Happy & Merry

I know Christmas is around the corner but...

Around Halloween time I had a Halloween Kid Exquisite Corpse creative writing contest exclusively on my Facebook page. Folks were asked to submit 3 sentences to weave a new yarn-of-a-tale for The Halloween Kid. Many entered, but there was only one winner: Omar Karmally! Congrats again Omar! For the prize, Omar received an original 11X17 inch black and white drawing depicting his entry. Thanks to everyone who entered! Here is the prize COLORED, like in The Halloween Kid children's book. I added part of the dialogue that he entered into the colored piece. Here it is:

For the rest of the writing entries and to be part of more contests like this, make sure to check out my Facebook page!

~Rhode

The Halloween Kid Round Up 2011!

Yee- Ha-lloween everyone! Just thought I'd share some Halloween Kid news! I just did 3 back to back school visits in Petaluma, CA, thanks to Copperfield's Books. A year later since the book came out, it looks like the kids are still hankerin' for some Halloween Kid- so that was nice to see. The students also enjoyed a new activity that I recently introduced to the school and store visits- A toilet paper mummy wrapping contest! This is based on the first villains that show up in the book- Toilet Paper Mummies!  The kids go bonkers for this part. (I did not plan for this loud frenzy when I did the contest at the Brooklyn LIBRARY- oops!) They have to wrap their partner as fast as possible and the prize- a HUGE bag of 100+ candy!  It was also during the school visits that I learned that the book is on it's third printing- a first for me! Thanks for everyone who has supported the book!

Here are some action sketches of The Halloween Kid:

Here were two examples of the welcome signs that the students did when I arrived at the recent school visits:

This was a student's drawing which immediately stood out amongst the rest when I walked into the auditorium. I later learned his name was Anthony. You could just tell this kid has a natural talent, because no one else's sign came close to it. The level that he was at for his age was advanced. I had a small talk with Anthony later and told him that he has something special and that he should keep practicing. I expect great things coming from this kid!

Finally, here are some super drawings that my friend Britt's kid, Oliver, did based on some characters in The Halloween Kid book- pretty fun! Good job Oliver!

Toilet Paper Mummy!

Goodie Goblin!

Pumpkin' Suckin' Vampire!

The Giant Miami Werewolf! Raaaaawr!!!

Also, for those that may be interested, The Halloween Kid is on Facebook:

Click Here!

 May your Halloween be full of magic. YEE-HA-LLOWEEN!

~Rhode

It's The Great Halloween Compilation!

Hi Boils and Ghouls!
As the most magical holiday approaches, I thought I'd compile all the Halloween images that I've ever done! (Well, at least the ones on my computer.) So here they are! Happy Halloweeeeeeen!!! ~Rhode

Also, here's a short Halloween-y movie intro that I made.

Facebook Contest Prize: Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman

Hi all!

Recently, I had a surprise contest just for those who are on my Facebook art page, where everyone was asked to name some of my favorite movie scenes. Unbeknownst to contestants was a "special" prize. At the end of the contest, it was revealed that the winner would receive a drawing of MY rendition of THEIR favorite movie. It was a heated contest and participants even named some obscure scenes that I thought would surely stump them. After 21 entries, the winner was Michael Cobra! Congratulations again Michael! For his favorite movie, Michael chose a classic,  FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN. Here is the original 11x17 inch inked drawing that I sent to Michael:

(click to enlarge)

It depicts the final confrontation in the movie that takes place in a laboratory that is falling apart. It was a fun challenge drawing these two classic movie monsters!

Here is a sample of some my 21 favorite movie scenes that were on the Facebook contest:

To participate in more surprise contests like this, see exclusive peeks and more, please join this page on Facebook. Something might be around the corner...

Thanks for reading!

~Rhode

Halloween...It Begins!

Hello Folks,

It's my favorite time of the year and the big day is right around the corner! There is lots going on and I hope to share whatever I can on here. I was recently invited to be part of a Halloween-themed art show this month at Stranger Factory. Stranger Factory is a gallery in New Mexico owned by the super-creative dynamic duo, Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters. The BEWITCHING show opening was on October 5th and these were my contributions:

The show had lots of really nice 2D and 3D pieces. You can see many of them here! Thanks Brandt and Kathie!

Also, coming up, I will be doing a special reading of THE HALLOWEEN KID at one of the greatest children's book stores, BOOKS OF WONDER! This event is from 12:00- 2:00pm on Saturday October 15th. If you are in the New York area, please join me along with more creators reading their books, including:

PETER BROWN- You Will Be My Friend

MARGIE PALATINI- Goldie and the Three Hares

JODI MOORE  - When A Dragon Moves InFIONA ROBINSON - What Animals Really Like
GARY RUBENSTEIN - The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes
GEOFFREY HAYES - A Poor Excuse for a Dragon
MARK SIEGEL - Moving House

More information here. All ages are welcome!

Day of the Dead Art Show in Mexico!

Hello Everyone!
I recently was invited by THE AUTUMN SOCIETY to contribute to a Day of the Dead/ Dia de los Muertos event in Mexico! I couldn't say no! We were asked to pick an icon, living or passed, (non-fictional) that would be done with a Day of the Dead treatment. THE ICONOCLASTIC DEAD exhibit will be at Guru Gallery in Mexico City (Opening is this Saturday, October 1st). Can you guess who I picked? Many thanks to Chogrin who invited me to participate! If you are in Mexico, I hope you'll check out the show!

(click to enlarge)

Check out the nice flyer by German Orozco!

Also, here is a trailer for the show:

SKELETOWN In This Sunday's BALDO Comic Strip!

Hello Everyone!
I know it's been awhile, but lots of things have been in the works.  I was really honored when I was recently asked to be part of a Sunday comic strip, BALDO! BALDO is America's first Latino comic strip family! I've always wanted to do a comic strip. I used to cut my favorites from the Sunday paper when I was little, so this is a big dream come true! Check your local newspaper Sunday, September 25th! This was for BALDO'S Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, where they invite different artists to collaborate with their comic strip. You can see a little bit of my SKELETOWN world in the strip!  Thanks to Hector Cantu and Carlos  Castellanos! I'm really excited to see it in print. Here is a small sneak peek:

(I will share the final piece after it comes out or visit THIS SITE on September 25th)

New Skeletown Tote Bag And More!

Skeletown Tote Bag #2- SOLD OUT

Hi folks!
With the San Diego Comic Con around the corner, I'm starting to get back new goodies from the printers that will be at the show, like this new Skeletown tote bag! BUT for one week only (ends 6/26/11) I'm offering this new tote bag up to everybody online and a whole month before the show! So here, for a limited time, is a new Skeletown tote bag depicting Skully blowing bubbles, in a Posada- inspired image. This measures 14X17.5 inches and comes with a black design on cream or canvas- colored fabric. $15 plus priority shipping (U.S. only -sorry!)

Skeletown Card and Envelope Set

I also have a Skeletown papel picado-style card and envelope set made for the first annual Latino Comic Book Expo, which I was really happy with how they turned out. I'm excited about offering these for first time online. They measure 4X5 inches with a thick white cut out design against pink interior. Each come with a cream envelope and packaged in a mylar bag. (shown below)

These are $6 with FREE shipping (order as many as you like!). Also there is no one week purchase time limit on these.

I also have a new Skeletown shirt design plus new buttons on the way. If  they get in sooner than later, I'll offer them up on here, as well. Thanks for reading! ~Rhode

NOTE*** If you are reading this on Facebook and see no Paypal link to purchase, please click to go to the original blog posting HERE!