Since 2021, I would dust the cobwebs off the corpse of my YouTube channel to upload a fancy slideshow of all the artwork I've made that year in time for the next one. I would schedule it to end 12:00 AM on New Year's Day and you can watch it here.

Given the end of the year is tomorrow and looking back on 2024, what are the three pieces of artwork you're most proud of this year? It can be either most popular, most challenging, or something that impresed you.

Throughout December, me and my buddy Tokka have been slinging out skateboards like crazy. I can’t remember the last time productivity has been this high and especially with the skateboards. We have made five skateboards so far this month and are working on our next project featuring Iron Maiden’s Eddie. The holidays have made it a hassle trying to get these pieces up so finally we’ve got a couple of our pieces up including a collage Tokka started in 2011 at a local record store What’s Left Records.

Next week we hope hang our artwork at more locations in Colorado Springs like Leechpit, Midnight Games, etc. so we can reach wider audiences.

For more details about skateboards you can read the description on this playlist.

Coming soon, I’ll have a compiled commission sheet for tattoo designs. This idea came from people asking me to design them tattoos as they do for t-shirts. I already promote commissions for t-shirt and logo designs anyway, but I overlooked the demand for tattoo designs. I want to compile more of a portfolio of the different types of tattoo styles before posting a commission sheet to give it more credibility and references. As of now, I’m thinking of doing 3 different types: silhouette, traditional, and detailed. I will still accept commissions for tattoos through direct messages so we can discuss design and pricing details. The lack of a commission sheet means prices may vary depending of the quality of the piece and little to reference from aside from artwork I did before (all of which can be found on my Newgrounds page).

However, I will provide some of the artwork and tattoo designs I have so far if anyone is curious.

Silhouette/Symbol designs:

Traditional

Detailed:

Detailed & Monochrome:

Detailed Outline:

Fink Fly

New cross-reference fan art finished on 8/11/2024.

About the piece:

Although EarthBound is based in the 1990's, various characters throughout the game pull from the 1950's to early 60's. The two examples that came to mind is Frank Fly and the Mad Taxi. Frank is heavily inspired by fashion during that era, wearing a red stripped suit with a greaser hair cut. His theme, New Age Retro Hippie, is a rip off of Johnny B. Goode, released in 1958. The Mad Taxi resembles most taxi model in the during that time as well.

Ed Roth is famous for his art of cartoon characters driving hot rods and old cars from the 50's to 60's. Therefore, combining cartoon 50's characters and cars from a game with while replicating Roth's art style made sense for a thematic cross reference.

I GAVE YOU FIRE AND WATCHED EDEN BURN

New artwork on environmentalism finished yesterday on 8/1/2024.

About the piece:

The main theme of this piece pulls references from Genesis and applies it to our modern dystopian world. In the center, there is a snake coiled around a deer skull. The snake, being the tempter who gave man the essence of knowledge, now rests on the aftermath of humanities sins. It's eyes now blank from death. The deer skull also symbolizes the death of our world. Horns, or in this case antlers, are associated with gods of death, which the snake rest upon. The wendigo is a spirit of death, hunger, and gluttony, and is depicted with a deer or elk skull with a body made of carcasses and remains. This fits well with the theme of the artwork, with humanity's ceaseless hunger and consumption of resources.

Around the skull is a barren landscape. Dead trees with plastic bags caught in the branches are seen in the background, along with rocks, logs, and litter. Amongst the litter is the remnants of an apple, once again referencing The Bible. It has been eaten whole, with what was left of it tossed neglectfully with the rest of the trash. The idea is that man has consumed the apple of knowledge, and throws it aside no longer having use of it.

In the background, skyscrapers pierce the sky and invade the upper half of the piece, circled by a vortex cloud of smog. Billboards sit atop the building with the messages "EAT, BUY, REPRODUCE", enforcing the idea that civilization is reduced to following this mechanical cycle from marketing and societal expectation. The vortex of smog is a strong reference to an illustration by The Beehive Design Collective titled The True Cost of Coal, where a hole pierces the atmosphere caused by a cloud sea of pollution. This has also become fitting because of the effects of climate change causing hurricanes to move more inland, as a sign of nature's revenge.

In conclusion, I have a lot of pride in this piece, from detail to overall design. Using spiritual and dystopian symbols was a powerful way to convey our succession from our natural roots and the destruction of the environment. It's my intention that this artwork conveys some message about our modern world.

Who wants to skate on the Newgrounds deck?

Collab w/ Tokka for Pico Day 2024.

***FOR SALE: Contact me or Tokka for price details and shipping.***

Skateboard artwork done in collaboration with Tokka for the first half of this year are now beginning to be published. I've only uploaded a couple of pieces to Newgrounds, The Last Ronin Foot Bot and Simon's Quest Boss Rush / "The Accursed Seal". Descriptions on older skateboard pieces now mention the sizes of the decks for anyone curious about commissions. They also include details on availability for online purchase, which will either be labeled "FOR SALE" or "SOLD" at the bottom of the description. Contact me or Tokka for more information regarding pricing and shipment. Lastly, more skateboards are going to be uploaded in the near future. I'm excited to share them here on Newgrounds, me and Tokka have worked hard on these pieces for his upcoming trip for the San Diego Comic Con. We thank you for your support and we hope you enjoy our future projects.