Kid Cudi sketch

I've been listening to Kid Cudi tracks online to get the creative juices flowing.
Just did this sketch to see if I could capture his likeness.

BLOCK 1/ New York Perspective

I did this BLOCK piece to commemorate my recent trip to NY. I must say that the trip was well worth while. I meet a lot of great genuine people who welcomed me as well as my art with open arms and enthusiasm. I was able to meet a lot of people whom I've only known through phone conversations that turned out to be just as cool in person. I can only hope that our relationships can grow even greater throughout our careers and lead us to more amazing opportunities to collaborate. I was also able to reunite with close friends and colleagues that continue to do well despite our economic hardships, may your talents continue to shine through with success.

Reviving an old concept

This is an old project I'm reviving and developing with a couple of friends. I can't really spill too much about it, but I wanted to share some images.Maybe I'll post more next month. I've got tons of illustrations for this concept.
For some reason I had to make her dog a little black terrier. I personally think he's cute. The name Algebra kind of fits him too.

Noggin Celebrates Barack Obama

Last but not least, here is the Barack Obama spot I did for Noggin/Nickelodeon. I carried over the style I used for the African American inventors clips. If you didn't know enough about President Barack Obama, now you can learn about some of his favorite things.

If the voice sounds familiar, it's because it's the voice of Tyrone from the Backyardigans.
Here are some of my favorite stills from the movie.


This Shepard Fairey poster was my color inspiration for the spot.

NICK JR/ NOGGIN CELEBRATE AFRICAN AMERICAN INVENTORS 3

Here are the other 3 spots I did with the Nick Jr/Noggin team. These were really fun to work on as well as informative. My hats off to the writers and producers over there for allowing me the great opportunity to bring these short clips to life. My personal favorite is George Crum, inventor of the potato chip. According to one version, on August 24, 1853, a customer complained that Crum's french fries were "too thick." The angered cook was frustrated by this remark, so he decided to give the maximal opposite of what the client was complaining about: he sliced potatoes paper-thin, over fried them to a crisp and seasoned them with an excess of salt. When the crisps were prepared, he gave them to the customer, who loved them. The chips became popular, and became known as Saratoga Chips. Crum was able to open his own restaurant with the profits he made selling his new crisps.

NICK JR/ NOGGIN CELEBRATE AFRICAN AMERICAN INVENTORS 2

I thought I'd add a couple of my favorite stills for these 3 movies. Also check out the George Washington Carver boards below.



Here is my reference for George Washington Carver's peanut combine.

I just got the OK from Nickelodeon to post these spots I animated. Enjoy and feel free to leave some feedback in the comments section.

These are the initial boards I did for the GWC piece.

NICK JR/ NOGGIN CELEBRATE AFRICAN AMERICAN INVENTORS

All this month you can catch a few black history month spots I did on Noggin and Nick Jr. I had the great pleasure of creating commercial spots showcasing African American inventors. When I get the green light from the network, I will post Hi res versions of the spots on my blog. In the meantime, you can get a peek of them HERE on the Nick jr website. Feel free to post comments below. I would love to get some feedback.

Here is my original character design lineup of all of these wonderful inventors.
From (L to R) Lonnie Johnson (Inventor of the Super Soaker), George Washington Carver (Inventor of Peanut Butter), Garrett Morgan (Inventor of the traffic signal), Alfred Cralle (Inventor of the Ice cream scooper), George Crum (Inventor of the potato chip), Jack Johnson (Inventor of the wrench)

This project gave me the great opportunity to experiment with a style I've been doing for some time. These are a few examples above. It's a real simple style that is a mix of my own with a little Abstract and a few other inspirations.


BTW, You can also see an additional spot I did for the network Celebrating Barack Obama and some of his favorite things.
Be sure to leave comments below.

JOHNNY 2X4 DOWN BY LAW

I stumbled upon an old animation clip in my files of Johnny 2x4 that I animated some time ago. It actually loops and I added a little music to it. Enjoy!

PIXEL PIRATE T-shirt

PIXEL PIRATE is my new brand. Everything I do from here on out will be produced through PIXEL PIRATE STUDIO. Childrens books, prints, toys and limited edition art. Support the brand and represent by purchasing one of these new T-shirts. Profits go towards the production of other merchandise. They come in all sizes(Kid sizes too!) and different color choices as well as the option to print on American apparel tees. More cool designs to come every month. What are you waiting for?

REX marks the spot book

Here's the cover illustration I did to a new Sushi Pack kids book. Go to your local book store and ask for it, or click on the banner above to buy your copy NOW!


HERE'S AN ACTUAL CLIP FROM THE EPISODE...

NOTHING WRONG WITH A LITTLE CHANGE

As many of you have noticed, I haven't been posting much lately . All due to taking on tons of freelance work. GOOD NEWS is, most of that work is off of my plate now and that I am planning on starting anew. I'm changing the look of the blog (this is only a temporary template for now). I promise to have tons of new art to share as well as the occasional Throwback. Just keep checking back for updates or sign up for a feed update. A lot of my projects throughout next year will be animated, so updates wont be as frequent as it is for sketches. So please bare with me during this positive transition into 2009. It's time for a CHANGE. My joyful congratulations go out to our new president and his wonderful family. I'm fired up and ready to go for the next few years.

9/25 Sketches

I really want to start sketching more often. Mostly without too much thought. I started off my usual way by making random shapes with a brush marker, then turning each shape into a character. Below is a character collage from an older sketchbook.