Mike Makes Art

Play Us Away Keyboard Dr. Doom!

2011-10-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

Hello internet friends.

I just finished a Doomsday themed painting for a show at The Secret Alley in San Francisco. It looks like this:

If you look really close, it looks like this:

There's a good chance that you have run into the mythical keyboard cat somewhere in your internet travels, and you'll hopefully appreciate the sentiment that I propose here. If Doomsday were to go down, who better to play us off than Dr. Doom? It will probably be his fault anyways.

The Doomsday art show

Opens October 27th at:

The Secret Alley

180 Capp St. #4
San Francisco, CA 94110

(between 16th St. and 17th St.)

There's also going to be other Halloween themed shenanigans going on that evening. You should check it out!

Fail... To Win!

2011-10-05T00:05:00.001-07:00

On September 30th I participated in Chicken John's book release party and street festival at 111 Minna Street Gallery for The Book Of The Is: Fail... To Win! The show's proceeds were to help save Chicken john's Warehouse Space on Army St. It was a fun and rewarding way to help out. Apparently the show was a success and exceeded his expectations.

I always wanted to get my art in the 111 Minna Street Gallery, but I never thought it would be a book sleeve covered in Boner Dollars.

What are boner dollars, you ask? Well, they look like this:

I used these art supplies:

To make this book sleeve:

For this art show:

The Free Dictionary defines boner as a blunder, or an error. Their website has a robotic voice button that pronounces the word "boner" for your enjoyment and further education.

This project was almost perfect for a show with a theme of failing to win. I failed a few times while working on the piece. But I won because I finally got a piece in the 111 Minna Street Gallery. I hope it's not the last time.

24 Hour Comic Challenge

2011-09-27T01:57:00.000-07:00

Hello folks.

Last weekend Mission Comics in San Francisco hosted The annual 24 Hour Comics Day Challenge, a week before the official version starts because Alternative Press Expo falls on the same weekend of October 1st. Anyhow, I showed up and completed 26 pages of comics. Leef, the owner of the shop, was an amazing and patient host.

If you'd like to see some photographs of us toiling away, Leef posted some photos up on his Facebook page.

LLAMARAMA!

It's about Llamas and friendship.

It's slightly NSFW (nipples)

26 pages!

Right Click the links below to download:

Llama_ByMikeHales.cbz

Comic Book Reader Format

Remove the ".txt" bit after downloading

Llama_ByMikeHales.pdf

PDF Format

I originally set out to create the story for this book from my Instagram feed. That meant I relied on other people's photographs to tell the story. It worked up until the fourth page when I realized that I should change gears.

On page three I decided to to use a range of gray Copic markers instead of cross hatching to get the shading I wanted. I also kept the creases and debris on the sketchbook pages after scanning them because they not only add character, but I wanted to somehow simulate the experience of actually holding the sketchbook in your hand. Well, it's close enough.

Enjoy!

May Justice Be Served!

2011-09-08T21:40:00.001-07:00

I don't usually draw DC Super Heroes or do much charity work, but I felt compelled to sketch something after reading about this poor guy out there who had his whole Superman collection stolen from him. Check the article out HERE to read more about the story.You can get his address to send him drawings and stuff for moral support.

Dancing Queen

2011-07-13T22:36:00.001-07:00

Good Bye Yeti!

2011-06-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

I abandoned my Yeti Figurine. I'm still not sure the reason was a good one.

Letting go of material possessions can be very difficult. Losing or leaving behind material possessions can be even more frustrating. When I was visiting relatives in Los Angeles many years ago, I had what I thought was a bitchin' sketchbook. I lost it to the beach, never to see it again. I couldn't sketch months after that. That has happened three times to me over the years.

I have a theory that if I let go of something willingly, it will counter balance what ever force of nature causes my belongings to disappear. By also turning this into an artistic project, I feel it lessens the punch to the gut of having just let go of something.

So I let go of my Yeti.

The Yeti was last seen at the entrance way of Artist Television Access in San Francisco. I hope he finds a good home.

Character Animation For Sifteo

2011-06-01T22:08:00.001-07:00

Hey there,
I wanted to share some neat character work and animations that I created for a demo that Sifteo was creating with their hardware. If you don't already know about Sifteo and their unique gaming platform, you could check them out here!

I only had about a week and a half to complete everything, so I had to work quick. The best way to design characters was to use some post-it-notes I had laying around. I had to design 3 characters, each representing a head, a torso, and a pair of legs. Amongst a bunch of drawings, we settled on these three dudes:

Brainiac head

Torso Bean

Cowboy Cyclops legs

I then had to create an animation that shows what happens when you put all three characters cubes together in the right way:

Finally, I had to show what happens when the cubes are then separated after the transformation. He starts walking around, which you could control by tilting the cube. Here's just one walking sequence:

It was fun. I'm glad I finally got to post these guys. Next up, I'm going to do some work on a new knife Tank themed game. I'll keep you posted.

Cheers!

8bitSF presents SUPER AWESOME!

2011-04-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! I've been busy, but I wanted to share with you the latest poster I designed for this super awesome show about to happen this Thursday evening organized by my friend Morgan from 8bitSF! I also uploaded some extra critter drawings that helped get me inspired to make the poster:

Also, if you want to see some of my pixel art, check out the Pulsewave website and witness the new and shiny logo I designed.

Okay. That's my latest update. I hope you're having a great week.

Latest ATE painting!

2011-01-11T23:48:00.000-08:00

After a quiet holiday away from work and everything else, i'm back on the painting and drawing saddle with the latest Art Telephone Experiment painting. To check out all the pieces i've done so far, you could travel to my ATE Flickr set, where one can also learn more about the overall Art Telephone Experiment happenings.

WHAT I DID IN 2010!!!!

2011-01-01T14:17:00.000-08:00

2010 was a very productive year. Thankfully, It was due to my twitter feed that I was able to recollect all the stuff I've accomplished.

HOURLY COMIC DAY:
This was a comic making challenge where the artist makes a page for every hour of the day. Being my first time, I decided to simplify and use post-it-notes.

THE MIGHTY DECIDER:
Our games group at Tribal Games finished and released what would become the first of many awesome games, The Mighty Decider! Our marketing team made a little Video Preview! The Mighty Decider accidentally upstaged the Mighty Boosh on the Jimmy Fallon Show!

ART TELEPHONE EXPERIMENT:
I joined a meetup.com group called the Art Telephone Experiement and made the following paintings:
The Cookie Licker
Couple floating on a piano
Dangling Entangled Women

KNIFE TANKS
Knife Tank The First:
I participated in a 24 Hour Dev Challenge with a group of friends to make a game in one day. Our first game was Knife Tank. The game was reviewed at Game Squad.

Knife Tank: The Hauntening:
Our second game was Knife Tank: The Hauntening!
Doc Pop took a quick production video of the whole crew when we finished the game. Our first review can be found at 1up.com

COMIC BOOKS:
After participating in last year's 24 Hour Comic Jam and putting out a weekly webcomic, I had plenty of material to print some books. The first book was Puzzled! The second book was Sauce, Volume 2! This book was based on its webcomic. Here's a saucy image of Sauce that didn't make it into the printed book.

COMMISSIONS:
While attending Alternative Press Expo this year, I made some drawings which led to this commissioned piece for one of my Art Telephone Experiment buddies entitled Monster Family Portrait.

OTHER
I Created a small animation test In Flash to test some audio.
Mysterious video experiments continued appearing for Zen Voyeur! Finally, the sounds of Helicopter Rescue! were quietly unleashed into the internet.

Well, that about wraps up 2010. Feel free to follow me on my next adventures on this blog or on my Twitter site.

Monster Family Portrait.

2010-12-19T13:15:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest commissioned piece that I created for a client. She wanted classic Feature Creature characters sitting together for a portrait. I really enjoyed myself on this one. If anyone would like a monster drawing of there very own, hit me up.

KnifeTank: The Hauntening!

2010-11-29T19:51:00.000-08:00

I collaborated with some talented folks on a new KnifeTank game as a 24 Hour Development Challenge that Doctor Popular organized. over at NoiseBridge. Technically, we clocked in at 30+ hours since we wanted to spend more time polishing it up. It's entitled KnifeTank: The Hauntening.

The game is free to play, and works well on an iPad, if you happen to have one of those.

Even 1up.com loved it. Sort of.
"Knifetank: The Hauntening Mocks Adventure-Game Conventions, Logic."

What I did while Tabling at Alternative Press Expo!

2010-11-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

So, I whipped out these drawings while tabling at Alternative Press Expo back in October. After a few final touches, I decided to throw them up on Flickr. I've always flirted with the idea of projecting drawings like these onto a larger canvas or wall and painting in the details. For now, I'm just happy to have some extra time to work on these. Enjoy!

Wolf Jumping IN A Vat Of Cereal - By Mike Hales

Gnome Consumed By A Horde Of Derps - By Mike Hales

Alternative Press Expo

2010-10-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

Folks, I'm going to be tabling at Alternative Press Expo this weekend in sunny San Francisco. I'll be sitting at table 707a so come on over and say hello. I just printed up some copies of my latest comic PUZZLED, and I thought I would post a small preview of the book here. Enjoy!

Post-It-Notes

2010-10-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

I just finished compiling my SAUCE and PUZZLED comics and sent them off to the printers. Hopefully, I'll have the goods in my hands by the time Alternative Press Expo rolls around next weekend. Since I finally found myself free of responsibility this evening, I decided to upload a bunch of Post-It-Note art that I did a month ago one night while having drinks with East Bay Otaku friends.

The Goods!

Pizza Sketch

2010-09-02T14:10:00.000-07:00

I'm sketching stuff. Here's a sketch:

Dr. Sketchy's Sketches

2010-08-12T23:12:00.000-07:00

Sketches done at Dr. Sketchy's
Yerba Buena Center Of Arts in San Francisco.
August 6th, 2010

Daisy

2010-07-21T22:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some figure drawings of Daisy from a session at Robert Windle's Studio in San Francisco's Mission District. To see more drawings, you could check out Daisy's modeling portfolio.

Painting #3 for the Art Telephone Experiment

2010-07-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

Knife Tank Video Game

2010-07-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

A group of game makers, including myself, got together to make a video game based on the Knife Tank Lore for the Boing Boing Game Challenge with only a few weeks to complete the project. Apparently, our game made it into the BoingBoing Arcade, where you may play and vote for our game! The music was created by the Chip tune artist CrashFaster, with additional sounds by the one and only Doctor Popular. The coding, done in HTML5 and JavaScript, was the handy work of Lilia Markham and Erik Swedberg. The game assets were created by Doctor Popular and myself.

Enjoy!

Pilot

2010-06-23T23:38:00.000-07:00

How I've been feeling lately.

Art Telephone Chain 7: Phase 2

2010-06-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

Here's another painting for my Art Telephone Experiment group that started up in San Francisco. This is the 2nd of hopefully 7 pieces of art that I'll be creating for the group. Check out our story and the rest of the paintings at the Flickr Group Site.

Art Telephone Experiment

2010-05-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

So, I finished my first painting for the Art Telephone Experiment, an art group consisting of 7 artists. The goal of the group would be to play though a modified version of Telephone where, instead of whispering in each other's ears to pass along the story, paintings are created to pass along these stories through random selection. In the end, I'll complete 7 paintings. The 1st painting will establish the first story, and the 7th painting will end another.

Go here to view the other painted stories.

Saucy Sauce

2010-03-08T23:16:00.000-08:00

My friend Audrey Soffa started creating a web comic based off of a character I had originally created at a Cartoonist Conspiracy meeting in San Francisco late last year. She took one look at the pictures and its vomitous existence was literally pouring our of Audrey's skull. Starting right about now, I am officially taking over responsibility of posting Sauce every Tuesday and Thursday up until the end of May. Audrey has taken a break but will be lurking behind the scenes to occasionally poke at my comics and make them sparkle.

To check it out, go HERE!

I hope you enjoy!

Bat Brainz!

2010-02-26T09:37:00.000-08:00

This was a collaboration with my friend Nicoli and myself. We both did back and forth paneling and penciling, and then I inked it up.

8-bit Pimp - The A_Rival CD Release Party

2010-02-22T20:33:00.000-08:00

8bitSF has announced their latest ChipTune show at the DNA Lounge. Details can be found in here!. CrashFaster, The show's promoter, has set the date to coincide with the Game Developer's Conference that's happening in San Francisco this March. Which means, if you show your GDC badge, you could get a discount on tickets.

The flyer for the show was designed by DocPop and myself, starting with a collaborated sketch, a full watercolored version by Doc, and pixillation by yours truly. What was supposed to be Kanji on the Ape's boxing gloves turned out to be some nonsensical symbol that just happens to resemble my signature.

Lucky Sauce

2010-02-18T20:54:00.000-08:00

I sketched this companion (or competitive) piece to the latest Sauce Comic that you can see HERE!

Tough Love

2010-02-14T14:22:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentines Day, If you're into that sorta thing.

Parade in Pipe City

2010-02-08T07:39:00.001-08:00

Hourly Comic Day

2010-02-03T23:14:00.000-08:00

(edited Feb. 6th, 2010)

These and other Post-It-Note comic frames were created for the Hourly Comic Challenge that took place on February 1st, 2010.

The one thing I learned by making this comic was that I consume way too much food during the day. But that's because the awesome people working at the cafe in my building where I work always bakes us treats.

Holes

2010-02-02T19:44:00.001-08:00

So, the results of the Hourly Comic mentioned yesterday was planned to be posted tonight, but I left everything at work. So, up goes a one page story about holes. Set in the future, holes are plentiful and flesh based companions are few and far between.

If you're beginning to notice a pattern, you might be correct. I'm making an attempt to post more on this blog as a way to keep myself motivated and driven to keep making art. Anyways, have an awesome day out there, and please come back once in awhile.

Hourly Comic Day

2010-02-01T03:28:00.000-08:00

I just remembered, right now, that today is officially Hourly Comic Day. What is Hourly Comic Day, you ask? Well, this guy named John started this event on the internet where for every hour of the day that you're awake, you have to draw a comic. At the end of the day you post it on his forum and we compare comics, and pat each other's backs, and stand back to admire the great work we created. Are you interested? Great, go here for more information.

Enjoy. And Good morning. It's 3:33am! I am insane.

Flower

2010-01-31T19:20:00.001-08:00

Kitty

2010-01-24T22:37:00.000-08:00

Well, hello and welcome to 2010. It's the second decade in the 21st century. I'm happily employed, single, caffeinated, and ready to take on the world. As for the above comic, this could be described as a character study. It may not have a punchline, but it gets a message across. That message is: don't bother animals while they're chewing on dead things.

There are more comics to come. Yes, I am totally serious. I'm going to take it slow and attempt to post twice a week, three times if time permits.

Hang in there and enjoy!

Hole technology

2009-12-09T23:00:00.000-08:00

Holes. The world is filled with them. All I know is that I really enjoyed making this robot dude. The weather bot says it's 44 degrees in San Francisco. Maybe that's not considered cold in other parts of the world, but I'm still freezing my ass off. Still, I managed to scan and greyscalify the image. Greyscalify! That's not really a word, but it sounds very technical. I'm just typing now to keep my fingers from freezing off. I'm off to go make some hot liquid to put down my question hole.

Pattern Recognitions

2009-12-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

If Sudoku unlocks pattern recognition abilities, then I've been spotting new patterns being built around me, almost like a neurological coping mechanism has kicked inside my brain to help alleviate depression. It could be that I started my morning with a shit ton of coffee, or that I've been massaging my brain with awesome music like Tom Fec's Tobacco, Zomby, and Bogdan Raczynski's album from 2007, Alight! which was waiting for me in an envelope on my desk at work. I'm listening to it now. It's delicious beat candy for the brainz. It reminds me of a fusion of Ochre and Venetian Snares, with the Legend Of Zelda slider nudged up a bit higher. He's the kind of musician who doesn't linger too long or repeat infectious bits, he jumps from one idea to the other.

This brain sauce inspires me to get to work on new ideas for comics, animations, etc. etc. But a continuous rotation of audio delicacies will be needed to build creative momentum. Different and New is always happy making.

Hello and good morning Tuesday.

AUTOMATIC Benefit art show for RoboGames 2010

2009-11-18T11:25:00.000-08:00

I created this piece for AUTOMATIC, a benefit art show for ROBOGAMES 2010.

Automatic for the people.

Do sentient machines dwell on the existential circuit
that leads to the spiritual 404 error?

Does being a machine mean just being a device:
literarily, artistically and literally?

Or does everything just boil down to everyone’s deep-seated need to crush all humans and plot eventual total world domination?

Find out at Automatic!
November 19, 20, 21, 2009
Exhibit: 5pm-8pm / Beer and wine reception 7pm-12pm on Fri & Sat
@ The lowerDeck Gallery – 2295 3rd Street
(below Sundance Coffee in San Francisco)

More Info:
icanhaz.com/automatic

Artistic Opportunity

2009-11-15T23:07:00.000-08:00

So, The day started out with a little drawing at Zeitgeist with my friends Nicoli and Meredith. Soon, Meredith suggested we move to Noisebridge for a warmer, more hospitable environment. When we arrived, we were all presented with a table that had just been sanded. Clutch (Hope that's right) had just sanded the table and wanted an image on its surface before covering it with a clear coat of something thick and transparent. So Meredith, Nicoli and I went at it like school girls in a beehive. Wait, that sounded wrong. We drew pictures! On the table. Pictures above.

Basically, the whole day was laid out for me after I saw that table. Hours later, I still wanted to work some more into it, but it was growing dark and the table project needed to be finished. I'm just glad I was able to snap some quick photos. I might need to paint me some more tables.

Drawings that haven't yet seen the light of day!

2009-11-06T23:23:00.000-08:00

There exist many drawings from my past which represent major progress in my style as an artist. Tragically, these haven't seen the light of day, until now. I'm making progress, but I've found that i've strayed from certain disciplines, and I intend to continue exploring these subject matters further. I hope you enjoy! Here are some more drawings.

Go HERE to check out the rest of the drawings.

Morning Coffee

2009-11-02T19:31:00.000-08:00

One of these days, we'll have vortex technology. It will be awesome.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T19:22:00.000-07:00

Folks,
This comic pays tribute to two of my favorite things, Halloween and Robert Crumb's art. Both have inspired me to draw and express things that most people wouldn't have the courage to draw. When I'm in a rush to do a comic, I usually grab from life experiences and throw 'em down on paper. So, this comic is less about making a joke, and more about depicting a slice of life from a person who's just a bit jaded about celebrating holidays. I do know in my heart that Halloween has been and always will be tons of fun for kids and adults alike as long as we continue to allow ourselves to express our deep, hidden selves, let down our guard, throw away our shame, and let the frustration and fear spew out of us into the night. Some of us need this catharsis, and I find it hilarious. Please continue enjoying yourselves.

Snake Sharrrk!

2009-09-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

For a few weeks, I have been working on a commissioned painting entitled "Snake Shark," for My friend DocPop as a gift to his girlfriend. It was originally an old print of two women on horses pasted on an 8x10 board, contained in a jewelry box. Hopefully the Snake Shark will keep the jewelry safe.

In other art related news, I have plans to print a new collection of one page comics, as well as a 24 page comic from the next 24 Hour Comics Jam. I feel strangely confident that i'll be wrangling a book out of that event. More news on that soon.

SAUCE!

2009-09-04T14:27:00.000-07:00

This was a comic drawn by my friend Audrey Soffa using a character I designed at Cartoonist Conspiracy. It's a neat little collaboration, and I can't stop looking at this comic. She gave me permission to post it, so I did. She also draws a webcomic called The Bunny System! You should check it out.

New Comic page

2009-09-02T23:24:00.000-07:00

A while ago, I had some interesting life changing experiences, so I thought I would make a comic about them. Enjoy!

Machine fetish

2009-08-17T21:58:00.000-07:00

I recently took photos of machinery in my neighborhood, old film production technology to construction site robots. I was drawn to the curvaceous, human-like qualities that these machines displayed. Despite being cellphone captures, they came out better than expected.

More Photos here!

Ceiling Demons at the Cartoonist Conspiracy!

2009-08-16T01:19:00.000-07:00

Ceiling demons attack! When provoked by bright light or cantankerous flatulence, they will attack without warning. After a few missed meetings, I finally made it out to the Cartoonist Conspiracy last Thursday and proposed a little jam comic session within our own sketchbooks. I got a pretty sweet deal with my comic page. Steve Leialoha, that talented dude who makes the art for Fables, jumped in and contributed a panel. There was one other artist whose name escapes me, and it bugs me. If you're out there and reading this, let me know.

8bitSF presents Anamanguchi

2009-08-06T00:18:00.000-07:00

My friend DocPop and I just collaborated on a show flyer for an awesome show happening at the DNA Lounge this month. It's Chiptune music, and it has the potential of being an amazing show.

Info:
8bitSF
DNA Lounge

Tonight's Nude Studies

2009-07-14T23:17:00.000-07:00

I drew some nudes tonight at the drawing workshop in my neighborhood. Here's a few more.

White Board Drawings

2009-06-19T22:01:00.000-07:00

So, I started a somewhat daily habit of creating and uploading White board drawings from work up on my twitter page.

There's a service called Yfrog that's integrated into the Twitter app that I use on my phone that allows me to upload photos to Twitter. However, the photos aren't searchable on the web through YFrog. So I created a Flickr Page to show them off, along with little back stories to each of the characters. You can go here to check them out.

Knife Tank!

2009-06-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

The Story of the Knife Tank was told to me by my friend and co-worker DocPop who, in the telling, proudly straightened his spine and flexed his pectoral muscles while divulging this epic tale. Pity the soul who dares try to defy the Knife Tank while furthering its conquest of skull mobility!

Check out my Flickr page to read the origin story slowly unfold.

Cartoonist Conspiracy this Thursday, June 11th 2009

2009-06-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

The second week of the month brings us another meeting of the cartoonist minds this Thursday, June 11, 2009. The event takes place at the usual spot, Church Street Cafe in San Francisco. lately we've been collaborating on short comic stories and doing improvisational one minute jams creating what could be considered small story boards of future brilliance. The group is growing larger and stronger. Most of the group will be aiming to attend 3 major San Francisco based events:

SF ZINE FEST (August 22nd-23rd)

24 Hour Comics Day (October 3rd-4th)

A.P.E. (October 17-18th)

Come to the meeting and draw with us, meet some interesting characters, and get in on the conspiracy.
Here's the details:

WHAT: The San Francisco cell of the International Cartoonist
WHEN: the second and last Thursday of the month from 6:30-10PM
WHERE: Church St. Cafe. 260 Church Street San Francisco, CA 94114
HOW: Check out CCSF Facebook for directions and other information.

Cheers!

Buried treasures from underneath a dark place.

2009-06-09T21:51:00.001-07:00

Hi there. There's a huge stash of illustrations, prints, and studies that have been doing absolutely nothing underneath my bed. I needed to do something with the lot, so I photographed the pieces and threw them up into my Flickr set.

Check out the whole Flickr set right here!

Thanks a bunch!

CIIS 41st Annual Commencement Visions

2009-05-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

I created this sketch at the 41st Annual Commencement for the California Institute of Integral Studies which took place at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. I was sitting in the audience with others, patiently watching each and every graduating member slowly make their way through the procession of speeches, awards, and diplomas. My friend Marty and I checked out the Letterman Digital Arts Center across the street from the palace before the ceremony. Amongst sculptures depicting notable inventors of various technological significance, there sits amongst the offices of Lucas Arts a life like sculpture of Yoda. It did not vibrate, dance, or speak via a small button. It simply stood atop a rock, in peaceful stillness, staring down at us.

The above sketch is evidence that I became riveted by the speeches, and could not contain myself.

Monopoly Hobo

2009-05-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

Hello mysterious followers of my blog. I just finished and shipped a new painting to Copenhagen, Denmark for an art show occurring there right about... now. The piece barely made it out there as I waited until the last minute to ship it out, spending about the same amount of money I was attempting to sell it at.

the theme of the show is "Where did all the rich people go?"

Well, they certainly have to go somewhere, maybe in hiding. But this particular rich guy lost all of his money betting on illicit dog fights, boxing matches, and certain fetishes that aren't legal in the states. Eventually he lost his property and investments in the divorce afterwards. He stews, bitterly alone and defeated. All he's got is a dog he found scrounging for food in the dumpster behind a Carl's Junior and a dream of one day getting revenge on his ex wife. Who knows what will become of him now?

I started an acrylic painting of this image before I realized that I was running out of time for the show. So I decided to do the piece in ink and watercolors. I think it turned out alright for such a last minute project, but I wish I could have filled in the background with some back alley ambience, or maybe a forest scene with leaves scattered about. But I'm okay with how it turned out, and I'm ready to move on.

Unknowing Robot

2009-04-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

Tortured Souls

2009-04-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

It was 4am and slumber was not happening due to the heat, so I decided to go through my stash of pens and weed out all the colors that wouldn't get too much use and actually use them for something.

Doctor Popular and 32 pieces of Sushi

2009-03-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

This was a flyer I made for my friend's birthday party at The House Of Shields in San Francisco. Unfortunately, no amount of shark jumping is gonna produce more sushi for Mr. Cupcake and the Lolcat. Tough break, kids. If you're reading this now, you should travel to House Of Shields tonight and wish ol' Doc a happy Birthday and buy him a drink or three.

Bot Switch

2009-02-27T19:12:00.000-08:00

I wanted to write about the secret game project that I am working on without giving anything away. So, this is a collage of elements from various sketches and research - bastardized, sleazy, and almost like an ice cream topping. Anyways, work continues on the secret project.

Dr. Sketchy's at 111 Minna St. Gallery

2009-02-26T17:16:00.000-08:00

These are sketches of mine created at the Dr. Sketchy's SF event at 111 Minna St. Gallery in San Francisco. It was an awesome time, it was free, and I am definitely going again.

Hipster Fight

2009-02-02T10:16:00.000-08:00

Here's a sketch I started At Cartoonist Conspiracy last Thursday and finally got around to inking it over the weekend. I spent most of Saturday moving all of my stuff into storage. Now i'm chilling at a residency hotel in the Mission until I can find a new home. Exciting!

The Resin Collector

2009-01-23T20:57:00.000-08:00

This is another comic page for an upcoming collection. Stay tuned!

Really F@©king Happy!

2009-01-20T22:40:00.000-08:00

Here's another comic from a batch created in late December.

Revisiting the Barren Echelon

2009-01-15T15:34:00.000-08:00

I recently visited one of my favorite coffee places, Four Barrel Roasters on Valencia street in San Francisco. I found a postcard for an upcoming show and it begged to be enhanced with some black Sharpy action. So I went to town with it.

I suppose one could consider this an unauthorized artistic collaboration between me and Andy Vogt's postcard of his upcoming art show. The photograph definitely inspired me to build a new world centered around the debris left behind from what I took as a demolition site or an unfinished city.

I should probably plug his upcoming show so that I don't come across as a total prick. After all, his work did inspire me to create something new. That's very cool.

Four Barrel Art Series Presents:
wood drawings and/or scupture by
ANDY VOGT Jan. 23rd - Feb. 22nd
Opening reception Friday Jan. 23rd.
2009 6:00pm - 8:pm
Four Barrel Roasters
375 Valencia Street
San Francisco

A New comic page

2009-01-14T08:27:00.000-08:00

4 Hour Font Battle

2009-01-13T10:48:00.000-08:00

I entered the 4 Hour Font Battle with two fonts, Ekimtiki and Little Brother. John Jory and John Adams apparently voted for the winner, which turned out to be Little Brother. They are more awesome than I originally thought.

New figure studies.

2008-12-08T19:59:00.000-08:00

So, Here are some figure studies I created last Tuesday at my drawing workshop. I think they turned out okay, given I haven't touched pastel pencils in a long time. The challenge was depicting the extra light source from the heater. I could have done a better job at rendering the light source. As it stands, it's a bit confusing in the second drawing.

I've been wanting to go more regularly. Now that I have a job of sorts, I can afford to go once or twice a week. When the Academy Of Art workshops open up again, I'm hitting those up. They're free for Alumni.

Falling Nubbins

2008-11-07T23:13:00.000-08:00

So, this is my latest comic. Although, it doesn't really look like a comic strip at first glance, but there's certainly a story going on here. Just imagine where they are getting shot from. And goodness, where are they headed? They're elated! Why? Mystery and suspense! That's why!

I'm going to be publishing a small book featuring the last dozen or so comics featured on this blog, plus more. I took a break from APE and everything else, but I should be posting more, so please stick around.

Thanks.

Post-It Note Project

2008-10-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

I just joined the Post-It Note Project last week. The blog has some great artists on there. I'm happy to be a part of it and now I have a place to post my notes. Check it out!

24 Hour Comics Jam!!

2008-09-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

After hearing the news that Comic Outpost would be hosting 24 Hour Comics jam this October, I created a poster using a 24 hour diner as the setting. Artists who gather for the Conspiracy every other Thursday will probably be in attendance. We have one month left to go. And then, Alternative Press Expo November 1st. I have much to do.

Tea Party Robots

2008-09-09T00:33:00.000-07:00

I attended a Post Burning Man tea party put on by my amazing friend Party Radar this weekend including various teas, breads, severed fingers, clown shoes, violin trumpets, and Rock Em Sock Em Robots. I found some time to make some sketches.

I am selling a hat!

2008-09-06T13:47:00.001-07:00

So, this will be my first attempt at selling merchandise online. It's not my art, unfortunately. However, it is a very classy, black, Scala Classico hat. The only other information I could give you is that it comes with a very nifty plastic security device specifically made for shipping hats that a nice lady at the Mail store gave me. Enjoy!

Drawing People

2008-08-29T18:32:00.000-07:00

I sketched these two beautiful women at Church Street Cafe where the Cartoonist Conspiracy meets twice a month in San Francisco.

Abstract machines and human beings

2008-08-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

I'm attending drawing workshops again. I thought I would post a highlight sketch from the session.

According to 24 Hour Comics, there will be two hosts in San Francisco, one at Academy of Art College and The Comic Outpost on Ocean Ave. I am torn as to which one I should attend. Unfortunately, the Academy Of Art College will only allow students and Alumni to attend their hosted event. So, I figure most folks that I know will probably attend the event at Comic Outpost.

I also contacted Scott McCloud about the 24 Hour Comics Index. It displays a nasty error when filling out the form to submit books. I'm hoping I can finally get ORIFICE listed.

SF Zine Fest drawings

2008-07-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

Hello folks.
I had a great time at SF Zine Fest this weekend. While I was sitting at my designated table, I drew some pictures. I just posted them up on Flickr. Check 'em out.

Go here to check out more.

SF Zine Fest

2008-07-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

(via sf zine fest website)

Hey folks,
I self publish comic books and I will be selling some at the San Francisco Zine Fest tomorrow in SF County Fair building at 9th Ave. and Lincoln Ave. in the Golden Gate Park. There will be lots of other cool book makers, crafters, and artists selling there things. You should check it out. Come visit and say hello. I'll be sitting with Doc Pop. Say hi to him, too.

Bike In The City

2008-07-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

I landed an illustration gig while attending the Cartoonist Conspiracy meeting Last Thursday. I'll be creating illustrations for a french bicycling blog called Bike In The City! Personally, I like the direction of the second illustration:

Thankfully, she's allowing me to experiment a bit. For the above piece I inked pencils on tracing paper. Scanning tracing paper always reveals interesting textures and ink subtleties. Not necessarily a solid line.

So, please check out the blog. Thanks.

omg!

2008-07-11T23:24:00.000-07:00

They Fight!

2008-07-04T17:34:00.000-07:00

(as described on Flickr)
Originally, "They Fight" will be a collaboration between me and DocPop. For the life of me, I couldn't think of which two characters would fight. So I decided to do a small one page strip as an experiment.

The roar of the crowd...

2008-06-30T23:15:00.000-07:00

Working it out...

2008-06-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

I just took an acting essentials class today at SF Digital Film School. It's in the Dog Patch of San Francisco. The only thing I knew about that neighborhood was that Frank Kozik's Studio was there at one point. It was a pretty sweet studio and got the chance to see a few of his prints half way finished.

Man, I dig bicycling through the city, swerving around traffic, barely getting hit by buses and caffeinated taxi drivers. maneuvering through large intersections on bicycle can get awkward, but I generally just take up a whole turning lane as if I was a car, just to get across the street legitimately. Hand signaling on my bike feels unnatural. I always feel like i'm saluting. Who salutes at stop lights?

There's a ghost in my pants

2008-06-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

I always find myself listening to music like The Fantomas when I need to go somewhere else for awhile, somewhere i wouldn't be able to visit physically. Well, another cd that's been keeping my brain happy is Kosmos: Soundtrack To East Germany's Adventures In Space. Good lorg on toast this is happy making. You're brain will ignite after listening to this on your headphones. Bam!

Tiki Robot Works the bar!

2008-06-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

Here's my tiki robot, doing his best to ruin humanity as soon as he possibly can. I suspect he doesn't understand that some humans can be quite resilient, and drink much more than they let on. He has yet to meet anyone who could withstand his galactic rum drinks, but i'm sure a wondering soul will one day sit down at the tiki robot's bar and surprise the hell out of him.

The future is coming!

Frog Prince Seen "chilling" on local rock.

2008-06-18T22:13:00.000-07:00

In the most gratuitous display of leisure expressed by the animal kingdom, a local frog sat motionless for 20 hours on a local rock near a pond just "chilling." According to locals on the scene, this particular frog is a self serving layabout and a poor example for children.

"The crown proves it," Says one Sly Peters, a veterinarian and collector of animal paintings. "He does this just about every day. I've seen him!"

Tiki Time Part 2

2008-06-16T00:38:00.000-07:00

Tiki Robot is back invading more personal space. What a bastard.

Snail Shells as canvas

2008-06-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

The Metro posted a report about a London Artist known as Slinkachu using snail shells as canvases for a street art project.

Tiki Time

2008-05-29T13:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a new comic, posted via Flickr.

cupcake jumping the sharks

2008-05-20T14:03:00.000-07:00

So, I created this image specifically for a Flickr group that my friend Doc has put together. It's called Cupcakes VS. Sharks, and it's full of magic and wonder. You too can join this group providing you have a Flickr account. It needs more pictures.

George Liquor

2008-05-05T18:35:00.001-07:00

I was checking out the animation show blog when I came across a link to John Kricfalusi's Web blog. Soon after clicking on it, I discovered that he's holding a call out to artists to possibly work on his next show. So I did what any hungry artist would do. I started sketching and submitted an entry:

At the very least, I will learn alot about the process of creating an animated character.

Have fun out there.

Stumptown Body Heat Insomnia craziness...

2008-05-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

That's a flyer for BodyHeat at the Elbow Room I threw together a week ago before leaving for Stumptown in a van full of cartoonists. I'm supposed to talk all about my trip to Stumptown comix fest this past weekend in Portland, Oregon and all the nerdy comic book celebrities with whom I consumed thai food and beer. Instead, I'll just say that I had an amazing time. I loved the shitty motel we stayed in, and I also learned never to drink orange juice before going to sleep. Also, things like Seroquel really help a fellow out after having spent 48 hours awake. Well, that and frequent naps. I also sold a few books.

I will be attending SF Zine Fest in July, and I will have more Ofus N Stantch and Vessel books for sale. I hope to see you folks there.

Ofus N Stantch

2008-04-25T00:52:00.001-07:00

This is the cover to my latest comic book Ofus N Stantch. I'll be selling it at Stumptown comicbook fest in Portland. It's going to be a crazy good time, I can already tell. I hope to see some of you folks there. I ride out tomorrow in a van full of cartoonists. Shenanigans abound! Huzzah!

I'm going to Stumptown!

2008-04-13T17:33:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna be attending Stumptown Comic Book Festival in Portland. I'll be sharing a table with the fine folks of Fine Print Comics. Hell, i'll be driving up with a van full of cartoonists. Imagine the shenanigans!

Fine Print Comix is a group made up of folks from The San Francisco Cartoonist Conspiracy. We are putting out a comix anthology of our work, and I'm going to have a story in there. My story is almost done, and I think I'm spending too much time on it. I also made a design for the cover, which is the picture above.

Busy fun!

Me Geek Pretty One Day

2008-04-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

I just finished up some work for Drown Radio's debut solo album entitled Me geek Pretty One Day. Also known as Doc Popular, Drown Radio's music is full of phat nerd beats and circuit bent love making. Postcards, wallpaper images, ringtones and other goodies were made for this release.

You can find more info about it here.
Check it out.

BodyHeat Show

2008-04-04T12:21:00.000-07:00

This is dj/disco/electro/hiphop show at the Elbow room featuring my art. Come on over, dance, drink, and buy art! have an awesome weekend!

Pink House

2008-04-04T01:16:00.000-07:00

I made a short film!

Originally, a 16mm Bolex camera was used to capture all the frames. However, the original was lost and the images had to be recaptured using a digital camera. I just started using a program called iStopMotion, which helped me immensely in gathering together all the frames and editing it to look smooth. This is the first time any one has seen it run smoothly, including me. I hope to do more animation very soon, now that the process is more familiar.

modest celebration

2008-03-26T09:48:00.001-07:00

Well, the Hand Puppet Show was a success. I sold 4 prints and broke even. There's another show that i'm planning work for, a small themed show asking for submissions. I might as well continue making more art. I need to start working on my next 6 page parody of The Justice League. But maybe, given the due date is two days from now, I should stick to an "Introduction to Everyday Mundane Characters In Real Life Situations."

cheers!

Artwork featured in the upcoming Hand Puppets Show

2008-03-21T11:52:00.001-07:00

I wanted to post some artwork from the show i'm having this Saturday in San Francsico. This particular piece is from the never-before-seen Ofus and Stantch comicbook, which I want to finish this year and release. I've been off track for a few days and weeks, focusing on work and whatnot. But I'm hoping that keeping my mind on this show and the next comic book will open things up for me.

Anyways, more information about the show can be found in my previous entry. I hope some of you folks can make it out. Thanks.

In The Realm Of The Unreal...

2008-03-10T03:11:00.000-07:00

I'm having another art show. It's officially a night for The Hand Puppets to perform, but they gave me some space in the warehouse for their show. It's on 1300 Potrero, on the corner of 25th and Potrero. It's free, there's free beer, and awesome art which you should purchase. Yes. Here's the postcard:

Beavers for Obama Tiki

2008-03-05T20:21:00.000-08:00

Live mural making action...

2008-03-01T19:20:00.000-08:00

So,
Last weekend was Wondercon, a Fecal Face gallery show, and the two Wondercon after parties at Isotope comix Lounge. The first celebrated Ben Templesmith & Antony Johnston books, which I unfortunately missed. The second was Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier After-Party, which I went to with Cartoonist Conpiracy friends and cohorts. Afterwards, I was introduced to a space in the Soma where another party was in full force. I met with the owners and they asked me if I wanted to do some murals. I said yes, and went at it. Here's my modest contribution to the experience:

Literary Figures From The Grave

2008-02-23T00:34:00.000-08:00

These were drawings done in a small room in the back of a Pirate store named 826 Valencia. The room consisted of various books, 20 or so chairs, a few large tables for group activities, and several small children dictating the direction of a new story to be illustrated by the artist standing at attention. I was not the featured artist at this particular get together, but I was in the background doodling these mysterious literary figures that revealed themselves to me just then.