<![CDATA[James L. Barry Illustration - Blog]]>Sat, 08 Aug 2026 05:58:55 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[How To Draw]]>Mon, 20 Jul 2026 14:29:49 GMThttps://www.jlbarry.com/blog/july-20th-2026I made these how to draw PDF's years ago- before one of my first convention appearances at Teen Book Fest.  It was a wonderful event and I was lucky to be a guest in 2011 and 2012 alongside the likes of Svetlana Chmakova and Jeff Kinney.  I was saddened to hear about the death of TBF founder Stephanie A. Squicciarini in 2018- she was so kind and a fierce advocate for reading and teens at the library. 

​I made these drawing packets for that event (way back when!) and they got quite a bit of traction on my old blog so I thought I would reshare them here.  Happy Drawing!
]]><![CDATA[Recent Con Appearance]]>Fri, 17 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.jlbarry.com/blog/recent-con-appearanceI've been lucky to be an invited guest at some amazing comic book conventions this spring. Awesome Con in DC, Galaxy Con in Nashville and Heroes Con in Charlotte were all a lot of fun. 

I love DC and the crowd at Awesome Con is....well, awesome! One of the best compliments an artist can receive is being told that their work inspired someone to draw or create their own stories. I had that happen a few times at Awesome Con and honestly, it made me kind of emotional. There were even a couple kids in Warriors cosplay!  

I also led a drawing workshop in the Awesome Con Jr. area and that was well attended. Thanks to the Mariano Brothers for including me in the line up and for inviting me to join them and the other creators for pizza that night! 

Here are a few photos from the weekend, some Warrior cat sketch cards I drew and some art given to me by young artists. ​
Galaxy Con in Nashville was great and a good excuse to visit my family. I grew up in Nashville and used to enter art every year in the state fair as a kid. The convention was held at the original fair grounds so it was kind of a full circle moment! Lots of fun cosplay and other guests from the area there.

​Then in June, I tabled for the first time at Heroes Con! If you don't know, Heroes Con is an "artist's" con. Being among so many of my ​heroes was truly inspiring! Thanks to Karla for inviting me and to everyone involved in producing such a great event. I drew lots of sketches, picked up some amazing art and enjoyed meeting so many other creatives. 

​Being at cons, I've realize that a lot of my early work on the Warriors is considered "classic" and many kids that read the black and white manga style comics are now adults!  I hope to embrace the nostalgic vibes of my previous work while offering readers something new and exciting in my next graphic novel.

​Thanks to Shane Berryhill for being my travel buddy and glad we could share a preview of our new GN with some folks. 
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