Jon Nielsen – NBM Blog

#RCCC 2017

There’s something about cons that really gets me pumped to create. Maybe it’s being surrounded by all of the amazing artists of Artist Alley, or the waves of incredibly nice people buying and complimenting my art, or just being completely emotionally exhausted by the end of it. Whatever it is, the second I get home I immediately get to work on one of the crazy new projects that is my current obsession.

And this year was no different! I go to RCCC every year and this was definitely my best and favorite year of all time.

It was A++

You can find Jon on Twitter where he posts his silly drawings and sometimes brags about his kids, and you can find out more about LOOK here.

NBM Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary With Appearances and Signings

As we head toward the end of 2017, NBM Graphic Novels is continuing to celebrate its 40th Anniversary with appearances at a number of shows with special guests in attendance. At all convention appearances there will be a selection of our latest titles on hand available for purchase.

Small Press Expo (SPX)/Booth G1-2
Bethesda, Maryland / September 16-17
Appearing Saturday Only:
Special Guest: Anais Depommier (Sartre)
Guests: T.J. Kirsch (Pride of The Decent Man), Kata Kane (Ana & The Cosmic Race, Papercutz)
http://www.smallpressexpo.com

Panel: Filling In The Pieces: Comics Biography
White Flint Auditorium 9/16 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
When doing a comics biography, how do cartoonists approach the material they have at hand? For Box Brown, who did a biography of Andre the Giant, he struggled to find material that might reveal the wrestler’s inner life. Anais Depommier had to sift through a mountain of material for her biography of Jean-Paul Sartre, a task made all the more difficult considering how much the philosopher wrote about himself. Luke Howard had to deal with a historically and racially sensitive topic in ragtime creator Ernest Hogan. Moderator Chris Mautner will lead the discussion. Anais Depommier appears courtesy of a grant by The Cultural Services of the French Embassy.

Signing Schedule
Saturday (Booth G-1-2) 
11:30- 12:30: Anais Depommier (Saturday Only)
1:00-2:30: T.J. Kirsch (Saturday Only)
2:30-4: Anais Depommier (Saturday Only)
 4-5:30: T.J. Kirsch (Saturday Only)
5:00-6:00: Kata Kane
6:00-6:30: Anais Depommier (Saturday Only)

Sunday (Booth G-1-2) 
1-2: Kata Kane
3-4: Kata Kane

Brooklyn Book Festival / Booth 319
Brooklyn, New York / September 16-17
Appearing Sunday Only:
Guests: Anais Depommier (Sartre) and T.J. Kirsch (Pride of The Decent Man)
http://www.brooklynbookfestival.org/

Signing Schedule
Sunday (Booth 319) 
10 :30-11:30: T.J. Kirsch
11:30-12 :30: Anais Depommier
1-2: T.J. Kirsch
2-3: Anais Depommier
 3-4: T.J. Kirsch
4-5 Anais Depommier

Thought Bubble: The Leeds Comic Art Festival
Leeds, England / September 18-24
Guests: Metaphrog (The Little Mermaid, Papercutz)
http://thoughtbubblefestival.com

Anais Depommier Book Signing
Books & Books / September 20 at 8PM
265 Aragon Ave Coral Gables, FL
http://booksandbooks.com/event/anais-depommier/

T.J. Kirsch Book Signing
Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza / September 23 at 3 PM – 4:30 PM
1475 Western Ave, Albany, New York
http://www.bhny.com/event/bh-tj-kirsch-signs-pride-decent-man

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus
Columbus, Ohio / September 30 – October 1
Exhibiting: Dara Naraghi (Persia Blues)
http://cartooncrossroadscolumbus.com

Uticon
Utica, New York / October 1st
Guest: T.J. Kirsch (Pride of The Decent Man)
http://www.uticoncomicshow.com

Lakes International Comic Art Festival
Kendal, England / October 13-15
Guests: Metaphrog (The Little Mermaid, Papercutz)
https://www.comicartfestival.com

T.J. Kirsch Book Signing
Barnes and Noble / October 21
Colonie Centre, Albany, NY
https://stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/9780061886661-0

Kumoricon
Portland, Oregon
Guest: Jon Nielsen (Look)
October 27-29
https://www.kumoricon.org

T.J. Kirsch Book Signing
Halloween Comic Fest / October 28
Flipside Gaming
East Greenbush, New York
https://www.facebook.com/FlipsideGamingEastGreenbush

Rose City Comic Con 2017

I’m going to be at RCCC again this year! But this time won’t be like my other years tabling there, oh no. For this year I will have in my possession a tome of incredible power. A book containing knowledge beyond imagining. A book about a little robot. And his friend.

It’s LOOK. It’s the book I made. That’s the book I’m talking about.

Hope to see you there!

You can find Jon on Twitter where he posts his silly drawings and sometimes brags about his kids, and you can find out more about LOOK here.

Looking Back

A year after finishing LOOK, I drew this short prequel story. It takes place many, many years before the events of the book and we get to see a bit more of how Artie and Owen’s relationship works.

Enjoy!

Go to my main website to check out more of my short stories!

You can find Jon on Twitter where he posts his silly drawings and sometimes brags about his kids, and you can find out more about LOOK here.

My Tools and Process

I do almost everything in Manga Studio! (it’s actually called Clip Studio Paint nowadays) It’s pretty cheap but it can’t do everything I need it to. It doesn’t have the best text system, so I still do that and all other design type stuff in Photoshop. I played with Krita once and it seems like a good Manga Studio alternative that’s totally free and probably worth a look!

I draw with an old Wacom Intuos 4 that I got used for around $300 like 8 years ago. They take a bit to get the hang of but with some practice there’s nothing you can’t do on them.

Even if you’re not an artist yourself, I hope it was interesting to see how I do things! Don’t hesitate to ask if you’d like me to into greater detail about any of this, I love talking about this stuff.

Until next time!

You can find Jon on Twitter where he posts his silly drawings and sometimes brags about his kids, and you can find out more about LOOK here.

#MerMay

Most months have a drawing challenge associated with them — such as March of Robots in March or Inktober in October — and May was Mermaid Month! Here’s what I drew for #MerMay.

I had never drawn mermaids before, which I thought was surprising, so this was a lot of fun to do. Traditional mermaids are typically seen as skinny, naked, and with crazy long hair, so I tried doing something a little different.

If you’re interested, my Instagram is a pretty good place to keep up with all the silly doodles I do!

You can find Jon on Twitter where he posts his silly drawings and sometimes brags about his kids, and you can find out more about LOOK here.

MoCCA Fest 2017

Some time has gone by and I think I can finally articulate just how rad MoCCA Fest was: it was incredibly rad.

There was a real focus on comics and graphic novels that gave the con a very unique atmosphere. I really felt as if I was “among my people,” as it were.

I met a ton of amazing people, signed some books, had the best — and most expensive — burger I’ve ever had, and survived the streets of Hells Kitchen. Did you know that’s actually what they call that part of New York? Like, it’s on the maps and everything!

Thank you to everyone who came and said hi and thank you to my good, good friends at NBM who flew me out and made my weekend at the table truly memorable.

You can find Jon on Twitter where he posts his silly drawings and sometimes brags about his kids, and you can find out more about LOOK here.