Blog Posts

Recap Of Week 1

1/10/2020

The first week of class went great and I am excited for the next seven sessions. This week's main points:
1) No matter what, make a deal with yourself that you will make even one mark in your sketchbook every single day. It's about consistency and not quality. Don't wait for that special "day off" from work, or that three day weekend, to block out big special blocks of time. Keep your sketchbook with you and make sure you open it daily and simply start drawing something. Even hatch marks, circles...something in it. The next thing you know, that one will be full and you'll be hitting the art supply store for another.
2) Your physiology; the way you are put together, your arm, YOUR wrist, is half of what will make you a unique cartoonist. Consciously practice drawing but don't overthink or force your lines. Don't try to draw like someone else. Just draw. Discussion examples included Ellen Forney's work and that of Bill Watterson and an excercise borrowed from cartooning instruction legend Jack Hamm was shared. Griff also shared John Callahan 's story.
3) Various idea generators or "springboards", for when you are stuck for something to sketch, were discussed and the tried and true mix and match index card imagery / caption exercise was carried out, in search of those unintentional but magically humorous juxtapositions.
4) A large sampling of currently available pens, inks and other tools were passed around and demonstrated.
5) Recommended outside activities: sketch everyday but apply conscious learning (as opposed to doodling while on your phone) and watch the documentary FUNNY BUSINESS.

Inktober52

1/8/2020

Here is my first piece, for #inktober52 . The prompt word was FLIGHT. My sketch is also a tip of the hat to the great illustrator Joseph Mugnaini, from whom I took a workshop back in 1987 up in Santa Cruz, California. A fellow alumnus from Coronado High School, David "Froggy" Rodriguez, and I drove from San Diego, up to Santa Cruz and camped out in the woods outside town for the week long duration. In the image below I don't presume to draw anywhere near as good as Joe did but instead I'm trying to, in my mind, return to that classroom in a mental time machine, if you will.
Every day of the five day workshop, Joe, Frog and I had lunch together in the UCSC lunchroom, where Frog and I sat and listened to Joe talk about his love of nature. Joe found Frog's surfing experience interesting and there were many discussions of the oceans and waves and their forms. I remember Joe saying "I am in constant awe of nature".

Sketchbook Prompts: THEY WORK

1/8/2020

So this past October was the first time I have participated in INKtober and I really enjoyed it and the commitment I made to stick to the daily drawing and posting was good for me. I really got a lot out of it and my 31 sketches are still viewable on my Instagram www.instagram.com/griffy_the_crusher .
Because I was a participant in Inktober2019 I receive updates in my email and I just saw one a couple days ago from Jake, who, I think, started Inktober and who informs us that he has started an all year long variant where we are all invited to post a WEEKLY sketch (ideally in ink, of course) based off of a weekly word prompt. The first prompt is "FLIGHT"

YOU can cartoon this Tuesday

1/5/2020

It's just about go time! I think I've got a good, full and atypical program laid out for the next eight weeks. I'm stoked!

October 2019

10/7/2019

I haven't gotten too far with the web comic although I haven't been completely idle. I did do the Thomas Jefferson image below, for an old friend who hosts an after school Magic The Gathering meetup and, for the first time, I am participating in "Inktober", putting a sketch up, each day, on my Instagram and Facebook! Follow my progress by clicking on this link:
https://www.instagram.com/griffy_the_crusher/?hl=en

Must've Been All That Spinach

9/9/2019

Someone uploaded the coolest clip of an old documentary of a tour of the Fleischer Studio and the people working on the old Popeye cartoons:

and it caused me to test myself and see if I could still draw Popeye the way I used to back when I was a kid. I used to draw lots of famous characters but I think I'd have to copy from reference images to do most of them now.

I just hope I don't lose my tempera.....

9/5/2019

I turn 52 tomorrow and as a small birthday present to myself I am taking the plunge and ordering some dry, powdered pigment colors from Kremer in New York https://shop.kremerpigments.com/en/ a few earth oxides, some ultramarine, titanium white and a bluish oxide black. OH, and a greenish raw umber.
I started a small ( 6" X 6" ) oil painting on masonite with the thought that I could put it on Etsy and maybe sell it. Initially I wanted to use some Sennelier egg tempera colors in tubes which I swear I had somewhere and damned if I can find them. Then I got to thinking about the traditional method and I went upstairs, pulled an egg from the refrigerator, separated the yolk from the whites and successfully drained the yolk from its membrane into a jar on the very first try! I added a bit of water, gave it a shake and only wished I had some dry pigment ( you can use a soft pastel too ) to produce some paint! I was already hooked!! But I have a lot of oils so I began the painting anyway, using some Winsor & Newtons I've had sitting around but I can't wait to start doing traditional, old school tempera.
Meanwhile here's a sneak peek at the oil I started:

Lots of details on this piece are still to come, including EYES of course, for the ducks, a few palm trees, etc, etc.

ZAPP Zine Archive At Central Library!

8/7/2019

An issue (No.2) of FUM, a comics anthology I used to participate in, is among the comics on display as part of an exhibition honoring The Zapp Zine Archive And Publishing Project, at the downtown Central Library. I don't even possess any copies of the six issues friends, coworkers and I created (if I remember correctly) between 2006 and 2013, scanning art, printing it at the U. District Kinkos next door to The Blue Moon Tavern and folding it and stapling it all together... it's an honor to see FUM No.2 featured alongside work by amazing, legendary creators.

The exhibition was curated by librarians Abby Bass and Richard Visick and is located upstairs on Level 8 and continues through the end of August. Afterward the collection will remain available for viewing by appointment.

The Case Act

8/5/2019

I was just reading this on The Graphic Artists Guild web site:

"A PRIMER ON THE CASE ACT
Everything you need to know about a small copyright claims tribunal

We’ve been making a lot of noise about The CASE Act, the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019. But it occurs to us that even though this is our third time at this rodeo (similar legislation was introduced into the previous two sessions of Congress), there may be enough artists out there who aren’t quite sure what the Act does.

In a nutshell, The CASE Act will establish a small copyright claims tribunal, or copyright claims board (CCB). Similar to a small claims court, the tribunal will handle small copyright cases in a process that is inexpensive, easy, and expedited: parties won’t have to hire a lawyer, and won’t have to attend in person. The potential awards are limited to $15,000 for a single infringement, or $30,000 total for a claim with multiple infringements. But the CCB is optional; artists can decide to handle the infringement any way the want (sue the infringer in federal court, use the copyright small claims tribunal, resolve the dispute by negotiating with the infringer, or simply ignore it)...."

Read the rest here:

https://graphicartistsguild.org/advocacy/case-act-primer/

Graphic Designer Dawn’s Story: Why We Need the CASE Act:

https://graphicartistsguild.org/graphic-designer-dawns-story-why-we-need-the-case-act/?mc_cid=6e21f83bd1&mc_eid=56922c4e9f&fbclid=IwAR1Gxz9M6Io1QIeFd_PFRgMkL2AjXKLcv3gLrrgYw0UgwY4iMRdmA-MyE40

Rekkids

7/22/2019

I've been gradually listing all of my vinyl on Discogs and have even been selling some. My store is The Vinyl Subterranean.
I need a record cleaning set up of some kind and will most likely go with the Spin-Clean kit. They go for about 130$

...but check THIS thing out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZmRy3cbFjw&list=LL0N8-1G7mrQcsK8pIGy7d5g&index=2&t=0s