More Koni

With the success of Koni Waves comes the demand for more commissions.
The Arcana-produced property has developed a respectable following over the past few years, and the opportunity to promote it further was a fun prospect for me.   Koni's creator and lead artist, Steve Sistilli, published an 'Art of Koni' book that flew well with fans enough to put out a 2nd volume, and it seems a 3rd one is on the way.  And being a close pal of Steve's, I'm more than happy to oblige when I can.
It's not only another opportunity to see my work in print, but it is a kick when I have the chance to hang out with him at a comic convention.  We get to act like a couple of kids, and glad-hand with all the attendees.

Here's a couple of more recent posters ready for print;

Print size on the following is 18" x 33"

The below large poster prints out at 36" x 48"

Not too difficult to see why the comic fanboys love Koni.

She's always ready to kick some monster ass.

portrait study of Lon Chaney Sr.

I've been a fan of Lon Chaney Sr. since I was a little kid. To me, his portrayal as Erik in The Phantom of the Opera is still bone-chilling.
But his work as one of films' premier character actors goes far beyond his more memorable roles as The Phantom or The Hunchback. That fact has been lost largely to the passing of almost 90 years, ..but it's also a fact that not many photos of Chaney, as himself, even exist, since he was a pretty private person off camera.

..Still, I wanted to generate a color portrait of the man 'out of character' that I thought captured his essence. I googled the best I could and this was about the best photo I could find;



Old photos like this can be a pain to work from. Either contrasty or washed out, and this one is no exception. In spite of the glorious and well-lit glamor photos by old-school Hollywood photographers like Josef Von Sternberg, George Hurrell, or Laszlo Willinger, there aren't really any richly lit photos of Chaney like that to be found.

But a little imagination and artistic license can add additional light sources, as well as reduce shadows and glare to a (hopefully) more accurate and rich image of what once was.

..That friendly but mischievous expression does seem to capture his essence.
I hope I've given the man's countenance a little due justice.

Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine - iPod touch dock/player clock

This novelty electronic was designed specifically for Apple's iPod touch.
What car doesn't have a stereo? And the notion of an RC vehicle that doubles as an iPod dock/player seems like a novelty to me. Any number of cool vehicles present themselves as a candidate for such a concept, but the application of a perennial license like Scooby-Doo was one way to get this concept across in a way that would appeal to teens and baby boomers. Especially if there's some neat animated feature to play with.  As much for a Nick@Nite watcher as the Sharper Image shopper.

My illustrations show the dual function;


Here's the Mystery Machine in its static state, the iPod touch shows scale and rough position where it drops into the slot dock on the van's rooftop.




Open up the back end and its display becomes the TV screen on the inside of the van.
The wall speakers function for stereo sound, the mirror ball spins, and the sculpted Scooby bobs his head in time with the music (much like your average iPet).
The tail lights function as manual controls for the iPod, and the license plate is an LCD display for track number, volume level, or even AM FM signal.



Spin Scooby around, and he can join you while you view any videos you may have stored.
The same LCD screen displays running time, or can function in clock mode.