EYE CANDY 2.0 CALL FOR ENTRIES

Dearest Diary:

Sorry for the lack of activity. Fucking Spring is here again and I'm as sick as a motherlovin' dog . . . again!
Every year is the same ol' shit. I'm a sad, sad little man, I will never learn.

Someone please come to my house and shoot me in the face.

Anyways, enough with the self-pity. Gotta get better so I can get to see some of you at the New York Comicon next week. Please bring liquor and Kalamata olives but don't shake my hand or touch my privates or else you'll get sick too.

I've been mailing out Eye Candies like there's no tomorrow. If the demand continues at this rate, I'm afraid we're not going to have enough by the time San Diego Comic Con rolls around, crazy! you guys are just fucking crazy!! We'll come up with something for sure, no worries. Thanks for the support.

The contributors are also getting their complimentary copies. I'm very happy about that. Some of the emails I'm getting are really nice and if I wasn't as strong as I think I am, I'd be crying. I'm so happy I was able to do a book like this and showcase the talent of so many of you, fine people. I wish I could have put more pictures, I know some were disappointed that they didn't make it into the book this time, unfortunately I had to make some harsh decisions while designing the damned thing, I'm sure you'd understand, I had well over 1000 entries, phew!.

I guess I underestimated the gargantuan task of putting something like this together, how do you design it?, by color? by theme? by style? at times it seemed overwhelming because I've never had to do anything such as this. In the end it was a great experience and although I'm sure it's not perfect, I have to say this set of books is a good read.

For a moment back there I thought it wasn't going to be possible. I won't get into needless details on the how and why, if you buy me a Corona and have 10 minutes to spare I'll tell you the whole story. Let's just say my life was pretty turbulent at the time. Lucky for me I don't have a job, that's for damn sure.

EYE CANDY V 2.0 CALL FOR ENTRIES and DEADLINE

The deadline for the new book is June 30th 2008. This book won't take a year to see the light of day, I promise you.

You know the drill, no pictures of men whatsoever, only women.

Please, I beg of you, send only low resolution jpegs when submitting but have the high resolution (300 to 450 DPI) PSD, TIF or EPS file available. Last year many of you sent low resolution final files that couldn't get printed and that was a shame because some of them were awesome drawings that I had to leave out of the book. If your final file is not between 300 and 450 DPI it will not get printed. No exceptions. Please scan your art at high resolution, a low-res poor scan turned high res in Photoshop will not get printed either.

Also, send just the jpeg, no titles, no story behind the picture, no words, no comic strips or vignettes with text. Just the illustration and contact info to be printed, that is: your website's URL (or blog, or multiple blogs or multiple sites) and email address, I WILL NOT print any info next to the artwork itself such as year created, medium dimensions or time it took you to draw it, let me repeat: artwork info WILL NOT be printed next to the picture or anywhere else. This is not that type of book. It doesn't matter to me if you drew it on a napkin or if it's a 6 feet canvas or what you did it for.

I am the sole judge and jury, you know me well enough to trust my judgment (I hope) To some, this system may seem unfair but that's the way it is. You know me, I don't trust these so-called experts on the female form so I do everything myself, even if it takes me forever (and God knows sometimes it does).

I am not looking for sexual content but if the drawing or painting merits inclusion on the basis of being a striking piece of art, I will put it in the book.

My decision is final so please, don't question it. It's very difficult for me to have to email you back to explain why your artwork didn't make it. Please don't put me in the position of telling you something that perhaps might hurt your feelings, I don't know you, you might be the overly sensitive type or a person who doesn't handle rejection well. If you are one of these two types, please don't bother submitting to this annual.

I have a much better system now to handle the submissions. You simply send in your jpeg or jpegs (if you're submitting multiple images) and I'll respond almost immediately with one of the two following answers:

First answer: "THANK YOU FOR SUBMITTING" This answer means your art did not make it but I appreciate you taking the time to submit. If you get this response don't write back to ask if your art made the book, be cavalier about it and let it go, I will not respond further.

Don't be discouraged, keep on drawing, life is still good and you're still talented, this doesn't necessarily mean your art is bad or that I don't like you as a person, your pic just doesn't fit this mold. Much love and respect, it's not you, it's me, I love you but let's stay friends.

Second Answer: "YOU'RE IN LIKE ERROL FLYNN" This answer means, I want to put your art in the book in the worst possible way and I will do the impossible to find a place for it. Send your high resolution image right away via any of those file transferring websites like "yousendit.com" or "rapidshare.com" depending on the final amount of entries and availability of space in the book, there still exists the remote possibility that your artwork may not be printed this time around. Once you've sent your high res image forget that you even sent it, you will only be notified once the book is printed and when I'm ready to send your complimentary copy. You have my word I won't make you wait needlessly.

Unlike last year, I will not be contacting people on an individual basis to ask for the high resolution image. That only created multiple problems, confusion, (mostly in me) and delayed the process. Please send image as soon as you are notified of your inclusion. If you want to send me a disc, it will be greatly appreciated. just let me know and I'll email you a PO Box number.

As always, there are NO FEES to pay, submit as many as you want. Send your entries to: brandstudiopressATgmail.com


GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS
As with the first book, please no super hero drawings, unless you created the super hero and you own the rights to the characters you are submitting.

No violation of copyrights by redrawing something someone else drew originally. That's not just illegal but humiliating as well.


No couples (of either sex or a combination therein) making love, or how I like to say it: 'Fucking'.  That's correct, no Fucking pictures.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record: "THIS IS NOT A BOOK OF EROTIC ART" or whatever they call porn these days. This is about YOU, your art.

If you'd like to submit but are unsure of the kind of material I will accept please feel free to buy any of the two current ECFS books from our online store BrandstudioPress.com while supplies last.

If your art is accepted for inclusion in the book I will respond with a brief form or agreement/release, no need to sign, just reply with the words: "I AGREE"

By submitting your work for inclusion you allow Brandstudio Press to publish your work but we won't claim ownership of it. The submitting creator retains all his/her rights to his submission(s)

If your picture is included in the final book, you'll receive a copy of the book your art is in. If multiple books are printed and your art appears in more than one book, you will receive a copy of each book your work is in ) you agree to pay for shipping of said book(s) I may or may not require you to pay for the shipping of your complimentary copy, that will depend on my finances at the time.


COVER/BACK COVER CONTEST

Last year I chose 2 pics from 2 talented individuals as covers and back covers. This, of course, will be done at my discretion, no need to do anything further, all submissions are eligible for this contest. Last year's winners were Ryan Hungerford and Lawrence Hamashima.

Who will win this year? I don't fuckin' know but we'll find out.

If you are chosen as the cover/back cover artist I will contact you and work with you to design the final cover, minor changes might be required in order to adapt the art to the cover format, such as extra bleed and such. We'll work together on this.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE
 A very nice  art student asked me the other day "Why are the books so expensive?" Now, I understand his concern because after all, he is a student and I'm sure money is tight but I must say our prices are very competitive, at least for art books of similar quality.

For those who don't know: Brandstudio Press is not a huge company, or even a small company, Brandstudio Press is only good ol' Alberto. That's it!  One lousy person. Yup, don't be disappointed, trust me, it's better this way, if Brandstudio were a big publishing company I wouldn't be able to use fuckin' profanity in my corporate communication and announcements such as this one. If Brandstudio were a big company our books would be full of self-congratulatory words and blurbs like "I've been drawing ever since I was in my mother's belly, I studied under the master Famous Jerkove and my art won this award and that award and I'm the greatest thing since edible condoms, and blah, blah, blah. If Brandstudio were a big company our books would have testimonials from famous artists printed on the back and front covers, telling you how great the author of the book is, recommending the book highly. The books would probably cost less but they would suck seven kinds of dinosaur dick.

When you place an order, I read your email and I pack your books, that pubic hair that you might see caught forever in the tape has my DNA (if I were you, I'd keep it in the freezer, just in case cloning becomes affordable in the near future) if you order one of my volumes, I would sit there and draw you a little picture, sometimes a big one, or just a signature if I'm pressed for time. I'd go to the post office myself, most times my wife would come with me to stay in the car because in NY there's no place to park.

And you know what?  I'm happy as a clam to be able to do all that, it fills my heart with great joy to do these simple, menial tasks I should probably delegate to others, because I don't think they're meaningless, I enjoy going to the post office daily to drop a shit load of books, the postal workers may not like me when they see me coming but I like them. 

My artist friends publish with me because they are also independent and as such they like to do things their way. I don't censor them or claim ownership of their work or ask for money for my services. They already do a lot by associating with me. Most of them invest in their own books, taking a financial leap of faith in the process. I am not a wealthy man by any stretch and I wouldn't be committing a crime if I were one, but the fact is I'm not, which is a shame because if I had a lot of dough I could probably make less expensive books, but anyway,  as I have said many times before, this is not for charity, you get what you pay for, a quality product made with love. But it should feel good to know that the funds the online store generate do go to a worthy cause, that is to make more books and to aid in the publishing of more unsung artists. 

My personal funds are limited, as I'm sure yours are, I am an artist like you, not a salesman, society has forced me to wear the hat of a business person, I'm not happy about that, I'd rather be drawing women, but I don't trust my livelihood and my art to any sly asshole agent and middle man. Fuck them!

You can call me a lot of vile names, some deservingly so but if you really want to insult me, call me a businessman.  I'm not the Mother Theresa of the art world but I do try my darnest to make the best possible books (quality and content wise) at the lowest possible prices for me to have fun with while putting them together and for you to purchase and enjoy, I wish I can lower the prices even more but that would require to print larger quantities at a time and I can not print massive runs because that, in turn, requires massive funds and that's something I don't have, if I'd sold out to an industry giant they would destroy this independent hub. Think about it, why hasn't a big publisher done what we are doing now? because there is no big money in it. Independents do this type of stuff, big companies only care about the masses, I don't give a shit about the masses, not because I'm stupid or a lousy businessman (which I am) but because I don't want anybody to tell me what to do. Once you become a slave to the money, you are fucked.

Business wise our market for these types of books doesn't justify the big lay-out of upfront cash, in other words I do this mainly for love, sounds retarded and naive but it is what it is, my love for cartooning, animation, comics and illustration in general. Do I expect the fans to understand this? hell, No!

But the independent artists who self publish understand this painfully well.

I don't cater to the fans, this is no secret to those who know me, never did as a young man and I'm not going to start now that I'm an old fart, I get a lot of flack for saying it but it's true. I don't speak for the other artists in our group, but personally, I don't give a rat's ass about the so called fans, I'm a selfish man, the only persons I care about besides myself and my wife & kids are my fellow artists and art students. My books are dedicated to fellow artists and it is them to whom I owe the greatest gratitude of all, for inspiring me and motivating me at every step of the way.

There is no shame in admitting it. I don't lose sight of the big picture, this is still a business and as such at times I have to act like an asshole or a pit bull (sometimes both at once) which is totally fine with me, unlike Picasso, who never got called an asshole (according to Jonathan Richman, anyway) I don't mind one bit, I've been called an asshole more times than I care to remember.

Brandstudio Press works because the artists involved are also involved in the process and because people like you, support us by buying our books, we don't feel as if we are doing you a favor or as if you are doing us a favor, I believe our products are worth every single cent you spend on them but we do appreciate you buying our books because most of you are also artists, call me elitist if you will, that's fine but only you, the fellow artist can see the struggle and the passion in our doodles, only you, the art student can learn from our problem solving triumphs and avoid our mistakes, only you, the artist can appreciate our choices when they yield an appealing image, only you, the artist can look at an apparent mess of preliminary lines that would make no sense whatsoever to anyone else and hear our brains ticking, see birds flying and music playing. 

The majority of you, are students and struggling artists, struggling to make it, most of us don't want to struggle so hard. As a young man I didn't want to struggle like I did but I had no real choice but to endure. Now at this point in my life, I choose to struggle, a fanboy could never understand that phrase, only an artist could.  I don't pretend to know what you are going through, but judging by my own condition, I am aware that you over extend yourselves to buy our books, no one is more appreciative of this fact than yours truly.  So THANK YOU and keep your support going. If you're a student and want to purchase a book or two but are low on cash, send me an email and I'd gladly knock a couple of bucks off your order. Heck, if you are in NYC I'd go and deliver it myself to save on stamps.

Sorry for the long-ass rant, once in a while it's good to clear the air. Thank you and God bless!  I'll see you at the New York City Comicon in about a week and the week after that, in Calgary and the week after that, in Seattle and so on and so forth until the end of time as we know it.


—Alberto