The Chad Frye - Illustration GuyThe other day I did a little character design exercise in my sketchbook – I drew a head with a mustache, then decided to fill the whole page with mustachioed faces with the rule that no heads could overlap. This presented a creative challenge to fill odd shaped spaces with odd shaped heads.
The results were kind of fun, don’t you think?
I don’t think he’s doing it right. What a turkey.
At the risk of sounding monotonous with the third post in a row about emerald colored chicken orbs and porcine meat, it really was a privilege to have worked at Warner Bros. on the traditionally animated Green Eggs and Ham series that currently is streaming on Netflix. It’s encouraging to have been reading so many great comments from fans on various posts online who have been enjoying the labor our team near and far put into the show.
These were just a few of my practice drawings created to get a feel for the character of Sam I Am when I started on the show back in 2018. It was such a treat to get to draw for an adaptation of my favorite Dr. Seuss book, and I’m now a hero to my nephews and niece.
What do fish sellers and cartoonists have in common? They both fill paper with fish.
Here’s a page from my sketchbook that I drew during a fall visit to Kitty Hawk, NC. I’ve spent a lot of time in the Outer Banks over the years beginning when I was ten years old. Ironically, I don’t fish when I’m there, but I have been known to do some crabbing once in a while. Take that however you wish.
My friend James Martin teaches at the Ringling College of Art & Design in Sarasota, Florida, where they are currently having an exhibition of work by a cartooning hero of mine, Jack Davis.
Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture shows a variety of Jack’s work over a 60+ year career and will be on display until December 6. What James alerted me to, is that an illustration I did as a gift for Jack thirteen years ago happens to also be in the exhibit!
If I’m not mistaken, it looks like the drawing to the left of mine could be an original Mort Drucker sketch, and on the right might be a Dan Piraro. Yikes! Heavy company to be in.
Let that be a lesson to you, kids – when you do a doodle for a friend, make sure it is the best doodle you can possibly do. It just might end up in a museum!
By the way, HERE is a very complimentary review by Marty Fugate in the Herald Tribune newspaper that shows some of Jack’s work in the show. If you are in the vicinity of Sarasota, Florida, get out to see this show!!!
Just a little Pooh and Piglet enjoying a naturally nutritious breakfast on this fine Saturday.
They say it is Inktober beginning today – the month when many artists post an ink drawing each day. I don’t generally participate since I usually shake my fist at bandwagons, but I’ll likely have a few other ink drawings scattered around the next 30 days as I often do each month.
For an Inktober drawing to be valid, it has to be inked with genuine, real ink. None of this digital stuff. Donald here was inked primarily with my trusty ol’ Pentel brush pen, and a few other mechanical pens. Somehow, I managed to not require any white-out.
Today is Jim Henson’s birthday. He would have been 83. Never had a chance to meet him, but sure have been appreciative of his imagination.
I actually tried getting work at the Jim Henson Company after graduating from university, but alas, never did get hired. At least it led to a visit at the Henson brownstone offices in Manhattan that no longer exist. What a thrill to a kid ready to take on the world, however, my path eventually led to a career in animation instead of puppets.
This ink drawing was worked up in my sketchbook, then scanned and colored in Photoshop.
By the way, back in June during my travels on the east coast of the United States, my mother and I stopped by the campus of the University of Maryland, Jim Henson’s alma mater, where we posed for a picture with him.
