The Hobbit warmups I did for the past week or so combined into one big piece.

The Sauron piece is a new Valentine’s Day Card that is available RIGHT NOW

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.

Sorry I missed my update last week. As you know, I spent the last week and a half in Dodge City, Kansas (yes, it is a real place and not just a made-up old west town) with my In-laws, and updating a blog on the ipad is a pain in the buttocks. I did however get 13 pages (YEAH, 13!) of the next Capt. Dan book penciled while I was there, so that’s awesome! So, here I am – a day later than I’d have liked to be this week. Grr.

Oh well. So I know I missed the New Year’s bandwagon by a few days, but bear with me. I’m not much on resolutions, usually. I find them to be a pain to deal with and who needs the extra guilt everyday? Not I, says I. So, what did I do this year? I set myself a resolution. Duh. But, I think it’s one I can keep up and one that my minions may get a kick out of. I decided that every time I sit down to draw, I’m going to start doing warm-up sketches. Fully-inked 5×7 sketches on bristol board that I can take with me to cons to sell. I’ll take suggestions and requests on my Twitter feed everyday, so make sure that you check that out.

For my art this week I figured that I’d go ahead and post my first few sketches.
Featuring Spider-man, The Huntress and The Goon and Frankie!

Dear Mr. President,
Recently the Obama for America campaign ran a design contest “Art Works” that asked designers, artists and illustrators to submit designs and ideas for posters that, once chosen, would be sold through the OFA website to help raise funds for your re-election. This contest provided no compensation to the artists. As a self-employed designer and illustrator, I found the idea of a design contest distasteful, but after receiving the email from one of your campaign staffers which basically told everyone who spoke out angrily about the ‘contest’ to shut up about it, I mostly did. Then the contest kind of faded away (as so many things do in the political arena), and I didn’t think too much more about it.

Today, I was reminded of your campaign’s disrespect for (and willingness to take advantage of) artists when I got an email from Josh Higgins announcing the “winners” (I use that term loosely) of the design contest. Winners who, in the email, aren’t even identified by full name. Winners who, on your website, aren’t even given the dignity of a link back to their portfolio or website. The only incentive these people had for entering this SHAM of a contest in the first place was recognition and the ability to use this to gain themselves PAYING work. Paying work that Art Directors and ad agencies might give these artists if they had a reasonable way to find them. Since you didn’t even link to these artist’s websites, how will any ACTUAL job-creators find these people to give them work? You called these artists “winners” and that’s not true, and you know it. These people were marks to your campaign. Your campaign conned artists into giving you the fruits of their labor for free with the carrot of recognition. They didn’t do this for the signal honor of getting your autograph. They didn’t do this for the heady pleasure of seeing their work on the President’s website. They did it for exposure. Exposure your campaign can’t even deign to give them.

Writing this wasn’t easy for me. As a staunch liberal, a supporter of your 2008 campaign (I was a volunteer AND donated money), and a working artist, seeing your 2012 campaign’s complete disregard for the artistic profession (a profession that your candidacy greatly benefitted from in 2008, as I recall) hurts me personally and professionally. This “contest” (and all others like it) only serves to further the idea that artists and designers aren’t true professionals and that paying them for their work is largely irrelevant. It hurts more since, as the President, you are spectacularly influential. Your example shows the rest of America that it’s ok to benefit from the work of a talented designer or illustrator, but it’s not necessary to pay, or even properly credit, said artist for their artistic contribution. People are going to see this as the President’s tacit approval for ripping off creatives across the board. This is not “change we can believe in”. This is the prelude to a very bad time in America for artists, designers and illustrators. A time that you could help prevent just by giving the people who worked so hard for you credit on your site (since paying them is obviously out of the question). Please do the right thing by these people.

Sincerely yours, Dane Ault – Monkey Minion Press

Doc Letter

This second letter is by my wife, Ashlie.

Dear President Obama,

I am writing today in response to the choice made by your campaign to run a contest soliciting free poster designs. As a supporter of your last successful campaign, I am appalled at what is being done in your name. As a thirty-something American who isn’t totally ignorant about the state of the economy and the jobless rate here in Oregon, I am outraged that this contest preys on people looking for work by paying nothing. As a craftsperson married to a freelance graphic designer and illustrator, I am personally insulted that your campaign calls this contest “Art Works.”

So you understand where I’m coming from, let me tell you a story about us, Mr. President. My husband and I are in our thirties. We’ve been married for more than seven years and both have college educations that we are still paying for. We’re normal people with some pretty normal goals and plans for our futures. This fall, after signing a mortgage on a very modest condo, my husband quit his job with a local ad agency and went freelance. It was the next step on a path leading to his dream and our long-term goals. Times are harder than we originally planned, however this isn’t a poor me or us letter.

We are young, tough and smart. We have savings and plans and my husband is excellent at what he does. We are going to succeed. But this is where you and your 2012 campaign comes in and sort of crashes the party.

Designers and illustrators depend on people understanding that art has value. Not just historical or museum-type value, but real, honest to goodness, yea-I-get-to-eat-now value. By creating a contest where people do real work for no return, you are telling the world that Art has no monetary value. You are saying that even really good artists, people who create work that is excellent enough to stand for the President of the United States, should be the starving kind.

Worse, by calling this contest “Art Works,” you are letting us (artists, graphic designers and the people who depend on them to bring home the bacon) know that you understand that Art indeed works for you. You know that the art on those posters can create an instant rapport with those you are trying to reach and communicate with. It can crystalize an idea more clearly than ten speeches. But you know who that art didn’t work for, Mr. President? All the artists and creators who provided you art in that contest. They got nothing for the real work they provided. Not only did they all work for free, but your campaign couldn’t even be bothered to pay the winners. They don’t even get credit in a way that will help drive other (hopefully paying) work to their inboxes.

Mr. President, every single day my husband and I are working to convince people and businesses of the value that our work, creativity, and yes- ART provides. This entire contest episode has left us with a bad taste in our mouths and a very poor idea of you. While there is no way to change the contest (and I doubt your campaign will suddenly do the right thing and pay a decent wage to those artists who have certainly earned it), there is one thing that can and should be done. It would be easy and cost you nothing.

Mr. President, please make absolutely sure that the artists whose work you will be making so much money from get proper credit. A name and home state doesn’t cut it. Please ensure that the dubious “honor” of working for you for free at least allows them the hope of future paying jobs. Provide proper credit by announcing their full names, email addresses, or perhaps a link to a website so that the Art can Work for them too.

Letter to Obama

In other news, this week, I started a new tumblr page at http://monkeyminionpress.tumblr.com/. There’s not much there, yet, but I’m working on it.

As far as art goes, I only have this picture of a kitty playing with a 20-sided die I drew for The DoubleClicks for a concert poster. Let me know what you think! That’s all I have for this week. Next week, I’ll be in Kansas for the holiday, but I’ll try to post something, provided the internet cow doesn’t wander too far east. Since I won’t see you before I leave, have a happy holiday, Minions!

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