Beware the fire “breathing” dragon that is dangerous both as he comes and as he goes, so to speak.
If that was the bluebird of happiness, we’re in trouble.
And thus concludes Monster Month for 2017. Twenty-two beasties from my drafting table to your eyes. I hope you enjoyed them once again. These are always fun for me to draw, and almost all were drawn just for fun.
As always, I am available to be hired should you have a project requiring my abilities, whether it is a monster or something else. There is plenty of variety of subject matter on my blog, and also over on Instagram where I post regularly, too! I’m chadfrye_illustrationguy over there.
I can be reached at chad@chadfrye.com with serious inquiries. I have illustrated children’s books, magazine articles, and regularly work in animation as a character designer and storyboard artist.
How does that saying go again? “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”
Well, today’s monsters have something old that we are borrowing for this year. Do you recognize that monster on the bottom with the little tyke pulling his hair? That was a monster I featured in full color last year (which you can see by CLICKING HERE). It was an inked drawing from my sketchbook.
I never did show you the whole page from that sketchbook last year, so it seemed like a good idea to bring it back complete with the two menacing monsters leering above the family duo. Just some blue was added in Photoshop to give the ink drawings a little extra pizzazz.
Really, drawings like this don’t haunt my dreams. Maybe because I get them out while awake.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
