Bring Baron back to the Bay... again!

I've never really gotten over the fact that Baron Davis left the Warriors last season. I always thought of it as a bad dream I'd eventually wake up to. His stats weren't that great with the Clippers and with a 19-63 losing record, I kind of wish Baron had stayed with Golden State. There's a love and hate discussion over Baron coming back to the bay... some feel he fits better with GSW's run and gun full court offense vs. LA's half court system. Others feel his times up and its pointless to bring this discussion up. We're in need of a point guard, plain and simple... whether Davis is the answer, I welcome the idea of the change.

There's a great rumor article on Golden State of Mind titled "RUMOR: Clippers to offer Warriors Baron Davis for Corey Maggette if they land Ricky Rubio in 2009 NBA Draft." Check it out, it's a very great read with folks posting some very interesting thoughts and insight. What have we got to lose! Follow Baron Davis on his twitter!

Golden State Comic Books

LOL... just having fun with classic comic covers... just think if I actually drew out some content!

My friends and family know when I was growing up, I read a ton of comic books. As a young teen I blossomed a little late when it came to socializing and flirting with the ladies, LOL... I was happy as is, reading a good comic book and getting hyped for the next issue month after month. Yea it sounds kind of dorky but look at what it's rewarded me today. When I started posting ideas and artwork for Golden State of Mind, they gave me a lot of creative freedom. Because I was so comic book minded, I experimented with a number of classic covers and ideas within the comic book genre and gave it that Golden State Warriors touch. From Killing off We Believe and our Mascot Thunder (Death of Super Man saga) to introducing this years 08-09 Warriors Roster (Giant Sized X-Men issue 1) it was sky's the limit in just having some fun. We even poked fun at a "What If..." sceanrio that to this day, has people wondering what would have happened if KG joined the Warriors?

It's always been about having fun with the ideas, and getting people to bug out realizing their favorite comic book has a touch of that Warriors flavor! Don't forget to peep "Amazing Thunder" concept down below!

More Photoshop Fun: Mix Tape Designs

The wonders of Photoshop... grab a bunch of unrelated pics and put it all together!

Somewhere between 2003 and 2007, somebody told rappers that mix tapes were the new hustle. (I think it was 50 Cent) Everybody had a mix-tape and they used it to their advantage. While 95% of them sucked, there was a lot of money to be made until the hustle faded a few years ago. (DJ mix tapes are the way to go! They let the music speak for itself and sometimes there free!) I always thought rapper related mix-tapes were a mess... freestyles over recognizable beats, unreleased tracks that should have stayed that way, bad recordings and loud annoying rants in between and during the tracks of artists hyping the release of an album. (ask Whookid or DJ Clue) The cover art (if there was ever any) was usually loud, messy and unbelievable (yet way better than those old Master P covers) When done right, the design can be eye catching. Back in 2007, a few of my friends asked me to do a mix-tape cover for them and it was hard to pass up the chance to give it a try.

I wanted to have fun with this Paw Ray mix-tape cover. It was Hyphy related (Big Von spoiled all the fun) and the use of bright colors would be a great advantage to make it pop off to the masses. Like any other project, I start with the main folks (separate photos) and clip the pics nicely, dropping them over a black backdrop like a green screen in the movies, LOL. (see top left) Add a national monument in the backdrop and some smoke in the bottom for visual effects (see top right) and we're almost done. The wording is the fun part, my homie was preaching to me how the title should always be as big as the cover art... if not equal (Mix-tape design 101, lol) and added some bright blues and yellows to make it pop off. I think the feel of the cover works, if anything folks would pick it up and look at it. (see bottom left) The back cover art is basically elements taken from the front and the colors for the tracks are bright and bold... just had to make sure it complimented the cover. (see bottom right)

While I did my fair share of mix-tape designs in the past, the hype seems to have died down drastically in the music world for mix-tapes on demand. (I still take in work when I have the time) I wonder what the next big hustle in Hip-Hop will be?

It's been a busy week...

Adult Ho-Ho's is like a bad porno name! They ain't no joke, they're massive in size! You deserve one today!

Yooooo... it's been a busy week! Haven't had the chance to draw anything these past few days. Actually, one of the main reasons is I'm processing all the orders for the Manny Pacquiao "I'm just doing my Job" shirts coming out tomorrow! I've been busy with certain things I usually don't do like processing and setting up packages for shipping. It's a lot of hard work but very rewarding. It feels good running your own business, something I've never really done before. No doubt it's a pet project I'm gonna continue to do on the side.

After my hospital fiasco some 7 weeks ago, it's been hard for me to take up freelance work again... I'm afraid I'll overwork and hurt myself. By working for myself and going my own pace, I'm happy with what I do... and designing has never felt so much better! I haven't felt this great about myself in a long time. Be on the lookout for my limited Pac-Man shirts, they're comin' this week!

The Amazing Thunder!

Thoughts that come to mind... "Your Friendly Bay Area Thunder!" or "Thunder Senses Tingling!"

I just can't get over the fact that The Warriors decided to dump their Mascot Thunder after Oklahoma City straight jacked their name. Did we really have to be one of the only NBA teams to not have a Mascot? Did it really matter? Yea, it actually did... halftime shows just weren't the same this season! Thunder was that extra push to a great time out. Anyways, I recall ending Thunders spotlight is a funeral like portrayal. So, as a final tribute, I'm making it a little more upbeat with some of that Amazing Fantasy flavor! Can't wait to see what the Warriors whip up next season in terms of a new Mascot!

Monta Ellis Flakes are back!

By Popular demand! 12x18 Photo Glossy Monta Ellis Cereal Prints Now Available for $22(includes shipping & handling)
Sorry Folks... Cereal Box not included... and neither is the Bobble Head.

I had to bring this one back, the problem was after I made this piece during one of our Golden State home games last season, I accidentally trashed the file from my computer without saving it. After a number of requests, I finally got my act together and redesigned the cereal box concept! The idea was a fun project to work with, I figured Golden State Fans and Cereal lovers in general would get a kick out of it.

Manny Pacquiao is "Just Doing His Job!"

Folks just can't see to get enough of Manny's knock out in the second round against Ricky Hatton. I thought it would be fitting to draw Manny on the animated tip as if he was getting his won cartoon series! Originally, I was trying to get this done before the match but the hype had me setting it aside for this morning. Manny's got a lot of heart and pride for his country. You see it in the way he fights and how proud he is to be Filipino and his people couldn't be more happy. If you get the chance, please read this article by Martin Rogers called "Pacquiao a Filipino Uniter." It's an excellent article that shows how much Manny is to the Philippines. This ones for you Manny, and you said it best last night... "I'm just doing my job"

Comic Book Day in Suisun City

Free Comic Book day has it all in Suisun... Comic Artists, Storm Troopers, Captain America, cake,
oh yea... and Free Comic Books!

Free Comic Book Day is a single day event (the first Saturday in May) when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely FREE* to anyone who comes into their stores. It's become a yearly event for me and my friends and I am very blessed to have a great comic store in my city, (Suisun City) that goes above and beyond just giving away free comics!

Water Front Comics is located in Suisun's Historical Waterfront plaza off Highway 12, one mile east of Interstate 80. It's got a great selection of comic books, graphic novels, collectibles and anything comicbook related. When I first moved to Suisun two and a half years ago and found Water Front Comics I was so happy to find a comic book store within an area that doesn't even have a Best Buy or Target in it's city. This was way better! What I enjoy most about this store is its friendly customer service, their shelves always being full and their quick turnaround time in special ordering books. I'd like to think Water Front Comics is Suisun's best kept secret next to Babs Delta Diner!

I just wanted to say thanks to the owner over at WF Comics for setting up an excellent comic store in Solano County. Thanks for opening your doors and letting me roam your store, read books and browse the shop even if I'm just looking. You've filled my studio with a great selection of books that came from your store! We all appreciate the hard work you've put into the store! Also, for those who haven't seen X-Men Origins: Wolverine, your in for a great film! I didn't go in with high expectations but I felt like I saw a 80's action film full of over the top action sequences and revenge all day! Think Rambo with claws! (had to plug that!)

*Check with your local shop for their participation and rules.

Back to the Hotel

By popular demand... drops June 21st! Now taking pre-orders, $20 gets you in!

Summer is just about here and I wanna rock some new flavor. This one is strictly for the Bay Area and it's gonna be limited. I'm only dropping 2 dozen of these shirts because that's all I can really afford to put out. If the shirt does good, I'll reprint more at a later date. I just wanna wear it, lol. I am taking pre-orders right now up until the 28th of May. Made famous by Vallejo, CA's very own N2Deep... Back to the Hotel represents the Bay to the fullest with some of that Back to the Future Flavor! FYI... we still taking orders for the infamous "Pek Pek" design dropping the same day! For more info, tonydotpsd@gmail.com or twitter me!

Print Sale

We got a print sale goin' on! 12x18 Photo Glossy Prints are $15 each or buy 3 for $40 and get 1 free.
For more info, contact me at tonydotpsd@gmail.com

I'm bad at setting up on-line stores and marketing my stuff. The only places I usually plug my work for sale is here, GSoM and my Facebook account and I really can't complain. While I'm not trying to jump out and get rich real quick on my art, I wanna make sure folks looking to purchase my work, can find it here on my blog. Business has been up and down, especially with this tough economy but as of late folks have been ordering enough for me to pay some bills. In return, I wanna make it real simple, buy 3 get 1 free. Chose any 4 from the pic above and I'll get it out within the same week. Questions? (on payments and shipping) Feel free to e-mail me. Now you know where you can get them! Oh yea, Holler at me at Twitter too! (shameless plug)