Suh-weet! I won an award.

What this means can be seen here. Thanks so much Andi!
So in other news I've been busy with a lot of work that I can't post, NDA's and all that. So not a lot of art to post unfortunately. I'm ready for this week to be behind me because I'm really bummed I'm not going to San Diego Comic Con this year and I'm sick of every artist but me it seems posting "I'm about to get on a plane to San Diego, see everyone there!" or "Man I'm stoked to get to San Diego this year!" etc... It really sucks for those of us not going. Next year!
So that being said, I'll be attending a "We're not going to San Diego, let's all hang out and commiserate together" party at Austin Books this Friday and will be doing a live art show on Sunday to benefit KOOP

So if you're in the Austin area this week, come on out and say howdy (and say how much fun you're having even though we're not in San Diego).

Only In Dreams

For those in the Austin area, the group show "Only In Dreams" will be up all through July at the Flightpath Coffee House with the opening happening this Saturday from 7-9. So if you're in the area go check it out.

Fish Tank

Hope everyone had a great 4th weekend! I had way too much fun and am still recovering.
I have been super busy with work and have been doing tons of concept work. Unfortunatley most is under NDA's so, consequently, nothing I can post. I felt like my blog has been sadly neglected. Lately I've been in a complete funk and haven't felt very artistic and not very inspired. I tried working on a new sculpture but lost my impetus quickly. I hoped the weekend off with friends would recharge the batteries. I just got some new art supplies I ordered in the mail so I'm excited to try those out. I have had a hankering to get away from the computer a bit and actually put paint to paper... I also REALLY miss reading (I have been reading a lot of historical stuff lately but no fiction) and after catching one of the movies in the hotel room over the weekend I decided to read all the Harry Potter books from beginning to end. I started the first one yesterday.

*Update: Those of you who ordered fish books, they're out the door and you should be getting those soon along with your original art. Because of a complete snafu with the printer, I was only able to fill pre-orders and I'm not sure if I'll be printing more. So those who got books may have gotten the only ones. The printer really dropped the ball and I am more than disappointed that the whole process didn't happen as I had hoped and expected. I have looked into other options to get them printed but right now it looks unlikely. Bummer.

WEGS : PIRATES!

The linework for the cover to WEGS: Pirates.

The Sea Hags of Penzantium

One of a group of illustrations I'm currently working on for the WEGS Pirate RPG. I really like the way they came out. I may have to color them up and put them on my business cards or something.

Wee Cowboy.

What a weekend.

I jumped out of a plane on Friday. I went and saw The Incredible Hulk that night. Saturday I went rafting down the Guadalupe. Went to Pluckers and had wings and beer that night. Became an uncle on my birthday (!). Sunday I recovered. All in all, a perfect weekend. Thanks go out to Matt, Mel and Steven for hanging and to Dwayne and Shawn for the invite for the skydive. And a big congrats to my brother Dylan for becoming a dad. You guys rock.

Jumper.

I'm hours away from getting on a plane.

Going to 13,5oo feet.

And jumping out.

On Friday the 13th.

The day before my birthday.

Fuck yeah.

Effing busy.

Well my blog has been sadly neglected these past few weeks so I'll try to remedy that a bit. The workload is full and I am officially not taking on any more work for awhile. I'm working on finishing up work for WEGS Pirate book, Captain Bogg and Salty's Frogg Island, a few more concepts for Dragonblood Miniatures and working fulltime on concepts for a super secret computer game project (of which I wish I could show work from as it's been a lot of fun). I'm also slated to be in a group gallery show here in Austin of which I'm going to try and do some new sculptures for and I was also asked if I'd be interested in doing a whole book (!) for TMNT next Fall/Winter. Whew. Just typing that wore me out.

*Also those of you that ordered Fish Books, I was told that they'd be in the mail this week. Thanks for your patience and the pre-orders. And I still haven't gotten 25 pre-orders so if you want some original art AND a book feel free to get your order on.

This Saturday's my birthday and I'm hitting the river. I'm pretty stoked. I'm also slated to jump out of a plane on Friday but I'm not sure if it will happen with my current workload.... We shall see....

In the meantime, have some random art.





This last image is for a personal project and I can't decide on her hair color. What color do you like?

Waffles, sweet, sweet, waffles.

It seems our* Atland guest strip is up for the week over at www.realmofatland.com. Check it out.

*Written by John Kipling, drawn by me.

TMNT short page 1.

So one of the things I have been working on is a TMNT short story I was asked to contribute to. Written by Tristan Jones, I'm doing the pencils and Eric Talbot(!) will be doing the inks. It's the first time I've worked with an inker and man I started at the top, I've been a fan of Eric's for a long time and his inks are mind-blowing.

I think I may have over-worked my pencils as I'm used to inking them myself (and I'm pretty anal when it comes to my work) so some things I just leave rough and finish them up myself. Should be pretty cool to see nonetheless.

This is the first page. Once the story comes out (it's slated to appear in The Tales of the TMNT #48) I'll post the rest. Stay tuned.

Bug Guy sculpt.

Here's a pic of the final sculpt for the bug guy (name: "Clal-Chk") I designed for Dragonblood Miniatures a few months ago. I'm not sure who the actual sculptor is but it looks fantastic, the detail came out great. I can't wait to get one of these for my annual family monopoly game.

Random cephalopod sketch.

What a great weekend. Thanks go out to everyone who came to the party. I am wiped.

And some more concept stuff.

So the the last three posts were all part of the same job. The client wanted the same character (note the scar) in three different genres/time periods done in three different styles. I really had to push myself on this one.

Some more concept stuff.

Well this Saturday is my buddy Steven and I's annual joint birthday houses (we live across the street from one another) party. Man I can not wait. Good fellowship, crawfish and ice cold keg beer. It doesn't get much better than that. That's right.

Nazi Hunter

A little concept work. Just a little inspired by Mr. Jones. Yes, I'll be seeing it today. My fingers are crossed...

*edit: Saw the new Indy movie. One word: CRAP.

The Funky Fish Book!

So I have received the prototype for The Funky Fish Book. I am super pleased with how it turned and while I am tweaking it and making a few changes I will be taking pre-orders.

210 pages of fishy love, mostly black & white with 6 color plates. *It measures 9" wide by 7" tall and is about 5/8" thick. You can see one of the page(s) here with a Sharpie for scale. Super cool.

And for the first 25 books sold (paid for) I will be giving away (FREE) 25 ORIGINAL fish drawings that appear in the book itself (one per order please). What a deal! The books will be $20 with $5 for shipping so $25 total. You can email me directly (mail(at)kennonjames.com) to order or you can use that spiffy new PayPal button over on the left.

Yeehaw.

Control + Z

Ever use Photoshop so much that when you're actually doing things in real life you do something then think "Okay that sucks, I'll just "undo" it. Um...shit..."?

20K

So my site meter told me that my blog visits hit 20K yesterday. Wow. I'd like to say thanks to everyone who has come to visit; new visitors and those of you who come back regularly.

Thanks.

Dwarf sketch