Illustration, Kiddo Books and Animation by Greg Matusic

My Make Time, Not War Rant

2012-01-11T08:26:00.000-08:00

Make time, not war is an anti-procrastination slogan that I just made up from nothing and commonly associate with my feeble claims of not having enough free time for illustrating. The war reference? I suppose that symbolizes my anger over my perceived lack of time. Or it could be something from the 60's, but that's complete crap of course because over the length of a 24-hour Earth day I have plenty of opportunities to get some drawing done. I just don't have those opportunities in large and consecutive blocks of time that many full-time illustrators (and the full-time unemployed occupiers) are blessed with. Oh, I doodle the hell out of the legal pads here at my day job desk. I also sketch on Starbucks napkins when I'm waiting in line for an expensive and complicated drink to be made. I draw on the backs on envelopes containing promises of lower rate credit cards and magazine subscription promotions I have no interest in because they offer a clean white canvas for the idea for a new character I had just an hour or so earlier. I even illustrate on my iPod Touch now, using the freshly downloaded SketchBook Mobile X App and my index finger. I figured out how to save the image to my iPod photos folder and then email it to myself in case I want to place it in to Illustrator or to use/post it as is. I've also been sketching on those extra receipts or sometimes napkins at restaurants lately, adding a "Thanks for the awesome lunch!" voice bubble from a caricature of myself or my son or a random penguin or a pirate with a full tummy. And I always add my web url because hey, you never know...

So the time is there, and actually the results are there. I suppose I need to shut up now and gather these napkins, legal pad pages, receipts and iPod finger paintings together so I can combine them with my creative powers for the good of the picture book industry. But where the hey will I find the time to organize of of these papers and files?

Just kidding.

So where do you guys and gals find the time?

Way sexy beach sketch of me and my lovely wife.

Stay drawing, my friends.

Hey, Kids! It's the 2012 KidLitArt Picture Book Dummy Challenge!

2012-01-04T10:10:00.000-08:00

Get your pencils, drawing pads, laptops and coffee mugs ready, because the 2012 KidLitArt Picture Book Dummy Challenge is about to begin. You can attend an intro "meeting" on twitter this Thursday (January 5th) at 9pm EST. Just search #KidLitArt and watch the tweets fly in.

In the meantime, head on over to the KidLitArt web site to read a summary of my experience from last year's KidLitArt Picture Book Dummy Challenge.

And just for being so swell, here's a camel flying a plane:

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T05:45:00.000-08:00

Has any comic captured the excitement and potential that each new year brings better than Bill Watterson's final Calvin and Hobbes strip from December 31, 1995?

Looking forward to a big and busy 2012. Here's my Kiddo Lit to-do list for the year:

Finish revisions on "Pirates Go Shopping" and start submitting.
Work on PBDummy submissions for "I Can Read" series.
Attend the NESCBWI Conference (woo-hoo!)
Attend the EasternNYSCBWI Mid-Hudson Valley Conference (TBA).
Participate in the #KidLitArt Picture Book Dummy Challenge.
Participate in Julie Hedlund's 12x12 Picture Book Writing Challenge.
Participate in Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo Challenge.
Attend monthly EasternNYSCWBI ShopTalk meetings.
Blog more often. :)

I'll keep you all posted on my progress and recap all of the events.

Hope everyone has a fun and productive 2012.

Now let's go exploring...

Merry Christmas, all y'all n' whatnot.

2011-12-08T13:24:00.001-08:00

EEK = MC Scared

2011-10-28T03:51:00.000-07:00

Jake has always referred to Frankenstein* as "FrankenEinstein" and who are we to correct such cuteness? So I had an idea to pop FrankenEinstein on a Pingg! Halloween card. Could have spent more time on the illustration (I've been REALLY busy lately) but I think the "EEK = MC Scared" caption makes the card. Should have added "Have a BRILLIANT Halloween" somewhere....

My New Favorite Commercial

2011-09-14T07:22:00.000-07:00

Picture Book Dummy Update: Critique and Falling Leaves

2011-09-01T07:36:00.000-07:00

Last week I heard back from Lit Agent Jennifer Mattson at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency concerning my "Pirates Go Shopping" picture book dummy. Her critique was very positive, her comments were spot on and her suggestions will easily make this a much better book. Here's a summary of her critique...

OVERALL: Jennifer thought the idea of pirates at a shopping mall was original and very appealing in that it doesn't conform to traditional pirate activities. I knew it was overly wordy and she agreed with me. She also mentioned I needed to vary the posturing and gestures of my characters which is something I know I need to work on. A lot of my sketches looked like the pirates were posing for a photograph. I already started to fix this issue before receiving her critique in order to prep my dummy for submission to an SCBWI Falling Leaves Master Class Retreat.

The Captain is still a bit posed, but I kind of like him looking at the reader, shrugging and thinking, "What do we do now?". Working on the shading and adding some more details - texture to the ship, another pirate in the crow's nest...

DUMMY/ARTWORK: She found my illustration sample nicely bold, with an animation style that was popular in the marketplace. Yay! I'm marketable! This was a worry of mine since my style isn't the traditional picture book hand-drawn style. This fear actually caused me to change it up a bit, using the pencil tool in Adobe Illustrator and my Wacom tablet in an attempt to create a hand-drawn look as opposed to my usual pen tool/mouse technique. I liked the result, but in an effort to stay true to myself and what I do best I revised that page for my Falling Leaves submission. I made a few character and color changes as well. I feel much more comfortable with the revised pen tool version. Here are the two pieces:

Pencil Tool

Pen Tool

Can I copyright that scarecrow pose? Are the pirates on the ends doing the "YMCA"?

She also mentioned utilizing vignettes on some of the spreads. We've discussed this numerous times in #kidlitart chats and I had actually planned on adding some, but I was so wrapped up in writing the story I let those important visual details slip by. Lesson learned.

STORY: Jennifer really liked the plot as well as the pirate lingo I used, which she mentioned makes for a fine read-aloud book. Again, she pointed out that the text was a bit too long with too much unnecessary filler. I really like her idea of using dialog text in word bubbles as I think that would work really well with my illustration style. She directed me to at a few places where it took her a few beats to figure out the connection between a few of the story points. What seemed obvious to me (and my wonderful wife who read through this almost as many times as I did) wasn't to her - an objective reader. Once again, another set of eyes...

There's certainly plenty of constructive criticism in Jennifer's critique to keep me fueled and inspired while I make improvements on the dummy. I couldn't have asked for a more positive experience.

Additional thanks go to Wendy Martin, Bonnie Adamson, and my peers at #kidlitart. I couldn't have gotten this far without your knowledge and support. I hope I can eventually be as helpful to beginning picture book authors/illustrators as you guys and gals have been to me.

FALLING LEAVES: The day after receiving my critique from Jennifer I found out I was accepted to the Falling Leaves Retreat. I'm craaaaaazy excited for this opportunity to show off my illustrations and picture book dummy to folks in the PB industry. I'll schmooze with editors from Candlewick, Scholastic, Holiday House, Marshall Cavendish and Sterling and well as an AD from Sterling. Workshops, writing exercises, manuscript and portfolio critiques at a beautiful Adirondack retreat and conference center the first weekend in November. I'll be sure to share lots of info, stories and photos.

Pirates, Pirates Everywhere, Let's All Have a Drink!

2011-08-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

It was a month and a few days since I sent my picture book dummy to an agent at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency for a critique. Couldn't wait for a response before making some edits/improvements to "Pirates Go Shopping" though because I had to quickly prep it to send to the event organizers of the SCBWI Eastern NY's Falling Leaves 2011: Master Class Retreat focusing on picture books (whew!) - taking place at the Silver Bay Retreat and Conference Center on Lake George (NY) in early November.

In other words, I've been up to my eyepatch in pirates.

I should hear back from the Lit Agent shortly and the Falling Leaves peeps before September 1st. I'll let the story sit until then before doing any more construction on it. In the meantime I have a few freelance illustrations to work on as well as some Halloween designs I'd like to post on Pingg! within the next couple of weeks.

Can't post without a pic, so here's a peek at a clip of a part of a page from "Pirates Go Shopping".

*It was just suggested that I tell you fine readers that "Pirates Go Shopping" is in the hands of an Andrea Brown Lit Agent because I was one of the three winners of the #kidlitart Picture Book Dummy Challenge Pitch Fest. Click the link for details on all that.

Illustration Friday: Stay

2011-07-12T09:06:00.000-07:00

Man, I love Illustration Friday, but it usually slips my mind until Friday rolls around. But this week I remembered to sketch, scan and illustrate (Adobe Illustrator CS5 on an iMac) an entry for this wee's topic: "Stay". Let's hear it for small victories!

My first "Stay" thought was to draw a doggie. You know: "Stay!" "Sit!" "Heal!" "Get a job!" I decided instead to take the road less traveled and chose the title of a song that is definitely less listened to these days compared to my wild rumpus days known as the mid 1990s.

Stay was written and performed by Lisa Loeb. It was on the soundtrack to the highly over-rated 1994 movie, Reality Bites, which tried to appeal to the Generation X population that had come of age with the John Hughes' movies. Some bought into it, but I knew right away that Ben Stiller wasn't going define the person I was going to become. Still couldn't resist picking up the soundtrack though. The illustration is a scene (pretty much the only scene) from Loeb's video for the song. She sings to the camera. The cat jumps off the chair and runs off. Loeb continues singing, looking right at the viewer as if we're the one(s) leaving. It's like three minutes and three second of eye contact and guilt.

Sure Stay is a "chick" tune, but I've always been a fan of women singing to me (Tanya Donelly from Belly, Kim Deal from the Pixies/the Breeders, Amy Winehouse, Kristin Hersh from Throwing Muses, Suzanne Vega, yadda yadda yadda). And Loeb's nerdy kitty cat glasses certainly don't hurt. Meow!

Illustration Friday: Stay

Here's the video for those who don't remember, never knew or choose to forget:

And Here's The Pitch...

2011-06-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

The amazing gals over at KidLitArt (Wendy Martin and Bonnie Adamson) have done an amazing job over the last 25 weeks running the Kidlitart Picture Book Dummy Challenge. New to the Challenge? Here's a brief summary in their own (blog) words:

What is the Dummy Challenge?
A 25-week online group challenge to create and submit a picture book dummy.

Start date: January 6

End date: June 30

Who can join?
Anyone! Though geared primarily toward author/illustrators, writers who are not artists can benefit from portions of the dummy exercise, and illustrators without an original manuscript can use the process to create a dummy portfolio piece.

Want more info? Here's the official #kidlitart #PBDummy blog post.

So my son, Jake, absolutely LOVES pirates. We've read so many pirate stories, listened to so many pirate songs, watched so many pirate cartoons and had so many pirate adventures with so many of his pirate toys that writing/illustrating a pirate story seemed like the thing to do. We were at the dining room table one day drawing and coloring (pirates of course) when I asked him what kind of pirate story I should write. Without hesitation he answered, "Pirates Go Shopping". My PBDummy idea changed at least five times before I finally settled on Jake's original concept of "Pirates Go Shopping". Sorry, kiddo. Should have listened the first time.

Jump ahead 20-something weeks to last Thursday's #kidlitart chat and our discussion on pitching your PB idea to an agent and/or editor. As always, the tweet chat was fantastic, fun and full of valuable info. And just when we figure the #PBDummy Challenge can't get any better, Wendy Martin announces that there was a surprise for all #kidlitart #PBDummy Challenge peeps - she had arranged for an agent to review three PB dummies. Holy cow! How cool was that? Answer: VERY cool. Suddenly, "Pitch Fest" was born! Challenge members were asked to post a pitch for their dummy project on the #kidlitart blog. An agent (who shall remain secret until this Thursday's chat) agreed to review the pitches, pick her three favorites, and offer a detailed critique of each of the three winning dummies. Again - How cool is that?!?!

So after a couple of days of jumbling words around, here's my pitch for "Pirates Go Shopping":

"Pirates Go Shopping"

Newfound treasure?
AYE!!!

No place to bury it?
ARRGH!!!

What's a pirate to do? Go shopping of course!

Come on an adventure with Captain Goldbeard and his oddball crew as they set sail for The Big City and a monsoon of a shopping spree – the finest foods, the trendiest clothes and the latest high-tech gadgets. But these scurvy shoppers soon discover that no one in The Big City sells what they're really looking for.

Yeah, I ended it all with a preposition, but it seemed to work. I'm pleased with it, and feel I have a decent shot at earning the critique - against some pretty stiff competition mind you...

Win or lose the Pitch Fest, the Picture Book Dummy Challenge has been an amazing experience. I've wanted to write and illustrate a picture book for a long time, and Wendy, Bonnie and the wonderful and supportive group of fellow illustrators, painters and authors taking part in the Challenge have helped me come very close to finally completing the task. I hope everyone else involved feels the same way. I'm pretty sure they do.

This post wouldn't be complete without a pirate illustration. So here's a sketch I did for Jake at the dining room table a few weeks ago. The coloring is all his. The kiddo's an artist already. :)

Latest Illos: Hogan's Hideaway

2011-06-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

My old pal Kev owns a hip Hip HIP restaurant on Park Avenue in Rochester, NY called Hogan's Hideaway. He was nice enough to commission me to come up with a couple of illustrations for his summer advertising spots in City Newspaper. Good guy, that Kevin.

This one should attract the hipsters. And lobsters.

And while Hogan's isn't a tiki joint, I think this one screams summer.

Now I want a cold blue drink. And fries... Heck, I always want fries.

Illustration Friday: Asleep

2011-06-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

Here's my entry for this past week's topic over at illustrationfriday.com: "Asleep".

Prrrrrrr...

Typical busy summer weekend is almost here. Cheers to the cooler temperatures!

Thursday Update w/ Greg Matusic

2011-05-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

Lots going on.

Working on a couple of books - writing and illustrating. One's for the #kidlitart Picture Book Dummy Challenge. The other is for a project that I'm pretty sure is super secret, but should be revealed/available by the end of May. There are also a couple of freelance projects to work on as well as my semi-annual web site redesign, which I'm usually psyched about but not so much this year. Still, it needs to be overhauled, updated and made more charming/accessible to reflect the current book projects. Plus, I threw a new header up on my site as well as this blog page. Doesn't really work too well. Well done, sir! :P

On the verge of purchasing a Cintiq tablet - the Cadillac of digital drawing tablets. I'm crazy excited about it. Should chop my illustrating time in half - at least. Seriously. As much as I love the effect creating/filling stylized outlines in Illustrator it's just taking too long per drawing. The Cintiq will remedy that fo shizzle.

#kidlitart chat tonight at 9pm on the Twitter. Yay!

I never like to leave you kids without a recent illustration, so here's a happy doggie...

Later, gator.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

Yeah. It was yesterday, but we were busy doing Mother's Day stuff. Here's an illustration I did for W to mark the occasion.

From the Aspiring Writer Series

2011-05-01T05:21:00.000-07:00

Our son, Jake (3 years old), wanted to type a message this morning. Here goes...

jake
rrrobert

hedgehog
elliot

pppppppppppppppirate

sedgewick

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz (Now I know my ABC's next time won't you sing with me - DO IT!)

Staring Contest

2011-04-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

These guys have been at it for over two weeks now!

Today... is EARTH DAY!

2011-04-22T07:38:00.000-07:00

Today... is EARTH DAY! There will be a magic show at zero-nine-thirty! Chaplain Charlie will tell you about how the free world will conquer Global Warming with the aid of Al Gore and a few Marines!

Masters of Egg Decorating

2011-04-14T12:23:00.000-07:00

No, it's not a new reality show. It's my Easter ecard collection now available over at pingg.com. Here's the link. All three in the series are posted below and are free to send (via pingg.com) to whomever you may want to send a free Easter ecard to. Hop to it, people!

Picasso: Blue Easter

van Eggogh

Hop Hop Pollock

Welcome, April!

2011-04-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

I decided to skip a March blog because everyone knows the month of March isn't any fun. Sure there's St. Patrick's Day, March Madness and Spring Break, but I rarely stop at the pubs these days, I didn't fill out a bracket and I'm too old (and my son's too young) for Spring Break. So welcome, April! Where the hell have you been?

I'm a bit behind (shocking!) on my #kidlitart Picture Book Dummy Challenge, but I'm starting to pick up the pace. Here's a sneak peek at character from my book drawn on our driveway on an extremely rare warm/dry March day.

I'm playing illustration ping pong with fellow #kidlitart(ist) - Michael Smith. Based on a silly concept a few of us were joking about during the first #kidlitart PBDummy chat (a pirate giving a pig a piggy back ride), Michael did a great illustration of a viking riding a pig. How awesome is that? So it was my turn to illustrate something based on Michael's drawing. Here's what I came up with...

I call it "Super Awesome Sunny Wicked Fun Lemonade Day!" Can you guess why? Michael's going to set up a blog for our illustration game. I'll post the link and add to my links section as soon as it's up.

Had a great time at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art back on the 19th of March attending a program titled, "Overcoming Challenges: A Program for Writers and Illustrators". Here are the official details:

"Four veteran authors and author-illustrators participate in a two-part program that addresses the challenges we all face as writers and illustrators of children's book. A book sale and signing will round out the day.

Mary Newell DePalma has illustrated twenty picture books and is the author of five, including A Grand old Tree, an IRA/CBC Children's Choice in 2006.

Jo Knowles is the author of Lessons From A Dead Girl and Jumping Off Swings. She teaches
writing for children in the MFA program at Simmons College. Awards include the PEN New England Discovery Award, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults and Quick Picks Top Ten.

Brian Lies is the award-winning author-illustrator of more than twenty picture books, including the New York Times bestsellers Bats at the Beach and Bats at the Library, and his recent Bats at the Ballgame.

Barbara O'Connor has written seven middle grade novels, including The Fantastic Secret of
Owen Jester and How to Steal a Dog. Her numerous awards include ALA Notables, Parents Choice Gold and Silver, Massachusetts Book Award, and several state children's choice awards."

The panel was amazing and answered a number of pertinent questions, adding many suggestions and humorous stories based on their years of experience in the industry. I think I did a pretty decent job taking notes and promise to get them posted on their own blog entry some time this week.

Wendi and Jake were nice enough to make the drive out with me (actually, Wendi drove), dropping me off at the Carle for the morning session (they passed the time at Trader Joe's and Michael's Craft Center) returning for the lunch break with some food from Panera (sweet!). They enjoyed the Carle's art studio and story time in the library while I was in the afternoon session. Get to the Carle if you can. It an amazing place. Here are a couple of pics from our trip...

Got a great gift from the always wonderful Wendi last week - a ticket to Opening Day at Yankee Stadium! How cool was that? Very cool, right? Here's a photo of me in the stands during Mark Teixeira's 3rd inning 3-run HR...

See me in the white circle? I swear that's me. Anyway, it was really cold and windy, but it was awesome to walk around the new Stadium and see the Yanks win the first game of the season. Hoping to get to another game (at least) this season.

PictureBook Dummy Challenge, Illo ping pong, a family trip to the Carle for a writers/illustrators conference and Opening Day at Yankee Stadium. Maybe I owe March an apology.

Ketchup 4 February

2011-02-22T13:09:00.000-08:00

Busy days at the office this past month - which is fantastic of course, but it leaves a little less time for ideas and quick sketches for other projects. I'm not complaining! Really I'm not!

Third time's the charm concerning the #kidlitart Picture Book Dummy Challenge (see post below). Filing away my first couple of ideas and have been focusing on an idea that Jake and I both enjoy - The Pie Rats. Obviously these are pirate rats who sail the seas in search of ~~gold and precious booty~~ pies. I've really enjoyed outlining the story and have about half written, which puts be a bit behind schedule but hell, I'm used to that. Already have stacks of Pie Rat character sketches which I'll narrow down in the next couple of weeks to find the final stars of the book. Fun!

Freelance-wise I finished an illustration for a Sweet 16 party for a friend of the family. The colors aren't there yet, but I'm happy with the look of the design...

I also have a new blog set to launch in early March: The Hep Daddy - One Dad's thoughts on a bunch of cool stuff like: Art! Cartoons! Comics! Crafts! Culture! Eats! Fun! Education! Holidays! Jokes! Media! Music! Play! Sports! Etc.!

Just wanted a place to share some ideas on being a dad as well as links and stories that other dads (and moms too) may find cool and helpful. As the thoughts come in I'll post them up ASAP. Here's the official The Hep Daddy logo...

Carry on, good people. Carry on.

Mug Shot

2011-01-28T13:07:00.000-08:00

Haven't done much finished illustration work lately. More writing than anything, although I've been creating lots of rough sketches for my picture book dummy as well as the usual random doodles on the nearest piece of paper. Still, I wanted to post SOMETHING! Then I remembered the new mug shot I drew for my Facebook and Twitter accounts. My lovely wife doesn't think my nose is so "puggish", and I suppose she's right, but we'll leave it as is for now. Enjoy...

Kidlitart Picture Book Dummy Challenge is a GO

2011-01-10T12:12:00.000-08:00

Got great feedback concerning Step 1 of the Kidlitart Picture Book Dummy Challenge: Pick your project. Booger! Pirates! Booger Pirates! Perfect for the 5+ year-old set. We've got a great group of folks involved in the Challenge, and the twitter chat itself was both educational and highly entertaining.

The positive feedback provides some extra motivation as I head toward the 4-week long step 2: Draft the story. I've written a few stories recently for both my wife and Jake. Most are pretty good, a few... not so much, but I'll consider failed efforts to be learning experiences. I recall some advice I picked up a while back that claimed beginning authors should avoid constructing a rhyming story because their writing/rhyming skills probably aren't strong enough. Know what I say to that? Too bad - so sad. I'm TOTALLY going to rhyme this one. I haven't listened to the Beastie Boys for the past 20-something years without picking up a few tricks of the trade.

Later, sugar booger! (See?!?!?!)

*I really ought to add a clip of art work to every post. Since I don't have anything that's super recent, here's a Christmas card I designed back in December for some close friends of our family.

Pull, Sparky! PULL!!!

Picture Book, You Big Dummy!

2011-01-05T07:40:00.000-08:00

Excuse the title of this post. I was channeling my inner Fred Sanford...

I discovered #kitlitart on Twitter (@kidlitart) late last year. Here's what kidlitart is about in their own words:

"...#kidlitart, a live Twitter chat Thursdays at 9:00 pm Eastern, for children's book illustrators, picture book authors, author/illustrators and friends. Check back weekly to read transcripts, comment on previous chats and suggest topics for upcoming chats."

I've participated in a few #kidlitart Twitter chats and I've checked the transcripts from others. Good stuff. Educational and entertaining - all helping to foster a sense of community within the picture book community.

So I checked up on Tweets yesterday and found this awesome event listing:

Welcome to the Kidlitart Picture Book Dummy Challenge!

What is the Dummy Challenge? 
A 25-week online group challenge to create and submit a picture book dummy.

Start date: January 6

End date: June 30

Who can join?
Anyone! Though geared primarily toward author/illustrators, writers who are not artists can benefit from portions of the dummy exercise, and illustrators without an original manuscript can use the process to create a dummy portfolio piece.

Are there any rules for the challenge?
Nope. The idea is to have a great time while accomplishing a goal. There are no formal sign-ups or check-ins required—but if you've ever participated in a similar challenge, you know the value of community: checking in regularly, encouraging others, allowing yourself to be held accountable to a schedule—all this will help you get the most from the experience.

Complete details can be found on the original kidlit blog post.

I was registered for a class on making a dummy picture book at a local art center last February. Turns out I was the only one interested, so class was dismissed before it even started. Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), I'm completely psyched for this challenge. #kidlitart is a great community for chats, so I'm figuring it will also be a great one in this capacity as well. I also appreciate the 25-week schedule. It may seem like a long period of time to some, but trust me - time flies when deadlines are involved.

Details for Week 1 will be posted later today, but the initial schedule on the blog shows:
Jan. 6-Jan. 13 (1 week): Pick your project

I have three story ideas in mind - a pirate story, a cat story and a bird story. Hopefully I'll have a better idea of which one to choose after the Week 1 details come out. And I'll post semi-daily/weekly updates here on the blog. Should be fun! Wish me luck!

Oh, and we all get to use this really boss "twibbon" (designed by illustrator, Diandra Mae) to place on our websites, blogs, profile pics, etc.

Perks and benefits already! Told you this was a great community.

You're Only A Day Away

2011-01-03T19:05:00.001-08:00

Looking forward to tomorrow. Not that today was bad or anything. Just want to draw some new pictures is all.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2011: Day 2

2011-01-02T07:44:00.001-08:00

Browsing all of the great illustration/animation books I received as Christmas gifts. I think I know most of this stuff already, but it's always nice to confirm. And the encouraging words from the authors don't hurt. Taking the family and my gift cards to B&N a little later to see if I missed one.

Have a fun and productive Sunday.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Let's Try This Again - Version 2011.0

2011-01-01T19:06:00.001-08:00

Happy 2011, peeps. A new year, but the same old resolution - blog more often.

So far, so good.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Happy Birthday To My Wicked Awesome Wife

2010-09-22T08:27:00.000-07:00

The lovely W turns ___ today. Jake and I gave her a few appropriate greeting cards, some original art work (below) and The Best of Angry Beavers, Seasons 1-3 (via iTunes). Taking the afternoon off from the office job so we can enjoy a tasty lunch at The Whistling Kettle in Balston Spa, NY.

Good times indeed...

Um... Which one?

2010-09-17T06:57:00.000-07:00

My amazing niece, Sofia, asked me to draw her a picture of Pinocchio. No worries, right? But when I sat down to start sketching, I wasn't sure which version of Pinocchio she had in mind. Was it the classic Disney version that I grew up with, or the more recent version from the Shrek movies? After a half hour or so of pondering – mixed with generous portions of surfing the web for fantasy football columns – I decided on creating MY version of Pinocchio. If you're comparing at home, I suppose it leans more toward the Shrek version, although it doesn't have the same frail Tommy Timbertoes characteristics. (Remember that kid from Highlights Magazine?) Hope it doesn't disappoint. Sofia's illustration has different text BTW. I'm not trying to imply that my wonderful niece has a problem telling the truth or anything... Sheesh people!

My Yearly Blog Update

2010-09-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, not yearly, but pretty close. MAY? Really? My last blog update was in MAY? Blame it on all the fun those social networks – Twitter and Facebook – have to offer.

I've been doing some web design work for a couple of local bars as well as a menu design for my buddy Kevin's restaurant in Rochester. I'll post links as each project is completed. The day job is going well. Just finished a number of illustrations that will go in a seasonal booklet. About to get started on an animation project for WFAN that I've had on my mind for a while, but finally contacted them about actually doing it. Should be pretty cool if can take what's in my melon and transfer it to my computer screen.

As always, I'd like to blog more often – both here (mostly about illustration and animation) and on the Times Union TV blog. I'll shoot for a couple of posts per site per week and we'll see where that goes.

Want an illustration? M'kay. Here's a recent illo of the kitchen at my day job office. Yeah, we have three coffee machines... Jealous?

Cello

2010-05-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

Haven't blogged in a few months – Family road trip to sunny FLA in March/April and busy as all HELLO at the office before that and since then. Not much finished drawing lately, but I've got a boatload of sketches and ideas waiting to be inked and colored.

Here's a logo I recently designed for the mom's group my lovely wife belongs to. Great group of gals... You betcha!

Fantastic Animated Short - LOGORAMA

2010-02-23T09:46:00.000-08:00

Easily the best animated short featuring product logos ever. Did you hear me? I SAID EVER!!! Don't let the German fool you. It was produced by a bunch of Frenchies, but the audio is done in British. Go figure... And oh yeah - NSFW w/out headphones.

Dos Illos

2010-02-18T11:18:00.000-08:00

Finished these this morning...

This content froggy illustration is for this week's Illustration Friday topic: Adrift. Working on shading and shadows in an effort to add some dimension to my new pieces. Does it look children's bookish? I think it does. I was hoping to bring this into Photoshop to add some texture, but since today is Thursday and a new IF theme comes out tomorrow... there you go.

This piece was for our company blog post: "Overheard at the Office". My wife L-O-V-E-S the Ozzy. Me? I prefer some Radiohead.

Can You Dig It?

2010-02-16T12:16:00.000-08:00

Found this illustration while searching for another. Seems to be a trend as of late. I really need to organize these things...

Trying to look Life Is Good-ish, without blatantly looking like a Life Is Good drawing. (Man, those cats really hit on something didn't they?) I was thinking of "dig" as an acronym for "Do It Good". I know, I know – it's not the Queen's English, but it could catch on with the kiddos. I also did one featuring a dog, which I'm sure I'll come across while looking for something completely different...

HVD, peeps!

2010-02-12T13:13:00.001-08:00

Can't Get Enough of U900 - And Neither Should You

2010-02-10T07:54:00.000-08:00

Busy Bee - Look, a Tree! - No Classes This Week

2010-02-08T11:06:00.000-08:00

Working on a few freelance assignments, so my personal projects got kicked to the trunk for a couple of days. While searching for an older Flash file I came across this piece I did back in 2004. No rhyme or reason for drawing it, but that's kind of why I like it...

Oh, and the class I was psyched to take at the Albany Art Room on Feb 7 & 14 (Creating a Storyboard and Book Dummy) was cancelled. Seems I was the only one who signed up. A complete bummer, but the guy who was going to teach the class is a local children's book illustrator. I'll get in touch with him to see if he wouldn't mind meeting up for a coffee so I can get a personal account of what the industry is like. Hell, I'll even buy.

Very Sketchy: Part 3

2010-01-29T12:39:00.001-08:00

Added some color. Not crazy about the woman on the left. Maybe it's the shoes... I'll check with the wife on that. Background this weekend as well as some new sketches and some invoicing.

Art & Music Series – 1. Violent Femmes

2010-01-29T10:42:00.000-08:00

iPad?

2010-01-28T07:30:00.001-08:00

Soooooo. The iPad, huh?

I was hoping for something that would run Illustrator and Photoshop. Something that would allow me to use a stylus on the touch screen. But instead, I feel like Spicoli...

No shirt. No shoes. NO DICE!

It's cool for what it is. But I already have what it is. Okay, maybe not wrapped up in one device, but I have my iBook and I have my iPod Touch. That combination's been working for me so far, so I think I'll stick with it.

So do I hope for design features in the next version of the iPad, or do I purchase a Cintiq, which would add another device to my arsenal while subtracting $1000 from my bank account?

That's the smaller (12.1" display), low end option. The 21.3" model goes for $1999 – which would also be enough money to upgrade my laptop.

Jobs and the gang could have made these decisions much easier for me by addressing the needs of their most loyal followers – designers and artists.

Sigh... I'm going to go sharpen my pencils.

Very Sketchy: Part 2

2010-01-26T13:22:00.000-08:00

Had a chance to add some e-ink to the scan today.

Sidebar: I bought my wife a Barnes & Noble Nook for Christmas, and it apparently using "e-ink" for the text. E-ink... It's my new favorite word.

Okay, so I scanned the sketch and placed in Illustrator. Thought about using my tablet, but went old-school with the mouse instead. I'll mess around with the lines tonight and try to add color and a background (my nemesis... the background) tomorrow if it's not too busy at the day job.

Very Sketchy

2010-01-25T13:19:00.000-08:00

I've been checking out a lot of illustrators' web sites, blogs and Twitter accounts recently in an effort to become more active in the community. One thing I love seeing are rough sketch samples – something I've never posted before. Here's my first, which will be accompanied by a finished version in a couple of days (give or take)...

Back To The Old Blog

2010-01-19T08:38:00.001-08:00

I tried a few other blog sites and they were nice in their own special ways, but I think I like blogger.com the best. Still messing around with the features, but there are too many to take in during one sitting so I'll get back to it tomorrow.

What have I been up to? Book ideas and character sketches, filling all the sketch books I got for Christmas, working on getting my home studio situated.

New art coming soon! Please stand by.

Simba Plays!

2009-09-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

Original art from the extremely exclusive, "An Interesting Book About Lillie & Simba". Released 9/22/09.

WARNING: Here Comes the Science!

2009-09-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

Hurry up, October! I can hardly wait to see "They Might Be Giants" LIVE @ The Egg in Albany w/ Jake, my charming wife, my sister, and my niece, Sofia. Jake and Sofia are HUGE "TMBG" fans (as are their parents of course).

Check out an extremely amazing animated video from their newly released CD/DVD, "Here Comes the Science!"

On An Acorn...

2009-09-15T13:08:00.000-07:00

I planted an acorn, and it grew into a shady brothel.

Coffee Meets Casio (+ A Sweet Mullet w/ Bangs)

2009-06-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

Killing Time: 20 Minutes w/ Kevin Smith

2009-04-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

Need to kill 20 minutes in a non-perverse fashion? Watch this youtube clip of writer/director/actor/Kevin Smith talking about his (non)involvement in "Superman Reborn". Catch his shtick daily on Twitter.

'Tis the Season...

2009-04-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

... for some "Jaws". First viewing of the season: today @ my office on my Mac w/ some cheddar bunnies, an iced coffee, and a stack of work that really ~~needs to~~ will get done.

WWJD2: What Would Jesus Dance To?

2009-03-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

My buddy Tim posted this on his Facebook page. I guess folks need to stretch and limber up before service these days. Pass the Gatorade, Reverend.

Tweet: The Bryan Brinkman Experiment

2009-03-12T13:11:00.001-07:00

Y'all Twitter? I do whenever I remember it's available, which has been like five times. I'm more of a Facebooker.

Last night's offering of Late Night w/ Jimmy Fallon had a segment where they attempted to help an audience member get a whole lotta Twitter followers. According to the guy being tweeted - @bryanbrinkman - it's working.

Here's the clip form the show:

Top Chef

2009-02-27T10:07:00.000-08:00

I drew up a chef character for my buddy Kevin's new restaurant in Rochester (NY). The restaurant isn't new, just the ownership. Hostile takeover? Nah. Kevin's a pacifist. At least the cap he wears makes me think so.

I've been working on refining my illustration style - trying to borrow (steal?) elements from illustrators (competitors) whose work I admire (steal?). I am not a crook!

Obama's Elf

2009-02-23T12:38:00.000-08:00

It's funny. But it's not really that funny, right? But it is. Kind of...

It's Always Sunny

2009-02-19T13:49:00.000-08:00

The best comedy on television? Easily. Why am I so sure? Barney told me.

Fables of the Reconstruction

2008-09-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

I've had the same web site look for a few years, so I figured it was time for a change. I'm making things pretty clean and basic, while making some things "basic-er", like my illustration link, which will now lead to a Flickr.com page. This will make posting new illustrations a lot easier, which will allow me to spend more time drawing. It should also allow for more outside traffic, according to some article I recently read. Almost everything should be done by the end of today - although work on the animation page might take a bit longer. Feel free to poke around. And don't be shy about helping yourself to punch and cookies.

Tea Party This Saturday

2008-09-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

The Sagamore is a Victorian era hotel located in Bolton Landing, on the shores of Lake George. W and I have taken a drive up there for the past few years to celebrate her birthday with an olde tyme tea party on The Viranda - a beautiful glass enclosed porch overlooking the lake. The tea menu is great, as we'll start with individual pots of the Harney tea of our choice, accompanied by a selection of finger sandwiches, scones with Devonshire cream and fruit preserves, and an assortment of tea pastries. It's one of the few events for which I gladly don my sport coat.

Eileen On You

2008-09-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

Just designed a logo for the Cancer Support group, "Eileen On You". I'll let you all know once the gals get the shirts, wristbands, etc. printed so you can buy some merchandise to support those who need need our help.

Ketchup

2008-09-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

Holy crap. I can't believe I haven't blogged since April. Actually, yeah I can.

A few things since I last blogged:

- Jake turned 1 (July 24th)! We had an awesome jungle-theme party for him on our deck. Wendi made the best monkey cake ever (no monkeys were harmed in the making of this cake) along with the best monkey cupcakes ever. Yes, EVER!!! Plenty of family, friends, heat, and humidity.
- I did a couple of animated pieces for the "Boomer & Carton Show" over on Sports Radio 660 WFAN: The Flagship Station for New York Sports. Check out the Sudoku Podcast piece, as well as "I Got Favre".
- Created a few more t-shirt designs for the "Therapy Rocks" gals. Hey! Buy a shirt already!
- The Yankees fell out of contention.
- And we did a ton of other things. I swear we did.

OK. Consider yourself caught up.

Iced Coffee Season (Again)

2008-04-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it's iced coffee season again, but with the price of gasoline, car washes, eggs in China, etc., it's difficult to justify the $3.50+ Dunkin Donuts insists we play them for a large version of such a delicious beverage. So here's my gift to you fine folks - a winning recipe for homemade instant iced coffee:

1. Grab a large glass or mug - around 20 ounces is best.
2. Add three teaspoons of instant coffee. Yes, I said instant. And don't skimp and buy a crap brand. For the price of 2 DD iced coffees you can get enough instant coffee to make over 40 (seriously, 40!) on your own.
3. Add enough water to fill roughly 3/4 of your glass, cup, or mug.
4. Stir and/or shake it like the dickens.
5. Stir and/or shake it some more, unless you'd like the crunch of undesolved instant coffee crystals (and trust me - you won't).
6. If desired, add cream or milk to taste. Cream tastes better, but milk (especially skim) is healthier, so go with the cream.
7. Add sweetener to taste. Equal or Splenda works just fine. Sugar for you badasses out there.
8. Stir and/or shake it some more.
9. Fill the remaining available space with ice.
10. Stir and/or shake it one final time.
12. Let it cool down a bit.
13. Sip and enjoy!
14. Rinse (your glass) and repeat.

Play around with the amount of instant coffee you add until you reach a strength you like. Same with the cream and sweetener. Once you get a combination that works for you, stick with it so you can enjoy this tasty, refreshing, and inexpensive treat all summer long.

You're welcome.

My New Favorite Song

2008-04-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

Decent new songs seem to be few and far between. The Whigs - "Right Hand On My Heart" - definitely makes the cut.

Catching Up

2008-04-18T04:15:00.000-07:00

Hey peeps. Figured I should finally update my blog - mostly because traffic on my web site has increased like 1000% due to an animation piece I just completed for Sports Radio 66 WFAN. WFAN is the finest sports radio station in NY, which makes it the finest sports radio station on the planet. Seriously, it's no contest.

Click here to check out the WFAN piece.

The baby Jake, Dubya, and I have been doing very well. 'Lil dude is almost nine months old. Advanced? Of course he is. He's on the verge of walking - just needs a little more balance. I have him doing three hours of Karate Kid drills every day, so it's only a matter of time. I often tell him that his karate's a joke, which really isn't true - I'm just trying to toughen him up in the brain pan. Here's a recent photo of my main man sitting on the lap of a giant rabbit. You should have seen him, all smiles and giggles, while other kids two, three, even four times his age were crying like b*tches. I swear he's the Fonz reincarnated.

My Martin & Louis e-card for Regards.com was a big hit, so we have an M&L birthday card in the works. There's also a possible deal with Sony's Minisode Network. I'll share more info on that as it comes in.

I'm still blogging for the (Albany, NY) Times Union's Point of Viewing page, so drop by to catch my comments on everything our televisions have to offer. I highly recommend the John Adams series on HBO. have you seen it? You really should.

Martin & Louis

2008-01-23T07:24:00.000-08:00

Please say "hey" to Martin & Louis:

You: "Hey, Martin. Hey, Louis."

Martin & Louis will be making their interweb debut in a few weeks on a soon to be revealed web site. Comedy. Drama. Action. Comdraction... It'll all be there in high fidelity flash animation and low fidelity audio. Stay tuned for more updates as I choose to post them.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-26T07:29:00.001-08:00

A day late, but the sentiment is still there. Hope you all had a great holiday. I'm positive I'm not alone in that I've been wicked busy lately - finishing work projects, freelance projects, and holiday projects. I created my usual batch of corporate holiday ecards and evites for my fine freelance friends across the country/across the border (the northern border - Canada: "America's hat" as a popular t-shirt reminds us.) Canada's great! Seriously, I love it up there! You all have to stop listening to t-shirts already. Believe me, Frankie no longer care whether or not you relax. Back to the point, here's my favorite illustration/animation project of the season: an interactive e-vite for the Absolute Spa Group out of Vancouver, BC. I dig the wigglin' toes.

OK. Back to work. Have a great 2008, folks.

G

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T04:46:00.000-07:00

Dubya, Jake and I set up our zombie pumpkin display last night. Here are some spooky pics:

I'll post some pics of Jake in his costume tomorrow.

Later, peeps. Have a great Halloween.

G

Welcome Back

2007-10-23T03:09:00.001-07:00

I'm back with big news, blog readers - Dubya and I had a baby. Yay for us! Jake Gregory James Matusic was born on July 24th (2007 - I haven't been away THAT long) at 4:01am. He weighed in at 8 pounds 13 ounces, and measured 21 inches long/tall. He'll be three months old tomorrow, and he's been nothing but a joy. He smiles, he laughes, he coos, he does all sorts of other adorable baby stuff that makes us go "d'awww...". Of course he cries, but never without a decent reason. I suppose if my pants were wet, I'd cry too. And I already cry when I'm hungry, so I totally understand where he's coming from. Here's a semi-recent photo:

See? He's frigging adorable. Prepare your eyes for many more pics on a semi-regular basis.

Obviously, Dubya and I are busy as hell, but we're doing well. We were able to alter our work hours so we don't have to rely on daycare providers. I've been coming in to the office at 5am and I'm back home by 12:30pm. Wendi's on the work-from-home clock at noon and goes until 8:00pm. Makes for a long day of course, but how many dads get to spend all day with their kid? OK, how many EMPLOYED dads get to spend all day with their kid? Not many I bet. Again, we're very fortunate that our respective employers are allowing us to do this.

I've been working on some freelance projects in the very few spare moments I have. Check out regards.com for my latest ecard creations. I'm psyched to be working for these guys, as they're one of the top two or three ecard sites on the web. I also have a couple fo web sites currently in development, as well as updates to the Therapy Rocks site and its line of t-shirt designs. And as usual, the pile of comic strip, cartoon and children's book ideas continues to grow. I actually wrote, designed, and printed a book for Dubya's birthday. I'll post it on my site as soon as time allows. A redesign of my site is also in the works, if only to provide an easier way to browse through my illustration files.

In lesser big news - Even though I've been deglecting this blog for a while, I've been somewhat active on another blog - the Albany (NY) Times Union's "Point of Viewing" TV blog. Here's the description from the blog itself: "The Sopranos" might be over, but there's still good TV to be found. We'll highlight our favorites and try to warn you away from the junk. Comedies, dramas, reality TV, kids shows, news and talk shows, it's all fair game here. And feel free to tell us when you think we're wrong. After all, one man's "Seinfeld" is another man's "According to Jim." It's kind of cool to be a part of a relatively high-traffic public blog, and apparently people actually read it since the comment board is often in use. Check it out when you get a chance.

Here's the final character design for that computer services company. The "C" on the belt stands for "Chip":

I gotta go, but I'll catch up with you all real soon.

G

Busy - But Not Too Busy To Post Some Samples

2007-06-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

So I've been busy lately, but so have you I'm sure. Hell, it's a busy world - except for the lucky folks on vacation. Ahhhh... vacation. Lucky ducks indeed.

From ducks to a mouse, and mine's been working OT. Here are a few of the things I've been working on...

For a new client - a computer services company that's putting out a new product: a web-based personal robot assistant. They like the spaceship idea, but they want a more intelligent/wise looking fella driving it. Hope to have this nailed down over the next day or two.

This one's a simple illustration for my upcoming 20th High School reunion. It added a bit of pop to the info flyer we sent out a couple of weeks ago. 20 years since my O'Neill days? Oh my...

Logo/image for a local Irish pub. Hope to see these on t-shirts and other types of merchadise pretty soon.

Static clip from an e-card I recently produced for the gang at regards.com. I like going boarder-free on my illustrations once in a while. The result is a clunky, yet cool look - plus they take only like a third of the time to illustrate. :)

That's all for now, folks. Catch up with you soon.

G

Hey Kids! A'Member me?

2007-06-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

Hey folks. Sorry for the long break, but I have valid excuses:

- work
- freelance work
- an impending baby

Baby Boy Matusic is due July 14th(ish), and so far so good on all things baby. I'll have more baby news once he baby shows up. If you can't baby wait 'til then, feel free to e-mail me for a more baby complete baby update. Did I mention the word "baby"? Baby baby baby.

So work's been busy, and I took on another regular freelance gig designing e-cards for a REALLY cool company: regards.com. This one one of the web's first e-card sites, then they dropped out of site during the .com bust, but now they're back at it. Stop by, check them out, and send some cards. See if you can spot the ones I did (pssst... they're the GOOD ones).

I have more things under my cap, but seriously - I don't remember what they all are.

Later! But not too much later...

G

On iTunes and Zombies

2007-04-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

I like the idea of the iTunes Store. I really don't mind paying for music, movies and other forms of media - as long as it's good. My sister gave me a $25 iTunes gift card for Christmas, and I was thinking about using it today. I've been jones-ing for a good zombie movie, even if it's one I've already seen (which would be most/maybe 95% of them). So I figured I'd check out the iTunes Store to see what they had. Announcement: they had crap. There were a few movies I'd buy, but I already own them (Tombstone and High Fidelity come to mind - I don't have the iTunes site open at the moment). I liked School of Rock, but not enough to own a digital copy that'll sit on my work desktop until my G5 eventually craps out (estimated date of crap out: September of 2010). The first Jackass was there, and that was pretty funny, but again, not enough interest to purchase. I'll send the iTunes folks an e-mail concerning their lack of decent movies, but I can't promise any results. Youtube.com has some okay zombie footage, but not nearly enough to fill a dull yet work-filled afternoon at my desk. I need to stop by Blockbuster and pick up Undead - an Australian zombie movie that's supposed to be really really good. I have a gift card for that joint as well, although I'm not sure if my Blockbuster account is still active since I haven't gone to any of their stores in about five years. Having HD movie channels, movies on demand keeps me out of there. Plus a lot of freelance work doesn't leave much time for movie viewing - although I apparently have plenty of time at the office.

Fine Weather

2007-04-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

I decided to use the word fine in the title of this post. It's fine in the 1950's sense of fine, as in "Boy, that Whitey Ford sure is a fine pitcher," or "Mmm-MMM, honey! That was a mighty fine pot roast!" You get the idea. Fine as in really swell. So the weather over the past few days sure has been fine. Sunny and warm, but not too warm. And dry. It sure is nice when the heat arrives with dryness. Humidity can kiss my ass. That's funny, because when it's humid out it looks like it has kissed my ass, and my back, and my face, and my melon, and all my other parts. A big sloppy humid kiss - with tongue. Blech. Humidity is gross, but we'll address that when it arrives. Right now we'll revel in this stretch of fine, fine, fine, fine days.

Dear Yankee/A-Rod Haters...

2007-04-20T06:56:00.001-07:00

Enjoy! Ahahahahahaha!!!

Iced Coffee Season

2007-04-19T13:26:00.000-07:00

Iced coffee season is here, folks. I'm happy to report that this year's batch has been pretty decent so far. Now if you're shopping for your iced coffee at Starbucks, don't order an iced coffee. Seriously. You don't want an iced coffee. What you want is an iced Americano, which is a wicked shot of espresso over ice and topped with filtered water. It tastes like a cigar in a cup. Hell, it even SMELLS like a cigar in a cup. Very refreshing indeed. And it's strong flavor promotes smaller sips so it lasts longer, which is a problem with me, especially with the cream and sugar-substitute version I enjoy at the Dunkin Donuts. I recently heard that McDonald's makes a nice iced coffee - Paul Newman's behind those I think - but I have yet to try one. I order the decaf version of Starbuck's iced Americano, and there's no loss in flavor. So if you need an icy fix and don't want all the usual jumps and jitters, do yourself a favor and go decaf. The DD decaf iced coffee is kind of hit and miss. They don't sell as well as the regular version, so sometimes it sits in the tank a bit too long and it's less than desirable when it arrives. They're easy enough to return if you order in-store, but a PITA if you use the drive-thru, because you're usually too far away from the DD to return it before you take that first sip and say, "Damn... this is terrible. I ought to return this."

Two more things to consider when going for an iced coffee: napkins and straws. Make sure you have plenty of napkins, because you'll have to wipe down your plastic cup a bunch of times due to condensation and leaks from the edge of the lid - usually caused by the aggressive shaking and poor lid-setting abilities by your counter person. No need to complain though. It's just a fact of iced coffee life. Part of the territory. Clean it up and enjoy.

As far as straws go, that's just it... you have to make sure your straw goes far enough so it reaches from the bottom of the plastic cup and sticks up at least three inches into the air. Anything less and you're bumping your nose, lips, chin, hair, eyeballs, and whatever else on the lid in an effort to take a sip. Don't be afraid of a really long straw either. It may look kind of goofy, but if you were about looks you'd be at the salon, not at the coffee shop.

Hope this was helpful. Enjoy those iced coffees, people.

G

New Blog Host! Same Great Blog!

2007-04-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

So my lame excuse for never posting on my old blog site is that it wasn't very user friendly. It was also wicked ugly - and changing the colors, font styles, etc was a PITA, which brings us back to the user-friendless issue. Upon further review I suppose this is actually a pretty valid excuse for not blogging as often as I'd like.

Now THIS blog site... Oh man... It's the cat's pajamas! And we all know how cool cat's pajamas are.

Work: Going well. No complaints. The boss just brought us a 32" flat-panel so we can watch day games. How frigging cool is that? My Bill & Penny comic ads were nominated for a couple of Nori awards, so that's kind of cool/flattering. The dinner's in June, so we'll all just have to wait for the results.

Freelance: I finished a pretty big illustration project a few weeks ago (sample above). It started off well, hit a HUGE snag, I haggled a new price based on said snag, and then I re-drew the illustrations. They loved the final results, and I loved the check. Smiles all around. I've got a few bids out on some other projects, and I'm waiting to hear back from some e-card people who I had to put off while I finished those aforementioned re-drawings. I also wanted to overhaul my web site, but I was convinced to leave it as is. I really like it, but it seems to take a bit too long for the thumbnails to load. I suppose I have other things to work on that are more important. Adding new/recent illustration, animation and Daily Panic pieces would probably be a good idea though, don't you think? Of couse you do!

Sports: Baseball and my NY Yankees are back, but the Yankee's starting staff is in the medicine cabinet already. You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have - a typical season in the Bronx. Keep the faith, people. A-Rod's hitting the ball like he hates it. NFL Draft in a couple of weeks. I'd love it if the Giants took Ted Ginn Jr. out of Ohio State, as he would be the best player available when it's their turn to select, but it looks like they'll take a linebacker or a cornerback. Needs over talent I guess, but Ginn would really help Eli as well as the special teams.

TV: Loving this season's The Shield on FX. Vic Mackey's such a badass. He'd scare the crap out of the Soprano crew. The new season of The Ultimate Fighter has been really good as well. Those 150-pound guys are insane!

Books: I'd LOVE to pick up The Grapes of Wrath again, but who can find the time? I'm just about done with Buster Olney's "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty" - a real tear-jerker...

Music: I swear I listen to the same 30 songs over and over again. You'd think I'd know the lyrics by now, but when I sing in the car on the way to/from work? Nothing... A few recent favorites include "Wolf Like Me" by TV on the Radio and "The W.A.N.D" by The Flaming Lips. Of course there are also the usual suspects - Radiohead, Interpol, Rob Zombie, and The Tragically Hip. I've also been hooked on the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter", but I REALLY butcher that one while driving. It's about time I searched for some lyrics.

OK. I gotta go. More updates more often. I promise.

Cheers.

G