First Tattoo Design!

I recently received my first real request for a tattoo design from 2 of my derby league-mates.  Don't get me wrong, I've had people ask me about tattoo designs before, but most of those people were either indecisive or merely entertaining the idea--Few were seriously considering permanently inking their skin.  This was the first time that someone (well, 2 someones) actually went through with it!

And what was the design of?

A saucy pin-up girl?
A fire-breathing dragon wrassling a panther?
An ode to the memory of a loved one?

NAY!

'Twas 2 high-fiving cartoon cats, bahaha!

Magical things happen when those paws touch

I offered to draw something a little more realistic, but this is what they wanted :)  And apparently the actual tattoo artist just happened to be one of the Chicago Bruise Brothers. Oh derby, the strange ways you bring people together. 

I think my next tattoo design should be a lemur eating a doughnut with sprinkles.

This also needs to be added to my resume:  Artist.  Illustrator.  Derby Skater.  Tattoo Designer.

Baked Pineapple

--Begin requisite "Oh my I haven't posted here in quite a while"-comment--

Ah ha!  Haven't used this blog in a long while!  Since more or less everything creative that I've worked on has been roller derby related, I've mainly been posting over on my derby art blog.  But I admit I'm still behind there as well.  I've managed to post all the work from the 2012 season, but nothing from 2013 yet...and it's JUNE!  Good God, the year is already almost half-over!  Sick!

--End manic blabbering--

Anyway, normally on Wednesday nights I'd be skating like a sweaty beast at derby practice.  However, tonight's practice was cancelled due to a huge storm that's more or less engulfed the whole of Illinois (and several bordering states).  So far the storm has been pretty lackluster--at least in my immediate vicinity. Yes it was raining at some point, and yes it got ominously dark this afternoon, but that's about it.  Kinda disappointed.  If it was going to be bad enough that we had to cancel practice, I was hoping that the storm would have been a little more exciting 'round these parts.

Nope.

So instead I decided to finally try out this baked pineapple recipe that I found in a book at work.  I had never heard of much less tasted this dish before, but being a pineapple-loving fiend, I was eager to give it a go.

Ordinarily I'll tweak a recipe as I go to suit my tastes, but having no idea what to expect from this, I followed it to a T.  Well, sorta.  I did have to substitute some brown sugar when I ran out of regular sugar, and I used almond milk in place of the water.  But other than that, I followed the recipe exactly.

The recipe itself is super simple.  Even the ingredient list is pretty minimal (a can of crushed pineapple, eggs, sugar, corn starch, cinnamon etc.).  Here's how it turned out:
 

The texture isn't unlike applesauce, though it is less grainy and more creamy.  It is a bit too sweet for me (this surprises no one, I know), and even though I wasn't familiar with the dessert to begin with (according to this recipe it's big in Pennsylvania??), I think I was hoping for something with just a little more bounce like a custard, flan or panna cotta.  So, next time I plan on cutting back on the sugar, and adding more eggs and such.

Still, the baked pineapple is really flavorful--like pineapple compote!  I think it'd go really well on top of a scoop of vanilla ice cream or tart frozen yogurt.  Or better yet, cottage cheese. Something cool and fresh to help cut through all the sweetness :)

Plus fruit and cheese...c'mon, one of life's best combinations!

In case anyone else would like to try their hand at baked pineapple, I'll post the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 20-oz can of crushed pineapple (do not drain)
• 1/4 cup of water (I used almond milk)
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• Cinnamon to taste

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Poor pineapple into a 2-quart baking dish; set aside
3. Combine water and cornstarch; pour over pineapple
4. Whisk eggs and sugar together; pour over pineapple mixture and stir
5. Dot with butter and then sprinkle with cinnamon
6. Bake for 1 hour

Simple enough, no?

Psss---Don't worry, Bloomies...I'm bringing most of it to work for you guys to try :)

  

  

Knuckle Down Derby Art

*Sigh*  I should be ashamed at how long it's been since I've last updated here.  Actually, I am.  But in my defense, I have since launched a separate, derby-specific art blog.  Because the vast majority of the art I've been working on has been for my roller derby league, I thought it best to keep it in a separate art blog.  I didn't want to inundate this one with it.  I'll post some of my roller derby art on this blog here and there, but there are more posters more detailed descriptions to read there. 

Go on. Have yourself a gander :)

Hopefully I'll be able to update with more stuff pretty soon.  I'll have a couple of cooking related blog entries to post as well.  I've been sitting on once since this summer, and I'm in the middle of another one right as I type this.  So stay tuned!

DuPage Derby Dames Roller Derby Merch on Cafepress!

Hello, All!  Long time, no post!  Life has been pretty busy (as usual).  I wish I could say that it was due to me actually having a social life but uh...no.  Haha.  Basically, if I'm not working or at derby practice, I'm probably working on artwork and designing--More often than not for derby!

Anyway, I haven't been at work for the last few days.  I took time off for a wisdom tooth extraction.  However, I've been hard at work putting together a Cafepress shop for the The DuPage Derby Dames!

You can already order T-shirts and track jackets via the DDD's home website, as well as Wicked Skatewear, but there is an incredible amount of variety available on Cafepress.  In addition to regular T-shirts (for women, men, children AND even dogs!), we have V-necks, raglans/baseball tees, hoodies, shot glasses, beer steins, mugs, buttons, bags, buttons, stickers...even iphone cases!

And just so y'all know, every single dollar earned from merch sales will go towards benefiting community organizations, charities and costs for hosting our home roller derby bouts!  Being non-profit, The Dames couldn't exist without continued support from our fans, so please go check it out!

A Very Bloomie Christmas

Merry Christmas, Everyone!  And for those who do not celebrate Christmas, I wish you a Happy Hanukkah, Kwanza, Festivus, Sunday, etc.!  Basically, no matter what is contained in your faith, belief system, or heart (even if that means nothing at all), I hope that at the very least this day brought you joy and love.

...And maybe a gift or two :P

On that note, my most recent project was a bunch of little gifts for The Bloomies!  They're admittedly not all that eye-catching--their value lies in an inside joke--but I thought I'd share anyway!

Doc Schaber's Delectable Incredible Revitalizing Treatment (D.I.R.T.)

If you looked at the photo and simply scratched your head (or chin or whatever else you might scratch when in a state of confusion),  I can't say that I blame you.  But if you will, allow me to explain! 

Whenever one of us is sick or injured in some way, you can count on our manager to dispense his sagely medical advice.  And that advice?  Rub some dirt on it! :)

Seriously.  When I took that hard fall from skating and came in with a mangled leg---"Rub some dirt on it!"

When I was complaining about a sore throat--"Rub some dirt on it!"
Me:  "But...it's in my throat, not on my neck..."
Him:  "Rub some dirt in it!"

When that sore throat developed into a full-on, nasty cold/flu--"Did you rub dirt on it?  You should have rubbed dirt on it!"

The joke spread out among us at work, but amusingly enough, I've begun to hear it more frequently from other people as well.  Even so, the first person I think about when I hear that phrase is the Boss Man!  So there you are!  Little glass bottles filled with miracle dirt for The Bloomies :)

And just so it's clear, the bottles are not filled with actual dirt!  On the off chance that someone was going to get a bit too curious, I decided it was best to fill them with hot chocolate mix, hahaha!   


ART NOTES:

Considering the absurdity of the joke itself, I thought it'd be a fun idea to make the gift look like an old-fashioned, cure-all remedy like the kinds snake-oil salesmen of the days of old used to peddle. 

Er...well I suppose there are still snake-oil salesmen nowadays (iRenew bracelets, anyone?).

Anyway, I started off looking for glass containers at the craft store.  My first idea was to buy a bunch of mini mason jars (the kind with the glass tops/lids with the metal latches), but I couldn't find any.  That's when I opted for the cork-topped glass bottles that looked like they could have contained a bunch of strange potions and curios.  Ideally I would have wanted to use the same type of bottle for everyone, but the need for 21 bottles coupled with a dwindling stock meant that I ultimately had to compromise with 2 different types: A circular, "flat" flask, and a globe-like potion-style bottle.

After I got all of my supplies home, I quickly designed an old-fashioned looking label.  If I had enough time, I would have added more graphics (like a drawing of a clump of dirt or some botanical scrolling).  Because I was working on these the night before Christmas Eve, however, I had to limit the design to text only.  The rounded proportions of the bottles also meant that I had to resort to creating tag labels for them instead of sticker labels.  Without a truly flat surface, the stickers wouldn't have adhered without some wrinkling.

Here's the label.  But in case you can't read it, here's the text:
DOC SCHABER'S Delectable Incredible Revitalizing Treatment
Cures all ailments--Guaranteed!
When you're run-down, don't dare submit!
Follow The Doc's orders and...
...Rub some D.I.R.T. on it!

The labels were printed on white card stock, so I printed the old, tanned paper texture on both sides to make it look a little more "authentic."

All of my supplies!  Hot Chocolate mix, glass bottles, card stock labels, ribbons
and some sweet sweet caffeine to keep me going

I filled each bottle with about 4 tablespoons (2 servings) of hot chocolate mix.

I actually ran out of hot chocolate mix...  Eeeep!  2 of those bottles are instead filled with flavored cappuccino mix!
The light gray-ish colored one is pumpkin spice cappuccino, and the one to the right of it is mocha mint!

Tying on the labels--The flask-style bottles had red ribbons, the potion-style bottles had green!

21 finished bottles of Doc Schaber's D.I.R.T.!

While I put everything together myself, the idea for the gifts themselves was more of a conceptual collaboration between Bloomie Megan and me.  Gotta give credit where credit is due!

Happy Holidays!

The Infamous Jungle Room Brawl

It's finally here!  The DuPage Derby Dames will finally have their first, home bouting season!  To kick it off in style, we'll be hosting an exhibition bout in honor of Elvis Presley's 76th birthday January 7th!  In addition to a bunch of lovely ladies on skates, there will also be an Elvis impersonator entertaining the masses, so come one, come all!  Seriously!  Bring everyone you know and cheer on your favorite Derby Dame!  (Me.  I meant me.  :P)

Aaaaaand just so you knooooow, a portion of the proceeds from the night will benefit Gigi's Playhouse Down Syndrome Awareness Center!  That's right.  As bad-arse as derby girls are, we all have hearts of gold!

Here's the flyer with all the info!

I don't like how you still can't see the full-size image when you click on it :/ 
If it's too small to see all the details, just right-click and select "view image" to take you to the full-size.

You might notice that I didn't redraw the same derby girl that I had used in the last 2 fundraiser posters.  This one is actually loosely based on our own Millie Brawl (sans glasses)!

Close-up!

In an attempt to tie The King into the drawing without resorting to a bouffant and rhinestone-studded jumpsuit, I tried to mimic the costume and classic pose of his from Jailhouse Rock. In fact, I printed out the original photograph and then sketched on top of it to get the pose as accurate as possible.  I scanned the entire page at 300 dpi, then doubled the size.  I used this as my sketch layer and then inked and colored on separate layers in photoshop with the help of my trusty tablet. 

Again, I was working on an extremely tight schedule (my brother's wedding is in 2 days) so the drawing here was left at flat colors.  I plan on eventually going back in to add shading--perhaps for the bout programs.  For the time being, however, this will do. 

I'm also thinking that from now on (or at least as often as possible) I might choose actual members of our team to base my future derby girl drawings off of.  Would be kind of fun, no?  Realistically I don't know that I'd ever be able to draw everybody, so I'll have to come up with a fair system.  I'll post about that here once I've figured that out.

DDD Holiday Food Drive & Fundraiser

The DuPage Derby Dames are hosting a holiday food drive & fundraiser!  We're collecting non-perishable food items (canned food, cereal, dry pasta, peanut butter etc.) to donate to The People's Resource Center's Food Pantry!

Besides a night of skating with a bunch of bad-arse babes on wheels, we're also offering DDD merch, a bake sale (yes, we bake), craft table (yes, we craft), raffles and a roller derby demonstration (HECK YES, WE DERBY)!  Sales proceeds will go towards hosting our first home bout in January (stay tuned for details!).  People's Resource will receive a monetary donation as well!  The more you give, the more people in need will receive!

So come bring your friends and your family, and help support your community!

And don't forget!  The day after the food drive is our recruitment night!  Whether you're dying to strap on skates or you're merely curious about the world of roller derby, you should come on by!  No experience needed!  We'll teach you everything you need to know! 

For more info (and the flyer) on recruitment night, check out this previous entry!

Art Notes
If the derby girl on the flyer looks familiar to you, it's because she also graced the flyer for our Halloween fundraiser!  I've have very little free time (and much too much to do) this month, so I tried to cut down on production time by recycling the same image--with edits, of course.  In the original she was holding a bowling ball (the Halloween fundraiser was at a bowling alley), so I tweaked the forearms/hands and replaced the ball with a big ole Santa-bag full of gifts!  Or non-perishable food items, as the case may be :)

Close-up detail shot!

I also added in that cozy scarf she's wearing.  To get that knitted texture I used a chain-mail custom brush designed by artist, "Rooster" (or Rooster82, as she's known on deviantART).  I actually added the same texture to her socks as well (also spearmint striped!), but as you can see, her legs were cropped out.

One detail error I noticed much too late was that I messed up the physics of the Santa-bag.  It should be pulling much more taught near her hands.  The way it is now, it appears as though the contents in the bag are nearly weightless.  The perfectionist in me wanted to go back and fix it.  The realist in me was too freaking tired  :P

2 Flyers done, 1 flyer and 1 banner left to go!  This week anyway...