Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The Return of.. Sydney <3<3<3


Shipping April 15 is the Spring 2009 issue of Carrie Leigh's NUDE Magazine. I am fortunate enough to have seen the files of the issue before it went off to press and all I can say is, there doesn't appear to be any slowing down of the quality or content over there.

The issue once again is jam-packed with amazing art and photography. Contributors include: Carrie Leigh, Darren Phillips, Gabriele Rigon, Dan West, Michael Sui, David Lebeck, Tome Lane, Chip Willis, Antoine De Villiers, Deborah Anderson, Franchesco!, Gary Mitchell, Lloyd Rosen, Guenter Knop... and me :)

There is also a feature by journalist Sharon Waxman on "The New Media". It is a good read.

I am happy, and proud, to see in this issue, the work of Franchesco!. Franchesco! is an artist who's work I have been familiar with for a few years now. His work is a little different from the kind of work that has been exhibited in NUDE in the past. Franchesco! like me, has a background in comic books and illustration, and has a style all his own. He has created some truly beautiful works, outside of his comic book work, that maintains his comic book/ illustration roots, and can at the same time be considered fine art nudes. You can see a preview of one of the pieces in the preview issue at carrieliegh.com.

Best of all in this issue is.. The return of NUDE magazines first cover model Sydney Brown .. I have said before that there is a disadvantage of appearing in the first issue of any publication. It is that as a new title, people are not looking for it. Most pick it up because they stumble across it on a magazine rack. The print run is much smaller because it is unpredictable how well it will sell, so there too, only so many will actually see it, but soon if you are lucky, the magazine, the readership, and the distribution and print runs will grow as happened with NUDE.

NUDE became a hit... A huge hit. But are the people who buy NUDE today familiar with Sydney Brown, NUDE's first cover model?

Well.. They are going to know now. Sydney is back and hotter than ever. Carrie Leigh has shot another amazing pictorial with Sydney including a new cover that has broken the short tradition of NUDE covers. I can't imagine that this issue wont fly off shelves for the cover alone. It is Hot.. Sydney is beautiful... It is gonna sell.. trust me.. fast.

The Spring 2009 issue is shipping April 15. I try to let people know when the issues will be on the news stands, but there are all kinds of problems that seem to happen between when the books leave the distributors and when they his the stand, so I can only guesstimate. And when they do come out they sell so fast. I suggest for those who really don't want to miss this issue that they go to the website where they are now offering, at least in the United States, that for the cover price, you can have this issue delivered to your door. It is a great offer and insures you getting your issue. Check here for offer.

New art soon. I am inspired!

Joel <-- President of the Sydney Brown fan club

PS... Anastasia, Alicia, and Chanon.. I love you too!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

New Wacom Sketch


Just another Wacom practice piece. The Model is Jamie Eason and it is based on a Photograph by Chaz.

New NUDE cover coming soon.. Wait til you see how hot it is.. They just keep getting better with every issue.

Enjoy
Joel

PS. XtremeCamera.com calls Carrie Leigh's NUDE Magazine a printing master piece.

Read Article

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Wacom Sketching

Save a tree, buy a Wacom.

A couple of years back. One of the guys in my studio came to me and said that Wacom had a new product out, a new monitor tablet, and that Wacom could send a representative over to demonstrate it.

I said, "not interested", it is gonna cost a fortune and the novelty will eventually fade, and we will be back to mouses and separate tablets in no time.

They went and had the representative come by anyway...

From the room were they were doing the demonstration, I heard the ooohs and aaahs, and eventually I went over to look at this very expensive toy....

$2600's later not only did I end up with the Wacom Cintiqu monitor, but I was the only one in the studio who did get one.. Figures right?

But I will say this, today, I don't know that I could work without one.. God forbid this thing breaks and I can't afford another one for a while. It has become as much a part of what I do as a pencil and paper and in some cases, is replacing the pencil and paper. The attached image is just a quick sketch 30 minutes. Something I like to do to keep my hand loose of work out ideas of just play. It is all digital in Photoshop. I even have a brush that mimics pencil.

The work I do for NUDE magazine is still done the traditional way, mostly because I like to have an original to sell, but also because I still need practice in doing finished art on the tablet... But man.. I love the sketching, and one day, I am sure I wont need paper anymore...