remember when i had free time?

She Who Shall Not Be Named by samax. done with adobe illustrator.
yeah, so when i first got on mySpace, i did a lotta these portraits, experimenting with techniques. this one is of my friend Dee. the title was her mySpace handle at the time... but people have made a lot out of it, and i always enjoy people's interpretation of my work, even when they're wrong.

uno.
-samax
Ziontific.com

Whose House?

i came to the realization today that my 7-month-old daughter Marley is TOTALLY in charge of my life. as a big-time control freak (all comicbook creators are control freaks), i'd normally be upset at finding control of my life in someone else's hands... but her little hands are SO CUTE!
seriously, my wife and daughter figure so prominently in everything i do, it isn't even funny. this is not a surprise to me, but when explaining my decisions to other people i'm amused with how stunned they are that i consider anyone else's needs before my own. i guess that's why some people fear commitment. not everyone is built for it...
anywho, Marley is a big girl now: she can crawl, stand up (sorta) and is learning to eat soquids (solid/liquid, semi-solids like baby food). i spend most of my day deciding if things are safe for her to chew, climb on, or bang her head against. we are at that stage where we are SURE Marley is saying words, but she probably isn't yet. everyday, she's smarter than the day before. anyways, click the pic for more pictures, or watch the slideshow below!

View Album

Get your own

peace,
-samax
samaxAmen.com

Say Hi to the BAD Guys

greetings, Fam! here's a sneak peek at the comic i'm working on. in this panel from page 48, we see one bad guy yoking another! a little bad on bad crime, as it were... i'm in high-speed mode, drawing and coloring this as fast as i can!
anyways, just wanted to drop somethin' right quick. my daughter's callin' so i gotta go! feel free to leave comments below or via email!
peace,
samax
Ziontific.com

Hard at Work

this panel is from page 37 of the book i'm working on, but i'm actually up to page 45. i posted this panel because it took me a real long time to draw it and i was so happy with it that people should see it!

so last friday, i actually took an evening off to go to the ArtLLoveMagic show because my best friend came to town to help with the show. my work wasn't in the show this time, but i really enjoyed it anyways. One of my favorite emcees (Playdough of deepspace 5) was there, and did a good set. i'm always working and my daughter is growing in front of my eyes... life isn't perfect (i actually missed the DeepSpace 5 show at the same venue last night... sad face), but i'm loving it! anyways, i gotta get back to work...

be easy,

-samax

Ziontific.com

Good Lookin' Out, Jesus!

Resurrected by Samax Amen.

From my sketchbook.

Trial of the Century

Trial of the Century by Samax.

from my sketchbook. i did a HUGE painting of this when i was in college. it won an award.

i might paint this image again, or do it digitally.

anyways, enjoy!

-samax

Ziontific.com

that dude looks MIGHTY Familiar...

my man Thomas L Ingram drew this picture of me, my wife and daughter from a picture of us on Facebook (did i mention i was on Facebook now? well i am...). i thought it was a really nice thing to do, and very unexpected.

the photograph was taken at a christmas party we went to and is my favorite picture of our family so far! anyways, just thought i would share that!
peace,

-samax

samaxAmen.com

Image of the Month for April

the Image of the Month for April on samaxAmen.com is Maddy's Mug, starring Li'l Madd Skillz of Champion of Children. I have a full-color Champ short story that has been put on hiatus because i've been doing so well in my freelance work. but now that Corance has another artist working on a brand-new story starring Burner, i imagine i'll find a way to get my story back on its feet sooner than expected! also, if you are into kid's comics, peep the Champion of Children blog for reviews of books and comics
for the young'uns!
holla!
-samax
samaxAmen.com
Ziontific.com

Unknown Complete

Unknown from Wet Moon by Samax. inked w/photoshop
click to enlarge.
so here's the complete inked drawing of Unknown. like i said before, it's a fan art piece. the character was created by Ross Campbell for his graphic novel series Wet Moon. the series is about a bunch of girls in art school, who go through assorted normal-life shenanigans, so when this masked vigilante character shows up in Volume 4, it was very surprising. left quite an impression on me, as you can see!
anyways, let me know what you think of the drawing!
-peace,
samax

Fan Art: Ross Campbell's "Unknown"

here's my fan art drawing of "Unknown" the vigilante who makes her debut in Wet Moon 4: Drowned In Evil by Ross Campbell. i'm scrambling to try and complete this by the 14th so maybe he will include it in the next Wet Moon volume. as anybody who reads my blog ghettoManga will know, I'm a big fan. Ross is very good at drawing women of all shapes and varieties, including the "sistas"... an easy way to get on my good side! anyways, i had a hard time drawing this character. it was tough getting her right until i realized she wears chucks instead of boots. for some reason, it all fell into place after that...

anyways, i'll post the finished piece once it's done...

peace,

-samax

samaxAmen.com

My Best Comicbook Panel Ever

okay, i admit this isn't my best panel ever, but everytime i look at it, it makes me laugh. life is hectic right now, so making me laugh means a lot! this is from a page i completed yesterday as part of my super-secret, extra-giant comics project i been working on for a client.
anyways, i gotta get some sleep.
peace,
-samax
samaxAmen.com

New Sketch:"Gooden and Son"

Gooden and Son by Samax Amen. brush pens on paper, 8.5 x 11
this is a sketch i did for one of my favorite clients. she actually commissioned a tattoo design from me last year, and liked it enough to actually get it on her body (on her ankle, i think)!

anyways, at my last show, she bought a copy of my Obama print and commissioned this sketch of herself and her son. she's always cool and very laid back about giving me time to complete her pieces as i'm working on other things and being a family man and all that, so here's a big hearty shout out to the fabulous Ms. Gooden!

hope you guys like it too!

peace, love, etc.

-samax

Ziontific.com

Do NOT Adjust Your Screen...

Pixelated by samax.
okay, so they have tons and tons of contests on DeviantArt.com. for most of them, there's no prizes, just art for it's own sake. i am so busy that i rarely do them, but i couldn't resist the Pixel Art Portrait contest that required making a self-portrait by filling in the squares on a grid template they provided. this only took me a few minutes, but i really enjoyed doing it.
-samax
samaxAmen.com

And The CUPID Goes To...

design for the "ghettoManga Award" Trophy (click to enlarge).

the awards are also called "Cupids" (like the Academy gives out "Oscars")

"Cupid" is the name of the ghettoManga Mascot. i'm actually working on some comic book stories for this character waaaay on the back burner... for reference i used this photo by A Blind Vision Photography. her work features EXACTLY the kind of women i like to draw, so you'll pro'lly see me ref'ing her stuff a lot! hopefully, i'll get to actually make these trophies eventually! i already have my eye on the sculptor... we'll see!

anyways... if you wanna know who the ghettoManga Award winners for '08 were, go here

buy a print of the image here.

peace,

-samax

Ziontific.com

Shout Out to my Girl Serena

Props to my good friend Serena Wills, a published poet and prototypical cool sista who posted a great piece called His Voice on her blog Divine Wryte. go check her out, and let her know i said so!
holla!
-samax
Ziontific.com