Bob Camp Cartoonist

Tanks of Fury iphone app review

2011-12-22T07:35:00.000-08:00

Hey check out the great review of the game app me and Mark Greenbalm designed here at Boblab!

http://www.theiphoneappreview.com/2011/12/tanks-of-fury-iphone-app-review/

Mo' Ren and Stimpy

2011-12-05T13:37:00.000-08:00

Comic con sketches

2011-12-04T15:12:00.000-08:00

Here are some more sketches I did at Comic Cons. Bad ipod pictures. Sorry. I like the Galactustimpy and the Silver Hoek.

R&St wedding with Pastor Cobb

2011-12-04T15:10:00.000-08:00

Saint Bernadette T-shirt design

2011-11-29T07:49:00.000-08:00

Wadda YOU want?!

2011-10-12T16:11:00.000-07:00

"Stimpy the Hoe"

2011-10-12T16:09:00.000-07:00

Why so Stupid?

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

Out West

2011-10-12T16:03:00.000-07:00

"Small"

The Devil's Toenail!

2011-10-11T06:14:00.000-07:00

This is a full color commission I did recently

Evil Twins

2011-10-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

These guys are part of the same concept as the Glow Farmer and Buckethead. It's a Scooby Do movie treatment that I wrote with Duane DelAmico a few years back. It would so kick ass!

Glowing Farmer

2011-10-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

This guy and Buckethead are from the same concept.

Buckethead

2011-10-10T06:11:00.000-07:00

Buckethead smells REAL bad!

Style study

2011-10-10T05:50:00.000-07:00

I traded this one at X-can last year for some Anime DVDs Sometimes I like this simpler more stylized direction. Clean lines and distinct stylized shapes. Whatchoo t'ink?

You Bloated Sack!

2011-10-10T05:34:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be posting these sketches her a lot from now on. Follow the blog and let me know what you think!

In Sponge we Trust

2011-10-06T17:48:00.000-07:00

New Flavor!

2011-10-03T05:17:00.000-07:00

Beans!

2011-10-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

I'm fond of this one because it tells a little story!

Fly boys!

2011-10-02T15:47:00.000-07:00

Of course Ren gets chopped to bits by the propellor!

Musical number

2011-10-02T09:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun number!

Really great thoughts on Happiness

2011-03-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

My friend Cathy Beaureguard sent this too me. Give it a read!

1) Embrace New Experiences.
Most people suffer from merely existing versus really living. Don’t get caught in a rut; get out of it if you are. Explore. Play. Go beyond your comfort zone. Don’t lean on the excuse “I don’t have time to try new things.” It is as tragic and ridiculous as saying “I don’t have time to breathe.” New experiences are life. Live deeply.

2) Be Who You Are.
Recognize and clear through what others expect of you, including society’s expectations, your parents’ expectations, the opposite genders’ expectations, and anyone’s expectations. Recognize and clear through the guilt, anger, fear and other emotions that are sabotaging you. What are your dreams? Your goals? Your loves? Who are you? Be that person.

3) Let Go of the Past.
The past is good for two things: the happy memories, and the lessons it provides. Clinging to resentment and sadness for past events hurts one person the most: you. Don’t let the past suck the gift of the present out of you. Forgive. Let go. Be here now, and go forward.

4) Be Kind.
It is easy to act kindly to those who have been kind to you. Do so, but also remember that is not where kindness is needed most. Recall those many times where you made mistakes, where you reacted out of negative emotions instead of responding from who you really are. Recall how you felt, or how you would have felt, if others responded to your mistakes with kindness instead of harsh criticism or a cold shoulder. Negativity only breeds more negativity. Empathize, and choose to be kind. It spreads rapidly.

5) Be Responsible for Yourself.
Whatever happens, however promising or tragic, only one person is responsible for how you respond to it: you. There are no greater wastes of energy and potential than blame, envy, a desire for revenge, and wallowing in self-pity. You and only you are responsible for how you respond to anything and how you act. You wish others were a certain way? You wish the world were a certain way? Be the example.

6) Nurture Relationships.
Think of your most joyful moments. Think of all you have learned. Think of what has helped you grow. Chances are great these all involve other people, and other relations such as pets and nature too. There are over six billion people on this earth. There are infinite relationships to be had. Everyone has something to understand and to learn from. There is infinite love to be had, and to give. You can choose to be lonely, but you are never alone.

7) Recognize All You Have, and Be Grateful for It.
If you are alive, you are fortunate. If you can read this, you are fortunate. If you can walk, talk, see, smell, taste, or feel, or all of these, you are fortunate. You are what you focus on, so if you focus on what you lack, you become that lack. Focus on all that you do have, on the gifts inside and all around you. Be grateful to be great.

8 ) Do What Inspires You.
Painting, singing, writing, biking, swimming, gardening, reading, dancing, walking, woodcarving … what is your flame? What ignites you, inspires you, enlightens you, restores your life? Do it, and do it often. Do not believe your excuse of having too much work to do and too little time for what inspires you. Doing what inspires you is the very fuel that will give you the strength and motivation to do the other things you need to do, and do them well.

9) Remember that Happiness is a State, Not a Circumstance
Happiness is a state of being, not merely a moment of pleasure or joy. By committing to your happiness you acknowledge and accept that there will be times of challenge and suffering, but by staying true to who you are you will not just endure but thrive. Happiness is not just the bird floating serenely on the water, and happiness is not made unhappy by the rock that falls and temporarily disturbs the water. Happiness is the water itself, always being exactly what it is.

A Stinky little X-mas

2010-02-28T08:23:00.000-08:00

These are two quick ballpoint sketches I did for the Ren and Stimpy "A Stinky Little X-mas album. Jim Gomez and I wrote about half the songs and they are very funny IMHO!
I don't own a copy of the music but if you look you might find them.

Random designs

2010-02-27T17:58:00.001-08:00

Muscle Girl

2010-02-10T07:28:00.001-08:00

New drawing

2010-02-07T07:30:00.001-08:00

Made up random heads for people in a diner

2010-01-23T14:39:00.001-08:00

Fartin' around doing different types.

I am a character designer too!

2010-01-21T04:07:00.001-08:00

Here are a few newer designs exploring a cleaner, simpler style.
I started in the animation business as a character designer at Rankin Bass on Thundercats. In fact almost all of my posts on this blog are just that, character designs. So with that in mind I'm going to put this thought out there. If anyone is interested in hiring me to design characters for their TV show or movie or whatever Please let me know!

Hamburger bears

2010-01-12T17:49:00.001-08:00

Character study

2010-01-11T15:29:00.001-08:00

Just a quick character grouping.

Character sketches

2010-01-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

Time Bandits

2010-01-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

Way back in the early 80's I was doing movie parodies for Crazy Magazine. This is a character sketch I did prior to the parody. I no longer have a copy of the parody but it was a real turning point in my drawing and story telling.

Silly phone doodle

2009-10-23T08:18:00.001-07:00

Do me a favor.

2009-09-30T17:35:00.000-07:00

OK I'm going to ask everyone to not bring up the political aspect of the Ren and Stimpy show from now on. I made the mistake of voicing my opinion. If I want to know what John thinks about things I will check out his blog. I'm really happy to discuss the art of cartooning and all that goes along with that.

Thanks.

2 Dogs

2009-09-04T13:32:00.001-07:00

Doggy sketches

Short cartoon writing tips!

2009-08-06T06:27:00.000-07:00

OK, here are my ideas about writing a funny 11 minute TV cartoon.

Most important!
Know your characters and how they relate to one other. Take any great comedy team and you'll find that the humor is based on the personality of each character and the dynamics with the other characters.

When writing cartoons, do not exclude cartoonists from the process! Writers are great and all but they cannot draw a funny expression or work out the poses and timing necessary to make a funny cartoon. Believe it or not there are lots of really funny cartoonists that write funny too!
Imagine if writers wrote the great Termite Terrace 40's and 50's era Warners cartoons and Bob, Chuck and the boys were excluded from the process and forced to work from scripts.

Now I'm not dissing writers here. They are a huge important part of the industry and deserve as much credit and support as anybody on the crew. Unless they suck.

Use outlines and not scripts. This leaves the storyboard artist (who in my mind is really directing the artistic vision of the cartoon) room for his or her mind to work out the funniest gags for the cartoon and write dialogue that fits the gag not the other way around.
If you must use scripts then NEVER write more than 11 pages for an 11 minute cartoon.
A PAGE A MINUTE!
A PAGE A FUCKING MINUTE! OK?!

Do your self a favor and watch the funniest 7 or 11minute cartoons you can think of.
Watch each one over and over with a notepad and a stop watch. Note each sequence paying attention to it's purpose (like setup, gag, payoff etc.). Note the type of gags and how the comedy pays off. Is the reveal funny? How does timing make the joke work, or not.
You will begin to see patterns that are typical to an individual studio, director, story artist and animator. Watch old 2 reel shorts like Laurel and Hardy, the Stooges too. It's what I grew up watching and I learned so much about comedy from them,

When writing an 11 minute cartoon, don't get all wound up in plots, secondary plots and too many characters. This is no way to make a funny cartoon. Keep it simple! Avoid stereotypes and tired old ideas.

Come up with a funny idea. If the initial idea isn't funny then don't bother going forward with it.
Write down about 20 one line ideas.
Stimpy's invention- Stimpy is an inventor. His latest invention makes Ren really mad. Stimpy must invent a helmet that makes Ren happy against his nature.
Stimpy's Chicken- Stimpy falls in love with the chicken that he was preparing for Ren's dinner. He elopes with the chicken and Ren is tortured with Hunger and jealousy.

Now you get the four or five funniest bastards (who all have lists of one line ideas) into the same room and go at it coming up with gags and making quick sketches and laughing their asses off. We used to rent a suite at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood for a week and write the whole season. That was fun!

You have your idea for the cartoon. Now you go through all of the gags and lay them out eliminating the least funny. Start with the setup, put the best gags in order building to the funniest and ending in a ironic funny ending.
Set-up, series of gags, ironic pay-off.

Don't be satisfied with something that is only amusing keep bouncing ideas around until you are actually laughing outloud.

Type it up into about 3 or 4 pages and let the storyboard artist do his job.

Afterward it's good to pin up the board so the director can work on fine-tuning the gags with the other board artists helping out. Always be open to upping the comedy at every level. A funny board can be made ten times funnier by pushing character layoutout and animation. The acting and adlibs that the voice actor came up pushed the comedy again!

I hope these ideas help!

The Real Ghost Busters

2009-08-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

This group includes Michael Gross who was the producer on the show. He had been really sick with cancer so I did this get well card for him. I guess it worked because he fully recovered.

Notice me and Bruce Timm on the right of this crowd shot.

Here are some drawings I did as a designer on Ghost Busters for DIC.
I had a lot of fun on this job, working closly with
Bruce Timm, drawing monsters all day.

Rand Rawlins Robot Repairman

2009-07-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a painting I did for My friend, director Jerry Rees, for a film project that sadly, never got made.

Teen sketches

2009-07-28T05:42:00.001-07:00

The wonderful world of Cobb!

2009-07-23T05:14:00.001-07:00

You know, one of my favorite characters on Ren and Stimpy was Wilbur Cobb. He was voiced by the legendary Jack Carter. His name was based on the head writer at Nick, Will McRob. Nick didn't like Cobb but we squeezed him whenever we could and he always stole the show. Jim Gomez, Bill Wray and I were in love with Cobb. Even after the show was done Jim and I were dreaming up new adventures for the crusty old coot!
This was an anthology concept with Cobb as host. We wanted to build a full size puppet like this that would host and set up different stupid horror an suspence shorts about life in the wilds!
I will be digging through my old sketches and posting more Wilbur!

Ranger Dave

2009-07-18T14:22:00.001-07:00

Comic book stuff

2009-07-11T08:46:00.001-07:00

Check out my Comic Book Stuff blog to see more of this illustration!

Mr. Limpet

2009-06-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

Another Jim Carey concept as a fish marker sketch.

Conan detail

2009-06-22T15:00:00.001-07:00

Here is a small detail of a splash page I just posted on my Comic Book Blog.
Go and check it out!

2009-06-19T07:50:00.001-07:00

Hey check out my Comic Book art blog. I posted a Savage Tales cover painting i did!

Ren and Stimpy

2009-06-19T07:17:00.000-07:00

Teenager

2009-06-16T10:08:00.001-07:00

Grinch Movie Designs

2009-06-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of color concept sketches I did for the Grinch movie. I always wanted to build this taxi cab and drive it around in NYC
to see if I could get some fares.

New comic book post!

2009-06-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

Check out my comic book blog. I posted a couple of Conan covers.
N-joy!

Fire Dogs key

2009-06-03T07:16:00.001-07:00

This is a small 4x6 color key I did for Fire Dogs. Pucker up!

Lucky Lydia

2009-05-31T02:48:00.001-07:00

In answer to a query on my previous posting, here is something from Lucky Lydia a pilot I did with the amazing animator and director Arthur Filloy who was also a director on Ren and Stimpy.
Go to his blog to see more art and view a clip of the cartoon:
http://arthurfilloy.blogspot.com/
And check out his website:
http://www.hellyeahdesign.com/
If you like his stuff please let him know!
Enjoy!

To my friends..

2009-05-04T06:08:00.001-07:00

Thanks for all of the kind comments from everybody on my art. I won't be able to post anything for a while as my G5 just went tits up. Until I get it fixed I'll be happy to answer questions about cartooning or whatever.

Ren and Stimpy title cards

2009-04-22T05:33:00.000-07:00

These are a few of the title cards for R&ST. I designed (drew)
most of the cards for the series including the fonts.

Chick Doodle

2009-04-09T04:36:00.001-07:00

3 Wheeled Rocketbike

2009-04-01T11:35:00.001-07:00

This is a real old one I did for Rankin bass

BiPolar Bird

2009-03-24T05:13:00.001-07:00

Gregon and Evo

2009-03-13T05:38:00.000-07:00

Ex-KGB agents Gregon and Evo now work for the FCC.
With the aid of their obsolete Soviet surplus equiptment, these fearless
morons help keep America free from the evils of entertainment.

Baggy the Buzzard in a rare happy moment

2009-03-10T15:37:00.001-07:00

UNCLE STINKBUG

2009-03-08T12:35:00.001-07:00

Another groovy guy that Jim Gomez and I came up with.
He's everybody's obnoxious uncle that just so happens to be a six foot Stink bug who greets you by turning around and hitting you full in the chest with a fire hose blast of bug stink!

Gnarley Headrush

2009-03-04T06:58:00.000-08:00

This is a character I designed that was created by Jim Gomez and myself.
Like a cross between Foghorn Leghorn and George Carlin.

Prehistoric Stimpy design

2009-03-03T12:06:00.001-08:00

This is Ren as a T-REX
I love Prehistoric Stimpy. It has lots of UN-PC jokes.
We got to say "Really Bad Hemorrhoids!" and "Bone Polisher".

Football Cat

2009-03-03T11:32:00.001-08:00

2009-02-23T08:19:00.000-08:00

Hey check out my comic book blog.
new art form my marvel dayze!
Sorry I've been postless for a while.
Kinda busy.
I'll try to have some new stuff up very soon!

'nother Battlin' Babe

2009-01-22T05:58:00.001-08:00

Modern teenager

2009-01-20T06:35:00.001-08:00

This is loosely (see pants) based on my teenager and his friends. This pant style has created a curious walk cycle (which keeps the pants from falling off) among kids who dress this way. I wonder to myself if it is an affectation that will go away with the style. Hmmm.

Unused disc art concept

2009-01-09T13:17:00.000-08:00

This is a sketch for a disc I designed for Innova. I'll
post the one they picked when they release the disc.

JUST SOME THOUGHTS

2009-01-06T09:33:00.000-08:00

I'm just going to start a thread here about how we are all doing and what, if anything we can do to make things better for ourselves and our cartooning brothers and sisters.

Times are tough and things are changing faster than anybody can grasp them. It all used to be so clear-cut the way things worked. Not any more.

Right now I'm scraping together freelance and putting together projects to sell. Are the Networks buying? No. Am I the only one that finds that process IMPOSSIBLE?
Is the internet the way to go?
What new kinds of work groups can be created to get content out there?

It's not just thinking outside of the box. The box is dead.

Another teaser from a project created by me and Jim Gomez

2009-01-03T07:08:00.000-08:00

Here a couple of characters from one that I'm pitching right now.
I love this one and have high hopes for it!

Different project, different style

2009-01-02T16:31:00.001-08:00

Another one

2008-12-28T15:01:00.001-08:00

Uh oh!

2008-12-27T14:50:00.001-08:00

Roughs

2008-12-22T10:26:00.001-08:00

I always like my roughs better than my cleanups.

Attitude

2008-12-19T04:09:00.000-08:00

Fez guy

2008-12-16T17:51:00.001-08:00

Project Character studies

2008-12-11T04:39:00.001-08:00

Here are a few quick character studies for proportion, style and movement.
Gotta do lots of drawing to bring a character to life!

New Stuff

2008-12-08T08:08:00.001-08:00

This is a piece for a great new project that Larry Hama and I are working on.

Can you find all the FBM attorneys?

2008-12-06T13:16:00.001-08:00

This is a 2 page spread I did for a Farella Braun and Martel coloring book.
Some of the people are real lawyers in the firm.

Innova disc golf designs

2008-11-28T17:55:00.001-08:00

I've done a few designs for INNOVA discs.
This is one for a collectors disc they produced for a tournament in October.
If anybody has ever had to work inside a circle it's kinda difficult.
I understand they sold out right away.

I HAVE A NEW BLOG- BOB CAMP COMIC BOOK STUFF

2008-10-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

I've started a new blog featuring my work in comic books.
Most of it is from Marvel comics.
Here's a sample.
For more, go to:
http://bobcampcomics.blogspot.com/

Space Jam II

2008-09-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

About 11 years ago I worked on the ill-fated attempt to do a sequel to Space Jam. it seems that Michael Jordon wasn't the least interested in the project. Anyway the bad guy in the movie was supposed to be Mel Brooks. For this design I did tons of drawings of stills of Mel I printed out from his films. I then redrew each expression over and over, each time pushing the exaggeration until I had worked out a formula for his design. Here are the results. The other character is one of his minions.

Ren and Stimpy short storyboard

2008-09-19T17:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a short board I did for the chain of theaters owned by Sumner Redstone who also owns Nick. It never got the OK to go into production so I kept it.
Enjoy.

Stupid doodle

2008-09-08T06:54:00.001-07:00

I shoulda gave him a cigarette.

Fake Tex

2008-08-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

A while back I had a shot at doing a interstital (Interstishull?)
in the style of the great Tex Avery. These are some layouts I did.
I'm sad to say, I didn't get the gig.

Don Johnson Ghost

2008-08-21T17:47:00.000-07:00

I worked on The Real Ghost busters as a character designer. I worked alongside Bruce Timm and we got to sit and draw ghosts and monsters all day. It was a lot of fun and I learned so much watching Bruce draw.

MORE TWINS MOVIE DESIGNS

2008-08-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

There was a scene in the movie where Arnold goes into a 7/11 to buy a t-shirt. I was designing the shirt. Here are several marker roughs I did. The last one is the one used in the film.
Not my fave it's what they wanted.

TWINS

2008-08-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

I did some design work for Michael Gross and Ivan Reitman on the film Twins.
They were going to make watches to give the cast and crew and they wanted me to do caricatures of Arnold and Danny to be the hands. It was a real bitch to design because it had to be really stylized and be able to be read after being shrunk down to the size of watch hands. I did dozens of revisions.

The "ON MODEL" rut

2008-08-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

A couple of people have commented about my differing styles. Here are some ideas about style as it relates to comedy. These days animated shows are usually created and the characters are designed with a clear stylistic choice in mind. Usually they are derived from some previous show or combination of shows like Dexter's and Powerpuff. Fosters home is an example of taking this style in a new direction and refining it. The BGs are beautiful and the over all art direction and animation are amazing.
Now I'm seeing more shows that are taking stylistic chances like Chowder and Flapjack. I applaud these artists for taking chances and breaking out of the post Dexters/powerpuff style. Don't get me wrong, these are great shows but I like lots of variety.I recently directed a series that had that style embedded in it in spades.

Once a show is created, and the model sheets are done the style is written in stone and there is little room for an individual artist to put his stylistic influence into the show. This can impede the shows natural tendency to change and grow.
Look at the old Warners cartoons. An informed eye can tell easily which director or animator did the work and estimate when it was done. But with iron clad model sheets and over seas animators it is virtually impossible to push a pose or character in new and "Funnier" ways. Os R&ST we ignored the model sheets and stuck as closely as possible the style in the storyboard. That's why a cartoon storyboarded by Peter Avanzino still looked like he drew it when it was finished.

The point that I'm working toward is that I never do a drawing with a specific style in mind from the outset. Sometimes I will be working on a show with a set style and I try to be on model but I always find it to be a creative straitjacket.
Look at Kurtzman. His characters are nearly generic in terms of style or model. Harvey was ALWAYS about the pose/expression (same goddamn thing!).

As I've said many times I don't think I actually have a style although some people have told me that they can always spot my hand in the work. I'v had problems my entire career staying "ON MODEL"

Here's my design approach:
I have an idea of a character and the overall form of the show, comic or whatever. Then I start experimenting, scribbling mostly like in the horse and pig drawings I posted the other day. VERY loose. I try to get to know the character first. Draw them as many times as it takes to start to feel like you are getting some where. NEVER start carving out thick black lines in an attempt to get a style. Lots of people perfect a style but do not perfect the underlying character construction, line of action etc. I catch myself doing this too. All icing and no cake. It's a dead end trap. You spend so much time working on a beautiful rendering over a badly constructed or boring drawing.
Once you start getting to know your character, try to create a shorthand version. I find in storyboarding that after I've drawn a character a few dozen times I have developed a shortcut way to draw them that is always more alive, simple and yes funnier. Now that you know who you are drawing you can start to refine the individual moods and emotional states that you will put him through. You know when Ren gets really angry he suddenly develops harder angles and much more realistic anatomy?

Here's the main point of this whole diatribe:
The style you choose for a drawing should be about who your character is, what he/she is feeling. It's about how to use style as another layer to tell the story in a funnier way and not as a way to design the life out of it!

Do not grip your pencil tightly! Hold it loosely and use gesture. Use your whole arm. Do not draw slowly. make quick confident gestures/strokes. These gestures will bring you character to life and you always want to push the pose and expression because you know that once the drawings are translated into animation, much of the life will be corrected out of it.

Being a good cartoonist is like being a jazz musician. You need have great chops and not be afraid to..

Experiment
Invent
Exaggerate

Family Weekly Magazine illustration

2008-08-16T16:18:00.001-07:00

Art tips

2008-08-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

Chris Allison wrote:
'teach us more, bob! talk about the FUNNY drawing. there's almost no academic discussion on this stuff. big contrasts in design seems to be funny. emphasizing the grotesque. i dunno, sounds stupid to try to technically break it down but there must be general concepts or ideas.'

You know, Chris, It's hard to pin down into really simple terms. Part of drawing funny is being funny and knowing what makes a drawing funny. Study Clampett and Kurtzman, Dr Seuss, Old Mad magazine, National Lampoon. Mostly it's about experience and practice. Try new things and work with other funny people. Ask yourself why a drawing is funny. Look at Tex Avery cartoons. Freeze frame the funniest poses and copy the construction and expressions. I think
the reason I can draw funny and in so many styles is because of my many different
art related jobs over the years and the talented funny people i worked with..

I started out as a portrait and caricature artist at Six Flags over Texas. After that, Vincent Waller, Ben Vincent and I traveled all over the country living out of our suitcases doing caricatures at State fairs and rodeos. Most caricature artists like this have a formula for doing it. Little running bodies etc. We would experiment and try a new funny gag each time, experimenting with no rules. This was a great way to learn cartooning. I had to draw people on the spot all day long for years. This was a great training ground because doing caricatures of real people forced me to be and draw funny.
Then, cartoonist Gary Hallgren convinced me to move to NYC where I got a job doing movie parodies for Crazy magazine. Now I was doing caricatures and telling a story for print! I was lucky enough to be working for Larry Hama who was editing Crazy and all the Conan books as well as GI Joe, Bizzare Adventures and the Nam. He is a tough coach and really helped me under sequential storytelling and good solid staging and drawing.

During this time I was living in mid town manhattan in the back of Gary's cartoon studio where I learned many more aspects of professional cartooning working as Gary's assistant doing inking and painting color seperations for comics like his Mustang Sally strip he did for Swank magazine. Gary taught me everything I know about coloring comics for print.
At this same time I was working at Marvel as the art corrections team. This was a really good training ground because I had to fix ALL the art on ALL the Marvel titles. Now that I think back it's a little hard to imagine that I actually did that. I had to be able to replace a panel or a page quickly and seemlessly while trying to ape the styles of the particular artist of the issue. At this point the original bullpin team of Stan Lee was still there and these are the people I was working side by side all day every day. Many of the early Marvel artists were still working there and I got to stand over their shoulders and watch them, sponging up everything I could about comic art! By now I was working on real comic titles as an inker. I was lucky enough to get to be the inker for John Buscema on Conan. I can't tell you what that was like. People always go on about Jack Kirby but Buscema was one of the best comic artists that ever lived and I actually got to ink his work! I learned so much about not only inking but staging and anatomy!

Now I was doing pinups, covers and and pencilling comics too. One of the best titles I worked on was The Nam which was pencilled by the great Michael Golden. If you don't know Michael's work, get to know it! I still look at his work and wonder, "How the fuck does a human being draw that well?!" I inked his pages and did covers as well. You can learn so much by looking at his work.

I worked with many comic greats doing inking and assitsing artists such as Mike Kaluta who's work is in my opinion on a par with Moebius. I got to work with the great Marie Severin sister of John Severin and one of the original artists for Mad magazine in the 50's and 60's.

I owe this all to Gary Hallgren who introduced me to Larry and Larry who taught me the difference between drawing and drawing well.

During this same time I started doing illustrations for Family Weekly Magazine working for the brilliant art directors Rick Stark and Robert Altimus. Now I was doing editorial illustrations for a national weekly magazine. Each week I was given a new job in a new style which broadened my stylist abilities on a huge scale.

I also was lucky enough to get to draw comics for National Lampoon.

By this point I was living in a loft in Tribecca with Vincent Waller and a bunch of other really talented comic artists. It was an around the clock art studio where we had some of the most amazing parties. I was living, working, around massivle talented and creative people 24/7. Meanwhile one of the many people that lived in the loft was Jim Meskimen who is an actor and cartoonist too. He was doing character designs at Rankin Bass, the animation studio that did all those puppet animated specials in the 60, on Thundercats. I got a job as designer there and did design on BGs props and characters on 6 different series.

After getting burned out on comics and sick of living in the city, Vincent and I packed up and moved to LA and I've been working in animation in one form of another since. There I worked at Dic, Warners and Nick where we did Ren and Stimpy. That was a whole new school of thought working with such talents as John K., Lynne Naylor, Chris Reccardi, Jim Smith, Bill Wray and Vincent Waller.. the list is too long to even try to write down. After that I worked on many other series and lots of feature films too. Each job being completely different and requiring different skills which I drew apon my past experience to do.

So you see the secret is working with so many talented people, being a sponge and absorbing everything you see, and trying as many different kinds of art disciplines as possible. It's about experience.
I will try to come up with some specific theories about what I think is funny for a future post.

Scarface

2008-08-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

Watch your Burger buddy!

2008-08-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

Family Weekly Magazine illustration of a chick from the 60s

2008-08-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

Big Hair!

STUFF AND SUCH

2008-08-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

Commander Hoek and Cadet Stimpy

2008-08-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

I warned you!

2008-08-12T16:54:00.000-07:00

I said I'd post my ass off didn't I?

Swabbies

2008-08-12T16:22:00.001-07:00

I love to draw with a ball point!

How to draw goofy style characters

2008-08-12T15:49:00.000-07:00

(Note easy to follow instructions provided)

Rankin Bass Design

2008-08-12T15:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a really bad Xerox of one of my fave designs I did for Tigersharks.
He was the main Pirate bad guy. His name was Captian Bizarro
until I informed they who must be informed that there was a comic
book character by that name so they changed it to Captian Bizzarly.
LJN Toys did an action figure of him!

More Johnny and Lil' Adenoid

2008-08-12T10:55:00.000-07:00

Me and Gilbert

2008-08-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

Dah!

FBI guy

2008-08-10T17:04:00.000-07:00

Just farting around the other day with pen and ink.