Andy Erekson

Super Sentai Show

2011-10-26T09:54:00.000-07:00

If you happen to be in LA between November 5 - 13, be sure to check out the "Kamen Rider vs Super Sentai Anniversaries Tribute Exhibition" at Q Pop. This is my contribution to the show. Paint what you know, right?

Dino-myte

2011-10-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

The other day when my three-year-old asked me to play dinosaurs with him, this is what we ended up doing.

A Perfect Example

2011-10-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

I just finished this painting for an art show. I thought I'd show the process from the thumbnail, to the rough, the clean-up drawing, and the final painting.

Auda Abu Tayi

2011-08-09T11:28:00.001-07:00

Process

2011-08-03T00:03:00.000-07:00

The rough

The clean-up

The final

Yuki 7

2011-07-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

My friends Elizabeth Ito and her husband Kevin Dart have created these awesome books with this female spy character named Yuki 7, you can check it out here. So I did this as a piece of fan art.

Audrey of the Hepburn kind

2011-07-25T18:29:00.001-07:00

More Dial "H" for Hitchcock

2011-07-20T23:26:00.000-07:00

Finally

2011-07-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

So here's a sample of the final for my section of the comic. The entire comic is coming soon.

More Exquisite Corpse

2011-06-29T00:07:00.000-07:00

It needs some adjustment still, but I'm almost done.

Rear Window

2011-06-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

Exquisite Corpse

2011-06-15T23:52:00.000-07:00

A group of artists at work are putting together a comic which will, hopefully, be coming out by the end of the year. This is a layout for one of the pages in my section. I still need to paint and add text, but it's on its way.

The Dude

2011-05-21T12:03:00.001-07:00

A true renaissance man.

2011-05-21T11:58:00.001-07:00

Dial "M" for Murder

2011-05-21T11:56:00.001-07:00

Tippi

2011-05-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

Playing around with Sketchbook Pro on the iPad.

The Roost

2011-05-06T07:21:00.000-07:00

I was digging through some old files last night and came across these.

Luci

2011-03-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

Playing around with a look for the comic I'm working on.

What is Q?

2011-01-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

So there's this new shop here in LA see.
It's called Q Pop see.
And there's this "What is Q?"art show they're having for the grand opening see.
I was privileged to be invited to participate in this art show see.
This is my contribution to the art show see.
So if you're in the area, you should go see it see.
Jan 29 7pm - 11pm
Located at 128 Astronaut E S Onizuka St, Los Angeles, CA See.

That was my Edward G. Robinson impression.

Getting Closer

2011-01-06T16:07:00.000-08:00

Reading

2010-12-14T10:08:00.000-08:00

2010-10-18T23:52:00.000-07:00

Sneak Peek of Coming Attractions

2010-10-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

A little something I'm working on that may be finished one of these days.

The Thumbnail

2010-04-17T17:24:00.001-07:00

The African Queen

2010-04-17T17:14:00.001-07:00

Oedipus and the Sphinx

2010-02-28T22:12:00.000-08:00

Once there was a smart aleck Sphinx who sat on top of a giant rock and made weary travelers who wanted to enter the city of Thebes answer a riddle. If they couldn't answer the riddle, she would eat them. She thought she was pretty funny.

The people of Thebes, on the other hand, didn't have much of a sense of humor. Mostly because they were hungry and they were too frightened to leave their city.

One day, a man by the name of Oedipus was traveling the road to the city of Thebes. The guards saw him coming, and although they were highly trained in advanced weaponry and could easily thwart off the Sphinx, they decided to just stand there and watch. Unlike the rest of the townspeople, the guards thought it was funny when people got eaten. Mostly because it wasn't them.

As Oedipus approached the rock, the Sphinx swooped down from the sky. Alighted on her rock, she posed the riddle to Oedipus. "What are three silhouettes you can place in a cloud bubble?"

Oedipus thought about it as she closed in for the kill.

Just as the Sphinx was about to strike, he answered, "A man."

This was the first time the Sphinx had ever heard the punch line to her own joke. Although it wasn't funny, she laughed so hard, it knocked her off her rock and she fell into the sea. The townspeople made Oedipus the new king of Thebes where he did a stand up routine every Saturday night. He was given the bums rush shortly thereafter when they found out where the hack stole his material from.

Dem Apple Pies

2010-02-11T20:48:00.001-08:00

Many people don't know this, but the Greeks invented everything. If you think you're original, guess what, you're not, the Greek's beat ya to it. This however, is the story of how some hungry selfish people came together.

This is Atalanta when she was young. She loved to hunt, but she was never any good at it. So her parents encouraged her to hunt apples since they didn't move all that much. Atalanta would only hunt "Dem" apples, because they were the best apples in all the land. Much better than Fuji or Gala apples.

As Atalanta grew, she found that she was much better at baking pies, Dem apple pies to be precise, but there was a problem. There was a shortage of Dem apples since Atalanta was constantly hunting apples, baking pies, and keeping them all for herself. By the way, Greek's came up with apple pie. This made everyone mad that she wouldn't share. Atlanta then told her parents she would race anyone for Dem apples and if she lost, she would bake and share her pies. Atalanta's parents didn't really care at this point. They were sick of her complaining and just wanted her out of the house.

This is Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Love for Dem apple pie that is. There's one problem though, she can't bake "Worth" beans. "Worth" beans were the best beans in all the land, regardless; beans just don't taste good in pies. All she does is sit on top of Mount Olympus and get mad at people who were better than her. She was especially mad at Atalanta since she was winning every race, baking Dem apple pies, and not sharing with anyone. So Aphrodite hired Cupid the bounty hunter to go find someone who could beat Atalanta in a race.

This is Hippomenes. He's tall, smart, and one of the few likely candidates that could win Atalanta in a race. Oh, did I mention he also loves Dem apple pie? There was one problem; he didn't have any of Dem apples to enter the race with. Cupid told Hippomenes that Aphrodite would supply the apples if he ran the race for her. He further told him if he won, she would split the winnings with him fifty fifty. Hippomenes agreed to the proposition, but Cupid doesn't take crap from nobody, and shot him with one of his mind-altering serum tipped arrows.

Hippomenes went to see Aphrodite who gave him three of Dem apples so he could enter the race.

Atalanta's parents started the race since they wanted their daughter out of the house.

At first, Hippomenes couldn't keep up, but then he had an idea. Hippomenes threw one of Dem apples just ahead of Atalanta and, sure enough, she couldn't resist and stopped to pick it up. He then pulled ahead of Atalanta.

She was quickly closing the gap when he threw the second and the third apple. Once again, Atalanta stopped to retrieve them.

She was gaining speed and they were neck and neck up to the finish line, but with the last ounce of strength he could muster, Hippomenes crossed the finish line barely winning the race.

Hippomenes won the race and Atalanta baked him a pie. He also figured he might as well hook up with Atalanta since she was such a good cook. Atalanta's parents were happy to get her out of the house and Aphrodite got half a pie. Cupid got out of the bounty hunter business, because it didn't pay much, and came up with an online dating service. The Greeks came up with that too. How do you like Dem apples?

Merry Christmas

2009-12-08T00:54:00.000-08:00

The Blind Men and The Elephant

2009-10-27T11:36:00.000-07:00

It was Tuesday evening and, as always, six blindfolded men got together to play pin the tale on the donkey. Because that's what people who wear blindfolds do. They made the fatal mistake of coming to the gathering already blindfolded. Because of that mistake, they ended up groping a large elephant. Who, in turn, lied to the blindfolded men by telling them he was a snake and they'd better back off.

The blindfolded men didn't have the first clue where you'd pin a tale on a snake, or the sense to remove their blindfolds, so they backed off.

The End

The Brahman, The Tiger, and The Jackal

2009-10-21T10:07:00.000-07:00

This is a tale of money, pity, and hunger, but mostly money.

The Tiger was caught in a cage and asked a passing Brahman to set him free. The Brahman saw no harm in letting a hungry, wild animal lose, so he did as the Tiger asked.

The Tiger was indeed hungry and somewhat of a bully.
"Give me your lunch money." The Tiger demanded. "I'm hungry."
"I have no money." Replied the Brahman. "Where do you think I would carry it? Look what I'm wearing."
"Oh, a wise guy, huh?" Snapped the Tiger.
"Actually, I am a wise guy." Said the Brahman.
"Alright Brahman, I'll make you a deal. You go and beg, borrow, or steal some money, bring it back here and I'll let you go free." Said the Tiger.
So the Brahman went on his way to acquire the funds.

The Brahman first asked a tree, but the tree was broke. Two children were climbing on its limbs and they busted off. What have trees done for people as of late anyway? Nothin' for nobody.

So he asked his friend Bull for some cash. He was named after the bailiff on Night Court. Bull resented the name since it lacked creativity. Bull wished he had been named after more popular characters on other sit-coms, and wouldn't help the Brahman.

He then asked a road for money, and realized that's where you go to get rid of things, not find them.

All the while, Hansel and Gretel were lost and frightened in the forest, but that's not important to this story.

The Brahman then screamed his situation to the Jackal. The Jackal then told the Brahman,"I'll help you get out of this predicament, but it will cost you."
"Well, money is what got me into this mess in the first place." Said the Brahman. "I don't have any money, where do you suppose I'd keep it? Look what I'm wearing."
"I can see you're a wise guy," said the Jackal, "So, I'll do this pro bono."

Soon, the Jackal and the Brahman returned to negotiate with the Tiger.
"Well what do you want?" Inquired the Tiger.
"Don't you know that things in stripes belong in cages?" Queried the Jackal.

The Tiger didn't care for the Jackal's remarks, and figured he'd just eat the Jackal. But the Tiger agreed with the Jackal.

So the Tiger got back in his cage where he belonged, nobody had to pay money to anyone and they were non the wiser.

"You've got to have a tough sounding name if you want people to hire you as a private detective out of a phone book."

2009-07-30T11:17:00.000-07:00

"The Time Machine Did It" John Swartzwelder P. 1

Law & Order: Trial by Burly

2009-06-22T11:52:00.001-07:00

"Dead Men Scare Me Stupid" John Swartzwelder P. 48

"I propped it up in a chair, put slippers on its feet, and turned on a reading lamp, in case it suddenly was able to read."

2009-06-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

"Dead Men Scare Me Stupid" John Swartzwelder, Pg. 100

"I spent the next three hours laboriously dragging my corpse down the street towards the hospital..."

2009-06-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

"Dead Men Scare Me Stupid" John Swartzwelder Pg. 96

"...They never found me in good old Number 7."

2009-05-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

"Dead Men Scare Me Stupid" John Swartzwelder P. 25

"...I had been hung by the wrong leg..."

2009-05-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

"Earth Vs. Everybody," John Swartzwelder Pg. 82

Burly Bum

2009-05-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

"Earth Vs. Everybody," John Swartzwelder, pg. 57.

Earth vs. Everybody

2009-05-11T12:52:00.000-07:00

I recently finished reading John Swartzwelder's newest book "Earth Vs. Everybody." It's his fifth book about the ongoing adventures of Detective Frank Burly. Very funny. Unlike TBS, which for some reason will play movies like Saving Private Ryan and try passing it off as comedy.

Los Angeles California, the birthplace of me. Or, I got a new job and had to move.

2009-04-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

I now look like this:As we were cruising south on Interstate 5 at a comfortable speed of 71 mph through the majestic landscape of Oregon, we were stopped at the California border and asked what fruit we were smuggling into the state. Just then, I noticed my skin began to darken and my hair suddenly became a healthy jet-black. I had the overwhelming urge to cover my luscious locks with a thick coat of pomade and my teeth looked like I had gargled with bleach. I think the transformation was the result of exposure to the California sun and the consumption of too many Wheat Thins.

It was at this moment I realized I would have to start pumping my own gasoline and paying sales tax again. The road then became a dangerous place for me to be on. I was so distracted by my new state of handsomeness, that I couldn’t stop looking in the mirror. Due to all the swerving and my slow pace, I decided it was in my family’s best interest to let my wife drive the remaining 14 hours of our 15-hour trip to Los Angeles.

We finally made it to our new little home nestled between the 405 and the I-90 freeways. It’s a quiet little place with all the comforts of home. The constant sound of the traffic above is as soothing as the ocean, there’s plenty of barrels for fires, lots of cans filled with fish bones, and concrete as far as the eye can see for our kids to play on. And it’s a steal at only $2,700 a month.

My wife was pretty tired after the long drive, so after she carried me into the house, we rested a bit before we began the arduous process of unpacking. Needless to say, we made it safe and sound and we’re ready to give California a try until the next layoff.

The View or My View?

2009-04-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

Parody or Potty?

2009-03-18T09:40:00.000-07:00

I've always been a fan of "Weird Al" Yankovic. Like so many competent professionals, he makes his job seem effortless. When listening to his music, you can't help but immediately think, "I can do that," which is exactly what my brothers, cousins, friends, and I attempt to do quite often. Over the years as popular songs and artists would release music we disliked, we would attempt to create our own parody of that song. I guess the intent was to try help others see the error in their ways for listening to such tripe. We would do this by imitating the artist and the way they sung and/or supply our own set of lyrics that usually included the name of our dog or simple potty humor. Not all songs fell under the category of ridicule, some just came about from what we happened to be watching on TV.

I'm afraid I can't take credit for these lyrics, although I wish I could. This was nothing short of pure inspiration conjured up by my brothers and cousins. The following lyrics are to be sung to the theme from The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Which was always Transmitido en Español en SAP).

I gotta get up,
I gotta get goin'
I'm gonna see a friend of mine.
He's tall dark and ugly
I love him because he's just...

Raider, Tusken Raider,
The toilet seat's cold
Whoooooo...
And that was pretty much it, they never came up with lyrics for the rest of the song. Which is what usually happened with most of the songs. Other parody classics we came up with included:

"I'm in a Hurry to Wipe My Bum" (Parody of "I'm in a Hurry (And Don't Know Why)" by Alabama)

I'm in a hurry to wipe my bum oh I'm,
Poopin' poopin' til I'm all done.
All I really have to do is wipe and leave,
But I'm in a hurry and use my sleeve.

"The Poop Scoopin' Boogie" (Parody of "Boot Scootin' Boogie" by Brooks and Dunn)

Get down, turn around, go to town,
Poop scoopin' boogie.

All we really did to this song was change two words, but it now has a different connotation.

"Diarrhea" (Parody of "Mamma Mia" by ABBA)

Diarrhea, here I go again
My my, I sure have to take a poo.

Again, not much else went into coming up with other words to finish the song. And of course there's:

"If You Like Queen Amidala" (Parody of "If You Like Piña Colada" by Rupert Holmes)

If you like Queen Amidala,
And her big silver plane,
If you are into Yoda,
If you think Jar Jar is lame...

So yes, most of our experience as parody song writers were similar in theme, we simply used potty humor and some Star Wars references. Any other song that we tried to ad lib on the spot would just result in inserting different variations of our dog's name into the chanty. Needless to say, we weren't very good at parody song writing.

It's also quite ironic that I gripe so much about how much I despise blatant potty humor that seems to pop up in so many movies, yet it is the main inspiration of all our song lyrics. Maybe it's because there's so many things that can rhyme with words ending in, "-ee," and "-00."

Freelance or Sleeping with the Trilobites?

2009-03-03T13:41:00.001-08:00

This was a spot of freelance that came my way recently. They're illustrations that will be used to educate elementary school children. They didn't give me too many details about what was going on, but this is what I can gather. Let's begin now:

This is Gerry, Gerry is a geologist, but not a very good geologist.This is another geologist, his name is Gerry too. He's a better geologist than the other Gerry. This is Pam, she's a paleontologist, she's also Gerry's accomplice and the one who ordered Gerry to "push the button."Gerry has decided to carry out the job "the old fashioned way," by stoning the other Gerry. These are the stones and the tools that Gerry will need to get the job done.
This is the hole that the carcass will be thrown into. Notice, Gerry has also chosen a remote location that no one is likely to find.
The stiff goes in here.
This is what the inside of a hole looks like. Once you've hit bedrock, that's deep enough.
Here is a close up of fossils that you might find in the hole. Take them with you, you might be able to sell them. Boom! You've just increased your pay-off.
Well, it's done.
Here are a wide variety of stones that can be used to carry out lapidation.
If you'd like to make your own stone, there are three simple steps. It may take awhile, so you need to get started right away.
This is Pam. She pays Gerry off with a giant dog biscuit.
She swears she won't say a word.
The End.

I'm It.

2009-01-30T09:51:00.001-08:00

I have been "tagged" by several people in the past, but don't really know what that means. I didn't care for the questions that were asked, so I decided to come up with my own.

Things That Bug Me:

1. When people lick their fingers to turn pages in books.
2. When people talk during movies, bring babies to movies, eat smelly hot dogs during movies, or leave before the credits are over.
3. The smell of vinegar and pumpkin.
4. In the movies when one person starts to clap, then two, then three, and suddenly everyone is applauding.
5. When people eat ice cream off a spoon, leave a mound of it on the spoon, and then finish it.
6. Papyrus Font

Favorite Supermarket Aisles:

1. Laundry detergent aisle.
2. Bread aisle.
3. Cereal aisle.

Least Favorite Supermarket Aisle:

1. Dog food aisle.

Favorite Non-Video Games:

1. Pit
2. Connect 4
3. Set
4. Boggle
5. McDonald's Monopoly

Least Favorite Non-Video Games:

1. Monopoly
2. Monopoly Jr.
3. Monopoly the Mega Edition
4.Chutes and Ladders (It never ends.)

Least Favorite Foods:

Anything that ends with, "-slaw," "-loaf," "-role," "-ish," or "-ushi."

Favorite Tire Brands:

1. Michelin
2. Good Year
3. Pirelli

Favorite Saturday PBS Programs:

1. The New Yankee Workshop
2. America's Test Kitchen
3. The Woodwright's Shop

Best Whining in a Leading Roll:

1. Luke Skywalker - Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
2. Daniel Larusso - The Karate Kid
3. Dr. Gillian Taylor - Star Trek IV The Voyage Home
4. Willie Scott - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
5. Randy Parker - A Christmas Story

Dream Job:

1. Host The Price is Right.

The One Christmas Gift I Wanted, but Didn't Receive This Year:

Well, there you have it. If you'd like to be tagged, knock yourself out...consider yourself "it."

Freelance

2009-01-28T10:25:00.000-08:00

This was a bit of freelance that came my way last week. These were done for the Shakespeare play Comedy of Errors that is playing here locally. They wanted the backgrounds to be in a Warner Bros./Maurice Noble style. The WB cartoons, Deduce You Say and Drip Along Daffy were used as the reference for style and color. My buddy, Fred Gardner, designed and drew the layouts, and I painted them along with Scott Fassett. They then projected the images onto a screen which serve as the backgrounds for the play. I thought it was a pretty cool idea.

The image above was painted by Scott, and I painted the images below.

Keeping Busy of Waiting?

2009-01-26T15:08:00.001-08:00

I broke the old Nu-Pastels out (HAHAHAHAHA, get it? Because they break and they're old because I've had them for awhile, but they're also nu, because of the brand, but not spelled like new...sigh, anyway) the other day whilst I play the waiting game, and decided I'd try to do some head studies. I spent about an hour on each of these.

Out With the Old or In With the New?

2009-01-14T19:56:00.000-08:00

Since it is the beginning of the new year, I've decided to post the happenings of the holidays up to the present day. We began the holiday months by spending a quiet Thanksgiving at home, and let me tell ya, the good folks at Del Taco out did themselves once again.

We started off the Christmas holiday by being laid off from my job. Just before Christmas, the studio I worked for decided to pull the plug on our project which sent me into the realm of unemployment. Between putting together portfolios and trying to find a job, I now pass the time listening to the Mamma Mia soundtrack and putting Legos together. The highlight of my day is checking the mail, which usually contains 20% off coupons to Bed Bath and Beyond. The other highlight of my day is watching Cash Cab on the Discovery channel. It hasn't been all humdrum and glum. We didn't let this setback keep us from enjoying the season. Since money is a little tight, we had to be a bit inventive with our gift giving. Luckily for us I have been doing a bit of inventing, which mostly consists of me duct taping flashlights to different things. I also decided to just return items that we've borrowed from others over the years. This year, I gave my mom back her spatula but with a brand new flashlight taped to it. My dad got a new Blue Ray player this year, so I gave him back his Ambervision glasses.
And I gave each of my brothers a new Norman Rockwell calendar. Our insurance company sends us one each year, so I just gathered the ones we've collected from years past, scratched out the old year, and put 2009. I also threw in a few 20% off Bed Bath and Beyond coupons for them.

We spent New Years with friends playing the Nintendo Wii. They got a new game called Wii New Years, so we just played that all night.

Well, out with the old and in with the new. We had a good year. It was a bit rocky towards the end, but we're optimistic for what's to come.

Whoops

2008-10-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

I drew this awhile back and thought I'd turn it into a little story.

Colors Sketches

2008-09-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I borrowed a Ninentdo DS and over a weekend, I did these sketches using a painting program called Colors.

My daughter even took a stab at it.

Drawing Under the Influence

2008-08-29T11:18:00.001-07:00

My brother sent me this blog awhile back and it has some great reference of people "driving" their cars. It's interesting to see how the motor cars match the personalities of their conductors. Although, it's kind of frightening to see what people do and look like while driving. What's even more scary is to think there's a nut out there taking pictures of us.

Living Life or Procrastination?

2008-08-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

Our Typical Saturday or All in a Saturday's Work?

2008-08-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

At our house, Saturday is the day that we run all our errands, since the rest of the week is filled with us unwilling to leave the house.

Every Saturday, I like to treat my family to a nice breakfast. So we were off to The Marriott, where we enjoyed their continental breakfast. We're fortunate to live close to an area where there are several hotels in the vicinity. It gives us variety and it also helps with raising suspicion with the other hotel chains. After we filled our stomachs and our pockets, we fled the premises as the hotel manager chased us with a torch and pitchfork. He bid us farewell with the usual cursing and something about the cops, but we figure he says that to all his guests. Customer service is a sign of a good establishment, that's why we give them our business.

Then it was time to go to the library. Like my brother says, "You're never poor when you have a library card." Well, since my card was revoked, we just sit outside and watch others walk out with their bags full of media in hopes that someone might drop something. When we did have a card, I used to go to the reserved section and just take things that others had put on hold. That's how I was able to read all the Harry Potter books before most of the other library patrons. I guess you're not supposed to do that and it's cause for card revocation.

By midday we were pretty hungry again and we were running low on fuel, and there's no better place to fill your gullet and your gas tank, than at Costco. It's nice, because the parking lot lines are double wide, which makes it easier to siphon. Then it was inside to take advantage of the free samples. We slipped by the guy in the wheelchair checking membership cards and roamed every aisle, eating to our hearts content. It was a smörgåsbord of delicatessens. Pizza bites, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, cheese, crackers, and little smokies. It's like Chuck-A-Rama without the elderly. We don't like to do all our shopping at Costco, but there are certain items we like to get in bulk, like toilet paper. So we raided the restrooms and we were out the door.

You know, it wouldn't be a Saturday without a trip to our nearest home improvement center, so we hit the freeway to pick up our final odds and ends. Pickin's weren't too bad, we were able to salvage several ladders, two semi soiled mattresses, and assorted bungee cords.

We ended the day by relaxing in front of the TV and watched the end of the games of the XXIX Olympiad. That didn't last long since our neighbor caught us peering through the venetian blinds at their TV with our binoculars. Luckily, the houses where we live are really close together, so we simply went to the other window and had to settle for watching the 2008 Roofball World Championships. It's basically like watching the Olympics, but without Bob Costas.

An Ode to Bounty Hunters or A Nimrod's Piece?

2008-06-26T20:35:00.000-07:00

If you're like me, about five feet seven inches and a buck forty, then you probably have the utmost respect and admiration for bounty hunters. For a reasonable price, these men, women, and aliens risk their lives day in and day out in order to rid the world of the slime of humanity. And in their honor, I give you:

An Ode to Bounty Hunters

Bounty hunters catch criminals.
It's a difficult task.
For monetary reward.
That's all that they ask.

There's robots and monsters.
Humans hunt too.
For all you Bounty Hunters.
This one's for you.

We have hunters named Bossk.
And hunters named Dog.
Some travel in space ships.
While others ride hogs.

Some hunters wear helmets.
And are usually bold.
And who could forget, the hunter named Fett.
Who put Captain Solo in the cargo hold.

Now these guys are good.
They get the job done.
But there's still another hunter.
Who's my number one.

To find an outlaw.
It's an outlaw one calls.
To his friends he's called Lenny.
But to you, it's Leonard Smalls.

He rides on a Harley.
On his belt, an infant's shoe.
To be hard on the little things.
He sports a shotgun or two.

Finds babies on occasion.
So if you're in a rut.
He'll track those who took him.
And also kick their butt.

But heed this warning.
Don't stiff on the bill.
Because if you don't pay up.
The market sure will.

If there's one thing to learn.
From the epitome of sin.
It's when you crush white trash with a bear hug.
Watch for the grenade pin.

So thank you to those.
You heroes unsung.
For finding the fugitives.
With only a gun.

Vaya con Dios.

Kim, Grace, & Cary

2008-06-24T11:36:00.001-07:00

My Dinner with Dell or was it?

2008-06-02T09:09:00.001-07:00

Every night at about 1am I reach a depth of unconsciousness known as rapid eye movement, or R.E.M. sleep, which is a status of sleeping that allows me to dream, according to Star Trek TNG anyway.

I dream in all sorts of formats and aspect ratios. Letterbox, pan and scan, black and white, Technicolor©, Cinemascope. My dreams have even been animated, live action, and most recently motion capture. Those haven't been as successful as past dreams and frankly quite creepy, but my dreams try to keep up with all the technological advances.

The following story took place in my sub conscious, any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

I've usually found that my dreams are greatly influenced by what I watched or experienced before I retire to bed, but this dream, I can't explain because it stars this guy:

Which is odd, since I haven't seen or heard this quiet, soft spoken person in a long time. Well, every good story has a hero, that's me, and in many stories, there's a MacGuffin, that's a DVD/VHS dual player. In my dream, for some reason, I was trying to find one. Apparently, the man with the answer to my quest, was Dell. So, I set out to find him.

Upon arriving at his home, which was easy to find since it was advertised on a billboard, I found it surrounded by a giant gate with a sign that said, "Neverwasaland," (which is obviously stolen from Peter Pan who stole it from Michael Jackson's ranch, if I have my history correct) with another sign below that one which read, "No Questions." Immediately, I was disappointed, since I thought Dell had the answer I was looking for. The large estate, was what you would imagine any retired computer entrepreneur would have, horse stables, a five car garage, swimming pool, tennis courts, and a corner that resembled a stone castle wall that he let young film makers use as a set for their student films.

Just my luck, there happened to be a group of film students entering the gates of the compound getting ready to shoot a scene for their movie. I quickly shuffled in with the crowd and onto the set. As soon as the coast was clear, I B-lined it to the front door and went inside. There, I was greeted by none other than Dell Schanze. He asked who I was, and I told him. He didn't seem to be impressed and offered me a drink of some substance that was in a square bottle. I was hesitant to partake since he was acting drunk and had two of these bottles in each hand and was downing them simultaneously. Then I saw the label on the bottle, it was Mountain Dew. He had taken old liquor bottles, washed them out, filled them with soda pop, and put his own labels on them. Apparently, the Mountain Dew had the same effect on him as the most potent liquor would have on your average raving alcoholic. Realizing that I wasn't in any real danger in drinking his soda, I tried to show him that I had some class by saying, "Fish swim, but I drink." Which didn't make sense but, for some reason, I thought was clever. It impressed Dell enough to have him give me a tour of his house.

After the tour, he invited me to have dinner with him, where I sat alone at a giant table. He served me a cereal bowl filled with corn, rice, and was swimming in ranch dressing. He left the room and I tried a bit, just to be polite. I promptly spit it out and dumped it in a trash can that was labeled, "Leftovers." I looked inside only to find that this can was filled with this slop. I dumped it in and waited for Dell to come back. When he did, I decided that I had had enough, no more Mountain Dew, no more tours, and no more dinner. I asked him my question, I said, "Dell, where would I find a reasonably priced DVD/VHS dual player?" He looked up, stared at me a moment, opened his mouth, and then...

I woke up.

Winner or Loser?

2008-05-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

Well, people keep asking me, wanting to know whether or not I won the Indiana Jones look-a-like contest. Here's what happened, between the time I sent in the picture and the time I was supposed to hear the results, I didn't get a wink of sleep. To pass the time, I ended up doing what I do best, that's watch TV. As I anxiously waited by my email for the news, I began by watching HGTV, where every show consists of some decorators using tubes of adhesive to glue crud to the walls after adding a coat of paint, laying down a cheap rug, and opening a window. I tell you, those guys are miracle workers. After the 20th hour of watching I was inspired to make a difference in the world, and decided I would boost the economy by shopping. There's no better time to spend money than at three in the morning, when I'm most vulnerable, watching infomercials. I tell ya, that guy with the mustache can sell anything, he was so loud I could still hear him with the TV muted.

After helping others by increasing my consumer debt, I thought that I deserved to help myself. So I ended up watching this show where this well dressed guy and this stylish gal teach you how to be like them, in other words, a better person. I figured this was just what I needed since I hadn't changed my clothes or taken a shower in over seventy-two hours. The way this couple would help others was by informing the candidates that they were ugly and then purchased said people new clothes. They were onto something, I knew there were a lot of ugly, poorly dressed people out there, but thank goodness for these kind hearted souls who shamelessly throw away the entire wardrobe of the participants and insult them back into looking good. It's a slow process, but I guess you just have to take it one at a time, that's my motto.

With my spirits soaring high, I moved onto prime time, where every show includes a Brit and two other washed up celebrities telling contestants, who subject themselves to humiliation, how bad they are at what they do. This boosted my self esteem to see others subject themselves to such ridicule for their fifteen minutes of fame.

With this natural high, bed sores, and blood shot eyes, I felt I could accomplish anything. I felt like I could rearrange my living room, buy an entire new wardrobe, and was willing to sing a song on stage for all America to hear. I thought that nothing but good news would come my way. But then, I was in for a huge let down...

Four days and three maxed out credit cards later, the wait was finally over, and unfortunately I did not win the contest. It wasn't a total loss, I am now the proud owner of twenty blank BETA tapes, a home cow slaughtering kit, a five gallon vat of goo that can remove any stain or be used as a substitute for shortening, some collectible potato chips shaped like the Muppets, and a DVD box set of C-SPAN.

Although I didn't win the contest, I feel I still came out on top.

Indiana Jones and the Cooky Crystal Cranium Caper

2008-05-25T23:16:00.000-07:00

I could sum up my opinion of Indy IV by saying, let's have less yacking and more whip cracking.

Outatimelapse

2008-05-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

Andyana or Indiana?

2008-05-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

As I was taking my morning constitutional to work the other day, thinking about how I could use the word "reckon'"more in every day conversation, I passed a group of graphic design students. I could tell they were graphic design students because they sported bald heads, ribbed black turtlenecks, khaki pants, thick rimmed glasses, and they corrected me when I mispronounced "Helvetica." As they drank their coffee and clicked away on their Mac powerbooks, I noticed one of the screens had an advertisement for a radio contest. This is how I usually keep up on current events by looking over their shoulders at their screens. The contest mentioned that the winner would get two tickets to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull two days before it opened. What the contest entailed was that the participant would have to dress up like Indiana Jones, take a picture, and submit it for ridicule by those ever so clever radio DJ's. I figured since I've always liked Indiana Jones and since I had as good a chance as any to win and since the deadline was that day, and since my coat was caught on something, I decided to enter the contest.

I quickly started a riot by whispering that PC was better than Mac, grabbed a computer and went straight to the internet. Since I wasn't wearing an Indy costume and I didn't have a camera, I googled "Indy costume" and came up with this guy:

I figured that the costume was spot on, but decided the face wasn't as handsome as it could be. I quickly used my mad Photoshop skills and was able to piece together a likeness of me, mainly from photos of Neil Patrick Harris and a Mogwai. To resemble main stream movie posters, I threw in a lens flare and some product placement for good measure. Plus, I figured if some of these big companies got a hold of this image, I could sit back and watch the royalties come pouring in. At the very least, it would boost my chances of winning.

After two hours, I noticed that the fighting was starting to die down. I hurriedly sent the picture, freed my coat, and was on my way. Had I had more time, I would have liked to compose a shot more along these lines.

Perhaps next time. But I reckon' I have a good chance of winning, I reckon'!

May Day or Dax Day?

2008-05-01T10:25:00.001-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about dogs lately. I tend to think a lot in general, it's a habit I picked up around the same time I started eating. It's hard to not think about dogs living where I live because they're everywhere up here in Oregon. There seems to be two dogs to every person. It's like I'm in South America all over again, except the dogs here are on leashes, none of them are malnourished, and, for the most part, appear petable because they're not losing their hair to some flesh eating disease.

I too had a dog once, her name was Dax and today is her birthday. This illustration is typical for any walk we would ever go on.

She was a good dog and I would say we were good friends too. Some compared us to Scooby and Shaggy, except Dax never spoke English, I don't eat dog treats, solve crimes, or have bad posture. So, we really weren't anything like Scooby and Shaggy, I don't know where people got that idea.

Today I give a shout-out to Dax even though shout-outs are number 5 on my top 5 things that I hate. Right after people who lick their fingers to turn pages in books. I'll tell you what the top three are later, I haven't quite figured those out yet, I just put these lower on the list since I'm sure there are things I hate worse than those. But here's a shout-out to Dax even though you're gone, you can't read, and you don't have internet access. I love you Dirl.

My Birthday or Babs' Birthday?

2008-04-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

As I strolled the streets of Portland on the way back from my delicious Mexican birthday lunch, I passed this sign that was sitting on the outside of a used bookstore. I tried to photoshop out the streamer that was blocking the "T" on the sign, but didn't do a very good job. Yes, I share a birthday with Barbra Streisand. This inspired me to research the other greats and events that occurred on my birthday. So I turned to the most reliable source on the internet, Wikipedia, and found, perhaps, some of the reasons that make this day so much more special. Besides Babs being born, other entertainment geniuses included actress Shirley MacClaine, Director Richard Donner, funny man Cedric the entertainer, and American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson. Indeed, I feel fortunate to have been born on the same day of such entertainment giants. On this day in 1967 Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov died in Soyuz 1, the first human to die during a space mission. And who can forget that glorious day in 1990 when Gruinard Island, Scotland was officially declared anthrax free after being quarantined for 48 years.

Not only did this trip down Wikipedia memory lane make my birthday a success but was further enhanced by what really matters, presents. This year I was given a new BBQ grill. Since my previous grill of 15 plus years was cremated due in part to chipping paint and my negligence, it was time to upgrade to a more reliable piece of flesh charing equipment. Although the new grill lacks the years of flavor that the old one had embedded in its meat juiced soaked lava rocks, the new one will serve just fine. I also got a Waist Trimmer.

I think I fit the "most" category.

I also received two gifts that were a nice thought, but are nonreturnable since we don't have the receipts. So if anyone is interested, I have a bag of teeth and a slightly used hobo that I'm willing to part with for a reasonable price. The bag of teeth comes with a certificate of authenticity from the tooth fairy, which could possibly be a forgery, I'm not sure. I was thinking of putting the bag under a pillow and make a fortune, considering what the tooth fairy is paying out these days for teeth, but I figured what good would that do if the tooth fairy is trying to liquidate her surplus. The hobo, again a nice thought but is not working out. He just sits outside our front door and steals all the phone books that are left outside. That's nice, since we seem to get a new phone book once a week, but he also takes our neighbor's and any hang tag coupons we get for the local Chinese takeout restaurant. So if you're interested, we're willing to part with these two items.

Anyway, thanks to all who made my birthday a very special day.

Riding the MAX

2008-04-01T09:34:00.001-07:00

I ride the train to work each day, so it allots for some sketch time.

Key Largo

2008-02-14T17:19:00.003-08:00

I watched Key Largo the other day and found these characters and this prop interesting inspiration.

Oldies

2008-01-25T15:53:00.001-08:00

I did these a while ago, and just found them.

Sam

2008-01-14T17:52:00.001-08:00

I watched the Ken Burns documentary about Mark Twain the other day and did this sketch on a post-it as I watched it.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-15T10:50:00.001-08:00

A Few Observations

2007-12-05T09:29:00.001-08:00

Alfred Scorsese or Martin Hitchcock?

2007-12-04T09:51:00.000-08:00

LAIKA The Space Dog

2007-11-13T10:01:00.001-08:00

This was the topic for this mornings warm-up. Design the dog that the studio was named after.

Gremlin

2007-11-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

63 Chrysler Turbine & A Fiat

2007-10-30T14:14:00.001-07:00

This morning's warm-up.

Fire Put-Er-Outter

2007-10-26T10:24:00.001-07:00

Santino asked me this morning to design the vehicle(s) I would use to extinguish the fires in California. I went with an older plane that had the ability to dump several thousand gallons of water or other extinguishing chemical, but with the ability of a quick reload by diving into a large body of water and instantly refilling its compartment, like a pelican diving for fish, and be ready for another run. I also have these smaller pods that jettison from the tail end of the plane that are propelled by the water that they carry to extinguish smaller patches of fires, much like a fire sprinkler you'd find in the ceiling.

The Edsel

2007-10-24T09:56:00.000-07:00

The morning's warm-up sketch. The Ford Edsel.

1962 Ferrari GTO

2007-10-23T17:36:00.001-07:00

A friend at work and I decided that we'd start doing warm up drawings in the mornings. We'll pick a car, person or whatever and spend no more than five minutes on it. Although this was done in the late afternoon, we will start doing them in the morning. This was my caricature of Santino's (my co-worker's) favorite car of all time.

Warm Ups and Sketchbook

2007-10-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

Gestures

2007-10-04T12:47:00.001-07:00

Twice a month I have the opportunity to do a little figure drawing. Last night's model was particularly unique. These are all charcoal pencil on smooth newsprint and range from 3 min. to 10 min.

Frank Burly

2007-09-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

My friend Mark introduced me to a series of books by John Swartzwelder, writer of 59 episodes of the Simpson. It's great satire, I've enjoyed them thus far. Anywho, these are some sketches I did of what I thought Detective Frank Burly, the main character of these books, might look like. It's a mixture between Jack Black, John Swartzwelder, and William Hootkins (better known for his memorable role as "Porkin's" from Star Wars, Major Eaton, from Raiders, and of course Lt. Max Eckhardt from Batman)

Nick Miller

2007-09-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

Remember when everybody got Nick Miller haircuts and wore Castleton t-shirts?

Warm Up

2007-08-31T09:31:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time since I've posted anything. This is a little warm up I did of a guy I saw riding the train this morning.

Moving

2007-08-23T22:20:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm in the process of moving my family up to Portland Oregon. I got a new job working at Laika Entertainment. It's been quite the adventure. I'll try to post more interesting things as soon as we find a place to live things settle down a little bit.

Esketches

2007-07-19T06:58:00.001-07:00

Another Honest Abe

2007-07-16T20:24:00.001-07:00

Another Sailor

2007-07-11T18:16:00.001-07:00

Honest Abe

2007-06-28T21:56:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine let met borrow The Civil War documentary by Ken Burns so I thought I'd paint this.

Rat • a • too • ee

2007-06-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

This is long overdue, but on June 16 I had a chance to see a sneak peek of Ratatouille. Above is a little sketch I did of Remy. It doesn't do him justice, but he was fun to sketch.

I don't want to ruin it for the two, maybe three, people that read my blog, but the movie is absolutely amazing and beautiful. The story is superb, along the lines of Cyrano. Visually, it's wonderful both in its story telling and design. The characters are charming and the acting is superb. I like at the end of the credits where Pixar gives their 100% animation guarantee, no motion capture. I'm running out of adjectives so I'll just stop right here. Go see it!

D's Blog

2007-06-19T22:51:00.001-07:00

This doesn't look anything like him, but my brother Dallas finally has posted on his blog after being dormant for a year.

More Sailor

2007-06-19T20:57:00.001-07:00

The Bridge

2007-06-19T07:06:00.001-07:00

Everybody Loves Raymond

2007-06-18T21:57:00.001-07:00

Fairburn Hands & Figures

2007-06-13T14:02:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine brought in The Fairburn System of Visual References. It was published in 1979 and has some dated, but good reference material.

Boxer

2007-06-12T21:02:00.001-07:00

A Few Thumbnails

2007-06-12T06:59:00.001-07:00

More Sailors

2007-06-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

Sailor

2007-06-07T22:32:00.001-07:00

This is a design for a personal project I'm working on.

Sketches

2007-06-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

Last Weekend

2007-06-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I went and saw Pirates 3 and the next day I went to Moab. The top sketch is from waiting in the theatre lobby and the bottom two are from my trip. The very bottom one is from Arches National Park.

Spokane

2007-05-21T08:18:00.001-07:00

This weekend I went to Spokane Washington to visit some friends. Needless to say we had a great time and ate a lot. We drove to Coeur d'Alene Idaho and when to this resort, (the above sketch which I thought resembled the Hollywood Tower Hotel) ate some Greek food, and went on a boat ride where we paid $1 for hot chocolate. It was fun and filling.

Get Busy Livin' or Get Busy Dyin'

2007-05-08T20:42:00.000-07:00

Shawshank the comic book.

Mark's Visit

2007-05-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

My buddy Mark came and visted us last week and this is a video he edited together of all the highlights of the trip.

Shawhank Progression

2007-05-02T08:07:00.000-07:00

I was reading a post on Ted Mathot's blog where he suggests boarding scenes from movies in order to see how they were constructed. So, I thought I'd give it a try and I took the scene from Shawshank where Andy Dufrense plays the opera record over the PA system. It was really interesting to do and I learned quite a bit.

One More Design

2007-04-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

Just a quick sketch I did in gouache.