Christmas 2009

Christmas was a wonderful time with friends and family.

Here are some pictures of our annual traditions.

This is our Clay Manger. We pass out clay to everyone and they draw the name of a person or an object out of a bowl. We then get 15-20 minuets to make the name we drew. When everyone is done we read the Christmas story, and as each name, object, and animal is mentioned you place it it he manger. It is a lot of fun and wonderful way to tie in the actual Christmas story into CHRISTMAS! :D (I made the Angle).

And this is our annual cookie contest. I have yet to be able to put my name on that darn trophy. We had a cinderella story this year, our cousin Tanja came out of no where and took the glory from the wrestling Brandon and Shannon. One day I will have my day in the sun!

Sketchbook Volume 2

Sketchbook Volume 2!

My second Sketchbook is here and just in time for the Holidays! I am doing a run of 150 this time around, they are all going to be signed and number like the last set, but this time there are going to be 5.5 x.8.5 inches and only $20.

Sketchbook Vol. 2

Sketchbook Vol. 2 | Domestic $20.00 Sketchbook Vol. 2 | International $25.00

Now ya gotta check out the limited run of handmade hardcover sketchbooks I am doing this time. I am really excited about this! I am partnering with For Those Who [www.forthosewho.com]. They make handmade sketchbooks and note books, please check out there website. We are going to make a very limited run of only 20 of these sketchbooks. Only 20 because I am hand drawing each individual cover. And that takes time! So not only do you get the sketchbook, you get original art on the cover. I am drawing a different magical creature for each of the 20 covers. These will be $40 plus shipping.

Cover 1 of 20

frak Sketchbook Vol. 2 | Hardback

Sketchbook Vol. 2 | Domestic $40.00 Sketchbook Vol. 2 | International $45.00

These might make good Holiday gifts yes? :)

Holiday Cards! [sold out]

[SOLD OUT]

Hey All!! Holiday Cards are here! Well two of them are pretty much Christmas Cards what with the Santa hats and all, but the Patronus one is just blue and wintery, so thats good!
I only have six sets, so don't wait around too long. There are two packs for each set. So two sets of Owls, two sets of Patroni, and two sets of House Elves. Each card is illustrated and watercolored by hand. These would make great mailers or ya can frame 'em up! :P Each set of 5 is $25.00 plush shipping. ACT NOW WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!!!


Hoo could say no to these?


Expecto pa-buy-thum!


Free these elves!

Special thanks to Melinda for taking the pictures.

Not just another one for the shelf...

I drew this on the last page of this Sketchbook today.
Another one for the bookshelf.

This sketchbook has particular meaning to me, a lot has happened since I started it back in June. A lot of memories from tour, and a long and deep journey with the Lord through my heart. This sketchbook marks some significant spiritual growth on my part. I was awakened to a lot of truths from the Lord, which in turn exposed a lot of lies from the Enemy. It was a very difficult time, but I am grateful for it.

Defeated by feet...

A few weeks ago I was drawing at buddies place while he was playing his guitar. It is very hard to draw your own feet, so I took advantage of his exposed foots. If you can't tell from these drawings, feet are hard to draw! I need to keep practicing...

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!

Keeping the tradition alive, this is the witch I made up, her name is candy.
Her legs are horribly drawn, but I had to get this up today. :)

New Jorb

I got a new job, but I must be sly about what it is. Because they are picky with what we can post about it online. All I am gonna say is that it is awesome! And I love it so far. A few weeks ago I had a few days of training where I had to sit down, and be quiet, and listen. When I have to do that for more than a few hours I tend to get antsy. But it all goes away if you gimme a piece of paper, a napkin, or a coaster and a pen or pencil. Then the doodles just spill out.

I had fun drawing my fellow trainees, random doodles, and on the back of coasters.

Casey, Drew, and Miryha.


Coasters of Medusa, a lady, and the Cheshire Cat.




Me with a mohawk and Medusa.

There were more in and will be more in this very here blog.

Jim Henson Studios

I got to work at Jim Henson Studios!!
Nuff said!

This was so cool! It was originally the Charlie Chaplin lot. It's old school Hollywood and nearly 100 years old. So far I have freelanced there 3 days. I hope to go back for more, cuz I love it, and the people are awesome.

Boomerang Wallet

A lot has happened to me in the past few weeks. I got a new job! I have watched every single episode of Seinfeld! I freelanced at Jim Henson a few times! And now something that doesn't really merit an explanation-point. I lost my wallet, not once but twice!

The first time it was gone for over 3 weeks. After the first 2 weeks I figured it was a lost cause. About a week later I get a call form my parents, someone had sent them my wallet!! What is especially strange is that my parents address is no where to be found in my wallet! I have no idea how or why they sent it to my parents house. I was so happy! Everything was still there, from my drivers license to my Disney Land celebration card. I was a happy camper. But little did I know that there were mischievous pixies out to get me! I got my wallet back on a Wednesday, that following Saturday i managed to lose it AGAIN!!! I felt so stupid!!! It was horrible. I went on a hunting spree but I was unable to find it. I figured no one is lucky enough to get their wallet back twice. So I was really bummed. That following Thursday I get another phone call from my Mother telling me that 24 hour Fitness called and said someone found my wallet at Starbucks and that Starbucks still had it! I hightailed it over to the S-bucks and got me my wallet back for the 2 time within one week. How crazy is that?!

Champer | Comic Sorting

Chamber was a hard one for me to sort. My first instinct was Hufflepuff, but that was only because he is kind of a loner, but on further thought I realized he wasn't a loner who wanted to belong, he was fine being on his own. So I went with Gryffindor. When your superpower causes your chest, jaw, and all the insides of that area you explode off of your body it takes a certain degree of bravery to keep going. He steps up to the plate when he needs to. He also has a lot of Slytherin in him too, but his power looks like fire, so yeah. ;)

Emma Frost | Comic Sorting

Emma is %110 Slytherin. Not just because she was a bad guy, but because of what she did while she was a bad guy. She had no hesitation whatsoever in using her psychic powers to manipulate people to do what ever she wanted. And even now as one of the good guys she skated that line. Basically you don't wanna push her, she will only take so much before the claws come out. Basically Emma and Narcissa would get along swimmingly.

Jean Grey | Comic Sorting

There is no getting around this one, Jean Grey-Summers is a total 100% Gryffindor. She is pretty much Lilly in mutant form :). Too bad the colors of the Dark Phoenix are Red and Gold. I swapped the placement of the colors so that you wouldn't assume she was in evil Dark Phoenix mode, and it was a weak attempt to make her costume a little different.

The Owls Are Out!

The Owls are out. The Holiday delayed the sending out just a tad. So all of you who ordered keep an eye on the sky and look for the Owl I sent your way. And for those who haven't ordered one yet there are only 18 left! So get hopping if you want one :) If not, no worries!

In other news I am in talks with a friend of mine to do some hand made hard cover sketch books soon. They should be done and ready in time for Christmas. These handmade ones will probably be a limited run as well, maybe only 20 this time. I also plan on making some smaller ones that are cheaper. And I have a few other ideas too, so keep an eye on this blog for some fun stuff in the near future. :)

Harley & Ivy | Comic Sorting

I have been on this Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy kick ever since Friday. So I drew this while recording PotterCast today, only thing is that it didn't have much to do with Potter. And by not much I really mean NOTHING! But you see I got this brianwave! What if I sort comic characters into the Hogwarts houses and then redesign their costumes into the color schemes of that house! I know a lot of you aren't a huge fan of sorting, but I am :P And I am a huge comic book nerd, s its really just win-win for me. I dunno how many I will do, or how often, but I might try and do a few more.

Harley is a hard hitting Hufflepuff. Fun loving but you don't wanna mess with her. She would have given Cedric a run for his money. Being a Psychologist in her past life she would have probably faired well in Ravenclaw as well.

As for Ivy I sorted her into Ravenclaw. It seems to just fit her, smart, collected, clever. She is almost a Slytherin, but that would make a boring drawing, because she is already in Slytherin colors. This is just more of a gut thing, but I would put good money on the fact that she would have been sorted into Ravenclaw at 11.

Napkin Doodles

I went out to Huntington with some friends tonight to watch the Cardinals and Dodger game. I left my sketchbook in the car, but still did some doodling, on what you might ask? Well if you read the title of this Blog Post you know very well that I drew on napkins. T'was fun, thanks guys!

(Mmmm)






And the prize of the evening is this gem! ;)

Heartstrings

Your heart is very powerful but delicate. It can give you wings or tear you apart. Do not shut it up in cupboard, letting it wither from neglect. Do not give it away freely letting it drown in negligence. But seek the balance. That delicate and powerful balance will keep the strings of your heart in order and untangled.

FRAK the SKETCHBOOK!

First Ever Frankie Franco III Sketchbook!
Buy it now while you still can!



I am doing a limited edition run of only 100.
The first 25 will have an original sketch on the cover sheet.
All 100 will be signed and numbered!
They are 8.5 x 11 and have over 20 pages filled drawings and sketches.
Some brand new never seen before, and a few favorites from the past.

So please please please consider buying one :)
I have some other ideas in me head, but I need to see if this is a success first.

Thank you all for everything!
[even if you don't buy one (: ]

THE FIRST 25 GET AN ORIGINAL SKETCH!

DOMESTIC $30.00 INTERNATIONAL (had to add $5.00 for shipping sorry) $35.00

Commissions Complete

The Commissions are finally done! And it only took me a month and three days. But i did have over 25 to draw. :/ Sorry it took me so long, they took longer to draw than I expected. I probably wont have open-call commissions like this again for a while, if I do commissions again it will most likely be themed, like patronuses or you as food objects. Now would that be interesting to any of you out there? If so let me know by leaving me a comment.

Here are a few samples.

Apology

Hello interwebz

Its been too long, and what I find particularly annoying is that it seems that that is a common way to start my blog post over the last 4 months.

It has been a very difficult time for me these past two months getting back from tour. Difficult in almost every aspect of my life. I have been wrapped up in my head so much I have neglected my wee little blog. That may seem like no big deal to most, but I realized I have lost a lot of opportunities to share about what the Lord had been doing in my life. And He has been doing a lot. There is something very powerful in displaying your weaknesses, and I don't say that to be cliché. When we are honest with our weaknesses it allows the Lord to be glorified, allowing Him to get the glory. In this distraction and spiritual warfare I have been very selfish, so forgive me. I honestly do plan on blogging more, because I really do miss it. And I have been learning a lot.


(random doodle I had fun coloring... but will prolly come back to it later)

Another reason I have been so quiet on here if that all my extra drawing time has been dedicated to the commissions. They are taking much more time than I realized. :/ So if I do it again it is going to be a bit different. It is going to be a them, like Patronuses, or Food Objects (like the Pellegrino, coffee, beer, or burrito). But that wont be for a little while. I feel bad that it is taking me so long to get these done, so thank you all. What I am planing on doing next is a limited edition sketchbook. Ill print like 100-ish sketchbooks, sign and number each and sell them off my blog. Then I will ship them out to who order them. If this is something you might be interested in please let me know :D

I also never wrote about two major things, me being a full-time high School Teacher, aka Mr. Franco, and meeting a bunch of you fools ;P on this past summer tour. So expect me to explore these things on me blog.

I have a bunch of sketchbook pages scanned, ranging from random stuff to tour drawings to church notes. So expect some of them to grace the pages of me blog, but some might just remain exclusive to the sketchbook I am gonna self-publish.

Thank you for all of your patience, and me and my blog miss you. :)

Commissions Closed [for now]

Hey everyone, these filled up faster than I expected.
I am closing it off for now, to make sure I finish them. I may open it up when I am done.

Comments might persuade me open them back up when I am close, if enough people want them again.

Tour Entry Two

DC was so awesome. It was great to see the three monuments we were able to squeeze in. We saw the Washington Monument, which come to find out I knew nothing about. It wasn't even half way finished when they had to stop building it because of the civil war, they finally finished it nearly 30 years later. It was the tallest man made structure until the Eiffel Tower was finished in 1889, but interestingly enough it is still the worlds tallest stone structure and worlds tallest obelisk. We saw Imo Jima which was really sobering. Seeing the list of wars and battles we have gone through as a country inscribed along the base of it. It seems crazy to think that so many lives, so much blood sweat and tears can be summed up as a dash inbetween two sets of numbers. I am so thankful for the men and women in our armed services. We finished the night off at the Lincoln Memorial, which was my favorite by far. First of all it was just beautiful piece of artwork! As a monument its beautiful. You walk in and its huge, Lincoln just has a graceful and stoic presence. To the left is the Gettysburg Address and to the right was his second commencement speech, which was beautiful. Lincoln was just so pivotal in our nations history.

The next day we drove down to Raleigh North Carolina to do a show at a Library. We were met up by Jay from Jay and Jack and his wonderful girlfriend Colleen. They treated us to dinner at this really cool restaurant called Raleigh Times Bar & Grill, which was in this old building that the old news paper was ran of. We had a really great time with them, they are cool peoples. :) We need to do a Lost Potter podcast, called when PodCasts COLLIDE! Lol :)

We are now in the car on our way down to Georgia, see you in a couple of days.

Tour Thus Far

Tour has been going on for a little over a week now. Its been fun, and really cool to see some of the Potter Kids I don't see too often. The first 5 days were really difficult for me, I was really home sick. The prospect of not seeing my family and friends for six whole weeks was weighing on me a lot. And that I would be away from church for so long as well. But with reading and prayer I feel much better, and the prayers of my friends and family really helped too. So I am no longer a bummer to be with. So that's good.

John Bre and I made the trek across the country to meet up with Melissa and the bands. We made some really good time and we stopped to see Bres family, and then saw Johns family for a day as well.

Finally made it to Boston and did 3 shows with Harry and the Potters. We were blessed enough to stay at Melissa's palace in NJ. And now we are on the road to Washington DC.

Keep your eyes out for some Tour themed Comics :)

FYI

Hey Blog readers, if I have any left that is. I am updating my blog FINALLY!! Expect to see about a months worth of backdated posts, I have a lot of stuff scanned from the last 2 months but had no real time to post them. Now that school is over and I have a healthy amount of down time while in the car when it is not my turn to drive.