Sketchbots Revealed!

Just a quick post to upload my official pictures of the new Sketchbot colourways, then off to the convention center for my first signing of the day!

- Posted using BlogPress from iPad

Sketchbot at SDCC 2010

It's that time of the year to head out to San Diego and geek out on comics, art, and designer toys! Sketchbot is out and will be available for purchase at the show. If you'd like a signed copy, make your way to the Dragatomi Booth #3848 on Thursday, 11am, and Saturday, 11am, when I'll be on hand to sign and sketch.

Another booth you're definitely going to want to swing by is my distributor, DKE Toys #4732. We'll be revealing Variants 2 and 3 in the Sketchbot series!

Looking forward to meeting all the new fans of Sketchbot at the show - see you in San Diego!

Sketchbot iPhone 4 Wallpaper

Did I hear someone ask for iPhone 4 wallpaper on Twitter?! Here's a quick Lock Screen version for all you brand new iPhone 4 owners, optimized for the higher resolution screen at 960 x 640. I'll be releasing lots more of these down the road, so follow me on Twitter and keep an eye out for release and availability. Enjoy!

LA Sketchbot Release & Signing at Crewest

Last Friday's Sketchbot launch at My Plastic Heart was a huge success. We sold out our allotment for the night and they are now taking pre-orders that will begin shipping after 06/21/10.

If you were unable to attend the NY signing - and, just happen to live on the West Coast - I'm flying out to LA this weekend for a signing at Crewest gallery on Saturday, June 19th from 6-9pm. You can also view my mini-retrospect on display, as I'm their featured custom toy designer for the month of June.

I'm looking forward to meeting all the West Coast Sketchbot fans!

NY Sketchbot Release & Signing, 06/11/10 @ My Plastic Heart

Sketchbot launch day is this Friday night! It's been 11 months since we began actual production and Sketchbot is now ready for his NY debut. I'll be signing and doing sketches at My Plastic Heart this Friday, June 11th, from 6-9pm.  If you can't make it to the East Coast event, don't worry - I'll be in LA at Crewest the following Saturday, June 19th, for the West Coast release & signing. Exciting times ahead, thanks everyone for the support along the way!

Sketchball & Refbot for World Cup @ Crewest

As I'm anxiously awaiting the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it was only fitting to tailor my latest custom for Crewest's World Cup show after an event that is often times preceded by the histrionic talents of those presented with the ultimate penalty - the dreaded RED CARD EJECTION.  The show opens tonight, Saturday, June 5th, from 6-9pm in Los Angeles, CA.

Additionally, I was also chosen as their first ever "Custom Toy Designer of the Month" that, coincidentally, also takes place concurrently with the World Cup opening.  This included being offered the 3rd Saturday of the month to host an event of my choosing, which, thanks to the stars being in alignment, meant that I would be able to finally offer up Sketchbot to the world.  Mark your calendars for Saturday, June 19th, as I fly to LA for the release and signing of Sketchbot V1!  More info to follow.  In the meantime, do swing by the gallery to catch the current shows, along with World Cup First Round Viewing Parties (see attached flyer for match-ups and game time starts)

Sketchbot iPad Wallpaper - Series 1

Yes, I drink the Apple Kool-Aid big time. I got an iPad within the first week they went on sale and am having a blast with it. I still have yet to find the ideal stylus for drawing with (don't get me started) but the iPad is proving to be an excellent digital portfolio companion when I'm out and about.  I'm anxious to put it to the test in July, when I'll be attending SDCC and Siggraph back-to-back. Ideally, I'd love to leave my MacBook Pro at home and just rely on the iPad for all my computing needs while at the conventions. One crucial test will be how quickly I can load up photos from my Canon 7D and actually do some rudimentary editing before posting up here and to Flickr.  I'll be acquiring the hard-to-obtain(?) Camera Connection Kit soon and do some thorough testing.

In the meantime, I'm way overdue with getting some Sketchbot related artwork up for iPad wallpaper use. The trick is formatting imagery to look good in both portrait and landscape mode.  I recently completed some vector artwork for my Thought Processor custom last week, so I'm offering these up as the first in a series of Sketchbot iPad Wallpaper. If you're reading this page on your iPad, simply click on the image, save to your photo library, and assign as desktop, home screen, or both. Enjoy!

Sketchbot X Thought Processor Custom

It's been a busy couple of weeks since the big Sketchbot custom show. One of the projects I was able to squeeze in was this cool custom piece for Phoneticontrol's Thought Processor NYC Series. The show opened tonight, and I've posted my image dump up on Flickr here.

Each artist was asked to include an accompanying piece of art along with their custom. I thought this would be a great opportunity to put my Illustrator chops to the test and undertook a triptych that depicts the backstory to "Sketchbot Transformed." Fortunately, my 6+ yr-old Epson Stylus Photo 2200 printer came through if flying colours! The show runs thru June 21st, so swing by My Plastic Heart and check out all the amazing work in person!

Sketchbot Custom Show Recap

I'm very pleased to inform you all that The Sketchbot Custom Show at My Plastic Heart was a huge success!  We had an amazing turnout - there were easily 100-150 people that made it thru the tiny space in 3 hours, and the overall reaction was super positive.  It was great to see many of the local artists in attendance, and for those who couldn't experience the show in person, we streamed the opening live on UStream.

Opening night sales were not bad, with 12 pieces selling instantly. I know times are still tough, but there are 32 pieces still up for grabs (and more than a few for under $200), so visit this link and get yours before they're all gone!

The Sketchbot Custom Show Flickr set has been updated with 82 new pictures I shot during the opening. I would encourage you to see it up close in person if you find yourself in NYC - the show is up for one more week and closes next Friday, April 23rd.

For those that simply can't make it out, you're in luck!  One of my custom artists, Dave Gittleman, was on hand with his Canon 5DMarkII as our official show photographer and shot an incredible amount of footage that he assembled into this killer video!



I want to thank all of you who came out and gave your support to a totally new platform. I also want to thank Vince and Bikei from My Plastic Heart for giving me the opportunity and space to host the show. And most importantly, a huge thanks goes out to my manufacturing partner, MAD, who worked his magic last October in acquiring 50 blanks so that I could have pieces to send out in the first place.

Sketchbot Custom - GigantorBot

Today's the big day! Sketchbot Custom Show tonight at My Plastic Heart, and I'm kicking things off with the full reveal of my custom, GigantorBot!

Anyone who knows me is fully aware of my obsession with all things Gigantor/Tetsujin-28. In fact, the Sketchbot design itself was partially (sub-consciously?) influenced by a few design elements found in the amazing work of Mitsuteru Yokoyama, most notably the dead ahead stare of the half opened eye and minimal use of rivets.

It was painfully obvious that I had to do a Gigantor version of Sketchbot. I did a quick Photoshop mockup, and then went back to my original computer model to further explore the idea in 3d. After a few test renders, I knew this was the way to proceed.

However, I also knew there was going to be no way I could hand sculpt these pieces to the tight precision required to pull off the concept and do it proper justice, so I opted to utilize the same method in which I fabricated the original prototype - print out the pieces in 3d! I was going to try and match the vinyl blank, but decided to just print out the entire object so that there would be no discrepancies with fit and finish.

I broke the character down into various components to make paint and assembly that much easier. After much wet-sanding and priming, the pieces were ready to mask and spray. Final assembly went fairly smoothly, although, my connector tabs for the rocket pack were way too thin and one snapped off. Liberal use of Zap-a-Gap rectified the situation, and the model was completed!

You really need to see the model up close to appreciate how well the 3d print matched the 3d geometry. I hope you get to see this, along with the rest of the amazing pieces I've gathered, tonight at My Plastic Heart - stop by and say hi!