John K.

More Girl Heads in Progress

I'm still working on this variety of head shapes.

Also, here are some studies for another t shirt I'm designing...

Conversation Critters

I doodled up a bunch of characters immersed in conversation. Some are gossiping others arguing politics, some just bragging about themselves.

2023-09-14 15:12:21 +0000 UTC View Post

Paintings in Progress

I started painting a couple of the girls from yesterday's post.

Here's an update on the Marine Life design. This one is taking awhile because there are so many characters.

And here's cuddly George Liq...

A Variety of Girl Head Shapes

I needed some new heads so I doodled these this morning.

2023-09-07 21:53:25 +0000 UTC View Post

Life Sucks Sequence 4 Scene 11 -Layouts

This is from a quick sequence of scenes where Stimpy's beautiful plants irritate Ren.

Stimpy is painted on the background behind Ren. Nick Cross drew these.

2023-09-06 19:31:33 +0000 UTC View Post

More Surf Shop Sketches

Doing these shirt designs for the surf shop has made me somewhat obsessed with sketching sea creatures.

2023-09-03 18:06:15 +0000 UTC View Post

Life Sucks Sequence 4 scs 7-10

After Ren tells Stimpy that 'Life Sucks' Stimpy tries to prove it doesn't by showing him the beauty of his garden.

Stimpy tells Ren to look at how wonderful all the flowers are...

2023-08-28 18:44:58 +0000 UTC View Post

Surf T Shirt Sketches

I'm doing some illustrations for a surf shop and here are some of my my first idea sketches.

2023-08-26 15:10:40 +0000 UTC View Post

Jimmy's Special Friends - Cockeyed Christy

Christy has food allergies that cause her to have rosacea (red blotches on her skin).

Unfortunately her favorite foods are the ones that cause the problems. However she is very gregarious and loved by all her fellow camp-goers - especially the males who line up for her attentions.

Her Rosacea is contagious. It spreads fast. If someone stands too close to her we can see it spread across h...

Stages in Painting Soft Head Suzy

Here's a general breakdown of stages in painting Suzy.

Marker sketch:

Ink and color fills: I extended his upper lip so it would be past her nose.

I connected her mouth:

Rendering the head ...

Jimmy's Special Friends 3

Here's a few more of his peers.

Backwards Bobo is Bruno's brother. He does everything backwards - even walking. He bumps into things like his friends and pointy objects. He showers upside down (when he does shower) and chews his food after he swallows. His tongue is very ragged because of this.

Nutsy Nellie is the camp clown. She keeps the other friends in stitches by washing her hair in...

Yorgi Bear und Oob Oob

A few years ago I pitched an idea to Cartoon Network about Yogi Bear and Boo Boo's Swiss cousins.

They Live on world famous Jellyhorn Mountain.

Yorgi plays the left handed accordion and Oob Oob is an accomplished yodeler.

2023-08-17 14:26:54 +0000 UTC View Post

Life Sucks Seq 4 Scenes 5,6,7 Stimpy's nose Balloon

Stimpy shows Ren all the beautiful things in the garden.

He says, "Someone created all this..."

"...just for us!"

2023-08-13 18:49:21 +0000 UTC View Post

Jimmy's Special Girlfriends

I've been working on some girls that go to summer camp with Jimmy and his friends. I haven't finished painting them yet, but thought you'd like a peek.

Crabdomen Cathy is nicknamed for her unusual proportions. She has a short wide middle and long spindly limbs. She loves to scuttle sideways along the beach which the boys find adorable.

Flubber Butter has a crush on Jimmy. Her favorite fo...

Life Sucks Sequence 4 - Ren spies on Stimpy

Stimpy is working in his garden and talking to the little life forms that wriggle around in the dirt.

2023-08-08 15:31:04 +0000 UTC View Post

George Liquor Baby

I did some doodles in the last couple days of infant George back when he was soft and cuddly.

2023-08-06 19:34:07 +0000 UTC View Post

Life Sucks Seq 3 Ren Awake

While Stimpy is enjoying the happy world of his garden Ren appears at the back door of the house in a grumpy mood.The door creaks open.

Ren is baggy eyed and hungover. He rubs his eyes and his head throbs.

He grabs his pounding head then reaches for his pocket.

2023-08-03 16:59:14 +0000 UTC View Post

Life Sucks Seqs 2, 4 Stimpy's Garden BGs Setups

Here are some wonderful BGs and Scene setups drawn by Nick Cross.

At Spumco, before we hand out scenes to layout artists we'll have a top layout artist with design skills set up the main angles with characters and backgrounds for the layout artists to work from. Nick was one of my top layout artists on Adult Party Cartoon.

Here is Stimpy watering his garden in blissful ignorance as he is ...

Jimmy's Special Friends

George decides that Jimmy needs to meet his peers, people with shared interests and Intellectual capabilities. George: "Much as I love to have you around, lad, I think you need to spend some time with your own kind". So he sends Jimmy to summer camp: 'Sunnyside Camp for Dimwits, Dullards and Dotards'. There he meets and befriends folks he can directly relate to. Each friend has his/her own special a...

Jimmy's Loaf

One day George Liquor comes home with a package all nicely wrapped in brown paper. He walks over to Jimmy the Hapless Boy and offers him the present.

Why it's a brand new shiny kitchen utensil! Jimmy is overjoyed.

George: It's yer first knife son!

2023-07-26 18:17:56 +0000 UTC View Post

Life Sucks Seq 2 Stimpy's Garden

Stimpy walks towards his garden marveling at what a beautiful day it is.

2023-07-25 15:12:54 +0000 UTC View Post

Layout Firedogs 2 Ralph Shaves

Here are some layouts from seq 5 scene 5 with that animation titan Ralph Bakshi shaving off his manly whiskers. Ralph actually did his own voice for the cartoon and it was fun directing. We were in a tiny recording booth that barely fit him and I was squeezed in next to him. If only I had a photo of it.

Life Sucks Storyboard Seq 1 - Stimpy wakes up

This is a storyboard for a cartoon that was never made. We had hoped it would be the most epic episode of all the series. It's about the difference between Ren and Stimpy's world views. Stimpy's sees the world as good and wholesome while Ren of course sees the darker side of life.

Here's the first page of the outline:

From the outline an artist begins storyboarding and can add details and...

Stuff I'm working on

Here's some of the current paintings I'm working on:

When I finish them they'll be up on my Instagram page.

Fake 50s - 3

Here are some of the steps I took to paint this smoking friend:

First I inked and filled his head and cigarette.

Then the body.

Then I mapped a scan of Herringbone fabric onto his suit.

2023-07-18 16:53:51 +0000 UTC View Post

Fake 50s Design 2

Here are some stages in the inking and painting of one of the designs in the last post about 50s mascots and character designs.

Inked and color filled head:

Inked and color filled body:

2023-07-07 17:58:06 +0000 UTC View Post

Blonde Pin-Up

50s Corporate Macot Design Style

I've been inking some 50s inspired characters.

A lot of corporate mascots in the 1950s (particularly kids' products) were designed in a UPA inspired style; very simple, flat and appealing, and easy to recognize at a distance.

2023-07-03 18:48:47 +0000 UTC View Post

Jumbo Coloring Books and the Like

When I say coloring books, I'm also including other activity books -like Sticker Fun, Dot to Dot, Paint By Numbers and Punch Out Books.

Here are some that are in bigger formats than your typical Coloring Books.

This one has a cover painting by Bill (Shiny) Lorencz. I'm not sure if he drew it though. There are no credits in it.

Here's another 'Color-by-Number' book.

2023-06-29 16:55:30 +0000 UTC View Post

Blop - slimy painting continued

I made her tongue wet. I actually cheated by looking at some anime paintings of tongues and copying them.

She actually is supposed to be a cross between anime and 30s rubber hose cartoons - like a futuristic Betty Boop.

Next I started sliming her body. I first airbrushed some fat soft shapes inside her silhouette then airbrushed thin lines around the outsides of her left arm, legs and to...