Monday, September 28, 2009

New Blog/Website

This will be my last post here. I have a hot new site where I will not only continue my posts, but will be adding more variety to them. ie: tutorials, designer spotlights and interviews, designer resources, and so much more. Oh, and of course my regular Crystal Clear Art site is there as well if you need help with your project. Just go HERE for the blog or HERE for the main site. Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

New Super Shock Football Intro Screen!

So my first crack at our title screen looked kind of like this. Which I liked but after we got knee deep in the game, a more light-hearted style began to take shape. So in an effort to stay consistent with our new funny drawings used everywhere else I developed this new title screen for the game which I actually like much better. Enjoy!Super Shock Football comes out in a couple more weeks!!!


Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Section 8 Logo

A while back I hinted about a big logo I was working on for a new video game. It was HUSH HUSH at the time so I couldn't say much. But the media floodgates have finally opened and I can now tell you the game is called Section 8 and is coming to XBOX 360, PS3, and PC. I did MANY versions of this logo, some more fleshed out than others, till the clients decided on the one you see below. (I wish I could take credit for the awesome art below but I only did the logo itself.) Still, I think it looks great on the box art and whats cool is the eagle emblem is used quite a bit in the game as "badges" on the shoulders of the armor. You can see what I mean by watching the trailer below or click here to see the awesome HD version.


Super Shock Football Game Site Up!

It's been a while since my last post. I've been hard at work on my first iPhone game. It's been a lot of work but it's also been a blast. I learned so much as a designer working on this project. There were many things to consider past the usual "make it look good" approach we often fall into as designers. ie: functionality, scale, intuitiveness, smart use of space, versatility, 3D texture mapping, marketability, the list goes on and on. Anyway, I wanted to let you all know to check it out by going to our new website. SuperShockFootball.com

We got all kinds of good stuff there including a trailer, game details, screenshots, wallpapers, forums, and links to our twitter, youtube and facebook pages. More than enough keep yourself busy while you wait for the summer release.

Below are some of the iPhone wallpapers you can find on our site....




Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Super Shock Football Play by Plays

Hey everyone. It's been a long time since I've posted anything. I've been pretty busy adapting to my new role as a father and trying to juggle a design business while developing an iphone game. So what we have here is a bunch of illustrations I did for our game. We changed the name from ILectric Football" to "Super Shock Football" This was for creative reasons as well as legal reasons :) Anyway, after the end of every play one of these bad boys pops up. The goal was to make them vintage and funny. I hope you like them. For those interested in more info on Super Shock Football, check out the Facebook page and become a fan! You can also find much higher resolution version of these drawings there. Stay tuned as the first trailer will be coming out in the next few days.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Kayla Joy is here!

Hey everyone. I just finished my daughters birth announcement and thought I would share it with you all. But more important than the design are the pictures. I mean I know I'm biased but she is freaking cute.






Thursday, April 16, 2009

Steamroller Studios Revisisted

Just a little while ago I showed you guys the logo for my new company "Steamroller Studios" while I had fun with it. We needed something a little more adult and professional as who knows what kind of games we will be developing one day. I wanted something iconic and after talking it over with some artists friends. This is the final result. Props to my boy Torrance for the sketch this is based off of, and to Mr. Iron Fist/Velvet Glove himself, Jared Mirabile for the awesome custom font.


Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Crystal Clear Photography

In an effort to save some money on my wife's maternity pictures I thought I would use our new camera and try my hand at taking them myself. Turns out I'm not half bad at photography (or photoshop) I was so happy with the results that I have decided to start downsizing my logo and design work and start making more room for this new passion. And so "Crystal Clear Photography" is officially born. If you need maternity pictures, wedding pictures, baby pictures, graduation pictures, whatever. Crystal Clear Photography can help. Stay tuned here as I will begin showing you what my new website will look like in the coming days.

UPDATE: Yeah, not really, this was just an April Fools joke. While I did take this photo and I do think it came out good. There's no way I have any interest in starting a photography business.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Ilectric Football Is Coming!

For the past month I've been working with a friend on a game for the iphone called iLectric Football. Remember those old school vibrating football games? Check out the video below if you need a refresher. We are about 50% done with it as of today, maybe further. Now that I'm wrapping up the in game stuff I've been working on. ie: textures, logos, interface, etc. Its time to ramp up with the advertising stuff. So here is the first piece I want to show you. Elements of this design will be used on things such as the website and app store page. It was fun doing an old style illustation. I wanted it to look like the cover of an old board game. Anyway, I'll begin showing some of my other stuff I've done as we get closer to release. We're looking to launch in the next month or two. Also keep an eye on our official site for the game HERE.



Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Vote for me on Threadless!

Hey everyone. I finally decided to submit some stuff to Threadless. First up is an older one of my designs. Check it out and vote if you can. If you give it a perfect score of 5 I will mail you a puppy. THANKS!

My Threadless.com Submission

Monday, March 9, 2009

The Barbarian Horde!!!!

I'm so late in posting these. I was waiting till I finished my drawing to post them all, but I have only a loose sketch done and with me going to be a dad any day now, I don't see me having any spare time and time soon. LOL. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy them. I'm not doing any voting this time so instead just leave comments on which ones you like or don't like and why. And the end of the day its all about learning and becoming a better artist so all constructive criticism is appreciated!


Tad Branham (Always something great from him.)



Torrance Reed (he didn't finish his drawing either)


Lee Gordon (So proud he finished a drawing!)


Adam Meyer (I really wanted to finish this Red Sonja sketch)


Clifton Joseph (Our bloodiest entry!)

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Steamroller Studios is born!

So my buddy Keith Lackey who currently works at WETA digital (they made the effects for King Kong and Lord of the Rings) as a Technical Director gave me a call last week. He pitched me an iphone game idea that I fell in love with. We have been hard at work on said idea and already have quite a bit done with him working the programming and me the graphics. We're not ready to show anything yet but rest assured we will launch our first game in about 3 months time under the banner of our new company "Steamroller Studios" There's an inside joke there that I'll tell you about if you really want. Anyway, the inspiration for this intro were crudely drawn cartoons such as Doug or Ed Edd and Eddy. I wanted it to be funny and the lines constantly squiggly. (is squiggly a word?) It allowed me to learn something new in photoshop as well with the animation feature. Stay tuned for more!

GO HERE to see the better quality HD version of this. Also props to my boy Torrance Reed for the sound, he's a funny guy.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Real Change

I'm sure you all have seen that Barack Obama poster by Obey. It's become quite popular. Well, here is my version of REAL change and hope. The one and only Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. I still think Obama is gonna do a great job (hard to do worse) but I've always said that Jesus is my one true President. Check it out...

Monday, February 16, 2009

Kayla's Room

It seems I've been posting lots of cute stuff lately and that trend ain't stopping here. (However the entries for our Barbarian contest will be posted soon enough so hang in there.) What we have here is the art I put together for my daughter Kayla who will be here in another 6 weeks or so. I wanted it to fit the theme of her room which is lady bugs and butterflies. I took it a step further and did a bunch of garden insects. Including a fat bee, dragon flies, and a tiny worm. I also tried to make each element have a different texture so it would have a "quilt" look to it. Hope you all like it. now bring on the AWWWWWWwwwwWWwwws!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Dealing With Graphic Designers

Here is a little taste of what I'm working on for my next promotional piece. I'm putting together a small book that will be used to help clients understand how to work with their graphic designers. (Hence the title) One of the most important steps in having a successful working relationship with a client is education. This will serve a dual role as both a promo piece and a educational tool. It's all designed to look like a cheesy 50's Survival Guide. I'm trying to make it both funny and useful. I'm still writing the different segments but would love to hear feedback from any of you designers out there who have some things you wish your clients would know. ie: "Quit saying Jazz it up!" or "Please stop sending publisher files" etc, you get the idea. I would like to keep adding to this idea and maybe get an actual REAL book out of this one day and not just a promo piece. Hope you all like it. I'll post the rest up later. Thanks!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Vintage Pinup Girl

Here is a piece I did today for a client in London. I actually have had a version of the pinup girl done for like a year and was selling it as clip art. I was asked to change her outfit and make it into a splash page for a Fashion website. Pretty fun, Enjoy!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Rock On Baby!

Now here is a fun job I was hired to do For Stuph Clothing's new Winter piece. They wanted something besides the old brochure layout so we switched it up and did a poster instead. Below you will see the final poster (both front and back) as well as a nice high resolution image of the actual illustration used for the front side. Credit to the awesome Torrance Reed for the drawing, and to the "Iron Fist Velvet Glove" Jared Mirabile of Stuph Clothing fame for the main "You're a Rock Star" text and other embellishments. I did the coloring (which byt the way I'm very proud of the style I used) and most of the layout work. It was fun working with other artists, reminded me of the times I used to work in the trenches with other artists side by side. Now back to my Lone Ranger ways.


Thursday, January 8, 2009

I Love You!

Okay, My last post was a gift to my Mom. That reminded me that I had this older piece I did for my wife Valerie. It was my first "real" painting since somewhere around high school. I did it this way because Valerie said I was cheating when I drew on the computer. I wanted to show her I could use the real stuff If I wanted. I HATE painting with the real stuff. If that makes me less of an artist so be it! I'll take my Wacom Cintiq and Adobe Photoshop for all my painting needs. Its not messy, you don't have to buy canvas or paint supplies, and best of all.... I can undo. Anyway, enjoy the "real" painting. I like how it came out considering I haven't touched acrylics in years. But I think I'll still stick with my supposedly cheating computer from now on. Enjoy!