Juan Solon's Blog

50 Censitive

2012-01-23T14:06:00.004-05:00

Oh hi there, didn't see you come in. Have a seat why don't you? Oh your sitting already? awesome ok now stand. Great were off to an amazing blog start here.

Here is a new illo and some spots for Killscreen. The article is about 50 Cent and how despite how he is portrayed in media (Songs,Movies,Videogames) as a ruthless cold hearted dude. But really deep down hes a ruthless cold hearted nice guy. I played it up and gave him some Anime sad eyes to give that sensitive human look. Check the full story HERE!

The spots were really fun to work on, I wanted to sorta combine aspects of 50 Cent together. Shown up top is the Vitamin Water Grenade and the Fiddy 50 Cent piece.

And of course here's a video I did during College when learning After Effects. It's 50 Cent as a Sandperson in Tatooine. OH College Juan your so cray cray.

Balllinnnnnnnnnnnnn'!

2011-12-30T23:15:00.011-05:00

Basketball is my favorite sport, I love it when they dribble up and down the court, Just like I'm the King on the microphone so is Dr. J and Moses Malone. Ok so I stole that from Kurtis Blow, but I can be the king of the mic?...sometimes? no? ok.

This illo is for Killscreen. With NBA 2k12 out, the article reminisces on the old Atari basketball game "One on One: With Dr.J and Larry Bird". Todays games don't have the same graphical constraints as they did back then. You had to really immerse yourself in the game to believe you were playing basketball. But there was something magical and unique about One on One compared to NBA 2K12. The way the basketball court was a blacktop and how the characters would float in the air and defy gravity. It was as if Dr.J and Bird were battling in space.

As a kid growing up I loved basketball video games. I grew up playing Bulls Vs. Blazers, NBA Live and of course NBA JAM! My all-time favorite though had to be NBA 2K1 for the Dreamcast, all those heartbreaking after school sessions playing friends. Sticking with the Raptors and believing they could beat any team, OH how young and foolish I was.

It was really fun to do a basketball illo. Whether its shaking my head and sighing while watching the Raptors or NY Jets, sports is really something engrained in my life. I think with this new year and a new NBA season. I definitely have more opportunities to create some sports illos. Lets all just hope the Heat don't win :D?

Thanks for reading and Happy 2012!

NEW YURR

2011-12-28T17:03:00.005-05:00

With another year almost closing, like sands through the hour glass so are the days of our lives. We always have to remember as the world turns, we must be bold and beautiful, and not young and restless. Because we only have one life to live and ummm... something something General Hospital? Dang almost had it there. That was oddly poetic, and frightening that I know that many soap operas.

2011 was a crazy year for me, and if there was one thing I really took away from the year its the phrase "Stand and Fight". Whether its a problem with money, an issue with a composition in your illustration or your just feeling down. We should never run away from our problems, we should face them head on and solve them. Fear is the one thing holding us back from our true potential, and we all have potential for greatness. So when ever you have a problem or are in a rut, stick through it and tough it out. You'll always find that in the end your ok and things aren't so bad after all.

Happy 2012 everyone :)

(The top image is a portrait of my family that I gave as a gift for Christmas!)

I Said Brrrrr, its Cold In Here

2011-11-24T13:24:00.009-05:00

Well not really cold, but I just wanted to sing that. First person to guess where the tittle is from gets 10 imaginary points! Ok so moving on, here is an illustration for Canadian Lawyer In-house. This was my first full page illustration for Canadian Lawyer, prior to this I had illustrated spots for them. The article was about in-house lawyers helping to fight global warming.

Above is the initial concept, below is the developed rough. I actually did the roughs while I was in NY visiting. Thanks to Nimit for letting me use his tablet
and thanks for the hotels crappy but free wifi #firstworldproblems.

Thanks for reading :)

Everybody Wang Chung Tonight

2011-11-22T10:58:00.006-05:00

A new illustration for Killscreen's Dance Central 2 Review. The review is more of a parody of Dance Central 2. Instead of the poses for the dances they wanted to show the dances people might do offscreen. Things like "The Breather" and my favorite "Haters gonna Hate" dances. Check out the full review HERE.

Above are some roughs and examples of the angle I was going for. I had a lot of fun making these simple characters. It was nice to keep it simple and let the body language speak for itself. Thanks to Ryan for another fun project!

Also lastly I just came back from American Illustration in New York and like to thank everyone for the amazing hospitality they shared with me and Nimit. Ill post some pictures shortly! Also I reached my dream goal of after Watching Night at The Museum, I finally went to the Museum of Natural History!!! #THANKYOUBENSTILLER

More to come thanks for reading!

Okily Dokily Pixely 3: Mawwwww Mawwww

2011-10-25T19:42:00.005-04:00

Here is a cat I drew while I live streamed. I will be doing it again on www.justin.tv/juansolon later in the week. Thank you for all those who watched and I'm always open to feedback. Also as well you can view the recorded broadcast on the same site. Thanks for reading and watching!

Okily Dokily Pixely 2: Yo Dog

2011-10-24T20:58:00.005-04:00

Here's another pixel animal. There is a couple more I'm working on and I hope you guys like the final project once I release it!

Okily Dokily Pixely

2011-10-23T13:59:00.007-04:00

I've always had a love for pixel art. I grew up playing Super Nintendo with games like Earthbound, Chrono Trigger and FF6. I've had some free time lately to explore some personal projects of mine, and thought it would be a great opportunity to explore something I've always wanted to try out, pixelart!

I asked the advice of a fellow illustrator and friend Diego Garcia who does fantastic pixel illustrations. And with that I made the above drawing of a lion. Can't reveal what this is for just yet! Big thanks to Diego for the help.

Also in other news me and Nimit Malavia will be in New York for illustration week and the American Illustration party. Hope to see some new and familiar faces there!

Fall Mailer: The Most Creative Man In The World

2011-09-13T09:54:00.007-04:00

Here is my brand new fall mailer. This idea spawned from reading too much Reddit Memes. It first started out as a joke then people really thought the idea was funny to make a mailer out of. By people I mean no one (just kidding). They should be sending out as soon as I receive them! which is this week I hope. If your interested in me sending you one, email me your address. Also I'll send with it some other extra goodies I had extra from Fanexpo!!

That's all for now "Stay creative my friends"

Fan Expo and Wired...Wired Expo???

2011-08-30T18:47:00.005-04:00

Hello everyone and happy almost kinda sorta end of August! Above is an illustration done for Wired Magazine in Italy. The illustration is about how idleness creates creativity within the mind. Thanks to Daniela for the great project! Here are some roughs.

Initial rough.

Workup of the 4 toed dude.

With FanExpo officially over I'd like to sincerely thank everyone who came out, said hi and of course felt sorry and bought stuff from me :) This was my second Fanexpo and it was great to see the support the fans gave to the artist alley. Much respect goes out to the Artist Ally'ers who did their thing this weekend! Here are the few shots I took during the expo, was tough because me and Yuta were at our tables most of the time. But at any rate here they are.

Me pretending to do work.

Yuta pretending to not do work.

Craig and Rose! couldn't of done Fan Expo without their help! (this was during packup)

Another shot of the packup with the boys.

Chris Coles, Yuta Onoda, Me, Brian Huynh (aka Steve), Nimit Malavia, Wesley Tsang

Me on Endor, oh the LAUGHS we had

Lastly I want to thank E.Honda who kept me and Yuta company during the slow times.

That's all for now! Also If I met you during Fan Expo don't hesitate to keep in touch!

House of Pain

2011-08-11T11:59:00.005-04:00

Here's a new spot illustration done for Canadian Lawyer: The article explains the case of Zoriana Krawchuk who purchased a home built on a peat bog. She bought the house for dirt cheap, that she even offered to pay 10k more. Unfortunately when she bought the property they found her foundation to be subsiding, the city of Sudbury ordered her to correct the problem which almost cost double the amount of the home. The article further talks about how not just the seller but the vendor of the home is responsible for letting all information be known.

I wanted to create an image of a perfect house but with hidden underlying problems. Here are some roughs!

Selected Rough

I thought it would be fun to play on the "sinking" aspect

Of course I had to do a closeup of the dog!

Woof Woof.

Boombastic

2011-08-08T18:44:00.007-04:00

Hey everyone, here is a illustration done last week for Financial Post! The article was about how Managed futures are becoming increasingly attractive as a way to protect yourself in a world of volatility and risk. I thought it would be a fun image to draw someone walking through a mine field in a bomb suit. Inspired by Hurt Locker which conveniently was on my desk when thinking of ideas.

When illustrating business ideas I tend to come across common themes that pop up. Themes like Risk, Danger etc. Sometimes I get a little worried, I fear that sometimes the images can become redundant. When I'm stuck and out of ideas, going back to those past sketches that dealt with similar themes help a lot in figuring out a new solution.

This was another illustration that I explored without black lines, so far I'm having a lot of fun with it. Throwing a curveball at yourself tends to make you adapt and think different ways and really exercises your knowledge. Here is the rough.

Lastly! Fan Expo is at the end of the Month August 25-28, me and Yuta Onoda will be sharing a table! More details soon feel free to visit and bring us food as we will be starving and tired. Thats all for now more to come!

Slice and Dice

2011-07-18T22:02:00.008-04:00

Here is a recent illustration done for Canadian Lawyer! The article is a look at the future of collective bargaining agreements, specifically focusing on Ontario Farm Workers. Recently a law was passed that would not grant farm workers many of their collective bargaining right which relates to striking. I'm trying to explore more work without ink lines and realized when you start to close doors for yourself, you discover many more to open. I still have so much to learn but I am hopeful I'll find a nice balance!

Here is the rough, thanks for reading!

Paddle 2 Live

2011-07-05T17:16:00.011-04:00

Hi all! Here is something big that I have been working on for Paddle2Live a charity paddling event to be held September 10th! I was asked by Jack Shimko to create a poster similar to my "Planning Ahead" Illo I did awhile back. I was pretty excited and nervous at the same time, because I never created a piece that was a large poster size.

Incorporating a large worldly view was the angle that we chose to create. Jack for the event will swim to the 8 islands from Point Conception to Newport Beach Harbor (over 150 Miles of paddling!). As well various races will be going on along Newport Beach Harbor. Jack paddled the same event last year and described all the amazing things he sees along the way. The big challenge was adding all of the elements we talked about into one image. I think in this case the large format help me add many different elements without sacrificing too much detail. Google Earth was super handy for getting aerial and even some topographic views on the landscape.

I will post more closer to the event date. It was great pleasure working with Jack Shimko. A survivor of cancer himself and an inspiring individual. It was a honor to participate and contribute to this awesome event!

Here are some detail pics:

I definitely encourage to go check the site www.paddle2live.org for all details of the event.

Thanks for reading!

Know Your Role

2011-06-06T11:00:00.007-04:00

Hey all, here's a recent personal illustration I did on the one and only Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Wrestling was a big part of my life growing up. From staying up late on Mondays not doing homework to watch RAW. To finding illegal scramblers to watch PPV's and most importantly playing WCW Revenge on the N64. The Rock was my all time favorite wrestler and entertainer. The most amazing thing was how he was on the mic and how he could cut a promo. It's hard to describe how amazing he was on the mic so here's some great examples.

I will be selling this print Fan Expo in August, as well as some other new merch! More stuff to come, thanks for reading!

No Glove No Love

2011-05-06T11:55:00.005-04:00

Boom Pow EXPLOSIONS!!! all of which have nothing to do with the blog post and only there for visual and sound effects. So having started the post with a bang, here is an illustration I did for Feathertale magazine.

The story is about a older man's realization that hes getting old. He recalls hearing "Celebration when he was younger, but now it plays on the oldies station. The ending of the story has him in a doctors office for a checkup and he hears Kool and The Gang playing in the background. Feel free Click the bottom image to read the short story its funny and also sad. Thanks to Lee for a fun project to illustrate for. Also am very pleased to announce that this was chosen for American Illustration 30!

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Thats all for now Thanks for reading!!!

Runaway Fast As You Can

2011-05-02T11:19:00.009-04:00

May is here! Summer time is just around the corner. Unless you live somewhere thats hot year round, then I'm jealous and going to cry in a corner now. But for now here is a post for a recent illustration for Runners World!

The illo is for the Q&A ask the experts article. I choose to illustrate the question on how to run through a headwind. The answer focused on using your arms and core to "fight" through the wind. I really thought the image of fighting an actual wind would be fun so I went with that.

Here are some roughs!

As well here is the layout. It was an awesome experience illustrating for Runners World. They've been a dream client that I've wanted to illustrate for along time. Also honored to be with some great illustrators in the issue: Josh Cochran, Frank Stockton, Marcos Chin and John Hendrix!

Lastly I'm selling some prints over at Inprnt you can check the prints
I'm selling here!
http://www.inprnt.com/gallery/juansolon/

Thats it for now thanks for reading!!!

It's PAT!-ents

2011-04-13T11:49:00.005-04:00

Good Day Sir/Madam. Congratulations I cordially invite you to read this blog. Wow really running out of ideas for intros. HERE is a new illo for Canadian Lawyer on Biotechnology Patents. Bio-tech patents are becoming very frequent in this day and age and are becoming difficult to settle. For instance, if a company creates a new drug with a microscope that was patented by someone else, it is most likely they would want a piece of the pie. Also infringing on something like the molecular structure of a drug is also a case that is complex and difficult to settle.

This piece was fun to make. I recently was experimenting with some Photoshop brushes, and thought this would be a great piece to try out new techniques. Rough's below!

More to come! Thanks for reading!

Motivasean Video + Prints!

2011-04-03T09:13:00.004-04:00

A little quick update on a two things. I recently made a short video on one of my Motivasean comics "Light The Fire Under You". Motivasean is about a guy named Sean (obviously) who finds ways to motivate himself. Unfortunately for Sean, he takes motivational advice a little too seriously. Check it out!

Also I've begun selling prints over at Inprnt.com. I will be selling two pieces I made for Fan Expo as well as my previous Illustration "Geek Food". Also If you would like to see a different piece for me to sell in the gallery. Please don't hesitate to let me know!

Lastly New Hawk and Squirrel episode with Nimit Malavia! We talk about Wizard World while we play Black Ops (yes you read right)

Hawk and Squirrel - Episode 3 : Yes this is Really Happening from Nimit Malavia on Vimeo.

contact me at contact@juansolon.com !

Jose Rizal

2011-03-16T23:32:00.009-04:00

Posting regularly? YES WE CAN..or I can...you know what I mean! So here is a personal illustration that I did right after I got back from the Philippines. The portrait is of Jose Rizal a hero of the Philippines during the Spanish Colonization. Rizal fought for Rights and Reforms for Filipinos, and was considered an enemy of the state for the Spanish. He was eventually captured and was executed. What was really cool to learn during the trip was that Rizal was a profound artist, poet among many things. I thought I would create a nice tribute portrait in honor of him. As a Filipino born in Manila but raised in Toronto it was really awesome to learn a lot about my culture and history.

I intend to make this a series and have a couple ideas lined up for more figures in Filipino history. Below is the sketch and fine line drawing. Also pictures from my trip to Intramuros (The Walled City) which was old Manila.

Initial sketch, scanned in made larger and edited in Photoshop before doing linework.

Final Sketch

Jose Rizals steps on the way to his execution (not traced from his actual steps though)

The cell where he was held before his execution. Below is a video of the cell.

Mom: Hey Take a picture beside the guard Me:ughhhh no mom Mom: Just do it Me:......*sigh..fine

I could go on an on about the history of the place I was in but if your interested in Filipino culture definitely Google "Intramuros" and Jose Rizal. OH and Happy St.Patty's day!

Witness The Fitness

2011-03-10T10:12:00.005-05:00

Hey Yaaa! (you guys remember that song? that was a pretty cool song). Achem, ANYWAYS, Here is some new work for Financial Post and RBC 360 Dexia. The image above and below was an illo I did last week for the cover of Financial Post weekend. I did a cover New Years day and was really excited to do another one! The illustration is about the Market Rallys 2nd anniversay. The question is how long will it hold. I liked the idea of the cakes being a sort of heavy weight that the market was burdened with. As if there was more pressure the more years the market rallied.

Here's the front!

This illustration was done for RBC 360 Dexia. The article is about how the sovereign debt crisis has caused a loss of safety for many investors. I was fortunate again to have shared this issue again with fellow illustrator Pete Ryan. Check it out on the link above!

Here are the rough versions of the finals! The deadline for the Financial Post piece was tighter so the rough was very loose.

This image was inspired by THIS scene from Robin Hood Men In Tights.

Thats it for now, More to come soon!!!

Phillip Pines

2011-02-28T10:18:00.004-05:00

HOY Kamusta! I recently went on a trip to beautiful Philippines here are some snapshots from the trip. Since I haven't been back in around 20 years it was nice to see the old vs new Philippines. Here's the shots!

Cebu

Chinatown (2nd Oldest in the world!)

Intermuros (Jose Rizals steps)

Fish Restaurant

I had a chance to see a gallery show of classic Filipino painters such as Juan Luna and Fernando Amsolo which was really inspring. I definitely suggest checking them out. It was also great to learn tonnes of Filipino history and eat lots of yummy food. The best part was that I met a lot of great people and hopefully I plan to go back soon!

Every time I Come Around Your City Bling Bling

2011-01-28T11:57:00.007-05:00

Hey heeey heeeyy, here is two new pieces for the Financial Post. The illustration above is about how oil is the new gold. Investors infatuation with gold for almost half a decade could be over. Gold's price fumbles while Oil drives forward.More here.

The next piece was from the week before. The illustration was about how the recent Chinese inflation is really nothing to worry about.

The chain piece has a more developed line drawing than the Dragon piece. I would say a more realistic line drawing, but that sounds like I'm full of myself...SOOO I'll say developed. Anyways where was I...oh yeah (why am I typing this). It's not like I want to totally get rid of my cute fun characters, I'm just at that weird point where I wanna try to draw a different way. However I still love to do my fun whimsical style.

In other news Stephanie Glaros was kind enough to write a blogpost about me on the UTNE Arts section on my Twitter piece. Check it out here! I left my toolbar on the screenshot for fun, who can name all the icons?!

2011: I Wanna Stay Fly-y-y-y-y-y-y-y

2011-01-02T14:56:00.007-05:00

Hey everyone, heres my first post of the New Year with an illustration from UTNE Reader and Financial Post!

The first image above is from UTNE Reader. The article was about how twitter moods reflect how the stock market is doing. So when Twitter optimism is high the stock market would ride high with it as well. I wanted to do a image that echoed the fail whale image when twitter is down. Thanks to Stephanie for the fun project!

Here is the image in print.

Above is the last illustration I did for FP in 2010. I was fortunate enough to illustrate for the front cover of Financial Post for before the New Year as well as the inside! The illustration was about riding fast into 2011. The left image was used for the front and the right for the inside. I was really excited, since this was the first time I illustrated the front of FP.

My last post I explained I'm trying to do a little more developed line work. I tried that more with the horse illustration and was really pleased how it turned out considering drawing horses was a big challenge for me. However I still love doing my fun cartoon style characters like the one with UTNE Reader. I thought the fun tone of the project needed that style of character. I'm always trying to find ways to merge things I have done and want to do in my work, and hopefully I'll discover new things this year.

More to come soon, 2010 has been a wild ride and I wish everyone an amazing 2011!

Happy "Roy" Halladays

2010-12-21T12:27:00.005-05:00

Merry Belated Christmas and/or Merry Belated Holidays! Above was a piece I did for the Financial Post last week. The idea was about how strong the oil markets will be in 2011. The piece is a little more detailed than what I usually do. I'm trying to explore more line work thats a bit more developed vs the simplified cartoon way. In other news my website has been completely revamped! Thanks to my good friend and 3D allstar Steve Huynh for all the help. More to come!

Check out the site at www.juansolon.com let me know what you guys think!

The Scientist Illustrations

2010-12-03T19:32:00.007-05:00

Oh hey you there, yeah...YES YOU, hey whats up? nice shirt. Here's some new illustrations for The Scientist Magazine. I was really excited when I first got the assignment.Partly because this was the first project I've dealt with in the medial genre and it was a nice change of pace.

The article is about certain factors that when combined form complex diseases in the body. You can read more about it here!!. I was asked to do the equation illustrations in a type style like I did in this image. I did those awhile back so the challenge was to incorporate the text style into how I make images now. I'm really pleased how it turned out and had a lot of fun with these illustrations.

Another challenge was simplifying the organs to make them easy to look at. I felt keeping the organs basic and flat would make them less raw than what they actually look like (which is not pretty when starting at pictures of organs all day). Thanks to Ash for an awesome project!

Now back to reading A Clash of Kings...YES

Ohhhkaaay I Re-loaadeedd

2010-11-24T16:20:00.010-05:00

It's been a crazy November but finally I can settle down and write a blog post. I've been working on some new projects as well was travelling for a bit. It was really cool to go to the American Illustration party for the first time earlier this month! I admit I was pretty nervous going to the party but I had a blast meeting new faces. OH and Uniqlo is amazing, Ooooh wow is it ever amazing. Wish I could of stayed in NYC for a bit longer, hope to plan a trip this Summer. NY is such an awesome city with so much things to see around every street corner and not just because of Uniqlo. But yes partly because of Uniqlo.

The above illustration was a done last week for the Financial Post. Many stocks have risen through this year but some outstanding stocks have soared higher and faster then others. In honor of Movember and the fact that I cant grow a mustache if my life depended on it, I slapped a handsome stache on the dude!

If you follow Pete Ryans Blog you might have seen these two above pieces I did for RBC Dexia. It's the second time me and Pete have been in the same publication which is pretty cool and have the sneaking suspicion that Pete is stalking me. The first piece is about U.S FACTA (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act) capturing all potential tax revenue. The second is about UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment In Transferable Securities)...*breathe* with a new form of UCITS being released soon. People must plan early when things are simple before they get more complicated. I'm trying to do less line work and I'm really liking how it's looking. I feel that way things get pushed back and forward more, which makes for a more visually interesting piece. Shape work without line is something I aim to continue to try to explore.

Lastly but not leastly, an illustration I did for Canadian Lawyer. The article was about Wind Farms and that leasing them to farmers has become a nightmare which leaves Farmers, Lawyers and Tenants twisting in the wind. I had tonnes of fun on this image, especially the guy with the pants hanging low. Was glad they kept that in!

That's it for now more to come soon!

Juantober Fest: Financial Post and Rypple

2010-10-24T00:59:00.010-04:00

Balancing Act

Financial Post

Debilitated

Financial Post

October is almost over and I just realized I haven't posted all month long! So here are two illustrations done for The Financial Post this month.

Balancing Act: This piece is about balancing your assets during times of risk. I really liked how this turned out though I wish I had more time to work on it to layer the water a bit more. The turnaround for this piece was around 5-6 hours in total. I had a lot of fun doing it especially drawing the gators!

Debilitated: This illustration comments on the Bull markets slow recovery.

Exciting news! November 10th I will be going to NYC for the American Illustration party on November 11th!!! I'm pretty nervous not gonna lie, as it is the first time I will be attending the party. As well as being in New York City, and not being in child form.(Yes I am implying that I am a man now). If your at the party say hi! I'll be adventuring with Illustrator Kagan Mcleod. So make sure to say hi to the Tall white guy (Kagan) and the Asian dude(Me) (I'm sure they're won't be a lot of those in NYC...SO I'm told)

Lastly here is the latest comic I've done for Rypple.

Kids These Days: How generations aren't that different from each other. The only thing that's changed is how we get our messages across.

Also congrats to Cain Velasquez the new Heavyweight UFC CHAMP!

Domo Arigato Mr.Juanato

2010-09-26T11:30:00.008-04:00

Media Giant
Financial Post

Two illustrations for Financial Post. The above piece was last weeks investing illustration and below is this weeks!

Media Giant (Above): With BCE (Bell Canada Enterprises) purchase of CTV. Bell has transformed themselves into a media giant.

Unnoticed
Financial Post

Unnoticed: Of all the countries of the BRIC (Brazil Russia India China). Russia was always the most undervalued and overlooked country. However due to of a series of events Russia looks to pop out as the main star.

Something I felt was lacking in some of my illustrations was a establishing a sense of foreground middle ground background. Many times because of time constraint and tight deadlines from the Post, I would be guilty of skipping middle grounds or foregrounds. So I decided to improve myself on that. I tried my best to include all the 3 types of grounds in the pictures. Since many of my images are character based, I tried to still keep the surrounding areas simple without taking away too much from the characters. Still a lot of experimenting and failing to do!!!

I Am The LAW!!: Inside Counsel

2010-09-13T22:45:00.010-04:00

Who To Talk To?
Inside Counsel

Recent Illustration I did for Inside Counsel's September issue. The article was about whether an arbitrator can enforce an arbitration agreement. The question narrows down to if the issue is with the arbitrator itself or the arbitration. A new rule states that problems with the arbitration go to the arbitrator and problems with the arbitrator go to the court. Yeah...I know wow thats a lot of arbitration going on.

It took about a couple reads of the article to try to understand what angle I should go for. Usually I can get an idea cooking right away but this one was a toughy. Here are a couple of rough ideas:

These were two main ideas I narrowed down to. One idea I had was that the arbitrator represented a referee type figure. With the new rule set in place. It was like a referee was being refereed. The other bottom two roughs show the idea that, if you have a problem with arbitration process. One would have to decide if the problem is with the arbitration or arbitrator, because the two issues lead to two different sets of ears (arbitrator or the courts)

In the end the rough on the bottom was picked. I liked the solution because it the idea is so difficult to describe, that the image boils it down to the core solution of the article. I worked with the AD Elizabeth Novak last year on a litigation article and it was really awesome to work with her again. She puts the utmost trust in the illustrators and she is great to work with!

Side note who watched the Monday Night Football game....sigh

Financial Post: Flocking To Safety

2010-09-07T19:22:00.007-04:00

Flocking To Safety(Black and White)

Financial Post

This was an quick B&W illustration I did last Saturday for the Financial Post (Around 3-4hrs). The Investing Feature was about investors flocking to bonds and safe investments over economic uncertainty. However with many of these investments, the returns are very low.

I had the idea of birds flocking South to avoid the harshness of winter. However when they reached South all they were met with was a crowded bird filled island. A small risk with little reward.

Here is another illustration I made especially for Fan Expo.

If anyones still interested in prints, I'm still selling them and some buttons! Feel free to email me if interested or if you want to trade that would be awesome too!

I Am The LAW!!: Canadian Lawyer

2010-09-03T23:44:00.017-04:00

Equals

Canadian Lawyer

Hello Blogiverseee!!! Last two weeks have been crazy busy, preparing and being at Fan Expo. BUT! I'm back with a piece done for Canadian Lawyer.

Equals: ODR's (Online Dispute Resolution) have become a new and common solution to settle disputes. Many people prefer settling small claims online, rather than going through the process of attending a courtroom and seeing a judge. In that sense the computer has made itself equal to the judges role. Don't tell that to Judge Dredd though.

Also I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who stopped by at Fan Expo. It was great seeing old faces and especially meeting new ones! It was an awesome experience and I will be having a table next year!

I don't have any pictures but heres my table mates!! Me, Wesley Tsang, Yuta Onoda and Simon Kim. Nimit brought his fancy dancy video moving picture recorder along for the weekend. So stay tuned for that!!

Oh also! Here is a print that I made especially for Fan Expo:

I submitted it to the Blizzard Fan Art page and they posted it!! Check it out here!

More to come this week!!!!

Rypple: Funny Friday's

2010-08-15T11:39:00.003-04:00

Heeeeyy youuu guyyyyysss, wheeeress the chocoolaa...ok i'll stop it right there. Here is a recent comic that I finished for Rypple; they are a company who specializes in helping companies inspire, motivate and give meaningful feedback to their employees. They commissioned me to illustrate a comic this Friday for their blog! The premise is the "What not to do's" for company performance reviews.

Fan Expo's coming up! I'll have a table with fellow friend and Starcraft master Simon Kim and will be also near the Daigo Umehara of illustration Yuta Onoda! Not exactly sure where I will be but I will hopefully know within the week! Come say hi!!!

Financial Post TWO'FER : Telecom Giants On The Run / Investing In Defense

2010-08-02T21:31:00.007-04:00

Telecom Giants On The Run

Financial Post

Hey errrrr'body (yes I'm hip hop like that, I'm "down" with it) Here is two illustrations I did for the Financial Post Investing Feature. The Telecom illustration was done two weeks ago and the Defense illus was done last week!

Telecom Giants On The Run: Shaw, Videotron and little mobile startups are nipping at the heels of the big three Telecom companies: Rogers, Telus and Bell.They are moving in on their cable turf and are likely to move in on wireless in quarters to come.

Investing In Defense

Financial Post

Investing In Defense: With Canada's new purchase of 9-Billion dollars worth of 65 new F-35's. Defense spending is a new trend that investors should capitalize on.

I've been back to using Pen and Ink, pencil was fun but just didn't feel right for me. I just missed the immediacy that ink provides and there was no point for me to try to do the same thing with pencil. I'm really having fun with the current style I'm using. I always doodled these characters in my sketchbooks, now I feel really happy to use them in my illustrations! A blog post that I will make in the future explains why I love doing these characters. **Hint** It has something to do with SNES. STAY TUNED!!!

and finally...STARCRAFT 2 WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Financial Post: Sitting On A Stockpile

2010-07-18T21:54:00.013-04:00

Sitting On A Stockpile

Financial Post

Investing Feature: This weeks investing feature focus' on how corporations are sitting on and hoarding growing piles of cash for themselves. Also, because of the unpredictability of the market right now, they are waiting for certain economic conditions to deploy it. The catch is that this money is not being used for anything productive, its just sitting there.

After a long hiatus I'm back to illustrating the investing features!!! Woo!! Vuvuzela time!! BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. I was really excited to get back at it and wanted to combine some things that were working well with the comic illustrations that I was doing. I really love drawing simple characters that radiate their personalities to the viewer. This is a type of image direction I really had fun with. What do you guys think? I'd love to hear your thoughts? Or would I?!?....yes..yes I would!

On a final note: Yesterday nights movie popcorn the greatest breakfast ever?

Wired: Geek Food

2010-07-10T18:44:00.011-04:00

Geek Food
Wired (Italy)

This sentence is an introduction. I always find the first sentence of a blog the hardest to write. Not sure why?...moving on. This illustration was for Wired magazine in Italy. I was super excited when I received the email for this project. It has been a dream of mine out of school to illustrate for Wired. The illustration accompanied the article of the top 10 Geek Foods. The AD wanted me to combine the words Geek and Food and see what I could come up with. Huge thanks to Daniela! Here are some roughs:

Potato Chips

Cheese Plate

Hamburger Combo

I had a blast with this assignment. There are so many different kinds of "Geeks" I tried to encompass them all in the last two roughs. The added elements were mainly the ones that resonated with me the most! I'm not gonna name all the references but lets see if you can spot them! (I do wish I could of illustrated the Cheese Star Destroyer a la Spaceballs)

I wish I spoke Italian

Random note: Starcraft 2 is coming out this month!!!

Canadian Lawyer: ACTA

2010-07-05T00:35:00.006-04:00

Canada joins together with ACTA

Hello sea dogs an' land lubbers here be a new illustration fer Canadian Laywer (Oh Pirate Translator how I love you, just as friends of course). The article was about how Canada joined ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement). Joining many other countries in an effort to stop piracy and counterfeiting.

Here are the rough ideas below. Since Canada was uniting with other countries. I liked the idea of hands joining together to prevent/block/stop piracy.

Rough 1: The idea was that the united hands formed a chain surrounding "piracy"

Rough 2: The hands together form a barrier and a wall.

Rough 3: I liked the hands forming a wall, and the effect the hands made in the 1st rough. So I joined the ideas. This was the rough that was picked!

Sidebar! Hawk and Squirrel has had some technical troubles as of late, and me Chad and Nimit being in different areas its super hard to coordinate ourselves. However, we will be back!!!

Also if you haven't checked out Motivasean #3 its up on my other blog.
Motivasean

Sketchy McSketchington #3

2010-06-27T20:35:00.002-04:00

Rain rain go away, here are some sketches..another day...something something... I think thats how it goes?

Sketchy McSketchington #2

2010-06-24T21:33:00.003-04:00

Couple of doodles in my sketchbook. Hope to post them every once in awhile to change the pace a little bit!

RBC Dexia: ETF's Shifting Forward

2010-06-17T12:16:00.010-04:00

ETF's Shifting Forward

Hi everyyybooody, Here is the latest illustration I did for RBC Dexia. The image was about ETF's, what is an ETF you ask? (or didn't ask). WELL an ETF is an Exchanged Traded Fund and is an investment fund traded in the Stock Market. Let's all thank that explanation sponsored by Google.

Proposed rough idea

I like the challenge that business articles create. Because I'm not well versed in business and financial lingo, it's always fun figuring out what words represent. I think it's an advantage learning while illustrating. Your knowledge of the subject is built from the ground up, so you don't have any preconceived notions about the topic.

Print Version

I did two other illustrations which can be seen on the site at http://360.rbcdexia.com/

Also LASTLY I have started a new web comic called Motivasean. Which can be seen here! Thanks for reading and more to come soon!

Rogue Magazine

2010-06-12T20:51:00.007-04:00

Mayday: Rogue Magazine June 2010

Ola! Here are two new illustrations I did for Rogue magazine. You might remember that earlier in the year I was fortunate enough to be featured in their Illustrators issue. I was really pumped when they asked to actually illustrate for the magazine, which I haven't done yet. Miguel Mari was wonderful in giving me his full trust in interpreting the article any way I wanted. This allowed me to think a little more loosely and out of my comfort zone

Do you come with the car?

The article was an insight into the recent Philippine elections that took place two months ago. I won't get too in depth about the candidates because I can go on forever. But the winner of the presidential races was Benigno Aquino. In the below illustration there are all top three candidates from the top 1st place to 3rd. (top: Benigno Aquino, Joseph Estrada, Manny Villar). Behind them are the different representations on how they targeted their campaigns. I haven't done caricatures in awhile and having the free reigns to interpret the article any way I wanted, I thought it would be a great opportunity to give it a go again. I'm really happy how it turned out and I will definitely be exploring more portraits in the future.

The President Elects

The below illustration was sort of a conflict for me to illustrate. When Filipinos had their chance to vote, their fingers are dabbed with indelible ink. The inked fingernail is a reminder to all Filipinos, that through their votes their voices were heard. The conflict I had was that Canada does not use ink on the fingernail after voting. SO I wasn't sure if that would translate to North American's. I decided in the end that since this is a Filipino magazine distributed only within the Philippines. Plus wanting to use the inked fingernail because it was a powerful image. I stuck with the decision in the end to keep the idea the way it was. I'm quite pleased how they both turned out.

Getting Your Vote Heard

I'd like to thank Ricci Antonio and Kryz of Thirsty Thought blog for all their insight. It really helped put perspective on the elections.

LASTLY *gasp for breath, Hawk and Squirrel Episode 1 is out! go check it out if you haven't and ignore me if you have :D

Hawk and Squirrel: The Podcast

2010-06-08T16:28:00.006-04:00

HAWK AND SQUIRREL: The Podcast!!
http://hawkandsquirrel.wordpress.com/

Via Nimit's Blog:

I have the great pleasure of joining the charming bad boys of illustration Chad Covino and Juan Solon (and NIMIT) as we sit down talk all things art and illustration. Our podcast will touch on all sorts of things that you might be interested to hear about from tools of the trade, to discussions about different methods and processes, and other topics you might be curious to hear about like social media in the illustration world and life as an illustrator. You can also expect a few guest appearances from some familiar names!

We're not certain about which direction the podcast will take or where we will end up, but we hope that you'll join us our way there!

The teaser trailer for our PILOT episode (yes, just like TV) is out now!!

Please head on over to the Hawk and Squirrel blog for trailers, episodes and more information about the show!
Also follow us on Twitter at @hawkandsquirrel

yeah so pretty much what Nimit said haha. More updates to come in the next couple weeks have some projects I'd love to share with you all! Make sure to watch out for the official episode one of Hawk and Squirrel this week!!!

Thanks!

Fixing Europe

2010-05-23T12:15:00.011-04:00

"Fixing Europe"
Financial Post:May 22th 2010

Financial Post Investing Feature: As the Europe debt crisis rages on. Some reforms have been proposed similar to those that fixed the Asia crisis. However regardless of all that, the Europe situation has fallen and needs fixing.

I know I tweeted and put on my Facebook fanpage about the wallpaper I did. But for those who didn't see it here it is!

More great wallpaper's from different artists can be found here http://www.erikabrouwer.com/wallpaper/ thanks Erika! Also click here to see a Gif of my process! It kind of messes up in the end not sure why, but you get the idea.

Skyhigh

2010-05-16T15:52:00.003-04:00

"The Rise in Real Estate"
Financial Post:May 8th 2010

Financial Post Investing Feature: Real Estate stocks have enjoyed a great run over the past year in high hopes for recovery. Although many see this trend as snuffed out. There is still many opportunities for upside as the U.S economy strengthens.

I'm having a lot of fun with using pencil as my line work. It tends to have a certain quality that pen line work just doesn't have. Sometimes you get that nice chalkiness in certain areas or some parts of the line would be lighter or darker than other parts.
It's really cool experimenting with it.

#3) Patience: The last and most important lesson that I have learned is that patience is key. Success does not happen over night. Many times during slow months I would wonder when will it all happen, when will I start living my dream. It connects back to the first lesson on never giving up. Thing's will happen eventually if you stick to it. Impatience leads to frustration and anger which ultimately is self destructive. It is good to be hungry and want things now, but always know there is no timeline for success.

I think one phrase that sums my lessons that I've learned is that.

"Dreams do come true, but not by themselves"

Thanks to everyone who read the lessons. I know they were long but it was nice to reflect back on the year and share some thoughts with you all. If theres anything someone has learned and would want to share it feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I'd love to hear everyones thoughts and feedback!

Forestry Reseeds

2010-05-13T01:14:00.007-04:00

"Forestry Receeds"
Financial Post:May 8th 2010

Financial Post Investing Feature: After a horrendous 2009 for the forestry sector, the new year brings out hope and recovery. With new markets such as China; who have embraced wood housing, after earthquakes decimated concrete houses.

This was last weeks feature, stay tuned tomorrow for this weeks illustration plus the wrap up on the "3 Things I've Learned". It's been really hectic these 2 weeks but I'm finally settled and moved in Toronto!

In Print

Also check out 4to7club.com fellow illustrator Daniel Fishel started it and I am one of its contributers, check it out!

Tax Defense!

2010-05-03T11:32:00.008-04:00

"Tax Defense"
Financial Post:May 1st 2010

Financial Post Investing Feature: With Tax season over, there are many ways to prepare for next tax season to outsmart the evil tax mans hand.

I've been having fun with the hybrid of traditional/digital approach to my illustrations. I think there is something always nice with line-work that's not quite too perfect.

I used some empty space to balance with the type!

Continued from last week, here is #2 of the three main things I've learned since I graduated last year!...

#2) Be Grateful: Another thing that I have been slowly learning is to be grateful. Be grateful for what? well be grateful for anything in your life that are a positive. Many times concentrating on the negative things and the "have not's" only brings us down. Focusing on what other people have rather than what we have only leads to a pessimistic attitude. "Never compare yourself with others" it's something we all heard in school, and I admit being guilty to listening to it yet not really taking it to heart. I learned the hard way after focusing way too much on what other people had, that all it lead me too was to lose faith in myself. It's always a constant battle for someone not to look up and compare . But focusing on bettering yourself is always a great way to live optimistically.

Trawling For Bargains

2010-04-25T23:22:00.015-04:00

"Trawling For Bargains"

Financial Post:April 24th 2010

This weeks illustration for the Financial Post Investing Feature. With the global rally of stocks in the past year. Some stocks have become overpriced, however there are still many bargains to be found that have been ignored.

In Print!

This week I had the pleasure to see the 09/10' Sheridan Illustration graduate show in Toronto. It was really cool to be a "graduate" and see all the great work that was up. It made me think, wow..it's been a year already since I have been out of school. There is that old cheesy saying that time fly's, and it always holds true. I started thinking since a year has passed what have I learned? This year has been such a roller coaster that I never really thought what I learned from it. I'll post one thing a week because I don't want the post to be extremely long. Also keep in mind these are things I'm learning and will always be throughout my life.

#1) Never Give Up: One thing that I know but often do not tell myself is "you can do it". More often then not, there were times this year where I would truly feel like giving up. Sometimes you put hard work into something and many times you get nothing back in return. We feel cheated that we put in all this effort only to be letdown. But thats just life, it owes you nothing. True success is not how many times you succeed, but how many times you climb back up from failure. I assure anyone, hard work and determination will always prevail in the end. If you truly love something you will stick with it. Dreams do come true, but only if you work to make it true. You only have to tell yourself that "you can do it".

More to come next week!...

Catch Up

2010-04-10T18:02:00.010-04:00

"Catch Up"
Financial Post:April 10th 2010

First off I want to start by saying I really do hope at least one Toronto sports team makes the playoffs...cough cough Raptors. Secondly, the weather outside today was so beautiful that I bought a new book to read and soak up the sun! "The Midwich Cuckoos" by John Wyndham. Brian Cronin illustrated the set of Wyndham's novels, and they are really quite eerily beautiful. You can see them all in his site here under the category books.

Ooooo mystery.

This week's illustration for Financial Post is about Mexico. No it's not about Spring Break unfortunately, but equally exciting is it's Market value! hurray? Mexico lately has been receiving a new flow of wealth rebounding with the U.S in the post-recession period. That is a great thing considering all the violence that has been plaguing Mexico this past year.

I really liked the layout.

I went back to using a pen for line work just to try it out again and really had fun with it. I used my Pilot Pens for the line work on vellum and digital for coloring. I really am pleased on how it turned out.

Lastly! If anyone is interested in doing a mailer/print trade email me at contact@juansolon.com and we can arrange something! I really want to fill my wall with everyones wonderful work.

Locked Out

2010-03-26T12:17:00.011-04:00

"Locked Out"

Financial Post:March 27th 2010

It's almost April! Were soon marching off away from March...haha hilarious..achem, tough crowd.

This weeks Financial Post Investing Illustration: Many investors trying to break into the Chinese Market will find it immensely difficult. Especially on the road ahead.There are many obstacles that plague China, such as it's dispute with the U.S over currency policy Which could lead into a trade war. The way things are run in China their government has literally locked themselves up.

I did the line work this time with pencil, I really liked the loose feel it gives. I'm trying out more work like this, let me know what you guys think!

In other news, I went Snowboarding for the first time yesterday! Needless to say ego's and muscle tissue were definitely bruised. But I had a great time and I can't wait to go again!Here is a nice picture to sum up the day. I took a huge spill in a run called Happy Valley, I'm sure theres a metaphor in there somewhere.

200th POST!!!: Tech Growth

2010-03-22T01:08:00.007-04:00

"The Tech Regrowth"

Financial Post:March 20th 2010

Ahh yes, I have reached the 200 blog post mark!!..another sign that I am really keeping this blog moving or that I have no life. Or could it be both??

This weeks investing feature for The Financial Post is about the Tech Market. During the recession the Tech Sector was the hardest hit. But lately the Tech market finds itself blooming and growing strong again. I really had fun doing this piece and the final took about a couple of hours to complete. Thanks of course to The Sour Patch kids, for both giving me that sugar rush to finish the illustration, and destroying my tooth enamel at the same time.

Also If you haven't checked out Gorillaz new album "Plastic Beach" please do. So many reasons to say why its great but I think you should find out for yourself! It's one of those rare albums I can listen to straight through without skipping any songs.

And I know I said Spring is upon us, but this weekends weather here in Toronto has been freezing. I am soooo confused.

Nom Nom Nom

2010-03-07T10:42:00.006-05:00

"Eating Up The Competition"

Financial Post:March 6th 2010

Hiiiiiiiiideeey Hooooooo, this is last Saturdays Illustration for the Post. With Profits Likely to Increase in Japan. Investors should buy into Japan while it is cheap. Eventually the Japanese will rise and eat up the rest of the competition. After I finished this I was craving all you can eat Sushi so obviously I went and destroyed my stomach with delicious White Tuna and Edamame. TIP: At All you can eat Sushi places, never get anything with rice. It fills you up way too fast. Also! always get Sashimi instead of Sushi. Unless you like that, then i'll just shut up.

In other super amazing news, I just got back from the Muse concert at the ACC in Toronto tonight!!! What a show!!! Unless you don't like them, then i'll just shut up.

SPRING'S BOSOM IS UPON US!! HURRAY

I Have Missed You

2010-02-23T23:17:00.006-05:00

Gabriel Perez of "Here Today Gone Today" has been kind enough to write about me and my prints on his site here! Check out the blog and subscribe! There are lots of great inspiration to look at daily. Thanks again to Gabriel for his kind words!

Previous write up here!

Scouting The Patch

2010-02-21T00:43:00.004-05:00

"Scouting The Patch"

Financial Post: February 20th 2010

This week feature is about the Energy Patch (Oil and Gas) after earnings over the past few weeks they were all over the map but the general theme is that you'll earn and get rewarded by buying oil over gas. The turnaround was similar to last weeks (half a day), and glad I was able to get more done than before.

Follow The Money

2010-02-13T22:14:00.005-05:00

"Follow The Money"
Financial Post: February 12th 2010

This week was a very fast turnaround illustration for the Post. I've been pretty accustomed to the one day turn around, but the "couple hours" turnaround was a new thing for me. This illustration was about following the money to find companies to benefit from. I actually got the email while I was driving, and was pretty nervous at first to take it. I'm really glad I did though, and for the record "I wasn't driving and using my cell phone *wink wink". I liked the idea of money having a rhythm like footprints that someone is following, so I went with that.

I think it's important to figure out what can or can't be done in a limited time. Sometimes though short deadlines are in a way, a positive thing. Like Christoph Niemann said "Short deadlines make you think straight" (source).

AND! lets not forget...Congrats to Canada on their very first Gold on home soil!!!

The Tools Artists Use

2010-02-13T13:50:00.003-05:00

Here is a recent interview I did with Bill Turner from "The Tools Artists Use". Check it out here!

Picking The Pearl Of Stocks

2010-02-01T01:58:00.009-05:00

"Picking The Pearl of Stocks"
Financial Post: January 30th 2010

This weeks Financial Post illustration is another underwater piece. It's funny how I had fun doing these underwater illustrations, yet I can't swim...and I hate underwater, wait thats more sad then funny. The illustration was actually a rough idea I had for last week, but the editors wanted me to use the idea for this week. I really liked the image so I was happy to do it.

Picking The Pearl of Stocks: This weeks article has Jonathan Ratner picking the top 6 stocks in the market. As the market enters a "Stock Pickers" market.

In other news I'm addicted to

Battlestar Galactica...am I a Cylon?? (No one post spoilers!!!!)

Risk

2010-01-23T16:49:00.006-05:00

"It's a Risk"
Financial Post: January 23rd 2010

Happy Saturday the January 23rd everyone?...yeah really need to work on my intro's. Here is today's Investing section Illustration for the Financial Post.

Swimming In Risk: The bond market used to be a cornerstone of every investors portfolio. However nowadays buying into bonds is very risky, and if investors want safety in this dangerous market. One has to be careful of the many risks swimming around.

I think this is the third piece I've done regarding bonds. I must admit when I see an article almost similar to one I have approached before I get a little nervous. However one always has to remember, the beauty of illustration is that you can approach one subject one million and one ways. But what if you've done a million and one illustrations on bonds?...then God help us all.

and one last thing!!!... J E T S JETS JETS JETS!!

Hollywood's Got a Smash Hit

2010-01-19T11:59:00.005-05:00

"Hollywood's Got a Smash Hit"
Financial Post: January 16^th 2010

Investing Feature this week: Since Avatar's gigantic success, investors have taken an interest in the re surging film market. Where movie goers spent over 1Billion dollars last year. I was asked to create a simple image of people looking at a blank screen, and they would place a graphic in the middle. It was very different since most of the time I was working on it I was looking at a blank section. However I knew that something was going to be there, I just didn't know what. I thought it was a nice change of pace also something fun and different to approach an illustration.

New Tapestry

2010-01-17T21:46:00.006-05:00

"Peace"
Kessels Kramer's New Tapestry Project

Awhile ago I posted this piece for Kessels Kramer's New Tapestry Project check out the original post here! Recently the site has been updated with all pieces from contributing artists put together! Thanks to Christian Bunyan and Kessels Kramer for putting this together! Check out http://www.newtapestry.org/

Some bad news for the weekend: Due to some difficulties my website is down this week, I will resolve this issue as soon as possible and let you know when I fix it!

Cut Off: First Post of 2010!!!

2010-01-11T01:27:00.007-05:00

"Cut Off"
Financial Post: January 9^th 2010

First post of the New Year!!! Hope everyone had a fun and weight filling holidays!! There’s always something about the holidays that I love besides getting gifts...but really, it’s the getting gifts part. Anyways , before I talk my art speak I wish everyone good luck on their new years resolutions!

Investing Feature this week: One big problem for markets in 2010 is the removal of the central bank life support. Which in this case are the low interest rates implemented to help the economy recover. Eventually the interest rates will rise and the life support will be cut off. This piece was tones of fun for me to do, I felt like trying something different since it was the New Year. I’m really pleased I took the risk during a tight deadline to try something new. Perhaps this is a new direction for 2010? Who knows!

However what I do know is that the NY Jets are still in the playoffs and the Toronto Raptors aren’t doing too bad either. Hurray for 2010!!!!.

I’ve ALSO updated and tweaked my website a bit check it out! www.juansolon.com.

"Cut Off in Print"

An Apple a Day

2009-12-30T01:46:00.005-05:00

"An Apple A Day"

One of the thing's visually I love to do is incorporate text with image. I always love how words can work with an illustration. It adds that something extra for the viewer to be engaged (plus I can draw my jokes and force you to read them..HA). I thought of this while eating an apple by myself and then thought of the image in my head, and laughed out loud. Come to think of it, that sounds really sad...but hey the result was funny?

2010 is just around the corner. A new year, new beginnings and a fresh start. I have so many people to thank this year and can't fit them all in this post. I just want to say to everyone who supported,motivated,angered,frustrated,took a chance,cared,loved and most importantly made me laugh, Thank You!without you I would not be where I am today. I wish everyone, especially my fellow artists a great and dinosauric 2010!!!!! (I really don't know what that means, It just sounded really appropriately cool)

The Last Shall be First

2009-12-21T19:44:00.014-05:00

"First To Last"
Financial Post: December 19th 2009

Investing Feature this week: An old investor adage from Sir John Templeton states "buy when pessimism is at its maximum, sell when optimism is at its maximum." Stocks that are down most of the time are sure to go back up. The stocks that were last will eventually be first.Gigi Suhenic who directed me on this piece wanted me to go with the "Last to First" direction. The story of the tortoise and the hare hit me as being a great way to symbolize that idea. This illustration was a lot of fun to do. It was nice to play around with the inks for color again. It was kind of like a breath of fresh air for me to use them, since I haven't in awhile. The article is a very good read even if your not into investing so check it out here!.

In print, I love the type they used!

This is not related to this particular piece, just something I've been thinking about. I'm discovering the hard way since graduating, that many times you may get a story that you are not emotionally invested or interested in. Then when the time comes to think of an idea then illustrate, the results end up being something your not happy with. It's a lot different when I was in my last year of Illustration. Where I got to pick which article I wanted and illustrate that for my thesis, I had a choice of which stories inspired me. I guess what I'm trying to say without trying to ramble on so much (or miss Coldcase) is that it's an illustrators job to see something in a story that no one sees, to get the audience engaged and thinking. However I think it's even more important before all of that, is to see within ourselves. To put our personality, our emotions our thoughts in our process and our image. Not to just do it because you have to, do it because you want to. When that time comes and you do get an article or story that doesn't spark your fancy. It is your challenge to make it exciting to make it your own. Through challenges you face and overcome, I feel someone would grow to find inspiration in almost anything.

Wow that was really long! "Thats what sh..e." nvm.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sneak Peekin'

2009-12-13T22:38:00.008-05:00

"2010 Sneak Peek"
Financial Post: December 12th 2009

Investing Feature this week: A sneak peek look at the markets in 2010, the outlook of some are not so good. Someone pointed out that this guy actually looks like me. I only noticed after when I was finished that yes...it looks like me. BUT I don't do or condone peeping! "The More You Know"

Sketch'a Rica

2009-12-08T01:49:00.004-05:00

I just posted some sketches on my Costa Rica trip on my Ohger page check it out HERE!

In other news www.juansolon.com is now cleaner, stronger and 10% sexier so go check it out!! (ok maybe not exactly in those words). In other other news, balsamic vinegar and olive oil make great salad dressing.

Guess Who's Bizzack

2009-11-29T15:44:00.012-05:00

"A Time to Buy, Not Grow"
Financial Post: November 28th 2009

I'M BACK! from Costa Rica!!. The trip was a blast and I'll soon make a post with pictures and sketches on the whole trip. BUT! for now this is last weekends Investing Feature: With the global economy slowly mending itself; companies are finding it easier to make money by buying into companies rather than grow a company. I used the black more as outlines rather than the object itself on this one. Usually I rely on the shape the black creates, but I thought I'd try something different and create more depth.

Rough Version

Here are some pictures from the trip! And the last one from my last visit to Tatooine.

Beach chairs are always on vacation.

Palo Verde National Park

Sketchyness

2009-11-15T20:01:00.006-05:00

I leave for Costa Rica tomorrow! I'm not really done packing nor do I want to keep packing because I hate packing. I don't like the word packing either. SO! instead of that fun stuff I just decided to sketch up something completely random and try some new things. I admit many times I have techniques I wanna try out but never really light the fire under myself to try them out. I'm glad I tried this out before I leave, maybe I'll take it further or even bust out the acrylics?! Who knows... but I hope everyone stays safe while I'm gone and hope you don't all turn into zombies (although that would kinda be semi-awesome).

See ya in a week!!!

MANNY PACQUIAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rogue Magazine!

2009-11-12T12:21:00.004-05:00

I had the amazing privilege of being apart of Rogue Magazine's Drawn Together. Featuring 16 Filipino Artists and their works! I'm really excited to see everything in print and really happy to be apart of something like this. I've been a fan of the magazine for awhile so it makes it even cooler to be in it!

Check out the unedited transcripts here. Many Many thanks to Miguel Mari and Cliff Sawit!

I leave for Costa Rica soon!! Here is some appropriate music to listen too.

Stuck in Neutral

2009-11-10T23:53:00.007-05:00

Last Saturday's Investing Feature for Financial Post: Big Canadian companies such as Shoppers Drug Mart, Tim Hortons and Canadian tire are favored names in the Canadian Market. However the performance compared to some peers in the United states has been underwhelming. Many of the Canadian companies seem to plateau very quickly, while the U.S competitors are still in for the ride.

This post is a bit late, I was out of the country all weekend so I only saw the print version today! Next week I'm off to Costa Rica to fulfill my life long dream of going to Jurassic Park! ... ok that 2nd part was a lie. But a man can dream...a man can dream.

Investing Feature: I can't think of a clever tittle.

2009-11-03T01:13:00.005-05:00

Investing Feature for last Saturday! Real Estate Investment Trusts or REIT's have rode the recovery smartly. Does this promise new frontiers for REIT's and will they be a solid bet for investors? I did a previous piece about REIT's here. It was tough to figure out a solution because I did an illustration about REIT's from before, and with a very quick turn around within hours; it was tough to find a solution. I went with the AD's solution of people flocking back to shopping malls and stores to signify the return of REIT's.

Ohhhh...bama!

2009-10-29T01:29:00.011-04:00

Kessels Kramer has started a big project involving many illustrators from around the world. The project consists of creating a Tapestry which will tell the tale of the current events of our time. The Tapestry consists of black and white illustrations from many different artists depicting a week of the year. This is based off the Bayeux Tapestry which tells the story of the major news events of 1066. I will make a lengthy detailed post about the story and project later on, but I wanted to show you guys the piece! Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize during the week I was illustrating (Week 41) so hurray for getting something important! I have more to write about this later, so stay tuned! (or not, but seriously stay tuned)

This is the first intended original image, until I found out that the format was horizontal not vertical!

For more about the project visit the site here!

Picky,Picky,Picky

2009-10-25T12:53:00.004-04:00

This weeks investing feature!: The third quarter earnings in the market are doing great and delivering better than what was expected for investors. Even showing some of the growth that investors were craving but they are not satisfied anymore. They want more, and to top it off they're picky on what they want.

I haven't really done fun characters in awhile, I used to include them all the time in School pieces but strayed away from them to try something new. It was nice to come back and have fun with a character again. The deadline for this was shorter than the last one, in total with the idea it took about 6hrs to crank out. I think sometimes handling things under pressure is a great thing. For me at least I seem to second guess myself less and commit to ideas and decisions better under pressure. Of course though I'd still prefer having a lot of time to do an illustration!

On a side note who saw the Machida vs. Shogun fight? ROBBERY!!!

Buying Bonds, James Bonds.

2009-10-17T10:57:00.005-04:00

Here is this weeks Financial Post Investing Feature! There is a current high risk of buying Bonds. Prices for Bonds are really high and interest rates are low. There is a mountain to climb for investors if they really want to invest in bonds.

Lesson of the week: What is a Bond? Bonds are kind of like an IOU. So an investor agrees to loan money to a company. But that money is agreed at a certain interest rate to payback. So with interest rates being low and Bond Prices being high, it's a big risk banking on interest rates to rise.

I'm still exploring a sort of fusion style in my work, which I find actually looks better in print. The turnaround time for this piece was pretty fast, I had to crank this out in less than 4hrs. Although I'd rather spend time on pieces, it's a big learning experience figuring out what you can and can't do in a small amount of time.

Ohger!

2009-10-13T00:00:00.004-04:00

I'm happy to announce i'll be apart of the Ohger community! Ohger is run by the same people from Illoz and Drawger. It's a new community site featuring students and recently graduated students.

see my page here!

Sooo that means i'll be also posting on that blog as well. I think I'll be posting more indepth posts on Ohger though!

Features Are Back!: Australia Still Soaring

2009-10-10T12:35:00.005-04:00

So after a brief hiatus, the investing illustrations are back! yay! This weekends article is about Australia markets; There has been an amazing record of 17 years of economic growth and still going In Australia. They also have even been able to avoid the latest recession. Comparably China's markets have been strong but really unstable. Australia find themselves jumping past the Chinese and the rest of the emerging Asian markets. The turnaround for this was about a day so it was nice to get right at it!

Here is the illustration in print. I feel really stupid because I never knew about photomerge in photoshop and Nimit had to explain it to me. Wow the power of computers these days, we truly are in the 21st Century!

Area Zinc

2009-10-05T21:23:00.003-04:00

I was recently featured in Area Zinc an online magazine. Along with many great photographers, graphic artists, illustrators and Yuta (haha). Thanks to Andres Vargas and the Area Zinc crew!

On a side note I sprained my knee, how do I stretch it??

Brock Hard!!!

2009-09-24T20:49:00.007-04:00

In keeping with my MMA illustration theme from last week, I decided to draw the notorious Brock Lesnar. Now those of you not familiar with Brock a short synopsis is that he was a WWE Wrestler now he’s UFC Heavyweight champion. Brock is a massive massssivvvee guy. I believe his mother is American and his dad is a Sherman Tank, but that’s just a rumor, she couldn’t be American. Other than his giganticness Brock is known for his bad ass attitude, which is a love hate thing with many people. But all in all, no one can deny this man is a force in the industry.

I tried some different coloring in this piece; I tried to use softer coloring to go with the hard line edges. I had tones of fun making this, and think it worked out pretty nice.

Here's another version I did, not sure which one I like: vote!!!

Finally, here is a video of Brock in the WWE doing a Shooting Star press (hes almost 300 lbs!!!)

Creative Quarterly 16

2009-09-21T23:31:00.005-04:00

I was fortunate enough to be selected in Creative Quarterly 16! I know this post may seem old if you saw Yuta's previous post about it. But lets pretend this is the first time you have seen it..yeah!!.

The illustration was done for Thom Sevalrud's Interprative Illustration class. The illustration is about the theory that we are born criminals. Wow I miss school...someone grade me!!!

I've also now decided to center my images, yay or nay?

Kimbo Slice'd

2009-09-17T01:23:00.006-04:00

For some reason I can never think of something to write to start off my blog post, so I started it off by writing that I cant think of anything to write, clever? amazing? yes all those. So today "The Ultimate Fighter 10" was on, and one of the featured contestants was Kimbo Slice (Kimbo is famous for his back yard fist fights seen by millions over something called the internet). Anyways I'm a big fight fan so I thought it would be cool to draw him. I was looking at my old work from school, and there was some illustrations I used to do with flat colors and texture that I really missed. I thought I'd try to combine my style now with some things I was doing before, you know to spice things up a bit. I did this all after the show ended till right now, so it was sort of a quick test on mixing the two styles. What do you guys/girls think?

China's Consumer Tap

2009-09-05T15:55:00.005-04:00

Here is this weeks Financial Post investing illustration. The Chinese Consumer market (things like China Mobile companies, Auto, and even beer) are on the rise. With rising incomes in China, and a populace of 1.3 billion people, the industry could be a juggernaut. Canadian Investors can take advantage of this by tapping into the growing industry.

Ace Of Diamonds

2009-09-02T14:07:00.009-04:00

Fellow Sheridan graduate Dave Murray started a "To Be Named" face card project. I got the Ace of Diamonds,and this song couldn't get out of my head when I was thinking of an idea. So then it made sense for me to make Smitty the Ace of Diamonds!! I haven't done a portrait in a long time so it was nice to take time and do another one. I'm trying to as well explore more things with texture, I feel it helps lighten the hard black and makes it more easy to look at.

Keep on a look for other face cards blog posts!!

Recovering From The Fall

2009-08-29T13:47:00.004-04:00

Here is this Saturday's Financial Post Investing feature illustration. REIT's (Real Estate Investment Trust, that deal with developing money through buildings and collecting rents from "everything from office buildings to shopping malls to doctor offices")have been on the downslide with many other real estate sectors because of the recession. However it seems some companies under REIT have been recovering from the fall, while others still have not been.

Back from Chicago!!

2009-08-27T20:37:00.012-04:00

Well I'm back from Chicago!! Here are select pictures I took when I was there. I have to say the skyline of Chicago is absolutely amazing, everywhere you went it looked different and there was always something to look at. Here's the pics :

Millennium Park

I've actually never been on a Ferris Wheel in my life. So, as you can see by the next picture I'm pretty excited.

Me being a 6 year old.

The Art Institute had to be one of my favorite places during the trip, I wont post all the billion pictures I took inside. I really didn't know what was in their collection. I was really excited to discover pieces I have seen in textbooks, now in front of my eyes.

American Gothic

Toulouse-Lautrec's At The Moulin Rouge

Gustave Moreau's Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra.

I actually don't remember this name of this one..

In the collection was also Degas, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, Manet, Monet, Van Gogh etc etc etc. I won't go on about this place because I miss it already! and suggest that everyone should go see the museums amazing collection. Since this post is getting really long I’ll cut it short. I have to say though DO visit Shedd Aquarium, Eat Deep Dish Pizza, and check out their Jazz Bars!

Of course, every Canadian going to the U.S should have..

That's it for now! Good to have Loonies in my pocket again.

Chicago!!!

2009-08-21T09:51:00.006-04:00

Today I’ll be taking my first ever road trip to Chicago!! I’ll be back Monday and post some pictures! I’m pretty nervous, seeing as the farthest I’ve driven my car is an hour away from me. That, and the fact that my Ipod broke yesterday so I have to resort to CD's, and NOT burned CD’s because my CD drive is broken..wow. Anyways I promised pictures from Show and Tell but Nimit and Yuta beat me to the punch, check out their blog for the pictures!

Here is tomorrow’s Financial Post investing feature. I thought I’d post it one day ahead because I won't be here. The story is about Stock picking and since the market is starting to do a little better and blossoming so to speak. Investors might return to picking stock. I’ll post more about the story when I get back!!

Fishing For Telecom Value

2009-08-16T12:55:00.005-04:00

Here is this Saturdays Financial Post investing feature. The three big telecom companies such as Rogers, Telus, and Bell have the highest market share. But there are new telecom players emerging fighting to lure you in.

On another note it was awesome seeing everyone at the "Kids are Alright" show at Show and Tell Gallery Friday!! I'll post pictures I took from Nimit's expensive fancy dancy camera!!

Risk Aversion Is So Passe

2009-08-08T12:55:00.004-04:00

Here's this weekends Financial Post Investing feature illustration. It's time to forget playing defensivley in the market and go for investments that will give you the best BANG for your buck.

It'sa me!

2009-08-05T15:59:00.002-04:00

Self-portrait for someting upcoming in the fall! Everyone needs a picture to make them cooler than they actually are.

Commodity Syndrome

2009-08-03T01:52:00.003-04:00

China's exorbitant amount of spending on metals has increased the commodity market. Even in a bad economy there is no telling how much they will buy or how high commodity prices will grow.

Different Strokes

2009-07-29T12:41:00.004-04:00

Here is something I did awhile back. I was drawing a ball of twine then I just completely got lost in it, so it doesn’t make sense. I found it quite relaxing though just drawing these shapes, Also using something other than a ink pen was nice!

The Rise of Cleantech

2009-07-26T13:43:00.007-04:00

Here is this Saturdays Investing Feature for the Financial Post. Clean Technologies (i.e Wind Turbines, Hydro Power, Solar Power etc..) are coming out as the biggest investment bets of the year, and their values keep growing and growing.

Kultura: Balikbayan Rennaissance 2009

2009-07-21T18:12:00.007-04:00

This is a recent piece I have done for Kultura 2009. The theme of the festival is based around the rebirth of culture and the awakening of national pride. National hero's like Manny Pacquiao have always reinvigorated a sense of national pride back into myself. However the first ever hero of the Philippines was Lapu Lapu, who was the first to resist Spanish invasion. I had a lot of fun learning and creating this piece. It's also a breath of fresh air to do something related to your culture and where you came from.

Here's more info!:

Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts & Culture is having its 4th annual KULTURA Filipino Arts Festival, a day-long event, starting at 12-noon, at Bellevue Square Park (Corner of Augusta and Denison St.), and at the KAPISANAN (167 Augusta Avenue), adjacent to the park, in the heart of Kensington Market.

If your in town, hope you can make it out!!

Gems In the Scrapyard

2009-07-18T14:06:00.003-04:00

Here is this weeks Financial Post illustration for the investing section. The car industry has been in shambles but there are few companies who are speeding forward. The AD had the idea of banged up cars coming out of a car wreck moving forward. I think it works really well, thanks Gigi!

Oh and I put my car in here somewhere...GUESS WHERE IT IS????

Inside Counsel

2009-07-16T11:30:00.004-04:00

Hello all, this is a recent illustration I did for Inside Counsel. I'm sure you've already heard from Pete Ryan's Blog already haha. Here's the three roughs and the final!

The article was about a litigation against Chinese drywall. The drywall turned out to be very cheap and under certain conditions emit poisonous gas, that would corrode a/c coils ruin appliances. Most importantly it would give people breathing problems, cause nosebleeds and other ill effects. I found it interesting that the something meant to protect you was actually harming you. So I focused on the image being very dark and ominous looking.

...and here's the final

I am very pleased how it turned out, and like to thank Liz for giving me a great project to work on. More to come! also my website is updated so feel free to check it out www.JuanSolon.com.

The Summer Correction

2009-07-11T11:39:00.005-04:00

Here's a new piece for Financial Post about the Summer Correction. A Market Correction is the decline in prices after a period of overpriced stocks. So one can play defensively during this time to not incur any more losses. I tried some different things with the coloring and im really happy how it turned out. More to come!

The Gas Glut

2009-07-03T16:14:00.010-04:00

This illustration was done for the Financial Post weekend about the Gas Glut in North America. Basically there is a huge abundance of Natural Gas in America, but its pretty much worthless, so it's very risky to invest in it. It'ls like taking a dive in a huge pool of shallow water, theres alot there, but nothing to keep you afloat. There was a really quick timeline on this one, but it's been challenging and fun adapting to the different types of deadlines!

Here's the print version! (you know you love the table cloth)

More to come! Happy Belated Canada Day! and Independance Day!! (aka I don't care I still liked that movie)

Sunn 0)))

2009-06-28T22:39:00.006-04:00

Here's an illustration on Sunn o))) that I did for Exclaim! magazine. Sunn O))) plays drone metal...now it's really hard to describe the type of music so here's a youtube video for your curiosity!

I had alot of fun working on this one and trying out some old techniques, more to come! The issue comes out this Tuesday!

Back To School Shopping

2009-06-22T22:19:00.010-04:00

Here is a recent illustration I did for Retail Traffic Magazine. There was a really fast deadline with this, and I was really excited to do it. The illustration is about back to school shopping and of course the shopping line up. The kids never seem to mind though, getting new stuff always is fun.

This was the chosen rough

Here's the final

The magazine ships today! I'll post pictures of inprint once I recieve it. More to come!

Oh Gawd..

2009-06-10T23:21:00.004-04:00

I promised another post and I delivered!!! Just came back from Keep 6 Gallery's "Hapily Never After Show" it was great to see familiar faces and awesome work! annnnd tomarrow I offically get that paper that says I went to school HUZZAH!DEGREE!

This piece came from an old sketch I did during school that wasn't chosen to finish up. It's one of those "awww man why didnt he pick that one" sketches, YOU know what im talking about!! Anyways the theme was heaven and hell, one mans Heaven is another mans hell. Kind of appropriate if you think about it just coming out of school...think about it! lol

Also! I will be in the next issue of Creative Quarterly 16!! wow a lot of news this post.

Journey Funanzo (Ok I made that up...so what)

2009-06-09T10:41:00.007-04:00

Last week I took the train to Toronto to meet up with my friend and fellow Illustrator Mark Cabuena and fellow black magic user Tessar Lo. I had my sketchbook out and didn't know what to draw. Then I remembered a piece I did earlier last year, my Journey's illustrations. I had alot of fun doing those so I thought I'd do a similar piece just like it!!

More to come this week to make up for last!! Play me out Keyboard Cat!!!!!!

The Man Ram

2009-05-25T19:49:00.006-04:00

Oh Manny Ramirez you little trouble maker you. This illustration is based the news about Manny's 50 game suspension for being caught using P.E.D's (Performance Enchaning Drugs). Article here

It was nice to do something sports related, i'm really involved in sports news and anything related to it. However I never really combine my love for that and art. Im really happy how this turned out and hopefully i'll do more sports illustrations!
On another testosterone filled note, deadliest warrior is ON TONIGHT SHAKA ZULU VS WILLIAM WALLACE!!! SHOULD BE GOOD!!! or really terrible...whatever I'm watching it either way lol.

Mantracker: Fantracked!!!!

2009-05-20T14:21:00.005-04:00

So last month I sent an email to Bonterra productions (which produces Mantracker) with the aim of possibly getting Mantracker to see it. I got an email from Ihor Macijiwsky the executive producer of Bonterra, who really liked the image and wanted some prints for the studio. After some cowboy style bartering, they said they would get me Season 3 of Mantracker on DVD (NOT EVEN RELEASED YET) and they would try to send a copy for Mantracker to sign!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FAST FORWARD to today and here we are, I got it!!! I'm so thrilled and I really appreciate Ihor Macijiwsky, Christine Zaher, and the editors for being so nice and amazing! It was too nice of a day outside not to take pictures in the open air.

Money shot!!

The Autographtracker!!

"Juan- Thanks- very nice work. All the best -Mantracker 09"

You just cant stop him from Mantracking!