I'm no Cowboy.

Here's a quick color version of this sketch I drew the other day.



I've been reading Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West lately, so I guess I have hard-livin' cowboys on the brain. I don't think I would have cut it in that world. My tummy turns just thinking about it.

The Ghoul.

The topic of the Super Awesome Art Challenge this month was Hula Ghoula. I could have made it really silly, but that seemed too obvious for the title.

Not to say this isn't a little silly. I guess it is.


the ghoul.

This took a lot of iteration and a good chunk of time. I did a few drawings I liked, but I just wasn't hitting the right notes at first. It was a little like pulling teeth, but in the end I am pretty dang happy with it.

non-product shots.

I feel like I've been doing a lot of projects that I can't share publicly. At least, not right now. Which is fine and dandy, but it makes for a boring blog.

Most of my time is spent doing product design. Which is done a year in advance, so I never post it here. By the time it hits shelves, I've long since forgot/lost interest.

But, surprisingly, I did get to grab a bunch of product the other day (that both Lindsay and I worked on) and take it home. Well, I actually took it to the new Paper Bicycle studio and filled up some of the empty space.

On a completely unrelated note, I'm going to post a couple pictures of the studio space. If there's some product in there, too, then I guess the can't be helped...

..right?


funny, this room has some halloween decorations in it in the middle of june. how embarrassing....


wow, those are some nice shelves. ikea really outdid themselves on this shelving unit!


so nice we had to buy it twice! hmm, this doesn't show much...


better get a close-up of these sturdy, square units!

Whoo. New studio.

pillowcat.

pillowcat.

A photo? What? Who's blog is this? Don't I just draw dumb crap all the time, you ask?

To be honest, I've always been into photography. Ever since I was a kid. I've also always been terrible at it. I guess I just don't really have the eye for photography, and I'll be the first to admit it.

However, I did invest in a nicer camera recently, just so I'd be more motivated to take more photos. And I was happy with this picture, because it is very cute, so I figured why not? I can post what I want, right?

So from now on, if I take a photo I particularly like, you'll see it here.

If you don't like you can kiss my Converse.

Abandoned Robot.

The theme of the Super Awesome Art Challenge this month was Retrobot.

I really struggled fining an angle that held my attention, but I finally did a tiny thumbnail that got me interested. It became this...


i guess "retro" means "sad and loney" or something...

I'm having a terrible time getting the colors to reproduce on the web, a problem I don't normally run into. It's not a big deal, but it's bugging the heck out of me...

Conserve with friends, aka CWF.

Lately I've been really busy. Birthdays, travel, product design, logo design. Some of it has been fun (mainly the former) some of it less fun (mainly the latter). And all the while (about a month) I've been immensely sick. Sucky.

It's been kind of rush, rush, rush lately, so tonight I forced myself to just sit down for a couple hours and just have fun. This is the result. You can see the original sketch at A Day in the Life.

I asked Lindsay a word and she said "conserve." Now you know the origin story of this drawing...


nice pink living space, kitten! cotton candy-ish!

Black like my heart.

Sometimes projects once projects are finished and out the door, and they get canceled. Despite dozens, or sometimes hundreds, of hours of work, the designs will never see the light of day.

It happens slightly more than you might expect (maybe that's because a lot of the companies I work for design a year out from market).

Here's a peak at a abandoned project. It was quite different and now has nothing to do with the original concept. I'm trying to re-work bits and pieces and not let them go to waste. I worked hard on these, and it makes me sad to not see them out there in the world...


my heart is PANTONE Black C

BigRig McGiggs is the Man.

One thing I like about being a professional artist: I have lots of amazing artist friends..

Like Jesse Riggle, homeboy from way back.

A while ago I posted this drawing to A Day in the Life...


nice teeth, teethmo.

...which Jesse took and made this...


dripping with awesome.

Totally righteous.

Money. Rinse. Repeat.

Do you ever feel like the world is in the mess it's in because of greedy motherfuckers? Sometimes I do. When I'm in a bad mood. I had an idea the other day that I wanted to play around with. I wanted to get the idea "down on paper" before I forgot, so viola.

This isn't really what I was envisioning at all, but I just needed to start playing around with the type first. I expect in the end it will be all hand-done, but this was just a starting point.


i think I need one more money in there...

I'll probably keep working on it whenever I can steal a moment. So, I guess I'm saying, maybe never...

veering off topic.

This first breathed life when we were throwing around ideas for wedding stuff, and it became something strange.



Lindsay drew the silhouettes, I added the color/texture/linework.

CMYKittens.

End of the month = Super Awesome Art Challenge time.

This month's theme: CMYKupid.

These kittens have been visited by Cupid, leaving them with sinful desires, which equals cute baby kittens!


that poor baby, shot by a big scary LoveArrow...

For those who follow my other blog, this may look familiar. It's because a week or so ago I posted the pencil sketch...

Evolution of a Frog.

The frog drawing I did is also posted on my other blog A Day in the Life, but I'm posting it here in context.

Last night Lindsay did a weird t-shirt illustration of a frog:


what a strange frog. by lindsay.

Today, during a meeting, I was thinking about that strange frog, and I drew this:


this one is also strange. by me.

When I came home and I showed Lindsay my weird frog drawing, she painted a bunch of little hilarious frog dudes. Here's one:


less strange, more cute. by lindsay.

You can see the rest over on her blog, Lindsay's Sketchbook.

Hooray for Capcom Unity!

I am a huge fan of Capcom. Some of my favorite videogame franchises of all time were published by Capcom. Stuff like Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Mega Man, Okami, Bionic Commando, Pheonix Wright, Darkstalkers, and Marvel VS Capcom (I actually recently payed over 100 bucks to get another copy of Marvel Vs Capcom 2, because it's one of the greatest games of all time). The list could go on.

So when I saw a post on the offical Capcom blog, Capcom Unity, calling out for fan art, I sent them a link to my stuff. Since I did a couple of pieces a while back anyway, I figured 'who better to appreciate it?' I didn't think much of it, and that was a few days ago.

So I was super pleased when I got an email letting me know I was being featured on the blog.


hey, awesome!

They are sending some sort of prize my way, which is even doper. I'm crossing my fingers for an advance copy of Street Fighter 4. A dude can dream, right?

being tired sucks.

I drew this drawing today, and I sleepy sketched out some rough color. It's really rough, but so am I.


the pain in those eyes is tangible.

I don't see anything yet(i).

So here's my new contribution to the Super Awesome Art Challenge. The theme is Yeti Spaghetti. Hope your screen is calibrated.


you need a fork, dude.

As you may be able to tell, it's made almost entirely with white shapes and drop shadows. I've played around with this approach in the past but never with anything this complicated. And what better subject than a white monster in a white environment eating a white food?

27, part 2.

I also drew this on the plane on the way to Hawaii. That's about all I could stand. I kind of hate planes and get sick when I try to draw...



I was just thinking about my birthday again.

She is a stinky cat.

I drew this sketch on a plane to Hawaii last week, and I just felt like messing around in Photoshop.



Yup. That's it.

Cowboy Christmas.

My friend Adam H had the idea for a communal art blog where every month the contributors all do a piece based on a single topic. And he called it the Super Awesome Art Challenge.

This is my first piece. Topic: Cowboy Christmas.



I tried something a little different this time by sticking to the single stroke line in illustrator and using it on almost every shape. I usually try to hide the illustrator-ness of it a little bit, but not this time. My feelings are mixed.

You can check out the original size to try to see some of the fine detail on his vest. Or even better, his boots. Good luck with that, they are tiny.

It's a golden time in a young boy's life.

Normally, I keep my personal musings to my personal blog, but today is special. Today I am 27.

Doesn't sound special? Consider the fact that my birthday is December 27th. That makes today my Golden Birthday™.

I've waited 27 years for today. But unfortunately, it's been kind of a bad year, this past month especially. So all I really want to do on my Golden Birthday™ is go to sleep. Maybe take a golden shower. Maybe.

But I will celebrate nonetheless. Party hardy and look forward to a new year, and the next 27 years of my life. Hopefully it's filled with good health, lots of art, violent videogames, fuzzy pets and fun times with my soon-to-be-wife, Lindsay.

Now I'm going to keep on keeping on.

The Little Match Girl.

Here's an illustration I did for the City Pages A-List section. It's for a performance of Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Match Girl, as preformed by Ballet of the Dolls.


yo grandma, you're a g-g-g-ghost!

I'll try to grab a City Pages and take a snap shot of it in context.

Shred that mighty axe, Santa Claus!

Hey there, why so blue? Don't you know it's December, the month of a pretty righteous dude's birthday? A dude who touches your life in special ways each and every day? Yup, you got it...

In a few short weeks I turn 27 years young! At long last, it's my golden birthday! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some new snowpants.

Oh wait, that's not why you're looking so glum? What's that? You need a great holiday gift for some young, cool dude and/or dudette? And you're too old and out of touch to know what's hip with the kids?

Don't fret! I have the answer!

A Target Gift Card! Of course! Target has everything for everyone! And the prices! So reasonable...

Hmmm... You should probably pick the gift card designed by me. Just to ensure every last ounce of awesome is delivered to the loved one of your choice!


notice the articulated arm. for rockin' so hard you bust your face.


original art, just for fun's sake.

Look near the checkout when you pick yours up. I found some there and near the Stationery section.

There are a lot of options for gift cards, to be sure,, but there's only one by someone you know and love (unless you also know and love Adam).

when it rains, the sky turns neon.

So what if you're a bat and you hang out in a grave yard... that doesn't mean you can't have a good time every once in a while.


stripes might not be slimming, but they sure do look good on you, bat!

what big eyes you have...

Uh oh. Another kitten has been added to the ever expanding roster of pets! Unplanned and unannounced, this huge-eyed, tiny black cat has charmed her way into a new home...

We've yet to find out if it's truly a boy or girl (although we suspect a girl), so right now it's been hard to name it...


olivia. if it's a girl. which might not be...

I'll post a real picture when I get back to Minneapolis...

...right NOW!

lovely snakes.

I was talking to a friend about ideas for something. This was one of the ideas.


it's a snake who saying something in a clever way.

I'm terrible at cursive. My grade school teachers lied to me. I never write in cursive.

cut(e) down in his prime.

just barely as fearsome as the hamburgler.

the return.

Do you ever feel like your insides are about to explode in a cacophony of shattered bones and rainbow glitter?


yeah. me too.

early stages of a font.

One of the projects I'm working on is a handmade font. I'm trying to make it very high quality and versatile, and it takes more work than I might have planned.

Here's a sample. It should be changing quite a bit, though.


badkid means nothing, i just liked the letter combination.

A skeleton in honor of scary Death.

It's Halloween soon! Here's a quick doodle of a skeleton. Skeletons are considered Halloween-related in some parts of the country (the good parts)!


scary up that posture!

The scary part about skeletons is that they are REAL! Believe it!

kids these days...

This another attempt (see previous) at drawing someone in motion, since I rarely draw anything that's not completely inert.


skate that board, you youthful hooligan!

I don't really like how it looks this small, though, so here's a bigger version: link!

Like always, I'll probably revisit it at some point in the magical future.

LBP Contest

News Flash! I love videogames and I am a staunch supporter of all things videogame related.

I especially love games with amazing art design, like Shadow of the Colossus, Okami, Viva Pinata and most recently Little Big Planet, developed by Media Molecule.

LBP's mascot is SackBoy, who dresses up in tons of different outfits. Media Molecule are having a costume design contest.

I decided to enter. Here it is!


kiss me, you fool.