Sunday, September 09, 2007

Illustration Friday: Momentum

"Sliding headfirst is the safest way to get to the next base, I think, and the fastest. You don't lose your momentum, and there's one more important reason I slide headfirst, it gets my picture in the paper."
-Pete Rose

Not really a Pete Rose fan, but I gotta admit he was an intense baseball player.

So, yeah, I've done another three of those alphabet animals... 'D,' 'E,' and 'F' (below this text). Don't kn
ow if I'll continue through all 26 critters. It's a real stretch to incorporate some of them into the letter shapes. I think I can get an animal for every letter, but I need some help on the letter 'X.' Only animal I've found so far is the X-ray Fish, whatever that is. Never heard of it. If anyone has ideas, let me know. I'm still a few weeks away from that letter, if I end up getting that far.

Peace to everyone, and don't be afraid to get your uniform dirty.


18 comments:

studio lolo said...

What timing! I heard my email bell go off as I was browsing your work and the email was your comment. I love the new letters, especially the position of the fox. The names are perfect! I "Googled" the letter X for animals and came up with Xenops: genus name and common name for a group of nuthatch-type birds native to Central and South America, and Xerus: a kind of ground squirrel.
Nice to see you back, even half-time. Oh...and great take on momentum too!

ElizT said...

They are all gorgeous; I love the colours.

get zapped said...

These are great! I love the sliding piece. It's not an easy thing to do well, and not get hurt! Nice capturing of the player's expression. I'm going to two M's games this week!

Enjoy the rest of the season ;)

biteyourowntail said...

err great momentum...;) Nice one.

steve said...

You gotta wonder who the first brave (or crazy) soul was who thought of doing this. I've never tried it--always from the side on the leg, which was almost equally crazy, but somehow worked. Anyhow, nice double header here Twisselman (and while the Rose quote was great, your about the uniform was even better).

Tony LaRocca said...

You know, with all these drug problems major league baseball puts up with these days, I think Pete got a very raw deal.

HARDWAX said...

Beautiful likeness and action, and perspective in your rendering of Pete Rose. You have him doing what he did best-winning. Go Reds, ha!
Cute and elegant, and what a combo. I love these letters. Wouldn't each look fab dangleing from a neck, wow!

Kay Aker said...

Phenomenal perspective and expression!

Lou said...

I'm not a big fan of Mr. Rose either, let alone baseball, but he was a solid player and made for some interesting media coverage at times.

BTW, thanks to Ranger Rick, here are some additional animals for the letter 'X'.

Xenops (which was already mentioned) is the name of some birds that live in Central and South America. And the scientific name of a rat found in Mexico is Xenomys. Plus, two species of ground squirrels have the scientific name Xerus (also mentioned previously).

Here's one more. Armadillos, sloths, and anteaters can all be called xenarthrans. They belong to a group called Xenarthra.

carla said...

I'm not into baseball at all, but I love the perspective and action of this illo! Your animal alphabet looks delightful - please keep going!

Ellen Byrne said...

Great perspective and staging! Very nicely done, Twisselman!

AndyDoodler said...

Great likeness!- knew it was Rose right off the bat. Great how you handled the crowd as well.
Loving your alphabet- look forward to seeing them all.
Peace to you- (I need to do some laundry man).

Robert McLaughlin said...

Hi Twisselman,

It's been a while since I stopped by. Really nice work with the letters. Gotta admit, I don't have a clue about the X.

Robert

Larry Lee said...

I'm late once again this week. Nice idea using Pete Rose. As for his quote - I remember Kenny Lofton of the Indians years ago sliding head-first into first base and ended up dislocating his shoulder. It may be the fastest way to get to the base, but you gotta be careful how you land.
Love the continuation of the animals. I have nothing to add for 'x' that hasn't already been mentioned.

Anonymous said...

i love the letters! great colours, and they're sooo cute.

and um....i really like your slider's hands.

° said...

great letters and i agree pete was an intense ball player. like the head on view too

bee'nme said...

Cool illustration and great quote - I like what you did with this! And I am lovin' on your animal alphabet - keep it up!!

Kim de Young said...

x-tinct? Love the letters they are awesome!