I am sad to report that I do not have much to report this week. I know, I know – I’m sad, too. This week was a week of playing catch up, trying to get ahead on this book we’re working on, in addition to other projects. This week, I did finish up a T-Shirt design that you can check out here and here, if you’re into that kind of thing.

This week also saw me do some more warmup sketches. However, unlike weeks past, these I did digitally. I may turn these into a print or something at a later date, but you can check them out individually right here.

Also, I wanted to remind you guys and gals that this is the season of lovin’! In that vein, we here at MMP want to faciltate the nerd-love and are offering a GREAT DEAL on our Zombie Valentine’s Cards! They’re available here and here, so go get them before time runs out!

So, I don’t have much to say this week, to be honest. I am severely behind on the next Capt. Dan book (shocking, I know) because I spent a lot of my time out and about working on something really big that I can’t share yet. Murph.

So, instead let me share with you this:

HOBBITSES! I’ve recently been re-reading the Hobbit at night before I go to bed and for my warmups this week I decided (inspired by my friend, Robin) to draw some scenes from my favorite kid’s book. Yeah, I said kid’s book. I know a lot of people want to see great big Boris Vallejo pictures based on this book, but it was initially meant as a children’s book. So, I wanted to do some Hobbit sketches with my kid’s book style. I’ve re-read the Hobbit every year since I was 10. I freakin’ love this book. I might work these up digitally once I get caught up on the next Capt. Dan book, just for fun. Is this something you’d like to see? Let me know in the comments.

Well, that’s all I have for you this week, minions. Go outside and have an adventure this week. Keep in mind that you can get a hold of me on Twitter or Facebook or buy stuff from me at my Store! (Don’t forget the Zombie Valentines Card sale going on RIGHT NOW!)

I’ll be honest, today being Friday COMPLETELY took me by surprise. This week just sailed by without so much as a ‘by your leave.’ Just rude, I say.

Anywho, today’s blog post is gonna be short. It’s not that I don’t have a lot to say (because I do), I just can’t spill the beans on most of it just yet. Suffice to say that there are big plans afoot for MMP this coming con season.

One thing I CAN spill the beans about is that today is a pretty special day. (No, not Friday the 13th, altho it is that) Today is my mom’s b-day! Yay! A little while back, I wrote a post about my dad’s b-day and how he is such a big influence on why I do what I do. Well, my mom’s the other big part. While my dad may have inspired me with his work and ability, my mom was my main source of encouragement and drive. My mom drummed into me at a young age that if I set my mind to something, then I can make that happen and that’s been my guiding light for my whole life. It sounds cliche, I know, but it’s one of the few I put stock in. So, if you like what I do, make sure you thank my mom, because a lot of it is her fault.

“Onto the pictures, Monkey!” I hear you saying. Ok, ok. Here you go. These are the warmups I did this week.  (The Avengers pic was a little more involved than a normal warmup, but I liked where it was going, so I followed it.) For the most part, I’m trying to spend less than an hour each on these every time I sit down to draw. Again, if you have ideas for characters you’d like to see me sketch, let me know on my Twitter, FB Page or brand-spanking new Tumblr!

So, I have AN ANNOUNCEMENT! For the Valentines Day holiday we’re having a sale on all of our Zombie Valentine’s Day Cards. Yay!! I’m fixing the prices in both my Etsy and Storenvy stores and this should be live by about 2pm (Pacific) today!

So that’s all I have for you this week. I need to get back to work on the next Urban Wild strip and the second Capt. Dan Book.

So this is a few day’s late, and I apologize for that. Unfortunately, not much happened last week, so there wasn’t much to talk about. Still isn’t I suppose. Today’s my dad’s 63rd Birthday, though so I guess there’s that.

A bufflehead duck my dad mounted.

It’s a little crazy to think of my dad being 63. My dad, for those of you who don’t know, is a big part of why I do what I do. My dad is a taxidermist by trade and all through my childhood, I got to watch my dad create life-like sculptures from these birds and animals and breathe a new kind of life back into them. Even after helping him do it for a number of years, as a teenager, it still seemed like magic to me. The level of realness that he’s able to achieve is pretty amazing. My dad drew throughout my childhood too and it’s because of him, that I was drawn (get it) to the pencil and paper. He also instilled in me a love for the outdoors, which has recently been helpful in my work on the Urban Wild webcomic. Anyway, so yeah – My dad’s old. Which is awesome. Happy Birthday, Dad. If you’re into that kinda thing, swing by his website and take a look around.

So what did I draw this week? Well, I did this thing, I suppose. I calls it Jurassic Cluck! Inspired (obviously) by my deep and abiding love of the original JP book and movie and an article I read recently about a Chickenasaurus. I thought it was pretty funny.

So, that’s it this week. While you’re here, go check out the Press Page and see what kind of nice things people have been saying about the stuff we’re doing. If you have a blog or podcast and want to fill some space (and Wil Wheaton isn’t free), I’m always available.

On the art front this week, I want to share a drawing I did recently. It’s of Jean Grey as Phoenix. I don’t do a lot of large-scale drawings anymore, but every so often I get an itch and need to scratch it. This is 11×17 drawn in ink. she’s not quite done yet, I might color her. I’m trying to start doing more sketches to take to shows, so if you have a character request, let me know (in the comments, perhaps?), and maybe your idea will make it onto the blog.

Be sure to keep checking out my new webcomic, Urban Wild, which updates bi-weekly.

PS – The last day for (as close as I can get to) Guaranteed Before X-Mas Delivery of stuff is Monday, Dec. 12. I’m mailing every other day in preparation for the holiday rush, so PLEASE get your orders in soon, so you don’t have to be mad at me when your posters/books don’t get to you before X-mas and your kids are all disappointed (that’s happened).

This weekend in Portland is a very special weekend: this weekend in N. Portland is Geek The Halls, a small 2-day geeky art show, put on by the PDX Browncoats. I’m very excited about this show, as this is our first official year showing there. (We were supposed to be there last year, but I got pretty sick right beforehand and couldn’t make it. It promises to be a ton of fun with a lot of the local nerd herd being in attendance, so if you’re in the area, please swing on by. This is also the second-to-last (maybe the last, depending on the application of another show) show we’ll have this year, so help make it a good one to end our season.

So, last week I debuted our FREE SHIPPING SALE that’s going on right now until 12/9 (GET ON IT!), where all you have to do is buy a poster, pendant or book and I pay your shipping. It’s all taken care of, couldn’t be easier. This week, I wanna debut some new products! YAY! As some of you know, Ashlie and I recently went crazy and bought another button  machine. It’s bigger than the old one, which means I can put arts on them that I couldn’t put on the tiny 1 inch buttons. WHICH IS EXCITING (shut up, it totally is), because it means I can do THIS:

Click me! Click ME!

Me Too! Click!

ROBOT BUTTON PACKS! I’m really excited about these. The picture really don’t do them justice. The buttons themselves are 1.5 inches across and each pack comes with 4 buttons. They are pretty durned cool, if I do say so myself.

So, those are neat. Onto the artworks for this week: This week, I got an itch to draw a new Propaganda style art piece and thought, “you know who’d be cool on a propaganda poster? DOOM.” So here he is. I like the idea of Dr. Doom as a world-dominating bad-guy, who thinks that he’s the only person in the world who can fix all the world’s problems, if only he were running EVERYTHING.

The Bots Buttons and the Doom print will be added to the stores after this weekend, so keep your eyes peeled!

So, I wanted to start this post off with something cliched like a Black Friday Deal or something, but thought better of it (that’s coming further down, I promise). Instead, I want to talk about you guys and gals and your awesomeness. As I mentioned in past posts, I recently decided to take MMP full-time. (2 months ago this week, actually) This wasn’t a rash decision and it wasn’t something I could’ve done even a year ago and it’s largely due to you, the Minions. Since I made the choice to strike out on my own, you guys have been awesome with your support, and I wanted to let you now how much I appreciate it. Without you I’d be back in my cube at my job, killing time until I got to hop a bus and go home. Brain dead and soul-weary, I’d be forcing myself to try to get ‘extra’ work done for our convention appearances, and it would be lacking. Since I moved to MMP, though, I’ve completed 4 new prints, which beforehand would have been a 4-6 month long process at least, started a new webcomic (which goes live on 11/29), and begun production on the next Captain Dan Book (not to mention all the awesome freelance projects I’ve been able to take on and other items we’ve been making).  And it’s all due to you. So, in keeping with the season I’d like to say Thank You to all of you.

And now, for the commerce! Last week, we released our Pirate Gift Pack and today in keeping with the holiday sales season, we’re starting our “Black Friday Shipping Sale!” It’s easy, just go the either our Store or our Etsy shop and buy a Large Print, a Pendant (or Keychain) or a book and I’ll cover the shipping (if you live in the contiguous US) and I’ll cover half of your shipping if you live outside the us or in AK & HI. Because I’m nice like that. All you need to do is place the order, the shipping is already fixed for you. So go ahead, you know you want to.

This week, I also want to share some arts with you. It’s been a while. Again thanks to you minions, I find myself with some spare time at night, so instead of rotting my brain in front of the tube, I’ve started doing some sketches and original art pieces again. Most of these will probably start appearing with me at conventions for sale, but if you happen to see one you want, let me know and we can work something out. This one isn’t finished yet, but it’s almost ready for inks. There are some problems with it that need to be addressed before I do that, though. But I wanted to show you something I’ve been working on. So that’s all I have for you today. Go out and have a nice weekend and I’ll see you again next week! – D

Sorry I’m late this week. I’m getting prepped for Portland Comic Book Show this weekend and I lost all track of time! I’ll try not to make a habit of it. If you’re in the area tomorrow, you should definitely swing by and check out the show. I’ll be there at tables 123 & 124 hawking my wares and sketching all day. I may have some special guests stop by and lend their sketchery as well, so make the trip!

So, remember last week when I mentioned a “special announcement” for this week’s blog? No? I am disappoint. Go back and re-read it. I’ll wait.

All done? Good.

So, this week, I am proud to announce that beginning Tuesday, 11/29/11, I will be the official illustrator of a webcomic called Urban Wild from Craigmore Creations! Ah! How cool is that!? Urban wild follows the adventures of Lorry the Raccoon and her woodland friends as they make a living in the urban jungle. I’m really excited about this! Most people don’t know this, but when I was in college, in addition to Graphic Design and Art, I also wanted to study Conservation/Game Biology. I took some classes, but opted not to go for the second degree because of the additional math requirements. Science, and animals and biology in particular, has always held an interest for me. So this project really marries a lot of my interests into one awesome package.

So for today’s art post, you guys and gals are getting an exclusive art preview! Yay! Let me know what you think! And remember to check out Urban Wild when the new season starts on 11/29!

Thanks for all the well-wishes last week. I am feeling much better this week and am ready to BLOW YOUR MINDS.

click me... CLICK ME!

Ok, maybe not. But I do have some stuff to share with you! First up, you know that store link up top there? Well, it has all kinds of stuff in it, including this new thing: ENGRAVED PIRATE MONSTER PINT GLASSES! Heck yes! You didn’t know you wanted them, but now you do! Just in time for the Holidays for your favorite pirate/monster/awesomeness lover! You might recognize the logo from our newest book: Captain Dan Takes a Day Off…

So what else happened this week? Well, last weekend my vacuum cleaner exploded. Awesome. So we’ve been at the mercy of our dirty bunny and his penchant for pooping on the floor. So, I’ve instituted a new sketch card commission sale to help us buy a new vacuum. Buy a $10 sketch card commission, and get a free color or greyscale upgrade! Sale ends 11/4, so get it while you can!

Next week, I’ll post up some of the cards from this sale (you can get work in progress sneak peeks by following me on twitter or joining the FB Fan Page.

Thing one: I recently quit my dayjob to work full-time at Monkey Minion Press. So, I am now a full-time minion. Which is both freeing and scary. Freeing because it means no more 1.5 hour-long commute on the bus every day, no more office, and all my time can be devoted to MMP and making new things to give you all. Scary because now I no longer have an excuse not to get new things done. Scary because I now have to rely on my ability to drum up work and new customers to pay the bills. But, if I didn’t think that I had the support of my minions, I would never have taken this step. So, I know we can do this, you and me.

So, since I quit my job, like I said, I’ve had time to make new stuff. New STUFF! And I gotta say, I’m pretty proud of the new stuff (If you follow me on twitter or on Facebook, you may have seen this). First up, October 30, 2011 is Women of Wonder Day (formerly Wonder Woman Day). As in years past, I decided to do a drawing for the charity auction. They opened up the rules this year to allow more than just Wonder Woman, but drawing Wondy for this just seemed right.

So, that’s it for this week. I’m going to try to start updating this thing at LEAST weekly, so check back next Friday, and see some more new stuff and a Contest.