Spielberg introduced us to "Bruce" in 1975, the Umbrella Corporation engineered the zombie shark (Resident Evil 6), now Troublefish (my design toy business - coming soon - I'll let y'all know when exactly!) is getting ready to give you yet another reason "not to go in the water"; Capt QUINT - the turbine powered great white!
Sharks and race-cars were some of the coolest things for a boy growing up in the 80s (epitomized in the "Sharkruiser" by Hot Wheels)... giving in to my childhood passion, I've decided to combine the most awesome primal predator around with a rat-rod styled 50's turbine engine! The name is a tribute (or spite) to Robert Shaw's ill-fated character Quint, skipper of the "Orca"... and its not a coincidence that I'm releasing this toy on the 40th anniversary of JAWS.
The digital design phase has reached its final stage, and a test print is required to check for any design flaws or aesthetic discrepancies. I've attached a few (un-colored) views of the digital sculpt, as it currently resides in Z-brush.
Once the final sculpt is approved and a suitable size determined, the STL file can be sent off for rapid prototyping in alumide (nylon filled with aluminum dust) on a 3D printer. The material works great, as it shows detail, is tough and has some flexibility (and is reasonably priced at $1.50 to $1.95 per cubic cm)...
...at a final cost of $900 to $1200 for the prototype, I have to make sure the sculpt is just right!
...ok, I guess this is more of a BLT than a hamburger (unless, off course, your are one of those new-age hipsters that prefers bacon as the sole protein source to sate your fast food cravings), but it'll make more sense when I finish the rest of the series...
...in the works:
"MOO" (calf)
"TWEET" (chick)
"..." (fishy)
the paintings are available in 2 sizes; 2foot x 4foot (large) and 3foot x 6foot (crazy large)!
PS. the little icon to the left of the message (at bottom) is supposed to be tofu...
This was bound to be the theme for one of my Christmas cards sooner or later...
...I've spent 20 years of my life here, so Seattle was bound to end up in this series sooner than later (its rather ironic that I took this picture while visiting as a tourist last month)...
...various shades of teal struck me as an appropriate hue to light the emerald city (although Seattle only had 2 seasons - summer and fall - the later lasts around 9 months, the ever so familiar grey seemed just a bit too harsh).
As for the subject, I had quite a few choices - though 2 stood out over the rest. And... the suspenders-over-the-flannel-tucked-into-the-cuffs-double-rolled-tight-corduroys donning, Market Optical designer glasses wearing hipster beat out the omnipresent perpetually-training-for-the-Tour-de-France spandex clad bike anarchist.
Previous painting: Savannah, Georgia (see it here).
Next up: Hamburg, Germany.
The first 10 Zombie Kits are finished, sealed and packaged - ready for retail!
I thoroughly enjoy the modern zombie genre (just in case you haven't figured that out from my blog) - so functionality (all wrapped up in a neat package) was the primary motive behind the kit. These kits CAN be used in a zombie outbreak!
No plastic was harmed in the making of these kits (well, ok...the letting on the glass is vinyl) - aside from the content, you're left with a locally crafted case of wood (poplar), natural wool felt, and glass.
Contents:
18inch machete
first aid kit
portable AM/FM radio with ear buds
LED flash light
permanent markers (2)
disposable lighters (2)
compass
I don't stockpile the kits, and after the initial 10 are gone, I'll be making additional ones to-order, by commission (usually a 3 week waiting period) - I'm thinking of offering additional stains down the road. The finished kit retails at $285.00 - each kit is hand-made to order.
I don't intend of mass producing them overseas (I've come across an excess of kits on the interwebs consisting of sweat shop bags and boxes filled with non-firing guns, plastic knives, a handful of Band-Aids and some poorly drawn, printed at home stickers).
Shipping is going to take a bit to figure out....
Done.
And remarkably fast. And I actually like how it turned out...
...looks like I'm getting a hand of this "analogue" thing.
The finished painting - 40x30 inch acrylic on canvas - comes in two parts. The butcher board backdrop is hand painted onto the canvas (in only 4 colors)! The zombie butcher is painted onto a 3/4inch thick foam-core board cut-out. I attached the subject to the canvas with 12 magnets - allowing for easy repositioning as desired...
I'm planning a smaller (and more affordable) screen printed version - once I can actually locate a screen printer in Savannah...
...back to the bacon, now.
Yesterday I wrote "what am I doing?" on my wall with a blue Sharpie Magnum (the one they keep in locked display cases at the art store to deter taggers) - the space below it is still just a blank wall, so no answers yet...
...though, fret not, I don't just sit there and stare at said void - I keep busy (following are some pieces approaching completion)...
PORK BUTCHER TRIPTYCH
8 foot x 32 inch wood palette and recycled cookbook acrylic painting.
ZOMBIE BUTCHER
30 x 40 inch acrylic painting on traditional canvas. The subject is painted onto a foam-core cutout separate from the scene for added dimensionality...
...the background is completed, though I have yet to finish painting the character.
SAVANNAH 16
I've created one of these for my previous hometown of Seattle, WA (see it on my website). Though I've only been here, in Savannah GA, for about 10 months, I feel that I've gotten to know the town quite a bit...enough to create this collection.
the final piece will consist of 16 photographs (the purple squares are place-holders) mounted onto individual 8 x 8 inch wood squares and finished with a protective resin coat...
