2021: Year in Illustrative Review

Way back in 2013, I started on a mission to draw every single day. Flash forward to becoming a father who completely gave up on trying to properly manage his creative free time and it should be no surprise that mission went out the window. Now that being said, I still try and draw as much as possible and maintain the guise of a “daily sketch” if in organization only. I aim to really illustrate at least a solid 100 pieces that I can post and I managed to do that this year (even though I still haven’t even finished up Inktober!). 

Obviously I’m not going to post everything I did in 2021. My daughter and I like to draw together a LOT and I’ve gotten pretty good with crayons and sidewalk chalk (if I do say so myself). I also went to a couple life drawing classes at duCret, but I won’t be showing any of that off today (although I hope to write and share more about those things in the coming year). 

The Great Muppet Mural by over 70 artists, illustrators, and industry professionals which I not only contributed to but was privileged to be Assistant Art Director on as well.

Of course the work I’m most proud of is on The Great Muppet Mural but that’s something I’ll be sharing about in droves in a month. For now, I’d really like to showcase the other things I did this past year that I’m proud of and learned so much from. 

Gaffer and Robin from The Muppet Show, and the “Why not both?” girl meme originally from an Old El Paso commercial.

Granted there’s nothing particularly fresh or even that great about these pieces, but drawing Muppets and memes is fun, and isn’t that what creating art is really about?

Christmas in July for The Salvation Army, Asbury Park Citadel Corps and my daughter.

The surfing Santa was a commission, and just like any other time I draw Ol’ Saint Nick, I base him on my dad. The quick sketch of my daughter was one my wife loves so much she made it the home screen on her phone! If the person who knows you and what you’re capable of best does something like that, it’s a big deal when they praise a piece of work. My wife is my greatest critic but in an actual constructive way, so I consider that a huge win.

Sheesh.

The only reason thicc Kermit makes this list is because he did exactly what I wanted him to do: make people very uncomfortable! Look, I said I love drawing Muppets—it gets more likes and attention than literally anything else I do—but often I feel pigeonholed into doing so. If I can subvert expectations and change the narrative for my own sake, then you can bet the farm Leg Day Kermit is going to walk all over your socials and make you stare awkwardly while you fidget in your seat.

Things that I think are cooler than they actually are.

Other artists can really relate to this, but sometimes you’ll post something that gets next to no attention, even though it means the world to you. My Dorkus Malorkus (a tribute to Lisa Simpson) and Drunk Dolly did acceptable numbers (for me), but they were favorites of mine that I was so excited to share on Instagram and Twitter. The Skull Woman in particular was a pose I’ve been trying my hand at for years.

Animation created in Procreate.

I’ll go into depth a little more in awhile, but I leaned in hard to drawing almost completely digitally on my iPad using the Apple Pencil and Procreate. These pieces were early explorations into different brushes, techniques, and even features I was curious (albeit hesitant) to explore. Bottom line: An old dog can indeed learn new tricks.

Ella Fitzgerald

My friend Amanda Duncan is a very creative person whom I try and shoehorn into every really big project I take on, and in this case, she approached me to create something for her live online show Soft Pants Nation. I created several time lapse illustrations of Ella Fitzgerald, but this one was my favorite. No matter what new things I learn, Adobe Illustrator will always be my raison d'etre.

Commission work and a concept I keep pushing without luck.

I’m always happy when I get a commission and create something I’m truly proud of (although I should probably be happiest knowing the client is satisfied instead). Fortunately, the family that hired me was also really pleased. I actually did this Rosie the Riveter Sally very late last year, but I posted it early on in 2021 and have been pushing it every chance I get for any concept that even remotely relates to it. Maybe next year.

Sharpie markers, angst, and patience.

Sticking with stuff that found its genesis in 2020, this poster was a pet project I started during quarantine to relax. I found catharsis in free drawing and using just Sharpie markers. It sat in my attic (then garage) for months before I finally finished it. This is one that’s only special to me.

KermDubs and Dilpreet Kaur Walia

My friend and cupcake enthusiast Zach Woliner commissioned me to do various Kermit illustrations for his KermDubs Youtube videos. I did a lot, but Kermit Borat was my favorite. I also find lots of inspiration on Instagram, and the very creative Dilpreet Kaur Walia has some great posts and allowed me to draw this one.

Dr. Teeth and Bert & Ernie

Believe me when I say I had much bigger plans for Inktober, aka Muptober, but I burned out fast. I was pretty pleased with these in particularly though.

Selling out for the Apple Pencil, iPad, and Procreate!

Okay, so I’m about to schill for Apple products, but I swear I’m not part of the cult… well, not full–time at least. I was encouraged to get an iPad and try the Apple Pencil and I gotta’ say, these are some seriously intuitive products. The above pieces aren’t anything special (although PePe in Squid Games is dope, right?!), but they mark a turning point for me, particularly how I color digitally. Almost every digital artist I follow on Instagram also uses Procreate and the power between this trinity have been so exciting for me.

I would really love to go into the ludicrous debate about digital artists not being real artists here, but I’ll save that for another entry. The short and sweet version is that these products work more like traditional mediums and I am finding real joy drawing with them. I’ve used tablets, a Cintiq, and various stylus pens in the past, but they felt awkward and lacking a grounded or practical sensation when it came to drawing. I really can’t explain how excited I am to learn more in 2022.

Bessie Coleman

Every year for Black History month I like to learn about amazing people and difficult history and this year I read all about Bessie Coleman. As the first African-American woman to hold a pilot license and the first Black person to earn an international pilot's license, I wanted to capture her likeness as it might have been seen illustrated in the early 1920’s when she was a high-profile pilot in notoriously dangerous air shows. It’s simple, but this is my personal favorite illustration I did in 2021.

As always, if you’d like to see all my work, please follow me on Instagram or Twitter. I’m really looking forward to 2022, so stick around and have a Happy New Year!

The Making of The Great Muppet Mural

Have you ever had a really big project that you’re working on that you’re extremely excited about and proud of? Has that project ever taken up so much of your time that you haven’t had a chance to do much of anything else? And has that same project been either a secret or required you to sign a Non–Disclosure Agreement (NDA) so you can’t even tell the world about it?

Awhile back, I was involved with The Great Muppet Mural and I checked off all three of those boxes and was super–hyped when it was finally time to share it online with everyone. Here’s the clincher—I’m still not done with it! Yes, ToughPigs 20th Anniversary has come and gone, and while people are still singing the mural’s praises, that moment has more or less passed too, but there’s actually more of the mural to share!

Let’s go off on a tangent first, okay? Earlier this year, ToughPigs spotlighted (spotlit?) some of my Muppet fan art again, and like an ego–maniacal lurker, I dipped in on the forums to see what people thought of my stuff. Everyone is always so kind and says wonderful things, but one post really hit me hard.

I used to be very descriptive whenever I would post anything anywhere; whether it was on social media, a featured spotlight, or even a concept to a client. Then, between a combination of being lazy and assuming people just didn’t care, I took a page from the book of minimalism and stopped saying anything. So when I saw Scott and my boy Joe (of all people!) call me out, I was infuriated and surprised at how on point they both were.

So now we get back to the present and The Great Muppet Mural. Early on, I had the idea that there was more to tell about this huge project other than the fact it had, “lots of Muppets and took a lot of work from a lot of people.” That thought was shared and encouraged by ToughPigs co–owner Joe Hennes (yes, that same Joe who put me on blast back in May!), and for the last several months, I’ve been making a documentary about the whole project!

I’ve ignored a lot of other things that should have been a priority, and I basically quit on Inktober; but so many great people and artists got excited about this project and helped contribute to it that I think (when it’s finished) you will get a real kick out of it. The very talented and funny actor/banjo playing, Lucas Ross is also narrating the short film and my Hulgreen bro Jerome Green is cleaning up all the audio, so it’s going to have a pretty nice professional varnish over top when it’s done!

So when is it going to be done? The best answer I can give you is “soon.” I have some professional video editing experience, but a documentary is a very different beast. That being said, the lion share of the work is done, and I’m neck deep in final post production. There’s more I could share, but I really want to hold off until it can be promoted properly. In the meantime, here’s the title card and a promise that a very good story beyond “artist made a thing” will be coming soon with all sorts of fun times attached too!

The Long Draw

How long should you work on any project before you “walk away”? This is a question that really beleaguers a lot of artists. I’d like to think I’m a quick illustrator. I’ve worked on developing my artistic muscle memory so that even when I have an “off day” I can at least put out something acceptable. Sometimes that means walking away too soon, and I look at my Instagram and wonder if I’m focusing too much on quantity over quality.

Deadlines are every artists best and worst friend. On one hand, there’s a definitive date and time when you have to walk away. That direction and structure helps in planning, execution, and finishing. Autonomy might equal freedom, but time management is efficient and pays the bills.

A quick and easy Kermit just for “likes”?! Yes! A little too quick? Also yes.

I have many very talented friends whom shall remain nameless (*cough Jamie!) that have a hard time walking away. Not because they don’t know when to quit, but because they’re perfectionists. This is a real blessing and a curse. Knowing something can be better verses knowing something should be better verses simply wanting something to be better (polishing a turd as it’s known in the business) can really keep a creative person awake at night!

Then there’s personal projects you just can’t put down. I’ve had a few of these pop up in my life. Usually, the size and scope of these projects are meant to be big and time consuming, so you buckle down for the long haul. I’m not talking about rendering something over and over or fixating on one little detail instead of the big picture, rather a personal project that just lets you vibe. It’s more therapeutic than technical, more cathartic than artistic.

This was a quarantine project I started in March 2020 when everything closed down because of Covid. I worked on it sporadically for months. Sometimes for just a minute or two, sometimes for longer. Sometimes I wouldn’t touch it for weeks and sometimes I couldn’t pull myself away from it. It’s certainly not a masterpiece, but it did let me turn off my brain and just sketch and ink, sketch and ink, sketch and ink.

We moved at the end of summer that year and this piece came with us to our new home where it sat in our attic for almost another full year! Spatially it was nearly complete (full), but mentally I wasn’t done with it. That ate at me, but mainly because I didn’t have that closed–off–from–the–world quarantine atmosphere that was originally fueling it. Even though that seems like an oddly specific mindset, the reality is that sometimes your work is actually done with you before you’re done with it. That’s where that giant head at the top with it’s screaming maw pointed skyward came in to close it off. Not a fitting coda for its original tone, but its final note regardless.

One of my absolute favorite “Life In Hell” strips by Matt Groening

I often think about life’s end and how no matter what we accomplish, our “to do lists” will ultimately have several items left to be checked off. Knowing when to walk away isn’t always up to a creative person, and as is also my personal drive when it comes to video games, I’m a completionist. The benefit to working on my own stuff at least gives me the opportunity to say, “when,” even if my heart’s not in it. I think what makes something you’ve worked on satisfying regardless of whether or not it’s actually good is accepting that that’s okay.