Kickstarter Project: Robots in Space!

So, last week, my brother started a Kickstarter campaign to create posters for kids. This was something my brother Tom, my sister-in-law Stephanie and I have been talking about for months. So every weekend, we have been planning how to go about doing such a series.

I should also note: this is the very first project my brother Tom and I have EVER worked on together.

This is the first of three designs. Note: This is a work in progress. Not the final image.

We are basing the designs on Tom's successful HISTORIC SPACECRAFT COLLECTION, which currently has ten designs; including one design created exclusively for The Planetary Society for their successful Kickstarter project: Lightsail.

Tom's exclusive design made specifically for The Planetary Society Lightsail mission

We also decided to add a glowing feature to each poster, so when the lights go out, an image will appear. We are heading into our 2nd week, with already half the goal made.

Simulation of glow-in-the-dark effect

We aren't looking for family and friends to help fund these posters as much as getting help for promoting and spreading the word about the Kickstarter campaign. By posting the link far below to your various social media sites, you can help the project succeed by helping find people interested in purchasing our posters.

Here's the great video Thom, my Sis-in-Law Steph, and Freya worked on to promote the project.

If you would like the posters, know a little space explorer or want to help fund the project, go here: Robots in Space

If you'd like to help promote the project, please copy and paste the link below into your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, etc. accounts. (Thanks!)

http://kck.st/2A0fsCQ

Inktober 2017 • day 26 • Trick or Treatin' Monster

Inktober 2017: Day26
Trick or Treatin' Monsta

I felt like doing a big goofy monster trick or treating on Halloween day.

I have to admit, I think a lot of this goofy walking stance (and definitely its feet) is inspired by Mad Magazine's Don Martin. Don Martin was the king of goofy drawing when I was a kid. It was Martin's cartoons, Sergio Aragonés randomly gutter placed doodles, and Antonio Prohías' Spy vs. Spy that were the must-read pages whenever I bought Mad Magazine.

#Inktober Day 26: Wrong Toes, the friendly neighborhood gremlin.

Inktober 2017 • day 19 • Ghost Doodles

Inktober 2017: Day19
Halloween Ghost Doodles

Today's Inktober is just a bunch of ghost doodles (with a pumpkin basket thrown in.)
I used a very soft pen brush, hence the more shaky, sketchy and varying lines.

Inktober Day 19: Various Ghost and pumpkin basket doodles

Inktober 2017 • day 18 • Teen Wolf

Inktober 2017: Day18Teen Wolf
This little guy was a concept design for a Trick or Treat bag. Basically, he's rising from the bag's base. I'll need to simplify this design because TOT bags are generally very graphic and iconic in today's market.

Inktober Day #18: Teen Wolf Surprise!

Inktober 2017 • day 17 • Go Fish! (Bunnies and Monstas)

Inktober 2017: Day17
Go Fish (Bunnies and Monstas)

Those who follow my artwork will probably recognize this image. I've been working on variations of this concept for quite some time. This is part of a calendar idea I've had for the last few years.

#Inktober Day 17: Yet another version of Go Fish from my Bunnies and Monstas collection

Inktober 2017 • day 16 • Minya (aka Godzilla Jr.)

Inktober 2017: Day16
Minya (aka Baby Godzilla or Godzilla Jr.)

I always thought Minya was a strange looking monster. He had to be one of the worst creatures made in the early Godzilla movies. But with this character's introduction came so many questions about Godzilla. Was Godzilla the father or mother? Did Godzilla have a mate? Were there other children?
But the strangest thing about the character was its weapon: the smoke rings. They hardly seemed to do any damage at all. Seemed more annoying than harmful. Makes one wonder how he learned to make smoke rings, right?

#Inktober Day 16: Minya practicing how to make smoke rings

Inktober 2017 • day 15 • Were-Cow

Inktober 2017:
Day15 Were-Cow

This cow survived a werewolf attack; As soon as it was bitten, the werewolf realized he was a vegan. I'd imagine the horrible milk this cow would produce since it's diet is probably no longer vegan. It would be close to blood pudding I bet. Oh, and good luck milking this cow.

#Inktober Day 15: Scanned version of the Were-Cow ink drawing.

Side Note: After scanning, I altered the placement of the lettering from above and set it below the character instead. Better this way, IMHO.

Inktober 2017 • day 14 • Da Batman

Inktober 2017: Day14
The Batman gearing for action

Would be weird to not do at least one Batman image for Inktober. This one is based on a sketch I did while in Iceland. I gave that original drawing to a family member while there, so I thought I'd do another version of that picture for Inktober 2017. (Hope you don't mind, Victor!)

#Inktober Day 14: Batman is ready for battle with his trusty little Batarang

Inktober 2017 • day 13 • Lumpy Bumpy

Inktober 2017: Day13
The Lumpy Bumpy Monster

When pressed for time, but you still want to do a daily image for Inktober -- go with what you know. I've been drawing this character for decades now, so it is easy for me to quickly sketch one of my oldest characters, Lumpy Bumpy Monster.

Inktober Day #13: My old reliable character, the Lumpy Bumpy Monster

Inktober 2017 • day 10 • Deadie Bear

Inktober 2017: Day10
Deadie Bear
Did a similar character last year for a Trick or Treat Bag, (no one purchased the design.)
For this image, I thought of playing around doing sketchy lines. Actually, after finishing the image, I added even more scratchy lines to make have a rougher edge.

#Inktober Day 10: Awww, Deadie Bear is coming to you for a hug . . . 

Inktober 2017 • day 9 • Vampire's First Flight

Inktober 2017: Day9
Vampire's First Flight
I wonder how vampires learn how to transform and fly as bats. Is it similar to a baby bird?

#Inktober Day 9: Do vampires take a leap of faith to learn how to fly?

Inktober 2017 • day 8 • Little Witch

Inktober 2017: Day #8
Little Witch . . . 'Nuff said!

#Inktober Day 8: Cute Little Witch

Inktober 2017 • day 7 • Helium Ghosts

Inktober 2017: Day #7
Ever wonder what would happen if ghosts played around with helium?

#Inktober Day 6: Ghosts discover helium

Found a harder tipped version of my favorite Tombow brush pen (WS-BH 150).
I find it's better for my heavy hand, allowing me to add more pressure to get the line thickness I want. This allows me to draw thinner lines than if I used the soft tipped version (WS-BS 150). Because of this, it feels more comfortable. Overall, I think it produces a cleaner image, allowing me to add more lines and detail.

Inktober 2017 • day 4 • Uncle Skullipus (Underwater)

#Inktober: In 2009, Jake Parker created Inktober, where every October, artists everywhere draw one ink drawing per day for the entire month.

#Inktober Day 4: Uncle Skullipus kicking back with a can of suds

Inktober 2017 • day 3 • Bat (aka Guanoloopie)

#Inktober: In 2009, Jake Parker created Inktober, where every October, artists everywhere draw one ink drawing per day for the entire month.

For this year's Inktober, I'm just doing quick doodles of characters related to Halloween.
No pencils for this guy, just going straight to doodling with ink.

#Inktober Day 3: Bat named Guanoloopie

Starting Inktober 2017 • day 1 • Owl

Well, it's October again . . . (I can't believe it!)

Time for celebrating creativity with daily ink sketches.

In 2009, Jake Parker created Inktober, where every October, artists everywhere draw one ink drawing per day for the entire month.

For this year's Inktober, I'm just doing quick doodles of characters related to Halloween. No pencils this time, just doodling with ink.

#Inktober Day 1: Night Owl frightened by the night

NOTE: Inktober 2017 is about to begin!

Tomorrow is the first day of October, and that can only mean Inktober 2017 is about to begin. In 2009, Jake Parker* created Inktober, where during the month of October, artists everywhere draw one ink drawing per day for the entire month. (*Jake Parker is one of my favorite illustrators out there.)

Sacko: "Let the inking commence for Inktober 2017!"

Several years ago, I decided to give Inktober a try. It really is a good exercise not just for drawing, but for thinking of creative new ideas and characters. Unfortunately, this time of the year is very busy for my work. Last year, I struggled to complete the entire month due to the workload. So this year, I just doing character doodles, quick and done; using just a brush pen and 1 or 2 gray markers for toning. (And a white gel pen for highlights.)

The ongoing theme for the month will be Halloween-related characters, similar to the image above. So, join me in this monthlong journey of creativity, (and hopefully fun.) Hazzah!

Daily Quick Sketch: Mouse with Cheese

Here's a quick 5-minute sketch using pen and markers. Again, no rhyme or reason for why I did this, just feeling around for a character. Once I fleshed him out as a mouse, I added the cheese in hand - 'cuz - mice like cheese?

Very fast sketch of a mouse holding cheese, made with brush pen and markers

Inktober 2016: Dozen (#24 of 31)

WOW! Only one more week to go with Inktober 2016!!! So fast . . .
Today's Inktober word is DOZEN. I didn't want to do a sketch with 12 things draw over and over again. So I thought of the old riddle, "When is a dozen not a dozen?" -- aka Baker's Dozen.

Day24's Inktober image for the word Dozen - using a pen brush and Copic gray marker

I'll admit, this cartoon is vague and probably will annoy some people --- but the idea of a cross-eyed baker with a roundabout way of creating 13 to a dozen just made me smile.

This is also why my annoying fly character was thrown in for an added little hint at the joke. The fly character is my version of the famous old-timey sports/editorial cartoonists' small doodles that used to deliver a sidenote or added humor to the cartoon.  In my case, the character is the fly-on-the-wall who usually has a snarky comment on what's happening in the picture.

The original pencil sketch

Inktober 2016: Slow (#23 of 31)

For some reason, I immediately thought of my previous Inktober image for Day11's TRANSPORT when I saw the word for Day23 was SLOW. My thought was to have Elmer the Elf suffer again. This time Elmer has to transport back from the location, he was going to on Day11. (Apparently, there is a return policy on fairy dust.)

A callback cartoon that has Elmer the Elf having another bad day (drawn with brush pen and markers.)

For those wanting to see Elmer's prior cartoon, click here: TRANSPORT

The original pencil sketch for the word SLOW.