Beasts!

This weekend I'll be done with a project that has taken the past year to complete. Many of you will probably be checking it out in a book coming out in the not too distant future. It began as an exercise, became an obsession, and soon it will be done. I'm finally going to be able to get back to color work, specifically colored pencils and painting, but the vast series of india ink creatures was a fun ride.

Buried By Time..

So I spent a few hours this morning coloring this guy on Photoshop. I was groggy, for reasons I'll explain later. Like me at my last shit job, Photoshop "Unexpectedly Quit". Wasted hours. I even tried out some new techniques that seemed to be working pretty well. Not sure if I'll even remember how they went. I also cleaned up some of the line work using Photoshop.
-So what you see here is a raw scan.
I mentioned to a new friend who's also a drawer that I do that - fix stuff on PhShop- and he looked at me like I just told him I think the new Nickelback album is pretty sweet. I felt some weird sense of shame for a second and then came-to; This drawing is for print. It's not meant to be hung anywhere. The guy is kind of an aging punk/indie type guy, so maybe he carries some bias form the glory days of "diy", that indie ethos. What do you guys think? Is it "cheating"? I used a non-repro blue pencil on this thing and I loved it.You can have a mees of lines underneath everything, but it gets washed out looking under your eyeballs as you ink.You could call that a form of cheating if you took the line of thought to it's logical end.
He does pretty good art though. No web presence to speak of. He does a kind of tattoo flash thing mixeed with UG comics of yore.

***********
I mentioned to Aeron quite some time ago about "drawing with fire."
I kind of wanted to keep it secret, imagining some big reveal.You have to understand that I was really absolutely sick of looking at and applying black lines of ink on white paper. I wanted something distinctly different. I'm not big on painting.I don't have facilities for etching,and it needed to be drawing-based, etc. At some point it hit me: Woodburning. "Pyrography" is the actual term, which sounds pretty cool, I must say.
So I looked into it and a week or so later I bought a Woodburning set-up:




It was sort of expensive, yeah. I enjoy it a great deal, but it takes some getting used to.It's a really bizarre feeling to burn these perfect lines into wood.
I haven't finished any so far that I think are very good. Here are a couple of attempts:


-This one I pencilled out and I like it okay, I just don't know how to finish it. I was experminting with the various "nibs" that came with the set during this one, which wasn't a great idea. I was a little too eager, maybe. If you refer to the pic of the kit, you'll see those tubes with the red caps. Those are the "nib" ( actually called "tips") containers; lines of various thickness, different "shader" type tips, etc.
The process, when done correctly, is actually a lot like tattooing: Pencil on paper, transfer paper, apply it to wood, etc.
I haven't done it all the way through yet, for a number of reasons.



-This one quickly devolved into a sketchbook page on wood. It's a good way to learn what not to do.
I plan on doing a lot of this over the summer. I'm a little reticent to describe exactly where I want to take it, but roughly speaking I think I want to do a kind of ornate/decorative/ geometric kind of thing, with a certain rawness to it.I've even thought about finding ways to age the wood after I've burned on it. I want it to be some kind of arcane artifact or something.
Most people who burn do a kind of craft at the cabin thing with it, a lot of bad wildlife art. The more contemporary guys I've seen who burn ( I was kind of dismayed to note that a number of contemporary artists do woodburning, hate to say.) do a kind of ironic play on the crafty cabin thing.Not at all what I'm after.
I have already planted the seed in a friend of mine, a guy I grew up with who came home to MN for a visit a while back. I think he posted some pics on his blog ( If any of you guys skateboard, you might now who he is.). You'll have to scroll, I imagine. He's burning on old leather bags, which is pretty cool.*
You can also use various color wood stains and even watercolor on woodburnings, something I'll definitely explore this summer.

That's if this guy doesn't chew the shit out of my wood:


-We just got him yesterday.
I'm trying to squeeze in too much info here: My significant other and I just bought a house. That's why I haven't been posting much. We moved in maybe 3 weeks ago and it's been pretty chaotic. We couldn't help but immediately add to the chaos by picking up the little monster at the pound yesterday.( Did you know they put microchips in dogs at the Humane Society nowadays?) He's a Boxer mix of some kind, probably with a generic Retriever or something.
This is why I didn't sleep last night. I'm hallucinating right now from lack of sleep..
You guys got any name suggestions?
He enjoys running awkwardly on hardwood floors, pooping, and looking unutterably cute. I wonder if, in a parallel universe, that Earths HP Lovercraft wrote about things so cute they destroyed minds?

********************************

Did I mention that I'm pretty psyched on EBD right now? We've got great new members and one on the way that I'm a big fan of. Tonight I'm going to work on a banner, and I invite any of you who're interested to do the same.We'll throw up that code
that cycles through the banners.

* I just scrolled through his photo blog a bit and couldn't find the image in question.I know it's there, but you're in for some serious scrollin' if you want to look for it.

*********************

In Lieu Of

Hi Everybody.

Welp, here's a silly self-portrait in lieu of anything more substantive... just something to post for the time being.

Hope you all have a pleasant weekend... I've had about 15 cups of coffee so far today, and I'm about to top that off with some gin. Good times!

32

I turn 32 today. I like getting older quite a bit as it gives me more of an excuse for my uncontrollable patriarchal nature. My wife got me the new big Gary Panter book, which is pretty amazing, really makes me happy to look at it. My sons got me a high quality American flag, made in the USA. Awesome, the neighborhood i live in isn't exactly American flag country, so i enjoy sticking pins under people's bottoms in whatever way i can, especially if it is a morally & culturally complicated way. I checked out a couple of Bosch & Brueghel documentaries & books from the library as i'm heading in that direction. I think i'm going to start working on my traditional style of drawing & painting & even trying out some of that ergot influenced Dutch Mastery. I found a fun little key to Boschian symbolism which i'll reprint here, just for the hell of it.

Pigs = false priests; gluttony
Fruit = carnal pleasure
Rats = lies against the Church; filth; sex
Fish = false prophets; lewdness
Closed Books = futility of knowledge in dealing with human stupidity
Flames = ergot poisoning; fires of Hell
Flying Monsters = hallucinations of ergot poisoning sufferers; devil's envoys
Keys = knowledge
Lutes and Harps = instruments for praise of God and pursuit of earthly love
Breasts = fertility
Mussel Shells = infidelity
Black Birds = unbelievers; death or rotting flesh
Knives = punishment of evil
Rabbits = multiplication of the race
Eggs = sexual creation; key symbol of alchemy
Ice Skaters = folly
Funnels = deceit and intemperance; false alchemist or false doctor
Strawberries = fleeting joys of life, love
Owls = great learning
Ears = gossip
Spheres = alchemical apparatus

I'll have to develop some sort of similar symbolic group for my pieces, because it's alot of fun. Here are a couple of older pieces i don't know if i've placed on this blog. The first is a man to cut out & pose using brass brads. The second is a poster/calendar i did for the esoteric publisher Wonderella. The poster/calendar style is most likely the direction i'm developing next.

Bubble Gutz

One of a strange species from Hob Bob, the bubble gutz come in all shapes and sizes and have translucent bubble like bodies. They absorb random wildlife unfortunate enough to get stuck in their bubblegutz.

the six "Virtues"

SCIENTIST RIDS THE WORLD OF THE EVIL CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES

Here's a few solid tracks from my favorite Scientist album, with one seriously awesome cover. I love the idea of these guys chasing Dracula, The Mummy, Frankenstien, The Wolfman, and a horde of zombie creeps out of the swamp by the power of fat ass dub reggae beats. Eat some dub you undead mothers!


Scientist - The Voodoo Curse

Scientist - Your Teeth In My Neck

Scientist - The Corpse Rises

boxing machine helmet

Color!

I just started messing around with color. I'm adding a sequence to the book I'm working on that will hopefully look completely different from the rest of the book.

A Note of Introduction

Hi All.

My name is Jeffrey Meyer and I was invited by Luke to join the blog - thanks to him for thinking of me and thanks to everyone else for all the great art you've posted here. I've been reading "Ducks" for about a year now, I guess, and I'm really impressed with everyone's work - you all have such distinctive, accomplished styles. It's very inspiring, so I'll do my best to contribute work equally interesting... I hope. I recognize many of you from various places online, in particular the Comics Journal message board.

To be honest I haven't been drawing regularly for about three years now; from about the ages of 15-30 it was like a religious obsession for me, but then one day I just sort of... stopped... there were all sorts of reasons (and excuses, I admit) but I found myself very frustrated with my abilities and my imagination (and, of course, lack of success). So I began to make collages to amuse myself. After a couple years of this, I was surprised to find that not only was the process of making art enjoyable again, but I was actually impressed with the results - it's remarkable what happens when you have no expectations about the finished work, and you don't have to exercise your hands and eyes like an athlete. Of course I'd like others to be as impressed as I am, but I understand collage is not everyone's cup of tea... Funny, though, good drawing is still my favorite medium to look at, there's just something about it that really grabs me, and I have the utmost respect for people who draw well.

At any rate, I'm not sure what kind of work I'll be putting up alongside all of yours, but if you'd like a look at some of what I've already done, please visit my site here.

Nihilistic English Bubblegum

This is an old Sex Pistols interview record, just a fan product to make some extra money off of, but the cover is so perfect. The Sex Pistols' manager Malcolm Mclaren pulled a Warholian avant garde underground art/cultural event as commodity before the Sex Pistols even had a chance to properly dissolve & become part of history. With Jamei Reid executing this larger vision, you've got something quite weird & quite wonderful.

The Great Rock&Roll Swindle is seen as one of the most terrible movies ever made, but i just love it. It's so English.

Crunchy Beats!

One of the crunchiest beats known to mankind was made by none other than John Carpenter.

For more extremely crunchy beats, play the first track on here by Luke Eargoggle. And if you're still hungry for another bowl of captain crunch beats, play some Mos Deaf and Massive Attack - I Against I or Whodini's Haunted House of Rock.

And then there is possibly the crunchiest beat driven song in the world..

Le Dernier Cri's 9th Hopital Brut!

I plan on contributing and I think some of you might be interested as well. Here's a message I received today from Le Dernier Cri..

And I'll just take this opportunity to say.. I love Le Dernier Cri, if it was a woman I'd marry it and have a bunch of mutated babies with it.

"next we 'll publish the new hopital brut number 9 !!!!!!

number 9 ...number 9 ....number 9...for 2009 ...9 ISSUES IN
THE YEAR...9 DIFFERENT KIND OF PAPER INSIDE ...
9*9=81 pages for each issue...silkscreen
cover and quadri / trikro/bikro/dirrect color ofset and
silscreen ......at the end put all on them in a box and you
get the monster....
size 24 cm/32,5 cm...or 24cm/16,25 cm ...
(9.5 /12.6 inch ...OR 9.5 /6.40 inch )
all the contributors can send what they want all the year
...
we need 9 differents cover with the tittle ...
it could be some story or art who can run during the 9
issues...
limited edition of 500 copies...each artist get one....
sorry no more time and place for storage .... first dead
line end of october
....first issue in january....and after we will explose
.....number 9...number 9 ....number 9...
send this information to everybody who can like this stupid
idea !!!!!
/TO THE END OF 2009 / 9 ISSUE IN 12 MONTH !!!
DEADLINE EVERYDAY !!!!!!TO 2010!!!!!!!"

Digital textures

Hmmm...I don't know...

ToonRemix

Pop eye

Bottle Neck

Inchworm Album Art

Inchworm, a local (Chicago), indie band that, in their own words, "...mixes psychedelia, rock, and folky singer/songwriter stuff into a savory blend of original music," recently hired me to create the art for their forthcoming EP, Silent Observer.


Click the above image to enlarge.


Click the above image to enlarge.


Cover detail.


Back cover detail.


Inside detail.

Brian Morissey, a band member and my primary contact on the job, wanted a cover that incorporated various thematic elements from the songs on the album. Naturally, my first request was for a copy of the songs. Even without a specific call to incorporate the themes of the songs into the art, it's absolutely necessary to hear a band's music and get a feel for them. By proxy, you can make inferences about the type of people listening to the album and what sort of art might ring true with them. I think my background as a print designer makes me see all jobs as branding jobs on some level which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Staying true to the band and their audience while giving things my own unique spin makes album art a pretty collaborative process. Managers, band members, and, depending on the label or the agency handling things for the label, art directors all bring something to the table.

The music industry is a bit of a different animal than most my work. Pay rates seem to be down across the board and a lot of the managers, specifically, just want merch and they want it yesterday. I sometimes get a sideways look when I ask to hear the band's music and voice my intention to send over multiple roughs and concepts. IE, "Just draw something, eh!"

If I get that sort of vibe, I respond accordingly and do the best I can with the materials and time provided. Ideally, I'd pass on all such jobs, but, hey, we all have bills to pay and a few sneak in. Luckily, this job had more in common with the vast majority of commercial illustration that I do. I did some initial thumbnails which I didn't think to upload, but otherwise have a shot of each step below.







Getting the colors done right was a little tougher. You see, I have a bit of a case of the neons. I love bold, saturated, secondary colors that really have no conventional right to sit next to each other. They're not right for every instance by any means, but my natural inclination is to pursue them and at least try them on for size.

With some back and forth with the band, I settled on something with a more limited palette. Using fewer colors and highlighting only the important bits of the characters and props strengthened things quite a bit. In the end, I'm really happy with how it turned out. I can't wait to see it printed!

Beware the G Man

Goblin's Armpit

With all this talk of zines, i'm putting out the 20th anniversary issue of Goblin's Armpit this summer. This coincides with my obsession with 1988, the year my life changed forever as my parents got a divorce & i stopped seeing the world in the same way. 1988 was the year i discovered the AKIRA comic & movie, the Dark Knight Returns, Clockwork Orange & college radio when it was still pretty intense & subversive (lots of hip hop & industrial & punk & heavy metal shows). The zine should traverse through the different stages of Goblin's Armpit, from Subgenius & RPG obsession, to budding Punk rocker Hip Hop Acid House weirdo phase, 1989-1992, to full on Punk Rock bad attitude 1993-1995, to post-apocalyptic medieval Punk period 1995-1997, to Satanic heavy metal gothic futurist period 1997-1998, to totalitarian futurist period 1998-1999. The zine then took a ten year hiatus as i was involved in numerous other projects. Something about 2008 really says that this zine needs to return, i'm not sure what it is, but it is also saying that all of these different periods need to meld together into something new & crazy.