I’ve been working overkill this week not only getting caught up on Chadhiyana: In the Company of Shadows, but getting ahead. I wrote about it in detail yesterday on chadhiyana.com, so I won’t go into it at length here. What I will say is that I finished the art for (the previously uncoloured) pages 29 and 30. I also put in the time to complete not only this week’s page 31 but next week’s page as well. So, I’m a little tired, but I’m happy to have finally gotten ahead of schedule (such as I had always wished to do since I first decided to take the graphic novel to the web). My hope now is this gain will be built upon, rather than it be a fluke. Read more… ›

I originally planned to post something about my comic art process today; however, things have been running behind on Chadhiyana: In the Company of Shadows (chadhiyana.com) the past two weeks despite my best intentions, and I didn’t have complete examples to show. I’m doing my best to catch up, and hopefully that will happen relatively soon. Though speaking of art and my process, I received in the mail yesterday a new device for my computer I’ve wanted to try for some time: a colour calibrator.  Read more… ›

Sorry, folks. Things are just a little crazy this week. I didn’t have much in me for a proper blog entry. However, I noticed I hadn’t update my Fantasy Art page with Chadhiyana: In the Company of Shadows cover (my newest Chadhiyana project–a graphic novel–if you didn’t know). So, I added it. It’s one of my favourite paintings I’ve done to date. You can check out the art, again, on the Fantasy Art page. Though, better yet, you can start reading the graphic novel on chadhiyana.com, if you haven’t already. It’s already five pages into Chapter I (after the Prologue). See you next week!

Last week was rough. I had little motivation on account of dealing with the deaths of my grandmother and grandfather within three weeks of each other, and so, for the first time in years, I got very little done. It happens to us all, but the important thing is to pick ourselves back up and keep moving. I’m doing just that. I’m back to work this week, recharged and refocused, with new plans for 2014. Unfortunately, after last week, I’m little behind. Read more… ›

As some of you may have read in my post on December 18th (Reflections on 2013), amidst the final weeks of a wonderful year, I was very recently dealing with the death of my grandmother, Patricia J. McCabe. On Sunday, January 5th, my grandfather, Carl Melillo Sr., passed away. Under the circumstances, I am taking some time to come to terms with and grieve both losses. That said, I will still do my best to get page 1 of Chapter I of Chadhiyana: In the Company of Shadows completed for next week (the title page posted just yesterday on chadhiyana.com). Please be patient. Your understanding is appreciated during this difficult time.

Happy New Year J. M. DeSantis fans! Stay tuned for new stories, art and projects from the writer and artist this year. Also, don’t forget to check out J. M.’s graphic novel, Chadhiyana: In the Company of Shadows on chadhiyana.com as it moves into Chapter I. Let’s all make 2014 an amazing year!

I’m not a particularly superstitious man. I’ve never been sensitive to black cats, broken mirrors or Friday the 13th, yet I was never able to shake the sense that the day on which I graduated from Pratt Institute had somehow cursed my career as a writer and artist. May 13, 2005 was a sunny day, but it was a Friday. Since then I heard many say how much they enjoy my writing or my art, but it never seemed the vast majority were catching on (especially editors). Given there have been successes along the way, but nothing that I would consider substantial. That said, if ever the curse existed (and if one believes in numerology), the year 2013 has at last broken it. Read more… ›

It’s been a while since I updated the writing section with new content. Not since early last year when, before my life became consumed with Chadhiyana, I had a few new short stories published in various anthologies from Static Movement and Norgus Press. Anyway, today it’s more Chadhiyana. I’ve been meaning to share the scripts from the first two Chadhiyana stories (A Saviour in the Dark and Chadhiyana and the Serpent—still available in the comic, Chadhiyana, on IndyPlanet.com). Never mind I’m always looking for ways to call more attention to my writing. So, what better solution to all of these problems than to upload an excerpt from the first Chadhiyana story, A Saviour in the Dark? Read more… ›

For those of you keeping up with my in-progress, on-going, graphic novel web-comic (I haven’t thought up a more concise word or phrase with which to classify the work), you may have noticed a seemingly sudden jump in the amount of pages on chadhiyana.com this week. Currently, I am posting one new page every week, and yet page 10 posted last week whilst page 15 posted yesterday (with 11 through 14 suddenly appearing between). In truth, only one new page posted since last week, however, I decided to change the numbering system for the pages, and no, it wasn’t to give the impression of there being more pages. Read more… ›

It’s been busy, to say the least, while I continue to work on my graphic novel, Chadhiyana: In the Company of Shadows, and with other projects coming in (such as the book cover I alluded to last week). As it is, there’s a lot of new artwork I should be adding to my Art Galleries and perhaps an excerpt from the Prologue of the graphic novel script to add to my Script Writing page. So, for the next few weeks, in between regular blog posts (and some holiday wishes–what with the Holidays coming up and all), I’ll probably be doing a lot of gallery updates again. What’s more, I could really use a break from straight blogging for a bit with all the work I’m juggling right now. Read more… ›