DON'T BUY A TARDIS.

"... BECOME A TIME LORD AND THEY GIVE YOU ONE FOR FREE."

Over on Whitechapel, the current Remake/Remodel challenge is to design the 13th Doctor. To be honest, I'd really like to see an older Doctor lead one of the revival series. Back when they were still looking for an 11, I was hoping they'd cast someone like Bill Nighy (I mean, Nighy ended up in the last series anyway, which was cool).

This character isn't exactly meant to be Bill Nighy, though he was my original inspiration. I'm thinking... Older, even more flamboyant (I imagine his outfit changes colors every episode but it remains in that combination). Flashy, a little snarkier than the other guys. Maybe the Doctor feels the need to turn up the energy when he finds himself in an older body. Nighy, specifically, is twice as old as the current Doctor but he still has an incredible energy and way of carrying himself that is immensely entertaining. Similar snake-like movement and posture to, say, Jarvis Cocker.

... Okay, I really like Bill Nighy. In other news: This comes into your room and watches you sleep at night, before burrowing into your ear.

I THINK SOMEONE SNEEZED ON ME AT THE CON.

Baltimore Comic-Con is over. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and the folks that dealt with my super-awkwardness when I wandered up to say hi. I did some sketches and, unlike last year, I remembered to document the work. I mean, they're shitty phone pictures but that's better than nothing, right? So here are some things I drew...

Clockwise from the top left: Phantom of the Paradise (um, Phantom of the Paradise), The White Stripes, Watch and Ward (The Venture Bros -- returning Sept. 12), space chick, the Order of the Triad (The Venture Bros -- did I mention it starts again Sept. 12) and a punk rock Storm (X-Men).

Next up: Small Press Expo (SPX) in Bethesda, September 11 - 12. I'll be at table C3, hustling my wares.

THINGS TO PUT ON YOUR CHEST AREA.

AHH. Baltimore Comic-Con is this weekend, and I will be in the Artists' Alley with Emma Rochon and Ariyana Suvarnasuddhi. We registered under The Society of the Okay, so that's how we'll probably show up in the program. Come find us at Table A214, because we can only amuse ourselves for so long. Here's the map. We're facing the lobby, so... I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing.

I'll be sketching all weekend. There will also be a variety of prints, a small selection of original art and these "Poison In Her Well" t-shirts, which are also available in my shop (same price, just plus shipping). Black ink on black American Apparel tees for extra-classiness. Available in XS - XL (unisex, size chart). Some sizes are ridiculously limited, by the way, especially XL.

The black print on black fabric is difficult to capture in a photograph, but the variation in texture (shininess of the ink against the fabric) creates a really cool, subtle effect. I made a video to demonstrate but quickly decided I didn't want to upload fifteen seconds of me just spinning around. Fuck it. Here's a crappy video for you to watch.

A SIAMESE CAT OF A GIRL.

Apologies for the limited updates. It's been pretty go, go, go with ELLE's "Dirty Little Secret" series (s-so many ladies to draw). I think I failed to mention that there are exclusive illustrations in each issue of ELLE (at least for a few more months), so you should check those out. Yes, I realize I'm terrible at promoting myself.

I pulled a few late nights to get some new things going as well, including the pictured shirt design. As you can see, it's a design-y version of my "Poison In Her Well" poster. Printing this week. Black on black American Apparel shirts.

Oh. And SDCC happened. It was an exhausting but completely amazing event: I met some great new people (including acquaintances that had previously only existed in the digital realm), visited friends, fangirled, promoted my work, talked business, spent too much money... Even my day of mindless post-con recovery/wandering was wonderfully derailed by an impromptu visit to the WildStorm offices. Thanks to everyone who made my first SDCC a great experience.

And the conventions just keep coming. Next: Baltimore Comic-Con, August 28 + 29. Details soon. I promise.

FIND ME IN SAN DIEGO, GET DOODLES.

Here's the deal. I'm packing for my first San Diego Comic-Con. I just found these ladies. Their inky skeletons, I mean. I have a game for you. If you find me at the convention and are the eleventh person to give me a Sci-Five, you can have the original inked art for this piece. Only one try per person, so Sci-Five carefully.

So. Find me. I'll be occasionally updating my Twitter if, for some reason, you were really desperate for that art and wanted clues to my whereabouts. I look like this.

Mid-SDCC update: OH MY GOD. I UNDERESTIMATED THE CON. IT IS A BEAST. Okay. It is obvious I will never make it to eleven in this environment. I can't even find the people I'm looking for and most of them are at stationary tables.

WHO WANTS PIZZA ROLLS?

"Dirty Little Secret" is currently three episodes in, so be sure to check out all the crazy drama that has been going on (it only gets crazier; I've read the scripts).

Work for the series has been taking up all my time, save for a few afternoons where I force myself to shake the creeping threat of atrophied legs by wandering around a bit. I really wanted to quickly doodle something else, so before bed last night, I managed to sketch Dr. Orpheus. He's my favorite-favorite. And sometimes fan art is just easier.

Oh! And this year, I will be attending San Diego Comic-Con for the first time. It was a ridiculous, last-minute decision, so I'm still not sure what's going to happen. I think I'll mostly be showing up at parties, looking for food and agonizing over whether or not I shook someone's hand too firmly. Anyway. Updates later.

CAPTAIN CABINETS TRAPPED IN CABINETS.

Final piece from the comedy portraits part of my thesis. To be honest, I'm not even that obsessed with the actual Mighty Boosh show (my two favorite episodes are all from the first season) but I absolutely love the dynamic between Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Also, that's supposed to be a giant gorilla hand in the back. Not sure if it reads 'cause I decided to get wacky with the coloring.

That's it for thesis work. Thanks to my thesis group members in Metallica (whatever, I thought using a pre-existing band name for our group would be hilarious and it is, so shut your mouth) for all their hard work and feedback: Michael Clayton, Noel Hernandez, Viktoriya Tsoy, Ariyana Suvarnasuddhi, Emma Rochon. Additional thanks to my studio professors: Oliver Munday, Rachel Salomon, Allan Comport.


I just added a bunch of original art to my shop (big pieces too!). Every penny from my sales is a huge help toward all the weird stuff coming in the next year, so an Internet high-five to those who have already supported me. Update: Sold out! I even sold my last shirt. You guys are fucking amazing. Thank you.

Also, don't forget that the first episode of "Dirty Little Secret" premieres on Elle.com tomorrow! I read all the scripts a few days ago; this series is going to be a lot of fun. If you're confused about what these words mean, check out my post about this project.

ANGEL TATTOO SINKING BENEATH HER BELT.

I was coloring this and then the above line from Bat for Lashes's "Sarah" popped into my head. My response was, "Yeah, sure, why not." Arbitrary religious tattoos are becoming a thing in my life.



So, yeah. Another piece for the fashion illustration half of my thesis. Clothing inspired by this post on withasianstereotypes (I love this blog, but beware the auto-play).

UP TO SOMETHING.

A shot of my display in the Commencement exhibition before I tore it down. I graduated on Monday, finishing up four years of studying Illustration at the Maryland Institute College of Art. My classmates are some of the most stunningly talented young artists out there today, so I hope you all hire the shit out of them. No, seriously. Really make them suffer with that work load and then aggressively try to tend the wounds with money and praise.


And for my first announcement as a legit, full-time illustrator... I've been working on a project with ELLE Magazine for a while; this is a screencap of the site that just went live today. It's like a motion comic/animated webseries hybrid called "Dirty Little Secret", and I illustrated all the characters. I wish I could also say I wrote it and did all the awesome animating and backgrounds, but I'm not that good at multi-tasking. The trailer is online; the first episode premieres next week. There's also a short video interview on the site, showing a little bit of my process. I haven't been able to get through the first ten seconds without cringing at the sight of myself and closing the window, so I don't know if it's any good.

Note to self: Stop eating cookies at all hours.

ALL THESE BITCHES CHECKING OUT MY BRITCHES.

Hey, remember that thesis thing I was doing? Well, I just finished up my last week of school (ever), so I had to bust out a few more pieces.

Even though the second season of their TV show wasn't super-great, I really love Flight of the Conchords. Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement were one of the first duos I thought of for my thesis, so it had to be done. I sketched this piece before any of the other ones, half-inked it and then left it to die because I wanted to proceed in a different direction. But time quickly ran out and I had to sheepishly revisit it, apologizing for my illustration-infidelity the entire time. For this piece, I was going for their naive, unassuming sex gods angle. Subway car, wide-eyed fangirls, underwear. You know. That whole deal.

What, that brings my comedy portrait series to a total of two pieces? I swear I'm not a slacker. I've got things to show you. Soon. Ish. Maybe.

Also, I'm finally selling some original art in my store. First up, the inks for my first The Birds illustration... Details here.

YOU'RE TURNING INTO A PENGUIN. STOP IT.

In my pathetic excuse for a heart, I hold a tremendous fondness for the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Like, I'd get into it, but it's truly embarrassing how much I love this stuff. Y'know... Turning point in my childhood. If you haven't read the series before, I urge you to pick up the first book (it's the best).

Even as a kid, I felt that the Hitchhiker's Guide books deserved more than the goofy-cheesy cover treatments they often received (heh, I threw away the dust jacket on my all-in-one volume because the naked book was better). So, for our latest Typography class assignment to redesign book covers, I chose the first three in the series. I wanted something fun and subtly retro but also sophisticated. Some progress was tracked on Twitter, if you care.

THIS IS MOSTLY WORDS.

First! I recently received an amazing set of handmade sketchbooks from Mark Grambau and Mel Chao. Mel makes these leather, softcover books and, holy wow, they're so damn nice, I think they'll motivate me to get back into this whole sketching thing. Plus, the paper's really great so I think I'm going to try out more ink sketching. This drawing is my first in the book, just something quick because I don't like dealing with an empty sketchbook. It's intimidating.

And a few bits of news... My poster for "A Dead Sheriff In Little Wichita" will be included in Spectrum 17. It's an honor to be in such fine, fine company, so I'll be pretty excited to see the book when it comes out in November.

Also, my design for Strand didn't win their contest but I'm one of the twenty finalists. Not too shabby. The winning and finalist pieces will be part of a show at SVA some time in June, I believe. They're also online here. I'm just excited that people like R. Sikoryak and Adrian Tomine looked at my work for even a second during the judging process.

Also, also, some friends told me that my Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick illustration was on [adult swim] a while ago. It was kind of a nice surprise the morning of my birthday (yeah, I'm 22 now). It's been running all week and, as always, BumpWorthy was on the ball and uploaded the clip a few days later. Watch the bump here, and marvel at the, like, ten seconds that my work lingered on [as]. Hey, this kind of stuff makes me giddy. Don't mock me.

And... I think that's it. For now. I graduate in less than month, so I need take care of all the nonsense associated with that.

SEE, I CAN STILL DRAW EYES.

So. I was asked to create a banner for an e-mail to Art Directors, inviting them to come to our illustration department's end-of-the-year showcase (Seniors show off portfolios, chat with ADs via Skype... It's quite cool). This was one of the toughest assignments I've had in a while, having less than a week to come up with something visually interesting and friendly/inviting (not my area of expertise). I also had to somehow express the relationship between art students and ADs at Showcase. Of course, my brain immediately spit out numerous concepts about panic and the desperation of recently graduated students but, okay, no one wants to hear about that, let alone see it on an invitation.

My professor and department chair both reacted positively to the Venture Bros. piece I did a few weeks ago and we pushed it in that direction. I was really hung up on making everything happy and inviting at first, which resulted in a mediocre piece that didn't look like my own. Then I scrapped everything and started over, tossing the happy-go-lucky tone and just doing what I wanted to do (I mean, while keeping most of my weird tendencies in check... No one has an eyepatch or anything). In the end, I came up with a piece I actually quite like, and I hope the ADs dig it too.

In other news, I attended MoCCA this last Saturday and had a blast. I was around for only about five hours but I caught up with old friends and met so many great people. So worth the exhaustion. Holy crap.

WELL, I THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY.

This is for The Strand's tote bag contest, which I didn't know about until a few days ago. I dug through the other submissions and I seriously doubt I'm going to win, but if you take a peek at the list of judges, then you can probably understand why I wanted to get my work in anyway. Oh, and obligatory song... Roxy Music's "The Strand."




I also did this in-class typography exercise, quick handlettering for Cam Jus, a DC-based DJ. He asked our professor for something like the Coca-Cola logo, so I considered script from vintage, hand-painted signs instead of just riffing on the Coke logo. I think it turned out nicely for an hour's work. Thanks to my professor, Oliver Munday, for tuning it up and making it vector-nice.

SEAGULLS SCREAMING KISS HER KISS HER.

I've been working all through Spring Break, so I thought I deserved to dick around with a nonsense piece of artwork for a few hours. I did this little exercise last night. While watching 'The Birds' the other day, the crows collecting in the playground reminded me of the hordes of sour-faced burn-outs that head to the swings to smoke after school. Yeah, I don't know why my mind works that way. Anyway. I thumbnailed a few fashion-y illustrations inspired by this. Titles that were entertained included: "Surly Salad Days," "Goth Recess," "And Twiiiiins" (I apologize profusely for that last one). I may turn this into a series to do in my tiny pockets of free time.

What's that? An excuse to post music? All right. Both these songs have somewhat creepy, almost voyeuristic birds (so I had them on loop). I should start a collection with this theme. And sell it on TV, a la "Buzz Ballads." Here are XTC's "Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her" and Pulp's "Birds In Your Garden."




The response to my first piece for thesis has been really amazing. Thanks to everyone who has been sharing it. I'm planning on doing at least four more from my long list of duos. Flight of the Conchords is already in progress, so maybe they'll be posted next.