Final Inks for Cadavro

Here's what I'll be turning in for the Cadavro cover project. I'm thinking of doing a wash to get some value separation on it as well. I'm also thinking of trying a few color palettes. I'll post whatever happens.

Behold CADAVRO!

Cadavro is a character I've been kicking around for a couple of years, and a recent character development assignment we've been doing in my narrative class has given me the opportunity to refine some of my ideas on him. What you see here are the original thumbnail, finished pencils and primary inks for our assignment to place our character in a background (most of the other students created characters which would be suited to a picture book, but I opted to do a comic cover for the assignment as Cadavro is a comic). I've also done a design spec sheet, emotions chart and sculpey bust of America's favorite reluctant undead protector of the Navajo, but those will have to be posted later. The finished inks should be up in a day or two, when I get them done.

Ghost Stories Flyer Art

I did this really quick ink drawing (with a little fill and cleanup in paint) for the BYU Experimental Theatre Co.'s upcoming Halloween show, "Ghost Stories" last night. The project was pretty rushed, but it was fun to do, and it should be a fun show. Apparently, the audience will all be wearing blank masks like the ones in the drawing. Like I said, they needed the art in a hurry, so I just left them the black field at the bottom to insert whatever text they wanted. I think the show is playing the 27th and 29th in the Maeser Building, so anyone in Provo should go check it out. http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=269917439715496 

German Dept. Contest Entry

The German Department here at BYU is putting on an art contest in cooperation with the German consulate or something like that, which I had no plan of entering until I heard that no one had really entered it, and that the $100 cash prize or $25 university bookstore gift certificate for honorable mention were therefore pretty well within my reach. I threw this comic together quickly last night to have it in for the contest deadline this afternoon. We'll see what happens. The first frame reads "I had to drive up to Salt Lake, but finally I have it: my favorite german moldy cheese!"

Ott Mit Uns Phase 1

This is a shirt design I've been working on throughout the summer, one of those projects that has been worked on gradually and lazily because there's no deadline. I'm crazy about the "Gott Mit Uns" (God is With Us) beltbuckles issued to German military personnel in the first and second World Wars, and I'm also crazy about Neue Sachlichkeit German artist Otto Dix. The concept of any nation engaged in a war against any other nation with both sides believing God to be on their own side has always been bizarre and fascinating to me. This drawing combines a beltbuckle design used for the SS Totenkopfverbände (Skull Units) with a piece that Dix did as one part of a 50 (or 51?) piece anti war series that Dix did in 1924. The combination of the original SS Totenkopf with the text "Gott Mit Uns" is so absurd and sickening, while Dix's "Schädel" is equally sickening, however oppositely intentioned and brilliant. I was originally going to leave the design as you see it here, but I think I'm going to add and adjust some of the ornamental elements before I call it good. Immer gegen Kriege kämpfen! I'll post the final when it's done.

70's Honda Sickle Tank Project

The custom paint job for the tank of my 1978 Honda cb125 is nearly complete, and let me tell you, it has been a chore. The bottom photo shows the tank as it was the night I purchased the bike: severely dented from the forks, missing some paint, faded and peeling topcoat. The middle photo is the tank after I hastily removed the stock (and terribly late 70's looking) decal from the tank and even more hastily slapped some sticky lines and lettering on as a temporary cosmetic solution. After discovering that the tank's liner was coming apart during deep cleaning of it's interior, I took it to my new friend Dan Burlick, a restorer of vintage bikes (usually much cooler ones than mine) and generally nice guy, who relined the tank and pulled the dents out of it for me.  (if anyone is looking for motorcycle work like this, I highly recommend him. Get in touch with me and I'll give you his number.) After much sanding, priming, wetsanding, basecoating, and waiting, I've got the tank to this point, short just clear coat and new, more carefully painted "honda" lettering. I'll post the final when it's done.

Ramblin Rex Project Finished (Finally)

Just finished the Ramblin Rex and the Traumatones t-shirt design. That's one major check on my to-do list. Hopefully there'll be shirts of this soon.