"You don't know what 'disgusting' really is."

No artwork to share just yet, so I thought I'd share a funny story. While eating dinner tonight, my precious, darling 7 year-old daughter seemed to be having trouble eating part of her dinner. It wasn't anything particularly kid-unfriendly (it was chicken) so I asked her why she wasn't eating it.

"It's disgusting!", she responded.

I told her that with her relatively sheltered and pampered life (compared to those standard parental fallback "kids-in-less-fortunate-countries"), she really didn't know what "disgusting" really was. I told her I could cook her something truly disgusting tomorrow night, so she'd have some standard of comparison and perhaps learn to not complain so much.

"What are you gonna make me eat, Hobo Snot?" she shot back.

I found that endlessly funny, not just because of the way it sounds, but because I find it adorably perplexing that a girl of seven would immediately think of something so bizarre, and yes, disgusting as "hobo snot". She's definitely her daddy's girl. Hobo Snot would make a great band name, doncha think? There's a future illustration in there somewhere...

I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY'RE NOT BUTTONS!

Bunch of preliminary artwork for some upcoming odd button designs.

DONKEY KONG WINS!!

Finished polishing off my first DONKEY KONG illustration last night (though I may still tweak it here and there). Been working on this one for a while in my "spare time" (between 10pm and 3am), but I'm rather pleased with how it turned out. The coloring actually didn't take as long as I thought it would -- as usual, the added effects and details took a bit longer to hammer out than I'd have liked.

Apologies to all you Mario fans out there -- looks like the little-carpenter-that-could bit the barrel! That's right, "carpenter". Mario (or "jumpman" as he was known before being given a name) began his career as a carpenter before he was shamed out of the profession and had to learn plumbing from his brother, Luigi.

Apparently, Mario used to be a bit of a bad guy before Nintendo decided to polish up his image and pit him against King Koopa. I love the game DONKEY KONG, but couldn't we play as the gorilla instead? He's a much more sympathetic character once you know the story behind the game. Apparently, Mario kept DK as his pet, yet treated him poorly, keeping him locked up in a cage and perhaps beating him while the poor ape is forced to watch from behind bars as Mario incessantly makes out with his hot girlfriend, Pauline, right in front of the imprisoned beast! Can you blame him for busting out, kidnapping Pauline and tossing barrels and flaming fireballs at the creepy carpenter? I'd do the same thing! Mario was later recaptured, of course, only to have his son come and rescue him and take out Mario in the process. Is it any wonder DK went crazy and eventually holed up in a greenhouse, communing with insects (see DONKEY KONG 3)?

Anyway, this time, much to the distress of Pauline, Donkey Kong wins and Mario eats a barrel. Hooray! I wonder what ever happened to Pauline anyway? Mario seems to have taken the golddigger route, ditching the sassy lass for the royal Princess Toadstool. I think you made a big mistake, Mario -- sure the princess is loaded (except their currency is probably mushroom-based), but Pauline is way hotter! Your loss.

Critiques and feedback are appreciated, please. The second DONKEY KONG illustration is underway and I'll post more progress on that when applicable.

DONKEY KONG LOVES PAULINE!

Here's the final large drawing of Pauline and Donkey Kong for my 2nd DONKEY KONG based illustration, done over the weekend. Inks and colors coming soon.

SLEESTACKS!

I just saw some new Sleestacks!
You might know they're remaking yet another childhood favorite of mine: LAND OF THE LOST. Just caught the trailer for the new movie (starring Will Ferrell) and I got to see the new Sleestacks in all their glory!
The original show was poorly produced and, though I enjoyed it as a child, I certainly wasn't wowed by the rubber dinosaurs and shoddy bluescreen work. What did hold my attention, though, were the Sleestacks. Clearly just men in suits, yet somehow they creeped me out and seemed very eerily alien to me. Maybe it was their big expressionless eyes, or the sounds they made, or both. I dunno.

Anyway, can't wait to see them on the big screen, and I hope the movie doesn't take itself too seriously (doesn't look like it). The new design looks pretty cool as they didn't stray from the original designs much at all except to add some detail and alleviate the "rubber suit" feel. I do feel a Sleestack illustration coming on, though...