Happy Halloween 2011!  

I didn’t get around to carving a real pumpkin this Halloween, so I figured I’d at least draw up a Jack-O-Lantern instead.

When I’m asked to create illustrations for themed blog entries, the process – and the result – can sometime be pretty sketchy.  But this time, when asked to do an illustration for a Dreams-themed blog, the idea and the image came together really nicely.  That’s not to say that the idea came immediately… it didn’t.  But when it did come, it was clear and complete, and I could see it in my mind… which really helps the drawing process.

There are a lot of ways to represent dreaming… but I really liked this one.  It’s that innocent – and I think pretty universal – dream of just wanting to be with that person who makes your heart feel like a brightly-colored crayon drawing.

And that’s what my honey does to me… she makes me feel like a crayon drawing :)

I’m just living the dream ;)

Craig @ Cutting Edge DJs asked me for another drawing… to go along with another blog he wants to publish… a list of his favorite car-themed songs…

When he asked, I was really busy… and really tired…

But rather than saying “No” or “Maybe next month” I decided to have some fun with him… and I sent him this :)

He wasn’t impressed!

It still makes me laugh, even as I’m writing this.

LULZ

 Another version of the White Rabbit character design.

Here I think I succeeded in eliminating the “creepy” feeling of the previous version (which seemed to really bother some folks) and he’s still more sleek & charismatic than the original “dirty bum” version… and most importantly, there is definitely the sense that he’s not at all safe or sweet… but somewhat sinister and dangerous instead.

I think this is a good base for me to move forward with this character design… more to come soon, I hope.

 Here’s the 2nd draft of my White Rabbit character design exercise.

In this version I pushed the character toward a cleaner, sleeker look, as opposed to the dirty/nasty look of the 1st draft.  But even as I was cleaning up his overall appearance, I still wanted my White Rabbit to seem menacing… dangerous… sinister.

I showed this design to handful of people, and ALL of them told me they found it very disturbing.  ”Creepy” was the word most of them used.

Honestly, I really like the look of this guy… including his creepiness.  But based on the feedback, I’m going to go ahead and take another whack at this.  For the next version, I’ll see if I can come up with a character design that retains the sleek & dangerous feeling, but is less disturbing to look at.

Stay tuned…*

When the Zombies come, I plan to be ready.  I’ve read the books… I’ve watched the movies… I’ve played the video games…  So armed as I am with all the necessary training, I fully plan to survive.

But you know what they say, Zombies laugh while men make plans… And I realize that even after all my intense preparations, there is always the chance that one of the filthy Undead will catch me offguard and put the bite on me.

In that event, I go to my backup plan… to be the most awesomest Zombie evar.

And yes, I will eat your brain… but it will be your honor.

The White Rabbit from Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ is one of the great examples of iconic characters that have crossed over from literature into other media… from Jefferson Airplane’s psychadelic anthem, to Walt Disney’s kid-friendly animation, to a (none-too-subtle) reference in the Matrix, to American McGee’s video game, and Tim Burton’s recent CGI-filled film… for a character who wasn’t the main antagonist, nor main protagonist – and who appears in relatively little of the original story – the White Rabbit just captures folks’ imaginations… including mine.

With some encouragement from a friend, I’ve decided to try and craft my own version of the White Rabbit character, and to post various drafts as I work to tune in on the end result… this is the first edition.

Self-critique:  I think this White Rabbit is too angry, in a grumpy way… and also too dirty looking.  In my next round with this character design, I’m planning to push in a more subtley-sinister, and well-heeled direction.  I’d like my white rabbit to be dangerously charming.

More soon…

This drawing began as an exercise in creating my own background textures.  I was shooting for something that evoked a pre-industrial, living in the wilderness feeling.  Leather and stone were the words in my head while I worked on it. 

Once the background started to take on its own character, my mind started to project the image of the man standing in front of it… so I had to go ahead and draw him in.

The feel and flavor of the whole picture matches my sense of what early Native American life would have looked like.  Though I realize I’ve got some mixed “time signatures” in there… I’m really not sure that the style of the man’s clothing and club would have existed at the same time as the type of “cave drawings” on the background… but hey – I really wasn’t trying to think too much about it… I was just shooting for a flavor that was in my mind.

Quick – without thinking about it… what would you call the device in this picture?  A “Stoplight” – right? 

But that’s not really the correct name, is it?  To be accurate, you should really call it a “Traffic Light” or something similar.  Yes, it does signal “Stop”… but it also signals “Slow Down/Caution” and “Go” just as well.

But still, most people I know would instinctively refer to it as a Stoplight.  Why is that?

I mean, it certainly isn’t a big deal.  It’s nothing that I’m going to lose any sleep over.  But it is kind of curious, and frankly, I needed something to write to go along with posting this picture that I drew ;)

Did you know Paul McCartney used to have a mustache?  Actually, I think he spelled it “moustache” since he’s English.  Here I’ve redrawn Paul with the mustache/moustache… this look & style for Paul would have been somewhere around 1968 I guess.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In a related story – I was watching some footage of the Beatles last night… it was from their first American tour, where they played that concert in-the-round… where Ringo Starr kept hopping down off his drum kit every so often… so he could spin the little circular drum-riser to face a new part of the crowd… and John Lennon, Paul McCartney & George Harrison kept pushing their amplifiers around and moving the mic stands… all the while vamping and interacting with a crowd of screaming teenie-boppers who would periodically pelt them with jellybeans. 

What a head trip… watching the soon-to-be-immortal Beatles schlepping their own equipment around onstage while being thwacked in the head with little hard bits of candy… pretty funny stuff.