Slow but steady

I know I haven't posted much here lately, but it's not because I've stopped making art.  I still make little projects (Star Wars and Chubicorn mashup stickers, buttons, etc.), and post them on my Instagram account (@jonsaintamant).  But a large chunk of my free time has been dedicated to working on a brand-new manuscript. It's for a middle grade graphic novel that takes place in space. Totally different universe from Shelby and the Blooms.  I plan on reworking that manuscript right after.  I won't say much more than that right now. Okay, I'll say this: I just finished writing page 114, which places me around the beginning of Act 3.  Exciting things are coming...

Thank you for following my work.  I can't wait to share more with you.  

Fantastic Mr. Fox/ The Swing Mashup

Hey fans,

I recently finished my entry for the Epic Summer Night Roald Dahl/ Shel Silverstein Tribute Show at Fanalley in Anaheim.  It's my most detailed pop up painting to date.

CHUBICORN!!!

My latest print, a Chubicorn/ Jaws mashup, will be available at this year's Anime Expo.

Developments!

Hi fans!  Sorry if I've been a bit low profile lately.  I've been busy with writing the next four chapters/ seasons of Shelby and the Blooms!  Why so many chapters ahead, you might be thinking?  Well...because...

uh...

Hey!  Look over there!  It's a barbarian-looking Shelby hugging Chubicorn and looking to be in some type of danger!

(whew, that was close.  I almost revealed too much!)

Season One Finale, now on Tapastic!

Hey fans!  I have just wrapped up Season One of Shelby and the Blooms!  Click HERE to see it and/or subscribe!  Season Two will be released first as a b+w zine at Anime Expo in July, and as a full-color webcomic around the end of summer.  In the meantime, I'm working on a secret project for the series.  Stay tuned!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, eyerybody!  Treat yourself to my free webcomic!  Click the link below and subscribe!  Did I say it was FREE??  (well, it is!)

http://www.tapastic.com/series/Shelbyandtheblooms

My Wizards Visit Atlanta!

I traded my zines with another zine maker a few months ago, and she recently told me how she taught a lesson to 7th graders about how to make zines.  She brought a bunch of examples to show the students (including mine), and took a picture of them.  I love the expression of the student looking at my Wizard Stat Zine (he's the one on the very left side) .  He's like, "Uh...what the *#%&$ am I looking at right now?"

 

Great Experience at CTNX

I signed up for this convention thinking that I would be out of place and undeserving.  After all, I am not an animator, nor do I have any experience in the field.  I do want my series, Shelby and the Blooms, to ultimately get animated, so I thought maybe I could just see what I could learn from the pros.  I learned that they are down-to-earth, extremely talented, humble, approachable, and cool people.  I felt right at home among the storyboard artists, character designers, art directors, layout artists, etc.  That's NOT to say that I that I am on the same playing field!  I have a bit further to go (understatement!).  What I mean is they were so welcoming and easy to talk to.  Quite a few were genuinely interested in looking through my portfolio and giving me some great feedback. They all loved Chubicorn!  I made sure to talk with as many animation industry people as I could, and every story or conversation with them rewarded me with really interesting insight and reinforced the fact that these people are just like me (except REALLY talented at animation).

One group of animators from the Bay area was really cool, and I did a zine trade with one of them (Abby Lee).  I found myself hanging out and talking with them like we were all old friends.

I am so glad I went, and I am really motivated to keep on truckin' with my series.  To whoever takes the time to read this, thank you for supporting me and my work, and I promise to make the series as awesome as I possibly can!

I've included some images from the show, including some great art and business cards I collected along the way.

Some CTNX swag!

Great people

Me trading with Abby

Hall B

A workshop on environment design

Breakfast Club Mashup!

I just played around with the iconic poster.  The challenge was keeping my characters' proportions in in check while staying as close as I could to the reference image.  What do you think?

Follow me on Tapastic!

Hey fans,
If you want to get a weekly dose of web comic-y goodness, then mosey on over to my Tapastic site right NOW!  It's totally free and colorful!  Just look at the latest update below!  OOoooooohhhh!

Page 4 Now on Tapastic!

If you haven't already done so, subscribe to my comic on Tapastic!  Click here! I plan on posting every comic page in full COLOR!!!  It's free to subscribe (you just need to create an account) and there are HUNDREDS, maybe even THOUSANDS of different comics on that site!



So, uh...





yeah...





(awkward extra space)

Now on Tapastic!!

Hey friends!  I have committed to a web comic hosting site called Tapastic!  It's a great site to discover and subscribe to a wide variety of web comics for free!  My series is found here:  http://tapastic.com/series/Shelbyandtheblooms

I plan on posting colored pages of my self-published comics!  Click the above link to subscribe!

Let There Be COLOR!!!

Photoshop progress on page one.  The Fragonard painting on the right is used
for color reference.

Since completing the first chapter of the Shelby story and making it into a zine, I have decided I want to begin posting each page in full color on a web comic site.  As I pursue the next goal of writing the second chapter, I am also looking into getting the series professionally published.  In the meantime, I am considering using a webcomic site called Tapastic.com, because I really like their intuitive, simple design and dedicated community.  If you like comics, check it out.

23 new buttons almost ready!!!

I am finishing up 23 brand-spanking new button designs for my
students (and maybe etsy shoppers)!  They will be divided into two
sets.  (above, l to r: Breanna, Cupcake Wizard, Powerpuff Sophie,
and Wizard 6)

Anime Expohhh

I thought I would post some of the highlights of my first artist alley booth at Anime Expo!  Despite being one of the few fan art-free tables in the artist alley, I received a lot of support, and even some interest from animation industry people!  I offered mashup commissions of either Bubbr or Chubicorn, cosplaying as any character.  I also stopped some of my favorite cosplayers to snap a photo of them.  It was exhausting, but a lot of fun!

By the way, if you haven't already done so, follow me on Instagram @Chubicorn, and on Tumblr @jonsaintamant.  I post on those sites on a weekly, sometimes daily basis.  On this site, my posts are few and far between.

The Shelby origin comic is here!

After months of hard work and late nights, it's FINALLY ready!  This comic tells the story of how Shelby formed her band.  It is 21 pages long, and each page is highly detailed, and shaded with screen tones and grayscale.  I will debut it at this year's Anime Expo (July 3rd- 6th), then feature it on my etsy page.  

3B Chibi-fied!

My current goal is to finish the Shelby and the Blooms origin comic by Anime Expo!  In the meantime, check out these prints I made for this past Saturday's Kawaiiland show.  Don't mind the copyright and name!  

"Cho"

"Hana"

"Min"

Cupcake Wizard's Lament

I tried a collage experiment showing Cupcake Wizard's inner thoughts.  I used cut paper, colored pencils, watercolors, markers, pencils and a pen.

Gender Flip! Now in Technicolor!

Starting clockwise with the drummer, we have Marly, Rollie, Mikey, Shane, and Breanna! 

Shelby and the Blooms Gender Flip!

I've been working on a few things lately.  I will soon have three full-color posters available for purchase on my etsy shop!  They include: the original Blooms playing their instruments, this gender-flipped version, and a mashup of Cupcake Wizard and Sophie as Jabba the Hutt and Princess Leia, respectively.  Of course, the Shelby origin comic is still a work in progress.