The Works

So for those of you who are familiar with my blog, you will notice I've changed a few things here and added some things as well. I changed the layout and the design as well as the name of my blog as well, to 'The Works'. So as to be more clear as I don't actually have a production company called Fool or anything like that. It just sounds simple and more streamlined to me and plus it goes more with my URL as well.
I've added some pages and changed some around as well. Check them out in your leisure, I will be adding things to them as regularly as possible. Thank you for your patience. I hope to have some cool stuff to share soon.
Some of the new things are the Book Excerpts page which will feature the first chapter of every novel I write as well as the first short story or poem in any anthology I create. Also the Works page which will consist of pictures of all of my books that are available for purchase. I changed from having multiple galleries to just one so as to make everything more manageable as I do multiple different medias and no longer see any need to separate them. I'll post as much new stuff as I can. There is also the video portion of my blog where I post my professional work as well as my own comedy sketches that has been updated. In any case, check it all out. Leave some love and let me know what you think.

Sometimes I think WHY?

Sometimes I think why? Why have talents at all? Why be able to do any of the things my talents allow me to be able to? It doesn't pay to be an artist, at least it doesn't for me right now....It really sucks badly actually and sometimes seems stupid. Although I know that if I wasn't able to draw, write or act I would be one really, really depressed person as I found out months ago when I fractured my hand. I could hardly hold a pencil or type on the computer and it drove me crazy. But still, I get so jealous of all my heroes out there making it everyday in the profession I so desperatley want to be a part of. How did they do it? Hard work and persistance, I guess and maybe being in the right place or knowing the right people? Well I've got to get me some of that, you know? The hard work I've got and will continue to do so, it's the knowing the right people part maybe? I mean, I know the method of the how to go about getting a job in comics or being an author and I've recently figured out the correct ways to go about getting an acting gig. ;P Sucks, because sometimes I feel like I meet other artists or authors and I feel like yeah they have great advice for me and everything but like I feel like they don't want to help me. Or maybe they can't because they're just trying to make it or whatever...who knows?

I just felt like ranting for a bit...I know no one really likes to hear complaining but sometimes people like to read it haha! Hopefully things pick up for me, I'm trying desperately to get another job along with my lovely job at Target. I have to have two jobs in order to make it, my fiances job pays a ton but not enough right now, and sometimes to be honest not that much at all...Life hits you like an angry beaver slapping some wood sometimes doesn't it? My wedding is in like two months, August 5th and I am fucking pumped up about that!!!!! It's going to be sick, not to mention I am marrying the woman of my dreams!!! And the honeymoon is going to be off the hook in Florida! I love Florida so much, it represents in my mind really fun times on vacation heh. And we're looking into getting a house soon and what not too. So gotta have money for that as well, things will pick up though right? Maybe I haven't hit bottom yet though probably, doesn't seem that bad really, we're still making it in our way. Oh well, sorry to add more complaining on the internet, not like anyone reads this blog anyway though ;P Love to all peeps!!

Learning things and what not

So yeah, I'm still learning and will continue to do so for the rest of my natural life for the most part. I've been studying hard now all the different pencillers and thier techniques to better myself and really paying attention to what it is I've been seeing you know? Really taking it all in and using that knowledge in my own sketches and drawings. I've been doing one big sketch a day for two days so far and will continue to do so I believe. I've been studying the Marvel Encyclopedia and all the different drawings in it and been picking one character that really strikes me as interesting and usually doing my sketch on them. I'm doing a real focus on line weight becasue that's mostly what I was told to practice on when I went to this passed months Big Apple Comic Con which was this May 2011. They told me that my storytelling was excellent (which they said is the most important part of being a comic book artist) and also that I'm very consistent with my characters from panel to panel (which is also a hard thing to keep up, two points ahead for me) but just to focus on line weight, and then the basics (i.e., proportions, perspective).

So yes that is what I'm doing! They also said to focus on whatever company I want to work for or a company that wouldn't be bad to work for just to get myself in the door. So I'm going to focus on the big two; Marvel and DC of course. I've been going through my more current comics that I've recently purchased to keep myself on the scene and picked out characters that are either popular or always popular and have written a three page story around them for each company. I also included my own original character "Ananami" copyright Mike D. Burke 2011. I'm making it so that he can fit into either universe depending on which one hires me. Here are the characters I've chosen: For Marvel; Dr. Strange, Dormammu, Wolverine and Spider-Woman. For DC; Red Robin, Batgirl and Batman. I've made it so that these stories need no dialogue as I am to focus mainly on the ability to draw a story panel to panel. One thing they also told me to focus on was the way I lead the eyes of the reader on the page, to make sure that the characters are facing the proper ways so as the story has good flow to it. Hopefully this all goes well, I've finished the story for both companies, I'm also going to put in their three pinups/covers also because from all the books I've read they say those are essential for a good portfolio as well. I'm so happy I have this new found focus now!! I'm pumped up and ready to take action, this is what it's all about!!

Figuring out this stuff

I'm going to be totally and completely honest with you guys and cut the bull, life is fricken kicking my ass. It's not that it's bad, it's just hard to find work right now for me in my field in the area I live in. Utica seems to me such a starved place of creativity it's incredibly sad; it's like a city trying to be a real city and it just sucks. The only real jobs I can try to find around this area for writing and illustrating is maybe a job in one of the hundreds of news papers around here or the random graphics companies that aren't like big companies. Not that I don't like small companies but I mean they are just not doing the kind of stuff that I really want to be working at. Not to mention I'm constantly waiting on other peoples decisions for me to become accepted for what I do. And I totally get that that is how its been done for years and centuries and that it's all apart of the tradition and standards in the industry but I mean come on. How the hell long does it take to look at something and say 'yeah i like it, here's a shitty assignment no one else wants, but since your a rookie you get it.' I would be totally fine with that!!
Or like for some of these people I send queries or resumes or sample writing and illustrations to to just take a chance on me and let me fail or let me surprise them and succeed. I have no problem with these people expecting me to fail at an assignment, it doesn't bother me, I'm not afraid of failure. It will really suck at first but hell I'll get back up and learn from it and kick its ass next time around like a pro.
I just hate waiting on other people. I really want to start my own company in all honesty with some artist friends I know. My company though would be sort of an amalgam though; it would involve, publishing books of all kinds including comics and graphic novels, freelance illustration, freelance writing, full on production of feature films and sitcoms and webshows; including writing, directing, filming, casting, acting, all the stuff that goes into making a film happen. And yeah it will be really really really really tough at first but man it would be fun! I know it would, and I know it would take time and involve so much marketing and advertising that it would make me sick but it would damn be worth it I swear! I gotta do something or I'm going to blow up soon, and I feel ridiculous bursting what is basically me venting on this my blog that somebody reads I'm sure but yeah, it's where this happened.
So if your sick of waiting on other people to make shit happen that you believe in, let me know and let's help each other out seriously! I have to do something, I just don't know the steps to go about it, but rest assured I am going to figure this shit out.