It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights...

It's time to post MUPPET ART.





I am thrilled to say that the Muppets Premium Level Kit launched for Little Big Planet 2 and that I can finally show the stickers I made for the kit! If the poses look a little stiff, it is because the characters are composed of 4 different parts (head, arm, body and leg) to allow the player to build them in the game in such a way that allows them to be puppeted. Literally. Normally I would just draw an intact character in motion but this is a little different.

I wanted to make a ton more (Sweetums, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry, Foo-Foo, Sam the Eagle...), but we ran out of time and budget ;) Seriously, I am a lifelong fan of Jim Henson, so when I was approached to contribute to this set, I was BEYOND GIDDY. I am so happy to see the Muppets getting a second wind now that the new movie has come and gone and I hope that it inspires people to check out the original Muppet Show to see some of the best comedy sketches ever.

Like this one.



Who's your favorite Muppet? I've always been partial to the Swedish Chef and the little Java slinky guys there ;)

Blossoms for Bill







I made almond blossom pins last night for Commander William G. Chace Jr, or as I knew him, Opa. He was my boyfriend's grandfather, mentor, and wise old sage, who left us suddenly two days before Christmas. I am giving the pins to his family to wear today at his memorial service.

I only spent time with Opa on holidays and family birthdays and I deeply regret not being able to have visited with him more. Opa was a big man; big in heart, big in his laugh, big in his bear hugs and enthusiasm for his life and his family. He was a traveler (even at 82!), years before that an almond farmer, and some years before that, a commander in the US Navy. Every interaction I had with him always left me in a state of warmth, as he radiated generosity, snarkiness, energy and love. He was always interested in what kind of projects I was working on, asked me all about Boston, having spent time on the east coast himself and we shared geeky facts about biology and botany together over holiday dinners.

Once I got to know Opa, I could see where my boyfriend got some of his best and most shining, lovable qualities from. Opa was, deservedly so, the most important person in my boyfriend's life and thus, strengthened and built one of the most important people in my own life. It is that reason and more that I am so deeply grateful and weep for him today and remember the big, pushbroom mustached smile that preceded the bear hug I was about to receive.

Here's to you, Opa. We'll talk about hybrid trees and New England autumns one day yet.

Remember a couple years ago when I made that poster for The Bad Dudes' album, CHRONOTORIOUS? Well, it kinda happened again, only this time with METROID.



Admit it, hardened gamer, you cried about 10 seconds after this scene took place. ;) I know I did. I think this scene in the game is one of those "OH SHIT NO" moments in gaming that has stuck with me throughout the years. I never thought I could come to care for a life-sucking jelly blob, but here we are.

You can only get the poster with the hard copy of the Bad Dudes new album, which you can snag here. There are also bonus tracks not found in the downloadable version! You can witness an epic unboxing here:



Similar to the CHRONOTORIOUS post, I hope to be following this one up with some Little Big Planet goodies that I made for the Muppets Level Kit, which is supposedly releasing this month. Keep an eye out, thar be googly eyes in this blog's future!

I also found out this week that the Ghost Chef sticker activity book is up on Amazon now for pre-order! The game itself is still in the works and should release for ipad in the spring, but it's mega cool to see the assets I made for the game come to life in physical form. I hope that kids really dig it.



Also, Stuart Ng is now selling Brianne and mine's joint sketchbook! We drew doodles in every single one and signed them, so if you'd like a copy, please pay Stuart's site a visit!

That's about it for now. Planning a big feltie for the end of the month and I hope to document as much as possible about the process, maybe do a little time lapse, assuming my camera is even capable of that. Here's a little hint as to the theme of said feltie. ;)