TOOMASOOBA Shirts in Action!

Occasionally, I’ll spot a photo online or a shot will arrive to my inbox of someone sporting TOOMASOOBA gear. I always get a kick out of seeing these pictures and I feel all warm & fuzzy inside when I see that folks are enjoying the shirts. Here are a few of those images below...if you have any of your own, send 'em on in!

Logan rockin' the RoBoy at camp.

Keegan in a Tinker shirt...along with her great take on the character!

Matt Weeks caught at the copier wearing Winthrop.

Creature Feature #2: NinjaCat 5000

(“Creature Feature” is a new regular blog staple that puts the spotlight on a TOOMASOOBA creation and information on how it came to be!) 

Silly Little Story: Part Ninja. Part Cat. Part Robot. All Awesome.

Behind the Scenes: Sometimes I’ll begin a piece with a vision in mind, and often it will morph completely into something else...or sometimes I’ll get frustrated and start on something completely different! This image was born out of that frustration and came to me quickly. NinjaCat is an example of a “happy accident” and I’m quite fond of him.

Shameless Plugs: Grab a NinjaCat Block Print or a Sticker Set featuring the 'Cat and his friends!

Inspiration Machine #2: Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Jarrett is one of my illustration heroes! I first came across the work of this MA-based writer/artist almost ten years ago and have been following his books ever since (I've even had the opportunity to chat with him via email and phone several times...pretty cool). I was first drawn to his expressive, energetic painting style and use of color -- not to mention the fun stories he cooks up.

"Punk Farm" and "Goodnight Monkey Boy" are a couple of my favorites, and he even has a great graphic novel series for kids called "Lunch Lady"...another thing I admire about JJK is that he does a ton of speaking engagements for kids and schools all over the place. Dude is unstoppable!

Want to see more of Jarrett's work? Of course you do. Take a look at his website and the Studio JJK blog for some good stuff!

Lights...Camera...Boomabot!

By no means do I consider myself an animator, but last year I decided to take a stab at adding some movement and music to characters in the TOOMASOOBA universe. The animated short that I’m most proud of is featured below…behold, “Getting to Know Boomabot!”

Booma is one of the earliest TOOMASOOBA creations and I guess I’d consider him the mascot of my little world. I also chose Boomabot for this project because the herky-jerky movement I’d envisioned for him lends itself well to my lack of fluid animation skill.

As an added bonus, you can click on the image below for a look at the mind-boggling pre-plan session it took to make this thing work properly…that’s a lot of work for 46 seconds!

The timeline.

Eden's Closet

TOOMASOOBA shirts, prints and greeting cards are now being carried at Eden’s Closet! If you’re in the Shreveport area, swing by the shop on Mansfield Road and say hello to Chrissie and company.

In addition to doing shows, I've been trying to concentrate on getting the goods into retail locations as well. Keep an eye out for more news on where you can pick up TOOMASOOBA in person!

Before & After #1: RoBoy

Most of my designs begin with a sketch. Sometimes the finished illustration remains faithful to the drawing, and sometimes it ends up verrrrry different. “Before & After” is a new regular blog feature that showcases the evolution of TOOMASOOBA art…this time around, we’ve got RoBoy on display!

Farmer's Market Wrap Up

Five Saturdays in two months…whew! When it was first announced that the Shreveport Farmer’s Market was opening their ranks to artists this summer, I thought it sounded like a great opportunity – even though I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

I figured that participating would be a good chance to get TOOMASOOBA out in front of a crowd, experiment with my booth presentation and product offerings and to generally see what worked and what didn’t on a consistent basis (not to mention wanting to get my pack-in/pack-out methods down to a science…that part can be brutal). The Market provided all of that…but also a whole lot more.

Throughout June and July, I had an opportunity to meet a ton of new friends and got to talk shop & bond with fellow artists. I was also able to line up an art show for November and get my work into a local store! Overall, a positive, rewarding experience.

Many thanks to Noma Fowler-Sandlin and crew for making it happen. You can be sure to find me at the Farmer’s Market next time around (and hopefully in the fall, too, when it’s not a million degrees outside). I posted some photos previously, but here are a few more for y’all. Enjoy!

Photo by Chris Jay.

Photo by Neil Johnson.

Photo by Kimberly Brookins.