I Took The Weekend Off...

I've got about 4 different tee projects in various states of art production. That being said, I took a break this weekend. Well, not just this weekend, I also choose to sit out this weeks Woot Derby. I love the art being submitted in it though.

In any case, my girlfriend asked me to take at least a night off from drawing since it's all I do anymore and that one night turned into a very lazy weekend. It was great. Besides, my office is a mess ever since we pulled the Christmas tree out of it. In any case, I'm by no means retired.

I've got some designs that I'll be posting sketches as well as finished drawings on. I am working on a funny "Lost" tee that I think everyone will love. It's really cool re-drawing all the characters from that show in a cartoon form. I'm going to be finishing and submitting the cloud tee this week to Threadless.com. I also have a funny Clue tee I've been working on. I'm having a bit of trouble planning the color on it but I suppose I should just draw it and worry about the color after I pick a shirt color to drop it on. I also have a Mario shirt in it's concept stage right now. I think I have a pretty funny concept, but I gotta figure out how to draw it as a satire and not worry about copyright infringement. There is 1 tee site I know about that is really into video games and pop culture and seems a little lackadaisical about copyright laws so maybe that would be a better site for submitting it to.

So, I promise some new artwork this week, definitely before Christmas. I just finished my last course of the year and will have more time at night to work on art. Thanks for stopping by and reading.

I've Been Doodlin'

I've been sketching around and just having artistic diarrhea in general. I've got a few pages of indecipherable pencil scratch and a notebook full of ideas I'm not ready to commit to. That being said, I'm not all unhappy about this.

One doodle I hope holds some sort of promise is this guy:

The basic premise here is John Goodman as the exterminator from Arachnophobia. I see him ready for one final fight against the ultimate arachnid, Spider-Man. I'm picturing a cartooney, bubbly, cute Spider-Man in the foreground, from behind. He's in shock at the unexpected scene and perhaps his Spider-Sense is tingling. In any case, it's just a doodle. I know I shouldn't be coloring this until I pick a background color, and in the back of my mind I'm trying desperately to keep this down to a max of 8 colors (Threadless) or 6 (pretty much everybody else) which means I should be planning on a red shirt. Maybe I shouldn't be planning on a shirt at all though. I think part of the issue behind lack of ideas is the money and consequences of the money behind each design. That being said, I made a commitment to utilize these t-shirt contest sites to force me to draw, build a portfolio, network and break into the illustration industry I wanted so badly to be in when I was just a bright eyed 18 year old going away to school for my first time.

Wow... that was almost TMI but what's a blog without personal information?

The Derby: I Love the Arctic

The Derby is active and ready for your submissions and voting.


It's been 50 years since the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge became a federally-protected area, which is great and everything, but ask any moose and they'll tell you: it hasn't been enough. Polar bears can't vote and caribou can't sign petitions, so the Arctic Refuge and the Arctic in general could use a little help from us humans. That's why our pals at The Sierra Club have launched Arctic Love, a site celebrating the Refuge's 50th anniversary. You can check out videos of the Refuge, sign up to host an Arctic house party, and sign a virtual birthday card asking the President to designate the Refuge a National Monument.

So to get the word out we're asking you to design a shirt that shows what you love most about the Arctic. Maybe it's the pristine austerity of unbroken snow, the amazing wildlife that exists at temperatures we invented thermostats to avoid, or the ruggedness of the land that calls back to a more primitive time. Show us already! The Sierra Club will be kicking in special gift bags for winners, too! Now for the rules:

* No copyrighted images. Obviously, but we figured we'd mention that just because Sierra Club's down with our Derby doesn't mean you get to use their stuff.
* No Star Wars.

* No video games.

* No penguins. They don't even live up there.


I wanted a cut out cute feel for this one. Here is my entry.

As you can see, I changed a good bit from the earlier sketch. We'll see how this one does this week.

A new Derby!

I'm not starting this post with the official derby rules as this isn't my official entry. In any case, the theme is basically what you love about the Arctic Circle. So, I'm drawing baby polar bears building a sand castle in the snow.

Here is my concept sketch:

I'm hoping to get vectors done and this piece submitted by Saturday afternoon. I'll update with the final later.

"Happy Clouds" Concept and Initial Design

I've been doodling a bit and come up with a new possible tee design. I had this fun idea of a cloud playing with air planes much like a child would with Matchbox cars. I thought it was cute and ran with it. Here are pics of the design, as well as a Threadless.com submission to their critique's forum:

Depending on the feedback I get from this I will either re-work it, submit it or scrap it. I feel good about this design though. I think it's cute.