Darth Vader SketchCover

At I was asked to draw a sketch cover on a Darth Vader comic at C2E2 this year and made it a point to get it home to play with some more. The black and white image below is what I ended up with before I colored it in photoshop. I decided to add a logo to it to show what my art would look like as the cover to a Marvel Comic. What do you think?

If you'd like your own custom art, email me at thelearningcurv@gmail.com!

 

Harley Davidson Commission

I was asked to draw a Harley Davidson Street Glider for a present and the idea of that scared me a little. I know that the detail in the motors are really high and knew it'd be a challenge. To make it more fun for myself, I suggested we add Ghost Rider into the mix and thankfully the client went for it. The new Ghost Rider drives a muscle car but I wanted to draw him anyway since his history with bikes is long and full of life. I also wanted to draw the new GR because he's Latino and I don't get to draw enough Latino characters. If you watch the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. show, you'll see him there. 

Feel free to reach out to me at thelearningcurv@gmail.com if you'd like a custom piece of art for yourself or your loved ones. The holidays are coming and this would be an amazing gift for you and yours!

Below you can see what the pencil and ink stage of the piece look like.

The X-Men!

When I was young, I use to love the posters that Arthur Adams created, showcasing all of the Xmen and the teams associated with them. The MUTANTS poster was my favorite, but a close second was the cover of Classic X-men #1 which has the timeless image of Wolverine in the front of the team. 

As I grew older, I continued to love the X-Men, and Arthur's work, along with the art of George Perez, Phil Jimenez, and Ivan Reis. They are some of the strongest artists in the history of comics and have mastered adding more and more characters to a composition than any other artist in comics. They are my idols and my role models and it is because of their work that I challenged myself with trying to reach their heights!

This is the 11x17 illustration I have created to showcase my love for my idols as well as my favorite comic book team. The poster has been available at 16 by 20, but now I only have it available as 2 separate posters, measuring out at 17x22. 

 I look forward to doing more in the future and hope to get faster at it as well, as 3 years was entirely way too long to get this done. 

If you want a copy, email me at thelearningcurv@gmail.com and we can get a copy of it to your home asap!

Anime All Stars!

There are three reasons I create pop culture art. I get paid to draw a commission for someone, People find me at comic cons and ask me often enough for the same characters, or I just enjoy the subject matter and have fun with it. This image falls into the second and first category. Sadly, I do not have the time to draw as often as I'd like, so I can't dedicate time to draw each of these fun characters individually. The answer then is to draw them together when you can't find time for each one!

This is the first time I am drawing most, if not all, of these characters, so please forgive my interpretation. It was find trying to compose this piece and seems to get a lot of smiles and conversations started at comic con's, so I am glad I did it. My favorite were Luffy, Saitama, and The Elric Brothers. Hopefully you like this as well, and if you'd like a print, feel free to email me at thelearningcurv@gmail.com for your copy today!

2016

2016 found me making more art of my main character from my graphic novel series, 

"A Reason to Smile!" 

and finishing the second volume of the series. Inspiration hit and I created a supporting cast for her and more art that would inform the future of the series. From there, I was able to make more art that would be appealing to my fan base as well as to myself. I was so proud to create a funky little sketch that starred the cast of "Gravity Falls" and to be able to draw Naruto and his supporting cast as well. Those characters are so important to the main character, because without them, the main character wouldn't be as interesting. 

I was commissioned to do my first wedding related artwork and was able to incorporate my style from my books, and marry it with my experience as a portraiture artist. The website it was on looked really great and the customer was more than happy with the final result and I've found that with likenesses, you can have the most margin for error. I was proud to finish that piece. 

If you would like a copy of "A Reason to Smile!", you can find it at Amazon, or receive a signed copy from me! Just shoot me an email at thelearningcurv@gmail.com and we'll make that happen! So without further ado, here is the rest of the art I did from 2016! 

Archie and the Gang Meets Luiza's Crew

I was given the opportunity at Baltimore Comic Con to be a part of their Year Book which this year focused on Archie and the properties associated with it. I was able to include my characters in the mix as well and thought it'd be perfect to document a passing of the torch of sorts of the High School kids to the Elementary School kids.  What better way to have them in the same scene than to have them going to a concert to see Josey and the Pussy Cats?!

I hope you enjoy=]

Remember, "A Reason to Smile!" volume two is available at Comixology and Amazon, check the links below to get your copy today! You can also email me at thelearningcurv@gmail.com to get a signed copy as well!

Comixology ($5 digital copies):

A Reason to Smile vol.1

https://www.comixology.com/A-Reason-to-Smile-Vol-1/digital-comic/260674

A Reason to Smile vol.2

https://www.comixology.com/A-Reason-to-Smile-Vol-2/digital-comic/465971

Amazon ($20 Hardcover copies)

A Reason to Smile vol.1

https://www.amazon.com/Reason-Smile-Javier-Cruz-Winnik/dp/0990818209

A Reason to Smile vol.2

https://www.amazon.com/Reason-Smile-Javier-Cruz-Winnik/dp/099081825X/ref=sr_1_1_twi_har_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493847702&sr=1-1&keywords=a+reason+to+smile+vol.2

Chupacabra

Presents:

Luiza Vs. the Chupacabra!

"Luiza Brillante loves to help people using her creativity and imagination.

Sometimes, her imagination gets away from her and she finds herself 

immersed in a new adventure or an tunexpected conundrum! Hearing 

stories about Puerto Rico and the Chupacabra caused Luiza to daydream

about hunting the monster that instills fear in human and animal alike! 

Though a machete might not be enough, Luiza never shys away from 

a challenge!"

This illustration was inspired by my graphic novel series "A Reason to Smile!" in which a little Puerto Rican girl from New York City always tries to find the bright side of life. I am bringing the series to Emerald City Comic Con and though this image did not get published in their Monsters and Dames book, I am proud to have made a illustration that I believe was good enough to be within it. 

Chupacabra's were first made aware to me in 1996 when I visited San Sebastian, Puerto Rico to meet mi Abuelo's hermano. The people in the neighborhood began speaking to me about how many locals were fearful of being outside at night because of this creature they were calling the Chupacabra, the goat sucker. It was said that many of the farmers were finding their livestock bled dry while having what appeared to be two puncture wounds on their necks. I always found the story to be an interesting piece of modern folklore but within the next year, I began to hear similar stories from other countries in South American and the Caribbean. We now have a modern day Bigfoot or Lockness Monster!

It was this story that inspired me to create an illustration where Luiza saves the day and stops the dreaded monster of La Isla Borinquen from further harming the animals of the island. Monsters and Dames obviously focuses on women and monsters, but Luiza will eventually be a woman, 

so... why not?

If you'd like to check out the slice of life story of Luiza Brillante, check out these links:

Volume 1: http://www.thecurv.com/2014/12/a-reason-to-smile-previews-and-orders.html

Volume 2: http://www.thecurv.com/2016/10/a-reason-to-smile-volume-2-is-here.html

and if you'd like your very own copy, email me at 

thelearningcurv@gmail.com 

and we'll get you your very own signed copy!