Not So Little Mermaid

As most of you know, I'm not taking commissions at the moment. I'm waaaaay backlogged. What you see before you is indeed a commission, a completed one. A rare sight indeed. So if you're on my list, your position just moved up a notch.

Happy Holidays everybody!

Sex Objects

Thought I'd post some of my process stuff for the gag cartoons I did for Leslie Cabarga's book "Topless Summer Love Girls".




My color studies.




Some higher resolution images than last time, with my original handwriting.

Topless Summer Love Girls

A while back I did a couple illustrations for Leslie Cabarga's humor book "Topless Summer Love Girls; A Gentleman's Guide to Women, Relationships, and Breasts".

To quote the PR machine:
"Topless Summer Love Girls is a zany, pop culture commentary on growing up male in the era of Playboy, feminism, and swimsuit editions. Arming men with new insights into themselves and the eternal battle between the sexes, this hilarious and sexy book filled with hundreds of titillating photos of half-naked women is a passionate and unapologetic examination of men, women, and breasts."

These were my attempts at playboy style gag cartoons for the book.
Gags written by Leslie Cabarga, art by me.




The book has been officially released, get it here!

Art Blocks for Ghana

I did this piece to contribute to "Art Blocks for Ghana", a charity art auction by artists in the animation and illustration community to help build a children's Home in Ghana.

This was a tough one. We were required to paint on these square wooden blocks, which meant I needed to paint opaquely. I haven't painted in a non transparent method in a good long time, so I was a bit rusty.

Sky Doll Process

I thought I might show a progression of my Sky Doll piece. Above is the study that I paint simultaneous to the full piece.
Below are the thumbnail, the rough, the line art and the underpainting.






See the previous post for the final art.

Sky Doll

This Saturday begins a tribute to Sky Doll exhibition at La Galerie Nana in Paris France. Sky Doll co-creator Barbara Canepa asked me to contribute a piece to which I was more than happy to oblige. I wish I could go, looks like there'll be some awesome work for sale.

Purr-Casso 2010

My piece for Purr-Casso 2010 is done. And none too soon.
This original piece of art will be up for auction this weekend for a good cause.




From the Purr-Casso blog:

The 5th Annual Purrcasso Art & Craft Gala takes place this weekend!

Please join us Saturday night for a silent auction and art sale, complete with live music, entertainment, and mingling with artists.

On Sunday, we will be offering lots of fabulous handmade crafts for pets and pet lovers in addition to beautiful art featuring cats and dogs.

Special thanks to our sponsors Wareham Development, KDFC FM 102.1, and the BEBHS Feline Angels.

November 6-7, 2010
Saturday 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Sunday 12-4 p.m.

At the old Scharffen Berger Chocolate Factory
914 Heinz Avenue
Berkeley, California 94710



*UPDATE*

The rough.

Blogging an Appa

I'm a big Avatar: The Last Airbender fan, so my good friend Steph Laberis made me this awesome Baby Appa feltie. I can tell you're jealous, who wouldn't be. It's adorable. She's getting really good at this felting thing and is looking to take commissions. Have a look-see on her blog.




In other news, Purrcasso is this weekend. It's a charity auction to raise funds for the East Bay humane society. I do a piece every year and this year will be no exception. It's coming down to the wire though, hopefully I'll be finished tonight and can post it soon.

Artists Sketchbooks

You may know Bobby Chiu as the talented illustrator and concept artist but he’s also the mastermind of Imaginism Studios and Schoolism. Now he's announced his newest project - ArtistSketchbooks.com! It's a place to discover new sketchbooks and artbooks from your favorite artists, both physical and digital. You'll find a wide selection and database of artbooks as well as iphone apps.
Check it out!

Fluide.G

I was very honored to be invited to contribute an illustration to the very first issue of the sexy French comics magazine Fluide.G. It just hit stands this month.
The piece is for a humorous letters page, a young woman writes in seeking advice for what to do with her scrawny boyfriend.

Apparently he makes a nice accessory.






Above, the magazine itself.

APE 2010

The Alternative Press Expo is this weekend and I will be there with Josh Cooley selling our card decks and related prints. We'll be in Scott Morse's Red Window area, so somewhere around table 330.



See you there!

Whatever Lola Wants

My old timey chum Dan Blank directed a short film/music video for the Satin Dollz. They're a troupe of vintage pin up dancers in the Los Angeles area. They really are like live action pin up art in this video. Between the vignettes and the costuming Dan Really hit it home.

Dan produced it for less than $2,000 on a DSLR and did most of the visual effects himself. You should check out the "making of" as well. You'd be surprised by how much green screen there is. And the whole thing is shot in slow motion which really blows my mind.

Oh, and if you were thinking that the silhouette in the title card looks like my drawing, yup I did give him a hand with it.

The Satin Dollz in "Whatever Lola Wants" from Dan Blank on Vimeo.

The Making of "Whatever Lola Wants" from Dan Blank on Vimeo.

Fun With Produce

These are some exploration drawings I'm doing for a piece in an animated short by my good friend John Banana of Digital Banana Studio fame. Unfortunately she's not going to be animated if that's what your thinking. It'll be an illustration in the short.








More as it develops.

And Now For Something Completely Different

I know what you're thinking. What's gotten into Bill? Where are all the babes? Right??
Well no need to worry, the usual bevy of cute females will return. But first, I must explain myself.
During my wife's youth in Japan, she and many young Japanese girls her age were obsessed with a boy band by the name of Hikaru Genji.

These are they.



And it was her birthday surprise, so there you go. I don't normally draw Japanese boy bands, but I have to admit it was a fun change of pace.

Intercontinental Cuties FOR SALE!!!

The card decks are finally available for purchase on the blog shop.
Come and get 'em!

The Cards Are Here!!

54 Intercontinental Cuties have arrived!


Which means we'll have them for sale tomorrow at Action Figure Freddy in San Francisco.

And then at San Diego Comic-con Booth 4800!

San Diego Comic-Con BOOTH 4800

Myself, Josh Cooley and all 54 Intercontinental Cuties will be at booth 4800 at the San Diego Comic-Con next week. Booth 4800 is my usual location on the show floor along with Scott Morse and Jeff Pidgeon. This time around we'll also be joined by Jim Capobianco!

In the Program guide we should be listed as Red Window.

Hope to see you there!

Action Figure Freddy

Josh Cooley and I will be making a pre Comic-con appearance at Action Figure Freddy in San Francisco on Friday, July 16th from 7:00 to 10:00 pm. One night only to sign books and prints.

Action Figure Freddy is at 112 Waverly Place in San Francisco's Chinatown.

Now, I can't promise anything, but there is a chance that we'll have our playing card deck with us. That's right, "54 Intercontinental Cuties". Only, and let me stress "only", if we get them in time. They may in fact arrive from the printer all the way from China on that very day. If they do, you will get a chance to pick up the card set before anyone at Comic-con and make them insanely jealous. But only if they arrive. No promises.

Here's to hoping.

I will have the third and final Action Figure Freddy limited exclusive Redhead print, guaranteed. Long over due I know, but we'll have it that night along with the previous exclusives and Bookplate Betties.

Intercontinental Colors

Here are the first batch of finished full color cards for "54 Intercontinental Cuties", a pin-up playing card deck by Josh Cooley and myself. They will be available for purchase at Comic-con this year then shortly thereafter here on this blog.








If you haven't seen Josh's process for making his cards yet, check it out. It's very educational.