art walk plus new work Written on June 18, 2008, by admin.
Greetings my patient and loyal readers! I know it’s been kind of a while since my last post, and for that I apologize. BUT! You shall soon see that, not unlike holding a garden hose in a knot for a minute and then releasing, I have accrued a drenchingly large amount of news for you. So, consider yourself in the “Splash Zone.”
UPDATE: I canceled the showing at Blue Highway Games, rendering the above image unnecessary. Why do I keep it up? Eh, I like how it breaks up the post.
For starters, this Thursday, the 19th of June, I will be participating in the Queen Anne Art Walk. My illustrations will be exhibited at Queen Anne’s favorite gaming store, Blue Highway Games (2203 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA). The Art Walk starts at 5pm, and I’ll be there for as long as I can possibly stand it. It should be mentioned that Blue Highway has a library of open board games that customers are welcome to test play, so regardless of whether they’re showing my stuff, you should plan a visit.
Secondly, I’ve got a new piece finished! I’m calling it “An Unintended Discovery,” but you may know it as “That Piece Zack Has Had On His Drawing Board For, Like, A Billion Years.” I like how it turned out, and want to include it on my portfolio site. HOWEVER, I’ve only got so much room there! I’M NOT MADE OF MEGABITES, PEOPLE! So, I’ll need to kick something out of my portfolio. If you have any suggestions on which of my many crimes against the visual arts to remove, please, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments.
Lastly, I would like to say that, although there’s been a major dearth in posting, I promise I will put up more fabulous fabulous art in the very near future. I wish I could blame my new job for the lack of personal work being posted, but, alas, what’s more likely is that video games are the culprit (you’d be surprised how many video games one can play if they’re convinced it’s “research”). So stay turned to this blog for more illustration excitement. Or… you know… more excuses. One of the two.
That is all.
9 Comments | Posted in: Events, Illustration. | Share: Technorati, Digg, de.licio.us, Yahoo, Google, Magnolia.
Paper… FOLDED! Written on April 28, 2008, by admin.
I’ve never really gotten into the designer vinyl toy fad that’s been sweeping the arts world (and Urban Outfitters nationwide), but I love love love designer flatpack toys. Lucky for me, these clever little crafts projects seem to be sprouting up everywhere lately, and some of the best I’ve seen recently have been produced by Paper Foldables. Dig that sickly cat. They’ve got a bunch of samples at their website, and as soon as I find a color printer with a heavy enough paper stock, I think I’ll be folding myself up some new toys.
2 Comments | Posted in: Illustration, Toys. | Share: Technorati, Digg, de.licio.us, Yahoo, Google, Magnolia.
A little chocolate with your Easter…? Written on March 23, 2008, by admin.
Yesterday Amber and I (finally) took the time to visit Seattle’s rendition of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory: Theo Chocolate. To say I’m a fan of their chocolate doesn’t quite express the near transcendent experience I routinely have when devouring their goods, so the visit to the Theo tasting room was something of a pilgrimage of deliciousness. If you’re in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, you owe it to yourself to take a trip; the free chocolate samples alone are worth it. For those already experienced in Theo’s chocolaty craftsmanship, you should know their two new 3400 Phinney bars, Hazelnut Crunch Milk Chocolate and Fig, Fennel & Almond Dark Chocolate, are some of the best they’ve concocted, and thus far I haven’t seen them outside the tasting room. For those who have, for whatever reason, no taste for chocolate, like your allergic to brown food or you lost your tongue in a fire, let me present Theo’s visual goodness:
Designed by the good people at KittenChops, the wrappers were the only reason I even tried my first 3400 Phinney bar (it was the Bread and Chocolate one. How can you say no to that kitty?).
In conclusion, I’m a sucker for quality chocolate wrapped in quality illustration. Oh, and as a passing bit of guidance, if you happen to pick up Theo’s special Venezuelan 91% dark chocolate bar at your local hippiemart, don’t eat it straight. Bake it into a cake or something. 91% cocoa is just… not… pleasant…
Okay, that’s it. Happy Easter!
3 Comments | Posted in: Food, Illustration. | Share: Technorati, Digg, de.licio.us, Yahoo, Google, Magnolia.
Hired! Written on March 6, 2008, by admin.
That’s right, this coming Monday I’ll be abandoning my current position as a starving artist (well, more peckish really) and join the art team at Her Interactive, Inc. as a full-time, full-stomached 2-D artist. Her Interactive, Inc. create the Nancy Drew series for the PC, and are one of the few remaining companies to specialize in one of my favorite genres, adventure games. I’ll be helping to create both the world environments and ancillary artwork found throughout their games. The position will not only give me the opportunity to work on my environment rendering skills, but will also allow me to speak with authority on all matters related to computer games. Example: Who would win in a fight between Pac-Man and Reader Rabbit? Answer: Reader Rabbit. I should know. I’m in the industry.
In other news, a short comic I did for Bluewater Comics has recently been released. You can find it (if you must) in the back of “Ray Harryhausen Presents Jason and the Argonauts: The Kingdom of Hades” #2. And don’t be fooled by the fact that my name does not appear on the cover or the masthead, or that the cover clearly states the bonus material at the back of the comic is a “Pin-Up Section” of Harryhausen original art. No, don’t be fooled by all this. Because my comic is really there.
That is all.
6 Comments | Posted in: Comics, Games, Job. | Share: Technorati, Digg, de.licio.us, Yahoo, Google, Magnolia.
buttons, buttons, who’s got the buttons? Written on February 25, 2008, by admin.
Oh, I’ve got the buttons. The talented Jeannie Paske, best known for the evocative covers that adorn most of eluvium’s releases, recently sent me a set of five buttons that were previously only available via coin-op dispensers in Portland. My wife and I discovered one of these button dispensers in Reading Frenzy during our last trip to the City of Roses, and kicked ourselves for not bringing enough change to get the whole set. This again stresses the importance of always carrying a sock full of quarters with you wherever you go.
If you’re unfamiliar with Jeannie’s work, you owe it to yourself to check out Obsolete World, her portfolio site. Picking up a print at her Etsy site is not a bad idea, either. And if you have no idea who eluvium is, by-golly, go here, here and here.
2 Comments | Posted in: Illustration, Music. | Share: Technorati, Digg, de.licio.us, Yahoo, Google, Magnolia.