A year or two ago I had some doves take up residence on my back patio. I had a clear view of the nest with their eggs, and was excited to eventually see the little bald babies freshly experiencing life. Watching the parent caring for them was a bit of a thrill while over the weeks they were growing and strengthening. I was hoping I’d be around to see them leave the nest, but it was not to be.
I imagine as they each stepped up to the edge, they donned their crash helmets and knee pads as any sensible little winged monster would when they are about to attempt their first flight. And just in case they can’t summon up the courage to take that initial leap, momma is there ready to give them the boot.
A little encouragement can go a long way – and hopefully not the long way down.
So, please enjoy this momentous occasion in the life of every young winged beastie as portrayed with genuine ink and colored with Photoshop. Should you care to see it slightly larger, just click on the image!
This little fella surfaced as a doodle in my sketchbook last year, and I decided to take him to my desk where I HAND INKED him, then colored him in Photoshop. He just seemed like the kind of little guy that needed to be let out of those pages to breathe. Just don’t let him breathe on you, of course. No telling what kind of cooties he has.
Maybe the alternate title should be “The Can Opener” with those teeth!
By the way, I only stress the “hand inked” part above because of something that happened to me not too long ago. I was visiting a friend at Dreamworks Animation one day, and had my portfolio with me. A couple of college-aged art school interns working with him were also there, and they asked to look at my art while I continued conversing with my friend. When they finished looking at the goods, they asked something that really startled me – “What program did you use?”
“Program?” I asked, “Well, I colored a few of those things in Photoshop, but everything was drawn by hand on paper or painted with real paint.” The look of astonishment on their faces was priceless, although, I probably was equally astonished that they weren’t being taught the fundamentals of art at their school. All they knew was the computer.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love working on the computer, too. I am often called on to do so for work in the animation industry, having even recently done some storyboarding on a Cintiq tablet monitor (for those of you not familiar, it’s a computer screen you can draw on with an electronic pen). It’s just that I LOVE to draw and paint on paper. Both have their own looks, but when I work traditionally, at the end of the day I have a genuine real piece of art in my hands. That is infinitely more satisfying than just saving a file that disappears from view when you shut off the computer.
Hope you enjoy this little traditional/Photoshopped hybrid. At least part of it can be found on some nice Bristol board in my studio. The colored version disappears for me just as quickly as you clicking on the next web page.
As the swift cool breezes of fall waft through the amber leaves of the neighborhood trees, it delivers the delights and mischief of creatures strange and mysterious who venture out to taunt all good citizens like yourself. (Well, here in Los Angeles the temperatures hit 113°, so the leaves are amber from having been burned.)
Welcome to the return of MONSTER MONTH here on the Chad Frye • Illustration Guy blog! I have been busy like a mad scientist hunched over in his laboratory slinging pencils, ink, paint and pixels to terrorize and amuse you each day during this fine fall month of October. You will get to see a variety of approaches to the beasties as some are watercolor paintings, others fully rendered ink and Photoshop cartoons and illustrations, some pencil drawings, and others are simply doodles and sketches from my sketchbook.
To kick off the month, here is a piece I created with ink and Photoshop using myself as a model for the Wolfman that reminds you that while some things may go bump in the night, there may be other reasons why you would have to watch your step….
Last winter I had the opportunity to meet and chat with actor Joe Mantegna for a few minutes. I’ve always enjoyed him in various movies such as The Three Amigos , Baby’s Day Out, and one of my all-time favorites – Searching For Bobby Fischer. It was at that moment that I realized I had never seen his current TV show Criminal Minds.
Here in Los Angeles, Criminal Minds seems to run every night on the Ion Television channel, as well as periodically on A&E and CBS – sometimes all three at the same time! It’s ensemble cast works hard to capture the weekly criminal who can’t seem to play normal in society. As I was watching with my sketchbook in my lap, I started to doodle one of the show’s other headline stars, Thomas Gibson, who made himself known a few years back on the sit-com Dharma & Greg. While that was a comedy, somehow on Criminal Minds Thomas is continuously stoic in his demeanor, never cracking a smile. His uber-seriousness was something my pencil had to try to capture. I later finessed the drawing a bit at my desk adding color on the computer with these results….
Thomas Gibson with enough intensity in his gaze to crack open a walnut.
One of these days, perhaps I’ll go back and sketch Joe Mantegna as well since he sort of got this whole ball rolling.
Over the course of what feels like a very short career despite having been a member of the full-time creative field for 16 years, have drawn in many styles to please many clients. That is what a freelance illustrator/cartoonist does. You always bring a little of yourself to the table, but if somebody needs Yogi Bear, they don’t want him to look like Mickey Mouse. You need to work cohesively with the other players. I get that.
Over the past number of years, the animation business has adopted the philosophy that if an artist’s portfolio does not look like their product, the artist must not be able to draw their characters. And if they think there is a glimmer of hope in the pencil wielder, the studio will require a remunerationless drawing test that usually is a good week’s worth of work. In essence, they make the artists try out for the team.
Perhaps these ideas came along because artists would lie on their resumès, or maybe it’s because hiring is usually handled by human resource agents that don’t truly understand the drawing process. I don’t say this as a slam on them by any means. With budgets being slashed, with many animation jobs leaving our borders, and with a local workforce greater than the amount of available jobs, companies want to know if you can draw what they need. I just wonder why, when a resumè has legitimate claims of having drawn things as diverse as characters for Disney, Pixar, Warner Bros., Hanna Barbera, Mercer Mayer, Fisher-Price, and superheroes that one would assume that artist cannot draw new things? Just last year I was turned down for a job with the stated reason that they didn’t think I could draw their characters.
So, that being said, when I apply for a new job in animation, I try to find out a little of the style of a show and see if I can quickly add some drawings to my portfolio that would key the bosses to the fact that I can draw their characters. They need to know that I can play ball with them.
The following is an example of just that. You’ll notice that this baseball boy is not exactly like the style of my other personal work here on the blog. He was created as a part of my portfolio customized for a job application earlier this year. Started as a rough sketch in my sketchbook, he then became an inked drawing with some color added in Photoshop for good measure. I didn’t get that job, but I did have fun trying to broaden my horizons a bit.
This baseball boy is a rough sketch taken directly from the pages of my sketchbook.And here’s a more finished look at the sketch. Click on the image to see it larger!
Ironically, despite what I wrote above, I didn’t have to “try out” for a character design position I currently hold. Based on the reputation of my past work, I am grateful to be helping bring Zhu Zhu Pets toys to life in the animated realm. Sometimes the resumè and a good pitch from colleagues alone can help get the game play going. Then you have to step up to the plate and prove you deserve to be swinging the bat.
A few years back I was asked to draw a fake comic book cover to be used on CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men. In television, deadlines are tight, so I pretty much turned around that first image in a couple of days which is no small fete considering I wasn’t up on my Manga techniques. They liked it so much they asked for two more. It was a busy few days to be sure.
At any rate, the episode turned out to be memorable for fans of the show. It involved a subplot with Charlie Sheen’s character needing to write a theme song for an animated TV show based on these Oshikuru comic books. I’m including some clips down at the bottom of the Oshikuru moments where you can see my comics in the shots, and a couple of stills.
As you may know if you have read recent blog posts, I have been involved with raising money to Help the Hodges via online eBay auctions. You can read all about the family in need by CLICKING HERE. But I mention it again here because I have donated some really nice large prints of two of my Oshikuru covers that have been autographed by the 2 1/2 men of Two and a Half Men – Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus Jones. These items are on eBay RIGHT NOW, and will end this Sunday, March 21.
So, if you’d like a chance at an unusual item from my flat files, and autographed by a few TV stars, here’s your window of opportunity. I posted links to eBay below each signed print below!
Charlie Sheen signed it at the top, Jon Cryer in the lower right, and Angus Jones on the left.
Angus T. Jones looking at an “Oshikuru” comic on the set of “Two and a Half Men”.Jake and Uncle Charlie high fiving each other while working on the “Oshikuru” theme song. Some comics sit on top of the piano.
Welcome to this, the final day of MONSTER MONTH here on the blog. It has been a fun 31 days of monsters, and I thought I’d cap it off with a doozy for Halloween!
If you are at all familiar with the story of Frankenstein, you would know that the monster has a fear of fire. But what truly caused that fear? I mean, at some point, he must have been okay with it, right? Something had to set him off. Oh, there may be some paltry explanation in the pages of Mary Shelley’s tome, but I believe that the true moment when the monster’s fear was born came in the laboratory one fateful day.
I suppose that along with fire, one might fear Dr. Frankenstein after this incident. Igor only approaches him from the front these days.
Thank you for joining me this month. I had a blast drawing MONSTERS of all shapes and sizes. If you enjoyed it as much as I did, feel free to leave a comment here on the blog!
If you happen to find your way to a hot, steamy Louisiana bayou one day, keep an eye open for the Bayou Beast. This kind of evil has terrorized the Spanish moss laden woods and swamps of the South for many hundreds of years; an evil carried from father to son for generations among the ranks of the beasts. Although, sometimes it does skip a generation.
BEHOLD! The ultimate EVIL Bayou Beast snarling and snorting and stomping his way through the steamy sludge of the Southern outdoors – and Jr!
