The Chad Frye - Illustration GuyWhile one might not consider a pig to be a traditional monster, this one qualifies due to his indiscriminate use of that axe, and the fact that he smells pretty foul.
Inked traditionally in my sketchbook, and painted digitally in Photoshop.
The distant foreboding peel of the distant clock tower was morosely muffled by the early morning fog seeping between the dark alley ways and lonely streets of ye olde London masking the nocturnal movements of those that go bump in the night. Do you know where YOUR children are?
Trolls aren’t so bad. Sure, they may eat you, but they like tasty cuisine just as much as the next foodie out there.
Trolls will prepare their meals with the best seasonings they can grow under billy goat gruff bridges where they hang out, and are sure to cook at just the right temperature for just the right amount of time for maximum tenderness.
Who can blame them, really? No one likes to have to throw out a dish and start all over again. It’s so wasteful of food.
Another monster has invaded my sketchbook, probing its pages for cattle to mutilate. Next it’ll start drawing crop circles on the blank pages. Good times.
Just doodling around the other day, and this creature spilled forth. Things took an ugly turn when I decided what to have him chomping on.
Truly monstrous.
I hate to disappoint, but I decided that this year I won’t be doing my usual Monster Month series through the month of October. Typically I post a new monster drawing each weekday during this month, but things have been just a little too busy with some freelance projects, and being full-time on a new series for Warner Bros. based on Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs & Ham book. (Oh yeah, I haven’t really announced that in a big way yet. So, guess what I’ve been working on lately?)
ANYway… I may post the occasional monster here and there this month, but it won’t be an onslaught this year. That being said, let’s kick off October 1st with a new version of my favorite creature that goes bump in the night, Dr. Frankenstein’s monster!
Had some time between storyboards the other day to just let my mind and hand wander. This was the result.
I’m still playing around with some digital brushes in Photoshop, and recently worked up this painted sketch with a gouache look.
It’s kind of fun trying to play around with broad strokes and tones rather than the endless noodling I do when I paint traditionally. Also, painting digitally allows me create subtle color builds MUCH easier than when trying to paint traditionally. However, at the end of the project, there is no original painting. It only exists in the ether.
For this drawing, I reached back into my brain thinking of the style of great European comic book characters such as the original Smurfs and Asterix for inspiration. I always LOVED that kind of art style, which seemed to be seldom utilized by American cartoonists.
Jack is a super tiny Englishman being confronted by the giant who really is the victim of a home invasion when you think about it. You’d be upset, too, if some punk kid slid under your door to eat your food and steal your golden goose all from right under your nose. Fe to the Fi to the Fo to the Fum.
