Showing posts with label The Re-Up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Re-Up. Show all posts

February 03, 2009

LEON: Back to School

Click the image for biggimizing!

LEON: Protector of the Playground strip from the fall - nothing like new Back to School clothes!

This strip quickly introduces PRINCIPAL PRINCIPLE. He's got his own story that you'll see as we move ahead. Actually the first appearance of the Principal was in my first LEON story, an 8-pager that appeared in EVEN MORE FUND COMICS back in forever-ago. Try to scoop it up now for barter!

January 08, 2009

Boogaloo Under the Hood (REMIX)

From 2005:
>>
Happy Holidays.

So todays post, I thought would be good about giving thanks, and all that. I'm real thankful for a lotta stuff, like my good friends - civillian and comic book pals alike.

Another thing I'm thankful for, was the opportunity to work on DETECTIVE BOOGALOO over at superstar Kevin Smith's moviepoopshoot.com site. I have nothing but great things to say about the crew there, and I'm still friends with them. Editor Chris Ryall (The same Chris Ryall who is now head honcho at IDW) gave me free reign to do whatver I wanted and never had a bad word to say about me or my stuff. He's a saint. Now go buy IDW comics!

Going with that train of thought, I was cleaning out my files and found a row of tutorial files that I probably did for my old group, the Indy Cred All Stars. This was for the second strip from the Detective Boogaloo run on poopshoot, and back when I was putting a WHOLE lot of time into each strip. Not that I didn't put the time in - but I was still the virgin, and wanted to make sure I represented every week. I believe these used to take me around 10 hours to do. What killed was

a) I still didn't know the characters well, so I was still trying to find the right voices and look for them

b) I was still teaching myself how to color digitally

c) 'stuff just takes time to do'.

Also, that I went through a couple of stages each strip. Basically when you do your own stuff with no other hands in your cooking pot, you're essentially drawing the same thing 3-4 times. From roughs, to tighter roughs, to layouts, to penciling, to inking, to coloring, to lettering, there's a LOT of steps in there. Just pray that the computer demons don't decide to freeze your system at 3:00am. I LOVE when that would happen. SAVE EARLY SAVE OFTEN!

Anyway, what I have brought to the class today, is a little dialogue on how I approached the strips at the time. Look for new Boogaloo stuff at the begining of the year, as I'm planning on restarting the property.

Figure A here, is what my general roughs 'version one's' turn out to look like. I have an idea of where I wanted the strip to go, so I'd set out to lay out the page/s and block in some notes I had to myself, so I wouldn't forget them later when I was inking. As you can see I had 2 pages here, which got turned into 1 page. I forget why now - probably because of time constraints. A lot of things get shaved down by not having enough time or energy to do something else. If you can look closely at that rough up top, I have a couple of gags on Ice Tre's 40 bottle, - like calling it 'Assed Out 800', a play off of Old English 800 - more effectionately known in the outer provinces as "Old Gold", "8-Ball" or "OH EE". Anyway, I cut it out because I just didn't think it was necessary. I cut out a lot of stuff, like I was gonna have Ice Tre' rapping in the strip, so I wrote out a couple of bars for him to spit in the recording booth, but again, Cut. There's a lot of cutting that comes into my strips when I did them every week - I had more ideas in my head than room to fit them all.

OH! Also in the balding reporters hand, he has a copy of 'The Sauce' - my riff on THE SOURCE magazine. In Bling City, Ice Tre is the Alpha Rapper, so he's always on covers to the big magazines.

Ice Tre' got defined in this strip, where I wanted him to be an amalgalm of every 'pretty thug' type that was in Hip Hop at the time. Tho he looks most like Nelly, he's not supposed to be Nelly - but he can be if you want him too. He's Fiddy, he's everybody. An ebodiment of where my head was at about the music at the time. Every rapper had some sort of gimmick, so instead of the band-aid like Nelly had, I gave him football eyeblack under his eyes, and ice cubes instead of diamonds on his ears. Also his gold medallion is a gold ice tray, with real ice cubes in it. Now in hindsight, I never showed him using it - maybe when I bring the strip back, we'll see him make himself a drink and crack ice in the glass from it. Now that's pretty funny.

I remember a while back reading some dood on a message board who tried to snap on me about Tre' and how it had been 'done before'. People take things so literally - I've always tried to avoid the obvious joke and go a little deeper. Sometimes I succeed - sometimes I don't, but Tre', cheesy name in all, I really dig. His name is SUPPOSED to be bad. DUH.

After I did the rough stage, what I normally did was go over the stuff I was gonna keep in a felt tip marker of some sort (I'm known for being a 'whatever's in front of me' type of inker - I don't care, if it makes a mark I'll use it) and tighten up the rough. After that, on 11x17 Strathmore Bristol, later on smaller stuff, I'd lightbox the tighter roughs in blue col-erase pencil, and then ink it. I think for this strip I used all microns, and maybe some other stuff for the thick outlines. I'm not a huge Micron mark - I use brush nowadays just as easily as a techpen - it really depends on what kinda line I'm going for. Then I ruled out the panels.

Another little tip - I HATE ruling stuff out. I'd rather just free-form it, because when I do use ruled lines, it seems like I have to now follow that ideal through the rest of the process. There were a lot of times where i'd rule out my panels, but not use a straight edge to ink it - just to keep it loose.

I also pulled out the old zipatone and laid in that pattern behind Tre's head just to break up the flow of the layout. I love mixing the oldschool with the new. Zipatone is almost impossible to find besides that manga stuff - but to me, the original zip and Chartpak is where it's at.


After the inking is done, I'd go into Photoshop (6 I think I had at the time) and drop all the colors in . When I felt up to it, I did my 'Disney Style' meaning I'd do color holds on the outlines of the characters. Later on - I'd stop doing this because it'd take me HOURS to finish a strip at the color stage. I'm no coloring genius, and I traditionally don't color like everybody else - like I don't do 'Flats' and all that stuff - I just go in there and attack the page until it's colored with the palette that comes with Photoshop - no tweaks or brushes. I still work like that.

As you can see at this stage, I'm just laying in the color - no words yet.The FINAL stage is doing the lettering, which I did as well in Photoshop. I know it's best to do the stuff in Illustrator, but doing a weekly strip for me was more about getting it done than how you did it. Photoshop is faster in this case. Now if this was for print and I was doing a book, then yeah I'd do the lettering in Illo, but this is just getting zapped to 72 DPI and it works good enough. BOOM.

And there it is - the quick and dirty Boogaloo strip. Hope you enjoyed the little look into the way I work(ed). I'm looking forward to starting up Boogaloo again, because I miss it - and somebody's gotta put a foot up hip-hop's ass.

Might as well be me.

September 16, 2008

LEON: Enter: Chalmers


In this strip, I introduce CHALMERS, A kid in Leon's grade who is the archetypical 'rich kid'. Well that's a stretch - he's more the Ralph Kramden template - the kid who's always scheming on how to make a buck. Here we see some of Chalmer's design chops.

I took this act on the road and brought a buncha Leon strips to a local school and the kids ate it up. I did a lotta Chalmers sketches. They liked the kid who loves money. How interesting is that?

Anyway, you're gonna have to click on that image - it's crazy small right now.

UPDATE: I realized that I put a newer strip first. It's cool to see how I'm getting used to drawing Leon and he looks a bit better in the strip below. Also Chalmers is the first classmate to make two appearances in the strip so far.


APPEARANCE ALERT!
I'll be appearing at the Baltimore Comic Con at the end of the month. Mark your calendars!

September 10, 2008

August 29, 2008

LIVE! LIVE! LIVE! Coming next week

Puppets like you've never seen them before!

Hey gang! Here's more press on the event I'm putting in on next week. There's a new poster that may be a little suggestive, but it's puppets, so Caveat Emptor.

>>

From this weeks CITY PAPER:
LIVE! LIVE! LIVE! Hoity Meets the 'Hood
LIVE! LIVE! LIVE! Hoity Meets the 'Hood teams the urban puppeteers at Little Bunny Voodoo and hip-hop cartoonist Jamar Nicholas. We know LBV's 2007 Fringe offering, Late Night at the Tiki Bar, was a visual delight. To quote CP's review: "We could watch these puppets watch paint dry," and we've been following Nicholas' street-smart hip-hop comix for years. The concept here is a "design mashup" with LBV's Alisa Sickora Kleckner and husband Chris Kleckner working with Nicholas to bring his creations to life. "They took my half of the project and really gave my ideas wings," says Nicholas. --Brian Howard

Read it:

read Puppets at the FRINGE: on WHYY

They interviewed me as well, but they TOTALLY LEFT MY WHOLE PART OUT. :pout:

Anyway, it's coming, and there's nothing you can do about it. If you're in Philly, come check it out. It NEEDS to be seen live.

August 09, 2008

Thesaurus is Colored.


bad joke. I felt like giving that sketch some pigment.

WATCHING THE DETECTIVES: Dissecting Detective Boogaloo Pt I

Now that I've been streamlining my deal over here at the JN Studios, it's been easier to put things back in place, to put some stuff in order. Some things that have been in the works or have fallen to the wayside find their place again. One thing I wanted to focus on for the JHAAJ gawkers is my place in Hip Hop Culture, and all that stuff that comes with it.

One of my properties, DETECTIVE BOOGALOO: HIP HOP COP has always been my study on my life and love of Hip Hop, and what boils down is a dialogue on 'Old vs. New School' Hip Hop and all that goes with it. Some people who enjoed my webcomic just enjoyed the pretty colors, or 'like a breakdancing detective'. That's cool. Do You. The strip, at least in my mind, had a lot of layers, and one is the idea of Hip Hop broken down into sections of eras, and along with that, come fashion/lifestyle examinations. One character in the DB Universe is contact and Ill Intel Copper: THESAURUS JONES. (Click here for his first appearance) Thesaurus' look is of mid-late 80's fashion and ideals - like the 80's Rap Scene blew up in his closet. He also comes correct with the illest High-Top Fades, Flattops, Boxes and Trigonometry Haircuts.


figure 1: Black to the Future

What's really interesting to inspect, is that I came up with Thesaurus, probably in 2000 or somewhere around there. He used to rock a Theo Huxtable Shag, but when I intro'd him into the comic, I thought he Box would be a little more culturally and visually revelant. It's bugging me out that the 80's have finally come up on the fad/culture dial, and now I'm seeing young teens out in the streets rocking them again. Apologies to whomever this image got jacked from. Respect due, Internets:

Figure 2: What Comes Around Comes Back Around Again... Again

Now, That's great and all, and is amusing to see kids go nuts with this outlandishness, but the 20-year-later Jamar has to stow the 'fad' part of this and just see it for what it is. I think the olny difference was when it happened the first time, is that it was the first time. "You had to be there" really applies to what's rocking out there in the streets. Thesaurus' character is a keeper-of-culture, and has an important place in the DB universe. I wonder, when I bring Boogaloo's adventures back, if he'll be seen the same now that you can look out the window and see some kid looking just like him.

August 03, 2008

You can get with this/You can't get with that

It's been a while between posts, so here's something to gnaw on:

I just deleted my Myspace account.

I just deleted my LiveJournal account.

More to follow. Soon, there will be only a few places on the intenerds to find my updates. Simplification is the New Black. Get up on that.

ONE.

June 17, 2008

DRRRRRRRRRROP!

Yo. I've been in radio silence for a while for a few good reasons, that I don't need to get into, since there's only 8 of you that come here. Just say that if you need to see whats' on my mental river on the daily, check the twitter to your right or sign up to follow the leader (chikka chikka).

I have some stuff to drop here in a few, because people keep asking me, 'where can i see your stuff!?'. I'm very easy to Google. It'll usually point you here, or to another of my 22 websites.

So I'll leave you off with some old Detective Boogaloo art, this was for a t-shirt design for a long-sold out ICE TRE' tee.

T'Challa!

March 14, 2008

USED TO LET MY TAPE ROCK 'TIL THE TAPE POPPED


Do your lessons!

Learn your math!

Sketch study for something else going out the door. stretchy arm is a little wonky, but that's entertaiiiiinment. . .

March 02, 2008

BLACK IS BACK. . .

Even if you haven't seen me, I see you. You should be ashamed of yourself.


Here's a moleskine joint for you. Look for more posts from me this month. Along with some news. I've been crazy busy, almost so busy I haven't had time to catalogue what I'm up to. Let's rectify that.

Also look for another classic full-color Boogaloo strip in the newest issue of UVC magazine this month.

Peace Connecticut!

January 06, 2008

The store is OPEN! Boogaloo ILL CRIMES UNIT CASE FILE for the last time EVAR!

DETECTIVE BOOGALOO: ILL CRIMES UNIT CASE FILE (The Collected Strips)







Hey all! Back again (Told you I'm on the schedule!) and this time I'm trying out some new store stuff. I created the Boogaloo Case File some years ago, back when I was still doing the strip at Moviepoopshoot.com and I just unearthed a little crate of extras that I thought I sold off. Now it can be yours yours yours!

The Case File collects in a neat manilla-file folder, the first 25 strips from the Detective Boogaloo: Hip Hop Cop webcomic, presented in a police format - black and white interior, complete with never-to-be-seen-again (!) insider info on the DB Universe - an official Ill Crimes Unit Rap Sheet on Boogaloos' nemesis ICE TRE, along with an ill forward by then-editor now-editor-in-chief of IDW Comics, Chris Ryall! Yeah, I knew him back when.

It's a real cool package, and every folder is different - I self-stamped and self-coffee-ringed each one of these babies. I've been selling them for years at cons, but now it's time to put this to rest and do the NEXT Boogaloo thing, that I'm not gonna put over yet. . . But you knew it was gonna happen eventually.

The price for this is going to be 10.00 USD, (I know the cover says 5) but I'm throwing in the shipping and I'll personalize it for you and your shorty. That's MY gift to you!

After this dissappears off the front page, I'll put this on the sidebar, and I'll be putting up other things I find in the studio attic as we go through the Great Purge of 2008 - to get ready for THE NEW NEWNESS.

And you can pay with PAYPAL! If you don't know what Paypal is by now, then maybe you don't need to be on the internet yet.

Thanks - let's see how this works.

August 31, 2007

The return of the JDOT 5-SPOT!

Hey. Here's 5 easy-to-digest bits from the laboratory of Jamar to take you into the weekend. We're over here at Team Poobah trying to get it going for you - so when you see me in your area, you are sated and full. Full of comic-y nougat. (I've been reading too much Penny Arcade blog entries lately.)

Anyway, here's some news for your side of the world.


ONE.
Next weekend, travel on down to the BALTIMORE COMIC-CON where I'll be set up, shakin' the babies and kissin' the hands. This is a sentimental show for me, as we're gonna go all-out, and have a great show and remember our pal Ringo. He was going to be going to this show. He didn't go to many cons, but Heroes and Baltimore. He'll still be there, but on another energy frequency, and right here (taps heart).

Just for that, I'm going NUTS for this show, and going back to old Jamar-Mode! I will have with me, me hopes, a Tokyopop GrossePack, which will include all three of the GROSSE ADVENTURES books that I did with Tokyopop, (With art on the first one by my mans'en'em, Mike Norton). You can also order the books on Amazon.com if you can't make it down, but look for a hot sketch-tie-in if you buy all three from me. I may even throw in some scratch-n-sniffs! I'm nice like that.

While I'm here, here's the cover of the third book again, with proper dress and editor cleanining:*
Also look for a Baltimore-Special edition of my first sketchbook, E POOBAH UNUM: IN JAMAR WE TRUST. We're still getting that together over here, but don't sleep - They may go fast!

*I have a small stash of the DETECTIVE BOOGALOO ILL CRIMES UNIT CASEFILES left, that I'm gonna bring through. This is gonna be it until the comic book comes out (!) which I'll talk about in more detail at a later date.

*I will have original art that I want to unload, mainly an almost complete pagecount of my first 'mainstream' gig, RADISKULL & DEVILL DOLL HATES LOVE! comic, done with Devils Due/Image. Come cop this stuff!

*I should also have a batch of 'WILL DRAW FOR LOVE' The second Philadelphia Cartoonist Society jambook that I have some sketch material in.

*OH! Also on the table, we'll have copies of UVC MAGAZINE: The Urban Voice of Comics. I'm doing color-re-ups of the Boogaloo strips in the mag every issue! I think we're up to the 4th strip so far. (That reminds me, I have to turn work in to the editor!)

*ALSO! (again) The latest issue of DRAW! magazine came out, where I interviewed one of my idols, Steve Purcell of Sam&Max fame. We'll have copies of that to cop, so come talk to me about it or make me feel good and let me sign your copy. I'll be set up next to my road-dog Mike Manley, so you KNOW he'll have his Draw!s on hand. [||]

* We are going to be in the KIDS LOVE COMICS! Pavillion, so bring your seeds over and be treated to kid-friendly comics and I promise not to swear in front of your kids.

TWO: I have a Twitter account. See my drops at the top of the blog here, and on my myspace page. Come Follow Me!

THREE: What I'm reading: Freakanomics. What I'm playing: PuzzleQuest on the DS.

FOUR: What I'm waiting on: Graduation, Kanye West.

FIVE: Where I'm at next: SPX in October. But that's another post entirely.

June 06, 2007

Back to the Future

What's up Party People!

I've been away for a while - so now that it's the summer grind, I'll try and put more info down on here - especially since I see my soldiers in the street, asking when I'm gonna update. I don't want that kind of pressure, so I'll just keep posting drops here.

Anywho, I have a LOT of stuf to drop, plus a lot of pictures of events past, that I was too busy to even talk about, because I had to go do them. I'm looking at at least a few weeks of getting you up to speed - all 4 of you that check my blog out.

So here's something cool I just saw - Here's the cover to #3 and the last (as far as I know) Grosse Adventures Book that I'll illustrate for Tokyopop. The street date for this I believe is July. . . but I'm not sure. I think before Comic-Con.


Take it easy out in these streets, cousin!