The Chad Frye - Illustration GuyHere in the States, today is our Independence Day! In 1776, our country’s founding father’s sent a little ol’ letter off to our landlord, King George III of England, stating that we didn’t want to pay him rent anymore. Back then they “celebrated” with a war. Today, we celebrate with parades, barbecues, and fireworks with friends and family.
Today is my last day at Warner Bros. Animation. For the past year, I’ve been proud to be a part of the story team on Green Eggs & Ham that will be unveiled on Netflix sometime in the fall.
It has been a thrill to work on this show, especially since the book of that same title was my favorite Dr. Seuss book when I was growing up. I remember my mother even making for me green eggs and ham for breakfast one day. Ended up that I didn’t like them, Sam I am. My little brain thought the eggs tasted like spinach.
Netflix hasn’t revealed too much about the show, so I’m not at liberty to do any Green Eggs specific art. Since that is the case, it seemed appropriate to commemorate my dear departure from WB in a more Looney Tunes worthy manner – why not go out in style a la What’s Opera Doc?
To paraphrase Bugs in the original cartoon, “Well, what did you expect in animation? A happy ending?”
– Yann Martel (1963 – present)
My sister reached out to me last week, and told me that her two-year-old wants to be Batman, but he refuses to drink his milk. She told him that Batman could only be big and strong because he drank HIS milk. My nephew didn’t believe her.
Hoping this visual helps him understand that even superheroes need their calcium.
News broke not too long ago that a new Space Jam movie was in the works, this time featuring Laker’s great LeBron James. A search online says they are shooting now, and the film is due to come out in 2021. All that animation is going to take some time for sure!
A couple of friends recently went to go work on the film, which make me wonder what it might be like for LeBron working with legendary actors such as Bugs Bunny. LeBron has acted a few times, but this might be his biggest role yet. Bugs might have to give him a few tips on how to be a movie star.
No word yet on the title of the movie. Hoping it’s not Space Jam 2: Electric Boogaloo.
I did a couple of illustrations for the February 2019 issue of Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse Magazine that is out now. Thought I’d share one of them today.
My two spot pieces were created for a page of jokes that the kids themselves sent in. This giraffe piece goes with the question, “What do you call a royal giraffe?”
The answer? “Your Highness,” of course!
Care to see a couple of close-ups?
In case you are curious, these were created entirely in Photoshop on a Wacom Cintiq. I’ll share the second illustration for Clubhouse later this month!
Here’s hoping that the new year brings joy and delight in your personal pursuit of carrots.
By the way, just as a curiosity fact, this was penciled in the Los Angeles airport, and inked in the Vegas airport. (The Vegas airport slots have no power over me when I can make my own fun like this.)