I think I’ve rebranded my own site and logo at least a dozen times this year. But what artist isn’t? It baffles me that the blogs and designers I follow can keep the same consistent brand for years. But maybe it makes them a talented designer that they can create a timeless identity. How can you compartmentalize yourself into a single image? And when you’re a growing young artist, how can you know that the image that is supposed to identify you for years to come… will?

I have major identity issues. And not just as an artist. Yes, I can’t stick to one consistent illustration style. I want to make comics, do editorial illustration, while dabbling in comedy and writing. But I’m also an Asian-American. Naturally I don’t know if I identify as more Asian or more American. Some weeks I feel like I’m a comedian, doing open mics and unable to stop writing jokes on the subway. And other weeks, I stay in with my natural-light lamp late into the night making art  and comics.

So who knows if this logo will keep? But its an icon I keep revisiting in the branding process. I’ve worn glasses since the 3rd grade when I’ve needed them since Kindergarten. It’s how I see myself. It’s without them, my friends don’t see me when walking by. Or they do faintly recognize me, and just don’t want to appear racist if it isn’t me. Do I look like just another Asian dude without them? I don’t know whether I will keep wearing them as I get older, but I can’t imagine living without them. My parents suggested I undergo lasik eye surgery (because with the rate my eyes are going, I could be blind by 30). But I didn’t want to be another hipster that wears glasses ‘for the look’. Really? Not doing elective surgery because I’d rather be more handicapped. To appear unpretentious? I sound like Larry David or something. As for the hair, I’m pretty sure it won’t undergo a dramatic change. But a young Larry David has said that too. God, I’m neurotic.

So who are you? Okay. Don’t worry if you don’t know yet. You know what you can be, though? A follower of my new companion tumblr at jeremywinslife.tumblr.com. Thanks, and much love as always!

With all these freelance projects and other vague things I’m working on, I don’t have a lot of non-confidential work I can show. So I decided to practice some coloring. Much love everyone!

One of the best things about The Black Keys is that Aziz Ansari always introduces the Black Eyed Peas. Then he says that the Black Eyed Peas cancelled and some band was able to fill in last minute.

Funny thing, I was about to illustrate the BEP. But I don’t like them, so here’s this image of The Black Keys instead!

Preview page from BYNHO

This is a comic that I’m very proud of. I remember writing it about a year ago, spending hours just coming up with the concept.  I’m not usually a sketch writer, I’m more of a stand-up joke writer. I watched a ton of Mr. Show with Bob and Dave, and Portlandia, to figure out what kind of sketch I wanted to write. Those two shows are just off the radar of mainstream consciousness that I was comfortable pulling a comedic tone from.

Mr. Show is incredibly brilliant in slowly revealing what the joke of the scene is. You might find yourself not laughing at the beginning, because the set-up is taking you to one giant laugh that you’ll smile for til the sketch finishes. And what I love about Portlandia is that Fred Armisen draws from a life he knows too well about. He knows hipster culture and brings out the characters that exist in real life, but haven’t been satirized. From organic farmers to harajuku girls, or fixed-gear cyclists with chin beards, Fred and Carrie find the parts of my world that are so close to me that I overlook them. But I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for my next sketches.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the comic!

With a big move finally done with, and starting a new job well worn in, I’m making art again. And without a drafting table, I’ve explored some other avenues of illustration. Stranger than Fiction is my favorite movie, and it’s well-cast. It’s almost like a cartoon, how each character is given a distinct personality (and sometimes just one outfit). I’d like to work in Illustrator more, and on properties that most people aren’t cult-fans of.  But as much fun as I’m having here, I hope to get back into the groove of making comics again soon.

Yes! I like SPX a lot. I’m sharing a table this year with Mr. Nobody Loves Me himself, Pranas Naujokatis! Come check us out at table D3. My new comic Bands You’ve Never Heard Of will be debuting, so come pick yourself up a copy.

Have you heard of this new show, Quirky? It’s a show all about product design. A social media community, Quirky.com, is a company that crowdsources ideas for innovation, let’s the community vote and influence products, and then if the idea is accessible, designable, and marketable, THEY BUILD IT. And whoever came up with the idea, ‘the inventor’, can make up to six dollar figures from the profits! I know, this intrigued me, too.

Well they made it into a show on Sundance Channel, but I’ve been catching it on hulu (the first episode is on hulu for a few more days!). I got the opportunity to work their premiere party at the Metropolitan Pavilion as an Invention Illustrator. Party attendants with ideas came to our booth to pitch us problems in the world that could be solved with a great invention, and we took to pen and markers to make them realized visually. Thanks again to Jordan Diatlo from Quirky for the opportunity!

(Right to Left) Ana Benaroya, Jordan Diatlo, Myself, and Frank Espinoza. These guys were brilliant illustrators, so give them some Google Analytics stats!

Here’s Ana taking on some lightly intoxicated, but enthusiastic inventors. Photos stolen from Quirky.com’s Facebook.

We got a lot of traffic! We were invited to get food and drinks but couldn’t with the volume of idea pitchers. And in addition, people were intrigued by the 3D Printers that sat next to us, printing off future Quirky designs right before party-goers. Thanks for reading, check out the video below. Don’t blink at minute 0:54 where you’ll see all three invention Illustrators get our draw on!

This summer I spent a little time working on an editorial illustration for RE:COM Magazine, a publication dedicated to the world of Stand-Up Comedy. It accompanied a story by comedian and writer Lauren Vino, who you can follow on twitter. Lauren’s story was an account of her time performing at a women’s prison as a young white brunette woman. One of my favorite parts of the story is how even the other comedian on the bill rips her in front of the inmates, as if there is no camaraderie during this gig between female comics. Anyways, Thanks to Kristy Mangel for the opportunity! I love drawing crowds, so this was totally up my alley.

Preliminary inks

 Cleaned up inks with bars added digitally

Final image spread

Support this young publication by ordering the issue here online. You’ll also be able to the digital version free with the purchase of the print one. Much love!

A very exciting new project just hit Kickstarter. Cartoonist Dave Kellett and filmmaker Fred Schroeder have put together what looks like one of the most important pieces of film journalism that the comics community has seen. It’s a serious talk about past and present, a medium that can’t keep up with a changing world, and how technology changes art and craft that’s essentially been the same for decades. It’s about adaptation, and as a young cartoonist I feel caught between a tradition taught for years and a curveball pitch that could make that tradition obsolete. It’s an honor to be part of such a special project, along with some of the greatest cartoonists I grew up admiring and loving.

Meg Golding, Madeline Rupert, and myself were interviewed for the documentary. I had the privilege to sit and talk comics with two incredible talents at SCAD. It was a very emotional chat. We talked aspirations, our hopes for our careers, our doubts and fears about the business and how that shaped our perspective and affected our craft. But by the end of it, we all agreed that we just want to find our place.

Please contribute to what will be a very powerful film for comics creators, historians, and lovers and enthusiasts. Comics and cartooning will never be the same as it once was, and already truly isn’t the same now.

I remember two years ago I was obsessed with Aziz Ansari, and now two years later, he’s starring in movies, gracing the covers of magazines, and becoming an art critic. Complex Magazine scoured the internet and came back with their top 5 most interesting pieces, and mine made it into #4. Check it out at minute 0:54! (you can even see it right there on the video image preview!)

I’m glad that he actually responded positively to my illustration. But I was hoping to make him cry over it.

Here’s the process to that piece! (Update: Oh no! I lost the final image artwork! It must have happened when I redesigned my website. Thank god I updated my website before Complex did their search.)