The other day I noticed you can now purchase episodes from the A-Team (season 1) on iTunes. I couldn’t resist the nostalgia, so I treated myself to an episode. It brought back great memories. When I was about 10, every Tuesday night Mom would pop an enormous bowl of popcorn and our entire family would gather in the living room to watch The A-Team, followed by Riptide. Even though we were watching the “idiot box”, at least we were sharing something together (and doing plenty of talking and goofing around during commercials). For some reason those are really fond memories for me, and iTunes just brought them flooding back. Best $1.99 I’ve spent in quite a while.

Last year I did some artwork for Elmurst Dairy, New York’s largest dairy producer. They hired me to illustrate a skateboarding calf for those little milk cartons that they send to elementary schools. Today the art director sent me the link to a recent New York Times article featuring a photo of the milk cartons with my design. You can’t make out the art too clearly, but it’s still fun to say my work appeared in the New York Times (with a wink, of course).

Here’s an early design sketch and the actual final artwork (done in grayscale so they could use any colors they wanted):

For those of you who aren’t aware, this is one of the best forums on the net for artist, especially if you are into animation and/or comics. All skill levels are welcome, but there are some super-duper-talented folks posting their work. Be warned, you will become addicted. Check it out!

I’m currently working on a project (for a client I can’t name) to re-design their corporate mascot. We were going in one direction, but now the client has changed their mind and wants to go back to something much closer to the original mascot. That’s the freelance biz.

Here’s the current version.

My Dad collects old comic books from the 40’s and 50’s. Last time I was home I snagged a copy of Hanna Barbara’s “Pixie and Dixie”. There’s something about the character designs, poses, and inking style that I just love. So I scanned a few samples to share.

Look at the personality and expressiveness in this dog! He only shows up for two panels, but he’s super appealing!

Tom Bancroft is a talented animator, director, character designer, illustrator, and comic book artist. His new “how-to” book on character design, Creating Characters with Personality, is hot off the presses. I just received my copy in the mail and it looks incredible! Admittedly there’s a glut of “how to draw” books on the market, but this one is different in that it focuses exclusively on character design. In addition to Tom’s lessons and samples, each chapter ends with famous character desingers drawing their version of an imaginary cowboy named Dillon (artists include Butch Hartman, Jack Davis, Bill Amend, Mark Henn, Peter De Seve, and J. Scott Campbell). There’s even an introduction by Glen Keane! I’m super excited about this book and encourage you to order yours now!