eben

what's online: the no-tasting taste test

2008-05-03T17:57:00.002-04:00

the eben fanbase has spoken, sure that fanbase happens to be made up of three year old girls, rather, one three year old girl, but she has spoken:

SUPER illustration today! Django and I spotted it in the Business Section at a table where we were sharing bagels. I asked her what it was since mermaids are one of her favorite things - next to Mats Sundin. The laptop isn't too far behind so she looked at it and said, i quote,'una ninfa marina!!! con una computadora! en una taza de té!' it made her day and she now has it in her wallet.

thanks to bb for raising her daughter on a diet of bagels, the the new york times business section, and plenty of eben illustrations, i owe you a tim horton donut. as the illustration itself, it's one of those ones that doesn't quite jive with the story (in my mind at least), which can happen with short deadlines. the crux of the story is a new starbucks website where you can experience and learn about their coffee, all from the comfort of your own home..

nytimes.com: what's online, by dan mitchell

slate: why doesn't anybody go to the horse races?

2008-05-02T14:59:00.001-04:00

the kentucky derby is upon us, and slate has a couple of stories about horse racing. the one i illustrated is how betting away from the track via the internet is cheaper, easier, and even pays better. this benefit to the bettor, however, comes at the expense of smaller tracks and betting lifestyle:

As a writer, I also have to mourn the decline of the racetrack culture. The track and its characters—misfits, losers, and dreamers every one of us—provided the casts for Charles Bukowski's Longshot Pomes for Broke Players, Damon Runyon's Guys and Dolls, and Jay Cronley's Good Vibes, which became the movie Let It Ride.

slate: why doesn't anybody go to the horse races?, by ted mcclelland (cover)

lowbrow reader

2008-04-30T13:21:00.000-04:00

two illustrations for the article, overlooked comedies: 1961-1967, by sam henderson, appearing in the highly anticipated 6th issue of the lowbrow reader. henderson certainly makes me want to throw a bunch of old comedies into the netflix queue, and in case you're curious, here are the movies connected to these illustrations:

oh dad, poor dad, mama's hung you in the closet and i'm feeling so sad (1967)
lord love a duck (1966)

brooklyn label

2008-04-29T14:48:00.001-04:00

since moving into the studio, i have been busy and forgetful about getting out to draw, however, as i get more settled, coffee shops will again be frequented. i no longer need to get out of the house, just out of the studio.

what's online: when the smoke cleared

2008-04-26T18:11:00.000-04:00

employers who pay healthcare are getting more concerned about their employees personal activities, particularly smoking. while a healthier lifestyle can benefit both the employer and employee, does a company have a right to mandate, or account for actions outside of the workplace?

nytimes.com: what's online, by dan mitchell

birthday bbq: saturday, may 17th

2008-04-22T17:16:00.001-04:00

hey all. it's that time of year again, birthday bbq with kickball, kubb, food, drink and hopefully YOU! bring yourself, bring your frends, feel free to add to the food/drink supplies, and as always . . . there will be bacon.

we'll be there early, and leave when it gets too dark to kubb.

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stolen illustrations: don't buy this book

2008-04-22T10:49:00.001-04:00

last week, darren di lieto from the little chimp society (an illustration community art blog), emailed to inform a number of artists (including myself) that a book titled colorful illustrations 93°c had been published using word for word interviews and artwork from the the little chimp website as well as from personal artists' websites. the creators of this book did not receive permission to use the content or imagery and are not paying the artists whose work appears in this book. (darren's post)

if you see this book in a store, please do not purchase it, and if you are feeling particularly angry, mention to the people working there that the work in the book violates copyright laws, plagiarizes, etc.

- - - -

1) not flattery. there is much chatter about how those appearing in this book should be flattered that their artwork appears in print. this is not the case. i might be flattered if they had asked permission to include my work, and i'd be elated if they had offered to pay for my work to appear in this book. other than that, no.

2) marketing plan. because of this uproar, this book (which likely is crap, although i haven't seen it in person) is getting a whole lot more attention than it deserves. hopefully this attention is in fact negative and people don't buy it, however, it's attention.

what's online: trading on testosterone

2008-04-19T17:33:00.000-04:00

a new study suggests that the market is driven by the hormones of traders. yeah, big surprise. poor bear getting a noogie from a bull. control yourself bull!

nytimes.com: what's online, by dan mitchell

what's online: cubicles make poor nurseries

2008-04-12T13:33:00.002-04:00

some writers for the guardian tested out bringing their kids to work based on more and more u.s. companies allowing parents to have their children in the office. this of course originates from the u.s. not requiring paid maternity leave. needless to say, this experiment went woefully bad, although the participants tried this out for all of a day at most. not nearly enough to prove that it's bad in the long term, however, i have little doubt that it would be.

nytimes.com: what's online, by dan mitchell

slate: tiny tyrants

2008-04-10T13:45:00.000-04:00

slate reports on ways to actually control your child's behavior! okay, that's a slight overstatement. yelling or even explaining when a child does something wrong doesn't really help as the attention rewards bad behavior, instead put the effort into reinforcing good behavior.

the new studio helped with this illustration as there is fusebox across the room that was in my line of sight while sketching. and yes, i am sure that kids have dip switches on their backs that control their behavior.

slate: tiny tyrants, by alan e. kazdin (cover)

slate: how to apologize to your girlfriend

2008-04-08T14:08:00.001-04:00

slate investigates a more green way of giving flowers in response to this email:

My girlfriend is on the verge of kicking me to the curb, so I'd like to smooth things over with my standard apology gift: a dozen long-stemmed roses. But she's on the crunchy side, and I'm worried that cut flowers have become a major environmental no-no among such eco-minded folks. Should I find a greener way to say I'm sorry?

personally, i think the guy sounds like a dick, "standard apology gift", how often is this guy screwing up? maybe the relationship is just plain doomed. however, the email appears in the green lantern section which deals with environmental concerns and not dear prudence, who would be quick to question this relationship's validity, or possibly not even bother. anyway, put in your cfc flowers, every little bit helps!

slate: how to apologize to your girlfriend … without destroying the earth, by brendan i. koerner

what's online: at last, buffett's key to success

2008-04-05T12:57:00.000-04:00

this week's article suggests that warren buffet invests like a girl. it mentions him being patient, investigating opportunities fully, and not running off after hot tech stocks...like a dude.

nytimes.com: what's online, by dan mitchell

studio share

2008-03-31T10:42:00.001-04:00

big news on the eben front is that i am getting a studio. wahoo! (more on this later)

currently there are three of us (two illustrators and a designer), and we are looking for a fourth. the studio is in the pencil factory in greenpoint (map), 600 sqft, bright and sunny, great art community, 24 hour access, etc, etc. if you or someone you know is interested, drop me a line, a link to your work, and i will happily discuss more details.

what's online: rethinking real estate

2008-03-29T22:00:00.000-04:00

a recent report came out saying that inclusionary zoning (ie, affordable housing in new construction) rarely if at all, affects housing prices and production. seeing these new condo buildings with apartments going for ridiculous prices, mixed housing at the very least, is welcome in these developments. i have little sympathy for developers as i imagine them complaining about affordable housing ruining their profit margins, while cutting as many corners as possible on their way to homogenizing these neighborhoods.

nytimes.com: what's online, by dan mitchell

times sketching

2008-03-27T18:35:00.000-04:00

some rough sketches for a what's online illustration. these are not the cleaned up sketches that i send to art directors, but sometimes i like the mess that comes from the early thought process. one of the early ones even turned nicely into the final.

sva figure drawing workshop

2008-03-26T16:01:00.000-04:00

for some reason, this week's figure drawing turned into some kind of strange foot fetish drawing session. for the record, i am not a foot fetishist, however, i do not mind drawing feet. i mention this as some people are really anti-feet. i recall a session when teaching a class of highschool students to draw feet, at which point half the class freaked out. so maybe upon viewing these drawings, you dear reader are cringing. if so, my apologies.

chairs

2008-03-25T14:39:00.001-04:00

more chairs, good comfy reading chairs.

chair

2008-03-24T14:54:00.000-04:00

i haven't been drawing or posting many random doodles from my sketchbook recently, so without further ado, here are some chairs.

what's online: the thin skin of apple fans

2008-03-22T21:52:00.000-04:00

this week's what's online is about perceived bias in the media, specifically technology, more specificially still, when it come to apple fans and their beloved apple products. feel free to write a pro-apple article, but beware the backlash should you mention anything disparaging about lord job's creations. this illustration required hair accuracy, so i contacted tony-c of aisleone to inquire out the current trends in apple fanboy hair. he obligingly snapped a self-portrait of his fauxhawk with his iphone and emailed it to me. thanks tony-c, and yes, i know your hair isn't red.

nytimes.com: what's online, by dan mitchell

sva figure drawing workshop

2008-03-19T22:39:00.000-04:00

slate: teams we hate

2008-03-19T12:35:00.003-04:00

it's late march, and that means the ncaa basketball tournament, an event so large, there have even been religions founded upon its holy brackets. i was asked to do an illustration for slate's annual teams we hate article. using all the fury, hate and phildelphia-ness in me, this assignment wasn't difficult at all, honestly, if you aren't in the big 5 (plus drexel) you won't be getting any love from this illustrator. i am always happy to cheer against teams, so in the spirit of competition, GO FU!

slate: teams we hate, by tommy craggs, bryan curtis, mike debonis, sam eifling, josh levin, chris park, john swansburg, and robert weintraub.

i've noticed around the illustrator sketchblog-o-sphere that people have been showing some of their ideas and sketches along with final work, so here's a sample of my sketching, or at least what i sent to the client. for full disclosure, i was pretty excited about doing a nadshot illustration (possibly NSFW, illustrated crotch-knee violence), but everyone really liked the 'GO FU' foam middle finger, which i couldn't argue with.

what's online: free music? only with a fight

2008-03-15T11:02:00.000-04:00

a sxsw panel about advertising supported music where the discussion quickly turned into a heated argument. i just love drawing the big cloud of dust-fight harking back to my love of saturday morning cartoons. it's basically a big cloud and a bunch of extremities, wristbands, and badges.

nytimes.com: what's online, by dan mitchell

slatev: dr syd's house call

2008-03-13T11:19:00.001-04:00

dr. syd's house call is a new video feature on slatev, featuring their medical expert talking with a slate editor about kids, parenting and health. in the video feature, dr. syd doesn't actually jump out from your computer screen, but i must say that it would be cool if he did. c'mon syd, jump!

slatev: dr. syd's house call (video)

sva figure drawing workshop

2008-03-12T10:57:00.000-04:00

i like when the warmup sketches just turn into a mess. hello mess.

what's online: manage money like a star

2008-03-08T16:23:00.000-05:00

mainstreet.com is a personal-finance site who's articles start with celebrity gossip and quickly come around to becoming a financial lesson, suggestion, something. so we have the joys of celeb gossip mixed with the scintillating writing of personal finance, it's a win-win! personally, i think it's a train wreck of an idea, however, i did find myself clicking through a few of the stories just to see how the gossip/finance would connect. lastly, i must give credit that 'jack nicholson hocking an oscar' was dan's idea, and an entertaining one at that. next week, dan will be drawing and i'll be writing!

nytimes.com: what's online, by dan mitchell