Owl Lineup

This was a design idea at work that didn't get approved but I liked how it came out. I thought they would be cool as stickers or maybe on a t-shirt. Anyways, they were a lot of fun to draw/design and even though we didn't go ahead with the idea, I wanted to give them an appearance on the blog.

Cyclonus Sketch

From the sketchbook, this is drawing of Cyclonus the evil Decepticon Transformer. When I was a kid, most of my drawings were of Transformers or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It's still just as much fun today as it was then! This was done with Prisma Pencils and Markers on tone paper. I think I'll do some more of these Transformer drawings... just brings back so many good memories of growing up. :)

Cartoon Robot Designs

Here are some robot designs and sketches I did for Urban Threads recently. The top drawing was a little detailed and we decided on going for a more "chunky and blocky" look. The design is geared (pun intended) for kids so I think it was a good call.

I enjoy seeing into the process of some one's thoughts and love looking at artist's sketchbooks. It's sort of like the bonus footage on a DVD you enjoy. They show you behind the scenes of the film or commentary from the director about their thoughts, budget, location, etc. I love that stuff.

X-Men Post-it Notes

A few post-it note drawings from home and on my lunch breaks at work. I really enjoy playing with shapes and design, and every now and then it's fun to draw my favorite super heroes. There's a bit of nostalgia mixed with this. Growing up, I loved playing the X-Men video games for Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. Those games hooked me for life (in a good way) and are part of the reason I love to draw.

Thank you for visiting!

Cats in a Scarf

Happy Valentine's Day :)

Art Podcasts

Over the last few years I've been fortunate to stumble upon some great podcast shows related to illustration, comics, animation and art. It has been an education listening to these, and best of all they are free!

I feel an enormous amount of gratitude while writing this and thinking about all the people that so generously gave their time and energy into creating these. To keep it short, here is a list of my three favorite art related podcasts. They are the ones that I've learned the most from and check regularly. 

Chris Oatley's Artcast: http://chrisoatley.com/category/podcasts/

Hosted by Chris Oatley, a wealth of knowledge is shared in the areas of animation, digital painting, time management, goals and good old fashioned inspiration.

Paper Wings Podcast: http://www.paperwingspodcast.com/

Hosted by Loura Innes and Chris Oatley, the PaperWings Podcast is a community geared towards comic books and story telling.

Sidebar Nation: http://www.sidebarnation.com/

Hosted by Dwight, Adrian and Swain, Sidebar is a podcast on the topics of comic books, art and pop culture. The guests on the show are artists working in the industry (comics, film, illustration, ect.) and always have plenty of wisdom and inspiration to share.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Artist Trading Cards

(From left to right; Splinter, April, Shredder, Michelangelo,Casey Jones, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Krang, Slash, the Rat King and Foot Soldiers).

This was a personal project and labor of love that started about a year ago in an effort to go back to a time when I really enjoyed drawing. I still enjoy it, but something (at the time) felt "lost" and I wanted to go back to that time as a kid, sitting at the dinner table in the evening and not worrying about what a client wanted. Plain and simple; drawing for the fun of it.

I'm finding that there are many benefits to creative side projects. I learned a lot along the way; about art and about myself. I would also like to say a big THANK YOU to my awesome girlfriend, Heidi for her honesty and encouragement. Her thoughts, feedback and just listening to me talk (and blab) about how much I love the Turtles means a lot.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you're Holiday season is a great one.

Cartoon Monster Designs

This was an embroidery design assignment from work and I wanted to share a little bit of my process. The top image is the sew out of the design after being digitized, the middle image is the vector art and the bottom image is the pencil rough. My job is making the drawings and the vector art. You can find the machine and hand embroidery files at Urbanthreads.

I usually start with a pencil sketch to get approved before going on to Adobe Illustrator and drawing it again on the computer. The process seams to change depending on my confidence with the subject. Sometimes I use thumbnails, sometimes it's really loose and gestural drawings. In this case I stayed pretty tight and clean and also tried to keep each monster unique. I get so much inspiration from animation and character design artists and am always looking for ways to plug that into my drawings at work.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out the art. And thank you everyone out there for making your own creations and sharing them with the world! Cooking, quilting, designing, crafting... everything. It's a treat to share art on this blog and a treat to experience what everyone else it making in the world.

:)

Lil' Death Paper Model

Happy Halloween! 

This is my first paper model based on the Grim Reaper himself. It was fun to try something new and think three dimensional for a change. You can get your own Lil' Death paper model here! For best results, print on card stock or heavy paper. 

Thank You

This was a recent typography design done for work (back to school series). It made me think about how important teachers are in every one's life. I also thought about the teachers that really helped me through the years, including my mom who was a first grade teacher. The art teachers though, really come to mind as a few of them really helped me find my way over the years. Even if it wasn't about art, they always had an ear ready to listen about things that weren't even related to art and always sound advice and encouragement that was so generously given. There were a few nights my roommates and I would talk to our instructor Ron about art, life, career, etc. well past an hour or two after class. They were more than teachers; they were friends, mentors and sometimes therapists. And so this blog post is meant to be a gesture of gratitude to all the teachers of the world that give so much love to their students.

Thank you.

Lil' Death Cartoon

aww  :)

The MAD Scientist

and his faithful companion... Professor MeowPurr