BOOTLEGGER....AGAIN......

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They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…but this isn’t cool! It looks like those clowns at “Dream Cast” are at it again...bootlegging my EK model kits! Last fall they had released copies of the three figures in the 1/8th scale EK Cosmonaut Series, and now they have managed to produce a knock off of the popular 1/6 scale Dystopic kit. These bootlegged kits are recast from an original kit, often using cheap materials and parts, so they are of an inferior quality. But more importantly, they are produced without consent, and completely cut the creators, Gene, myself and Industria Mechanika, out of the loop. So if you are interested in purchasing a kit, please order directly from Industria Mechanika at: industriamechinka.com

EK COSMONAUT KITS

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All three 1/8th scale EK Cosmonaut kits are back in stock over at Industria Mechanika (I think this is the first time all 3 kits are available at the same time). Expertly sculpted by Gene Campbell, and produced by Industria Mechanika, these are great, high quality garage kits. 

As I mentioned in a couple previous posts, bootlegged versions of these kits appeared last fall, but you can be sure that these are the real thing!

So if you need a kit or 2 to complete the series, or if you are looking for a full set, now is the time to pick them up! 

More details here at the Industria Mechanika shop!

CRYUS LONGBONES

Here is a cover I did for Cyrus Longbones and the Curse of the Sea Zombie, the first book in a young readers series by Jeremy Mathiesen. This one was fun to illustrate, as there was a lot to pull from Jeremy's story.....an action packed adventure with an interesting setting.....think Pirates of the Caribbean meets Keepers of the Maser. Jeremy wanted a murky-like feeling...which worked well with my desaturated, hazy style. I also had the opportunity to create the logo and tag-line wordmark. 

Cyrus Longbones and the Curse of the Sea Zombie will be available later in the year from Viking House Publishing.

THE ROOKIES

I'll be participating in the judging panel again for The Rookies, an international awards competition for artists, designers, animators, creators, etc. Entries have to be submitted by this Monday, May 29th. Every year The Rookies hand out a bunch of great prizes and paid internships to some of the top studios in the field. Winners should be announced in July. 

You can check out the current entries and the judging panel here.

Good Luck!

RENEGADES

Here is a cover illustration I did for the book "Renegades", the third instalment in the Randoms Series by author David Liss. This one is another great science-fi adventure, with Zeke and his friends continuing their adventure, traveling to strange worlds, encountering bizarre beings, battling aliens, while learning and growing along the way. Plus there is a dose of tween romance thrown in there for good measure.

Anyways, the cover was a lot of fun....being a wrap around image like the previous books and featuring portraits of David's great characters from the series in a circular graphic arrangement. This one was a little different in that it contains 2 different locations....one on the front cover and the second on the back, whereas the previous 2 books featured singular locations. This also introduced more colour...but in the end I still think it fits with the other covers.

As with the previous instalments in the series, I created the title word mark for the book.

Renegades will be released in hardcover next September.

Thanks to Lizzy Bromley at Simon & Schuster.

EK COSMONAUT 01 & 03 PRE-ORDER

The 1/8th scale EK Cosmonaut 01 and 03 kits are coming back for another run and are now available for pre-order over at Industria Mechanika. The shipping ETA of these kits is May 2017.

Lower quality boot-legged versions of these kits were circulating last fall so if you've been looking for an authentic version, now is the time to pick one up.

For more info. and ordering, head over to Industria Mechanika here.

DUCHESS

I'm happy to announce a new model kit I have in the works with Industria Mechanika, the 1/6th scale Duchess. Sculpted again by the talented Gene Campbell, this figure was conceived as a companion piece to the popular Dystopic kit. 

Production on this figure has begun, so hopefully the kit will be ready for pre-order and release sometime later in 2017. 

I'll post updates in the future!
 

EK MODEL KITS RESTOCKING / PRE-ORDER

My 2 most popular EK Model Kits, Dystopic and EK Cosmonaut 02 are in the process of restocking over at Industria Mechanika. They are available for preorder now and they should be shipping around late January 2017. 

Plus, Industria Mechanika is now selling copies of my book, Born In Concrete: The EK Series in their shop. They are currently offering it at a discounted price, so you can pick one up while ordering your model kit! 

Here's the link to the IMech Shop!

SPECTRUM 23

I have a small piece in the latest edition of the annual fantastic art compendium, Spectrum. As always the book is full of incredible art from comics, games, book and editorial illustration, and more. Plus this year they honoured one of my favourite artists, Mike Mignola, with the grand master award. Well worth picking up! 

Thanks to the all judges for including me in the book! Spectrum 23 cover art by Android Jones.

SHOP!

I have re-opened the shop on my website borninconcrete.com....just in time for the holidays....because nothing says "Merry Christmas" quite like a bunch of gnarled old cosmonauts! Some prints, t-shirts, and signed copies of my art book are available in the shop now, and I'll be introducing some new items in the future. Here's the link!

For those interested in the Industria Mechanika kits based on my work they can be purchased at the IMech store here.

Unsigned copies of my art book can be purchased on Amazon, at Design Studio Press and at other fine book dealers.
 

BOOTLEGGER

It appears that some bootlegged versions of the EK Series Model Kits have been surfacing on Ebay lately, so buyers beware! If you purchase a kit from a re-distributor (that is to say, someone other than Industria Mechanika), please look for evidence of recasting and make sure the kit contains all the original, authentic pieces. 

Industria Mechanika has shut down a few of these clowns before, at least temporarily anyways, as it is easy for the bootleggers to just change their online store handle and start selling them again. The easiest way to avoid this is to purchase your EK kits directly from Industria Mechanika on their website. Here's the link!

HG WELLS - IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

Here is a graphic I created a while back for the Imperial College of London that celebrates the connections that the school has with English writer H.G. Wells. Wells was an alumni of the Imperial College of London (then called the Royal College of Science) and wrote an early version of his novel The Time Machine (the Chronic Argonauts) while attending school there. 

Given the schools focus on science, medicine and engineering, the graphic features elements from four of Well's best known science fiction novels: The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds. 

I'm not a big fiction reader, so I admit that most of the visual inspiration for this came more from the old film adaptations of these stories....the Invisible Man and that old school time machine in particular. I took a few more liberties with my alien walkers from War of the Worlds, and Hyena Man from the Island of Dr. Moreau (which was much more scary in my original version, and I had to dial him back a bit), but both are still very familiar in design. As a nod to Wells I used him as a model for the time traveller, with his big moustache and his somewhat droopy eyes.

The graphic is being used for a t-shirt that is being offered as a prize for alumni and staff that write in to the Imperial Magazine describing what they would do if they had access to Wells-like time machine. 

Thanks to Beth Elzer and the Imperial College of London.