PM is my Wingman

Never tell Manny P. he'll be your Wingman... that's your job!

I didn't wanna do another Pac-Manny shirt but I couldn't pass up the idea! Who knows when I'll be using this... Anyways, There's gotta be a million Manny shirts out there. Everyone's cashing in on his success, even the ugly shirts LOL. Whatever Filipino establishment I find myself in, whether it's Seafood City or an Oriental Mart carrying Pinoy goods, I see the same shirt: low res scan of his face with the same quote "Pound 4 Pound"... there's no creativity sometimes. You can scan his face and make a grip! For me, I want something different. I wanna wear something that folks can recognize and see I'm representing Manny but at the same time, throw em' off a little and realize it's on some creative shit. Top Gun + Manny .. that's on another level! It's just fun to look at! Plain and simple!

Golden State Night at the Movies (part 1)

Just for kicks... I've done my fair share of photoshop quickies on GSoM. They were funny enough to get folks chuckling and was pretty much intended for that effect. There's just so much you can do with em'... since a lot of the images were low res and tough to find on the web, think of them as eye candy. (I like to call em' Dirty Photoshops) Anyways, from Star Wars to Demolition Man, I covered them all! I didn't just change the faces, I had to mess around with the wording too to make em' complete! Another oldie but goodie segment!

Paul Wong no longer "Believes"

Paul Wong (left) "We Believe" founder. Tony.psd (right) inspired illustrator

I know this news is old, and broke out a few days ago but I didn't have a computer on me to blog up this post. (technical difficulties the past few days) If ya'll are from the Bay and love Warriors Basketball, ya'll know who started that "We Believe" movement... The Bay's very own Paul Wong! This big time fan had everyone believing in the W's in 2007 with his homemade "We Believe" signs. Dubs later made it to the playoffs upsetting the 1st seed Mavs! I was reading up on an article on the San Jose Mercury news and was sad to hear "Warriors "We Believe" fan no longer believes." The title alone was sad, but what became more of a bummer was seeing how the front office treated the guy. (I'll let ya'll read up and see for yourself)

For me, Paul Wong was an inspiration on my artistic tip. He made use of what he had and went to the home games with 1 simple message: Believe. I would see folks like him and other people make cardboard signs and get there messages up on TV... I wanted that that feeling too, but I wanted to get my drawings out for everyone to see and have fun with it. Thanks Paul for showing me the way... and best of luck. The Warriors just lost their biggest fan.

Illustrator quickies

Call em' Saturday morning ideas laid out on digital canvas... I wake up like any other kid on the weekend, turn on the morning cartoons and power on my Adobe Illustrator on my mac book. Some of these ideas are things I randomly think of throughout the day. I give it some thought and than put in some work. While much of my ideas knock off some pop cultures favorite moments, my idea can sticks to your head till you realized I just did a parody of it. They're fun, cute, laughable... but will they make good on a shirt? This is one of the things I am blessed (and fortunate) to do as a designer... recreate my thoughts and see whether or not I like em'?

The Suisun City (top right) is a given... but how many folks in my small town will actually wear it? "Husky Boy" (bottom right) is a work in progress, somethings missing. (like a Husky dude, LOL) I'm digging the "Sexy Manangs strike back" (top left, this years "Miss Independent) but how many of em' actually watch Star Wars. The only one I'm in agreement with is the 3-color Santa Cruz inspired "Sexy Manangs" idea (bottom left) me and my investors wanna put out. That's basically how I work ideas out for myself... I think about it... create it and than look at it (for a while) and see if I want to actually go with it. No harm done, I'm my own boss and it's my time to make the call. Fun stuff!

They printed it in Japanese

Word up. It's been a busy and hectic week since I jumped in the T-Shirt design biz. I can't complain at all. I put in the hours at my day job and jumped on my personal venture in the evening time... processing orders, hyping the goods, setting up shipping orders. I ain't mad at all! You gotta put in the work to make it happen. Success ain't gonna grow by itself. It's taken away some of my drawing time but that's what the weekends are for! Get the serious work done in the weekend, LOL!

Anyways, I was walking through the office building and passed by one of my designs for an Engineering magazine printed in Japan. Couldn't help but appreciate the translation work set up around the graphic I provided. It isn't often I put my Photoshop skills to use at work. Had to represent! Happy Friday Ya'll!

Sealed for freshness... Shirts are in the mail!

Here's another look at the Pac-Man T's. Man, what a busy day! The orders have been prepared, folded and are ready to ship! Once again, thanks to everyone for showing support and to those that pushed me to open up shop and chase my dreams. I'm my own boss today! All this hard works paid off, I'm getting the satisfaction of seeing the fruits of my labor. Smiles all around, there's more to come! Enjoy the shirts :-)

"Job well done"... The shirts are here!

What can I say? It took some time and a few delays, but my Manny Pacquiao inspired T's have arrived! I'm officially in the T-shirt business and boy, it's a lot of work! I've never felt satisfaction like this before. For years, I was working for my pay... taking in various clients and at times feeling like I've been short changed. This is just the start of the beginning... today, I'm my own boss and am having the time of my life drawing it up and making my own decisions! Damn it feels good! Although the order for this batch was small, it's the first of many designs on the horizon. I've got a limited number of sizes remaining on this one but theres more on the way June 21st! Thanks again for all your support. Have fun with em' folks!

You stay classy Golden State!

Ohh, it's the deep burn. Oh, it's so deep. Oh, I can barely lift my right arm 'cause I did so many. I don't know if you heard me counting. I did over a thousand.

This was probably the funniest design I've ever brought to a game... not only did it keep heads laughing but the entire FSN staff (now Comcast Sports) made sure Warriors TV commentator Jim Barnett did not miss this one. Sure Jim asked "of all the people I remind you of it had to be Ron Burgandy?!" (Will Ferral of Anchorman) I had told him specifically that I wanted to draw him as a sign of appreciation, I just couldn't think of anything exciting that would fit him. Than one day I saw the cover to Anchorman and pictured Jim on that cover! Warrior fans are very lucky to have Jim Barnett (along with Bob Fitzgerald) commentate our games every season. They bring a certain level of respect to the organization and added excitement night in and night out. We appreciate the hard work fellas!

The lost illustrator files 07-08 (part 1)

Decided to finally put these out... you've seen em' in the past, think of em' as unreleased material!

There were a number of reasons why I decided to not show these drawings until now. Some of those reasons were that a few of these players were no longer playing with the Warriors, that and some of the hype simply passed on. (it was a great idea during that time frame though, lol) The whole idea last season was to bring a new sign design to every home game... why? I just did it for fun, a good laugh and to get some exposure of course. This is just a handful of designs, remember there's about 40+ home games! A lot of my ideas were based on movies, tv shows and of course comic books. I basically looked for ideas that people could get familiar with. When your at a sporting event and see a sign advertising something, how many seconds do you spend looking at it? I wanted folks to recognize the movie and realize their favorite Warrior was featured on it!

I personally liked them all, the fans got a kick out of them and the players included were always happy with the renditions. My personal favorites included the Biedrins/Jackson Top Gun parody and the Back to the Future design, these ideas were so true to the chemistry of things happening at the time. I also thought the Altered Beast sign was kick ass, gamers were really hyped with that one and Azubukie has always been a beast on court. A lot of these idea's were also pitched by GSoM's faithful readers including the "Austin Croshere Powers" Parody, who formerly played for the W's. I used the 300 based design (bottom left) to hype the upperlevel club 200 fans during a rally push late in the 4th quarter and I can't seem to forget Belinelli's reaction his Rambo inspired sign! For what it was worth, these signs really meant a lot to me. It was an escape from reality by having fun with different ideas and some lucky kid got to keep em' after the game! What can I say? We Believe started it all!

You just had to be there... We Believe 2007!

There was a lot of yellow that year... Better late than never, here's to great memories and great friendships!

I wish I had this blog site 2 years ago when the Warriors made it to the playoffs. It's never too late to post up such great memories and talk about it. Ya'll know the deal right? Your Golden State Warriors barely make the 8th spot to go head to head with the number 1 ranking Dallas Mavericks... and loses to your Dubs! It was some serious news here in the bay area and it was a tale I will never forget. I remember showing my support, through illustrated sign designs depicting our lovable Warriors of 2007. In 4 playoff home games I tried to draw as many designs as I could. A part of me wanted to just get on TV, but another part of me knew it was a good gesture towards the team. The fun I had got me some National exposure and a chance to post my stuff on Golden State of Mind. Everyone's a winner!

Sorry it took me so long to post these pics. 2007's We Believe Playoff run was memorable in part by all of the new friends I made. Our common interest was Warrior basketball but in the long run we all became very good friends. Whether its a "hey, how ya doin'" at a home game or a shout out or 2 on Facebook... friends will always be friends. I'd like to think of the Oracle Arena as the happiest place on earth for Warrior fans alike... even when we lose! Now if only our front office could get their act together and get us back to in the playoffs with the right chemistry! I don't have the same courtesy as winning teams like the Lakers or even the 76ers who make the playoffs... it's a decade thing for us Warrior Fans to take part in post season activities!