The Devils BBQ

I was experimenting with some brushes in photoshop and this lil freak was born. He wants to wish you all a happy summer or some junk.

Dabbling with Tumblr

In an effort to get some more exposure and hopefully drum up some new freelance work, I've decided to test the waters of Tumblr and see how I like it.

To be very clear, I'm not abandoning this blog.  I just want to branch out and see what Tumblr has to offer. I'll still be updating this blog with everything the Tumblr is getting for now. So if you hang around here you won't be missing anything. The two locations may start to get individualized content as I get more comfortable with the new digs. Who can really say.

You can follow me at http://davearmstrongart.tumblr.com/

Again, no need to worry about this blog becoming a ghost town. I don't plan on leaving just yet.

Inside the Cave of the Ogre Prince

I never really do any fantasy illustrations. Don't get me wrong, most of my stuff definitely doesn't take place in the real world, but I mean in the dragons and wizards sense of 'fantasy'. Typically my stuff is a bit too cartoony for that subject matter, but I decided to take a crack at combining the two, and here's what I came up with.

And can anyone tell me the differences between an ogre, troll, and goblin? Because I honestly have no idea.

Detail Shot!

Bear Knight

 I recently drew a sketch of a bear who found a toy sword in a garbage can and decided to use it to save a princess in hopes of earning a pie. I liked the sketch and decided to clean it up and turn it into a print.

So now prints, tshirts, iPhone cases and what-nots featuring our brave lil bear knight are available on my shop at http://society6.com/DaveArmstrong

Baboon Lagoon

I recently worked with the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and Ron Foth Advertising to create a logo for the zoo's new kid-friendly water park, Baboon Lagoon. The basic idea for the theme of the park is that a peaceful baboon village is being harassed by a nasty octopus bully. The baboons retaliate by dumping a giant barrel of water on him. The zoo wanted all these elements represented in the logo and to capture the fun of the attraction.

The logo started out featuring baby baboons, as the attraction is targeted at children. So we tried a couple different options featuring a barrel of baby baboons.

We reached a decision on the basic layout of the image and made some choices about the font. We then started to play with how realistic vs. cartoony the octopus should be.

We also eventually came to realize that baby baboons are hard to visually differentiate from other monkeys and apes. Being that the attraction is part of a zoo, they felt strongly that we need to make it clear that these animals are baboons, so we decided to age the characters a bit. We also decided that while the octopus and baboons in the park would look realistic, we should go with more simplified, cartoon versions of the characters in the logo.

For more information about Baboon Lagoon, check out their website at http://www.zoombezibay.com/default.aspx

Photos of the park provided by Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and Zoombezi Bay

Car Hero

Recently, I was commissioned by Car Hero to create a mascot for their company's digital presence. The company works to get customers more money and less hassle for used cars. They wanted something in the vein of Thor and a hero who could slay the practices of shady car dealers and provide heroic customer service. We started out with a few knight options with iPads, showing that tech was their weapon of choice.

The client chose their favorite knight model, but decided he needed some fancy facial hair. So I provided some options and we tried replacing the iPad with a tire shield and a sword.

The client picked a mustache and I rendered out a final version of the character. They decided to leave his hands empty in the final version so that they can insert items as need be.

Sketchbook Pages

Here's some pages from my sketchbook. They include some of my favorite subject matter; like chubby men drinking tea...

...Super Mario Brothers...

...Cowboys who are bad at being cowboys...

...and other assorted goodies.

Skeleton Dog

Here's a project I did for Morbid Enterprises last year. They make Halloween decorations and were interested in having me design a skeleton dog lifting his leg...and that's exactly what they got.