He Lived Long, And He Prospered

 Actor Leonard Nimoy, best known for his portrayal of "Mr. SPOCK" on Star Trek, passed away yesterday at age 83.

  He appeared as an extra in numerous television shows and movies, and portrayed a wide array of characters.

 An accomplished stage, tv and screen actor, he had a distinctive voice and was an excellent singer and narrator. He was the host and narrator of tv's "In Search Of", a show pertaining to unsolved mysteries and the supernatural.

He was also notable for his work on "Mission: Impossible", and most recently the sci-fi series "FRINGE".

Legendary "Little Golden Books" Artist Mel Crawford Passes

If you owned or read any picture books when you were a child, or had kids who did from the 1950s on up, you more than likely have seen his work. One of the most prolific children's book artists of all time passed away on Monday, February 23rd. He was 89.
Best-known for his renderings of  numerous Disney and Hanna-Barbera characters such as Yogi Bear, Magilla Gorilla, The Flintsones and more, he rendered hundreds of books, covers, and comic book covers for Whitman Publishing's "Little Golden Books" and the associated "Gold Key Comics".
Many books still in print today contain his work.
Read the article and see more pictures HERE .

New Mash-Up

Don't know WHY I've never done this before, or why anyone else hasn't....
So obvious...!

"Edgar Allen POGO" mash-up of Edgar Allen Pose and Walt Kelly's comic strip character.

R.I.P. GARY OWENS, The Voice of SPACE GHOST

Famed announcer GARY OWENS, who emceed Laugh-In and numerous game shows, has passed away at age 80, according to Variety. To ME, he is most memorable as SPACE GHOST, as well as a myriad of other cartoon voices for Hanna-Barbera and Walt Disney.
 Read the article HERE.

Maids of Jubilee Parade Tonight In Fairhope

Tonight marks the final parade that I designed this year for Mardi Gras, as The Maids of Jubilee maneuver through Fairhope over in Baldwin County.
They have a pretty sweet theme this year and the floats look great, so try to get over there if you get a chance...! Craig Stephens and the Carnival Artists crew built these, so I'm sure you'll like 'em!

 As before, here's a peek at a 'rough' design sketch, followed by the finished inked effort.

Rough sketch of "Cake & Ice Cream" float by Brent Amacker for Carnival Artists and The Maids of Jubilee

Final "Cake & Ice Cream" float drawing by Brent Amacker

As always, I will also be posting the entire parade designs over at Brentoons.com after the parade rolls.
Thanks for looking. See you next year!

Facebook GIVEAWAY!

Hi, All!
I'm trying to drive more traffic to my BRENTOONS Media Facebook Page, and if I can get to 500 "Likes" I will GIVE AWAY a caricature or portrait drawing FREE to TWO Lucky Winners! (Type of drawing is Winner's Choice!)
 All you have to do is go HERE , "LIKE" my page, and share it! The more people you send, the more generous I may become in the Freebies...! Do it! When I hit the happy milestone, I will select and notify the winners via Facebook!

Thanks and GOOD LUCK!

STRIPERS Roll Tonight!

The Mystic Stripers Parade will take to the streets tonight, as it is their turn to literally 'have a ball' for their members & guests and display their wonderful rolling tableau for ALL to see!

 Today's post features a 'rough sketch' drawing that I created after speaking with the builder, Steve Mussell of Mirtcho, Inc. After he gets the theme, we discuss the parade and we doodle out some thumbnails. I then send him some simple drawings like this on to solidify placement and elements.

Rough pencil sketch of Mystic Stripers float for Mirthco, Inc. by Brent Amacker

Once the design is approved, a cleaner finished and inked drawing is rendered for review. 

Once okayed, the drawing is colored and the builders use it as a guide for construction.

Finished design drawing of Mystic Stripers parade float for Mirthco, Inc. by Brent Amacker

After the parade rolls, the complete lineup of float drawings will be displayed over at  BRENTOONS.COM over on the "Mardi Gras by MIRTHCO" page.

Neptune's Daughters Parade from Sunday Night

The Neptune's Daughters paraded through downtown Mobile last night, featuring floats designed by Yours Truly and built by Craig Stephens and his crew over at Carnival Artists.

Neptune's Daughters "Surfin' USA" float designed by BRENT AMACKER for Carnival Artists

 The parade design drawings can be seen on the Mardi Gras Floats pages over at Brentoons.com .
In addition, another parade rolled again featuring the floats I designed from The Mobile Mystics, which paraded Saturday.

I Designed TWO Parades Rolling Today!

TWO-- count 'em-- TWO parades that I designed for Craig Stephens and Carnival Artists will be rolling the roads today! First The MOBILE MYSTICS kick off at 2:30 this afternoon in downtown Mobile, and then later this evening The Knights of Ecor Rouge take to the streets of Fairhope at 6:30!

 I will post all of the design drawings over on BRENTOONS.com after the parades have rolled, but here's a sneak peek at both:

Mobile Mystics "King Cake" float by BRENT AMACKER for Carnival Artists

Knights of Ecor Rouge "IRON MAN" float by BRENT AMACKER for Carnival Artists

Polka Dots "Women of Winter" Drarrings

Since the first parade of the season that I designed rolled through downtown Mobile last night, I can go ahead and post some float drawings, as well as some roughs and insights on the design process!  
The Order of Polka Dots theme this year was "Women of Winter", and I drew 15 floats as reference for Steve Mussell's crew over at MIRTHCO, INC.
 The themes are ideally selected well in advance-- sometimes years-- in order to allow prep time for costuming, ball decorations, accessorizing, and -most importantly to me- Float Building!  
In this post, I will go a little bit into the process, and include both the sketches and the related finished drawings.
 
 First, I'll start off with a trio of 'rough drawings', which are produced after the Float Builder gets the theme and we discuss what he wants on the float. We will typically meet and go over the organization's theme, look at specific requests ( along with reference pics often submitted by the organization), and do some preliminary sketches known as 'thumbnail' roughs.
 Then, I render some somewhat clearer sketches and submit them to the builder for approval. 

Float rough sketches for Mirthco, Inc by BRENT AMACKER

(c) Brent Amacker

 Once approved, the floats are hand-rendered on
9" x12" Bristol Board -- a heavy, textured cardstock art paper-- and then inked using archival, waterproof inks.

Brent Amacker

 The black and white images are clearly drawn in order for the crew to use as reference, and the builder (or an associate) will usually color the drawing to achieve the proper color scheme to his liking.
 The floats are all built on either identical or very similar platforms, so I only render the facades.

 

 

In this case, it was decided that the front figure would be dressed in traditional Swiss attire, as opposed to being bundled snugly in a furry parka...!

ORDER of POLKA DOTS TONIGHT!

TONIGHT marks the first parade this Mardi Gras season designed by Yours Truly (ME!), The Order of Polka Dots! If you're in Mobile, AL or close by, be sure to get down to Parade Route A to see the floats, catch some goodies, and have a blast!
 Here's a peek at one of the designs:

Order of POLKA DOTS "Penguin Extravaganza" float by Brent Amacker for Mirthco, Inc.

 I'll have the rest of the entire parade design drawings up over at BRENTOONS Media tonight after the floats roll!