Double Digit July

Ok, I just wanted to get 10 posts in for the month of July...shameless, I know, but it's also a first! What can I say, I've got alot of time on my hands.

Anyways, I won't be updating for the next week, so I'd like to leave a snippet of the next project I'm working on.

I AM NOT WORTHY!

I about fell out of my chair when mine eyes first glanced at the face of one Democratic Representative from California, Henry Waxman.


This man is what you call a "No Merit All Star." In the caricature world (or at least among us caricature artists when I worked at Cedar Point), this phrase is given to those individuals whose faces can be drawn well by even a blind chimpanzee...on the FIRST try! Hence, there's no merit to being able to draw Mr. Waxman, but I did it anyways, because his face is screaming to be drawn...and it's so darn fun!



I don't really know what's up with the strange light source. Or the Red Hot Chili Peppers references. I start drawing and I kinda lose touch with myself sometimes, leading to stream-of-consciousness-esque decisions. It annoys me, because I always curse myself afterwards, regretting NOT thinking more about each decision I make along the process.

I think, though, that I'm getting better at this. Learning patience with my decision-making is difficult for me because I like instant gratification. Anyone who's had the pleasure of dining with me knows this for certain! Ask my wife, Emily...she's starting to take after me. Of course, try as she may, she'll never have the wolf-like ability to swallow food like a Lindberg boy...it's just a gift of ours.

I Present to You:

John K....with massive PECS! This idea came from an interview of John K that I read online.

Here's the picture of John that I used as reference:



Unfortunately, I think my Faber-Castell PITT brush pen is now depleted...I'll have to figure out how to get re-supplied with some more of those bad boys...they're awesome!

John K and influences

Ok, got 3 goodies today:

First, here's a link to an old article on Animation World Magazine's website with John Kricfalusi, talking about his cartoon influences. It provides not only the names of animators and producers, but also the particular cartoon episodes that are of interest to him.

One he found awesome (as do I) is called, "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery," with Daffy Duck. I'm sure anyone in my generation remembers this from their childhood!



Lastly, I have a link to a bunch of Spumco Flash Animations, included therein "Weekend Pussy Hunt," and "The George Liquor Show." These are pretty cool, but not as fluid as actual animations and a little burdensome to get through with a slow internet. Nevertheless, I think Spumco is amazing for what they've done with the medium.

I was looking for a good picture of John Kricfalusi to do a caricature, but I got distracted with all of this! My next post should be that caricature of John K.

I'm not a painter, but...

I checked out a pretty sweet tutorial on Tom Richmond's blog about digital coloring, and gave it a shot (see my face at right). ------->

Here's the link.

I don't have a Wacom tablet, but hopefully will someday, as the process probably would have been easier than using my mouse.

Jim Woodring

I've been researching cartoonists/animators, and I came across this fellow, linked off of Bill Plympton's facebook page. On Jim's site, there's some of the most bizzare, symbolic, and humorously cynical one-liner comics that I've seen in a long time. Some are easier to arrive to their conclusions, but others really make you scour each mysterious figure and scene for some type of meaning. I really like them, especially since some of them are so dark. Here's the link (www.jimwoodring.com) and I've also included it on the blogroll ---------->

I love the reference to Durer-esque woodcuts in this one! It just screams 1500s Europe!

Wood Grain Background...

...just in case you couldn't tell...Also, our camera sucks! Picture the color being more vivid.

Several (Seven) Sketches

Ok, so I've been remaining sketching from my Time magazine (December 2008) over these past few days. I love it...it's like a high sometimes. I think this is one of the only things in life that makes me feel like this...I grab a cold liter and a half of water, throw on my earphones, crank up the music, keep the pencil sharpened, and sweat bullets as I ESCAPE into another world.

Sir Edmund Hillary is first on the lineup. I wouldn't have included the name, but he's kind-of an obscure celebrity...the first to scale Mt. Everest, I believe.



Another obscure celebrity: the political figure William F. Buckley


Tim Russert


Another one of Tim Russert, less exaggerated, followed by some more political celebrities






My friend Alex Clare as an "Alien." His idea actually, if I recall correctly. I've been wanting to do something like this for awhile. This is just the sketch. I'm currently working on the inked and colored version, which I'll have up soon.

Comics, Caricatures, and Characters

Ok, I've been keeping a sketchbook and have been pretty busy recently. This first one is actually pretty old: from when we just arrived here in Morocco.






Sketch of Emily at the computer.





A few presidents, new and old: Sarkozy (France) and his wife and the departed "W"





My mug. Forehead needs to be bigger.



This is a little guy I created after watching alot of Spumco-based work. I think I'll keep running with him. I feel like putting him in different scenarios is a good way to try to understand his personalities. So far, this is what I know about him: he has an affinity for booze (and possibly smokes), has a New England accent, be it Boston or New York, has a short, and sometimes violent temper (a la Ren Hoek), and is periodically manic.

In completing these I've been putting myself outside of my comfort zone of black and white, and especially with watercolor. I'm not very familiar with painting, but I have a great respect for well chosen colors and I really like the immediacy of mixing them.

Logo Evolution

I'm continuing to work in Illustrator, giving myself little "problems" to solve. The latest was to develop a logo for my digital art.

My first few attempts, unfortunately, won't upload. It may have been the way I saved them.



This, above, is right after I nixed the "egg" like solid grey background that went behind the JL form.



These two are where I am right now. I'm pretty much sold on having the little triangle between the bottom of the "J" and the left side of the "L," but I've included the sans version below just for a visual comparison.



I feel like the design of the JL form is solid, but I'm not 100% sure about the color choices and the corresponding color of the text. I like the font choice but I'm not sure if I want the text to be larger. I still have to play around with that.