Blue and yellow

I've been drawing a lot of cute little furry critters lately, so here's a return to some of my more organic, blobby, lumpier tendencies. The same framework goes into a drawing for me, whether or not I add lumps or fur. It's like applying a texture. They have the same rubber-hose cartoon underpinning.

// dripper //

// shooting hoops //

I drew these guys in Flash. Maybe I'll do a red one to finish off the primary color set. These images (and more) arrive first over on tumblr, so follow me over there if you like.

// mola mola 4 //

... yep, another one. People need to know.

(previously 1, 2, 3)

You should check out the FISH Nathan Stapley drew and posted to twitter. {{shudder}}

Mucky

My laptop came back from repairs last night (new logic board!) just in time for me to quickly work up something for today's What the Doodle: Mucky! ...Hard to pass that one up.

Check out what everyone else did here.

Window

For today's What the Doodle? on Creative Juices.

The Story of 3 Pumpkins

It's the end of February, and some of the snow is finally melting away here in Boston. Which means it's time to give you guys an update on this year's group of jack-o-lanterns. Here's the earlier post that documents their creation (Pumpkin Carvin' Party 2010).

And for those unfamiliar with my tradition of aging pumpkins, here's a little context from years past (1, 2).

I made a better effort this year in documenting their deterioration.


Above, we have pumpkins A, B, and C (left to right). These photos were taken as soon as they were placed outside, though A got a head start by a week (B and C were carved on Halloween). So, we're talking late October.

Now, I'm going to walk you through highlights of each specimen (photos taken from a span between November and December 2010).


Pumpkin A: Nov 5; Nov 7—the later because I wanted to catch'em wet.


Pumpkin A: Nov 22; Dec 12



Pumpkin B: Nov 7 (the glisten really brings out the horror)


Pumpkin B: Nov 22; Dec 12



Pumpkin C: Nov 7; Nov 22
This guy fell over on his own accord.
(which makes his demise particularly tragic)


Pumpkin C: Dec 4; Dec 12




This was the last time they were photographed together (Dec 12).

We got dumped on with snow for the greater part of January, so I neglected to document them as much as I would've liked to. As the cold sets in, they basically harden and shrivel in size. Snow and water (freezing, unfreezing) only help to suck the color out of them. Though I have no photographs to show for, I did notice at one point that I lost Pumpkin B. I suspect it blew off in one of the many snow storms, and got buried.

Fast forward to today: February 20, 2011.

I walk out to the porch to find neither of the remaining pumpkins.
(SHOCK! HORROR!). Except for this unidentified specimen:


(which I believe is Berney and Liz's pumpkin, tucked under a table—it rotted to nothing soon after Halloween).

It occurred to me immediately that they probably blew off in the powerful windstorm we had over Friday and Saturday. So, I looked over the edge...


...and found what appeared to be the remains of Pumpkin C in the storm drain.



Which, upon closer inspection, I can be almost certain of.

I peered further over the edge and noticed another pumpkin, 3 floors down, nestled on a shrub. What I saw when I went downstairs surprised even me:



I can't make this stuff up. This is where it landed. I KID YOU NOT. Right next to my landlord's lawn ornament. Next to two frightened plaster children. This is exactly how I found it.

I reached out to touch it, and it AWOKE.



(shudder!)



Pumpkin A. I found its stem nearby in the snow...



...and reunited them. The evil forces within him, resurrected.



A horrible specimen.

The pumpkins at this point are as stiff as wood. Light, dry, and easy to handle. Pretty cool, actually. I'm surprised this guy stayed so well preserved. My previous attempts mostly yielded flattened pancakes.

I'm already looking forward to next year.

Until then, protect your children...

Master of the Mola Mola

Legend has it, a small number of crazed individuals have been able to quell the hideous beast.

And in doing so, they became masters of the mola mola.

Read my original post: Beware the Mola Mola (from a year ago).

UPDATE: Photos from the OCEAN-themed Art Party at FableVision

Beware the Mola Mola

This is no joke.



These creatures exist.

This is the ocean sunfish, otherwise known as the mola mola. They are the heaviest bony fish in the ocean—weighing upwards of 5000 lbs! HUGE! Just look at the diver by comparison.

They've been spotted off the shore of Boston.
They may even live in an ocean near you.
And they creep the hell out of me.

It all started when I was a kid. The thought of swimming with fish scared me to begin with. When I would go swimming in the lake, I'd imagine fish gracing by my feet, ready to nibble away at me—especially if I swam out over my head.

I was reading about fish in an encyclopedia (this was what we used before Wikipedia, kids), when I came across an illustration not unlike this:


http://www.feenixx.com/sealife/fantastic_fish-poster.htm

"The Fish of the Ocean" it was called—a full page illustration showing fish of all shapes and sizes. And there is was. It was labeled "Ocean Sunfish." I just couldn't make sense of it. Its body design is so bizarre, it defies explanation: no tail fin; two huge fins jutting out the top and bottom. The drawing was larger in scale than what is shown here.

But this is where the real freak-out kicks in. I imagine a scenario where I'm out in the ocean, snorkeling, when off in the distance I see a white shape that grows larger. And larger. Before I know it, I'm swimming alongside one of these...fish. In fact, the horror is pretty well simulated in this video. The beast appears around the :54 second mark.



Watching this sends chills up my spine.

It should come as no surprise that no one takes my fear seriously. My wife has known about it for some time, and was thoughtful enough to buy me this:



They are not CUTE.

Mola mola will kill your family according to one group of enthusiasts.
(thx @Tarynosaurus)

So...I was tweeting about how I can't stand these mola molas the other day. The taunting continued. And then one fellow (@Abraxas579) thought maybe I could overcome my phobia by drawing one. It was an intriguing proposal, and I do enjoy drawing gross things, so I decided to take him up on it.



Some preliminary sketches.




WAIT! How'd that get in there?




I landed on this drawing. And then inked it. But I prefer the pencil.



I guess I have a better appreciation for their awkward body design now. But you won't catch me in the water with one any time soon.

Fear the mola mola. As I do.

Pumpkin Valentines

Here's what they looked like in mid-November.
And here are my Pumpkin Pancakes from last year.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Aging well...

I checked in with the pumpkins today—late on a rainy November afternoon. It's been maybe 3 weeks since the carving. So far, so good. The cyclops' eye collapsed in the center—giving him a much more sinister 2-eyed expression. A chunk of rotting innards makes for a great pupil, too. He is much improved.


Loren's pumpkin has also grown better with age. Besides being black inside, and showing signs of wrinkling, it is still very much intact. I love how wet its nose looks.


Liz and Berney's "Bert" has seen better days. His face long since imploded, and he now has protruding nubs for ears. The difference in decay is astounding, but they were likely picked at different times (all store bought).


Especially when you see this poor fella.
Well on his way to becoming a pancake.


As is plain to see from these wonderful specimens...wrinkles, bumps, and drips occur all the time in nature. I'm not making this stuff up when I draw it.



Here's a glimpe of their former selves if you need a reminder:
Pumpkin Carving Party 09

I'll provide another update come February if the results warrant it.

Me at 100

Here's the color version (see previous post) of my illustration for Phil McAndrew's Draw Yourself at 100 contest. Here's what I had to say before:

I see myself as a mostly bald man with a head full of bushy eyebrows, free to wear pit-stained undershirts, shorts, and saggy socks around the house. If I'm still making art, let's just say I'm not sure if I'll be all there—but hopefully just as enthusiastic about my work.

A couple things to add: extensive nose and ear hair, and it goes without say that my nose will grow long and bumpy like a cucumber (this is what cartoons tell me, anyway).

This drawing is probably a good approximation as well: Glee

See you in 2079!

Wrinkles

I've been drawing wrinkly old men in my free time, warming up for a contest of sorts over at Phil McAndrew's LiveJournal blog. The rules: "Draw yourself at the age of 100! Wrinkly saggy old people are probably my favorite thing to draw and I hope you have fun drawing them too!" The reward (as if having an excuse to draw old wrinkly people isn't enough!) is a package stuffed with all sorts of Phil's artwork and goodies. If you haven't read his "Pearly Whites" comic, do so now—you'll quickly see he has old miserable saps down pat.

Now, onto the sketch dump:


This is the one I'll likely ink up and color. I see myself as a mostly bald man with a head full of bushy eyebrows, free to wear pit-stained undershirts, shorts, and saggy socks around the house. If I'm still making art, let's just say I'm not sure if I'll be all there—but hopefully just as enthusiastic about my work.


More wrinkles and eyebrows.


A case of the saggy upper lip.


One thing I look forward to is not having to make excuses about being a grump!



...and a few more wrinkly faces to wrap things up.

Also, I just joined Flickr. I put up some comics and illustrations—kind of a mess because I haven't organized anything. But look me up if you're in the area.