Verastegui

RHD Issue 2

2010-01-21T20:59:00.001-08:00

RHD Ad
Originally uploaded by JoseV

Here's an ad for RHD issue 2, which is coming soon.

Dallas Webcomics Expo and Indy Comic Book Week project

2009-11-06T21:43:00.000-08:00

Hey, there, everyone. First a quick important update, I have a new URL for my blog at http://alto-shorter.blogspot.com. I just though I could used a relatively easier to remember name rather than the one I already use right now. This blog will still be up but I will quitely fade it and segue into the new one. All the old posts are still there for your convenience.

Also, I just signed up for the Dallas Webcomics Expo. They had one spot left, so I took in a rare moment of impulse. According to the map, I'll be in table #17.

I'll be selling my remaining copies of the Sketchbook and RHD #1 plus pimping out Indy Comic Book Week.

See ya there!

Immortal Iron Fist

2009-09-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

I loved Brubaker and Fraction's Immortal Iron Fist Run, espeically with David Aja's art. They did a lot of stuff just right. For this piece I wanted to start using highlights and gradient value for sources of energy like Iron Fist's... fist. The kanji was done separately and Kun-Lun in the background was done with a brush, with the rest done with a dip pen.

One Night Stand and Indy Comics Week

2009-09-18T14:39:00.000-07:00

A little event I'd like to promote: Indy Comics Week.

I'll be creating a mini comic to be shipped on December 30th, plus I'll be working with David Hopkins on One Night Stand.

And for that book here's a little proposal:

Illustration

2009-08-31T19:45:00.000-07:00

A quickie for today.

Art and Coffee

2009-08-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

I'll be there selling my books and doing live art.

Punisher

2009-07-24T22:09:00.000-07:00

The Punisher: Frank Castle

Birdy the Mighty

2009-07-13T03:33:00.001-07:00

I'm a fan of the anime.

Reinhardt District Issue 2

2009-07-13T03:29:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pages from RHD #2

RHD and Sketchbook at IndyPlanet

2009-07-08T11:11:00.000-07:00

Finally, my first two books, Reinhardt District and Jose's Sketchbook, are now avaialble at IndyPlanet.com. Just follow the links:

RHD #1 - http://www.indyplanet.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2432

Jose's Sketchbook - http://www.indyplanet.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2393

Upadate on RHD issue 2 coming soon.

Daily Sketch 2

2009-06-03T23:48:00.000-07:00

Another daily sketch, this time is Seras from Hellsing.

Daily Sketch 1

2009-06-02T16:51:00.000-07:00

Here's my first Daily Sketch. This is something I'll try to do often as a means for an exercise since I haven't draw much in the last couple of months due to school keeping really busy.

A-kon was all right, not as succesful as last year. I will post a through review of it soon.

A-kon

2009-05-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again! I'll be at A-kon 20 this next weekend (July 29-31) at the Sheraton Dallas.

I'll be selling my remaining copies of RHD and Sketchbook, plus prints.

See ya there!

Free Comic Book Day

2009-05-01T16:54:00.000-07:00

This is in really short notice, but it's not that much of a deal compared to A-kon. I'll have a table at Madness Games and Comics tomorrow, Saturday, May 2nd, for free comic book day. I'll have my books for sale and all that good stuff.

And maybe, just maybe, we'll have some subs fromt he subway next door.

A-kon 20

2009-04-26T00:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates, I'm at the end of the semester and it's been super busy.

I entered A-kon's T-shirt contest, but I didn't win. Bummer.

I do have a table for this year table with I'm sharing as part of an organize team up with a couple of friends so we can all have a chunk of the AA as a headquarters, or something similar. We're doing this just for the sake of keeping an eye on each other's table.

A-kon will be held at the Sheraton in Dallas, TX on the may 29-31.

The Strange Adventure of Jose in Austin

2009-03-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was in Austin, TX attending STAPLE, and independent media expo where comic creators sell their goodies. I was there promoting my two books, RHD and Jose's Sketchbook.

Unlike my friends from Dallas, I had the genius idea of heading down there on Saturday at 6:30 AM. The drive was boring as hell, but made it even worst that my CD players was busted. Luckily the local stations had a huge range and it would be a while before they started the static symphony. The most interesting thing is that I found a neat indie station while nearing Austin and they were playing songs I haven't heard in so long.

I arrived in Austin, but I couldn't find the venue for close to an hour, ending up on the other side of the city. I eventually found it and rushed into check-in. Before the show started I made my rounds and mingled with Nate Bramble and Grant Sutherland. After setting up I met my neighbors and things where under way.

The attendees and fellow exhibitors were friendly, which is kind of a sharp contrast to the anime conventions that I've done in the past. After being behind the table for hours I got some rest and walked around the show. I saw fellow Dallas-ites Space-Gun, David Hopkins, and Paul Milligan, who were also exhibiting, and did my usual salutations and mingle until it was time to get to work. While exhibiting, I saw my good friend Brandon and he, along with other con-goers, bought my book. Now that I think of it, the book was selling in a consistent rate. I pretty much made back the table expenses.

After the show I tagged along Paul and David to Hooper's Cooking, a southern cajun restaurant, and then went to the after party live art show. Didn't stay long and left for Dallas that same night, ending up sleeping on a random picnic area on the road.

Overall, it was a great show to be at, and an extremely different vibe from the shows I usually attend. It bums me that it's only done once a year because there aren't many shows like this especially in Dallas.

Here's a video recap done by Texas Geek TV

You can see me at around 3 minutes in.

I'd like to thank all of you who bought my books, Michael Dulce for his free copy of The Sire, and to Uncle Staple for putting such a neat show.

I'll be back next year!

Jose Sketchbook

2009-03-06T18:48:00.000-08:00

Jose's Sketchbook Vol 1.
Art by Jose Esquivel
32 Pages B&W

This issue will debut at STAPLE this coming Saturay, and soon will be available at indyplanet.com.

RHD

2009-03-06T18:43:00.000-08:00

RHD #1
Story, Art, and Cover by Jose Esquivel
24 Pages B/W

This issue will be debuting at STPLE this coming Saturday, and soon will be available at indyplanet.com.

SPALE! 2009

2009-02-24T10:41:00.000-08:00

Just a little update. I'll be at STAPLE on Saturday, March 7, 2009 in Austin, TX at the Monarch Events Center in Austin, TX. I'll be selling copies of my comic book, Reinhard District, and Sketchbook. My table is 62B between Kristian Donaldson and MBD Studio. Hope to see some of you there.

http://www.staple-austin.org

Siamese

2009-02-23T18:17:00.000-08:00

Here's something I did for CA.org's CHOW challenge. I didnt' finish it in time, though.

Plans for the Year

2009-01-10T05:58:00.001-08:00

I got back from my trip to Mexico this past week and I'm in semi-crunch mode. I'm preparing for both Ikkicon (Feb. 6-8) and Staple (Mar. 7), both in Austin. I also was invited to post at the Staple blog, which is awesome, and will post something soon. In the meantime, enjoy this:

Happy New Year's

2008-12-31T09:51:00.000-08:00

That is all...

I'll post some sketches I did while I was on my trip for the holidays this weekend.

Getting Ready for Oklahoma

2008-11-17T00:53:00.001-08:00

I've been preparing myself for a little trip I'll be taking this weekend with a good friend of mines. We're going to Oklahoma for the weekend at Izumicon. I'll be in the artist alley doing the usual, selling prints and doing comissions. I will most definately bring this new piece I finished recently:

I may do some slight changes in the color, but this is how it will look.

I'm also done putting together a sketchbook for next year. I pretty much compiled the best sketches, illustrations, and pages I've done in the past year. It should hit the printers by new years.

Also, enjoy this Batman:

Schooling

2008-10-23T19:46:00.001-07:00

Sorry for lack of update, but I'm going to school and it's taking me a while to manage my time since it's now classes are more demanding. But here, have some watercolors I did for a project.

Donations

2008-09-07T13:34:00.000-07:00

Oh, Hai!

Last night I went to the POW Live Art Show and Auction hosted by The Hero Foundry. Hero Foundry is a charity group that provides schools, libraries, and hospitals with graphic novels. I donated the following two pieces for auction.

Synesthetic Release Party

2008-08-17T19:46:00.000-07:00

I was at Titan comics for Synesthetic's release party hosted by ArtLoveMagic. Synesthetic is a graphic novel anthology featuring stories by about 20 creators, including myself. The Space-Gun peeps, ring-leaders of the project, were there to sell the book along with Nate Bramble, Grant Sutherland, Ryan Roberts, and others to sign sold copies. All profits made from the book will go into printing more copies for Baltimore Comic-Con. I'll post some links to pics as soon as I find them.

Also, I'm not going to Baltimore.

Also, also, grammar is your friend.

Some more sketches, pondering about Baltimore

2008-07-07T08:45:00.001-07:00

I almost got everything down on the website. I updated the Sketches and Illustration section with a new piece and a old one. In that order.

The first is an exercise done in Photoshop. I was focusing on my color theory and use of more blues for shading. I kept using grays for the clothes so it still looks bland.

The second was self-portrait done for an college entry portfolio review. It details a daily struggle in my life.

Another thing of note is that I updated the links section with my friends Nate's website. He's a talented cartoonist that has about three self published comic books on sale now plus a sketch book on the way.

He also related something on his facebook website about something that happened to him around May. It's old news, but I just caught wind of it:

I just wanted to share with you all a recent experience in which I was totally screwed by a comic show promoter, James Vaughn of JMV Entertainment. He contacted me about two months ago and invited me to be a guest at the next JMV comic show down in Houston. That was supposed to be today, but when I arrived to the show at the hotel in Houston I was met with a blank stare from the hotel reception person. There was no show scheduled. They'd never heard of JMV Entertainment. There was a hotel lobby full of very pissed off people; exhibitors and artists and comic fans who all came for a show that wasn't there.

Vaughn didn't contact me or anyone else to tell us that the show had been cancelled. I spoke to some of the other invited guests and they are all as pissed as I am. Even as I type this the JMV Entertainment web site is still using my name and a few others to promote the non-show today. I flue to Houston, rented a car and paid for a night in a hotel all for nothing.

-Nate Bramble

I checked his website and I saw that he schedule another "show" in July. I think it's either ineptitude or intentional demeanor for getting plenty of people mad. I'll be wary of this person.

Speaking of conventions, I'm still pondering attending Baltimore Comic-con on September. My friends, including Nate, are all attending, and I find the hotel expenses to be fair. The only problem would be plane tickets...

Change of Format

2008-07-01T03:15:00.000-07:00

I'm starting a new way on how I organize my art in this page.

I separated the art in 4 sections: Illustrations, Concepts, Comics, and Sketches. These post will be edited to add new art and then post about in newer blog entries. I will have links to the individual sections at the side bar.

Sketches

2008-07-01T03:05:00.000-07:00

Roughs and other preliminary work.

Comics

2008-07-01T03:02:00.000-07:00

Macabro short story.

RHD

Sword Dancer - For Synesthetic Anthology.

Illustrations

2008-07-01T02:58:00.000-07:00

Miscellaneous illustration work.

Concepts

2008-07-01T02:50:00.000-07:00

Character Concepts

Environment Concepts