I’ve been spending too much time this week trawling through artists on Twitter and checking out peoples blogs to see if I can pick up any tips and advice. There are so many people out there doing similar things to myself so it’s nice to see what others are going through in their quest for artistic success. There is a vast network out there which I have only touched the tip of.

On my travels through the web I discovered http://wippodcast.com/ The site has a catalogue of Podcasts to download or listen to directly streamed from the site. Episode 22 consisted of several artists discussing how to promote your artwork through blogs and social media. I had never really listened to a podcast before this and I found the information really informative. There was an interview with Chris Burdett who in the past has worked on Buffy, Angel and Firefly, (All favourites of mine).
He has a website http://www.christopherburdett.com/ 
and a blog http://christopherburdett.blogspot.com/. He talked about his Blog and how important it is to update it regularly and other interesting bits of advice. It’s worth listening to so check out the Podcast site when you get a moment.

I now plan to update my Blog at least once a week, (Not 3 Chris ) and if you’re looking through your stats and see a referral from scifiartist.com don’t forget to drop by and say hi. I’ll be looking to spread my social wings in the near future and stop being a recluse. I’m on twitter @scifiartist and like to discuss all things arty and sci-fi related!

Artwork panel from Grand Theft Robot page 4

Grand Theft Robot is written by Chris Reilly.

This is a digital sketch of some robots on the run from invading persuers in the sky. I haven’t decided whether to complete this one yet or just leave it as a sketch.

Robots on the run sketch

I attended the Thought Bubble convention in Leeds on Saturday. There were various events going on from Thursday through to Sunday but due to work this was the only day I could attend.

There were alot of people in costume and getting into the spirit of things. The main hall area was constantly full. The majority of space was taken up by independant small press tables with self published work on sale. I had a good look at a lot of the work and chatted to a few of the artists. There’s nothing like seeing other people pushing hard to promote their work to inspire an artist to crack on and get working!

There was a lot of sketching going on and some guests signing autographs. Click here to see the official website.
http://www.thoughtbubblefestival.com/08home.asp

Here’s a pic of the exhibitors area.

Thought Bubble - Leeds 2010

Here’s a new robot head I’ve just started on. I’ll post the finished version once it’s complete.

New robot head

This is the artwork for page 2 of Grand Theft Robot. This shows an interview between David Frost and Senator Keating viewed on a TV screen. This interview reveals information that sets the scene for the world this story is set in. Grand Theft Robot is written by Chris Reilly and illustrated by Paul Burrow.

Grand Theft Robot page 2 artwork

Here is another concept scene from Grand Theft Robot. Here the characters Mud Doppler & Circus stand guarding an old space shuttle nose wreck in the junkyard.

SPace shuttle junk

Here are 2 character designs. The first is a robot that originates from a pencil sketch I did over a year ago. The second is a soldier type character. Both appear on page 1 of Grand Theft Robot.

2 Character designs

I took nearly 400 photos at San Diego Comic-Con 2010. To see them all CLICK HERE to go to my facebook page.