howdy all!
its that time of year again, when a young man's fancy turns to cons! and once again i'll be at the NYCC artist alley -- table d6, if you really need to know. and yes, you really do need to know! i'll have the usual swag: all all seven (yes, seven) sketchbooks and the misfits manual color book, tons of original pages from batman beyond, big barda, the classics and dare, plus some prints.
as always, i am open to commissions; as always, it's best to hit me up ahead of time, since i'm keeping a fairly limited number of spots open.
hopefully i'll be posting more soon -- i certainly have a lot to talk about -- but i've got lots to do today and my good-for-nothing infant can barely letter. and mrs ben c won't let me fire him, because apparently rampant nepotism is a-ok in the caldwell household.
cheers!
Friday, September 20, 2013
Friday, August 9, 2013
LEGEND OF KORRA BACKGROUND ARTS
howdy all!
earlier this year i did a ton of backgrounds for a korra spinoff, "republic city hustle", following the early misadventures of mako and bolin. the first of the 3 web episodes is up now at http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/legend-of-korra-republic-city-hustle-episode-1-cd3.html
anyway, it was a lot of fun to do, here are some of my favorites:
i'll post more as more episodes air. oh! i also did a bunch of storyboarding, i'll post some of that eventually.
cheers!
Friday, June 7, 2013
new (and old)books for sale!
hi all!
been a while for this blog, to be honest i can just keep up with tweeting, but between work and domestic stuff there hasn't been a lot of down time. hopefully i'll make some time to post some notes to recent projects etc soon.
in the meantime, i have 3 new(ish) books available to order!
1) all the misfit manual preorders are done, so anyone who missed out on the kickstarter can order the book directly from me! it's hardcover, full color, 60pp of art and notes on the world's most defective detectives, their friends and foes, and more!
2) there is also the first volume of my daily doodles, 80pp b/w softcover!
3) and finally, i reprinted the uberfolio. this is a compendium of the first 4 dare sketchbooks (3, 5, 7, & 9) rescanned, resized and with bonus pages. 126pp b/w softcover. this book supplements a lot of the background and history in the misfits manual! i didn't print up a ton of these, so i don't know how long they'll last.
as always, email me ben@daredetectives.com to order any books, commissions, etc. i accept checks or paypal; checks are slower, paypal will include a small fee. other book and ordering info is in this post.
been a while for this blog, to be honest i can just keep up with tweeting, but between work and domestic stuff there hasn't been a lot of down time. hopefully i'll make some time to post some notes to recent projects etc soon.
in the meantime, i have 3 new(ish) books available to order!
1) all the misfit manual preorders are done, so anyone who missed out on the kickstarter can order the book directly from me! it's hardcover, full color, 60pp of art and notes on the world's most defective detectives, their friends and foes, and more!
$25 + shipping
2) there is also the first volume of my daily doodles, 80pp b/w softcover!
$15 + shipping
3) and finally, i reprinted the uberfolio. this is a compendium of the first 4 dare sketchbooks (3, 5, 7, & 9) rescanned, resized and with bonus pages. 126pp b/w softcover. this book supplements a lot of the background and history in the misfits manual! i didn't print up a ton of these, so i don't know how long they'll last.
$25 +shipping
as always, email me ben@daredetectives.com to order any books, commissions, etc. i accept checks or paypal; checks are slower, paypal will include a small fee. other book and ordering info is in this post.
also, i won't be at any cons this year except maybe NYCC, so if you want any of the books, online is the most direct way to get them. ok, breaking into my house is the most direct way, but that didn't work last time, DID IT CHAD? so ordering from me online is the reasonable alternative!
stupid chad.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
WW tattoo
this was a commission for a tattoo sleeve of everyone's favorite anachronistic indo-iranian monarchist, wonder woman!
no anarcho-syndicalist communes here!
this was a lot of fun and i'm pretty happy with the results, although i think i might have to shrink the head down a smudge. finishing up one other big commission tonight, i'll post that if i can fit it into my scanner...
Sunday, April 21, 2013
EDIT!
hi all!
i have some more daily doodles to post, but first... when i posted/tweeted the "sangster" picture, i said it needed work, and someone asked why. which is an excellent and very important question. one of the fundamental jobs of any artist is to look at what they've done critically, and decide what worked and what could be improved.
in the case of the "sangster" picture, there wasn't anything wrong, it just isn't as strong as it could be. the main reason is that it's supposed to be a action-filled pose, but it has too many breaks in it.
the way i draw, the sweeping lines of my high-energy drawings (even if it's just a face) are the same as racing on a road -- the more breaks there are, the more stopping and starting there is. that kills the action. and that is what i want to fix in the "sangster" pic.
so a more fluid and energetic pose might look like this.
but there is never one solution for anything, so another option that has the same sweeping lines could be:
i have some more daily doodles to post, but first... when i posted/tweeted the "sangster" picture, i said it needed work, and someone asked why. which is an excellent and very important question. one of the fundamental jobs of any artist is to look at what they've done critically, and decide what worked and what could be improved.
in the case of the "sangster" picture, there wasn't anything wrong, it just isn't as strong as it could be. the main reason is that it's supposed to be a action-filled pose, but it has too many breaks in it.
pictured: boring
pictured: thicker lines! that must be important!
so a more fluid and energetic pose might look like this.
and that's that!
Monday, April 15, 2013
catching up...
hi all!
crazy few weeks, and blabby blah blah. here are my recent doodles...
feeling impatient for summer...
still feeling impatient for summer. also been reading a lot of manga lately, including "umi no misaki", not to mention working on the new (tropical) dare, so here is sarah kincaid on the beach. i feel that my recent art has lost some of its fluidity, possibly because i was doing some comics work where "cartooniness" was something to be avoided.
hoping to get it back!
under the influence of "bakuman" (i told you i was reading a lot of manga) i decided to do some speed tests, in this case seeing how fast i could pencil a page in this particular style. the answer is 39 minutes. having said that, the backgrounds are nothing to write home about, and there isn't anything extremely challenging about these particular poses or expressions, so i'll have to push myself harder the for the next test!
testing to get looser.
definitely need to get better!
threw open my daily doodles to suggestions, then jammed 3 of them (dracula, marty mcfly, and monkey a la "journey to the west") together. i think it could have been hilarious, this picture is... okay.
just wanted to do a high-octane pose. this is maria dare, undercover in the fictional punk band "sangster". originally her skirt was going to fly around more, but that didn't look... right. this is another one where i like the overall concept and pose, just think it could use some work.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
here we go again... daily doodle 1 big barda
going to get back to daily doodles, just had a lot going on this winter.
8.5x11", pencil. SOLD, i think.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Friday, January 4, 2013
Friday, December 21, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
96 "rangers' roulette" 97 green lanterns 97b WW and 98 big barda
odds and ends from dare's 7th case "the rangers' roulette", when they go head to head with the super-spy dangers' rangers to uncover a high-tech conspiracy!
8x11", pencil. $40 if you want it.
8x11", pencil. $40 if you want it.
8x11", pencil. SOLD
8x11", red pencil. SOLD
oh, by the way, i'm working on something new (and yet, not so new) for DC right now...
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
commission info...
hi all!
as you may (or may not) know, my websites went down over the summer. they were all on apple's mobile me, which was discontinued, and i haven't had a chance to put them back together through my daredetectives.com site.
but a lot of people have been asking about commissions and sketchbooks, so for now i'm posting that info here for handy reference:
sb11 dare detectives
as you may (or may not) know, my websites went down over the summer. they were all on apple's mobile me, which was discontinued, and i haven't had a chance to put them back together through my daredetectives.com site.
but a lot of people have been asking about commissions and sketchbooks, so for now i'm posting that info here for handy reference:
COMMISSIONS
Commission rates:
Pencils 8.5x11” — $80
Inks 8”x11” — $150
Pencils 11”x17” — $150
Inks 14x17” — $250
TO ORDER
All domestic (US) orders: include $2 shipping,
plus $.75 per item for paypal purchases.
International orders: write me for shipping etc charges.
ben(at)daredetectives(dot)com
I accept check or Paypal
pencil sample
ink/marker sample
SKETCHBOOKS
All sketchbooks are 8.5”x11”, b/w interior, unless otherwise noted. All sketchbooks are $15, unless otherwise noted.
All domestic (US) orders: include $2.80 shipping,
plus $.75 per book for paypal purchases.
International orders: write me for shipping etc charges:
ben(at)daredetectives(dot)com
I accept check or Paypal
sb12 heroes
sb13 les femmes
sb14/15 dare detectives/amazonia
sb16 re:design
95 battleburr (and 93)
8x11", pencil. $40 if you want it.
8x11", pencil. SOLD.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
mai order ninja kickstarter!
hi all!
took a little time out of my usual craziness to donate this pinup as a reward for backing josh elder's ("reading with pictures") creator-owned "mail order ninja". the title is... pretty self-explanatory. the kickstarter ends tomorrow, here's a link to back the project, and maybe get my art!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/915250098/mail-order-ninja-returns/posts/344378
cheers!
ps - and after some technical issues, if you have some PDF(s) coming your way, keep an eye on your inbox!
took a little time out of my usual craziness to donate this pinup as a reward for backing josh elder's ("reading with pictures") creator-owned "mail order ninja". the title is... pretty self-explanatory. the kickstarter ends tomorrow, here's a link to back the project, and maybe get my art!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/915250098/mail-order-ninja-returns/posts/344378
cheers!
ps - and after some technical issues, if you have some PDF(s) coming your way, keep an eye on your inbox!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
hovercars!
just reposting awesomeness by lorenzo etherington of los bros etherington:
cheers!
ben c
you can see more of their shenanigans on their blog:
cheers!
ben c
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
more tiny doodles!
batman
my own sic-fi, anti-utopian story
was rewatching "sherlock" while working today. not only a brilliant series, but possibly the cleverest adaptations i've ever seen, of anything. suck it, james v hart! (and yes, that is a terrible likeness. i could claim i wasn't trying too hard -- i wasn't -- but likenesses usually aren't my strong point, anyway.)
one of my favorite stories has always been "hound of the baskervilles". when i first saw the sherlock version ("hounds of baskerville"), i couldn't believe how much it altered the story, while capturing it perfectly! i'd like to do a "real" illustration of it sometime, just don't know if/when i'll have time...
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