Shapes 2009! Part 2: Ramburger's Delight

Howdy - 7 new "SHAPES: The New Brethren"! For the first time ever, MB is taking you inside the shrouded and mystical SHAPE-making process. Below shows you the before, the original shape that Steve drew, and the after, my interpretation of said shape. Using these strange forms as a starting point, it takes me out of my usual drawings patterns and tendencies, making for some really surprising results. I finished these this week and sent them off to Steve who promptly gave them very insightful names, tapping into the essence of these creature-folk with surgical precision. It's uncanny! I mean, c'mon. Ramburger is the perfect name for the guy. All of them are about 5x7'' and done on wc paper with watercolor, ink and pencils. Click 'em to see them big.

Dar and I are going to start writing stories about these characters at some point soon. For now though, we'll be just creating SHAPES for a while and will package them in a book due out this spring.

This last one one wasn't a shape. I kinda just doodled it on my own. It was actually a wedding gift for my little sister. Congratulations to Katie and Mike! Both wonderful people who i couldn't be happier for. Great wedding, replete with "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" dance off. Sallese gave it an awesome name though, as per usual. 8x10''

"Shapes" Headquarters

New Feature to MYSTERIOUS BISCUIT!!!

"SHAPES"
The New Breathen

Back in high school, my buddy Steve Sallese and I started creating these odd characters and weird creature-folk called "Shapes". He'd draw an odd "shape" on a piece of paper, pass it along to me during chemistry class and I'd draw a character within it, with some embellishment. After I was finished creating a face or a figure, I'd give the character back to Steve and he'd give it a name. We made about 300 or so by the time we graduated. Here are some examples -

Pretty silly eh? But seriously, we had such a fantastic time doing these that it became something really special.

We reconnected with "Shapes" in 2004 and picked right up where we left off. These are only a few examples from that series.








Then made the leap into color.









All above are featured in Magical Tales. www.mtoem.com Not only do they now have names but they also have stories and tidbits about their past or current lives. For example, you'll learn about Scoopy's balloon blowing habit, Bops' latest crime spree and Crabface's Vegetable BBQ..

This week, i am happy to announce that Steve and I have started the process again. The New Breathen, as he called it. Here are the results!


I used color inks, watercolor and color pencils on 160 lb. rives bfk. They are both around 3x3". They obviously have a different feel. Way more colorful. I like the 2004 style though too. I am eventually going to go back to using nibs and black ink but will for now continue on this current path for now. Hope to get many done and posted this fall and winter. I have a ton of new "Shapes" that Steve just gave me, sitting on my drawing table, ready for creation.

I'm really excited to see where this is all leading. I feel like it's building up to something. But one thing is for sure - there will be more Shapes and more tales... and t-shirts!



Made a Dr. Broccoli T-shirt for the HOWL! festival in Tompkins Square Park in early Sept. Wasn't quite sure how it would go over. It was HUGE! Well, we actually just sold 7. That was "sold out" though. People liked them. Our first sale was to this old Puerto Rican dude in a motorized wheelchair. He silently rolled up. "I'll take this," he said with a thick accent. The fact that it connected with this guy, and a bunch of people, made me feel good and encouraged to do more.

Abjan, Airship and Fliggum

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