Retro Thursday*

I was digging around, trying to find something holiday related for this week's installment. I finally found an illo from years ago, created while at a newspaper in Pittsburgh. The story dealt with takeout meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Season's Greetings!


*In an effort to post something at least once a week I'll be showing some artwork from the archives every Thursday.

Frank Frazetta tribute entry

Gallery Provocateur has had an open call for submissions that ends today. It was to create a tribute piece to Frank Frazetta.

This from their Facebook page:
"Create a piece that is evocative of Frank's work but not a carbon copy or literal rendition of it. It must convey the essence of his distinctive work. Frank's compositions were strong and based on classical principles, masterpieces of energy and color. Epic and powerful. Images must be more than just a repaint of a reference image. Size is unlimited as well as medium."

I first came upon the open call through Jon Schindehette's blog. He is the Creative Art Director for Dungeons & Dragons® - Wizards of the Coast - and also a judge in the Gallery show.

When I set about to create a piece I wanted it to be something with a vintage flavour. I figured most entries would be of barbarians and damsels - a lot of what Frazetta is famous for. You can see them all here. So, I went a down another route in hopes that it would be different enough to set me apart from the rest. I settled on a travel poster to the place Frazetta was born.

The graffiti is of the Death Dealer, one of Frazetta's more popular characters. You can't tell from this image, but a closer look would reveal that he has a single tear (red paint drip) in memory of Frazetta who passed earlier this year. And I put a large lizard atop the Brooklyn Bridge. There are a number of Frazetta paintings that include large lizards stalking their human prey.

At any rate, it was completely worth it to create an image in honour of Frank Frazetta. I used to do a lot more fantasy artwork in which Frazetta was a huge influence. I hope to get back to it someday, but for now I'll stick with the retro/vintage route.

Tron art should be on sale Dec. 15th

Acme archives now has the finish image up. Just got word that they will be releasing it Dec. 15th with the others being released each day leading up to Friday when Tron opens in theaters.
Again, it was a great opportunity to create something that was officially approved by Disney. Here is the image. Click it to go to Acme Archives Direct.

Dont forget to check out the other artist contributions here.

Star Wars travel posters now on t-shirts

Zazzle.com has started creating products with all eight Star Wars travel posters of mine. The store is still a work in progress so check back for more products and revised placement of images. It isn't tied in with my zazzle.com/stevethomas store so I don't have any control over which products will be made. I do know that Zazzle can't print them on any paper product (posters, cards, flyers, brochures, bizcards, etc.). They have started placing the images onto tshirts, hoodies, hats, mugs, mousepads, buttons, magnets, etc.

Click here to get there.

More iPad cases

I can't believe I haven't posted since Nov. 19. I guess it's because I'm waiting on a couple of things to come through. One of which is the Tron poster for Acme Archives. It's been approved so I hope it will be up there soon. I'll definitely post when it does.

I've had a couple of requests for more artwork on iPad cases over at Zazzle. Here are some examples:

Tron art coming soon

Acme Archives Direct asked if I was interested in doing some Tron related art. Heck yeah! I said, or something similar. Anyway, they have a preview of it on their site. Mind you it's the rough mock up I sent them, but it's there to take a peak. Other great artists are also participating.

Custom iPhone and iPad cases

I have a few custom iPhone 3, iPhone 4 and iPad cases with my art available at Zazzle.com/stevethomas.

If there is artwork of mine you like, but don't see it on a case, let me know and I'll work one up for you.

Star Wars travel posters are finally here!

The first two Star Wars travel posters are up for sale Mos Eisley and The first two Star Wars travel posters are up for sale Kessel Run.

I'm sending out an email also. I apologize if I missed anyone. I had such a huge response and tried to keep up with all the comments and anyone who left their email. As well as combing through blogger profiles. Some didn't list email addresses. Does anyone know if there is a way to reply to all the commenters at one time?

The first two released are:




Just to clear up any confusion, there is an asterisk and a footnote on the Kessel Run poster explaining that a parsec is a measure of distance, not time. There is a close up of this on the Acme Archives website. Check it out!

Original post here.

Star Wars travel posters up for sale Nov. 16th

I just got word the first two Star Wars travel posters will be going up for sale on Acme Archives Direct, next Tuesday, Nov. 16. They plan to release them two at a time, but I don't know the time between releases yet.

They will be Fine Art Giclee’s on Watercolor paper at approx. 13” x 19”, 150 piece editions, signed, for $89.00 unframed.

I'm waiting to send out an email to everyone who requested one until I have the link to the live shop. But keep an eye out here as well.

Here are the first two:




Original post here.

Update: Star Wars travel posters

First off I have to say thanks to all who have commented and emailed. I sincerely appreciate the support.

This is still preliminary, so some details might change, but I wanted to give a small update.

I've been working with Acme Archives Direct to get the posters up for sale and it looks like it is going to happen - soon. They plan to release them two at a time at approx. 13" by 19", limited edition and signed (150 of each is the latest count). I don't know, yet, which two will go up first.

I'll still be emailing all those who requested a note to let you know when they will be available.

Thanks again and stay tuned.

Original post here.

Mummy-owned deli logo

Second in a series of classic monster-owned restaurants. This one is an ancient Egyptian deli owned and operated by mummies. A scarab made from veggies and cheese. A name that is a pun (Two Ten Common = Tutankhamun). I figured they named the place after their address of 210 Common Ave. As always, shirts on sale here.

Visit Santa's workshop at the North Pole - vintage travel poster

Just in time for Christmas. It's a travel poster to Santa's workshop. My plan is to do one of these types of posters for each month so that by next Christmas I'll have a calendar ready. Next up will be New Year's at Times Square (or Sydney or both) for January. Prints, postcards and greeting cards are available here.

Zombie tshirt

Happy Halloween!

I've had an overwhelming response to my Star Wars travel poster post below. I appreciate all the comments. I'm hoping that the number of people interested will help with trying to get them printed. I'll let you all know when that happens.

While I'm waiting, I've jumped on the Zombie bandwagon. Actually this is the first of a "classic monster" tshirt series I'm working on. Each one based on a restaurant theme. It's sort of an homage to the premier of AMC's Walking Dead series.

Either I'm the biggest wimp in the world or I have a very over-active imagination. I'd like to think its the latter, but I know myself (I couldn't sleep for a week after seeing "The Ring"). I actually had a zombie nightmare the night after I did the thumbnail sketches for this.

A zombie diner tshirt has been done before, but I wanted to try my hand at it. And because I'm not very good at self editing, there are a couple of different colour combos and distressed or not distressed.

They are available at Zazzle.com.

Vintage Star Wars travel posters

**UPDATE** click here!
Well, I've been sitting on these for two years now (that is far too long) and since then I've seen every kind of Star Wars mash up imaginable (but hope to see some more creative ones in the future). I say "since then" because I really wasn't looking too hard before I completed these.

They are very much inspired by some of the vintage travel posters of the early 20th century.

These were done in association with a website in order to have them printed. That website is still working on making that a reality. I'm crossing my fingers for a quick resolve. So, for now they are just here to look at.

I decided I couldn't wait any longer to show them. With the release of the art book Star Wars: Visions, and everyone else sharing their awesome Star Wars inspired art, I wanted to throw mine into the web mix.

There are eight in all and you can see all of them together here.










If interested and you want to know when they will be available, please leave a comment and I'll get back to you. Thanks.

Halloween Jack 'o Leaf

As Halloween approaches, I've been thinking about what to carve in our pumpkins. Then I remembered this design I made a few years ago. It's for all the Canadians and maple leaf fans out there. It fits a medium-sized pumpkin.

The template:
Print this out and tape it to your pumpkin. Use a toothpick and poke holes along the dotted lines. This will give you a guide to cut when the paper is off. Cut out and remove all the grey shapes.


Unlit (sort of looks like a smiling jack'o lantern, eh?):



Lit:



Enjoy.

Retro Thursday*

How about a little Terminator assembly line image. Created many years ago. Definitely some perspective issues, but I was young and lazy.



*In an effort to post something at least once a week I'll be showing some artwork from the archives every Thursday.

Retro Thursday* (one day early)

I won't have an opportunity to post for a few days so I'll use today as my Thursday.

This one is fairly recent (within the last 5 years). It was designed as a wraparound book cover for an unwritten story. I think I was trying to create a sense of drama. I'll call it "Aurora Borealis".



*In an effort to post something at least once a week I'll be showing some artwork from the archives every Thursday.

Geek Anthem

Geek Anthem, a website that "celebrates geeks and geek culture with a unique voice" was kind enough to post an entry focusing on my cartoon concert posters.

Be sure to visit them and take a look around. Some great info, illustrations and design.

Cartoon Concert Posters

Here is my latest series. They are concert posters based on 1980s cartoons. I wanted to try my hand at doing gig posters but needed a subject, so I turned to my youth and thought these would make good, fun, fake posters. All are up and for sale now.

Some come in different colour combinations as well as 'distressed' to look aged. To see the rest, visit my Zazzle and Imagekind stores.











I also turned one of them into a concert tshirt. Some of the shirts have cities listed on the back. I plan to do the same with the other posters. All of the shirts are customizable by colour and shirt style. Many to choose from.




The above art and posters are in no way affiliated with any bands or shows. 100% unofficial.

Retro Thursday*

Check back early next week for the latest series of posters I'm working on. I'm pretty excited about them.

But for now, lets take a look back at what I was up to many years ago. This was a doodle that I decided to colour (for some reason). I believe it was around the time I got my tablet and was eager to do some art without a mouse. Enjoy.



*In an effort to post something at least once a week I'll be showing some artwork from the archives every Thursday.

I'm now on Flickr

Just a quick note to mention that I've started a Flickr account.

Retro Thursday* is back

I'm currently working on some new posters that I hope to post in the next two weeks. 1980s pop culture is involved. But for now, some more from years past. This one is at least 5 years old, if not older. I can't remember if it was for a contest or not. However, I do know that the clouds ended up looking like mashed potatoes. Hopefully the robot distracts from that.



*In an effort to post something once a week I'll be showing an image from the archives every Thursday.

New illustration

I just got a copy of the magazine in the mail today so I can now show this image. It was for ICON magazine in the U.K. The illustration is about trying to get more people to cycle around London. They have blue lanes around the city for this purpose. The art direction called for no London landmarks.

I have a design up on Threadless.com

Please take a moment to vote on my design at Threadless.com. I mean, who doesn't want to learn how to build a time machine?

"How To" instructional posters based on 1980s movies

I've started a new series of posters based on movies from the 80s. These are the first three. I plan to do at least four more, maybe nine to fill a calendar - depends on how these are received. As always, they are available as posters and tshirts here. The backgrounds to the posters and the tshirt colours are fully customizable. Just click on the "Customize it" button.

Retro Thursday*: 100% unofficial Middle Earth Hockey Association (MEHA)

This homage was inspired by the races and places in Middle Earth. The idea came from out of the blue, but I have to admit - after doing a Google search to make sure no one else had thought of it - there was a fantasy (pun intended) Middle Earth hockey league set up by someone else, but I don't think the site is up anymore. The teams weren't named the same as I have below.

Anyway, these logos are about a year and a half old so they can technically fall under "Retro Thursday". I've recently slapped them onto tshirts and stickers. The tshirts are completely customizable, meaning you can change the style and colour of the shirt. Zazzle has a large number of different styles from tshirts to hoodies. Check them out here.












[Sauron's Sorcerers]


*In an effort to post something once a week I'll be showing an image from the archives each Thursday.