River Bird Comics

WEEK 6

2012-02-12T15:43:00.002-05:00

This week characters started being 80's teenagers but then changed into something else. Last week I won the Ten Ton Studios Sketch Challenge (it's was Rob's Liefeld's Re:GEX). So I got to choose this week's and do a good entry to defend the title so that took over from Tuesday one. So here is the week: Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The New Challengers of the Unknown (Re-imagined), Teth-Adam (Redesign), Bizarro (Re-imagined), Proto-Wizard head shot. Next week we will revert back to the normal schedule, it maybe double whammies stay tuned. Also go visit the Boston Comics Roundtable daily sketch Tumblr, where our members show sketches and work in progress of what they are working on.

Week 5

2012-02-07T18:15:00.002-05:00

This Week's Characters are: Jean Grey, Catwoman, The Thing, Cyclops and Judge Dredd. Next week was going to be 80's Teenagers but after spending half an hour looking at references of Sean Penn I decided against it so keep eye out, there will be some doodles coming out everyday.

Week 4

2012-01-29T12:18:00.001-05:00

Villains Week! Featuring:
The Joker (DC Comics New 52), Dr. Doom (Future Foundation), Lex Luthor (also New 52 or DC Nü), Mystique (recently resuscitated) and Magneto (Wicked old version).

Week 3

2012-01-23T13:25:00.000-05:00

Inspired by The Usual Suspects we have:

Martin Luther King Jr. The Punisher, Hellboy, Green Lantern and Dr. Strange.

Keep and Eye on Not Quite a Dancer for Evil Inks this week. Also if you don't like the character selection or want to see this characters dance go check out Jesse Lonergan's Dancer a Day and also join his DaD Facebook Group!

Week 2

2012-01-13T15:03:00.000-05:00

Week 2 is done, the characters were:

Batman, Tank Girl, Spider-Man, The Spirit and Daredevil.

Week 1

2012-01-06T14:02:00.000-05:00

First Week of Not Quite Dancers!

Not Quite a Dancer a Day!

2012-01-02T15:37:00.000-05:00

Not Quite a Dancer a Day!

Project: A.R.C.A.D.E.

2011-12-18T15:19:00.000-05:00

via This, I drew today

Blade Runner

2011-11-30T23:31:00.001-05:00

This is for this week's Ten Ton Studios Sketch Challenge, no likeness as you can see, but I wanted to do a poster that gave you a hint of what the movie is about. Brush on bristol board ( Joe Kubert School 11x17) with same brushes as the last one and used some generic Pen & Ink (No-Shellac India Black) it was worse than Calli, so the search continues.

Walicxe

2011-11-27T17:50:00.000-05:00

I'm back to the drawing board! After a few months of not finding the right frame of mind to draw in a satisfying way, just doodles here and there. I have two projects that I want to get done, both short stories. If you follow this blog there has been samples here and there but they remain largely on the planing stages.

First of "13" inspired by a song same as "El Oso" it's a surreal western about anger, violence and a troubled existence. Sharing the first place in importance and focus it's "The Middle Finger" a super-hero parody. Both have the potential to continue or at least to plague my sketchbooks with glimpses of future adventures but the main objective it's to do that first chapter and show what they are all about. Under this two big projects there is a potpourri of equally promising premises both new and old: "Wicker and Thorn" have been dusted off to a very promising first page on Writer's Night. "Outlaw Pizza" yells at me every morning asking for a conclusion to the first chapter, "The Caerulean Dream" slowly slumbers it's way in, while "Black Fuska" floats aimlessly in limbo. I slowly chip away at this "less" important projects (not because their lack of quality, more of a dragging by weight of importance). And buried under all this clutter of creative noise it's "Walixce" and umbrella of sorts not unlike "Moody Toones" in which to explore folk tales and/or (depending on your definition of each) legends from the country I was born in, Uruguay. "Walicxe" it's the word for spell or curse, a word of Charrua origin, the lost natives of the west of river of birds land.

In the picture above drawn on a 11x14 sheet of Bristol Paper (Borden and Riley #120p Bristol Plate to be more precise) drawn on pencil and inked with a pair of Princeton round brushes (#2 and #6) on Calli ink (Jet Black India 010) represents the three stories that I am most excited to render on comic book form: "La Mano Negra", "El Lobizon" and "La Luz Mala", don't worry there will be translations for this titles in one way or another.

My other objective with this piece was to streamline my page process, a warm up of sorts in to getting back in to the groove. While preparing I tried a couple of different ideas on pencil (using a 2B thick graphite stick on a led holder) to loosely work the composition and get a piece interesting enough to keep my interest during the inking process. It did not needed to be perfect but to be a piece worth of the ink I used. After a couple of aborted attempts (a Middle Finger #1 possible cover and a Punisher: River of Blood trade cover idea that is badly needed) I decided that an idea that was fully mature in my head will be the best choice to complete this personal challenge.

Deviating for my usual process and following Jesse's advice I decided to redraw the image on the Bristol board as opposed to tracing it or transferring it. The results I think are very competent, far from perfect it was smooth sailing the redrawing helped me not to transfer initial errors to the final image and work out better options in composition. The paper was great to take a light (4h) pencil with out too much denting and very pleasing to the inking with brush, the brushes behave great, precise but loose, the ink however while flowing correctly lacks the covering I wanted, all fixable in post the lack of solidity made it a thing to figure out next time, hopefully soon.

Shanna: The She Devil

2011-11-09T16:46:00.000-05:00

For this week's Challenge I decide to go with a more practical approach in lieu of a pin-up. Click to see the original. And go to Ten Ton Studios to see all the other excellent entries and vote!

PITT

2011-10-04T11:55:00.000-04:00

This Week's Challenge it's Pitt! Head over to Ten Ton Studios and vote for the best.

2011-09-24T00:44:00.000-04:00

We will be showing around a proof preview of the Hellbound 2 books with our handmade box this weekend at MICE it's a free show full of great creators and comics, look for me or Jesse Lonergan to get an exclusive sneak peak of the book and a flyer about our Halloween Party!

Spider-Man 2.0 Project Rooftop

2011-08-15T12:58:00.001-04:00

Click picture above to see all Character Sheets.
It's good that Marvel is currently trying to inject some diversity on to their characters. However there is one minority, one group of oppressed and currently forgotten people that has never has been treated with any respect. (Except for Grant Morrison)

Fade to Black and White, cigarette smoke and tight voice...

I present to you this peculiar situation: A young man, high school years known as Peter Parker, falls in the sewers on his way to a science show, maybe about spiders, is not important because he never makes it, was found by the mutant group commonly referred as the Morlocks.

Pause, inhales cigarette smoke:

Long believed to be extinct their numbers were not what the used to be in order to ad to the ranks they will activate the dormant mutant gene of any person they encounter. Unfortunately for Peter with great powers comes great disfigurement.

After coming to terms with his new situation Peter lives a double life as an introverted, and odd looking teenager who is starting to develop a disturbing obsession with a red headed classmate by the name of Mary Jane Watson and a underground dweller mutant in search for a cure for his spider themed condition.

Short story: Spiderman by way of the movie The Fly.

See rules and other entries soon here:
Project: Rooftop

via This, I drew today!

Hellboy: Re-Covered

2011-07-13T09:05:00.002-04:00

This week's Ten Ton Studios: Sketch Challenge is a cover recreation of a Hellboy Comic.

The art on right is the digital version of my all hand drawn and colored version (click to see) of this challenge's entry. My inspiration was this cover by Francesco Francavilla (left). He is a great cover and interior artist that has worked both on Detective Comics and Black Panther: Man with out Fear (simultaneously!). Both his line art and coloring where inspiration for this cover, the color part is kind of last post scanner, but I tried to regain it on the digital version. As a bonus I used my "Mexican Hellboy" (El Vato Infernal) that I designed for another Hellboy related challenge as an insert on the bottom.

BPRD: Western

2011-05-25T14:20:00.000-04:00

The latest Ten Ton Studios Sketch Challenge it's B.P.R.D. Western Style. It was a lot of fun to draw Mike Mignola's creations on a western flavor. The one I had the most fun was Hellboy I decided to go Mexican complete with big mustache, sombrero and poncho. If I had to cast the movie Danny Trejo will play the part.

OFFICER DOWNE

2011-04-13T11:59:00.001-04:00

An indie comics this week: Officer Downe created by fellow Ten Toner Chris Burnham (now on Batman and Robin) and Man of Action writer Joe Casey. Go to Ten Ton Studios to see a gallery of all the other great entries and click on picture to see the inks on this entry.

MOCCA & Outlaw Pizza

2011-04-10T11:43:00.000-04:00

This weekend is the MOCCA festival in New York, unfortunately I could not attend this year but the Boston Comics Roundtable has a couple of tables where you can find, Inbounds, Outbound (Including a preview of the upcoming Outbound #3), Hellbound, Show and Tell (Ninth Art Press' premier anthology featuring a little story about my school years) and the first Outlaw Pizza mini-comic. I also highly recommend my friend Jesse Lonergan's mini about dancing Star Wars character it's hilarious and beautifully rendered and Heeby Jeeby Comix #2 by Bob Flynn and pals, great fun for the whole family. In other news Outlaw Pizza continues to appear every week on Boston's Weekly Dig webpage, stop by and if you like it let the facebooks and twitters of the world know, thanks.

LOBO vs Wolverine

2011-04-06T15:20:00.000-04:00

This week's challenge is the main man (Lobo) this challenge was fun to ink, I inked it with a brush on 14x17 bristol paper. Click on the picture to see the inks. Go to Ten Ton Studios to see the rest of the entries and vote tomorrow.

STINGRAY

2011-03-23T13:40:00.000-04:00

For this week's Ten Ton Sketch Challenge someone choose Stingray, a very obscure character from the Namor Marvel Comics series. The costume didn't really do it for my so I went with a more literal approach of what a mutant Stingray-Man would look like.
Click to see the entry.

Killer Croc

2011-03-16T16:23:00.000-04:00

Killer Croc based on the idea that he was created in the '40s and he is a mobster guy a little rough around the edges but who wants to have some style. Batman can not have all the ladys. You can see the preliminary sketches too, if you click on the picture you will see the TenTon Studios Challenge entry on a clean scan.

Rogue

2011-03-10T00:00:00.003-05:00

This week's Ten Ton Sketch Challenge is Rogue. I was tempted to draw her in her Legacy costume (Age of X) but then I started struggling with how to actually draw her and I wanted to show her using several "borrowed" powers, so I threw in a little Cyclops, some Colossus and a pinch of Wolverine.. You can also see my draft attempts in the background or click on the picture to see the clean entry.

A Man Named Charlie

2011-03-09T15:29:00.001-05:00

This is my Entry for the Original Character Design Contests, it's based on the "Charlie" Song, I think it's a good character to represent Boston and Cambridge. The idea is that this guy get's on the T (at Kendall Station) back in the '40s and is still riding the subway and helping the common folk. The original idea came out a little like The Spirit with The Question's face, so I decided to age him and make him look really poor so no one will suspect that he is really a Super Hero.
You can read about the history of this song, the rest of the lyrics and also listen to it at this MIT site.

SINESTRO

2011-03-01T16:35:00.001-05:00

This week's Ten Ton Sketch Challenge is SINESTRO from the Green Lantern comic by DC Comics.

There has been several incarnation of the former Green Lantern current Yellow Lantern. I decided to go with a What if we got really hurt version and he had to use the power of fear (that is yellow right?) to keep himself in one piece, literally.

The color scheme was pretty interesting, I inked the whole thing with a 0.3 Rapidograph and colored with ShinHan Touch markers.

One of the main rules of the Ten Ton Weekly challenge is that you have to create a physical piece of art (in other words no computer rendering or coloring) so the original background it's a little plain (you can click on the picture to see the original drawing) so the above version has a yellow multiply layer (Photoshop) and it's cropped for size.

Visite the Ten Ton Studios Forum to see the other entries and vote after Wednesday's midnight.

13: Sneak Peek

2011-02-28T21:59:00.002-05:00

Thirteen is a story I have been working for a little while and it will probably be a while to be out there.
Part of the "Moody Melodies" series it's kind of a western inspired by the song of the same name as performed by Johnny Cash and written by Glenn Danzig.

I have been constructing a narrative from different beats and scenes, this is a very different process from how I currently work, so it is a little more laborious. There is not much that I can say about the story itself right now. But I want to create a moody and interesting world for this character to roam about.

Hopefully when everything is said and done it will be worth the wait in the meantime go hear the song on this really bizarre [ Thirteen - Johnny Cash ] video.

Original Character Design Challenge #5 - Local SuperHero

2011-02-23T14:57:00.003-05:00

After wining the last Character Design Challenge at the Ten Ton Studios Forum with my MOMUS Character I have the opportunity to set the rules for the next one, so here it is:

>Original Character Design Challenge #5 - Local SuperHero<

The Original Character Design Challenge! Here are the rules... Design a character(s) based on the short description and research materials provided...that's it! Winner gets to be smug about it, and create the details for the next character!

DEADLINE: posting will start Wednesday at Midnight, March 9st, 2011 and will go till the Weekend (Friday at Midnight)

CURRENT CHALLENGE:
BUILD A LOCAL SUPER HERO!
Where every you live (Country, State, City, town, down the bottom the grand canyon) there is crime and a Super hero void, this is your opportunity to help your community. Create a Super Hero that reflect the local culture, tradition and history of the place you live, it could be where you grew up too but let's try to keep it on a place you know and lived in. For extra credit, draw him interaction with your city/town and show he/she belongs there. Think of the reverse way of creating Metropolis for Superman or Gotham City for Batman.

The Thing [TTSC]

2011-02-15T14:38:00.002-05:00

The Thing [ TenTon Studios Sketch Challenge)

MOMUS [TTCC]

2011-02-09T13:55:00.001-05:00

This Month's Concept Challenge it's to created a god, inspired by the deity of Uruguayan Carnival "Dios Momo" I did some research to figure out how this god might look, here is the result.
Wikipedia: Momus
Ten Ton Studios Concept Challenge

KAMANDI: The Last Boy on Earth! [ TTSC ]

2011-02-08T12:08:00.000-05:00

Drawing Process at This, I Drew Today.
Ten Ton Studios Sketch Challenge

Concept Design Art Show [ Space 242 ]

2011-01-27T15:08:00.002-05:00

This two character designs will be featured on the Good vs Evil Space 242 Show opening this Friday, to RSVP or get more information click on the following banner:

Future of Boston [Boston Phoenix]

2011-01-20T17:20:00.001-05:00

2040: Silverline goes sentient. Governor Affleck bombards self with gamma rays to deal with problem.

**********

This comic was published today on the Phoenix with a bunch of other excellent panels by the Boston Comics Roundtable.

Outlaw Pizza on the Weekly Dig

2011-01-13T16:08:00.012-05:00

Outlaw Pizza #1 (River Bird Studios)
by Roho

8 pages Black and White ~ $3.00

In a world where nothing green grows and 'roaches control the few food resources available a group of ragtag characters come together to bake the ultimate subersive food, the Outlaw Pizza. As seen in the Weekly Dig's Sunday Comics.

Buy from Million Year Picnic, HUB Comics or Order Online here:

3 UPDATES 3

2010-12-09T14:56:00.002-05:00

HELLBOUND 2

submision guidelines are up

OUTBOUND 3

preview pages available

WINTER BOUND

holiday comics for free

Bound to Comics

2010-11-04T15:43:00.006-04:00

Come on and join me and the Boston Comics Roundtable for the long awaited Inbound 5 release party!
Where you can buy the book, see the original art and talk to the creators.

Inbound #5 is here, and we’re celebrating our food-themed comics anthology with a party at our favorite coffeeshop! Hang out with Boston-area comics creators, check out a display of original art from Inbound #5, and pick up a copy of the comic for yourself! Come and join us at Central Square’s Atomic Bean Cafe for good times on Friday, November 5 at 7pm.

WHERE: Atomic Bean Cafe, 902-904 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139

WHEN: Friday, November 5 – 7-9pm

Panel detail shows my sumi inks and washes on rice paper over Dan Mazur's original pencils based on a short story (Yam Gruel) by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa author of Rashōmon and In a Groove inspiration for Akira Kurosawa's movie of the same name.
For a very detail review of the book check 13 Minutes.

Hellbound is Near!

2010-10-19T09:41:00.002-04:00

Poster Art by Line O

We Have M.I.C.E.!!!

2010-09-24T21:22:00.002-04:00

Poster art by Dan Moynihan.

This Saturday you can find me at MICE, we will be showing a full copy of HELLBOUND also information about the HELLBOUND event coming to Cambridge this Halloween. Also premiering INBOUND 5: The food issue with a story by Dan Mazur and I, and the worldwide premier (in print) of OUTLAW PIZZA #1.

Another Day, Another Stiff by Michael Brett

2010-09-15T16:15:00.001-04:00

"Another Day, Another Stiff" A Mystery by Michael Brett, 1968 60 cents.

Blood The Last Vampire

2010-09-09T09:42:00.001-04:00

Ex-Machina [TENTON]

2010-08-31T21:40:00.002-04:00

The original had some text that said:
IN TECH WE TRUST
but it got lost in the shuffle.

Not Bullseye it's "Le Cible" [TenTon]

2010-08-25T23:59:00.010-04:00

I hate Bullseye costume so I made him French, Inspired by The Killer (Le Tueur) by Matz and Luc Jacamon.

Outlaw Pizza, Yam Gruel and HGirl.

2010-08-24T11:03:00.006-04:00

This are a few things I have been working lately:
YAM GRUEL it's a collaboration with cartoonist Dan Mazur, based on the story by the same name by
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, the author of the stories "In a Groove" and "Rashōmon" that inspired the Akira Kurosawa film. If you are interested in reading the stories (they are all great and very inspiring) you can get a new trade with a cover by Yoshihiro Tatsumi of Gekiga fame.

OUTLAW PIZZA, a funny animal post apocalyptic story of flavor survival, as the previous story this has been submitted to the Inbound Anthology issue #5 by the Boston Comics Roundtable. This story will continue beyond the Inbound chapter as a webcomic in full color you can subscribe for updates here.

HGIRL it's my submission for a new challenge being posted at Ten Ton Studios, the idea it's to create a character based on a few sentences for the kick off challenge this is the concept:

"An alien/human hybrid is created in a secret lab in New Jersey. She is raised in the lab (in natural time, none of that accelerated growth nonsense) and comes to see the scientists as her family. One day the lab is destroyed, and she learns that there is a world outside of the lab, and that there is great suffering and injustice in the world. With her special abilities, she vows to protect humankind, at least as many as she can in NJ. Name and alien type subject to your whims. Use your imagination and have fun!

by Jong Kim

There is a few more things coming so keep an eye out, including this weeks TenTon Challenge: Bullseye!

The Walking Dead [TenTon]

2010-08-10T12:25:00.000-04:00

Dr. Who's Daleks [TenTon]

2010-07-23T12:43:00.001-04:00

via TenTonStudios

Nocturno [Tenton]

2010-07-20T17:26:00.002-04:00

After winning the last TenTon Sketch Challenge I got to choose the subject, so went with:

NOCTURNO by Salvador Sanz, you can see some sample pages here. So the following is my entry, you have to click on it to see the whole sketch because it's slightly NSFW. As it's always the case on this Challenge posts if you click on the title it will take you to the Forum page where the contest it's happening live!

This awesome series it's available in Spanish (from Argentina and Spain) and Portuguese from various online retailers and also in Amazon for a lot of money. This awesome creator has a book published by IDW called LEGION, it's cheap and still available online from the publisher.

Interplanetary [TenTon]

2010-07-16T09:59:00.000-04:00

ThunderCats [TenTon Studios]

2010-07-08T13:41:00.002-04:00

ThunderCats Tribute by Roho
Sumi Ink on Crappy paper, 26x22 inches
via TENTON Studios

Disappearing Wings

2010-07-06T09:14:00.002-04:00

“Disappearing Wings”

SUMI Ink on SUMI GAMI Paper

by ROHO

via This, I Drew Today

Diojenes and The Hobo [TenTon Challenge]

2010-06-29T22:49:00.001-04:00

Ok, guys this was a great idea, I was going to be with some adventure stuff but this is a lot more interesting for everyone (I think) and helps me flex some storytelling muscles, and some comedy muscles that are very very rusty, so first some reference:

So this strip ran for years on an Argentinian newspaper, drawn by an Uruguayan artists called Tabare and written by a great comedian named Jorge Ginzburg.
I became familiar with this years later when it was running on magazines called Guambia and Berp! (think of Mad or Cracked). So with out furder adieu, I present to you the last episode of Diogenes and the Hobo (or "Diogenes y el Linyera" in Spanish)...

You can click on this image to see it bigger.

Comics No-Knoledge by Roho

2010-06-29T16:45:00.000-04:00

Artist Flavors!

Here is a short list of artists so far: Jim Lee, Geof Darrow, Frank Quitely, Niko Henrichon, Brian Bolland, Art Adams, Gabriel Dell’Otto, Josh Middleton, Whilce Portaccio.

Historietas!
Comics from South of the border, all the way down.

Gekiga! Dramatic pictures=Good Manga

FY Comics!Listing all the FY! related to comics.

Pencil FrameFeatures great illustrations based on film.

Muertoz Graphic Entertainment
Blog about comics from all over the world including: Historietas, Bandde Dessinne, Fumetti, Teveos, Manga, Manwha, Cuadrinhos and More.

OUTBOUND: The Science Fiction Comics

Comics de Uruguay
Comics from Uruguay.

Bandee Dessinee
European Comics

CHARACTER MODEL
Model Sheets, Character Sheets, Character Design and Costume Design from everything: Film, Games, Comics, Animation, Plays, Toys, Etc.

The WeekliesShort Sequential Art reviews by The Boston Comics Roundtable members or This, I read today…

This I drew, Today!
This is for this week’s Ten Ton Studios challenge, I will show the process step by step. This is the first Three I will post the finished piece later tonight.

Boston Comics Roundtable
Boston Comics Collective.

Hellbound in Boston
Boston based Horror Anthology.

Red Riding Hood [TenTon]

2010-06-23T11:33:00.000-04:00

Conventions Sketches, Sketches Conventions

2010-06-15T12:05:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I tabled with Eric Boeker (Outbound contributor and producer) at MECAF, the Maine Art Festival was a great time and we premiered Outbound #2 at this show.

Also there were a couple of Sketchbooks going around and I had the opportunity to contribute with some doodles.

One was a Jam Comic passed around by "Jake The Intern" from Crashland Studios.
You can click on the above picture to see all the pages. Interestingly enough the last two pages were filled by Brian Wood and Jeff Lemire how cool is that?

And the second one was passed around by Jason Viola. The theme was LOST (this event took place the same weekend as the show was ending) and can be seen Here!

"BACK IN TIME" [Ten Ton Sketch Challenge]

2010-06-09T11:57:00.000-04:00

The Challenge this week was to come up with new takes on characters changing the time in winch they exist. This is a great idea but it is also been done to death so my main objective here is to come up with original ideas (except for Thor, it was too obvious). So here is the first batch:
This is the most out there of the three, it's a Italian immigrant in Argentina, who after finding a strange gem (Cyttorak) takes to boxing and finds himself in the wrong side of a bet...On top of his grotesque appearance and huge forearms and fists he seems to be invulnerable to any damage gaining the nickname from the locals of "El Fierro" (or The Iron).

This one was mostly for fun, a straight take on Thor as a dirty, pillaging, viking.

Inspired by Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. After his whole village gets wiped out by the crusades, he is possessed by the Spider God to stop the European's rampage and bring peace to the death.

2010-05-26T12:07:00.000-04:00

EL OSO (A Tiny Comic)
NOW ON SALE

ELEKTRA (TENTON)

2010-05-25T23:09:00.000-04:00

Shipping BOOKS Step by Step

2010-05-25T11:02:00.003-04:00

Someone asked at the BCR Group for pointers on shipping, after writing way more than I thought I had to say I decided to put it on the blog and make it available to everyone who wants to sell their own Mini-Comics or Books on their website.

SHIPPING

For minis if you want to ship cheap and not charge more for shipping that what you are charging for the books the best option is to ship FIRST CLASS. To do this you have two options:

Pack the book the way you are going to ship it, label it, weigh it and then go to the usps website and figure out how much you have to pay for FIRST CLASS, after that put the appropriated postage on the envelope and just stick it on a mail box, you can not buy the exact postage for first class online, but this is the cheapest option up to 16 oz of weight.

Pack it, label it and go to your local post office to get it mailed, it may take a little longer but you are paying exactly what the cost is, and getting a receipt with the cost to keep track of costs.

POSTAGE
First Class is even cheaper than Media Mail on less than 16oz and way faster, I only use Media Mail when shipping more than a couple of books (Outbounds) at the same time. The other advantage of using first class or media mail instead of a Priority Box/Envelope or UPS it's purely aesthetic,

PACKAGING
I bought a bunch of kraft colored book-boxes from Uline.com (they have a wide selection of options in both boxes and envelopes) they are very cheap they have flexible size so you can ship one book or five with the same box, and you don't need backing. I do put the books in a self sealing poly bag to keep it dry. Keeping it with the "pretty box" theme you can print your labels using your own fonts and I even got post stamps made with the Outbound ship but this again is not essential at all just my artsy choices.

THE POST OFFICE
If you go to the post regularly here is my advice, try to go at off- peak times so you don't hug the counter for long, especially if you are shipping a lot or are not sure what you are doing (ie international shipping can be tricky with forms to fill out). Try to pay attention to the choices they offer you, and who is working there, some employees don't care and don't offer any choices resulting in more expensive rates, a good postal employee with help you find the cheapest more effective way to ship so if you find a good postal employee try to go when they are working it will save you a lot of money.

CHARGING
For the website paypal is the best option, and you can sell to anywhere in the world with it, just make sure to have an international option because shipping is a lot more expensive. I recommend having a button for each, book with shipping and may be one or two packages with a wide selection of books each. Paypal usps shipping is over complicated and leaves you with an ugly label. Try to keep it simple you can always have a form or email link so people can ask you what they want and you can charge them accordingly to their paypal email this is included with the free service. When you do the paypal button make sure to keep the code in a plain text file (you can keep it on your email just make sure to have the plain text option activated so the code doesn't get screwed, attachment is the safest). You can use this codes in as many pages as you want even in Blogger/Wordpress blogs. Try always to have the shipping rates to be higher rather than lower, otherwise you are losing money. A postal meter it's probably not necessary, for minis you can use a good kitchen scale to calculate your postage.

Here is some step by step of how I package and mail Outbounds:

STEP 1

Get you everything you need: Book, Bag, Box/Envelope, Return Label, Shipping Label, Goodies...

STEP 2

Bag it! I use self sealing poly bags because they fit Outbound perfectly and I don't have to tape them, but you can use comic book bags, regular bags or even food shrink wrap, I use this when shipping more than 2 books, it sticks to itself and it's very tight.

STEP 3

Box it: this Book Shipping boxes are the right size for this book, I secure it with some tape so it doesn't rattle around in the box but it doesn't really need it, the box also acts as backing, it has different folds so it "grows" depending on how many books you want to ship, keeping the books secure and squared.

STEP 4
Close the Box: This box is not self sealing but just packing tape will do the work, you can even go around the whole box a couple of times if you want to keep it secure for international shipping.

STEP 5

Label it: Return Address is very important, you can print Avery labels, I recommend to do it on a laser printed, that way if it gets wet and lost you will get it back eventually, if you don't have a laser printer you can print one sheet of return labels in regular white paper and then go to any place with a copy machine and copy this sheet into labels. There is FREE templates online to make sure they fit on each label, you can also buy labels then scan them and use that as your template, remember to take the scan out before you print it. I am using a sticker printer to do my labels. On the right you can see the custom postage I printed in Zazzle.com you can use your own image and put a custom value on them too, you can go up to $1.32 so that will be enough for most minis. The only downside is that you are paying more for postage, if you do it plan well and get lots of them so you don't pay too much more. It's really neat and if you don't have enough you can go to the post office and pay for the difference.

STEP 6

Print your shipping labels! You probably want to do this first so you know how many you are shipping but for this tutorial it's step 6. Same as the return label Avery self sticking labels are the easies best looking option, but if you want to save money you can use regular white paper and paste it to the box/envelope with a glue-stick. If you do custom font labels make sure it's clear and readable printed on black ink. If you want to make sure it will stay even when wet you can use a laser printer or put transparent tape on top of it. Also, I forgot! you can write it by hand but it takes longer and you can make mistakes. When making the labels I use Illustrator, I copy the name/address directly from the paypal email and paste it on the program so I don't type anything and end up shipping to Krakoa. As a last touch on this step I got this fancy scissors that make everything look pretty awesome so I give the labels a little style, don't skip this! is very important to the whole process.

STEP 7

Prettify! as you probably noted I try to make the package look good, most people will probably not care, but after getting a couple of packages from the UK, I want people to be happy to be getting a package from RBS, also it shows that a person did it even if you are printing the labels. Some times I will add a sketch or a little print or flyer to the package as a thanks. I also got some really old stamps that are worth 4c but feature some of NASAS very neat interplanetary vehicles (you can see them on Step 1). You can also get stamps made, they are fairly inexpensive with your return address or MEDIA MAIL or FIRST CLASS or even DO NOT BEND for when you are using envelopes.

I hope this helps, I try to make it enjoyable for me so it's doesn't feel like a chore and you can ship the books ASAP.

2010-05-05T12:43:00.000-04:00

Top10 [TenTon]

2010-05-03T15:59:00.000-04:00

Master Blaster [TenTon]

2010-04-23T08:50:00.000-04:00

MoCCA 2010

2010-04-09T22:18:00.001-04:00

This upcoming weekend I will be at MoCCA (New York) showing a preview of Outbound #2 as well as selling Inbound #4 (Also featuring a story drawn by me and written by Lindsay Moore) and a lot of upper quality Mini-Comics by the various talented member of the Boston Comics Roundtable.

Also if you are around Boston, Outbound Executive Producer Eric Boeker and PR wiz Jaime Garmendia will be showing around the same exclusive Preview (of Outobund #2) as well as handling promotional material. Look for the Boston Comics Roundtable at the Boston Comic Con (click for more info).

So it will be a busy weekend I leave you with a random very unrelated sketch.

Kick-Ass [TENTON CHALLENGE]

2010-04-06T21:12:00.001-04:00

TenTon: Dazzler

2010-03-31T19:12:00.001-04:00

Mister Pimienta [OUTLAW PIZZA]

2010-03-31T13:36:00.000-04:00

via: This, I Drew Today

The Caerulean Dream: Postcard

2010-03-06T19:19:00.002-05:00

Art by Kevin Zimmerman Color by Roho.

TenTon: Shaolin Cowboy

2010-03-03T20:36:00.000-05:00

Outlaw Pizza [Marblehead Art Show]

2010-02-26T17:23:00.001-05:00

This piece is for a Show in Marblehead, MA at the beginning of March, 100% Digital.

The Originals

2010-02-11T09:54:00.001-05:00

via This I Drew Today on 2/10/10

The Originals

Esteban Quito from Black Fuska, Bluer, The Macadam, Nuhlluz from the The Caerulean Dream and Daimon the first of The Originals.
You can follow the wacky adventures of Esteban and Nhulluz in Outbound (issue 2 coming very soon!).
All created by me.
© and ® River Bird Studios 2010.

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TenTon: Death Dealer

2010-01-13T09:07:00.002-05:00

TenTon: Superman [Year End]

2009-12-29T19:56:00.000-05:00

The Dark Knight on a Dark Night

2009-12-21T13:13:00.000-05:00

Hub Comics is hosting a Gallery Show (The opening took place this last Saturday) called "The Dark Knight on a Dark Night." to commemorate the Winter Solstice. In true comics fashion I was two days late but its there, hanging among some excellent art from the local comic crowd. Stop by take a pick and buy some comics from this great LCR (Local Comics Retailer).

TenTon: Grendel

2009-12-15T22:14:00.000-05:00

Distracted Sketch (0.0012) Batdoodles and Holi Fair

2009-12-13T20:29:00.001-05:00

The History of Boston - Finally in Comic Book Form!

2009-12-03T10:23:00.029-05:00

New comics anthology showcases true tales from Boston's past and present in Inbound #4, the latest from the Boston Comics Roundtable.
BOSTON, MA (December 3, 2009) - Boston history has never looked so lively as in Inbound #4: A Comic Book History of Boston. This 144-page trade paperback features over 35 stories from dozens of contributors, all chronicling true tales from their beloved hometown. The book is the latest in the Inbound comics anthology series produced by the Boston Comics Roundtable. (View book cover and samples at
www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com/inbound-4/.)
Inbound #4: A Comic Book History of Boston has already been hailed as

"an unexpected and delightful assortment of Boston lore" by Jane Clayson, radio host of WBUR's "Radio Boston." The stories are fresh takes on some of Boston's most fascinating history that rarely makes
its way to dusty textbooks and walking tours. Ever heard about the book bound in human flesh at the Boston Athenaeum? What about the true and surprisingly sympathetic tale of Ponzi Scheme inventor Charles
Ponzi? From revolutionaries to pirates and heroes to thieves, this collection brings them all together into a single, thrilling volume of shared history.

The book is a great gift for both history buffs and comics lovers. It's available online at the Boston Comics Roundtable website (www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com) and in many comic book and traditional book stores in the Boston area, including:
Million Year Picnic, Harvard Book Store, New England
Comics, Brookline Booksmith, Comicazi, Hub Comics, and Comicopia.
[Map with Store Locations]

To hear the WBUR interview with Inbound editors and contributors, as well as the radio dramatization of Cathy Leamy's "The Old Howard," go to www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com/2009/comics-on-the-radio.
Contributors for Inbound #4: A Comic Book History of Boston include Matt Aucoin, Matt Boehm, Eric Boeker, Baldemar Byars, Susan Chasen,Will Clark, Ellen Crenshaw, Brad DeRocher, Franklin Einspruch, David Fernandez, Samuel Ferri, Tim Fish, Bob Flynn, Jaime Garmendia, Joel Christian Gill, Lawrence Gillette, Raul Gonzalez, Erik Heumiller, Richard Jenkins, Dave Kender, Kevin Kilgore, Braden D. Lamb, Cathy Leamy, Ron LeBrasseur, Line-O, Jesse Lonergan, David Marshall, Dan Mazur, the MCC, Troy Minkowsky, Lindsay Moore, Shelli Paroline, Steve Polackawicz, Matthew Reidsma, Roho, Aya Rothwell, Joshua Santa Cruz, b.k. Smith, Dirk Tiede, Carl Tsui, Dave Unger, and Jen Vaughn.

The Boston Comics Roundtable is an independent organization of comics creators in the Greater Boston area. It was created in 2006 to unite Boston-based artists and writers in the spirit of camaraderie and professional development. More information about its publications, its members, and local meetings can be found
www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com

Dave Kender
Boston Comics Roundtable

TenTon: Aquaman

2009-12-02T14:11:00.000-05:00

Inbound 4: A Comic Book History of Boston [ON SALE NOW!]

2009-11-30T10:27:00.001-05:00

Where to buy this book?

Boston Comics Roundtable >
The Million Year Picnic >
And at the upcoming events...

~~Where:~~ ~~First Parish Unitarian Church - corner of Church Street and Mass Ave, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA~~
~~Website:~~ ~~www.harvardsquareholidayfair.com~~

When: December 3-4, 9am-5pm
Where: MIT’s E25 Atrium and Stata Center (see MIT campus map for directions)
Website: web.mit.edu/abd/2008-2009calendar_sp.html

Dec 5th: "Inbound 4" Opening Reception this Saturday 4-6pm at Atomic Bean Cafe!
The Book about Boston History, drawn in comics! Original artwork will be gracing the wall of the cafe, and the book will be sold there as well.
Where: Atomic Bean Cafe location
More Info: Events Link

Dec 6th: Boston Bazaar Bizarre!

More BCR Comics and Anthologies.
When: December 6, 12-7pm
Where: BCA Cyclorama, 539 Tremont St, Boston, MA
Website: www.bazaarbizarre.org/boston.html

Dec 12th: Comikazi Bazaar!
More BCR Comics and Anthologies.
When: Saturday, December 12, 10am-4pm
Where: George Dilboy VFW, 371 Summer St, Davis Square, Somerville, MA
Website: www.comicazi.com

Two page preview of my story:

TenTon: Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)

2009-11-26T09:54:00.000-05:00

Quick one this week...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Inbound #4 release party and art opening.

2009-11-24T12:17:00.009-05:00

via Boston Comics Roundtable by Cathy on 11/24/09

Inbound #4, the Boston history comics anthology, will be released this month!

Come and celebrate with us at our Inbound release party! Hang out with Boston-area comics creators and check out a display of original art from Inbound #4! Join us at Central Square’s Atomic Bean Cafe for good times on Saturday, December 5 at 4pm.

WHAT: Inbound #4 release party and art opening

WHERE: Atomic Bean Cafe, 902-904 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139 [MAP]

WHEN: Saturday afternoon, December 5 - 4-6pm

TenTon Sketch Challenge: The Flash

2009-11-20T08:27:00.002-05:00

Pencils

Ink + Colors

TenTon Sketch Challenge: The Flash.

Cardoodles #1

2009-11-18T07:22:00.001-05:00

Sent to you by ROHO via Google Reader:

Cardoodles #1 Hey, this is for the cover of the mini-comic we...

via This I Drew Today on 11/17/09

Adventures of The Totallys and Monster

The Stone

The Flower Dream

Cardoodles #1

Hey, this is for the cover of the mini-comic we are printing at the class I am teaching, they are based on the characters created by my students.

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Inbound #4

2009-11-17T11:56:00.000-05:00

Featuring:
"A day in the life of Al Desalvo" written by Lindsay Moore and drawn by me.

Sent to you by ROHO via Google Reader:

Inbound #4

via A Bit of Silliness, Really by ETCIllustration on 11/15/09

Image by Shelli Paroline

At long last, Inbound #4 is being printed! You can pre-order your very own copy here at the Boston Comics Roundtable's website. It ships December 7th and, for real, I can't wait. It's going to be a killer book; 38 stories about Boston, from Boston locals. Show your New England pride and pre-order a copy today!

To tide you over until the book ships, starting this Sunday there's going to be a showing of original artwork from Inbound #4 at the Atomic Bean Cafe in Cambridge. Two pages from each story will hang, with a book release party in early December (date to be determined).

Happy Friday, everyone!

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Distracted Sketch (0.011) The Joker

2009-11-16T00:35:00.000-05:00

TenTon: The Jam

2009-11-11T11:18:00.000-05:00

This week's challenge go to This, I Drew Today to see the process.

El Oso, Moody Melodies Series ( Read Full Tiny Comic )

2009-11-09T18:18:00.006-05:00

TenTon: Haunt

2009-11-03T21:39:00.000-05:00

This is for this week's Ten Ton Studios challenge, I will show the process step by step. This is the first Three I will post the finished piece later tonight.
For some reason last week I said I was doing whatever this week's challenge was in manga style so now I have to make good on that promise. The theme this week is Haunt by Kirkman and McFarlane. Wish me luck!
I think it came out pretty great, I used a Pitt brush refilled with Canon photo inkjet ink and my trusty peanuts pen on Duralar.

Dark Knight on a Dark Night: Process [Batman]

2009-10-30T20:28:00.001-04:00

This Drawing was shown at Hub Comics during their Dark Knight on a Dark Knight Halloween Gallery Show last year. You can see more info about the event here.

Pencils

Inks

Digital Color

Happy Halloween Everyone!

TenTon: Frankenstein

2009-10-28T22:20:00.000-04:00

El Oso, Moody Melodies Series

2009-10-24T08:56:00.000-04:00

I will be selling my new "Tiny Comic" at the Boston Con this weekend, they are 5x5 inches, hand made printed in craft and newsprint paper. Limited numbered copies will be available at the show, more available online soon.

TenTon: Silver Bullet

2009-10-20T22:03:00.000-04:00

24 Hour Comics: VOLF

2009-10-11T19:39:00.001-04:00

So my three part plan for 24 Hour Comics was this:

Part 1

Chronicle the event in a 24 page comic to comply with the "official" rules (I did 24 pages but it stopped being around each hour around hour 13 and then I finished the 24 pages at 6:45 am and went home to sleep)

Part 2

Volf a 11x17" illustration using crow quill, Pro-Black ink and brushes. I finished this pretty early, I am doing a comic and animation experiment with this piece.

Part 3

A 8 (later 7) page mini comic base of the song "El Oso", geared towards kids (I don't know if still is).

I finished this around 3 in the morning I think the quality of this is pretty consistent it came out as good as I wanted it to be. Soon to be on sale at the Boston Comic Con (October 24, 25).

So even not completing this with in all the official rules I think it was the most productive 24 hours of my life making comics.

Outbound Series: The Null Device

2009-10-09T10:07:00.002-04:00

Based on David Marshall's Null Device go to his blog to get a sneak peek on the story.

Outbound Series: Mark and the Gillys

2009-10-07T08:52:00.000-04:00

A little sketch of Aya's Characters from "Mark and the Gillys" (formerly known as "Mark and the Aliens)for more info go to Aya's Website.

Bus Sketches: Part 1

2009-10-05T18:20:00.000-04:00

On my way back from The Center for Cartoon Studies (Steve Bissette's presentation of his book: The Vermon't Monster Guide) I did some doodles on the Bus, here there are some of them.

Outbound Series: The Caerulean Dream

2009-10-05T18:03:00.001-04:00

No Prize Challenge: The Red Skull

2009-10-04T17:50:00.001-04:00

Outbound Series: Black Fuska, Two for One

2009-10-02T11:45:00.004-04:00

This is a unused cover for the Black Fuska Part 1 (available one in Outbound #1). Featuring the main character: Esteban Quito.

This is a character study for Part 2 (coming soon in Outbound #2)
The characters are (left to right) Don Figueroa, Esteban and Ananda.

Part 2 of Black Fuska will be drawn by Dave Myers (Ballpoint) with inks by Steeve White (Steev).

TenTon: Atomic Robo

2009-09-29T21:03:00.001-04:00

TenTon: Death

2009-09-15T18:09:00.000-04:00

TenTon: Juggernaut vs The Thing

2009-09-01T20:54:00.000-04:00

TenTon: Black Knight

2009-08-26T22:37:00.000-04:00

TenTon: Doctor Voodoo

2009-08-19T22:09:00.000-04:00

Wild Ink Party!

2009-08-19T09:05:00.000-04:00

I will be doing MONSTER OR HERO sketches at this event, where you choose

to be draw either as a monster or a hero of your choosing.

River Bird Comics

WEEK 6

Week 5

Week 4

Week 3

Week 2

Week 1

Not Quite a Dancer a Day!

Project: A.R.C.A.D.E.

Blade Runner

Walicxe

Shanna: The She Devil

PITT

Spider-Man 2.0 Project Rooftop

Hellboy: Re-Covered

BPRD: Western

OFFICER DOWNE

MOCCA & Outlaw Pizza

LOBO vs Wolverine

STINGRAY

Killer Croc

Rogue

A Man Named Charlie

SINESTRO

13: Sneak Peek

Original Character Design Challenge #5 - Local SuperHero

The Thing [TTSC]

MOMUS [TTCC]

KAMANDI: The Last Boy on Earth! [ TTSC ]

Concept Design Art Show [ Space 242 ]

Future of Boston [Boston Phoenix]

Outlaw Pizza on the Weekly Dig

Outlaw Pizza #1 (River Bird Studios)by Roho

8 pages Black and White ~ $3.00

In a world where nothing green grows and 'roaches control the few food resources available a group of ragtag characters come together to bake the ultimate subersive food, the Outlaw Pizza. As seen in the Weekly Dig's Sunday Comics.

Buy from Million Year Picnic, HUB Comics or Order Online here:

3 UPDATES 3

HELLBOUND 2

OUTBOUND 3

WINTER BOUND

Bound to Comics

Hellbound is Near!

We Have M.I.C.E.!!!

Another Day, Another Stiff by Michael Brett

Blood The Last Vampire

Ex-Machina [TENTON]

Not Bullseye it's "Le Cible" [TenTon]

Outlaw Pizza, Yam Gruel and HGirl.

The Walking Dead [TenTon]

Dr. Who's Daleks [TenTon]

Nocturno [Tenton]

Interplanetary [TenTon]

ThunderCats [TenTon Studios]

Disappearing Wings

Diojenes and The Hobo [TenTon Challenge]

Comics No-Knoledge by Roho

Red Riding Hood [TenTon]

Conventions Sketches, Sketches Conventions

"BACK IN TIME" [Ten Ton Sketch Challenge]

ELEKTRA (TENTON)

Shipping BOOKS Step by Step

Top10 [TenTon]

Master Blaster [TenTon]

MoCCA 2010

Kick-Ass [TENTON CHALLENGE]

TenTon: Dazzler

Mister Pimienta [OUTLAW PIZZA]

The Caerulean Dream: Postcard

TenTon: Shaolin Cowboy

Outlaw Pizza [Marblehead Art Show]

The Originals

Things you can do from here:

TenTon: Death Dealer

TenTon: Superman [Year End]

The Dark Knight on a Dark Night

TenTon: Grendel

Distracted Sketch (0.0012) Batdoodles and Holi Fair

The History of Boston - Finally in Comic Book Form!

TenTon: Aquaman

Inbound 4: A Comic Book History of Boston [ON SALE NOW!]

Outlaw Pizza #1 (River Bird Studios)
by Roho