Tuesday, April 24, 2012

PROBE: The Movie




Mad about Cows

A limited edition print for a film short: PROBE. A comedic sci-fi short about a man who has a terrible day on Earth-- then wakes up, abducted by aliens to join an eclectic host of specimens (besides the herd of disgruntled cows). Having had enough, he fights back with wrath and rage-- a cave woman joins in along the way~

Read more about it and the project page here, and act fast-- less than 9 days remain to get this print as part of the fundraising campaign.





MARY CYBRIWSKY, FRANKIE LINDQUIST, JONATHAN STEWART andKENT KUBENA are working with director CHAD KOCH to produce PROBE and help bring his vision to life. The film is being shot by cinematographer BEN PEYSER on the all new RED EPIC and stars actors ETHAN KEOGH and NYKKY IKALINA

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Gnomenclature



Who keeps stealing my socks?

It's a Threadless submission-- it's been a while!
Browsing through some of my books for some inspiration, I happened upon one volume that is an aggregation of amazing creativity, diversity, and business savvy: this little number~

So this design is take on the term "nomenclature" (which during some 'market research', I found about 23% of people did not know the definition of). And so:


no·men·cla·ture/ˈnōmənˌklāCHər/

Noun:
  1. The devising or choosing of names for things, esp. in a science or other discipline.
  2. The body or system of such names in a particular field: "the nomenclature of chemical compounds".


There you have it...vote and comment, raise this little guy high won't you please~? :]

Gnomenclature - Threadless T-shirts, Nude No More

Monday, April 09, 2012

Paper Pilgrim & Ms Flowers

Making the Pilgrimage

These are some shirts that will hopefully be hosted by MightyFine~ Ever expanding as they are, they have been holding some design contests as of late and I decided to participate. The theme? Scott Pilgrim!

As well as scouring for iconic moments/images in the comics, I watched the movie several times in a row (w/ multiple commentary tracks) for both inspiration and company during the drawing process. Many plates of garlic bread were had as well.... now I am fat. :P

My two cents in designs subs totaled three:


Guys and Dolls

This was my take on the many t-shirts and clothes that Scott goes through during his journey. There were a ton more, but I picked out some of my favorites like his 'X' logo'd jacket, silly hat, and pixel skull shirt.
Other accessories include his Power of Love sword, 1-UP, and of course, garlic bread.



 Ramona Fire Flowers

She's the most fiery type of power-up! A visual pun of her name and the highest achievement in 8-bits in the original Super Mario Bros. I did two versions since I couldn't decide which. The first one is a 'spent' question block if doesn't look familiar~

Vote for one, both, or all of them at WeLoveFine.com between 4/9/12 5/1/12! 
The final judges include the creator Bryan Lee O'Malley but the more that vote, the better the outcome.

To vote:
for "Paper Pilgrim" press the Directional Pad!
for "Ramona Flower Box" press A!
for "Ms Flowers" press B !


If you're looking at this on mobile, click on one of these:  vote!  vote!   vote! won'tcha please~
Sign-up takes just about half a minute (depending on typing speed~)


Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Darth Atlas



Anakin Shrugged

The mighty Sith Lord bears the burden of the second Death Star-- and his destiny too in DARTH ATLAS.
I wanted to play with shapes that are so recognizable to the fanboy eye and draw a string of circles and symbols. I did a bit of searching to find the right amount of struggle and strength for this mash-up of Anakin and Antiquity.

The Lucasfilm licensed shirt is ready for wearing HERE. See other similar designs on this blog with this here fancy tag: "Star Wars"

The process video below, with brooding & beaty music provided by Digitalcasm:
You might also spy a peek at my action figure collection which I have solely for.. academic purposes.


After the set of Star Wars universe humor tees, there's some more character specific designs in the works. Several to do and so little time... I shall double my efforts~

[Also many cheers to the MightyFine crew for a wonderful WonderCon 2012--
Their booth was fantastic, their giant cool bags everywhere, and the shirts they let me show off at my booth were a total hit! ]

Thursday, March 01, 2012

Death Piñata





"...One in a Million."


This design is likely my personal fav for this humor set of tee designs for MightyFine. Avaiable HERE!
There were some initial technical glitches getting this up to par but hey, the Death Star wasn't built in a day...

BTW, how is a blast shield supposed to be practically helpful in any way except Jedi training and festival games?



Wonder-ing where to find these in person?

It's that time of year again--


And this time it will not be San Francisco but at the nearer Anaheim Convention Center. MightyFine themselves ("WeLoveFine.com" Booth #112) and I (Artist Alley: AA241) will be there with some of these shirts in tow.

I'll also have new Sunless Circus character pins (along with button machine and Ardee Fortune Teller!) and my Nouveau Robotica series of prints at my table too.
It's a pretty large space (that's less than half the floorplan) but you can find me near the "Bone Yard". Sounds ominous~
Hope to see folks there!
-ck

Hoth Playground






























The Battle of Hoth (Ver. 2)

This one is continuing in this 'series' of silly Star Wars designs licensed thru Lucasfilm for MightyFine. Available on apparel here (in Lt. Blue, Navy, and Silver)

I used to have one of these stick horses and always wished it would make Tauntaun noises instead of neighing...
And no one can deny, despite their terrible destructiveness, AT-AT's are just too cute.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Greedy Han





Going Greedo

A new Star Wars licensed shirt design up through MightyFine. Find it here. Thanks to some clever-er folk at Welovefine than I for the shirt title-- like our little green friend, I'm not a quickdraw.
This one is part of a series of three humor designs (a bit like the Wounded Wampa) and feature kid-ified versions of classic characters. There's another design in particular yet to go live that was great fun to do that I can't wait to share... yes..there is another...

Until then, play friendly kids~ (That includes all the "Han Shot First"/ George Lucas debate teams!)
::pew pew::

And a kind feature on Shirtoid as well-- many thanks loyal Shirtoid-bot!



[EDIT 2/21] Thanks also to more mentions on an amiable HideYourArms post and on friendly Fashionably Geek.
And a tweet from the official Star Wars Twitter feed too! Cheers~


Also, MightyFine has launched their League of Mighty Fine Artists section on the site. You can find all the designs I've done for them so far there-- Marvel, Lucasfilm, and some original works as well.
Look for my banners that looks like these to get my section!:

[Hailing all nerd frequencies]




Saturday, February 11, 2012

"That's Amore" e-card



Puppies, Cats, and A-more!

Recently I did some background illustrations for an e-card for American Greetings. It features quite a cast of singing animals friends. See it  HERE and share with whomever this Valentines season.

It features a dog gondolier with, dare I say, amazing acting ability. If he looks familiar, you might have seen this little pup auteur "Uggie" on the red carpet at the Golden Globes.

He was in the recently released and Oscar nominated silent movie "The Artist" and added adorable character to a great film.

The shots are pretty quick, but the backgrounds (watercolor with digital embellishments) are meant to evoke a dreamy evening in Venice.

Bridge Intro
A Dog-gone-Gondolier
Curious Cat
Enamored Poodle
aMoon Pug !
Woof!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Wounded Wampa Kit






Wuv Your Wounded Wampa


A more comical take on the Star Wars universe, this is a tribute to all those model kits I built of X-wings & TIE fighters back in the day when they were the only SW 'toys' out there. I never found a Wampa kit, but imagine it might have looked something like this molded in plastic flash-- sans snowglobe and ice cream most likely.

Bonus points (and pack of buttons) goes to anyone that can name what the sign at the bottom right is from. Comment on my Facebook page--!

[EDIT: A belated Christmas variation for the holidays]



The design for MightyFine now available here.


One more Star Wars design has been approved and coming down the line very soon-- keep your helmet on~

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

The Millennium Zeppelin





Less Than 12 Parsecs!

The ever-present peoplemover of the original Trilogy gets a Victorian/ Steampunk overhaul in this design for MightyFine. There are many a detail hidden in both wording and design--who knew Corellia had it's own logo?
Keen eyes might also spy some Aurebesh script. It's a very small detail, but y'know...size matters not.

Find the shirt here!

[EDIT: An added thanks to MightyFine for making me my own section in their shop! ]

I also created this process video as I concepted and drew out this one. It went through a few iterations while trying to consolidate a blimp look with the iconic starship shape.
[Music provided by dapper pal Digitalcasm] :

Monday, October 31, 2011

Jango Fett & Son


Fett Family Business

This design was previewed in an earlier post-- now I can finally show the completed result!
Available as a t-shirt through MightyFine, check it out HERE (welovefine.com)

A Victorian ad influenced design, I thought it would be fun to conjure a promotional idea for the bounty hunting duo. The most treacherous of freelancers, I can't help but want to relate to their notorious business acumen... If only I could strike a good deal with the Caminoans-- a clone would come in handy during busy illustrating seasons~

There is one more similar Victorian influened design in the works along with a few more Star Wars designs--- stay tuned!



Taun Taun 2.0

I also made a process You Tube video of the previous Star Wars design I did for them, "Echo Station".



Friday, October 21, 2011

Long Beach Comic Con



Ardee R & D


These are a couple process pics of the 'Ardee' model I'm building. He's the central character of my first comic and I'm finding myself oddly in the same role as the Inventor in my latest comic.
I've been having to research many an automata online to figure out how he'll work as a mini Zoltar-esque fortune telling machine...

If this contraption won't fly, at least I'll still have a reliable gumball/toy machine at the table!



Come find Victor Camba, me, and articulated Ardee at booth #1507 in Artist Alley at Long Beach Comic Con, this 29th and 30th !

"I guess I'll hang around for now..."

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Fancy a Lift?



Flights of Fancy

This is a design submission for MightyFine's STEAMPUNK themed contest.
Seeing as how there are several projects I work on that lean toward this re-imagined past/genre, the contest theme was a natural one to work in. I had two more design ideas in mind but ran out of time to finish. 
This one is more simple and not much more than what you see~
Y'know...it's a rocket, with a mustache. The end.

Enjoy you fine fellows! 
And please if you might, vote it up on their site HERE-- the contest concludes in less than a a week!

Friday, October 07, 2011

Frontier Legacy


Final Frontier

No. 10 in the "Nouveau Robotica" series, this heavily Spaghetti Western inspired design "Frontier Legacy".
Akin to my previous 'cosmonaut' design, this was a slight style departure from the traditional Art Nouveau adapted for a more Western fare.
It was a also a chance to draw something uniquely "American". After reading the frightfully good "American Vampire" comic series, which opens on the Western landscape, I wanted to do a design that had just as much unique culture as the other European influenced robots. There's something to be said about the last frontier of Western expansion and our ideals as a country that were formed through it's founding.

The design itself hides clues from "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" in a double tribute to Italian (Sergio Leone) and American (Clint Eastwood) tastes. Graphic symbols are nestled within like the six-shooter barrel, nooses, wagon wheel, poncho pattern, and + signs-turned-Civil War crosses.
One of the most dramatically and musically loaded scenes in cinema history, I wanted to depict that final scene in the movie transposed to a mechanical measurement.
An extra hidden detail is the pattern on Clint-bot's chestplate which is taken from the iron oven door trick that Marty McFly employs in his duel in "Back to the Future III"-- Itself a parody of "A Fistful of Dollars". A copy of a copy of a copy is new... right ?

The first print run made its debut at the Alternative Press Expo last weekend with strong appeal.

A xylene transfered and hand painted version was made for the previously posted art show at Catalyst artspace-- proudly owned by Jackson Root ! See his work here.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Cross Pollination

For Hire!
[Preview shirt design]
A Little Fett Up? 

If you like less words and more images (and general stuff I like), check out my Tumblr stream.

Time to get Conventional


Rise of the Apes

This upcoming month will find me at a couple events. Exciting times~

First October 1st & 2nd will be APE (Alternative Press Expo) with Josh Kemble. I'll have copies of the full version of "The Tell" as well as another print run of "The Sunless Circus" for sale. I have a limited number of the "preview" hand-stapled/punched versions left over from the previous Mini-Comics Dump Truck on hand.
Inked Ardee pages



We will be at Booth #455, right next to the usual partners in crime of Ralphco Comics (Ralph Miranda) and Co.


View Larger Map

There will be one more addition to the Nouveau Robotica series, "Frontier Legacy" will be making its appearance here. A featured post about that print will be up soon and linked as well.

In case they're out of your size, I'll also have a few extra "Arabian Crescent" shirt designs on hand. Be sure to let Threadless to reprint your size if they're out here.


I'm looking forward to returning to APE this year with Josh since it was years gone by that I first stepped foot into the expo, played roadie at his table, and saw that there was such a great avenue for indie creators.


Josh (with printers accommodating) will have copies of the new book "Barbarians: A Handbook for Aspiring Savages" by Byron Clavicle, which features over a hundred of his skull-bashing barbarian illustrations (some of which I posed for!)
You can pre-order it on Amazon here-- but truly illustrious conquerors will demand it in person at our table.
Anybody dressed up as an authentic Barbarian will win a free... chest bump.




Going Long

[ EDIT: Table confirmed-- We'll be at Booth #1507 in Artist's Alley ! ]

Second will be the local Long Beach Comic Con, Oct 29-30 with tablemate Victor Camba and Patrick Sung.

[Table details pending on this venue] but we will be in Artist Alley under "C.K. Perfecto".

Victor will be debuting his book "You're Stuck Here", which goes like this:




The first semester of college! A time of promise, of leaving the nest and meeting new people, with your whole future ahead of you. That's the life that Bridget McKeen longs for. But Bridget, her twin brother Jeff, and their friend Chet are leaving Winchell High for their first semester of Cyprus COMMUNITY college, the educational equivalent of purgatory. Will Bridget make room for a social life at a school she hates? Can Jeff cope with life away from his high school sweetheart?
And why can't Chet get that fast food cashier-girl out of his head...
 He will also have original lithograph prints of characters and art available.

By this time, I'll have a mini-diorama setup of my character Ardee (the Robot Acrobat as Fortune Teller) built and fully operational. I will double my efforts to construct it on schedule.
I'll be shooting to have screen prints by this time too.

At both venues, look for the red toy machine full of buttons I designed, trinkets I found, and a chance to win  personalized artwork (Blue Caps are winners)!
  

Thursday, September 08, 2011

Tauntaun at Echo Station


It's Getting Hoth in Here...

Available at MightyFine here.

This design was a challenge and a fun one to do. 
Growing up a huge fan of Star Wars (during the lowest point of it's popularity~), working on something stamped by Lucasfilm was a certain boyhood joy.
The idea behind the illustration was to incorporate the Galaxy far far way with the Steampunk genre. Adding a sort of Victorian inspired armour to this beast of burden was an interesting task-- trying to figure out if it could still move with so many accouterments. For the true fans, you can find small details like the silhouette of the Ion Cannon and the Shield Generator in the framing. Also even more scrutinous lookers would find the design decal on his retro looking gun and the accurate "Commander" ranking patch.

As for the subtitle, Wookiepedia take it away... Echo Station 3-8

It's pretty crazy how much detail has been amassed about the 'events' in the movies... I think actual engagements in real wars probably have less detailed accounts on them~

Hoth was also the 6th planet in the system and I wanted some excuse to put numbers after things.


Well, enjoy!

Chris9

[edit: added process GIF]


Monday, August 08, 2011

Namor Nouveau



Undersea Tee

This Marvel design for MightFine available here.
The character's costume choice for this one is more like his recent versions in the X-Men books. It was just more fun to draw than only those green underoos--
I did a bit of catching up with the classic title and now really dig Dodson's work. Pulling my nose out of the indie books, there's some great work out there. 
In drawing the first Marvel mutant, I wanted to incorporate both (his sailor father's) nautical motifs and Atlantean influences. Oceanic fun~

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Nouveau Magneto



The Nouveau Master of Magnetism

Marvel licensed shirt design for MightyFine (welovefine.com)-- get attracted to it here!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

The Show with No Name

Saddle Up!

This is an upcoming show at the Catalyst Art Space (where we had the "Prehistoric Show"previously), this time themed around Spaghetti Westerns. In case you didn't see the Community episode "A Fistful of Paintballs", westerns in a contemporary setting still rockin' something fierce!


To get several of the artists acclimated to tone of Westerns steeped in Spaghetti, I put together a DVD that we showed during early planning meetings. They featured clips, trailers, and posters from "The Good the Bad and the Ugly," "A Bullet for the General," "Once Upon a Time in the West," and "Navajo Joe" and others. The Italian directors of the time really established a unique and recognizable aesthetic that we hope to showcase in the show.
Something's strange is afoot. 
Just as a teaser, we will have our resident makeup artist (who did the cavegirl makeup in the last show) apply her magic to make a select group of us all rugged (and possibly shot ;).
There will also be a olde-time photo-op space for folks with some Western themed ephemera to get a fancy photo-graph taken too!

Stay tuned through the invite on Facebook EVENT PAGE here and be ready for a fine roundup, July 9th at 7:00!

[edit: WANTED POSTERS of the Artists!]



"Captured"-- as in art form... get it~?  :le sigh:
I hope Dog the Bounty Hunter (or Boba Fett) don't take these posters too seriously~

The Lawmen will get their metal.
[I'll post up previews of the piece I'll be contributing as updates in this post. It'll feature a mix of Tuco from "Good, Bad, Ugly" and the classic 8-bit game "Wild Gunman"]

[a Preview of artworks on display:]

by Christina Rincon

by Christina Rincon

My old "Old Man and the Mountain"

Chris Houghton's "Reed Gunther"!

[Our increasing collection of Western accouterments:]



[Construction of our hitching post. Oversize pony riders please inform us beforehand ;]


And if you got the kind of pony tends to get lost easy, find the the gallery here: