"The Shaman's Son" Concept art

As if understanding her purpose, they did not fight.

Do Anything - Space 4 Art

Chris Kardambikis just sent me photos from Do Anything at the San Diego Space 4 Art. I flew down last month for the show's opening events with Ed Piskor and met a lot of cool, driven people who produce their own printed work. The space, itself was interesting, and Chris had brought in a dynamic variety of artists.

Opening night. July 13th, 2012. Photo from Do Anything

Do Anything features work by individual artists and collectives who focus on do-it-yourself publishing and print projects. Employing alternative methods of production to create and distribute books, zines, and video work, the exhibiting artists work with a variety of themes to actively engage a wide audience.

Photo from Do Anything

So many zines behind a wall of glass, just out of reach!

Piglady, Splat Rabbit, and a spread from an upcoming comic share a wall with Masha Vereshchenko and Unicorn Mountain. 

Check out more photos of the Do Anything show at http://doanythingexhibit.tumblr.com/

Preview: Present/Primal Teeth

Something I did for M. Young's The Kindlin' Quarterly. At only 5 pages I'm embarrassed to admit I was exhausted. It's the first real-media thing I've done in a long time. I'll post the full comic some other time.

72DEMONS Book - The proof is in!

From Ars Goetia:

The first full-color proof is in! 72DEMONS was featured in the Miller gallery in Pittsburgh along with other works by Carnegie Mellon's graduating class of 2012. Check out our flickr page for photos of the show last month -- plus previews of the 72DEMONS book. (A warning for those at work: some images contain cartoon nudity)

Ronove by Joe Sparrow

Inspired by the Lesser Key of Solomon, comics, and 17th century grimoire, the 72DEMONS project is a venue for new and budding visual artists. Our goal is to publish an illustrated book depicting the seventy-two demons archived in the Ars Goetia, believed to be a guide written by King Solomon for summoning both helpful and malevolent spirits. Thousands of years later these entities persist, although they have changed their names and faces!
Since summer of 2011, 72DEMONS has expanded into a diverse collective of illustrators, painters, graphic designers, writers and video artists - making for one hefty book! Like what you see? What you are viewing now are only a few pieces from the first full-color proof.

Vapula by Isaac Berends

Links: 72DEMONS at the Miller Gallery flickr 
72DEMONS progress blog

Terms & Conditions photoshoot

Caitlin uploaded the unedited images from the senior gallery show mailer to her flickr. I had a lot of fun doing this. At the end of the semester trying to gather people in one place is like pulling teeth, but everyone was really into it and even contributed their own ideas to come up with these "stock image" type photos. We managed to borrow a dog and scare a few couples off of Flagstaff.

 For the last four years, the School of Art has developed a new collection for premium existence in the contemporary world... We are excited to share with you the products of the future. Together at the School of Art we put forth tools for both living and considering in contemporary times, satisfaction guaranteed.* *Terms & Conditions apply.

- Carnegie Mellon School of Art Class of 2012

TERMS & CONDITIONS FLICKR PAGE

School of Art T-Shirts

SOA had me create a t-shirt based on the graduating class' gallery show Terms & Conditions. It's  different than my usual style. We were going for a cult/corporation theme. The logo with the eye is made up of the letters "SOA" for "School of Fine Arts". Here are some photos from the graduation reception last Sunday. 

photos from: 2012 COMMENCEMENT: Art Diploma Ceremony

and tarahelfer.com

New Comic: Invisible Street

New content over in the comics section. I did this for my comics class' end-of-the-year collection Lethal Comics. It feels abbreviated to me. While drawing it out I had some time to reflect on feelings of distance and alienation, rather than familiarity, that comes with visiting an old neighborhood. Perhaps I'll expand on it later. I hope you enjoy it!

http://tarahelfer.com/comics-2/invisible-street

Lethal Comics 1, 2, and 3 (pictured with Lethal Cat)

Excerpt by Christina Lee

S.P.A.C.E.

So it turns out that drawing with a new monitor is really tough. However I can't imagine ever going back to using one monitor. I recommend dual monitors to anyone doing heavy photoshop work.

...heh...dual monitors.

This weekend I'll be repping Unicorn Mountain at Columbus' small press expo, S.P.A.C.E

We'll be showing copies of The Black Forest and The All-Creator's Wife as well as some 72DEMONS swag.

Be sure to stop by table #35 Saturday and Sunday and say hi. As some of you know, I'm moving to Columbus late next month, so I'm really excited to meet some cool, creative people in the area.

After S.P.A.C.E. it's a mad dash to graduation. I have yet to complete a comic for my graphic novel class (preview above). Then, there's putting together first copy of the 72DEMONS book in time for the senior show at the Miller gallery - May 4th. Estimated date of the Kickstarter launch is mid-May.

Pictures of my Cat

I feel that I should post more pictures of my pets, because really, Sol's not bad on the eyes.

Caitlin went crazy with her hipstercam, so I might throw those on tumblr in a bit.

Sol is a Sunglow Corn Snake.

I'm going to be better about this blogging thing from now on, given the fact that I'll be graduating in two months and will have no studio mates to talk to. My website is still a little sad, but it's getting there! Check out the Illustration and Comics sections for updates.

Apart from school my book project has been keeping me busy. Spring break has allowed me to work on my own piece for the book. I've been working on this on and off, but I really need to bust out more graphical elements before the end of the week...like a book cover. uff.

Buer from Pseudomonarchia Daemonum