Paper Muncher

THE END IS NEAR!

2011-12-27T19:29:00.002-07:00

It's been a fun couple of years on Blogger, and it's time to shut down this blog and complete my move to Wordpress. Thanks for your comments and support. You can count on seeing more of the same comics, illustrations, music and process posts at http://www.jesssmartsmiley.wordpress.com.

If you'd like to join my monthly e-newsletter, just message me at jess.smiley@gmail.com, with 'SUBSCRIBE' as the subject heading.

THIS BLOG ENDS DEC 31

2011-12-12T10:42:00.002-07:00

I've been blogging regularly at jesssmartsmiley.wordpress.com for the last several months and will be deleting this blog at the end of the year.

Thanks for your comments and support---it's been a lot of fun. See you on Wordpress! Also: if you'd like to join my monthly e-newsletter, just message me at jess.smiley@gmail.com, including SUBSCRIBE as the subject heading.

Thanks again!

Carols (for Christmas 2011)

2011-12-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

Carols (for Christmas 2011)

THE CHAIN GANG

2011-08-24T23:04:00.005-06:00

(reposted from my new blog)

THE CHAIN GANG is a hilarious 1,000-page ultra comic about a group of unwanted and forgotten bicycles led by Poppa Wheelie that band together to wreak havoc on the world, one neighborhood at a time!

Instead of waiting years for me to draw all 1,000 pages, I’m going to be releasing The Chain Gang in 24-page monthly issues. Each month will welcome a new limited-edition (only 100 copies) issue of The Chain Gang’s ongoing, sprawling epic as they battle in junkyards, wrestle dogs, avoid the police, jump over people’s houses, and ride inside whale skeletons. They’re breaking all the rules and will stop at nothing in their quest to spread their trouble!

I’m launching the first issue on Kickstarter, where I’ll be selling the first issue until the end of September, and working on issue #2. Money raised from Kickstarter will be used for printing & shipping costs, distribution to get The Chain Gang in comic and bookstores across the globe, as well as advertising on websites and in comics & magazines. It’s the real deal, folks!

I’ll be posting more about The Chain Gang in the next few weeks, but for now you can check out the project on Kickstarter, or watch this video I made with my boy last night, describing the project:

DINO RUN

2011-04-05T08:40:00.000-06:00

GRAPHIC NOVEL

2011-03-23T23:50:00.000-06:00

My first graphic novel, Upside Down: A Vampire Tale, is being published by Top Shelf and you can pre-order all hard-bound 144 pages for just $10 here.

WEBSITE!

2010-05-01T20:17:00.000-06:00

New website here!

Free Comic Book Day!

2010-04-29T10:37:00.006-06:00

Friends: I have some great news! I know how bummed you've been about this weekend. It's been such a tough week and you've been losing sleep thinking about how you could possibly make up for the week's terrors, but I have just the thing...

SNAKE OIL! It'll cure what ails you and send your rheumatism down the drain!

Also: I'll be drawing pictures and selling things at Dragon's Keep this Saturday at 10am as part of Free Comic Book Day! More info here.

Help Make A Book! Part II

2010-04-25T10:32:00.000-06:00

There are just 6 short days left to make "A Map in the Dirt" into a beautifully printed book!

Now is the time to tell all your friends about the sweet rewards: sketchbooks, original artwork, the book, the giant coloring poster, music, and the new personalized 24x36" poster filled with drawings of you and your friends or whatever you want!

http://kck.st/bH6PPT

Odes to Animals

2010-04-20T23:17:00.004-06:00

I've just finished up a short series of five portraits, this time the subject is animals. The portraits are odes to some of my wild friends, including: Brown Bear, Sparrow, White Tailed Deer, Fox and Jack Rabbit. I've surrounded them with some of their own loves as well as some of my own.

My friend was leaving his house the other day to go feed birds in the park. "I love animals!" He smiled. He pointed to his shirt, which was teeming with bears and trees and wildlife. "See?!" He gave me his 10 pound sack of bird seed and said, "You know what you can tell about a person that loves animals?" He paused and I tried to understand the question. "...They love people even more." He gave me a hug and we went our separate ways.

Animals have a soft and mysterious place in my heart. They seem to know something we don't and we've been given the unique responsibility of caring for them and sharing this world with them. These portraits are my small attempt to capture their majesty and mystery.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'll be turning one of my five portraits into a beautiful letterpress print. Please vote for your favorite here.

Interview

2010-04-12T09:22:00.003-06:00

Tonight I'm being interviewed by Dungeon Crawlers Radio! I'm really nervous and am not sure if I should make up a fake voice to use on the radio or my own, regular plain-old-Jess voice...

I dare you to call in and ask questions!

FREE CONCERT SATURDAY

2010-03-25T16:35:00.001-06:00

FREE CONCERT

SATURDAY, MARCH 27

7-8:30PM

BORDERS IN PROVO

starring this song

A Map in the Dirt (update)

2010-03-19T08:33:00.002-06:00

Bleeding Cool News and Super Duper are helping spread the word about A Map in the Dirt! The project is at 18% and there are 43 days left to get a copy of the book.

In other news: Noah and I are sick, sick, sick! We've had 2 hours of sleep the last three nights and Noah's been throwing up. We both have ear infections and, as of last night, I have Pink Eye. We've been watching The Princess and the Frog over and over and over again. The music is great and the story is a lot of fun. It makes being sick a more bearable experience :)

"A Map In The Dirt" For Sale!

2010-03-15T14:15:00.002-06:00

You can buy your very own copy of A Map in the Dirt here for just $15!

This project has been a long time coming and it's finally wearing skin :)

Help Make A Book!

2010-03-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

"A Map In The Dirt" Reviews!

2010-03-10T18:11:00.005-07:00

The fine people at Avoid the Future shared this great review of my short comic A Map in the Dirt:

http://avoidthefuture.blogspot.com/2010/03/preview-map-in-dirt-by-jess-smart.html

Rachel Dukes (comics artist and owner of Poseur Ink) shared this kind review:

http://poisonrational.livejournal.com/232898.html

In other news, I got to share my thoughts on plagiarism in Pikaland 7.

CONCERTS

2010-03-08T21:51:00.002-07:00

I have a couple of shows coming up to share the songs from Things That Light Up. Come listen and grab a free songbook!

THURS. MARCH 11

MUSE MUSIC

7:30 PM $5

WED. APRIL 7

GURUS CAFE

8-10PM FREE

A Map in the Dirt

2010-03-01T16:29:00.006-07:00

This is the cover to a 15 page short story in comics form I just finished. The story is called A Map in the Dirt and follows a group of animals fleeing from a common threat. It's been selected for publication within the next couple of months by the always friendly Grimalkin Press, which should give me just enough time to finish some other things...

" love the foot prints! (although I dont like the little indian guy as much...sorry) other than that looks cool"---Rachael

"your straight from smoke signals. "---Eliza

"Things That Light Up" for free! (Part II)

2010-02-18T08:19:00.002-07:00

You can stream and download all 11 songs from "Things That Light Up" by visiting this link:

http://soundcloud.com/jess-smart-smiley/sets/things-that-light-up-2010

"Things That Light Up" for free!

2010-02-08T13:43:00.001-07:00

I've made a collection of 11 new songs called "Things That Light Up" and you can download all of the songs for free, by visiting this site:

http://www.yousendit.com/download/S1VCZFh0Q1JvQnZIRGc9PQ

The songs were all written and recorded at home, most of them in January 2010. The lyrics and chord progressions are also in the file, if you're interested.

Enjoy!
jess smart smiley

P.S. Due to a death in the family, I'll be away from the computer for the week, but let me know if you have any questions and I'll help when I can.

CHAIN GANG 4

2010-01-25T08:16:00.002-07:00

I'm Making a Graphic Novel

2010-01-19T07:17:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I posted this video:

It's true: I'M MAKING A GRAPHIC NOVEL.

On Finishing...

2010-01-18T21:05:00.011-07:00

Have you ever started a project and wanted to get it absolutely perfect, so you spend hours and days and months of your life making it perfect, only to realize later that this thing you've been perfecting is now so big and unwieldy that you'll never get it done? (Not to mention that fact that you're sick of it now and ready to move on to other things in your life...) Well, that's been me with my comics and stories and graphic novels.

The graphic novel I'm working on isn't even close to the first I've started, but I'm declaring it right here, right now, that it's going to be the first I'll finish! And if it's worth doing, it's worth doing well.

It's embarrassing to think of everything I've started and haven't finished in my life---but that's part of why we wake up to a new day, right? To be refreshed? To try again? To make things better than they were before? My goal is to make stories and pictures until the day I die. That's what I have to offer and I'm re-dedicating and re-focusing my life to make it happen.

Anyway, the graphic novel I'm working on has been coming along real fast, and that's great, but it's only come after working on others (and not finishing them) for about 12 years!

CHAIN GANG 3

2010-01-18T08:43:00.001-07:00

CHAIN GANG 2

2010-01-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here is page 2 of the riveting "Chain Gang." You can click on the pic to make it big enough to print and that would rock.

CHAIN GANG 1

2010-01-04T08:06:00.005-07:00

Happy 2010! Last year was really great for picture-making and I learned a lot. Thank you so much to all of you that participated in the Human Drawing Dispenser, the Music Coloring Book, the Weather Outside is Frightful! coloring poster, and the Digital Portraits.

As for the year 2010? You can expect some big news in the next few months. In the meantime, check out this first page of the Chain Gang! It's meant to be printed out and read (click the image to make it grow)---it's not at all enjoyable to read on the computer screen. Trust me---I've tried.

I'll be posting a free printable page of the Chain Gang every week, so check back next Monday for page 2!

FREE HOUSE CONCERT!

2009-12-18T16:05:00.005-07:00

Hooray! One more Christmas show! Come to Pam's house this Saturday, Dec. 18, at 8pm. I'll be playing another set of free Christmas music!

Pam's House

215 E 200 N

Provo, UT

8PM

Free Concert Tonight

2009-12-16T15:58:00.003-07:00

Here's a quick reminder that I'll be playing 2 full hours of Christmas music at Guru's (45 E Center, Provo) tonight from 8-10pm. Here's Guru's generous write-up about tonight:

This Week on the Guru's Calendar

Jess Smart Smiley
Christmas Extravaganza

December 16th | Wednesday | 8pm - 10pm

Jess is a VERY entertaining and diverse performer, as well as a distinctive artist and designer. Please join us for what will prove to be a truly unique and enjoyable holiday music extravaganza presented by Jess and friends. He is also the founder of the Rocky Mountain Hallelujah Drawing Sensation! Hey, they have a website, too!

Free Christmas Concert

2009-12-13T21:03:00.002-07:00

Gurus (45 E Center Street, Provo), 8-10pm, Wednesday Dec.16.

With Christmas just two weeks away, it's time for the 3rd annual Christmas concert.

This year I'll be playing two full hours of Christmas songs at Gurus in Provo. I've put together some of my favorites, as well as some that are new to me and I just can't stop humming and singing. It would be all too easy to sing some of these over and over and over again :) My new friend Haley Hendrickson will be playing a few Christmas songs as well, which will make the travel to Gurus entirely worthwhile.

Here is one of the newer songs I'll be singing. It's a traditional carol:

Here is last year's version of "I Saw Three Ships" (with Andy Bean, Jordan Hix and Dillon Thompson):

And here is 2007's "Blue Christmas" (with Darrell Lau, Sam Davis, Andy Bean and Mitch Parker):

See you at Gurus!

Free Coloring Pages and iPhone Wallpaper

2009-12-11T09:11:00.002-07:00

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL is a giant, 2x3 foot coloring poster I made for the cold winter days we'll surely spend inside. I thought I'd try something new and make some printable coloring pages and iPhone wallpapers with the drawings and you can find them here.

Enjoy!

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL

2009-11-28T19:42:00.005-07:00

I made a GIANT coloring poster (2x3 feet) for the holidays! Find out more at THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL.

FREE Digital Portraits!

2009-11-15T09:28:00.002-07:00

The $20 Digital Portraits have been showing up in some good places lately, thanks to some generous magazines and blogs. Thank you to everyone who's been spreading the word about the portraits, and inviting people to the Facebook group.

Keep your eyes on 21st & Ivy and the UVU Review in the next week or two, for a chance to win a free Digital Portrait!

$20 Holiday Portraits

2009-11-11T12:21:00.001-07:00

Need a fun and unique Christmas/holiday gift?

$20 DIGITAL HOLIDAY PORTRAITS

From now until November 25, I'll be taking orders for $20 Digital Portraits. Using a photo of your choice, I'll draw and color a picture of you (or your person of choice) on the computer. I'll give you an 8.5x11", 300 dpi, CMYK, print-ready file that you can hang up on the wall, or use as a profile pic, or whatever. (See pictures on wall for examples)

HOW DO I GET ONE?
1) Send 1 or 2 pictures of yourself to jess.smiley@gmail.com
2) Tell me your favorite animal and/or colors (really!)
3) I'll start your portrait once you've put $20 into my paypal account (I'll email directions).

Check the Facebook page if you have any questions, or send me a message: jess.smiley@gmail.com

Thanks!

Featured in Bataang Magazine!

2009-09-14T13:26:00.003-06:00

Bataang Magazine was generous and thoughtful enough to spend their time, money, and paper on telling people about my work. It's nice to know I have some friends in Denmark :)

FREE LIVE DRAWING TONIGHT

2009-09-04T13:03:00.004-06:00

I know this is super last-minute and you prolly won't read this until never, but:

I'M DRAWING TO LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT @ 8 AT THE PENNYROYAL CAFE.

Here's an article from the Daily Universe on tonight's live drawing event...

Music-inspired art will fill the historic downtown Provo district tonight at The Live Gallery at The Pennyroyal Café.

The Pennyroyal is putting a new spin on Provo’s Gallery Stroll — they want Provo more involved.

Tonight at 8 p.m., The Pennyroyal Cafe will have a reopening celebration. It is no longer just a cafe, but rather a venue with live music, poetry readings, open mic nights, book clubs and more.

Owner of The Pennyroyal Nathan Robbins said, “The goal of the event is to build the community, the arts and to unify music and visual arts together. It can connect people and gives people pride about the community.”

“We are trying to get Provo involved in the creative process. The Gallery Stroll is the easiest way to step out of the bubble and see the real gems of Provo,” said Vanessa Oler, events manager for Electric Dance Parties. “This month is especially unique because Ike Bushman and Jess Smart Smiley have agreed to come into The Pennyroyal with blank canvases and create art as the music of DJ Red Spectral moves them.”

The goal for EDP is to get the community to understand the process of being creative with art as well as with music and to introduce them to new types of music.

“Nathan is reopening with a different vision and purpose behind The Pennyroyal,” Oler said. “The Gallery Stroll provides a perfect opportunity for people to stop in and see what it’s all about and to be able to showcase local talent.”

Also---if you haven't gotten a coloring book yet, I'll be bringing some tonight along with some noise and some funk.

Digital Portraits II: With A Vengeance

2009-08-31T09:22:00.001-06:00

Here are some more digital portraits I've been working on. I know you didn't ask to see 'em, but here they are...

Party Bear

2009-08-31T09:12:00.004-06:00

The amazing Cassie let me make this three-part concert poster for a show at her house.

Things That Light Up

2009-08-20T21:39:00.001-06:00

On my way into your house

I thought that I saw a light
a light all around
splashin' shadows on the ground

You suggest we eat on the stairs
but I want to go in the backyard
we eat on the stairs
and the moon comes in pairs

"Hooooooow do you do?" Says the dog in the night
"Fine, how are you?" We say with a smile

We discovered things that light up
When they are held close to yourself
or someone else

but mostly someone else

Lindon Days

2009-08-09T09:29:00.010-06:00

Saturday brought a close to this year's annual Lindon Days festival. If you didn't go, you don't know. You don't even know.

I was invited to take my Human Drawing Dispenser and join the festivities by drawing free pictures for festival-goers. And, sandwiched between the mechanical bull and the beautiful Japense Caligrapher, I drew my pictures inside a cardboard box.

The minute I set up the box there was a line of kids waiting for their free drawing. Some of my favorite requests were:

-a platypus

-a sea otter

-a disco owl

-a computer geek

-"will you draw my wife gardening?"

-a pioneer beating up Thor

-a sunset

-the Rocky Mountains

-a pirate ship in the ocean and a pirate with a parrot on his shoulder and a dragon flying overhead

-a fat old man

The Human Drawing Dispenser has been invited to Lindon Days 2010, so mark your calendars for next August!

$20 Portraits

2009-07-26T22:15:00.004-06:00

I'm saving up to get a new printer/scanner/copier, so that I can make prints and better pictures. So...

From July 27-August 10, I'll be offering digital portraits for only $20. Here's how it works:

1) Send 1 or 2 pictures of yourself to jess.smiley@gmail.com
2) Tell me your favorite animal and/or colors (really!)
3) I'll start your portrait once you've put $20 into my paypal account (I'll email directions).

What you get: an 8.5 x 11", CMYK, 300 dpi printable portrait, and a profile pic-sized version.

Check out the Facebook group here.

***If you just want a small portrait for your profile pic, I'll do it for free, but paying orders will take priority.

Portraits

2009-07-23T15:55:00.003-06:00

Here are some digital portraits I've made. I can't help but think of early cameras and the way projectors were used in early paintings, casting moving images on the dark walls of a room. I like using a solid color in the background, with line drawings of mountains, clouds, trees, etc. Do you need a portrait? Let me know.

Coloring Book

2009-07-17T10:48:00.006-06:00

This is an 8-page music coloring book that I made all by myself.

You can buy your very own music coloring book for $2 by emailing me at jess.smiley@gmail.com and sending your address. I'll be selling these at Pablo's secret show on July 20 and at the Arts in the Park on August 17.

***BONUS***
Send in your best colored page to jess.smiley@gmail.com The winner gets a prize!

Jessica Goldfond (from the Shiny Squirrel) was kind enough to mention the coloring book on her blog. Thanks, Jess!

Pattern

2009-07-03T09:48:00.004-06:00

This is a design I made while playing around with shapes and colors in Illustrator. I'm becoming more and more of a fan of limited color palettes. As much as I hate using the computer to make work, I really like some of the results. I'd love to see this printed on a shirt or something.

Goblins of Fire

2009-06-28T22:54:00.003-06:00

I was watching this movie the other day and feeling really bad about things. I doodled this design on a piece of paper and decided to turn it digital. Ta-da!

This is also my first attempt at using an effect-generated texture. I like how it adds to the medieval look of the colors and subject matter.

Dear Summer

2009-06-17T22:27:00.002-06:00

I've been toying around with this Bamboo tablet from Wacom---something I thought I'd never do---and I'm having a good time. This is my first comic made entirely with a tablet, for Snippets magazine.

Terrible Yellow Eyes

2009-06-12T14:44:00.004-06:00

Maurice Sendak turned 81 yesterday and I celebrated by drawing up some pictures of Max from his Where the Wild Things Are. I was invited to participate in the Terrible Yellow Eyes project, featuring some work by my favorite living artists and that's where my pictures are to this very day. Amazing, right?

So, right after I submitted my pictures, I made one I like a gratrillion times better. Oh well...

Self-Portrait (Blanket Magazine)

2009-06-02T18:48:00.005-06:00

Blanket Magazine was kind enough to invite me to contribute to their Portrait Issue (out today!) and asked me to make a self-portrait just for them. (I guess I cheated, though, 'cause I kinda made it for me, too).

How rad is this cover? They include the image as a free wallpaper in the magazine and they also include another wallpaper and font that come as a package. Very cool.

It's been a while since I consciously made a self-portrait and it was a fun project. I haven't done much with digital imagery, so I designed my portrait in Illustrator. It was fun enough that I just might make some more pictures like this...

In other news:

>Thursday, June 4: Free concert at Gurus in Provo from 8-10pm

>Friday, June 5: Exhibit of my newest series of drawings "New Mistakes" at the Utah Arts Alliance Gallery in SLC, 6-9pm (music by James Barlow and more pictures by Gheybin Comish and Patric Bates)

>Saturday, June 6: 1-hour concert at Wheeler Farm as part of "Farm Days", with Andy Bean, Mitch Parker, and Jordan Hix

Lion!

2009-05-20T11:57:00.000-06:00

Noah, the lion, in a turtle shell diaper.

Published in DAYDREAM

2009-05-07T09:15:00.003-06:00

This is the cover for the newest book from DAYDREAM, where one of the 80 pages belongs entirely to me!

From DAYDREAM's site:

This sleek and sexy 6th edition of Daydream is jam packed with 80 pages of uninterrupted creative offerings, featuring photographers, writers, illustrators and designers. This is also the debut of Inua Ellams as literature editor for word-art submissions, so you are sure to find some surprise and solace in the wise, weird and wonderful words within the pages of one of the finest editions yet!

For Grandpa

2009-04-26T22:01:00.001-06:00

Grandpa passed away this past week and here is a song that I've started writing for him. Here it is as of today...

My Heart Was an Ea...

Graphic Novel, Page 30

2009-04-15T12:10:00.004-06:00

Quick update: I've been working on a graphic novel for the last month or so, and I've just finished the rough draft for the first 30 pages. This is great news!

I really want to post some details, but I want to get started on the final draft first. That way we both know this book is for realsies. I've spent the last few weeks structuring my story on notecards, then fine-tuning it, then typing the dialogue and actions in script-form, then fine-tuning that...now I'm drawing the book, panel-for-panel, in a really rough form, so I know what things will look like and which panels I should put on each page, etc. Right now I'm about a quarter of the way through the book, so it'll be around 120 pages.

Human Drawing Dispenser

2009-04-08T08:12:00.000-06:00

The first Friday of every month is Provo's Gallery Stroll, where hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of people wander from gallery to gallery, checking out the new shows and meeting the artists. Most people just go to meet up with their friends and hang out, but everyone usually finds something they like art-wise, too.

As a way to have fun with the local Gallery Strollers and get out the good word about Ology (a local company that gets college students through math in a short 8 weeks), I made a Human Drawing Dispenser.

What is a Human Drawing Dispenser, you ask? It's a cardboard box that acts like a vending machine for drawings. It's free. You walk up, ask for a drawing, then one is made---right before your eyes. Me and my good buddy, Andrew Christensen, sat in the box and drew pictures for four hours.

It turns out that the Human Drawing Dispenser was a success! If you have photos or videos from the event, send 'em my way!

jess.smiley@gmail.com

Color Time With Noah

2009-04-07T08:33:00.000-06:00

Ladders to Get You to Stay

2009-04-06T08:42:00.001-06:00

A Thing for the Future

2009-04-05T08:41:00.000-06:00

Comic Book in the Works, III

2009-04-04T08:31:00.001-06:00

Last night I finished the rough draft of the script for the second act. (Phew! That was a mouthful!) I'm really surprised at how many details I've had to work through, then re-work and work again to make it what it needs to be.

The middle was a lot more difficult to structure than the beginning. Even though I know what's happening and how it happens, the mechanics of the whole thing are really challenging. I have my work cut out for me when the time comes to revise and polish the second act!

Blanket Magazine

2009-04-03T08:12:00.003-06:00

Blanket Magazine's Issue 15 has some really great new pictures in it, a nice article on the hotel that's also an art gallery, and the 1000 journals project. They've also been kind enough to include some photos of mine, which is really great! When I get my very own camera again I will be a happier Jess.

Comic Book in the Works, II

2009-04-02T08:25:00.000-06:00

Right now the book is divided into three really basic parts: the beginning, middle, and end.

I just finished writing the script for the beginning and I'm so excited. It really is torture to sleep, and know that I can't just plow through the middle and end and get that much closer to seeing the finished book.

It's a lot of fun, though, just focusing on the writing. I get to think of the whole story in terms of which characters and parts of the story get the most attention, and if that attention is positive or negative, and making the story interesting by showing the contrast between characters and situations they are in, and concentrating on dialogue and the dynamics of actions and responses...oh man.

One of my mistakes in story-making in the past has been to build the world I want to show. Then keep building it and building it and building it. It's easy to get excited about and sucked into the world, but if I don't structure it and turn it into something I can share with people, the world only exists for myself, and that's pretty depressing. With this story, I'm being really brutal with keeping only the essentials of the story, and cutting out the distractions. This is really tough for me because I'm finding I make lots of distractions and I like 'em! Part of the game of writing this story is seeing how simplifying the story makes it so much better.

By the end of this week I plan to have finished the first draft of the whole story, and then I'll change pace a little bit.

No Blog Today

2009-04-01T08:13:00.002-06:00

In observance of April Fool's Day, there will be no blog today.

sincerely,

jess smart smiley

Comic Strip in Cut Out and Keep Magazine

2009-03-31T08:14:00.000-06:00

The new issue of Snippets features a small comic strip about Spring cleaning by yours truly! Be very careful: it has a hint of cute in it.

Comic Book In the Works

2009-03-30T08:25:00.000-06:00

For whatever it's worth, I've just started laying out the structure to a new comic I'm making. I've developed tons of ideas in the past, but none of them have seen a publisher because I never finish. This time I've decided to adopt Doug TenNapel's working method and I feel really great about it.

I took out three note cards and labeled them "Beginning", "Middle" and "End". I wrote 1-3 sentences summarizing what happens in each part of the story, then turned each card over and made a numbered list from 1-3. Under items 1-3 I listed the beginning, middle and end of each section of the story, giving me a really solid framework to build my story on and it's a relief to have such a simple, straight-forward format (it sure beats all my plot notes in my sketchbook, in-between drawings and notes for other things!).

Next I'm going to pull out more note cards and plug in more details in each section. Anyway, I thought I'd share my success story so far with using Doug's approach.

Flipbook From When I Was 14

2009-03-29T04:58:00.001-06:00

Want a good laugh? Check out this flipbook I made when I was 14!

Old Drawings, Part II

2009-03-28T04:48:00.003-06:00

Here are some typical sketchbook drawings from 2003.

Old Drawings

2009-03-27T04:35:00.004-06:00

So I was cleaning my room for the first time in about 7 months and I found this box full of my old stories and poems and drawings. I felt ridiculous looking at it---the pictures and poems brought back a lot of memories, and reminded me that I've always been a nerd.

The picture on top is a drawing I made when I was 15, of the superhero Spawn and the Violator, for a schoolwide contest. I don't think I ever turned it in. I forgot how into superheroes I used to be.

The bottom pictures are my sorry attempts to imitate Jeff Smith's Bone characters, Superboy, and then a few things I made up. They were all drawn with a pen (I didn't believe in using pencils!) and on a loose sheet of printer paper. I have stacks and stacks and boxes and boxes of old drawings. Seeing them all is making me really think about whether or not I'm making drawings that matter right now.

Anyway, I wonder what my pictures will look like in another 10 years.

Sidewalk Chums

2009-03-26T08:15:00.003-06:00

Sidewalks get lonely too, so I made some sidewalk chums.

If you would like your very own sidewalk chums, send me an email and I'll come by and make some just for you (---so long as you don't live too far away!).

Q. Where do I send my email?

A. To jess.smiley@gmail.com

Learning to Ink, Part III

2009-03-25T07:46:00.004-06:00

Ugh. I think I'm getting worse at drawing with ink. I drew people and parts of people at Alex Bigney's reading from his Talking to Tesla (more on that later), then went home and drew some more, but the magic never seemed to happen.

Well, that's not entirely true---I loved the process, loved figuring out how to interpret hair and soft edges, etc., but I was pretty bummed by not being able to make anything that was even okay.

It was just one night, and who knows what'll happen with tonight's drawings. It's nice trying to draw things I've drawn my whole life, but in a new way. It's a good challenge and a different kind of fun.

Nap Time

2009-03-24T07:38:00.000-06:00

(Click to make the picture turn big)

Okay. I'm getting better at keeping a journal, comic-style.

Pretty soon, when the time is just right, I'll start posting daily comics. Before that happens, I'll need to get a good scanner that will work with my laptop. Right now I'm thinking about getting an Epson Artisan 700. That way I could also make prints of my work.

Hm.

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear 'em.

Square Magazine/Post #200

2009-03-23T07:26:00.004-06:00

The Wedding Issue of Square Magazine just came out, along with an article on being a single twenty-something guy in Utah. I was asked to make a picture that went along with the article, and out of all the juicy imagery it conjured, I liked picturing a single guy as a walking horror movie best.

Here is our single guy, with green skin, one too many eyes (and one oozing yuck!), scales, claws, and webbed-hands. All those poor girls are running away, racing toward the Stress Less article.

*Secret: the girl wearing a scarf is my wife. But don't tell anyone!

E-Stamps

2009-03-22T08:10:00.005-06:00

Lea Redmond runs a beautiful little shop called Leafcutter Designs. It's a great place to find pencil scrolls, recipe dice, puzzle cards, the World's Smallest Postal Service (my favorite!), and electronic stamps.

"Isn't it sad that emails don't have postage stamps? Well here's something to brighten up an email with a bit of color and whimsy. Lick and stick one of these e-stamps onto an email by saving it to your computer and attaching it to the email."

Head on over to Leafcutter Design s to get some fresh stamps for your e-mails! You can even send Lea some of your own stamps for her to add to the site! Hooray!

Ink Drawings, A Dream, Photography

2009-03-21T08:39:00.005-06:00

Here are a few new pages from my sketchbook. What's different about the drawings? There are heads! Entire heads! Oh man---I took a deep breath and tried some faces.

I was still nervous enough that I worked out a pencil drawing first, then picked up my favorite lines in ink and corrected the drawing as I moved the brush.

Pulling a brush across a page and slowly turning it is such a great action to be a part of! I closely watched the tiniest hairs on my brush tap the page and then stiffen up again. I absolutely love repeating the fragile creases around eyelids, and around corners of mouths, and in subtle folds of skin. Last night I even dreamed I was drawing these same pictures, and I was still paying close attention to those little creases and folds in skin.

A lot of these eyes look very photographic to me. Do you see it? I'm pretty sure that, even if I were making these drawings from life (which is also on my TO DO list), they would look pretty similar to these (which have been drawn from photos), because most of the images I've ever seen have either been photos or heavily influenced by photography.

There is so much to be had from cave drawings and I'm always picking up a new book or looking for new pictures of them. For one thing, cave drawings have such a different visual language. Even the syle (for lack of a better word...I'll have to figure out what that word is, though, sometime) used by cave painters has such a life to it.

These eyes I've drawn look photographic---like they're snapshots of someone who knows they're being photographed. It's funny how, in some ways, the camera doesn't really capture life after all. Think of a photo of a pitcher throwing a baseball and a blurred crowd in the background, standing anxiously. There is no time where we'd see a baseball frozen in the air like in the photograph, yet most people talk about realism as an integral part of photography.

That's not supposed to be a knock against photography---just a thought. A nice hike up the canyon Saturday led me to attempt drawing the rocks and water in the Provo River. I hope to do it again soon, even if it means coming back with sorry attempts.

"And It's Only Getting Better, Baby"

2009-03-20T09:11:00.000-06:00

My friend Gheybin makes incredible pictures and I think your day would be a whole lot better if you went to http://www.gheybinny.com/

What?! Who made that rad picture?! Oh, that was my friend Gheybin. Gheybin made it.

But what about this one? It looks a little different, but is still way rad. Yep. Gheybin made that, too.

Who would put this in a blog titled "Yee-Haw! Sha-Zam!"? Gheybin would. I'm telling you: this girl makes the sun rise.

For a good time, click http://www.gheybinny.com

Learning to Ink, Part I

2009-03-19T08:04:00.001-06:00

On my list of goals to accomplish for 2009 is "Learn how to ink with a brush". Well, really, it's just to start toying around with a brush and learning how I draw with one. I'm really timid about the whole thing (which is partly why it's one of my goals), but I finally started spending some time making careful lines with my brush, and falling in love with the wet depths of black ink.

These photos show a few pages in my sketchbook. I've been focusing on eyes, which is kind of strange, now that I think of it. I've been making well thought-out dots for eyes at best in my other drawings, but using a brush pulls out a different focus for me---allows me to see things differently, and see different things differently.

I like drawing eyes, because of how recognizable they are---if I mess up drawing an eye, everybody knows it. The delicate lashes and masses of eyebrow hairs are a lot of fun to draw, and I'm figuring out new ways to portray the effects of light and shadow. Leaving breaks in dark areas for light to peek in, and noodling with narrow creases around the eye and lids are so much fun to draw. Now I'm scared about drawing full faces and figures, but its the next step.

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Did I mention you can buy some of my paper cut-outs here?

If I Was a Girl, Part IV

2009-03-18T04:57:00.002-06:00

If I was a girl I would totally wear this outfit.

Oh! And don't forget to buy your very own paper cut-out here.

Limerick

2009-03-17T09:48:00.003-06:00

Jess grew a ponytail

it become his most prized detail

but when children walked by

he could hear them all cry

"That guy looks like he's a female!"

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

-jess smart smiley

Don't forget to buy a paper cut-out or two of mine from the Shiny Squirrel!

Paper Cut-Outs for Sale

2009-03-16T08:13:00.004-06:00

Do I have some news for you! The Shiny Squirrel (known for its great selection of original work and prints by artists) has added four of my man-made pictures to its shop. That means you can buy some of my original paper cut-outs and show all your friends how rad you are and how you have such incredibly good taste in pictures!

Click here to see them.

WARNING: NEW CUT-OUTS ON THE WAY!

The Parade!

2009-03-15T08:19:00.000-06:00

Joel Priddy runs his very own Parade of pictures, where parents can download and print hi-resolution black and white images for their little ones. It's a great way to share pictures that people can use at home!

Here is my contribution (you can click the pic to make them grow!).

Avalanche

2009-03-14T10:30:00.000-06:00

I've started making videos of myself playing songs---partly to remind myself of how they go, and partly

to share with my friends. Every now and then I'll play a little concert locally, and it's always such a fun

experience. I wonder what will become of all this music...

Logo

2009-03-13T08:30:00.004-06:00

This is a logo I made for a cleaning products company in New Jersey. The company was really easy to work with---friendly and straight-forward (and they liked my idea!)---and it made for really enjoyable work.

They Went Swimming

2009-03-12T09:18:00.000-06:00

I LOVED making this picture! More and more I want to make pictures like this on a big surface. Get a big canvas and cover it with houses of paint and paper creatures and crayon walkways...I have trouble justifying such a big purchase, though.

This is another picture I'd love to see as a print.

Light Bugs

2009-03-11T09:16:00.000-06:00

The world of details and newness and picture-making is really calling out to me right now. This picture took me a good forty minutes to make, while my little boy jumped on the couch and my wife did her homework. I used tracing paper, lined paper, pieces of mail, pencils, markers, a bandaid, a quick drawing Mikelle made the other day, and a ghost I cut out and lost last September (it became our friend's beard!).

I'd love to make more of these little scenes on a bigger surface.

The Topography of a Page

2009-03-10T08:00:00.002-06:00

Something that's been on my mind for a good two or three years now is the idea of paper as a landscape. Just like the hills and valleys of a city, I wonder what the citizens and growths of a page are. I get kind of weird, I guess, about relishing in the dips and dry ravines of a crinkled piece of paper. Hovering my hand above the surface of a page, and feeling it's jagged peaks and shadowy creases is such an intimate experience---it teaches me things I couldn't learn anywhere else.

This picture was made by crumbling a textured gray paper, then slowly scratching curves into it's waxy surface with a salad fork, then cutting lines and shapes from both sides with an Xacto knife. A few accents in value were made with a white charcoal pencil.

The actual mark-making didn't take long to make, but I've been learning how to make those marks and how to apply and combine them for about three years. I love making colorless impressions on a page that only show up when turned just so into the light, or when they become a bowl of shadows or a belly on the backside of the page. I love making both sides of the paper become the backside and the frontside---making them interact, and creating a dialogue between the two.

I'm always amazed how so many pictures can be more than the sum of their parts, a pictorial synergy of sorts. It shows that I love the process, but the actual making of a picture is just as appealing to me as the finished piece.

Cats

2009-03-09T08:47:00.000-06:00

Here are some playful cats I made with charcoal pencils, graphite, crayon, colored pencils, and pens.

I think I've always liked the idea of cats more than the animals themselves, but I've been liking 'em more and more over the last year and a half. I've also started eating spinach.

If anyone wants to talk about "cute" in pictures, this post might be a good place for it. We'll get a good forum on Rob James' "Cute Face Theory" and my thoughts on the "Cute Factor". It'd be nice to get some comments from Andrew Christensen and Kelly Larsen, too.

Huh.

How to Make a Desert Noises CD Cover

2009-03-08T08:00:00.003-06:00

Wild Horses

2009-03-07T08:37:00.001-07:00

Detail from "Wild Horses"

Before I put anything down on paper and pictures are still sorts of ideas in my head, I think they sometimes look like the picture above---a mess of details, specific shapes and colors, but no apparent object or message.

It's always a tough decision for me to take that messy picture in my head in only one of two directions: I could stop there, and flesh out the beautiful shapes I see, and the layering of textures and colors, loving the process as I create, and how the marks make a picture all their own. It's a pretty new way of doing the same thing I've done all my life.

I remember even back in third grade I'd draw some creature I made up. Something with a big, heavy body, then long arms and a goofy face. "What is it?" Someone would ask. "Just something I made up," I'd say. And that was usually the end of the conversation. "Can you draw a Panda Bear?" And I'd draw a happy-go-lucky Panda.

In junior high when the same thing would happen ("What is it?" "It's just that---I made it up."), and someone would ask "Can you draw me?" I'd either feel like I had to prove that I could draw (because, obviously, drawing things that were made up didn't really prove anything about my drawing skills) and I'd end up only getting a partial portrait done in class, or I'd draw them as a sort of cartoon, and then they'd be offended. "What'd I do?" I'd ask myself. I'd never ask the offended what was wrong, because everyone thought it was obvious, too. "I don't get it."

Of course I didn't entirely "make up" the creatures I drew. I thought I was just making them up, but I only knew to draw a feathery wing on a slithery back, because I'd seen a feathery wing and a slithery back before. Not together, of course, but I subconciously put big and small pieces of other things together to make something new.

This picture is the same kind of thing. I've taken elements used in all sorts of artwork: faint lines, bold lines, pencil lines, pen lines, areas of textured paint, torn pieces of colored paper, imprints on the page, etc. These are techniques used by artists of "realism" to make a face, or a flower, a dog, or a bowl of fruit. This picture is a celebration of shapes, symbols, values, composition and exploration. I love sharing the process of an image, because so much of the process is usually hidden in a picture. For me, the process shows that the picture was made by a person. It shares a sense of time and movement. This picture seems more alive to me than others.

When I have this mess of imagery and excitement inside me, that wants to become a picture, I could choose to celebrate the parts, or I could develop it a different way and find other connections between the parts---what object do these pieces make together? And then I usually end up with a figurative picture, or a story of some sort.

I love that, even though the only recognizable figure in this picture is a pink horse, there is still a story and several figures in this picture. I can't escape 'em!

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"Wild Horses" is the first in a series of images I'm going to be making prints from. I'm on the lookout for high quality print presses, that use archival inks and papers. I want to share a personal experience with everyone that wants to see it, or have their own copy.

"Wild Horses" was made on my front porch, in the wind, with my boy, using: charcoal pencils, gouache, crayons, tracing paper, carbon paper, pencils, pens, ink, glue, scrapbook paper, erasers and tape. It was made on 7x9" Fabriano artist paper, mounted on mat board.

El Condor Pasa (If I Could)

2009-03-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

REVOLUTIONART Magazine

2009-03-05T08:34:00.003-07:00

YAY!

The new issue of REVOLUTIONART magazine houses a couple of my paper cut-outs that might induce smiling. Look with caution.

Each Coming Night

2009-03-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

TimeSheetMag

2009-03-03T08:23:00.000-07:00

The good people at TimeSheetMag have included some of my primitive drawings in their second issue of TimeSheetMag. You can download the issue for free, or just browse through it online. It's a really well put together magazine with high-quality photos and reproductions of images.

"After a While, Crocodile"

2009-03-02T08:24:00.001-07:00

For Steve Irwen.

TXTnein Magazine

2009-03-01T10:15:00.002-07:00

TXTnein is a PDF magazine featuring design, photography and artwork. I got an email from them this morning, letting me know that some of my paper cut-outs made it into their issue #15.

New Album Art

2009-02-28T09:36:00.006-07:00

This is the cover for some new album art I'm making. This is all cut from a sheet of paper, about 6x6". I want to do more little scenes like this.

Below is the sketch I decided to go with for the cover. I love the look of silhouettes and describing objects by their shapes. I've painted over the album title, because the musician is still deciding between a few really great titles. The music is absolutely beautiful and I can't wait until the album comes out.

Schlock Mercenary Puzzle

2009-02-18T12:36:00.005-07:00

Howard Tayler is Utah's creator of Schlock Mercenary, where it is "the 31st Century! Humans entered the galactic age over 900 years ago, and now do business with all manner of alien folk."

The online comic has a loyal following, including my dad, who decided to collaborate with Howard and make puzzles with some of Howard's artwork. I never knew just how much time and effort went into cutting a jigsaw until Dad started making 'em and believe you me: these are high-quality puzzles! One puzzle is being auctioned off on Ebay right now and another will be sold at LTUE's auction this Saturday night.

Howard had a few things to say about the puzzles, which you can find here.

Bottom line: if you are a fan of the comic and/or are in need of a rad, high-quality puzzle, this is your chance!

Desert Noises

2009-02-14T18:16:00.003-07:00

Photos from Weston Colton of the artwork I made for Desert Noises album.

Weston came over on Noah's birthday and we set up the diorama on my washer and dryer, with a black blanket for a background. We put up a light and Weston took some photos. It's so nice to see the album printed. The songs are gorgeous and Desert Noises just posted their first music video on YouTube.

From the Sketchbook

2009-02-10T08:57:00.002-07:00

Here are some more doodles from my sketchbook. I've been getting excited about continuous contour line drawings again and I've been trying a few new things. Once I have something worth sharing I'll post it. Oh! And have you listened to M Ward's newest album? I mean, dang!

Singled Out

2009-02-07T14:12:00.002-07:00

This is an illustration I was invited to make for Square Magazine's wedding issue, coming in another month and a half. The article is on being a single guy in Utah---pretty much a solid plot for a horror movie.

Ballers

2009-02-06T00:05:00.003-07:00

Here are a few continuous contour line drawings from my sketchbook.

It's simple: you put your pen down and draw one line without retracing or picking up your pen until it's finished!

The drawings are from this book of basketball history from the library and Noah just loved the book! Ever since we checked it out he is always drawing "basketballs", no matter what marks his crayons and markers make.

Let's Just Be Friends

2009-02-04T15:37:00.003-07:00

Mankind Magazine invited me to contribute to their February issue and I did just that! The magazine has a blog following of over 8,000 visitors a day and most of them are out-of-towners.

Desert Noises

2009-02-01T13:00:00.003-07:00

Desert Noises just had their CD release party last night and the place was packed. Andy and I had a blast listening to RuRu and his brother, then Desert Noises.

Last November I was asked to do the cover and CD art for the album and I was given carte blanche for content, treatment, etc. I decided to try something entirely new to me and I made a diorama. All the images you see are photographs of a minitaure cliff sprinkled with an untimely snow. The back cover sports a centaur made from a miniature of a horse and a separate minitaure of a farmer.

The process was really new and fun for me and I took a lot of photos. I think I'll post some of 'em later. In the meantime, you can get the CD from Northplatte Records, Graywhale or through iTunes.

"My Heart Beats For You"

2009-01-27T18:50:00.003-07:00

Is there such a thing as a Valentines Day art exhibit? You bet your box of chocolates there is! And it's at the Painted Temple Tattoo Studio & Art Gallery in Provo!

I'll be showing some Valenteeny-tinies I made and three of my all-time favourite artists also have valentines showing. What's not to love about Andrew Christensen, Kelly Larsen and Andy Bean?

Blue Christmas

2009-01-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

This video took an entire day to upload. What the heck?

Paper Muncher

THE END IS NEAR!

THIS BLOG ENDS DEC 31

Carols (for Christmas 2011)

THE CHAIN GANG

DINO RUN

GRAPHIC NOVEL

WEBSITE!

Free Comic Book Day!

Help Make A Book! Part II

Odes to Animals

Interview

FREE CONCERT SATURDAY

A Map in the Dirt (update)

"A Map In The Dirt" For Sale!

Help Make A Book!

"A Map In The Dirt" Reviews!

CONCERTS

A Map in the Dirt

"Things That Light Up" for free! (Part II)

"Things That Light Up" for free!

CHAIN GANG 4

I'm Making a Graphic Novel

On Finishing...

CHAIN GANG 3

CHAIN GANG 2

CHAIN GANG 1

FREE HOUSE CONCERT!

Free Concert Tonight

This Week on the Guru's Calendar

Jess Smart SmileyChristmas Extravaganza

December 16th | Wednesday | 8pm - 10pm

Free Christmas Concert

Free Coloring Pages and iPhone Wallpaper

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL

FREE Digital Portraits!

$20 Holiday Portraits

Featured in Bataang Magazine!

FREE LIVE DRAWING TONIGHT

Digital Portraits II: With A Vengeance

Party Bear

Things That Light Up

Lindon Days

$20 Portraits

Portraits

Coloring Book

Pattern

Goblins of Fire

Dear Summer

Terrible Yellow Eyes

Self-Portrait (Blanket Magazine)

Lion!

Published in DAYDREAM

For Grandpa

Graphic Novel, Page 30

Human Drawing Dispenser

Color Time With Noah

Ladders to Get You to Stay

A Thing for the Future

Comic Book in the Works, III

Blanket Magazine

Comic Book in the Works, II

No Blog Today

Comic Strip in Cut Out and Keep Magazine

Comic Book In the Works

Flipbook From When I Was 14

Old Drawings, Part II

Old Drawings

Sidewalk Chums

Learning to Ink, Part III

Nap Time

Square Magazine/Post #200

E-Stamps

Ink Drawings, A Dream, Photography

"And It's Only Getting Better, Baby"

Learning to Ink, Part I

If I Was a Girl, Part IV

Limerick

Paper Cut-Outs for Sale

The Parade!

Jess Smart Smiley
Christmas Extravaganza