Friday, March 10, 2006

Rayguns and Alien Worlds


Well, I went to the sketch group last night and accomplished nothing. We decided not to do a theme and I doodled a bit but mostly sat there all grouchy like. Like I mentioned in my previous post I've been in a bit of a drought, creatively speaking. A slump if you will. I haven't felt like working, I haven't felt like drawing. When I do sit down to draw I end up staring at the page or scribbling over my efforts and cursing. Not wanting to spoil everyone's evening, I decided not to join the sketch group for the final leg of the journey. The drinking leg. Grouchy and alcohol don't mix, kids! So I went home, plopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling. Apparently, that's the cure--this whole space adventure popped into my head and I actually felt like writing it down and making some sketches. That is what we have here. Now, looking at the aliens in these sketches I'm struck with the feeling that some of them may be homages to other artist's creations. By "homage", of course, I mean rip-offs. Unfortunately, I can't figure where they may have come. All but one, that is. I'm just not saying which one. So, we're going to play a little game. If one of these creatures reminds you of something you've seen before, please post it in the comments section. Save me the embarrassment of one day being sued.

By the way, the cat is supposed to be a alien cat. Hence, the raccoon shaped tail and overall oddness of it. It talks too. Kind of like The Cat From Outer Space. Doh! That's all right--I'm not changing it.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmm.. I see a couple of "Pac Man" ghosts and something that resembles a charatcer from "Where the Wild Things Are"

I posted this before looking at anyone elses thoughts...

Jeremy

brian hurtt said...

First of all, I gotta say I love these comments. I find them really interesting. When I had said in the post that there was one character that struck me clearly as being a (subconscious) homage, I was talking about the Maurice Sendak looking creature that a couple of you referred to. I saw it as soon as I finished drawing it.

3rd from the top looks like that thing from the Herculoids. Blip. Whatever.

I think you're referring to the same creature as Jeremy, here:

Hmm.. I see a couple of "Pac Man" ghosts

I have to say I really love Alex Toth's Hanna-Barbera character designs! Especially his simple geometric shaped creatures. I've looked at many of his designs on these characters before but I had to Google this Herculoids character because I've never actually seen the show (so I wasn't sure who your were referring to). I discovered that you're talking about "Gleep" and "Gloop" and I'd say there is definitely a strong resemblance (Blip was the monkey from Space Ghost--also designed by Toth). My friend who was with me at the time I drew this had made the same Pac-Man ghost comment as well (just a note: if it's not clear, my character is supposed to be covered in hair). I wouldn't be surprised if you notice other Toth influences in monsters/aliens I may draw in the future.
And then there's the post about the Tanuki...
I leave it too my brother to be both informative and just a little weird. :) Before his comment I'd never even considered the aerodynamic possibilities of scrotums.

Lou Vega Media said...

They all look original to me. But, then again I am the first one to change the channel when some show about Area 51 and aliens comes on.

Cool illos, love your blog. And I'm sorry to hear about the dry juices. Perhaps an ointment can help. Just kidding.

Michael Cho said...

These are great and full of charm. I hope you find the time to write this story -- it looks like something any kid would want to read.

I hope you're having a better week too. :)

brian hurtt said...

These are great and full of charm. I hope you find the time to write this story -- it looks like something any kid would want to read.

I am going to try to write a script for this project. I've actaully started it already. After I told my friend this story he said that I needed to sit down and write out one of my ideas for once, see it through, and I completely agree. It's going to be a real challenge--let's see if I can finish it!

I hope you're having a better week too. :)

Yes! Thanks for asking.

Julius Deane said...

Tonco looks a little like the Radiohead logo, the grinning beer thing. I really like the owl looking guy witht the laser rifle or whatever. This stuff looks super interesting.I like the spaceship that looks like a TV!