cover. I completely re-drew her--very rare for me. Much better now.... how do you know when your done with a piece, or a page?do you have to walk away or is it a feeling of completion? Part of what I said above regarding the point of diminishing return applies here. Otherwise , I look over the page and once I feel that I've reached a point of reasonable satisfaction I'll move on the the next problem. There's a part of me that could go on just about forever noodling, digging and scratching at a pic to make it "perfect" --and I'm never 100% happy with anything that I do--but I think I would go broke arriving at that point... Best regards, CB SPRING CLEANING March 14th, 2009 This is my favorite time of the year. Not too hot, not too cold, the air is clean, baseball is near, pro hockey playoffs are right around the corner, and the joy of the new year is still fresh with spring colors of greens, reds and yellows. New art is being released this Monday at 4PM PDT. This time around we are featuring the art from Amazing Spider-man Extra issue number one and a new release from ASM 555. We'll also have for sale an unclaimed commission and four really cool backing board drawings. These are some of the best I've ever created. I hope you find them to your liking. As I mentioned at the Yahoo group, I had one of my ASM proposals accepted so it looks like writing is in my future. We're starting small—its a one issue event-- with the goal to work on something big—the other proposal that I've submitted. I'll relate progress as it happens. In the meantime, I'm working on a string of five consecutive issues on New Avengers starting with issue 51, that should be shipping any minute now, and ending with issue 55. I'm splitting the book with series regular, Billy Tan. He'll be working the superhero beat and I'll be working the supernatural as the stories focus will be on the search for the new sorcerer supreme. Awesome scripts from Bendis! Variant covers by me. I'm not sure when my next arc will be on ASM. The weekly publishing schedule is complicated and finding the right arc with the right deadline is sometimes tricky—especially with me PT on Avengers. I'm sure we'll figure out something pretty quick… Check out Agents of Atlas! The first two issues of the book have sold out and I've a cover on the issue two second printing. This is a refreshingly good book and even more so that it doesn't have an Avengers, Hulk, Iron Man, X-Men, Wolverine or Spider-man logo on it. Good for them!! Just finished watching The Wire season two. As Alan Moore mentioned in Wizard, this is the best of TV series. It's a great example of a well produced show. There are no big stars in the cast—and they are wonderful--which makes it even more special because it feels like your watching real life, with real people in real, unglamorous situations. The stories are compelling, with a wonderful attention to detail, and it says a lot about the writing when you've interesting plots with very few instances of heightened action--I think there are only two episodes with gunshots in season two. Check it out if you haven't already… Sorry to say that I gave up on Heroes. I'm not sure what to say except that it's grown boring. I think they lost the refreshing edge they had in season one that I really enjoyed. The arcs are way too long and it's not a very smart show. I like when Parkman was a cop with a wife in an extraordinary situation, that the goal was to "save the cheerleader, save the world", the present was the present, everyone didn't have "Special abilities" and that Suresh was a normal guy trying to find the truth and not turning into a fly. This season of 24 has been refreshingly good after the last two forgettable seasons. I braved season one of Damages and tried season two, but just gave up on that show. I feel that it should be a lot smarter considering the people involved. The Unit is very good and I still watch an occasional episode of House, but it seems to be growing a little redundant. Enjoying Lost and Burn Notice is great fun. I haven't seen Watchman and I've no plans to do so at this is time—unless my wife makes me do it. I'm with Moore on this as well, as I think it was mistake to turn it into a movie. I just haven't seen anything that compels me to spend time with it. I admire his zest, but Zack Snyder was the wrong guy to make this--take out a few of the visuals and an awesome Gerard Butler and 300 is a mess. The wonderful Terry Gilliam didn't make this for a reason… Some one once said that the brilliance of a lie is in the details. I feel this is the difference between a good story and great one. I started re-reading Watchman-- as I hadn't done so since its debut --and its amazing to soak up the detail and richness of this fine book. Reminds me quite a bit of the Wire come to think of it… There's a pretty good chance I'll be attending a convention this year in the east. I'll confirm when I know more… I still have plans for a sketchbook sometime this year… I hope to start work on a creator owned book… I'm making progress on the commissions list. Thanks to all of you that have been waiting for so long. I hope to get to you soon…. Working on a couple of other non-comic related projects that I hope to share with you in the fall… But, until then, I'm off to enjoy more the spring. Always great to hear from you. Please keep in touch. Best regards, CB 1/16/09 GREETINGS! All yours for the taking! Go get 'em!! CB 12/12/08 HOLLY HOLY! ITS DECEMBER!
Two Sypnosis from IMDB— Espinoza is a shy taxidermist who secretly dreams of executing the perfect robbery. On his first ever hunting trip, in the calm of the Patagonian forest, his dreams are made reality with one squeeze of the trigger. Espinoza accidentally kills a man who turns out to be a real criminal and inherits his scheme: the heist of an armored van carrying casino profits. Caught up in a world of complex new rules and frightening violence, Espinoza's lack of experience puts him in real danger. And he has another, more dangerous liability: he is an epileptic. Before each seizure he is visited by the ''aura'': a paradoxical moment of confusion and enlightenment where the past and future seem to blend. These attacks appear without notice when he least expects them, just when he needs all his wits about him... Written by celluloid-dreams official distribution company. I hope you all have a terrific holiday, thank you for your support and I’ll see you on the other side of the new year. I’ll be taking down the electric reindeer between now and then and prepare for the small gap in time when they’ll have to go back up again. OCTOBER!! 10/22/08 October? What happened to September? I recall sitting bored nearly to death in 8th grade history class holding my breath as long as I could hoping that it would somehow-- in the cosmic scheme of things --move the clock faster. Then came middle age. Jokes on me now. My kid is seven. I swear to God he was 2 just yesterday. He's not into girls yet, thank goodness, but he can kick my ass in Wii MLB Pro's spinning around the room like a top as I sweat every pitch. 8/11/08 One of the reasons I didn't want a website was because I DID NOT want to create this thing and then ignore it like so many others, so her ya' go... HOLY, GEEZ ITS A TIMELY UPDATE! Greetings. We've new art being released from XMen: Messiah Complex issue 206 going up today. We've 10 pages from that issue available as well as really nice Death and Poison Ivy backing board drawings and concept pieces featuring Gambit and Cannonball. Hope you find a few Special thanks to those of you who purchased art from Gallery0 last
month during the relaunch of the store. Turnout was fantastic as we And a thank you to all of those that have taken the time to visit and comment on the brand spanking new Website! We're very proud of our new arrival! Looks like the next project will be a sketchbook...I think...maybe.
Hey, I was the last dude on earth with a website and I'll be last with I just completed the covers for Amazing Spider-man 575 and 576. Be sure to duck as the fists are flying with these. We'll post them on the site soon. I'm wrapping up interiors for ASM 575 this week and will commence work
on 576 immediately after, which will complete my second arc on ASM. I'll also be working on a wraparound cover for Witchblade issue 125
this month. Its the last of a six issue cover deal for Topcow. The I finally saw Steamboy by Katsuhiro Otomo and If anyone hasn't seen it, please do, its an amazing piece of work. By now, I've seen pretty much everything the movies have to offer and nothing is too surprising, but I was floored by this film. On TV, I' m watching season three of The SHIELD--I know, I discovered it way late. Its my favorite show at the moment-- when Lost isn't airing--and I'm watching it really slow--maybe, an episode a week-- savoring every dirty minute. Anyone watching Madmen? How is that? You're up to speed! Best regards, CB 7/24/08 Okay, I'm last one with a website over seven years of age but here I am! Yes, its a website with my name on it, authorized by me, owned by me (I think) and hosted by me on this first day of Comicon 2008--I'm not actually at Comicon, but I figured I can recall this date easy enough and my Dads' birthday is this week.... For navigation purposes, I've tried to keep things simple--no sounds, no flying things, no ads. Just a nice place to show off the pics and to keep up to speed with what's going on in my corner of space. Hope you find it to your liking and please LMK if there is anything that is not working or if there is anything that you would like to see (sorry, no porn going up at this time). We're still moving in the last bits of furniture in to the new space and I'll do my best to keep you updated as things come and go. The site was created with diligence by my friend Kevin Cates (www.kevloucat.com). He made this place, built it with his own fingers, on his own computer--it is your computer, right, Kev?-- and I can report with confidence, that he has a very big patience button. So, if you're turning seven and would like to have your very own website just like me, Kev's the man with the means! Best regards, CB 7/30/2007: ZEB WELLS AND CHRIS BACHALO ON SPIDER-MAN
One of the initial launch teams is none other than writer Zeb Wells and artist Chris Bachalo. Yes, we thought that'd get your attention. Tom Brevoort, editor extraordinaire, has mentored his fair share of quality creators over the years, but Wells has singularly impressed him. "Zeb is the young gun, the baby of the group, and the guy who came to Spider-Man the latest," says the Executive Editor. "As such, he's the guy who's probably most in tune with how the readers of today relate to the character, and he brings a certain wit and charm to what he does. "He's the most off-the-wall thinker in our band, I believe," adds Brevoort. "More apt to go down avenues the others may never have thought to explore." Merry Marvel readers can currently catch Wells spinning his web of words in that slam-bang slam-a-thon known as HEROES FOR HIRE. Who's Well's partner-in-Spidey, you ask? Well, we'll remind you: its Chris Bachalo, and man is he a Marvel guy through and through. Bachalo's been all over the Marvel Universe and his kick-butt, in-your-face art has been seen in X-MEN UNLIMITED, GENERATION X, UNCANNY X-MEN, ULTIMATE X-MEN, NEW X-MEN, CAPTAIN AMERICA and X-MEN. Whew! We kind of get the feeling he digs the mutants. "I've almost completed [my] first issue," explains Bachalo, "and part of the experience has been a little weird as--and I've been doing this for 18 years--this is my first full issue in the Marvel 'superhero' universe. I worked on half an issue of HULK--my first work with Marvel--and part of an issue with DAREDEVIL. That's been about it. Or does GHOST RIDER 2099 count? So, it's a little odd not drawing mutants and Sentinel and the X-Mansion. Only, I'm not so far away from that world, as a certain mutant-enhanced Avenger is starring in this issue so a part of me feels at home." Brevoort has quite a nice artistic comparison or two in mind when he thinks of Bachalo and his work. "Chris is a major stylist, who somehow hasn't managed to draw that much Spidey in his long career," he notes. "He's like that little bit of Ditko or McFarlane in our mix, a guy who comes at the page with a completely unique design sense, and who's fabulous at communicating the buglike attributes of the character visually." Bachalo himself admits a rocky road when it comes to describing his own style. "Trying to put into words my style is always a bit complicated," he says. "To me, style is about a feeling, an intuitive response to the script and the subject matter. I haven't drawn Spidey much, other than in an 8-page story I did for the Marvel Universal them park comic and a few sketches here and there, but I've always had a pretty clear idea in my mind as to how I would draw him--since I was a kid, really--so I'm going with that. "I would probably describe my style as being somewhere in-between the classic Romita incarnation and Todd McFarlane's version of the character," Bachalo explains. "I've been looking at a lot of Jim Lee's UNCANNY work too, for whatever reason, and applying some of what I'm learning there. Really great stuff by Jim. I'm finding it inspiring." As we have learned, a multitude of comic book artists, perhaps even the great majority of them, believe the original red-and-blue Spider-Man costume to be one of the single most inspired designs ever in the 70 years of superhero history. Bachalo is of that fraternity, wholeheartedly. "I've always been of the opinion that the Spidey costume is the best ever created," Bachalo boldly states. "It's an outfit that's really hard to screw up. When Marvel contacted me last year to create a few new designs for his costume, I thought, 'What? You're crazy. How do you improve on that?' Joe Quesada did nice work on the Stark design, but I'm glad to be working with the classic. "Spidey has become such an icon in the past several years with the movies, marketing and licensing," Bachalo says, recalling an interesting piece of found Marvel art. "I can't go anywhere without seeing his image on something. The other day I'm taking my six-year-old to school and the campus he's attending and I'm standing there admiring my shoes, I guess, when I noticed that one of the tiles on the walkway leading to the front door had Spidey on it. The tiles are of the custom-made variety that are created to raise money for the school. Y'know, contribute $100 and you can have your own personalized brick cemented in the earth for all time. It struck me that, taking into consideration all the stuff we're exposed to every day, that a kid thought it would be cool to put Spider-Man on his tile next to his name for all time. "Now that's a pop icon." And at the end of the day, Bachalo is calm and serene about handling such a pop icon as Spider-Man. "Well, this may sound a little dull, but it's really great to be working on such a terrific book with such a terrific character." he says, beaming. "The best ever, I think. I'm grateful that Joe Quesada and Steve Wacker thought of me for this and I hope that I do a really good job and that the fans and Zeb Wells, my writer, like the style that I bring to the book." |
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