Sunday, April 19, 2015

6 REASONS TO DRINK AND DRAW by Joseph Tinman Tinaglia

Even if you’re a light weight there are a plethora of perks to attending a Drink and Draw. These are just a sampling of the benefits of breaking out the Bics whilst imbibing a beverage. 

1: Get Schooled

Its not just anywhere you can bust out the sketchbook and have people paying your compliments and crits that aren’t simple ass pats and casual requests for portraits. Although you’ll get those too. DnD is the extra-curricular hub of the art scene, the too cool for school club. This is where you cultivate and refine your palette. And I ain’t speaking in regards to just taste in craft beers but opening up your world to all sorts of new flavors of influences, styles, experiences and people. Your contemporaries might suggest a new idol to follow that’s too obscure at last call and too instrumental to your growth the morning after. Or maybe you’ve never toyed with those expensive Copics but your table-mate welcomes you to fiddle to your hearts content. Time is the school in which we learn, time is the fire in which we burn so until “Closing Time” plays, you best make like a sponge and absorb alla dat juicy knowledge. 

The higher level of skill you achieve the harder it is to distinguish what minute flaws need work and what incremental ways you can improve your craft. Fortunately, a DnD is the one place outside of class where you can get that eye for detail that demands you up your game. When drink are involved folks tend to speak their minds, so you can expect a straightforward crit without any sugar coating which is the most valuable kind. Plus, another artist might offer a different approach, encourage new medium experimentation and ultimately bring a new perspective to your work. All you’re looking for is that one sentence of wisdom. The word that changes your whole life, saving you years of pointless struggling in vain. Now, aren’t you glad you turnt up? 



2: Stop, Collaborate and Listen

Always two, there are- apprentice and master. Andy Warhol and Jean-Michelle Basquiat walked different paths but their mutual alignment reinvigorated an autumn career and launched a star for a new age. Mentorship and apprenticeship are some of the most meaningful and rare relationships of the independent, DIY age but they are essential to the best of art ages and perhaps hold more relevance than ever. You can learn from each other, styles rub off in time. Take the best bits of each other’s art and personalities and file off each other’s weaknesses. There is too much ground to cover in getting up to go it alone. Establishing a collective, a crew or a team to work on large projects can cover more ground faster. Here, you can cross promote, encourage each other and ultimately elevate the status and notoriety of a studio group far more easily than when going it alone. Discover and share projects, shows, open anthologies, staple up zines- the more you work together the larger your audience becomes. Good studios tend to have one break out star that then brings the whole crew with them. Drink and draw provides the skilled bodies and the social lubricants to open up the doors for collaboration.  Beer is proof God wants us to be happy and that allows for the teamwork and willingness to brainstorm wild new outside- the-box ideas, together. 

3: Network It Girl

Where else are you going to hear about all the exclusive little niche underground art shows, con booth openings and job hookups? Probably more likely here where loose lips drink sips and spit grips. Of info. Opportunity tends to go hand in hand with being at the right place at the right time thus Drink and Draws are ground zero for networking. Think of it as a mashup of a placement agency, recruiting firm, and job fair all rolled into. Here, your bizarre niche style piece could be recommended for a secret themed art show, while you find the colorist and letterer for your comic book sitting just down the bar and also find a patron for your kickstarter. Letting people know, in the flesh what you’re up to and offering a lead or helping hand is a way to fast friends and expanding your circle of possibility. The more spheres of influence you are known in, the more likely your particular skills will find their place in the world. 

Helping each other get up is not only the right thing to do, its good karma that will pay out dividends in the long run. Word of mouth is the best kind of advertising and its free so don’t be afraid to sell yourself a little bit, lord knows the art game is hard enough without a world market of competition online. Our local scene is eclectic and varied enough that there shouldn’t be instances of stepping on toes, rather we ought to aspire to lend a leg up. Buy an artist a beer and maybe they’ll let you photograph their friend’s wedding- or paint a family portrait for their boss. How’s that for a good percentage return on an investment? 

4: Competitive Edge

Iron sharpens Iron. Nothing will make you push yourself like being surrounded by peers getting their flow on. After art school, many young artists find themselves unsure of what next step to take. Online communities might offer a vague, if intangible atmosphere of camaraderie and communication but they can’t match the experience of leaning over the shoulders of true titans of industry and heroes of the scene. Seeing masters at work in the flesh is a true sight to behold. Watching that penmanship glide, that ink spatter, that photoshop chop- that’s where you assimilate the technique. YouTube tutorials can’t touch getting a hands on breakdown on how legends do what they do. Get jelly if you want, but you butter learn to level up your sandwich game and this is the place to do it. Realize you have a mountain to climb, and maybe they’ll push you to take that first step grasshoppa. 

Admirable characters are fine friends, but a good rival is even better. Egos thrive among artists, use the rage for constructive ends. Not every personality is going to gel either. There’s a fine line between a friendly rivalry that makes both parties better at their individual game and cutting each other’s ears off. Just ask Vince VanGogh and Paul Gauguin. Pushing each other allows you to transcend your self-imposed boundaries in ways you never thought possible. Fall asleep last 24 Hour Comic Day? Weaksauce. Try it again with your evil doppleganger staring you down and furiously tearing through pages just across from you- you just one-upped that sucka fool and created a new holiday: 24 Hour Graphic Novel Day. Whether it be experimental new mediums, longevity at the desk or paydays on the wall sales- a little friendly competition can push you do perform your best work. Just keep it friendly. Besides, in the end the race is always against yourself anyway.



5: Playdates for Indoor Kids 

Art is a single player game. Mastery requires tens if not hundreds of thousands of hours of time spent devoted to your craft. Most of this requires isolation for the sheer sake of focus and to avoid distraction. A social life becomes a luxury for the truly productive or industrious artist, thus its often hard to rationalize gatherings even assuming you haven’t cultivated an entirely introverted personality that tends to be synonymous with artists from birth anyway. Drink and draws are thee perfect excuse to kill two birds with one stone. Deadlines be damned, you can justify a bit of a chat sans eye contact whilst you work for the sake of also bettering your craft and possibly making a friend in the process. If you lack social skills, this is one of those few places people will understand why and most likely appreciate your making an appearance and supporting the scene anyway. 

Its entirely feasible, that your instagram secret admirer may already be stalking you among the dimly lit tables just waiting to proclaim their undying love for you. I wouldn’t count on it, but it could happen. This might even be the place where you light that fire with a mere glimpse at your sketchbook by someone your innermost soul spread upon paper leaks out into reality, unbeknownst to you. Art is intimate; if you want to truly know someone, have a gander at his or her sketchbook. That will tell you more than words, if a picture is really only worth a thousand of them. I’m pretty sure Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera hooked up at a drink and draw and look what a fortuitous and prolific play date that amounted to. 

6: Sympathy for the Devil 

Who can comprehend the madness of an artist better than another artist? Its said that artists are dangerous type- they get along in all levels of society. This is likely due to our uncanny penchant to value ourselves outside the usual hedonistic terms and rather draw self-worth from our creative potency. Most could never comprehend the mind that remains at the easel for 18 hours straight, unmoving as a statue for the sake of capturing some scarcely noticeable detail. Not everyone has the intestinal fortitude to acclimate to the palette of a quite literally starving artist. We’ve worked the endless hours, lost all track of time and thrived without schedules, even lived months without seeing the sun much less another person. We all know if the pencil isn’t moving- we’re not getting paid. It’s not a lifestyle for the faint of heart. But other artists get it.
Depression with the progression, fits of passion and doubt, the delicate balancing act of massive egos alongside fragile self-esteems, its all part of the beautiful/terrible picture. Drink and draw is the place to swap war stories, while keeping one foot safely in the trenches. Think of it as group therapy. This is thee one place, people can relate, you can let it all hang out and no ones going to judge you for letting your weeaboo influences shine through or being able to recite the artists of every issue of X-Men numerically. We are kindred spirits, who among us can judge?  Note: You will be judged on what drinks you order, how many you drink and how bad your geometric paper cut tessellations turn out after your fifth tequila sunrise, chief so mind yourself and keep a steady pen. We’re all watching. 

- Joseph Tinman Tinaglia 4-17-15

Thursday, April 24, 2014

"Zorillo and Shelly" and "Gladius Games" Comics Finally Print Releasing

I've been working all winter long on a couple full length comics that are set to finally see print release just in time for Comicon season!

The first is "Zorillo and Shelly", which stars a dynamic duo that may seem eerily familiar until you get into the awkward love story and criminal artists angle the tale quickly projects its mutated chickengirl talons into. The aesthetic is some of the slickest and most complex inks I've ever done wrapped around a psychological challenge intent on tweaking the primacy of the modern heroine and electing to remain virtuous in a world of masked good and badgirls. Some personal subtexts and depth there if you're willing to look for it.

The second is "Gladius Games" which combines my modern loves of Hunger Games, Game of Thrones and a wee bit of the old Dungeons and Dragons beastiary. Its a more cinematic experience than most my work- widescreen and very detailed woodcut type linework style I scarcely have the patience or time for these days but I endure it. If you're familiar with my old Tinwoodsman series, this won't seem a far cry, dudes with axes to grind and a bevy of freaks to contend with along with some sexual and political intrigue on the side.

I'll be glad to see them in book form and out in the world for public consumption shortly. Naturally, I'll provide some teaser pages and the purchasing links once its all available on Amazon.

Posters And Prints of Poets and Princesses- Winter 2014




NorthEastern Illinois University Art Galley- where I work- is holding it's Annual Student Art Sale where I'll have a number of new posters for sale. All 17" X 11" colored pencils. Some of my older stuff will be in the mix as well. 







Gallery Shows change monthly and feature a number of professional showcases- from Sculptors of Maternity themes to Memebased Oldschool Printmaking and all points in between- so it's always worth coming in for a visit. 
This X-Hipsters piece won the cover contest for the schools Lit Mag- SEEDS- as well, so it'll shortly be in the hot little hands of several hundred of the schools finest creators, hopefully lending an air of exclusivity and superiority to all who behold its Pabst stained presence. 

The Princess Harem spun out of a Princess battling 
tournament gone awry. I enjoyed whipping up my slightly variant renditions of each- admittedly having always been something of an Ariel/Belle man, I've recently taken a shine to Jasmine/Mulan. I apologize for the lack of the Frozen girls, I finished this just before it released... I suspect I'll have to take a more comprehensive take on the concept once I've got my colored inks and watercolors straightened out. 

I've had Walking Dead and Game of Thrones rough cuts in the works for awhile- perhaps in time for next show, but I'm always open to suggestion. 



Monday, December 17, 2012

Portraiture Post Ponderings

 As an artist one strives to be a jack of all trades. Which means knowing how to paint, watercolor, ink, sculpt, develop photographs, edit film, stitch fabrics, hack tree stumps, clip hair, melt small toy soldiers, spray tags, arrange food neatly upon thy plate and/or any other infinite amount of particular methodologies and variations thereof. Crafting the raw into the refined, evoking from the ether- beauty manifest. Becoming godlike in a world-making potential if only for a moment. 
  "Nick and Talin" 9"x12" Pencil on Bristol. 2012.


Before I broke boundaries into other tools I was a solely reliant master of the fifty shades of grey and penciling is still probably the most expressive means of me capturing a likeness, channeling a softness of character, mirroring the light of the eye. Usually my life drawings are more gestural, fleetingly stolen in a corner-of-the eye glance but when it comes to people I know- my family and friends, people whose character I admire and whose lives I cherish-it's more of a meditation upon their spirit, and capturing the focused-totality of their life spark, before casting it to the page in rough grooved pencils. 

                                                                   "Sofia" 9"x12" Pencil on Bristol. 2012.

I fancy myself a comic artist primarily but maintain my ability to channel the Renaissance Man of yore.  So while I'd really rather ink my version of an animated and distorted person in my own stylo than spend the time trying to reproduce God Himself's handiwork- it gets me closer to him. (Because its time consuming, evolving beauty takes positively eons.) Let a camera capture true life, as it is the best tool for the job and takes a  mere fraction of the time. Still, there's something to be said for eclipsing the uncanny valley of a photo-real depiction completely hewn by hands. Imposing the second dimension onto a supremely physical third and fourth dimensionally acting personnage is quite the challenge, I undertake it only with the greatest consideration. 

"Marion" 8.5" x11" Charcoal on Bristol. 2008.

When I draw something, I'm tinkering, figuring it out, trancing at the miracle of flesh and bone, fabric and stone, knitting it together on paper alone. Nothing grants the appreciation for bare reality like trying to reproduce it. Only a maker can possibly sympathize with thee Maker. So I live in the firm belief that all things are born of some kind of love. Above all let it be said, I drew what I loved and fell in love with whatever I drew. There's no helping it. 

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Gallery Showing and Art Sale at NEIU


You can pick up prints of my latest montages at the NEIU Art Gallery this week. I've got all my old stuff including the Beatles Musical Montage, Alice in Wunderbar and Twilight Kiss as well as these newly finished Batman Rogues Gallery and Ninja Turtles Rogues Gallery. At $5 a pop, they surely shouldn't be missed and would make fine holiday presents for any comic art fan. Now that I've got these out of the way, what property should I take on next?

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

FINGER PUPPETS SEIZE TIN HAND, MAKE DEMANDS: "Nu moar bewbz, only catz plz."





Right. Updating the blerg ermagherds.

So its been a bit. I'm taller now.

What have I done since...

For starters I won the EnterVoid 2012 Invitational defeating 50 other incredibly talented artists in a bi weekly comic challenge bracket to take the top slot. I'll tell you none of these battles was easy- I had to bring my A-game every time. No collaboration, no prep time- only ink-slingin wizardry and my wits to stave off the mongrels armed with tablets and all manner of cybernetic chimeras with free time danglin out they wazoos and I COWBOYED UP SON. Did 80- some pages in two months. Last 25 pages in two weeks worth of sleepless nights fueled only by the desire to see it through to the bitter end.

Check out my Character Toro Joe and read all those comics here. Also check out my opponents work while you're at it. They all gave me a run for my money and I earned every inch.

Before that I wrapped up a five year story and character arc for the titular Tinwoodsman at ">War for Arcadia. . They run things a little differently there- massive overarching plots and collaborative efforts make for a more cohesive verse I find but they game got away from me. Did manage to make comics in all manner of sub-genres however- Weird Westerns, Epic 50paged clashes between Heaven and Hell, Gladiator Coliseum Battles, even Silent Bamboo Ninja Battles in Fish armor... Check em out, join the fight at the new Hollow City.

That's just the comics, otherwise its been the usual Con circuit, Drink n Draws,way too many unpaid commissions for tattoos, childs photos, SEVERAL LARGE PAINTINGS that shall never see the light of day, cooperative collaborations with my artistic cohorts, Anthology works, traveling Europe with fellow artists... mostly playing vidja gaymes in all honesty.

PODCASTS- Talking comics, Reviewing Joe the Barbarian and such: VOIDCAST #3



Hit up my DeviantArt page I also never update but hordes of my comic making peers do so pursue them instead.


ART of WAR FOR ARCADIA

http://indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=5875



What's upcoming: No plans for any further arts of any kind being made. THE PUPPETS HAVE SHPOKEN.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

WizardWorld ComiCon:Living the Dream

This time will be different. Two years ago I attended WizardWorld and showed my portfolio (which was admittedly rather amateur) to a number of my comic artist idols- and what I came away with was that I had a long way to go towards going pro. I've leveled up since, a good consistent 5 hours a day of practice can do that to a fella. So I'm interested in hearing what they'll have to say this time around.

I am setting goals. In a years time I want four different books done, each a different genre, a variant of my style. I want to have my inking totally figured out- since starting the process five months ago I think I've picked up speed and accuracy. I want to have a decent handle on digital color and tablet work. By C2E2 next year I want a table, and obviously at Wizardworld I'll have one as well if I continue to develop my talent and put out work that is worthy of public consumption. Let's see what this weekend brings for a start, and let that be the first step on the long journey.

More Hellbreakers- definitely losing steam, realizing I need to work on better white, black, grey separations and less clutter.



Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Wrapping up Hellbreakers

Wrapping up Hellbreakers as other projects mount on the horizon. Here we have Tin and company forming a catapult and firing off into final battle against the horsemen at Luis revamped castle. Designing a used car lot type facade was interesting.

Here we have the combined forces who will stand against hell discussing the battle plan atop some lovely car skewers. I have never drawn so many cars in one place in such detail. Sort of a fun challenge.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Revenge of the Massive Two Page Splash!

I've always been a fan of the massive two page spread splash page so I tend to include a couple in all my Mega Event War For Arcadia work. While they may be time consuming- usually clocking in at around 10 hours- the results are difficult to argue with. I find I have more fun adding minute details and props to flesh out a setting than simply half assing it- or as is the common practice in modern comics- leaving backgrounds out entirely.

Our heroes have arrived in Hell Throne Room to face Lewis and his Four Horsemen- Plague Sin, Famine Liza, Death Anthrax and War Astorite. They're about to have a vicious throwdown but first they must exchange their witty repartee.



And the Heroes who will stand against them all stitched together thanks to Fivelein!


Stay tuned for more pages and possibly a printed book in time for WizardWorld Chicago.

Friday, July 30, 2010

More Arcadia!

I'm having a blast designing the realms of Hell, there are no limits, its a total playground of horrific images and ideas. The Tinwoodsman rallies the betrayed Renegades to his cause.






Team Slow and Glass Dog cross paths with the Hellbreakers and discuss matters of life and death.




More to come!