Craig's list...

Hey friends/internet folks,

So once again I haven't been too diligent about updating this here Blog. I've been pretty busy on some stuff I may or may not be posting here down the road. Top secret stuff... you know.

 Anyway, a few months back I answered an ad on Craig's list from these dudes looking for a comic book artist. After some back and forth, kinda started to feel like they weren't as serious about it as I was. I guess the moral of the story is if you want freelance work, maybe avoid Craig's list, stick to Guru. I do have some initial concept drawings I did for them though, that I figured I could put up. They just gave me a very brief description to see what I would come up with.

The description I was given Bus Driver wearing aviators with a shotgun. 

They wanted a Native Warrior type dude in the woods drawing his bow.

A kid with red hair and freckles with a sling shot.

Anyway, got lots to do.

Hoo's Watching you!

 

So I've been working on title cards for episode ideas I came up with for the Breakfast Serials. This one here is for the episode centered around Hoo the Secure-Tek Owl. Confident that good publicity from him solving an actual crime would make Secure-Tek want to take him back, Hoo decides to keep an eye on the gang, as he's sure they're up to no good. The gang is of course planning to heist a shipment of Sugar Scraps. Will Hoo foil their daring high speed heist and put the infamous Cereal Bandits behind bars once and for all? You'll have to watch to find out! Also the show has to get made and all that stuff first.

 Figured I'd give you a better look at the Gang hanging out while Hoo stalks them from a distance. I figure they're having beers in the parking lot outside the support group as they do.

I've got a bunch more coming soon. Also there's a bunch of other stuff I've been busy with that hopefully I can post soon. Stay tuned!

Goodbye Alfredsson...

 Woke up today to some terrible news. Daniel Alfredsson will be playing for a team other than my beloved Senators next year. It's just a mish mash of emotions right now. Sad and confused are kind of the front runners though.We don't really know why this happened. Certain theories make me worry about my Sens going forward. It leaves me so conflicted. I want Alfie to get a cup, but I had hoped it would be with the Senators.
 I had drawn this up during the playoffs. I was planning on inking and coloring it at some point before next season. Don't really feel like it anymore...
Good luck Alfie.... You've been a class act for years. I hope you really thought this one out. You will be missed.

I guess as long as I'm on a hockey note I'll put this up too. During the first round of the playoffs I tuned in to the CBC to find that noted Senators hater, and senile old man, Bob Cole was doing the play by play for the Sens and Habs first round series. The guy seems to have no respect for any team that has entered the league in my lifetime. We endured it last year during the Rangers series, but the hope was since the Leafs had made the playoffs, he'd be assigned to their series. No such luck it seems. We had to listen to a play by play 3 steps behind if not lost all together, along with a spite for our side, seemingly due to being less of a storied franchise than our original 6 opponent.
I decided something must be done. I started a petition at Change.org to "Can Bob Cole". Drew that up to go with it. Now the thing only got about 400 signatures. A far amount less than i was hoping for. Come the second round though, Jim Hughson got the call! Now some might point out that, he had the leafs series the round before, so he was going to get the CBC's marquee match up anyway. I still don't see any reason not to take full credit.

Hopefully next post will be a happier one.... Got some more Breakfast Serials stuff. Thanks for all the positive feedback about that.

More Support group members

This is Gladys the Cow. Former Mascot For The Burger Barn fast food chain, Gladys developed an eating disorder, and became addicted to Burger Barn food. As a result of this Gladys gained a lot of weight, which is not a good image for a fast food chain that is currently trying to gain a healthier image after some bad press regarding the nutrition value of their food. Gladys was fired, and continued to eat away her sorrows. She is also stalking Casual Rex.

This is Armor plus Knight. Mascot for Armor plus rust repellent until he got too drunk one night and passed out in a ditch rusting up his suit of armor.

 

This is Kyle. An Octopus with a Viking helmet, the audience will never be told what he was the Mascot for. It will just be a running gag to cut into the group right after he's apparently finished speaking, and Darryl thanking him for his contribution in a manner that  implies something ridiculous was said that would only further confuse the audience as to what product he could have represented.

This is Danger Duck. Mascot for a series of Safety Videos for kids until he lost an eye in a freak accident.

This is Gerard the Cat. Snooty Cat, former mascot for baguettes de Paris before they changed their name to something more patriotic.

Token Ninja....

Support Group members

Concerned about his out of work friend, Tree frog Ron gets Scraps into a support group for out of work Mascots. It's a collection of Characters who for one reason or another are no longer employed, and are having trouble dealing with life after being a mascot.

This is Darryl. He is the wimpy former hippie social worker who runs the support group. He's a bit of a panty waste, and only barely has control over the group. His heart is in the right place though. He tries to protect Scraps from what he feels are negative influences.

Once the mascot for Astr-O’s breakfast cereal, The Captain was fired in favor of what is essentially a more youthful version of himself in the Astro-O kid. The cereal execs felt kids would relate to the character more if he was akid like them. It was a huge blow to his psyche from which he hasn’t quite recovered. He had to sell of most of his space suit to pay his bills. The group hasn’t really been helping him, and he’s gone a little crazy. The Captain wants revenge on the Cereal company, and the Astro-O kid. Most of all though, he longs for his past glory.

This is the Lone Stranger. Former Mascot for Old West Beef Jerky, The lone stranger used to light up the TV screen on his trusty steed. He had a very long run, and is comfortably retired from the mascot game. Being old and retired, he likes to frequent the group so that he has a place where people have to listen to him talk about the good old days. He's kind of an old bigot, having many views that aren't very PC with the current times. He's not well liked at the group. He actually only appears in the first episode, but plays a key role in Scraps transformation into the Cereal Bandit, as it is while attempting to rob Sugar Scraps from the Lone Stranger's grandchildren that Scraps acquires the mask and pistol that he uses as the Cereal Bandit.

 This is Hoo. Former Mascot for Secure-Tek. "Hoo's watching you!". Secure- Tek opted for a more high tech image and fired Hoo. Hoo's confident that if he can catch some criminals in the act, the press would make Secure-tek take him back for sure. He's keeping a close eye on Scarps and Rex and the gang, because he's pretty sure they're up to no good. This character also provide's us with an opportunity for some cheap Abbot and Costello "Hoo's on first?" gags.

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This is Constable Cookie and the Biscuit Burglar

Former Mascots for Crunchables Chocolate Chip Cookies, these two spent years chasing each other around, Cookie trying to keep the Biscuit Burglars hands out of the Cookie Jar. Eventually they could not keep a secret any longer, they were tired of chasing each other around, they were in love! and they wanted the world to know it. Unfortunately this probably wouldn't sell cookies and Crunchables promptly let them go. They have no regrets, although they do have a discrimination law suit pending. They now go to the group in a decidedly more "tom of finland" cops and robbers ensemble. Friends of Tree frog Ron, they were the ones who were able to get Scraps into the group. Constable Cookie also knows Detective Fontaine from his days back on the force.

Detective Fontaine

Now Scraps and the gang are out committing all these robberies, you have to think that the proper authorities have taken notice. Meet Detective Fontaine.Crusty veteran cop, every cop cliché you can imagine applies. Divorced 3 times, alcohol problem, he's this close to being busted down to traffic duty. His partner Davis retires in the first episode, and every episode after that he has a different partner who will either be asking for a transfer by the end of the episode, or get shot, etc. Each of these new partners will be representative of some cliché partner you'd see on a cop show or buddy cop film. They get more and more ridiculous as the season progresses. The reason he's not well liked is his wild theories about cereal robbery, that cartooned mascots are behind the recent string of robberies. Over the course of the season his role will increase every episode as he gets closer to cracking the case and maybe catching the infamous Sugar bandit.

Here are his partners by episode:

1.     Detective Davis - Fontaine's longtime partner who is retiring. Older black cop with a heart of Gold to put up with Fontaine all those years.

2.     Detective Mills - Young go getter cop, very by the book

3.     Detective Sabler - Sexy lady cop with something to prove

4.     Detective Hayes - In your face black guy. Think Chris tucker in Rush hour

5.     Detective Bobrovski - Cop with a temper problem, he's always the bad cop

6.     Detective Sparky - A German Sheppard in a detectives hat. Transferred over from the K9 unit

7.     Detective Roboto - A robot Detective

8.     Detective Baines - Another crusty Veteran , this guy is a dirty cop

9.     Detective Binky - A monkey on roller skates who wears a trench coat and detectives hat

10.  Detective Crackers - Parrot with a detectives hat

11.  Detective Socko - A sock Puppet who when he speaks, Fontaine's lips move. He constantly berates Fontaine for all his short comings

More breakfast cereal mascots

This is SpokesClown for Clowny Puffs breakfast cereal, a cereal with Marshmallow's in it. Puffy is one of those mascots who just wants to enjoy the cereal he represents. However, before he can ever eat it, it inevitably gets stolen by kids, making Puffy Sad. Over time this has began to wear on Puffy driving him insane. He hangs out at an old abandoned amusement park, and plots ways to get revenge on the kids who steal his cereal.

The Astro-O kid. SpokesKid for Astro-O's breakfast cereal. He is a boy adventurer who goes around the galaxy seeking out Astro-O's and fighting Aliens. He replaced Captain Astro-O (whom I will introduce later) after the Cereal execs decided that a kid would be more relatable to their target demographic.

 Petey the Scarecrow. SpokesScarecrow for corn yums breakfast Cereal, Petey doesn't say much. His cereal is something your dad would eat.

Honey Bunches Bear. SpokesBear for Honey Bunches, the token honey flavoured cereal mascot.

Spokes Gnomes for Granola Mills Cereal. They're kind of a cross between the Keebler elves and snap crackle and pop.

Sparkles the Dragon. SpokesDragon for Sparkles breakfast Cereal. Is the only girl mascot.

Tree Frog Ron

This is Tree Frog Ron. Spokes frog for Tree Fruut Breakfast Cereal, Tree Frog Ron is as his name states is a tree frog who wears Hawaiian shirts, and does elaborate musical numbers while seeking out his beloved Tree Fruut Cereal in his commercials. He's a loose spoof of Toucan Sam.

Ron is kind of like the supportive gay uncle scraps never had, helping him through tough times and supporting him with the cereal mascots guild. He is a flamboyant, middle aged frog, who hangs out at dance bars. A lot of comedy surrounding him will be derived from how ridiculous it is to try and peg down or attack the sexuality of a children's cartoon characters.

Ron has two tree frog nephews and one niece that occasionally join him in his commercials. Teddy, Eddy and Betty.

Breakfast Cereal mascots

This is Yummy Mummy. Truth be told he's not a terribly important character. You just need a token spooky cereal mascot. It is by far my favourite character design I did for this project. I think this would be a good time to thank Kate Mclellan. She did the colouring for a lot of these, and I think Yummy Mummy was the best one she did as well.

This is Lenny the Lion. SpokesLion for Frosted-Yums Cereal, Lenny is an athletic lion who plays many sports, and is a real go getter. Some might call him a keener. Under the surface Lenny has a big of a mean Jock quality to him. He's kind of a jerk. He participates in sports with the kids that eat his Cereal and says eating his cereal as their breakfast gives them the competitive edge. The teams they play against feel it's an unfair advantage for them to have a lion come in as a ringer. Lenny is pretty much a direct spoof of the modern incarnation of Tony the Tiger

This is Tasty-Bit.Spokesperson for Tasty-Bit cereal, Tasty-Bit is a walking talking piece of Tasty-Bit cereal, spoofing the various cereal brands over the years that have gone that route to make their spokes person a piece of their product. Tasty-Bit wears a fez and often smokes a cigar. He is often ridiculed by the other mascots for being an unimaginative idea for a mascot. This is a particular sore point for him and he's always trying to earn the other mascots respect. It doesn't help that all he can talk about is his qualities as a breakfast cereal. How he won't go soggy in milk, is high in fibre... etc. His commercials usually involve him encountering families at breakfast, explaining to them his qualities as a cereal.

Scraps' Heist Crew

Some more Breakfast Serials stuff. This here is Scraps' heist crew.

You see Scraps isn't pulling off all these elaborate cereal heists all by his lonesome, oh no. When he first finds himself out of work he starts to attend a support group for out of work advertising mascots. While there, he befriends some of the other members with less scruples than most. He gets them hooked on Sugar Scraps, and recruits them to help in his cereal robberies. They are:

Lil' Chief. Mascot for the Fightin' Injin's Football team for decades until it was deemed that the team name was racially insensitive, and they were renamed the Thunder Bolts, leaving the Chief without a job. The Chief is pretty much a racist caricature based on native stereotypes. He's more like what you might have seen in an old western then anything factual. He speaks in broken English, and engages in all sorts of Indian cliches, like rain dancing or threatening to scalp those who anger him. He has not adjusted well to being unemployed.

Babboon Slim. Mascot for Red Bottom Slim cigarettes, until an anti smoking group raised hell about a cartoon baboon pushing cigarettes, saying it would make kids more likely to want to smoke. The cigarette company caved to the pressure and fired Slim. Slim is like a cross between Joe Camel and Chester Cheetah except a Babboon. He's cool, he's hip, and he smokes like a chimney. He talks in Jive, and always wears his shades.

Hey it's my old friend Casual Rex! For the purposes of this show he has assumed the role of mascot for Casual Rex brand condoms, "Don't Rex your life!" Subsequently the condoms proved to be very ineffective, "rexing" many peoples’ lives resulting in a class action law suit that ran Casual Rex Condoms out of business. Rex is one laid back Tyrannosaurus who loves the ladies. He drinks, he smokes, he swears, he has an extensive collection of hats for all occasions. His Morals are somewhat questionable, and he's not afraid to use the fact that he's a dinosaur to get his way. Whether it's playing the "Jurrascist card" or simply intimidating people.

This here is Billy. He's not in the crew per say. Billy is kind of the Sugar Scraps kid. It's his favorite Cereal, although he's not a fan of the re branding  preferring when Scraps was on the box. He's kind of representative of these kids that are out there that have to have the cereal like the ad campaigns say. Billy's one of those kids your parents probably wouldn't want you hanging out with. He starts fires, breaks things, and is generally up to some kind of no good. He is drawn to Scraps and the gang as he idolizes them, although has a bit of a love hate relationship with them when they steal his Sugar Scraps.

Colonel Coco

Rolling along with the Breakfast Serials, this is Colonel Coco. The Spokesperson for the Cereal that bears his name, Colonel CoCo is an eccentric gamesmen who just loves everything Coco. But nothing satisfies his Coco cravings like a big bowl of Colonel Coco's breakfast cereal. He's kind of like a cross between Captain Crunch and Colonel Mustard, except really really into Coco. 

Under the surface though Col. Coco is more sinister then his Coco loving exterior would have you believe. He takes on more the persona of Coco themed super villain. Coco Manor is equipped with many booby traps, like trap doors that lead to his pit of "Cocodiles". As Head of The Cereal Mascots union, he wields a lot of power in the breakfast cereal world. Unbeknownst to the rest of the union, he is using that power for total Coco domination of all cereals. So when whom he perceives to be his biggest rival, Scraps, falls upon hard times, He sees this as his opportunity to eliminate Sugar scraps.

Back in the day, kids could send in cereal box tops to gain membership into an exclusive Col. Coco fan club called the Cocoteers. They would receive a badge, and the more box tops they sent in the higher up they would become. Today the Cocoteers have taken on the role of a secret organization bent on furthering the Coco conspiracy. They have members everywhere, from the police, to political offices, to leaders of industry. 

Recently his Cereal company has added The Coco crew as an entourage for the Col. to Hip up his image ( reference to the ill advised crunch crew that briefly joined captain crunch in the 90's).  They are obviously his old Cocoteers dressed up in hipper urban attire. They take on a roll as Coco's bumbling henchmen, doing his bidding when needed. 

More to come!