Thursday, June 30, 2011

A Really Short Tour Of A Very Small Part Of Japan

So, I put some thought into things and I have to confess that having been bored by other peoples' vacation slideshows (some reading this will know exactly who I mean), I've decided not to get too deep in the blow by blow description of things.  I think I drone on enough to begin with.  Instead, I'm just going to give a few generalized impressions of my time in Japan.

The three places I visited were Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka.  They're pretty close to one another and linked rather thoroughly by a train system which, as I've stated before, is startlingly easy to navigate.  Amy and I only had a partial free day in Nagoya which we had the good fortune to spend with Daarken and Kat.  There we got to see a cool temple, as well as a bit of the city's castle.  Amazing stuff, really.

Nagoya as seen from our hotel.
©Amy Belledin
©Amy Belledin
©Amy Belledin
©Amy Belledin
©Amy Belledin

After Nagoya, it was off to Kyoto which is a strange and wonderful place and where we spent the majority of the next week.  Kyoto boasts over 1400 temples and shrines and is widely considered to be Japan's cultural heart.  It has pockets of old Japan dispersed throughout the city which, aside from the train station and the Kyoto tower is not particularly tall or built up.  In fact, it feels in many ways rather like the city itself is only now just starting to be brought into the modern world.

©Amy Belledin
©Amy Belledin
©Amy Belledin
©Amy Belledin

A rather fun little exercise in Kyoto is to try and find a temple or shrine that was not destroyed in a fire and rebuilt at least once.  If there are any, I don't believe we visited any of them.  It seems like pretty much every one of them had been as recently rebuilt as the 1800's, though their locations have remained the same for centuries.


©Amy Belledin
©Amy Belledin
©Amy Belledin
©Amy Belledin
©Amy Belledin

Finally, there was Osaka, in which we spent a day.  The first thing we did was went to the aquarium which contains a whale shark.  A real, live whale shark.  Pretty sure that'll be the only time I ever see one, and I'm still amazed by it.  After that we spent some time ambling about the city, saw its castle and eventually wondered into Osaka's seemingly endless shopping district, which felt a lot like a mishmash of the Jersey Shore and Las Vegas, with a little Greenwich Village and mid-town Manhattan thrown in for good measure.  It's kind of something you have to see to believe, really.

©Steven Belledin
Osaka Castle
©Amy Belledin
©Amy Belledin
©Amy Belledin

Overall, I have to say that I was pretty blown away by Japan.  Sure we only saw a little slice of it, but it was an impressive slice.  The food was excellent, the people amazingly gracious and helpful, and the sights unlike anything I had ever seen before.  If for any reason you're intimidated as I was by the language barrier, I highly recommend you reconsider.  The benefits of a trip to Japan will be worth it.  I avoided the idea of going there for more than a decade and now that I've gone, I already look forward to returning.

©Amy Belledin
©Amy Belledin

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Surviving and Thriving in Japan

So, here's the deal: before this year, I did not include Japan among my list of places I'd like to see before I die. Sure, I've read a bit about Japan and seen a lot of movies either from or about the country, and there was definitely something intriguing about the place, but I just couldn't bring myself to even consider going there due to a little something folks like to refer to as "fear." The reason for this fear is simple: the language gap was something I was convinced would be too much for me. Sure, I've visited lots of places full of people who spoke something other than English (France, Germany, Costa Rica, and much of New York City for that matter), but there was at least the ability to decipher the written language for the purposes of navigation and the ordering of meals, etc. Japanese, on the other hand, is not something easily worked out casually and, as I learned over the course of my stay, my suspicions about the difficulties resulting from this problem proved true.

So, if my fear was keeping me from going, then how is it that I ended up there? Simple. In February of this year, I got the invite to go to Nagoya, Japan as an artist guest for one of Magic's Pro-Tour events. I ended up in Japan because I got an opportunity that even my feeble brain could see was great enough to make my fears seem irrelevant. Add to that the knowledge that Amy had long wanted to visit Japan and would likely have killed me had I turned down the opportunity, and you've got Steve on a plane. Next to a kid. With motion sickness. Who vomited for twelve hours straight.

But I digress.

©Amy Belledin

Usually when preparing to invade a foreign country, I like to spend about a month beforehand listening to language tapes and reading up on customs and the like. This time around, my schedule just didn't allow for that much prep. I had ten days to cram what I could, and of course it turned out to be woefully inadequate. What I could not have guessed was how little that would matter. Turns out that Japan was far more user friendly than I could have imagined.

Our first task upon arrival to Kansai airport was to find our way to the train station. Piece of cake. English signs. The next task was to buy tickets to Nagoya. Also a piece of cake. I had the choice between ticket machines that had an English setting or ticket clerks who apparently did, as well. Having managed those two things the rest was a simple matter of deciphering the mysteries of the train system, which, after about two minutes were no longer an issue, either. To my surprise, the train trip from Osaka, Kansai to Nagoya involved no confusion, and a rather relaxing ride on one of Japan's famous high-speed trains, the shinkansen. The final step in was to navigate Nagoya's train station and find our hotel. Given the fact that the hotel was actually in the station itself, it wasn't long before I was standing at the front desk, then in our room, thus ending 24 straight hours of travel.  All without freaking out once.

©Amy Belledin

The next day, Amy and I met up with the other artist guest, Mike "Daarken" Lim, and his wife, Kat, in the hotel lobby and the four of us set out to the event which was being held 20 minutes away. Waiting for us was a really nice set up with shelves, tables, security and the usual white chains, as well as about a dozen or so fans sitting between those chains patiently waiting.

Me, Mike, and Kat
©Amy Belledin

The line I encountered upon arriving each day.
©Amy Belledin
Either my bio in Japanese, or Ron Foster's manifesto railing against such institutions as the Society of Illustrators and Spectrum...but probably just my bio.
©Amy Belledin


All in all, the time I spent signing went rather smoothly. For the most part, it seems, signing is about the same wherever you go. Folks in line hand stuff to you, you sign it, you return it to them and thank them.  Lather, rinse, repeat. Occasionally you stop to take a picture with someone or you're asked to draw something and you take the time to do it. All the while, Amy is abuzz behind me keeping things organized. Generally, she'll handle any transactions that need doing so that I don't ever have to stop signing or drawing, thus allowing me to cram in as many signatures as possible. It's a really great system and I'm going to take this opportunity to thank her.

This was the best shot I got of her.

If it weren't for Amy's diligence, there would invariably have been fans who didn't get cards signed because I got too tied up in making change or because I needed to stop and grab a Coke (though the fine folks at Wizards made it so that I never wanted for anything). I am so very grateful to have Amy keeping my act together at events like this, and I confess that I'm rather proud to be the Robin to her Batman.

©Amy Belledin
Daarken and Kat signing diligently.
©Amy Belledin
Me displaying some excellent posture while fans look on.
©Amy Belledin

Despite the relative normalcy of the event, there were two things that made this signing noteworthy.  One was the gifts bestowed upon me by the fans (something I am going to write about in just a few days time more thoroughly).  The second was the fact that I was down for much of Sunday with an upset stomach due to overindulging with the Wizards' staff the night before. Suffice it to say that I ate too much, drank WAY too much, and mixed things that should never, ever be mixed.  Still, I toughed it out and signed until my line was gone.  I even managed to make it to the very end of the event and do some further signing for the tournament judges, which I think is kind of important as they work their tails off.  Unfortunately, it also meant that I was asleep in the back room for long stretches and was thus unavailable, and that there were a few fans who unfortunately bore witness to sights that they likely wish they could unsee.  For this, I apologize.

Delicious fish.
©Amy Belledin
Sake. The bull's eye pattern was trying to tell me something, I'm sure of it.
©Amy Belledin
Me and Ron Foster.  Believe it or not it went downhill from there.
©Amy Belledin

Now, my trip did not end with the Magic event, but for the sake of this entry's length I'm going to wrap things up and save the tales of the following week for another day. In the meantime, I want to take a moment to thank everyone for the Nagoya Pro Tour event. Thanks to Ron Foster at Wizards for giving me the opportunity in the first place, for the help he provided in my subsequent travels, and for a really, really good time. Thanks to Matt Danner who made an unreasonable number of trips to the Circle K, found me a garbage can, and made sure that I wanted for absolutely nothing while I was there.  Thanks, too, to Toby Maheras, Mark Purvis and everyone else at Wizards. I really had a great time and I appreciate everything.

I swear there were more people there than this photo indicates. 
However, it's a pretty cool photo in my opinion.
©Amy Belledin

I'd also like to once again thank the fans who were awesome, as always.  I continue to be very fortunate to have folks who seem to dig what I do for some reason or another.  Truth be told, if it weren't for the fans, I wouldn't have a career in illustration and I am very grateful for their continued support and kind words.  Thanks a ton!

©Amy Belledin

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Move 'Em On, Head 'Em Up, Trollhide

I'm still trying to get on top of on the work that piled up while I was away, which means that the compiling of Japan bits is taking longer than I'd hoped.  So, in the meantime, I thought I'd just go ahead and toss out a new image from Magic called Trollhide:

©Wizards of the Coast

Like many pieces I've done for Magic, it's pretty straightforward.  A guy is there... kind of hulking out... with his trollhide... or... something.  The only notes I remember getting on the sketch were to push the scale a bit more as the first version wasn't quite as hulky as the folks at Wizards had hoped.  I changed it and this version got approved.  Whether or not I pushed it far enough is probably open to debate, but here's how I approached it:

Picking a moment in a transformation is always tough.  Indeed, trying to decide what moment to pick within any given action can be challenging.  Do you go for a shot smack in the middle?  Something more towards the end?  Or, do you — as I attempted in this case — try and show a range of stages of transformation all at once?  I guess it really depends on the type of thing you're trying to depict.  But, as I said before, in this instance I wanted to show normal bits of the as yet untransformed human, as well as a few more fully transformed bits.  While I sketched, I kept coming back to the fact that he wasn't transforming into a troll, merely gaining the troll's hide.  So, in essence his physiology wouldn't be changing much at all.  Sure he might be hulking out a bit, but he should still retain most of his human traits.

Still, I'm not sure that any of his trollhide has fully developed as evidenced by the fact that his shirt is still tearing.  I mean, we've all seen enough of the Incredible Hulk to know that eventually that thing is going to come off.  His pants, however, are sure to survive relatively unscathed.  'Cause... you know... it's Magic.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Back From Japan


Every time I do a signing, I eventually end up with one of these.  It's sort of a pen tester/blotter.  Over the course of a signing, pens can get a little gunked up and will suddenly just stop working.  So, on the side, I keep something to scribble on to jump start my pens and get them going again.  As you can see, over the course of my signing in Japan, I used one of my business cards.  I usually use a piece of scrap, but I forgot to pack some.  The way I saw it, I'd have one fewer card to take home with me, but of course I brought it home with me, anyway.

I've got lots to say about Japan, and a bunch of pictures to post, but I just got in late last night and am trying to catch up with work.  I'm going to need a day or two to organize my thoughts and hammer them into something worth reading, but suffice it to say that Japan was awesome and the fans there were equally so.  I was treated well, had a blast and I look forward to going to Japan again soon — either on Magic's behalf or for my own vacation.

In the meantime, I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly thank the fine folks of Wizards of the Coast for inviting me out there.  I wanted for nothing and was treated with more forgiveness than perhaps I deserved after a night of over-indulging.  I am humbled by the generosity of Wizards and the fine folks who work there.  Many, many thanks.

I'd also like to thank the fans who came from all over the world and stopped by to say hello.  I continue to be blown away that anyone would want my signature, let alone be willing to wait in line for it.  If I made any major gaffs or violated any international laws, they were kind enough not to point it out to me.  If anything, the fans were awesome as usual and often found humor in my terrible Japanese and inability to drink saki without major consequences.  I am honored by the fans' many kindnesses and I look forward to hopefully meeting them again soon.  Until then, I'm afraid I need to get back to work.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Of Gaffs and Waiting

After a major gaff this past weekend, I ended up owing a guy a painting.  I'm not going to get into any in-depth explanation but suffice it to say that in an extremely rare occurrence, my memory was more correct than Amy's, and a new policy was born whereby I shall no longer sell or discuss selling paintings that are not present at events I attend.  While a painting's presence does not mean it is not for sale (in fact, it's likely up for grabs), I cannot guarantee that my memory of the painting's location will be 100% accurate and I'd rather not come home again to find out that I've managed to sell a painting twice.

I'm sure that last bit made some of you want to slap me upside the head and I totally cop to being unprofessional and disorganized.  There really is no excuse for what happened and I guarantee that it will never happen again (my new policy ensures it).  Fortunately, the guy in question was pretty awesome about the whole thing and instead it was agreed that I would just go ahead and paint a new painting.

Okay, so that's more in-depth than I intended, and it really did sound shorter in my head... Moving on...

So, what does this mean?  Well, I had promised a while ago to do progress shots of a personal piece or a cover that was allegedly going to come through.  As of right now, the cover is MIA and due to the gaff mentioned above, I now have to paint something during the time I had set aside to work on my personal piece.  Still, I'll be able to post progress shots of this new piece, which means I can still fulfill a promise to the readers of this blog — I swear progress shots will appear in the near future.  However, it also means that I've broken a promise to myself.

As it now stands, I likely won't get on with my own work until late in the summer at the absolute earliest.  I have several large commissions queued up and I just know that time is going to roar by at an alarming rate.  With all the expenses of the world, client work and commissions need to come first, but I must confess that I am getting itchy.  The desire to work on something that is all my own with no one else's input is quickly going from whisper to shout.  It's been a year and a half since I managed to squeeze something in and the wait before me feels like an eternity.

The bad news is that everything between now and then may become tainted with resentment as it's not what I want to be doing.  Travel, taking the time to ride a bike or take a walk, and doing work for clients is all going to be seen on some level of my brain as hindrances to the perceived bliss and promise of my own work.  This is not uncommon for me, and it's something I've touched on before (link).  While I'll still put my all into each piece I have ahead of me, there's a part of me that will be irritated until the time comes when I can finally sit down and start slapping paint with no one to answer to.

The good news is this.  I have the reference — in fact, I've had the reference since before I moved to Massachusetts.  I also have the surface: thirty inches by forty inches, stretched Belgian linen — I've had that a long time, too.  I've got the materials, and I've got the sketch.  Now all I need is the time.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Grand Prix, Providence

©Amy Belledin

As mentioned before, I was at a Magic Grand Prix tournament last weekend in Providence, Rhode Island.  I figured it'd be worth tossing up some pictures Amy took of the event and adding a bit of color commentary.

©Amy Belledin

This hat is worth mentioning because...well, obviously it's pretty awesome.  There were several players rocking this hat and as far as I'm concerned it was easily the best bit of player wardrobe I saw all weekend.

©Amy Belledin

So the vast majority of what I do when I go to events like this is sign cards.  I don't keep track of how many cards I sign, but I'm sure that I signed well over a thousand of them over the two and half days I was there.  I'm pretty sure I signed fewer cards than when I was in Germany last year, but then I think there were fewer players, as well.  Someday, I really aught to have a go at keeping track of the numbers.  I'm not sure if the results would be amusing or depressing.  But I guess that would depend on how much my hand hurt.

Surprisingly, folks still ask how much it costs to have something signed, a subject I've covered before (link).  Short answer: signatures are free.  I wonder if there are Magic artists out there who do charge, or whether folks in line were just confused by players in front of them tipping from time to time.  If you're still wondering, check out that link.

©Amy Belledin

Fortunately for the players and fans, I was not the only artist at the event.  Several other artists including r.k. post, Ryan Pancoast, Lars Grant-West and Cyril Van Der Haegen were also in attendance which kept lines pretty short as players had a lot of lines to choose from.

Above, Ryan Pancoast checks out my Etched Monstrosity painting, probably pondering how long I'll have correctable eye sight what with all the tiny detail included.

©Amy Belledin

Here, Lars Grant-West is letting fly with all that built up artist angst I hear so much about.  Either that, or he's putting on his best game face to scare Amy away from his tip jar.

©Amy Belledin

Aside from signing, I end up doing a lot of drawing.  Here's a picture of my artist proofs all organized in alphabetical order.  I often end up drawing on the white backs of these puppies and during this event had the good fortune of getting to draw whatever I wanted on all but one of them.  For some reason, I was on a bird kick during the event and a lot of my images included birds in one way or another — like this zombie, for example.  Can't go wrong with a zombie.  'Course add a bird to that zombie and you've got instant gold.  Zombie bird?  Too far.

©Amy Belledin

©Amy Belledin

Here's the only request on a proof that I got.  Darth Vader.  I'd never drawn Darth Vader before.  Turns out to be difficult when you've only got one color (which is ironic because he's almost completely black).  I think he came out fairly well, however.  Could have been WAY worse.

Generally, I like getting to do my own thing on proof drawings.  I think that's true of most artists.  I know a lot of folks have a stock set of images they go for, but I try and do something a little different each time.  I like not knowing where I'm headed until it's too late.  Makes the moments when I'm not signing card after card more interesting.

©Amy Belledin

Yet another way I spend my time at these events is drawing on people's playmats, something I've covered in a FAQ (link).  They're quite a bit more time consuming because of their size and they tend to be more complex image-wise.  I think if you added every square inch I did during the Grand Prix, it would add up to about four full playmats — far fewer than fellow artist Ryan Pancoast was belting out.  He did three just in the last day (that I'm aware of).  Seriously, that dude's an animal.  'Course his drawing style is far neater and more appealing than my own.  I tend to be pretty sketchy, and that likely isn't some people's thing.

Anyway, playmat drawings can eat up the hours quick.  In fact, I often have to take them to the hotel room and get them done during "off" hours in order to keep the lines moving during the "on" hours.  Not this time, though.  I managed to do pretty much every drawing in the bits and bobs of time between signatures, which I was pretty happy about.

©Amy Belledin

So, this is me on Saturday night.  Dinner outside along Providence's canal.  It was also the night of Water Fire.  I'm sure only a few reading this are familiar with it, but Providence's canal is a pretty nice place.  It's kind of like a miniature version of the Seine River.  You can walk along the canal, and during Water Fire, they light these floating braziers all along the canal's length.  Add to that performance artists and hippy music, and you've got yourself an interesting (if not crowded) time.  Of course this just happened to be the weekend of Brown University's commencement, so the place was hopping, but I'm sure it's similarly crowded whenever Water Fire happens... but that's just my guess.

At the end of the day, it was a pretty great event, in a really great town.  Providence itself is worth checking out (if only for the restaurants), and I, for one, had a great time.  I want to thank Thomas Shea and his folks at TJ Collectibles for taking care of us with constant water, food and plenty of space.  Also, thanks to the fans and players for their kind words, conversation, and support.  It's all the people involved with the game that make this gig go from pretty good, to great.  I am extremely lucky to be doing this day in and day out and can't thank everyone enough.

In just a short week, I'll be in Japan to do it all over again.  Different crew, completely different part of the world — should be interesting!  Did I mention how lucky I am?