Drinking With Lost Souls

The great thing about democracy is that it gives every voter a chance to do something stupid.

2008-01-07T22:48:00.001-05:00

So it's been a while. Things have been crazy. I have a new job at a mortgage company, which isn't terrible. The people are nice enough and the company treats me well. It's boring, but it's steady work. I haven't been drawing much lately (obviously) but that might change.

This brings us to the "Steve's a big pimp" segment of the blog. You see, a short while back the Thomas strip was accepted into the Zuda Comics competition. What is Zuda? It's an all-new line of Web Comics published by DC Comics.

As of today, Thomas has hit the voting polls. So, if you'd be so kind, hit the polls and give us a vote if you like what you see. Please? PLEASE!?

Nothing, of course, begins at the time you think it did.

2007-11-01T15:21:00.000-04:00

As we all know, I am a master of the unfinished. I've always had a problem with seeing things through to conclusion. Call it a lack of personal discipline. Well, it's time to break out the defibrillation paddles because Sheesh! will be returning soon. I can't say exactly when it will return but Kep and I have gone back to work so that's a good sign.

There's also a small update over at Waltzing Matilda.

Today is November 1st which means it's been five months since Allison passed away. I can't believe it's been that long. With the holidays coming up I miss her more than ever. It'll be the first time in four years I've been without her for the holidays. I keep catching myself window shopping for her Christmas gifts. Uch. It's so much harder without her than I ever imagined it would be. Of course, I had myself convinced I was going to save her. Shoulda done better, huh? Wish me luck, folks. I'm going to need it.

The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't.

2007-10-11T18:01:00.000-04:00

I haven't been feeling overly artistic lately so I haven't had much to post. I'm in this weird rut. Of course, looking back over this blog, I've apparently been in a rut for months now. Anyway, something I did do was this redesign of a YT-1300. It's based off of some of the blueprints of YTs floating around out there. Why did I do this? I dunno. Because I'm an insomniac, I guess. Plus drawing Star Wars stuff is fun. I don't normally do technical drawings but all in-all-this didn't come out too badly.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

2007-10-03T19:06:00.000-04:00

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Girls, get yourselves checked out. Guys, make sure your girls get checked out. Cancer is a ravenous wretch of a disease and the sooner you find it the better your chances are for survival. There's no such thing as "too young for cancer." Be safe and look after yourselves.

Here are some more cancer information links:
American Cancer Society
The Cancer Council of Australia
Livestrong

Almost nobody dances sober, unless they happen to be insane.

2007-09-12T15:26:00.001-04:00

Here's a logo design I recently completed for Stephen Smirl. There are two different versions because Stephen said he liked both traditional hula designs and the more abstract "Shag-like" designs. So, I switched out the colors to experiment. Honestly, I'm not sure what design he's going to go with. Stephen was a peach to work for and he seemed really happy with the final designs, which makes me happy too.

Oh, I almost forgot. I've started a new blog revolving around the illustrated story of the little egg shaped alien you've all seen here. I know a lot of you want me to get to the Bathrobe Samurai but this new story is something I just need to get out of my head. Hopefully you'll enjoy it just as much. Look for updates regularly (or regularly for me anyway!)

Jump To: Waltzing Matilda

In the fight between you and the world, back the world.

2007-09-07T14:52:00.000-04:00

I mentioned before that while working on a Warmageddon comic panel, I inadvertently covered up a fancy fight poster. Well, this is that fight poster made in to a spiffy wallpaper. It's actually more detailed that what it was originally but I think it came out pretty nice. If you like it enough to stare at it every time you sit at the computer, there are links below for your downloading pleasure.

Edit: At the request of Don Kelly, I've added a Mac friendly version of the wallpaper. I think I did anyway. It's been a long time since I've worked with a Mac so I'm not sure if it's formatted correctly or not.

1024 x 768
800 x 600

Mac - 1024 x 768
Mac - 800 x 600

Life's a tough proposition, and the first hundred years are the hardest.

2007-08-22T01:20:00.001-04:00

I wasn't going to post this because it's not really finished and it's part of a secret project, but I realized that I almost missed the two year anniversary of Drinking With Lost Souls! This rambling depression of an art blog has been here from August 2005-2007. I can't believe it lasted this long.

Lots of things have happened in those two years. Jobs have come and gone, people have come and gone. Situations have come up and gone down. It's been a roller coaster to be sure. My thanks go out to all the people who still visit this mess (even if you hardly ever comment anymore...I kid, I kid...)

Anyway, here's to another two years. Good luck to you all.

Edit: Color update!

I'm not dumb. I just have a command of thoroughly useless information.

2007-08-19T19:29:00.001-04:00

I haven't posted in a while so here's a sneak preview of one of the Warmageddon pages I'm working on. One of the great things about it is that I spent a good amount of time on the poster in the background without realizing I was going to cover the damned thing up with people. In case you're wondering, it's a sketchy picture of two gladiators fighting. Oh, the joys of working in layers when your brain has obviously been removed.

Oh, this is a bit late but here's to Mike Wieringo. Mike passed away recently. Although I've never met him personally, we'd interacted here and there on the web. We once crossed swords ( as crossed as swords could get with Mike) over a character redesign he did. In the end, I was just being a jackass about it (if you can imagine such a thing) and he was in the right all along. I even ended up liking the design once I saw it in "action." I always felt bad about it but Mike went on to give me a series of really good critiques on artwork I'd posted on this or that message board. He was nice like that.

Everyone who has posted about Mike's passing used the drawing from his last blog post. Not me. I'm using one that always cracked me up. It's from Mike's monkey phase. It's one of my favorites, just because it makes me laugh every time I see it. Here's to ya, Mike.

Space isn't remote at all. It's only an hour's drive away if your car could go straight upwards.

2007-08-01T17:20:00.000-04:00

Here's something I did a while back and never posted. The tattoos were a huge pain in the arse but I'm really happy with the colors.

Oh, thanks to everyone who sent their thoughts and well wishes about Allison. I miss her more every day.

I've set up a American Cancer Society Mosaic Of Memories for Allison. Feel free to visit.

When I was a kid my parents moved a lot, but I always found them.

2007-07-17T01:42:00.000-04:00

Well, look at this. It's something new already! What we have here is a new character design for Thomas: Son of Marcus, the twice monthly one-page comic I'm illustrating for Warmageddon Magazine. It should be a lot of fun and I'll let you know when they go to print. I know how terribly excited you all must be! Heh.

Illustration Friday - Geeky

2007-07-10T17:41:00.000-04:00

Well, here we are again. Time to get back on my feet. I haven't participated in an Illustration Friday topic for a long time. Call it a lack of inspiration. This week's topic is "geeky" and nothing comes more geeky than Egg. Egg (also known as Matilda) is an idea I had years ago and back-burnered until recently. This is a redesign of said old idea. I dig Egg in the worst way. She just makes me happy.

Allison Brown: 1983 - 2007

2007-07-01T19:11:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure how to begin this post. I suppose I just did. A lot of you already know about this, many of you don't. Allison, the girl on the left, has been suffering from cancer for roughly two years now.

On June 1st she passed away. It's been one month today.

Ally was my best friend, my honey, and my support structure. I've been completely rudderless since she passed. The worst part is that she left behind a slew of extremely lost little sisters. Ally took care of us all. She was one hell of a girl and I'll miss her every day from now until eternity. The world is a sadder place without her.

I love you, babe. Forever and a day.

I'm not a vegetarian because I love animals. I'm a vegetarian because I hate plants.

2007-04-12T09:06:00.000-04:00

Okay, it's eBay whoring time again. There are a ton of things I want to tell you guys but I've been super busy preparing for my trip to Australia on May 2nd. Which brings me to this little guy. This is the Green Man and he's up for ebay auction. If you're so inclined, please (please, please) feel free to bid on him. Please? C'mon, you know you wanna!

Okay, enough pathetic begging. Here's his listing.

THE GREEN MAN is a Kidrobot vinyl MUNNY figure designed by Pennsylvania-based artist STEVE MUSGRAVE. Steve has worked as an illustrator for Warmageddon Magazine, General Jinjur Comics, Killer Bunnies Inc., Wizards of the Coast, and a wide variety of others.

THE GREEN MAN is based on the ancient mythological figure of the same name. THE GREEN MAN'S body is decorated in a stone motif that is accentuated by emerald green flocking (“Flocking" is the process of depositing millions of little individual cut fiber particles [called "flock"] onto the surface of an article for the purpose of increasing the tactile sensation, aesthetics, color and appearance.)

Implanted in THE GREEN MAN'S head are long strands of faux ivy and he carries a hand-stained wooden walking staff.

THE GREEN MAN comes with a “Hello, my name is...” card illustrated with an original GREEN MAN logo. He also comes with the original MUNNY packaging and MUNNY coloring book #9.

THE GREEN MAN is a one-of-a-kind custom painted vinyl figure. There will never be another one like him! He is highly collectible!

The bidding is over. Thank you!

It is only an auctioneer who can equally and impartially admire all schools of art.

2007-03-26T14:52:00.001-04:00

We're going to start a little backwards with the how-I-done-it MUNNY. Why? Because I put the little bugger up on eBay and I feel the need to whore myself. Hey, at least I'm honest? What you see is the final result of my first MUNNY adventure. He's a 8 inch Kidrobot vinyl MUNNY figure based on the geometric style of comic book legend Jack “King” Kirby.

How's that for fancy wording?

Edit: The bidding is over!

Stoop and you'll be stepped on; stand tall and you'll be shot at.

2007-03-23T17:30:00.000-04:00

Well, here we are at the last new WotC image. This one was fun to do in a way and a complete pain in another. I had the worst time getting his face right. He kept coming out either too stupid looking or too evil looking. But, in the end, I think he came out okay. I like his stumpy tail, anyway!

In the next few days I'm going to be putting up my step-by-step munny process. It's an interesting story involving a lot of priming and re-priming, an x-acto knife through the hand, and a concussion.

Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.

2007-03-16T10:55:00.000-04:00

After a slight delay (as usual), here is the next WotC design. I like the way the valentine came out but the texture just wouldn't carry right on his skin. I'm not sure why. Ah, well. He's okay anyhow.

In the fight between you and the world, back the world.

2007-03-07T13:25:00.000-05:00

Look who's back! Sorry for being away so long (providing anyone still reads this thing.) It's been extra-special crazy lately.

I'm doing another set of illustrations for the Wizards of the Coast online community magazine as you can see above. I have two more illustrations after this one and then I'm going to start posting my step-by-step process on the custom vinyl figures I've been working on. Stay tuned!

I once thought I had mono for an entire year, It turned out I was just really bored.

2007-01-05T12:31:00.000-05:00

The first post of the new year and the last of the Holiday Harpy posts! It's all very alpha and omega.

I was going through my old posts and besides the fact that there are a lot of (now) embarrassing pictures posted, I've started repeating my title quotes! Argh! I guess that shows my growing experience artistically and the onset of alzheimer's. I so hate repeating myself.

Anyway, here's to a new year that's better than the last. Which isn't too much to ask, I hope.

Still round the corner there may wait, a new road or a secret gate.

2006-12-31T14:37:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are at the last post of 2006. What a year this was. It was like living in a bacon- wrapped stress ball, I swear. Hopefully 2007 will work out better all-around.

Here's the second of the three WotC Holiday Harpy spot images. Honestly, he's my least favorite. I was never 100% happy with his design. It just didn't catch my eye like the others did. Ah, well. I'm just griping.

Happy New Year, everyone. And good luck.

Every problem has a gift for you in its hands.

2006-12-30T04:14:00.000-05:00

Happy post-Christmas! I have another Holiday Harpy picture for you today (and two more after this.) I'd write more but it's 4:19am and I'm tired. G'night.

A kind word can warm three months of winter.

2006-12-25T04:55:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas! It's time to unveil the project I (somewhat) mentioned in my December 5th post. The above picture was done for the Wizards of the Coast online community magazine which was a really cool gig seeing that I'm such a D&D geek. You can download the magazine here.

Oh, a special thanks goes out to a good many folks at Digital Webbing. You know who you are and what you did. You guys are the bee's knees.

Martin Nodell, R.I.P.

2006-12-11T04:51:00.000-05:00

I don't normally make non-art related posts but in this case I'm making an exception. I've just learned that Martin Nodell, co-creator of the Green Lantern, has recently passed away. I've met Marty and his lovely wife Carrie several times at the Pittsburgh Comicon and they were two of the nicest people I've ever met. And I'm not just saying that. They went out of their way to make sure everyone walked away happy. Carrie passed on in April of 2004 and now Mart has followed after. I am truly saddened by his passing and my heart goes out to his family and friends. Mart and Carrie were absolutely charming people and the world is a sadder place without them.

http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2006_12_09.html#012555

Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance.

2006-12-05T13:07:00.000-05:00

Two days in a row! It's a Christmas miracle! Anyway, this is another D&D character portrait except that, for once, it's not a dwarf! This creep show is Enumithoghogor. He's a shadow illusionist. Scary, ain't he?

Speaking of D&D (again) I've got some cool news to tell but I can't tell it just yet! Don't you love things like that? Mystery! Ooh!

Illustration Friday - Clear

2006-11-14T17:34:00.000-05:00

It's been a good long while since I've done an Illustration Friday post, hasn't it? This is something I sketched out today to get the creative juices flowing and it matches (fairly) well with the "clear" topic.

I've always liked slime creatures. Goopy freakishness just entertains me I guess. Especially the transparent oozes like this one.

I think I like this guy well enough to go back and work it up a little more. He could be a little more goopy and he really needs a dungeon background. But for now, he is what he is.

Oh, I'm taking commissions and freelance gigs again so if anyone out there needs anything done, feel free to drop me a line!

Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.

2006-11-12T08:01:00.002-05:00

This poor wretch is Bremlin the Beardless. He is the Dwarven D&D character of my friend Rich. Bremlin has had a very hard role-playing life. He has been stricken with brain damage, cursed with a very strange fear of boats, and fallen victim to an acid trap.

(Rich has never done well with his saving throws.)

Ever since he fell face first into the acid trap, Bremlin has been a melted mess and has been unable to grow a beard (a terrible fate for a dwarf.) In honor of his refusal to give up, I did this little character portrait for Rich.

Poor, poor Bremlin....

When a man moves away from nature his heart becomes hard.

2006-10-22T01:57:00.000-04:00

Hey, all. It's been a while since I posted anything. I've been working hard on a project I can't really speak of yet. How's that for vague?

In between working on the secret project, I cobbled together another dwarven character design. Yes, indeed, I do enjoy my dwarven characters. I'm actually really pleased with this design. He came out looking older than intended but the white beard just really snapped.

Hopefully I'll be able to post more soon. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

A dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant may see farther than a giant himself.

2006-09-25T08:34:00.000-04:00

Hello all. I've officially recovered from my plague and I feel much better now. My throat is still sore but that comes more from belting out Irish drinking songs at the pub Saturday night than anything else. Allison is doing much better now. Her doctors think that one more bout of treatment will cause her cancer to go into full remission. And this is after they originally said she didn't have a chance. Thankfully, unlike the doctors, we never gave up.

Anyway, this is a character design of my latest D&D guy. He's a big, fat dwarven cleric. I'll probably go back and add more detail as the character fleshes out but for now this is his basic form. I'm pretty happy with the colors on this one. And his long johns crack me up. Those were a total accident (which sometimes turn out the best.)

Civilization is unbearable, but it is less unbearable at the top.

2006-09-11T10:44:00.000-04:00

Ugh. I hate being sick. I've had the seven plagues of Egypt trapped inside my skull for the last two weeks and it's getting really old. This cold has survived an entire bottle of NyQuil and a bottle and a half of Robitussin. It's the adamantium Energizer Bunny of viruses. Ugh.

Allison's surgery went alright. Not as well as we'd hoped but not bad either. She's going back in for a second round this Friday. Her chances are better this time and we're hoping it'll kill the cancer for good. I'll still be holding my breath the entire time.

Anyway, this is a logo I did about a year ago that was based on the California flag. It's been a while since I've looked at this logo (and I just recently got permission to post it) but it still holds up pretty well. I've always liked the distressed look.

Side Note: I can't believe it's been five years since 9/11. I can't believe how much has changed (for better or worse) and how much has stayed the same. Mind boggling.

Parents are the bones on which children sharpen their teeth.

2006-08-01T09:40:00.000-04:00

I always wanted to do one of those "A to Z" animal books. Yeah, I know, so does everyone else. I just like my animals to be kept in alphabetical order.

Hey, I just realized that it's the one year anniversary of Drinking With Lost Souls! Hooray Souls!

Men of broader intellect know that there is no sharp distinction betwixt the real and the unreal.

2006-07-12T05:14:00.000-04:00

Hey, check it out! Another post! It's almost like I'm an artist or something. Really, I'm just using these character designs to fill in the quiet hours of the night instead of driving myself crazier over the situation with my honey. Nero fiddled so I'm scribbling.

Anyway, this is a very Lovecraft/Mignola inspired monster. Something big and nasty and scary. A otherworldly, tentacled nightmare. Heh. Leave the hall light on for this one....

Illustration Friday - Skyline

2006-07-10T22:57:00.000-04:00

I haven't done an Illustration Friday post in a million years and this entry is really cheap. It's not that it's a bad picture, it's just that it's barely an entry for the topic. Ah, well.

Anyway, this is a random superhero guy I came up with while looking at old Marvel Superhero role playing books. He's pretty dorky but he cracks me up so I don't care.

Those who've been reading my blog know about my girl Allison's cancer troubles. Those who don't now do. Unfortunately, things are not looking good for my honey. She beat breast cancer twice, bladder cancer once, and lung cancer on one lung. But the other lung just won't heal up. She has a tumor the size of my fist on it and it just won't shrink. I really don't know what I'd do without her so I'm still holding out hope even though she and her doctors seem to agree it's near hopeless. I just can't give up on her. Not yet.

We can't all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.

2006-07-01T10:14:00.000-04:00

This energetic gentleman here came about after I saw the new Superman movie (which is really good as long as you're not a total fanboy or a complete religious nutbar. First Supes was gay and now he's Jesus. What's with you people?)

Anyway, I wish I'd thought this pic out a little more now that it's done. I didn't expect to like him as much as I do and because I laid him out poorly he's got no legs. That's what happens when you don't lay things out right. You draw right off the page. Brilliant.

Don't take the bull by the horns, take him by the tail; then you can let go when you want to.

2006-06-12T18:31:00.000-04:00

Hello...? Is there anybody out there? Anyone still read this thing? It's been a good long while since I've posted anything. Things have been slow artistically. My muse needs spanked or something. Oh, well. I'm here now so if there's anyone out there looking at this I hope you enjoy it.

Anyway, this is Bruce from Atland, a mighty fine web comic by Nate Piekos. Finish up here and then go read his web comic. It's good stuff.

Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World.

2006-05-06T18:23:00.000-04:00

I could have sworn that I had posted this before but I guess I was wrong. It's not great but it's not terrible. Just a little stiff. Or I might be too picky.

Our patience will achieve more than our force.

2006-04-26T10:53:00.000-04:00

Holy cats, has it really been almost a month since I last posted anything? That's crazy! Hopefully I'll have some time to post more often. Anyway, here's something for the kiddies. It's Li'l Luke Skywalker! Ain't he cute? This one came out pretty well, I think. Except for that rock. That rock sucks. Stupid rock.

Edit: Hey, look! Two posts in as many days! Sort of anyway. I went back and fixed that stupid rock (which is now only 23% stupid) and a few of the color problems. I think the pic pops a bit more now, don't you? Thanks to everyone who gave their advice on the picture. You know who you are! Yeah, you!

Illustration Friday - Monster

2006-03-24T15:29:00.000-05:00

It's been a while again, hasn't it? It's funny how fast time flies. Not so much "funny ha-ha" but more like "funny-sigh." Anyway, this week's Illustration Friday topic is "monster" (which is a really good topic. Monsters are good.)

For those who don't know, this particular monster is the big-bad evil guy from Super Mario Bros. Bowser to his friends. And his enemies for that matter. I like the way this one turned out. His mouth could be better (I should have had it open) but that's just me being picky. Oh, the background is all me too. People keep thinking it's a screenshot I just dropped in so I have to keep explaining things. Ah, well. Until next time.

Coffee makes us severe, and grave, and philosophical.

2006-02-28T08:49:00.000-05:00

I don't normally post two days in a row but then again, I've barely been posting at all lately so the rules are right out the window. This is another hunk of that Warmageddon "map" page I'm working on but I'm really happy with the way it turned out so up it goes. I'm still getting used to using textures in my artwork but things are coming along well-enough. I'm getting more use out of Photoshop than I used to, that's for sure. Enjoy the terrifying graveyard picture!

Illustration Friday - Tea

2006-02-27T05:43:00.000-05:00

I used to do a lot of clean, graphic work with a lot of art deco influence but in recent years I've gotten away from it. I figure it's time I stepped back into that a little with this week's Illustration Friday topic "tea."

Whatchathink?

Nobody really cares if you're miserable, so you might as well be happy.

2006-02-20T04:50:00.000-05:00

Hey, look who's here! It's been a good long time while since I've posted anything, hasn't it? Things are about the same in the Land o' Steve. Some better, some worse, but such is life.

What we have here is the first piece of a new one-page Warmageddon comic. It's going to end up a big Family Circus inspired map. Y'know, the FC maps with that dotted line? Yeah, like that. Mostly. Hopefully it'll turn out okay. I'll post up more as I go.

Well, it was nice seeing the lot of you again and I'll be checking back in soon. Later!

Illustration Friday - Glamour

2006-01-30T20:00:00.000-05:00

Hey! I'm back! I've been enjoying my little vacation but I wanted to stop in and tell you that the Bathrobe Samurai production blog is set up and ready to go! Be excited! I know I am!

I still want to keep up with the Illustration Friday projects so I'm using the image above for the "Glamour" topic. Why is said Bathrobe Samurai illustration glamorous you ask? Well, what's more glamorous than a new beginning!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by. Things will be back to normal as soon as life calms down but I'll still be popping in to pop off with more art and endless rambling. Promise!

Illustration Friday - E is for Ego!

2006-01-18T04:00:00.000-05:00

I managed to get an Illustration Friday picture ready during lunch today and here it is! This is Ego, the Living Planet. For those who don't know (and that's most of you I imagine) Ego is a supervillain in the Marvel Universe. He's a self-aware planet who allegedly evolved from the gas and dust from the Big Bang. No, really! He's a living planet! With a beard!

Why are you looking at me like that...?

Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.

2006-01-16T12:56:00.000-05:00

Well, it's Monday again isn't it. These things seem to happen way too often. Today I bring you the logo-in-progress for the Bathrobe Samurai. I've become quite determined to do something with these characters and this is one of the baby steps. I'm going to introduce a Bathrobe Samurai specific blog here in the upcoming days and I'll let you know when it's up. It'll be a good way to keep things moving and plus it gives me a chance to ramble more. God knows we all want me to talk as much as possible. Until Wednesday....

We don't know what we want, but we are ready to bite somebody to get it.

2006-01-13T05:16:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty tired today so this one will be short. It's another zombie panel. Aren't you excited? I've really been taking my time with this job since the deadline is easy and I want it to be decent. I've learned a lot about sequential art while working on it too so really the whole thing has been a good experience.

Mid-Day Edit: I stopped procrastinating and added some new links to the sidebar. Be sure to check them out. There's some gold in them thar links.

Old age is not as honorable as death, but most people want it.

2006-01-11T04:42:00.000-05:00

I don't normally post the same picture two days in a row but I'm making an exception today. I made some adjustments to the original picture and I think it looks a lot better now. I left the background as is after all. Why? I dunno. I just settled it in my head, I guess.

Oh, I also took the time to turn it into a wallpaper image. I know a lot of you like that kind of thing so I'm offering one up. Just click the appropriate link below, right click and save. Unless you're a Mac user then do whatever Mac users do. I can't rightly remember.

Wallpaper 800x600
Wallpaper 1024x768

Let arms give place to the robe, and the laurel of the warriors yield to the tongue of the orator.

2006-01-09T05:05:00.000-05:00

Oh, look! Another Monday. We're already a week or so into the new year. Feels a lot like the old year, really. Smells the same anyway. Oh, right. The picture. This is something I did this weekend. It's the Bathrobe Samurai, for those who don't know, and he's standing fast! I'm really pleased with the way the Samurai turned out and with the graphic nature of the black and red coloring of the background. The only thing I'm not sure of is the fencing and gateway in the back. It didn't turn out quite like I wanted so I'll probably go back and rework it after my brain chills out a little.

True friends stab you in the front.

2006-01-04T14:31:00.000-05:00

Wednesday bloody Wednesday. Green zombie blood, anyway. I'm in a bit of a rush today so this'll be a short one. As you can see, our little adventuring buddy has had enough crap from these zombies and is finally takin' care of business. I'll see you guys Friday. There should be a Superman pic ready for then.

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.

2005-12-30T14:57:00.000-05:00

Late post today. It's also a bit of a repost due to time constraints. This is another finished Warmageddon zombie comic panel. I have more than this done but I don't want to show my whole hand. So here's the finished panel. Now I must get back to work! Woosh!

There is nothing so easy to learn as experience and nothing so hard to apply.

2005-12-26T12:50:00.000-05:00

Well, it's the day after Christmas which means all that nicey-nice stuff from Friday is g-o-n-e. This is the last of my t-shirt design submissions. It's another rough subject line but it's a cutesy image. To me anyway. We'll be getting back to the cartoons soon, I think. Or maybe something different. Yeah, something different might be good.

Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye.

2005-12-23T14:40:00.000-05:00

I was going to post the third of my t-shirt submission designs but since it's Christmas weekend I thought I'd post something sappy...I mean...nicer. I always liked this design because the large heart in the middle came out looking like glass. Otherwise it's sappy like a lovey card design should be, I guess.

Have a good Christmas or Haunika or Yule or whatever holiday you celebrate. I'm not doing that PC "Happy Holiday" thing. Just have a good one, be happy, and let other people be happy with what they do too. See you Monday.

I think animal testing is a terrible idea; they get all nervous and give the wrong answers.

2005-12-19T11:29:00.000-05:00

Well, it's Monday. I think it's Monday anyway. Feels like a Monday. I just sent out my "audition" package to that t-shirt company I mentioned. I'm rather nervous about it, honestly. Then again, I always get nervous about things like that because I'm too much of a perfectionist. Above is one of the images I designed based off of the "titles" they sent me. Hopefully they'll like it. I'm off to have a cup of tea and calm my nerves before I jump back into that zombie comic page I've been working on. Until later....

When I am dead, I hope it is said, 'His sins were scarlet, but his books were read'.

2005-12-14T10:37:00.000-05:00

I'm in a bit of a rush today so this one'll be short. More zombies. Or a zombie head and his decapitator anyway. Enjoy your Wednesday. Because I said so, that's why.

Illustration Friday - Surprise

2005-12-12T08:36:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm back. I'm sure you all missed me. Sorry for skipping out on Friday's post but there was an emergency with Al and she's more important than my blog. Don't worry though, she came out of it okay if not unscathed.

Anyway...SURPRISE! ZOMBIES!

Zombies are always surprising. They're like the Spanish Inquisition. No one expects them! This is the first panel from a one-page comic I'm doing for Warmageddon magazine. Hopefully I won't get my head slapped off for showing it. That's where I keep my hat after all.

Hopefully all will go well this week and I'll be able to have something for Wednesday. I really need to go back and trim some of the less-than-stellar work that's taking up space here. We'll just have to see.

I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up -- they have no holidays.

2005-12-07T08:08:00.000-05:00

I thought since I showed this year's Christmas card on Monday, I'd show last year's Christmas card on Wednesday. It makes sense to me.

Illustration Friday - Blue

2005-12-05T20:36:00.000-05:00

Aha! I bet you thought I forgot to post today! Well that just shows what you know! Blogger was being really difficult today but that's okay because it gave me time to do an honest to goodness Illustration Friday entry! This week's topic is "Blue" so naturally the first thing I thought of was my wee nephew Blu. Yes, his name is Blu. Since I'm in need of a Christmas card image this year I combined the three things and came up with the image you see above. I'm pretty happy with this one. I might adjust it a little because there's an awful lot of dead space below Blu but other than that, it's cool. No pun intended.

I hope you all like it because as you all know...life ain't easy for a boy named Blu.

Everything has been figured out, except how to live.

2005-11-28T05:41:00.000-05:00

I'm afraid I didn't have a chance to finish my Illustration Friday project for today since the holiday weekend sucked up a lot of my spare time. So as a hold over until Wednesday I'm bringing you a quick caricature of Johnny Cash based off of the placemat sketch you see above. It's not a great pic but it's not terrible either. At least I don't think so! I'll probably go back and add in a bit more detail or at least some highlights. It seems a little flat to me. Eh.

Advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill.

2005-11-25T05:58:00.000-05:00

I've decided that every so often I'll offer a wall paper or two here at Drinking With Lost Souls. If you folks like the idea that is! These two are older works but they're a couple of my favorites. If you follow the appropriate links below they'll take you to the wall paper of your liking.

I'm hoping that things will have calmed down enough by Monday for me to have a decent Illustration Friday entry. We'll just have to see what the weekend brings. Until Monday.

Monsters 800x600
Monsters 1024x768

Krang 800x600
Krang 1024x768

Illustration Friday - Night

2005-11-09T00:55:00.000-05:00

I'm afraid my lung problems still have me on the shelf so I'm posting another old piece. Fortunately for all of us, it's one of my favorite illustrations. This picture was a big turning point for me stylistically so I'm pretty attached to it. I'm surprised I haven't posted it before.

I'm hoping to feel better tomorrow so I can at least get a new sketch going instead of posting stuff I find laying around in old piles. I feel like I'm crapping out or something. Stupid lungs. I need to grow a nice set of gills. Yeah, baby. Aqua-Steve all the way.

Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.

2005-11-07T11:44:00.000-05:00

I'm afraid health issues kept me from getting my Illustration Friday post done in time so I'm bringing you an older picture today. This is a Rhino pic that I did a while back. This is one of the first times I ever went heavily cartoony with an established character and I think it turned out well.

Hopefully I'll be able to get something done for Illustration Friday by Wednesday. If not, there will be something here for you all to see. Catch you later, Bill and Ted.

It's not your blue blood, your pedigree or your college degree. It's what you do with your life that counts.

2005-11-01T13:18:00.000-05:00

This probably should have been my Halloween post but I had the Illustration Friday post to make. That and I just put this picture together this afternoon.

This is Vlad. Vlad Tepes. Or Vlad Dracula if you don't like walking around calling people "the Impaler." I must have watched a hundred specials on him since the History Channel started their Halloween history shows and I just felt the need to draw the guy. It's not my best work but I think his hair turned out well. It flows nicely.

Actually, it's a bit of a misnomer to say that I drew it. I put this picture together entirely in Adobe Illustrator which is a change for me because I normally start my pictures at the sketch stage. It was different and honestly it was a big pain in the butt. But like I said, it's an okay picture.

Illustration Friday - Broken

2005-10-31T02:14:00.000-05:00

And here it is Monday again. What a weekend. I swear, the entire known world was out to give me a hard time. People need to chill out. Anyway, with Monday comes Illustration Friday. The topic this week is "broken" and nothing says "broken" than a girl with a hand grenade. Or a hand grenade pin anyway. This was actually done as a submission for Digital Webbing Presents but it works well for the IF topic too.

I'm pretty happy with this picture because it gave me a chance to toy around with my style by adding a little Erté into the mix. I used to have a heavy art deco influence in my work and over the years it's slipped away. I'd like to get it back and hopefully this will be a good start.

The music at a wedding procession always reminds me of the music of soldiers going into battle.

2005-10-28T07:02:00.000-04:00

Edit: This morning, Blogger was being a pain and wouldn't let me upload my picture. So I had to host it on an outside image host which made the image look all pixelated. Naturally, I couldn't have that so when Blogger started working again I replaced the oh-so-crappy looking image with the nicer one seen above.

Anyway, this is the redone (an accepted) logo for General Jinjur Comics. I'm happy with this image because it's a little different from what I normally do stylistically. The heavy retro look worked out well, I think, and that big grin just cracks me up. My thanks go out to Gil and Jen from GJC for giving me the chance to work with them. They're cool people and were a peach to work with. Thanks, guys!

As for the rest of you, I'll see you on Monday!

Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.

2005-10-25T12:15:00.000-04:00

I'm going to step out of the norm today and use this post to brag a little. You see, a while back Jim Stafford asked for a copy of my Bran-Man for a new magazine called Advanced Photoshop. The mag recently hit the stands so instead of posting artwork today, I'm posting a copy of the article. My thanks go out to Jim for the opportunity and the kind words!
Edit: It's come to my attention that parts of the article are a little hard to read so here's what it says about my Bran: F. Steve Musgrave's vector art-based Doqua-Bran. Says Stafford: "His style is clean - and despite the fact that I've no idea what's going on here I love it."

Ideas pull the trigger, but instinct loads the gun.

2005-10-21T07:07:00.000-04:00

Hooray for Friday! Or something like that. Anyway, this is the logo for Plastic Half-Gun which is (in my mind anyway) the main identity that all my artwork falls under. The name "Plastic Half-Gun" is the result of an extremely absurd conversation between myself and a buddy of mine named Brad. It was a good time. You should have been there.

Another friend of mine is in town this weekend so I might not have a Illustration Friday post ready for Monday. It should be ready for sure by Wednesday though. We'll see when the time comes. Enjoy your weekend.

Paradise is like Disney Land...but with hookers.

2005-10-19T12:27:00.000-04:00

Hello, Wednesday. Today we're serving a little satyr character sketch. He's a jolly looking fellow isn't he? Not too shabby. Hopefully I'll get around to using him in a full picture. You'll have to excuse the monotone ramblings (if writing can be monotone.) I'm dead tired today. Staying up for over 24 hours isn't as easy as it used to be.

Oh, I owe a bunch of you comments on your comments but I swear I'll get to them soon. No, really! I do appreciate all of it. But now I must rest....

Illustration Friday - Cold

2005-10-16T00:59:00.000-04:00

Psst...y'know what day it is? That's right! It's Illustration Friday-Monday! What a weekend. I feel like there's a badger living in my stomach and it's really unhappy about that fact. This sickly crap has got to go.

Anyway, this is my Illustration Friday "cold" entry. It's not terribly original but I wanted to experiment with that rough style I played with when I did my "roots" entry. Basically all I'm doing is taking one of my rough marker sketches and using Adobe Illustrator to "trace" the rough marker work. Now that I think about it, things would probably go faster in Photoshop but ye gods I hate Photoshop. We'll just have to see.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

2005-10-14T07:48:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's Friday already. What a lousy week this has been. One problem after another, I swear. Oh, well. Before I get to the picture du jour I want to say "thanks" to all the fine folks who sent their well-wishes to Allison. We both appreciate it a bunch.

Now, on to business. This is a panel from an Egg! comic page I started a while ago. It's not the most spectacular thing ever but I like her expression and the colors so it gets a showcase spot.

Have a good weekend. I'll see you Monday.

The greatest burden is great potential.

2005-10-12T01:01:00.000-04:00

Welcome to another Wednesday. Exciting isn't it? What I have for you today is a sketch of General Jinjur done as a warm-up sketch for a gig that's in progress. I'm pretty pleased with it. There are some problems with her neck and shoulder but they're nothing too terrible. That hat was a pain in the butt too but the shadows turned out well. All-in-all it's an okay sketch.

Illustration Friday - Lost

2005-10-10T11:55:00.000-04:00

My Illustration Friday post is a little later than normal today because I had yet another pain-in-the-butt doctors appointment today. Nothing new on that front. The old lungs still aren't working right so it's on to more aggressive medicines. Good for me.

Anyway, this is my "Lost" entry. Let me explain. This is a little cartoon picture of Allison. She's my best friend and honey. She's also suffering from lung cancer. She's only 22. We're both staying very positive and it looks like she's going to be okay but it's still a very scary time for both of us. After all, I'd be lost without her.

Don't be afraid to take a big step. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps.

2005-10-07T03:26:00.000-04:00

In the spirit of giant turtles I bring you...GIANT TURTLES! Anyway, these are some "Big" sketches I did last night while hanging out with some friends. They're really rough marker sketches but it gives us a sense of Big's scale. As you can see he is a big honkin' turtle.

Have a good weekend. See you Monday.

Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.

2005-10-05T00:21:00.000-04:00

This is Big. Well, it's what I'm calling him for now. I had an idea for a story that involves a giant tortoise and this is the first of the character design sketches. As things progress I'll post more of these, including some background designs. Should be fun if I can pull it off in a way that won't suck. Only time will tell....

Illustration Friday - Float

2005-10-02T01:19:00.000-04:00

Another Monday-born Illustration Friday is at hand. The topic this week is "float" and the first thing that popped into my thick head was an armadillo rising up into the night sky. I didn't have as much time to work on this as I'd hoped but it turned out better than I'd expected anyway. So it all works out in the end.

On a semi-related subject: What would you folks think if I put something like this on a t-shirt? Would you wear a buoyant space armadillo? Well...would you!?

Anyway, it's time for bed. See you Wed-nes-day.

But, I'm funny how? Funny like a clown?

2005-09-30T02:17:00.000-04:00

Nothin' funnier than a dead clown! This is a panel from a one-page comic written by Rasmus Lykke and illustrated by my sorry arse. I've been working on this one page for about ten thousand years simply because I cannot for the life of me get the colors right. Things either blend together too much or not at all. It's infuriating. I'm hoping to have these color issues settled by the end of the weekend. Of course, I'm hoping that my lungs will magically start working properly again too but I'm not going to hold my breath. Hah! Get it? "Hold my breath?" I'm having lung problems and I'm not going to hold my breath? Ah, you guys just don't appreciate the gallows humor of it all. Gotta laugh or cry, kids.

Until Monday....

It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.

2005-09-26T14:11:00.000-04:00

Well, it's certainly a dull and dreary Monday. Rain clouds and gray skies abound. Before I get to my newest illustration I'm afraid I have some bad news. For the next couple weeks I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut back the posts to a Monday/Wednesday/Friday format. Unfortunately I've developed some rather nasty health issues that will make it a little difficult to keep up with both my paying design work and my daily blog posts. Obviously the paying gigs (and my health) have to win out.

In other news: This is a red dragon. Isn't he pretty? Someone suggested to me that I do a series of mythological beasts and this dear dragon is my first attempt. He needs some minor adjusting in some areas but for the most part I'm really happy with the way he turned out. I'm still experimenting with the paper cut-out look but it's coming along nicely I think. You'll be seeing more beasties soon, I think.

Until Wednesday....

You can kill a man but you can't kill an idea.

2005-09-23T11:10:00.000-04:00

This is the other side of that Hulk page I posted yesterday. I have no idea what brought this picture about other than the fact that it's fun to draw octopi. This might be the first semi-holy (yet sad looking) octopus. Enjoy your weekend, folks. See you on Monday.

Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

2005-09-21T12:34:00.000-04:00

This is a sketch I did last night while watching Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. I love the designs on Foster's (in case you hadn't noticed.) This sketch was done in neon pink ink pen but I scanned it in black and white for the sake of your eyes. Hey, don't look at me like that. The neon pink pen was all I had to work with at the time. I was thinking of doing a series of castles and cottages and selling prints of the illustrations if anyone is interested in the idea....

If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger.

2005-09-20T13:42:00.000-04:00

This is another unfortunate left over from a previous project. I'm really rather fond of this Octogonk so maybe she'll show up in another place....

Illustration Friday - Escape

2005-09-19T00:28:00.000-04:00

Remember those care free days when you could run around the yard pretending to be a super hero? Yeah, me too. And thus we come to my Illustration Friday entry for "escape." What I wouldn't give to escape back to those days. Sigh....

They can't evict you on Christmas! Then you'd be ho-ho-homeless!

2005-09-16T13:51:00.000-04:00

This is something else out of the sketchbook file. I created this image as a Christmas card for my friend's kids last year. They really seemed to dig it and it was fun drawing Mario Bros. characters again, something I hadn't done since I was a wee lad.

See you Monday!

I was handed a chocolate bar and an M-1 rifle and told to go kill Hitler.

2005-09-15T12:49:00.000-04:00

Today we have a page torn from my "sketchbook" file. Some of you may have seen this before but up until...oh...five minutes ago, I'd forgotten about it. I'm actually really pleased with this. The cartoony exaggerations just worked really well for me. Some day I really need to flesh this picture out. Cap needs some Nazis to kick.

I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that don't work.

2005-09-14T02:24:00.000-04:00

In honor of Wednesday being D&D/Geek Night I'm posting this logo/symbol I designed with the group in mind. For those who don't know (which is probably most of you) rolling a one on a d20 is an automatic failure for whatever check you're making. That still reads like really geeky stereo instructions, doesn't it? Ah, well....

I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.

2005-09-13T11:15:00.000-04:00

This is an image that was left homeless when I swaped out one idea for another on a project I began not too long ago. I didn't want to totally abandon the poor Uniboar since he's a neat looking monster so I thought I'd post him up for you folks to see.

Step-By-Step - Day 4: The Final Step

2005-09-12T08:37:00.000-04:00

Well, here we at the final day of my step-by-step process. As you can see the end product is rather different from the initial sketch. After I inked the mountains I realized that they totally overwhelmed the composition. So instead I got a little experimental with the white outlines on the main figures. I got the idea from an episode of Teen Titans and I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm not entirely sure of it yet but it's a good start for an experimental design idea.

Hopefully this gave you all some insight into how my design process goes. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me. And remember, I'm always open for illustration and design jobs. Just get a hold of me and we'll see what we can work out!

Oh, I'm giving the Blogger spam-blocker a try. You'll have to insert that stupid word verification code to make a comment but hopefully that won't deter you. If anyone knows of a better comment system, please let me know.

Step-By-Step - Day 3.5: Scalpel, Please.

2005-09-09T13:37:00.000-04:00

A few of you have asked me to be a little more specific in my Adobe Illustrator steps so I'm adding an extra day to my working walk-through. Hopefully this will make things a little more clear.

Once I scan the pencil sketch into Illustrator (or from Photoshop to Illustrator to be more specific) I start "inking" the image using the Bezier Pen Tool.

I "ink" the image overlapping and sealing the inner sections and the main outline. Once the lines are all in place I use the Divide Tool (found in the Pathfinder tab) to separate the individual sections.

See how it works? Everything is nice an separated. You'll have to delete the left over outlines and drop in the colors but this is essentially how the image turns out. As you can see below, all of the segments are separated which leaves the picture with that keen unoutlined look.

Hopefully that explains things a little better. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

Monday: Step-By-Step - Day 4: The Final Step

Step-By-Step - Day 3: The Ink and Paint Club

2005-09-08T02:34:00.000-04:00

Now that I've mostly finalized the overall design I'll start "inking" and coloring the picture. Sometimes I'll use heavy black outlines but for this picture I felt that an un-outlined look worked better.

The design for the boy child turned out relatively well so he probably won't go through a redesign process. The girl, on the other hand, was a car accident trapped inside a death ball so she's going to be totally redrawn.

Lil' Johnny Melancholy turned out really well (in my humble opinion.) The biggest problem I had with him was his color scheme. I must have gone through forty-five million different color schemes before I settled on this one. Oh, and the soccer ball turned out pretty well too, I thought.

This is the background as it stands right now. I added a soccer field line and I haven't decided on the background yet. I'll probably put the mountains and the trees back in. Or at least some hills instead of mountain. I'm not sure yet.

This is how the image fits together right now. Once I put the girl in and add in the background images it'll flesh out well, I think. I've grown rather fond of this little character so you might see more of him in the future. If you guys like him too, that is.

Tomorrow: Step-By-Step - Day 4: The Final Step

Step-By-Step - Day 2: The Clean-Up

2005-09-07T00:29:00.000-04:00

Once I've sketched everything out in marker I'll go back in and rework the image to clean it up. As you can see I've added a few more details to the picture and sharpened the linework up. At this point in the image I usually start reworking some of my ideas. For example, I'm not entirely sure about keeping the mountains and the trees in. They look alright but I'm not sure they belong in the background of a soccer field. I'm also not fully sold on the design for the children so they may end up looking different in the final design. These are the things that come up during a design and they can make you nuts if you let them.

Tomorrow: Step-By-Step - Day 3: The Ink and Paint Club

Step-By-Step - Day 1: The Thumbnail

2005-09-06T09:14:00.000-04:00

Alright folks, welcome to the first day of my multi-step "tutorial" on how I work. I get a lot of requests for this kind of thing so hopefully this will answer some of your questions.

Everything has a beginning and this beginning happens to be a rough thumbnail sketch done in Sharpie marker. This step is always the roughest of the rough. As you can see, I had ideas on top of ideas for this one. Originally it was just the little skull kid (who I call Lil' Johnny Melancholy) running through a field. Then I added a ball and some other kids for him to play with...or scare anyway. The kids were actually drawn on another part of the page and then dropped into the background (which is a fancy way of saying I cut them out and taped them into place.)

Obviously there are some glaring errors in this pic, like that middle cloud and the overly blocky mountain but that (and a few other things) will be altered in the next step. Speaking of which...

Tomorrow: Step-By-Step - Day 2: The Clean-Up

Illustration Friday - Roots

2005-09-05T00:05:00.000-04:00

This is kind of a strange picture for me. It's not a terribly original idea for the "roots" subject and that sort of bothers me. On the other hand, this is the first time I've experimented with a really rough line in Illustrator so it's "new and exciting!"

...Well, to me anyway.

Everything except the cactus was first drawn in marker and then scanned into Adobe Illustrator where I "inked" it with the bezier pen tool. The cactus was built entirely in Illustrator, including all 60 billion cactus needles, and what a pain in the ass that was. I think it looks pretty good though. My biggest worry is that the clean style of the cactus clashes with the roughness of the background. Then again, I tend to over think things. No, seriously. I do.

Be sure to visit Illustration Friday to see what everyone else out there came up with.

Democracy is the art of running the circus from the monkey cage

2005-09-02T11:14:00.000-04:00

I'm a little late with my post today because I actually managed to get a decent amount of sleep last night. I've gotten a lot of logo gigs lately and, honestly, I've never thought my logo work was as strong as my illustration work. So to warm up for all these new assignments I pieced together this "fake" logo using a Blambot font. For a goofy practice piece I don't think it turned out all that badly. Of course, you folks might think differently so feel free to speak up and let me know. Oh, and in case you're wondering: Skull Monkey is the official undead primate mascot of my pub buddies and I. In other words, he's what I draw on my placemat when I'm out drinking.

Starting Tuesday (since Monday is usually my Illustration Friday post. Figure that one out.) I'm going to start a series of step-by-step posts on how I put my work together. I get requests for such examples all the time so I thought I'd put together a pseudo-tutorial. Hopefully that doesn't sound as egotistical as I think it does....

Can't shake the Devil's hand and say you're only kidding

2005-09-01T07:21:00.000-04:00

Dear god, am I tired today. It's crazy. Anyway, this is the mark of the previous jester character. I'm pleased with the way it turned out. It's a bit more ragged looking than a lot of my work. Plus it has an alchemical feel to it with the symbols and everything. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to take a nap....

A joke is a very serious thing

2005-08-31T02:46:00.000-04:00

It seems to be a good week for character designs while next week is shaping up to be a week of logo designs. Both are good in their own way I suppose. This shadowy gentleman is for my own personal abusement as he's my new D&D character. Yeah, so I'm a big geek. Don't look so surprised.

Duty is heavy as a mountain but Death is lighter than a feather

2005-08-30T04:58:00.000-04:00

Alright, it's time I stop feeling sorry for myself and get back to business. This is Montaro. He's another Bathrobe Samurai character. A villain in fact. I don't really have a story for him yet but I can tell you that he's surprisingly nimble for a fat guy. And that's what's important, right? Right?
I'm pretty happy with this picture, especially his head and collar. Everything just meshed for me when I was working on this illustration.

I gave my love a locket and then I broke her heart

2005-08-25T04:34:00.000-04:00

I've had a really bad night so there won't be any pithy writing or deep insights into my art today. An in and out explanation only, I'm afraid. This is Egg! (occasionally known as "Matilda") She's a space angel egg thing I created on the back of an Eat 'n Park placemat. Like the Bathrobe Samurai people seemed to dig her so I ran her through Adobe Illustrator and did this little turn around. She'll probably have her own comic some day but right now she just shows up in sketches where she spouts off the wisdom of Lao Tzu.

Oh, the logo was designed with the help of the crew at Blambot. Thanks, guys!

Hollywood is a place where people from Iowa mistake each other for stars

2005-08-24T03:20:00.000-04:00

Man, there's nothing like a 102 degree fever to make you feel nice and un-creative. Ugh. My soul-sucking malady aside, here is another t-shirt design. I've always liked black, white, and red together so I'm mostly happy with the way this turned out. The distressed look is always nice too, if it's pulled off properly. Don't ask me what the "S" stands for because I don't know. I just thought it looked good. Or it could be my subconscious ego sticking my initials in places they don't belong. But if Charles Xavier can get away with putting "X's" all over his house I can get away with putting an "S" on a t-shirt.

Illustration Friday - Reflection

2005-08-22T16:16:00.000-04:00

I've been looking back on old sketchbooks lately and it's really helped to remind me where my earliest artistic inspirations came from. The earliest of the early came from a stack of comics my Uncle gave me when I was a kid, most of which were drawn by Jack Kirby. So for my first "real" Illustration Friday entry I decided to draw a portrait of the King of Comics. I don't know why I picked the bizarre color scheme I did but it might have something to do with wanting a more pop-art look than a normal portrait look. Or it could be because it was really late at night when I illustrated it. Either way: Hail to the King, baby.

To learn more about Jack "King" Kirby, follow the links below.

http://povonline.com/Jack%20Kirby.htm
http://www.kirbymuseum.org/

May you be in heaven a half-hour before the devil knows you're dead

2005-08-19T02:21:00.000-04:00

Something that I always hear is that I should design t-shirts again...so I think I will. Or try to anyway. I've found a handful of t-shirt companies that accept unsolicited submissions and it’s time to start sending out ye olde portfolio again. So every so often I’ll be posting the t-shirt submission ideas to see what works for you folks and what doesn’t. So let me know.

Once they were men. Now they are land crabs.

2005-08-18T02:20:00.000-04:00

A man by the name of Jim Stafford started a neat little website called Bran where artists can "try out their illustration and design skills within the confines of a simple object." It's a fun exercise where you have to think outside the box but inside the Bran.

The site has some nicely designed Brans from artists of all kinds but the Bran above is my contribution. I'm honestly happy with the way he turned out. The colors and the design just really meshed for me, especially his hair and that flowery green bit around his eye. It was one of my early attempts at using a more muted color scheme and I'm pleased with the outcome.

A dog owns nothing, yet is seldom dissatisfied

2005-08-17T13:34:00.000-04:00

Did you ever have one of those days where you just can't clear your head? Today is one of those days. Anyway, my nephew's first birthday is coming up this Saturday and I put together this little dog to serve as a "To/From" card for his gift. I'm not entirely sold on the color of his party hat but my chick friends assure me that it's cute.

If I knew the way I'd go back home

2005-08-16T18:15:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the first day of the rest of my blog. I've been kicking around the idea of starting one of these oh-so-mainstream online journals and apparently I've gathered the nerve to do so. It's not much to look at right now but I'm still picking through the code and "help" files trying to figure this mess out.

I've been out of artistic action for about six months due to an arm injury and now that the nerve damage nightmare is almost over, it's time I start getting my name out there again. Six months is a long time to be away.

So with that said...on to the artwork! The flying monkey above comes to you via my favorite mechanical pencil and Adobe Illustrator. It's nothing more than a practice piece but I had a stylistic epiphany while working on it and (for once) I'm really happy with something I've illustrated. I just wish all the detail in the house wasn't lost when the image gets reduced. Oh, well....