Oh, denied! Written on June 1, 2009, by Zack.
10 Comments | Posted in: Illustration, Monday Sketcharoo. | Share: Technorati, Digg, de.licio.us, Yahoo, Google, Magnolia.
Hunger Hunger Strike Hippo up for critique on Threadless Written on May 27, 2009, by Zack.
Hey everyone, I made a few adjustments to this week’s Sketcharoo, threw it on a t-shirt template, and am looking for some critiques for it on Threadless. If I get enough positive feedback, I’ll actually submit it there and see if I can get it printed! So if you’ve got any constructive criticism, head over to the critique page and let me know! Thanks!
1 Comment | Posted in: Help!, Monday Sketcharoo. | Share: Technorati, Digg, de.licio.us, Yahoo, Google, Magnolia.
He’s an inmate at Guantanapotamus Bay Written on May 25, 2009, by Zack.
The very idea that I may create a drawing that implies hunger strikes can be a trivial pursuit may boggle the minds of many of you. But before you get ants in the pants and put me on thin ice over this, know I mean no offense, and that an operation such as humorous illustration is not always a barrel of monkeys. Obviously, it requires the steady hand of a crocodile dentist. But you also need to be a taboo pusher while at the same time displaying the mannerly fastidiousness of a pretty pretty princess at a pizza party. Sometimes you strike the right balance and it’s número uno, and other times no matter what you do it ends up being an artistic mouse trap. I’ll admit, I don’t always clue-in that my work achieves far, far less than perfection. But that’s a risk I’m willing to take, and if need be, I’m willing to say, “Sorry! Next time I’ll make better use of my crainium.”
In the meantime, JENGA!
5 Comments | Posted in: Illustration, Monday Sketcharoo. | Share: Technorati, Digg, de.licio.us, Yahoo, Google, Magnolia.
Twofer! Written on May 11, 2009, by Zack.
I drew all day yesterday and came up with a couple of Sketcharoos. Honestly, I’m not really happy with how either of them turned out, but it’s sorta fun to see two very, very, very different styles placed back to back.
Actually… putting them back to back makes it look like that weird creature is going to eat that little newsboy. Ugh.
8 Comments | Posted in: Illustration, Monday Sketcharoo. | Share: Technorati, Digg, de.licio.us, Yahoo, Google, Magnolia.
Also Available: The Nymphomaniac of Notting Hill Written on May 4, 2009, by Zack.
Oftentimes, the success or failure of a business endeavor is determined by forces entirely outside human control. For example, dismal failure of the BananaPhone can only be attributed to the hand of Fate. I mean, everyone agrees that when you see a person talking on a cell phone the first thing you think is, “That guy looks like he’s about to eat a futuristic banana! That’s CRAZY!” So, logically speaking, a cell phone that periodically sprays the user in the mouth with a fine, banana-flavored mist would be a huge success, right? But the hand of Fate extended its middle finger, and the BananaPhone sank into obscurity.
The hand of Fate can also be beneficial to a business endeavor. When we launched Cardinal Books and Novelties in 1936, we hoped only to ride the wave of sensationalistic pulp publishing that was so popular – and profitable – during that era. And don’t be mistaken, many of our titles sold well, chief among them I Was a Teenage Dope Fiend and Vampire, Manprodder!, Den of the Lesbian Knitters, and Zen and the Art of the Motorcycle Murderers. But by 1952, McCarthyism had taken its toll on Cardinal Books and Novelties, and the pro-Communism tone of titles like Capitalist Child-Eaters Want to Eat Your Children and The Communist Manifesto 2: Proletariat Booagloo, nearly put us out of business.
But the hand of Fate had other plans, delivering unto us a letter from the estate of G.K. Chesterton. Obviously mistaking our publishing house for the similarly-named Cardinal Catholic Books and Rosaries, the estate requested the creation of a new series of novels based on Chesterton’s beloved priest-cum-detective, Father Brown. Within a week we stuck a contract with the estate and got to work.
The success of the new Father Brown series led to other religiously-inspired titles – The Manhandling Snakehandler, Zoroastrian Pajama Party, Bring’em Young Brigham Young – all of which kept the coffers of Cardinal Books and Novelties well-stocked. But in 1988, Fate showed its hand again, this time in the form of a Cat Stevens-issued fatwa against Cardinal Books for publishing Boy in the Burqa: My Life as a Muslim Crossdresser. Our publisher went into hiding and Cardinal Books and Novelties shut down.
I suppose one can find a moral here in the words of William Shakespeare, taken from the Cardinal Books edition of Henry VI: “What fates impose, that men must needs abide; It boots not to resist both wind and tide. Now let’s you and me go for a roll in the hay, baby.”
3 Comments | Posted in: Illustration, Literature, Monday Sketcharoo, Religion. | Share: Technorati, Digg, de.licio.us, Yahoo, Google, Magnolia.