Theme Park Characters and Processing Death

     A couple of months ago, my dad passed away. This whole grieving process... it's rough, man! I hate the sneaky and unexpected ways grief finds to creep in and ruin things! I've realized that I haven't really found the joy in certain things that I used to find joy in. I don't look forward to anything... at all! I find myself thinking, "What's the point?" We recently booked a trip to Disney World. In the past, I would've been over the moon with excitement over this, but this time, I wasn't. What's the point?

It's been this way with drawing also. I just haven't felt like it.

     But one thing I have felt like doing is basically "cranking out" these make-believe Park Pals figurines. It's ridiculous, really. NO ONE wants this and like I said in my last post, I wouldn't even call it art. It's practically nothing and yet making them is strangely satisfying and even a little... therapeutic? 

I don't know. 

     I'm confident that I'll eventually get through this. I definitely don't grieve FOR my dad. He was a Christian, so I know he's doing better than he's ever been. Rather, I grieve for the loss of my dad. My relationship with him was a part of me and now that part of me is gone... and I can feel it. I have to get used to this new way of being and it'll take some time. I'm trying to be aware of what's going on and make a conscious effort to not shove things down, but actually talk about what I'm feeling. My AMAZING wife has been a great help with all of this! 

And during this whole process... I'm illustrating fake toys.

Disney Park Pals - The Next Wave

     This Disney Park Pals idea of mine has gone through several iterations over the years, but every so often I become reobsessed with this original concept of them being miniature die-cast figurines. Not being able to shake the thought, I took another stab at what they might look like as actual Disney parks merchandise.

     I'm pretty sure nobody is asking for this type of thing. They definitely don't want to see it as fan art. I'm not even sure I'd call it art! It's really just me (solely for my own benefit) doing my best to pretend a specific kind of toy exists when, in fact, it does not.

Enjoy?

May the 4th Be With You!

 

Dog Days

 Here are a few more original characters who have been kickin' it inside my head for quite some time.

Sorting

 Just some more random characters from the Wizarding World.

Some Original Characters That I've Been Working On For A Long Time

 Yeah. Like it says.

Rangers of the New Republic

     I've decided to rebrand my "Star Wars Afternoon" as Star Wars Adventures, in reference to Disney Adventures Magazine, a magazine that heavily featured comics from the Disney Afternoon shows as well as played a huge part in shaping who I am as a human being.

     Now I'm sure that something with the very generic title of Star Wars Adventures already exists, but... so what? This is my own little unofficial corner of fan-fiction that will never be distributed in any official form, and... I can do what I want!

     And the first thing I want to do is make retro-styled trading cards for each of my characters, starting with these guys inspired by the gang from Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers!

Happy VILLAINtines Day!

     I, for one, think this freaky lookin' dude is pretty cool. It had to have been a real trick to create a new villain for the movie that set up DARTH VADER, but they managed to pull it off. Rather than match Vader's cold intensity, Grievous counters it with a very "mustache-twirly" type flair, almost as if he's about to tie Shaak Ti (or whoever) to a railroad track somewhere. And from a visual standpoint, this guy gets the Fabuloso stamp, as well! The way he fights Jedi with the weapons of the Jedi he's killed is such a delightfully creepy touch, and his cyborg frame ever so subtly sets up what happens to Anakin? ...Yeah. I'm a fan of the general. 

Four thumbs up.

...

Did you get my joke? Because... because he has... Yeah. You get it.

Welcome to Muppetville

Okay, so here's my pitch:

     Fashion diva and super mogul Miss Piggy's entire empire has come crashing down. Left without a cent to her name, she has no choice but to move back to her small podunk hometown of Muppetville. There she struggles to find her place among the town's zany residents, as well as make amends with her ex-boyfriend Kermit the Frog after he graciously hires her as a waitress at the town diner. It's a show about big dreams, second chances, new starts, and on occasion... a crazy who carries a TNT plunger.