New Job and Personal Project Ideas

I got a new job! Well, sort of. I'm still with Trader Joe's but I accepted a job as a packaging designer at the beginning of the year...that's 2018 to you, future reader.

The work is stupendous, the team is incredible and the benefits (let's just say there's an island of snacks that I sail my office chair to every few hours) are on point. I might have one little, eensy-weensy, minuscule gripe though. The traffic getting home. I still live in San Pedro. That's about an hour and a half away on most days! I miss my little 15 minute commute and seeing my family for five hours before my little son has to go to sleep.

Notice that I said I MIGHT have one gripe. I'm trying to make that slow boat commute a good one. Aside from calling my wife and son to talk, I've begun documenting some of the ideas that pop into my head while I'm driving. I'm trying to localize these documented thoughts to subjects around Art since this all started as an Art blog. So...I give to you my first real drive and spew-no that sounds disgusting. Car Talk. Nope, that's taken.

Hmm. I'll give the title some thought. In the meantime, here you go:

If you've been a reader for a while, I'd love to have you over to my YouTube channel. Consider subscribing so when you do visit YouTube, you'll at least see what I've been up to over there. Here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR508j-74cwdnhmT9Y69hWA

Super Over It Mario

Crammed a bunch of older game references in. Available at my shop on apparel and other super good goodies.

 I feel like a middle-aged, Italian plumber wouldn't be all that excited to be fighting evil dragons and anthropomorphic mushrooms year after year...

******************GET IT HERE******************

The Babe with the Power

I've been making a bunch of t-shirts!

Inspired by the cult classic, Jim Henson monster-filled 80's movie, Labyrinth, this design is available at my TeePublic shop on apparel and other ostentatious articles of amazingness. 

******************GET IT HERE******************

George Newman, Director of Channel U-62

   I recently painted this portrait for Gallery 1988's Crazy4Cult show. UHF is one of my favorite movies of all time. I knew as soon as I saw the list for the show's eligible movies that I couldn't resist painting Weird Al Yankovic as George Newman. 
   The painting sold on opening night of the show and as a ridiculously fun and mind-blowingly cool bonus, Al retweeted the painting as well as reposting the picture on his own Instagram! I had to take a moment to breathe...
   So here is George Newman, Director of Channel U-62:

After a lot of coercion by my Twitter friends (I'm @itsbillmain on Twitter) I'm releasing this painting as a print as well through my TeePublic shop. So if you want Al on your wall, on your shirt, your kid's shirt or even on your phone, I'd say this is probably the safest way to do it.

Check it out HERE

SpongeBob Squarepants Storyboards

update10.4.21 NEW WEBSITE http://itsbillmain.art

It's been too long since a proper post has happened here!

It's the gremlins I tell you. Internet Gremlins are the worst...they're all, "Hey! Don't be productive! Enjoy this rabbit hole of cat videos and Tweet holes!"

*Tweet Hole- That thing where one tweet brings you to the next until you find yourself reading things you've never been interested in.


   Anywho...I went to CTNX a couple weekends ago and it was pretty amazing. I had been wanting to go for a while but didn't bite the bullet till this year. SO GLAD I DID. I was just going to go with a general visual development concept art portfolio and get some reviews done. However, I've been enrolled in a class called Oatley Academy Live at the Oatley Academy of Visual Storytelling and it's really changed (for the better) my work. I'll be making a post soon about my personal project that I've been developing through that class but on to the point of this post.
   Through the class, I've been trying to develop my style of storytelling, my humor and a my one big goal has been to always create something with a definable Beginning, Middle and End while saying something that matters. Director of the Oatley Academy and all around Super Dude really encouraged me to make a set of storyboards for SpongeBob Squarepants to bring to CTN and I'm so glad I did. After asking Chris if I should use an existing script for SB or write my own jokes, Chris was all for me writing my own gags. So that's just what I did:

Just click on the first image to be able to cycle through the boards

At CTN I had the opportunity to have Sherm Cohen, Lead Storyboard Artist for SpongeBob review them and the comments he gave me were extremely helpful! They were specific, concise and really clear. I'm stoked to get to edit these later but just like he said, my next goal is to apply the ideas he gave me to a new set of boards. That'll be part of my personal project!

Catching up with the ABCs of Pro Wrestling...

Oh man, it's been a while, blog.
Let's catch you up on the ABC's of Pro Wrestling

• It has a brand new dedicated Tumblr site for it as well

The ABC's of Pro Wrestling - B is for Bodyslam

Hiya kids!

It's Bill Main here with another installment of your favorite Rat Fink-y, weirdo, pro wrestling, t-shirty, ABC booky fantastic-ness!

Whew...that was a mouthful.

When thinking about what piece of wrestling terminology or move might best encapsulate the letter B, I wanted to go super classic. Even people with a passing knowledge of pro wrestling will be aware of the friggin' BODY SLAM! Say it with me now folks, "Baaaaaaahhhhhhdeeeeee Slllllllaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmm!"

Ahhhhhh. Thanks for indulging me in that. What are these illustrations gonna end up as? Definitely a book, hopefully some t-shirts. Got any other ideas for things you might like to see these bad boys and girls as? Let me know in the comment section!

Check out my illustration for the letter A here