The Chad Frye - Illustration GuyWhat is “it” exactly? When someone (or in this case someTHING) has IT, everyone is attracted to IT, everyone desires IT, everyone wants IT. IT is the thing you can’t quite define, but can’t quite turn away from. In this case, the IT this guy has is charisma. He also has a huge optometrist bill for his contact lenses.
Do you ever just get on a roll with sketching in your sketchbook? I do. This is what can happen when you combine an idle mind with a sheet of white paper and a ball point pen.
What better way to get Monster Month kicked off than with a self-effacing interpretation of the Wolfman. This is a version of how I look before I’ve had my coffee in the morning.
For those of you paying attention to my signature, I originally drew this one back in 2010. It was a sketch in my sketchbook that I inked, then scanned and colored in Photoshop. I was playing around with the idea of turning myself into the Wolfman for 2010’s Monster Month, when a funnier idea came to mind. I redrew myself a little less angry getting scolded by a police officer. CLICK HERE if you’d like to see THAT drawing which was inspired by THIS drawing!
For those of you who follow my blog, you know that I LOVE creating silly creatures that go bump in the night, especially during the month of October. Last year I was knee deep in working on a new television show to make it on air by the fall which resulted in the lamentable omission of Monster Month on my blog. Things continue to be very busy for me working on the second season of that show on top of other animation and print projects all at the same time, but I have managed to cull together some monster sketches and doodles for a slightly trimmed down Monster Month.
Beginning TOMORROW on October 1st, new monsters will begin to make their appearance here. While they won’t be one-a-day as in years past, I promise that they will be full of fun, fangs, and frightenings (not necessarily in that order).
So, please visit several times a week (if you dare) to see what is new during MONSTER MONTH!!!
When the heavy heat visits us every summer, I light out for the beach to visit with family. Since the age of ten, I look forward to the start of every trip while each trip’s ending brings regret. This year my sister and brother-in-law dared to bring their two little sons to experience Uncle Chad. While I shall spare the details of teaching bad habits, the tale of indulging the curiosity of a two-year-old is in order.
Little Hudson is at that age where everything is a new discovery. Building things out of the ground we walked on was a novelty to him. We had some technicolor plastic molds that allowed us to create various sea creatures in the sand, all of which Hudson promptly destroyed like a mighty Godzilla rampaging Tokyo.
Hudson does have an affinity for Disney characters (he IS my nephew after all), so I set out to blow his mind. We started out piling up some sand together, and fetching water as needed. Two-year-olds being what they are, he soon lost interest in these technical aspects of beach building, and wandered off somewhere. I don’t know where. I was busy carving him a mouse.
When Hudson regained interest in what Uncle Chad was doing, he took one look at it and said, “Wreck it now?” His momma said no, and we posed for a picture. You can see his enthusiasm has no boundaries.
A few days later my sister’s family departed for their home, but Mickey remained intact. Hudson never did wreck it, but neither did anyone else. A week after his rise from the shadows of the sand, Mickey lived on. Sure, he was a little weathered as any 85-year-old mouse would be, and had become home to several sand crabs who must have been Disney fans. I like to think that after I made my way back to California, Mickey continued keeping his watch over our little spot on the beach waiting to enthrall the next two-year-old to come along….
….who promptly wrecked it.
Have you ever noticed how pet owners and their dogs can look alike? I don’t think that owners actually morph into the shape of their pet, but rather in a subconscious act of narcissism, they purchase the pet that looks good to them. They buy themselves a Mini-Me.
I’m not the first to make this observation, but I AM the latest to poke fun at it.
Two weeks ago I had the privilege to attend the Walt Disney Company’s Legends award ceremony held in Anaheim, CA. First awarded in the late 1980s, the award is given to those folks, whether creative or otherwise, who have meant much to the success of the company over the years. The award was bestowed annually for many years on the Disney studio lot in Burbank, CA which I attended many times while working there. Now they seem to be awarded every other year at the D23 Expo, Disney’s own fan convention, where thousands of fans may also attend.
I had such a great time this year seeing folks like animator Glen Keane, actors Billy Crystal & John Goodman, and Imagineer Tony Baxter accept their special trophy. Others were awarded posthumously to TV personality Dick Clark, Apple & Pixar’s Steve Jobs, actor Ed Wynn, and Imagineer Collin Campbell whose awards were accepted by family members and friends.
I’m sure if you searched the web, you will find official photos and videos of the event and more wordy descriptions of the ceremony. What those accounts may not say is that a respectable showing of past Legends were in attendance as well. I was surrounded by folks like Paige O’Hara (voice of Belle), Floyd Norman (animation), Burny Mattinson (animation), Marty Sklar (Imagineering), Mary Costa (voice of Sleeping Beauty), Anika Noni Rose (voice of Princess Tiana), David Stollery (Marty of “Spin & Marty”), Kathryn Beaumont (voice of Alice and Wendy), Alice Davis (designer of costumes for Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean rides), Bob Gurr (Imagineer who famously designed the monorail), Bill Farmer (voice of Goofy), and many others.
(If you wish to see a photo, my friend Rick Law posted one that I’m in on Facebook. I reposted it to my FB page and you can CLICK HERE to go there now.)
It was such a special time that I felt inspired the next day to do a little watercolor sketch of Mickey holding a Disney Legend award.
These awards truly are special. Many people work for many years at a desk isolated from the world doing what they love to do. The fact that their efforts can go on to bring joy and inspiration to millions of people they will never meet is a reward in its own way, but a pat on the back from the CEO in front of an audience is also swell. In a day where there is much cynicism and insincerity in corporate America, it is nice to see that the Walt Disney Company continues this tradition of honoring people who are a big part of the in-front-of and behind-the-scenes of the memories many of you have today.
I dropped by the barber shop this past weekend with a sketchbook under my arm. Barber shops are always populated with a cross section of ages and personalities that make for an interesting time. The regulars carry on conversations and offer unsolicited opinions on just about any topic. The newer guys sit and listen participating only with facial expressions. You never know how long you will have to wait on a Saturday morning, so why not capture these moments with a pencil?
I go to Arenas’ Barber Shop on Victory Boulevard in good ol’ Burbank, CA. The shop is run by second generation barber siblings Denise and Steve Arenas whose pop got them going down the path of hair manipulation many years before. They used to work in the hair salon on the Disney Studio lot for years until current management starting eliminating some of the family atmosphere of the employment experience there, and forced out the Arenas along with other follicle folks.
Ten years ago Denise took over an old time barber shop run by an old timer named Chuck (I used to go to him, too), fixed up the joint and created a fun atmosphere for parting parts and taming tresses.
So, the next time you get your hair cut, look around and take it all in. There are few experiences in life where complete strangers can all be the best of friends for an hour while waiting their turn for a trim before walking out the door into harsh, cold anonymity once again.