Okay so… obviously I can’t just start blogging again like nothing ever happened. I’ve been absent for a kajillion years! And I’m sure you, theoretical dear reader, noticed and were concerned. Nobody wants my life story, so I’ll break this down in brief bullet points:

•  To summarize, I have been drawing and working on stuff, just been too busy and lazy to post it here!
•  Feb 2014: My pal Dafna and I co-edited a Star Trek zine, which we released at last year’s LA Zine fest. It’s called TO BOLDLY ZINE. We sold out but you can download a free digital version HERE.
• Dafna and I were somehow able to beg/plead/blackmail a lot of our talented Trek-nerd friends into contributing, so you really should check it out. Here’s what the zines looked like, cover designed and handcut by me:

• Click on the pic below if you want a peek at the making of the zine:

• One of the features in the zine was a series of tweets written by Mike McMahan AKA @TNG_S8 and illustrated by me. Here are some of them:

• Mike dug my work and asked me to illustrate the officially-licensed-by-Star-Trek-for-reals book version of his tweets, which is the main non-day-job thing that I worked on in this year. More on that soon!

• “But Jason, you posted stuff in 2014 AFTER the zine, why no mention of it?!” I’m glad you asked that, imaginary blog reader! Basically, we had completely sold out of the zine, so there was nothing to promote! But if you were following me on Twitter or Instagram, you got the full shameless plug barrage leading up to the zine fest.
• Feb 2015: Dafna and I co-edited a second volume of TO BOLDLY ZINE, which we released at this year’s LA Zine Fest. We still have some copies left, if you’re interested, check back here (or my various social media, see the links to the right) for details! In the meanwhile, here are some looks at the AWESOME cover, designed by Dafna (btw those are Dafna’s hands, my nail polish is much more flamboyant):

 



 

• Mike and I collaborated for the zine again, this time on a children’s story about Data:

 



 

• And, I started a Tumblr (yes finally)! This was my first post:

 



 

• To clear up any confusion about the various ways I post art, this blog and my deviantArt will always be where I post finished artwork (fan art, side-jobs, and personal projects). Instagram is where I post sketches and behind-the-scenes looks at process (including stuff from ye olde dayjobbe). And tumblr will be a combination of finished works, instagram crossposts, and some best-of moldy oldies (since I’m new to tumblr and nobody knows wtf I am and wtf I’m doing there).

OKAY I’m gonna try not to be a big baby and start posting regularly again. SEE Y’ALL THEORETICAL READERS BACK HERE REAL SOON Y’ALL.
 

y’all

Technically these guys are in GOLD not yellow, but I couldn’t think of a good rhyme for gold.

Posting Worf for last Tuesday, Geordi for last Friday, and Data for today.

 
Back. To. The. Grind. Blorf. (Not to be confused with Worf)

(This post is for Friday, I’m laaate, which is no surprise to anybody. Busy days ahead! Will any of it amount to anything? WHO COULD TELL?)

In my Star Trek: The Next Generation re-watch, I’ve gained a new appreciation of Tasha Yar’s tough demeanor, her butch yet cute haircut, her devotion to Starfleet, and also her bangin’ bootay.

So, in honor of the fallen Lieutenant Yar, here’s what I hope is a dynamic shot of her about to gain the upper hand during a sparring session. Perhaps her sparring partner is her pal Lieutenant Worf?

 
These colors… something about them just isn’t jiving for me. I think I tried a few different tricks here, and they didn’t come together cohesively. Better luck next time, I guess?

I watched through all three seasons of Star Trek (The Original Series) while I was working on commissions last summer. Of course, if you were following me on Twitter, you would have known that, and you would have been witness to all the super hilarious (and hyper astute) observations that I made during my viewing.

Anyways, the point is that my brain really shifted into a Star Trek kind of mode, and I would occasionally take a break from commissions and draw something Trekish. For example, I re-imagined what the Gorn captain from the episode “Arena” might have looked like, if he was dressed a bit less like a go-go girl:

 
This Gorn, as I have depicted him, is a big-time Gorn patriot. The emblems on his wrist bracers are from the Gorn Hegemony, the symbol tattooed on his shoulder is from the Gorn Confederation (Starfleet Command, Interplay), and his triangular belt buckle is a reference to the Gorn Empire (Starfleet Games). What I’m saying is, this guy is really draping himself in the Gorn flag(s). There was actually one more Gorn symbol that I found during my research, but I just thought it was too fussy, so I didn’t use it.

I realize that my use of the various Gorn symbols probably conflicts with canon of the Star Trek universe on multiple levels. I’m a rebel like that.

Miscellaneous rejected titles for this post: The Gorn Identity, Gorn to be Wild, Gorn in the USA.

Let it never be said that I can’t admit when I’m wrong. And yes, that was a double negative.

A year ago, if you had asked me about the-then-upcoming Star Trek movie, I would have said, “Why bother? End the franchise, it’s over.” Star Trek had been dying slowly for years, and I was not a fan of Alias or Lost, and therefore not a fan of J.J. Abrams.

Well, I watched Star Trek over the weekend–it was good, and the franchise is back. Not only was I wrong, I’m glad that I was wrong. Mr. Abrams you now have not only critical and financial success, but also the respect of this nerd. I’m sure that must mean the world to you.

Here’s Spock:

I may have enjoyed the new movie, but just to be clear, this is Leonard, not Zachary. Or Spock Prime as they’re now calling him.