So what makes a good illustrator?

 

 

WHAT MAKES A GOOD ILLUSTRATOR?

 

WHEN I THOUGHT OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS THAT I DID BELOW, I WAS SO TERRIFIED OF WHAT PEOPLE WOULD THINK OF ME. THOUGHTS RAN THROUGH MY HEAD SUCH AS: "WHAT IF PEOPLE THINK I WERE CRAZY?"I THINK ABOUT IT NOW, AND I THINK A GOOD ILLUSTRATOR IS NOT AFRAID TO TAKE CHANCES AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, DOES NOT CARE WHAT SOMEONE ELSE THINKS.  I PUSHED THE BOUNDARY A LITTLE BIT WITH THE ILLUSTRATIONS, JUST A LITTLE. HOWEVER, NO MATTER HOW CRAZY SOMEONE THINKS I AM, IT IS THE ART THAT PUSHES BOUNDARIES, THAT IS DARING, AND IS CONTROVERSIAL, THAT GRABS THE MOST ATTENTION.  MOST PEOPLE THAT ARE  JUDGEMENTAL, ARE THE ONES THAT ARE NOT ARTISTS AND JUST PLAIN DO NOT GET IT. QUITE FRANKLY, WHO CARES IF THEY DO OR NOT? I HAVE HAD MY SHARE OF PEOPLE MAKING COMMENTS ABOUT MY ARTWORK. STATEMENTS SUCH AS I AM "ANGRY ABOUT SOMETHING" AND I NEED "PSYCHIATRIC HELP". QUESTIONS SUCH AS, "WHY IS YOUR ARTWORK SAD?"

WELL, MAYBE I AM CRAZY, BUT... THIS IS MY STYLE.

 

So vast is art, so narrow human wit.--Alexander Pope

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_art5.html#W2uA8C6Xj9rSLVlh.99

 

 

New Music-- Mumford and Sons

 

 

NEW MUSIC-- MUMFORD & SONS--

"I WILL WAIT"

 

 

 

New music from Soundgarden & ART

CAN YOU BELIEVE SOUNDGARDEN IS BACK?! They happen to be one of my favorite bands of all time. I was so sad when they disbanded back in 1997. Hopefully, they will make their way to Boston. I happened to be driving in my car and hear this song on the radio.

 

 

 



My main character, NIK, playing guitar. I thought maybe the lighting effects would help to make it look like she was on a stage performing in front of people.

Racist Cartoon Clips

 

Bart Simpson

Family Guy characters

 

RACIST CARTOON CLIPS

 

I love cartoons I will be the first to say it. Family Guy, The Simpsons, and American Dad; I just can't get enough of them. Funny the main thing all three have in common is their relentless way of making fun of everyone from homosexuals, African Americans, the wealthy and Hispanic Americans. There is no limit to these shows which brings about most of the humor.

 

I guess that is part of what makes the shows funny right? They say things that no one dares to utter in fear of offending someone or getting beaten up. From what I see in these clips, cartoons have always had a way of pushing the envelope. Below are some cartoon clips from over a half a century go.

 

ART & New Music--The Black Keys--"Little Black Submarines"

 

THE BLACK KEYS- "LITTLE BLACK SUBMARINES"

 

 

 

 

ILLUSTRATION--"Emptiness"

 

 

I wanted to capture the feeling of emptiness and loneliness. One effective way was to have the background setting show a desolate graveyard in which the character is sitting. I wanted the focus to be on him and how he felt by having the background mainly in black & white, with the colored leaves to guide the viewer to the character.

Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong's Meltdown Video

Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong's Meltdown at iHeart Radio Music Festival-- VIDEO

Hey, I personally think it was kind of cool. Billie Joe Armstrong is AWESOME!

 

 

 

 

National Geographic Traveller UK--Freddy Boo illustrations

Freddy Boo Illustrations at----National Geographic Traveller UK

New Music- PINK- Blow Me One Last Kiss

 

PINK-- Blow Me One Last Kiss

 

 

Creepy Jester Illustration

When on Twitter recently I saw one of the most creepy Jesters someone had posted. Gave me the idea to draw this weird guy, of course it wouldnt be my signature illustration without a weapon on his hand.

Shinedown- Unity

New Music

SHINEDOWN-- UNITY

 

 

"Dancing on the Beach" Illustration

DANCING ON THE BEACH

Illustration-- same mediums I always use, pen, and photoshop. I didnt do much cross-hatching on this one because I wanted the viewers focus to go to the sunset in the background.

 

 

 

 

Chart showing relationship preferences

44% prefer single & dating

38% in a committed relationship but not married

18% are married

 

Foo Fighters- These Days -- and Art

 

New Music

Foo Fighters-- These Days

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Alien Spaceship"-- This I will actually be presenting at my artshow later in the year and the first time I have ever drawn a silhouette. One of my favorite illustrations, I took advantage of all of perks of Photoshop. Instead of just coloring only, I also added a few special effects.

 

Black Christians Urged to stay home on Election Day

 

Black Christians Urged to stay home during Election Day

Article below:

http://news.yahoo.com/african-american-christians-waver-over-vote-120333681--election.html

 

Protester being dragged away by policemen during the Civil Rights Movement

I can't believe after all that black people went through to have the right to vote African American Pastors are telling Christians to stay home on Election Day. This is due to Obama's belief that gays should marry, and Romney being part of the Mormon faith. How silly, and what a waste of time the Civil Rights Movement would of been if African Americans are urged to stay home because of this. Personally I do not think anyone should stay home during election day. It is a day in which we can voice our choice. Obama is not only for the rights of gays but also for women, students with loans, and middle class Americans.

New Music--One Republic--Feel Again

ONE REPUBLIC-- FEEL AGAIN

The Notorious Ban of Sugary Drinks in NYC

My favorite characters of all time "Nik & Mike", cartoon I created while in college. the characters have a changed a little as well as the story line. Picture depicts them protesting something, to a certain extent I was making fun of myself. "Pebbs" is actually me, my friends and family call me that for short. I wanted to have a lack of color in this picture to give it more of a late 1960's feel to it.

It is not a huge secret that obesity is a huge issue in the United States. Fast food is readily available, we all have become so busy and engulfed in our jobs we barely have time to cook or exercise. Children no longer want to go out and ride their bikes or play "Hide N Seek" but would rather stay home and play video games or surf the internet. 

 

 Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has made it a point to ban large sugary drinks over 16 ounces in public places in New York City. He came to this decision of course because of the high obesity rates. So is  banning large sugary drinks in restuarants, cafeterias, and concession stands really going to lower the obesity rates? Sodas, iced coffees loaded with sugar, and frappuccinos are not the only thing that is leading to the high obesity rate. In fact it is only a small fraction of it. What about fast food, lack of exercise, cable television? It is amazing how many channels we can now get, of course wouldn't that be a distraction from exercising?

 

People are going to do whatever they want to do regardless. Anyone can easily grab a two liter of soda and drink that at home, amongst other foods that they can indulge in. I am not a fan of soda or sugary drinks, but I do think that people should make their own choices and we should not make it for them. Someone drinking a lot of soda does not affect anyone else. It almost reminds me of  State Seatbelt Laws. If someone decides not to wear their seatbelt, it only hurts them and no one else.

 

Personally I think we should focus on other more important things rather than sugary drinks, but that is just me.

Obamacare, Mitt Romney, and Flipflopping...

 

It amazes me so much how much this man has flipflopped on Obamacare. What amazes me in the first place, was that he passed the health mandate in Massachusetts. Of course I would know, I live in Massachusetts, all of us here have to have health insurance and if we do not we get penalized during tax time. What is funny about Mitt Romney, he was so adamant about the fact of Obamacare being a tax and how he was going to repeal it. Then recently, says he would like to keep parts of it. So which is it? Below I have a two video clips, one of him saying he would repeal Obamacare if he gets elected, the other saying he would keep "parts of it".

 

 

 

 

 

And now.....

 

 

 

 

 

So I guess it is safe to say he agrees with the president?

Maroon 5-- Payphone

 

MAROON 5-- PAYPHONE

MUSIC VIDEO

 

 

 

MY CONTACT INFO

NOT SURE IF MY CONTACT INFO IS READILY AVAILABLE.

So I decided to do a posting on my own contact info which is:

PEBBLES DUNN--I LIVE IN WHITMAN, MA
nikmike74@yahoo.com

Music by the Black Keys-Gold on the Ceiling

 

THE BLACK KEYS--GOLD ON THE CEILING

 

 

 

Exercising & Health

This is what the illustration looks like before coloring with photoshop. I start off with using a Micron pen and do a little cross-hatching.

This picture I actually illustrated for the Neponset Health Center in Boston. Although you can't see it when you go in, because they placed it in the areas where the patients, Dr.'s, and nurses go. Basically not in an area where there is a lot of traffic. What was great about this one? It was my Dr.'s idea for me to draw a picture dealing with health.

 

I think we all know how important a good health and exercise is for our vitality. I once read an article on CNN.COM, basically the most bogus one I have ever read. It was about how exercise does not necessarily help you to lose weight because you eat more. Well I would assume most people would know if you eat the right things after a hard workout, you will not plateau in your weight loss. Of course it is a horrible idea to work out hard and then turn around and get a meat lovers pizza with a soda and chips. What I find however, is that watching your portions are a big deal. Here are some other tips from me.

1. Drink plenty of water
2. Snack on plenty of fruit
3. Exercise consistently, 4-5x a week for at least 30 minutes. Most people make the mistake of working out consistantly for 2-3 weeks then stopping because they feel that they have not lost much weight. It takes time to lose the pounds. You didn't get the pounds overnight, therefore you will lose it  overnight either.
4. Weight train-- which will help you gain muscle in the process and you will burn more calories
5. Find out what motivates you-- we all have our motivations when it comes to exercising. Whether it is looking forward to that cute guy at the gym, buying new exercise gear, or just that dress that you have been wanting to fit in to for such a long time. My personal motivation? I run races, mostly 5K's and 10K's and always want to give my best performance out there. Another, sometimes those races have some really cute guys. Lastly, if I gain weight, I can't afford new clothes.