Gorgeous Landscapes & Muppets from Danny Beckwith

Throughout my career, one of the things that consistently hinders my work is background art. Typically, it’s not something I consider enough when planning out my timelines or even roughing out the concept. Backgrounds are needed to literally set the scene, while simultaneously not overwhelming it either. It has to exist without taking center stage. It is its own art form, and there’s a real skill to using it effectively. But how?

A few years ago, I discovered artist Daniel Beckwith whose recent work on his series The Muppets Celebrate The National Parks has been turning heads everywhere. Danny’s soft and inviting style mixed with his love of nature have produced some of the most striking and lovely pieces I’ve ever seen. Danny’s work is next level, elevating him far beyond that of just a “fan artist” and I was very interested in learning everything I could about his process. So today I’m thrilled to share that conversation with all of you!

Dave: You are one of many artists I learned about when we all took part in ToughPigs 20th Anniversary project; The Great Muppet Mural. Like many of the other artists involved in that particular project, Jim Henson's influence on our work isn't the only one (even if it's usually the most potent). What has drawn me to your work in particular is your gorgeous series, The Muppets Celebrate the National Parks. It's a wonderful pairing, but I'm curious about your background in painting such sweeping landscapes. Can you tell me what inspired that particular area of your work? 

Danny: Let’s start by saying I have no formal training in painting landscapes. It was something I had avoided for such a long time. It wasn’t until I had finally visited Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park and wanted to share my story that I decided I wanted to get better at landscapes. I wanted to work on telling the story of our world through its beautiful natural wonders.

I’m always in awe of the beauty of our planet and the mysteries it holds. It’s not static. Besides nature, I have been greatly influenced by film: the water color backgrounds of early Disney films, Lord of the Rings where the landscapes are almost literal characters in the film, and Hayao Miyazaki films, like My Neighbor Totoro. [There’s a moment] with a snail climbing the stalk of a plant.that follows a chaotic sequence. Eventually I learned about the concept of ma—or emptiness—that is intentionally in his films. Those moments of rest and reflection that allows the audience to feel and interpret what is happening with the character. I wanted to capture this feeling in my own work. I wanted to give people a moment of rest and reflection. And the Muppet characters seemed like a perfect blend of the chaotic with ma.

Dave: What is your typical medium to create such landscapes?

Danny: As of late, it’s almost all digital. It allows me to change things and iterate quickly. However, photography has played a critical role in understanding landscapes. My Sequoia series is almost entirely made from reference I took while there. Those are deeply personal parts of the series. 

Dave: What inspired you to create this series?

Danny: The Muppets Celebrate the National Parks was inspired by a trip to Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Park.I found such peace there and clarity of mind and emotion. I saw the Milky Way for the first time. I hiked trails alone for hours through changing environments and elevation. I could refresh in the cold mountain water. I woke up with the greyness of the morning and watched color come back into the world as the sun climbed higher into the sky.

The original WPA National Park Posters, Ranger Doug’s Enterprises, and The Fifty-Nine Parks Project were large influences. I wanted to do tributes to our National Parks art history and how these posters shaped a collective image of our National Parks for generations. I never intended to make every National Park. But it made for a wonderful challenge.

John Denver and the Muppets - Rocky Mountain Holiday and Jim Henson’s interest in nature and the beauty of our world were very inspirational to me. You see it in the quiet moments in The Muppet Show. Seeing the Muppet characters in the real-world is always amazing and magical. I wanted to build on what Jim had started and contribute to the world in a positive and optimistic way.

Dave: When you compose these works—especially with including the Muppets—I’m curious what that process is like?

Danny: I set some criteria for myself pretty quickly after I made the first poster (which you can see does not follow the criteria):

  • Time: These started as an exercise in speed painting; I wanted to work on capturing the essence of a landscape, a moment in time, a feeling

  • Tone: wonder, natural magic, whimsy

  • Iconic, yet personal. I didn’t want to just repeat every other National Park poster of the same landmark. I wanted to give people viewing these posters and parks, something to wonder about, a sense that maybe the world has some magic still in it.

  • Include a full body Muppet. I broke this rule twice. One poster I went back and fixed. It didn’t feel right and it came out so much better when I spent the time to make it better. The second one still needs to be updated.

  • 8 colors max. I wanted to practice color harmony and building palettes. I wanted to replicate the classic screen printed process I admire so much as an art form (This rule I broke a few times, but it always felt necessary).

Creativity happens best with constraints. I believe the rules are there so you think about them before you break them. Eventually I made a spreadsheet of every National Park. I then had another column of every Muppet I would like to try and include. I rarely partnered Muppets and Parks until I had a better sense of the Park I was working on. Creativity really comes out when you have strange juxtapositions. 

Dave: You mentioned working digitally earlier. What program do you create in and what is your hardware setup?

Danny: I work almost exclusively in Photoshop on my Mac. I have an old school Huion tablet. I’ve been branching out to Procreate recently on my iPad. I like using Procreate to sketch first and then importing into Photoshop to paint. I also like to be challenged and love learning. So jumping across platforms and devices keeps me sharp and not complacent in one method or style. There’s always a problem to be solved which then forces creativity.

I also still do a lot of sketching on paper. I’ll probably never give that up!

Dave: While going through and enjoying this series now armed with the knowledge of your process and selection methods (especially your limited color palettes), I noticed you keep to characters from The Muppet Show with what could arguably extend to The Jim Henson Hour and Muppets Tonight as well if I’m being a nitpick (although, I also appreciate Yorick’s appearance). Any interest in including characters from Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock?

Danny: I’m so glad you asked this! The answer is yes and it’s complicated, simultaneously. There’s always a chance Fraggle Rock (which I considered long and hard for the cave parks, but ultimately felt it was too easy of a fit and didn’t quite fill my desire to surprise) and Sesame Street characters will show up in future posters. I found it really enjoyable to go through the Muppet characters first (and some Sam and Friends) with the thread that each of the characters were connected through Kermit in some way. 

It really forced me to dig deep into my own understanding of those characters, reckon with characters that are not necessarily my favorite and literally paint them in a new light. I have other plans for Fraggle Rock, but you’ll have to wait and see.

Dave: As an artist who is usually commissioned with a primary subject or subjects and not background art of any kind, I find creating landscapes requires a completely different mindset or approach. Is that the case with you or do you easily shift between the two? Regardless, what advice can you give to someone like me who sees drawing a focal subject and its surrounding environment as two very different assignments and struggles between the two?

Danny: I view the landscape as a character. It’s got personality. It’s got its own story to tell. It has history and is subject to other external forces. It has its own soul. These posters in particular were meant to focus on the landscape as a character.

Even when I do a subject without a background or landscape, I often imagine where they might be. I find it helpful to place a character in an imaginary landscape, since that landscape will affect that character’s pose, action/reaction, lighting, and expression.

I believe in the idea of invisible ink and approach everything from a story perspective. What you don’t see matters as much as what you do see. A good theme is a North Star, guiding your way and allowing you to vet decisions about your work through a certain lens. I always start with a theme and then ask myself, “Does this design reinforce or support my theme?” It works for me!

And here’s what I always say about advice: I can share my experiences on a subject, but that does not mean what I say will work for you. Listen and find what works for you. Take what you want and leave what you don’t. 

Dave: Can you give me some insight on how you chose to pair certain characters with certain parks?

Danny: I often crafted stories in my head about the character, asking myself: Why are they here? How did they get here? What’s special about this place that might represent a part of the character or contrast with this character? Is there a good visual gag or pun I could use?

Kermit and Robin at Sequoia and Kings Canyon - Kermit is really my stand-in for my trip and I really wanted another character for Kermit to talk to and share the wilderness adventure. Robin seemed natural. Robin represents who we need to preserve and protect these natural places for - the next generation. It’s our job to care for them so everyone can experience the magic, the wonder, and connection to this beautiful world. Kermit is so grounded yet still has time for daydreaming, managing this group of crazies; he just feels as strong and sturdy as a sequoia.

Gonzo and Camilla at Great Sand Dunes - I was aiming for a bright, rich autumnal landscape and it worked out so well. This is one poster I’m so proud of in many ways. The Great Sand Dunes are also a really weird place in the middle of the country with such a diverse landscape of grasslands, wetlands, forests, alpine lakes, and tundra.

Beaker at Kilauea Volcano - I really wanted to do Beaker in a somewhat perilous moment, so I looked at his main colors and a volcano popped into my head! I tell myself the story here is that Bunsen made lava proof shoes and Beaker has to test them! I have visited Oahu and tried to reflect what I felt was the essence of the Hawaiian islands. Beaker sort of has this dual personality of endless patience and panic, and the juxtaposition of the destructive force of a volcano with the tranquil pristine jungle really made this pairing work.

Beauregard at White Sands - I went in completely clueless at first. The idea of white was daunting. I considered the sand and the mess it makes on your shoes and how it gets in everything and thought, “Ya know, someone would have to clean all of that up.” And Beauregard came to mind. The story just seemed so appropriate and fun.

Walter at New River Gorge - I wanted to pair the newest Muppet with the newest National Park. Once I knew that thematic pairing, I had to choose Walter in an outfit and an element of the park that matched somewhat in color. Easier said than done!

My goal was to get as many different characters into this series as I could. As you get to Series 6 and beyond, I started pulling from more obscure characters (though I think they are all important in their own way). More to come! 

Dave:What are your hopes for this series?

Danny: My main hope is that people who view or see these pieces will reflect on themselves, our world, and our role in it. That life is beautiful and amazing, full of song and silliness, creativity and connection. I hope people will get outside, off the beaten path and away from the hustle and bustle of routine. Whether that be to a National Park, a remote area of the world, or their own backyard. I hope they stop and take a moment to treasure the everyday magic that makes this such a wonderful world.

It would be amazing to go to a National Park and see one of these posters at their nature or visitor center. That would be incredible. And if folks could purchase this to hang in their home or place of work, to remind them to escape from their current reality into the reality that exists just down the hiking path and find a place that truly brings them peace.

I hope to continue making these posters based on National Recreation Areas, National Monuments, National Historic Trails, National Seashores, National Lakeshores, and National Preserves. 

Thank you, Danny!

I strongly encourage you to check out the rest of Danny’s The Muppet’s Celebrate the National Parks series on his website. There are so many more and they are all incredibly stunning. Check out the rest of his work too, and make sure you follow him on X and Instagram.

Please follow me on Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky, and Substack and here on my blog!

An Updates Post!

Earlier this summer, I set out with the goal to write more posts for this blog. Unfortunately, coming up with topics to write about that fit this particular format has been tricky. That’s not to say I have total writer’s block, the opposite actually! So instead, today I thought I’d share with you some cool things I have coming down the pike. I also thought I’d reach out to see if you had any ideas too! But don’t worry, this won’t be homework for you, I promise.

Big Projects

First up, I’m working on a piece for Raised by Rainbows Puppet Pals, a show curated by the very talented Luke Flowers to be shown virtually at Gallery 1988 this November. I am blown away by the caliber of other talented artists Luke has brought together for this, and I cannot wait to see what everyone brings to the table!

I’m also working on another project with Craig Shemin! It’s very exciting to get to be a part of another Henson related project and next year it should be available. I’d also like to take a minute to thank my brother–in–law and fellow monster puppet enthusiast Jerome Green for his help so far too.

Writing has become a bigger part of my personal life as well and I’m hoping to write a book! That’s the dream at least, but I only mention it now because hopefully soon I’ll be able to open up a bit more about it. In the meantime, I’m learning so much about how to properly do research, interview people, and (hopefully) become a better writer. It is most definitely a personal passion project and I hope that I can turn it into something for a more general audience.

This Blog

As I mentioned at the top of this post, coming up with articles that stay within the guardrails of graphic design, illustration, and inspiration create unique challenges while simultaneously providing a helpful road map of how to write. I am excited to let you know I’m currently interviewing an insanely talented artist that will hopefully be ready to post in the next couple weeks. I also have some fun ideas too. All of these posts should be coming out over the next few months and weeks.

That doesn’t mean I have tons of things planned to post, but I’m very curious if there are any topics you’d be interested in reading about. What about a tips and tricks article focusing on Procreate (the software I use to draw almost exclusively)? Are there any design trends you have strong feelings about? Step–by–step drawing guides? Are you a creative professional who’s interested in writing a guest article? Maybe you (or an artist you admire) would like to take part in an Artist Games back–and–forth like I’ve done with Will Carroll, Noah Ginex, or Justin Piatt?

I really would love to hear from you! So please comment below, or hit me up on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, or Substack! You can also use the form submission page right here on my website to get in contact with me. Thanks again for stopping by!

The Second Redraw Challenge

There’s this super cool trend on TikTok and Instagram where artists will show an older illustration they did and then erase the layer (original art above) exposing their latest take (on the layer below) showing how much they have improved over time. A couple years ago, I wrote a post about redrawing my older artworks (sans cool video editing) and how satisfying that can be. Today I’m doing something (kind of) similar (again, sans cool video editing) and how the more unique illustrations will always be the ones I cherish most.

Back in 2017 I sketched a reverse mermaid (pretty self–explanatory once you look at it) which for some reason felt like something I just needed to draw. Five years later I knew I could do better even if I had no idea why I should. The reality is I was very interested in learning what my drawing program Procreate’s brushes could do. In 2017, I sketched Weird Al Yankovic as Batman. Okay, hold on a hot second. Let’s get something cleared up quickly now that I think of it:

  1. Many of these illustrations are really just rough sketches that could be considered concepts and not very well thought out beyond that and refined much, much later.

  2. Something inspired these crimes against humanity, and I really no longer remember what they were, so just come along for the ride with me, m’kay? Thanks.

Like many, I love The Simpsons. Their pious neighbor Ned Flanders is my wife’s favorite character and I love building upon creator Matt Groening’s style. I actually wrote in depth about this particular illustration last year if you’re curious about the pose and overall inspiration!

Again, while I don’t remember the inspiration for many of these illustrations, I at least know that both the following 2014 sketch and 2022 recreation are not depictions of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. No religious disrespect here! I do know that what I was initially drawn to (pun intended) were the hand poses. Holding chopsticks, ASL “I love you”, the Salvator Mundi blessing gesture, and the open hand are really cool and challenging. Also, again I was enjoying learning how to better digitally paint in Procreate as well as trying out some of the adjustments and effects. I’m a real sucker for chromatic aberration.

I’ve written a couple times about how kids can bring a really fresh perspective for getting out of a creative block. One of those exercises is to take a drawing a kid makes and put your own spin on it. I have done this so many times and it’s just the most fun thing to do. My cousin Lily (once removed) drew me a picture awhile ago of our late cat Destiny floating around in outer space. I freaking love it so much! I do not remember when she drew this original piece of art but it was definitely a loooooong time ago because Lily is now in college! In 2016, I dug this beautiful gem out of my memory box and took a stab at it myself. Lily’s is still the best one though!

Again, back in 2013, my other cousin once removed, Avery drew this cosmically gorgeous creature that I interpreted myself 11 years later. Avery’s art fills me with so much joy because it is so free and fearless! Draw your dreams! Lovingly foster your imagination! And let family members exploit it in their blog!

The final piece is always the inspiration for these blog posts, and so I proudly present to you, Generations — the musically inspired illustration absolutely nobody asked for. Again, the 2014 sketch should more realistically be called a concept, but there are a few notable tidbits that make this piece special to me. For starters, it’s a ridiculously stupid idea (and therefore makes for some fun art!). Secondly, while it’s not clear in the 2014 original, the jacket is absolutely inspired by Michael Jackson’s Thriller jacket (sorry not sorry, I think that’s the coolest jacket ever). Third, the boombox is a direct homage to the one my siblings and I listened to back in the late 80s and early 90s. I had taken a swing and missed when I tried to draw that same boombox when I created the art for Matt Vogel’s newest podcast Solve For Gen X. I got a lot closer in this go–around.

Fourth, the “grandfather” subject uses my maternal grandmother’s radio as his head. She always had this radio on in her bedroom. It now resides on my own nightstand as a cherished heirloom (despite being manufactured in the mid 1970s even though it looks like one she would have had during the second World War).

Thanks so much for checking out my site! Please follow me on Instagram, TikTok, Substack and X!

Podcast Art: Solve for Gen X

For the last two weeks, I’ve been writing about podcast art I created for Muppet fan site ToughPigs.com and all the fun and opportunity projects like that specifically from ToughPigs have gone on to provide. Today, I’m talking about one of those opportunities, and how I was commissioned again by the very talented Matt Vogel. There probably aren’t many reading this blog who don’t know who he is, so here’s a quick refresher.

Matt began puppeteering for Sesame Street in 1996, and later joined The Muppets. He has inherited tons of legacy characters, mostly from the late Jerry Nelson. These include Big Bird, Count Von Count, and Mr. Johnson on Sesame Street. In 2011 he took over Uncle Deadly (also a former Jerry Nelson character) and Kermit the Frog in 2017 (initially created and performed by Jim Henson himself before Steve Whitmire puppeteered the amphibian from 1990 to 2016).

I am very honored that Matt has been a fan of my work for awhile too, and in 2020, Matt officially commissioned me to create podcast art for his first podcast, Below the Frame. I was ecstatic, so when he came a calling again earlier this year with a request for his newest podcast with cohosts Nate Starkey and Ashley Ward called Solve for Gen X, I was even more excited! Initially Matt was looking for something relatively straight forward like what I had created for Below The Frame, but as we discussed it more, I got inspired and mentioned that maybe we put aside the idea of a quickly recognizable graphic and just go for a big 1980s action movie poster. Matt loved the idea, and we started listing ideas, homages, and easter eggs that would look cool. As a Gen Xer myself, I was completely down to stuff a bunch of nostalgic references into the art as well! Matt shared the lyrics to the theme song he had written along with the actual music for inspiration and from there, I got way into the project.

For starters, Matt wanted all the hosts to represent classic John Hughes characters. For Nate, he suggested Judd Nelson from Breakfast Club and Michael Schoeffling from Sixteen Candles. I made Nate pretty much 100% "John Bender" with a fanny pack that both Nate and Matt really wanted included somehow. Ashley was meant to be a combination of Molly Ringwald from Breakfast Club and Jennifer Grey from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but the character of Jeanie felt more dynamic. Ashley also requested some jelly bracelets like Madonna used to wear to bring even more authenticity to how well these hosts know their pop culture. Matt was dressed in Emilio Estevez’s letterman jacket from Breakfast Club but instead of the wrestling tank top, he has Anthony Michael Hall’s button down shirt from Sixteen Candles. I also gave Matt some personal nods as well. While he requested the cereal box he's holding in the illustration be an homage to Count Chocula, I stylized the chocolate–loving vampire to have softer features like Count Von Count, and green skin like a certain banjo strumming frog.

Nate, Ashley, and Matt

The background is a pretty stereotypical design that people often associate with the 1980s. As someone who lived through it, I can't say it was quite as ubiquitous as it is associated with the 1980s now, although neon and rudimentary computer graphics were part of the landscape, my personal opinion is that they've come to be more representative now than they ever were during the actual decade. On top of that is a neon cityscape that is definitely more of an homage to the movie Blade Runner than anything else. However, my personal recollection from that time period was a yearning for all things tropical. Every Andrew McCarthy flick seemed to have (at the very least) a beach resort backdrop of some kind, Paul Simon's music video with Chevy Chase You Can Call Me Al felt very Caribbean vacation themed even if it was filmed entirely in a plain pink room, and Miami, Florida might as well have been the pop culture capital of the 80s! Incidentally, that's also why there are so many palm trees too.

I'm disappointed to admit that many of the background elements are stock images, but I tried to use those aesthetics as a balance of harmony to all the other elements I illustrated myself. A charged particle beam from an unlicensed nuclear accelerator shoots behind the hosts as a reference to Ghostbusters. While the planes and bombs are not period specific, they are meant to represent the fear brought on originally from the Gulf War during Operation Desert Storm

The background composition created from stock images.

The kid on the BMX bike (I illustrated him) represents both a very novel and popular mode of transportation back in the day, but its placement over an abnormally large moon is meant to evoke memories of the Steven Spielberg opus E.T. Hiding behind those bomber planes and being so immense in size, that moon may make one consider the Death Star from Star Wars more than the lunar body itself.

The space shuttle was my personal contribution as the Challenger disaster and Nasa in general (thanks to a trip to Kennedy Space Center as a young boy) were hugely impactful to my childhood. The arcade cabinet is a direct reference to Space Invaders and the popularity of arcades in general back in the 80s. Personally I would have preferred Rolling Thunder, but niche titles can't communicate a universal understanding quite as deliberately or quickly as the 1978 Taito classic.

While Henry Winkler as The Fonz from Happy Days and Lou Ferrigno as The Hulk occupy the screen of the TV as per Matt's request, the old, ornately designed television set is a direct homage to the one my grandmother had in her living room in Ocean Grove, New Jersey where I would very anxiously wait daily for The 700 Club to end so I could switch it over to Nickelodeon.

Matt had suggested a big old family type car that was representative of his family vacations be present as well. I used my dad's 1986 Lincoln Continental (that he eventually sold to me for a dollar) as my inspiration. While ours was a sophisticated tan, I made this one a Gremlin green like the one Matt had as a kid. The boombox is also based on the one my siblings and I used to play and record everything on back when we were kids. I wanted this to look a little more dynamic than the gray and pale blue one we had, but I went overboard and felt it almost looks like I used AI to make it. I absolutely did not use AI for this or anything else, but I didn't have the time to change it afterwards. I'm happy with how it came out but simultaneously disappointed as well with how gaudy the colors are.

I threw an explosion by the wheel well of the Lincoln to try and capture that 80s action movie feel like Die Hard, Commando, or Escape from New York. Finally, I tossed in a crowd of concert goers just so we all knew that despite any chaos happening, there's always time to party!

Matt's initial idea for the title design was more inline with the title for Back to the Future. I loved the idea, but I thought that would be a little too on the nose. Instead, once Matt had sifted through some initial concepts, I started to finagle the design to be more of an homage to the original Unsolved Mysteries television show title card. To sock it even further into the time period, I tossed a small rainbow flash over the top as a reference to the popular The More You Know series of public service announcements on NBC.

The final artwork

Thank you again Matt for such a super cool opportunity that was a ton of fun to do! And thank you to everyone else who checked out this post! Make sure you check out Solve for Gen X on YouTube and everywhere else you get your podcasts. Please follow me on Instagram, TikTok, Substack and X!

I Need to Talk About AI Again

If you’ve read my blog before, well first of all, thank you! But secondly, you may know I’ve written about AI in the past as well. My first look into the topic was very hopeful but wary. Essentially, I was initially inspired by Yuval Noah Harari’s Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. What was most exciting about this book was Haran’s optimistic outlook to how AI could tremendously help and progress medicine and science. This is still something to be excited and hopeful for. AI has the potential to move humanity forward in a wonderful way.


In that same post, I also wrote that many artists had noticed that their art had been used without their permission to train the AI. But I know now that’s misleading, because AI isn’t actually learning to draw, it’s just mashing other people’s art together, it’s stealing. But I still ended that post with a touch of hopeful idealism, a warning that personal data is really what’s at stake in all this, and the push to be more cognizant about how we use AI moving forward.

Almost a year later, I wrote again about AI, but this time with my tone leaning more towards annoyance than maintaining that optimism. That frustration was based on the ubiquity of AI in stock image sites. Despite my more exasperated tone, my thought was, “It ain’t goin’ anywhere, so let’s try and figure out how to live with it.”

Now here we are again.

Let me say, my thoughts and opinions on generative AI have changed considerably in the last few years. The key word here though is generative AI. All that hope I had in regards to Yuval Noah Harari’s book remains firm in what is now more specifically referred to as Non–Generative AI. In those areas, AI still has the potential to do some real good, and in a lot of ways, it is. The popular genetic testing service, 23andMe uses machine learning to help its users discover if they may be more susceptible to certain diseases as just one of the many additional perks you can opt into. This information doesn’t mean you have a certain disease or that you’ll definitely be diagnosed with that particular disease sometime in the future either. It is however, a means to take preventative steps to help reduce any risk you may have in relationship to that specific disease. There are some more problematic issues with how convoluted and difficult it is to understand those terms of service and privacy policies, but pretending for just one hot second that capitalism is a caring and even altruistic system, and all of us get along happily; this idea is straight out of the pages of Homo Deus.

Generative AI—I.e. putting a prompt into a text box where AI then quickly creates an image, video, or even music—is none of that. It’s straight up theft. It’s not creative, it’s just mashing up other people’s art into an unholy amalgamation of mostly really, really messed up stuff. If what you put out into the universe is what you get back, Generative AI is boiling, hateful, sewage. I hope you had a light lunch!

Now to be fair, there is a very small number of artists who have started training AI on their own art to assist with their own efforts. This can include coloring line art (based on their specific styles and desired color palettes), refining rough concept sketches, or even changing the lighting and light source. Many can view this as that new thing that other people will call out incorrectly as cheating. Is digital art, art? Is an Apple Pencil the same as a paint brush? Is smart shaping that different from a protractor, compass, or set of French curves? They are all tools that assist the artist, and while they certainly help and make life easier, I can tell you first hand that if you can’t draw to begin with, none of those tools are going to competently allow you to “fake it.”

Illustration by me

Filling in a text prompt and then checking TikTok for the few seconds it takes a generative AI program to give you some options based on said prompts is as effective a tool as claiming that by turning your gas stove on makes you Prometheus.

In that second post I wrote about AI, I noted that big name corporations like Adobe use good faith clauses to only allow generative AI learning on its cultivated stock. But many (if not most) generative AI programs are set loose to train off of everything on the World Wide Web, without permission—or at the very least, bury that information in their user agreements. There are a whole lot of problems with that which are terrifying if you give them even a second of thought, but what is starting to happen is inbreeding, where generative AI is learning from what it has already put out!

There are so many other creatives who have pointed this stuff out and in a much more cohesive fashion with excellent research. I highly recommend watching both Drew Gooden’s video AI is ruining the internet and Gabi Belle’s video Everything Wrong with AI

But the truth of the matter is that this blog post—as hopeless and depressing as it is—serves as my attempt to return to posting here more regularly. I’m excited to start writing more, and I hope that you’ll check out my future posts as I continue forward. I promise they will not be this bleak!

I’m also going to try and start posting more artwork again! How frequently that happens will probably not be as consistent as I’m hoping to be with this blog, but when I do it will definitely still be on Instagram. I’m not really loving X at all anymore (who is?!), but for now I’m still there @davehulteen I’m also going to give TikTok a try and I also just joined Substack as drawingdave so let’s try and connect!

The Wall of Suck

Man oh Manischewitz am I excited about today's post! This is one I've been putting together for a few years now and it is all inspired by my good friend and talented graphic designer & illustrator, Jamie Carroll (who is also available for hire and deserves the big bucks people!). Nearly a decade ago now, I interviewed Jamie for Muppet fan site ToughPigs about some of his work and he introduced me to his own home–brewed mood board he called the wall of suck. I know! I was just as intrigued as you are right now. Here's an excerpt from that interview explaining today's post's namesake:

Dave: ...What about the pieces that get completely rejected? Or even better, the ones you yourself scrap?

Jamie: That’s a good question. It’s an incredible privilege to be able to do this stuff. It’s also rather soul crushing when it doesn’t work out. It’s two sides of the same coin. We’re not supposed to admit that, but it stings. I assembled this thing that I refer to as the “wall of suck” in order to deal with the angst. I’m not saying the work sucks. A great deal of care goes into even the simplest pitch. The suck part is in reference to the time and effort. It seems wasted and I can’t really post the full pieces for public view. Those are the breaks. Still, it all needs to go somewhere so it goes to the wall. Projects get nixed for all sorts of reasons. Many of them can’t be predicted. The wall helps me keep a healthy perspective on all the silliness.

Artists often crow about the successes yet hide the many failures that lead up to them. I think all of it should be celebrated!

If you're in a creative field where you have to submit multiple concepts or have brought something nearly to completion if not finished and ready for the world to see it—only to have it completely go down the toilet for one reason or another—than the idea of an essentially failed trophy case for all the "Coulda' Shoulda' Woulda's" probably resonates with you too.

I have had countless concepts rejected that I knew with my whole heart were bangers, or projects that I worked on for hours, days, or weeks, that were scrapped and it can be so discouraging and frustrating when that happens. Most of them I'll never ever be able to show because of nondisclosure agreements (NDA's), or because I technically don't own the work. There are a few other nuanced reasons, but the work I'm writing about today doesn't fall into those categories! These are projects that I'm really proud of, and/or was super excited to develop further, but for one reason or another are now D.O.A.

10 Minute Portraits

I've written extensively about figure drawing and how much I have benefited from taking classes. For awhile, I was consumed with getting better and better with creating more realistic art using traditional mediums. I love soft charcoal on newsprint and was simultaneously discovering I had a knack for it too, so I decided to expand my abilities further. Figure drawing focuses on the body, but I was also interested in creating people's likeness in portraiture as well. So I had the idea of doing free portraits of my coworkers during lunch time. I would get the opportunity to study and draw multiple different models, get comfortable drawing in front of people, get an opportunity to talk with employees I normally wouldn't otherwise, and in turn my coworkers would get a free portrait drawing.

Figure drawing with Maria

I spoke to my boss about it and she gave me tips on how to present the idea to Human Resources. HR then had me write a full proposal on what, why, how, when, and where I planned to do this and how it would ultimately benefit the workplace. That proposal then went up to the building's advisory cabinet who set a trial period to test it out before evaluating further if it was something that could then be done regularly. I was so excited and worked really hard on the proposal. I did several more portraits of celebrities and created a poster to help sell the idea, and brother did it work! Everyone else was excited too, and it was eventually promoted as a trial period where for the next three weeks I would set up an easel and stool in our cafeteria with a small modesty wall to block my models from other coworkers, but put me on full display where anyone could come up and look over my shoulder and ask me questions.

On the premiere day, the front desk used the P.A. system to announce, "Dave Hulteen will be offering free portraits to anyone willing to sit and model for 10 minutes today at lunchtime in the cafeteria!" So cheesy, I know, but I was really proud that I managed to pull this together. That afternoon I did about 4 portraits and it went great! I got to meet new people, got some great feedback, and that feeling that this was going to be the start of something pretty great. I packed up, and left to go home for the weekend. It was Friday, March 6, 2020.

For those of you that need me to explain the punchline, this is right when the United States closed up shop for the Covid 19 Pandemic. My job shut the building down the following Monday, and while we all know how most everything played out, the opportunity to pick right back up kind of passed. Now yes, things are better again and I could resubmit my proposal and try again, but there are some interruptions that put ideas on hold indefinitely for various reasons, and for now, that's where this one will continue to chill.

Our backs are now against the wall? Listen all y'all, it's a sabotage

There are so many other concepts I want to show but can’t!

A common theme you may notice among each of these things is a sense of self–sabotage. I pride myself as a creative who doesn't take constructive criticism personally. "You don't like it? Well then neither do I. See? I'm a big boy!" I also pride myself on my passion and commitment to a project. "You like this direction? Well then I'm going to steer this thing all the way to the finish line and give you the best work you've ever had. See? I'm a big boy!" There are many times however when these two philosophies contradict themselves. That's self preservation lingo for, "Sometimes I can be a monumental pain in the @$s." For example, when I was given the opportunity to design the cover to one of our quarterly publications—something I was honored to even be asked to do—I took the direction of creating Wedha's Pop Art Portrait (WPAP) style to an overly scrutinous level, driving my poor boss crazy as I lectured him over the art form's intricacies that I was now an expert in and he was grossly out of his league to say otherwise. I was quick to admit he made the right call when he handed the work over to another artist. I'm still really pleased with my version, but it joins a growing collection of concepts I've created that were rejected at the time, but occasionally are retooled and resubmitted for other projects that are never quite the right fit for those either.

Coloring Book

Spoiler alert: this one goes the same way my 10 minute portraits did with coronavirus ruining everyone's capitalist dreams. But in a nutshell, I illustrated a coloring book that helps guide kids with how to visit the elderly in nursing homes—something that was absolutely taken off the table when the pandemic hit. What makes this one sting though is that I had nearly complete creative control. The original coloring book was created in 1989 by a brilliant Salvation Army officer who created a valuable resource for kids. The only issue with it was that she wasn't a great illustrator. So I was given carte blanche to recreate all the art however I wanted, and I jammed it with Easter eggs and references to 1980's pop culture, mixing in tributes to the Netflix original series Stranger Things and even nods to PAW Patrol (my daughter’s biggest fandom at the time) as well.

This is one that has the potential to make a come back though. I regularly check in with the client (who has changed over the years as departments continue to merge), and sometimes I get an encouraging update and other times my check in serves as a reminder for them to do do something about the coloring book.

School Mascot

Hoofa, I'd like to introduce this exhibit as the catalyst for this entire post.

I write about my daughter a lot on my blog. She is my world, so when her elementary school sent the call out for a community wide effort to design the school's new mascot, I saw multiple opportunities flash before my eyes. I have designed tons of characters for books, television, animation, puppets, brand identity, and even full bodied walk around costumes. So not only was this right up my alley, but I have dozens of contacts that could then develop my designs into physical media and even merchandising! After doing some quick research, I also learned that school mascots are a pretty limited subset of creatures; namely cubs. Do you have any idea how many school mascots across the country are cubs? Most are unisex creations, but when they're not, they almost always lean male. The sole direction of the mascot design challenge was to encourage kindness and my daughter is the poster child for being kind. After some rough sketches, I had the idea that my design would be an homage to my daughter and the best animalistic choice was an eaglet. "Fly high with the Evergreen Elementary Eaglet!" You guys, I went so hard on this.

I knew as I was working on every little thing that I was putting the cart in front of the horse, writing my own feel–good story of the decade that would appear on the front page of the local newspaper and this very blog. "Local Father Saves All of Humanity with School Mascot Competition That Resembles His Daughter." Oh my gosh you guys, I went way too hard on this.

I knew with every fiber of my being that I was getting way too involved and wrapped up in my presentation. I even sold myself as the professional illustrator to the principle who would work alongside the school to create clip art, promotional material, and provide possible vendors for merchandising opportunities. You guys... even my ego was begging me to step way off. I went so very hard on this.

Now I don't want to blame my friends and family for getting me so hyped, but they were all so supportive that I really wanted to exceed their expectations. In the end, I was actually really relieved when my design wasn't chosen. I was the overly excited dad you roll your eyes at during little league practice. Fortunately all that effort and exertion stayed within the walls of our home with my wife being the one who suffered the loss. I got her just as riled up as I was, so she took the rejection of the Evergreen Eaglet a lot harder than I did. That doesn't mean I'm not bummed out about it, but for the purposes of this post, my cute little eaglet now occupies the wall with a reminder not to overly invest oneself in similar future situations.

I have so many other pieces that belong on the wall of suck that I still can't show or talk about. Perhaps one day I'll do a follow up, but for now, I'd love to hear if you have your own wall of suck and what's on it? Follow me on Instagram and check back in a week here for a new post!

Artist Games Featuring Justin Piatt

Yes! It’s time for another Artist Games, this time with the amazing Justin Piatt! Justin has contributed to this blog before, was a major contributor to ToughPigs Great Muppet Mural and its subsequent “Making of” documentary, and is one of the kindest and hardest working artists out there! Originally known for his art, Justin now boasts an amazing portfolio of puppets as well! Him and I have known each other for at least 7 years now and have collaborated together on more than a few other projects as well. So it was a no brainer to play this game together.

What game am I talking about? Well if you want an extended look, check out when I played with Will Carroll and Noah Ginex last year, but if you’re anxious to see what Justin and I did, here’s the skinny:

The Rules

I start first and draw something rather fleshed out then pass it on to Justin. There are no time limits or space restrictions (put a pin in that for now). Either of us can draw as much or as little as we want before passing it back. One artist can add to or obscure the previous work as much as they like as long as they don’t manipulate it (within reason). So to start off, I drew a clown throwing a punch. That’s it! No context, no further instructions.

I don’t like clowns at all. I think I draw them as a face your fears type thing. Coulrophobia anyone?

Justin: The pose Dave picked for the clown immediately made me think of Popeye. I didn't even consider drawing anything else because I just had to draw Popeye getting hit in the face by a clown. I could tell you it means something significant. It could be satire, a comment on the current state of comedy and comics, or the physical violence that can be incited by words or the printed page. But I just wanted to draw Popeye getting smacked in the face by a clown.

I'm not sure what else to say on it. I love what he did with the clown. It's such a good pose and I hoped to match it.

Dave: I was thinking of a schoolyard fight but being witnessed by both classic cartoon characters (Justin’s Popeye and my Blip the Monkey) and archetypes that are cartoonish but have real world stand–ins that are fantastical (the clown, a DnD wizard who may just be a weekend dungeon master, and "Pirate Baby" who is a silly character my daughter and I created for when we play).

Justin: I was trying to think of some obscure cartoons and other things that would fit our vague theme. Death seemed like a good fit, just waiting for the loser. I was also thinking that I'd like to have him subtly rooting for one of the characters, preferably the clown. I wasn't sure how to make that work, when I came up with the idea of the Groucho glasses. It was like dressing up rather clownish, but it could also look like Death was trying to stay incognito. 

The banana just sort of happened. I wanted something that wasn't really interested in the rest of the action, because it was only concerned with its own peril. And the monkey looked to be reaching for something, but distracted. It made sense in my head. 

The third character I was trying to grab at a random character from my childhood that nobody remembers. My first inclination was to draw one of Ralph Bakshi's Mighty Heroes, but then I remembered Crusader Rabbit, Jay Ward's series before Rocky and Bullwinkle.

Dave: So Death with Groucho glasses is my newest favorite thing! He needs his own show. Justin needs to patten him and then draw him all the damn time!

I wanted to start to flesh out the world around this odd group, so I was inspired by a scene from The Simpsons when they go to Cuba and there's a boxing match happening outside with the coast line in the background. I went for a slightly more medieval look with lush flora on the sides and a deteriorated brick wall in the background. I also subdued the colors of all that so the focus stays on the fight.

I made the background area bigger than it needs to be with the intention of cropping the final image tighter to the fighters.

So remember in the beginning when I said there was no time limit? I wasn’t kidding! Justin and I initially started this weirdo brawl back in April of 2022. I didn’t jump back on this with the background art until March of 2023. Then Justin—up to his ears in design work—admitted he felt we had brought this about as far as it could go, but I wanted my Cuban street fight, so I fleshed out the rest of the background that is more reminiscent of something otherworldly.

Justin: Just everywhere Dave took this made it a thousand times better and was so unexpected to me and threw me off and made me laugh. I really love the influence of the background being Simpsons/Cuba inspired, which initially made me want to go full Simpson with the sky and paint it pink and yellow, but it drowned out the clown. Ultimately, Dave made the right choice. 

This thing is weird. We made a very weird, strange thing that I very much like. I would want the live action film version, except Robin Williams is gone, and if he weren't, I know Bobcat Goldthwait would get cast as the clown, and I don't like him. So I'm glad this is just a picture we drew instead. 

Thank you, Justin! I love this too! You absolutely need to check out Justin’s website Uzzy Works and his Etsy store and follow him on Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok, Twitter; all as @uzzyworks.

Aah! How great to add this one to the Artist Games! If you’d like to play this game with me, please contact me through here on my site, or follow and contact me through Instagram and Twitter (until it becomes an unmanageable hell scape).

Taking On Famous Works of Art, Part I

Have you ever had a creative block? Three months ago I wrote about how I was frustrated I hadn’t been drawing for myself and how creative blocks can arise when your hobby and passion share the spotlight with your career. I get to draw for a living, but when I get busy drawing for clients, it’s hard to find a balance and return to what you do as a hobby when it’s also your bread and butter. Now there are lots of ways I’ve shared as an illustrator to help get out of such a block; drawing what you enjoy, returning to subjects that fueled you as a child, celebrating your fandoms, new takes on your older works, or finding joy drawing with children. Today I’m going to share yet another way to get your creative juices flowing and it also happens to be educational too (but not boring).

When you’re starting out, you draw what you see and love and while you try your hardest, no matter what, you’ll always give your own take on those things. When looking for a creative spark, taking this mentality to the masters is a great way to go! So today I’m showing off how recreating famous works of art is insightful, inspiring, educational, and best of all; fun!

Mona Lisa
1503–1506
Oil on white Lombardy poplar panel
Leonardo DaVinci

By far the most popular (and most parodied) painting of all time, the Mona Lisa actually owes its fame to its theft in 1911 (and subsequent recovery three years later). An opera, two films, and Nat King Coles smash hit song from 1949 have also attributed to its prominence. In my family, it’s also notable for having the same name as my mom!

Vector Art, 2013 & Photoshop of my mother, 2010

The Scream
1893
Edvard Munch

This painting's popularity stems from something everyone can relate to: anxiety of the human condition. The story goes that while on a walk on a fjord overlooking Oslo, the sunlight turned the clouds blood red giving Munch a sense that an "infinite scream was passing through nature." Scholars have suggested the odd light that evening were from the effects of a volcanic eruption... or the anxiety Edvard was experiencing due to the fact that his sister had been committed to a nearby asylum.

Digital Painting (Photoshop), 2015 & Vector Art, 2013

We Can Do It!
1943
J. Howard Miller (Westinghouse)

All the day long,
Whether rain or shine,
She's a part of the assembly line.
She's making history,
Working for victory,
Rosie the Riveter.

There are two famous works featuring Rosie, but today, most are familiar with Miller's render of the strong female production worker flexing while rolling her sleeves up. Back in 1943 however, most Americans wouldn't have seen that poster but rather have known Norman Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post cover. Miller's piece wasn't even originally associated with the Rosie figure and was only seen by Westinghouse workers when it was displayed internally for only two weeks in February, 1943—sponsored by the company's internal War Production Co-Ordinating Committee—and wasn't rediscovered until the early 1980s. The Rosie character was originally popularized in song in 1942 by Suzy Bogguss and was a representation of the women who worked in shipyards and factories during World War II, replacing the men who joined the military.

I created my own version of Rosie for a Christmas card concept in 2020 for The Salvation Army. It was rejected, but that hasn't stopped me from resubmitting it every year since and for a number of other Army related projects too. For me personally though, it's the version of Miss Piggy as Rosie that I designed for ToughPigs 10th Anniversary in 2011 and which they've continued to use as their avatar across social media—something I'm incredibly proud of.

2011, Vector Art & Digital Painting (Procreate) 2020

La Dama Bianca
Marcello Dudovich
1918

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Usually someone says that when they're caught making fun of someone else and are trying to placate them before getting into more trouble. I'm using it as a creative crutch to help inspire my own art and write this entire blog post. In regards to this famous Art Deco poster however, it's frustratingly apropos. Marcello Dudovich is celebrated as one of Italy's greatest poster artists known for his very distinct and colorful style. From what I have gathered however, in regards to this famous Martini & Rossi commissioned poster (The White Lady), Dudovich designed the art to reflect the style of Leonetto Cappiello—another famous Italian painter known for his French posters. You can buy prints of this painting almost everywhere online, but there's very little information about the actual poster Dudovich painted available.

Dudovich’s original, and my own (Photoshop digital painting, 2019)

My take with Janice from The Electric Mayhem was part of a larger Inktober project you should checkout on ToughPigs!

The Son of Man
René Magritte
1964
Oil on canvas

Magritte’s original, and my own (Procreate digital painting, 2023)

When I was young and even more pretentious, I first saw some paintings by Jackson Pollock and scoffed, "How is this art? I could do this! Heck, anyone could do this!" To which my father immediately countered, "But you didn't." I hope he reveled in that moment as a dad by saying something so simple and yet so profound that it shut his obnoxious, teenage son up instantly. I've heard similar smart aleck comments about The Son of Man, and its initial knee–jerk reaction as just a dude with an apple over his face. But what's really fascinating about this piece is what it doesn't tell you. Everything you want to see—the man's face, the low wall, the seascape—are all obscured. Magritte explains his own art best, "It's something that happens constantly. Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that which is hidden and which the visible does not show us. This interest can take the form of a quite intense feeling, a sort of conflict, one might say, between the visible that is hidden and the visible that is present." Maybe it was the apple, but I originally wanted to make my own version out of emoji’s but decided to just draw it in that style myself.

The Thinker
Auguste Rodin
1904
Bronze sculpture

Rodin’s original (sort of) and my own (Photoshop digital painting, 2020)

The thinker has been cast in multiple versions around the world, but its complete history is a little murky. Rodin's first version was small and made out of plaster, but there are much larger versions, the most famous residing in Paris. The sculpture is usually associated with philosophy, but was originally named “The Poet” and was part of a larger commission for a doorway surround based on The Divine Comedy. Rodin's model was one of Rodin's regulars; a physically impressive prizefighter and wrestler who mostly appeared in France's red–light district.

The Creation of Adam
Michelangelo
1512
Fresco

Michelangelo's work on and involvement with the Sistine Chapel's ceiling proves that artists and designers have been dealing with the same bull$#!% for at least 500 years now. You see, originally he was commissioned by the Pope to build his holiness' tomb with a five year deadline (it took 40 and Mikey never felt satisfied with it). Another painter was miffed Michelangelo got the tomb gig and convinced the Pope to hire Michelangelo to do the chapel ceiling in a medium Mikey was unfamiliar with. That other artist's sole motivation being that this would result in Michelangelo failing (because what better way to elevate yourself by making the competition look bad?). Michelangelo convinced the Pope to let him wing it with a different (albeit more complex) design scheme than originally envisioned (because being your own boss gives you even more freedom) and thus, we have The Creation of Adam (along with the rest of the chapel ceiling).

The Immaculate Jim (Photoshop digital painting, 2010)

My own take is one I'm still very proud of featuring my hero Jim Henson and a few of his more iconic characters (including a certain frog and my boy Sam).

Man, I have a lot more of these than I anticipated! So tune in next week for more famous art, more fun historical trivia, and more ridiculousness from me! In the meantime, follow me on Instagram and Twitter! See you next week!

The Life of a Caricature Artist Featuring Kenny Durkin!

Drawing ain’t easy. Drawing something recognizable takes effort. Drawing people is overwhelming. Exploiting peoples’ unique features in a fun and exaggerated way for their entertainment is downright insane. That’s where Kenny Durkin comes in.

Kenny Durkin by Kenny Durkin

I’ve sung Kenny’s praises before and he’s no stranger to this blog or me pestering him for all sorts of things. He graciously agreed to me bombarding him with questions again, but before that, let’s take a quick refresher course. Kenny is a cartoonist who studied Illustration at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. He’s performed live caricature entertainment at events across the United States for over 20 years, and drawn caricatures at Walt Disney World retail locations and special events for 15 years. He has his cartoons on apparel for AMC's Duck Dynasty, Disney's The Muppets,  and The Jim Henson Company, writes and illustrates his own online comic strip Father of the Brood, and is a proud member of the prestigious National Cartoonists Society and an award-winning Gold member of  the International Society of Caricature Artists. On a more personal note; Kenny was one of the key heads of the design team for ToughPigs Great Muppet Mural, and has been a patient and wonderful friend who has helped me out personally with tons and tons of other projects. I cannot hype this man up enough because his artistic talent is only matched by his kindness and sense of humor.

Kenny and I hanging at Gene Barretta’s home, May 2015

So let’s start with the basics: how did you get into drawing? And how did you get so good?!

Kenny: I've been drawing for as long as I can remember. The first drawing I can recall was of Kermit and Grover. I was born in 1971 and back then, there was no way of recording a television show to watch later. When the Sesame Street episode of the day was over, I still wanted to spend more time with my "friends", so I drew them. I found that was a great way to express myself creatively, and why Kermit still pops up in my drawings to this day.

Kermit the Frog as Indiana Jones and gorgeous caricatures of Frank Oz and Jim Henson

All that said, I still don't think I'm "good" at it. I think it's like having an athletic ability or being a musician. You're born with an inclination, but you still have to work at it. You have to put in the time and practice every day. And you have to be willing to fail a lot. I'm obsessed with learning to draw better, so I watch instructional videos, take courses, look at art instruction books, and I'm friends with a lot of other artists so I can push myself to soak up as much info as I can. And I've trained myself to when I'm not drawing, I'm OBSERVING. I'm looking at trees, buildings, people, animals, vehicles, clouds, everything I see and deconstructing them. I'm breaking them down into simple shapes and filing them away in the visual encyclopedia in my brain. Then I can pull them out to work out later on paper. In a way, it's a thing that I can't shut off and won't leave me alone!

We all know Jim Henson is a major creative inspiration to you, but who else inspires your artistic talent?

There are a whole lot of people who inspire me. It would be impossible to list them all. I think starting out, it was newspaper cartoonists like Charles Schultz, Walt Kelly, Hank Ketcham, Dik Browne, Jim Davis, Mort Walker, Lynn Johnston, and so many others. Later it was Gary Larson, Berke Breathed, Bill Watterson, John Hambrock, and WAYNO.

MAD Magazine was huge for me. I gobbled up everything I could from artists like Jack Davis, Sam Viviano, Paul Coker, Mort Drucker, Sergio Aragones, Don Martin, Al Jaffee, and Tom Richmond. I wasn’t much of a comic book guy, but I sought out more cartoony titles like Uncle Scrooge, Groo the Wanderer, and Zooniverse. For animation, it was of course Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, Chuck Jones, Fleischer Studios, Hanna Barbara, Don Bluth, Richard Williams, etc.

But beyond cartoons, I suppose there’s not much that DOESN’T inspire me. Anyone involved with the process of creation interests me. Musicians, singers, actors, directors, costume designers, prop builders, effects artists, folk artists and so many others. I’m all over the place.

The casts of Seinfeld and Stranger Things

When and how did you realize your knack for caricatures?

There was a magazine for kids called Dynamite that had celebrity caricatures by Sam Viviano. That was my gateway to the art of caricature. I followed him over to MAD Magazine which was a caricature–heavy publication. I studied what those artists were doing. I would ask myself, “The caricature looks like the person. Now WHY is that so? What is the artist doing that makes the likeness so strong?”. So I’d try drawing actors I’d see on T.V., friends and family, and teachers in school. My parents would get notes from my teachers saying what a great student I was because I was always taking notes. Little did they know, I was actually drawing them!

Caricatures of Muppet performers Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, Richard Hunt, Frank Oz, Jim Henson, and Louise Gold

What kind of lessons or classes did you have to take to go pro?

I was fortunate enough to have art classes all through grade school. In high school I took every class that was even remotely connected to art, like printmaking and drafting. I did a lot of scenery and prop building for school plays and musicals. I took classes when offered at museums like mask making.

I went to Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and studied Illustration and Graphic Design. I also took classes there on Photography, Sculpture, Figure Drawing, Color Theory and Early German Film for some reason.

I’m still constantly educating myself. I watch videos, take online courses, read art instruction books, go to seminars, and take workshops. If you want to EARN, you’ve got to LEARN!

How quickly does it take to draw a single caricature?

It depends. When I’m drawing at events, the task is to draw as many guests as possible. I can draw a shoulders–up caricature in black and white in 1–2 minutes if I have to. At most events I draw faces and bodies in black and white, which take about 5 minutes.

A retail caricature face and body in color is about 12–15 minutes. Studio caricatures, depending on what the client and I have worked out, can take days. 

Steve Buscemi and Daniel Radcliffe

Drawing people well enough to recognize them is hard. Drawing their more prominent features to the extreme and still be able to recognize them is ludicrous. Drawing people with exaggerated features so that they’re still recognizable and doing it fast is impossible. How do you do all of that?

Practice. It takes time to get your speed up. When you first start out, your instinct is to pencil everything in, ink over the top and then erase the pencil.Once you develop a system that works, you won’t need to rely as much on the pencil (or at all). Experimenting with materials, (paper, drawing implements) that can improve your speed. Recognizability is more important than speed. In the end, it has to resemble the person you’re drawing.

Have you ever drawn someone and they reacted negatively because they felt you offended them?

Thankfully not often. One time when I was only a couple of years in, a subject got so mad at how I drew him that he lurked around until I had closed up and he followed me out to my car. Luckily security took care of him.

I did a studio piece for someone one time and after repeated redraws because she claimed it didn’t look like her, I actually TRACED her photograph. When she still insisted it didn’t look like her, I told her what I had done and she went with the first drawing I did.

You have to go into drawing caricatures knowing you’re not going to please everyone all the time. Statistically, it has to happen. So I’ll still get the occasional eye roll, but for the most part, people are pleased. They know what they stood in line for.

Is being sensitive to how someone might react to your caricature something that you consider when you draw them or is that mindset too restrictive and it’s better to believe that they should be aware it’s your job to exaggerate their likeness?

It’s tricky. When someone hires you to draw at their event, you don’t want to be the one insulting their guests, or making the host or booking agency look bad. It’s just not professional. You also don’t want to fall into the trap of drawing “genericatures” or drawing the same way over and over. You have to be sensitive and have empathy. You need to know when to lay back and be “safe” and when to kick it into gear and go for it. It’s an important skill that you have to develop over time. 

Father of the Brood 2023 and 2018 when my daughter and I made a guest appearance!

Wow! And there it is! Proof that Kenny Durkin isn’t just really good at what he does, but why he’s the best there is! Make sure you visit Kenny’s website for more great art, but also follow him on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube too!

Thanks so much again, Kenny for taking the time to share your story and talent! I am so grateful for you and our friendship. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter, and come back on Friday for a new blog post!

Inspiration: Volk Clip Art

It’s 1995, and a teenage me (Hi! I’m Dave!) is up against the proverbial wall as my senior year of high school begins and I have absolutely no idea what the future holds for me. I have zero direction or ambition to know where I’ll go to further my education (if at all), I’m not even sure what I want to do in a best case scenario, and the bad news is there isn’t a best case scenario anyway because I may not even have enough credits to graduate with the rest of my class. My dad is getting frustrated because all I ever say that I want to do is draw, but how that translates into any kind of career is spectacularly vague and naive at best. Seemingly moments before the first day of school even starts, I’m enrolled in Monmouth County, New Jersey’s stellar vocational education program at the zero hour where my father finds a commercial art class which will give me a far better chance at achieving the necessary math and science credits I’ll need to get a high school diploma. The vocation curriculum is technically two years, meaning I’ll only complete the first and my fellow classmates will all be juniors, but there’s no time to split hairs. As far as Dad, the state of New Jersey, and any future higher education prospects are concerned, the name of the game is to simply graduate Neptune High School with a modest GPA.

Me and my fellow MCV classmates, 1996

If you know me or have read any other blog post here, you know that it all worked out. But I’m not actually writing about my time with the Monmouth County Vocational Commercial Art School in Aberdeen, nor how that class arguably saved my future career, how I made some great friends, or how we all relentlessly tortured our teacher Ms. Camp (I’m so sorry for all those headaches Ms. Camp! We all genuinely love you!), but rather how I discovered an art form that continues to inspire me to this day, the world of Volk Clip Art.

First let’s take a quick crash course through the history of what clip art actually is. As I mentioned when I wrote about stock image sites, designers are busy people, and may not always have the time or ability or money to cultivate graphics and images for their projects, so they turn to other methods by relying on pre–made works with varying licensing managements. Clip art specifically covers illustrated pieces for publishing products that offer a huge variety of content and illustrative styles. The term clip art comes from physically cutting images from printed works and pasting them into new publishing projects with type and/or other graphics. This would be done by a layout artist, mechanical artist, or production artist on a printing press back in the day. Thanks to desktop publishing though, we’ve condensed all that down to the noble graphic designer.

Now there’s a lot more to cover, but for brevity’s sake we’re just going to hit some bullet points here. Many publications and smaller businesses didn’t have the budget to hire illustrators, so clip art became a mainstay for consumption. I’m going to briefly skip over the main course of today’s post for a minute here, but eventually the ink–based, comic book style of clip art that I’m referencing today became dated, but not useless. So sometime in the 1970s, those higher quality, older designed and stylized clip art made it’s way into trade paperback books for the masses. At that point, all you needed was a collection of (mostly) public domain illustrations and a Xerox machine, and now anyone could create relatively high quality designs. Flash forward to today, and you can very easily get your hands on quality, royalty free clip art from a variety of online locations for dirt cheap or even free. In fact, a lot of those cool, vintage illustrations that we’ll be talking about in a second are even archived on sites like Flickr!

Back to 1995 and a young and green Dave is confronted with a fantastic collection of clip art and unlimited Xerox privileges. It’s at this point where we finally get to the meat of this post and the very specific art house that was arguably the titan of clip art: Volk. I’ve mentioned a few times before that even if you’ve never heard of a certain so–and–so, their work probably crossed your path. Unless you’ve been living under a rock and outside of the United States (and even then there’s an excellent chance), you have most definitely seen something from a Volk catalog. Ironically located just 84 miles south from my former vocational school, Harry Volk, Jr.—a former journalist—opened his art studio in Pleasantville, New Jersey in the mid 1950s that pumped out high quality, copyright free, clip art in saddle stitched paper booklets. These collections were organized into various themes that covered absolutely everything from popular holidays, space exploration, school activities, sales gimmicks, various occupations, elections, travel, and practically everything in between. Each booklet would cost just a few dollars and would be packed with fantastic, high quality illustrations that simultaneously reflected American values and societal changes surrounding race & gender, all at the same time somehow maintaining a specific but generic look.

The superstar of Volk was a man named Tom Sawyer. Yes, I know, but trust me, his name is the least intriguing thing about him. Thomas B. Sawyer’s work for Volk was ubiquitous, seen internationally in magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, sign boards, and on television. Mr. Sawyer isn’t just a top notch illustrator though. He’s a best selling novelist, author, screenwriter, playwright, producer, and story editor; but his biggest claim to fame was as the head writer and show runner for the classic CBS series Murder, She Wrote starring Angela Lansbury. I reached out to Mr. Sawyer for an interview seeing as his book, The Adventures of the Real Tom Sawyer shares the same publisher (Bear Mountain Media) as Sam and Friends – The Story of Jim Henson’s First Television Show by Craig Shemin, but I never heard back from him.

But Tom Sawyer was just one of the illustrators working for Volk. The vast collections of notable mid–century style drawings from Volk’s studio are exceptional. The weird thing is how little information there is anywhere about those other illustrators or even Harry Volk, Jr. himself! Seriously, there is almost nothing about him, his studio, or its employees other than Thomas Sawyer online. This blog post will hopefully garner him a few more fans. Perhaps one day I’ll even make the pilgrimage to his old studio!

Roughly a decade or so ago, I was helping a client/friend/coworker of mine who was working as the head preservationist, curator, and director of The Salvation Army’s Eastern Territory Heritage Museum when she presented me with a huge collection of Volk clip art, not only well preserved, but still in its plastic organizing case—an even rarer find than the art contained within! Opening that case (even still) is like a time machine, not only transporting me back to the essence of 1950s & 60s design, but even more specifically to Ms. Camp’s Commercial Art class to a host of Gen X teenagers irresponsibly taking advantage of the school’s copy machine and trying to get high off sniffing Krylon far away from the designated ventilation booth. Initially, that institutional green colored box was bound for the trash, but she gave it to me (a million thank you’s again, Kathy!).

Most of my collection is from the 70s through 90s

Ironically, this tale shares a much bigger, real world counterpart to publicly available clip art from Volk and other studios as well. A New York Times employee named Bart Solenthaler who worked in the advertising department was tasked with throwing away a massive collection of clip art, but instead took the time to scan and upload it to Flickr! You should absolutely check that collection out here.

Did you ever use clip art from Volk? All the images in this post are from my personal collection which are primarily from catalogs from the 80s and 90s, so they don’t reflect that cool mid–century style I’ve been talking about. However, you can find even more classic Volk clip art here. If you’d like to learn a little more detail about this type of clip art, check out my sources by visiting this article on Tedium and this one on Fast Company. For more vintage design inspiration, check out this article I wrote about my classic magazine collection.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter and check back here on Fridays for more creative thinking and inspiration!

Tedious "To Do" List Lunacy

I was so bad at doing chores and keeping up with my homework as a kid that my parents got me a chore checkoff pad. If you’re old enough to do so, think of a yellow legal pad, only each tear–off page is just the same pre–printed copy of a ludicrous amount of “chores” with check off boxes categorized into different lists, and a bunch of side bar like areas with blank spaces to write in notes and even your own thoughts or special agendas. It was the early to mid 90s and this was a novelty that could only exist before computers and smartphones. Just search “To Do List” in the App Store and you’ll get dozens if not hundreds of Task Manager related hits with more features and personalization resources than a cheap scratch pad from Kmart could have ever offered back in the day.

As a Gen Xer, I’m still genetically predisposed to relying on old fashioned, handwritten or printed media as well as on modern technology in this weird dual reality, and it was that frustratingly detailed chore checkoff pad that serves as today’s inspiration. I keep multiple lists—both physical and digital—that essentially can be broken down into three categories: Things I Need To Do (long term), Things I Want To Do (goals), and Daily To Do lists (aka, “This $#!% Needs To Get Done Now!”).

I could write a lot more extensively on the benefits of these lists, how it’s satisfying to physically drag a pen over an item and cross it out resulting in that tasks completion, or how the whole process is really just a way to compartmentalize life without freaking the hell out, but instead I’m going to write about the absurdity of the second category mentioned, Things I Want To Do and its more specific subcategory, Things To Draw. Now I actually have several of these lists—some more unconventional than others—but they all serve a very specific purpose which can basically be explained as “Staying Creative Insurance.” All creative types know and struggle with creative blocks, and what’s more, they know that creative blocks will always, always be a certainty. So to preempt those blocks, creative people will have “lists” of some kind to assist breaking up those stale moments. This act may be subconscious as I’m sure any number of artists, writers, or Fashion Taxidermists reading this are thinking, “Hold on, I don’t keep lists like that!” But I can assure you that they/you do. A “creative to do list” can take the form of bookmarked content on social media, specially labeled photo albums, Pinterest Boards, bookmarks on your browser, screen captures, a specific shelf in a personal library, scrapbooks, following other artists for daily inspiration, or praying to the Norse God Bragi for guidance on a plausible excuse to post all the hotdog related art you’ve ever done (so far). A “To Do list” or “inspirational collection” then really becomes a matter of semantics.

The other tiny tidbit you should know about these lists—in whatever form they take—are how unique and personal they are to their creator. They will almost always only be decipherable to their author (mostly, but I’ll expand on that more in a bit). We all have our own little idiosyncrasies with everything we do, but when it comes to something more personal like a list of things to do created expressly by and for the only person in the universe designated to see them, those itemized collections can be downright hysterical even if their context is relatively clear (which often it is not). For example, to this day I am haunted by a very old to do list of things to draw with one item simply listed as “Date.” The confidence I must have had when I wrote that is staggering! Was it in reference to an outing I had with a girl? A specific holiday? Did I think there was something to add to Salla’s quote in the monkey death scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark? What’s even wilder is I actually remember the physical act of writing that down, but not the context as to why. If that wasn’t infuriating enough, I kept that drawing prompt idea on said list for years in fear that if I did remove it, I may lose whatever inspiration it ever possessed! It was important enough to write down for some reason.

Case in point, I’m at a place in my life now where even if I suddenly had unlimited time and motivation, all my to do lists would perpetually exist in the same state as my Netflix queue; I’m not going to get to most of it, but I’ll never clear either out as both stand as monuments to my interests if not as one to my goals.

For the purposes of this post however, I’ll be sticking to two “lists” of mine in relation to wanting to draw something very specific. The first is what I’ll call my “Definitely Draw This!” List which is literally a collection of pictures, and screenshots I collect and add to regularly. Incidentally, when I think of my actual “Things To Draw” list, it’s this collection of images I consider as the main one. It’s on a small thumb drive in a folder simply labeled •To Do. The bullet point ensures that no matter what else I save to that thumb drive, that particular folder always remains at the top. A quick browse through it shows mostly images of dynamic poses, facial expressions, architecture, and design styles I want to illustrate. Many of them I already have too, but like my Netflix queue, I don’t remove them after I’ve accomplished what I wanted to. In most cases it’s because those images continue to serve the inspirational purpose as well.

But like my “Date” prompt I mentioned earlier, there are a few pieces that make me wonder why on earth they’re in this folder. Some may take a minute to get (Did I screen cap this book title because I wanted to read it? No, it’s the typography… yeah, that’s it!) Honing in on features, hairstyles, fashion choices, or even specific style choices usually helps, but occasionally I’m at a complete loss.

My second list is more of the scraping–the–bottom–of–the–barrel variety. I love, love, love to write; but art is visual and it’s easier to save a picture with a clear mental note (e.g. “mimic this line art style”) than an overly detailed and usually tedious written direction. If I have an idea that I don’t yet have a visual idea for, I write it down as thorough as I feel I need to in my Notes app. In some cases, this can be relatively short as the prompt in and of itself carries those personal idiosyncrasies I mentioned earlier. For the most part, these have invisible, secondary ideas attached to them like a password or riddle that I and only I would understand. It doesn’t always work as in the “Date” scenario, but usually it does. For example, the prompt “Updated Hamilton” might make most people think I want to do my own take on Lin–Manuel Miranda’s musical, but in actuality it’s an idea to resurrect my own stab at comic writing where one of the antagonists from my strip Lazy Comics is named Hamilton. More detailed prompts like, “Italian/Greek girl, prominent bigger nose, hair in bun on head almost like Egon Spangler” give a pretty clear description of who to draw but offers no context as to why. I know however that this specific caricature was supposed to be part of a series of colorful real life people I observed down the shore when I went to the beach. I certainly won’t take pictures of complete strangers without their permission, and I also know (that in this particular case) I’ve already created a specific style and look, so descriptive written features will allow me to more boldly caricature someone without directly capturing their specific likeness. As for “Fist for a nose”? That’s a “Date” reference again.

What type of lists, prompts, pictures, or collections get you to stave off creative blocks, bring you inspiration, or help remind you to cancel that YouTube Premium free trial? Let me know here or @ me on Twitter and Instagram!

Professional Illustrator

My daughter just turned six and is the most wonderful part of my life. She’s at that amazing age where she’s aware there is a bigger world that exists beyond our neighborhood, but still young enough that her imagination is foundational to that worldview. Case in point, if you were to ask her the most trite and stifling question that all adults ask every child without a hint of comprehension, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” she won’t hesitate to reply, “A princess rock star singer with one hundred kitties living with me in my castle” and hell yes, by the grace of God I want that for her more than she does. Deep down, we all know what a mean–spirited question that is even if we don’t intend for it to be so. “Hey small person who is completely uninformed and currently uncaring about the real world… when you’re neurotic and old like the rest of us, how would you choose to pass the majority of your day so that you have enough money to then retreat to a place where you can contemplate that choice?”

When I was six and some dumb adult asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I thought to myself, “Well, I have a puppy, I love that puppy, I would very much like to be around more puppies, so a veterinarian seems like a solid way to make that dream happen.” Forget the fact that I am squeamish around blood, do not care to clean up after my own puppy, and have less than a zero interest in medicine, treatment, or healthcare in any form; that two–faced laugh from the dumb adult that just heard that response from me sounds more condescending than quaint, so for that reason alone they can take a long walk off a short pier.

The old adage, “Do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” however, is equally threadbare. Now I realize this is all taking a pessimistic tone, but it’s crucial for today’s post which centers around the fact that I am a professional illustrator. I won’t lie, it feels really really good to say that. I am in fact a professional illustrator who gets paid to draw as my full–time job. The irony is that the link from that “I love puppies so I want to be a vet” ideology isn’t a far–fetched detraction from when I was a kid to now as an adult. As I got a little older, I realized the second part of the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Isn’t just tangential to what you want to do, but what you can do. I thought I was decent at drawing so maybe that could play into a full–time job, but in all honesty, the older I got, the more I didn’t know what type of “job” those skill sets could accommodate. But I’m not going to bore you with that trajectory. Let’s just all get on board with the fact that I got to where I am, and today I’m going to explain the pros and cons of that.

Side note: I am hereby dedicating this entire post to my mother. The inside family joke is that one time I was very proud to show her a huge project that I had completed to which she enthusiastically said, “Wow! It almost looks professional!” Granted I had been an actual professional for over a decade by that time, but sure, “almost professional” is better than, “It sucks” I guess. I love you, mom.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I have been feeling the lack of a desire to draw on my free time because I’ve been doing so much of it on my paid time. I’m doing what I love, but arguably I’m doing it for other people, so I thought I’d talk about the pros and cons of what that is like. And seeing as we’re already out the gate with the negative, let’s keep that pessimistic vibe going and start with the cons of being a professional illustrator.

The Cons of Being a Professional Illustrator

Real quick, all of this is me venting and not meant to discourage anyone from pursuing their dreams or goals, whether they be an illustrator, veterinarian, or rock star singing princess. Case in point, the first con of being an illustrator?

Little Wooden Drawing Mannequins

Figure drawing is arguably a key skill set to have and it absolutely raises any illustrator’s game tremendously. The human figure is by far the most illustrated subject world wide. Sometimes it’s not possible to have an actual human model on demand and available to pose exactly how you’d like (and most friends and family won’t be keen to do this in the nude either as is traditionally expected). You can try Googling a pose that’s close to what you need, but even in today’s limitless selection of online images, you’ll never get exactly what you’re looking for. So what’s the the next traditionally available substitute? Androgynous No–Face McSlipper–Hands over here, that’s who.

A standard wooden mannequin, my snazzier wooden mannequin (who was also a mascot from my original website), and the interface of my poser app

The wooden drawing mannequin is as ubiquitous a traditional art tool as a nib pen. They practically give them away with certain drafting supplies at craft stores, but if you’ve ever used one, you know how fallible they are. They don’t hold a pose quite as dynamically as you’d like, they have no defining qualities like muscle or fat, they are completely featureless, and you just know that if they were real, they’d just bore you with bland trivia and complain about the lighting in your studio. If Pinocchio were initially a wooden drawing mannequin come to life, the Blue Fairy would urge Jiminy Cricket to immediately escort him to the fireplace. Yes, they make other, more dynamic mannequins but who cares? Incidentally, I use a poser app instead myself.

You Rarely Draw Cool Stuff

Yes, it’s a thrill to be a published illustrator and having the chance to work on a project that has (or soon will have) a huge following, but when you are an illustrator for any number of blanket projects, you’re not first in line to draw cowboys riding dinosaurs fighting ninjas. It comes up occasionally, but usually it’s things like a graphic to accompany an article about mental health, a helpful hand sign pointing the way to services for mental health, or a cartoon cat who is seeking guidance with their mental health. Yes you’re drawing, but you constantly wonder if it’s having an impact on your own mental health.

Draw Worser

This is an odd one, but you’d be surprised how often I receive the direction to “draw poorly.” I’ve worked on several projects where my work was criticized for being “too refined” or “too professional.” Sometimes it’s because the style of the illustration is supposed to look fast and loose like something from a tourist trap map. Sometimes the art is intended to look like a child drew it which always seems to translate more to “draw like someone who has just suffered severe head trauma and rather than go to the hospital has opted to sketch their family having a sad dinner.” I get the idea of what the client wants, but “drawing like a child” should never mean, “Draw like a wild animal is violently slashing a crayon around in its mouth.” There’s cute, there’s bad, and there’s subjective. Besides, why would someone who can’t draw, direct someone who can? Incidentally if you’re wondering, this assignment usually comes to talented artists because you actually have to be able to draw pretty good to effectively draw pretty bad. It should be a weird breath of fresh air to get notes back that insist that you’re drawing too well and it should be crappier, but I can assure you that it is not.

Unseen Work

The most frustrating aspect of being a professional illustrator is how much work never sees the light of day. There are drafts upon drafts upon drafts that nobody cares about of course, but I’ve done so many fully rendered (or at least nearly fully rendered) illustrations that never saw print or publication for hundreds of reasons. Sometimes the client changes their mind, sometimes deadlines quash the concept, sometimes you’re working with other illustrators and they manage to get the job done to greater satisfaction before you can, sometimes the project is just cancelled, and sometimes you just can’t show anything because of the professional illustrator’s thorn–in–their–side: the NDA. It’s all part of the job and there’s nothing that can be done.

Occasionally something may get resurrected way down the line, but by then, you the illustrator are no longer happy with the initial work and decide to start over. If you’ve ever checked out a book that features a lot of concept art for a project, you should know you are looking at an incredibly tiny fraction of the total work done. That’s just the stuff the publisher wanted (or rather allowed) you to see and it’s usually so they can claim ownership of those unused ideas as well. No artist just draws one picture for a job and that’s all there is. Whether it’s dozens of concept sketches or previous versions that needed further contemplation, every illustrator could literally fill a book with the work that has never nor will ever be seen.

My mom thinks I’m cool

The Pros of Being a Professional Illustrator

Okay, enough Debbie Downer talk, let’s chat about what’s great about being a professional illustrator! Being able to draw is one of those cool parlor tricks everyone wishes for; like sitting down and playing piano at a party, or randomly speaking a foreign language when a distressed stranger needs you to help solve an international crime, or juggling for everyone waiting at the doctor’s office before an invigorating colonoscopy. “You draw for a living?” A bright–eyed little boy marvels as you doodle a helpful sign pointing the way to services for mental health. “I do!” You reply knowing there’s now someone on earth who will briefly see you the way you’ve always dreamed of being seen.

Kids Are Impressed

Being a professional illustrator always catches kids off guard when they find out what I do. I am not exaggerating when I say literally every single child who has ever stumbled upon me drawing always, always asks, “Are you an art teacher?” This question comes to me so often that it depresses me to my core. Not because I think “art teacher” is a bad job (quite the opposite in fact, I think art teachers are the greatest and most inspirational humans on the planet), but because that’s the real world extent kids think an illustrator can do. Illustrators typically aren’t billionaires who like to eat trail mix before paying for it whilst browsing the dollar section at Target such as myself, but there are so many other opportunities other than just functionally rolling out other talented teachers. This is what expectations are though when schools eliminate the arts and music; you force kids to think there’s no other place for them.

But that’s all to say when they find out there are other options, they start to think (and dream) beyond their initial expectations in regards to their own future. That’s right boys and girls, this middle–aged, dollar section bargain hunter can be you. You’re welcome.

Work Pays For Stuff!

If you’re a freelance artist this does not directly apply to you, in fact this may be a con for you, but as an in–house illustrator, my job pays for all my supplies! Adobe CC? Work covers the subscription. My 22” Cintiq HDT? Work. New nibs for the Apple Pencil my job provided me? You guessed it, work! Because I draw professionally, all these toys and tools may not belong to me personally, but I get to use them that way. If you’re a freelancer, you can claim that stuff on your taxes I suppose. Freelance artists will create their pros and cons lists differently I imagine.

I Don’t Know How To Label This Next Part

Nowadays I do 99% of my illustrative work on an iPad Pro which means I get to stretch out on the couch while Netflix drones on in the background. That’s it. That is definitely a pro.

I’m sure there’s a fourth thing to tip the balance in favor of the pros, but honestly if you’ve read this far, let’s call it even and we can all go home early.

A letter from my grade school art teacher after I had reached out to him

I want to take one last opportunity here to mention my love of school art teachers with two short examples. My grade school art teacher Mr Megill was the first person who really encouraged me to see art as an extension of myself. He got me excited to try new techniques and I know all my classmates felt the same. He is one of those educators you think of when you hear about those special teachers who keep the world turning. Mr Megill is a super human and I adore him. The other is my daughter’s art teacher. One day, she came home from school and told me, “Daddy, Mr. Fourre is a way better artist than you! He’s amazing!” You think that would have knocked me down a few pegs but I was so thrilled to hear that. Kids need real world heroes other than their parents and the idea that she sees her art teacher as superior to me absolutely filled me with so much joy. Effectively, she separated me from something she admires more in someone else and man am I so proud of that. Granted, it meant the cat illo I was working on looked too refined and happy for the mental health guidance they were seeking, but I intend to watch season 5 of The Crown while I make those changes anyway.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Follow me on Instagram and Twitter for more reverse mermaids, Muppets, and whatever else I normally push.

A.I. Blog Post Fun Time

Last year I wrote a blog post about A.I. that dealt with how stable diffusion lead to claims of art theft. I’m really proud of that article and you should totally read it here. In short, I took a different stance than most of my peers and tried to approach the subject from a slightly less biased angle and looked at the idea of trying to encourage other artists to embrace A.I. or at the very least, try and find a way to live along side it.

Today I thought I’d put my money where my mouth is and make a post almost completely made by artificial intelligence. The images are all created by Dall–E 2 and the post is written by the controversial Chat GPT. Now I’ve messed around with Dall–E 2 before but this is my first time using Chat GPT. I figured the main reason I started this blog was to reflect how I have grown as a creative and as a father/uncle and how kids help foster creativity in adults. So it seemed apropos that I should ask Chat GPT to tackle that very same thing and then pepper in images from Dall–E 2 with the prompts like: “creatively stifled adult finding inspiration by drawing simple pictures with a child” and “a children's drawing of a busy, frustrated adult.” Here’s how it went:

Chat GPT: Hello! How can I help you?

Dave: Please write a blog post for my website https://www.davehulteendesign.com/blog

Chat GPT: Sure, I'll be happy to write a blog post for your website. What topic would you like me to write about?

Dave: Finding creative inspiration by drawing with children

Chat GPT: Great topic! Here's the blog post:

Finding Creative Inspiration by Drawing with Children

As adults, we often get caught up in the daily grind and struggle to find creative inspiration. Whether you’re a professional artist, graphic designer, or just someone who enjoys doodling in their free time, it’s important to find ways to stay inspired and motivated. That’s why drawing with children can be such a magical and fulfilling experience.

Children have a unique perspective on the world, and their imagination is boundless. They see things differently than we do, and their creativity is not yet limited by experience or practicality. When you draw with a child, you’re invited into their world, and you get to see things from their point of view. This can spark new ideas and perspectives, and help you see your craft in a whole new light.

But drawing with children is not just about finding inspiration. It’s also about connecting with them on a deeper level. Drawing is a form of communication, and when you draw with a child, you’re sharing a moment of creativity and expression. This can build trust and foster a deeper relationship, as you’re creating something together that is unique to your bond.

So, how do you go about drawing with children? Here are a few tips to get you started:

  1. Choose a simple subject: Pick a subject that’s easy to draw, such as an animal, a flower or a tree. Avoid complicated shapes or structures, as it may be too overwhelming for a child.

  2. Let the child take the lead: Allow the child to choose the subject, the materials, and to create the initial sketch. This will empower them and make it more fun for them.

  3. Encourage experimentation: Children love to experiment, so encourage their ideas and let them explore different colors and techniques. Be open to their suggestions and don’t be afraid to try new things yourself.

  4. Make it fun: Keep the session light and fun, without any pressure to create a masterpiece. Think of it as a playful exercise in creativity, not a high-stakes art project.

Drawing with children can be a truly rewarding experience. It allows you to tap into your own inner child, while connecting with a younger generation. It’s a chance to create something beautiful together and to inspire each other to keep on creating.

So next time you’re feeling stuck or in need of a fresh perspective, grab a piece of paper and some crayons, and draw with a child. You may be surprised at what you’ll learn, and the inspiration it may spark.

Okay, Dave here again, and aside from being a little bland? I gotta’ say I’m impressed! Especially the 4th tip to “keep things light and fun” and not think of it as “a high–stakes art project.” The Dall–E 2 images are also not too shabby! I especially love this one; look at that kid’s face! He’s so angry!

Dall–E 2 generated image

The reason I was really curious about trying this out was A: It seemed like an easy lay–up that would require minimal work on my end (meh, not so much), and B: I’ve been seeing lots of ads for A.I. writing blog posts. I wanted to dig just a little deeper and find out if this is wide–spread and the answer seems to be, Maybe?

According to an August 2022 article on Story Chief Insights, Dayana Mayfield writes that search engines like Google tend to be negatively biased towards A.I. written posts because they are very derivative, don’t represent a brands specific voice, and can produce false information. Now most bloggers who do use A.I. use a service called Jasper which allows for more control and uses a more intuitive A.I. Jasper also boasts that major companies like IBM, iHeart Media, and Harper Collins use their services, which lead me to believe this may be more ubiquitous than I assumed, but finding exact figures is understandably hard to determine. That being said, most media outlets feel A.I. is better used by assisting writing rather than replacing—a consensus that seems to be echoed by graphic designers the world over as well.

I personally write because it’s therapeutic rather than being content driven; my three month hiatus is proof–positive of that. However, as I’ve said before, I do see the benefits of A.I. and try to stay open–minded while being responsible. I mean look at these A.I. generated pictures of a black cat I had Dall–E 2 create! Are they good? Meh. Are they entertaining? Absolutely.

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Video Game Inspired Art

Next week, The Super Mario Bros. Movie hits theaters and my whole family is psyched! To celebrate, I thought I’d show off as much of my own work as I can that’s been inspired by video games!

Starting off with the titular characters themselves… originally, the top left illustration was going to be an exercise in traditional animation but I wasn’t happy with the running sprite I had created (2018). Mario gazing at the star was for Inktober (also 2018). A fun Mario & Luigi sketch in the bottom left corner (2014). A dapper classic NES color Mario (2016). Digital painting inspired by the Luigi Death Stare meme from Mario Kart 8 (2014). And finally a fun Eastern European take on the famous brothers created in Adobe Illustrator (2019).

The far left 3 pictures are illustrations I did for my daughter to find in her lunchbox of Rosalina (2022), Racoon Mario (2022), and a smiley Simpson–esque Mario (2023). In front of those are the Bros. in their classic NES colors (2016). Mario tipping his hat immediately to the right was labled as “hot” when I first posted it (2017). Luigi in similar Simpson–esque design drawn in Procreate (2023). And overly stylized to look aggressively Italian on the far right are the Bros. digitally painted in Procreate (2021).

I’ve been a Nintendo kid since 1987, but my nibling eventually got me hooked on the Genesis, so starting at the top left we have Tails in colored pencil (2015) and an over–stylized Sonic in Adobe Illustrator (2017). The teenagers playing PlayStation and the older gang keeping up the tradition behind them were for a GTA IV release party my wife and I threw (2008). The little gamer girl was inspired by a picture my friend had posted of his daughter (2016).

I love Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 4… Fallout 76, not so much. However, the Vault Boy 76 on the left was very well received upon the game’s announcement (2018), The Vault Boy front and center is vector while the nuclear explosion background was digitally painted in Photoshop with way too many layers (2016). And as a fan of both the games and the meme, the Vault Boy in the top right is a vector drawing with digital effects painted over (2020).

Games like GTA IV and Left 4 Dead changed online gaming for me forever. On the left is me and my online friends IRL about to play both of those (2009). Sketches of Bill, Francis, Zoey, and Louis from Left 4 Dead (2015). Claude from GTA III comforting a bunny for some unknown reason (2008). A stylized Peashooter from Plants vs Zombies top right (2015).

Classic NES games are always a fun source of inspiration. From left to right: Bald Bull from Mike Tyson’s Punchout, digital sketch (2018). Bases Loaded, pen & ink (2016). Kung Fu, vector art (2022). a teddy bear as a Pokemon trainer (2016). Megaman vector art (2018). Contra, digital sketch (2018).

Vector art controllers (2018). NES with light gun and controller vector art (2017). Incidentally, the sprite on the NES cartridge is the main character from Lode Runner, my favorite NES game.

Left: a lunchbox doodle for my daughter of Hermoine from Lego Harry Potter—a game we were enjoying together at the time (2022). Middle: election humor for Inktober (2016). Right: a classic arcade cabinet, vector art (2017).

In 2019, instead of Inktober, I did Muptober where I made mash–ups of various pop culture fandoms with the Muppets. From left to right: vector art of Fozzie Bear from The Muppet Show & Pac Man, vector art of Rosita from Sesame Street & Minecraft, and a digital sketch of Kira from The Dark Crystal & Chun Li from Street Fighter. If you’d like to see the rest, check out my feature on ToughPigs.

Halloween, 2022

What’s your favorite video game? Do you enjoy drawing protagonists from games? Follow me on Instagram and Twitter and let me know!

Return to Innocence

Aaaaand that’s about a long enough break from this blog. Let’s get back to it!

This isn’t today’s topic, but I have been feeling disenchanted—or at the very least bored—with drawing lately because I’ve been doing so much of it professionally. This has made my personal time drawing to relax feel tedious and exhausting. You see, even though it’s how I make a living, it’s also something I love to do. The problem is that when you do anything a lot—especially when you have to—it can sometimes feel burdensome. This is a topic I will absolutely write more about soon, but in the meantime I have been trying to rediscover how to rekindle my love for illustrating. These trials have resulted in a lot of fun exercises (all of which I’ll also write about in the near future as well), but none of them were hitting their mark, and neither were previously reliable standards either. It wasn’t until I took things all the way back that I rediscovered my original muse—my childhood dog, Ballington.

1985–86

First off, it’s very important to me you know how to pronounce his name properly. The first part is not pronounced ball like a spherical object you play sports with. It’s softer and lighter like the touristy Indonesian province, Bali (incidententally also Ballington’s nickname). Ballington was my 7th birthday present from my dad who’s primary directive was to name all our pets after (founder of The Salvation Army) William Booth’s children. We also had a dog, Bramwell and a cat, Evie (short for Evangeline). This entire paragraph is substantially more information than anyone would ever care to know for a blog dedicated to art, illustration, graphic design, and creative thinking, but after my Canadian cousin found too much glee teasing me as a child by calling him “Barflington”, it’s become a bit of an idiosyncrasy of mine to over–inform on this one.

Ballington left and me (circa 1983) with Bramwell & Evie right

My creative pool of illustrators at age seven was understandably shallow, promoting cartoonist Jim Davis way above his station as my artistic gold standard. As a result, everything and everyone I drew looked marginally related to Jon Arbuckle. Jim Davis drew Garfield, so I drew Ballington. If you’re a Simpsons fan, there’s a 13th season episode called “I Am Furious (Yellow)” where a cartoonist comes to Springfield Elementary to promote his comic, “Danger Dog” resulting in every single student creating their own derivative work like Danger Cat, Trouble Dog, and Danger Dude. This is a pretty good analogy for how I was inspired to start drawing my dog after admiring daily Garfield strips.

All my favorites including my grandmother (1989), early art of Ballington (mid to late 80s)

I don’t recall ever thinking that drawing comic strips about my hyper–active English Springer Spaniel—who in reality humped any and everything—would be a career choice, but I loved anthropomorphizing him and would include him in absolutely everything all throughout my childhood and well into my adulthood. As a kid, he would express ideas and thoughts I was too sheepish to say myself. He had adventures with his friends, was a perpetual optimist, and wore every emotion he had on his sleeve. While he never strayed too far from his initial Garfield inspired design, he picked up other influences along the way, embracing madcap and overly cartoonish flare, eventually embodied by the 90s resurgence of the Looney Toons and the collective renaissance of animation from films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Aladdin. Like every single other kid who draws, he was an OC (original character) that only mattered to his creator. His dreams would always surpass his reality and be a mega star to an audience of one. Deep down I knew this and when I would see other illustrator friends embrace and promote their own characters, I completely understood that love and pride they had. No one else knew who they were, what they represented, or why they existed, but they were very special to their creators. I think it’s the equivalent of someone extending the life of a security blanket, teddy bear, or in my case; childhood pet.

Various Ballington drawings from the late 80s–early 90s

Ballington would silently star in many personal projects like comics and flip books, as well as play the lead role in college assignments like my first ever vector drawing and gif animation. Bali would accompany my well wishes in a friend’s birthday card, a doodle made for a high school crush, my signature in a classmate’s yearbook, and even a presentation slide for a meeting at my dad’s work. The cartoon Ballington was indestructible, not just as an over stylized, personal mascot, but as a pet too. My family wasn’t able to keep the real life Ballington, and after a few years by my side, he moved up the block to spend the rest of his life with my grandmother. I still took care of him every day, but by then my love for the unnaturally proportioned, puff–chested, illustrated Ballington outweighed his own real life counterpart. Maybe it was an emotional defense mechanism to let him go, maybe it was the imagination of a suburban white boy who spent too much time day dreaming, or maybe it was the safe space of believing the inked version could never die when the writing was on the wall that my real life childhood pet soon would. Loved ones will always come and go, just like life experiences, but the cartoon creation of a seven–year–old is immortal.

Posters I made that hung on my wall as a child, my grandmother again with Ballington (and Bramwell, late 80s), and comic books I made of Ballington from 1988, 1992, and 1994 respectively

Variations and updates to Ballington between the mid 90s through the early 2010s

For a short time, my soon–to–be brother–in–law and I started our own production company that enjoyed a modicum of success. While Ballington was not our collective OC, our small sensation in the form of The Bang and Bump Show put me in contact with so many talented people that I was eventually able to commission the very talented builder James Kemp to make a Ballington puppet. I had to update Bali’s initial design for the obvious reason that I didn’t want Jim Davis to sue me, but also because that old style wasn’t conducive to a three dimensional puppet. James kept me in the loop with things like vacu–forming the eyes, shaving the fur for different styles, and dying the fleece. Having that puppet masterfully built and brought into the real world and off the reams of dot matrix computer paper my father brought home for me to draw on was a surreal moment in my life. I felt like I had completed something that I had always wanted to, and now that it was done, I was able to move on. Ballington was no longer confined to just my imagination anymore, so I effectively stopped drawing him.

Ballington puppet by @jameskemppuppets along with my updated illustration

Until recently.

I’ve always been quick to acknowledge that I never developed my own distinctive artistic style, and Ballington was proof positive of that. But I have learned new techniques and attitudes and was randomly doodling a dog this past week—trying to spark some artistic interest as I mentioned at the top—when I noticed he could kind of look like Ballington… if I wanted him to. It was an exceptionally humbling moment that made me think of the 1993 new age song Return to Innocence by Enigma.

Don't be afraid to be weak
Don't be too proud to be strong
Just look into your heart my friend
That will be the return to yourself
The return to innocence

The doodle–dog that inspired this post, Ballington IRL (as an adult mid 90s), my latest Ballington art and he’s still got it!

What a testament to the immortal imagination of a child. I’ve often thought the best way to grow as an artist of any kind is to push past your ability, leave your comfort zone, embrace your flaws and grow from them; but I never once considered that sometimes it’s the complete opposite. Ballington will most likely never have a weekly comic strip, appear as anything other than a background Easter egg in any media, nor will he break out as the star I always saw him as. I don’t say any of that from a defeatist point of view though. I say that because he’s not for that, he’s not for any of you. Ballington is for me. He always has been, and I’m so grateful to realize that he always will.

I’m hoping to keep this blog relatively consistent again, but the best way to know for sure is to follow me on Instagram and Twitter. You should also follow James Kemp on Instagram @jameskemppuppets as well, and if you’d like a brief but deeper dive into his time building Ballington, he blogged a bit about it too starting back in December, 2013 through March, 2014 that you can read in three parts:

Balli the dog for Dave Hulteen
Update on Bali for Dave Hulteen
Bali completion!

2022 Year in review

As 2023 comes upon us, I wanted to reflect on what I’ve learned, accomplished, and celebrated over the year and also what I’m looking forward to!

Personal Projects

The Making of The Great Muppet Mural

While almost everything about ToughPigs pièce de résistance happened in 2021 (including all the work that saw the project to fruition), the documentary premiered on January 29th of 2022 and it was a huge and wonderful experience. Recently I learned that this labor of love did not make it to the final selections it was entered into for a couple independent film festivals, but it still remains one of my own personal Crown Jewels of the year. I will be singing its praises and all those involved for decades to come.

This Blog!

I've been doing a relatively acceptable job maintaining this blog for over a year now, and there are a few posts I'm very proud of. I was also very fortunate to have so many wonderful people contribute as well, so if you haven't already, you should give some of these articles a read and support their contributors as well!

Do You Have to be Creative to be a Graphic Designer?

Seriously, I'‘m super proud of these posts!

Illustrative Stuff

I did not draw much this year at all (outside of commissioned work) but what I did do continued my understanding and development of my craft and the mediums I use to create them. I also did not keep up with my figure drawing classes to the extent I had wanted, but I’m already trying to arrange things for next year so that I don’t slack again.

Some of the illustrations I’m most proud of from 2022

Of everything I drew on my own time, my illustration of Luisa Madrigal in the style of Charles Dana Gibson was my favorite. I have plans for more redraw challenges as well as doing more artist games like I did with Will Carroll and Noah Ginex.

Freelance

For the first real time since my daughter was born, I started taking on serious freelance work again. I took on several more notable clients this time around the sun as well as connected with some old friends. The biggest one of course was getting the opportunity to work with Craig Shemin on his newest book, Sam and Friends: The Story Of Jim Henson’s Television Show.

Being back in demand was wonderful, but in many ways I feel that I jumped the gun and bit off more than I could chew, so…

Biggest Lesson Learned

I willingly and happily put almost all creative endeavors aside when my daughter was born with the understanding that someday when she was older, I’d resume drawing regularly (daily), taking on freelance again, and other passion projects. As she has grown more independent, 2022 seemed like the year to dip my toes back in the water for all of that. Unfortunately, I think I dove in the deep end and over–immersed myself. I’ve always been very good about my time management, but along with everything else, I’m a little rusty here too. 

In general, when you work full time (regardless of what your actual job is), it’s difficult at worst to manage your time properly and seemingly unnecessary at best if you’re good and well paid. The latter is very ambitious, but it’s an easy excuse to turn things down if you just don’t feel like doing them. These are all things I will consider in the coming new year.

New Year’s Resolutions 

Having learned that there will never be enough time to do everything, I am hoping to focus on expanding my tool set a little more in 2023. I would like to become proficient in Adobe After Effects, as well as the 3D modeling program, Blender. Part of this is a continued fascination with video production, but more than a few times in the recent past, I’ve realized the tools that I already know aren’t capable of creating some of the concepts I had hoped to present to clients. Learning new software will accommodate this tremendously.

So here’s looking to 2023 and everything that it has in store for all of us. Thank you so much to every wonderful, talented, and awesome person who has helped me on my journey, contributed to this blog, and taken a moment out of there day to give a blog post a read, an Instagram pic a double–tap, or a retweet on Twitter. See you all in 2023!

A.I. Art: Clarification & Controversy

I wasn’t even planning on writing a blog post this week let alone one on such a topic as art generated by artificial intelligence, but as it is part of my industry and I’ve seen so much outrage from my peers (many who are friends) I thought I’d do a little digging and put something a little more comprehensive together than, “Support artists! Denounce technology!”

I’m going to try and keep all of this as brief, simple, and informative as I possibly can, but I’m also going to try and approach this from a (slightly) less biased angle.

What is A.I., and is it Bad?

You don’t have to be relatively well informed to know what AI is. It covers all aspects of our lives from taking care of minor tasks we don’t even think about to the stuff of science fiction nightmares requiring Will Smith to show us that even machines can—and in fact do—love. 

Recently I finished reading Yuval Noah Harari’s Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, a follow up to his bestseller Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. Harari writes a lot about AI and its benefits. Without going into too much detail and wasting time here, the three big takeaways for now are that:

  • AI is actually a really good thing that can drastically help with all sorts of things to improve life everywhere for everyone 

  • Fundamentally, human life as we continue to understand how it works is not that different from how AI learns, adapts, and grows itself

  • It’s becoming clearer that creative things people believed AI could never reproduce aren’t far off and many areas like classical music are actually surpassing humans in quality, structure, and beauty 

I know most people will not believe any of what I have just written, and that’s completely fine. I would never insist you take my word (or anyone else’s) on anything as gospel at–a–glance. I would strongly encourage you to do your own research though. The point is, however, that whether we like it or not, the world is going to continue to change, it always has, and it’s certainly not going to stop because a few of us don’t like the idea of being replaced by anyone or anything. Automation has been changing how we do our jobs and live our lives for centuries, and the whole process has continued to increase at breakneck speed, especially since the 1980s. In other words, AI is most definitely here to stay, and it’s probably better we figure out how to change with it, rather than stubbornly anchor ourselves against it until the next generation sees us as living fossils who refuse to accept change.

But we’re not here for a lecture on science or philosphy from some Muppet–loving Jersey boy whose blog readership doesn’t extend far past his own family and close friends. So let’s instead talk about AI generated art, specifically the latest fad known as Lensa or “Magic Avatars” because there’s a lot to unpack and it gets complicated. 

Avatar Insanity or High Art?

Remember Bitmojis? I hated Bitmojis when they first debuted. Not because of how well or poorly they’re drawn (depending on your tastes), but because I didn’t come up with the idea first. For those not familiar, Bitmojis aren’t too dissimilar from modern day avatars you create like Meta’s more CGI looking Facebook avatars or Apple’s Memojis. My argument at the time was also that they took away opportunities from artists like myself to create illustrations for profit. On the flip side, they give people who do not possess the skill to draw an opportunity to express themselves creatively quite literally. 

Bitmoji, Facebook, and Memoji avatars of yours truly, and one I drew myself (2017)

The point is that there will always be new technology to engage users and experience something they would otherwise have to commission an artist for. I don’t know a single person that has ever created a digital avatar using some type of technology and then claim that their “artwork” was anything other than a fun opportunity to represent themselves online or even just to “jump on the bandwagon.”

Now I recognize this is a slippery slope that could lead to something more nuanced down the road, but for the time being, let’s all try and remember a social media avatar is not the same as a portrait or caricature that you would give as a gift, hang in your living room, or rock on the side of your 1988 conversion van as you drive to your next gig.

AI Art Stink

The main focus of this article and the commotion that it’s caused is a program called Lensa by Prisma AI. At a glance, Lensa is a pretty standard photo and video app that lets you take and edit media with a variety of different features. It’s most popular of course are the filters that “turn your photos into works of art in the style of famous artists” and transform them “with popular art styles - anime, cartoons, sketches, watercolors...” all by using artificial intelligence. The app is free but offers premium monthly or annual subscriptions. 

Okay, so nothing too new there. I am very far from having my finger on the pulse of any social media platform, but even I’m familiar with these types of things enough to know there are tons of them. I’ve even used some of them before myself, so why is this app getting artists in particular so upset?

The Lensa Learning Problem

Not too long ago (like literally just several months ago) Dall–E 2 debuted to slightly different fanfare. Dall–E 2 is also an AI art generator but it seems it’s absolutely ludicrous creations were more comical than threatening (for the most part). Hence, many people looked at Dall–E’s attempts as technological proof that a computer could never imitate the skill of an experienced artist. Or that optimistically, it’s still a ways off. 

Dall–E (and Lensa) uses Apple’s TrueDepth API which most iPhone users know as the same technology that allows them to unlock their phones just by looking at it. Dall–E 2 learned how to create its images by studying tons of information to create images based on text prompts. This AI learning technique is known as Stable Diffusion. 

This is tricky, but basically when AI uses Stable Diffusion, it’s not just learning to recognize features and characteristics of someone’s art, but essentially manipulating and reproducing elements from that art. So the issue then is that artists are accusing AI of using this learning technique by having Lensa specifically build its creations from existing art without permission from the artists it’s emulating. Now it’s hard to find sources to corroborate some of the allegations I’ve read, but many artists have actively accused Prisma AI of stealing their art specifically, requesting the company stop doing so repeatedly, then Prisma AI allegedly refusing and even cyber bullying them about it. There is compelling evidence to lend credibility to these claims where remnants of the artists signatures from original works are sometimes still visible in the AI generated art. 

Darker Secrets

Okay, maybe I’m coming across a little too unbiased by praising what AI could (or hopefully should) be even though I’ve stated in the past how infuriating and hurtful art theft can be. So let’s look at how one of the more nefarious problems with Lensa isn’t even allegations of art theft, but how it depicts your pictures when they become “art.”

A big problem with AI in general is that it learns its lessons from its creators, and even modern day AI—which is touted as pure—has repeatedly displayed racism, nepotism, and sexism. Lensa has lightened skin tones of people of color, struggled with (re)producing Asian features, and sexualized women and children. Other AI art generators have done similar unwarranted things like taken on macabre tones when “crossbreeding” images that did not previously convey violence. 

I want to be clear: these are not alarmist warnings that AI will rise up and destroy humanity. Artificial intelligence reflects the zeitgeist, which includes everything from cute and fun to morally questionable. In other words, whether it’s an art–stealing bot, a perverted algorithm, or even an altruistic ghost in the machine, it’s all taking its cue from us.

Now What?

So where do we go from here? As artists, we tend to react more emotionally because, you know, suffering is kind of “our thing” (until artificial intelligence corners the market on angst too). But like I mentioned before, technology is going to keep moving forward regardless of how we feel about it and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. A knee jerk reaction is to call out for regulation but that’s way easier said than done for two big reasons. 

While there has been initiative in congress to try and moderate how things like AI continue to develop, bureaucracy—love it or loathe it—purposely moves slowly to make sure it’s covering all its bases properly (and that is an exceptionally gracious and arguably naive platitude). On top of that, it’s an antiquated system that’s literally hundreds of years old. Technology moves ludicrously faster, meaning that by the time well intentioned and thought out legislation finally passes even in the best of circumstances, the applied science behind that technology is usually obsolete, meaning any government progress was all for nothing. 

The second problem is that government officials aren’t exactly young entrepreneurs anymore who even understand the technology they’re hoping to regulate, prioritize, or control. So when you ask older people using an even older system to help answer these questions, you eventually have to consider if the whole process wouldn’t be better served by the AI you want them to regulate in the first place! Understand though that this is not an endorsement to willfully hand the keys over to tech bros like Elon Musk or Sam Bankman–Fried. It’s pretty clear that being rich does not equal being responsible… or smart… or ethical… or competent… or sane. 

So if creative people only know how to get upset over it, and our leaders only know how to politicize it, as usual, it all comes down to you, the user. AI really can do incredible things, but moving forward, it’s up to us to decide how we’ll use it. 

And this is something everyone really needs to learn how to do better. Consider if that neat new AI avatar is worth the likes verses its privacy policy. Yeah, that’s a whole other kettle of fish because one thing practically no one understands is what kind of personal information you allow software developers access to when you agree to terms and services. 

Like almost every app, Lensa uses legalese to ensure you maintain the rights to your photos, but then vaguely explains they have the right to use those photos to independently aid in research, development, and improving new and existing products. 

This is not a dystopian outlook from a conspiracy theorist either. Your personal data is way more important to all of these developers than what kind of review you leave them on the App Store. A great rule of thumb when you download an app is its cost. If the app is free, then you’re the product that’s for sale.

Sources

I did a fair amount of research for this post, so if you’d like to read a bit more in depth on all of this, please check out these articles:

Lensa AI app: What to know about the self portrait generator by Meera Navlakha
Mashable

Understanding the impact of automation on workers, jobs, and wages by Harry J. Holzer
Brookings

Prisma is coming to Android, but there's a way to get it sooner by Stan Schroeder
Mashable

Careful — Lensa is Using Your Photos to Train Their AI by Shanti Escalante-De Mattei
ARTnews

Lensa, the AI portrait app, has soared in popularity. But many artists question the ethics of AI art by Morgan Sung
NBC News

‘Magic Avatar’ App Lensa Generated Nudes From My Childhood Photos by Olivia Snow
Wired

Stable Diffusion
Wikipedia

DALL–E
Wikipedia

If you’d like to track what some artists are saying, a lot of insight on Lensa’s theft I read came from Jon Lam on Instagram. He credited Lauryn Ipsum for the discovery of remnants of artist’s signatures on AI creations. Karla Ortiz is helping lead the fight for artists rights.

Personal Clients

Or Should You Ever Do Freelance for Friends and Family?

I will do a more expansive review for everything at the end of the year, but I wanted to write today about doing freelance work for friends and family. Now the old adage when it comes to working for friends and family is, “don’t.” There’s definitely merit to that but more often than not, I find that to be a pretty rare exception—at least on the basis of difficulty to work with, but I’ll break that down too.

My mom teaching her Sunday school class, early 90s

Truth be told, pretty much all beginner freelance is exclusively for friends and family when you start out. Realistically, no one else is going to hire you! While I certainly didn’t have a solid directional plan when I was younger, I knew that illustration was something that would figure into my adult career if even only tangentially. My mother recognized this and fostered that creativity by being my first and arguably only client for years if not decades. She was responsible for all the youth programs at our church and would ask me to draw giant “pages” for stories she would tell in Sunday school (Christian education geared for kids during or around church time). Now a mother’s admiration and love is hardly good justification for quality, but while she swore up and down my poster size drawings helped keep her kids attention, they were hardly good. However, they did enforce several very important things to me such as deadlines and keeping up with design trends (if only what cartoon characters were popular with a very specific demographic at the time). These “jobs” also helped me refine my ability, so while I’m thrilled no one outside of a very select few have ever seen them, they set things in motion.

This year, I was able to pay those things forward with more than a few friends and family, and I’d like to talk about how those experiences are still really important for experienced professionals and not just those starting out. Typically, you’re not getting a decent payday from friends and family because it will hopefully be important for you to maintain those relationships on a deeper level than just “Jane and Johnny Client,” but that doesn’t mean they can’t still have an impact on you and your career.

Now speaking of only getting hired by friends and family in the beginning, I was really excited to work with an old friend who arguably had one of, if not the most, influence on my career. Even before I started my education, John Lambert was one of the very first adults I ever knew that always treated me like an equal, never ever talking down to me as a child, but also taking a key role guiding and teaching me as well. I was even his ring bearer at his wedding!

He had started the Gramercy Brass of New York in 1982, so when I was starting to put together my portfolio, it was this prestigious organizational name that I exploited for my resume. John had me help with everything from building sets and stages to giving me the opportunity to create my very first print ad. When I went on an interview, it was almost exclusively the work I did for John that got me in the door. Now John will modestly tell you he was asking me because I was eager to help and only lived a few blocks away, but the reality is that he was the first person to set a standard of quality. I would have to develop multiple concepts, ensure overall print quality, and above all else—strive for something that actually looked somewhat professional. Now none of that early work is good, but it was the catalyst, so I was very excited and honored when he asked me to help with creating the Gramercy Brass’ 40th Anniversary Journal. I can’t say I did anything over the top or groundbreaking, but when you have a relationship that’s about as old as you are, there’s a freedom with candor and understanding that you just can’t manufacture with a client, even if you’ve known them for years. This is primarily because John isn’t just a dear friend, but someone I put on a pedestal for helping me get started.

Left to right: John & I at a Gramercy Brass Orchestra concert in August, 1997. The very bad—but also my very first—print ad for the orchestra’s newest album at the time, American Anthems (2001). The cover and a single page for the GBO’s 40th Anniversary Journal. And finally, two significantly older but wiser men still happy to work together.

One could argue that this could easily be seen as an obligation rather than a job, but neither of us saw it that way and I was so happy to get to work with him like this again. In so many ways, it felt like it was 1997 all over again, and I loved it.

The next project and “client” I want to mention is Lucas Ross. Now I’ve talked about Lucas and how great a guy he is ad nauseam in the past, and it’s possible because of all that adulation he reached out to me to help him with his newest live album, There Will Be Banjo. Again, taking on this job could be seen as the logical “thanks” for all the work Lucas did as the host for my documentary from earlier in the year, The Making of The Great Muppet Mural (which you should totally watch today!). But Lucas and I had that spark of a moment multiple times during the documentary where we really just enjoyed working and talking together. While my intentions were to do so much more for Lucas, he was gracious enough to take what he could get from me with several illustrations he then assembled together himself, but Lucas was also a great client as well as a friend with how we continued to communicate.

Lucas with the Oklahoma Opry and the album cover to the live album

You see, when your day job, freelance, and hobby are all the same thing—in my case, drawing—there’s a nuanced way of going about such a thing with equal respect and attention to all three. Lucas has somewhat of a similar understanding with his music, and so I not only felt comfortable being more open with him about everything from technique to personal concerns, but also letting him use and manipulate my illustrations however he wanted. Lucas was also the key person in helping me understand how I need to better manage and even understand my time (something I’ll most likely write about in the coming weeks or months), and I had no compunctions telling him this. My inside joke is that these things will help me to best work with (just) Lucas again soon, but my reality is Lucas really helped me understand myself better in that way, and I can guarantee that’s never something I would have recognized with “just another client.” (Thanks again for that, man!)

The last instance is a combination of working with both a childhood, lifelong friend and my dad. Now both of these men have known me not just longer than everyone else, but better than everyone too. Plus, both of them needed my talents with a much quicker turnaround (although to be fair, with my dad, it was my fault as I kept putting it off). I grew up with (now Major) Myron Smith as one of my closest best friends. As tiny children, we would play basketball and music together—both for fun and competitively—to which Myron would always always best me. As teenagers, we would go to the beach and the ice rink weekly where we would skate and talk to girls—I was only slightly more adept at these over Myron, so I’ll take my trophy on this one. Technically, what my dad asked was just an update on something I had already done in the past, but as I’ve mentioned numerous times as well, my dad is a big deal to me, so it goes without saying he didn’t have to twist my arm (just remind me constantly!).

So if John and Lucas were varying levels of circles, Myron and dad are on the inner most ones. There are cons to working with people that know you that well for that long, but there’s also a freedom to it as well. You can experiment and try out techniques you wouldn’t with other clients because those close friends and family sure aren’t going to take their business elsewhere. You will also find rationalizing your own choices easier as well, because like them, you’re locked into those relationships too.

left to right: Myron an I in the mid 90s, all grown up (June, 2022), and my dad and I at an art show displaying his work (May, 2010)

In the end, all of these “jobs” secure a more fundamental appeal, and that’s getting the chance to reconnect with them. Do you ever say yes or no right away when friends or family commission you? What type of layering does it add to old relationships? How likely are you to work with or for an old friend or close family member? I’d love to hear your thoughts here, Instagram, or Twitter!