Not much

It’s been way too long to even bother with an excuse. There just hasn’t been much going on in DPI Studios land. That’s not entirely true, but most of it is behind the scenes stuff that isn’t really worth mentioning since some projects just never pan out and others (like a new website) seem to drag on and on.

That being said, it’s coming up on convention season again and we have a few new pictures for the shows. First up is the Edmonton Collectible Toy and Comic Show on the 28th of March. Then, of course, the big one. April 24-25, our favorite show all year, the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. Every year the show gets bigger and better and this year looks ridiculous. Leonard Nimoy, Malcolm McDowell, Brom, William Stout, Stan Sakai, etc, etc.

Also, congratulations are in order for Laurie B and her husband Kandrix who became parents this March 20th to a baby boy, Noah.

July 18th I will be teaching a one day digital painting workshop through the Digital Alberta assocation. I will be primarily focusing on Photoshop and how to use it as a digital painting tool. I’ll take students through the completion of a painting from preparing the line art to the finishing touches and all points in-between. I’ve been using Photoshop for 13 years, so I’ve got a tip or two to share that I have learnt along the way.

I will also be touching on Corel’s Painter, a program I have been using more and more these last few years. While my experience with Painter doesn’t run as deep as it does with Photoshop it would be a glaring ommision if I were to leave it out. I will hit on the basics of the tools and papers and focus on the techniques I use.

I hope I’ll be able to cram all the info I can into the day. If you are interested in taking the workshop or getting more info you can take a look at the information page here. You can of course also leave a comment or send me an e-mail with any questions you have.

Oh, and here is the rough outline that I have planned for the day so far. Being an “artist” I reserve the right to change and tweak things before the class, so no whinning that I didn’t spend a full half an hour discussing line art prep or flatting : )

It’s the beginning of a new era for DPI Studios. For the last 5 years DPI Studios has been a two man team (and another 4 years before that as DPI Comics). That’s all about to change with a new addition to our ranks. Laurie B! is a former animation instructor, a freelance illustrator for Nickelodeon, the artist behind the indie comic A Monk’s Tale, and has been turning heads with her line of Pure Heroine sketchbooks. Laurie’s addition marks a turning point not only in our numbers but in the direction we want to go in as a studio.

For now Laurie’s impact on the DPI Studios site is a small one. I’ve added the work Laurie and I have done together to our gallery page, but if you’d like a more comprehensive look at her art check out her blog.

Welcome aboard Laurie B!

After… well, too many years to mention, we have finally put an on-line ordering system for prints into our web site. For now we have kept things simple and while you browse the gallery you will see “buy a print” links next to some of our artwork. As time goes on and we have different merchandise for sale we will add a separate store page.

Currently we are selling our standard 13 x 19 inch signed limited edition prints on watercolor paper. We are also selling extremely limited runs of canvas giclee’s of some of our work. If you have any questions about the store or our prints you can check the FAQ or send us an e-mail.

As I had mentioned in a previous post my wife and I were expecting our first baby. She arrived on Tuesday, May the 13th and was a healthy 7lbs 1oz baby girl. Her name is Ferris Elyn Brunner. It’s been a crazy few weeks since then just trying to keep up with it all. My artwork and my lawn have been the biggest suffers of my lack of free time

Embrio is also facing a big change as well. This summer he and his family will be relocating to Ontario to be closer to family out there. The funny thing is when we tell people this, they often ask how it will affect DPI Studios. It shouldn’t shake things up too much since we never actually work together in the same space anyway. We’ve been creating our artwork over the internet for many years and the only time we would see each other is for socializing or taking care of the business side of things. Other than the obvious downsides of my best friend moving across the country, the silver lining in this cloud is that we will be able to attend more of the conventions out east and the shipping charges from our on-line store will be the same for everyone across the country.

We will be trying to remain productive during these changing times, but if you don’t get a response to an e-mail right away now you have a better idea why.