BLACK EYED PEREZ

Been a while since my last post. I've been hip-deep in two logo/mascot/banner design projects that I don't want to post any preliminary artwork for until they're in the can, and I haven't had any toss-away sketchbooky stuff to show either. I did receive a golden revelation the other day for a new quickie t-shirt design that I just had to get out there quickly before the whole thing grows stale (and it may already be too late). No, it's not a capitalization off Michael Jackson's death (though that may come later), but rather a celebratory reminder of what happens when you constantly run your mouth like a spoiled bitch and then tie up a major emergency network by twitter-crying to all your vacuous "fans" begging them to call 911 for you, subsequently getting all litigious because the big mean man shoved you for being a total hole and your daddy never taught you how to be a man and your mommy never taught you manners.

Who could I be talking about? None other than the petty, subhuman shudderingly known as Perez Hilton who makes a "living" from hatefully criticizing those he envies and being a general narcissistic and needy creep.

It took a couple of the BLACK EYED PEAS to finally put this "guy" in his place, and that's worth at least one t-shirt design, along with a lifetime allegiance to the BEP's. The pun seemed obvious immediately upon hearing the story, and I quickly went to google to see if the idea had been taken already. Surprisingly, it hadn't, so I begin the task of creating a simple design that wouldn't take too much time. I know it's risky counting on anybody wanting a picture of this guy's face on their chest, but hey, carpe diem.

Brush, pen & ink with Photoshop (and yes, the lettering is hand-drawn)

SESAME STREET FIGHTER!!

This one's actually called "PUPPET BRAWLER", and it's another design commissioned by my fine friend Kino for the fat-tastic J!NX, whom I've worked with before on the FETCH FLESH shirt design, as well as the top-secret project that I still don't know if I'm allowed to talk about. The concept was, as you can see, to combine Capcom's well-awesome fighting game series STREET FIGHTER with Children's Television Workshop's well-educational long-running muppet-based show SESAME STREET. I love Capcom's games, and anything involving Muppetry is right up my smokestack, so I tackled this project with glee and enthusiasm.

This design has been done for a while now, and I had been working on it for a long time. I had hoped to get it done before starting the grueling training process at my new warehouse job (which took 5 weeks!), but it was not meant to be, and I didn't have much free time during the training to work on it, so it was slow going. By the time I did get it finished, the guys at J!NX were hip-deep in producing, releasing and promoting their new Summer line of IDentity clothing that it took a while to get this shirt produced. It's finally here, though, albeit in a slightly different color setup than I had originally created. Something went all bones with the gradients, which were jettisoned, and some of the colors were swapped around, but it still looks pretty good. I'm not as happy with the design as I want to be, though. Maybe it has to do with going through some screwy personal trials at the same time I was starting the new job and trying to get this thing nailed down, but I'm gonna stand by it and just try to do better next time.

There's an option to pursue other designs along this avenue with various other Sesame Street character whipping the stuffing out of each other, (and I've already got some sketches ready to go) so we'll see what evolves from that.

If you like the shirt, hop on over to J!NX and buy one or two!


Pencil composite drawing


Composite inks


Back logo pencils and inks


Rejected logo concept


This early layout sketch was deemed to have too extreme a perspective. I kind of prefer it to the final, though.

TIERRA DE LOS PERDIDO new color variations

I realized that TeeFury's color options for printing on blank shirts is a bit more limited than I originally estimated or hoped, so I had to go back and alter the color schemes a bit to fit on the color blanks available. The red one is only slightly altered, but the turquoise and cream color are the most obviously changed. The red doesn't do much for me, and I like the cream version (though the moon doesn't really look right on such a light colored shirt), but the turquoise is my favorite.

More to come as this thing gears up for production.

I've started to hear bad reviews of the LAND OF THE LOST movie, which bums me out (and I still haven't seen it), so I hope that doesn't cause a backlash against all things LOTL. Of course, this is based off of old-school LOTL and not the revamp.

TIERRA DE LOS PERDIDO

COMING SOON TO A T-SHIRT NEAR (or on) YOU!

Sid and Marty Krofft's brilliant shoestring-budget kids adventure show LAND OF THE LOST is a fondly-remembered part of my childhood. I clearly recall enthusiastically waking up early on Saturday mornings (back when this was a vital pop-culture ritual and the Saturdayscape was ripe with glorious cartoon and live-action offerings) to get my weekly dose of ULTRAMAN, HERCULOIDS, LAND OF THE LOST and other past gems. LOTL made a particular impression on my malleable, forming brain due not only to the all-important ingredient of dinosaurs, but also to the fact that the reptilian Sleestaks were downright eerie despite their guy-in-a-suit appearance. That distinctive hissing sound of theirs accompanied by their giant black-eyed, clawed and scaly appearance and weird musical cues overcame the clear budgetary limitations of the show to convince me that I did not want to run across one of these things in the real world. Sid and Marty Krofft were responsible for a fair portion of my childhood entertainment-related memories, and I've got several pieces inspired by their wonderfully bizarre creations percolating in my sketchbooks and the back of my mind.

I originally wanted to have this piece ready in time for the arrival of the big-screen adaptation of LAND OF THE LOST (which I have yet to see), but my work schedule prevented that from happening, so this is several days late. One of the things about the Sleestaks that appealed to me was that they were much more than simple beasties devised to threaten Marshall, Will and Holly -- they had their own society, technology and religion. I wanted to capture a bit of that essence in combining some LOTL imagery in a style reminiscent of Catholic iconography. So, what came out the other end was an illustration inspired by the multitude of Virgin Mary and Christ child images wherein the Virgin Mary becomes the Sleestak Enik and ape-boy Cha-Ka sits in for the Christ child. The original roughs featured several other icons from the show (such as a Sleestak skull from the Library of Skulls, and one of the pylons), but it made the image seem too busy and crowded for an effective t-shirt design. I may go back and rework the piece as a full-color illustration, but I quite like how it turned out in the end. Hopefully, the movie doesn't suck.

If all goes as planned, this will be my next t-shirt offering from TeeFury.

The Inking process





The furry Cha-ka and the infamous Sleestaks in all their Saturday morning glory!



Some Catholic iconography reference

"I'VE GOT A FANG!"

"Glistening white triangular tooth.
Open up a can of tomato juice." -- They Might Be Giants ("I've Got a Fang")

More sketchbook tomfoolery to fill the gaps between projects. Got more stuff cookin' and I hope to be able to show it soon.