GORILLAS HATE OCTOPI!!

Wow. It's been a while since my last post. Been super-busy with my top-secret concept art project. Can't share any of that work with anybody until the project is complete, so you'll just have to take my word for it.
Got a chance to catch up on some "me" work this week and finished inking some of the t-shirt designs I'd started working on months ago.
First up: another variation on the Gorilla vs Cephalopod theme. This one might end up with GORILLA RIOT APPAREL, as well, if all goes well. In the meanwhile, thought I'd share this look at the final inks.

In the original thumbnail for this design (which I think I posted here earlier), I had a squid instead of the octopus. I got some calls from the Anti Squid Defamation League, however, claiming I was singling squids out as evil and malicious. I tried to explain to them that these are just two natural enemies goin' at it -- there's no good guys or bad guys in this fight. But, you can't argue with folks who are fixated on the victim mentality -- they're bound to see speciesism everywhere they look. Might as well represent some other cephalopods before I start getting more angry phone calls. I think it makes for a better design, anyway, so suck it ASDL!!

Colored version coming soon!

PROFESSOR SYD "SQUIDHEAD" FLEETWOOD!!

This is the mentor/ benefactor/ father figure to the group of musical heroes in my animated series concept (temporarily known as COLLIDE-O-SCOPE). This fellow's appearance is simply the result of my intention to include a wacky-scientist mentor for my heroes combined with my love for cephalopods (they just make such interesting visual playthings)!

"OCTOKREEPS" ARE GO!

First in a series of wacky Octopus critters. My two favorite animals are Monkeys and Octopi -- very different animals, yet something very appealing about each. Monkeys... well, they're just plain cool. Octopi have this very alien, otherworldly quality about them, and, while their bodies are relatively simple, there's so much you can do with their tentacles as far as shape and design goes. Anyway, here's the first one. Mad Mustard is what he's called, and here's his story:

Ridiculed and bullied as a child due to his bright yellow coloration, this 8-armed cephalopod buried his fury until he developed the ability to emit low-level "anger-waves", which bolster his strength and confuse those closeby. Bullying also resulted in his fondness for cutting and striking tools, of which he can wield eight at a time with expert precision. Adopted his derogatory childhood nickname "Mustard", as a badge of honor shortly before sawing, stabbing, cutting and bludgeoning his bullies to death and deposting them in the dumpster behind the Thrift-E-Mart. Apprenticed with Dr. Hideous before joining forces with the Stilted Samurai and Jet-Pack Sumo. Last seen in Japan.

Pen & Ink drawing colored in Photoshop. Coming soon to a t-shirt near you. I liked him so much, that I featured him on the back of my business card! He's also featured over at Mojizu.com, so go vote on him right away!