"Super Brain Bammy!" for #THE JOINT SHOW!

Here is one of 3 of my pieces for The Joint Show happening tomorrow night in Oceanside at SpeakEasy Studios. Definitely come by and checkout all the great artwork on display. The Gallery is being hosted by Yelley and Ron Rauto Hope To see you there

*Ill try and have my other pieces up later, fergot to take some pictures before I dropped em' off!

The Speakeasy presents-"The JOINT Show!"

Hey dudes if your in the Oceanside, CA, area on April 20th (420). Stop into Speakeasy Studios at 7pm and checkout the artshow they are putting on, curated by Yelley and Ron Rauto. Myself and a  ton of awesome artists displaying their amazin work. So definitely come and checkit' out. Hope to catch you all there! All the info is listed below or you can checkout the official myspace page here /https://www.facebook.com/events/126701420850983/ and then checkout the Speakeasy offical page here https://www.facebook.com/speakeasystudio

Have a good one!

The Joint Show - Speakeasy Studios is going up in Smoke!

4/20 2013 - 7pm
Speakeasy Studios
2403 Industry Street
Oceanside, California 92054

Featuring art from: Ariel Wilson, ARTOO, Copio, MEXI, Jane Dope, Jim Mahfood, Julie Ann, JQ Hammer, Ron Rauto, Teddy Pancake, Clint Peterson, Yelley & Miss Tadalinka + more!

Live music by The Speakeasy Collective Ensemble. DJ MEXI spinning a stoney vinyl mix!

Bring drinks if you want, Cold Brews and beverages while supplies last.

Brought to you by Veda Art & Speakeasy Studios
www.facebook.com/speakeasystudio
www.VedaArt.com

(Curated by Yelley & Ron Rauto)

"I Am the Art Show, Deal With It" The Legend of Korra Artshow Tribute

Hey guys this weekend, myself and about 100 other fantastic artists will be displaying their work at Monk Gallery in Los Angeles for the Legend of Korra art show: "I am the Artshow-Deal with It!" This event is being brought to you by Sasha Marina Palacio and Mark Batalla! You can check out all the details here http://pixeldripgallery.com/tlok/ Tickets are still available, and depending on which ticket pack you get, you will also grab some cool swag from the show like a DVD or T-Shirt. And also their Facebook Page for the Show /https://www.facebook.com/events/468693909849316/ I hope you guys cruise, It is really gonna be great, I hear some of the creators, and voice actors  of the show are going to show up, so overall it sounds like a blast! Hope to see you there! March 23rd-24th. Saturday 10am-6pm and Sunday 10am-5pm.

Today I was fortunate enough to be given a featured artist spotlight for the show, which you can watch
below-
 
My piece for the show, "Asami Bomb!"

 The List of Participating Artists:
Adam Lucas / Alain Norte / Alex Ferri Land / Alice Meichi / Alina Chau / Amber Weske / Anand Duncan / Andrew Hauan / Angela Song Mueller / Angela Sung / Angelica Maria Lopez / Anu Chouhan / Anya Straka / Ása Bryndís / Arielle Jovellanos / Autumn Fredrickson / Blair J. Campbell / Brianne Drouhard / Brotherseoul / Caitlin Abruzzo / Caitlin Elise Willis / CT / Carolina Arriagada / Cassie Soliday / Catherine M. Miller / Christine Bian / Chris Ybarra / Chukairi / Claire Hummel /Craig Arndt / Cristobal Hernandez / Dana Guerrieri / danielsherv / Danielle Cimafranca / Danielle DeMartini / Deborah Groves / Deena Pagliarello / Derek Land / Dianne Jobson / Diego Paz / DJ "Dark Kenjie" Welch / DustyLeaves / Eddie Moreno / e.D. Xu / Eleazar Del Rosario / Elizabeth Furr / Elsevilla / Felicia Smith /Fernando Caire / Fior Casilag / Garrett Medina / Gia Forsyth "Hooked Hands" / Grace Fong / Haku / Henry Conrad Taylor / Hunter Bonyun / JSalvador / Jack Rossi / Jackie Prows / Jackie Williams / Janet Sung / Jean Kang / Jeff Victor / Jeffrey Thomas / Jessie Seely / Jesus Lopez / Joe Palumbo / Joel Lee / Josh Mirman / J.Q. Hammer / Katie Elle / Kassandra Heller / Kelly Li / Kitty Brown / Lana Chan / Lane Garrison / Laurianne Uy / Leslie Hung / Lindsey Valerie Parker / Lissa Treiman / Liz Richards / Lizzie Foronda / Lorraine Grate / Marissa Lee / Marissa Meza / Mark Batalla / Mark Dos Santos / Mauricio Abril / Mei-ing Nieuwland / Merit Zaki / Michael Matsumoto / Mike Nesbitt "vashperado" / Mira Ongchua / Miranda Sharp / Natasha Wicke / Olga Ulanova / Oliver Duenas / OMOCAT / Oneida Loo / Owldee / Orissa Jenkins / Paolo Encarnacion / Peach Mörk / Quirkilicious / Rachel George / Rocky Olivares / Raymund Florida / Renee Barnes-Roberts / Robert Atkins / Robert Negrete / Rosemary Travale / Roxane van Beek / Sabrina Deigert / Sachin Teng / Sanshee / Sara Alkhalili / Sakky / Sasha Palacio / Sean Galloway / Seth Robinson / Simon Estrada / Sokoni Christian / Stephan McGowan / Stephen Yan / Stevie Lewis / Val Kung / Vanessa Palafox / Vivian Ng / Fred Gago / Zekie Cho / Zero

Millionaire Kong!

here is a quick piece I did for the OZ-Comics weekly art challenge. This weeks spotlight character, the King hisself- King Kong!

"Eat Your Art Out 6" Creature Feature Benefit for the Angel City Roller Girls at Titmouse Studios

"Caffeine and Comics!" art club meeting!

Do You Like Comics, Illustration, Art? Do you like drawing, or have aspirations of being an artist? Well cruise to the first "Caffeine and Comics!" club meeting, thursday february 21st 2013, at starbucks in san clemente!  see the attached flier for the meeting address and checkout @jqhammer on twitter or facebook for all the upcoming details or to RSVP! All are welcome, hope to see you there.

My Interview with ART in the OC.com

Comic Talk with J.Q. Hammer

Posted on 8.10.11

We reached out to our Twitter followers recently and asked if any OC based artists were interested in getting interviewed by us.  We were flooded with requests and had to narrow it down to a select few.  One of the most interesting artists we found is J.Q. Hammer.  He is a comic book author and artist living working out of Orange County. I have NEVER met a comic book artist in The OC so I was extremely excited to interview him. Click below to read the interview.

Art in the OC: I am very impressed with your gothic horror comics.  What inspired you to create this style of work?  How long have you been creating comics?

J.Q. Hammer: Ever since I was a little kid, I have always been more at home drawing creatures, monsters, and the like. I definitely have to blame all this inspiration on the kind of things I grew up reading and watching on television. The book series Real Scary stories, the Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine, horror movies and of course comic books! Specifically the horror comics from the late 40s, 50s and 60s.   The funniest thing to me is that growing up, there was a lot of cartoons and comics that had horrific material that were geared toward children, and now looking back I just wonder how the heck they ever got away with marketing towards kids in the first place.

Art in the OC: Do you draw and write the comics yourself?  Or do you have a partner or team?

J.Q Hammer: For the Literary Mushrooms series, everything from the covers to to the inside artwork is drawn, colored and designed by me. My business partner for the book series is Dr. Franz Potter. He came to me with this idea of putting these vintage horror stories from the early 19th century and pairing them with the horror pulp comic art from the 50s. We’e bringing these stories back in a fresh new way so that we can ensure that these tales can be appreciated for a new generation to excite and horrify you at the same time.

Art in the OC: Do you utilize both hand drawn imagery and computer imagery for your comics?

J.Q. Hammer: I have always been one of those artists that liked to stick with traditional hand drawn artwork. I always felt that the computer was kind of cheating in a sense. However, as I started to use the computer I realized that it can enhance your work and really make it that more awesome. I really think it makes artwork for commercial use that much more amazing. So yes, my artwork for the literary mushrooms series is a mixture of the two mediums. However, I will always stick to the fact that I truly believe that if you can do everything by hand, your artwork will always have that extra human element to it, and that is something that a computer will never be able to replicate.

Art in the OC: Storytelling is a huge part of being a comic book artist.  Were you first interested in the art style of comics or the storytelling aspect?

J.Q. Hammer:  Oh always the art style first. And to this day, it is what makes me choose the comics I want to read. When it comes to the story of a comic, I feel that if you have a really awesome story and the artwork doesnt match the tone of your story, it wont get noticed. But if you have really incredible artwork, and a so so story, I think that people will over look that fact and revel in the book for all the pretty pictures. With our project, we have 15 really strong stories that people will really enjoy, whether you’re a hardcore horror enthusiast or just a casual reader who wants to check out some really interesting literature.

Art in the OC: Where in Orange County are you based out of?

J.Q. Hammer:  I was born and raised in San Clemente, located right by the beach and I couldnt ask to live in a better spot. The weather, the people, it just all works. And it’s a great place to draw inspiration from and it really shows in other aspects of artwork I love to do.

Art in the OC: Compared to Los Angeles, the OC is a bit lacking in the comic book store arena.  But do you have any favorite places in Orange County to draw inspiration from?

J.Q. Hammer:  Oh I know, it’s a travesty! Growing up there was Comicopolous in San Clemente, but they closed years ago. There have been a few comic shops that opened all around the South OC area, but unfortunately comic shops dont thrive around here, and it really is a shame. When I need a comic fix, you can never go wrong with Nuclear Comicsand Comic Quest right here in South OC, and I have been to going to both shops forever. They are certainly staples in the OC comic culture. Other than comic stores, you can probably catch me hanging at Starbucks. It’s a great place to work, and you can meet a lot of really great people there who are doing basically the same thing.

Art in the OC: Tell us a bit about your creative process.

J.Q. Hammer:  Primarily I like to work at night, it’s very calm and serene for me. And I get a heck of a lot more work done at night then I would during a busy morning or afternoon. My studio is located at my home, it’s like the ultimate man cave/art studio. I dont necessarily have a designated creative routine, though I try to draw every day. I’ll spend a good couple days plotting out a drawing in my head, getting the poses down, the perspective, then when it’s time to out it on paper, it just comes out better.

Art in the OC: Which artists do you admire?

J.Q. Hammer:  Growing up, I had an obsession with the Batman the animated series cartoon and Bruce Timm, who was the head artist. I would draw all the Batman characters and really thought they were so cool with their art deco designs, sharp edges, just an all out really beautiful show. Artists that are amazing to me, just to name a few, are Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Johnny Craig, Tim Burton, Todd Macfarlane, and Jim Mahfood.  All of them are brilliant artists, and all have their own distinct style. This is something that I think is one of the most important things to posses when drawing anything. You become instantly identifiable, and it takes years and years to truly define your own style.

Art in the OC: What advice would you give to an artist just starting out in comic books?

J.Q. Hammer:  Say good bye to sleeping, haha! Well I would say that you really need to have a good routine and be a very organized person. You have to be fast, and you always, always have to meet deadlines. If you can get eveything in on time, people will know they can rely on you and you will get more work. I’ve always had a perfectionist complex, and it was something I had to just get rid of completely. You always want your work to be the best it can be, but being perfect will only slow you down. And it will ultimately hinder you getting your work out on time. Jack Kirby said it best, “perfectionists are their own devils.”

Art in the OC: What are your artistic plans for the future?

J.Q. Hammer:  We are launching our Kickstarter for the Literary Mushroom series. Our hope is to raise funds to keep the series going, so far we have 3 issues available out of the initial 15 on our website www.literarymusrooms.com and sales have been amazing so far. I am also doing artwork for my friends role playing card game business which he is starting and I’m really stoked on that. In addition, I’m wrting and illustrating my own comic book, it is coming along nicely and I hope to have it realy finalized by the end of the year.  I’m happy to just be working, while honing my skills, and just to have people see my artwork and enjoy it is really the best part of doing what i do.

For more information, please visit J.Q.’s Kickstarter page, online portfolio, and blog.