A Final of Biblical Proportions

Here's the highly anticipated (...by me) Comic Media and Concepts Final. I'm Proud to Present;

Samson and Delilah

So, this is the Final

The great white of media and concepts...and that means ALL previous concepts from my project's past had to go into this production. Some, you readers have seen before and some you didn't get to see. Lets take a trip down memory lane, shall we?

1) Exploding the Moment. (end of page 3)

not on the blog, but a fun way to start the semester. 2 pages of water tipping out of a glass and spilling. I was a really riveting, tension building work of genius. I'm really happy with the way I used exploding the moment to build the moment of the chain tightening and pilars cracking.

2) Nine Panel Grid (page 2)

Well it's a pretty simple concept, but effective, none the less. I first used the nine panel grid on my Intro to comics final, Madonna With Child last year. It's a good strategy and makes for a clear, readable layout. I like how the Samson and Delilah story links up with the grid and makes some repetition.

3) Text/Image Juxtaposition (page 3)

When Samson is chained to the pilar, defeated, the text echos the intro which describes him as great and powerful. I thought the image of him looking so hopeless was a nice opportunity for juxtapositon. Remember back to Halloween? With the baby steps/cannibal comic? Well I think the Text/Image Juxtaposition in Samson and Delilah is more effective...No complicated Rachel Ray lingo.

4) Sunday Design (page 1)

Who could forget all the drama with my giant Kardashian nightmare? All the work that went into that page from newsprint sketch spasms to on the wall in the gallery show...Sunday School was certainly a challenging concept to gain but just looking at the design elements in page one, I can see a total grasp. It's not perfect, but I really like it!

5) Nonlinear (page 1)

My Nonlinear snakebite fable was one of the strongest assignments I did all year! So for inking alone, I get credit for this concept. I show the progression of Samson's past...it's not necessarily backwards, or out of order...but the time line in the beginning skips ahead and covers many years. page three has a good time jump too. but...Remember the pretty Mittin? ooo ahh...

SO, that's it.

I'm looking at these pages now, seeing tons of things I could have done to really set these pages on fire. Like...does page three need black gutters? Does page one need some more black bordering? (I'm betting this is my education building... *thumbs up!) I've come so far over this past semester and I'm really proud of myself! I'm only getting better and I hope you've enjoyed my work!

Special thanks to Jim Keefe, Barbara Schulz and Zac Sally for all of their help and input this year!

I can't wait for next semester. Experimental Comics with Zac and Tools and Tecniques with Barb. good times ahead, I'd say.

Biblically, Comically and Eternally Yours,

Jason

Lynn and Inks :)

HI!

I'm really sorry i've been gone for so long. would you like to hear my excuses (*cough cough finals/sleep deprivation/blogger being weird/internet troubles cough cough*) ...Or, would you like to get to my news and updates?

Well, First off...

In the spirit of all moments following horrible long struggling challenges, (insert mental montage of Buffy and the Scoobies at the bus, after the finale with the first on the edge of the Sunnydale crater...) I would like to say that I'm DONE. Done with semester one of sophomore year of college. That sentence is never going to make sense to me...but the best part is the ending of the endless, difficult stream of assignments. Once one long, challenging and stressful project would end, another would pop up and replace it. like...putties? only harder. Super putties. or Uber Vamps. And that stream finally ended!

Until January 19th, at least.

Anyways... now i'm home, In Nebraska for a good month or so. Enjoying rest, mental restoration...Stress from the non school aspects of my life, and Christmas! And best of all, Lynn is here! (pictured below, eating a flower) To save everything. She's going to help me get my groove back...with finance lessons and anti anxiety medication.

I hold her dearly to my heart, a 3rd parent and so much more. Lynn is awesome, simply put. And there's just no other way to describe her. Oh, and she's my Aunt.

SO, onto my work!

Finals are over, as you know. And I promised to show you the inks from the Snakebite Fable (pencils from my last post below) This is some of the strongest inking I've ever done gang. So I hope you enjoy... The finished inks on my nonlinear snakebite fable!


This is a nonlinear assignment, so it's sort of told backwards. And as for my feelings about it, I still like it. Which is not always the case when something is finished and inked. By the way, this earned me my first A of Comic Media and Concepts! I'd like to give a special shout out to Bre, for somehow accidentally leaving one of her mittens in my backpack, which I ended up using for reference in that deliciously textured mitten panel.

Anyway, that's it for now! look for my Bible Final soon to come. like...later today probably. Samson and Delilah. Jason Style.

Bye!

I made it made it made it through this day.

After today I have completed my Practice Junior review! I completed all the prep work, wrote a Resume (shout out to my fav aunt, Lynn for helping.) wrote my artist's statement...promoted my work, built my student website (http://j.homes.mcad.edu/~jbelden/jason_belden/index.html) and listed my future plans....all without vomiting! I recieved great feedback, except for one jokester who said that my website was hard to navigate (which it is, but fuck you for saying it. only a moron can't navigate this thing, but I will say blogger is better) and I think my presentation won my teacher's heart. she's Fred from Angel, so I love her too. I feel good. But, after this I kinda never want to look at my past work again, or talk about it.

so...lets move on to the future!

...even though this was a week late after the Sunday revival. Just pencils, but check it out.
You think that's fun? wait until you see the inks! You know what? I like these pages. It's a fable of the Farmer ('s wife) trusting the Snake when she picks it up to warm it from the snow, the Snake betrays her trust and delivers it's deadly bite in gratitude. This story is told backwards, because the class is "comic media and CONCEPTS" but, believe it or not, I like these pages. and I may not FEEL like I like them, because of the criticism and feedback and stress and anxiety. but I like them.

I like them.

I like them.

I like them.

words. What's it all about????

this week i am being forced to present my body of work to my Sophomore Seminar class in an effort to practice the junior review. I must speak about my work, my process, my point of view, my goals, my inspirations...all on friday. part of this lesson is to help me summarize what the hell I want to do with my work. well, it's much harder than it seems. read this draft of my Artist statement and tell me if i'm on to anything.

i'll center allign it so you can tell where it ends.

Artist statement

Fluid.
Unique.
cartoon
comics
fashion
action

…go into detail about the work, so the reader can visualize.


I like to create comics that are funny by poking fun at tv shows and celebrities I follow in pop culture or entertainment. I have always been attracted to the glamourous, excessive world of Hollywood. I equally admire and satirize it.
The biggest joy I get as an artist is watching someone crack up when they read a page or get one of the jokes. It makes me feel like I’ve passed on that humor to an audience that gets my humor.


When I work, I imagine characters and scenes with a heightened sense of detail. I deploy a barrage of flourishes and pencil whips in my drawings. This tactic helps me really land on the details and line weight that I want my pencil work to have. Some artists that inspire me are Michael Turner and J Scott Campbell. I feel that they both exaggerate and stylize in all the right ways. They are Infusions of past successful artists, but they have developed their own styles that are unique and can be clearly identified without reading a name.


Recently, my work has taken a leap of momentum as I am shifting my focus to a more stream-of-consciousness style of comics, letting the page develop on its own instead of trying to plan it out completely before I start. The next step is eliminating the unnecessary lines so the work can still have the fire that I want it to have, but be clear and readable. My relaxed, sketchy style has proved to be a little too messy, so I’ve been focusing on clarity and eliminating the superfluous detail to accomplish great work. I’ve seen a great deal of progress after making these changes.

Thats it! lemme know what u thinikkk.

Oh, and I wouldn't leave you hangin without at least some Jason Belden art right??

old stuff, fun stuff.

Sunday School revisited.

Hello viewers, i've missed you. truth is, I've been busy. Busy seeking redemption. Remember this mess...?The Sunday Page.

My worst page yet.

Well, I couldn't go on with my life with it in that state. The word "Clusterfuck" comes to mind. It's just not very well thought out. No use of negative space, unless you count the parts of white paper that isn't even drawn on... I really did feel like a failure, I mean...my class is already full of so much talent and every week I feel like i'm at the bottom of the latter. When I heard that all the classes would be collecting all the Sunday Pages and hanging them all up in a show. I won't go down with out a desperate attempt at reclaiming my pride!

Halloween treats = Husband's flesh.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. Oh god, I just love fear, and fantasy and it's just the sexiest, funnest most creative holiday there is. This week's Comic Media and Concepts project took a Halloween twist. WE were to write a horror story and a happy story and juxtapose the two together to create a new story.

here's what I did.

The text is from the Horror story I wrote about a woman who wakes up tied to a chair being fed her husband's flesh by a creepy happy couple of canibals. I understand that it's a little more complex than it should have been, too much information, too many details...and the result makes it a little too hard to read.

The thing I'm most proud of is the clarity of the images. I've been trying to redeem myself for that projectile vomit sunday page. and with the halloween comic, the images are a big improvement. I learned a little more, I progressed a little more. and the ink is...well still a bit rough, but again...I think it's better.

better is better.

ok gentle viewers, I'm off to get some body glitter for my sparkly vampire costume. jealous?
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Jas.

ps, don't see Paranormal Activity. It will either have no effect on you and will waste your 10$ , or petrify you so bad you need to sleep with the lights and tv on. I personally, fell on the latter side.

"Language"...go.

This project is about "Language".
...Anything about "language". Anything at all, as long as "language" is the main feature.
doesn't that seem a little vague to you? It is, and it was challenging.
I don't know if it was because this week was just particularly deadly or what...but I had a hell of a time coming up with an idea. Language. I got caught up in my head big time (what else is new) and began to flounder without finished work. Ideation and Process has forced me to keep looking at who I am as an artist.
I'm funny!
kinda...
and I have this one joke...a blond joke. original, I know right? so I went with it.

and 13 hours and 3 conceptual/exhaustual meltdowns later...

here's what I did .

p.s - the letters are from the french guy.

being an Ideation and Process class, we are constantly being pushed to think outside the box in terms of frickin displaying our art. I couldn't just slap this on the wall or prini it out and pass it around...I wanted to have a little more fun with it...

"why the hell?" you ask?

Why not?

ohhh kay...what did I learn from this experience? a few things...

1. I didn't even learn a little French after all 4 years of high school. The french is wrong, but since the project is technically about LANGUAGE...it fits.

2. sometimes I should just stop floundering. ESPECIALLY for ideation and process...calm down, take a break, eat a cookie, get some work done.

3. Overhead projecters are fun. it was super cool seeing this little comic projected on the wall across the chasm of the 3rd floor gallery view. I just wish all three could have been going at once. damn...(next time?)

K, tomorrow HALLOWEEN COMIC!!!

Speaking of being flayed alive...

Midterm week really did feel like torture. The removal of skin is the running theme of the week. long hours of work, worry and sleep deprivation. It's really getting to me. In addition to my skinless drawing project...


The worry of all this has sparked my serious self mutilation habit.
my skin is LITERALLY being slowly removed from my fingers.



some people eat meat, some people eat vegetarian. I eat the skin and nails of my fingers and toes.

maybe I'll go eat some skinless chicken tonight for dinner to run with the theme.

"School = Skin. Removed"

Sunday School.

Oh hey folks, This has been a crazy week here at MCAD. Midterms flayed me alive, but luckily it's over now. It all kicked off with two crazy crazy Conventions. I can't even believe the luck I had just randomly stumbling upon Joe Benitez's table! If you don't know, Joe is the artist that took over for the legendary Michael Turner on the soulfire arc. He's also done super big name work on supergirl, Batman, Outsiders and he did his creater owned book, Wraithborn. He was just sitting, ALONE. He was all by himself and I was a little boy with a notebook. I went up to him and hung out for like an hour. We chatted about life as a comic artist, working, living. I geeked out on him hardcore, gushing about Soulfire and Wraithborn, He gave me some inside info on the big soulfire transition. He said he wished for a better transition to the magic realm. I told him the seam was pretty awesome, the transition from Turner's work to Benitez's Here we were chatting about Frickin SOULFIRE!! How harcore is that?????..he gave me some advice, he looked at my sketches and he took a picture with me! Joe Benitez is awesome, you heard it here.





So that was my geeky freakout, now onto some actual work.
Comic Midterm
...the name of the game Is Sunday Pages. These are the old school, big ass, print comics. So the challenge here was to design a page with a layout that works on a big 22x17 paper. ouch. Thanks again to my roomate Max for helping me print on the epson, I was ready to give up and ink directly onto my pencils again. Max had us out of there in an hour. My design was a sequel to my TV comic from last post. Here's what I did.



It's a bit rough, because I was kind of overwelamed this week because of midterms and 3 gaint crits in a row. but i do enjoy the random fun this comic has. I like my imagery, and like how I get voted off in the end. so fun. I'll put up the inked one later.

kick off a crazy COMIC weekend.

What exactly does one do in a Comic Class? This. Check out some examples of my work from various courses at MCAD, yep, even the pee one.

This is the second page in a three page story about a group of space travelers who have the ability to teleport through time and space. and end up in different situations. This page finds the group in a prehistoric field being attacked by neanderthals. The beauty of this project is that it was the first story we ever worked on. This means that we students were given complete creative freedom to illustrate the characters and sets however we wanted. Unoficially, is was also our first chance to show off our skill to the teachers.

This is a more recent page, my first foray into autobiographical comics. This is my imagination given the ability to dream surf through some of my favorite and obsessively watched tv shows. It was also done "organically", pretty much meaning...I didn't know where the hell I was going with it until I reached the bottom of the page. Normally a no no, but here it works.

oh jeez, I really need to re scan this one. It's very smudgy, probably another curse of being left handed. It's cool though, this was only an in class assignment. Believe it or not, instructional comics are actually very important. They give the objective, "make it so clear and readable that anyone can understand it" which should apply to every comic I make. not to mention, if you ever forget how to pee - this page will save your life.


Friday, October 9th
Today we had two lovely visiting artists, a regular occurance at MCAD. We've never had two in one day though, which, among other things, made this a really weird comic themed day. Coincidentally, both of these artists were FEMALE. which was weird, and cool. Ursula Murray Husted (umurrayhusted) who taught me to finish my inner heart project babies so I can move on with my life. RIGHT! i've never heard someone give that advice! so yes, I will get on that.
and Gabrielle Bell who taught me to steal copies from kinkos to make full profit on future mini comics. good advice.

and MY final story of the day, I made some BUSINESS CARDS!! how professional, right? well couldn't have made a better move printing them today, becasue I actually had the opportunity to use one for the first time! the SAME DAY they were printed!! How weeird is that? Bre says that the comic fate loves it some Jason Belden. ohh yeah. check it out...

The Blog Exists.

ohh what a pleasure it is to finally be online, I must say it feels good. I've been living the complex life of an art student all this time without anything to show for it! What to say in my very first post? well, I'll start by telling you a little about me. Jason... I am a comic art major in the cold, dark north. I dream of illustrating gorgeous, inspiring characters that live in the sunlight. If you knew my style you could see what I mean...I should probably show you something of my style just so you know. It's all about process here folks, so don't judge me on incompletion! I'm working on a full out website so you'll be able to explore me more indepthly when that's finished :) but...I'm more sensitive than you might think, everyone thinks i'm strong because i'm sassy and i'm brassy, but these walls are paper thin. so you should go easy! three woos for the first post! woo! woo! woo!