Nate Piekos of Blambot

Do you have the most comprehensive guide to modern comic lettering ever written? It's just $13.34 on Amazon, and it's still got 4.8 stars! 256 pages, full color! Written by Nate Piekos, Introduction by Tom Orzechowski, and published by Image! AMAZON: buff.ly/3SJCQjy

All Blambot webfont files have been updated with the latest formats. If you've purchased a Webfont license, re-download your purchase for a free update.

SCORE! Free birthday cake outside of Staples!

That time I was about a foot away from Stevie Ray Vaughan’s trusty No. 1 Stratocaster. #sacredrelic

Ace in your face Friday

Hey, kids! Tape! On a big-ass canvas! Wowzers! But seriously, I decided to throw away that green one I was working on. There was just no saving it. Starting fresh…with TAPE!

Lovely day. Just delivered proofs for the first issue of an unannounced Dark Horse project. Jumping back and forth between other small projects and font designs for the rest of the day.

The alphabet for regualr and bold sets of whatever this condensed sans project is turning into...is designed!

Over the weekend, I started painting on the biggest canvas I’ve ever attempted (24”x30”) and was really unhappy with where it was going. In frustration, I slapped a bunch of moss green paint over the whole thing. The under painting gives it an interesting texture anyway.

In the 90s, my design prof made us make clay figures and line them on a ledge. The next day we came to find clay bits smattered all over the floor. You passed the assignment if your figure was still on the ledge. Most weren’t.

Sometimes, for extra sting, that same teacher would include a fast food application form along with his marking sheet to let that student know they should consider other employment options.

When I went to art school, one of our teachers would put a masking tape line on the floor then line up the assignments he received from best to worst, with ones that failed below that line before going through his critique. Getting roasted in front of your peers motivated some and destroyed others.

People who will actually spend time to contact me about how much they don't like my work are hilarious. I was in design school in the 90s. Critiques back then were brutal. People left the room crying. Professors tore you apart while looking you directly in the eyes. You ain't got nothing on that.

Well, the news is finally out! I could not be prouder of my pal, Brett, and the MOUNTAIN of work he's created in the last year. Being sort of on the inside, I can attest to the herculean effort Brett has made that most people will never understand. I'm so happy for him.

In other news, I am neck-deep in updating all of Blambot's webfonts packages to include WOFF, WOFF2, EOT and SVG options. Free updates to anyone who ordered the web options. You'll get an automated email when it happens. Hoping to release in a week or two(?) More news soon.

My favorite SFX from D'ORC #10. Lettered with my custom brushes.

Lovely day. So far, I've delivered the final (probably) re-mastered proofs for Elfquest: Siege at Blue Mountain #7 (Just 28 pages left to remaster out of 224! Been working on this for more than a year now I think!)

Off season is the best. Just me and the seagulls.

Still working on this condensed sans as a back-burner project. It will probably be your next Indie-level font. Playing with some ink traps (see the A and the 9).

Ace in your face Friday

Update on the official Toth typeface: Working on the Bold version. What you see here is what I found directly in high-res source material. I'm going to have to mimic everything else. He also rarely used italics, but the family and I have decided to include italics versions just for completeness.

FYI: Apparently the Beasts of Burden Omnibus is heading into a second printing from @darkhorse.com to join the third printing of Nerd Inferno. Thanks to everyone who's revived my career, to Beasts co-creator @thejillthompson.bsky.social and @benjamindewey.bsky.social, @blambot.bsky.social et all.

"Scarab" - Acrylic on 10"x10" canvas. A companion piece to "Monarch".

Ace had his annual checkup. He's a healthy, soon-to-be 10 years old cat. Ace is TERRIFIED of leaving the house. Getting him into a carrier is a nightmare. He screams and hyperventilates the whole time. It's heartbreaking. We may have to start giving him meds for future appts.

Couch doodles.

"Monarch" - Acrylic on 10"x10" canvas.

“Monarch” - Acrylic on 10x10”. Pics when it’s dry.

Wooohoo! I wonder who will be lettering this? ;) www.comicsbeat.com/nycc-26-dc-c...

Ace in your face Friday

Yer damn right we did! ...In the dark!

Blambot Sound FX Brushes Vol. 2 is now available! 62 individual Adobe Illustrator brushes are included with Astro Disastro BB, BasicBlox BB, and Chunko Brush BB! blambot.com/products/bla...

For those of you who paint - how do you go about selling you're paintings? etsy? How do you deal with shipping? I'd like to start selling some of my paintings. Thx

Finished! "Undertow" Acrylic on 20" x 20" canvas.

Picked up @blambot.bsky.social's new SFX Brush Set, and quickly drew up these SFX using them for practice. All done by hand with my mouse as my brain cannot work with the delay & disconnect of my Wacom Bamboo. Another knock out resource for ANYONE who makes comics.

Blambot Sound FX Brushes Vol. 2 is now available! 62 individual Adobe Illustrator brushes are included with Astro Disastro BB, BasicBlox BB, and Chunko Brush BB! blambot.com/products/bla...

“Undertow” is finished. Pics tomorrow when it’s dry.

I watched Backrooms last weekend, and really enjoyed it. The surreal, anxiety-inducing liminal space aspect was a refreshing alternative to the mediocre state of horror movies for the last couple of decades. I have not watched the YouTube series.

Another new Illustrator brush set: BasicBlox BB. I just needed..well, something basic...and blocky...but with a little organic jitter to the edges. I think I might have enough of these to release a new collection pretty soon.

Update on the official Alex Toth font. The family and I are going through the revision process on the Regular version, making small adjustments. Here's a look in Fontlab. I've made it a point to keep as many of Toth's "habits" as possible; certain letters overlapping, etc.

“Undertow” day 4. Acrylic on 20”x20” canvas. One more day and I’m probably done.

“Undertow” day 3. Acrylic on 20”x20” canvas. This is all basically a background layer. Planning on some big areas of an off-white next. There’s a little bit of glare in the photo. Sorry.