Nutcracker Smacker

Santa's Alternate Transportation

New Santa

Super Excuse

It's been a long time since I participated in the CCGB's caption contest, but I decided to give this week's a go!

Thanksgiving Traditions

Turkey Disguise

Creating a "Deep End" cartoon!

I thought it'd be kinda cool to show a little bit of the process that goes into creating a Deep End cartoon. The first step, the sketch, is generally based off of a less-detailed sketch from my sketchbook, where I jot down my ideas and get a basic feel for how I want to set up the scene. Then, using very sophisticated software (Photoshop) I'll re-sketch it directly into my computer. I own an HP Touchsmart tm2 which allows me to draw directly onto the screen. It's been a great computer, but it's getting a little old and I'm starting to have serious problems with the pressure sensitivity, so I'll probably spring for a small 13" Wacom Cintiq pretty soon. I ink it on the layer above the sketch layer and then color it on a new layer below the inks. I'll usually have color separated onto a couple layers (foreground, background, etc) so that I can make changes and not mess up stuff I've already done. It's always pretty cool to look at my cartoons without the black line work. Just a couple more steps and I could probably turn it into a full-on digital painting! The whole process usually takes me around eight hours, depending on complexity and the number of distractions, and it always help to have some great music or some other form of high-quality entertainment!



Here are the individual images in case you want to see them bigger.

Lucky Dinner

Liquid Treasure

Cartoonist Caricatures

Peter Arno, Charles Addams, Jim Unger, Gary Larson, Bill Watterson, Sergio Aragones, Dave Coverly, Dan Piraro, Mike Baldwin, and Richard Thompson.

Individualistic Tarzan

Color Theory

Disease Name

Job Hazards

Supervirus!

I studied Biology at my university for about three years before I finally decided to switch to Graphic Design. Originally, I wanted to do something related to Biotechnology. Even though I eventually decided that it wasn't for me, I still have a deep love of science. Sometimes this comes through in my comics. Enjoy!

Robert Downey Jr.

Them's Fightin' Words Pard'ner!

Sorry, this cartoon is a bit risque. It's got the word 'horny' in it.

Mel Smith caricature

This was the caricature I did right after the Zach Braff one, so still experimenting. I did it for a CCGB caricature contest that they do about twice a month or something. I didn't know who he was at first, but then I found out that he played the albino torturer in The Princess Bride. He has a face that just begs to be caricatured.

Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage! - The Mythbusters!

The Mythbusters! The coolest science guys since Bill Nye! I know it's posted a little bit big (sorry for any overlap), but that's so you can see the details better.

Alternate Fellowship

Tower Mix-Up

White people love Wayne Brady

My wife took me to see Wayne Brady perform in Layton, Utah for an early birthday present, and it was amazing. He was, as always, absolutely hilarious. His improv skills are ridiculously sharp, and his ability to make up funny songs on the fly is unparalleled. First he sang a hip hop song about how he hates the date, and he had to throw in words suggested by the audience (SAT level words - like indubitably and eccentric). It was pure brilliance. He went on to do other games like props (introducing a new military transport vehicle called 'The Porcupine') and sound effects (getting ready for the Prison Prom, haha). He adapted the games so that he could do them alone with the assistance of some volunteers from the audience. In one game, he was a salesman selling rabid squirrels to a housewife (who happened to be a crazy community theater lady that tried to steal the show from him and failed miserably. "Ok, be a housewife." *Does the robot* Everybody: Whaa???)  

He answered questions that people had previously written down, and one of the ones that he answered was mine! He called my name and I stood up as he read my question. It was kind of a lame generic question about how he feels about Whose Line being back on the air (stoked, naturally), but after my question I added on an "I love you man!" and he said "I love you too man!" I may just be a nerdy fan, but Whose Line got me through some depressing times in my early college days right after I moved out. Wayne, Colin and Ryan never failed to cheer me up, and I'll always be grateful to them for that. 

The audience had also written down name suggestions for songs that he'd have to make up on the spot, so we were treated to some great songs about stuff like Justin Bieber's toothless 90-year old girlfriend, and we followed Wayne as he searched for his Dad in the audience, which he finally found! (one of the few black guys in attendance). The audience demanded an encore, so he came out and picked another song title. It turned out to be the instantly classic "Sexual Wednesday" (set to the tune of, what else, Sexual Healing). 

Overall, it was an extremely entertaining night provided by a fantastic entertainer who is way more humble than you would expect someone so talented to be. If you ever get the chance to see him work his magic, don't miss it. 

Overly Polite (or Passive Aggressive) Waiter

Peter Capaldi is going to be an amazing 12th Doctor

It was recently announced (here) that Peter Capaldi will be taking over the helm of the TARDIS after Matt Smith’s departure in this year’s Christmas special. I will be sad to see him go. Matt Smith himself was a paradox. An old man in a young man’s body. Goofy and innocent, yet wise and battle-hardened. He soon became my favorite Doctor. But as is inevitable in the Doctor Who universe, change must come to pass. It’s normal that, after an announcement like this, many people will expressed disappointment and doubt concerning his casting. That’s a normal knee-jerk reaction to a big change like this. I am sure however, that after seeing one or two episodes of the 12^th Doctor, these feelings will all prove to be unfounded. My initial impression is that he will be a mixture of Eccleston (strong and sarcastic), and Tom Baker (goofy and brilliant), with maybe a bit of curmudgeonly Hartnell thrown in for good measure. This seems like an absolutely fantastic combination to me.  

Some people are saying that he’s too old. I imagine that these are mostly the fangirls who were expecting a young new heartthrob to follow the young and dashing David Tennant and Matt Smith. True fans of the show, however, will see that the age of the Doctor’s physical body can and has always changed just as easily as everything else. It was an interesting phenomenon though, having the oldest actor play the youngest doctor and the youngest actor play the oldest doctor, but I agree with Steven Moffat (the showrunner) when he says that Capaldi will be a good successor to Smith because the young/old Smith and the old/young Capaldi will have a lot in common, but with interesting differences. He is actually the same age as William Hartnell was when he first took off in the TARDIS. Despite this, he still seems energetic and spry. I don’t expect the Doctor to stop running anytime soon.

Also of note is that the Doctor’s regenerations appear to be at least somewhat influenced by the circumstances in which it happens. Nine was a bit more brutal and warrior-like as a result of having recently ending the Time War. In the 50^th anniversary episode, he will return to this time, and it appears that whatever happens there will have a great impact on him, and this will show in his subsequent regeneration.

Some people don’t like that he has been in Doctor Who before, as well as Torchwood: Children of Earth (a spinoff). This has actually happened several times before. Karen Gillan was in that same episode, and she later returned as Amy Pond. In the classic series, Colin Baker made an appearance as an army commander before becoming the Sixth Doctor. The Fourth Doctor’s companion, the Time Lady Romana regenerated into a body that looked exactly like someone that had recently spent an entire episode with them. True, it seems like Time Ladies have more control over their appearance when regenerating than the men, but it still seems that occasionally, a face from a Time Lord’s past will stick in his subconscious for some reason and influence his regeneration. In The Fires of Pompeii, Donna helped the Tenth Doctor remember a valuable lesson about saving whoever he can. Maybe this is a lesson he subconsciously wishes to remember as he enters his twelve incarnation.

It worries some that he is most famous for being a fast-talking, creatively foul-mouthed character, Malcolm Tucker. Of course, with Doctor Who being a family and child-friendly show, none of this will carry over. It was a character he played, and now he’s playing a different one. Replace the swear words with timey-wimey lingo, and suddenly you can understand why he was chosen.

It was a huge relief to me to learn that Mr. Capaldi has been a fervent Doctor Who fan for his whole life, even writing letters to the magazines and fan clubs of the day. This must be a dream come true for him! He knows the history, the character, and the mythology, and he’s going to work his butt off to do it justice.

People are always quick to judge, and they worry about things they love changing, but I think that in no time at all, Peter Capaldi will prove to us all that he is a worthy successor to the Doctor Who throne.  

Crappy Meal Request

Zach Braff Caricature

Zach Braff

I've been studying the art of caricature lately and reading through Tom Richmond's fantastic book, The Mad Art of Caricature. It's fascinating, not because it's hard to do (which it is), but because it's so hard to do WELL. I see a lot of people whose artistry is fantastic, but the caricature itself is lacking. They seem to think that a good caricature is basically what you would get if you put a photograph of a person under a thin layer of rippling water. Either that, or just make them look really freaky and distorted. That's not the point. A good caricature plays off of the way that the brain naturally works - focusing on certain distinctive features of a person that differentiates them from every other person, and emphasizing it. I feel like I've been getting better, but it's taking a lot of work. I want to get to the point where I feel comfortable doing live caricatures, but man, that's a lot of pressure. The only way to get there is through a lot of practice! (and Tom's book helps a lot too).

Extreme Chiropractor

Calamari Chiropractor

De-liver-ance

Stephen Fry

Practicing caricatures

Gnarly Allergic Reaction, Bro

Pirate Chicken

The inspiration for this comic was my wife's younger cousins. They won a pet chicken at a fair and used it as the parrot for a pirate Halloween costume. The chicken recently passed away (RIP) so I thought I'd do a little tribute.

TV Show Ideas

A cartoon to make your funny bone Thor

Original Caption on that Giraffe Cartoon

My caption

and

An alternate one that I wasn't too crazy about.

Giraffe Problems: Caption Contest

Go enter the caption contest at https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=484844614919051&set=a.475214645882048.1073741828.132701306800052&type=1&theater

The Language of Beatbox

Jim the Motivational Speaker

Genius Janitor

Quality Security

Baby Surprise

Cracked Crown

Smurfs vs. Leprechaun

This was for the weekly CCGB (Cartoonists' Club of Great Britain) contest. I like to participate when I can even though I'm not British. :) This week's theme was GREEN and it had to be wordless. On Facebook I asked for caption ideas so feel free to head over and participate!