Dwayne Johnson

The other day when wondering what I could sketch, it dawned on me that I hadn’t done a caricature in a while. Disney’s Moana was on my brain, and the voice of Maui, Dwayne Johnson, popped into my head as a possible subject. He’s got those great big muscles that most fellas don’t have, and such a gregarious personality. It was quickly decided that I should flex my own seldom-used caricature muscles to work out a drawing.

So, here is Dwayne Johnson with his own tribal tattoo converted to represent Maui and Moana. I noticed that Dwayne has a bull tattoo on his other arm, so I Disneyfied that one, too, by making it a tattoo of Ferdinand the bull from one of my favorite old Disney shorts.

 

You’re welcome.

 

If you would like to see the original rough sketch I did of Dwayne for this final drawing, come follow me on Facebook! It has been posted there as an exclusive. Just CLICK HERE to go to the page!

Tale of the Whale

Each summer I spend some time in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. One of my favorite restaurants is Tale of the Whale in Nags Head where owners Dan, Kathy, & Carole Bibey always welcome us with open arms. Two weeks ago I dropped in and gave them this drawing that they are now using as a coloring sheet to occupy their youngest patrons.

 

How come we never see a scene like THIS while whale watching?

 

I hadn’t inked something on paper in a while, so I had to brush off the dust from my – um – brush, and supplement it with some of my pens. Always nerve racking drawing traditionally with a medium so permanent as ink after getting used to an undo button on the computer. Thankfully, white gouache still works to cover the few mistakes made.

So, if you happen to find yourself in good ol’ Nags Head, NC, be sure to drop in Tale of the Whale for an exquisite seafood dinner on the waterfront. I’m partial to the shrimp & grits or Pasta Nova – grilled salmon served over pasta covered in a sun dried tomato & lump crab sauce.

And even if you think you are too big to use crayons, feel free to ask for a coloring sheet.

Blackbeard’s Vacation

This summer the Frye family did something it had never done before. We had a family reunion. Yep, my parents, my siblings, their spouses and kids, and yes, even I, gathered on the beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Seventeen of us descended upon two beach houses.

Of course, any good family reunion requires a family T-shirt. For some strange reason, that job fell upon my shoulders. Imagine that! Well, when duty calls….

 

Now, I’m not saying my family looks like this. We look much sillier in bathing suits.

 

I got to thinking that good ol’ Blackbeard, the scourge of the sea that he was, happened to spend the last of his days in the Outer Banks. His end was untimely, of course. No self-respecting pirate dared to live into a life of old age, but was he felled by the sword? Or did Blackbeard and his mates meet their end foolishly surfing the untamed shark infested waves in a hurricane? History says one thing, my drawing says another.

 

A family self-portrait in red.

 

As you can see, everyone seemed to enjoy the shirts. However, a few nephews wondered out loud why Blackbeard’s beard was actually purple. Uncle Chad’s answer? Because.

Rough, Tough, & Hard to Bluff

The old west fascinates me, perhaps because my pop loves watching westerns and always pulled me into that world as I was growing up. Whether good guys or bad guys, they always were wild characters ripe to be caricatured.

Whether or not they looked like they knew how to shoot, movie cowboys always carried a gun. This here feller looks like the gun will carry him instead! He’ll be okay, though. That’s the old west for you. They were rough, tough, and hard to bluff.

 

Pictures like this just make me want to speak with a drawl.

 

THIS ORIGINAL ART IS FOR SALE

15 x 19.5″ colored pencil & watercolor on Canson paper

$400.00

FREE SHIPPING WITHIN THE UNITED STATES

ADDITIONAL FEES MAY APPLY FOR INTERNATIONAL

CONTACT CHAD@CHADFRYE.COM

Clubhouse Magazine – Noah Girl

Today is the final of three illustrations that appear in the July 2017 issue of Clubhouse Magazine for kids published by Focus on the Family. (If you missed the other two, just look at the previous two posts here on the ol’ blog.) All three images belong to a fun quiz that kids can take to help prevent summer boredom!

This image is of a little girl who, out of desperation of being stuck inside for a three-day rainstorm, has decided that her bed is the ark, her toys are the animals, and yes, that she is Noah in search of dry land with the rubber ducky she is about to release.

As in the previous posts, here is the rough drawing with a rough color job all worked out in Photoshop in preparation for the final traditionally created illustration.

 

This girl takes her playtime very seriously.

 

To help dry up “Noah’s” water problem, water was used with watercolor paint and colored pencil on textured paper to create a scene that is epic in this little girl’s own mind.

 

I’m sure to a child, three days of rain can seem like forty.

 

I sure enjoyed this assignment. Hope you enjoyed seeing all three illustrations created for it!

If you are interested in owning this original published art measuring roughly 14×12″, it is available for $700. Shipping is included within the USA. Additional charges will apply for international shipping. Feel free to contact me at Chad@ChadFrye.com if interested in purchasing this or any other art in my FOR SALE category here on the ol’ blog.

Clubhouse Magazine – Lobster Lad

Last week I started sharing with you the first of three illustrations created for the July 2017 issue of Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse Magazine that is available NOW if you reach out to Clubhouse! Today you get to see the second piece.

This one is a tad bit unusual. Lobster Lad is a boy who is pretending to be a lobster in order to get out of a writing assignment. After all, how can a lobster ever hold a pencil with those sharp and powerful claws? Also, it is terribly difficult to write on wet paper. The boy’s plan is genius.

First, here is the final rough drawing that was colored in Photoshop to work out the color scheme.

 

You might say that this is the lobster art before it is cooked.

 

Here is the final watercolor and colored pencil illustration that appears in the magazine.

 

I wonder how much a 50 pound lobster would cost?

 

If you are interested in owning this original published art measuring roughly 11×12″, it is available for $500. Shipping is included within the USA. Additional charges will apply for international shipping. Feel free to contact me at Chad@ChadFrye.com if interested in purchasing this or any other art in my FOR SALE category here on the ol’ blog.

Clubhouse Magazine – Road Trip

Earlier this year I worked on some illustrations for the July issue of Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse Magazine. Clubhouse is a Christian magazine for kids that along with teaching life lessons and biblical principles, it is LOADED with fun!

My assignment was to create three illustrations to go along with a silly multiple choice quiz to help kids avoid summertime boredom. So I whipped up some concoctions with genuine watercolor paint and colored pencils for maximum entertainment! I’ll spread them out over the course of this month, but for now, here’s one to remind you to stay alert on road trips!

To start, I send an uncolored rough drawing to my art director for approval. If she wants changes, I make changes.

Then I do a color rough for myself in Photoshop. It helps to figure out what colors work in the composition in this way before going to the trouble of mixing paints. There was also the added issue of doing three illustrations for one story, so I wanted to be sure my colors would help all three pieces look cohesive.

 

Photoshop helps set the scene.

 

Next is the fully traditional illustration created in watercolor and colored pencil on genuine paper. Believe it or not, some artists still work this way.

 

While the destination is the goal of a road trip, there sure is a lot to enjoy on the way to the destination. Don’t miss it!

 

 

If you are interested in owning this original published art measuring roughly 13×12″, it is available for $600. Shipping is included within the USA. Additional charges will apply for international shipping. Feel free to contact me at Chad@ChadFrye.com if interested in purchasing this or any other art in my FOR SALE category here on the ol’ blog.

Taco Tuesday

Just some random silliness that was inked in my sketchbook with a little color added later in Photoshop.

And yes, I do LOVE Taco Tuesday, but no, I do not eat sleeping people wrapped up in hammocks.