Sesame Street

I just uncovered these files that were used for a couple of Sesame Street Animated Shorts for the international syndication. They have no dialogue and are supposed to stress the concept of 'cooperation'.

I animated these, using character designs by the incredible Kelsey Mann, there were 4 shorts all together. Each one was about 3 minutes. I ended up creating all of the sound effects, and, was then even asked to score them. As soon as I get them all together, I'll post them.

James

Mike Stevens

Before I succumbed to the jaws of digital graphics, I'd interned at a sign shop. First cleaning (of all things) graffiti off of existing signs, to then helping out actually paint and cut letters. Like I'd always been, the guys who ran the shop were really into lettering and design. They'd loan me books and magazines on the subject, and, I discovered this entire subculture that ranged from wood carvers to hot rod pin-stripers.

One signpainter who was pretty legendary was Mike R. Stevens. He's had actually a dozen or so fonts named after him, most of which you can find online. His letters and style can be found just about anywhere, from storefronts, semi-trucks to food package design.

More Inks!

Making some clear headway into the inking process. It looks like a lot of techniques will end up being used, as, some computer shading will come in handy. Mostly in the form of grays and possibly some patterns.

I keep making analogies to this process as I go along. Like making a sandcastle with tweezers. Or, saving for a house by collecting aluminum can money.

Matchmakers

A great new This American Life Episode here:

Sabir, a young man in Afghanistan, thought he'd found true love but he couldn't afford a wedding. So two foreign aid workers, friends of his, decide to come to his rescue. They soon find out making a lasting love match isn't as simple as writing a check. This and other stories of people matching others up—with wives, with toys, with body parts.

"When Sharks Attack...Pop Culture!"

The Cover

After some different versions throughout the course of writing, this looks like it's the final version. Originally it was a dark cover, with real subtle chess imagery. As time went on, and some research, this is what's resulted.

Things might change from now until release, but for now this is the working cover.

Comedy Illustrations

Folks from the Comedy.com site have asked for another round of 'gag' illustrations for the different topics of jokes they feature. See if you can figure out these categories:

Viva La Rambo!

I've been seeing this around town lately, and the irony here hasn't escaped me one bit. Surely this is a swipe from the Che image.



It's just that it's for the new Rambo movie, which, was this huge Stallone Reagan era classic (I think the 3rd installment in the Rambo franchise had him fighting alongside Mujahadeen in Afghanistan!)

Nancy's Cookbook

About 5 years ago, my uncle had embarked on collecting all of our Grandmothers Italian recipes. He complied them into an entire cookbook, which he then gave all of us grandchildren a copy.

By popular demand, he's decided to print up some copies to sell, in a nicely bound form. He's asked me to contribute design duties, starting with a cover:



And with that, here's a recipe for Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

2 LB baking potatoes
2 Large cloves of roasted garlic, reserving the oil
1/4 c Unsalted butter
1 c Milk
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/4 minced Italian parsley

Peel and cut the potatoes into large pieces. Place in a medium sized pot with salted water and bring to a boil. Cook 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Drain potatoes, mash adding butter, milk, garlic, pulp and garlic flavored oil. Mix well. Season with salt, pepper and Italian parsley.

Serves 6

In case you didn't see the latest episode...

Doom Leaper

This is an old GIF used waaaay back for an old video. Scroll your browser down keeping your eye on the top of the screen.

(Click the frame at the bottom to play it with all frames).

Inks!

This is my first pass at some inks for the book. It looks like this might be a learning as I go process, as, there's going to be some experimenting. Lots of inking I've looked at lately involves use of cross-hatch rather than gray tones for shading.



The main idea is to probably use the computers gray tones as little as possible, save, for skin tone, and shadow effects.

Pieter Dorrenboom

A while back, I took a summer trip through Europe with a friend. We ended up going to lots of local pubs, shows, and record stores throughout Europe. It was fascinating to see the local culture through these underground music scenes, and , each country had it's own take. In Holland (Netherlands), we found a lot of the local music had it's artwork done by Pieter Dorrenboom, a local cartoonist.



His illustrations have to be some of my favorites, as, I found myself buying the records, having no idea what the music was like, JUST for the artwork. There's a Dutch Punk/Rockabilly band called 'Batmobile' who's albums featured lots of Pieters artwork.



Some of these records came out almost 20 years ago, but, it looks like Pieters still illustrating and creating great work!

J



Oh, and Happy New Year!