San Jacinto, California. Circa the summer of 2000.

Here’s a small bit of an illustration from Gwango’s Lonesome Trail.

The illustration was inspired by the above photograph, taken in the summer of 2000. I found this strange skull in the hills of San Jacinto, Ca. It’s made of wood, and sits alongside a collection of other carved skeletons—a Raptor and Pterosaur. I did some research, trying to find the sculptor of the works, but had little success. The sculptures were destroyed the following summer in order to build a housing development. They’ll forever stay a mystery I guess.

Something from the dingy dark bowels of my sketchbook. I apologize if it’s a little moldy and musty looking, but this drawing is over a hundred and fifty years old! I drew it during my days as a Victorian naturalist working for the British Museum of Natural History.

Here’s some ruff concept work for a new book project I’ve started. I guarantee, the story is totally different from my other book, and has nothing to do with dinosaurs or any other kind of extinct primordial beast. It just happens to have a small and very minor role featuring a prehistoric Pterodactyl. That I promise.

Gwango is getting ready for the printer this week, so in celebration, I present a smorgasbord of random stuff. There’s a couple of ink drafts and some designee stuff I did for the title page. Bon Appetite!

I have dreams of one day owning my own factory on the edge of town. In my factory I’ll make Tortilla Chips, or maybe Cactus Candy or Chewy Pecan Log Rolls or something. And in my factory, on all the walls, silos and smokestacks, you’ll see the quality logo of Justin Patrick Parpan:

If you want to work in my factory on the edge of town, please contact me or one of my associates and well get back to you real soon!

Here’s some new-fangled end paper designs for the book. I embraced my primitive side, and really went caveman on this particular version. So I hope no ones to repulsed by the crudeness of it all.

Lonelier then a Trucker on a Midnight Run…

Here’s a tiny piece from one of the new illustrations. It’s from a scene near the end of the story, when Gwango finally reaches the end of the lonely trail. He’s alone, he’s dejected-- he’s the loneliest prehistoric reptile this side of the Rio Grand!

I also wanted to announce the start of a fantastic new blog! The amazing work of Cal Arts Character Animation graduate Jesus Chambrot can be seen HERE!

I’ve been working with the publishers on cover design stuff for the last week. The titles been changed since then, and I had to beg them for the privileges of designing my own font type, but things are running smooth now, and where coming to a very real outcome…

From the depths of the lonesome desert comes something bizarre!!!

I had a bit of free time this week, so I did a little something extra for the Gwango book. Quite a stylish fellow, don’t you think?

Here’s the design I’m using for the end paper inside my Gwango book. I looked at old 1950’s, early 60’s motel wallpaper for inspiration.

Twilight of the Biltmore

These are some stills from my first year film. I shot it on location at the abandoned Biltmore Hotel in Palms Springs.

The higher-ups at the publishing house said they wanted a narrator character in my Gwango book. I said, let the narrator be a yodeling cowboy and you have yourself a deal!

Here's something I did for my character design class.

Adios…

Here’s a spot illustration for the Gwango story. It’s the last illustration of the book, the finale hurrah, so I wanted it to resemble a shot from a Sergio Leone movie or something--you know, real grandiose.

Paint picture of the day: Devil in the Starry Night

Gwango Encounters the Illusive Modern Man!

I’m thrilled to say that one of my illustrations from Gwango the Great made it onto the website Drawn. I’m really excited about this, so thanks again Jared!
Click here for the link.

Above is another illustration for the story, along with a ruff draft version of the drawing that I thought merited exhibition. This scene is a little ode to my home town of Palm Springs.

I came up with a character awhile back...His name is Jack Castle, a teenage kid who leaves behind the comforts of suburban living for a feral life spent in a faraway vacant lot. I'll get around to posting the story one of these days. Until then, here’s a still from the movie version I made back in the good old community college days.

“The life of a PRIMITIVE is the life of a rebellious nomad who little enjoys the company of others.”
- Jack Castle, the Primitive

Do you know what time it is boys and girls? Its time for the paint drawing of the day!!!

Jo, click here!!!

Guacamole Breath!

Here’s another drawing for the Gwango project. In the scene, Gwango has a mighty foul breath, and it ends with the skittish lizard barking Spanish cuss words and squirting blood from its eyeballs.

Paint Drawing of the Day: Bird Brain!

The Island Primitive!

Our homework assignment this week in character design class was to create a Robinson Crusoe type fellow. Here’s what I came up with.

Paint Drawing of the Day: Sir Thomas Fishery

NOW PLAYING: SCARECROW JOE

Click here to read the first in a series of stories about the thrilling escapades of Scarecrow Joe!

Gwango the Great

I’m going to post the story soon, but before I do, here’s a couple more illustrations from Gwango the Great:

Gwango vs. the Winnebago

Gwango vs. the Santa Fe Super Chief

Now Playing: TIN SKIN

Here’s a story called Tin Skin that I wrote over the summertime. The illustrations were done by my brother Josh

The Madness of the Moon.............

I started writing a story last night. Here’s a sketch of one of the characters. He’s crazy, he’s French, and he rides a bicycle without the assistance of shoes!

Thundering through the cactus jungles…

Here’s another drawing for Gwango the Great. I’m taking reference from the paintings of Steven Morath. His work really captures the strangeness of the American West, and no one paints a Twinkie trailer better then Morath.

COMING SOON TO YOUR LOCALE MULTIPLEX:

Gwango the Great, the 8th wonder of the world!

I’m doing a kid’s story called Gwango the Great. It takes place in a corny desert tourist town and features a fifty foot pink prehistoric reptile called Gwango. Here’s some of the notes for the project. That’s Gwango in the sketch, along with a character called the scaly little lizard.

Here’s an illustration for the opening of the book.

Hillbilly Jamboree, Part 2!

He spends his days in a dreary Appalachian creek, spooking the locals and partaking in backwoods hootenannies with his catfish kin. He munches on frozen fish sticks, and owns his own canoe...

Strange, Amazing, Shocking: Humongo!!!

Holly Guacamole, that’s a monster lineup!

The skeleton kids for a story I’m writing. It’s either going to be called Skeleton Heights, or The Bird Street Kids on Haloween Night. I haven’t decided.
The ghost is the ghost that lives up in my rafters. He doesn’t own any shoes or any socks either.

I was in the mountain's of Idylwylde this weekend, and this is what I came up with:

He’s large and grizzled, smells of corn brew and wears fuzzy bear slippers—he’s the Dastardly Trapper, of course, and he wanders the woods, in search of things to hunt and stuff.

Hillbilly Jamboree!

These kin are called Hill Folk. They roam the wild lands of Appalachia, and subsist on a strict diet of turtle and possum meat.

Here’s a couple of backwoods critters:

Native spirits, strange secret cults and the ghost of a long dead cannibal lumberjack — their all in this thrilling adventure called the Northern End.
That’s all I know about the story so far…

Everyday I try to do at least one drawing on the Microsoft Paint program. Here’s today’s drawing: The Spook.

Suburban Joe

Here’s one I did for a story I never wrote. It’s about suburban kids who encounter Harryhausen type monsters in the deserts beyond town.

A happy belated Halloween to one and all!