makin a cereal box!

I'm making a cereal box! It's gonna be the real deal, but here's a sketch planning the whole layout. On the back there's gonna be collectible bookmarks that you can cut out. Any idea what should go in em? So far I'm just thinking of three more little drawings of me swimming in some letters... trying to eat them.

Scrap the Cap!

This cartoon for PSARA's November publication is about strengthening Social Security for future generations. The phrase "Scrap the Cap" refers to the cap on what higher income people pay towards Social Security. Right now, any income earned beyond $110,100 (the cap) is not taxed, so those of us making the most aren't paying the same percentage! Learn more here.
Hope you guys like the illustration :)

MOOD BOARDS (for a poker player's clothing line)

When asked to think up an idea for a basics clothing company, something original, something that hadn't been done before... I immediately wanted to make a line of clothing for of a group of people that I know very well... that I am very much a part of. 

We are in many ways outcasts. But in other ways, we are underground heroes, magicians, cowboys and cowgirls.

Poker players are a breed like no other. We show ourselves to the world through a deceptive lens. We understand secrets better than we understand the truth. We both give and take from our opponents with every breath. Our personalities are transformative, our moods and mindsets easily swayed. We are tough. 

The idea for this line is just developing, but will feature things like hidden pockets (for money, snacks, music, accessories), reversibility (so we can pull all nighters, flip our shirts inside out, and no one will know how long we've been grinding), and layers and hoods to hide our expressions. Above all, it will be both comfortable and fashionable, so we can look and feel fresh while we work and play hard. 

These images are brainstorm collages or "mood boards" that express the vibe that the line is going for. Much more to come soon. 

part of upcoming poker cartoon

this doj guy will have a bunch of workers behind him throwing bags of money labeled "pokerstars payoff" and "online poker player tax revenue 2007 to 2011 " into a vault. 

another famous poker player... deep in thought.

TJ Cloutier! Haha. Silly degenerate gambler. 

change of expression

The editors of PSARA had me change his facial expression and grotesque look so he's more of a "smooth operator"... I like both... but its interesting how different of vibes they give off. Just by changing his mouth, really. The first one shows a villain behind the issue as a grotesque animal, the second more of a sneaky, evil, and effective character.

Voter Suppression cartoon

Voter suppression is a huge problem in the US! I hope everyone out there has checked to make sure they are registered to vote, have the proper ID, etc. November is just around the corner!

this cartoon will be featured in PSARA's October issue

pocket tee designs

Two things.

One: For a long time I've wanted to design a t-shirt with a little person popping out of the pocket.  

Two: For a long time my mom and I have been thinking about starting a little business printing t-shirts for various niche markets/groups of people. The first one we picked is the vegan/vegetarian crowd. 

I don't want the message to come off all stuck up how a lot of the vegan t's seem to... so I'm thinking of eliminating the word vegan on the pocket, and just doing a V (that way people can talk about it if someone asks them what it means, otherwise no one feels like they're being advertised to). That's what I tested out in the second image. 

What do you all think??

poker pro sketches

Barry

Ivey

E-Dawg

There's an awesome professional poker player/writer who I met a few years back who I'm now starting a collaboration with on some poker cartoons. He has some great ideas, some hilarious ideas, and basically I just need to get to the drawing! Now that my sisters wedding is over and all of that wonderful chaos has settled, I'm gonna focus on cartoons and my Design portfolio for a few weeks. Here's the first few sketches of some pros who he wants included in the cartoons. I figure if I post these  it'll motivate me to get the ball rollin', and they'll start to change from sketches to caricatures.

Wedding Program

Congratulations Julia and Sarah! I love you both!

the front

the back

outside (unfolded)

inside (unfolded)

Seattle (Cut Paper)

I made this design (for a poster of Seattle) entirely out of cut paper. While I did this a few months ago, it inspired the design idea for my sisters Wedding program, which I'll be posting in a few days. So I thought I'd throw this one up here first.

Romney Political Cartoon

This cartoon will be featured in PSARA's September issue 

Bossypants!

I recently read Tina Fey's autobiography, Bossypants, and probably peed in my pants at least 3 times. If you're female, that's a good enough reason to read this hilarious book... and if you're male and open-minded, dig Tina Fey, comedy, improv, standup, laughter, any of that good stuff, check it out!

Then I went ahead and designed a logo... the illustration style is meant to rep Tinay Fey's goofy attitude, the name repping the title of her book. I'm imagining it on a wine label or light beer... maybe even coffee beans. Something for the working girl (or boy), woman (or man).

i had to post the book cover. so awesome. 

boogie drawing

Boogie is my favorite photographer. Check out his website, it'll blow you away. Beautiful shots from all around the world. The guy really just does what he loves... travels and takes photos. His work has been a source of inspiration for my own art for about 5 years now. 

Happy Birthday Love!

I love you Evan. I did your portrait with some of our favorite Deer Tick lyrics. 

South Lake Tahoe skate park

Ever since I was a kid, I've loved hanging out with the boys. The activities that they engaged in, the games that they played, it all seemed a lot more human, more glorious... than the things that little girls were being pushed towards in the 80's and 90's. So I do things like go sit at the skate park while my guy friends skateboard all afternoon. And I watch. And I draw. This one, in South Lake Tahoe, a place I've lived on and off for the past two years, is stunning. Right in the middle of the woods.

Little Dragon (spec concert poster)

Little Dragon is a Swedish electronic band
that I dig, check 'em out!

confrontation can be a good thing

ever since i started taking classes in graphic design my
laptop and i have been going steady.
it was so simple when I used to just draw, paint, email, scan.
but then again, now we're getting so close...
it's a battle i can't wait to wake up every morning and fight.

poker is fun. poker is fun?

just the confused thoughts of a poker player/artist trying to make sure i'm doing what i love. i love drawing. i love poker, sometimes? definitely not always.

never try to change the ones you love

Recent Political Cartoons

For four months now I've been doing the political cartoons for a monthly publication called PSARA (Puget Sound Alliance for Retirement Action). Here's the article about me they put in the July issue, and here are the 4 cartoons I've done so far! The concepts come from the people of PSARA, so my contribution is just figuring out how illustrate the political issues. Tougher than I expected, but I'm enjoying the process and see some improvement on my part in just 4 months. If anyone out there has a need for a cartoonist or an illustrator, I'd love to do free or cheap work to build my portfolio. 

August Issue

July Issue

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June Issue

May Issue

Back to Bloggin. Climbing out of the black hole!

Lost in Love

They say it's a hard way to make an easy living...

sketched while I was waiting to get in the game yesterday

When In France... draw the coast

I grabbed an old sketchbook this afternoon before driving to Reno... just flipped through it for a while and settled on this sketch of a little town in France that I inhabited for a few weeks in 2010... now I'm sittin up in my hotel room... can't sleep... but I'm dreaming... looking out the window at the lights of the "Biggest Little City In The World"...

makes me want to travel...

makes me want to draw...

sketch for color strip series

Standing in Snow painting becomes a bookmark

sketch for Standing in Snow painting

looks a little like Max