Doodles from My Noodle

Just some design work...

2009-12-15T17:04:00.004-05:00

Things are kinda slow on the cartooning front for me right now but I've got a bunch of graphic design stuff going on... So I thought I'd at least post something from that world just to keep my site fresh. Just some logo design variations and business card designs; have a look...I blurred out the person's info just for fun. And below are the original concepts which later became altered / revised to become the designs you see above. And 'dems da breaks...

Hellboy vs a Squid Monster

2009-11-26T23:00:00.002-05:00

Here is my piece for the final Autumn Society show of the year. And as you guessed it, the show's theme is Hellboy! In case you were wondering, the small text on the bottom of the piece underneath the large Hellboy title is "MCMXLIV" which is the roman numberal for 1944; or the year Hellboy appeared on Earth and "Anung Un Rama" which is his true name and translates to the Beast of the Apocalypse. The piece will be on display this Friday, December 4th until the end of the month at Brave New Worlds in Philly along with a ton of other original pieces.

Contra(band)

2009-11-17T21:50:00.003-05:00

Just in time for you the season to buy lots of crap for lots of people... Gallery 1988 has recently released 35 super awesome limited edition prints of my Contra piece; titled "Consider Yourself a Hero". More specifically, is it a 11x14 giclee print on Ultrasmooth Fine Art paper signed and numbered by yours truly and will cost $50 bucks. And in case you don't know a giclee print on Ultrasmooth Fine Art paper is a super high quality vibrant print on super heavy stock paper; something that would make Dunder Mifflin proud. If you are interested in buying one of these babies you must contact Gallery 1988 San Francisco directly via phone - (415) 409-1376 or via email - gallery1988sf@gmail.com. You can also go here for more information. They also sell some other really cool art so go check it out online or stop by the gallery in San Fran or LA.

On a side note, I will be participating in the final show of the year for the Autumn Society. The theme for the final show is Hellboy (and friends and villains and super natural things and all things monstrous and tentically). The show will once again be at Brave New Worlds in Philly on Friday, December 4th. Oh and one more thing... check out this picture i took of my cat tonight on my phone...

Interweb, meet the Dex. Dex, meet the interweb.

Axe Murdering Russell

2009-11-16T00:09:00.004-05:00

My latest and greatest commission for Russell. This time around he wanted a piece with his character to beholding his severed head in one hand and an axe in the other. And to have blood spilling out of his head spelling out his name. Well i delivered exactly that. The background pattern is courtesy of one of the best damn sites in the world; CG Textures. Below is also a 2 color version he wanted with just the blood colored in.

The Munsters Cartoon Print

2009-11-02T23:22:00.006-05:00

Now presenting my latest digital doodle... The Munsters! I literally just finished up this piece (just in time too) for the Philadelphia Cartoonist Society's latest show; Creature Double Feature. The show will be opening this coming Friday (Nov. 6th) at Brave New Worlds Comic Shop, 45 N. 2nd Street (Olde City). So if your in town for Frist Friday go check it out... there will be plenty of sweet Halloween theme pieces of art! Ya' dig?

The Fratelli's Cartoon - The Goonies

2009-10-31T20:14:00.005-04:00

My 3rd and final piece for the Cave Drawing Ink 10 Most Underrated Villains. The Fratelli's from The Goonies! Man, they could have made the perfect villains if they just didn't talk so much. You always catch 'dem Fratelli's monologueing! Or they simply could have just been nice to Sloth and he wouldn't have turned on them... oh well. Dig those suspenders!

Ghosbusters Cartoon

2009-10-23T18:25:00.004-04:00

A little while back I did a commission for my friend Ben in his sketchbook. I loved the way it came out so much that i decided to make it into a digital piece. And here is the finished piece! Still one of my absolute all time favorite movies. Man this movie never gets old and will never be topped. I honestly don't care all to much for them to do another as it will sully the movies even more so then the 2nd one did (which isn't THAT bad...). And remember, if someone asks you if your a god, you say YES!

Silly Old Penguin...

2009-10-22T17:30:00.004-04:00

Here is my second contribution for the Cave Drawing Ink's Most Underrated Villains. This time around I got The Penguin; of the Batman persuasion. I like to picture the Penguin as a totally old school casino owner in this piece. 'Cause it says I want to be formal, but I'm here to party. Or not... What do you guys think?

American Psycho Cartoon

2009-10-18T12:41:00.003-04:00

Just in time for the horror season... Mr. Patrick Bateman. One of my all time favorites... American Psycho; it's so weird but i love it! Plus, it's chock full of rockin' 80's tunes like my man Phil Collins and Huey (Dewey & Louie)Lewis and the News. This is actually going to be part of a horror collection over at Cave Drawing Ink all leading up to Halloween counting down the Top 10 Underrated Villians . I'll be doing a couple more in the series so keep an eye out. On a similar side note, I have been asked to do a piece for another Halloween themed show. It's call the "Creature Double Feature" and its being presented by the Philadelphia Cartoonist Society. More than a dozen artists interpret the definition of 'creature' with original works in GOREgeous detail and SPOOKtactular colors! The show is opening First Friday on November 6th from 6 to 9pm at Brave New Worlds Comic Shop, 45 N. 2nd St. (Olde City). I'll be posting my piece on my site as well if you can't make it to the show. I'm very excited for it! 'Til then, go watch Halloween themed movies!

Heading Down South to...

2009-10-06T10:47:00.003-04:00

Well friends, it seems another convention is upon us. And this one is quite good if I must say. I've been going to the Baltimore Comic-Con for a while and I really love it. It's a shorty but a goody. Only Saturday and Sunday but just enough time to get in all that Inner Harbor love. I will be in artist's alley at booth number #98. I will be doing sketches and moving merch so come on down! I (think) I will be premiering a brand new print at that show that i know you kids will just love.

And remember... I'll eat anything you want me to eat. I'll swallow anything you want me to swallow. But, come on down and I'll... chew on the dog!

Baltimore Comic-Con
October 10th & 11th
Sat 10:00am - 6:00pm
Sun 10:00am - 5:00pm

The Baltimore Convention Center
One West Pratt Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201

X-Mensters

2009-09-16T17:38:00.003-04:00

My latest for the Cave Drawing Ink sketch contest. The theme this time around was Marvel and Disney. 2 subjects that are very near and dear to my heart. Nothing really more to say then that... except if you love me you'll go vote for me in the sketch contest here. Well you don't have to vote for me, but at least go to the site and vote for whichever one you really like. You can win an original sketch / print just for voting! The contest starts on Friday morning-ish so check back then!

That's All Folks....

2009-09-14T13:51:00.010-04:00

Just got back from Pittsburgh Comicon late last night with Kim and all i have to say is that Pennsylvania as a state is far to large. It takes way to long to drive across it... The con over all was a happenin' time. A little smaller then expected and still fun. Thanks to everyone for coming out and saying high and spending their hard earned cash. One of the highlights was doing sketches for charity with a whole bunch of really talented artists, specifically Adam Hughes. He is one of my absolute favorites and all around nice guy and i got to sit right next to him, hoping if i bumped elbows with him some of his talent would rub off... but no such luck. Check out some of the pics below as well as a link to the full gallery. See you in Baltimore, true believers!

Click to see the Pittsburgh Comicon 2009 Gallery

Hello, Pittsburrrrrgh!

2009-09-10T09:07:00.004-04:00

"Thanks for remembering, Pittsburgh, we've got a great show for you today, a big show, a king-sized show!"

And for a nickel... can anyone name where that gem of a movie quote came from? Well anyways, I'm off to Pittsburgh Comicon this weekend and I can't wait! It's my first time there so please be gentle. It's actually in Monroeville, PA rather then Pittsburgh, which i hear is where Dawn of the Dead took place. I think that con is actually across the street from that mall, woooo! So if your in town, or like me and driving some 5+ hours to roll into the Steel "Stanley Cup" City come by and say hello... and buy stuff! I'll be in artist's alley (table 4) doing free sketches as always as well as commissions and selling prints and simply having a grand ol' time! Here's some info on the con as well as a link to the site's website for more comicon info then you can shake a stick at...

PITTSBURGH COMICON
September 11, 12 and 13, 2009
Fri 10:00am - 7:00pm
Sat 10:00am - 6:00pm
Sun 10:00am - 5:00pm

Monroeville Convention Center
209 Mall Boulevard
Monroeville, PA 15146

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Cartoon

2009-09-03T23:26:00.005-04:00

My latest for the on-going sketch contest over at Cave Drawing Ink. This time around the theme was 'Westerns'. It could've been from cartoons, comics, movies, books, etc. I went with one my favorite westerns and the man who was in my opinion, 'The' cowboy. Shout out to Russ for suggesting a muted color scheme. Don't know if this is what he had in mind but it works for me. So go mosey on over to the Cave Drawing saloon and vote for me! Just for entering, you get a shot at winning the original sketch and autographed print of this piece.

The House of theFuture & more...

2009-08-27T10:52:00.006-04:00

I was just crusin' round the interwebs when i should have been working and i stumbled on to this cool article about the House of the Future on this blog i read called Disney and More. If you aren't familiar with the House of the Future, it was an attraction that opened in 1957 that eventually closed and then recently reopened. This attraction was an actual house that displayed possile new technology that people would have in their homes in the future. Some really unbelievable artwork in it as well as some 'far out' concepts. What is really strange is how some of their far out concepts are actually pretty on par with the technology of today. As you know, i absolutely love this style artwork and the idea of a future that never was. I actually think theres a term for that; Retrology. I just felt like sharing one of the truly awesome pieces of artwork they had, so go check it out if you got some time. But wait... there's more! Last night i was watching some documentary on VH1; The Beatles Anthology 1. So i felt like drawing...

Kirby Vision

2009-08-22T10:28:00.005-04:00

Just wanted to give everyone a head's up that my Captain America piece; The Glory Days will featured on Kirby Vision, the blog for the Jack Kirby Museum website. It will be up this coming Tuesday, August 25th so go show some love! We now return to our regularly scheduled programming...

The Samurai Updated

2009-08-21T15:20:00.005-04:00

One of the things that I am always fascinated by is logo design. And i think that sports teams have some of the best logos out there. Some of them are so memorable and that is something i tried to emulate in these designs. These logos are actually for my roller hockey team; The Samurai. We are now down to the final color / design choices. My personal favorite is F, how ' bout you? Let me know what you guys think... there is a poll over there in the right hand side so go vote! Below is also the jerseys we are going to use once we pick a logo. My favorite is F again, but unfortunately since the league isn't that professional; we basically want to choose a jersey color based on what other teams have and there are already a lot of teams with red. So we may end up going with a white jersey for practical purposes. Some teams in my league don't even have matching jerseys, let alone multiple jerseys... oh well.

Calling All Seamen...

2009-08-21T00:05:00.006-04:00

Here is my latest entry for the Cave Drawing Ink sketch contest. Since I won the last one, I got to choose the theme this time around. And out of all of the choices there were, this was my favorite. However after I picked this topic I realized that even though I absolutely LOVED G.I.Joe toys when I was a wee one, I didn't really know much about them. I mean they were basically my favorite toys. I would have these huge battles with that took over my entire living room floor and fireplace area. Building forts and bases out of all of the VHS tapes we had... oh sweet childhood memories. But back to it, I based my favorites solely on who looked the coolest. I even (dare i say it?!) mixed and matched Joes and Cobras! But I realized I never really watched the cartoon or paid much attention to their names except for a few here and there; Snake Eyes! Seriously though, why would a Special Ops Team really need a ninja?! (besides the fact that ninjas are just cool...) And furthermore, why would their nemesis need one to counter act him? Why wouldn't someone just blow these guys up with a cannon or something?! Well anyways, I took this opportunity to make a cool cartoony WW2 recruiting poster and a side of sexual innuendo (in-your-endo). Well anyways... it's going to be up for voting again along side some other neato pieces in the contest so go vote for me here! You even have a chance to win the original sketch it's based on and a signed finished print! Wooooooooooooooooooooo!

The Glory Days

2009-08-07T01:23:00.003-04:00

Did this for a sketch jam over at Cave Drawing Ink. I guess I got a little carried away with the idea of 'sketch' but I was told it could be as sketchy to finished as I wanted. Well, the theme was 'Retired Superheros' and I did not want to waste the opportunity for such a cool topic. As the post says above; this piece is titled "The Glory Days". I took a lot of inspiration from The Incredibles here if you hadn't noticed. Man the movie rules... This piece will also be posted over at Cave Drawing Ink as well in competition with a couple of other piece of the same theme... so go vote for me in the contest! I believe you have a chance to win something just for voting... wooo!

Oh and my favorite part of this whole piece is the headline of the old framed newspaper. It reads, "Nazi Killer, Cap' Punches Hitler in Face". Now if that headline doesn't sell papers I don't know what does?!

What the hell's a jigawatt?!

2009-08-03T17:50:00.002-04:00

I was looking at all those 'hip' t-shirts and gig posters that everyone makes now-a-days. So I thought I'd toss my 'hip' designers hat into the ring. And viola! Oh, by the way... I love Back to the Future.

"I've had enough practical jokes for one evening. Good night, Future Boy!"

On a side note ----> My Contra piece "Consider Yourself a Hero", was selected to be on display at Gallery 1988! Mine along with a couple choice pieces will be on display in this awesome gallery all the way in LaLa Land, or as it's normally called Los Angelos, California; near Beverly Hills i believe. Not sure, exactly when but they will go on display but I will kepp you posted. They will be making a limited run of 35 giclee prints on archival paper (or as i like to call it; very nice and pretty). They will be on sale for $50, 100 beans, 4 tacos, and one over-sized baby bottle at the gallery or on-line i believe. More to come as i find out... HOORAY!

Contra Cartoon Print Updated

2009-07-29T01:53:00.003-04:00

New Version

Old Version

Just finished up my contribution for the upcoming show... 8 Bit & Beyond. I had many ideas but in the end i went with my childhood favorite video game... Contra! Maybe i subconsciously loved it cause it was kind of like Predator in video game form, maybe? Any thoughts, comments, suggestions? And if anyone was curious, the Japanese writing that runs vertically actually says "Kontora"; which is the direct translation from Japan of the word Contra. The other group of characters says "Consider yourself a hero" which is a line from the game after you beat it. Welp, that's it!

8-Bit + Beyond Show

2009-07-27T21:47:00.002-04:00

On August 7th, be prepared to witness the Autumn Society's Video Game Show ( 8-bit & beyond) at Brave New Worlds Comics !

This latest collection of artwork will range from Super Mario Bros to the latest & greatest in the video game world! More information on this event and more will be posted throughout the month only here at THEAUTUMNSOCIETY.BLOGSPOT.COM

I am working on my piece... right now actually! Just taking a break to post about the latest upcoming show. It was going to be a scene from an unemployment office with a long snaking line of video game characters who are 'out of work'. There was going to be unshaven and out of shape forms of Toe Jam and Earl to Duke Nukem to Q*Bert to Paper Boy to the dog from Duck Hunt to many more (actually 20+) but... I started drawing that and got really lazy and didn't feel like drawing them all so I came up with another idea. The only hint I'll give is that it was my ALL TIME favorite game when i was little and probably a lot of other people's as well. Just keep your eyes peeled--

Skeleton Beard...

2009-07-14T12:14:00.003-04:00

Another piece done for Russell has a Beard in skeleton-o-vision. Love those boots...

Who ya gonna call?

2009-07-10T11:42:00.002-04:00

A little insight into the possibly *new* Ghostbusters movie. 3 things to note about this video:
1. Look at that beard!
2. The comments about the latest Indy movie...
3. Nice telescope

Extree Extree -- Read All About It!

2009-07-09T17:10:00.007-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I've been working on some small freelance gigs, personal projects, etc and then without warning the old Curse of Ian struck! And if you don't know the Curse of Ian, it refers to the every computer that I've ever owned breaks unexpectedly, repeatedly, and any other word ending with 'edly' whenever it feel like it - most recently i was working on my computer at home and --BOOM! (literally) I thought it came from outside but apparently 3 little battery looking thingies on my video card exploded with what can only be described as a gun shot. This caused my screens to be filled with crazy static code like something outta the Matrix; in a bad way. Needless to say i freaked out cause this beast of a computer is barely even a year old and i always assume the worst and that i lost everything... But my nerdy friends helped me out and told me what was probably wrong with the computer (I didn't know to look in the actual computer and check the video card...) and they were right and then helped me find a replacement video card and viola! Back in business!

So now I am back where I was but... no I don't have any new artwork for you but just some cool links and stuff to check out for those looking to kill some time... so without further adieu...

Kevin Dart; he is currently my absolute favorite artist (of all time). His work is UNBELIEVABLE, it simply makes me smile when i look at it. I just bought his new book, Seductive Espionage: The World of Yuki 7 and it came in the mail the other day and i can only use one word to describe it; inspirational. I had the chance to meet him in San Diego a couple years back and his stuff is just absurd. Go hit up his website and show him some love.

And next up is Rob Reilly. I've seen his work before and now i discovered he has a blog. Recently I spent waaaaaay to much time admiring all his awesome work on his site and you should too. It's really great stuff. I love the way he draws his characters (chins and fingers especially!). Go show'm some love.

Next on the agenda, I figure I should do a little pimping of my own. I recently discovered the wonders that is Deviant Art and if you haven't checked out my page yet go do so now! (by clicking here) It's really more or less what you see here but you can also see my other people's work (some friends, some not). You can also leave comments there and check out some of my favorite works by other aritsts. It's like all those social networking sites but for artists... down with Facebook, up with mini skirts!

And one last note, I will working on a new series of pieces shortly for myself. I will be trying something new. I arrived at this decision because I feel if am continually doing someone else's characters in my style I may be hindering my ability to grow as an artist. This does not mean I won't be doing other pop culture characters anymore, I just want to try something new. So those guys will be on hold for now. But don't worry, the new work (kinda keepin' it 'close to the vest' at the moment) will still be chock full of cartoony goodness, just different. I will start to post some new work as soon as things start to formulate. I look forward to hearing your reactions. So keep a weather eye on the horizon...

... 'nuff said.