Some November News

Hey everybody!

Even though the last few weeks have been pretty hectic (with the insanity of six days of Halloween and Giants winning the World Series, on top of midterms and life in general) I still wanted to give you guys something to look at.

Last Monday there was a lecture by French illustrator Nine Antico. It was refreshing to see a European cartoonist's perspective, since I feel like in America we don't get any exposure to what's going on across the pond. I took some notes and doodled a portrait for this one.

 "If you have an intense feeling that takes a lot of space in your head - it is part of you and you have to use it."
- Nine Antico 

Earlier in the semester we did wine label designs with a nautical twist. Here was my take on the theme: 

Oh, and here's another stencil I finished over the summer!

I will have new stuff to post in the next week or so before Thanksgiving, so as always, stay tuned!

- Alex

October Madness!

Hey everybody!

It's already halfway through October and already so much has gone on! Phil Jimenez gave a great talk early this month, providing some insight into what it takes to draw comics for DC or Marvel. Brad Holland also gave a lecture last week that was as valuable as it was entertaining.

Last weekend was also the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco! I was there Saturday at the CCA booth, and managed to swoop up some awesome comics. Jim Woodring signed a copy of his book Weathercraft for me, I picked up a Study Group anthology, as well as a copy of Milk and Carrots, an anthology edited by Bryan Herrick.
 
Also, the show at Bookmark came down at the end of last month. For First Friday this month, the bookstore is displaying several works by Anthony Holdsworth. The show will be up for two months, so drop by for books and art!

Anways, here is some of the work from the show, I started with a comic I made at the end of Illustration 1 last fall, but added a couple new works as well.

 

 

A Few New Things...

Hey guys!

It's been a couple weeks of craziness now that school is in full swing. I've definitely started to notice the symptoms of art school semester: coffee rings on the drawing table, a spectrum of paint splotches on the floor, and the cries of alarm clocks at six in the morning. Despite it all, I'm glad to be back and got a little time last weekend to thumbnail a minicomic and write several new stories for a new zine (More on this later!).

Anyways, here's a few things I've already made this semester, starting with a new logo!

 

Also, we've been blazing through assignments in Illustration 3. Here's my first successful piece. 

 "A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush" 

And finally, everything you need to know about me in two comic pages:

What a crazy week!

Hello again! So this week has been nonstop awesome, as I finally sit down to work on my first illustration of the semester.

It all started with Zine Fest last weekend. This was my second year attending, and I was happy to help out this year as a volunteer. I even scored a copy of Liz Mayorga's new "Monstrous Love Stories"

Then school started, with five classes over three days, including Matt Silady's Graphic Novel class. (Congratulations to Matt on being the new chair of the MFA in Comics program!)

Plus I managed to snag a free print at the John Wayshak exhibit up at the Zero Friends gallery downtown. Wayshak's work manages to combine what I loved about 90's superhero art taken to the next level of gritty rendering and satirical force. Hopefully I can scrape up 25 bucks to see his painting demo coming up!

And if that wasn't cool enough, I had some of my art up at the Bookmark Bookstore in Old Oakland this month as part of the Art Murmur. Bookmark was my first favorite bookstore in Oakland, and I've been volunteering there for a couple months now. It's really exciting that they've let me hang some work on their wall, so I encourage anyone to show up to check out some books and art! (I will also have prints/posters available of some of the work)

Also, for those who missed it, Endless Canvas had their Special Delivery 2012 exhibit up in Berkeley last night. Three stories of graffiti with some killer pieces, with the Old Crow wall and  Nina zombies being my personal favorites.

So thus begins a new semester, and I'm ready to bring it again this fall! Check back next week for another update and a recent reading list.

Oh, and here's a few more sketchbook pages to satisfy your eyes.

Welcome to the Illustration Blog of Alex Sodari!

Hello everyone.

For those who don't know me, I'm a Bay Area native (born in SF, grew up in Sonoma) and I am currently entering my Junior year at the California College of the Arts (illustration major, writing minor). My favorite things in the world are books, seeing great art, hiking, coffee, and of course drawing!

I'm starting this blog so I can share my art and ideas. If you follow along, you can expect to see lots of comics, progress sketches, book reviews/lists, and tons of other cool cool stuff.


Anyways, here're some finished sketchbook pages from over the summer to wet your whistle. I will be posting weekly, so please follow the blog and check back regularly for new stuff!