The Chad Frye - Illustration GuyToday’s entry for Monster Month is a piece I actually posted in 2019 on Instagram as just line art, and that’s how it remained for two years. It is an ink sketch from a sketchbook that every time I flipped to it, that hypnotic stare kept calling out to me in a raspy creepy voice, “color me!”
So, I took this zombie and his pet rat into Photoshop to see if a little color would make him even MORE creepy. I think it worked.
A proper cone for the monster who is lactose intolerant. Kinda looks like it might be mocha flavored.
Ink in a sketchbook with Photoshop blandishments.
No, this is NOT about Hannibal Lecter. THIS Red Dragon is literally a dragon drawn with a red pencil complete with drool.
It would take a VERY brave orthodontist to stick his/her hand into THAT mouth to try to straighten things out.
This guy doesn’t chew his food really. Each row of teeth spins counter to each other like a series of saw blades in order to chop up his food. It must work like a charm, because the fella doesn’t look like he’s hurting for a meal.
The only real trouble is having to floss three rows of teeth after every meal. All this guy has time for is floss, then eat, floss, then eat. It’s worth it in the end if he never has to get dentures some day.
Ink, watercolor, and gouache in a brown paper sketchbook.
A couple of years ago, I was working for Warner Bros. on the animated show Green Eggs & Ham that airs on Netflix. I was in that Seuss mode of drawing, and started wondering what a Dr. Seuss Cerebus might look like.
Now, Seuss was known to have drawn lots of inventive creatures in his books, so it is entirely possible that he has already drawn a three-headed beast that guards the gates of the underworld. I really don’t know if he did or not. Seems like he could have easily included it in Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
So, I decided to take a stab at it. This was the result:
Well, it’s Wednesday. Are you hitting that time in the week where your eyes are glazing over staring at the computer screen you are working on? Are you wondering when the weekend will finally get here? When you will feel the sweet release of freedom?
Hey, every job has its exciting and boring moments. Just imagine the guard standing at his post with nothing to do but keeping an eye out for intruders. But then a butterfly comes along to distract him, causing him to daydream about flitting off himself to a place of deeper personal fulfillment.
Ink, watercolor, and gouache in a brown paper sketchbook.
Every time Monster Month comes along, I make sure to include at least one version of one of the most enduring and interesting movie monsters – the one Dr. Frankenstein cobbled together from used parts.
Last year I had just started a new sketchbook while sitting in an airport. The guy sitting next to me struck up a conversation, and after a while, he nodded towards the sketchbook and asked what I did. Told him I was an artist. He asked to see the book, into which I had only done about three rough pencil sketches so far. These variations on Frankenstein’s monster were the first page, but keep in mind, they were super rough pencil lines without much detail. They were not intended for anyone’s eyes but my own at that point. He took one look at them and kind of slowly said, “Oh.” Ha! I’m sure in his mind he was like, “suuuuure, this guy draws for a living.”
Later when sitting comfortably at a drafting table, I inked these up properly, and added a little hint of color digitally. Frankie’s monster really is just a misunderstood zombie, so it was fun to play around with head shapes and looks that weren’t entirely the stereotypical thing to find the soul of the creature, and to prove to that airport stranger that I really can draw.
Hey, if a dragon can have a pet dog as posted here a few days ago, why can’t a little girl have a pet monster?
Honestly, if this guy wanted to get away, he probably could, but sometimes certain creatures enjoy a little domesticity. What’s not to like? Three squares a day, maybe a little belly rub, and lots of naps.
An inked drawing in a sketchbook, colored in Photoshop.
By the way, I have visited this idea before. Think of this as maybe an alternate version of this Monster Month entry from 2017 that was a colored pencil/watercolor paint piece.