New Chapter...In Life!

Well its been a couple of weeks since I've been on my blog and although I have not been able to work on my Graphic Novel a lot of great things have happened. On Feb 22nd @ 12:18am I received the most amazing gift. My daughter Zoe Gabrielle Cabrera was born, and she couldn't be more perfect. The experience was an adventure with many curve balls thrown our way, including  Zoe almost being delivered in our car but God blessed us and we were able to make it to a hospital just in time. Within minutes of our arrival (literally 3 Min's) we were blessed with a healthy little girl and I'm so encouraged to get to spend the rest of my life loving and raising this little miracle. My wife is recovering great and was able to go through the whole process with out any intervention a true warrior, my hero. I am now more motivated then ever and although I had to take a break from working on my Graphic Novel these past 3 weeks, my faith and passion still remain. Nothing lights a fire under your butt like having a kid, full steam ahead. Stay Tune.




Here are some pics of our new addition. 

My Wife Alyssa, Zoe and I

Love at 1st sight

Daddy & Zoe Time

 

Artifice: The Awakening Vol 1 of 2 by Joey Cabrera

Its Official. Artifice: The Awakening Vol. 1 of 2  is in the works. besides officially giving my Graphic Novel a title there's plenty of other exciting things to report. I've now completed 5 chapters of Artifice: The Awakening Vol 1 of 2 ( that just sounds cool to me ) and have finished reading Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics" & " Making Comics" im currently reading " How to make Web Comics" by Scott Kurtz. My knowledge is growing and the passion ignited is still burning strong. I am currently working on some character sketches and will have those posted soon. Please be aware that these are rough drafts and that plenty of tweaking will probably take place. Thanks for all the support and encouragement its really boosted my confidence in ways you will never know. until the next check point.

Laying Bricks!

So I read this article a couple days ago about how the only difference between a Master Artist and myself is... TIME!. no masterpiece has ever been created in one piece, Rather it is a collection of individual victories that together form something great. You cant build a castle without laying bricks. Focusing on the bricks allows me to have small victories all while working towards my ultimate goal.

Well I come bearing great news...over the past 2 days I've been able to lay some serious bricks. I have knocked out the first 3chapters (Very Rough Draft ) of my Graphic Novel and have begun reading several of the recommend books. "Framed Ink" is amazing and inspiring. I just couldnt put it down. Also today I finally recieved my copies of Scott Mccloud's " Understanding Comics" & " Making Comics" . Will posts some updates soon and hope to have some rough scetches up sometime next week. 

Enough refreshing...see you at the next check point.

Make Your Milestones

Read this really cool article today called Make Your Milestones great food for thought. Loving this journey and slowly but surley finding who I was created to be. Closing in on a checkpoint. see you there.

Checkpoints ahead!

So here's that article mentioned earlier. Great stuff, feel free to check it out.

10 Things BEFORE You Start a Comic or Graphic Novel by Jason Brubaker

Whats the hold up?

Lets see some art already! I know that is what i would be thinking and expecting if I was a viewer of an art blog. " Whats the hold up? is a good and viable question. So here's my attempt to share what's been going on since I've decided to create this blog. Originally when deciding to create an art blog my goal was to have a digital outlet for my creative expression as well as a platform to display what I am capable of. Although there is still some truth to these goals my view on what that means has completely changed. Rather then use this as some facebook-type of social network where i post pics of art and wait for hopefully positive encouragement i've decided that while it was doing something it was a cowardly way to pursue my so-called dream. It forced me to really evaluate what my dream means to me and how am I willing to pursue it. I needed motivation, i needed inspiration, and i was blessed with that yesterday. While following some advice from an animator friend and a random stranger I met who was also in the animation field I began googling artists who worked at companies I thought i would love to work for. You know the animator /artist dream jobs of Pixar or Dreamworks. That's when I stumbled across Jason Brubaker. A conceptual artist who has worked on Dreamworks "Kung Fu Panda" & "Kung Fu Panda 2" ( great movies by the way ). So I decided to see what it took for Jason to make it and was in for a unexpected ride. Instead of finding a portfolio of character drawings i was instead redirected to Jason's blog "reMIND".  reMIND is Jason's self published web-comic / printed Graphic Novel. Man was I inspired not only by the art but just his passion for his product. The idea of believing in something so much and finding ways to make it work with your own money with no promise of success, really lit a fire somewhere inside that i didn't know existed. Notorious, for starting and having trouble finishing i immediately felt doubt begin to creep in and dim this fire that was now lit. A doubt that has put out many fires in the past and for a better part of my life has held me captive in complacency. So to counter act the doubt I feel exposure is necessary. Makes sense right, a fire cant burn bright in confinement, its needs to breathe, it needs oxygen. Whats my oxygen? Accountability. Your my oxygen. So here I am, exposing who I am, my fears and my flaws in hope of confronting these obstacles head on and overcoming them once and for all. Yesterday was a step, today another, and tomorrow.... Since reading many articles on Jason's blog I've since then read many other Graphic Novel - Web Comic blogs, trying to absorb as much information and knowledge as possibly. Gathering all advice and taking everything into consideration. My Goals and Dreams have gotten bigger, yet i feel less afraid and more hopeful then ever. So while no "Art" has been posted, a lot has happened in the past few days. So whats next? I've printed an article titled "10 things BEFORE you start a Comic or Graphic Novel " and that's what I plan to do. I am going to keep the momentum moving forward and tackle this list wholeheartedly. The lists includes suggested books to read- (ordered 2 already) , Character development,  brainstorming ideas, Writing the story before drawing, tips and pointers for creating vivid scene that come to life. So this is where I am at, as I begin going through these steps I will be updating my progress and uploading sketches and conceptual art for web-comic / graphic novel. Wish me luck, and keep me accountable. The process is a marathon not a sprint and mental conditioning is key. Although I've never physically ran a marathon, I envision the markers and checkpoints where people are there encouraging and providing water for refreshment to help make it to the next checkpoint and in my eyes that you, pushing me to my limits and refreshing me and reminding me along the way. Until the next checkpoint.

And so it begins....

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and view my Art. Let the journey begin. Hope you enjoy!