It's been a long time coming! It's Saturday Morning!

 So I've been MIA lately. Mainly because of work. Partially because of Uncharted 4. It's been really hard to find the time to develop to personal work/projects, so with my wife's blessing, I took 2 months off from work to work on an idea I've had for years - start a tee biz.

I didn't go into this blindly (I've found moderate success with some designs at Threadless and Society6), but there's much to do since I have to draw all of the traffic. So what I ended up doing was design shirts I'd want to wear and hope people would join in. Designs are always in the works and will hopefully continue to come with your support and encouragement.

Check out the site for a little more info and I'd love to hear your feedback - www.saturdaymorningsociety.com. Thanks friends!! Carpe the Saturdiem!

Free Shipping & $5 off @ Society6

Hey Friends!

Whether you like my stuff or not, you can get $5 off + free worldwide shipping until March 9th!! I'm sure there's fine print (like framed stuff) but still!! You need to use this link to receive the discount: http://society6.com/Muddybeats?promo=14fb95

Here are some favs people have been loving! Thanks!

Is the "M" for maiming or money or both?

So I usually am pretty light hearted when it comes to my posts here but I was recently sent an article stating that most of the chocolate we consume comes at the cost of slavery. Not only that, but child slavery as well. There are reports of abuse and so on. I was infuriated at the information and at my inability to change it. So I will do what I can do, vote with my wallet and only purchase ethically sourced chocolate (Target has some and they're gooood. Read the label) and use my talents to try to raise as much of a stink as I can. Nike was a huge human rights offender but they changed their tune and are now leaders in that field of human rights. So with that, I'm saying "good bye" to M&Ms (and Hershey and Nestle, etc).

This is the short version of the atrocities. I'm hoping you would decide chocolate is not worth another human living enslaved (again, you don't have to give it up, you just need to be choosy). Feel free to post, blog, pin, facebook, etc this image and spread the word. Here's a couple articles I ran across:
http://johnrobbins.info/blog/is-there-slavery-in-your-chocolate/
http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/19/child-slavery-and-chocolate-all-too-easy-to-find/
Thanks friends!

Prepare for B.A.T.T.L.E.!!!

So this is the post I had previously warned you about. If I may be serious for just one post, I've always been a creator and throughout my career have put on different hats - graphic artist, graphic designer, 3D modeler, product designer, illustrator - and I trace it all back to my youth. Ever since I could draw I've made my own board games, video game concepts, comic books, magazines, flip books, etc. If I had a positive experience with something, I immediately went ahead and created my own version of it. One of my favorite gifts as a kid was a stack of plain white paper. I can't tell you how much time I spent losing myself in my thoughts. Today I am blessed to keep that mindset as I co-own a creative studio where we get to create goodness for some great people.

So that's the preface. Now onto the rest of the story - my dad was good friends with famous iconic toy designer Harry Disko, creator of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots and Marvin Glass' right hand man (Google them. If you're reading this, chances are you've touched one of their inventions). Well, my dad (and mom) had an attitude towards me that I could do anything. It wasn't because they were trying to be encouraging, they just literally believed I could do anything and succeed at anything I attempted. Well, my dad knew I loved toys (still true today), and I told him I had an idea for a toy and I don't know what the next steps were that transpired, but I found myself a short time later at the age of about 9 presenting my toy concept to Harry in our family kitchen. It was so long ago and I don't remember much of what he said except "You can't show blood on toys."  The only other thing I remember is that he was such a gentle and nice guy. I am still super grateful for the time he took and only wish I would have been older and more mature to get to know him better and have learned from him.

Well, I recently found the illustrations I had presented to Mr. Disko and here they are for you to enjoy a good chuckle.

Having grown up in the 80s, I was a huge fan of He-Man,
Transformers, ThunderCats and GI Joe. FYI - B.A.T.T.L.E. Men
stands for Buffed And Tough True Leaders Everywhere!!!!

The technology behind this guy was based on Zartan from GI Joe
who changed color in the sun. You would drop this guy in cold
water and his battle wounds would appear. Here I even created
a sweet collection of accessories including mustaches.
Waaaaay ahead of my time.

To further enhance the battle-ness of the situation, I developed
backpacks that they'd wear and would include sounds of weapons
and of them getting hit and also a signature phrase.
My favorite is the one that says, "LOOK, YOUR SHOELACE IS UNTIED."
Distraction is a master tactic one must master if one wishes to emerge victorious.
I knew that at age 9.

I couldn't just post these guys and leave it at that. I wanted to reinterpret the design but still keep the 1980-awesome vibe. While playing around I even created the Japanese version (if there's anything incorrect or offensive in translation, blame the internet translation tools.) Hope you enjoyed! Keep up the awesome and if you're reading this then here's proof you still have time to see any childhood dreams to reality. Thanks folks!

Feeling most Eggcellent!!

Hey friends!

I can tell my Gouda Day piece has been resonating with people so I have decided to do a few more pieces around it starting with this guy. I don't know, I just get a kick out of spreading a little encouragement and I LOVE food. This may be my, excuse the pun, sweet spot.

And if you want to spread a little encouragement to yourself, friends or fam (or a stranger) this guy and many others are available at Society6 with free shipping until midnight on January 12th. You have to use link however in order to get the free shipping http://society6.com/Muddybeats?promo=14fb95. I have a super cool blast from the past post coming up but I need to do a couple things before I can post it. Stay tuned!!

Have a most eggcellent day!

Supa Dupa!

Hello friends!!

First off, thanks so much to all who have been showing support on Society6. It's going to help pay for a broken windshield :(.

Anyways, I just got a Wacom tablet after years and years of being frustrated whenever I have to hop onto my wife's computer and use hers. As frustrating as it was, I loved the fact you could get more realistic stroke effects and brushes. So to get acclimated to it, I decided to try it out on a sketch I did a while back for 10 Paces (not to mention it's been a while since I've done something for fun).

Here's the 2 options I cooked up. Enjoy!

I added a letter press effect to this option. See below for more detail.

Super quick, super awesome promo

Hello friends!

Society6 is offering $5 off + free shipping until DEC 8th! A deal soooo good I had to share. You need to use this link to get the code: http://society6.com/Muddybeats?promo=14fb95. The offer excludes Framed Art Prints, Stretched Canvases and Throw Pillows with insert. Everything else is fair game (even the mugs)! Here are some of the favs so far, but I will say my fav is the Double Thumbs. It's pretty awesome. Thanks so much! Have an awesome week and if we don't talk soon, an awesomer Christmas and super safe, super awesome New Year.

Long overdue update

Hello friends!

Sorry I've been MIA. I've been super busy running the studio on top of working on-site with a client that I've had zero fun time for personal illustrations for the past 6 months. Well, I hope to change that soon. In the meantime, as you're thinking about that special someone (yourself included) this holiday season or if you're just in need of cool art, why not pick up some great items from Society6? I recently updated my account to include some personal fav pieces I've developed as well as updated some of the older pieces for their new mug items (but there are plenty of other talented artists as well):

And this little guy has been moving like hotcakes!!!

I'd like to give a super humble "THANK YOU" to all who have been supportive on Society6, Twitter and Dribbble. You all are awesome!!

Monsters Inc X-over!!

So the good folks at the Pixar Times celebrated the release of Monsters U by calling for submissions for a Monsters Inc Mash-Up themed piece. There were some pretty awesome pieces submitted. I, unfortunately, missed the deadline because of too many projects, but I still wanted to finish my concept. Here she is in all of her glory. Monsters Inc meets X-men. Enjoy!

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's a super long hiatus!!

Hello friends!

Sorry for the gap in postings. Work has been crazy busy (and The Last of Us came out as well). Anyways, the good folks at 10 Paces and Draw reached out to me and asked if I could participate in one of their sketch swap thingies and participate I did. I received a sketch by the talented Jesse Tise and I had to do my art thang all over it. Below is his sketch and my final.

Jessie's Sketch

Oh, and here's the sketch I submitted.

I went old school with a nod to Action Comics #1

 Thanks folks! Have a SUPER weekend! Yeah, I went there.

Chow-a-bunga

Hello friends!!

To say I was a fan of the Ninja Turtles would be an understatement. I bought Donatello before the cartoon hit the waves on CBS. I just thought it was pretty awesome that there was a turtle that was a ninja and it came with weapons to prove it. I made a body for Krang out of a 24" Rowdy Roddy Piper action figure. I even owned the near-impossible to find party wagon and highly unsafe pizza thrower. I also kept my TMNT comforter and curtains into high school. I think my mom encouraged it since it kept the ladies away.

So what's the point to that "tmi" rant on TMNT? I recently designed a tee for Threadless' TMNT challenge and it just went up for scoring! http://www.threadless.com/TMNT/chow-a-bunga/. So if you like it, I'd appreciate a nice score or spreading of the word! Thanks folks!!

2 things

Hello friends!

Been working on a couple new things, but more on that later. For now, 2 things:

1) Society6 is doing their free shipping thing again (as always, certain items excluded)! You need to follow this link to get the free shipping however: http://society6.com/Muddybeats?promo=60b8f2 **update - the free shipping period is over :( **

and

2) The high school rock stars at my church (which I help out with) are raising money to buy bikes called Zambulances which basically act as ambulances in Zambia. Sick folks who are completely treatable, often go untreated because there's no way to transport the sick to a hospital. So I want to do my part as well. I'll donate all proceed (minus shipping) for any prints purchased through Paypal (off to the side) to this cause. I'll even reduce my commission rate in half as well from $300 to $150 (though you can pay more if you decide) and that will all go towards these Zambulances. To read more about Zambulances, check the link: http://zambikes.org/.

Heck, while I'm at it, I'll donate anything I make from Society6 throughout the month of April towards the Zambulances as well. So go nuts my friends!!

If you want to know more about the commissions, click here. Here's a recent one done for a friend for her husband's Christmas gift. He loves zombies, ninjas and Ramen noodles. My kinda guy!

Let me know if you have any questions. Tell your friends! Have an awesome day!

Just Say No

People always look at dieting like it's a good thing. Well, what about those who get hurt in the process? Never looked at it that way, huh? Think again before you start a fling with Jenny Craig.

Needless to say, this little reminder of unseen evils is available right now at Society 6 AND there's free shipping (except on canvas, frames and pillow inserts) until March 17 but you need to use this link to get the promo: http://society6.com/Muddybeats?promo=dc7dd8

The perfect way to say "I love you just the way you are."

One more Darth!!

So in celebration of the FREE shipping promo at Society6 (until March 17th), I went ahead and uploaded my second mini Darth since it was so well received at Wizard World and Threadless. Once again, to take advantage of the promo, you need to use this link to get there: http://society6.com/Muddybeats?promo=dc7dd8

Finally available as a tee!!

  I also uploaded a couple of my wife's Threadless designs that should have absolutely been selected:

FREE Shipping at Society6!***

Triple asterisks!

1) Only on my stuff (and if you use the link below)
2) Excludes stretched canvases, framed art and pillows with inserts.
3) Promotion ends March 17th

You need to use this link: http://society6.com/Muddybeats?promo=dc7dd8 to get the deal. If you happen to miss that promotion this time around, just shoot me an email and I'll let you know the next time it comes around. After the 17th, you'll be able to find my site regularly through this link: http://society6.com/Muddybeats.

You may also be pleased to know this new Fantastic Four inspired print is available. Unless you hate FF, then you'd be pretty displeased.

So I'm going to be honest about this piece. It was originally intended to be submitted for Threadless' Fantastic Four contest. I had originally checked my idea to ensure no one had done anything like it and indeed, it was original. Fast forward two weeks when I actually get around to it. I'm about 75% completed and I get the feeling I need to check again, and BOOM, there's like 4 others eeeeerily similar. Needless to say, I wasn't happy and I decided to not submit mine. BUT, you can still get it over at Society6!

Thanks friends! Hope you enjoy!

Let the Love Out!!

As I was flipping through an old sketch book I came across a lot of ideas I had sketched out that never went anywhere. This one in particular I just glanced at and a different image came to mind than what was originally intended, but I still love it nonetheless. As I state in the Society6 posting:

It's no secret this is a rough world. I think we're to blame - all of this love waiting to be poured out onto others and we keep it bottled up. Let it out people!!

Here she is in all her glory (available in a number of options. Tees will come depending on if Threadless likes it)! You can't tell from the tiny thumbnail, but I gave it a nice letterpress effect. Enjoy!

A Gouda Day Even Better!

So just about a week after posting my "Have a Gouda Day" artwork to Society 6 (my wife was the inspiration for the graphic. Gotta give credit.), I was just notified that it was chosen to be in Urban Outfitter's online printshop! Pretty awesome news! Go check it out here: http://printshop.urbanoutfitters.com/product/1031494/prints?cl=1

Also! I wanted to let you know I finally updated my Shave the Whales page to include laptop skins and pillows! Check it out here: http://society6.com/Muddybeats/Shave-the-Whales_Print

Thanks for all of the Gouda Day love!!

New tee up for voting!! I give it two thumbs up! And I can still drive at the same time!!

Hello friends!

3 posts in one day?!! I can take the rest of the winter off now :).

Threadless just posted my latest creation for voting. Not gonna lie, I'm almost as happy with the story as I am with the graphic. Check out the shirt below and go vote for it to see the story!

Thanks friends!!

Shhh. Just shhhhh.

We all know that one person who seems to invite drama or always has an excuse for their latest folly. And I'm not saying don't be there for your friends, but sometimes, they tend to take it over the edge just a wee bit. That's where this guy comes in - their very own tiny violin to play. It was originally an idea for Threadless, but I didn't think it would translate as well for a tee so I went straight to prints and pillows! Pick it up over at Society6! Thanks friends!!

Mini Darth and More!!!

I've been on a posting spree over at Society6 lately. Someone had requested I add my Mini Darth pieces to my page and I went ahead and added the Darth Star, but while I was at it, I added some older unused Threadless pieces I was too fond of to do nothing with including my Gouda Day piece which I love!! What's great is you can get them on pillows and iPhone cases as well. The Gouda Day is a perfect greeting card. One thing to note is that they sometimes do promos where they offer free shipping. If you're interested in purchasing one, let me know so I can let you know once they run the promo again. That's it for now! Stay tuned for an upcoming "my new favorite" Threadless tee design. Hoping to get the green light today!

Thanks!