We had the pleasure of working on a number of User Profile and Achievement illustrations for the brand-spankin' new Xbox One, which happens to be out today. IC was commissioned by Xbox to create 30 gamerpics for users to choose from on the new system. Monsters, space scenes, animals, objects and more. We were also asked to create 5 achievement illustrations that would be displayed once a user accomplishes a specific challenge. 10 Hours Of TV, 25 Hours Of Movies, etc.

This project was a blast, and it's exciting to see some of our gamerpics end up in the Xbox One: Invitation spot (see below). Big thanks to our A.D.'s Ramiro Torres and Michael Guss for the opportunity. Now I just to need to get my hands on one ...

This past week, my wife and I had the pleasure of celebrating our 10 year anniversary in the land of the rising sun. We visited Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, did lots of shopping, lots of walking, took lots of trains, drank a lot of coffee, learned the correct way to say "thank you," and got tattooed. This was also Leroy's first trip back to his birthplace.

Always fun to see. Two ESP&G tattoos in the wild. Courtesy of KC Lange and Brandon Green.

Spring has sprung! Well, maybe not quite yet ... but the 2012 Lawn & Patio seasonal display at Target has. These ginormous faux birch trees were a blast to create  -- and definitely worth checking out in person. As usual, this project wouldn't have been possible without the amazing design team at Target, lead by our talented (and hilarious) A.D., Jon Erickson. Oh, and please don't attempt to climb the trees, unless you plan on feeding the squirrels. Typefaces used: Giza and Neutraface.

So it's kind of a long story, but when my buddy Vijay, who owns and operates Artist Series Guitar, mentioned that his good friend, Ryan Hurst, would be doing a photo shoot for his custom Demon Hunter and Throwdown guitars, I had to make sure I was there. For years now, people have said I look like Opie, a character that Hurst plays in the always-enthralling Sons Of Anarchy TV show. All of us in Demon Hunter have become huge fans of the show over the years, so this was a really cool opportunity. Oh, and my wife made the dope leather vest Hurst is wearing in the shoot. Checking off that bucket list, one day at a time.

Here's a fun photo of our grandfather, Don Clark (great name, right?) at around 10-12 years old (which should put this at around 1938-1940) with a few home-made wooden toys he had created. Dad got his supreme woodworking chops from this man. Love that Model A-esque rig in the background!

... Was going through some old files tonight and found this great photo of JF I saved a few years back.

New commission for the shop shelf: Seriously bitchin' war-torn battle-scarred vintage Leroy C. by the talented Dril One. Epic.

Thought this was just too bitchin' NOT to post. Tommy Perez (who just sent us a paper Leroy C. to construct) created a miniature paper version of his cubicle. And I couldn't help but notice the IC posters. Awesome.

Leroy C. took a little trip to Arizona and came back with some new work, courtesy of the talented Asher Emerson.

Awesome. Done by Louie Figueroa at Rube’s Tattoo.

Thanks to Josh for the heads up.

Our buddy Josh surprised us with a nice little gift last Saturday in San Diego. Killer engraving by Garrett Patz.

Hayley Rader sent us this amazing charcoal drawing of Ryan. I thought it was great and had to share. Don't tell my brother.

So, instead of trying to explain what happened today ... my good friends at Eight Hour Day have already tackled it. Let's just say we met and shook hands (and had a quick little chit-chat about rainbow sprinkled doughnuts) with the leader of the free world today, all by chance. Because the 3 of us were so in shock and giddy like the Double Rainbow guy, we didn't manage to capture any of us shaking hands with the dude. If anyone out there has photos or video, please contact us! What a surreal day, and a great start to the EHD tour.

Photos by Nathan Strandberg.

Well, thanks to you guys - our Lil' Happy Invisible Creature S.A.S.E. Club was a success. We are still counting envelopes, but it looks like we received 200+ submissions. We can honestly say that you guys made our trip to the post office something to actually look forward to (and subsequently brought smiles and fun comments from USPS employees - which usually isn't the norm), so our mission has officially been accomplished. Now it's time for us to return the favor. Since we received so many envelopes (and the shop has been busy), we're running a tad later than we had planned. But like we said when we launched this, have patience. It will arrive.

Since this was so fun, we'll be making this an annual tradition each summer. Thanks again, everyone.

I first met Nate Wragg shortly after I stumbled upon his brilliant work for the film Ratatouille. Namely the 'Your Friend The Rat' short and his great books that were inspired by the film. Many of you are familiar with his fun illustrations and epic character work for Pixar and now DreamWorks. We began chatting as we seemed to share an obvious affinity for all kinds of misc. critters. Namely Sasquatch and the elusive Yeti. It was only natural that a trade was in order.

It took me weeks to nail down an idea, but decided that a 'biker Yeti' may be a funny prospect. I quickly started sketching and 'Freddy Mushyeti' was born. He may look a bit menacing, but I guarantee he's harmless. As for the rest of the 'Mushyeti's' crew, I can't exactly say the same.

Nate had the idea that we'd just surprise each other with the Yeti's and ship off the framed pieces without a clue as to what we'd be receiving. It was a great idea and I can't tell you how cool it was to unwrap. I think I may have even injured the UPS man as I ripped it out of his hands. I absolutely love it.

Next year: Swap Of The Sasquatch.

Nate's Yeti: 'A Break from the Snow' / 10" x 16" / Acrylic & Paper Collage / 2010 My Yeti: 'Freddy Mushyeti' / 17" x 23" / Digital / 2010

Charles and Ray just moved in. Thanks House.

We received a pretty fun gift from our pal Aaron Horkey today. In fact, it was so fun - I had to show you some of the finer points. His incredible attention to detail and obvious pride in his craft is inspiring. Thanks for the love, sir.

Can you tell we love our new printer? Two new prints added to the shop today. Isle Of This Town & The Lonely King are available for your Aunt Nadine's living room, right above the '76 Magnavox.