Face Reality

Here's a peek at the satire "Face Reality" with art work by yours truly and written by the uber-talented Adam McGovern of Dr. Id and the popular anthology series Pood Comics.

House of 12: Touching Children's Stories

Here's the cover for House of 12's latest anthology, Touching Children's Stories. This collection will debut at this year's Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland. Among the contributors are Miss Lasko-Gross, Evan Forsch, Cheese Hasselberger, Ayo Brathwaite, and me.

If you're in the DC area, stop by and grab a copy! And while you're there, stop by my booth and pick up a copy of Saucy #1. I'll be exhibiting with Keith McCleary (Killing Tree Quarterly, Top of the Heap) .





(Cover art by Miss Lasko-Gross and Kevin Colden.)

1st Page of Zed and Itty: Beach Bum Bash

The first page from my latest comic Zed and Itty: Beach Bum Bash. It's an eight-page, all-ages comic that'll appear in The House of 12's anthology at this year's Small Press Expo. I'll be exhibiting at the expo along with my great friend Keith McCleary.
















© Frank Reynoso, Augt. 2009, All Rights Reserved

Some Recent Stuffs

Here's a selection of comics I'm working on. All these comics will debut at this year's MoCCA Fest 2009.

A freshly inked panel from my upcoming, satirical comic 'By George.'















This is a pencil drawing on tracing paper of little Frankie, the protagonist of my auto-bio comic tentatively titled 'Battery-Acid Test.' This drawing is for the title panel.











Little Frankie entranced by the wonders of Mr. Wizard.

















© Frank Reynoso, Feb. 2009, All Rights Reserved

The Phenomenal Jock: Bye, Bye Baby

Finally, some pages from my upcoming comic The Phenomenal Jock: Bye, Bye Baby. The comic will debut at this year's MoCCA Fest.

Jock's ravenous hunger leads him to a nearby, quaint suburban home. But everything's not as it seems. Can Jock handle the mighty Pwecious!?!































































































































© Frank Reynoso, Jan. 2009, All Rights Reserved

Christmas at the Palin Household

This is a hi-res file that you can download and print out.

Forward to friends and foes.

Happy Holidays!!











© Frank Reynoso, Dec. 2008, All Rights Reserved

How To Create a Bloomzilla

For those of you who are curious about my working methods, here's a walk-through of my recent illustration for The Indypendent.

Keep in mind that I don't have a "fixed" system. Every assignment's different - eg. full-color versus black and white, hand-painted versus digital, etc etc. But below is an example of my general process.

1. I read the text and got a sense of the messages conveyed in the story. (Sometimes the full text isn't ready so an outline or synopsis is all I have to work from.)

With those ideas in mind, I sketched this little dinger. Usually I'll do a series of sketches - four to five or more if I can't "get it right." But considering I only had a couple of days to do this illo, I went with the first idea. (I strongly suggest doing multiple sketches before moving onto the final.)

Most of my "thinking" is done at this point. I look for strong composition and draftsmanship.

2. I plunged into pencils. I went online and used five reference pictures of Bloomberg to make sure I got his likeness. (Note: use multiple references to avoid legal troubles.)

I changed the head's angle so the reader can see his face more.

Though I did most of my thinking at the sketch phase, I still modify things as I move along the process. Surprises can be cool but too many of them can make your final look like a hot mess.

3. Using a couple of brushes, acrylic ink and a micron pen, I inked the bugger.

Any modifications at this point are nominal. Eg, extra hatching in various spots.



4. I scanned it in, cleaned up any blemishes, erased a stray line at the bottom and bumped up the contrast.

With the illo clean, I digitally added grays and sent the final to the designers.




And here it is.

Again, I don't have a "regular system" for doing illustrations. (Recently I've incorporated tracing paper into my illustrations. More on that some other time.)

But I always use the a) think and sketch, b) pencil and modify, and c) ink and finish process for my illustrations.

Hope you had as much fun placating my ego as I did. :)

Rock on,
Frank


© Frank Reynoso, Nov. 2008, All Rights Reserved

Sample Panels from "Phenomenal Jock"

I've penciled additional pages for my old, unpublished comic "The Phenomenal Jock."

I plan to debut the comic at next year's MoCCA Fest.

Here are some sample panels.





















































































© Frank Reynoso, Nov. 2008, All Rights Reserved

A few Pages from "The Phenomenal Jock"

A couple of years ago, I made the short comic "The Phenomenal Jock." Not happy with the story, I put it aside and never published it. Fast forward to SPX 2008, on the darkened bus ride from Washington DC to NYC. While everyone snored and farted in their sleep, I came up with a few extra pages of material that should really fatten the story out.

If all works well, this comic will debut at next year's MoCCA Arts and Comics Fest in NYC. (And New York Comic Con, if I get a table in artist's alley.)

I'll post the newly penciled pages as soon as they're done. For now, check out the first couple of pages of this minor epic.














































© Frank Reynoso, Oct. 2008, All Rights Reserved

Portraits from the Animal Kingdom

These are some of my watercolor paintings - titled "Portraits from the Animal Kingdom" - that premiered at this year's Small Press Expo (SPX). They're mostly based on the various customers who stiffed me at my waitering job.

Long story short: if I get bad feelings about a customer I sketch them quickly, capturing as much as I can of their character. Then, whatever tip they left me - if they left me anything at all - and their attitudes along with my disposition determined if the sketch of them evolved into a greater piece.

This is the first time I've ever done this and found it to be rather cathartic - to say the least. :)

(I have sketches of the two other guys she was with. Basically these were three Italian twenty-somethings who came to New York City to shop, as their assorted shopping bags suggested. They barely spoke any English, which proved problematic. But I guess shopping is a universal language as opposed to tipping.)






(This is only painting not based on an actual person. It's based on a sketch. I liked the design and felt it fit in well with the others.)











(They didn't eat some food and wanted a discount, which is pretty reasonable. I explained to them that it was totally dependent on the managers. And lucky me, the manager on duty only gave them a slight deduction. The couple said they understood and didn't blame me for any of the trouble. I guess the long conversation and jokes time weren't enough. They left me less than a 10% tip and thanked me for everything.

PS. They're hair was actually this funky.

PPS. FYI, that's a man comforting a woman.)


(This lady didn't stiff me but was such a nuisance, along with two of the other three women she was with, that I sketched the three. Though they complained about the apparently sub-standard quality of their lunches and their veritable shopping list general dislikes, they left me a good tip. Unfortunately the good tip didn't wash away the ill feelings.)




I made a few other paintings that weren't printed for various reasons. I'll get those up here, so keep an eye out for them.

© Frank Reynoso, Oct. 2008, All Rights Reserved

Masheka Wood's "So, You've Been Laid Off?!"

If you're suffering from economic distress as most people are, do yourself a favor and grab a copy of Masheka Wood's new mini-comic So, You've Been Laid Off?! What more can I say but "Delaware."

And while you're at it, grab a copy of Deep Doodle. Funny shit.

© Frank Reynoso, Oct. 2008, All Rights Reserved