Saturday, April 12, 2008

Oh the skeletons in my closet...

I was doing some spring cleaning in my office this weekend, and came across some hilariously awkward freelance designs that I had completely forgotten about. Probably for good reason.

Back in early 2005, I was approached by Wizards of the Coast to help develop a property called "The Irreverants". Having seen my website, they said they loved my style and I was perfect for their project. Excited by opportunity to get paid to do my thing, I immediately agreed and signed all the necessary contracts. With the ink still drying, they said "Fantastc!! Ok, here's what we had in mind......have you seen Teen Titans?"

DOH!!! So realizing that I was stuck, I decided I had to man up and give a try....even though that style was totally outside my comfort zone. The horrible results are below. My sincerest apologies to any of you Teen Titan's guys that see these. My intent was not to mock you.








Couldn't figure out what to do with this one. I like her crazy cat heels.




Added bonus.....more weird sketches.



So after failing miserably, I decided it was time to admit defeat and bring the project to a real pro, my badass designer buddy Robin Mitchell. I said "Please Mr.Mitchell...take this piece of stinky poo, sprinkle your great magic on it, and make it something glorious".

He patted me on the head, and said "It's ok, pitful mortal......where you have failed, I will rise like the mighty phoenix." And so, the rest is written in the analoges of his blog by blind canadian monks......here......here.......some here......and I think some may have fallen over here as well.

13 comments:

Tancredo Cortizo said...

Man, what you talkin about? This is great

Mukpuddy said...

Hey, I remember these from your sketch books dude!! They're all good though bro, gotta love when people see your work and say they love it then want you to design something in a totally different style!!

Todd Oman said...

I love how they told you they loved your style and then asked you to draw the Teen Titans. I have made this same mistake before. I spent months drawing characters that were supposed to look like Tail Spin. I hope you learned the same lesson I did, just say no. Oh and as a fellow Canadian the Flames just beat the Sharks, so all is well in the universe.

RAWLS said...

hahah...you're hilarious slambe...these are probably the worst designs ever...NOT!! Those are great dude. I know how you feel though about the whole thing...I've been there too bro.

Unknown said...

Love these character designs!!

Achde said...

expressif, drĂ´le, dynamique. Du grand art !

Chris Battle said...

Brianne is SO gonna kick your ass now.

Mick said...

man i still come across the ones you did for gene many... well actually not that many years ago... the ones with the chick and the hockey stick and a weird little dog, not your finest moment I assure you.. all joking aside the rate of your improvement is truly inspirational. To anyone asking how to get better i should show them the before and afters of your work. Through sheer hard graft, a genuine passion for cartoons and a wish to become the best you can be you have literally leapt huge leaps. i am the most critical guy around both of myself and everything I see (as you may have noticed) and i take my hat off to you. I cannot fault your work ethic and the wonderful fruits of your labour.... hang on that's a bit gushing isn't it? Well either way it's true
Plus these ones posted here are great so get on with it fella, go bend some heads

Puga Vida said...

These are pretty sweet!

ANTONIO CUESTA said...

Cool Cool design!!

PotatoFarmGirl said...

Those are better than anything I turned in for that show they wanted it to look like. That is one of my pet peeves, when someone hires you 'cause they supposedly like your art, but then do a 180 and expect something completely different. I think you did a great job with what you were handed, and your art is stronger for it!

Kyri Kyprianou said...

Wow! That was a great bumper post!! Kept me occupied for a while...

Anonymous said...

Those were pretty great. The only thing reminisent on Teen Titans are some of the girls' eyes and that's it.