Skull & Chain

Lots of stuff going on here, so I'll be a man of few words for awhile, but by golly kids sure looks like its that time of year again. Halloween is only a few weeks away, so here is a skully sketch (with a floating wonky chain) to put you in the mood. Walnut ink (really made from walnut shells) & brush, pen, China White pencil on watercolor paper.

Hot New Blog Coming Soon!

Hey Kids! I'm just here to tell you about my hot new blog coming soon. Actually its more of a web page disguised as a blog, or maybe its a blog disguised as a web page, its just be too soon to tell. Anyway, if you're looking for my T-shirts, or custom services such as art, T-shirt design or cartoons (and more) this will be the place. Technically it is there now, but I haven't even posted on it yet, so there is really no point in linking to it. Just wanted to give you a heads up.

-Cheers.

Yet Another New Logo

I really do like my previous logo, but I don't think it represented me and my style completely. It was strong, and very retro, but for me and my style, just a bit too clean. I think that's one of the curses of being a creative, you're just never satisfied with your own work for very long, a little over a month in this case.

So, I jumped back to the drawing board (computer actually) and came up with this one. Its intentionally lopsided a bit, I imagine you could say: more playful. Recently I went to the Oregon Coast with my Girl, Ace, which very well may have inspired me on this new approach. It better brings to mind images of the Historic 101, Route 66, and the Super 99 Highways. I'm really pleased with the retro color scheme too, and someday I think it will look great printed on a T-shirt. This one is a keeper. If you're wondering about the font, it is Square Meal Hearty from the folks at Font Diner.

Pot Roast Guy: Ice Cream Stripes

This is one of my humorous illustrations done in my neo-retro style. Sometimes things are really funny at 4 am, and as I recall that is where this one originated. I wouldn't really call it a cartoon, but the idea was that he would be saying something along the lines of: Oh my stars! My pot roast! When I got the illustration done though, I decided to let it stand on its own, but I still like the name: Pot Roast Guy. So, here he is with a nice striped vintage background reminiscent of Neapolitan ice cream, well except for the teal stripe. He does look quite startled, kind of like the universal look on someone's face who has been walked in on, while they were sitting on the toilet. I'm just saying.

SplitSkull: Spade T-shirt Design

What we have here kids is a one color T-shirt design. I don't know if this one will ever actually go to print or not. I t doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the design, its just that I think I'll be going in a different direction for my first round of T-shirt designs (more in the humorous neo-retro vein). The skull came from the Go Media Vector Pack # 5 (I think), everything else was me. The original version was red and black, and I may just go back to that, but this represents the image quite well.

Speaking of T-shirts, I've been looking into starting an Etsy store, and it looks like a go, so as soon as that's finalized, I'll be updating that info here.

Lots of New Stuff to Come

Well kids it has been quite a while since my last post, but I have been as busy as the proverbial bee trying to get things lined up and so forth. I probably started this blog a little early, and really should have had all this stuff done first. Nevertheless, we have a new month, and I'm hoping to post regularly now.

This is one of my newest illustrations called: Coffee Doofus. This is an example of my neo-retro cartoon style. Some implied scatology, but not overly crude; when you drink to much coffee, it can make you have to go all of a sudden. Still, it seems harmless enough, and somewhat amusing. I'm quite pleased with it overall. Inked and colored in Illustrator.

Woo-Hoo! A Brand New Logo

Well, I'm still scrambling around like an Australian gopher, trying to get everything organized and running smoothly. In other words, touching up some portfolio stuff, building the almighty web site, trying to get PayPal to not be a pain in my ass, just business stuff. In the meantime, here is the almost world premier of my new company logo, I actually did a pre-premier last night on Myspace. Surprisingly, my girlfriend, Ace, was the only one who noticed, but she thought it was pretty nifty. I truly love the red, black and cream retro color combination, in fact, I think it my favorite. Another favorite element is the font, Starburst Lanes (available from Font Diner, if you're interested). It is technically what you might call a "bowling font" yet I find it very versatile. As for the geometric shapes, well they are all Googie influnced, reminescent of the great signs for motels, drive-ins and coffee shops that you might have seen along Route 66 or the Super 99 Highway, back in the day.

Okay, as you can see I'm still not on a regular posting schedule, but I should be soon, so until then, cheers!