Cats

Here are a couple of caricatures of our cats, Trixie and Tiger.
I tried to capture their unique personalities.
Trixie was an alpha cat. Mean and standoffish. She had to have things her way.
Tiger was a big chicken boy but loved attention.

Walt Kelly - My Biggest Influence

Walt Kelly was undoubtedly my biggest influence. He started as a Disney animator working on such films as "Dumbo". He eventually wound up in funny animal comic books which lead to his regular comic strip "Pogo".

His Pogo comic strips spoke to me as a kid even before I could understand his humor and writing. His characters had a huge range of facial expressions, emotions and were just plain fantastic. On top of that his backgrounds were stunning.

Here are some examples of his influence on me up to now.

I created Spot the Slug when I was in high school. I developed him further in college in my  comic strip "Bink" which appeared in the UW "The Daily" college newspaper. After college I kept working on Spot to breathe more life into him.

I never got "Bink" syndicated. I tried.

At Big Fish I created McDivot's buddy Burnie the Worm. Spot was sort of resurrected for me. I love Burnie and he and Spot are my favorite characters that I've created. I love Burnie even more than McDivot if for no other reason than he is Spot reborn.

See any similarities?

Now let's see Walt Kelly's influence. Take a look at Churchy La Femme the turtle.

There's a similarity in Churchy's rounded nose that came through with my squishy characters.

I find myself trying to use some of Mr. Kelly's techniques even in my backgrounds. Here is one of my brush and ink pieces of a frog and mouse dancing. Compare the trees from the comic strip below with my drawing. I can't seem to bring the same life in my art as he did but I love trying.

I love Burnie.

Harry Potter Wizard Cards

I posted a few Wizard Cards before during an art challenge. How about a few more? Why not!

This is me on steroids.

This one is modeled after my wife, Marline.

This one is modeled after my dad, Raleigh.

And the rest are just for fun. This is most of the designs I did for this project. It was for the first two Harry Potter PC/Mac video games. I think they later appeared in a PlayStation version. Hope you all like them.

Another Influence - Ed "Big Daddy" Roth

I loved Rat Fink as a kid. I had a Rat Fink model I put together as a kid. Then one day I decided to put a firecracker in his mouth. I regret that but I was a standard ignoramus teen.

I also had a DIY model that was either designed by or influenced by Ed Roth. It may have been done by his pal B. K. Taylor who designed the "Odd Rods" stickers in the '60s. I may have either tossed that one after it broke or blew it up as well. Somewhere, buried deep in the recesses of my home I have my Odd Rods stickers though. Lost but not forgotten.

Ed Roth led the Kustom Kulture style of art with his surf style art and pinstriping. Fantastic garish colors and bold ink work. B. K. Taylor did a lot of work forMad Magazine, National Lampoon and even The Muppets designing Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.

I never realized until recently how much their art influenced me and how I occasionally see hints of their techniques in my work. I can't explain it or dissect it but it's there.

This is my homage with McDivot and Burnie.

More Love for Leonard Nimoy

RIP Leonard Nimoy

Happy Birthday McDivot and Fairway Solitaire!

Working at Big Fish is the most amazing experience of my career. I can't describe the joy and pride I feel having created a set of characters that have actually drawn in fans.

When John Cutter, the creator of Fairway, gave me my nickname I was tickled pink. I'm listed as the "Gopher Wrangler" in the game credits screen and it even says it on my business cards. I love that! I will happily remain the unofficial Gopher Wrangler for as long as I am allowed.

This weekend we are celebrating McDivot's 3rd birthday in tandem with "Fairway Solitaire's" 3rd anniversary.

After 3 years McDivot, Sandy and Burnie have earned a few grey hares (rimshot!).