I got the job!

Good news! I got the job as a caricature artist at Cedar Point for the summer!

It's a position I found through Kaman's Art Shoppes.

No, Kaman's, not Kamens

This means I'll be moving to Sandusky OH in the next week, so I may be off the grid while I set up and start my training.

On the plus side, maybe this will finally be my chance to upgrade to a mobile device with a camera so that I can keep you all up to date via Instagram! Thats just one of many good things this job could lead to...

In the meantime, I'm off to celebrate in the tradition of my people!

Sketch you later!

Ballad for The Batman

I'd often wondered if Batman ever sings his own theme song while cruising around Gotham City. What would such a upbeat tune sound like in that raspy Dark Knight growl?  

So yeah, thats where my mind has been. How's everyone else been doing with their summer?

LOEB: First Job

For some time now I've wanted to do a series of more anecdotal posts to give my viewers a better sense of who I am. The League's latest topic of "firsts" seems like an ideal opportunity to share two particular --- that are especially relevant to me right now.

First (Real) Job

After my college graduation in 2010, I entered a competition held by a clinic called Sleep Care. They were looking for a pair of black and white single panel cartoons for their website.  I produced some samples and soon received a cash prize and was given the opportunity to create additional illustrations for the company.

It was the best kind of post graduate experience I could have asked for. A regular stream of new projects that give me the chance to use my imagination daily and create an image that can tell a story. It was a great opportunity to learn while I earned. Here are some of my personal favorites:

Other League Firsts!

* Life of Fandom goes back to the sewer to talk Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

* Diary of a Dorkette spills on She-Ra!

* Pop Culture Rewind sets the wayback machine to classic Atari Games!

* Goodwill Geek gabs Garbage Pail Kids!

I Have A Headache!

This is another entry for WeLoveFine's Power Ranger's T-Shirt contest, playing on a double entendre with Rita Repulsa's catchphrase and the implications it could have on her marriage to Lord Zedd. While I sketched this out in traditional pencils, finished linework is completely digital, a first for me.

  

While I thought that this entry, since it didn't involve tracing a pre-existing logo, would be the jewel in the crown of my submissions. However, much like "I Got a Frog", I received an e-mail from WeLoveFine. “We like your concept, however, since this cartoon is aimed for children, we cannot add your design into the contest.  Is it possible for you to rework it so that maybe Rita isn't lying down in a bed, but maybe sitting in her chair?  Once you rework the design, we'd be happy to enter it into the contest.”

While this sounds like a frustrating let down, after reading it I had a strange realization, “If its rejected before the contest… Then it can’t be a failure!” Yeah... just keep telling yourself that. Though it is subtly amusing to me that a gag about rejection is ultimately being rejected.

I've got a week before the deadline to submit something else, so I just have to decide if it's worth the effort to compose a new image from scratch. With that kind of time crunch though, I might just let it go and be thankful I didn't go with any gags about "Make my Monster Grow."

MODOK Facepalm

My own twisted take on a classic de-motivational poster, this one starring Marvel Comic's favorite Cephalothorax, M.O.D.O.K. (Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing!) Yet another instance of my trademark juxapostions of two oddball elements from popular culture.

It was quite a challenge figuring out how to get his tiny little twig arms to work let me tell you!

For those of you unfamilar with MODOK, heres a quick glimpse of him in action: