Sorry for the late update, I just got back from the Emerald City Comic Con – What a wonderful and incredible show. So grateful for all the help that came from some many people and spouses that made this show possible for our family.

It was a fantastic weekend and now it’s time to get back to work. Time to role up my sleeves and get this book done and jump into the next chapter.

I love the energizing feeling cons can bring. It makes really enjoy art and having the ability to mingle with some truly wonderful people . Thank you again for everyone that will be there.

Keep creating and dreaming big.

trav

So much going on. The Bean is in full gear right now as well as my other story which is kickstarting right now. Book 4 should be finished by the end of the year. I am excited with it’s direction as I start chapter 16 soon. Thanks again for all the incredible support.

keep creating

trav

Well with the help of some friends, who supplied the equipment and ideas,  a lot of patience from my sweetheart and some sweet rigging device constructed around my art table I found a way to do. Though there are still some things to perfect, I am pleased with the outcome. In 4 min I was able to capture most of my illustration technique.

One of the coolest things about art is there are literally hundreds of ways to get the end results. The key is to find what works for you.

So lets break it down.

1. the Blank page. It all starts here. In fact when I sat down to do this, I decided that I would start with an empty mind and an empty sheet.  As you notice, I work all over the page. I find that easier for me and I don’t get bored with it. I also sketch with red pencil. I just like the way it feels and it is not as dirty when I get to step 3.

2. Its all in the sketch. I like to draw loose and I sketch loose as well. I find that if I tighten up my work gets stiff.  I will though clean and tighten things up as I get to more of a finished piece, but until then I need continue to stay fluid. On a side note: I do use rulers at times, but to start I usually trust my judgement, and I wanted this to be pure freehand.

3. Inks… When I am happy with the pencils I tape a sheet of Tracing/vellum paper over the piece. I prefer Canson Tracing- nice weight and whiteness. I use microns to ink and painters tape to keep them together. I have no need for a light table- the tracing paper works perfectly.

Why tracing paper? Well no cleanup and when I scan I get a perfect clean line. You can’t beat it.

When I start as you might notice, I am all over the map. Also my hand hardly touches the paper. Micron dries rather quickly, but it will still smear right after you lay it down, if you are not paying attention. It takes a bit to get used to, yet once you do, you will never go back.

4. Trusting your hand– Midway through – after I get the main lines finished, I pull the paper off and continue to ink, without a pencil guide. I do this on all my pieces, unless it comes from another penciller which I will then stay true to their lines. Yet on my own, I love to let inspiration flow and texture for me needs to feel natural. This also allows me to work quickly. I do though keep the pencils on the side as a reference.

5. The scan- ok here is the reason why my inkwork looks clean on screen. I scan my images as a 300dpi bitmap and then convert to gray.  By scanning as a bitmap, this allows a true positive/negative ratio. When you start you will need to play with the settings on contrast.

So here it is- the main thing is to stay loose and don’t be afraid to let inspiration take over. Yet there are times when you need to be tight and so it is good to understand how to use a ruler, but for fun… it’s really all about you.

Also I am open to questions as well. There are many other little things that I do here and there that I dont talk about, but this is the basic feel to it. One day I will approach how I color.

Keep creating-

trav

The Mermaid’s Gift 17×22

My mom tells me that my grandpa tanner loved to fish. He would fish all the time and take her with him. (grandma didn’t mind, but hated cleaning the fish and would make him do it)

Just thought i could see him as a little boy fishing and if his imagination was anything like mind… well you get the picture.

Keep creating.

Living in your Imagination 9 : the Big One

It is really nice being able to get back into doing 18×24 sized prints, in fact I have to do one a week until the middle of sept, so this will be worth it. Also means I need to change some gears on a few things- I will be finishing up the commissions I have, but I am going to be swamped so some things might take a little time.

This one is called “the Big One”. Just click on it to see a much larger version of it.

Keep Creating and remember come support our kickstarter project….

Trav

“Tea with Sophia”

WOW! we hit it in 3 days!!!!! WOW! WOW! WOW! well we have 57 days left- so for those that want to continue to invest in this project and we would love to have you part of this. As the funding grows I am going to add some stretch goals.

I figure at the 10000 mark I will add several more pages to the book

at the 20000 mark- I will add a whole new book dealing with all the side art. I will figure out how to add this into the rewards…. but if we print two books i want the backers to get 2 books.

Thanks again so much for the support and help- lets see how hi we can make this go to help keep these books in print.

PLUS-

every time we go up $250 I will post a new piece of artwork about the bean story on kickstarter.

Keep creating.

trav

I am heading home from one of the most incredible shows on the west coast. I had a blast and let me tell you the adventure was worth it. I would hope if you are ever up in seattle you need to check out the show, which happens in march.

I’ll do a full write up later, but i wanted to say this is how a show should be run.

The kickstarter panel was a blast. Jason Brubaker of remind did a great job and I am looking forward to do a few more panels with him in the future. It was standing room only, and they only let half the line in. There was no room in the room. I would think they would need to give us a bigger room next time if we were to do that.

well here’s to a safe flight back.

keep creating

trav

WELL I AM OFF TO EMERALD CITY COMIC CON!

It’s gonna be a fantastic weekend- even though i did a very costly boneheaded travel blunder and booked my flight for last weekend and not this weekend. It cost $1400 to rebook for my crew and I. A learning lesson for sure, one that was quite painful and will prob affect my next big print printing…. Yet I am still upbeat and I am going to have a good time.

Our booth is 315, so stop by say hi, pick up a sketch and maybe buy something (please). Also I am doing a panel on Sat with Jason Brubaker of Remind.

Guide to Creating Your Own Kickstarter Project
Room: 201
Time: 4:00 – 5:00

Eisner nominated Web comic artist Travis Hanson (the bean) and artist Jason Brubaker (Remind), both of whom are coming off three successfully funded Kickstarter campaigns, talk about the Kickstarter process. They will be focusing on how to start, maintain and fund a successful Kickstarter campaign and some of the pitfalls you might encounter.

Also 2 new prints will be debut at the show. click to enjoy them

you can also buy them at the store- (though i only have very limited quantities) –

Well keep creating

trav

This week is Emerald City Comic Con- I will be there doing a kickstarter panel at this show. If you are in the area stop on by, it’s going to be an awesome week.

Also I have a tumblr account- just another outlet for my creativity. I am also changing my artwork section again- I am not pleased with a few things and I am looking at improving things.

Thanks again for all the support and…. Kickstarter rewards start going out this week, look in your mail:)

trav

We learn a little more of our mysterious new elf. I would also recommend going back and reading the first few 100 pages- a little bit more of the puzzle is completed.

Also I have had the opportunity to go and play a bit with watercolors. It has been 14 years. I am using a watercolor brush/pen. It has been fantastic. I am creating pieces for my next show. limited and one of a kind.

Here is the 2nd one….

I hope you enjoy them- i will have more later.

also help us keep the art flowing- visit the store –

It took some time but I finally have decided to offer Bean and e-book as well as a printed piece. Especially since a lot of my friends are now reading their comics on their kindle and iPads. It was only natural to offer this as well.

Yet I wanted to give it some value a well. The cool thing about digital e-books is you are not bound by traditional page counts. So I decided, what the heck, I am going to add more pages to the book. So I added a map, and more information about the broken moon. This will be material not found online or the printed book.

The other thing was the fact that I hate it when e-books are marked for the same price as printed books. They are not, there are no printing cost involved so they should not be the same price. So I am offering the comic for $1.75. Thats it.

I also wanted to make it easier for those that live over seas and want a more personal copy, without the shipping.

So download it and put it on your ipad, computer or ebook reader. I will release issue 2 in a month or so because I am adding new content to that as well.

So enjoy the tale – and download your copy today.

trav