I recently illustrated this diagram for an article about how to study/interpret the Bible (ancient Biblical city on the left, the modern era on the right, bridge in between). Sometimes it’s fun to stretch myself and try something different, so I thought I’d go for a “cartoon retro” look. It turned out ok, but I don’t think I nailed it.

EDIT: There’s a chance this illustration will be on national television! The client, Christian radio host Todd Friel, will be interviewed by Kirk Cameron on TBN’s “Praise the Lord” broadcast Thursday, August 10. I’m told they may use my diagram in the discussion.

Two humorous ads for Solo Mobile. (Thanks to Ernie Schenck’s blog for the link.)

Granted, generic foods are known for their unoriginal names. But when my wife and I saw this in the grocery store it was just too funny. I had to buy a box.

I can see the commercials now: “Crispy Hexagons: For the Geometry Major in All of Us. Free Protractor Inside!”

So how would you promote this product? Granted, not too many words rhyme with “hexagon” (Lexicon? Mexican? Pentagon?). But I’ve got some clever and creative readers. Let’s see what slogans you can come up with….

I’ve been super busy lately, but I wanted to take a minute to plug a terrific art blog: “The Temple of the Seven Golden Camels”. I have no idea what that title means, but it’s a great blog for any artist interested in filmmaking. Animator and storyboard artist Mark Kennedy consistently writes thoughtful and informative nuggets about animation and film. His posts read like mini-lectures, full of great insights and techniques about animation and film from the artist’s point of view. A must-read.

I just spent the last three days at Flashbelt, one of the midwest’s largest conferences for animators, designers, and developers who work in Flash. In the last couple of years I’ve animated a few client projects in Flash and since the conference was here in Minneapolis it was a no-brainer to attend.

There were some great presentations, including a couple of studios from New York who are doing some really exciting and innovative stuff. Locally, the very talented folks at Big Time Attic gave a presentation including an animated cartoon created just for the conference (complete with a live banjo and clarinet soundtrack). Another local studio, Ham in the Fridge, walked away with four awards (all well-deserved). The creative community in Minneapolis is doing some super fun and exciting work.

I also got a chance to brush up on my networking skills, which are quite rusty. Since I’ve been freelancing alone at home for several years now, and have only lived in Minneapolis for the last two, it was fun to hang around with so many other talented creative folks. On Thursday night we schmoozed at a local pub called Nye’s and even dabbled in some kareoke. It was a blast getting to know some of the other local talent (as well as creative folks from out of state). It gets me energized to go back to my studio and keep creating, improving, and growing.

This looks really cool! From Cartoon Brew:

We’ve come a long way since Dragon’s Lair. Disney animator Broose Johnson has been applying his talents to a neat new interactive project, The Act, “a romantic comedy filmgame with a unique story, visually stunning graphics and personality animation.” Watch the trailer here. “Using only a simple control knob, players intuitively manipulate the emotions and consequent actions of a short film’s main character while being immersed in an appealing story.”