Welcome to my cartoon artist world!

We're not a fancy studio and we don't have a business office, it's just me, Jesram, at my workstation in my small room, or wherever I can set up my equipment. For many years I've tried putting together my own comic book, which I haven't had a great deal of success with. I suppose that my problem has been trying to make comics out of cartoons! Lately, I've had to restructure the way that I do things, so much so that I expect more out of myself. The one thing that I've never done is to either meet or exceed my potential. This requires a lot of hard work and a lot of time in front of a computer screen, but the results will speak for themselves. I would really love to put together a team of artists to do things that are so outrageous that will leave viewers stunned, but everyone seems to be into their own thing and lack the vision to become a part of a team that can produce the type of work that can change people's lives in a positive way.

When you look at franchises like Disney, Warner Bros, Hanna-Barbera, Harvey Toons, MGM, Pixar and many others, they all started with one man's vision. I'm not doing this because I want to be famous, I'm doing this because this is what I love to do; this has been my life's work, and before I leave this earth, I want to know that I was able to do something that can impact and change people's lives. The characters that I create, and their stories are the type of stories that people can relate to. Sure, some of it is just sheer stupidity, but it's my take on what will make people laugh because sometimes laughter is the best medicine.

Of course, there's money to be made, but to be the best at anything takes hard work. I don't need anyone feeling sorry for me, spare me your pity, what I want is people that can work with me as a creative team. You don't even have to be an artist; creativity starts in the mind! So, if you're interested, just drop me a line or give me a call and we can talk? Does that sound okay with you?

Although I'm no novice when it comes to digital art, I'm still learning new things.  As far as drawing programs are concerned, Photoshop and CorelDraw set the standards for personal computers; they've been around for a while. Both of these are well out of my price range, so I had to search for alternatives. I didn't have the time or the money to go to school to learn digital art and at the time, the personal computer was well within the reach of the average consumer. Some years ago while browsing the web , I stumbled upon a website for a company by the name of Serif, the makers of Affinity Designer. At the time their drawing program was called Drawplus. I still use Drawplus X8 which has many useful tools. I opted to purchase the full version of Affinity Designer which is an excellent and affordable alternative to Photoshop. The apps that I use regularly are GIMP and Autodesk Sketchbook Pro. I use Sketchbook Pro for my rough sketches and for building my characters but I'll import my drawings into GIMP to refine my drawings and give them a cleaner more polished look. The character to the right is Pancho from the "Smiling Roaches" whci I drew from scratch using GIMP and Sketchbook Pro. GIMP has an awesome Paths tool that I use frequently while Sketchbook has some nice transform tools and the ability to create infinite layers which I used to create the diamond pattern in Pancho's hat and for placing the bullets in his gunbelt. I love the results and things can only get better as I continue to explore the potential of the tools in apps like Sketchbook Pro and in Clip Studio Paint. Later on I'll try out Krita, which is a free to use advanced drawing app, but the proof in the pudding will be in the results. If you have any tips and tricks, I can post them on this site, giving you the credit of course and who knows? there may be something in it for you!

Digital drawing is simply the ability to draw directly on a computer, a laptop, or on an Ipad. Nowadays you can even use your smartphone. This can be achieved in several ways. I started out drawing freehand on paper, then scanning my artwork, which I uploaded to my desktop computer. I wasn't familiar with drawing applications back then, so I used Windows Paint until I discovered GIMP. All of this was very tedious and time-consuming, but it was the best that I could do at the time. Using only a mouse and a keyboard, it took some time getting used to refining my artwork while looking at a computer screen. One day while I was in a CompUSA (a retail computer store that doesn't exist anymore) I saw a small 4"x6" Wacom pen tablet on sale, which I eventually purchased, and it changed how I perceived art in general. I didn't fully make the switch to drawing digitally, but at least now I had options. I purchased an older version of Corel Painter which I had a lot of fun with. Since then, drawing applications and pen tablets have evolved considerably and I've had my fair share of experimentation with various programs and pen tablets.

There's a considerable difference between pen tablets and pen displays; a pen tablet normally connects to your computer or laptop with a USB cable and has a drawing surface that you can draw on with a digital pen. Some digital pens require batteries but the better ones are battery-free. The pen usually has buttons on the side that can be configured with software that can usually be downloaded from the manufacturer's website. Some pen tablets have buttons or dials as well, so choosing a pen tablet will depend upon what your requirements are. Drawing on a pen tablet feels quite natural, although you have to look at the monitor or screen to see what you're doing. You can often use your tablet and pen in place of a mouse, it just takes a little getting used to. Once you get the hang of it, excpect to experience art in a whole new way. A pen displayI've had several pen tablets throughout the years, beginning with starting with WACOM, which is an industry standard, but eventually I stumbled upon the Huion Brand. I purchased a medium-sized Huion H1060P and the quality was exceptional for the price-point. Since then, I've had an Inspiroy H640P and the new Inspiroy 2. I purchased a Huion Kamvas 12 Pen Display, which is basically a beginner pen display that has a screen, displaying whatever is on your computer monitor or laptop screen, that you can draw on directly. Unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed as I found myself looking down a lot at the screen which caused me some discomfort, with neck and shoulder pain. Recently, while doing a search on Amazon, I came across a pen tablet by a company called Xencelabs. This brand is top of the line, far surpassing even Wacom. Pictured to the right are my Xencelabs Pen Tablet Small and the Xencelabs Quick Keys which have greatly improved my workflow.

What I recommend is that you go with what you can afford. The Huion Inspiroy 2 Small is a great Pen tablet to start with. It has 6 Express Keys and a scroll wheel and connects with USB-C. If you want something bigger go with the Inspiroy 2 Medium. You can purchase them direct through the Huion Store or on Amazon. The links above will take you to each brand's store, so click and browse!