Don't Start a Band

Maybe I should have listened to this advice from Reel Big Fish before I started the OilCan Drive project.

Reel Big Fish is one of my favorite bands out there and this song is from their 2005 album which is awesomely titled, "We're Not Happy Until You're Not Happy."

Tests

I went to the hospital last week and was diagnosed with something. It's not too bad and nothing to really worry about but the doctor prescribed some pills for me to take to make things all better. So, like I was told, I took the two pills once a day with a big glass of orange juice. The only problem was the side effects from the pills made me tired and manic all at once. Oh, and they also made my skin itch and squirm.

I was happy to get better but the feelings I had while taking the dose for three days straight didn't put me in the best mood to get any work done that I didn't have a deadline for. Tired and manic all at once is never a good place to be.

So, mostly I took naps, read a book, and watched movies. I did get some client work done but that's about it.

So, now you know why I've been quiet for the past few days.

But, I am alive and all is well and things are slowly getting back to normal. Today was a really good day and I got a lot of work done and I'm (excuse the pun) itching to do more!

So, back to business as usual!

One of the things I did before I went on the daily pill dose was a little paint texture experiment I've been thinking of for some time.

I've always loved the art of Drew Struzan. I love the way he designs a movie poster, renders his figures, and uses the paint texture of the illustration board to give every piece more detail.

After watching his How-To DVD and learning he simply gessoed a board to make it look like he used big, strong paint brush strokes on certain backgrounds I had an idea.

I rummaged through the house hoping I still had some unused gesso lying around. I thought I did but, if I did, I couldn't find where I had hidden it. So, it was on to Plan B.

I grabbed a gallon of some unused house paint we have stored in one of the back closets and ripped the backing cardboard off of one of my pads of illustration paper. I figured since this was just a test why waste a good piece of illustration board when the cardboard would work just fine. And, if I screwed it all up, so what...

Using the idea for doing a paint swirl like in the Indiana Jones poster above I painted house paint on the cardboard using an old brush and moved the paint into a swirl.

The only problem with doing this was having the patience to let the house paint dry. And, of course, the cardboard buckled as the moisture from the paint left it. I tried to flatten it by putting some heavy books on it but some of the cardboard actually separated from itself and left me with an odd shape in the middle of my swirl.

When the paint was finally dry I put the whole thing onto my scanner bed and scanned the piece. What I got was a great painted swirl effect I can now put onto any digital painting I do as an overlay.

I did a test of it here on a great sunset photo my Dad took from the island I grew up on back in Maine. If you click on the thumbnail and look for it you can see the subtle painted swirl effect that makes it look like the photo is actually a painting.

So, while it's not as elegant as what the master Drew Struzan can pull of it makes for a great new effect I can put into my toolbox for future pieces. Try doing that with a simple, off the shelf, Photoshop filter!

From The Vault - OilCan Drive Open Mike 2003

When I was first toying around with the idea of doing actual music for the OilCan Drive comic book project I always linked the art to the music. Meaning, if I was having trouble on the music side I tended to slip back into the illustration side to even things out. I think it's why I did this piece way back in early 2003.

In 2001 I was dating a girl I cared very much for. She, of course, left disappeared, and dumped me. I didn't know where she moved to but I knew where she had been working. So, in late 2002, while waiting to see the new Lord of the Rings movie, I popped into the restaurant where she was waiting tables to see if she was there. With a restaurant staff there is a lot of turn over so not many people knew who I was talking about when I asked for her. But, one girl knew her and told me where she was. She told me she had moved back to San Diego and gotten married.

The girl who, when I was dating her, said she didn't believe in marriage, a year later, was married.

To say I was devastated would be putting it lightly.

This sent me into a deep depression where I wondered what I had done wrong and what I was doing with the life I was living. And, as much as I tried, I couldn't shake myself out of this depression. It lasted for a few weeks and I was getting sick of feeling that way.

But, then I figured out what to do.

I figured if I was going to beat the depression I'd have to replace that emotion with something stronger. And when I say stronger I don't mean love and joy and happiness and all of that Hollywood movie crap. Nope, the one emotion that seems to trump all others is fear. Fear speaks to that lizard part of your brain that triggers the fight or flight response. It's such an ancient part of the brain that, when triggered, no other emotion has room to exist.

I had to make myself afraid.

So, I decided, for the first time, to get up on stage with a guitar and perform at an open mike night.

Just the thought of doing that put a panic in my brain and all other emotions were sent running. I was no longer depressed. I was afraid. I was afraid of going up on stage and playing guitar and singing. And, to keep the fear alive, I knew I had to get up and do it.

So, I'm sure to alleviate some of that fear, I drew this piece a day or so before I went up on stage.

And, in the end, I got up on stage with a guitar, a microphone, and a friend backing me up on bass guitar. I played and sang all original songs and, even though the fear was right there with me, it went great. People clapped and cheered and I felt much better.

I was no longer afraid. And I sure as hell was no longer depressed.

Shirts and Bags

I've had these OilCan Drive t-shirts up at CafePress.com for a few years now. I don't make any money from them but I always thought it was a cool thing to have out there for sale if you happen to like the band. I personally have two of these shirts myself.

But, when I got these photos from my friend, Cyndi, in Texas, I saw the shirts in a whole new light.


Apparently, after wearing her shirt for long enough she cut it up and made it into this stylish bag. As Cyndi says, this has to make her OilCan Drive's number one fan. She has known about the project for a bunch of years and has always loved the characters. I think this little arts and crafts project of hers has really cemented the fact that she really is OilCan Drive's number one fan.

And, for the rest of you, the shirts are still available at CafePress.com HERE. Like I said, I don't make any money off of these at all and did them for fun. So, if you like the band, like the art, and were itching to part with twenty bucks, here's your chance.

Have a great day!














The original shirt before it's turned into a stylish shoulder bag.

Time and Techland!

One of the client jobs I was working on last week were a few new contributor illustrations for Time Magazine's website Techland.

Since these images have already been posted on that site I figured it was safe to show them off here. And, if these happen to show up in any issues of Time magazine please let me know. I was amazed when the last few turned up there but I don't read the magazine on a regular basis so I'll need a heads up. Thanks in advance.

I still have one more of these I am working on that came in late Monday night so I'm not done yet. I did a pencil sketch of the final person last night and am now waiting to see if any changes will need to be made or if I'm good to go to a finish.

These pieces are always fun to do but a little nerve wracking. I don't know the people I am drawing and I always hope they like the way I've depicted them. So far only one of the contributors has asked for the piece I did of them not to be used. If you head over to the website and check out the contributor bios at the bottom of the page you'll see what I'm talking about. He's the one photo that looks out of place amongst all the cartoonish drawn art. Ah well, I guess you can't please everyone no matter how hard you try.

But, I hope these three people like how I've depicted them. I'm doing my best.

And, as an exclusive to this blog, you get to see Evan both in the black shirt they've used on the site and the plaid shirt I originally put him in. Who says you don't get to see good stuff when you come and read this blog?

Have a great day!

Getting There

Geez, I actually started writing this blog post on Saturday morning and then the weekend completely got away from me. So, sorry for the delay. Here we go!

I finished up coloring both of these pieces the other day and here are the results. I also got a chance to pencil the desert scene background and sketch out the two little airships the band is using to race with.

I've never really done a cover like this before where I create all the elements separately and hope, in the end, that they all fit together. Usually I have an idea, do a quick thumbnail, and pencil the whole thing as one piece. I know what the finished piece will look like from the get go. I really don't know why I felt like doing all these pieces separately this time but it will be interesting to see if they all fit together. I've got my fingers crossed.

So, why did the weekend get away from me? One word...taxes.

Yeah, I finally started doing my taxes. I pulled out my shoebox full of receipts, dumped them on the floor, and started sorting and punching in the numbers. Tax time is the one time of the year I wish I had a simpler job where I did my work, got a check at the end of the week, and that was that. Deductions, estimated taxes, income from investments...yikes...it makes my head spin just thinking about it. But, they are almost done for another year so, in about a week, I can be happy I'm a professional artist again.

I also did some thumbnails for a new client project and even found some time to lay down the bass parts for three of OilCan Drive's songs. So, even with the crazy tax stuff I found some time to do a few creative things here and there.

We're getting there...

From The Vault - OCD Groupie 2003

Around the time I was putting together new stories for the OilCan Drive project I met a girl named Jessica. I figured the band could use a fan who would dance to all their songs while they played on stage. And, since Jessica seemed to like the ideas I had for the project she didn't mind a character being based on her to fill the role.

So, I did this illustration based on her in my comic book, OilCan Drive, style.

I never used the character again but it's funny to see where Jessica ended up in history of the art of Sean Tiffany. You see, Jessica is the girl who posed for the illustration I did of the girl in the pink hat. Yes, that girl. The one you all seem to like so much.

But, she started out here, as the first fan of a cartoon band traveling the wastelands and singing their songs.

Just goes to show you that you never know where you're going to end up.