Monster Mania Artist Commentary - Zombie Pizza

The first batch of Monster Mania drawings were created for a solo art exhibition at Lawrence Photo Print & Frame in October 2017. This drawing of an anthropomorphic pizza zombie was the first drawing that I created for the series. When I started working on this drawing, I had absolutely no clue what a Monster Mania drawing was. I created the drawing really quickly because I needed a cool promotional image for the exhibition flyer. I didn’t put much thought into it. I just thought it would be fun to draw an anthropomorphic pizza zombie and it would be a really eye-catching image for the flyer. Everyone loves pizza and zombies. Why not mash those two things together? This drawing ended up establishing the overall vibe and aesthetic of the series. After the first drawing was finished, the rules for creating the other drawings became crystal clear to me.

The Rules

#1 The monster must be isolated against a simple abstract background. The background should not distract from the monster. The background should not have a full bleed. The background should be an amorphous shape. 

#2 The drawings should be drawn using bold black holding lines like old school comic books. No color holds. 

#3 The colors should be garish. Use only bright colors like neon pink, safety orange and chartreuse. When in doubt let Ben Cooper Halloween Costumes be your color guide. 

#4 All of the drawings are in a square format because the algorithm demands I keep my monsters in a box. 

#5 The drawings should be silly and creepy and gross. The vibe is Garbage Pail Kids with more blood and vomit and puss. 

#6 Drawing monsters should be fun.

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