The Chad Frye - Illustration GuyI sometimes wonder what it would be like if aliens invaded the old west of America. Yeah, yeah, I know there was a movie called Cowboys & Aliens which was a fascinating version of how things could have gone, but I require just a little bit more silly in something like that. Silly as in, “What would a gunfight look like where one is armed with four arms?”
Perhaps this is how it would have gone down, by way of ink and gouache on tan paper…
Last month a new version of Stephen King’s It was released in the movies. I have not seen it. Despite enjoying creating monsters all the time, I embrace the silly, not really the spooky. Also, I remember seeing the television version of It back in the early 90s, and it ruined me. So, no thanks to any new scares.
It was the television version that I returned to for inspiration for this birthday card I made for a friend this past summer. Tim Curry’s version of the creepy clown Pennywise has done more than its share of damage to my dreams thank-you-very-much. So, here’s my silly ink and watercolor version for Emily’s birthday card…
This little guy may seem like a Romeo at first glance, but he was actually created on a sympathy card for someone who lost a loved one that was very much into monsters. So while many of these creatures can be silly and intended for vapid entertainment, once in a while a monster can reach out to say, “I’m sorry.”
I’ve been sketching a LOT of monsters in my sketchbook this year. So, you’ll be seeing more sketchbook pages than usual in this year’s selection of creatures that go bump in the night.
Here’s one such page of some creatures that came forth during one of my trips abroad. These guys were sketched in pencil in the freezing, wintery depths of Russia this past January! You wouldn’t want to encounter one of these fellas in the dark or it would be dosvedanya to you!
Here it is, the first post of 2017’s MONSTER MONTH!!! For the first monster of the month, I thought I’d post one that was actually published this past year!
I was asked by Frank Pauer, the editor of the University of Dayton Magazine, to reimagine the university’s mascot in a sci-fi way. Frank asked a number of artists to do their own versions based on different themes, but sci-fi was definitely up my alley. Any excuse to include a monster, right?!
So, created entirely in Photoshop utilizing my handy dandy Cintiq monitor, here is my Dayton Flyer attempting to deliver a basketball against an opponent who couldn’t care less about fouling.
Guess what Monday is?
If you guessed October 2, you would be correct, but more than that, it is the start of Monster Month here on the ol’ blog. For many years now, each October I like to post a new monster sketch, drawing, painting, or illustration every weekday during the month that are fun, silly, and meant to be enjoyed by all ages.
I also will be posting these pieces of art that go bump in the night on my Instagram account. If you are on Instagram, be sure to follow me @ChadFrye_IllustrationGuy to keep up with the creepfest! Or, feel free to CLICK HERE if you want to see my Instagram page on the web.
So, get ready! Monday will be here sooner than you think!
I rarely promote other people’s Kickstarter projects here on my blog, but boy howdy, I’m excited about this one!
My friend Greg Preston is a photographer. Over many years he has been taking photographs of cartoonists, illustrators, and animators in their home studios. His first collection of them was published in a beautiful coffee table book by Dark Horse Comics a few years ago called The Artist Within, and was a huge hit at San Diego Comic Con where it had its debut.
Well, Greg is ready with his second batch of photos and has decided to self-publish them in a second volume called The Artist Within 2! I am excited because I love Greg’s work, and can’t wait to see more friends and colleagues portrayed in this way.
The second big reason I am excited is because I will be in this book, too! Yep, a few years back, Greg came to my place and took my photo for his collection – the SAME DAY that he took a photo of famous illustrator Drew Struzan!
Other such great folks in the book are Ollie Johnston (one of Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men), character designer Stephen Silver, fantasy illustrator Donato Giancola, The Family Circus‘ Jeff Keane, his brother and former Disney animator Glen Keane, John Lasseter, Disney animation director John Musker, comic book guys Steve Rude, Carmine Infantino, animation director Chris Sanders, and the list goes on. He even has the world record holder for longest working cartoonist, the 96 year old Al Jaffee who continues to do the fold-ins for MAD Magazine. I feel very honored to be in such company.
Here’s the Kickstarter video describing the book:
So, the book itself is a real prize, but there are also extra special things you can pick up through this Kickstarter that the artists have been donating – things such as this one-of-a-kind original art I created with ink, watercolor, and colored pencil!
Or perhaps you’d like the opportunity to acquire one of three prints of my Frankenlisa painting, prints that have never before been offered for sale. I chronicled the step-by-step making of this painting here on the ol’ blog back in 2009 (CLICK HERE for a refresher), and it just so happens to be the painting sitting on my drafting table in my photographic portrait that will be in The Artist Within 2!
So, please consider pre-ordering a book through Kickstarter so this amazing tome can be published. I plan to order a few myself! You only have until April 27, 2017, to do so! Here is the handy-dandy link: The Artist Within 2!
This past weekend, the legendary Bernie Wrightson passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was a true master of the macabre with his monster work for comics and movies, with his take on an illustrated Frankenstein in 1983 being a benchmark that few have ever achieved with ink and paper. His work was simply inspirational.
I first met Bernie at the first comic convention I had ever attended back in the mid-90s. It was HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC. I was brand new to the business, and was spending the day with my friend Jim Scancarelli, artist/writer of the Gasoline Alley comic strip. We attended a dinner for all the invited pros (of which Jim was one) hosted by the convention coordinator Shelton Drum. Jim and I sat with Green Lantern creator Marty Nodell and comics legend Dick Giordano. Bernie was there, too, and I was thrilled to meet him. He was very gracious to the new kid in the room.
While my path did not take me down the road of comic books, animation called me away from the east coast to the sunny San Fernando Valley in the Los Angeles area. A few years later, Bernie also moved to the area where it was a thrill to get to know this giant a little bit better at various local industry events.
At one point, I became the president of the local Comic Art Professional Society (CAPS) where it was my duty to bring in guest speakers for our group of professional cartoonists. Bernie graciously accepted the invitation to come speak one night, and once in a while would drop in as a spectator for some of our other meetings just being one of the guys.
Perhaps the most fun I had around Bernie was at a dinner party we had been invited to. It was an anniversary party of some mutual friends of ours, and I got seated at the best table because Bernie and his wife Liz were there, too. To my right was movie director Ryan Schifrin and his wife Theresa, on my left was Frank Darabont, to Frank’s left was Bernie & Liz, amazing designer Greg Aronowitz, and I believe writer David J. Schow and his wife were sitting there, too. You may be wondering what a table full of creative people talk about at dinner – just about anything and everything would be the answer. It was such a pleasure to be in the company of these folks eating, laughing, and telling tales to each other late into the night.
While I had always hoped a little of Bernie’s talent would rub off on me, especially since I love drawing monsters, I will just have to settle on being the humorous cartoonist that I am, and remain in awe of Bernie’s greatness. (If you don’t know his work, do yourself a favor and Google him NOW!)
Feeling a little inspired yesterday, I thought I’d sketch this creature in Bernie’s honor.
