Another semi-super quick no-time-to-plan-out sketchy thing for a sister of a friend in NJ.
"Tower, This Is Ghost Rider Requesting A Slice-O-Cake" | Scribble-Dee-Doo-Dahs #065
Quick birthday doodle to my ex-Creative Manager and Top Gun aficionado, Dora.
Sidenote: I did a caricature of her in late 2020 along the same naval aviator theme - click here.
"I'm Grumpy Vader And I Approve This Message" | Stardate #001
A quick thumbs up! Grumpy Vader doodle after hearing the news my ol' Starlog magazine editor is gonna start up a new sci-fi/fantasy PRINTED magazine titled "Stardate."
It sounds like most-to-all past Starlog contributors will be onboard this new venture - this'll include cartoonists (yay!).
Estimated newsstand delivery date: late 2022.
In the meantime, to get back into sci-fi/fantasy headspace, I gotta catch up on all that has been going on in that genre — at the very least, glean whatever I can from the Google.
A Couple-O-Caricatures | Caricature Corner 09
With little time I have nowadays, it’s rare I can find a small corner of a weekend to scribble up a caricature or two.
Below are two examples of semi-rushed work of varied degrees of rushedness(?).
A wedding anniversary theme for my boss.
A somewhat rushed piece for an ex-W.P.A.
Bunnies
A couple-o-bunnies drawn up for the company’s Easter festivities — sketched up for silver dollar coin-sized stickers to be slapped onto Easter Eggs.
I only had enough time at work to quickly sketch up these two on screen, color and print out stickers - the “blinking” I animated at home as part of my now ongoing destress routine.
Nobody Respects The Value Of A Flying Household Cleaning Utility In The Empire More Than Trooper Potter | A Starlog Archive Cartoon
To avoid further ridicule, Trooper Potter fails to disclose he also traded his blaster for a "magical" stick.
From the Starlog Toon Archives (Issue 306, Jan. 2003).
Try And Rise From The Ashes After That! | A Starlog Archive Cartoon
You can bet Dumbledore had second thoughts about taking Mr. Potter out for birdwatching.
From the Starlog Toon Archives (Issue 309, Apr. 2003).
If Only Indy Could Speak Parseltongue | A Starlog Archive Cartoon
In search for a rumored Horcrux, Dr. Jones ran into a spell of trouble.
From the Starlog Toon Archives (Issue 308, Mar. 2003).
Project: Leggo My Eggo!
Once in a blue moon I get called up for a special one-of-a-kind project for Mitch Dowd, the apparel company I work for.
In 2018, when enthusiasm for the recent season 2 release of Stranger Things was at a record high, Mitch Dowd’s BossMan pegged me for a special project: push out an "eye-popping" Stranger Things retail-oriented proposal for Target.
This was a solo project from start to finish - no other "designers" contributed to the effort. And this is what I do best: left alone for a time to my own devices and getting deep into the weeds.
Started the project during work hours by essentially conceptualizing (roughly) on both sketchpad and on screen. Then, over a full weekend, I dug into the subject matter, pulling reference material from both official and fan-based web sources - no style guide available to pluck assets or ideas from.
To get into the mood further, I found a 10+ hour track of the Stranger Things theme music on a loop on YouTube and had it playing in the background… the original youtube mood music link, seen on page 5 of the proposal, has long since been deleted.
Presentation for each page of the proposal was treated as if they were episodes, or "chapters", of the show — note the font treatments on the page headers, call-outs and text content.
I knew from the beginning, real-world execution of most-to-all concepts created for the proposal would not have been cost effective to properly design, construct and install in a department store setting. AND be completely unrealistic for a single department store to dedicate valuable floor space to only one license with, at the time, a limited market appeal — it's now 2022 and Stranger Things’ appeal has greatly broadened since then.
Some concept imagery from the proposal can already be seen here.
The whole point of this exercise: get the foot in the door. If Mitch Dowd could secure a bare minimum of Stranger Things apparel orders, then this whole exercise would’ve been worth it.
In the end, the proposal was repackaged for another local retailer (Big W) starting a wave of interest and eventually ORDERS! More retail chains have gotten onboard in the last 2 years.
The payoff for Mitch Dowd continues to this day. I'm just content to be a part of that venture from the very beginning - I only wish I could do more special projects like this: they're challenging, creatively intensive, but darn satisfying in the end (it would certainly get me out of designing men’s apparel day after day!).
Everybody Needs A Birthday Donut | Scribble-Dee-Doo-Dahs #064
Yet another spare-of-the-moment, and unsolicited, donut-themed birthday illo I posted on voice talent extraordinaire Jim Cutler’s facebook page.
What We Have Here Is A Total Lack Of Respect For The Law! | Caricature Corner 08
The latest in a line of caricature requests from my WPAs (Work Proximity Associates), this time with a distinct Smokey And The Bandit vibe.
And, yes, this father (reference photo below) and kids are haulin' a trunk full of bootlegged Coors beer in his most-beloved Fiat coupe across state lines, with a dusty column of law enforcement posse with Sheriff Buford T. Justice in the vanguard.
Update: And, of course, the client wanted another option - replacing the Sheriff and posse with a lighthouse and a winding road.
The new scenery is supposed to be Aireys Inlet, complete with sea captain-manned lighthouse, hence the pirate parlance signage reading “YARRRreys Inlet”.
She's A Multitasker | Caricature Corner 07
Just another overcast Sunday and ran out of excuses not to finally draw up this caricature for a work colleague’s netball lovin’, t-ball sluggin’, ballet performin’ niece.
Birthday Cake, Or Death?! | Scribble-Dee-Doo-Dahs #063
Everyday is a perfect day to gorge on cake!
So, it comes as a surprise that one of those days is my birthday... apparently.
Blame The Møøse! | Scribble-Dee-Doo-Dahs #062
Today I’ll be playing hooky… because…
… just don’t tell the boss!
Or Boris & Natasha!
Somebody Should Warn Endora | Scribble-Dee-Doo-Dahs #061
File this under: "Things We Would've Liked To See in "Bewitched".
Who Knew "Ayers Rock" Would Be So Difficult To Spell? | A Starlog Archive Cartoon
Due to unpopular demand - and because I got nuthin' better to do right now - here's yet another gag exhumed after a recent dumpster dive into the Starlog cartoon repository.
Originally published in 1999 - issue #265, pg.18
As Mr. Lucas was adding smears of discarded doggy-doo-doo all over the final print of The Phantom Menace, around late 1998 he announced the remainder of the Star Wars prequels would be filmed in Sydney.
Couple that with a feeble satire of Meryl Streep's haunting line from "A Cry In The Dark"* and you have yourself a published toon, my friend!
* Come to think of it, when drafting the idea out as a rough sketch, I clearly remember "hearing" Seinfeld's Elaine character parodying Streep in a god-awful attempt at an Australian accent: click here to watch.
Fun Trivia Bit
Because I was/am an atrocious speller, I submitted the rough idea to Sir David McDonnell, Esq. and, from his office 10,353 miles away, informed me I'd incorrectly spelt the words on the sign that now reads "AYERS ROCK" -- I phonetically spelt it as "AIRES ROCK".
In Space, Nobody Can Serve You Summons | Scribble-Dee-Doo-Dahs #060
It'll bite you! It'll dissolve you!
It'll be "Exhibit A" in your soon-to-be lawsuit against Kenner!
Lame-ass gag loosely inspired after viewing the original 1979 TVC:
Featuring Curley (sans Moe & Larry) | Caricature Corner 06
A requested caricature of a work colleague’s ol’ man for Father’s Day.
Yeah… in Australia, this day is celebrated in September… because we’re just darn “special”… click here for more useless info about that.
Things to know about this guy, which are evident in the final comp: he drives a John Deere tractor; harvests wheat; is always covered in a film of dirt after a hard days work; and loves ice cream.
And don’t let the title of this post fool you - this fellow has nothing to do with The Three Stooges… except for his nickname: “Curley”.
Reference images for “Curley”: honestly, I thought these were three separate people!
Why is Father's Day a different date in Australia?
There's no succinct and confirmed reason as to why Father's Day in Australia is different from the US and UL, however, the common theory is that when the Australians decided to adopt it, they chose not to wait a year to celebrate. Instead, the day was simply inserted in later in the calendar, and in a similar season.
The Matrix Bullet Time Limbo | A Starlog Archive Cartoon
Published in 2000 - special millennium issue #271, pg.4 - examines the agile flexibility required for ammo-infused party games in The Matrix.
Oh, By The Way...
I rewrote the gag line that appears at the bottom of this toon as I never warmed up to the one I originally did (and subsequently got published) - it felt needlessly tacked on and was only there to serve as a reference point to the original Matrix film.
To see the original (why would you?) click here.
For Anakin's Next Trick, He Will Turn Himself Into A Bat! BLAUGH! | A Starlog Archive Cartoon
While I'm in the mood of bothering everyone with tired old Phantom Menace cartoons…
… here's another from 1999 (Starlog magazine #267 pg.94) parodying one of the film's teaser posters featuring young asshat Anakin casting a shadow of Grumpy Darth Vader, with cues from Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).