CFTBL Fan!

The Creature from the Black Lagoon Fan Art at CafePress

Once again, I've got to thank CafePress for the opportunity to create and produce licensed Universal Monsters art for use on t-shirts, posters, stickers, mugs and other assorted gift items. Their licensee program which includes some of my favorite movies and tv shows is really the only thing that keeps me producing and posting new Mudge Studios artwork on their POD site. Anyway, back to the image featured above which is an oval Creature From the Black Lagoon sticker. You can see that item as well as others designed specifically for a variety of other CFTBL novelties. You can check out Mudge's new CFTBL shop at CafePress Here. Oh, Be sure to shop directly at my shops, If you do plan to buy any of my Creature from the Black Lagoon designs as CafePress's direct market place usually charges much more.

Assorted CFTBL items at Mudge Studios CafePress Shop

As mentioned in a past post, The Creature from the Black Lagoon movies were some of my all time favorites when I was a kid. The Creature from the Black Lagoon was a Universal Studios Monster Movie released in 1954. The plot unreels when a fossilized skeletal hand with webbed digits is uncovered during an expedition deep in the Amazon. Dr. David Reed, a renowned ichthyologist from the marine biology institute finds a way to get back there to search for a complete specimen. The Creature from the Black Lagoon represents the missing link between land and marine animals- a valuable addition to the fossil record. Ultimately, the expedition finds its way into the Black Lagoon where they are confronted by a live specimen that hunts them down. The Gill-Man eventually kidnaps Kay the heroine of the story, and there is a standoff in The Creatures lair where the piscine amphibious humanoid is presumably shot to death. The Creature's body is never recovered.
There were three CFTBL flicks. The original '54 classic, the Revenge of the Creature and lastly- The Creature Walks Among Us. I remember the times when my mom would wake me up really late at night for the Creature Double Features that ran on Saturday Nights. She'd boil hot dogs and we'd enjoy all of those Universal Studio Monster Classics! Thought it would be interesting to mention that two actors played the part of the infamous amphibious Creature. Ben Chapman was the Creature on land while Ricou Browning did the underwater work. There has been talk over the years of remaking the movie and each time the project was scrapped due to various reasons. Rumor has it that Universal is currently making yet another attempt. We'll see...
Anyway, I really enjoyed creating the CFTBL fan art.  I hope that you like it too.

I Heart CFTBL Fan Design

A Frog's Life Gift Shop @ Zazzle

A Frog's Life by Mudge Studios

Welcome to A Frog's Life at Zazzle. Well, everyone knows that Frogs are amphibians and that the majority of frogs have long, powerful hind legs, a short body, webbed fingers and toes, bulging eyes and no tail. Frogs are of course known to be elite leapers, even the childhood game of Leap Frog comes from mimicking the jumping prowess of the froggy. Frogs can be found across the globe in tropical rain forests to surprisingly subarctic areas. More than 5,000 species of Frog are known to inhabit our planet, but many species are becoming endangered. 

Variety of Frog themed t-shirts and gift ideas

Frogs are one of my favorite animals. Frogs certainly have the right attitude in dealing with life as the Frog lives to eat anything that bugs them. Now that is a motto to live by. A Frog's Life at Zazzle has a large variety of cool frog shirts, buttons, mugs, bumper stickers and more for frog lovers of all ages. Our Froggie artwork by Mudge Studios includes a tree frogs, funny bull frogs, croaking toads, guitar rocking frog and dapper machine gun frog with fun frog slogans such as Frogs Eat anything that Bugs them, Frogs Rule while Toads Drool, I'm frog people, Frogs Rock, Bull Frog, Frogzilla, I Love Frogs More Than Most People, I Heart Frogs and so much More. Ribbit. Croak. Ribbit.

Frogzilla, Bull Frog and Born Green

Frogs Rock Sticker by Mudge Studios

Remember- Frogs are Cool- they eat what Bugs them. See all of our Funny frog art created especially for frog lovers of all ages. Just love this dude's 'tude with his froggy shades and all. Thanks for Checking out A Frog's Life:)

Wedding Caricature for my Cousin Em

Emily, Jantz and Becks Caricature 2012

2012 was a great year for the Mudgett family getting together with my Mom's side of the family as both of my cousins each had their wedding in Vermont last year- and they were only a couple of months or so apart. Cousin Nate's wedding was first and that was when Jantz, who is pictured above, requested that I create a caricature of he and Emily for their wedding that was coming up in early October. He wanted it to be a surprise for his bride to be- also requesting that he not even see any sketches. We chatted a little bit about style, etc. and then proceeded to enjoy the rest of night celebrating the union of Nate and Bree.

I couldn't do too much until many of the details concerning Emily and Jantz's wedding were locked in. During that time, I had Jantz scout around for some decent photo reference. Within a couple of weeks the details were rolling in. Emily was to be wearing a white dress while Jantz would be sporting a Carcoal colored tux with a peach tie and vest. He and his wedding party selected some really cool kicks. Check out the Vann's illustrated above... no pun intended. The newly weds had also booked their honeymoon at Turks and Caicos. Well, that was enough for me to get going on the project. I asked Jantz about throwing in the 'Together Forever October 6th 2012' and he loved the idea. That's when it occurred to him to ask me if there was anyway that I could have a matt or something around the caricature where their wedding guests could sign it. I told him that I was having their caricature printed on a canvas and that I could leave a generous area surrounding the caricatures for signing.

Mudge at the wedding adding his John Hancock to the canvas

 When I had completed the art. I had emailed a high resolution file to CafePress where it was printed and shipped directly to my aunt in Vermont. She was able to keep it under wraps until the Big Day. The canvas was placed on an antique chair with some permanent gold and silver sharpies available nearby. All of their special wedding guests were able to sign it and leave a short message. Turns out that Jantz and my cousin Emily loved the artwork too. Their wedding caricature now hangs proudly in their apartment in California. I didn't tell Jantz that I was also including a caricature of their dog Becks. I'm sure that he loved that idea- well, except that the dog is wearing a New England Patriots jersey.  Emily absolutely loved that as she was born and raised in New England. Jantz, on the other hand, grew up in Cali and loves the Raiders. Anyway, I know how much both Em and Jantz love their pup and cherish Becks as the child in their family. I love those guys and I wish them all the best.

I Dig Dinosaurs Triceratops Design

I Dig Dinosaurs Tee at Mudge's Zazzle Shop

I dig dinosaurs- especially Triceratops. Triceratops comes to us from the Greek language meaning Three-Horned face. These dinosaurs thrived in what is now North America during the late Cretaceous Period which was about 68 to 65 million years ago. For decades, there has been much speculation as to the many possible purposes for the three horns and frill. Defense against predators, courtship display and even the assistance in regulating Triceratop's body temp have been debated. For me this is a no-brainer. Since childhood I was awed by this magnificent beast with its armor plated skull and built in lances. As I played with my plastic dinosaur toys, I imagined and reenacted the epic battles against Triceratop's foe- the king of the terrible lizards… tyrannosaurus rex. I recall several classic dinosaur paintings and illustrations by Charles R. Knight and others depicting such a scene. As a kid, I most always pictured the Great Three-horn like a tank relentlessly marching forward and ending the conflict with its brow spears penetrating deep into the T-Rex's soft abdomen. I think that it had to do with thinking that T- Rex was the bad guy, the bully that would terrorize all the other dinosaurs in its kingdom. I always pictured Triceratops as the only dinosaur that could stand up to M. T.

I Dig Dinosaurs Party Supplies at our Zazzle Shop

Check out our cool I dig Dinosaurs shirts and stickers from Mudge Studios. Featured is a painting of a classic Triceratops skull with the slogan 'I Dig Dinosaurs' rendered as a prehistoric rock formation. Our I dig dinosaurs mercy makes Great Gift Ideas for Dinosaur Lovers and aspiring paleontologists of all ages. Some of our smaller I dig Dinosaurs items also make for awesome party favors for that special Dinosaur birthday. There is a variety of dino stickers, triceratops cake toppers, dino plates, dinosaur coasters and more to chose from. Dinosaurs Rock! Be sure to Check out our Mudge Studios' Dinosaur Shops below.

I Dig Dinosaurs at Zazzle

Gawking with Dinosaurs at Skreened

Little T Rex at CafePress

I Dig Dinosaurs Sticker at Mudge's RedBubble Store