But not forgotten....

I found out yesterday about the death of Ryan August,
and I'm still pretty stunned.
Ryan was an artist and creator of I Want Your Skull,
the art zine and website that showcased lots of todays big name illustrators and poster artists before they got big.
I've been a contributor to his projects for a few years now,
and he was always so encouraging and positive.
He leaves behind a wife and young son,
and many, many artists who appreciate everything he did for us.
IWYS 9 came in the mail this week,
but I don't think he ever received my thank you email.
Thanks Ryan, for all your hard work, generosity,
kind words, and endless inspiration.

Award Ceremony

The results to the I Want Your Skull "Anti-Valentine" Contest are in.

1.

Amber wins.
(in every possible way that her submission could win)

First, she has a upside-down heart.
It's black, and crossed out, too.
Next, there's the calendar in the background,
and Valentine's Day is crossed out, there, as well.
What else?
How about a little of her bird tattoos I did peeking out from her shirt.
And then, for some extra credit,
she went and posted it on her blog.


2.

Matt comes in a close second place for his submission.
His photo might not be fancy,
(or even in focus)
but he's holding a real heart. (from what, I don't know)
That literal bastard.
Nice work.

3.

Li gets the bronze just for having the first submission of the first contest I ever held on this blog.
It was also the biggest heart submission I got.


These three will each be getting a copy of the I Want Your Skull Issue XIII
Thanks to everyone for your submissions.
I enjoyed this immensely,
and will hold other contest type things again in the future.

I Want Your Skull Contest

The I Want Your Skull 8's arrived in the mail this weekend,
and they look so good.
And I have an extra one that I'm giving away.
(the first time I've ever hosted a contest, even)
How do you win it?

Just email me a photo of you holding an upside down heart.
My favorite of the all the photos I receive by Valentine's Day gets the new issue.
I'll even ship it anywhere in the world for free.
It's that easy.

If the submissions are dope,
I might even find prizes for 2nd and 3rd place.

So send me the photo(s) to :
anti_valentine@shawnhebrank.com

And here's the actual art I did that got used for the cover:



Man-tiquing.
It's been a long time since I last went,
so Ryan and I headed out in the snow yesterday to hit up a couple spots.
I got another sexy hurricane lamp.
This one even had some kerosene still in it,
and I lit it up once I got home.

I made some business cards for Ryan,
and we listed his gazillion skills on the back.
In exchange for putting together the cards for him,
he gave me this super sexy bear skull.
So dope.

I Want Your Skull VIII

The latest issue of I Want Your Skull is out today!

I've been waiting not-very-patiently for it to be released,
since I did the wrap around cover way back in October,
and I'm not very good at keeping secrets.
But since it got released today along with promo photos,
here's a shot from their website:




I was super flattered to have been asked to participate in such a huge way.
They also asked some questions for a mini interview inside the zine.



You can go HERE to see more details and to grab a copy for yourself.