Play Strong® the exciting new sports gift and greeting card brand for players, coaches and fans announced the launch of it’s special Christmas holiday sports greeting cards series “Holiday Mojo”. These fun and expressive sports themed holiday cards (six designs) are perfect for the sports-lover and include original soccer (“Missile-Toe”), basketball (“The Stocking Stuffer”), baseball (“The Snow Cone”), hockey (“Checking It Twice”) and football (“The Holiday Rush”) original illustrations and designs. Each can be previewed and purchased at the Play Strong® website store greeting card section (click to check ‘em out!).Play Strong® offers unique, high-impact and encouraging sports messages, original illustrations and designs on premium quality greeting cards, stationery, apparel, merchandise and gifts. Over twenty sports are represented (including basketball, soccer, water polo, football, baseball, volleyball, snowboarding, gymnastics, surfing, skateboarding, field hockey, ice hockey, golf, skiing, tennis, softball, swimming, lacrosse, wrestling and motocross). The Play Strong® website includes a store, blog, wholesale page and more. This season, Play Strong® and unleash your inner Santa sports mojo!
One from the brush-pen sketchbook…I think I always wanted to be a rock band lead singer or NFL quarterback…this sketch is me in the backyard showin’ off the skillzes…what did you wannabee?
Ok, name me a famous water polo player…tough, huh?…now consider, a water polo player as the greatest athlete in the world…Check out this 2004 article about Tony Azevedo…some of the most intense athletes I’ve ever met are Water Polo addicts at schools like UC Berkeley and UCLA…rule the pool dude…
Over the next week or so I’m going to be highlighting some of the sports illustrated and graphic designs I’ve been working on…here’s a few thumbnails of illustrated designs that I’m real excited about that I did recently for the Play Strong® Champions Series…a line of greeting cards, stationery and journal covers inspired by some of the great contemporary sports champions…including Tiger Woods, Jeff Saturday, Tom Brady, Gretchen Bleiler, Michael Phelps, Coach Bo Schembechler, Rafael Nadal, Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson, Kevin Garnett, Sidney Crosby and others…hope you enjoy…
Go Planet Design, the sports illustration, design and promotions firm announced the launch of an inspirational new sports greeting card and gift brand, Play Strong®. In the often hyper-competetive world of youth sports, Play Strong® offers positive, high-impact and encouraging sports messages with original illustrations and designs on greeting cards, stationery, apparel, merchandise and gifts. Over twenty sports are represented (including basketball, soccer, water polo, football, baseball, volleyball, snowboarding, gymnastics, surfing, skateboarding, field hockey, ice hockey, golf, skiing, tennis, softball, swimming, lacrosse, wrestling and motocross).
Steve Shoff, president and creative director of Go Planet Design commented, “We believe that genuine encouragement and affirmation are two of the most vital and effective motivators of young athletes and their coaches. There’s something very special about gratitude and generous recognition that inspires the aspiring athlete. That’s what Play Strong® is all about.” The Play Strong® website includes a store, blog, wholesale page and more featuring fun, festive products and greeting cards for the holiday season. So this season, Play Strong® and unleash your inner champion!
Every now and then I illustrate and letter some fun signs for my local Starbucks (drawing with colored liquid chalk is always interesting on the black-board)…AJ and Russ; global icons, street-cred titans, barista rock stars!
Seems that as an illustrator it’s important to draw/sketch everyday…this is the kind of stuff that comes out of the brush-pen…Jeremy, coffee, NYC…not sure what it all means…
Not only was it a total blast being at the Met’s last Saturday game at Shea Stadium (September 27th…I’m just getting to writing about it!) with my son and a couple of friends, walking the warning track for the national anthem, witnessing Johan Santana pitch a shut-out and enjoying the all-you-can-eat BBQ in the corporate tent…it was a complete sensory overload trip (as an artist) seeing over 1200 t-shirts with illustrations and designs that I created on my drawing table loving the game and cheering like maniacs…(check it out at the GK&R site)…BTW, the Pitch In For A Good Cause Foundation has sold thousands of these t-shirts and raised tens of thousands of $ for charities, very cool!
Tennis, bowling, archery, what’s your passion? See blog entry from October 22nd…here’s the fourth in a series (of four) quick, kinda goofy illos that I did for the “Uh, sports, not so much…” crowd…
See blog entry from October 22nd…now, here’s the third in a series (of four) quick, kinda goofy illos that I did for the “Uh, sports, not so much…” crowd…
See October 23…ie. Dara Torres, Rebecca Soni, Natalie Coughlin, Christine Magnuson, Katie Hoff (see pic below)…seems to me since the Olympics and Michael Phelps & Co.’s phenomenal run at Mucho Gold, swimming has caught fire…in our small town 150 kids are on the competitive and developmental teams (at one pool!)…here’s a series of Team Promotional designs that I recently did for them…tomorrow, the girl’s swimming illo-designs…(Sports Illustration) Find some of these cool t-shirt designs for sale at Play Strong® (click)
See blog entry from October 22nd…now, here’s the second in a series (of four) quick, kinda goofy illos that I did for the “Uh, sports, not so much…” crowd…
Seems to me since the Olympics and Michael Phelps & Co.’s phenomenal run at Mucho Gold, swimming has caught fire…in our small town 150 kids are on the competitive and developmental teams (at one pool!)…here’s a series of Team Promotional designs that I recently did for them…tomorrow, the girl’s swimming illo-designs…(Sports Illustration) Find some of these cool t-shirt designs for sale at Play Strong® (click)
When it comes to sports, I’m definitely not the sharpest hoe in the barn, but I’m always surprised for some reason when people that I meet have really no interest in or knowledge of sports at all (huh, maybe they have a life?)…here’s the first in a series (of four) quick, kinda goofy illos that I did for the “Uh, sports, not so much…” crowd…plus it’s always kinda fun to draw big blotchy, red-ish noses…
Okay, I might be alittle ahead of myself, but it’s almost that snowboarding time o’year (even tho I’ve never snowboarded, I’m stoked!)…never too early for a snowboarding illo…also, check out this interview with street-cred-megastar Shaun White, says about doing a gazillion interviews a day, “…it’s cool, but it’s also a lot of pressure, ‘cuz I don’t want to say something that makes me sound like an idiot and then have people think that all snowboarders are idiots. I don’t want to wreck what snowboarding is.” Snowboarding rocks! (Sports Illustration #49)
Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling, beloved SNY broadcasters for the MLB Mets (again on top of the NL East) pitch in for some great causes…check out the video, the cool events, the GaryKeithandRon website (and check out the cool Go Planet Design/Steve Shoff illustrated and designed logo and t-shirts!)
Why is a football called a pigskin? And why are sports balls (like this football) fun to draw, ink and watercolor? On the first question, I didn’t know…check out Wiki Answers and the Straight Dope…kinda cool…on the drawing one, it’s just fun to try to capture the feel, the essence of the ball, it’s everything to the ball-sports fanatic. If you like rugby, football, soccer, basketball, baseball…etc. it’s all about the ball…(Sports Illustration #48)
Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, LT, Tiger Woods, Nastia Liukin, Kobe Bryant, Shawn White…you can find illustrations and caricatures inspired by these superstars and many more (about 100) in the new SI Gallery, a collection of favorites from this SI blog…check out the tab at the right>>>
Less media coverage but loads of heart and incredible talent at the Beijing Paralympics 2008…including wheelchair rugby, swimming, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis and much more, check it out!
One of my favorite illustration and t-shirt design projects this year has been for the world class, celebrity Mets and SNY TV broadcast team of Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling (aka. Gary, Keith and Ron). Lynn Cohen, wife of Mets play-by-play broadcaster Gary Cohen and director of the Pitch In For A Good Cause Foundation contacted me late last year with some ideas she had for their new website GaryKeithandRon.com, to benefit several of the broadcaster’s favorite charities. It’s a fun, interactive and informative website helping some very meaningful causes. Check it out, buy a t-shirt (over 12 designs, thousand already sold!) and pitch in! Terrific work Gary, Keith, Ron and Lynn!
Here’s the t-shirt design for Gary’s signature saying “It’s Outta Here!” (click to enlarge)
Okay, I’m watching Oprah’s special today getting amazed all over again by the Olympics…especially the gymnasts (the fly through the air turns and flips and landings, whoa!) Then later I checked out the Monday Night football game…these football players look like big lumbering cardboard cereal boxes compared to the body strength and agility of these tiny little Nastia Liukins and Shawn Johnsons…who’s stronger? Even star running back Adrian Peterson looked slow and stiff compared to these girls…
How many offensive linemen can you name? It doesn’t matter if your team has the greatest QB ever, with a weak O-Line, he’s gonna look like a confused beginner. The offensive line is the key to making the QB great and the whole offense come together. I did this illustration inspired by Jeff Saturday, a three-time pro bowler and Peyton Manning’s security-blanket-center who damaged his MCL and probably won’t play this season. Good luck Peyton, and heal quick Saturday! As we kick-off the NFL season let’s have a cheer for the unsung heroes, all the O-Linemen (Browns’ Steinbach, Joe Thomas, Dallas’ Andre Groude, Patriot’s Matt Light, Charger’s Marcus McNeil, Nick Hardwick…etc.)! (Sports Illustration #47)
The fields near my house are already teaming with soccer and football practices, tournaments and games…the Pop Warner games are already in high gear…College football action’s already been exciting…NFL ready to rumble…we’re fired up in my house (picking the Chargers to go all the way!)…lots of football illustrations to come (Illustrated Sports #46)…who are your picks?
A few pics from the US Open…we proudly wore our global icon tennis caricature Play Strong® t-shirts…had a woman run up to us and stop us about the tees…”I love ‘em! Where can I get one!?” she screamed hysterically, well uh, she asked enthusiastically…of course I loaded her up with cards and info…that was fun…the US Open was awesome…I got Rafa Nadal’s autograph, see insert photo for proof…you may also wonder if that’s Woody Harrellson, no that’s my brother Jason, an even more famous actor than Woody in his heyday (he’s a legend in Croatia) sporting his Rocket Man tee…
Four tennis caricature t-shirt designs I did for Play Strong Sports…the US Open is in high gear, Nadal, Federer, Roddick, Blake, Djokovic…who’s your pick to win it? Heading out there tomorrow…if you’re a tennis sports fan, it’s incredible, definitely the best sports ticket in town…
Summer’s over, school’s starting…incredible! What a great summer for sports! I did this kid-Tiger character illustration series for Tiger Sports…a line of youth oriented cool t-shirt and merchandise designs…soccer, football, baseball, hockey, basketball, lacrosse…good times! (Illustrated Sports #45)
This one for Play Strong Sports…cool t-shirt for the swimming fanatic…I think probably Michael Phelps is inspiring new swimmers as well as the whole sport of swimming all over the world…this illustration was done with brush and ink (I love my Pentel Brush pen), type and color work in Photoshop…
