Lonesome Ghosts!!

So a very long time ago, I had one of these Fisher Price hand-held movie viewers.  It was waaaaay cooler than a GAF Viewmaster which could only show one frame at a time.  The movie viewer accepted a cartridge which contained a real, celluloid motion picture.  You aimed it at a light source and cranked it by hand.  The two cartridges I had were cartoons, one of which I do not remember... the other was Disney's "Lonesome Ghosts".  I used to watch this cartoon short over and over again.  I ran it at normal speed, fast, slow, forwards and backwards... I couldn't have been more than 4 years old at the time... and I was already studying how to make pictures move.  The only catch... there was no sound.  So I am sure I've watched it about 100x more without sound than with sound.  As this blog is turning into a creative archive of my work and inspirations, I couldn't not post about this favorite cartoon of mine... I guess the part of me that loves cartoons will never grow up.

Hairyer Parts reboot

For the time being, I've disconnected most of the old Hairyer Parts website as I'm retooling and reworking the Hairyer Parts Universe into "Hairyer Parts Comics".  For the time being, I've set up a slideshow of previous work as a placeholder until I can get more of my newer work finished and uploaded.

Dade Ursus

While it would be easy to turn this blog into a collection of big-eyed anime characters, transforming robots, and other sanitized, kid-friendly content, my blog just would not be complete without a few tip-of-the-hat's to gay artists who inspired me to do artwork for a gay audience.  DaDe Ursus is one of those artists.  His work was commonly seen on t-shirts back in the mid-1990's as the bear movement was picking up steam.  Around that time, I made my first trip to San Francisco, to the Lone Star, and to the Bear Store which was run by Brush Creek Media.  They were the ones who marketed DaDe Ursus, and at the Bear Store were all sorts of tshirts and art cards with his work on them, but the best find was his book, "Bears, Beasts & Masculine Beauties".

It actually took me a long time to get this book.  For some reason, I hesitated, and instead went home with another volume in this series, and then we all know what happened.  Brush Creek Media went under, the store was closed, and suddenly books like these were out of print. At Bear Week a few years ago, we noticed people walking around with t-shirts that looked identical to the ones minted back in the 1990's, as if they had just come off the presses.  We made our way over to M.G. Leather, where we learned that they bought all the outstanding stock from the Bear Store!  I was able to acquire this long lost volume and a few like-new tees.  My most favorite of them all, sadly, was not available, so I will be sure to take extra care of my original, well worn garment (stock image below - tee has been put away).

Baseball & Anime

Back when I was president of the Northeast Ursamen (as if it were so long ago), Daddy Mike and I came up with an idea for an event to take place in Boston on a regular basis, called "Spring Training".  Knowing how much the Red Sox are loved in that city (and by many of us in other parts of Southern New England), we gave the party a Red Sox theme.  I mean, on any given night a game is happening across town at Fenway Park, you can see the game on big screens in pubs of all sizes, including The Alley, arguably the best bear bar in the Northeast, so throwing a Red Sox themed party at the Alley was a perfect formula.  So we needed an image for the poster, and after having done "Butch & Bruiser" and the "Nut & Bolt Party", I set out to do "Spring Training" but Hairyer Parts-style.  People often compared the finished product to Jason Varitek, though truth be known, I worked from a drawing of Youkalis to get the job done.

So I knew that baseball has been big in Japan, but it never occurred to me to look into baseball manga.  I think I was aware of one show whose name escapes me... so for kicks tonight, I put in the words "anime" and "baseball" into a Google image search, and found all sorts of great images.  This one particular article I found from Otaku USA gave a whole mini-course on baseball subjects in Japanese cartoons.  Do check it out.  It made me smile to think I may have been on to something when I did that "Sprig Training" drawing... now four years old!

How To Draw Cartoons - Syd Hoff

From a very young age, I've been into comics strips, animated cartoons, and comic books.  I would spend hours in the school library reading Peanuts books by Charles M. Schultz (more on him later).  And Saturday morning was not Saturday morning without the Superfriends.  I want to say it was around first grade that I saw a book at one our school book fairs that I had to have.  It was Syd Hoff's "How To Draw Cartoons", a how-to book for kids.  I remember that my mother didn't really want me to have it.  I think she would have rather had me get something I could read, to improve my reading skills.  I must have pleaded my case effectively, because after a couple missed opportunities, I finally went home from a school book fair with this book.

I think from the moment I learned how to use a pencil, I began to draw, but when I took ownership of this book, I turned my attention from drawing cityscapes to drawing cartoons.  I spent hours with pencil, paper, and my new how-to book.  Now, instead of reading Charles M. Schultz, I studied his work.  At times, I imitated him.  I imitated Syd Hoff and his style too. I know I probably wasn't a very good cartoonist back then, and I don't really know that I'm that great now, but I would have to say, if there was one book that changed my life, it would be Syd Hoff's How-To book.  It helped me discover a lifetime of pleasure and relaxation as a cartoonist.  I suppose the drive was always there, and it probably would have come out somehow, but I guess Syd gets the credit for being the one who showed me how to get started.

Recently, I was going thru my collection of how-to books, art books, and other toon-related things, and realized that I lost this book long ago.  Thanks to Google and eBay, was able to locate it a copy of it for just a couple dollars.  So history repeated itself... I had to have it.  It's now on its way to me.  I can't wait to get it and leaf thru it again.  It'll be fun to see the images again that started me down my journey as a cartoonist.

Hatsune Miku

An old friend of mine and fellow anime fan posted this on my Facebook page today. It's Hatsune Miku, a "singing synthesized voice application" with a computer generated personality to go with it.  She's gained a certain amount of popularity in Japan... according to Wikipedia, there are 100,000 songs written for her, and now she is a character in a manga series.  For more info, visit Wikipedia.

New Copic markers... Thank goodness for art supply stores like Jerry's Artarama.

Hairyer Parts - 2004 Auction Poster

Hard to believe it's been 9 years since the last Ursamen Valentines Day Auction which featured all sorts of creative talent.  These events were geared towards raising charitable funds for those who received HIV & AIDS services from the Springfield VNA.  These events raised easily over $1000 at a time... with my own handmade cartoon cels bringing in hundreds of dollars.  Following this period, I entered a life of public service, first for the Northeast Ursamen as newsletter editor for two years, then the independent scouts for another two years... then back to the Ursamen for four years as President.... so here is a flash back to 2004... this poster showcased the cel that was to go up on the auction block later that month.  The poster itself hung on the wall at York Steet for the Northeast Ursamen's 2004 Superbowl & Chili Cookoff party.  Happy Superbowl 2013 everyone!

Tom Of Finland Foundation

Happy to see that the world of Tom Of Finland has a web presence, AND a blog, so that I can keep up with them.  I saw today's lead story on Facebook and it brought a smile to my own face.  The LA Band Of Brothers, a group of leather titleholders from the city of the same name, volunteered at what I believe is Tom's House (which the Tom of Finland Foundation is trying to preserve).  It looks like they put in a lot of sweat equity into the house where it was needed most.  I like hearing about clubs helping their own community, especially when it comes in a form other than fundraising.  As gay people, we have our own culture, which includes our own art and history.  To see these men preserving it is really inspirational.  Support the gay arts!!

LA Band of Brothers at Tom's House

Dusting off the Copic Markers

Dug out my Copic markers today, and I'm happy that they haven't dried out after all this time! I can tell I'm a bit rusty but its good to be drawing again!!

First "Hairyer Parts"

"Hairyer Parts" is the bear-centric comic that I created specifically for publication in the Northeast Ursamen's "Bears & Hunters" official newsletter.  My cartoons ran for 10 years before my volunteer commitments forced me to suspend production.  The series was originally a single-panel strip which eventually was relaunched as a multi-panel color strip.  My characters also found their way into several promotional posters for Northeast Ursamen events, including Butch & Bruisers Boots & Boxers Party, Nut & Bolt Party, and Spring Training.  With most of my major commitments now behind me, I'm looking forward to giving the Hairyer Parts Universe a "hard boot" and putting it back out there.  For now, here is a look back at the very first few HP comics.