WEIRDO-BOY

Blue Robot - Night Fishing

2012-01-19T08:14:00.000-08:00

I've been working on this Blue Robot story for the last 2 or 3 years. I have about 15 different panels started. Want to start wrapping them up during the next few months. This one was started 3 years ago. I wanted to wrap this up and then move on to a few of the others.

Preparing For the Snow, Cold and Slushy Weather

2012-01-18T08:13:00.000-08:00

The cold really set in last night here. Used the opportunity to visit some ideas that were bouncing around in my head. Thinking about posting this by the front door as we prepare for a little bit of snow over the next couple of days.

Hothy Holidays: Part II – Wampa Returns

2012-01-06T12:46:00.000-08:00

Second part of my holiday card set, all inspired by the Empire Strikes Back and the planet Hoth.

Odin!

2012-01-05T09:28:00.001-08:00

I'm starting the year by wrapping up some older projects that I never finished in 2011. Here is Odin, this was really rough and I think I became bored halfway through work on it. I sat down and powered through it last night. I've also added a few of the others from the series.

Hothy Holidays: Part 1 - Star Wars Viper droid

2012-01-03T09:10:00.000-08:00

Posting a few Star Wars inspired cards I created for Christmas this year. I wrapped up a few gifts and used these as labels for my brother and other Star Wars obsessed fans. I love the Empire Strikes Back, and the Hoth playsets were my favorite as a child. Inspired to create a theme of Christmas on Hoth cards. First up: the Viper probe droid decorating a tree. I tried to get all the legs to look good, but I think even with that he felt a bit static. So I added a small "happy shape" on his top. That seemed to add a bit of holiday cheer that was missing.

The Family Tree

2012-01-01T20:22:00.000-08:00

A quick post for the new year. Just wanted to post a holiday illustration I have been working on. Sadly I'm taking the tree down tomorrow afternoon. Needed to add some type and design to this, but haven't found the time (and it's a bit too late to mail anything out now).
More to come in 2012.

RoboPup vs Homework

2011-11-10T07:16:00.001-08:00

I've been using the last few weeks to dive into my archive of old/unfinished work and finish some concepts. This is RoboPup that I worked on a for a Back to School project at Marshall Field's in 2005. I wanted to take a shot at updating the color and final design a bit. Here's a progression of designs...

Fast Food Fun Time

2011-11-09T11:29:00.000-08:00

Still working on a whole series of Fast Food Fun Time. Here are a few more of the recent pieces. Posting this for IllustrationFriday, this week's theme is "stripes".

Scary and Not-So-Scary new work.

2011-10-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

A few new Halloween ideas. These bats have been a lot of fun. Working through a few different versions. Changing up the colors and trying to find the right balance of fun and scary. I also revised a mummy from last year. I had to clean up some detail and work on giving him some hands. Looking to add some type/copy treatments to both of these. Repost coming soon...

Halloween Countdown!

2011-10-26T19:28:00.000-07:00

Oh my... the last few months have gone by so fast. I've been busy working on a few side projects along with my full daytime gig. I've been working on a few new images just in time for Halloween. Most of these will become cards for sharing. I'll post a few more in the days leading up to the 31st.

Happy Halloween!

Captain America VS. Red Skull: Part 2 - Finals

2011-08-01T22:12:00.000-07:00

Finished up working on the Red Skull with the cosmic cube. Worked mostly in Illustrator and then switched over to Photoshop to build up a stronger intensity. I've been working with a very subdued and earth tone palate lately. It was a good change. I wasn't completely happy with where Captain America ended. I revised a few things and then made a new composite featuring the two. Much happier. I'll sleep a little better tonight.

Captain America vs Red Skull part 1

2011-07-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

My idea this summer was to illustrate something from each summer movie I went to. I started with Thor way back in May. I did make it to "The Hangover 2" and "X-Men: First Class" before my vacation in June. I really fell behind. So I picked up where I left off last month and wanted to make a few new pieces from "Harry Potter" and "Cowboys vs Aliens".

First up...Captain America. I want to combine this with a Red Skull piece that I'm still working on. I love working with the iconic shield, so I made sure to get that in there. The Red Skull had to have the cosmic cube, so there is a preview of that here too. More to come later on...

A Summer Sun's Obsession for Ice Cream

2011-07-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

I battled the sun last week and tried to eat some ice cream in the 100 degree heat. After about 1 minute I had drips running down both sides of my hand and all over my fingers. And then "plop", the bar fell right off the popsicle stick. Sun 1, Chad 0.

So this week's theme is "obsession". I'm thinking the sun is really obsessed with having some ice cream. Unfortunately it can never get close enough before it just melts away.

Food Friends

2011-07-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

It's been a hell of a busy month (summer). I haven't had a really good chance to post much lately, even though I've been cranking out a ton of new work in my free time. I've been working on a few new projects since returning from my 2 week trip through Iceland/Copenhagen/Prague/Berlin. The real sad thing is that I lost my sketchbook on my Delta flight from New York to Minneapolis. I carried that with me for all 14 days and it was full of some new ideas and sketches. I'm hoping it appears soon. My name was on the back and I filed a "lost and found" document with Delta. Fingers are crossed.

Here are a few submissions for this weeks Illustration Friday theme, "Gesture". Playing with faces, reactions between some fast food elements. I will have more posted at my site in the next week.

LEGO Chad and Nate: The Adventure Continues

2011-06-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

We are having a great trip. Berlin has been an amazing place to discover. We rented bikes and traveled as much through the city as possible in just over 2 days. One minor injury: my front tire lodged inside of a rail on the road. Flipped me head first over the front. We have a photo, but it's locked on the camera. Need to wait until we return home to the U.S. to post that one.

I can't wait to make it back here someday, there is so much more to see.

Illustration Friday Post - Shadows

2011-06-09T18:05:00.000-07:00

I'm using this image for Illustration Friday this week. I'm currently on vacation in Europe and using Lego Chad and Nate for daily updates on our activities. Since the theme this week is "shadows" I wanted to post this from our 3AM walk home in Reykjavik, a lot of light and a lot of shadows.

See the full photo story here.

Lego Chad and Nate on Holiday in Europe

2011-06-09T17:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been trying to update this blog with a new illustration post every week this year. I failed on that resolution around March. Here is something a little different from my usual work. I'm currently on vacation with my friend, Nate. Since we both love photography, design, web, social media...the list goes on...I thought it would be fun to create little LEGO characters of us and photograph them along the way. We are halfway through our trip. We landed in Reykjavik last Friday, ended up in Berlin the last 3 days, and now we are packing for Prague and then Copenhagen/Malmo.

Here is part 1: Lego Chad and Lego Nate in Reykjavik.

"TAXI!" Leaving Minneapolis

Arriving at JFK. I lost my hat on the plane:(

In Flight. Ready to land in Iceland. We so excited.

Walking to the bars at midnight. It's still bright out.

Viking beer? Gotta have one.

This is what a 3AM walk home from a Reykjavik pub looks like.

Outside one of the fabulous city pools.

Outside the Hallgrímskirkja church of Reyjavik

Relaxing near a thermal pool.

Journey up to the Perlan Museum viewing deck.

ATV tour of the volcano fields

Where did Nate go? I did get lost on the trip for a short time.

Climbing up lava rocks, looking for the perfect photo. It was really windy and steamy.

Ended the day with a trip to the Blue Lagoon. Perfect.

THOR!

2011-05-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

Ugh! Somehow I forgot to post these here 2 weeks ago. I had started a post and I fell asleep before finishing (in bed, and NOT at my desk). Well, I was getting excited for the Thor movie so I geeked out for a week and worked on these illustrations. I had a few others designs started for Odin and friends. I'll post later this week.

Getting Soaked.

2011-05-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

Another weekend gone in a flash. I had this illustration idea on Friday and didn't have time to work on it until tonight. The theme for Illustration Friday is "soaked", and that pretty much sums up the weekend. A lot of thunder, lightning and rain. It actually made for a good excuse to head over to the Minnesota SpringCon today and make some nice purchases. I designated Sunday evening my night to stay in and get this finished and posted.
I have a few other things I'm working on right now and hope to post them during the next couple of days. And then I have to start packing for my 2-week trip to Iceland/Germany. So much to do and prepare for. I better get cracking on it now. Enjoy!

Duet

2011-04-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

I'm wrapping up an event at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. It's been a great time full of many new inspirations. I worked on a piece for Illustration Friday, wanted to post today. The theme for the week is "duet". I'm thinking the sun and moon singing their rendition of "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off".

Stir Up Spring

2011-03-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

Thinking spring. My Twins season tickets arrived on Thursday. And we're moving the clock forward an hour tonight. Hoping for some ice and snow melt in the next week. I can't wait to see some grass and throw out the BBQ as soon as I can.
Continuing with my "bugs" theme this week. Here's a little bee that is stirring up some spring pollen.

Warning! 8 Eyes Are Watching.

2011-03-04T15:43:00.000-08:00

Whew. End of the week. I'm outta here.
This guy is my security guard while I'm gone.

Swarm of Cute

2011-02-27T22:14:00.000-08:00

I just blinked and my weekend was over. I really crammed a lot into the last few days. On Friday I had my first official babysitting duty with my 20-month old niece. She's starting to learn to draw so I spent a good hour drawing puppies, kitties, butterflies and stars. By the time she finally went to bed I was absolutely wiped-out and totally justified my being able to sleep in until 10 on Saturday.
Tonight I worked on my Illustration Friday project. The theme this week is "swarm". I thought a swarm of cute critters would be fun. I had a couple of these in my back pocket, but it was fun to revise them again. And speaking of cute critters... I am fortunate with my day job to work with some really talented folks. One of them has this fabulous site full of wicked cute characters. Check it out!

A Night of Sketching

2011-02-17T22:33:00.000-08:00

Worked on a few sketches for an Illustration Friday project tonight while watching "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World". I really liked that movie and wished I'd gone to see it on the big screen last summer. Loved the bold graphics and type that were sewn in throughout all the different scenes. It inspired me, and I began to doodle with big hand scrawled letters and playing with really rough edges. Busted out my color pencils and worked on some craft paper.

I think if a robot is wearing a sweater you can count on 4 more weeks of winter. Without it, his processor freezes up and everything goes "BZZT!" Reboot.

One more round of cards.

2011-02-14T14:39:00.000-08:00

Okay, I lied. I had a few other cards that I thought would never be finished. But here they are, in all their cheesy glory. Time for me to check out for the evening. Enjoy!

Super-Happy-Valentines: Part II

2011-02-13T22:28:00.000-08:00

I just finished a couple of new Valentine's Day cards. These would have posted earlier today, but I had to get out and enjoy a beautiful February afternoon. This did give me a chance to spend my night finishing up Dexter Season 4 and catching a few minutes of the Grammys (woo-hoo, Arcade Fire!) I must admit, I did have some help brainstorming a few captions for these (thank you, Em). I think this will be it for the holiday. I'm getting tired of working with just pink and red.
Happy Valentine's Day.

There are fronts and backs for attached below.

Super-Happy-Valentine's part 1

2011-02-12T20:12:00.000-08:00

I spent my Saturday morning working on a few Valentine's Day cards. Taking some previous illustrations and redesigning them for something new. I've also included the fronts and backs of each design. Print them out, stick them together, share them on Valentine's Day. Even more designs to come tomorrow.

Robo-Cowboy Part II: Revenge of the Robo-Ranger

2011-02-09T22:40:00.000-08:00

Okay, I thought about this all week. I've had 2 things in my head for the last few weeks: robots and cowboys. Must be a combination of a lingering robot project and then going to see True Grit for a second time.
Last week I submitted the "High Noon Surrender", but I didn't really have an idea of what, or who, he was surrendering to. The theme this week is "reverse", so I'm giving the reverse view from last week. The Robo-Ranger has tracked down our rogue robot hero.
A few thoughts I had. Originally this was going to be a group of rangers. One was shot in the leg and a few others were silhouettes. It became really cluttered for a small image. I simplified it down. I prefer the idea of 1 hero and 1 nemesis.

I'll post more sketches and other parts in the next few days. I'm having fun developing the story. More to come...

Mr. Dingle Berry Logo

2011-02-07T13:15:00.000-08:00

I spent my weekend preparing for a Super Bowl party. In between cleaning and shopping I worked up a logo for a friend. Yes, it's kind of goofy, but just what they wanted. These are the 2 final options.

High Noon Surrender of the Robo-Cowboy

2011-02-03T20:29:00.000-08:00

One of my best friends, Josh Norton, has an amazing collection of woodcuts on his Etsy site. I was browsing through them last week and he inspired me with his cowboy work. Check out his store, I think the Sasquatch meets Cowboy print would make a wonderful Valentine's gift:)

I hit the sketchbook and worked up my own Cowboy themed idea. I've been having fun working with this robot during the last few weeks. Who wouldn't love to see a robot cowboy with a quick draw? I'm not sure who he is surrendering to yet, maybe next week's theme will give me an idea for part 2.

Gotta go. Need to start cleaning this house in time for a Super Bowl party. Where's my robot when I need him?

Robo-Cowboy by Chad Albers

Dusted and Rusted

2011-01-24T22:41:00.000-08:00

I'm continuing with my robot theme this week. Another piece I started a year ago and I'm having fun reworking these to a point I'm happy with. Just recently went back to revisit my sketch book with the main story and sketches. In a few weeks I'll fix up the entire series and post them together.

ENTER: CHEFBOT!

2011-01-22T23:32:00.000-08:00

I received a slow cooker for Christmas this year. As geeky as this sounds, it's seriously the best gift ever. A big "thank you" to my sister for knowing just what to get me. Somehow, I really screwed up my first attempt with chili. I didn't have a recipe to go by, so I mixed and matched a bit of this and a bit of that. Topped it off with Tabasco sauce and cheese, and voilà, I have...spaghetti sauce? Ugh, major fail. Since then I've improved, and tried out a pot roast and pork chops recipes. Not bad, I'm getting better.

But you know what would make my cooking even better? A ChefBot. That's right, ChefBot. Complete with 800 recipes for any occasion: breakfast, lunch, dinner, appetizers, Thanksgiving, Italian, Thai, Mexican, BBQ and many more. And that's not all! If you order from WeirdoBoy Industries in 30 minutes, we will throw in the "Brewmaster", "Wine Connoisseur" and "Fire Safety" programs absolutely free!
I can dream, right?

Haven't I Done This Before?

2011-01-13T21:14:00.000-08:00

Big Harry strikes again. Yes. This was one of my first blogs from last year. I always wanted to revisit the final and work with the color and detail a tiny bit more. A fun experiment with some new Photoshop brushes and simplifying other parts of the work. I'm happy with it now. I'll leave it alone.

Actually, I think I'm done with big monsters breaking down cities for a while. I'm going to focus on a few other projects over the next few weeks. I have a really big presentation coming up on March 31st. I need to speak and present on my life as a designer to a lecture hall full of students. I'm all excited and nervous. Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to talk about.

Illustration Friday - Winter

2010-12-27T12:16:00.000-08:00

Christmas hangover. Traveling way too much and back to work today. Whew. Gathering up a few winter and holiday themed images. I'll keep adding more to my page during the next few days. And here I thought I was done with Christmas.

FESTIVUS - 2010

2010-12-21T12:05:00.000-08:00

I think I'm fully recovered from a crazy weekend of shopping, partying and just plain being merry. I hosted my 7th Annual Festivus party on Saturday evening. Another fun evening of food, friends, holiday sweaters, mustaches, music and dancing. I created a poster for the event. I didn't have time to create full size prints, but I used this on all of the invites and trivia cards. Hopefully next year I can print a few off and hand them out for prizes.

Illustration Friday - Mail

2010-12-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

Preparing for this weekend’s holiday party, and posting a submission for this week’s Illustration Friday topic, “mail”. This is how I feel right now with my deliveries for Christmas. I’m tracking them, but for some reason they are just sitting in Sacramento on the way to Minneapolis. Ugh. I need them by Tuesday or it’s going to be a bare Christmas morning for my niece and sister. Maybe it’s being delivered by snails.

Illustration Friday: Prehistoric

2010-12-09T14:14:00.000-08:00

Dinosaurs were my favorite thing when I was about 5. AND they still rock my world. I'll get sucked into any dinosaur program on TV. So I was really excited to see the them was "prehistoric" for Illustration Friday. I had some fun, it was just like being 5 again.

Draw and Cook: Egg Nog Milkshake

2010-12-06T14:14:00.000-08:00

I was so excited this afternoon to find my illustration posted over at theydrawandcook.com I was going to submit a recipe on making the perfect White Russian, but I'll save that for another time. Or maybe there will be a new site for they draw and drink? Hmm...

Illustration Friday - Savour

2010-12-02T11:24:00.000-08:00

Combining a few illustration elements from the last few days. I’ve been busy working on a few different projects for Christmas and parties. I have a few more illustrations to post in the next few days. I’ll see how this weekend goes.
Even squirrels find time to savour the holiday season with a cup of egg nog. If only they made it all year round.

Holiday Foods – Work in Progress

2010-12-01T07:06:00.000-08:00

I’ve been working on a post for TheyDrawAndCook.com
A lot of time during the past few days working on some characters for my recipe submission. Here is a preview of sugar, ice cream and holiday mug.

Bacon Cheddar Biscuits

2010-11-23T09:05:00.000-08:00

Revisiting an illustration from earlier this year. Just can’t get the song “Bacon Cheddar Biscuits”, er… “Taking Care of Business” out of my head. Loading this up with some new shirts over at zazzle really soon. I’ll be posting an update with some new work right around Turkey Day:)

13 Spooky Monsters - 12, 13: Burning Buddies

2010-11-19T00:08:00.000-08:00

Tying the last 2 monsters for the month into this week's Illustration Friday theme: burning. I couldn't decide on which to post, so I'm putting them both online. The first "little burner" is accident prone. And the second guy is a 20 foot monster. He likes to tapdance, which sort of explains the socks and shoes. There's a better story, but I'll save it for a future post. Now it is bed time.

13 Spooky Monsters - 10 & 11 Mr. Feathers and Concessions

2010-11-18T23:51:00.000-08:00

Even monsters need day jobs. This guy eats half of everything he sells. The second illustration is a revamped illustration from a previous project. Never had time to add full-color until now.

13 Spooky Monsters - #9: Twin Tricksters

2010-11-18T13:01:00.000-08:00

Whoa. The last month has been absolutely crazy. I fell off the grid for a few weeks as I adjusted to a new role at work. Plus, I had a ton of sketches to scan in, clean up and then start adding some color to. I’ll be posting the remainder of the work tonight and tomorrow. Then I’m going to take a break as I work on a project for a friend’s beauty salon. I also need to get back to turning in a few items for Illustration Friday.

This conjoined monster was really excited for Halloween this year. One was thinking “superhero”, while the other was thinking “villian”. Stitch their costumes together for the perfect hero/foe pairing.

Illustration Friday - Racing Monsters

2010-10-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

We're just a few days away from another Halloween night. The best part is handing out the candy to all the neighborhood kids that go racing up and down our street. Hopefully we'll have another night of good weather this year. For this week's illustration I wanted to bring in part of the "monster" series I'm working on. Imaging monsters getting dressed up in costume and then racing up and down the streets on Halloween night.

13 Spooky Monsters - #7 and #8

2010-10-28T23:05:00.000-07:00

Wow. This week keeps getting busier. I still need to find a few more elements for my costume before Saturday night. Well, since I fell behind, I had to change my countdown to a list. So I'll be completing the list of 13 Spooky Characters during the next few days. I'm having fun imagining monsters dressing up for Halloween. They would probably have fun trick or treating and picking out costumes.

13 Spooky Days – #6: Jack-O-Lantern

2010-10-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

It’s just not Halloween until you:
1- find the perfect costume
2-carve yourself a Jack-O-Lantern
Reworked something I illustrated over a year ago. Tried to improve it with better colors and textures. 7 more to go! I think this might make for some nice Halloween cards next year.

Target - Elixir Lab

2010-10-26T13:56:00.000-07:00

Sharing a few images from the Target event I designed. It was an after-party for the Motivation Show, held in Chicago this year.

13 Spooky Days - #4 and #5

2010-10-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

Catching up on a few illustrations I struggled with over the weekend. A Swamp Creature seemed like the perfect add to the list. I sketched a few different ideas and just couldn’t find the right look until late Sunday night. So I worked on 2 different options. One looks like a creature that’s been eating way too many catfish from the swamp. The second was starting to look like a sleestak from “Land of the Lost”, so I kept tweaking him a bit until I was happy. For fun, I added a B-movie title to create a 3rd option.

13 Spooky Days - Day 3: The Creepy Tiki

2010-10-22T07:48:00.000-07:00

I’ve been on a Tiki kick as of late. Had some fun with this illustration. I stumbled over what to call the poster, but I liked the sound of “Creepy Tiki”. Looking forward to spending some time working on new ideas and themes this weekend. Running out of the conventional monsters: vampires, mummies, werewolves. So I'll have to start exploring some new creatures and keep posting.

The Elixir Lab

2010-10-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

I’ve been falling behind on my illustration posts, but for good reason. I spent the last 3 weeks working on about 20 elements for an after-party Target was throwing in Chicago. The event was held at the Sable Kitchen and Bar after the Motivation Show. The decor in the restaurant is focused around beakers, test tubes and other scientific elements. We themed the event designs around “solving the equation for health and happiness”. The event had the usual great food and drink, but also focused on pharmacy, healthy food options and well-being. Here’s a sample of the designs. I’ll post some photos from the event later this week.

13 Spooky Days – Day 2: WOLFMAN!

2010-10-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

Cold wind was blowing leaves around the yard this evening. Instant inspiration for a very fall-themed illustration. Had to get wolfman into this countdown. Here’s a great fact: 2 of my favorite movies: Teen Wolf and An American Werewolf in London. Actually, I’m going to sit down and watch one of them tonight when I get home. I’ll probably chose the latter, so scary and good, it just might mess up my good night’s sleep.

13 Days of Spookys - Day 1: Vampire

2010-10-18T22:40:00.000-07:00

Day 1 of my 13 day countdown to Halloween. A vampire I worked on a few years ago, and never really did anything with it. So I decided to revamp the entire illustration. I think the only thing I kept from the original is his eyebrows. I could have gone crazy with a splatter brush, but there’s something nice about just a little trickle of blood running down his chin. This is also my submission for Illustration Friday, the theme of course being “spooky”. I’m going to be adding a few new illustrations each day of the week, so please keep checking back.

An Old Fashioned Poster

2010-09-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

Wrapping up a really great, but crazy-busy week. I’ve been creating and designing a ton of graphics for an upcoming party in Chicago. So my nights have been limited to coming home, eating dinner, going to bed, waking up, repeat. And somehow within that time crunch I made it to a couple of birthday parties, a wedding and a few beautiful nights at the ballpark.
After all of that I became very inspired to find a new project for this fall. I’m working on a series of monsters and strange creatures just in time for Halloween. Since this week’s Illustration Friday theme is “Old-Fashioned” it seemed the perfect way to kick this off. I like, I mean LOVE, the old classic monsters: vampires, mummies, werewolves and Frankenstein creatures. So here is the first in my old-fashioned monster series, The Mummy.
I created a color version, and then converted to black and white for something I am liking a bit more. Check them out below…

I Dream Of Pancakes

2010-09-15T22:57:00.000-07:00

Working on 2 different projects this past week, amd I found a way to combine them for Illustration Friday. The topic this week is “proverb”. I’ve also been working on a baby onesie for a friend at work, “pancake” being the theme. And then I found the perfect proverb “He who goes to bed hungry dreams of pancakes.” Seems to be the perfect fit to tie these together. Here is a series of pancakes that I dreamed up this week.

Illustration Friday - Dessert, but not Desert

2010-09-08T22:50:00.000-07:00

Just completed my Illustration Friday submission. Funny thing happened on the way to finalizing this post. I went to the website last week to check the topic. I typed "desert" into my phone. Sketched a few ideas and then started a final illustration. Then at 10PM tonight I went back to the IllustrationFriday.com site and realized the word was actually "DESSERT".
What? Ugh. I thought I could postpone my submission until tomorrow, but I realized:
A) Tomorrow is Thursday and I work all day, and...
B) Thursday night is Vikings vs. Saints. I'm not going to miss that one:)
So I put together a quick submission tonight. I guess I can use this as a birthday card for whoever has a party next. And I'll keep my fingers crossed that the word of the week is "desert" sometime very soon.

Illustration Friday - Atmosphere

2010-08-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

This week has been crazy. A lot of work came my way at the day job. I was also posting my 10 favorite Minnesota State Fair foods for the last 10 days. Took a lot of late nights and dedication, but I finished them. I joined them all together for this bus trip and the Party “Atmosphere”. Actually, they all set-up the atmosphere of the fair pretty well, so I include a BIG jpeg of the full ten all together. Looking forward to my trip there tomorrow.

FINAL DAY! Minnesota State Fair Countdown - #1

2010-08-24T22:07:00.000-07:00

Counted down 10 foods in days and I had to end with my favorite, the pronto pup (or corn dog). At the fair this makes the perfect breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner. And yes, I'll take ketchup AND mustard. See you at the fair!

Minnesota State Fair Countdown - 2 Days - French Fries

2010-08-24T16:19:00.000-07:00

I couldn’t complete this countdown without a big cup of fries. When leaving Midway I’ll grab a cup and watch the fireworks from the parking lot. Perfect way to end the evening.

3 days – Minnesota State Fair Countdown: Pickle on a Stick

2010-08-23T15:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, somehow pickle on a stick made it onto the countdown. Not sure why, except that it sounded funny, and I wanted to draw a pickle…on a stick. I’ve never made it a priority to hit this booth, but everyone at the office raves about it. My office is going to the fair on Friday and I’m sure I’ll be forced to buy one. I’ve also heard about a pickle dog: a pickle wrapped in prosciutto with cream cheese (on a stick, of course). Actually, that sounds pretty good. I’ll Add it to the list.

Just 2 more illustrations to go. Can’t wait to wrap up this project on Wednesday.

Minnesota State Fair Posts! 4 and 5

2010-08-22T21:50:00.000-07:00

Getting this posted with just 25 minutes left on the day. Wow. I left town yesterday morning to visit my parents, play some golf and enjoy a nice weekend. Returned home today just in time to take a nap and then head out to a ballgame. So I cranked this out in the last few hours of the night. I was influenced by some seed, corn and flour sacks I found at the fair last year, I've attached a photo I shot. Only a few more days...

Minnesota State Fair Countdown. 6 days!

2010-08-20T16:06:00.000-07:00

Getting this posted between work and play. Today’s featured food is cotton candy. My mom can’t leave the fair without a bag of cotton candy for their long drive home. So this one was created just for her.

Minnesota State Fair Countdown. 7 Days until Mini Donuts

2010-08-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

One week until the Minnesota State Fair. So close, I can almost smell the mini donuts from here. I was worried I wouldn’t have time to finish the illustration for today. Spent last night at Target Field cheering on the Twins. They won, but traffic was crazy when I left. Spent a late night working on Mister Mini Donut.

State Fair Countdown - Soda Pop

2010-08-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

Continuing with the countdown. This one features a bubbly soda. You need something to wash down all the other tasty treats. I prefer the homemade lemonade or the root beer barrel locations. Just remember to please throw your cup in the appropriate bin.

The Stargazer

2010-08-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

This week's Illustration Friday project. I avoided creating a vector image with this. I was happy with my sketch, so I just played with color all around. I revisited my robot once again. Here he is laying down in a field, gazing upwards. I think he's been this way for years. He rested here a long time ago, it rained and then his gears rusted up. But he seems to be content.

Minnesota State Fair Countdown - Sno Cone

2010-08-16T23:39:00.000-07:00

Second in the series, and I already started tweaking my idea. At first I thought I would use the same format for all 10...same font + a new ribbon for each. Then I found the ribbon was becoming too forced. So I'll see what happens by Wednesday's post.
Today's focus is on the classic sno cone. Cheap paper cone. Shaved ice. Colorful flavor. Oooh, instant treat. Not my favorite from the fair, but it's high on nostalgia. So here he is, Sammy the Sno Cone. I kept hearing his voice while I worked on the final. I imagined it as a high pitched and happy voice, but he's cussing like a sailor at the hot sun.

Sketchbook - The Stargazer

2010-08-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

Busy couple of days. I spent yesterday afternoon watching some late summer baseball and sketching a few ideas for a few of my projects. Started with my "stargazer" here. Thought I'd share for this week's sketchbook view. Honestly, I'm a bit afraid of what to do with this now. So I'm going to try and have a lot of patience with it. I'll post the final by the end of the week. Great weather for late night work. Cool temps, windows are wide open and I'm listening to this album from Camera Obscura. I love August nights.

Minnesota State Fair Countdown – 10 days out.

2010-08-16T14:14:00.000-07:00

I’m counting down the next 10 days until the start of the 2010 Minnesota State Fair. I’m posting a new illustration each day, counting down my top 10 faves of the fair. Today’s pick is cheese. Throw a rock and you’ll hit a booth offering cheese at the fair. Cheese curds, cheese on a stick, cheese fries, cheese…um…cake (on a stick). Here’s to you Mr. Cheese.

Cage Match!

2010-08-11T22:23:00.000-07:00

I loved 3 things as a kid: comic books, baseball and professional wrestling. My favorite wrestlers were Andre the Giant and Ricky "The Steamboat" Dragon. If they were on TV, everything else stopped. One day my grandfather brought over one of the WrestleMania videos. Not sure which one, but it featured Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy, in a steel cage match. Hulk escapes, he wins, match over. It was the greatest thing I'd ever seen. So here's a little tribute to childhood nostalgia.

Sketchbook - Attack of the State Fair Foods

2010-08-10T19:29:00.000-07:00

This is the first of a new challenge I've tasked myself with. I'm going to try and do a weekly post (or posts) from my sketchbook. Just to share any random idea or possible project I'm starting. I just wrapped up a busy couple of weeks with 2 mini-vacations, a wedding weekend, some baseball and a few rounds of golf. AND I'm proud to say I've completed all of these things with just a mild sunburn.
Sadly, summer goes by way to fast in Minneapolis. But the best way to close the summer is with a trip to the Minnesota State Fair. Where else can you choose between 100 foods on a stick, catch some live music, check out wildlife, view a freakshow, take-in some seed art and then hit a beer garden for a local brew? And you can do all of this while wearing elastic-waisted pants and a neon fanny pack (okay, not so much me, but this seems to work for so many other people).
So I started working on this project for my office. We'll be making a trip together on the 27th. To help people remember I'm creating a 10-day reminder, based on 10 of the top foods you have to get when there. I'll post finals here starting next week. Until then, here is a sample of the sketches I've started.

The Fisherbot

2010-08-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

Wanted to share another image from my Robot (much better title still to come) series. It fits in really well with this week’s topic, “artificial”. This is the part of the series where the robot partakes in some activities to feel a bit more human. He’s feeling sad, but his reflection tells him there are better times ahead. Yeah, that’s a really brief summary. I promise there’s a lot more to the story than that. I’ll be posting more soon!

Double Scoop for Summer

2010-07-27T22:36:00.000-07:00

I’ve been working on a series of animated ice cream cones for a series I’ll start posting next week. 95 degrees outside with storms, so I spent a few hours working on a “double” themed cone illustration. Conjoined scoops melting away under the hot sun. The orange one is enjoying the summer sun, while the green scoop is suffering from a bit of heat exhaustion.

BREAKFAST ROCKS!

2010-07-21T08:23:00.001-07:00

Here’s an illustration I finished for this week’s illustration friday project. I started this concept a few weeks ago for my friend’s birthday. Made a special shirt for his 30th birthday (I’ll post those later:).
We were at a bachelor party last summer in Northern Wisconsin. Our group ended up at a local dive bar. It didn’t offer much; 10 stools around the bar, dartboard, pool table and a small jukebox. But what they lacked in atmosphere they made up with cheap beer. Our group sang along to the songs from the jukebox, and we found the need to insert the word “bacon” into every song. Probably because our diet for the weekend consisted entirely of beer, more beer and bacon. My favorite song of the night was turning BTO’s “Takin’ Care of Business” into “Bacon Cheddar Biscuits”.
That being said, I give you now…the Bacon Cheddar Biscuit band. Breakfast rocks.

Nice iPhone. Can I break it?

2010-07-12T21:05:00.000-07:00

Monday night. Great night to relax and put the pen to paper. The theme for Illustration Friday this week is "diary". I've been carrying this sketch journal with me all year. Each week I try to fill in a few new images with ideas, thoughts or recaps of events.

This past weekend I went to an outdoor festival here in Minneapolis. Half-way through Guster's set I made a very stupid mistake. While waving my arms in the air, I accidentally knocked my friend's iPhone G4 out of her hands. Brand new phone, just over a week old. Somersaulting through the air, landing with a face plant on asphalt. Ouch. There was a 2-second pause where we just stared at it, laying face down in a strange techie crime scene. I picked it up and dusted off the face, it looked good...except for the bottom right corner. Right next to the main button was a 1/4' chip, looking like it had been shot with a bb gun. I kept brushing the glass thinking that if I did this enough, maybe it would reveal a magic iPhone fix.
Fast forward a few days. I found 2 different solutions. Upgrade my iPhone plan, trade in my 3GS for a new iPhone 4, give that one to her, and I'll take the chipped one. Or option 2, we may have found someone that can replace the glass for a little bit of money.

Either way, I'm never dancing at another concert ever again.

Here's my rendition of the damaged phone from my journal. Left hand side was created after a night of storms, another story for another time.

Monsters Need Water Coolers Too.

2010-07-08T22:36:00.000-07:00

This was going to be my original submission for Illustration Friday, but I was running out of time this week and submitted a different illustration. I had a bit of work to wrap-up on this guy before I was happy with the image. It’s been a hot and humid week, not that I’m complaining, the AC is on full blast and it sure beats 30 below in January. This giant guy has been busy stomping around, now he needs a quick break at the water cooler. Then back to work spreading slime around the town.

GIANT for Illustration Friday

2010-07-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

I really struggled to get something done in time for Illustration Friday this week. The holiday weekend really zapped me out of all energy. I worked on a few sketches and ideas, but they just weren’t feeling right. So I reached into the past year’s vault of work and found this giant furball. Harry the Giant Furball. This guy is in search of water in the big city on a hot summer night. It’s hot under all that fur.
I’m going to turn up the AC tonight and work on my other concepts. Stay cool.

8 Dancing Tentacles

2010-07-01T09:37:00.000-07:00

Cranking out some work before enjoying a long 4th of July weekend. The theme this week for Illustration Friday is "satellite". I was working on this octopus for the past few days. This was started on Monday with a sketch for a charity coloring book, but I quickly turned this into my weekly project. Added some little satellites around him, bubbles in orbit, moving in a whirlpool. Here's the sketch and the final color.

SLICK WILLY!

2010-06-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

Here’s a follow-up to my post from last week’s Illustration Friday topic. I had 2 versions for this. The previous one was the happy whale in blue waters (shown below), the other is the not-s0-happy whale swimming in the dirty oil-slick waters. I updated the blue version with a new orange sky, it was a bit too monochromatic for me.

I’d like to do something with this combined image. I was so inspired by this blog, http://ripplesketches.blogspot.com/ I’m going to work on getting this listed over on their page. Maybe a series of 10 postcards or illustrations. I’ll post when something happens.

Here they are individually and also combined in a third image below.

The Summer Party Animal

2010-06-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

I Spent the last couple of nights working on a “paisley” themed illustration. Monday was a good night to sit outside, grill some food, open a couple of beers and work on some ideas. This week became a two-parter illustration. At first I worked on a paisley pattern that turned all the paisleys into little creatures. I thought this would make a fun shirt pattern, especially if you were a monster at a summer party. So I sketched up this furry guy, Vern, and dressed him in the paisley-party shirt. And completed the party ensemble with a refreshing cocktail and tasty turkey leg. Party on.

Hyde in the City

2010-06-21T14:25:00.000-07:00

Capped off a long (but fun!) weekend with a reworking of an illustration I started many years ago. I’m revisiting a large collection of old sketches and drawings that were Halloween/Monster themed. Still organizing this for a current project. Having a blast, and this is just a rough start. Posting more in the next few days…

What a Whale!

2010-06-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

Tornadoes were rolling across the state tonight as I worked. So I may have been a bit distracted as I watched news reports, NBA finals and worked on my Illustration Friday project. The theme this week is “Ripple”. It’s been heartbreaking to watch coverage week after week of the gulf oil spill. At first I was going to make something with oil spill and sadness, but I think we’ve seen enough of that. So I went with a happier route for now. I may post the oil-spill version later this weekend. I’ll see how things go by Sunday.

The Mayor Has Been Burgled!

2010-06-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

Just finished a piece for my friends over at the Burger Quest Blog. Actually, I worked on 2 versions. This is the more grotesque ketchup version. The other kept a happy looking burger, but I don’t think I’ll post that one today. Each month they feature a new logo/design for their trip to a local Minneapolis burger joint. Check them out: burgerquestblog.wordpress.com

Bring out your inner freak.

2010-06-17T15:01:00.000-07:00

We just had a work event to raise money for our annual charity. This year’s them was “carnival”, so our group created a freakshow. The idea was to paint some really rough looking canvas posters that mimic the old freakshow posters from old time carnivals. I created some additional menu posters for customers to choose their freak from. They bought tickets, we photographed them and they chose which Freak to become when we put it all together.

I even dressed up for my role as a carney. Fresh pizza stain and all. Take a look…

The Tortoise and the Hare, Part 2

2010-06-10T21:07:00.000-07:00

I missed about 2 weeks worth of posting new work. I had planned on posting something last weekend on Friday morning, but I had to pack for my weekend trip to Denver. I made it back on Sunday, and checked out this week’s topic. The theme is “trail”. Seemed like a great time to revisit the second part to my “Tortoise and the Hare” illustration I started a few weeks ago when the topic was “Ahead”. I sketched up a pudgy little hare in some sweet looking running gear:) He’s Falling behind and eating the Tortoise’s dust. I messed around with some background colors, but then combined the 2 topics for a final image in orange. Check them out…

The Godfather

2010-05-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

Working on a new project this weekend. Hope to finish this up in the next few weeks. I wasn't going to start this yet, but it's raining out today and that means no ball game on TV until later on. This guy is starting to look like the godfather of monsters. Just needs a nice suit.

New Characters Old Paper

2010-05-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

So, I was supposed to spend Thursday night working on a friend’s wedding “save the date” cards. But when I turned on my computer I found these 3 new figs waiting for me that I’ve been working on. Trying a new style. Probably going to crank a few more out similar to these during the weekend, after the other project is done of course.

Paul Bunyan is Living in the Suburbs

2010-05-22T08:23:00.000-07:00

This week’s them for Illustration Friday is “equipment”. I have been watching the History Channel lately. On Sunday I was watching the latest episode of “America: The Story of Us” which focused on the building of the Statue of Liberty and the first skyscrapers in NY. I was thinking about the excitement around these achievements back then and the risk people took when building them.
Somehow, with the Statue of Liberty in mind, I started thinking of the Paul Bunyan statues that are scattered around our northern Minnesota towns. My parents brought me to a Paul Bunyan themed park when I was 6. You would sit up by his gigantic tapping foot and get your photo taken. My parents would give a park worker my name, and then a deep echoing voice would say “HI CHAD”. Of course this would freak me out and I’d try to run away, tears streaming down my face.
So with this week’s illustration I brought Paul Bunyan to the suburbs. People in Minnesota love the folklore of Paul and Babe. I was imagining somebody just getting out their tools and carving the biggest statue they could, right in the middle of their suburb.

Attack of the Black Jellyfish

2010-05-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday project. The theme this week is: Fearless. I worked on this early in the week, but this has been a crazy past few days. I’ve been putting in some long hours at the day job.
As usual, I’m playing iTunes in the background as I work. One thing I realized on Monday and Tuesday was I kept listening to the same albums over and over (Julian Casablancas, Bon Iver and Beach House) . I have a part of my music library at work. About 20 GB, equals out to 10.3 days of listening time. This is only part of it. My home computer is 120 GB and over a month of non-stop listening. So I decided to set my music to “BY ALBUM” and start at the beginning. From A-Z, for the next 10 work days I’ll go through my entire at-work playlist. I started on Tuesday evening. But somehow I’m still on the A’s. I guess the Beatles “Anthology” collections took up a whole day on their own. Made my way through “Appetite for Destruction” and “Armchair Apocrypha” and some Arcade Fire today. What a weird mix this makes. Just one of the reasons that I love iTunes.
Oh yeah, so the theme is “fearless”. And I was having fun creating some underwater scenes early in the week. Last week I saw 2 things that got me thinking. Went to a preview of Iron Man 2 last Wednesday and was geeking out over one of my childhood faves. And then I saw an old scuba helmet on the show “Pawn Stars”. Combine them together for a new fearless underwater hero facing down a bloom of the deadly black jellyfish. Um… yeah… I need a name that sounds a bit more fierce.

The Tortoise Outruns the Hare

2010-04-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

Started working on my IllustrationFriday.com post a bit earlier than usual this week. I’m heading to Chicago on Thursday morning to catch a couple of games at Wrigley Field. So excited for a few days out of town!
This week’s theme is “Ahead”. Just thought the tortoise and the hare could be a fun start. Here the tortoise is an all-star, and leaving the hare somewhere back in his dust. I think I’ll add a second panel in the next week or so, an overweight hare crawling along the path. Too many carrot cakes perhaps?

A Sunday of Organizing.

2010-04-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

I spent Sunday condensing 3 external hard drives down to 1. Went through a lot of older files, some good and some bad. Finally finished organizing at 8PM tonight. But after having an external die last month I wanted to make sure I had everything in a common place. And now I have to remember to keep backing this stuff up.

Found a few older images that were worth sharing. Although I did update the colors on a few of these to make them feel a bit brighter. I think I was using an old monitor the first time around.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY - DETECTIVE!

2010-04-22T22:32:00.000-07:00

It's late at night here. Wow! Tonight flew by. I was finishing this up while listening to some new music from The National (awesome!) and watching the NFL draft. Waited 3 hours just to have the Vikings trade their 1st round pick with 2 minutes left.

I have to admit, this week's "DETECTIVE" theme was really tough, but fun. I was visiting a friend on Saturday evening. Since it was his wife's night out, we drank some beers and watched MonsterQuest episodes on his TIVO. I was laughing at the Lizardman of Georgia, but then there was a bit on Bigfoot. Of course there were footprints. As always. So they made some plaster casts and found they were most likely wood planks or something.

So that leads me to this illustration. I imagined a Sasquatch hiding out it the woods and trying to throw any investigator off of his trail. I was working on the addition of the hunter/explorer/monster-quest-type-of-detective, but found him to be obtrusive wherever I put him. And then I began to have fun with just the footprints and the thought of them going in circles. Up into the trees. Forwards and backwards. Happy it's done, but I'm sure I'll revisit the idea in the future. I added some of the sketches on my previous post.

Now I'm going to watch some Ghost Hunters and go to bed.

oodles and oodles of doodles

2010-04-22T22:18:00.000-07:00

Okay. I'm getting this in for Illustration Friday right at the deadline. I've been sketching an idea for the past 4 days trying to make an idea work. This weeks theme is "detective" and I was looking for a good story to tell. I found it, but then I was having issues making it come alive. Sketching and scanning. Repeat. I really worked this idea to death, and then at the end I dropped a part. I'll post the final tonight still. The idea was to do something fun with a Sasquatch and him avoiding the hunter using some detective skills to track him in the forest. At first I hated my Sasquatch. So I redrew him, a couple of times. Then I was REALLY hating the hunter guy. So I dropped him. But in the end I had a fun sasquatch black and white piece that I liked. Maybe I can use this on some cool fabrics, leather, whatever. Or just as a logomark somewhere.

Okay... here is a peak at the sketches.

Pocket Sketchbook

2010-04-14T22:18:00.001-07:00

Working in my new pocket sketchbook. This goes everywhere with me lately.

Illustration Friday – LINKED

2010-04-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

This week's theme for Illustration Friday is "Linked". I brought out the canvas and acrylics for a little work on this theme. I worked on 3 new works. It has been about 2 months since I've painted anything. This work is more abstract in thought compared to my past few submissions, but ties into the overall story for my blue robot.
Once upon a time he was the brand new model, the top-of the-line robot that was used by every human. Fast-forward 10 years and he is outdated, starting to rust and searching for a new place in society. Since he is no longer desired as a robot, he tries to find a link with humanity and blend in with them. To start this transformation, he creates a generic heart, inserts it into his chest and hopes to feel a change.
I'm still working on the larger series of these paintings. Hope to have a large amount of them completed during the summer.

Illustration Friday - "Dip"

2010-04-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

Relaxing on a nice spring evening. Working on this week's Illustration Friday project and listening to a ball game in the background. This week's theme is "dip". I already worked on the food theme 2 weeks ago with spoiled, so I avoided the chips and dip ideas. Didn't feel like I could pull an illustration of dancing out of my head tonight. So I settled on this little sea-monster. No skinny-dipping after 2AM please.

Little Stinker

2010-03-25T06:35:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday for this week. Category was "expired". Inspired by my refridgerator.

Eggies Sketch

2010-03-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

Coming to an Easter egg hunt near you.
Found my original sketch on my external HD.

Illustration Friday – SUBTERRANEAN

2010-03-17T23:14:00.000-07:00

Just returned from a great St. Patty's day evening. A couple of Guinness in my belly and a whole lot of inspiration. I've been wanting to participate in the illustrationfriday.com weekly blog. This week's category was "subterranean". Went through the ol' sketch book and dug up a sketch of these egg creatures I worked on a couple months back. Created a little underground nursery and reused a few old textures from an old scan. Now I need some creative names for the little guys.

BUGS and FLOWERS and BUGS

2010-03-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was actually feeling like spring here in Minneapolis. That led to a little late night inspiration on Sunday night. And daylight savings always messes up my sleep schedule, so I stayed up working. Here are a few finals for a nature/bug series. I had worked on the bee and flower previously without any background. Needed a bit more depth, so I scanned in some faux fur, cardboard and used the textures for some backgrounds and skies. Also pulled in an old star pattern I'd worked on from 2007 and used that for one idea. There are a few more ideas for this series I'm working on. I think they'll be a bit darker in color and help to balance out the lady bug with these brighter ones. Hope to add them soon, at least before the baseball season starts.

FIRST NEW CHARACTER FOR WEIRDCITY

2010-03-09T17:34:00.000-08:00

It's been a while. I've been working on an assortment of crazy new projects. A lot of sketches and beginnings of some final work that I'll be posting soon. I've also been working on a new cast of characters that will live in the Weirdoboy cartoon, or within Weirdcity. This dude looks like Frankenstein meets car salesman. More to come.