LeeRodriguez.net

So Much

Lee — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 20:43:26 +0000

As it turns out, I don’t really have a lot of time for extracurricular writing, it seems. While that’s certainly disappointing, it’s because everything else is so full, there’s just no time. between developing new products for my day job, working on PoP! and other gigs, the family and all the fun personal projects I’ve been working on, there’s just no time for anything else!

Dolleez

Lee — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:55:54 +0000

I created the Dolleez before they ever had a name at Chicago Comic Con 2010 while I was sketching at the PoP! table. They proved to be REALLY popular. I burned through two sketch pads in two days using only sharpies. Now, I’ve digitally colored these little buggers and am opening up for commissions of your favorite character for only $15. Email me at lrodriguez@panelsonpages.com if you’re interested.

Big Doin’s

Lee — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 21:44:42 +0000

The Panels on Pages crew and I are prepping for the 2011 C2E2 in Chicago. We’ve got a panel, a table on the show floor and some pretty big interviews lined up already. It’s going to be ridiculous. On top of that, I’ve been hard at work redesigning the main PoP! site, building new forums and prepping some new stuff for the portfolio here on top of my day job. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.

A Blast from My Past

Lee — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 22:20:14 +0000

I’m back in Shelbyville. I’m settling into my new job pretty well and I’ve finally got some time to do some of the things I was looking forward to doing once we got down here. I’ve managed to keep in touch with a few of my old high school teachers and this week I visited Shelbyville Central High School for the first time in nearly a decade. It was pretty surreal. About four years ago, the entire building was torn apart and rebuilt. It’s a thing of beauty,to be perfectly honest. As Nicole and I were talking about making the move down here, she definitely had some reservations about the school system. My go-to defense is that I’m brilliant, but there’s a whole “nature vs nurture” argument in that. Now, though, it’s irrelevant. The facilities have finally managed to catch up to the teachers in terms of quality. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a nicer school building. It’s easily on par with some of the big Lake County Illinois schools I’ve seen the past few years, and that’s pretty great.

I also saw an old friend of mine who now teaches there for the first time since Brock’s funeral. I never would have recognized him if he hadn’t been pointed out. Homeboy lost MAD weight. Dude looks good. He’s married with a four year-old son now, so we’re going to hook up and let the kids play at some point soon. It’ll good for all of us to find another family unit we can collectively hang with.

All in all, the move was a success. We need our own house, but it’s all about baby steps. this was totally the right thing to do.

Sketching at Chicago Comic Con

Lee — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:36:02 +0000

Sweet photo bomb by yours truly.

By my estimations, I did somewhere between 120 and 150 sketches at the Panels on Pages table at Chicago Comic Con this weekend. It was INSANE. It was also a lot of fun, though, so that definitely counts for something. I developed the weird little doll characters the day before as something I could do quickly yet still maintain some personality. It started as kind of a gag. “Hey, I’m doing free sketches!” I had no idea I’d have a friggin’ line at the table for huge chunks of time. The good news is that gave me a captive audience to speak the PoP! gospel to.

I’ve also decided that I’m going to get some markers and actually put some time into some of these guys. They were a lot of fun to draw and distilling the most basic elements of these characters down to such a simple figure was sometimes challenging. I might sell them here if folks are interested.

Custom Action Figures

Lee — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:00:47 +0000

In addition to web and print design, I’ve taken up customizing action figures in recent years, either creating new characters by combining existing figures or giving a new paint job to an otherwise decent standalone figure. Here are some of what I consider to be the best along with the respective recipes for each.

Steve Rogers

The former Captain America was made from a Marvel Legends S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, boots from Marvel Legends Series 7 Ultimate Captain America, a head form WWII Ultimate Captain America, various strap bits from assorted figures, scrapbooking stickers and, of course, a custom paint job.

Modern Captain America

Marvel Legends Bullseye was outfitted with Face-Off Captain America's head and boots and Legendary Comic Book Heroes Madman's lower arms before getting a new paint job, including a special blend of metallic blue.

Ultron

Ultron was made from a Marvel Legends Heroes Reborn Iron Man figure and a head from a Marvel Legends series 7 Iron Man display base. Modifications were made to both and the new figure was painted head-to-toe.

Iron Man

The 6" Mark VI Iron Man got a new paint job to better represent the modern comic form of the armor over the movie's silver-heavy approach.

Thor

Hasbro's Marvel Legends Thor is a great sculpt, but the original paint ob was flat and lackluster. I fixed that with several layers of different colors to make Thor truly godly.

Doctor Doom

Like Thor, there wasn't much sculpt-wise they could have done to improve on Doom, but his paint job was abysmal, mostly because there was hardly any paint on the figure at all. With a little work, the intricate details of the sculpt really jump out.

Optimus Prime

The Autobot leader from the Classics series got a new paint job to scrap the extraneous yellow and blue paint apps and to add some sheen to the flat gray "metal" pieces on his body, truly brining the classic design into the new millennium.

Megatron

The Transformers Classic Megatron was modified to remove the giant "wings" while retaining the ability to transform the figure and completely repainted to reflect the more traditional color scheme of the character.

Soundwave

Easily my most ambitious custom, the Titanium Soundwave's entire crotch and upper legs were replaced those from a Classic Ramjet. The transformation is different, but an alt mode can still be achieved. Most impressive of all, though, the figure can now hold dynamic poses, something the original could never lay claim to.

Prepping the move

Lee — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:39:28 +0000

The timeline for my impending move may have gotten a bit of a kick yesterday. The good news is that I may have a job straight away. The “bad news” is that it may somewhat urgent thus throwing my standing time table completely out of whack. Looks like I might miss CCC this year as a result, but maybe not. It all depends on the next couple of days, really. At any rate, changes are a’coming.

Poster and Publication Design

Lee — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:59:40 +0000

Over the years, I’ve designed a number of custom POS posters for some of the most prominent brands in the liquor and spirits industry. For confidentiality reasons, I’m unable to display those online. Here you’ll find an assortment of freelance assignments I’ve had for poster and publication design, including a full issue of Lake County Arts Magazine. The embedded readers are fully interactive and from them you can launch a full-screen version if you so choose.

Lake County Arts Magazine Winter 2007 Issue

Museum Pamphlet on the Dada Movement

Cover Mock-up Based on Michael Turner’s Original Art

Promotional Posters for ThatGuyWiththeGlasses.com and Cinemassacre.com

Logo Design and Branding

Lee — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:46:26 +0000

Any business needs a strong core brand to cement them as a unique force in their given marketplace. Over the years I’ve helped several small businesses conceptualize and execute a new identity from the ground up and I currently manage my own brand, both here and at PanelsOnPages.com.

RL2 specializes in business planning and IT/network support.

Executive Productions is an independent internet based hip hop label. They can be found on MySpace.

LOUD! Entertainment specialize in home theater sales and installation.

FlipSide Records deals in new and used media, not unlike Disc Replay

PanelsOnPages is a pop-culture magazine website with a strong focus on comics, toys and all things geek.

Among other things, we use promotional handouts such as postcards and our specially designed PoP! Rocks.

[View with PicLens]

Web Design

Lee — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:25:33 +0000

Web design and functionality are ever-evolving. In the early stages of my career, I built websites that were strictly html with embedded flash elements for some extra flair. These were typically table-based and served their function. Of those sites, a few still exist, but the techniques for developing sites has greatly evolved since then.

Today, I recommend to my clients a website built around the WordPress system because of its versatility and ease of use. Once your website is coded and running, you can easily make changes to it yourself without incurring an ongoing design fee unless you absolutely want that continued one on one relationship.

Below are a couple of examples of each style. It’s easy to see the vast difference in presentation and execution between the two.

Prestige Paving

St. Matthew’s Church in Kenosha, WI

Panels on Pages

RL2