Vague Memories of Drawing a T-shirt

(OK. Digging way back, on this one, into my first years out of school. This is one of a few posts that I have in mind to write about from the years I freelanced as an assistant to C. Martin Croker, during his company's several seasons producing the animation for Space Ghost Coast to Coast.)

WHAT ARE YOUR SUPER POWERS?

This old crusty, stained, stretched-out shirt was given to me, well, I don't remember what year exactly. My guess is somewhere between 1997 and 1998. Clay gave it to me (and it was new then), and I greedily accepted, very pleased to see my art on a Space Ghost Coast to Coast T-shirt. I vaguely remember drawing the figures of this shirt. From what I do remember (which I'm sure is not entirely accurate), it wasn't originally for a shirt at all, but for an episode of SGC2C. I was asked to flesh out some poses for an idea using Zorak, Moltar, and Space Ghost doing a parody of the old graphic for the original Charlie's Angels TV show. Here are some variations:




Clay probably asked me if I knew what this logo (above) looked like, which I'm sure I answered yes, even though, appartently, I didn't. For some reason we didn't actually have reference for this. I wonder why we didn't just Google it on the internet.

(Maybe, it's because Larry and Sergey hadn't officially invented it yet (launched Sep 1998), and that whole realm of thinking was much different in animation. Around then, artists were packrats of sorts collecting video, anatomy books, art books, comics, and especially model sheets that you kept nearby for reference while drawing. If you wanted reference for something you had to plan ahead. Artists still do collect all that stuff but freelance animators no longer feel the need to lug all that stuff in to work. It's so sterile to see animation studios today with hardly a book or comic decorating it's offices and cubicles - a direct link to the Google-your-reference culture in animation. I mean, when's the last time you've seen a copy of Eadweard Muybridge?)

Anyway, I vaguely remembered it but what I didn't understand was that he wanted a direct parody of the logo. It was one of those scenarios where I completely missed the mark and the art wasn't used, though Clay tucked it away. I'm not sure how it got inked, though. It looks as though I was really into Frank Miller, which I was at the time. As the story goes, Clay got a call from CN wanting to know if he had any art laying around for promotional T-shirts, and this was one of a few that he submitted (after inking in the cool looking moon).


Anyway, I'm glad it's finally posted here for all eternity, since the shirt is disentigrating and pretty much unwearable after heavy usage these last 8 years, and until now, this shirt was my only copy.

And, for fun, I threw in the art that was used (which I'm guessing Clay drew). Nice bell-bottoms! Hopefully Clay can fill me in on the inking and the other fuzzy details.