Doctor Strange Fan Art
on April 4th, 2009Dear Colleen,
Thanks for posting the picture of your studio, but didn’t you used to have more pictures to see? I looked all over the place on your blog and it doesn’t go past January. I was looking for ideas for setting up my studio, and I like the look of your place. Do you have any ideas for organizing art and files? I can never seem to find anything around here, and I don’t know where to find good cabinets I can afford to pay for.
Emery Cobbs
Hi Emery,
Yes, I did have lots of photos of my studio up on the old blog, but they are all down now. The blog has been completely redone. I am so glad you like my studio! I do have some very nice cabinets which were not sold as art files but as map chests. You can buy them from Home Decorators Collection.
They have a variety of types and sizes for sale, at a wide range of prices. I’ve had varying degrees of satisfaction with this company, and some items have arrived with drawers that stick very badly. Since one item arrived while I was on tour, I was not home to be able to inspect and return it within the 30 day window, I had to do some sanding and repair. More precisely, a manly relative did it for me.
The large map chest cannot take any heavy weight on top. I put some heavy books and a TV on top, and the furniture bowed (as good an excuse as any to save up for a lightweight flat screen TV…)
However, if you are willing to take the chance on possibly receiving an imperfect item it may be a pain in the butt to return, and can also do some minor sanding repair, they are a real bargain, easily costing a fraction of the cost of art studio furniture. They also look great. I hate those awful metal flat files.
I don’t have enough map chest storage for all of my work, and recommend plain old plastic bins, which keep moisture and bugs out and can be stored safely in the garage. I even had a flood a few year’s back, and not one piece in these bins was damaged. I bought mine at the dollar store for less than $10 per box. I recommend smaller flat boxes instead of the big, deep bins. You’ll never find anything in those deep bins, and art tends to get damaged when you rummage through them.
But the contents of those art files have never really been in any kind of proper order. So, I am not the best person to ask for setting up proper art archives. Here’s a video series about organizing and setting up studio space, and I have not watched it because it looks a little antiseptic for my taste. But it’s free advice so if it works for you, good on ya!
Right now I am concentrating on making sure my current work archives are in the best order and making digital files of key art. That means thousands of images. So, I have no time to go through the old stuff. And most of the drawers for the files next to my drawing board hold work and files for current projects. The old stuff is boxed away.
However, once in awhile I give organizing this stuff a go, and here is a recent find; a Doctor Strange illustration I did back in high school! I think I was very heavily influenced by both John Byrne and Frank Brunner while I did this!
Doctor Strange and Dormammu © ® Marvel Comics
Gotta love that — it lacks focus, but it’s pretty solid for a teenager. And is that the Vision and the Sub-Mariner I see in there too? And Clea in the eye socket — whatver happened to her??
Oh yeah… this is what your studio used to look like:
http://www.thefifthbranch.com/gorilladaze/?p=49
I’m always fascinated by the early works of accomplished artists, particularly those done when they were young and/or first starting out. While I’m sure the Doctor Strange piece posted above is a bit below your current standards, it shows hints of what was to come. Also, that piece had to take a lot of patience and hard work. I’m guessing you had a work ethic far surpassing that of the average teenager.
Thanks for posting that, Allan! My studio has changed quite a lot!
Since the kitties passed on, I no longer have the window seat area. I put my drawing board there. Also, I used to work in two rooms, but my new set up has three work stations in one big U shape.
I use the second room primarily for storage. I had a sitting area in there for awhile, but it was redundant. I like the new set up since I have all my work right where I can see it, and all the storage where I don’t have to look at it.
We’re planning on building a huge bookcase bay in the family room. That will take care of all my handsome books, so there will be even less need for storage in my office. And then I can devote even more space to flat files for storing art properly. I am also going to build additional shelving in the closet, but with my work schedule, I can’t commit to any of that right now. Too busy. And my extra funds need to go to finance finishing A Distant Soil. With the economy, I have to be careful, just like everyone else.