Illustration & Design

I’ve been hinting at what’s been occupying most of my time the last two weeks here, but overtly giving peeks at it on Facebook, however, I haven’t completely revealed just what the heck I did in the windows of the Contemporary Arts Center until now. OK, technically the art installation itself was revealed to the public Thursday, when I put the finishing touch on it. But I haven’t really explained what the heck is going on.

Basically, the CAC separately curates its large, front window display facing Charleston Boulevard separately from the exhibits running inside the gallery. These “East Side Projects” essentially let an artist use the entire display to execute his or her vision. I was asked by the CAC board if I’d be interested in doing something with the window for March related to my comic book work, specifically The Utopian. I was honored, of course, but a bit apprehensive. After all, I’ve only had a few little piece of “art” shown in a few group shows, and had never done anything on the scale of filling a 22-foot-wide space, especially one that would be viewable 24 hours a day on one of the busiest thoroughfares in Las Vegas. Also, I didn’t want it to be (nor did the CAC) want it to be an overt ad for The Utopian, but I did know what I wanted it to be: fun, colorful and representative of my illustration style.

The concept I ended up developing was the effect of a passerby looking at life-sized comic book panels. I wanted to get across a few of the major themes of The Utopian, including the tendency to render the past with overly nostalgic eyes, and of course, the message of real change coming from the group up — something extremely relevant in light of the uprisings in Iran, Egypt, Bahrain and elsewhere. To my surprise, the initial designs I submitted — a combination of art and text culled from or inspired by the original comics — were accepted wholeheartedly, which left me to figure out just how I’d fabricate all the parts of this giant diorama.

There were three major elements to this installation: The two different backgrounds, the “stand-up” characters, and the foreground lettering (speech balloons and captions). It became almost more like set design. After initially considering producing everything digitally and printing in large format (which would have cost much, much more than the approximately $200 I poured into this project), I ended up doing everything by hand. The back walls — one a forced “exterior” perspective, one a high school hallway — were hand-painted with a combo of house paints and  acrylics. The stand-ups (four of them) were drawn onto and cut out of 5-foot-tall foam board, painted with  acrylics and outlined with a Sharpie. I created stands from left-over foam board. The lettering was done (poorly) by hand on poster board, and then suspended from the rafters with clear thread. Other elements were also created on the cheap, such as the “PRINCIPAL” door plate (white adhesive letters on black foam board) and a homecoming poster.

It took me about three days to paint the backgrounds and a day and a half to cut and paint the stand-ups.  Installation of the stand-ups and hanging elements took another day and a half. I did it all myself, with some last-minute assistance from Sara.

Feedback so far has been very kind. I personally think it turned out just “OK.” Of course, you lose a lot going from a perfectly controlled digital design to a real-life environment. But the effect is there. And it definitely brings attention to the CAC’s windows. If you get a chance over the next few weeks, swing by the Arts Factory and check it out.

And you can have one too.

I’m still kind of in radio silence, but just wanted to drop in to kind-of share what I’m working on currently. I’ve been hired to produce a comic book-style set of illustrations for a psychological study being conducted by some very cool researchers at UNLV (very cool because they commissioned me, right?). Thing is, I’m not sure how much I can talk about it or share behind-the-scenes looks at it, so I still have to be kind of vague. So here’s digital inks for a panel I’m currently working on (backgrounds come next). I need to have nine pages drawn, toned and lettered by the end of the month, which doesn’t seem too bad, but there are a lot of forests and battlefields to draw, so it’s fairly challenging.

There are some other new projects that have come up in the last week, but again, I’m not sure I can talk about them yet, but I promise, you’ll see the fruits of at least some of these labors by March. If you do need a Pj fix, I have a new piece of art hanging inside Studio 8 Ten in downtown Las Vegas through the end of February. It’s part of a group art show called “Project MUSE,” in which the public votes on its favorite artwork, and the most popular selection will become the basis for future lines of merchandise from Studio 8 Ten. If you want to check out all the pieces (and maybe vote on mine?), visit the show’s Facebook event page, which includes a gallery of all artwork being featured (you can vote by “liking” a photo).

Zombies + Conan? Brilliant.

Last time I did a stint at First Friday, it was specifically to hawk comics, at the urging of my crazy followers on Twitter. This time, it’s because my friend Jennifer Henry — fashion icon, fine artist, drinker of refined spirits — is curating the outdoor exhibition spaces at the epicenter of the monthly art walk/block party, and sucker that I am, I couldn’t help but say “yes” when she asked me to apply for one of the free tent spaces.

OK, so that’s not the ONLY reason. There’s also the matter of the upcoming Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, which could use a little promoting, as well as that little Tales from the Boneyard anthology, so it might be the case that I’m coincidentally going to have fliers promoting both of those intertwined projects. And, yes, I’ll also probably have some comics and prints to sell as well. But what artwork will I be outdoor exhibiting? Well … as you guys may or may not know, most of the illustration work I do is all-digital. That means there’s no “original” artwork per se. Everything is a digital copy. But I DO actually have original artwork from my last few comic book projects, including my Tales from the Boneyard contribution, and the third chapter of my “Omega” serial from Omega Comics Presents. So, since I’m doing promotion for the Comic Book Festival and related items, I figured I’d show the original Boneyard art, which will also be a little sneak preview of the original art show we’ll be doing in November at Blackbird Studios.

At the aforementioned Blackbird Studios (1551 S. Commerce St.), owner/curator Gina Quaranto is hosting a zombie-themed art show, 28DAYS2A Zombie Apocalypse, which is coincidentally opening the same night as my appearance on the main drag this Friday. And, um, not coincidentally, I’ll have a piece in that show, called “The Insult That Made a Zombie Out of Zac.” A tiny little version of it is somewhere on this page. Yes, it’s a riff on the classic Charles Atlas comic book ads, but I spent a lot of time on this one, much more than expected, and you can see the full, 11×17-inch result at Blackbird Studios all month … or this Friday night. Or both! I think it turned out really nifty.

So … between 6 and 10 p.m. on October 1, I’ll be either under a tent somewhere near Casino Center Boulevard and Colorado Avenue, or at Blackbird Studios on Commerce Street. Come on down and take in all the art, food, music, booze and nonsense. It’s the eighth anniversary of First Friday, which officially makes it the longest-running cultural event in Las Vegas by a million times over.*

*Approximately

Guys, it’s November 3. I know in various parts of the United States, that means it’s Election Day. The fine people of Virginia and New Jersey are deciding on their next governor. New York and Atlanta are weighing the options for their respective mayors. And in Maine, voters will decide whether or not gay marriage is legally upheld in that cold, Northeastern state.

But around here, today is a special day for a whole different reason. Because today is the official release date of the latest book from our friends at Alert Nerd Press:

Yes, One Con Glory is available for you to get into your grubby hands. Written by the lovely and talented Sarah Kuhn, One Con Glory tells the tale of an obsessive fangirl and her all-consuming quest for a particularly precious action figure. But more importantly, it features an illustration by the one-and-only Pj Perez. Yes, in the good company of such webcomics auteurs as Benjamin Birdie and Max Riffner, artwork by THIS GUY helps propel this “twisty romantic comedy for the obsessive fangirl in everyone.”

But of course, the only way to read this funtastic tome and see what art I wrought upon the world this time is to buy the book. Sarah needs money. Probably to buy comics or movie tickets for New Moon or whatever.