The James Raiz Sketchbook

2009-11-17T11:09:00.000-08:00

Samurai - In Color...

2009-10-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

Here's a sketch of a futuristic japan - in the mountains :)

2009-10-23T06:27:00.000-07:00

Wanted to do a bigger, more evil samurai...

2009-10-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

Cleaned up the horse sketch - but will fix a bunch of stuff once I hit the color stage.

J

2009-10-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of designs I've been working on - a cyber Samurai and his horse - I'll flesh out the horse tomorrow and add some color later in the week. Enjoy :)

James

VFX Reel 2009

2009-04-06T04:21:00.000-07:00

Make sure to click the HD Button :)

UPDATES...

2006-06-14T01:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

Yeah, yeah, I know I said I'd post art, but something's wrong with my computer - won't upload for some reason...argh!!! I'm getting a new one soon, so keep your eyes out for new work in the summertime.

But anycase, here's the scoop:
The last few month's I've been working on G.I.Joe/Transformers: Art of War, and as fun as it was, I'm glad it's pretty much done. I think I drew enough TFs for a while and am pretty much creatively burned out (interiors anyways). Erik's been real good to me, and I wish nothing but success for both Udon & Devils Due. Watch out for my buddy Joe Ng though he's going to be something special (congrats on the new place by the way :) . You can check out his stuff here:
http://ngboy.deviantart.com/

I've done a couple more covers for IDW as well - those I could do those forever :) Basically because I can take my time, and there are absolutely no restrictions when drawing them. And both Dan Taylor and Chris Ryall are reall funny guys.

I also just finished up a special project I've been working on for a big company with a very good buddy of mine - Edwin Garcia, but can't let you know what it is until it comes out in the summertime. I'm really pleased the way we're gelling on the project, and perhaps this is the start of a new working relationship. Eddie's the man!!

So I'm taking my act over to DC filling in on a couple issues of a title there. I'll let you know which one soon. Creatively, it's much more fulfilling, and guys like Mike Carlin & Tom Palmer have been great to me. I've always liked the way DC handled business when I was doing Wonder Woman, and things haven't changed.

But I'll let out a bombshell right now... I'm going back to school full time.
Yep, six years, a wife and a baby girl later, I'm returning to become a college fratboy.
I'm taking Computer Animation in the fall at Sheridan College.
So I'm not sure how long I'm going to remain in this business, but I'm going to explore every opportunity I can to better the lifestyle of my family. Hey, after school, I could end up back into the business, or use my new skills to enhance my work. Guys like Brandon Peterson have been using 3D programs recently to real stellar results, then you got pencillers doing their own greyscale color work like Pascual Ferry and it looks like computer enhanced pencils are where the business is heading... gotta change with the times :)

So I'll keep you updated.
In the meantime, I'll use this blog as an actual blog :)

God Bless,
James

I'M BACK!!!

2006-04-11T05:53:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

I haven't updated this thing since I got regular work!!

When I last left you all, I got hired by marvel. Special thanks to Joe Q., Chris Allo, Mark Paniccia & Nate Cosby for all their help and support. I did the following projects over the last year:

Hulk:Destruction #2,3,4
Captain Universe/Invisible Woman
Amazing Fantasy #16,17,18 & 20

I just finished up City of Heroes #13 for Top Cow, and now I'm doing work for some old friends... I'll tell you about it later :)

Stay tuned, I'll be posting up artwork from those issues - got a lot of catching up to do ;)

Best,
James Raiz

2005-07-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

Here's my first attempt at the Hulk. This took about 6 hours total, and was a lot of fun doing it!

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE!!!

2005-06-23T12:59:00.000-07:00

Well, since the cat's outta the bag so to speak, here's the pencilled version of the Megatron Cover. I'm real excited to see Simon & EJ's new take on the 'Bots! It's gonna be fun!

2005-06-18T15:32:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! I know it's been a long time. I've been working on some projects with my buddies at Udon! Right now, work is pretty light, so I was able to take a stab at that MillarWorld Magazine cover contest on Mark Millar's Forum (http://www.millarworld.net). I was pretty happy with the outcome, but I still have a lot to learn with photoshop. I also lost the pen for my pen tablet, so I had to use a mouse (so it took much longer than usual). That's okay, it was a blast. Don't know if I'll win though, Mark Brooks' cover was KILLER!

2005-06-18T15:28:00.000-07:00

Here's the finished pencilled piece. You might notice here, Mr. Fantastic has a smirk. It just didn't work in the final, so I changed it. I blew up the layout and actually drew each character separately on an 8"x11" board, and pieced it together in photoshop. I didn't fully draw Torch, because I knew I would be playing with some sfx.

2005-03-17T10:40:00.000-08:00

This is a pin-up of Top Cow's Aphrodite IX. This took a lot longer than I thought it would. I had problems with her face. I drew it over and over again, and I just couldn't get it quite right... Oh well, hope you like it ;) -J

First Script Done!!!

2005-03-15T07:26:00.000-08:00

This was a fun sample to do :) I still have lots to learn about calming down detail and trying to figure out the "Less is more" part of drawing... would give me a few hours of sleep :) I was not crazy about the way page 4 came out, most especially Havok's face in panel 3, but over all, not bad - but still a lot to work on. Special thanks to Mike Marts for letting me use the script! Today I will be doing an Aphrodite IX pin-up for my friend Josh Ortega, and I'll also be starting a Superman script given to me by Greg Rucka. See ya tomorrow!

-James

2005-03-15T07:25:00.000-08:00

The problem with working with the script of an existing book is that it immediately cancels certain shots to use in the storytelling. Sal Larroca is an amazing artist and storyteller, and what I don't want is for someone to look at this sample and say "he's just copying Sal!" When laying out this script, I had no choice but to look at Sal's version to make sure my shot selection is not the same as his. This meant, changing a lot of layouts and figuring out what is different and what still worked. The worst part is, Sal took the best shots!!! So I did the best I could. So far so good I guess...

Page Number Four

2005-03-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

Here's the fourth page. To make a monthly schedule, one must produce at least 6 pages a week. I guess I'll be working this weekend :) So by monday, pages 5 & 6 should be up. Also monday, I'm going to start a 6 page Superman Sample thanks to my friend Greg Rucka. Hope I do a better job than I did in Wonder Woman 212!

-J

2005-03-10T07:46:00.000-08:00

Here's the third page. The fourth coming very soon.

LET'S GET DIRTY!!

2005-03-08T01:48:00.000-08:00

This page got dirty! Smugging abounds, so I have to learn to be a bit cleaner :) I tried to tone down the detail in this page. One of the critques I received is to lessen the details to "open up" the page. It's a work in progress :) I have a bunch of things to do today, like bring my newborn for her shots (she's gonna be cryin' aaallllnight....), and take the car for an emmissions test. Hopefully I'll still get the next page on time tomorrow. Shouldn't be a problem :)

PAGE A DAY BEGINS!!!

2005-03-07T06:23:00.000-08:00

In hopes of landing a new gig, everyday I will be posting a brand new page! This is the first one and it's from X-Men#166 written by Peter Milligan. The script was given to me by a great guy and Marvel Editor Mike Marts. Thanks Mike! I was pretty pleased with the way this page turned out, with the exception of the last panel where Havok looks too stiff. I'll work on that :)

The Blog

2005-03-07T01:36:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

This is my new cyberspace home! This is going to be tonnes of fun!

For those of you who don't know, my name is James Raiz. I'm a comic book penciller. I've worked on books such as Dreamwave's Transformer's Armada, Warren Ellis' Tokyo Storm Warning, and most recently DC Comics' Wonder Woman!

Here, you'll find a lot of art and find news on everything I will be doing :)

Hope you enjoy the ride!

Best,
James Raiz

BRIAREOS!!!

2005-03-03T23:57:00.000-08:00

BRIAREOS!!!
You could imagine my surprise when Greg Rucka and Ivan Cohen told me I had to create a character with over 100 arms and 100 heads. It was a great challenge not to make him look like a coral reef. So I decided to make him have four main arms with tiny arms attached to it, and one main head with 100 heads acting as "hair"! ...great idea, fun to draw, but let's hope this guy does not get an ongoing series, it would kill me...

2005-03-03T22:38:00.000-08:00

Here's a sample page I worked on. It's from a Warren Ellis script for Planetary/JLA.