Friday Wild Card

Honk if you're dying to wear this on a t-shirt.
To a job interview.

You may never receive it...

...cuz this is one birthday card I can't part with...

The Cadillac illustration is excellent. I love the colors. And I love that for no apparent reason, there's a nude guy sitting on top of it. What car dealer would allow this nowadays?

And in case you're wondering how he solves this massive dilemma (card opens)...

This is actually one of many greeting cards from the 60's and 70's that I bought in a giant boxed lot of cards at an auction a few years ago. This particular card was published in 1969 by the Barker Greeting Card Co. of Cinn, OH.  

Face Asymmetry

Faces are one of my favorite subjects to draw. I've always enjoyed looking at pictures of faces. I'm fascinated by the distinct lines and shapes that make a particular face unique. When I draw a portrait, I'm always curious to see what minimum amount of information will make a face recognizable. 

I'm also fascinated by (and very grateful for!) facial asymmetry. I created some of my own examples of this phenomenon with photos of a man and woman. The photo to the far left is the actual person. In the middle and far right images, one side of the face is copied and pasted on the other side to make a completely symmetrical face.  

It's funny how both of the middle faces in these examples look slightly Appalachian and the faces to their right look like the Appalachian's more well-rounded, socially adjusted cousin. 

Artist Showcase...

Today's artist is Jean Lecointre. 

I was unfamiliar with his work until I bought this postcard of his piece, "Les Biches" (The Does). (postcard published by editions vp). 

It's so bizarre and unlike anything I've ever seen. 

You have to check out his website to see more of his work. The short films are wonderfully weird and stunning. I'm speechless. 

He also created, with artist Pierre La Police, the comic book series La Balancoire de Plasma.  I'm blown away by the freakiness of these. You can see more here.

Mondays...

Honk if this is how you started your day:

24 hour comic challenge

When I did my first 24 hour comic challenge in 2005, I actually completed 24 inked and lettered pages in less than 24 hours. But I will not be sharing any of these pages with you. Ever. Because they're junk. It was, however, a worthwhile exercise because it forced me to reach the limits of fatigue, which shook loose some new discoveries. But I can't create quality work like this, and since my time is limited, I don't think I'll do the full 24 hour challenge again.

Last year I attended part of the 24 hour challenge hosted by Worcester Art Museum. I penciled 10 pages in about 10 hours. Page 1 is pictured here. It's a piece about why I hate Thanksgiving. I went into the challenge with no idea about what I was going to do, and this rant just kind of rolled out of me. But it has sat on my drawing table for a year, un-inked, due to other projects taking higher priority.  

So yesterday, I brought it to WAM's second 24 hour challenge, and spent about 6 hours inking it. It'll be done and ready for public viewing soon! I'm thinking of making it into a minicomic for sale on this very blog. It'll make a great little housewarming gift to bring to your host on Turkey day. So stay tuned!!

Film Pick

Paris, Je T'aime is a compilation of short films about Paris. This one, 14th Arrondissement by Alexander Payne, is my favorite. It's funny and a little sad, then uplifting and a little sad. The character is both clumsy and endearing. The way she narrates her story reveals so much- it's such an incredibly clever and effective device. You'll see (I hope)...