I’m starting into the shirt now:
This is probably going to take a while…
February 24, 2009
February 22, 2009
Monkey and Bulldog Models- Day 4
Not much to say except that I got a little more done today:
Now that I am getting the hang of these Golden Open paints, I’m beginning to appreciate their benefits. For one thing, the paints in my palette don’t dry up, so I am not wasting paint. That’s a real plus, as these paints aren’t cheap. It also saves valuable seconds when I sit down to paint because I don’t have to set up the palette each time.
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February 21, 2009
Monkey and Bulldog Models- Day 3
I have now started painting:
Getting this far took me much longer than I expected. I am using these new paints called Golden Open Acrylics, and it is taking some time to get used to them. The advantage is that they dry very slowly, so it’s easier to blend colors and make smooth gradients. What’s difficult for me, though, is that because it dries so slowly, you can’t put colors on top of each other without mixing them. I have to be careful not to make a big muddy mess. I’m starting to get the hang of it, so hopefully, it will go a little faster now.
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February 18, 2009
Monkey and Bulldog Models- Day 2
I haven’t had a lot of time to work on this, so it may not even look much different than it did after the first day. I am done with the pencil sketch, at least:
I’m finding pros and cons to drawing on the gesso board as opposed to plain illustration board. On one hand, the graphite stays completely on the surface, so it can be completely erased, if necessary. That is helpful. On the other hand, the hard surface wears away at the pencil pretty quickly, and it’s difficult to have complete control of tiny lines without a good point. And since I have to keep sharpening it, I am burning through this pencil pretty quickly. I am also expecting it to smudge a lot if I have to lean on any parts of the drawing. When I start the painting, I’ll see if the gesso is helpful. I’m guessing it might be beneficial not to lose that first layer of paint. On plain illustration board, it soaks in. We’ll see.
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February 16, 2009
Monkey and Bulldog Models- Day 1
So I didn’t get as far as I had hoped this weekend, but I would say the pencil sketch is about 75% done:
Now that I am working in acrylics, I am using a larger painting surface. That means I can’t fit the whole board on my scanner bed at one time. That means I have to scan it in sections and pains-takingly put the sections together in Photoshop. This is kind of time-consuming, therefore I will wait until I am all done with the painting to actually scan it. For these pictures of the work in progress, I am taking digital photos, which means there will be less clarity and detail than if I was using the scanner. I hope you can still see what’s goin’ on. One thing to note, if you look at the photos in yesterday’s post, you’ll notice that Loretta’s face looks a bit different than it does in the above sketch. That’s because I’ve decided to use a different photo for her face. I liked the way the t-shirt looked better in the one below, but I liked her expression better in the other photo, so I decided to combine the two.
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February 15, 2009
Jon and Loretta and the New T-Shirt
It took a few days, but I was finally able to catch up with Jon and Loretta so that I could photograph them in the Monkey and Bulldog shirt.
It was actually Valentine’s Day last year that Jon and Loretta got engaged, so it was neat to give then these shirts to commemorate that. It is especially nice for me since they are both my roommates, and since I actually was the one introduced them! They thanked me with a copy of the Indiana Jones DVD box set, so the least I could do was make them their own t-shirt. I think the photos came out pretty good, and I am excited to start the painting. As with the Pterodactyl Birdcage, I will be posting the progress each day that I actually work on it. I’ve also decided to extend that $21.00 intro price through President’s Day weekend. If it’s an important enough holiday for new cars to go on sale, I figure it should work for t-shirts, too. I’d like to suggest that, if you are on the fence as to whether you should buy my shirt or a new car, you consider that my shirt is printed on eco-friendly bamboo/organic cotton whereas the car will be burning lots of gas and ruining the environment.
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February 8, 2009
New T-Shirt- Monkey and Bulldog
Here’s the first new Donkeyshines T-Shirt of 2009:
The illustration is somewhat based on an actual live monkey rodeo show. I wanted to evoke a bull ride as opposed to a sort of cattle drive, hence the specific choice of the bulldog. The real inspiration for this design, though, is closer to home. I made this in honor of my two friends who are getting married in September. Jon happens to get giddy as a school girl at the sight of bulldogs, while Loretta is a gushing fan of all primates. When I give them their shirts, I will then use them to model for the painting on the product page. I will post photos here in a few days. No need to wait for the pictures, though, as the Monkey and Bulldog shirt is already available. Between now and Valentine’s Day, you can buy this nice soft bamboo/cotton T for the low introductory price of $21.99!
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February 1, 2009
Cereal T-Shirt
I actually purchased this one directly from General Mills. 3 proofs of purchase and 5$ cash!
It’s way too small, and printed on a not-so-soft Gildan shirt, so it’s not comfortable enough to wear regularly. The low-end production quality ads to it’s charm, though. It’s an old-school transfer on a crappy blank, so it looks and feels home-made. It doesn’t even have the General Mills logo or any trademark notice anywhere on the shirt. I’ll bet they printed less than 500 of these, and I certainly have never seen another one in person. However if you are nerdy enough to have seen “Comic Book: The Movie”, you can see one of the actors wearing this shirt during one of the interviews in the DVD special features. This gem of a movie was written and directed by Mark Hamill, and primarily shot at the 2003 San Diego Comicon, so I highly recommend it to all nerds. Not that seeing the Cereal Monsters t-shirt isn’t enough of a reason to check out the flick. After all, who doesn’t love Frankenberry, Count Chocula, and Booberry? Fruity Yummy Mummy, on the other hand, can go fuck himself, for all I care. Na, I’m kiddin’. FYM isn’t such a bad guy. I feel bad for him, cuz his cereal was “discontinued” on account of it being so terrible.
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