Mike Gray, Pencil For Hire

"Astrocats" Artwork Donation for "Team in Training "

2011-09-16T23:30:00.000-07:00

I am proud to have been asked to donate to the “Team in Training” Cancer Run, here is the drawing I donated that you can still buy raffle tickets to try and win and help a terrific cause (pen and ink with watercolor of the newly renamed “Astrocats” that I am still trying to get made into a vinyl toy, but more on that soon)... You can buy raffle tickets by clicking here!

Shepard Fairey Print Exhibition & Monterey Bay Aquarium Trip

2011-09-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend (Aug 26 to Aug 28) we made the trip to Monterey to visit the fantastic Monterey Bay Aquarium and to see the Shepard Fairey Print Exhibition in nearby Sand City, CA. If you want an artistically inspiring trip, I recommend going if you can before the exhibit ends in Sand City on September 30th and then catching the Great White Shark at the Aquarium that we just missed seeing on our trip (they put him in the Open Sea Exhibit just this past August 31st, and will most likely only have him a few months before releasing himback to the wild). We had a great time, it was my daughter Olivia's (10 1/2 months old) first trip to the ocean and to the aquarium and I got a lot of terrific reference videos and photos at the aquarium as well (the Sun Fish, Hammerhead shark, and Green Sea Turtle in the Open Sea exhibit and the Jellyfish in that same section were the highlights). Olivia loved everything at the aquarium, but her highlights were the Green Sea Turtle (which she was mesmerized watching him cross the entire front glass of the Open Sea tank) and poking people in the neck in front of the Otter exhibit (during feeding time Olivia was much more interested in meeting the people next to her than watching the Otters, and what better way to call their attention to herself than to poke them in the neck with her tiny baby index finger)?

What, me Blog?

2011-08-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been over a year since I blogged...my excuse, and it's a good one, is becoming a proud papa of a terrific baby daughter named Olivia!

I have spent all of my time since I found out I was finally becoming a Daddy (we had been trying for years with no luck and had thought we just weren't going to be parents, so little Olivia is a miracle baby in our eyes) do as much "work for hire" as I could get my hands on! I managed to keep up my 3x a week comic strip "Clumsy Love," but other than that my own work has taken a backseat to making sure my wife and daughter are taken care of. Now that things are more settled (Olivia just turned 10 months on Aug 20th) I am going to make a greater effort to blog consistently again and to pursue my own work more aggressively (my long-term wish is to become self-supporting through my comics and books)...thanks for stopping by, and if you used to come to this blog thank you for your patience!

"Space Pussy" Vinyl Toy Pledge/Order Drive at Kickstarter.com!

2010-03-05T21:35:00.000-08:00

I have set up a funding site to produce the limited edition vinyl toy of my character, "Space Pussy," that I have been developing...if you get a chance please check it out (and spread the word to as many people as you can, people are only charged if the project is fully funded and the toy will definitely be made!) There are only 89 days left for me to reach full funding, so please pledge/order today!:

http://kck.st/aPuNU8

Thanks so much!

--Mike Gray
www.pencilforhire.com
www.clumsylove.net

"Thom Cat" a big hit at Irene B. West Elementary School!

2010-02-27T23:53:00.000-08:00

I had the great privilege of going to the Irene B. West Elementary School in Elk Grove, CA on February 18, 2010 to help them with a backdrop for their upcoming school play, and to give a talk on being an artist...it was great fun! I was even more honored to receive these photos from teacher Vicki Nelson where the students had decided to draw my character "Thom Cat" (whom I had shown his cartoon and a demonstration on how to draw him for the class) during their free period after I had left...I think they all did a great job! I am looking forward to going back again to give a cartooning lesson, I will try to make my lesson like that great old "Let's Draw" TV show from years agon (that they would play in my first grade class for us)...

--Mike

Thom Cat and Infinite Goliath in Kauai, Hawaii Film Fest + Thom Cat E-cards on YouTube!

2009-11-16T14:32:00.000-08:00

Thom Cat in "Surfing the Net" (E-card for Birthdayalarm.com)

Thom Cat in "Friends Forever" (E-card for Birthdayalarm.com)

I am proud to announce that my cartoons “Thom Cat” and "The Infinite Goliath" (co-created with Erik Knutson) are part of the Los Angeles Children’s International Film Festival Best of Festival that was held this past weekend of November 13 to 15th on Kaua’i, Hawaii at the Kaua’i Pacific School! I am hoping that the exposure might help in one or both becoming a series or movie at some point!

I am also happy to announce that you can view my new “Thom Cat” e-cards on YouTube (above)! If you like them, please sign up an send them at www.birthdayalarm.com!

–Mike
www.pencilforhire.com (work site)
www.clumsylove.net (webcomic)

San Diego Comic-Con + Monsters of Webcomics

2009-08-24T17:10:00.000-07:00

My "Clumsy Love" Comic-con 2009 strip!

My brother Doug and I doing sketches for donations to the Cartoon Art Museum!

Me and the great Gene Colan!

My Banner Ads for the Monsters of Webcomics show at Cartoon Art Museum, which "Clumsy Love" is part of the virtual gallery portion!

It's been a while since I updated, so I figured I would do a few things at once! San Diego Comic-con was a terrific success, and my brother Doug and I had a great time doing sketches for donations at the Cartoon Art Museum Booth (see photos above)! I am also proud to announce that my comic strip, "Clumsy Love," made it into the virtual gallery portion of the "Monsters of Webcomics" show a the Cartoon Art Museum as well (you can see some of the Banner Ads I created for them for the show above)!

Also, my cartoons "Thom Cat," and "The Infinite Goliath" (Goliath co-created by Erik Knutson) made it into in the 2009 San Diego International Film Festival, and Goliath was also screened at the Animation Fest at the Edge Of LA Comic Con on August 15th!

--Mike
www.pencilforhire.com
www.clumsylove.net

"Ape Escape" Premieres Sunday July 5th on Nicktoons!

2009-07-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

"Ape Escape" Premieres Sunday July 5th at 12 noon PST/ 3pm EST on Nicktoons! I am honored to have been Head Writer/Series Editor on the series, and I am hoping that it will do well so we can do more episodes!

--Mike Gray
www.pencilforhire.com
www.clumsylove.net

San Jose Supercon & Cartoon Art Museum

2009-05-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from Supercon this past weekend where I had a table in Artist's Alley:

I was able to meet the fantastic Howard Chaykin which really made my weekend!
He did this terrific Wonder Woman drawing for me:

Here is a shocking early 80's photo of myself (complete with Art Garfunkel afro) around 11 yrs old wearing a Howard Chaykin "American Flagg" t-shirt (I was a big fan, but Howard pointed out that I was probably too young to be reading it at the time):

Here are a couple of example commission drawings I was doing in my style (I was also doing cartoon caricatures in my style that went over well):

I didn’t get a chance before to share some exciting news: ‘Clumsy Love’ merchandise is now on sale at the Cartoon Art Museum Bookstore at 655 Mission Street in San Francisco, CA (The museum purchased 160 comic strip prints, 85 buttons, 85 magnets, and 85 keychains, so hopefully they will do well), I am proud to have my work for sale at one of my favorite museums!

Thanks again!

--Mike Gray
clumsylove.net
pencilforhire.com

"Thom Cat" Licensed!

2009-04-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share the good news that "Thom Cat" has been officially licensed to appear in his own series of E-cards for Birthday Alarm (www.birthdayalarm.com)! For the e-cards I have been lucky enough to assemble much of the original talent from the first short, including Jim Meskimen as the voice of Thom, Andy Paley as composer , and David Eppen for background painting! The cards should be finished in a month to two months, and I will include links to them as soon as they are live!

--Mike Gray
www.pencilforhire.com
www.clumsylove.net

Yves St Laurent, Warhol Live, Watchmen, Stan Sakai, Brinkley Girls Museum shows!

2009-03-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we made a trip to San Francisco to the Deyoung Museum to see the Yves St. Laurent & Warhol Live shows, and it was fantastic! I cannot give a higher recommendation, especially to the Yves St Laurent show which is only around for this week! I was really impressed seeing the "Haute Couture" clothing (which now I know what that means, it is clothing that is hand-made specifically for a person) that he had designed from the 1950's through the 2000's...Melissa wanted to see this show badly, and I probably ended up making us stay longer in the show because I found it to be so eye-opening on the process of fashion design! The Warhol Live exhibit was also fantastic, it was great to see some of his actual drawings (many from the 1950's), posters & films of his work with The Velvet Underground, examples of the record albums he did the artwork for, his "Club 54" memorabilia, etc!

I also made it to the Cartoon Art Museum (I have to stop every time I am in SF, there is always a great new show, and if not, their permanent collection warrants a revisit any time you are nearby)! They have a terrific "Watchmen" exhibit with artwork from the comic series as well as movie props (like a Rorschach costume, Nite Owl costume, Silk Spectre costume, etc! AND they have a show on my friend, the great Stan Sakai and Usagi Yojimbo that is not to be missed!!! There is also an exhibit there on "The Brinkley Girls" which I did not know of before, but it is terrific artwork from Nell Brinkley who at the time (1913-1940) was as known as the Gibson Girls! And finally, you have to at least visit the Cartoon Art Museum bookstore and chat with Heather Plunkett who runs the store)...it is now stocked with a wonderful variety of known & local artists' work, videos, import toys, prints (you will be amazed and buy something for sure...I bought a cool little Astro Boy toy before leaving)!

On another happy note, my webcomic, "Clumsy Love," was mentioned in the webcomicoverlook.com blog, where I am hoping that "El Santos" will give it a good review when he is back from a much needed vacation!

Thanks so much for visiting, and have a great day!

--Mike Gray
www.pencilforhire.com (portfolio)
www.clumsylove.net (my webcomic, please visit!)
www.cafepress.com/spacepussy

Wondercon 2009 + Charles Schulz Feb14 + Thom Cat, Goliath, Clumsy Love & Space Pus*y Vinyl Toy!

2009-03-04T11:16:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to catch you up on what I have been up too! "Thom Cat" and "The Infinite Goliath" continue to pull in new fans at each festival they appear in (they were both shown with a great reception at the San Francisco Bay Area International Children's Film Festival on Sunday March 1st at 1pm, and I was able to talk about the cartoons after the screening...thank you Dan Bennett for putting together such a wonderful show!) and hopefully that will help lead to a series at some point (I hope!!)! I had a great time at Wondercon this past weekend, and as the Artist-in-Residence at the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA on Feb 14 2009 where I was able to do sketches of "Thom" and "Goliath" for the museum guests and show the cartoons on a large screen tv (one of my favorite museums, you must go if you have a chance)! I heavily promoted my new webcomic, "Clumsy Love," which is updated every Mon-Wed-Fri at www.clumsylove.net, including giving out over 500 bookmarks to Wondercon guests! And I was able to premiere my toy prototype of "Space Pussy!" Please let me know what you think of any and all that I have listed here, and if you did catch the cartoons at any show recently please write in with your comments (especially if it is to demand that they become a series...haha!)!

Mike Gray
www.clumsylove.net
www.pencilforhire.com

"Clumsy Love" by Mike Gray http://www.clumsylove.net/ !

2009-02-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

I launched my webcomic, "Clumsy Love," on Feb 2, 2009, and so far it has been a great success (and a lot of fun)! Please take a look if you have a chance, and let meknow what you think! I also have my first sponsor, Jantze Studios, which I would like to thank for especially for putting an ad on a brand-new site!

In other news, I have been interviewed by AWN for the work I did on "Thom Cat" and "The Infinite Goliath" for "Random Cartoons" on the Nicktoons network!

And I will be appearing this coming weekend on Saturday February 14th at the Charles Schulz Museum as the"Artist in Residence" from 1pm to 3pm, hope to see you there!

--Mike
www.pencilforhire.com
www.clumsylove.net

Air Dates for "Thom Cat" and "The Infinite Goliath!"

2008-12-12T17:31:00.000-08:00

Nickelodeon has finally released the air dates for my two animated cartoon pilots, “Thom Cat” and “The Infinite Goliath” which will air as part of the “Random Cartoons” show on Nicktoons in January! “The Infinite Goliath” premieres on “Random Cartoons” Saturday Jan 17, 2009 (West Coast 10:30 a.m., East Coast 1:30 p.m.) and “Thom Cat” premieres on “Random Cartoons” Saturday Jan 31 2009 (West Coast 10:30 a.m., East Coast 1:30 p.m.). You can see more about both cartoons at my website: http://www.pencilforhire.com/!

“Thom Cat” synopsis (created & written by Mike Gray):
Thom G. Cat is a genius inventor, a brilliant scientist, and a fashion trendsetter…not bad for a cat! The smartest cat in the world that is! Thom Cat makes his animated screen debut dealing with a young bully...who will never, ever pick on little girls again after enduring Thom’s unique form of justice!

“The Infinite Goliath” synopsis (co-created with Erik Knutson, written & directed by Mike Gray):
Infinite Goliath is the most dangerous villain in the universe, who has been paroled (after spending 30 years in the Quartz Nebula) and forced to live in suburban America as a model citizen. Essentially a 'super villain in recovery,' he has to try and live his life without destroying people, places, or things... or risk a return to the Nebula!

Please let me know what you think of the cartoons if you get a chance ot see them (use your DVR or TIVO!

--Mike

Ape Escape Trailer!

2008-12-11T18:08:00.000-08:00

A terrific new trailer for the "Ape Escape" cartoon series I worked on (as Head Writer/Script Editor) can be seen at the link below, you must check it out!!: http://frederatorblogs.com/ape/2008/12/11/ape-escape-trailer/

I can't wait for Nicktoons to announce a date for the series to air...as soon as I know, I will be sure to post!

--Mike

CAPS Bil Keane Banquet Nov 15 2008

2008-11-18T21:00:00.000-08:00

Doug Gray, Melissa Gray, Mike Gray (myself), Stan and Sharon Sakai!

Melissa and I with Bil Keane, creator of Family Circus!

With the hilarious Mel Lazarus (creator of Miss Peach and Momma)!

Melissa and I with Glen Keane, one of the greatest animators of all time!

Melissa with Cathy Guisewite, creator of one of Melissa's favorite strips, Cathy!

My wife Melissa, my brother Doug and I had a terrific time at the CAPS banquet this past weekend (11/15/08) at Maggianos in Woodland Hills, CA! Getting to meet Bil Keane (creator of Family Circus), and to see a ton of his original art in person, was a real treat! We also met Cathy Guisewite (creator of Cathy), Greg Evans (creator of Luann) and his wife wonderful Betty, Mel Lazarus (creator of Momma and Miss Peach), and Glen Keane (one of the great Disney animators of any generation)! It was terrific to catch up with old friends Stan (Usagi Yojimbo) and Sharon Sakai, and we are looking forward to seeing them at Sac Con in December and Wondercon in Feb! And it was great, as usual, getting to see Stephen (one of the great cartoon designers of our time) and Heidi Silver, and Sergio Aragones! The banquet featured terrific food, hilarious entertainment and fantastic company all around...it's good to be part of CAPS (and I can't wait for next year)!

--Mike

Costco Cartoon Contest

2008-11-13T15:17:00.001-08:00

These are two cartoons I did for the Costco Cartoon Contest last month, I haven't heard if they have announced the winners or not, but they were a lot of fun to make! The guidelines were that they had to (of course) be about the "Costco" experience... --Mike

Cartoon Art Museum: Mike Gray Cartoonist in Residence Oct 11, 2008

2008-10-21T00:51:00.001-07:00

I was honored to be the October "Cartoonist in Residence" at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco on October 11, 2008! The museum is my favorite to visit everytime I am in SF (with incredible original comic book, animation, and comic strip artwork), and I recommend it to everyone who gets a chance to go there! It was terrific to be able to show "Thom Cat" and "The Infinite Goliath" to the museum patrons, and they both were given great reviews (thankfully)! I can't wait for both cartoons to premiere on "Random Cartoons," hopefully in January 2009! --Mike

October “Cartoonist in Residence”: Mike Gray

2008-10-07T02:47:00.001-07:00

I am honored to be the October “Cartoonist in Residence” at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco this coming Saturday, October 11, from 1pm to 3pm! I am excited at the opportunity to promote “Thom Cat” and the “Infinite Goliath,” to show the cartoons at the museum, and to talk about my work with the Museum patrons! If you have never been there, I highly recommend that you go, the Museum has a fantastic permanent art collection along with terrific, special shows!

Here is the press release from the Museum:
“The Cartoon Art museum hosts Mike Gray, artist and creator of Thom Cat, (which will air on Nickelodeon in December 2008 as part of the Random Cartoons cartoon series) on October 11, 2008, 1:00 to 3:00 pm, as part of its ongoing Cartoonist-in-Residence program. Museum visitors will be offered the chance to watch Mr. Gray at work, watch his cartoons, chat with him about cartooning, and get a free sketch!

Thom G. Cat is a genius inventor, a brilliant scientist, and a fashion trendsetter…not bad for a cat! The smartest cat in the world that is! Thom Cat makes his animated screen debut dealing with a young bully…who will never, ever pick on little girls again after enduring Thom’s unique form of justice! Thom Cat first appeared in the first issue of Mike’s self-published comic book, Fluff, which will be available at his presentation.

Mike Gray is an award–winning writer, cartoonist, animator, director, and stand-up comedian who lives and works in Northern California. His cartoon, Thom Cat, which he created, wrote, and co-produced, will appear on Random Cartoons in December 2008, along with the cartoon, The Infinite Goliath, which he wrote, storyboarded, directed, co-created, and co-produced. Thom Cat’s awards include: Honorable Mention and Official Selection of the 4th Annual Brooklyn Kidsfilmfest of 2008, Official Selection of the 2008 San Diego International Children’s Film Festival, and Official Selection of the 2008 Fire Island Festival. Mike was also the Head Writer and Script Editor for the upcoming Nicktoons series, Ape Escape, based on the hit video game from Sony. Mike’s work and updated news can be found at his website: http://www.pencilforhire.com/.”

http://www.cartoonart.org/

http://cartoonart.livejournal.com/

Hope to see you there if you are in the area!
–Mike

Charity Auction Artwork for "From The Land Beyond" Convention

2008-09-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

This is a piece I donated to this weekend's (today and tomorrow) Sacramento convention "From the Land Beyond." The Charity Art Auction benefits the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and Loaves and Fishes Mustard Seed School for Homeless Children, and I am very excited to be a part of it! You can find out more info here: http://www.sacanime.com/fromthelandbeyond/html/auction.html
--Mike

"Thom Cat" Official Selection of the 2nd Annual SDSU Children's Animation Mini-fest

2008-09-25T23:00:00.001-07:00

"Thom Cat" has been selected to be shown at the 2nd Annual SDSU Children's Animation Mini-fest which will be held on November 1 at the South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings, SD. This event is free and opento the public and is followed by a hand-on animation workshop for kids!

In Memory of Mr. Bobo

2008-09-19T14:45:00.001-07:00

Our family cat, Mr. Bobo, passed away this week on 9/15/ 2008 at 20 years of age. Originally named simply "Bo" after Bo Jackson by my sister (hey, it was 1988), he became known as "Bobo," then finally "Mr. Bobo" the last 8 years. He was a great "little brother," and will be missed. I am glad that Mr Bobo will be immortalized as the "Infinite Goliath's" cat once the short airs on "Random Cartoons" hopefully in January of 2009 (he appears as a white cat in the cartoon, in order to help him stand out from Goliath's color scheme): http://frederatorblogs.com/goliath/2005/12/25/merry-christmas-from-mr-bobo/

Miss you Mr Bobo!

--Mike

Fluff #1 Reviewed!

2008-09-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

There is a terrific new blog that the talented writer Searnold has created in which he has vowed to review one new comic a day! Lucky for me, my comic "Fluff #1" (first appearance of "Thom Cat!") was reviewed on 9/11/08 and made it through with a nice recommendation!:

http://supersearnold.today.com/2008/09/11/fluff-1/

Be sure to check in daily, Searnold is reviewing all genres of comics from big companies to independents!

Thanks Searnold!

--Mike

“Thom Cat” at San Diego International Children’s Film Fest, Cartoon Art Museum, and NCS Booth at Comic-Con!

2008-07-29T20:11:00.001-07:00

The above photos were taken at the San Diego International Children's Film Festival held at the San Diego Comic-con on Sunday July 27th during the 12:30-1:30pm screening of "Thom Cat!" Audience reaction to "Thom Cat" was (thankfully) great, and the Q&A following the screening was a lot of fun! Thanks so much to Dan Bennett who put together the festival, and made it such a wonderful experience for all involved!

After the screening, I was at the NCS (National Cartoonist's Society) booth from 2pm to 3pm signing and doing free sketches for people who saw "Thom Cat," and those who were just walking by and seeing it for the first time on my portable DVD player! I am sitting next to "Archie" artist Craig Boldman (pictured), and on the other side was Nancy Berg, daughter of the Mad Magazine great, Dave Berg (I bought an original page from her of Dave's while I was there, and it is a hilarious comic!). Special thanks to Phil Pyster for setting up my time at the booth, it was great to be a part of NCS at Comic-con and to promote "Thom Cat!"

On Saturday July 26th, from 12 noon to 1pm, my brother Doug and I were doing sketches for donations to the Cartoon Art Museum (pictured at their booth). If you get a chance, and are in SF, you must stop by there! We raised some money for the museum, and was able to promote "Thom Cat" in the process. Special thanks to Andrew Farago and Summerlea Kashar of the Cartoon Art Museum for making it all happen, I can't wait to help out again next year!
--Mike Gray
http://www.pencilforhire.com/

Mike Gray & "Thom Cat" at the San Diego Comic-Con!

2008-07-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

I will be at the San Diego Comic-con this week promoting “Thom Cat” for the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival and pitching “Thom Cat” as a series! My schedule so far is Saturday July 26th from noon to 1pm at the Cartoon Art Museum booth (doing sketches for donations to the museum) and Sunday July 27th 12:30pm to 1:30pm in Room 10 for the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival screening of “Thom Cat” followed by a Q&A session with all the filmmakers, and then from 2pm to 3pm also on Sunday the 27th at the NCS (National Cartoonist’s Society) booth doing free sketches and talking about “Thom Cat!” I will also be at the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival booth on the Mezzanine at least one time from Friday to Sunday doing sketches for donations to the festival, time TBD, please stop by the booth to find out when! –Mike Gray

Oppose the Orphan Works Act of 2008!

2008-07-14T16:47:00.000-07:00

If you have not heard about the Orphan Works Act of 2008 and how it can affect you and your copyrights as a professional artist, I urge you to go to this informational site produced by the National Cartoonists Society (NCS) as fast as you can: http://anti-orphan-works-act.com/
I have already faxed, e-mailed, and called my local legislator, and the rest of the legislators in my home state of California. You can find a sample letter, the names, fax #'s, and everything you need at the site provided by NCS...don't wait, act now before it's too late! --Mike Gray

"Thom Cat" Brooklyn 4th Annual KidsFilmFest Awards Received!

2008-07-07T22:44:00.001-07:00

I just received two wonderful awards in the mail from the Brooklyn 4th Annual KidsFilmFest! What a terrific time my wife and I had at that festival, and these beautiful, lamenated awards are just another reason why I in such awe of Lisa King, the kidsfilmfest Director! She not only made us feel like royalty when we were there, but set up a wonderful spot for us to meet with the kid's first hand after the shorts were screened, and then took the time to make these awards for the filmmakers...thanks again Lisa, it was an honor to be a part of your festival!

--Mike Gray

"Thom Cat" Official selection of the 5th Annual San Diego International Children's Film Festival!

2008-07-07T22:16:00.001-07:00

I am very proud to announce that ”Thom Cat” has been selected to be shown at the 5th Annual San Diego International Children’s Film Festival, July 27-Aug. 23 at Comic-Con International, the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park and the San Diego Central Library! Thom Cat will screen Sunday July 27 in our the theater in Room 10 at Comic-Con International (an exact screening time for the film will be available by late June/early July, and the Web site http://www.sdchildrensfilm.org/ will be updated at that time). A second screening of the film will be on the weekend of Aug. 9-10 at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park! Thank you again to everyone who worked on the short!! –Mike Gray

"Thom Cat" Official Selection of the Fire Island Golden Wagon Film Festival July 18-20, 2008!

2008-07-07T22:11:00.000-07:00

I am happy and honored to announce that “Thom Cat” has been an official selection of Fire Island Golden Wagon July 18-20, 2008 http://www.goldenwagonfilmfest.com/main.asp?id=Festival-2008! The screening will be on Sunday, July 20th at approx. 11am as part of the Red Wagon Family Festival portion of the program. –Mike Gray

Thom Cat: Brooklyn 4th Annual KidsFilmFest Success + New York Times Article!

2008-06-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

Left: (Creators in attendance: left to right): Thy Than, Mike Gray, Kelly Shon, Tom Eaton.
My wife Melissa and I were greatly honored to attend the Brooklyn 4th Annual KidsFilmFest this past Sunday (June 01), where “Thom Cat” was shown two times: at the 1pm and the 2:30pm showings (the “world premiere”/ first time seen by kids outside of Nickelodeon and Frederator Studios)! After each showing, kids were sent upstairs to “meet the creators” of the cartoons, ask us questions, etc, which was a fabulous time for me! It was great to hear which parts of “Thom Cat” was their personal favorites, and I was very grateful to have the opportunity to do drawings of favorite Thom Cat characters for the kids (and give them free copies of my comic where he first appeared)! The festival, run by the terrific Lisa King, was extremely gracious to provide us with wonderful accomodations at the Hotel Chandler. I just found out today that “Thom Cat” was also mentioned in the New York Times on Friday, May 30th and was named “among the stars of the short films in this festival,” for which I am so honored that I am speechless! In the show’s program, I was incorrectly identified as the short’s director (instead of creator/writer/co-producer), who is actually the extremely talented Jeff Degrandis (by no means do I mean this as a complaint, the festival did a terrific job on everything, I just like to make sure to give credit where it is due)! It was our first time to New York, and it was a stunning, wonderous city to visit, and Melissa and I had the pleasure of having breakfast with Fred (Seibert) on Monday morning (his treat since we were in his city!), which was a great ending to a wonderful trip! –Mike Gray

Dick Ayers Thing Pin-Up

2008-03-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

Dick Ayers, the great early Marvel artist and inker, still does commissioned pieces! I just received this Thing pin-up recreation I ordered (from Strange Tales 127), and it is amazing!! You can order a drawing from this classic artist through Catskill Comics, I highly recommend it! --Mike

Wondercon 2008

2008-02-28T06:10:00.000-08:00

I made it to Wondercon in San Francisco last weekend with my niece and nephew, and it was great! I always leave inspired to do my own work. The best part was getting to meet a Marvel Comics great, Herb Trimpe, who did a terrific headshot of the Hulk for me! --Mike

Space Pussy Vinyl Toy Prototype

2008-01-19T22:02:00.000-08:00

Here is the protoype in progess of the "Space Pussy" vinyl toy as sculpted by the talented Brannon Wright. Please write and let me know what you think, especially if this is something you would buy! The Kitty will have a movable head and tail, and the helmut will be attached, a clear plastic fitted shape like the original drawing. If I go ahead and make it myself (I would rather have another company do it, but we will see what happens), it would be a run of a 1000 total, though some of that would be short exclusive runs of 50-100 (like glow in the dark, or different colorways). --Mike Gray

Digital Painting Class on Schoolism.com!

2007-12-10T21:49:00.000-08:00

I recently finished "Digital Painting Techniques with Bobby Chiu" on http://www.schoolism.com/ and it was a terrific class! For my final project I did a painted version of my Fluff#01 cover featuring Thom Cat who will soon be appearing in 2008's Random Cartoon series on Nickelodeon (my painting is above, the original book cover for comparison is below), and I was very happy with how it came out (especially since I know I can still do a lot more to it that he taught that I did not have a chance to implement for this piece! I highly recommend this class to anyone who is interested in painting digitally, it was well worth it! --Mike Gray

CAPS Banquet for Stan Lee Nov. 11, 2007

2007-11-12T20:24:00.000-08:00

My brother Doug and I were lucky enough to join CAPS after being recommended by our good friend (and legendary artist) Stan Sakai (who is always inspiring to talk too)! A terrific banquet and presentation in honor of Stan Lee (co-creator of Spider-man, The Hulk, Fantastic Four, Thor, Iron Man, X-Men, and too many more to list!) took place at the Porter Valley Country Club last night. The event was set-up for CAPS by Stephen Silver and his lovely wife Heidi, who did a fantastic job making a wonderful evening for everyone. Stan Lee was great, talking with everyone, taking photos, signing autographs and just being the incredibly entertaining personality that he is. We also got to meet June Foray, the well-known voice talent behind such classic voices as Granny and Witch Hazel from the Warner Brothers theatrical cartoons, and Rocky the Squirrel and Natasha from the Bullwinkle series! I flew down from Northern California for the event, and it more than exceeded my expectations... I highly recommend joining the CAPS organization if you can no matter where you live, you will be greatly inspired!!

--Mike

Ape Escape & Mike's Unnatural Love of Fedoras

2007-11-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

Ape Escape is going great, and the whole team has a lot of fun joking around! Karl Toerge (head of storyboard) and Kevin Kolde (producer/owner Project 51 Studios)especially love to harass me about my love of Fedoras (see two post-its drawings by Karl, one of me, and one of the monkeys dressed as me). I made the fake "Sinatra" album cover (above)to send to them as a prank before heading down for the 2nd recording session. --Mike

Ape Escape Record

2007-10-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

I am having a great time working as Head Writer/Story Editor on the new cartoon series,

"Ape Escape!" Last Friday October 5th, we had our first recording session at Salami Studios in North Hollywood, and it went terrific! From left to right in photo: featuring our extremely talented voice talent: Annie Mumulo (voice of Jimmy and Natalie!), Greg Ellis (voice of the villian, Specter!), Mike Gray (myself), Eric Bauza (Monkeys, Professor, and the creepy Hot Cross Bun!).

--Mike Gray

NCS Card Carrying Member!

2007-10-04T07:18:00.001-07:00

I am very proud to be a new menber of the great NCS (National Cartoonist Society)! I can't wait to see what local events they have to go to! --Mike

Vinyl Toy Designs: Please Vote for your Favorite!

2007-09-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking of making a limited edition vinyl toy to be sold by myself, and hopefully vendors such as my good friends at Cardboard Spaceship (a terrific toy/original art/prints/t-shirts, etc. shop) in Santa Cruz, CA www.cardboardspaceship.net One of the owners, Jamey, was kind enough to post this thread on the Kid Robot discussion forum to help me choose the winning design http://forums.kidrobot.com/viewtopic.php?t=80773 Please leave your comments, either on this blog or through the link provided, I am very interested in everyone's opinions! Thanks! --Mike

O'Malley's Nuns

2007-09-09T09:49:00.000-07:00

I love finding old books of cartoonists, especially if I had never heard of them before. This book I found for $5 at the De Anza Flea Market in Cupertino, CA, and it even had an original sketch from the author in it! It is a 1950's collection of nun cartoons that are not as funny today as they probably were back then, but I enjoy the art style of Bill O'Malley and the sketch is great!

--Mike

Stephen Silver Class!

2007-08-18T00:11:00.000-07:00

I started a caricature class on August 1st taught by the great Stephen Silver (designer on Kim Possible, Danny Phantom, Clerks) on the website www.schoolism.com! The class is terrific, and the one-on-one critiques are really helpful, I highly recommend this class, and the schoolism classes in general (I've signed up for the Bobby Chiu Digital Painting class in Sept as well). The caricature of me was done by Stephen at Comic-Con 2007 last month in San Diego, he did it in just a few minutes! ---Mike

"King of the Dogs" Amazing Stuffed Toy!

2007-08-07T21:23:00.001-07:00

This is a fantastic stuffed toy of my character, "The King of the Dogs," created and hand sewn by the fabulously talented Michelle Ritchie, and who graciously gave it to me as a gift! Check out her work here, you won't be disappointed!: http://alteredboxes.deviantart.com

He now hangs next to my computer and drawing desk, and brings me good fortune!

Thanks again Michelle!

--Mike

"Thom Cat" & "Infinite Goliath" cartoon Clips!

2007-08-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

I was finally allowed to upload some clips from the cartoons I did for Nickelodeon & Frederator Studios' new show, "Random Cartoons," which premieres in early 2008! Click on these to see the blog entry where you can find the clips:

"Thom Cat Clips" and "The Infinite Goliath Clips"

--Mike

San Diego 2007!

2007-08-01T07:11:00.000-07:00

This year was as inspiring as ever!

I was lucky enough to meet Jeff Smith (in photo with me on the right), creator of Bone, and show him the cartoons I recently finished for Nickelodeon on my iPod ("Thom Cat" and "The Infinite Goliath"). I also got to see and show my cartoons to the fantastic Stan Sakai (creator of Usagi Yojimbo), Sergio Aragones (creator of Groo), Stephen Silver (character designer of Kim Possible, Danny Phantom, and Clerks), and Chris Sanders (Creator of Lilo and Stitch) who was selling one of the great buys at the con, a great vinyl figure of a Hula Girl with a black skull dress (that you can still get through his website, I believe)! We also took the time to go see Avenue Q. in downtown San Diego at the wonderful Spreckels Theatre, which was hilarious, if you have a chance you must see it! I ran into some good friends such as Melissa Wolfe (Director of Development at Cookie Jar Entertianment), Nickelodeon Executive Claudia Spinelli (who gave me some great advice), and Larry Huber (who I only saw for a split second as he was running into the con). It was great to meet Bill Presing, and be one of the lucky few who got one of his special edition books with a spectacular watercolor bookplate in it!