Cat Noir Finals

Here's how the final pieces turned out! If you're in the Portland area, you can check them out at Gallery Mini on SE 8th and Main St.

I definitely created the "cartooniest" work on display in the gallery. I'd like to go back in and work on these pieces a bit more because I really like the concept. I was just a bit rushed to complete them (which was entirely the fault of my time-management skills).

Cat Noir

Here are the pencil sketches for my 3 cat-themed noir pieces currently on display at Gallery Mini in Portland. I'll post the final pieces later this week!

Thursday Afternoon Cartoons: Ooodles of Noodles

Another very silly idea:

Sir Slothington

May I present to you, Sir Slothington:

He is a proper gentleman sloth.

Pabst and Presidents!

It's been a bit since my last post, mostly because I was doing some last-minute illustration work on this guy:

 It was entered in a Pabst art contest here in Portland at the lovely Grand Central Bowling. The winner was determined by voters, so I was very fortunate to have many of my friends stop by and drop their tickets into my envelope - I won the contest and this image will be transformed into a billboard in Southeast Portland! How awesome is that?!

I'm excited that so many people will see my art! I'm going to brag about it like crazy, since it's not everyday that your artwork becomes a billboard (unless you work closely with a marketing department, I suppose).

So yay! Here are some images of this work in progress:

The rough sketch that started it all!

The line work for the illustration!

After the PBR cans were colored in (minus the white logo)

All done!

I should have taken some close-ups of the cans - there are many details packed on those cans. Once the billboard is up, I'll be sure to take more detailed photos!

Aukward.

I got thinking about auks, and that led me to draw this:

If this makes no sense to you, may I recommend this Wikipedia page?

Thursday Afternoon Comics: Ooh Baby!

The concept for this comic popped into my head a little while back, so I had to draw it out in comic form:

 

I am going to be in some art shows this month! Yay! Now I just need to make artwork for the shows!

Readin' with Sasquatch

Here's the final art for my Powell's tote bag submission. I really liked it, but it didn't crack the top 10. Since a very similar idea did make the top 10 (and was way less cute, in my humble opinion) I have a feeling my design was passed over because I didn't make the Powell's logo big enough. Whatever! At least I got a nice little portfolio piece out of the contest.

More Sasquatch!

I've been thinking a lot about the Sasquatch because he's the main component of an image I created for a tote bag design contest at Powell's books. Here's my linework for the submission - next week I'll upload the color version (which is looking pretty adorable so far!)

Sasquatch on the Brain

A little doodle I did before trivia this past week. You'll better understand why I have Sasquatch on the brain after Thursday's post. :)

Thursday Afternoon Comics: Fat Wolf

Fat Wolf! Fat Wolf! I love Fat Wolf. Fat Wolf will be in future comics.

A Tale of Two Cupcakes

This was originally a mini comic I created last year - I scanned it all in and cleaned it up for your viewing pleasure!

AmeriComics, Part II

Just in time for Independence Day, here are some comics reflecting on my AmeriCorps term of service:

 

I learned a lot this year!

 

One of the mentor leaders did work with a student to get her several thousand dollars in scholarship money. So awesome.

 

Advising at Portland State is a bit of a mess. I'm sure students have similar experiences at campuses all over the country. We need better advising systems so students aren't taking classes they don't need!

Materials: Micron pens

Gone Fishin'

A nice little line drawing I did last summer, based on an image in a California guide book I had checked out of the library...

Easter Egg Hunt

A quick little drawing I did based on an old family photo of me:

Materials: Micron pens and Prismacolor Markers on cardboard

Better Things to Do

I've had a hard time staying motivated as I finish up my term of AmeriCorps service. I don't have a cat, but if I did, I'd totes let it sleep on my head sometimes.

Materials: Micron brush pen

Tuesday Afternoon Comics!

A sort of continuation of last week's "Adventures of Tiny Worm" comic. Tiny Worm not pictured.

Materials: Micron Pens, Prismacolor Markers

Thursday Afternoon Comics!

I wanted to make a cute and simple comic. That resulted in "The Adventures of Tiny Worm":

Keep an eye out for more comics from me in the upcoming month. I have time to draw these things now!

Materials: Sakura pen, Prismacolor Markers

Bird-Brained

Now that I'm finding myself with free time (almost too much free time - I'm still looking for summer employment because I need to work more than one day a week) I have more time to draw. I often have a hard time figuring out what I want to draw, which is why I really like Selfless Portraits - when you agree to participate, they send you the profile picture of someone else using the app on Facebook, so you get to draw someone else's portrait. You need to do it fairly quickly too - within 48 hours.

It's a good exercise, though I don't know if my random stranger is going to like my portrait. I found his features to be quite birdlike (especially his hair), so I just turned him into a bird. It's not a very representational portrait, that's for sure:

The poor, random boy assigned to me

The resulting portrait

Pretty crazy. But it was a fun exercise. Now I'm awaiting the portrait some random stranger drew of me. Perhaps that artist has turned me into an animal as well.

Materials: Sakura pens, Prismacolor markers

Friday Afternoon Comics & More!

Hello dear readers!

I've been horrible at posting recently, and I apologize. I've been occupied with getting into the Ooligan Press Book Publishing Master's Program at Portland State University (woo!) and I spent last weekend at Stumptown Comics Fest (double woo!). I also had to deal with some other way less interesting and more stressful stuff.

Blah, blah, blah, enough about me - here's a comic!

This happened right outside my window the other night so I felt compelled to draw it. I like that the dude looks like Strong Sad from Homestar Runner. But Strong Sad probably wouldn't yell at a cat. Also, the cat was unharmed. I don't know what was going on but that cat was pissed.

Here are some sketches from the week:

Kids in sunglasses. The sketch on the right is from a photo of my little brother. I love little kids with big sunglasses on. It's so great.

And some bunnies! Because who doesn't like cute bunnies?

That's it for now. I'll get back on track with my posts next week. Thanks for viewing!