Freelance work

Once again folks I am looking for some extra freelance work! Children's book illustrations; logo design, cover and interior book illustration, portraits, etc., pilot scripts, web-isodes, sketch comedy shorts, short stories, blog entries, etc,. 

Anything!! You name the price!! 

Above are some samples of my work, check them out! 

2014 Continues on Strong

Yes I realize it has only been three days since it became 2014 so that title is a little premature. It would be much more impressive if it was like June ore something but whatever. I continue on to make my dreams a reality and in that effort I have joined five different portfolio hosting websites out there in the wide sea of internets! Ha ha! That's right.

Here are a list of them below with my URL for the site:

1. CarbonMade- http://www.productionsofafool.carbonmade.com
2. Behance- http://www.behance.net/mikedburke
3. Shown'd- http://www.shownd.com/mikedburke
4. Portfolio Box- http://www.mikedburke.portfoliobox.me
5. Crevado- http://www.mikedburke.crevado.com

So far Behnance is my absolute favorite! It was easy to set up and also right on there are links to jobs!! Jobs! The whole other half of the equation as to why we do what we do as freelancers!! I can't recommend it enough. So that's what's happening with that. Hopefully this will allow me to become more visible and drum up new clients and such so I can get my number one resolution, start my career!

Speed Post 1

Check me on these other social media outlets:

Instagram: @ek1m_ekru8

Twitter: @mikedburke

Vine: Mike D. Burke 

YouTube: Mike D. Burke 

Pinterest: Mike Burke 

FaceBook: Mike Burke 

Drop a line sometime! 

Creator Owned Hobbits Christmas

So here is the thing. I am a creator. I like to create different worlds, characters, situations, scenes, history and etc. So once again I am venturing off into the world of creator-owned comics and graphic novel-hood. Starting finally with my stories involving a character I've been developing since I was, well, sixteen. His name is Ananami (which I had though I came up with originally, but recently due to an impromptu web search discovered other people have named their characters that as well. Oh well.) and he has gone through many different changes. As I have, and my characters and stories tend to develop along with myself. So here I am with his current carnation and story: Blood Tales. It's going to be awesome. My plan is to develop all the necessities for a package to be sent to Slave Labor Graphics. I'm going to make sure it's amazing and professional and everything. As soon as I get a large format all in one printer (I've been eying a specific one at my local Staples) I will upload images of my progress and maybe some vlogs covering it as well (inspired by Skottie Young's blog).

On another note I have been doing a lot of sketching lately which have culminated into beautiful completed illustrations. All of them are Christmas themed as I am inspired to do so. These I will upload once I have said printer as well. I am using the color theme of reds and greens as per the color themes of the season after all. I'm going for cartoony simplicity. It's difficult sometimes because I've developed two different styles over the years. One strictly for cartoons and one for what I consider comic book style art, even though that is subjective. But this is how I keep them categorized in my mind ha ha.

I've recently been very inspired with a renewal in the love for J.R.R. Tolkien's stories, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and his other works. Great, great novels, fantasies, poems, films, just everything. I love it all and wish to create such rich illustrious characters and stories and histories as he has and hope to learn more from him and other authors I adore as well. I have also been reaching deeper into my Art History books from college as well. So much more can be learned from these resources than what was taught in my college classes. I have a lot to learn and a lot to do. For it's more important to actually show that you're doing something you love than just to talk about it I believe.

Neil Gaiman inspired

Reading Neil Gaimans website lately has gotten me more and more inspired lately. I'm very excited. I've got I start doing more short stories and finish the ones I'm in the middle of right now. I have to make the time for everything, all my passions. It's tough but that's how it must be. I'm trying to be more reliable and organized to a point and open myself up to more things and different people. I want to get to that point where I believe I am close to what I set out to be.

Quickie

Blogging here quickly at my day job. Looking forward to working more toward my goals with my portfolio. I'm finally starting to notice that with perspective I'm picking up tricks if the trade more. Perspective was and still is my hardest thing to work at. But as they say practice, practice, practice. Last time I was in front of editors I was told to work on backgrounds and anatomy so that is what I've been doing non stop!! October ho!!

Art

Blogging here from Destiny USA in Syracuse, NY. Thinking of art, my art specifically. I just got new business cards recently but finding who to give them to is tough. I did get some new comics though from Play the Game Read the Story or vice versa.

I've come to realize through talks with past teachers and the famous Rich Talarico, and Tony Daniel that I need to just work on stuff and create a body of work! So that u actually have work to show interested and important parties. Instead of my usual mindframe of get noticed first do work later. That's an important realization I've made. It's impacting my thought process and the way I find work.

I'm going to ne illustrating for my first paid gig for a children's book. I'm selling two logos to a production company. I've sold three tattoo designs and my wife and I will be having an art show soon.

Doing Stuff

So very recently I downloaded the new Videopad and Mixpad for my video editing needs and downloaded Mixpad just because I like to mess with music and what not, although I don't play any instruments I just mess with the free downloaded stuff on there. So far so good, I really like how easy and simple Videopad is to use it's so simple and you can download a truly free version so long as you're not using it for any commercial purposes which technically I'm not as I'm just using it for my humble comedy web series "Commercials Extras". So yeah it's easy and fun to use, I suggest downloading it and watching the two short tutorials on it as well, it's simple, proffessional and fast as well.

Currently I'm working on some small mini-teasers for my webseries. I'm also thinking of some other small clips to do as well so that I can showcase mine and the other casts acting capabilities mostly so that if they want to like myself they have practice and maybe audition tapes sort of. So yes, doing stuff and trying to keep very active with all my dreams and what not so that I can hone my skills. Look for more soon!!

Ways to save that beautiful GREEN CAKE

Looking for a little extra ways to save some cash my friends and fellow humans (and non-humans as well, I know that there are a few Vampires and occassionally some Angels who read my humble blog)? Well I've got a nice list here for you to try out, I myself am trying out a few of these, becasue like, why not? Right?! I have compiled this list of ideas from about 5 different articles I've read online, so have at you I say!!

1. Collect Cans (Recylce you fools! Or give them to me!)

2. Take a part time job (Yeah you lazy bunch of homeless monkeys! Including myself.)

3. Walk dogs or pet sit (I've tried but no one seems to trust me...or something?)

4. Have a yard sale (Yeah mom! Let me have a yard sale at your house! I'm not allowed here, where I dwell...)

5. Clip Coupons (This I have begun doing, I am now, crazy coupon guy!)

6. Do online surveys (Make sure the sites are ligit though! Once I got talked into taking a lama as payment...I rent him out to zoos)

7. Pawn Stuff (I do this all the time...sometimes on stuff I still want to keep...sometimes.)

8. Donate Plasma (I have not a clue what this means...)

9. Collect and Sell Ink Cartridges (Drop 'em off at Staples for cash!)

10. Wash/Detail Cars (You can do this for cash? My pop made me do it for free...shifty father.)

11. Sell stuff at a consignment shop (My mother does this all the time...all the time!)

12. Cash out rewards points (Subway card here I come!)

13. Become a mystery shopper (Shopping is fun. Shopping while getting paid to do so is better.)

14. Open a bank account (Some banks give out free cash to open a special account. Hell, open a couple accounts!)

15. Ask for a raise (Hell, who knows? They might give it to you!)

16. Deliver Newspapers (Tried this once with a Mr. T. Cobb...I lost a bunch. Old ladies were angry...just saying.)

Any questions, comments or concerns hit up the comments! All we can do is try right?!

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!!

NEW BOOK!!!! finally......

Hey long time no write!! sorry about that, I been busy! Check it out, I wrote a new book:



More about stuff to come I promise!!

Alright fine ya mooks!

Alright ya bunch of mooks, here's an update on the life I lead creatively and what not!

Currenlty working really hard on my new WebShow, "Commercials Extras" which uses characters from my screenplay of the same name which will someday be a movie when I figure out exactly how to make that happen. So far we just have one episode on youtube. My page is http://www.youtube.com/bboyawesome if anyone is interested. We will begin filming the second episode sometime this week for sure I believe. It's got much more story and momentum to it. It's going to be awesome don't yo worry about it, the plan with this is to write and shoot at least 12 episodes for Season One.

I'm working on my graphic novel too, "Masters of Fiction!" which is going at a good pace sort of. Yes I'm still on the pencils....

Let's see here what else, oh yes I'm looking for an agent still. Literary and Talent wise, so keep me posted or hit me up ya know?

Alright folks that's what I got so far ya mooks, enjoy!

Miss Muffet script-Part of my Process

Hey all, I thought it would be cool if I posted a sample page from the script version of Miss Muffet and the evil that Spiders do to show you a little bit about my process for breaking down the action and the dialogue. Check it out. Next I will try to post some thumbnails up and sort of do a step one, step two, etc. Type thing for ya. Blogger makes it look a little different, but this is basically what it looks like....


Miss Muffet and the evil that Spiders do * Issue One * Chapter One * Mike D. Burke

SPIDER AGENT (CONTINUED)

-be happy now can we? Where’s your step-pa, that catalogue he’s completing is of quite the major interest to me boss.

PANEL SEVEN

She jumps out of her chair and yells for her step-father, Dr. Muffet. Running frantically around, her eyes bulging and freaking out.

PATIENCE MUFFET

Help! Help, I dare say step-pop! There’s a Spider agent in here, and he’s after your work! We must flee at once!

PANEL EIGHT

Dr. Muffet comes in the room restrained by two other spider agents. He yells and snarls, trying to break free. Patience is very frightened and put off at this situation. As the agent walks menacingly toward Miss Muffet.

PATIENCE MUFFET

I gasp at horror at this un-sightful and seemingly inconvenient situation!

SPIDER AGENT

An now love, tis your turn to be bonded up in chains an the like.

PANEL NINE

Dr. Muffet breaks free for a moment and pushes Miss Muffet down to the ground as a portal opens up and sucks her in. The Spider agent tries to grab her but is too late. Miss Muffet falls deeper and deeper into the portal off balance. She looks very surprised and scared.

DR. MUFFET

Noooooo!

DR. MUFFET

Unsafe!

New Short-Story to be turned into Webcomic!!

Miss Muffet and the evil that Spider’s do

CHAPTER ONE:

Little Miss Muffet sat upon her tuffet eating some curds and whey while her step-father ran around frantically talking to himself, “Can’t forget these either now can I?” he said as he grabbed some more pieces of parchment. Little Miss Muffet did not want to eat her curds and whey, she wanted French toast with lots of syrup on top, “But step-papa I much despise these curds and whey, why I don’t even know what they are! And why pray tell must I sit upon this tuffet, it’s rough and makes my little booty itch!” She snarled and exclaimed as she tried to get comfy on the tuffet. “Do you think we are rich daughter? You think chairs fall from the sky, I’m trying to cut back some money here. It’s a bad economy you know what with this sudden uprise by that dreadful organization. But my catalogue will put an end to that, once we hand it over to the Queen of our land!”

Little Miss Muffet just sat there with a look of discontent, “If I were ruler of this land, I for sure wouldn’t of just given the kingdom over to the Spider, step-pop, I would have fought.” Dr. Muffet looked over to Miss Muffet as he was packing their bags and smirked, “Oh yes Patience, that is what the Queen did. She said to the Spider, ‘Here you can have the throne, I’m not sitting there. Oh and while you’re at it here’s the kingdom. And if it’s not too much trouble Mr. Spider could you throw myself and the royal family and my guards in the dungeon for all eternity, thanks you’re a peach!’ Is that what you think happened?” Little Miss Muffet thought about if for a second, “Well how else could this have happened?” Dr. Muffet rubs his head as he grabs a few more papers from his desk by the sink in their small apartment that doubled as an Alchemists laboratory.

“None the less I simply despise these curds and whey you make me eat all the time. I mean come on man, feed me some sweets every once in a while!” While Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet complaining about her curds and whey, along came a Spider who sat down besider her, “’Ello Miss Muffet, not enjoying your meal eh? Well t’at’s just too bad ain’t it? Can’t all be happy now can we? Where’s your step-pa, that catalogue he’s completing is of quite the major interest to me boss.” and this Spider scared Miss Muffet away. She jumped out of her chair and yelled for her step-father, Dr. Muffet, “Help! Help, I dare say step-pop! There’s a Spider agent in here, and he’s after your work! We must flee at once!” But it was too late, for in the other room Dr. Muffet was already being taken away by two other Spider agents. They dragged him strangling and yelling into the kitchen where Miss Muffet gasped in horror at the situation, “I gasp at horror at this un-sightful and seemingly inconvenient situation!”

The spider agent looked to Miss Muffet, he was a tall, freakishly skinny looking man who wore a long black trench-coat (don’t they always) a giant top hat and goggles which had many ocular seeing devices on them, his smile was full of sharp, nasty teeth. He snarled toward Miss Muffet, “An now love, tis your turn to be bonded up in chains an the like.” As the agents walked menacingly toward Miss Muffet, Dr. Muffet broke free for but a moment, “Noooooooo!” he yelled as he pushed Miss Muffet down to the ground, “Unsafe!” a hole portal opened up in the ground and sucked Miss Muffet in.

The last she saw of her step-pa was him smiling at her safety, the Spider agent tried to reach after her but the portal closed quickly. Miss Muffet was falling fast toward a bright light, her journey was just beginning.

Corel Painter 11

Messing around with coloring in Corel Painter 11, fun stuff I have to say. I'm not all that familiar with Painter or any of its previous incarnations, so I'm trying to teach myself how to use this program. I figure the more programs I know how to use at least semi-efficiently the more likely I am to be hired somewhere. Also I've found that a lot of fully finished portfolio pieces are good to have (obviously).

This is a sketch I did of my Panda sleeping on the couch one night, I threw some inks on there and then digitally painted it up in Painter 11 like I said. Ha-Ha. Anywho also, on the seventh page pencils of "Masters of Fiction!". Been inking a lot of stuff lately check out my DeviantArt page stuff. Hope you guys enjoy.

Panda by Mike D. Burke

Looks like little sneaky Panda is up to her old ways again....
She's been drinking Monster for weeks now and just can't seem to control herself...
Not again!!

Just a little strip I thought up today haha hope you like it

Creativity and Getting stuff done

Once again my loyal friends and comrades I sit here typing to you of the adventures of my day to day somewhat not that much exciting days. This morning I feel quite productive to get as much done as humanly possible, you ever get that feeling? First off let's start with a progress list shall we?
1. Still don't have a full-time job in writing or illustrating
2. Still looking for a better job in these fields to get the hell out of retail
3. Sent out emails today to the Observer-Dispatch editor; Mike Bova of M3P Media and the new upcoming Oneida Courier, and Dan Fusillo of the Utica Players because I haven't heard from any of them
4.Retail sucks
5.On the seventh page of my comic book, "Masters of fiction!"
6. Been writing a lot for my novel, "A Little Valentinus in your Samhain"
7. Been writing script and actually getting shots done for the "Max Carnage" film

And there's my progress list for now, still working hard on everything and trying to from a damn group of like-minded artists and creative people to form this multi-media group.

Forming a Crew

I'm trying to desperatley form a crew for this MULTI-MEDIA group/company thing I want to get started. Basically my idea is to form this group and to get started and done projects that seem really interesting and should definetly see some sort of publishing or showing. I'm talking about doing things like comics;graphic novels, short story anthologies, novels, childrens books, commercials, movies, calendars, web-comics, web-series, etc. I mean everything under the sun that is media to the world!!
If you have a talent and you are willing to work in a group with a bunch of people gunning for your project while you gun for their projects as well then lets join forces because that's what I want this group to be about. We wouldn't just be working on one project at once, no way, we'd be following that Poly-Project thing I mentioned a while back. Even if your not an artist of some kind, if you just have a talent for Organization or say idk you just want to help in some way shape or form, let me know!!
On a different note, here is an Illustration I did a while back of my character Ananami from the graphic novel I will be working on after 'Masters of Fiction!' the graphic novel he is in is called, 'Three White Wolves'. I'll get into a synopsis later with you gentle people. But anyways, the illustration was done with a mechanical 0.5 pencil, inking pens and copic markers. It took me a while to really find the right way to do this one but I think I really got the colors to look great in this. All the characters in the background are my inspirations over the years for this character and many other characters I've created. Hope you like it.

And so it begins, 2011.....

This is it people, this is the year! This is the year we take charge, we break free from all this monatony and such! I'm very serious about this, this year I'm doing big things, this year I'm getting done what needs be done. I'm going to start a company, finish and publish my graphic novel and do more as well; write, act and film some amazing movies; finish and publish my books I've been working on; write, act and film some commercials; even get a play I wrote performed;and do even more amazing things like, get MARRIED!! Yes, this is also the big year of my fiancee and I's wedding! Wicked exciting right!! PUMPED UP!

So get ready for amazing artwork and get ready for the crazy shit coming ahead; be ready to be stunned by pure awesomeness, to laugh, cry and yell in complete emotional explolsion!!

Yeah, get ready/this shit's about to get heavy/I just settled all my doubts/fuck you FREDDY!!/Now this looks like a job for me/so let me see........whoops sry Em!? Stole some of those lines...heh, my bad.

It has already started my loyal random people who check out my page, I've already begun shooting a film so far entitled, "Max Carnage". In it I play the main bad guy, an assassin named Slaythe. It's a film my friend Andrew Reinhardt has been wanting to film for a year I think, we finally just began, we're writing and filming on the fly, ad libbing the dialogue for the most part and completing the story as we go, we have five minutes of it edited already and it actually looks pretty good!! More news soon....

Mike D. Burke