Tony Sarrecchia Cartoons and Illustration

Moved

2007-07-27T16:35:00.001-05:00

It was time to update and consolidate. Please visit Tony Sarrecchia's Random Stuff for the new blog. Thanks!

On Carrying a Sketchbook and Why You Should

2007-04-23T21:38:00.000-05:00

There is a great series of articles written by storyboard artist Mark Kennedy about why you should be carrying a sketchbook with you. Read it; you'll like it.

Illustration Friday: Polar (Opposites)

2007-04-23T11:26:00.000-05:00

I took a little artistic liberty with the Illustration Friday word this week because I didn’t get this piece completed in time for last week. The funny thing is, the idea for Fortune popped into my head shortly after Penelope sent out the email. I procrastinated until this weeks email. It seemed like this was the second chance for this piece; after all, what better polar opposites than Donald Trump and Mother Teresa?

Fortune/Polar was done in Illustrator CS2 using Live Trace, the rectangle tool and the paintbrush.

As always, your comments are encouraged.

Illustration Friday: Green

2007-04-07T01:03:00.000-05:00

I can relate well with poor old Harold. The pollen count here in Atlanta was over 5000 last week. I felt like I should suit up in a deep sea diving outfit before going outside.

This was done in Adobe Illustrator CS whilst enjoying the last days of Spring Break in Florida.

Illustration Friday: Total

2007-03-16T22:29:00.000-05:00

The wife's idea.

Created completely in Illustrator CS.

As always, your comments are encouraged.

It's only Temporary

2007-03-14T21:32:00.000-05:00

Ok, I've gotten a few emails lately about the 'look' of my site. This is a temporary situation where my blog is doubling as my commercial site. There have been a few, oh, let's call them 'communication' issues between me and the hosting company.

At any rate, I'll be migrating more samples of my portfolio here until I can resolve the hosting issues. Think of this as the temporary housing you move into while your new house is being built.

Illustration Friday: Crash

2007-02-15T00:16:00.000-05:00

Hello folks.

It's been awhile. I return this week with a new illustration and, a new location. For those who have linked to me in the past, please note that the old blog is no more and it now lives here at http://www.tonytoons.blogspot.com . Please update your links.

This grusome piece was done in Corel Painter 9 on my trusty G4 while watching Lost and nursing some flu-like symptoms.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Thanks

Test Post

2006-12-01T09:20:00.000-05:00

Is this thing working?

Illustration Friday: Thanksgiving

2006-11-19T19:58:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Created in Illustrator CS.
As always, your comments are appreciated.

Technorati Tags:
Cartoon
Illustration
Happy
Thanksgiving
Turkey

Quick Sketch

2006-11-18T01:31:00.000-05:00

He was done in Macromedia Flash MX 2004 using only the touchpad and my middle finger.

Illustration Friday: Clear

2006-11-12T22:53:00.000-05:00

Hello IFriday Folks. Long time no see. I've been working on some other projects: NaNoWri this month--woefully behind in word count right now, some political writing, and other things.

I am going to try to get back in to swing of things with IFriday and offer this little slice 'o life as my return to you.

This piece was done in Illustrator CS.

As always, your comments are encouraged.

It's NaNoWri Time

2006-11-05T22:37:00.000-05:00

See you December. It's time to compose my 50K word novel in month for NaNoWri
.

A New Post

2006-09-24T23:12:00.000-05:00

But it is on my other blog. Click here, you know you want to...

Illustration Friday: Match/Run

2006-08-25T21:50:00.000-05:00

Wow. Has it been 3 months? I guess so. Well, so much for 50 Ifridays for the year. I really tried to get ready for last week (match) but, things didn't quite work out. So I combined this week (run) with last week by cleverly adding an extra line of text. I love noir, it works so well for most topics.

Production notes: Illustrator CS.

Your comments are always welcome.

Illustration Friday: Angel & Devil/Sorry

2006-05-25T21:28:00.000-05:00

There just isn't enough time in a week.

Ok, this is a combination of Angel and Devil, and Sorry. Two weeks, one entry, 90 minutes to go. Sheesh.

Illustration Friday: Fat

2006-05-08T19:30:00.000-05:00

This topic didn't really grab me.

True confession time:

I have a weight issue.

Well, I don’t have the issue, I kind of like the way light bends around me when I walk—but my wife and my doctor think that I could stand to lose the not-so-secret store of Ho-hos and Ring Dings that I carry around my waist. And they’re correct. Being of Italian descent not only means I have to put up with people asking “Do you know any mobsters?” (I reply, “Luca Brazi sleeps with the fishes,” let them figure it out), but it also means I am predisposed to a hairy back and a hairless head (proof, once again, that God does have a sense of humor). It also means that I may end up with a body the size of a small satellite (as in moon not dish, though a dish of Moonpies sure sounds good). Of course, it’s my own fault that I wear the same size pants as Yang-yang the Panda.

Ok, that's actually an excerpt from a column I wrote about ~~trail~~ trial lawyers suing fast food companies on behalf of 'supersized sofa spuds' (was my bias obvious), but it seemed like an appropriate opening for this weeks topic. And, for those who are keeping score (just in case my doctor is reading this) I am down to a svelte 218--18 pounds to go. Now if only I weren't 4 foot 3.

Anyway, this topic really didn't grab me so I resorted to visual puns. Have fun.

Your comments are always appreciated.

Illustration Friday: Under the Sea

2006-04-30T19:58:00.000-05:00

Ok, I know some of you were expecting me to do something like this:

C
-------
Under
but that was too much for me.

So instead, I went with the next best choice--pick on the blonde celebrity. There is a link after the piece for folks who may not be familar with the wisdom of Jessica Simpson.

Click here to read the back story.

Hey, I'm a Winner!

2006-04-30T19:52:00.000-05:00

Check it out...first place on the All Alike contest hosted by The Unknown. Check it out.

Illustration Friday: Robot

2006-04-25T15:35:00.000-05:00

Really Bad Pun Number 3.

Your comments are appreciated.

The Things You See in the Mall

2006-04-21T16:18:00.000-05:00

So I was in the bookstore at our local mall this morning. I saw this and couldn't resist snapping a picture with the ole cell phone. I asked one of the bookestias about it and she looked at it, and the stack of books behind it, laughed a little and shrugged. Submitted for you amusement/chagrin.

Illustration Friday: Spotted or And all was right with the world

2006-04-18T11:05:00.000-05:00

As some of you know, this post was not here last week. My server had gone all Junior Soprano and did not recognizing me. Because of my cranky server, I had to use my other blog on the blogspot server to post. I am reposting this here just so there is an unbroken chain of my IFriday posts. Glad all that is cleared up.

This was done in about 15 minutes in MS Expression while I was waiting in the voice mail hell that is tech support.

As always, your comments are appreciated. If you posted a comment on Secret Rooms, thanks!

Illustration Friday: Speed

2006-04-08T22:10:00.000-05:00

Speed is a teenaged girl with a cell phone and a secret.

Thanks to all commented on last week's entry. We were on vacation last week (Florida, thanks for asking) and I didn't have a lot of time to respond to everyone. I promise to catch up this week.

As always your comments are encouraged and appreciated.

Illustration Friday: Spring

2006-04-04T20:48:00.000-05:00

Spring is the Air....

...or Really Bad Pun #2

Your comments are appreciated.

Illustration Friday: Monster

2006-03-25T19:44:00.000-05:00

Created completely in Illustrator CS.

Your comments are appreciated.

Illustration Friday: Feet

2006-03-21T13:11:00.000-05:00

Because I'm a sucker for bad puns.

Created completely in Illustrator CS2.

Illustration Friday: Tattoo

2006-03-15T00:10:00.000-05:00

This piece was created completely in Illustrator CS2. I imported a pic of Tatu and did a Live Trace, playing with the settings until I got the look I wanted. Ditto with Tattoo's picture. The text and the Tai Chi symbol were created fresh for this piece.

This is the first piece completed on my new PowerBook G4. Yep, I gave up the PC laptop and joined the cult of the Mac. So far, it has been a Very Good Thing; I am amazed at how easy things work on the Mac (no needing to reset/renew IP configs to plug into the hotel broadband, a nice suite of tools and playthings in the form of iLife, and that Garage Band thing is just too cool). I should have done this years ago.

Of course, my first PC was an Apple //e, so that should count for something.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Tony

Dick Cheney, the girls, and Google’s Adsense

2006-03-08T11:29:00.000-05:00

Regular readers will recall that last week’s Illustration Friday entry was about roaches rising up and fighting the man; defending their freedom to infest; holding that they, while just roaches, still had dignity. Ok, technically, it was just a cartoon spoof of Braveheart, but all art has to have a deep serious meaning or thousands of art professors will be out of work.

Anyway, in the context of that ‘toon, I mentioned how roaches and lobsters were phylum cousins and questioned if their taste would be similar. I even mentioned Lobster Fest. Of course, as most of you commented the thought of eating lobster wasn’t as appealing after the roach relation was discovered. Google’s Adsense on the other hand, did not make such an association. Nope, when I logged in this morning every one of the ads at the top of this page had changed from the usual Adobe/Corel/Illustrator ads to four ads touting the tastiness of lobster. Apparently, context is not part of the algorithm for Adsense. It is actually funny until you think about the poor schmuck who is paying for those ads….

Sure is a good thing I didn’t mention anything about lesbians hunting for Dick Cheney, huh? No telling what type of ads that would generate.

Illustration Friday: Insect

2006-03-04T19:12:00.000-05:00

Ok, I know that roaches don't natually live in colonies, but neither do they wear blue and red face paint so work with me on this.

However, I did learn (while researching the roaches in colonies question) that a roach may nibble on your ear if you are asleep or otherwise not moving around very much.

Perhaps more distressing than roach love bites is that a cockroach and a lobster are related by phylum. According to The Cockroach FAQ: "Beyond classification which should reflect the lobster and cockroach evolutionary relationship, the term 'roaches of the sea' reflects the behavior of lobsters as omnivorous scavengers. Cockroaches will eat almost anything organic and so will lobsters. They clean up the dead and dying plants and animals in their environment."

Kinda makes you rethink Lobster Fest, doesn't it. Of course, if roaches taste as good as lobsters....

Your comments are appreciated.

This was done completely in Flash Studio 8.

Illustration Friday: Song

2006-02-23T23:10:00.000-05:00

Talk about cutting it down to the wire...it is 11:10 on Thursday and here is my IlloFriday entry.

Well, at least I made it.

Illustration Friday: Simple

2006-02-14T20:59:00.000-05:00

"A Shooting Guide for Vice Presidents"

Do I really need to comment on this?

Created in Macromedia Flash.

Technorati Tags:
vice president
cartoon
shooting
shoot

Illustration Friday: Glamour

2006-02-02T12:39:00.000-05:00

Wow…is it Thursday already?

Not a lot of time to work on personal projects this week, but I wanted to get something in before it was too late (personal goal: participate in 50 IFriday challenges this year). This was done in about an hour using a mouse and Microsoft Expression Graphic Designer.

As always, your comments are encouraged and appreciated.

Embedding Flash (swf) files in Blogger

2006-01-27T12:51:00.000-05:00

This is the code I use to embed the swf files in Blogger. I enter this through the edit HTML tab in the Create Post window. Replace the brackets, {} with the <> when you use it. I had to switch to brackets in order to show the actual code here.

{object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash
/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="420" height="420"}
{param name="movie" value="http://www.creativetony.com/swf/whackacat.swf"}
{param name=quality value=high}
{embed src="http://www.creativetony.com/swf/whackacat.swf" quality=high pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="420"}{/embed}{/object}"

I had to do a bit of tweaking on the original code I used to get it to play in both IE and Mozilla Firefox. If you are using Flash 8 there is an anti-aliasing process for the text not used in previous versions so a download of the Flash 8 player is required.

NOTE: THE MISSING END OBJECT TAG IS NOW INCLUDED. THANKS TO THOSE WHO POINTED IT OUT

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Illustration Friday: Cat

2006-01-22T14:05:00.000-05:00

Play Whack a Cat.

Ok, I know this is a pain, but this content requires the Macromedia Flash Player 8. If you do not have it, please click here (you're going to want to get it eventually anyway). Get Flash

I have to admit, this theme for IFriday had me stumped. Then, after visiting some of the other submissions, I got depressed--you folks are good. Anyway, I decided to have some fun with it so I developed this little game. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to my son Nick Sarrecchia the III for letting me use his voice.

Please have your volume on and give this a sec or so to load.

You have to let it load to a screen that says 'Click here to Whack the Cat' with a picture of Clancy the cat in the upper corner. From there you can click to play Whack the Cat.

This may take about 1-2 minutes to load on a 56K Modem.

As always, your feedback is appreciated.

Illustration Friday: E is for...

2006-01-14T13:18:00.000-05:00

This was created completely in Flash 8.

Illustration Friday: Sea

2006-01-07T00:02:00.000-05:00

It is funnier if you saw the movie Jaws.

This was created in Microsoft Expression.

Illustration Friday: Flavor

2006-01-01T22:58:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

This was created in Microsoft Expression.

Painter IX Exercise

2005-12-26T00:12:00.000-05:00

A chalk and charcoal skecth done in Painter IX

Draw When You're Ready

2005-12-23T00:15:00.000-05:00

As you know, Adobe has swallowed Macromedia in merger that makes everyone except the consumer happy. Check out this link to see what most folks in the design industry would have never happened http://www.macromedia.com.

Anyway, with this merger, competition in the vector area has been all but nullified. Freehand, the Macromedia tool wasn’t included in the latest release of the Macromedia Suite of tools (Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks). Conversely, Adobe Illustrator CS2 is still dominating the vector world—and why not; not only is it the biggest vector player, with the merger, it becomes the only player.

Well, not so fast. From an unlikely place, a competitor arises to face the Adobe Graphics behemoth. A small (one man) company was developing its own vector graphics tool about a year or so ago. He was approached by a software company in Redmond and promptly sold his tool.

Microsoft Expression Code Name Acrylic Graphic Designer is the first entry from Redmond into the graphics industry (come on now, you can’t really count Paint, Publisher or, (shiver) Front Page). According the site, Expression does both bitmap and vector art from within the one tool. I downloaded from here today link (free, but you do need to register (of course, that’s what gmail accounts are for)) and it is a good tool. I did the cowboy with the freehand tool in about 15 minutes. If you are used to Adobe tools, you will find yourself doing quick keys that don’t work the same way in AGD, but the interface will be familiar. I will play with it some more and post a full review next week. In the meantime, check it out for yourself though only Windows version is available, but a MAC version should be out shortly.

Illustration Friday: Imagine

2005-12-19T22:40:00.000-05:00

Car radios were different when I was a kid. First off, you could only get AM radio—which meant your favorite song would fade out as soon as you went under a bridge. Secondly, AM sound...well, before stereo AM anyway, sucked. Radios were push button analog jobs that had a red pointer that lined up approximately with the station's frequency. You couldn't really tell the exact frequency you dialed to because all you had were the number markers and the stations resided somewhere in the middle. I used to listen to 77 'Musicradio' WABC which was somewhere between the 7 and the 9. To find and set the station, you'd push the button closest to the number you wanted, fiddle around with the tuner (the knob on the right) and then pull the button out and push it back in quickly to save it. If you pushed too slowly, the pointer simply returned to its original position and you had to try again.

Ok, having said that, when I was a kid, I imagined the inner-workings of the radio consisted of a row of disc jockeys sitting at a long table. There was one microphone, its position indicated by the location of the red pointer. When the listener pressed the button, the disc jockey who was talking slid the microphone down the table to the guy (I don’t remember many lady djs from the late 60s—though I am sure they were out there) who was next to speak. Also, for some reason, I imagined that the table was covered with tacky looking imitation crushed velvet.

Pictured from left to right is a talk show host (yes, they were around way back then—WMCA I believe); the aforementioned WABC Top 40 station that featured Dan Ingram and Cousin Bruce (there actually wasn’t a disc jockey quite that hippyfied, he wouldn’t come along until much later on WNEW-FM); a religious disc jockey and the R&B guy.

I created the radio in Illustrator CS2 and drew the disc jockeys in Flash MX. I composited everything in Flash MX and converted to a jpg for your viewing pleasure.

Technorati Tags:
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illustration friday

If Jesus Were Here Today

2005-12-12T21:40:00.000-05:00

Technorati Tags:
Jesus
cartoon
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christmas
merry
wal-mart

Illustration Friday: Surprised

2005-12-11T15:46:00.000-05:00

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Illustration
Friday
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TV Quick Sketches

2005-12-09T00:49:00.000-05:00

Just some quick sketches of people I saw on TV. Done completely in Painter IX with a Wacom tablet.

Quick Sketch

2005-12-05T23:11:00.000-05:00

Just a warm up sketch.

Illustration Friday: Blue

2005-12-04T22:34:00.000-05:00

I was thinking 50s movie poster.

Your comments are always appreciated.

So that's where the other liquor cart went...

2005-12-02T12:36:00.000-05:00

Two of the 'tailies' in Lost were arrested for DUI.

HONOLULU - Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros, who star on ABC's "Lost," were arrested within 15 minutes of each other in Kailua for allegedly driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Both failed field sobriety tests and were released Thursday on $500 bail each, police said. The actresses, who were in separate cars, were arrested after their vehicles were spotted weaving on Pali Highway, which connects Kailua and Honolulu, police said.

Link

Illustration Friday: Small (Now with original)

2005-11-27T14:57:00.000-05:00

The first thing I thought of when I saw the theme for Illustration Friday was good things come in small packages. My wife is a good thing (well, great really) and she is small.

Added:

Some of you asked to see the original pencil sketch before I did any Photoshop clean up. The faces in couch as well as the texture came from whatever was on the flip side of the sheet when I scanned it. My wife had been watching TV, but I lost interest in the background once I had completed her and the couch.

Thanks for the feedback.

Original:

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Happy Thanksgiving

2005-11-23T01:11:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving if you are in the U.S.; otherwise, happy fourth Thursday in November to everyone else.

Technorati Tags:
Cartoon
Illustration
Happy
Thanksgiving
Turkey

Illustration Friday: Free

2005-11-20T11:26:00.000-05:00

Hello folks,

First off, I want to thank you for the positive comments and encouragement for my last couple of entries into Illustration Friday—it means more than you can imagine.

Secondly, this week’s entry is a definite departure from the last few weeks of turkey noir, killer pumpkins and beat downs via remote control. When I saw the topic was free, the first thing that popped into my mind was freedom—specifically those guaranteed to citizens of the US by our founding documents.

Since 9/11, our freedoms have come under attack, and not from some Islamic whack-jobs who believe 72 virgins are waiting for them on the other side (wouldn’t you have loved to see the look on their twisted little faces when they found out what was really waiting for them?). And not just from our current administration, who believe that by giving the FBI the ability to search our library and phone records without our knowledge they are increasing our civil liberties. No, gentle readers, the threat comes from us—the you and I that forget who actually runs the government.

Without going into a long history lesson (Carla is much more eloquent than I am when it comes to combining lessons with art), the consent of the governed means that we, the citizens, allow the government to exist, and we can take that right away if we so desire. To quote Mr. Jefferson and company from the Declaration of Independence, 'whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends (Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness), it is in the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.' That’s powerful stuff.

I am not saying it’s time to rise up and be destructive or stop paying taxes, but I am suggesting that the next time you shake your head about something an elected official does, remember that you allow them to behave that way. And, like wayward children, sometimes politicians need to be redirected to the right track. And sometimes, the politicians need to be fired.

Ok, all that being said, this piece represents the freedom of religion (and the freedom from religion), the freedom of expression; the freedom of the press; and the freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances. All the freedoms adorn a shield that protects the governed. I did this completely in Painter IX.

Thanks for reading. As always, your comments are welcome.

Tony

Technorati Tags
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Old School and Truth in Adverstising

2005-11-18T10:49:00.000-05:00

These videos are great. The first is an original commercial for the NES game "Legend of Zelda". The second reflects truth in adversiting for those late night talk lines.

Classic Nintendo Ad

Geek Phone Lines

Illustration Friday: Strength

2005-11-12T21:24:00.000-05:00

This is for the Illustration Friday challenge of "strength".

This was done completely in Flash MX.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

PS..Anyone wishing to exchange links, please let me know.

Can You Hear Me Now?

2005-11-11T12:39:00.000-05:00

In a case of multitasking gone mad, or just over achieving, a woman in Northern Virginia has robbed four banks while talking on her cell phone.

And yet some people can't negotiate a shopping cart while chatting.

Link to story

Illustration Friday: Night

2005-11-05T14:15:00.000-05:00

This is for the Illustration Friday challenge of "night".

The figures were drawn in Flash MX and the background and text were added in Painter IX.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Reason 351 Why I Am A Libertarian. Or, are all Democrats and Republicans really this stupid?

2005-11-04T09:50:00.000-05:00

A Republican candidate for governor of Indiana, Steve Rauschenberger, wants to introduce a resolution forcing retailer Abercrombie and Fitch to stop selling a line of t-shirts that he finds ‘offensive’ and ‘degrading’ to women.

Link to the full story

Ok, I have a couple of problems with this. First off, the U.S. is a free market; and the market will eventually decide what succeeds and what does not succeed. If consumers find the shirt offensive, consumers won’t buy it—how is this difficult for Mr. Rauschenberger to understand? Secondly, we have that little thing called the First Amendment: freedom of expression. Now, I understand that the current administration has been confused with this concept; but I am fairly certain that non-threatening words (and fairly humorous words at that) on an over-priced t-shirt are neither a threat to national security or somehow conspiratorial. For Mr. Rauschenberger to introduce a resolution that so clearly violates the basic framework of our country shows a scary lack of understanding of the constitution he says he will uphold as governor.

Not to be outdone, the Democratic mayor of Las Vegas suggested that vandals who put up graffiti should have their ‘thumbs cut off’. He also suggested that children who get in trouble should be ‘whipped or caned’.

Link to full story

Happy Halloween

2005-10-29T09:48:00.000-05:00

Please click the arrow button in the top corner to continue through the story.

Illustration Friday: Remote

2005-10-21T22:40:00.000-05:00

This is for the Illustration Friday challenge of "remote".

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Link Exchange

2005-10-21T09:33:00.000-05:00

If any illustrators/artists would like to swap links, please let me know and I will add you once I've visited your site (just want to make sure that no ~~Mongolian~~ Nigerian Scam/Spam links slip in) I'll add your link. Thanks.

Yet another reason to hate Wal-Mart

2005-10-17T13:18:00.000-05:00

Ok, so this high school student is assigned a civic's project to take photos and illustrate his rights under the Bill of Rights. Harmless, right? Well, not once you get Wal-Mart involved.

Via Boing-Boing

"Wal-Mart called the police on a high-school student who brought in a pic of a homemade anti-George Bush poster for photo-finishing. The Secret Service went to the kid's high-school and confiscated the poster."

Link to the whole story

Fifteen Minute Quickie

2005-10-16T20:55:00.000-05:00

I try to do a minimum of 15 minutes of sketching a day. This was done a few minutes ago.

I've been tagged.

2005-10-15T19:32:00.000-05:00

Lyn and Gina tagged me to share 20 random things and then tag some others.

1. I need to loose about 30 pounds.
2. I love sushi.
3. I haven't completely ruled out the possibility that a Matrix-like reality isn't as far fetched as we'd like to think.
4. Evangelical Christians and Baptists piss me off.
5. Thank God for spell check.
6. Halloween is my favorite holiday.
7. Any time I dance I set the "white guys who can dance movement" back 10 years.
8. I love old electronic gear, cameras, radios, etc...
9. I wanted to write comic books when I was in high school.
10. I met Stan Lee in an elevator at Marvel when I was 16.
11. Over 300 comic books in my collection were destroyed by a flood in the mid 90s.
12. I studied Teoul Moon Kung Fu for one year.
13. I studied Tai Chi on and off for 5 years.
14. I was invited to appear on the O'Reilly Factor when I said in a published column that Bill was wrong and acting like a fascist.
15. I love shopping for books, computers, and art suplies.
16. I watch more news than I should.
17. I vote in every election.
18. I think the truth is somewhere between NPR and Fox News.
19. I've been playing computer games since 1978.
20. I've embraced my inner geek.

Now I get to tag some folks...

Alina Chau
Rachelle
Sara

Illustration Friday: Cold

2005-10-14T21:50:00.000-05:00

After last weeks sad entry, I decided to go with a lighter approach. This is for Illustration Friday's challenge of the 'cold' theme.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

How much pressure can one head take?

2005-10-13T22:21:00.000-05:00

I had a headache for about six hours today. I did this sketch in Flash MX as a form of therapy. It didn't work.

Magazine Cover Art

2005-10-11T14:21:00.000-05:00

This site is too cool. They have cover art of magazines from the 19th and 20th centuries--and it is free. Check it out. MagazineArt.Org

Illustration Friday: Lost

2005-10-09T10:05:00.000-05:00

"Lost Without You"

My wife suggested this treatment of Illustration Friday's challenge of the 'lost' theme.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Playing In Painter

2005-10-06T15:05:00.000-05:00

A warm up with the pencil tool in Painter IX.

Illustration Friday: Float

2005-10-02T09:56:00.000-05:00

This is my entry for Illustration Friday's weekly challenge.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Who, as a child, hasn't thought that with enough balloons and enough helium they would float up to the sky?

Illustration Friday: Fresh

2005-09-24T22:20:00.000-05:00

This is my entry for Illustration Friday's weekly challenge.

This was created entirely in Painter IX.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Anime Atlanta

2005-09-24T22:18:00.000-05:00

Just got back from AWA. It was....amusing. I'll be posting some of the pictures I took tomorrow.

Illustration Friday: Escape

2005-09-16T23:25:00.000-05:00

This is my entry for Illustration Friday's weekly challenge.

This was created in Adobe Illustrator and draws on my disc jockey background.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Illustration Friday: Depth

2005-09-11T00:28:00.000-05:00

This is my entry for Illustration Friday's weekly challenge.

This was created in Poser 5 and Photoshop CS.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

But it tastes just like....

2005-09-08T11:55:00.000-05:00

Ok, stay with me on this. A restaurant in China was advertising that it was selling tiger meat, which is illegal. When confronted by the authorities, the restaurant owner said, ‘No, no—it is actually donkey meat in tiger urine that we are selling,” which is legal. It’s enough to make you want to try tofu. Read the article here….

Illustration Friday: Roots

2005-09-03T19:04:00.000-05:00

This is my entry for Illustration Friday's weekly challenge.

Lugi must learn that you cannot run from your roots.

Maybe they should up his meds...

2005-09-03T11:44:00.000-05:00

So my wife and I were watching the fundraiser for the victims of Katrina on MSNBC last night when Mike Myers and Kayne West appeared on the screen. It was obvious from the way Mayers kept looking off camera that something was up with West's little tirade. Apparently, West did not just deviate from what the teleprompter said he was not even close to the meaning of what he was supposed to say. When it was Myers's turn to speak, his lead in line didn't make any sense to what West just said. Then, when it went back to West, he said, "George Bush doesn't like black people." What an idiot. You can read the full story here.

Maybe someone should point out to West that Bush has more blacks in high-level posts on his administration than any other president. Bush certainly is not the best president we've ever had, and I think his response to New Orleans was pitifully slow--but to make a blanket statement that he does not like blacks shows the speaker’s own prejudices and is disingenuous if not slanderous. If West wants to be pissed at someone, he should be pissed at the looters and the snipers in New Orleans who are killing both poor blacks and poor whites; pissed at the mayor of New Orleans who didn't send out city school busses that could have been used to pull people out of the city; and pissed at himself for ruining a sincere effort to help the needy. I wonder what the percentages of donations were before West's ramblings and after....

Updated Sunday, Sept. 4 8:52 AM

This was on the Drudge Report today, further pointing to the mayor as the person with the most blood on his hands:

Louisiana disaster plan, pg 13, para 5 , dated 01/00

'The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating'...

Busy day...

2005-09-01T20:33:00.000-05:00

Between dealing with roofers and banks today, I was still able to update my profile pic, add another illustration to my illustration page and add two animations to my animation page.

I am so looking forward to this long weekend.

Illustration Friday: Dreams

2005-08-27T15:33:00.000-05:00

This is my entry for Illustration Friday's weekly challenge.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Illustration Friday

2005-08-24T22:09:00.000-05:00

My first entry for Illustration Friday's weekly challange. The theme for this week was 'Reflection'. The rough for this was drawn in Painter and then finished in Illustrator. Your comments welcome.

Whew...

2005-08-19T11:56:00.000-05:00

Finally got my biz cards ordered...now if I can just get my site working before September first, I'll be a happy guy.

And the bloodletting begins....

2005-08-08T16:04:00.000-05:00

Macromedia has dropped FreeHand from the new release of Studio 8. This just furthers the fear among folks in the graphic's world that went Macromedia merges with Adobe that Freehand will dropped in favor of Illustrator.
'Tis a sad day indeed.

Remote Controlled Humans

2005-08-06T23:49:00.000-05:00

While this appeals to the geek in me--not to mention the fun you could have hooking this up to an unsuspecting friend--there is still something creepy about it. Check out the video....

So that’s how she does it…

2005-08-01T11:37:00.000-05:00

I’ve been a reader of the Wall St. Journal for years and have always thought the portrait drawings they used were very cool. Well, thanks to Boing Boing, now I know how they do it. Visit the site of WSJ illustrator Noli Novak to see her work, or go straight to the How It’s Done page. BTW, they are called stripple portraits.

A little more history of the headcuts are here.

Progress is good

2005-07-31T14:41:00.000-05:00

Updated the Illustration and Sketchbook pages of my illustration website. It's not the complete portfolio, but enough to show. Next week--the animation page.

This should increase attendence

2005-07-29T11:49:00.000-05:00

I wonder if the High Museum of Art in Atlanta would consider this...

Museum to Let Naked People in Free

By WILLIAM J. KOLE
The Associated Press
Friday, July 29, 2005; 8:25 AM

VIENNA, Austria -- Vienna's prestigious Leopold Museum is usually a pretty buttoned-down place, but on Friday, some of the nudes in its marble galleries were for real.

Scores of naked or scantily clad people wandered the museum, lured by an offer of free entry to "The Naked Truth," a new exhibition of early 1900s erotic art, if they showed up wearing just a swimsuit _ or nothing at all.

Complete link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/29/AR2005072900556_pf.html

Some of my favorite bumper stickers....

2005-07-29T11:44:00.000-05:00

"We're all wearing the blue dress now."

"Never mind being born again, how about just growing up."

Whoo-hoo

2005-07-27T23:14:00.000-05:00

Everything is up and running. Ain't life grand?