Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!

Crazy, crazy time of year in the Parham household. Hence the lack of posts lately on this ol' blog. Here's another of my favorite Holiday Cards I drew this year.

Recent Work: Holiday Cards 1

I just finished this one up.  I do a lot of corporate cards each Christmas season, for small companies and large. It doesn't get much bigger than Disney, but this card is for a small team of managers who are over DownTown Disney, the shopping and entertainment mecca in Mouseland. We are opening up a kiosk there on Monday, so to get this job from them was extra cool. Hope you like it...

Cute Coffee Chick

Hey, gang! Haven't had a spare moment to myself in a few months, getting ready for some expansion in the retail side of my business at the Disney Parks. Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, but that's why! In the meantime, I thought I'd share a mailorder commission I did awhile back. For a quickie,  I thought it turned out kind of cute.

Crafty Piranha with a Flower

Playing around tonight on my iPad...



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

How Draw Caricatures..... The MAD Art of Caricatures!

Ya know, it figures I would land up on the FOREHEAD page of "The MAD Art of Caricature". LOL.

Yep, that's a drawing of me by my good buddy, Tom Richmond. It's on Page 94, to be exact.....

If you know much about me at all, then you know Tom and I have been personal friends for many years. Our wives and we met through the International Society of Caricature Artists, and have continued and grown that friendship through many National Cartoonist Society Reubens Weekends, San Diego Comicons, family vacations together, and basically anytime or reason we could find to hang out. I consider him one of my closest friends. 

Tom has always been great at caricaturing, and even started out doing live caricatures in theme parks like I did. That was the common ground we had when we first became friends. I was actually an early fan of Tom's, even before we met, having seen his work in NOW Comic's "Married With Children". You know, being the big comic book geek I am. Over the years, I've seen his work get better and better, to where he's now one of the best caricature artists and cartoonists EVER. So that makes me feel even more honored to be  included in his book.

For years now, he's talked about coming out with this book, both privately and publicly.  I first remember him talking about it in depth on a vacation to Hawaii about seven years ago. There were many times I doubted he would ever get it finished. There were even more times when he HIMSELF doubted he'd get it finished. But, man, am I glad he did! It is truly amazing, in the quality of artwork, the quality of writing, and the sheer amount of knowledge of it's subject imparted in it's pages. Without a doubt, it's THE definitive guide to drawing caricatures.

If you have any interest in cartooning, learning how to draw caricatures, or are just a fan of Tom Richmond's work, you gotta order this book!

Here's the link, just to make it easier for you:

http://www.deadlinedemon.com/

"Bite"

 "Bite"

Acrylic on canvas.
Copyright 2011, Keelan Parham

It was all downhill from this moment on....

Recent Work: Recess!

A recent job for a CD cover I did. The song is by the group "Recess!", and is about... well, allergies. Food alleriges, especially. This group, from what I understand, performs at schools. Just a cute, fun little illustration of cute kids. I could do this kind of thing all day long....

QRE...

Pull out your smart phones and see what this says....

"Forsaken"

"Forsaken", acrylic on canvas, copyright 2011 Keelan Parham

"Eloi Eloi, lamasabacthani".... "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? " Those have always been some of the saddest, most powerful words in the entire Bible to me. God promises to never leave us nor forsake us, but He DID forsake His only begotten son, the earthly incarnation of Himself. And it was all so WE could come back to Him, our sins paid for. This piece haunts me as I look at it. It depicts Jesus on the cross, at the exact moment God turned His back on Him.

I am SO glad I will never know what that feels like...

Fall

Another recent painting I did, in my series of Biblical images. The "Fall" of Adam and Eve.

Tempted

I've always harbored a secret desire to just be a painter. So, occasionally I will indulge myself and paint something.
I love Picasso, cubism, Covarrubbias, Braque, lots of abstract stuff, so that's what I like to paint. Here's a recent one I did.  I am doing a series of Biblical paintings, and this is the first. I call it "Tempted". It's of Adam and Eve in the Garden, kissing. Except that Eve is looking off at the Forbidden Fruit.

Charactertures, episode 2: Goofy

Hey, Esly, here ya go! Ya know, I've never had a great desire to draw Mickey's Pal, Goofy. Except for his incarnation as "Super Goof". I did love those old Gold Key Comics of him. But when fellow cartoonist, good friend, and SORELY MISSED Disney caricaturist Esly Carrero-Stampek suggested in my comments section that I try my hand at the Goofster, I decided to give it a shot. I wanted to do a retro version of him, and I really didn't change that much, I guess. Except for adding the tail. Come on... he's a dog, isn't he? I mean, I THINK he's a dog. In my version he IS, anyway. So he needed the tail. 

 I really liked the black and white version, so that's how I left it. I may color it at a later date. 

Art comes first at The First Academy....

Okay, look, the Parhams are artists. We don't even really tolerate Sports in my house, as strange as that may seem to most people on planet Earth. So when my daughters' school, The First Academy, sends out booster fund letters, and try out schedules for the various sports teams, I just groan. TFA happens to be really good at sports in it's division, and I'm proud of the student athletes I know, but still... it's sports. Ugh. However, an interesting thing has been happening at TFA the last couple of years... more and more graduating seniors are going on to further education in... wait for it.. the ARTS. Woo hoo! Something like 28% of them last year! NOW we're talking! So, last year I decided to put my money where my mouth is, so to speak, and start helping out in the Arts a bit at TFA. I became a substitute art teacher.

Yep, that's my "self toon" on the big 'ol white board in the HS art room, introducing myself to my students for the day. Now I HAVE taught before; I did private cartooning lessons for kids for a few years, and taught a few after school cartooning courses at some local Catholic schools. But it's been awhile. As in probably ten years or more. So, yeah, that makes most of my former students in their mid to late twenties. Some in their thirties. Dear Lord. That just made me feel really old. 

Okay... moving on...

Growing up in South Carolina back in the 70s and 80s, I would've given ANYTHING to even know, much less MEET and be TAUGHT BY a professional cartoonist. So, that's why I decided to do this at TFA at this point in my life. I do it when I can fit it in my schedule, in hopes I can inspire some future artists, by showing them that art can be a very real and viable profession for them. You CAN make a living doing art. You don't have to be a starving artist, if you just work at it.

I've taught now at TFA just two or three times, as I didn't get started in it until after Christmas this past year, and my schedule as usual was crazy busy. But each time I did, I was impressed. By the school, by the kids, and by the fellow teachers. 

 Hey, I'm a likeness based cartoonist ( aka caricaturist), so OF COURSE I had to draw some of my students!

All types here, just like "The Breakfast Club", but all great young people.

And we'll end on this guy... I grabbed a large pad of paper and sketched Kyle my first day subbing. I had noticed he was a talented cartoonist in his own right, so I felt I just had to draw him. Little did I know that a few months later he and another TFAer would start working with my company, drawing caricatures at Disney.


The school year at TFA is just beginning again, and I look forward to teaching and inspiring there some more this year...

Recent Work: Jeff Bigby

Big B

Awhile back, I posted a caricature of a friend of mine, Jeff Bigby,  drawn him in my new, more illustrative  caricature style. I just came across one of my reference photos for the drawing, and thought I'd share it here with the finished piece as well.

It was one of many I used for the drawing, but I think this one was my main reference. 

Charactertures, episode 1: Sponge Bob

"Charactertures". LOL. As a professional caricature artist and a pretty good speller,  I find it funny that the actual spelling of "Caricatures" is a challenge for so many people.  I can't even begin to tell you how many bad attempts I've seen at spelling, and SAYING this word. For this new feature of my blog, I decided to borrow one of my "favorite" versions: "Charactertures". This version is close to the word "Character", and I think it's what people mean. They think I'm going to make them into a "character" when I draw their "Caricature". Actually, they're kind of right, since I do lean toward a more cartoony representation of people in my work, and not gross exaggeration. Anyway, I am  going to be using "Charactertures" to term my drawings of other companies'/artists' "characters" on this blog.

See, I had this thought the other day... my life has been so busy for the last fifteen years with just caricatures, and providing for my family through caricaturing, that there are hundreds...probably thousands.... of characters I'll never have the chance to draw "professionally". Like Superman and Spiderman... I always wanted to draw for the "big two" comic companies. But now, I don't know that I'll ever get that chance. And to be truthful, I don't even have the desire to do it as much as I once did. But I do still like to sketch characters like them when I have a chance.  So, I thought I'd just MAKE myself have the chance. I'm going to set out to draw a "Characterture" of each and every character I can think of ( with my own twist on them of course ), and share them here on my blog. If there's one you'd like to see me draw, let me know, by the way.  Some of these may be just sketches, some more finished. Either way, I'm gonna have fun drawing them and hopefully someone out there will like them.

For this first "Charactertures", I actually chose a character that's not even a particular favorite of mine: Sponge Bob Square Pants! Truthfully, I don't know why I drew him... he just came out of my pen the other day as I was working on another job. LOL  For the record, the art on SB has always bothered me a bit, but I do like the voices and the writing. Anyway, this is my quick take on the famous water retaining character.

Stay tuned for more...

Daddy/Daughter invade San Diego!

Yep, after a few years of being absent from the Mother of all Geek Gatherings, I am returning to the San Diego ComiCon next week. This time, with my oldest, Brady, as my partner in crime. Where will be in the sea of comic geeks, sci- fi freaks, and costumed... um...people? I have NO idea. It's been so long since I've been to SDCC, I had to "prove" my professional status again. I did, and they did. Approve me, that is. HOWEVER, I was out of town when I got the email, about to board a plane home. I joke you not... by the time I touched down in sunny Florida, they were no longer accepting any more professional registrations. Arrgh. General admission, which I would've gladly paid at this point, had been sold out since early this year. That's how crazy it is to get into this show.

Well, fear not... with some help from a few friends in high places, I DID get me and Brady Ann in to the show. Plus, we waited so long to book a room, we got a sweet room in a hotel ADJACENT to the convention center. ( Finding a room was a challenge in and of itself.)

Now, back to where you may see us, if you are there, and care to do so.... Good friends Tom Richmond, Stephen Silver, and Joe Bluhm will all be there with tables, as will the National Cartoonists Society ( NCS). I am sure we will be at least in the vicinity of all of those tables sometime over the weekend. Keep an eye out for us, and you may just see us....

Recent Work: Floyd Scholz

 This is a recent commission I liked, and I thought I'd share it here. I had a blast drawing it in more of an illustrative cartoony, almost "MAD" style, with a few in-jokes, or "Chicken Fat" thrown in for good measure. I'd like to do more like this in the future. When I revamp my studio website, this style will be well represented there, I think. I've already done another piece like this since  finishing this one, that I'll try to get around to showing here soon.

The subject of this caricature is a friend of mine, Floyd Scholz. It was commissioned by a mutual friend as a gift for Floyd. Being friends with Floyd, I know a few things about him, and I also know his personality ( he's a really great, friendly guy ), so that made doing this caricature even easier and more fun.

Back in the late 70s, Floyd was an amazing athlete.  He even qualified to be part of the Olympic High Jumping Team for the 1980 USA Olympic Team. Yes, 1980. The year the US boycotted the Olympics. Ugh. Thus ended Floyd's athletic career. So, he started carving.... birds. INCREDIBLE carvings of birds. He's now famous for doing this, in those circles, and written several books on the art, such as the one above. 

And trust me, it IS an art.  I've been to one of Floyd's studios, here in town ( the other is at his Vermont home), and seen some of these carvings. They are huge in scale, and you can not conceive that they are not real birds, just from wood. And all one block of wood, too... one giant piece.

Every last detail is perfect. Even down to the FEEL of the feathers... you'd swear they're real feathers, not wood.

Now, Floyd stays busy with this... his waiting list is a couple of years long at this point. Oh, and the price tag for something like that large Eagle above? How about A HALF MILLION DOLLARS?  Yep. You read that correctly.

I'm obviously in the wrong business.

Toon Challenge: Punk Rock Chick!

I am determined to learn to draw on the iPad just as well as I draw with any other "tool". So, to practice, I drew this  in the Art Studio app for this month's Toon Challenge over on FaceBook. You haven't joined the group yet, what are ya waiting for? Lots of talented artists, professional and beginners.

iPad Keelan / Sketchbook Pro

Typical of me on vacation, I can't NOT draw. I have to, At least a little bit. But I get to draw what I WANT to, not what a client wants me to. Now that is a vacation to me! On our trip this week to West Palm Beach, in between our naps ( :D ) and trips to the pool and beach, I decided I would really put Sketchbook Pro on my iPad through it's paces. In fact, my iPad was the only drawing materials i brought with me. Therefore I decided to see Exactly HOW good could I draw on the iPad, with fairly unlimited time. My goal was to produce a piece that was of similar quality to what I can do on the Cintiq. Again, this was completely in Sketchbook Pro. I like drawing in this app best, but it does bug me a bit, with how difficult it is to change the brush size and the opacity. The ArtStudio app makes those changes easier. So, that's my next task... I am going to color this piece in that app as well, to see which I like best. Stay Tooned....


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Toon Challenge: Space Invader!

Well, after winning the initial TOON CHALLENGE um.. challenge, over on FaceBook with my "The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly" Cowboy tribute, I followed it up the next month with... NOTHING. Yep, even after I got to choose the challenge topic ( I chose King Arthur ), I was just too busy to compete. Lame. Well, at least my good buddy Kenny Durkin entered and won. This month, there's mere hours left to enter anything, and I just couldn't let the deadline pass me by again. ( Particularly since I have several unfinished King Arthurs on my desktop that stare me down everytime I am working on my computer). Even though this is just a five minute "Space Invader" ( the current challenge topic) quickdraw I did before I started my "real work" today, I thought he turned out good enough to share. Hope ya like...

Toon Challenge: Old West!

Hey, gang. I am a "fan" of the "Toon Challenge" page over on FaceBook. It's a  monthly Character Design Challenge page that's in it's FIRST month. The theme this time is to design American "Old West"  Characters, i.e. Cowboys, Indians, etc. There's quite a few fellow "Likees" on the page, but so far only me and one other person have entered a drawing. Join up and contribute if you can! Looks like it will be fun, and a great way to get some new portfolio pieces drawn at the same time.

Oh yeah, as for my piece, well, I am crazy busy right now but I still wanted to get something in on this first challenge. So, I googled those old Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Westerns and used him as "inspiration" for my entry. All digital, Photoshop, in case you were wondering. 

cya!

Safety Posters

Been out of the country for the last week, but I'm back now! Here's another of the safety posters I drew recently. Again, a Vector illo.

Dexter!

-I bought the Dexter's Lab DVD for myself for Christmas.... Oh, I mean for my DAUGHTERS... Yeah, that's it.... And I am thoroughly enjoying watching it. There was something about this era of Cartoon Network that was and IS so inspiring . I used to watch Dexters Lab, Power Puff Girls, and Johnny Bravo on "Cartoon Cartoon Fridays" with my oldest daughter back when she was a baby. To this day I cant watch these shows without being inspired. I HAVE to grab a pencil and sketchbook. Or in this case, the iPad.....

BTW, sorry about the low-rez image here. I drew it kind of small on the iPad, I guess.

It's ALIVE!!!!!!...just Frankie

Here's the Black and White Layer of just the Monster, from the safety poster I shared a few days ago. I like seeing the different stages of illos sometimes, so I thought you guys might as well....

iPad "Toon of the Day"

Yes, I do still draw "old school", with pen and paper, sometimes. Just drew live caricatures at a huge event at Disney last night, actually. But drawing on the iPad and then being able to post to my blog instantly with BlogPost, the app I use for blogging, is just SO easy compared to scanning in paper drawings, that you're probably going to see more and more iPad toons from me here. I am still working on an iPad tutorial, about how I draw on it in ArtStudio, but it's taking more time than I thought to do it correctly.

Until then, here's another cartoon sketch from a live iPad gig a few weeks ago. I really like how I am able to "cut into" the black when I am done, to pull out white lines and highlights. I learned from Hank Ketcham's work that black with white in it is more visually interesting than solid black.


.... Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

It's Alive!!!!

This illo was for a great client I did work for a few months ago. A series of safety posters that they blew up into banners. To keep the resolution good for them when they enlarged the images, I had to draw everything in Adobe Illustrator, making them Vector images. Aggh. I haven't worked in Illustrator much , so the images took me a lot longer than expected. But the cool thing was the client basically gave me free rein on these. I used a more cartoony style than most people ask me for, but it's the style that I really PREFER to work in. This client loved it. Hopefully more clients will let me do this in the future.

BTW... I did have 40s cartoonist Dick Briefer's great, toony looking Frankenstein Monster in mind when I did the face here. And I don't know if it's evident in the final, but I was kind of thinking of parts of the outfit of Marvel's Frankenstein comics from the 70s.....

Teaching....

Over the years, at different periods of my life, I've taught private art lessons to kids. It's been quite awhile, though. And I've never done it during the actual school day... as a "real teacher". UNTIL tomorrow...

Yep, tomorrow morning at 8AM, I add "Substitute Art Teacher" to my resume'. I'll be teaching Drawing I and Drawing/Painting at my daughters' school. I'm nervous and excited all at the same time. I can't imagine how cool it would've been as a student ( WAY too many years ago to go into right now...) to have a successful professional commercial artist come in to teach my class. I was always looking for that, looking for inspiration. Looking for someone to tell me that what I felt called to do was something I could actually make a living doing.

Hopefully I'll make that high schooler, who's still inside of me somewhere, proud tomorrow....

iPad toon of the day

Getting more comfortable with drawing in ArtStudio now. Looking very similar to what I can produce on paper. More to come...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Brady's Blog....

My daughter, Brady Ann, is writing more papers in school these days ( 6th grade), and needed a laptop for class. So she got an iPad for Christmas. She's quite the artist, and has been drawing a lot lately on the iPad. She is posting regularly on her own blog, so if you want to see what a talented twelve year old can do with an iPad, check it out....

http://bradyparham.blogspot.com/

iPad toons....

Another recent pic in ArtStudio on the iPad. I'll do a quick tutorial on what I've learned about drawing on the iPad soon.

For now, I'm just glad that my iPad drawings are in the ballpark of what I can do
With paper and ink .


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

IPAD TOONING...

A few days ago I drew on the iPad at a big party at a convention. Here's one from that night.


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:iPad toonz

One mean lookin' dude....

Playin around with this awhile back. I'm gonna do something with this character one of these days. At least I hope to. He's been rattling around inside my head for over two decades in one form or another.

Basically it's a story of this battle scarred tough guy in a post- apocalyptic world who hunts down aliens, chimera, and fallen angels. A little Mad Max, a little HellBoy, a little "Left Behind", all mashed together.

Some day...

Happy New Year!!!

Yep, Baby 2011 is here, and ready to go!

2010 was a good year overall, but he was getting kinda old...