LOOK OUT FOR THE TELEPORTING CYCLOPS.

In Typography class, one of our first major projects was to design an event poster for a lecture, play, musician, whatever we wanted. The only real rule was that the focus of the poster had to be type (imagery was allowed but couldn't be the focal point). I was listening to a lot of The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble and The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation, their improv alter-ego (serious thanks to both Zoetica Ebb and Ales Kot for bringing them to my attention). Both band names have plenty of lovely letter forms for me to draw and stack (two Zs!), so I chose one and went with it.

The poster, printed at 18x24, looks nice. It went through infinite revisions to get to something I felt confident in; the exhaustive, mildly annoying process was partially documented on Twitter. Anyway. I'll shut up now. Have some music.


Oh. Yeah. Thesis things. Those are, uh, on the way.

I FORGOT ABOUT THAT BULLET HOLE.

I was cleaning out my studio flat file and saw this fellow. I totally forgot to share this one last semester. Originally, this piece and the line art that eventually became my shirt design were supposed to be elements in one of my first thesis posters.

The two faces were a very subtle detail flanking a larger illustration in the middle, but this proved to be too much digital manipulation for me (I try not to edit too much in Photoshop, just color). Since only half of their faces were supposed to show through ever so slightly, I didn't bother to make their faces look terribly different and decided to focus more on their sleepy eyes and lightly sneering, partially parted lips. I was also thinking about making him a shirt as well but it would have cost a pretty penny to print both designs.

In other news, I was sorry to hear about Alexander McQueen's death. He was one of my go-to designers when it came to putting together outfits for that fashion illustration class I took last year. Even if you don't typically pay attention to the runways, looking through his collections is always great inspiration. Incredible, incredible work.

ONE TWO ONE TWO THREE FOUR.

Have I mentioned how excited I am for Edgar Wright's film adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim series by Bryan Lee O'Malley? Because I most certainly am. Here's a Kim Pine drawing I sketched during class today. I've done a lot of doodles from the SP universe but this is the first that has turned out at least kind of, sort of okay.

And yes. I said "class." My final semester of college began this week. So... we'll see how that goes.

THEY MAKE JETSON CAR SOUNDS.

A super-quick piece for this week's Remake/Remodel challenge over at the Whitechapel forum. Ace of Space was a character that used some space goodies from a crashed UFO to help him fight Nazis. Obviously, a 1940s take on a Shakespearean classic. I did this drawing during a break from coloring other drawings. Trust me, I'm well aware that I need to get back on board with my other hobbies.

Also, obligatory reference to the new year. 2009 has easily been the craziest year of my life, and I'm sensing that most of this self-same crazy has bled over into 2010. Thanks for putting up with me for a year, folks. Here's to another.

THE PROSPECTOR'S 20-ACRE TERROR GARDEN.

Here's the last poster from my thesis. With this one, I wanted to play a little more with lighting than I had in the other posters and also draw lots and lots of shoes. This title went through an incredible number of revisions, but I think it became stupidly epic enough to be the final movie in the Adventures of Quarter 'Kee and Bastard Pistol series. Spoiler alert: Quarter 'Kee dies in this one.

... Or does he? (Yeah, he totally does.)

Thanks to my professor, Rachel Salomon, and fellow thesis group members, Emma Rochon, Ariyana Suvarnasuddhi, Rosemary Davis, Noel Hernandez, for their help throughout the semester.

THE SKELETON 'KEE'S MIRACLE TONIC.

I shared this illustration a few months ago, as it was the first one I completed for thesis. Since then, I've tweaked the coloring a bit and added lettering.

This is another villain piece, an extra-sleazy conman. The formula for a well-dressed embodiment of religious insincerity is simple: Take a white guy in a suit, drop a variety of Christian imagery, and then arbitrarily add Native American gear and a miracle tonic labeled "not at all deadly." Give him a cartoon baddie moustache and blackened lips for good measure. And yeah, I used "'Kee" again because "Skeleton 'Kee" was too cheesy to resist. Quarter 'Kee threw a series of comical tantrums upon hearing about this guy.

Quarter 'Kee shirts are on the verge of selling out; the last few have been added to my shop. I'll be shipping them out before I go on Break next week. Thanks again to those who bought shirts from Comic-Con, Art Market or when I carry them around inside my trenchcoat.

THE OUTLAW OUTPOST.

Third in my series of posters for thesis. Villains. Twin bounty hunters. Sweet jackets and boots. Perpetual scowls. Easily triggered bloodlust. Eyepatches. An accident that ensured their perpetual grumpiness and need for Quarter 'Kee and Bastard Pistol's demise.

Oh, and a tree with lots of paper on it.

POISON IN HER WELL.

I imagine that The Adventures of Quarter 'Kee and Bastard Pistol started off with a single film and, after it totally made bank in the cinema, the creators decided to expand it to a series. Inevitably, they had to bring in a love interest/pair of legs, so I used my second poster to introduce Lady Gunpowder (I also considered "Baby Gunpowder" or something equally ridiculous), who is like a weird mish-mash of a Native American princess and an outlaw schoolmarm.

I decided to go for something a little more iconic and pay homage to this Fistful of Dollars poster, which I like quite a lot. Also, Poison in Her Well was one of the goofier, awkwardly sleazy titles at the top of my list of brainstormed film names. Of course I had to use it.

A DEAD SHERIFF IN LITTLE WICHITA.

I previously explained the thematic goals behind my thesis (I was pleased to see that my words resonated with writer Chris Roberson), but perhaps I should break down more specifics. From the start, I wanted to fake-develop a series of buddy cowboy action flicks, pulling more influence from the mid-century little kid fascination with "cowboys and Indians" than historically accurate information from the old West. I also wanted to include wild one-shot characters, fashion-conscious costuming, and a bit of the casual sleaze and political incorrectness found in exploitation films. Oh, and I wanted to hand-letter a bunch of really stupid/epic names for the movie titles. These are all things that I love exploring, so it wasn't difficult to tie together.

That's how the Adventures of Quarter 'Kee and Bastard Pistol came to be. Pictured is the poster for the first film in this five-part imaginary series, A Dead Sheriff in Little Wichita. It's not my favorite, but it's done. So there.

So, why does scrawny Quarter 'Kee have a skull permanently painted on his face? Why is the rebellious sharp-shooter Bastard Pistol's version of alarm read like low-level disinterest? It's up to the audience to fill in the blanks; all I offer are the visual clues. Again, feel free to refer to my explanation from a few weeks ago in case you're still confused why the hell I'm doing this, but I promise no understanding. As usual.

SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR THE LADIES.

The ladies of MICA's burlesque troupe, The GalHaus Revue, asked me to create a poster illustration for their big performance, coming up in January. Really, how could I say no? Despite the fact that my sketchbooks are filled with leggy girls that look like they belong on Bond's arm, it was weirdly challenging creating the right kind of image for this poster, all the while keeping it design-friendly. This particular figure went through an infinite number of incarnations and costume changes; it was kind of ridiculous. Designer Justin Lloyd fixed up the whole thing real nice-nice, really made the poster pop.

Also, I will be emceeing this self-same burlesque show, so if you want to see me probably act like even more of an idiot than I usually am and make an audience really uncomfortable, come on down.

In other news, I've been hammering away at my thesis because everything's due in, like, a week. Occasional, crudely shot progress photos have been appearing on my Twitter. If I don't die this weekend, I will post finals soon.

JUST FRIENDS.

A couple of months ago, Patricio Oliver asked me to contribute a piece of guest art for his graphic novel, Maurice in Love. Illustrators (including a few certified People I Know: Jordie Bellaire, Sam Bosma, Daniel Krall, Kali Ciesemier) were asked to re-make some of the panels in the book, which follows the love life of a British single fellow named Maurice. I received a copy the other day, and the guest art looks marvelous with Patricio's also marvelous illustrations. Do the math. That's double the marvelous. I really wish I had more time to put into my piece, but I'm still very pleased to have been able to participate.

Also, I've finally opened up a store where prints are available for purchase. I'll have shirts and a few more things online after MICA's Art Market is over. Also, also, I gave my blog a little face lift and a new color scheme, so go on and take a peek if you've been following via a feed reader for a while.

New business cards and postcards are also on the way. Art directors, be prepared to find these under your pillows (I prefer a more hands-on approach than direct mail campaigns).

A STRICTLY DEATH-ONLY DIET.

Just a quick one today, gang. This is my contribution to the Harry Potter-themed zine that Alyssa Nassner has been organizing to sell at the upcoming MICA Art Market.

I swear, I wanted to stay away from the dark characters and draw two of my personal favorites, Fred and George, but I just couldn't handle all the smiling. I also made a tremendous effort to stay away from illustrating teary-eyed Draco Malfoy, despite my natural inclination to draw sad-looking but impeccably dressed men. Bellatrix Lestrange was kind of a spontaneous thing, but the deadline was coming up, so I just let it happen. I played around a little with textures and the B&W restriction, though I think the lace and fishnets dated her outfit. At least now we know what Bellatrix would have looked like if she were in an ethereal goth rock band from the 80s.

KINGS OF THE WILD FRONTIER.

Senior thesis. I am right in the thick of it. I'm doing a series of 18x24 posters for films that don't exist. My project presentation to the class included me rambling about the freedom to play with stories that exist with little to no larger context, as well as a barrage of material from Kevin Dart's "Yuki 7" project, The Venture Bros. episode "Escape To The House of Mummies Part II" and the Grindhouse trailers. Basically, it's all just an excuse for me to design ridiculous characters and make up as many crazy standalone scenes as I want without consequences. The stories only live and breathe within these posters, and the viewer fills in the (massive) gaps with their own imagination. I'm going to pretend that kind of makes sense.

More details about my thesis when I'm feeling slightly more coherent, as I need a good deal of energy before I can talk about cowboys and 60s sleaze. In the meantime, take a look at my first completed poster illustration (text will be added later), featuring this snazzy fellow. Do not be fooled by his masterful and almost-sexy way with words! His lips say, "Try my miracle tonic" but his facial hair screams, "I will tie your girlfriend to the railroad tracks."

I ALSO ACCIDENTALLY YELLED AT A KID.

Baltimore Comic-Con was a few weeks ago, and I had a swell time with Emma Rochon and Ariyana Suvarnasuddhi at our Society of the Okay table. To look occupied (because I seem extra-unapproachable when I'm just sitting there, glaring into the middle distance), I drew Molotov Cocktease, Dr. Mrs. The Monarch and Triana Orpheus, and, surprisingly, they all found homes. It was great. I neglected to properly document most of my drawings, but you can see Mol below and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch above, kind of, sort of. I did Venture Bros. characters because their outfits are burned into my brain, though I admit I did text to confirm which side Mol wore her eyepatch.


Even though I only managed to walk through the floor once that weekend, I got to meet artists and writers that I greatly admire. I'm going to go ahead and pretend I didn't weird them out too much. There were also people that said that they were already familiar with my blog/Twitter, so hello to you guys too. It was great putting faces to usernames. Thanks, everybody. You have no idea how pleased we were about the response.

I was holding off on selling prints and shirts online to make sure I'd have all sizes available at the con, but that's over now, obviously. For those of you who are interested in buying any of the three pictured prints (digital, 8.5x11) or a shirt (American Apparel unisex XS - L), just throw me an e-mail (hidden away here) and hopefully we can work something out. I'm also putting together materials for my school's upcoming Art Market and finally putting things in my Etsy shop, so availability/sizes are limited.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I must re-watch the Venture Bros. season premiere for the thousandth time and then do that "glare into the middle distance" thing I'm so good at.

I GENERALLY STAY INDOORS.

I never thought my first editorial work would be for a sports publication, but, then again, my psychic powers have always been lacking. I illustrated the cover and several portraits for this month's Lacrosse Magazine. I'm sure you've noticed that most of my artwork consists of women, and when I draw men, they are imaginary and/or extra-gaunt. So, being faced with the challenge of drawing so many portraits of male athletes was kind of daunting.

However, when AD Gabriella O'Brien and writer Matt DaSilva told me about their idea, which consisted of crazy superhero-esque portraits of lacrosse's finest faceoff masters, I was pretty excited. Too cool, right? I have seriously lucked out with assignments so far. This was also one of the select few issues that would go to their younger audience (in addition to the regular subscribers), so I took that into consideration. It ended up being a lot of fun, and the interiors look fantastic, thanks to Gabriella's work. I still can't believe they trusted me with the cover, which consists solely of my illustration and hand lettering. Thanks to Gabriella and Matt for a great experience!

In other news, Baltimore Comic-Con was a success. An inevitably obnoxious post to follow soon.