SPUDVISION

Brave

2011-12-09T13:22:00.000-08:00

I did this piece over a couple of evenings for a charity auction for the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. I'm pretty happy with the colors otherwise there are some other issues that I would treat differently if I allowed myself some more time. I expect I'll take another whirl with this character. Her name is Merida, the lead from Pixar's "Brave" coming out next summer. It's a project I've been involved with for quite a while, also known as my "day job".

Acrylic and Prismacolor 8 X 20

--Starchie

The Li'lest X-Wing Pilot

2011-09-06T00:17:00.000-07:00

At the risk of further ratting myself out as a kit basher or doll maker here's another impulse project. This little person head came extra with a Billiken vinyl Saucer Man model - supposedly depicting an actor who wore one of the Saucer Man costumes in the old movie.

I painted the head with acrylics, cut down the limbs on a reissued Captain Action body to give him the right proportions and used the X-Wing pilot costume from a cheap Hasbro 12 inch Luke Skywalker.

The whole thing didn't take more than an evening. If it had it probably wouldn't have been finished, and isn't it a much better world to have such things in it?..... Well...?

--Starchie

My Li'l Monkey

2011-07-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

At the risk of ratting myself out as some kind of kit-basher I occasionally decide to mutate one toy into another.

I used to keep the normal version of this monkey doll in my car to wave at kids in other vehicles. At one point I had steel marbles in his eyes which gave him kind of a friendly terminator effect.

Then suddenly one day I decided to cut his face off and replace it with a a Super Sculpey version which just happened to be the right color so I only needed to add a little acrylic wash to it to pull out the detail. I used plastic teddy bear eyes behind the mask and actually wired the eyes to light up if I someday choose to add a battery pack to his forearm.

Standing upright on a doll stand he glares hatefully at me from the corner of my studio.

--Starchie

Love Them Monsters

2011-06-27T08:31:00.000-07:00

If you've spent any time looking through these pages you already know that I love to draw monsters. I've drawn a lot of monsters and other characters in various capacities over the years. These are concepts for an unrealized feature project.

Pencil, smudge stick and marker - 8 1/2X11

--Starchie

I Love to say Monkey

2011-06-21T08:19:00.000-07:00

Sometimes an early character design is like a first draft of a story. There are some obvious choices made and much unrealized potential. I still like this little painting but it's the first draft of this character. His design and backstory has changed since I did this painting. Hopefully I'll get to share some more of him with you in the near future.

Acrylic 8X10

--Starchie

PotO

2011-04-10T00:15:00.000-07:00

Can't stop drawing the Phantom of the Opera. These were drawn last week during a hugely important meeting. I have stacks of them numbering in the hundreds. I might compile them in a book, use them to build a shelter or paper the walls of the cabin where I write manifestos. Prisma and Tombo pen Each 8 1/2 X 11

--Starchie

The Kid

2011-03-23T13:23:00.000-07:00

Here's my part of an overdue barter exchange. It'll be nice to finally have it off the books. I wanted to do some kind of pulpy western cover but cute. Or as cute as I can manage. I like working in garish colors, maybe from growing up looking at Basil Gogos Famous Monsters covers. It's more of a challenge for me to go more neutral which I might try in my next piece.

Acrylic 8 X 11 1/2

--Starchie

BUY ME!

2011-03-17T00:20:00.000-07:00

Posting this image again because the auctions have gone live this week.
Click here for this one. Check out all the pieces - there are some really great paintings up for auction and the proceeds go to a good cause.

ART BLOCKS FOR GHANA AUCTIONS

--Starchie

The Bloody Lip

2011-03-02T13:43:00.000-08:00

Speaking of Monkey Island; here's a rough sketch from one of the backgrounds for LeChuck's Revenge, the Bloody Lip Bar in downtown Wood Tick. Due to my severe brain cel loss and lead poisoning I don't tend to remember the names of these locations or much about the creation of these backgrounds, except that they were to be done in markers, so this one is a value sketch to spot the light source and shadows in anticipation of doing the final color art.

I do remember adding the ropes and hardware in the right foreground, thinking it would be fun to have the character pass behind those elements to create depth. Also I would look for opportunities to add fun details like the spitoon with overshot loogies all over the doorframe. I also liked adding anachronistic elements like the 50's era jukebox which sadly appears not to have made it into the final background.

Pen and Marker 8X10

--Starchie

A Stone Monkey Head

2011-02-22T14:30:00.000-08:00

I don't see this one online right now. It was painted for The Adventurer, LucasArts game fan newsletter. When we drew the screen art for Secret of Monkey Island we had only a handful of ghastly colors to pick from, hence the blue green Monkey Idol in the game. For that reason as well as the tiny characters it was always fun, when I had a chance, to draw Monkey Island concepts the way I thought they should look.

Pen and Ink and Gouache 6X9

--Starchie

Diligence

2011-02-01T10:16:00.000-08:00

Here's an auction piece from a few months back for the Mother Hen Project. The auction was to benefit Chicks in Crisis, which supports unwed mothers and facilitates adoptions.

Acrylic 6X9

--Starchie

Monsterey

2011-01-28T00:10:00.001-08:00

Here are a few lovable monster designs from a feature project. I like doing character concepts and most of the ones I've done professionally have been more of the stylized cartooney animated character type. Had fun doing these guys and employing the handy "smudge stick".

Pencil 8 1/2X11

--Starchie

Dial-a-Pirate Tattoo Sheet!

2011-01-24T03:10:00.001-08:00

Happened across this sheet of Dial-a-Pirate ink drawings. The final versions of these heads were painted for the Monkey Island copy protection wheel. With all the Monkey Island tattoos that have been posted recently, it occurred to me that, maybe folks should consider a few of these pirate heads to disguise an unsightly mole or perhaps even to liven up a blank, pasty butt cheek or two.

Pen and Ink 11X14

--Starchie

UPDATE: Here, in case you never saw one or forgot or are making a polite effort to care, is an image (borrowed from KOTAKU") of the actual Dial-a-Pirate copy protection wheel in action:

Monster

2010-12-31T16:51:00.000-08:00

Years ago I spent a lot of time doing storyboards, beat boards, and a bit of design on an animated monster movie that was ultimately cancelled. These images are beat boards which tend to be more realized images showing a broader part of a sequence compared to storyboards which are the moment to moment actions and acting within a sequence.

Pencil and Smudge Stick - 4X8

--Starchie

Christmas Past

2010-12-25T21:09:00.000-08:00

Done in 2005 as one of the internal cards for Pixar employees.

Acrylic 8X10

--Starchie

"Draw something nice..."

2010-12-15T15:36:00.000-08:00

When you grow up drawing monsters, sometimes along the way your Mom might ask if you can draw flowers or something "nice."

I eventually got around to painting some "nice" things for Mom. Here is an image I did one year for the folk's Christmas card depicting their schnauzer, Max. I think I based the composition on a found Christmas hang tag or something. I believe their dog was still living at the time, though the image might suggest otherwise.

4X6 Gouache and ink

--Starchie

"The Crow's Nest"

2010-12-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

This painting is my contribution to Art Blocks for Ghana, a charity of The Picture Book Project Foundation with the goal of building a children's home in Ghana. Artists in the Animation and Illustration communities have donated artwork created on wooden blocks to be auctioned for the cause which you can read more about here. Also check out their blog. There are many amazing pieces, more than a few of which I'll be bidding on myself.

Acrylic on Wood 10X10

--Starchie

Remember the Pencil?

2010-12-02T12:50:00.000-08:00

These aren't quite storyboards, more like key frames from an expired development project I was involved in. I still have acres of this kind of stuff in my newly, somewhat organized flat files. I discovered the smudge stick from working with Garett Sheldrew who is a master of it, as well as any other medium he chooses.

Pencil and Smudge Stick 4/ 1/2X 10 each

--Starchie

Monkey Island Cover Sketch - Part 2

2010-11-29T11:58:00.000-08:00

Here's the promised second comp with the strange Guybrush and Elaine stand-ins. I guess at the point this sketch was done I had less of a handle on who these characters were supposed to be. There couldn't have been very much time between this drawing and the actual pencil comp for the final cover so some meaningful chatter about how to depict these characters must have taken place along the way.

Pencil on Tracing Paper 8X10

--Starchie

The Creep

2010-11-16T09:28:00.001-08:00

Wow, I've worked on a lot of canceled projects. But they reap a bounty of unseen material to post at this site. Here's another character from a movie pitch which I thought was pretty cool. I previously posted a couple of robots from the same project. At first glance you might think this guy a villain, and you'd be correct. I liked playing with the metal work like it was fashioned by crafts-monsters in a feeble attempt to dress themselves up.

Acrylic 8X10

--Starchie

Peculiar Monkey Island Comp

2010-11-04T03:21:00.000-07:00

Here's a strange find from deep in the strata. A pencil comp for the first Secret of Monkey Island package in which the main characters weirdly appear to be played by Doug McClure and Bette Midler.

I don't remember where we were in the production of the game but it seems that the Guybrush we all know was not quite pinned down yet. I have another one of these which I'll post soon unless I'm begged not to.

Pencil 8X10

--Starchie

Sam & Max Blog!

2010-11-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

Check out the new Sam & Max blog now open for business. I'll continue to post obscure artwork here and will direct all Sam & Max-related art and links over to the other blog.

Scary Godmother

2010-10-18T09:22:00.000-07:00

Here's a pin-up I did long ago for one of Jill Thompson's charming and popular Scary Godmother comics. Jill is great at populating her own rich worlds with amazingly colorful, funny characters and I had a lot of fun with this piece. And if she wants to send the pin-up back to me I'll add in Scary Godmother's little wings which I somehow managed to overlook and which Jill was way too polite to mention.

Pen and Ink 10X15

--Starchie

FUN!

2010-10-06T17:21:00.000-07:00

I just needed something to post and found this image buried in my hard drive. I feel like I've posted it before. Maybe it's in one of the sketchbooks.

It was done for the animated series - I would pitch in on characters and locations whenever possible. Usually quick pencil sketches with some ball point pen and a bit of tone.

Posting this will force me to get on the ball about launching the Sam & Max blog. Let's call the launch date October 31st just to plant a stake in the ground.

Pen and Marker 8 1/2 X 11

--Starchie

The Sea Hag

2010-09-19T17:14:00.001-07:00

Here's an image I cobbled together in honor of "Talk Like a Pirate Day." Since I didn't talk like a pirate and nothing requires me to write like a pirate I did this instead. It's painted on a piece of thick cardboard on top of a loose sketch. I didn't want to get bogged down in planning it out too much. Just wanted to make a picture.

Acrylic and Prismacolor 11X14

--Starchie

Ancient Purcell Art on ebay

2010-09-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine posted an auction for a some original pages I did for his book Fish Police. They were done around the same time as the first Sam & Max comic and are penciled and inked in the same style. I sort of like the John Candyish salesman guy and remember having fun drawing the pissed off octopus.

If you've ever browsed some of my comics pages to possibly purchase, he's posting the four page story on ebay. Steve Moncuse created Fish Police and wrote this short, and even if you don't bid on the auction you should at least thank him for being the one to publish the first Sam & Max comic book.

Pencil and Ink 10X15 x 4

--Starchie

Pirate Contract

2010-09-06T23:24:00.000-07:00

So if it was really a contract it probably wouldn't have a bunch of pirate skeletons scrawled all over it. I can't quite remember how this piece came to be. Something about trying to dress up a document with images. I like something about it though it doesn't quite make sense anymore.

Acrylic and Digital 11X14

--Starchie

Blue Girl

2010-08-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a character design from a previously referenced un-produced feature project. I like figuring out color schemes for characters and trying to get the costume to play well with the character. This was loosely washed onto a rough pencil sketch on Bristol Board.

Acrylic 8X10

--Starchie

Piratey Panorama

2010-08-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a sketch done in the archaic medium of pencil for a Monkey Island 2 background. I honestly haven't played the game in so long I don't remember if I actually finished this one in markers or if Peter Chan finished it or if it was even used in the game.

I sorta like the shapes and sometimes don't mind doing these puppet stage kind of compositions. Somebody remind me when I lose my mind and start reposting the same images.

4X16 Pencil

--Starchie

Buzz, Woody and George

2010-07-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

Here is one of the first tasks I was given at Pixar about 9 years ago. George Lucas was accepting what I believe was an AFI award and Pixar wanted to congratulate him on the back cover of the printed program book. The mandate was to mix George's and Pixar's worlds, and as the cloaked Buzz and Woody Jedi idea was going nowhere, and my favorite Lucas movie is American Graffiti, I pitched this "cruisin" concept.

Since Woody wears a cowboy hat I originally tried putting him in Bob Falfa's black '55 Chevy but it ultimately felt too obscure compared to John Milner's iconic yellow Deuce Coupe sporting the THX plate.

It was a quick and fun painting but was published in black and white with a printing glitch causing it to be reproduced in low-res, so this is the first appearance of the piece as it was intended.

Acrylic 8 1/2X 11

--Starchie

Aiieee Robot! PART 2!!

2010-07-22T13:06:00.001-07:00

Here's a second take on the robot character and true to form, I'm often more partial to the first impulse. Though I don't mind this painting and I'm happy with the colors and shapes, I prefer the guy in the last post. This one has more of a C3PO vibe and feels a bit more predictable as the put-upon service-bot in my opinion.

6X10 --Starchie

Aiieee Robot!

2010-07-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a character design for an animated feature pitch. I found a stack of designs from this project and will post them over the next few days. I tried to be aware of the very broad volumes for this guy and as robots go he's one of my favorite that I've done.

Acrylic 6X10

--Starchie

Sam & Max Blog Coming Soon!

2010-07-01T18:55:00.000-07:00

Miraculously, I've managed to keep posting here fairly regularly for about two and a half years. I still have loads of material to post as long as people continue to show up and look at it.

I thought it might be worth creating a blog strictly for Sam & Max while Spudvision can remain a catch-all for any other kinds of art, especially Toybox which is the home of your very own host Starchie Spudnoggen.

I'm working on the format for the Sam & Max blog and will post a link here as soon as it launches.

--Starchie

Archie McPhee and me

2010-06-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

Years ago I used to buy odd tchotchkes from Seattle's Archie McPhee & Company catalog. In those pre-website days you would actually submit a printed form in a stamped, hand-delivered envelope accompanied by something called a personal check which was a voucher of sorts for funds to be transfered from your bank in exchange for goods. It was all very quaint.

One of their adopted corporate icons was the charming and enigmatic Bibo the "god monster." On one of my order envelopes, in a sad grab for attention, I included a drawing of Bibo and was pleased when they printed it in one of their subsequent catalogs. I recently happened across the image posted on their blog after they discovered it in a stash of old customer envelope art.

Ball Point Pen on 6X9 1/2" envelope

--Starchie

Maniac Mansion

2010-06-08T01:08:00.000-07:00

Here's a big oil painting of the Edison Family done long ago for a reissued edition of Lucasfilm Games' Maniac Mansion. The back of the box has a photo of an eerie haunted house-type hallway. Originally I was commissioned to do a tiny painting to be hung in a constructed scale model hallway,... until someone realized it would cost more to create a scale hallway than it would to make a full-sized one. At that point the commission was revised to ask for a full size portrait. I thought of it as a Disney Haunted Mansion style piece and painted it in a weekend in oils with a few fairly large brushes.

Oil on Canvas 2X3 feet

--Starchie

Big Guy's

2010-05-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a caricature of Dick Swan. Dick had a great comic store in the south San Francisco Bay Area for many years and he shares my love of 60's toys especially Nutty Mads and Weird Ohs models. He still sells rare comic books on ebay. I can't remember the occasion that prompted this drawing but was fun to depict The Big Guy as one of those great old "fink' type toys.

Pencil and Ink 8X10

--Starchie

Mermaid Tat

2010-05-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a tattoo design I did for a friend I used to work with. Although a bunch of my images or characters have been made into tattoos I think this was the first time I set out to design a tattoo. I like how simple it is and how the ends hook back on themselves but it doesn't quite look like most tattoos I've seen which is possibly why it was never confirmed to skin.

If you like it and want to use it, go to town. I'd love to see it etched onto a person.

Pencil 6X9

--Starchie

Maybe a Print?

2010-05-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a comp I did for Telltale's Sam & Max Season 2. We didn't choose it but I thought without the text it might make a fun print to do in the near future. As far as hyper-over-stated detail it seems to show some potential that hasn't nearly been tapped in this sketch.

Digital 8X10

--Starchie

Misu Mina

2010-05-03T22:16:00.001-07:00

I don't do too many pin-up type gals. This one has been seen before. She is the better half of the pair of gangland villains from the un-produced game design "Sam & Max Plunge Through Space." This image started as a super rough pencil sketch. I pulled it together with acrylic washes and was pretty happy that it retains a lot of the roughness that can sometimes get worked away too much in this kind of painting.

Acrylic 8X10

--Starchie

P. Mudpuppy

2010-04-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

Here is my contribution to a local art show that kicked off the infamous Petaluma Butter and Eggs Day weekend which itself is a celebration of debauchery and unleashed id in a David Lynchean vision of quaint parade floats and cute babies in fluffy chickie costumes. The Petaluma River cuts through the western downtown area and the art show at the Heebee Jeebee Boomerang Gallery is called the River Monster Project.

Acrylic 9X12

--Starchie

And Another...

2010-04-23T02:54:00.000-07:00

Here, of course, is the comp for the final LeChuck's Revenge painting. Looks like I hadn't yet thought of the idea of the dead bird plume and what is Elaine doing there besides looking like a man? It appears I reversed the values of the clouds and sky for additional eeriness and tried punching up the phoney baloney lighting on the figures. All in all a handy exercise I guess.

Gouache 7X10

--Starchie

LeChuck Unexploited

2010-04-15T23:33:00.000-07:00

Here's another unused cover idea for Monkey Island 2 LeChuck's Revenge. It's the second of three. I sold the first on ebay a month or so ago and I still owe you a photo of the unique item I bought with some of the cash. This painting is also one of the images that appear in my INTERVIEW at Alternative Magazine Online.

Gouache 7X10

--Starchie

I Hunger

2010-04-08T22:17:00.001-07:00

Somebody stop me if I'm repeating. I hunted around and did not find this one in the archives so here we go. Anytime I'm asked about favorite classic arcade games I first think of Sinistar. There was a tiny arcade across from my art school in the 80's where I would play Battlezone, Joust and especially Sinistar. The idea of a skull-shaped, ravenous doomsday machine just speaks to me for some reason. This was my submission for the first I Am 8-Bit gallery show several years ago. Sinistar's catch phrase was "I Hunger" so I decided to depict him as a demanding baby.

Acrylic 6X12

--Starchie

Starchie's Pawn Shoppe

2010-04-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

Here is a location in the town of Toybox; your very own Starchie Spudnoggen's For Sale and Trade establishment. This was done for a story about a scarecrow named Fishbone who's found by Ernie and Suda in an irrigation ditch after his butter cracker eyes have been eaten by birds. Selflessly deciding to help him replace his lost eyes, they find their way here.

Acrylic and prismacolor 9X11

--Starchie

Hellboy Vent

2010-03-31T01:32:00.000-07:00

It's a proven fact that everyone loves to draw Hellboy. This was done years ago, and I don't know if Mike Mignola ever actually drew Hellboy with such hugely broad shoulders or if that's just how I got it into my head when I painted this. I would paint it very differently now but there was still enough that I liked about it to post it. Here's a slightly recent-er Hellboy painting I did (still with the enormous shoulders, hmmm). Guess I should try him again sometime.

Acrylic 10 X 12

--Starchie

Dawn of Suda

2010-03-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

Suda's design came from a doll I built in high school. I had a contest with one of my friends to each try and create the most horrible doll. Her hands and head are clay, the body cloth and the dress was found in a thrift store bin. Her eyelashes are made from an old paintbrush.

My friend's doll wore a pink dress and looked like a toddler who someone had deflated. He kept her in his closet so he wouldn't accidentally see her at night. He wins for horror but over time Suda has cute-ened up. She's extremely difficult to capture but I know it when I see it.

Suda doll: Red clay, acrylic, fabric 16" high. "Family Portrait" Acrylic 6"X9"

--Starchie

Joe Ranft

2010-03-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Joe Ranft, the legendary Pixar story man would have turned 50. If you don't know about Joe, Google him and you will be enlightened. I did this painting of Joe after having worked with him for years on the Cars story crew. It was based on a photo that I had taken of him on a research trip on Route 66. I was fortunate to be able to give him the painting before he passed away in the Summer of 2005. He hired me at Pixar almost 9 years ago and I still think about him every day. Miss you Joe!

Acrylic 8 1/2X11

--Starchie

Critters

2010-03-07T02:41:00.001-08:00

Yet another set of characters for an un-produced animated feature project. Enjoyed trying to angular-ize my default rats, the ones that wind up in any on my comic projects though I still opted for my standard droopy nose. Was fairly pleased with the Guinea pig as well.

Acrylic 8X10

--Starchie

Monkey Memory for Sale

2010-02-26T23:16:00.000-08:00

The painting sold and very soon I will post what I am using the funds to buy.

I've posted an auction for one of the three comps I did for Monkey Island 2 LeChuck's Revenge. This painting was done to express one of the ideas I would take to final. It was meant to convey the idea and less meant as a finished illustration. I thought a keen Monkey Island fan might find it worth having as a piece of the company's history.

But for me, there's actually something I want to buy on ebay and I always prefer to sell something to help pay for whatever the next uselss item will be. If it all works out I'll share the result here.

7X10 Gouache

--Starchie

MAX IMP SAYS VOTE!

2010-02-16T03:50:00.000-08:00

Telltale Games is currently fielding votes for which of their series of games should be the next to release for the Mac. Max Imp insists that you go to their site and cast your vote for Sam & Max.

Imagine Max Imp's disappointment if Sam & Max is NOT chosen or perhaps loses by the one vote YOU may have cast. He might be inclined to take up residence in your furnace, compelled to skitter around in your attic during the night or crawl up into your sinus cavity while you sleep to lay his terrible eggs. Do your part!
Go to TelltaleGames.com and cast your vote for SAM & MAX!
Thank you. That is all.

--Starchie

Naughty Tiger

2010-02-05T09:21:00.001-08:00

Here's another Tiger, obviously more of a science-fictiony character. Had fun with the colors and the chunky strokes around the face, though his muzzle is a bit funky. All in all I was pretty happy with this guy.

8 1/2X 11 Acrylic

--Starchie

Year of the...

2010-02-01T01:18:00.001-08:00

Here is another character from the unmade feature pitch I referenced earlier. My standard washey acrylics on top of a loose pencil sketch xeroxed on bristol board. I fixed his near leg in photoshop because it was a hair undersized and always bothered me. He doesn't quite sit on the ground right but it was a very quick painting so I forgive it somewhat. Tigers are fun to draw and paint and I have another one I want to do this year, which is part of the Toybox cast of characters.

8 1/2 X 11 Acrylic

--Starchie

The Fantastic Mr Some-Other-Guy

2010-01-13T22:24:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite character pieces done for an un-produced feature project. It started with a very loose soft pencil sketch, xeroxed onto bristol board and painted in thin washes of acrylic. It was one of my first in this style which I became fond of for the stretch when I was doing a lot of these.

Acrylic 8 1/2X11

--Starchie

Trinkets

2010-01-11T12:09:00.000-08:00

I normally post something for the holidays but was sick this year and my efforts to paint something new proved fruitless.

I'll be at it again soon but right now, here's something I had forgotten about - a quick sketch for a company who said they wanted to do promo Sam & Max PVC figures. It didn't happen and I forgot all about it but now that I see them I want to look into doing something in vinyl like the old Pogo characters that you would get on the soap package. If you waded through my office you'd see that I'm knee-deep in stuff like this. Would be fun to add my own guys to the din of visual noise.

8X10 Digital

--Starchie

Brush with Super Heroes

2009-12-16T03:18:00.000-08:00

I've done very few "straight" comics projects and when I have the results have usually been unremarkable. This one I don't mind too much. I can't remember how I wound up doing a Superman pin-up but the first thing I asked myself is "how do I make it my own?" Well the answer can be seen here as Superman (this was during the short period when he sported a curly mullet) is hoisting a hideous monster baby just before lobbing him into a steaming lava pit. Enjoy!

10 X 15 Pen and ink

--Starchie

Dan's Dog Carol

2009-12-07T02:49:00.000-08:00

Instead of a real post this week, I'll piggyback onto my friend Dan Scanlon's blog. Yesterday he posted a bunch of sketches of his dog that I had done a while back. You can see the progression of what happens when you keep exaggerating the same traits over and over. Take a look. And check out Dan's great series of dog toy paintings while you're there.

--Starchie

Monkey Behemoth

2009-11-19T12:24:00.000-08:00

It's made from millions of monkeys and creates a deafening squeal as it lumbers through the jungle seeking vengeance. Also some other stuff...

Acryic 4X9 & 3 Pencil 4x9

--Starchie

The Mermaid

2009-11-08T14:22:00.000-08:00

I used a 60's GI Joe for the diving suit reference and wound up painting this mermaid three times. In the first she was more feral which in retrospect was perfectly fine. The second had a new face and was topless but felt unfinished. The third take includes the pearls and not very original shell bikini which at least breaks up her coloring. I think she's creepily pretty so I'm ultimately satisfied with the piece but sometimes the first idea is worth sticking with. Stop me if I start repeating any of these. I'm sometimes forgetful with the lead poisoning and all.

Acrylic 9X12

--starchie

Pirate Infusion

2009-11-08T13:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a month since I posted something about pirates. Here are a couple of character sketches from some random pirate-related effort, created and discarded at some point in time. The top one is derived from a concept by animation artist David Gosman.

Acrylic 8X10 & Pencil 8X10

--Starchie

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2009-10-31T11:05:00.000-07:00

Vegetable orb and sharp implements 10X14

--Starchie

Devils

2009-10-22T18:11:00.000-07:00

Here are a few super quick character sketches from a couple of years ago when Telltale Games was thinking about Satan designs for the Sam & Max series.

Each 8X10 Digital

--Starchie

Phantom o' the Opera

2009-10-17T23:20:00.000-07:00

My nervous habit is drawing the Phantom of the Opera. I have hundreds of drawings of him from times when I'm in meetings or just sitting idle with a pad. Though I'm also fond of drawing Frankensteins, apes, devils and clowns the Phantoms currently dominate by far. I'm assembling a hundred of my favorites to put in a miniature book.

Prismacolor and Marker 5X7

--Starchie

Tales of Monkey Island Roughs

2009-10-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

When doing an illustration I tend to do three concepts for the client. I usually have an idea right away, a sort of gut reaction to the assignment, and more often than not that is the one I want to do. When I create the subsequent two roughs I have to make sure they are ideas that I would be just as satisfied to take to finish since the client won't always pick the one you love the most.

In this case Telltale was interested in which one I wanted to do the most. Based on the pitch of the story and some early looks at the artwork they were creating for the game I was leaning toward a kind of eerie feel in the first sketch. Since I had already painted LeChuck for the Monkey Island 2 cover I was more interested in featuring Guybrush for this one. And since I was never quite happy with my Elaine in the first Monkey Island cover I was happy to include her in each of the concepts.

These were done quickly on a Cintiq tablet to get an impression of the composition and potential color palette. My final painting had less of a green cast to it. As I work on a painting sometimes I go off on a different path than I had planned. I still like the green of the sketch but I also like the variety of background colors that grew out of the process of making the painting.

Digital 8X10

--Starchie

Tales of Monkey Island

2009-09-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

This is the cover I did for The Telltale Games Tales of Monkey Island pre-order slipcase. I stuck it in the pirate frame for your viewing pleasure. Telltale Games is selling a print of the image at their online store. I'm currently signing a stack for their inventory. I will follow up soon with some in-progress photos and notes.

Acrylic 16X22

--Starchie

How 'bout a Monkey?

2009-09-08T00:27:00.001-07:00

Character design from an unmade something or other.

Acrylic 6X9

--Starchie

Shameless Promotion

2009-09-02T22:36:00.001-07:00

Thought someone here might care about this Ebay listing. It's a crew jacket from the Sam & Max animated series. Not mine but was my wife's who I don't think ever wore it >snif<. Size Large.

UPDATE: The jacket is on its way to a good home in southern California. Thanks for playing!

Real post soon.

--Starchie

Tragedy

2009-08-26T22:27:00.000-07:00

I tend toward using candy palettes so I was pleased that I was able to drain the color out of this one.

Acrylic 4X9

--Starchie

The Leviathan

2009-08-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

I have a few more of these little production paintings.

Acrylic 4X9

--Starchie

The Curse...

2009-08-18T01:22:00.000-07:00

Submitted for your approval - one random piratey concept painting depicting a moment in a speculative piratey piece of potential film entertainment - circa AD 2000. Stop me if I'm repeating any of these.
More to come.

Acrylic 4X9

--Starchie

Can't Show it Yet...

2009-08-12T17:17:00.000-07:00

Something I've been working on. Should be able to reveal in a couple of weeks with a little journal post of the process.

--Starchie

Sam & Max and Stuckey's

2009-08-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this perched on a box of Stuckey's Pecan Log Rolls. YES, Stuckey's is a real place and has paid tribute to Sam & Max in their corporate newsletter. In the first of a series of articles on Stuckey's contribution to pop culture they have called out Sam & Max for their multiple interactions with the iconic roadside America gas and gift shop. Whew! And I thought they were calling to sue the crap out of me!

--Starchie

Monkey Island 2 Now in "ILLUSION-O"

2009-08-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

So I heard that some ambitious fan found a way to blow out the backgrounds in Monkey Island 2 LeChuck's Revenge. Here's his demo showing how he took my cheesy marker drawing from almost twenty years ago and make it into an immersive environment. I love how he fully realized the little embryonic contents of those jars in the foreground. It's all really pretty cool.

--Starchie

The Aftermath

2009-08-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

ComicCon always makes me think I should be making a new comic book.
Let's see if I can keep that pilot lit for awhile.
Will post some new artwork soon.

--Starchie

Off to ComicCon...

2009-07-23T23:18:00.000-07:00

I'm traveling to San Diego any minute and will be around to sign stuff at Telltale Games booths #5364/#5365 from 2:00 to 3:00 on Friday and Saturday and at Symbiote Studios booth #4533 from 4:00 to 5:00 Friday and Saturday.

Traveling light but will bring along some original artwork and out of print copies of The Effigy Mound Sketchbook. If you're in the neighborhood come and wade through acres of brash, unrepentant geekflesh to say hi. I'll scrawl you a Max or a Guybrush or some damn thing. See you there!

--Starchie

On the Subject of T-Shirts

2009-07-20T11:33:00.000-07:00

Though I'm too late to create any new T-shirts in time for San Diego's Comic Con I'm tossing ideas around for the next round of Sam & Max shirts for the Fall.

My last shirt was a skull Max and crossbones in green and cream. I liked that it was not a literal rendition of the character and so it doesn't come off as an ad for something.

I liked my first Telltale shirt and and I'm not opposed to plugging the characters into these sort of nostalgic motifs once in a while,...

...but more like the skull shirt, I would like to try and get a bit less specific about the characters and try to think of a few cryptic images that are fun to look at even if you don't know Sam & Max. The rat idea at the top of the post is a new one. As I try some others I'll consider posting them here for your opinions, because I think I heard somewhere that people on the internet are more than happy to express their opinions.

--Starchie

Just a Few More...

2009-07-12T00:48:00.001-07:00

On the "Tales of--" front, Telltale, a while back, put up a little "in progress' post for the Pre-Order cover art I've been working on. Ultimately I'll post a series of shots showing where it went from start to the finished cover. It should be done shortly. In the meantime, the first episode of Tales of Monkey Island has been released to great acclaim and rejoicing.
And today, here are a few more character concepts from Curse of Monkey Island. Larry Ahern was thinking hard about the Guybrush design and had been pushing his proportions. The one shown here was me enjoying the freedom to stretch Guybrush around like silly putty.
Pen on Paper 8 1/2 X 11 each

--Starchie

Monkey Bucks

2009-06-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a promo coupon I got to paint, probably for some early 90's LucasArts Adventurer edition. It's actually amazing how much of this kind of stuff I was trusted to do with little or no content notes from above, which made it tons o' fun.
I'll see if I can track down my activity pages with the art lesson and the Guybrush paper dolls.
Watercolor 4 X 9 1/2

--Starchie

The Curse

2009-06-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

I have a buy off on my rough for Telltale Games "Tales of Monkey Island" cover. Still too early to post any of it as I'm in early stages of the illustration. In the meantime, here's part of my tiny contribution to Curse of Monkey Island. I believe Larry Ahern and John Ackley pitched me their idea of a LeChuck with a flaming beard so I was thinking his skull could be silhouetted in the fire. I think my Elaine is a variation on a design Larry had done, but I do sort of like something about my slender version of the Voodoo Queen.
Pen on paper 8 1/2 X 11

--Starchie

Cartographer's Cabin

2009-06-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

I have a rough sketch for the Tales of Monkey Island pre-order cover in the pipe waiting for final approval. I'll post it at some point soon.
In the meantime, here's a color test done for Monkey Island 2 LeChuck's Revenge probably painted in 1990. In this game we had the luxury of being able to draw backgrounds on paper and scan them giving us a greater range. This was my first background test of a cartographer's cabin painted in gouache. Peter Chan was a fiend with color markers and we ended up doing a lot of the backgrounds in marker as it was much quicker than painting.
Gouache 5 X 9

--Starchie

The Dawn of Monkey Island

2009-06-04T10:55:00.000-07:00

So I've been invited by Telltale Games to create an illustration for their Special Pre-Order edition of Tales of Monkey Island, a five episode series of adventure games coming this summer from Telltale. It's fun to get a chance to reconnect with Monkey Island since it was one of my first jobs at LucasArts, and I was fortunate to contribute artwork to various Monkey Island projects several times throughout the years.

I'm sketching the concept right now and I will plan to document the progress in stages. I'll have to wait until we are closer to the official unveiling of the cover to let you know what I'm up to but in the meantime I'll post some ancient concept art from the original games. Here's the sketch for my first Monkey Island cover done in 1990.
Pencil on Tracing Paper 8.5 X 11

--Starchie

Vintage Suda

2009-05-21T23:52:00.000-07:00

Here's an old one. An early Ernie and Suda portrait. I made this image to fit an old frame I was given which once housed a gorgeous Jeff Jones painting. At one point I had real cob webs and dead spiders draped across the frame to add a little atmosphere. Over time those trappings sort of fell away but I still like the idea of customizing a frame to fit a painting. On that front I've still got a few ideas floating around in my skull.
Acrylic 8 X 10

--Starchie

Blue Bear

2009-05-04T19:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a little gift for a friend's new born son painted one evening while watching a particularly terrifying episode of "Breaking Bad". Fortunately the image was immune to the suspense and horror I endured.
Acrylic 3 X 5

--Starchie

A Bit of Process

2009-05-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a cover I did a couple of years ago. The magazine provided the blank cover format so I was able to digitally sketch into it on a Cintiq tablet. For the final illustration I pulled back in the composition so the characters were not overlapping the logo, something the magazine didn't tend to do though they were agreeable about letting Sam & Max cross into the white logo area. Also, I thought showing some of the white floor in the final helped balance that white logo field at the top.

The painting took on a style of it's own as I worked on it, an extra choppy, scumbly effect which I observed happening as I was doing it and didn't try to fight. I sort of liked it at the time though I think I prefer the tighter composition in the sketch.

Acrylic 11 X 14

-Starchie

Surfin the Highway Nominated!

2009-04-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago the Eisner Award judges nominated Telltale Game's SAM & MAX SURFIN' the HIGHWAY Anniversary Edition in the category of BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM-REPRINT. Since I've done only a smattering of comics in my career I suppose it's fortunate for me that they have a reprint category at all.

Telltale Games motivated the project and it was tough sifting through all the old material and patching and cleaning up some of the new pages that hadn't been included in the original. Once I got through that I wondered about how a new volume of this book should look. I had scrawled a rough concept, wanting to have fun with the idea of this book being some rare dusty relic from Grandma's attic. Posing as Max I drew and wrote on maps of the Philippines for the interior covers and scanned a real Sam & Max police badge to use in a collage. It was fun to cobble together the disturbing author photo made from an antique snapshot found in my wife's grandparent's basement.

Jake Rodkin at Telltale did the heavy lifting on the project. Pages were scanned from old film and originals, painstakingly cleaned-up, graphic design of the covers, emboss mechanicals devised, colorful personalities wrangled. Two versions of the book were created; a paperback with the embossed cover and the Limited Edition hardcover with signed numbered bookplates. That's the one that's up for the Eisner, alongside some very cool books including Vol 1 and 2 of the Hellboy Library Edition by my old pal Mike Mignola.

Telltale is so excited about the nomination that they have some bundles on sale that offer various combinations of the books, games and other Sam & Max items. Check out: TELLTALE GAMES EISNER SPECIALS.

Some of my extremely talented collegues are nominated for Eisners as well, all in the BEST PAINTER/MULTIMEDIA ARTIST:
Enrico Casarosa's Venice Chronicles
Scott Morse's TIGER!TIGER!TIGER! also nominated for BEST LETTERING
and Jill Thompson for Magic Trixie Sleeps Over

The Awards are presented during San Diego's Comic-Con International at the end of July. Should be a fun night.

--Starchie

Sini-Max

2009-04-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

From an old "I Am 8-Bit" show, here is Max the lovable rabbity thing depicted as my all time favorite arcade game character, Sinistar. "RUN COWARD! RUN! RUN! RUN!"
5X7 Acrylic

--Starchie

Creatures

2009-03-24T01:54:00.001-07:00

Here's something I worked on a long time ago. Garett Sheldrew conceived the designs for the human characters and this was my painting of the whole line-up. There's an actual story in there somewhere. Was fun to do a somewhat broad cartoony take on this monster that I'm so fond of.
10X16 Acrylic

--Starchie

Max Tat

2009-03-13T12:12:00.000-07:00

My scanner is offline for the moment but when it's back I'll be posting a bunch of character paintings and such in the near future. Just to keep things moving here's a glimpse at one fine Max tattoo. The recipient is Matt Kristek, a funny and talented cartoonist/filmmaker who I knew even before he was old enough to make the decision to disfigure himself with such mocking, belligerent skin art. Maybe I should learn to do these myself.

--Starchie

Mod Mecha Max

2009-03-04T10:57:00.000-08:00

Here's another version of the terrifying Max robot including a bit of the cockpit view.
10X16 Acrylic

--Starchie

Steam Mecha Max

2009-02-24T09:21:00.000-08:00

At one point I had talked to a company about making this toy. The top of the head would pop off revealing the little Captain Nemoesque Sam & Max pilots sporting goggles, top hats and ascots. Sadly it didn't happen but if I wish hard enough...
10x16 Acrylic

--Starchie

The Duchess

2009-02-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

I have about four or five of these stuffed German chimps who stare at me while I nap. They have a blank authenticity to their expression that you don't commonly see in a toy. The modern version is not nearly as sincere but the old ones are still fairly easy to come by. Like real apes they're often missing earlobes or fingers or the hair is worn off the knees. Better than new.

2X3 Acrylic

--Starchie

A Valentine

2009-02-09T08:39:00.001-08:00

A sentimental image to share with your Immortal Beloved.

--Starchie

Ditty

2009-02-03T03:17:00.000-08:00

Here's a Toybox piece done for a charity auction. I enjoy doing figures against a chopped-in white background. I can have fun with the characters without getting bogged down in a location. And I like letting some of the under painting peek through.
These characters are still puzzling to me. I can never count on the way they will turn out. I'm fairly satisfied with this version of them, though. Any time Ernie plays the uke, it's a ditty, hence the repeat title. Somebody let me know if I start recycling my posts.

--Starchie

LeChuck Lives!

2009-01-29T13:15:00.000-08:00

This posting marks two events - ONE; I realized that I have somehow continued to blog here for just over a year and TWO; The first appearance of a human nipple in a post. This amazing tattoo work was created on the living tissue of brave Monkey Island fan Alex Melgarejo who graciously allowed me to share these shots. I sort of recall posting that source artwork here but for the life of me I can't find it (must be the lead poisoning). The Tat was done by Bulgarian artist Ivasha and just goes to show - Be careful what you draw, because someone may choose to inscribe it on their body for all time.

--Starchie

Her Enduring Charms...

2009-01-20T23:12:00.000-08:00

Another secret of strange allure, revealed!

--Starchie

The Ghost

2009-01-20T08:31:00.000-08:00

Here's a small painting done for a charity art auction from some time back. Still messing around with the black trees.
6X6 Acrylic

--Starchie

Graven Image

2009-01-11T23:38:00.001-08:00

This little studio run by Joseph Reiter came to me and asked to do a statue of Sam & Max. It recently started shipping and is one substantial hunk o' flotsam - and I mean that in a good way. I did the sketch on the right and I like the simple lines of the sculpt by Joe Simon. Symbiote Studios offers the statue at their site.
http://www.symbiotestudios.com

Here's a nice shot by Adam B from a review on the site What's Your Obsession: http://www.whatsyourobsession.com/
More shots there although Sam's head is placed weirdly askew in one of them as they are in some of the shots at Captain Toy where, though they seem to like the item, Sam is not quite assembled to the base and is sporting his lid sideways.
http://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_011209a.htm

--Starchie

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T23:00:00.000-08:00

Ernie's Holiday Ditty

2008-12-25T12:00:00.000-08:00

The Visitor Pages 8-9

2008-12-25T01:25:00.000-08:00

The Visitor Pages 6-7

2008-12-24T15:25:00.000-08:00