My only eBay Purchase of 2015 so Far

That’s right, most of my money has gone to COMC this year, with a little to loose retail packs of 2015 Topps and a couple repack boxes.  I’ve only bought one thing on eBay in 2015, and it wasn’t even a card.  It was this:

Raven comic book backing board sketch by Jose L. Rodrigues..

I picked up this great addition to my Raven art and sketch card collection for a whole $9.99 (shipping was free, but it was nicely protected) back in January.  As the caption states, this fantastic piece is drawn on the non-glossy side of a comic book backing board.  Looks good at the end of my sketch card binder with the rest of my larger Raven art. 🙂

Random aside: I’m considering drawing something on the other blank backing board that was in with this to protect it and sending it back to the seller, lol.  Maybe they can try to sell it too.

Haha, anyway, that’s it for this post.  Thanks for stopping by!

Take my hand, with all your might… ♫

Starfire, Up Close and Personal

Just a quickie post before I hit the hay, because I have to get up relatively early tomorrow to see the next airing of Wrestle Kingdom 9 that I didn’t make it over in time to see tonight (I ate almost a whole pizza and inked & colored a few more old sketch cards instead).  So I present you one of the last four sketch cards I did in the waning days of 2014.

Dat detail tho..

As the title indicates, this is indeed Starfire of the Teen Titans.  She is one of my go-to sketch card characters, because quite frankly, coloring white people is kinda tedious and boring.  I just like coloring a lot more in general when I can use vibrant, interesting colors.  Anyway, I felt like I was putting entirely too much effort into these cards while I was doing them, since I didn’t put near as much effort into the earlier stages, but I don’t hate how things turned out.  Anything but perfect, but a fairly spirited effort, I’d say.

Pretty much all the cards I do are available, so if you should ever happen to like anything I do enough to want to own it, hit me up and we can work something out!

That’s all I’ve got for now.  Thanks for stopping by.

Until our next…

What the Future Holds…

I guess I better get to the 2015 round of resolutions I cannot possibly keep while we’re still in the afterglow of a new year’s dawning.

Collection Goals

15 trades- I think I got close enough to my goal of a dozen last year not be entirely disappointed in myself, so let’s up the ante.  I already have two that are slowly coming together, one with longtime frequent trading partner Shot Not Taken and another with Baseball Card Breakdown.  I’ve also pulled out some odds & ends for a few other bloggers, and I’ll start sending out emails to the lucky(?) perspective trading partners soon.  I also reserve the right to add the two I got in just under the gun in 2014 if they get me over the hump at the end of the year, since their actual arrivals did and/or will take place in 2015. 😛

Finish the following Single Page Sensations- I am over halfway done on almost all of the following, so I’d like to finish as many as possible.

Cubs: Albert Almora (5/9), Javier Baez (8/9), Kris Bryant (7/9), Tyler Colvin (6/9), Ron Santo (6/9)

Other Baseball: Dick Allen (6/9), Roberto Alomar (7/9), Albert Bell (7/9), Carlos Santana (6/9)

Bears: Charles Tillman (6/9)

Basketball: Luol Deng (7/9)

Wrestling: Victoria/Tara (7/9)

BenchWarmer: BenchWarmer model (none over 3/9)

Baseball Sets: 2011 Topps Legend Variations (6/9), 2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary Legend Variations (8/9), 2012 Topps Museum Collection “Canvas Collection” Baseball (8/9), 2014 Topps Museum Collection “Canvas Collection” Baseball (6/9 if I keep Strasburg)

Football Sets: 2013 Topps Museum Collection “Canvas Collection” Football (8/9)

Add 2 new licensed and 5 new personal Raven sketch cards- The former are crazy expensive for a B-list team character and there just aren’t a whole lot of either to go around.  I think these are pretty reasonable numbers to strive for though.

Finish both the licensed and PSC DC Comics miscellaneous Single Page Sensations- I am starting the year at 4/9 licensed and 3/9 PSC.

Complete any other sketch card Single Page Sensation- Lots to choose from, but I’m over halfway done on but a very few.

Blog Goals

Write 80 new posts- Again, we’ll up the ante a juuuust a smidge from 2014.  I did a good job of posting with a fair degree of regularity when I was actually here and posting in the year gone by, so I think I can average a little better than 1.5 posts per week in the year to come.  I’m not going to make any requirements on the number of non #collect-focused things this time though.  I feel that was a small contributor in falling off the map so early last year.  I’m stupid (not true, but I am very, very lazy), so I’m going to keep it simple.

Art Goals

Complete 50 new sketch cards- I managed 38/50 last year (1 side of that weird Marvel two card puzzle was completed).  That was close enough to not feel too much shame, especially in light of how much I managed to draw in total.  Still, this isn’t close enough to up the ante, so I will give the same number a good go again in 2015.  Paul Molitor (repurposed) and Boromir of Gondor (artist tile) are the first two in the queue.

100 total new works- I’m pretty sure I coasted past this number last year, and if you consider the multiple pictures on single pages as individual works, then I did even better.  Everything was unofficial, however.

Finish 30 old sketch cards- I barely finished any old cards in 2014, and I don’t feel like I did a very good job on what I did do, so I’m making this a point of emphasis in the new year.  I’m off to a good start, having already finished seven oldies on January 2nd (also colored most of two others).  I’m also happy to report my coloring seems to be back to nearly as strong as it was at the height of my powers a couple years ago.

You can keep track of my 2015 art progress HERE.

Writing Goals

Finish a first draft of any novel idea- I barely got anywhere on anything last year, and while I’d like to say a more stable computer situation would have helped, I’m not so sure…  There can be no excuses this year though.  I just bought the one I’m currently writing from a month ago, and I hope to have a laptop, and the additional mobility that entails, to go with it by spring.

Here is your reward for sticking around to the bitter end: Please enjoy my best pull of 2014, a Meryl Davis autograph! ♥

Aaaand that’s all for this post I guess.  There are plenty of other things I’d like to accomplish in 2015, but these are the most pressing and/or well-defined.  A bit simpler than last year, and I’m sure I’ve probably broken a couple resolutions already, but thanks for stopping by!

Until our next…

My Nerdiest Thing…

Lynna Sage from something I’m writing, currently under the working title Nexus Eternum..

…is my art.

Sketch cards of Big E and AJ Lee..

Drawing is probably the one thing I enjoy above all else.

Musician Dia Frampton..

Deciding to draw again may have even saved my life when I was at my lowest point.

Thing and Wonder Woman sketch cards..

In the here-and-now, drawing relaxes me and is all-around helpful to my emotional wellbeing.

@Heinekenrana..

I don’t think there’s anything more essential to me.

Derek Jeter sketch card..

Losing anything else, it may hurt forever, but I’ll deal.

International indie wrestling star Evie on Wonder Woman sketch cover..

But even if I’m a laughably mediocre artist (and in many aspects I am), my art makes me more whole than I’ve ever been.

Stephen Strasburg sketch card..

If anything I do ever becomes a thing, my art will still be important to me.

Indy wrestling star Hania..

It centers me…

Lex Luthor, Starfire, and Green Lantern Arisia sketch cards..

It heals me…

Fitness competitor/model Chie Terui..

It completes me…

Dejah Thoris (Edited) sketch..

When I draw, it’s as close to deeply passionate about something as I ever get.

Sketch card of international wrestling star Evie..

That passion is why I have to consider it my ultimate nerdy thing.

Expos Legend Tim Raines and Yankees prospect Luis Torrens repurposed sketch cards..

Thank you for stopping by.

Thundarr/Under the Broken Moon concept art..

Until our next…

Old Sketch Cards (Edited, but still possibly NSFW)

I was going through the old scan folders that were still on this computer and editing the sketch cards into into individual pics for posting on The Sketch Card Page, so I thought I’d toss ’em up in a blog post while I was at it.  Enjoy.

Starfire..

Dunno who this one is by.  I literally only started keeping track since the last two or three sketch card-related posts.  Great card though.  I think it was a pick up from some charity thing.  Well worth the couple bucks I paid, and then some.

Dani Moonstar by MRam (Edited)..

Whoa!  Sexytime Dani Moonstar.  I won a pair of commissions from MRam on eBay.  Figured I might as well go for the nudity since that’s what he’s known for anyway.  Dani and the next card were who I chose.  Both are edited for obvious NSFW reasons.

Raven sketch card by MRam..

You were expecting somebody else?  You know I’m all about the Raven.  MRam does fine work. 😉

Raven by Banky Farano..

These last three come from an epic several person sketch card trade in a Facebook group.  I know I posted the cards I did for everyone else, but it doesn’t appear I ever got around to showing what I got in return.

Raven by Juan Fontanez..

We all did a sketch card for each other (in one case, we did two apiece).  It was a good way to do get experience by doing a lot of different cards (8 total) in a short amount of time, and get exactly what you wanted in return.  And in return, I got Ravens.  Lots and lots of Ravens.  Mwahahahaha…

Raven by Ashleigh Popplewell..

And the best one of all was this magnificent Ashleigh Popplewell classic.  I believe I did a Jareth from Labyrinth in return for this.

That’s all for this one.  I should be able to do at least one more post like this when I’ve edited the rest.  Thanks for stopping by!

Until our next…

New-ish Sketch Cards Pickups

Picked these up towards the end of last year.  Scanned ’em the day after Christmas.  Posting them now.

DC Women of Legend Raven..

The rare Raven from a licensed set..  This was by far the least expensive of my quartet of licensed set Ravens, at a hair under $15 with free shipping.  None of the others were under $20.  Hopefully with regular sets coming out again, the price of DC sketch cards starts dropping off so I can get more Ravens in the $10-15 range.  That would be fantastic.

Raven by CK Russell..

This outstanding PSC comes from via eBay from my frequently moving Canadian friend Cara.  She is the main reason I got into sketch cards in the first place, both as an artist and a collector.

Dawnstar..

This is also by Cara, my first Dawnstar sketch card.  This is the main reason I picked up the lot of three Legion of Superheroes sketches.  Here are the other two:

Apparition..

Cosmic Boy..

I will (reluctantly) consider sale or trade offers if anyone wishes to make Apparition or Cosmic Boy a part of their collections.  Hit me up.  Also, go follow Cara on Twitter & see about a commission or something, eh?

And that’s all I got for now.  Thank you for stopping by!

Until our next…

Raven Sketch Card Collection #1

My only licensed Raven sketch card (on account of being able to afford it), by Ray Dillon..

Until our next…

More Cards to Check Out

I’m not up for posting anything thoughtful or intelligent or insightful or any other big word at the moment.  So how about pics of my latest batch of cards shipped from COMC?  (Another order, that I was intending to have shipped in mid-december, will be on the way soon.)

Minis! One with a piece of stadium seat in it. And one that I accidentally bought twice...

Yep, I accidentally bought two Nelson Cruz Kimballs.  I’m sure another blogger can use the second one though.

1975 Topps Minis of Cubs Hall of Famers in the wrong uniforms.  And Billy Williams rocking the late-career heel turn ‘stache.  Very nice.

Cy Young is a keeper.  I’d really like to knock out both mini Icons sets this year.

Ferris Fain is… for trade, I guess.  I kinda wanna keep it, but I’ll let him go for the right price.

Old timey players on shiny cards and current players on old timey cards.

Jimmie Foxx is the only one available for trade on this page, again reluctantly.  The nonsensical shininess really works well with that particular photo, methinks.  I might just be too out of it to know better though.  I’ll at least need some form of one of the legends I collect (any version, any team) in return.

In the unlikely event you got your hands on the obscure early-2000s Donruss Estrellas set at some point and pulled any other Leyendas del Posados, I’m collecting that set.  You can find it on my page dedicated to set needs.  The only other one I have besides the three above is Tony Perez.  I need the rest.  I like… goooold.  Ahem, moving on.

Jerseys... Jerseys... And more JERSEYS!

Except Forte.  He’s just a bronze parallel #’ed /999.  Also, the two SPx jerseys on the bottom row were in rougher shape than the pictures indicated.  But oh wells.  The Colston is an eBay 1/1, being #’ed 250/250.  And cost me less than $1.  Actually only Tomlinson ($1.49) and Hester ($2.50) cost more a buck.  All of these are keepers, if you didn’t know.

Right then, one more picture for tonight.

All sorts of random silliness. Mitch and Roberto aren't even from COMC...

Yeah, Keith’s kid and Sandy’s kid came from Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius.  Thank you, Matt!  Did your stuff from me ever arrive?

Beckham is Razor Metal or something.  I never really paid much attention to any Razor offerings.  I wanted to see what these in particular were all about though, and it was priced at a solid shiny nickel, and I had just slightly more than that leftover, so I was all “Eh, why not?”, and there it is.  I know nothing more about these or Razor than I did before.  But it’s pretty cool looking I guess.  He and the Nomo are the two cards on this scan for trade.  I’m not keeping Moreland, but his destination has already been chosen.

Ah, Starfire, in presumably less terribly written days.  The Titans have had a lot more downs than ups in their existence, as I understand.

Cards like the Nomar above are mostly what I’m after of him.  Love the quirky inserts from the second half of the ’90s and first half of the aughts, and who better to go after than the Ken Boyer of his day, whose heyday coincides with the most unbridled creative time in the history of the hobby.  Haha, yeah!  Stamp-like die-cut, foil that can’t decide if it’s silver or gold (I still don’t know!), and multiple photos.  Man… the 1990s were truly the greatest decade ever.

And speaking of that 1996-2000 sweet spot of glorious cardmatic wonder, a pretty spiffy insert from a happier, more easygoing, less cynical point in the life of Topps Finest, celebrating the previous year’s MVP (TD), Super Bowl MVP (Tebow Hater Elway), and Rookie of the Year (Straight Cash Homey Moss).

Well, there ya go.  I woke up enough to get wacky at the end.  But for this post, this is the end.  And after just over 300 posts, I still don’t know how to segue to outtro.  So I’ll just be on my way then.  Seeya. 😉

Man I totally realized I left off at least two other people I owed cards to on my New Year’s post… 😦

 

No One’s Going to Read this Post

Heh…

My first second thing to do now that I’m back is to get some old trade posts up.  So, here goes.  This trade comes to me courtesy of No One’s Going to Read this Blog.  This isn’t quite the usual trade, oh no.  This one started as an art trade, a sketch card for a sketch card.  Then when I couldn’t decide on who I wanted, I suggested it be a twofer, one real person, one fictional character.  And so it was done.  I did an Adrian Peterson and a group shot of the Fantastic Four for Jeremy (you can check my deviantART link on the sidebar if you’d like to see them, as well as some of my other work), and I received the following two cards in return:

 

Starlin Castro

Raven from Teen Titans

Very nice work all-around.  I can’t quite find the words to adequately to explain what it is about the cards that makes me like them so much, but who really wants to read a critique anyway?  Suffice to say I think they are great, and welcome additions to my sketch card collection, as well as the individual collections I have for each.

 

The back of Jeremy's cool custom sketch cards.

On top of the sketch cards, we also ended up finding a few regular cards on our respective wantlists to trade.  Here are just a few of the cards I received (the ones I was able to get scanned before they got sorted away).

 

Aramis w/ fancy-pants border.

More '09 A&G minis...

The Cubs Power Trio on '07 Goudey

Finally, an Action Packed Billy Williams..

And that’s all for this one, sports fans!  A fun trades it was.  It’s good to be blogging again. 🙂

Until our next…