Serena Guerra

Hello 2012!

2012-01-10T22:34:00.000-06:00

It has been a busy holiday season for me, both at the photography studio I work at and at home on my computer. If you haven’t picked up The Mice Templar Vol. III #6, then you missed the end page announcement of me taking over coloring duties for issues 7 and 8!

Bryan J.L. Glass, the co-creator and writer of this fantastic book, asked me to do a few color samples for him early October of last year. After showing my work to Mike Oeming (co-creator and original artist), Victor Santos (current artist) and Veronica Gandini (departing colorist), I was offered the position of colorist for issues 7 and 8 on my birthday!

As my first official ‘foot in the door’ gig into the comic book industry, I was a bit nervous and anxious. Though I am a penciler at heart, I have worked with color throughout my life in a variety of mediums. Digital coloring is really no different than working with colors in traditional mediums, it takes practice and patience. I’ve had a lot of resources made available to me during my college years when I was first introduced to computers and programs like Adobe Photoshop. There are a lot of techniques available online and it’s all about finding what works for you and getting into that artistic zone where everything around you is just an afterthought, like say for example cooking pasta.

What also continues to make this an awesome project to work on is the great feedback I get from Bryan and Victor when I send them proofs of the pages I’ve colored. I always know when I’ve done a good job when one of my pages ends up on Bryan J.L. Glass’ Facebook page with praise!

In other news, I will be making my second appearance at this year’s C2E2 in Artist’s Alley! I am extremely excited that they asked me to come back again this year! Hopefully after I finish up with The Mice Templar Vol.III #8, I will have time to get prepped for the show in April.

More details on C2E2 to come! Now back to coloring!

SDCC 2011!

2011-08-07T10:48:00.000-05:00

Picked up our Official SDCC 2011 Swag Bags!

Jeff and I attended San Diego Comic Con International 2011 this past July. It was a fantastic vacation hanging out with family, friends, and just geeking out. The biggest highlight of this year's vacation was my success at getting some great portfolio reviews. Not only did I make the DC Talent Search for the second consecutive year in a row, I made it to the top of the list and was the only female that made it out of the group that submitted their portfolios for review. Woohoo!

Huzzah!

I also made it onto Marvel's list for a private portfolio review for the first time! At the request of our dear friend, Jim McCann (Return of the Dapper Men), I spoke with Mark Smylie, Chief Creative Officer of Archaia Entertainment, for a portfolio review. He was really impressed with my work and asked that I email him and his editors a PDF copy of my portfolio! I made a lot of contacts this year and out of the 10 portfolios I printed out, I handed out 9 of them to various publishers.

When I wasn't at a portfolio review or panel, Jeff and I would be checking out all the cool things out on the show floor and spotting some cool cosplayers.

Action pose with Batman, The Penguin, Catwoman and Robin

We had such a great time at the convention and also just hanging out with Jeff's cousin, Mark, and his friends. We ate so much great food, either homecooked by Mark's dad, or at one of Mark's favorite places around San Diego.

The Sushi out here is NOMS-tastic!

Overall, our trip to San Diego was a blast and we can't wait to go again next year!

Jeff and I on a comfy couch at the Marriott.

Stay awesome San Diego!

COMIC BOOK MANIA! Convention 2011

2011-07-09T00:29:00.000-05:00

I have been fortunate enough to be invited again to this year's Comic Book Mania convention at the Gail Borden Public Library! Last year, I had a great time hanging out with fellow artists and making kids smile with all my cool artwork. If you're in the northwestern suburbs of Illinois, come visit this fantastic 1-day convention.

COMIC BOOK MANIA! Convention 2011
Saturday, July 9th
10am - 4pm
GAIL BORDEN PUBLIC LIBRARY
270 North Grove Avenue
Elgin, IL 60120
www.gailborden.info

Finally: My DeviantArt Page!

2010-09-16T10:40:00.004-05:00

After attending several conventions as an artist, with numerous fans were made through various means (sketchbooks, sketches, and commissions), and tons of business cards having been handed out, I can finally say 'Yes' to the number one question asked by all who have stopped by my table - 'Do you have a deviantArt page?'!

It will take me a while to upload all of the deviations I have done in the past couple of years and I will also try and upload pictures of various sketches and commissions I've done at the conventions and from my cozy little corner of the universe.

Thanks for your patience!

serenaguerra.deviantart.com

Chicago Comic-Con 2010

2010-08-18T20:03:00.008-05:00

I will be making my 4th appearance as an artist in Artist Alley at this year's Chicago Comic Con! If you're attending this weekend, swing on by table 3320 and say 'Hi'! Also I'll be selling my 2010 Con Exclusive Sketchbooks and a some Limited Edition Prints of original artwork. I will also be taking on commission work throughout the weekend. So if you want an exclusive piece by yours truly, be sure to get your name on my list quickly!

For more info on Chicago Comic Con, hit up their official site! See you there!

I'm In The Daily Herald!

2010-07-13T00:17:00.004-05:00

The Daily Herald covered the Comic Book Mania! 2010 Convention I attended this past Saturday. The article mentions me because of an impressed little girl I requested a sketch.

"I really liked her designs," Chantelle said of artist Serena Guerra's work at the convention. "I like fantasy - it makes your imagination come out."

I'm also in the picture posted on their website... well sort of.

There's Jeff and I behind Art Baltazar's table signage!

;)

Comic Book Mania! Convention 2010

2010-07-07T02:20:00.004-05:00

I will be attending the Comic Book Mania! Convention at the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, IL. I'll be showing off my portfolio and doing some sketches. Since it's only a one day convention, I'll be taking commissions to be worked on at home and ship them out once finished.

On Saturday, July 10, we are comic book mania from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. We've got guest artists - Art Baltazar, Tiny Titans, Billy Batson, Magic of Shazam!; Dave Dorman, Batman, Magic the Gathering and more.

There will be a Best Costume Competition for all ages at 2:30 p.m. and we have a Starman Film Festival All Day. We will also host a Magic Tournament at 10:15 a.m. and a Heroclix Marvel/DC Tournament at 1:15. p.m. There also will be comics vendors on hand. ~ Gail Borden Public Library

Guest Artists:

Art Baltazar, Tiny Titans, Billy Batson, Magic of Shazam!

Scott Beaderstadt, Trollords

Cory Carani, Legionnaires

Dave Dorman, Batman, Magic the Gathering

Jeff Moy, Legionnaires, Excalibur

Philip Moy, Batman: the Brave and the Bold, Power Puff Girls

Independent creators: Brad Bellmore, Serena Guerra, Justin Madson, and Mike Penick

If you're in the area, definitely swing on by and say 'hello'!

Farewell Kiddie Kandids...

2010-01-12T21:44:00.003-06:00

With the sudden closing of Kiddie Kandids I, as well as hundreds of others, am left with a terrible uncertainty in tough times. But, I will still fondly remember Kiddie Kandids as one of the best jobs I've ever had, with the best people ever. I learned so much and I will always appreciate them for that. I know I will be keeping in contact with so many of the wonderful people I met there in the past couple years and I wish them all good luck.

A Neverending Story

2009-11-10T23:07:00.005-06:00

What are you going to wish for?

Some More Comic Book Character Fun...

2009-07-08T08:42:00.014-05:00

I did these drawings for the Aspen Comics Art Room Sketch Challenge. It's held once a week and voted on by our peers, than the winner gets to pick who/what we will be drawing next week. There's no major prize other than practice and whatever knowledge can be gained from the critiques by other aspiring artists. I don't always get the time to do it once a week, but I try it when I can.

The challenge for these two weeks were to draw Supergirl with Krypto and Executive Assistant Iris.

Relaxing on My Day Off

2009-04-26T23:06:00.005-05:00

For the first time in a while I had a whole weekend off from work. It wasn't even scheduled that way, the days off just kinda fell on me. I didn't have anything planned for my new days off, and I thought about using it to do some pages, but I decided, considering how much I'd been working and how tired I was that I was going to take a weekend from that too. Jeff and I went out for breakfast, and I did do some laundry and mild cooking and cleaning, but other than that it was quite relaxing. I also did do a little drawing, but only to keep loose. Overall, I feel quite refreshed and ready for the week. :)

Necromancer Pic Colored by the Great Xiwik!

2009-03-10T19:51:00.003-05:00

I got a nice surprise today. After I got home from work I logged onto the computer and got a message from Xiwik saying that, just for fun and practice, he colored a necromancer sketch of mine from a little while ago. I'm so excited, it turned out great!

Practice...practice...practice...

2009-02-16T22:45:00.004-06:00

Since work has been taking up so much of my time lately I haven't been able to draw as much as I want. So whenever a minute pops up and I'm to tired to do real work I've been doing little body part and expressions exercises. Basically I've been looking at works of accomplished artists and copying whatever interests me from the picture in order to learn new line techniques, expressions, etc...

How much do I love thee, let me count the soup...

2009-01-16T15:29:00.005-06:00

So this morning I woke up with a bad case of the flu. With a 101° temperature, body aches, chills, and my throat so swollen I could barely swallow, I had to take my first sick day from work in a LONG time. And since we haven't had a car since before Christmas (see: here) we had no food and no medicine in the house. Jeff to the rescue! Jeff decided that while I rested, he would brave the -16°F to walk to Jewel and buy some soup and DayQuil. I guess he really wanted me to feel better... considering he lugged TEN cans of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup home.

Thanks Honey,

My hero!

Sketches '08

2009-01-08T22:16:00.004-06:00

So here are a bunch of the drawings I did in '08 but never got around to posting. I believe there is some improvement over '07's work... a little bit. I just can't wait to see all the new tricks I'll learn in '09!

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-25T21:51:00.002-06:00

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.

Dr. Seuss

With all my heart, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!

Keeping Wisdom Teeth: Not so Wise

2008-10-16T21:52:00.004-05:00

So, after having some seriously impacted wisdom teeth for about six years, they finally got badly infected last week. Up until now I have just not had the means to get them taken out. And since I have also had an allergic reaction to almost every anti-biotic I'd ever been treated with, I've just always been in the habit of making sure the area around my wisdom teeth were kept immaculately clean. And if they ever felt sore and I expected an infection I would wash my mouth out with some good whiskey (anything 56% alcohol by volume and didn't taste terrible) until they got better. But alas that could not work forever. The infection this time traveled to my jaw before I could get a handle on it. When I went to the dentist he said that considering the extent of the infection, and my allergies to anti-biotics, that I needed to remove the wisdom teeth as soon as possible. With the help and support of Jeff (the most wonderful-est person in the whole wide world! EVAR!!!) we where able to scrape together enough to proceed with the removal. And, of course, Jeff couldn't help but take this snapshot of me post-op. Enjoy!

Chuck 2

2008-06-17T21:33:00.002-05:00

I'll be having a table again at this years Chi-Town Comicon and I'm trying to get some colored pieces finished before then. This pic is one of maybe two that I've colored in the past few years, so I'm still trying to get back into the swing of it. Only nine more days!

Warning: Viewing Picture May Cause Onlookers To Turn To Stone.

2008-06-02T20:05:00.010-05:00

I've always been fascinated by the legend of Medusa. She was sea nymph, and the most beautiful of the three gorgon sisters. Medusa was courted by Poseidon and made love to him in a temple of Athena. Furious, Athena transformed Medusa, giving her snakes for hair and cursing her so that anyone who lays eyes upon her turns to stone.

Just another reminder that you shouldn't piss off a god.

Yet Another Star Wars Pic

2008-05-16T11:00:00.003-05:00

A Guardian For You

2008-05-09T20:33:00.003-05:00

Another Star Wars Pic

2008-05-08T18:59:00.002-05:00

Huggles To The World!

2008-04-25T18:02:00.003-05:00

I kept seeing this video on the Discovery Channel and I just couldn't get it out of my head. It reminds us to appreciate how precious and amazing our world is while simultaneously reminding us of all the really cool shows on the Discovery Channels.

Chuck

2008-04-19T00:00:00.004-05:00

Just one of the many projects I'm working on.

Star Wars Sith

2008-04-15T15:50:00.001-05:00

Hey Andy! Just Sign Your Name On The Bottom Line.

2008-04-11T19:32:00.004-05:00

Thanks.

Catwoman

2008-02-04T23:36:00.001-06:00

Hawkgirl

2008-01-18T21:30:00.001-06:00

Hawkgirl. This was a commissioned piece. I had never done a picture of Hawkgirl before but it ended up being a nice challenge.

A Witchblade Pic

2008-01-13T23:58:00.000-06:00

New Stuff For The New Year

2008-01-08T15:47:00.000-06:00

ChesterQuest Submissions

2007-12-31T01:10:00.000-06:00

Sequential art depicting a scene from The Big Bang Theory's Halloween episode. Leonard and Sheldon are at Penny's Halloween party sadly attempting to mingle with normal people when Penny's ex-boyfriend, Kurt, crashes the party. After some consideration, Leonard comes to the conclusion that in order to impress Penny he must prove his dominance over Kurt, face to face.

A Christmas Wish Granted...

2007-12-04T15:29:00.000-06:00

Finally after several months of searching these two beautiful dilute calico kitties have found their forever home! "The Babies," as they were lovingly called, were found starving on the side of the road and nursed back to health by our caring staff at Knollwood Hospital for Pets.

They were adopted into a warm and cozy home just in time for the holidays!

My Life in a Nutshell...

2007-11-05T21:45:00.000-06:00

Someone told me the other day that I need to blog more often, so if you haven't seen me in a while here's what's been happening in my life in between blog posts:

Rabbits, really big rabbit condos, nurse assistant training, logo designing, drawing(a lot), comic books, computer fun, computer nut, did I mention rabbits?

For My Bro

2007-10-21T19:57:00.000-05:00

All my younger brother wanted for his b-day was a picture of X-23. Happy Birthday Andy!

Captain America Farewells

2007-09-20T23:24:00.000-05:00

Since the death of Captain America, I've had more than a few ideas, suggestions or requests for artwork come my way. This is one sketch of the fallen patriot that I just recently finished.

Random Sketch

2007-09-03T18:57:00.000-05:00

The other day I checked out a book from the local library titled Mythology of the World. It just really caught my eye. So after initially flipping through it, I put my pencil to paper and this is what came out. I wonder what I'll draw when I actually read the book! :)

New Sketch

2007-08-29T00:03:00.000-05:00

Knollwood Pet Relief

2007-08-28T20:38:00.000-05:00

These beautiful dilute calico kitties are among many pets who have been fostered in the KPR program where I work over at Knollwood Hospital for Pets. Found starving on the side of the road, we took the two sisters in and nursed them back to health. They're frisky, playful girls who need a home with people who are as energetic as they are loving.

During the past two months these 12 week old babies have really stolen my heart. I'd love to see that they find a permanent home together - and once you've met them, you'll understand why this sisterly bond cannot be broken!

Precious Moments

2007-08-27T18:17:00.000-05:00

Just this week my brother Tony and his wife Gretchen welcomed a new addition to their home, little Sasha, a month and a half old Green Cheek Cinnamon Conure. SHE'S SOOO CUTE!!!

Just a Couple of My More Recent Sketches

2007-08-26T17:48:00.003-05:00

Left to Right, clockwise:Popeye vs. Hulk, A fan request. Psylocke, a commissioned piece. Emma Frost, Surge and Dust. Joker and Harley. Jill-in-a-Box, my own creation.

My Debut At Wizard World Chi Town 2007

2007-08-26T17:13:00.000-05:00

Yey! My first blog post!

Anyway, this year's Wizard world was a big one for me. It was only the second Wizard World I'd attended and the first I'd attended as an exhibitor. I was a little nervous beforehand, but a fortune cookie from the night before said I was heading in the right direction, so who was I to argue? Plus Jeff (who was a complete nervous wreck at the time) totally had my back, helping me with my sketchbooks, keeping me company as I stayed up late working on commissions, whatever I needed he was there for me (in return for a Bandai model Enterprise E, Excelsior class starship, of course...).