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I’ve been wanting a new logo for myself for quite sometime, so yesterday I just sat myself down and cranked one out. Bam. There you go.

It’s based off an icon I had been using for myself for a little while that always seemed fitting, but wanted something that was a little more fitting and striking. Obviously the “A” and “W” come from my initials, but the gear always seemed to be a nice representation of my hardworking, Midwestern roots. And the orange, black and white are a nod to my hometown and the school colors back in good ol’ White Bear Lake, MN. One should never forget where you come from.

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A circus without a ringmaster is nothing but chaos. With him, controlled chaos. He makes sure everything runs smoothly, directs the show and keeps uppity lions in check. So when the decision was made to create a full cast of circus characters to go along with Magnus the Strongman, it only made sense to start with the ringmaster.

So without further adieu, please direct your attention to center stage and give a warm round of applause to The Ringmaster, Mr. St. George.

Also, check out Lead • Ink • Pixels here if you want to see the original sketch.

For the past six years I’ve been cutting my own hair, and during that time I’ve also been trying to persuade my friends to do the same. Unfortunately, no one has taken me up on this proposition. Although what’s the worst that can happen? Sure, you might screw up and look funny for a few weeks, but the trill of failure is what makes cutting your own hair fun and exciting. Luckily, the stakes aren’t that high. And should things go awry, you can buy yourself a stylish new hat or wig with the money you’ve saved.

On a side note, if you ever notice my hair to be uneven or choppy in the back, do the right thing and please let me know. It’s hard to see back there, and I must cut solely on skill and intuition.

Sometimes the best projects are the ones you can make for yourself. So luckily for me, I was in need of some new business cards. A damn good project to take on. Because if you can’t have fun doing that, there’s something wrong with you.

Well, clearly there’s something wrong with me because I hated the whole process. I hated searching through smelly old antique stores for stupid dinosaur stamps. Writing self-deprecating messages for the cards made me depressed. Then having to stamp each card by hand gave me a rash. I don’t even understand how that happened. But it did.

Thankfully that horrible process is over and done with. Now I can get down to business.

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Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls. Step right up and prepare your eyes to see the strongest man in the whole wide world. You’ve heard the stories, you’ve told the tales. Well, brace yourself for the real thing. He stands a full 6 feet 8 inches tall, weighs in at over 310 lbs, and comes to us all the way from Kitzbühel, Austria. The one, the only, the mightiest man this side of the equator, Magnus the Strongman.

I’ve been trying my best to post a wide range of things that make, whether that be photography, ads or a pin made from a root beer bottle cap. Unfortunately, one thing that has been sorely overlooked has been my illustration. Well, here is a step in the right direction, and a commitment to keep doing more.

So that brings us to Magnus the Strongman. He doesn’t have a purpose other than I wanted to draw him. Actually, he was laying around from an old project that got derailed, and I never got to finish him. So after some more attention, he gets to finally see the light of day.