The A's for awesome…

What's that Cap? I should update my blog once in a blue moon? You always give the best advice.

You shall not pass…

… into vector just yet. Until you've drawn it all out by hand. This is a quick snapshot for a presentation I'll be doing up at UCO for the students in the coming weeks. We'll be talking about mascots and vectors. But it's boring to use a school that everybody already knows.

So I decided The Arnorian School of Wizardry for Arts and Lore needed a mascot for their athletic department, The Grey Pilgrims.

Lineart and color explorations in Photoshop. I'll build it out later in Illustrator and craft a type treatment.

BAM all up in ya' face...

life's been busy and then a little extra busy. but good. right now i'm working on a mascot redesign for my hometown high school. the miller man has been around in his current incarnation since 1985-ish. he's been photocopied, abused, crumpled up and generally smacked around with a dirty xerox machine. in fact, you can view him HERE.

i decided to take the opportunity to give him a facelift, for personal pride if nothing else. the yukon board of education is surprisingly elusive. like the wildebeast, they graze here and there - always fleet of foot as they dash away from emails and phone calls regarding the beloved high school mascot.

will he ever see the light of day once i finish him? i'm not sure. i'll present him to the school board and see where it goes from there. but here's a snapshot of my halfway point. lots left to do, but i'm pleased with the progress thus far. more later.

*Update

the school board is finally going to meet with me next week, so we'll see how our hero fares. here's a snapshot the version to be presented. If it's approved - it'll get fixed up and tweaked!

ohiki your face off…

… will i ever get around to completing my story?! my epic samurai chicken rock opera? are a goat sensei, a panda monk and a crafty duck artisan really worth posting?!

i hope so.

i know i've been bad about updates, being busy is no excuse; however, i was busy. so there. here's a page outta my dine n' draw from a couple weeks back. i put everyone to work designing characters you might see in the world of ohiki. i did a couple pages of toons, everyone had some really great ideas and i look forward to seeing where it takes me. sometimes it's good to hang out with a bunch of illustrators.

;)

b. frank in da' house!

...there’s a reason franklin’s cherubic face adorns the one-hundred dollar bill. no one can deny that washington, lincoln or jefferson made some serious contributions to america. however, ben owns the top spot.

whenever ben was presented with a problem, he solved it by inventing a unique and often unheard of solution. which makes him pretty much awesome enough for anyone to love.

eli in autumn...

...even though this doesn't look anything like denzel, i'm always workin' on improving my digital skills. i refuse to accept the idea that i HAVE to use painter to achieve a watercolor effect. and by god, one day i will get this how i want it.

drawn + watercolored in photoshop.

THEY CAME FROM BROOKLYN...

...and 'they' would be three of the finest artists i know. i've followed the careers of each of these guys for a while, had a chance to hang out with em' and have a few conversations. and you know what?

they're just as awesome as the madness they lay down on the page. so when they approached me and asked if i'd be interested in creating a poster for the event, you can bet i jumped at the chance.

if you live anywhere near new york city, go see em' saturday! you won't be sorry.

saturday, december 19th

7pm at the red horse cafe

497 6th avenue, park slope (brooklyn, NYC)

you get a chance to meet and mingle with these cats, enjoy some beverage and live music, and best of all - you get to check out all their awesome art.

i think you should all peruse their websites, it's worth your time.

rick lacy - http://ricklacy.deviantart.com/

matt loux - http://mattloux.livejournal.com/

sean murphy - http://seangordonmurphy.deviantart.com/

so very long...

...and no updates! been crazy busy, moved to a new house and i still haven't replaced my scanner. however, i try to keep myself occupied. i've been working very hard on my digital coloring. most of the time i just pull art from my collection to practice with and when i'm done, i tuck it away never to see the light of day again.

i'm really happy with how this is turning out. i tried a lot of new stuff that i'd never considered before. when i look back now at my very first attempt at digital painting, i have to cringe. i really thought i'd pick up a wacom stylus and PRESTO! i'd be a painter. it's taken a few years since then to understand how real painting even works, how to actually use color theory and use that together. i'm still more comfortable with traditional watercolor, but lately i'm very thankful that i didn't get frustrated and give up.

actually, i still get frustrated!

lineart is of course by the illustrious joe madureira.

when superpowers collide...

...you get disney and marvel. a pretty awesome match. of course everyone in the entire twitterverse and beyond is dreaming of their favorite crossovers. i can't think of anything more awesome than the two baddest dudes in the universe.

montgomery jack and ben grimm.

the toughest hombres this side of forever. ben grimm's strength is unmatched in the disneyverse, save for monty's cheese lust. please tell me there's going to be a fantastic four/rescue rangers crossover. gadget and reed richards are made for each other.

i'm so happy i could squeal.

mein gott...

...i'm here. i've been here for three weeks. three weeks of semi-laziness as i reconnect with friends and family.

i've drawn, but i still need to buy a new scanner. perhaps tomorrow i shall. for the faithful - you shall have a new drawing before next week ends. maybe even...more?

the move was good, i'm set up here in oklahoma now. been a busy bee during the day and my nights are filled with reunions. usually over mexican food or burgers. beer has been involved, but not overly much.

lots of character concept has gone on in my internet absence. i think you'll all be pleased with the results when i start posting them up. inkstatic.com has been getting a makeover and in addition, i've joined forces with another powerful jedi...we've formed a side project but shhhhh...i can't tell you more than that.

but for now, thanks for following my wild romp on the east coast. i'm settled in and ready to rock. i leave you with some of the concept sketches for inkstatic.com's new site id.

man these are DOWN, RIGHT, FIERCE!

...so as many of you may have heard, i am moving to OKC. fun stuff - lots of opportunities are at hand! so in the midst of packing and finishing up client stuff here on the east coast, personal sketching and fun is now on hold. would you believe i've already packed my scanner?

thank god for webcams.

i got into a groove over the last week with the prismacolor speed sketches. each one of these ran around 45 minutes from the time the pencil hit the paper til' i laid the last marker stroke down. the most amazing thing about working fast (for fun!) is the amount you learn. you start seeing certain elements in your work and training yourself to see them before you draw them the next time. it teaches you to plan a little better.

i still think working quickly is a good habit to learn, but i've always been leery of just slamming out work for clients. when i'm sketching, i'm completely fine with bein' down and dirty, but on commissioned work? naw. sometimes, it just takes time and ya' gotta have that patience. especially with frisket!

see you cats in OKC real soon.

shoryuken!

you can't have ryu without ken. that's like PB with no J. so another speed sketch in prismacolor marker to complete the dynamic duo. 45 minutes from start to finish.

man i am busted rusty slow these days.

...i MIGHT sketch akuma tomorrow...