Pirates for Auction

There was a time in my life where drawing pirates was a more central part of my day-to-day activities. Here is a sampling of a couple of skeletal pirates along with a piratey monkey character from those richly rewarding days. They are original sketches on separate sheets but framed together at 18 X 22 inches. 

Late last year a hugely talented colleague of ours, Jamie Baker, had the poor luck to suffer a stroke a few weeks before his company health insurance kicked in, and is facing huge medical bills. The proceeds of this auction will help him pay down that debt and continue his promising recovery. 

If you're a fan of any of my old pirate or monkey-related art or know some who is, please bid or pass along word of the auction. But, good cause or not, go browse around, as there are dozens of rare and beautiful works by many well-known animation industry artists. 

In the meantime, I will see if I can find some more detailed scans of these pieces.

Bid and bid often!

Pencil and ink on paper - varied sizes

--Starchie

Ape Love

Apes, like Phantoms of the Opera, Frankensteins, Skulls, Devils and Clowns issue forth from my pencil like the rubbery capsule prizes in a 1960's gum machine. Here are a few samples from the deep strata. 

Pencil 8 1/2 X 11

 --Starchie

This Frog...

...is running. I don't keep a real sketchbook. But I have thousands of random drawings that end up on the backs of script pages, phone message notes and other miscellaneous scraps.

I'll post a selection here if you want to see some really peculiar stuff.

6" X 6"   Pen and watercolor

 --Starchie

Digital PofO

Here's a quick Phantom to get used to my new tablet. I'm not planning to switch over completely since I enjoy the tangible aspect of painting on paper. This device is a great tool for blocking in ideas quickly, testing color palettes and the management of images for publishing, to list a few of the benefits.

I'm not sure if I could get great at doing finished paintings digitally, though I'm not opposed to the idea. I'm hoping this "machine" will clear the way for some new projects.

8X10 Digital

--Starchie

PotO

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

Monkey Island Cover Sketch - Part 2

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

Archie McPhee and me

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

Maybe a Print?

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

Dan's Dog Carol

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

Phantom o' the Opera

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

Graven Image

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

Frankenstein Week! - Friday

Frankenstein is blue because this is the last official Frankenstein Week posting.
More Halloween posts coming soon. Anybody care about Phantom of the Opera? I mean the cool old Lon Chaney rotting skull head looking guy, not the cheesy half-masked Broadway ballad-singing sad sack.

--Starchie

Frankenstein Week! - Thursday

I'm on the road today, driving from LA to San Francisco so today's Frankenstein is rambling as well.
I added a sepia tone for no particular reason. Happy Frankenstein Week.

--Starchie

Frankenstein Week! - Wednesday

Sometimes these things creep ME out.

--Starchie

Frankenstein Week! - Tuesday

Oooh, he's a beefy one.

-- Starchie

Frankenstein Week! - Monday

Another lovingly rendered Frankenstein for your perusal.

--Starchie

Frankenstein Week! - Sunday

My Frankenstein offering for today.

--Starchie

Frankenstein Week! - Saturday

I've drawn hundreds of Frankensteins, Devils, Skulls, Phantoms of the Opera and Gorillas. It's sort of a nervous habit like cracking the knuckles or binge drinking. In honor of Halloween month I'll post a Frankenstein sketch a day for the next week.
How could you not enjoy?!

--Starchie

Battle Zoe

Here's a self-rejected piece that I did not submit to the I-Am 8 Bit show this year. I just wanted to paint a cute girl and she's somewhat halfheartedly incorporated into a broad interpretation of the classic Battle Zone game environment. It's not really a painting, more of a painted sketch but I post because I sort of like the colors and the girl. It was fun to do but ultimately not something I envisioned hanging in a gallery.
Acrylic - 8x12

--Starchie