Comic Strip Poster art

I was going through some old files last night and came across a poster I did for a weekly comic strip that I used to produce.
The strip was birthed from an early comic strip in which Bottle Rocket was a character. The idea behind the Bottle Rocket Chronicles was all Dad's/Husbands want to be a hero in the eyes of their family.

Bottle Rocket was a great crime fighter but as hard as he tried he just always seemed to fall short at home. I still like the idea behind this comic and hope to pick it up again at some point. I will probably post some of the comics in the near future. Stay Tuned!

Object illustrations

Some of my favorite assignments include drawing all sorts of objects from bugs to toys to candy.
These are just a few to see more visit the objects page on my website.

Helpful Camping Tips

Here is a list of important items you may need when camping:
1. Ironing Board - you always wanna look your best.
2. Iron - helps with the ironing process plus it makes great toast
3. T.V. - always passes the time more quickly when ironing
4. Paint - good for marking trails so you don't get lost or just sprucing up nature
5. Wall Clock - for telling the time . . . silly.
6. Blender - for mixing up wild berries for a healthy smoothy.
7. Basket ball - Could serve as another seat around the campfire. Sure beats those hard rocks.
8. Tennis racket - For killing the giant mosquitos
9. Inflatable pool - Who wants to swim in the muddy river?
10. Paint Brush - Goes with number 4 unless you prefer to use your hands.
11. Bible - Great to have if you run into a revival tent meeting.
12. Telephone - Just incase you burn the hot dogs you can order pizza.

Things you don't really need when camping:
1. Sleeping bag and Pillow - Come on, your in the backyard go in and sleep in your nice comfy bed
2. Saw - You're camping not building a house
3. Flashlight - Have your dad turn on the flood lights
4. Canteen - You've got all the water you need from the inflatable pool.
5. Tent - Sleep in the car it's more comfortable.
6. Backpack - That's why you bring friends with you. Let them carry it all.

Let me Google that for ya.

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I know just the one.
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Fall Colors

The other day I was on my way home from running an errand when I saw these incredible fall colors. Unfortunatly I didn't have my camera so I took note of the time and the next day drove back and took this picture.

ipod paper

Paul Howalt has created a cool site ipodpaper.com for downloading fun, unique, cool wallpapers for your iphone or ipod touch. Best of all it's free. I just created 12 different original wallpapers for the site check them out at ipodpaper.com

Glazed Donut of Doom - Monster 1

She woos you with her seductive sweetness but don't be fooled she goes straight to the hips and keeps those jeans sprayed on tight.

Freddie Monster - Monster 2

Freddie was a child actor that played on the short lived but highly acclaimed 50's Sitcom "Monster in the House".
The show was about a normal family that brings home a baby monster after a hospital error. These days Freddie leads a good life going to conventions and reprising his role in his off broadway play. "Monster in the House the off broadway play". He also owns a chain of TV repair stores in Cleveland.

The floating hat - Monster 3

In 1853 Dr. Remus Van Shelton was experimenting with a formula that would turn him invisible. He worked tirelessly to come upon the right formula. During this process he invented many products we now enjoy like colorless tape, the door knob and the elastic wastband. The closest he ever got to the forumla that would turn him invisible was getting his derby to float several inches off his head.

Fiddler Crab Man - Monster 4

Uncle Butt Cut - Monster 5

Uncle Butt Cut started his life as a hair ball. Eventually he just started walking around and became part of the family.

Caw - The Black Crow - Monster 6

What's a group of monsters without a crow.

Yogle Snort - Monster 7

A prehistoric monster credited as the early vacuum.

Slarry - Monster 8

Slarry is really Slimy Larry. He sweats all the time so you think he's up to something even when he's not, but he usually is.

Bug Eyed Billy - Monster 9

Bug Eyed Billy can see real well in the dark.
This does him no good because he sleeps at night.

Kyle the Wolfman - Monster 10

You wouldn't know it to look at him but Kyle is actually a vegan.

Mr. Shrunken Head Park Ranger - Monster 11

Mr SHPR as we call him is the most mysterious of all the monsters. We know very little about him except that he is a park ranger that walks up to picnicers take a bite from their sandwich and then walks back into the woods.

Vince the Vampire - Monster 12

Vince really isn't a vampire, He's a cab driver but due to his pale appearance and long fangs people often mistake him for the prince of darkness.

Lloyd The Deadly Cricket - Monster 13

Lloyd works in a bait shop from which no fisherman has ever returned.

Lucky the Black Cat - Monster 14

The Gaussian Blur - Monster 15

Never successfully photographed all we have are fuzzy pictures of this furry beast.

FrankenFurry - Monster 16

As a P.R. stunt after the whole Frankenstein monster debacle Dr. Frankenstein created FrankenFurries.
Kids everywhere wanted one. People just loved these rejuvenated bunnies.
Once again Dr. Frankenstein was back in the good graces of his community. He expanded the FrankenFurries line to include Lamas, Aardvarks and Komodo Dragons but none had the appeal of the bunny. His good standing wasn't long lived. Other mad scientist got into the game of creating there own line of mutated beasts for kids. Foreseeing this outcome the Doctor had predisposed his FrankenFurries to destroy knockoff brands. When people carrying there Frankenfurries met up with someone walking the knockoff brand . . . well let's just say it wasn't pretty.

The Undead Cory Wade - Monster 17

Cory Wade was a real life notorious gunslinger.

Legend has it that lost his eye in a nasty game of Go Fish!
He replaced his eye with a solid gold eye that he called "Pearl".
When Wade passed away it didn't take long for grave robbers to dig him up and steal his golden eye.

To this day Wade's spirit wanders the grave site where he is buried looking for his beloved golden eye, Pearl.

Many years later his eye turned up in a bowl of soup.
Today you can see Wade's golden eye at The Smithsonian - Museum of American History.

Mud Guppy - Monster 18

Cragquarium - Monster 19

Part shellfish, part diver helmet, part fishbowl. Put those together with a monkey suit and you have CRAGQUARIUM the most outlandish B-Mobie monster of all time. Yes I said mobie thats no typo. Well it is, but it was on purpose. B-Mobies are even worse than B-movies, because they were filmed by people who accidently erased them before they could ever be show to audiences, who would have demanded their money back.

Cragquarium was the forerunner and inspiration for many of the slow lumbering monsters to appear in later sci-fi and horror movies of the 50's and 60's.

Sherman the square with many eyes - Monster 20

Sherman really doesn't look that menacing, but just you turn out the lights and you will change your mind.
Have you ever had the feeling you were being watched? Walked through the woods at night and had menacing eyes staring back at you? That was Sherman. He is most famous for his cartoon work on shows like Scooby Doo where he was seen in the intro to the show.

Lenny the evil carnival balloon - Monster 21

Lenny is that nice balloon you got at the theme park or carnival that kept trying his best to get away.
If he did escape your clutches, because you were distracted by the cotton candy, he laughed and laughed that evil helium balloon laugh all the way into the stratosphere.
If by some chance your mom tied him to your wrist he would constantly aggravate your dad by bobbing up and down in the rearview mirror all the way home. His favorite prank was floating into your room while you were sleeping. You would awaken to Lenny floating across the room. Gripped by shear terror that the Bell Witch was back for revenge you would pass out till morning. The next day Lenny was sitting in your floor lifeless.
Evil balloons have a short life span.

Ms. Crugly - Monster 22

Ms. Crugly has the old house at the top of the hill. The old place that all the kids in town are convinced is haunted.
Many a boy in the neighborhood has lost his baseball in there. Once Kevin Slapenski thought he heard the house burb after eating his brand new kick ball. It's said that a group of kids went into the house to recover some baseballs. They were greeted by Ms. Cugley welcoming them in with warm cookies and ice cold milk. Some of the kids ran out screaming "It's a trap!!!". Some, like myself, couldn't resist and just had to try the cookies. They were the best cookies I had ever tasted. So what if they turned me into a mouse.

Butter Bean the Vicious - Monster 23

You know this dog, It lives next door. He's weighs about 10 pounds soaking wet.
The Problem, Butter Bean has it out for you. He digs in your yard, turns over your garbage and keep you up all night barking. You tried making friends with Butter Bean but got your hand bit. Every time you walk outside Butter Bean is waiting to make your life miserable. Funny Butter Bean never barks at anyone else. Especially when the trick or treaters rolled your house.

Miss Shissper the Librarian - Monster 24

Miss Shissper is the school librarian. Sure we have computers but she prefers the card catalogs, micro-phish and the dewy decimal system. Don't talk too loud, mess up a book or get anything out of order. Rumor has it she'll eat your brain.

Interested in a Miss. Shissper TEE. Check it out.

The Giant Glorp - Monster 25

A Grape Jelly donut that was nuked in a microwave comes to life and terrorizes a breakfast crowd.

Magically Delicious - Monster 26

Magically Delicious started his career as a cereal mascot. The cereal didn't do very well. Focus groups said a green and blue hairy monster just wasn't cute enough to sell cereal to kids. Disgruntled he went into the scare business.

Larva X - Monster 27

Created from a failed lab experiment little Billy Frofindofiler didn't notice his prune juice had been tainted by a tiny drop from the beaker of his super secret bug formula Larva X. The Larva X fused with Billy's DNA to create the giant bug called "The Giant Bug!"
Billy is usually seen flying around street lights. Especially during halloween when he can prey on unsuspecting kids with candy BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Wanna Larva X Tee check it out at Zazzel

Uncle Cranky - Monster 28

Uncle Cranky, Lost everything in the stockmarket crash.
Nuff Said.

Zombie from the fish bowl - Monster 29

You thought he was dead so you flushed him down the toilet.
Now he's back for revenge!!!

The Garlax - Monster 30

Not known for their fresh breath. You often find a Garlax ready to pounce you the morning after an Italian dinner when you forgot to brush your teeth the night before. The best way to repell a Garlax . . . Listerine.

Gary the Cyclops - Monster 31

Gary used to be known as Gary the peeping tom until someone poked him in the eye.

31 days of Monster masks

I'm a little behind on this so I will have to make it up to get 31 monsters done.
Some of these are old but most will be new. Lets see if I am up for the challenge.

Haunted Houses

Game Packaging

I'm a big game player. I like games that make me think and really test me. I was thrilled, when back in April I had the opportunity to work with Thinkfun to produce packaging for a new game called Clever Castle. I haven't played the game yet, but if it anything like the other Thinkfun games I know it will be fun.

Squirt

As you can imagine I have lots of loose paper sitting around my office. In an attempt to get everything filed, sketches put away and things reorganized I ran across a sketch I had done of a cute little octopus. I couldn't resist I had to color the little guy. I call him Squirt or Squirtle. I also put him on a T-shirt at my zazzel store. Check it out.

I'm Just A Bill

I did this illustration for a Alabama based magazine called Thicket. The assignment was to create an image for an article about the Alabama state legislature based on the school house rock cartoon "I'm just a Bill". It also gave me an opportunity to work with a college buddy who art directs the magazine. If you look closely you might be able to tell that I used a texture I created in the background to keep it from just going flat.

Blockbuster Illustration

If you've rented a movie at a Blockbuster store this summer you may have noticed some little critters throughout the store. I had the opportunity to work with UPROAR, a Dallas based ad agency, to develop the artwork for the Blockbusters summer campaign. The campaign was called Campwannawatchamovie. The picture is a standup sign that was posted near the Kids section of the store and some shelf toppers.

Joke page art

I created Robbie a few years back for a children's magazine. Recently I added the dog to give Robbie someone to play off of. This particular piece was for a joke page. Robbie is one of those characters that has no rules he can go anywhere and do anything. I like that it about him. I think Robbie needs to go scuba diving. That could be fun.

Werewolf sketch

This might be what Ward and June Clever would have looked like if they were Werewolves.
I did this sketch for a friend of mine. I really like how they turned out. I hope to take these to color at some point.

The Startled Pericope

Not everyday you see a Penguin with a pencil.