My nephew is in a bodybuilding competition??

I’ve been to soccer games. I’ve been to dance competitions. I’ve been to piano concerts, softball games, rival football nights, cheer weekends… but never have I ever been to a bodybuilding competition. That’s all going to change in the near future as my nephew is going to pose in all sorts of muscle showing positions on a stage for an audience to see. Wanna know the biggest question I have?

Is he going to get oiled up?

All I know is what I’ve seen on TV and from Arnold Schwarzenegger. You know how when they get prepped to go out on stage and all of the sudden their bodies are 25 shades darker than their face. Shiny level is 45x. Amount of clothing is -96%. I’m already uncomfortable just imagining all the banana hammocks and you might be asking me through the computer now, “Why are you imagining ding dongs in banana hammocks?” Well, it’s like when someone tells you to not think about something. Then all you can do is think about that thing.

He’s been preparing for a long time and even though this is his first bodybuilding event, my nephew’s going to do great. The first in generations of our family (that I know of) to get into bodybuilding. The actual competition’s going to be interesting to track… because a lot like cheer and dance, who really knows how any of the scoring works?

-Out of the Wilderness

This IAMS Dog Food Commercial is a Bunch of Crap, but Not the Song

Crap. Literally. The commercial is about dog poo and I laugh every time I see it. Another piece of evidence that an affective ad doesn’t need to be complicated.

The song in the commercial is called “Turandot, Act III: Nessun dorma!” and I don’t know this for sure but it sounds like the singer is Andrea Bocelli.

-Out of the Wilderness

We’re Getting Closer to Summer

Sometimes I forget that there are areas of the country that still have snow on the ground. Meanwhile, I’m wondering when summer starts? In Florida, we’re reaching the 70s and 80s pretty regularly and now I’m turning my camper A/C on before lunch. I have empathy for people still dealing with snow. I mean, I know it will get cold again in north Florida. But I think the frigid days are behind us now; I’m looking forward to moments like the little graphic I created below…

Nothing against you northerners, but you just don’t have scenes like that in Wisconsin.

-Out of the Wilderness

This Zocdoc Commercial is the Most Real

There are some commercials I wish I would never see again (looking at you Campbell’s!) and then there are ads that really hit the mark. They’re either funny, relatable, bizarre in a good way, or all of the above. A recent ad from Zocdoc is, dare I say, adorable. In fact, it specifically displays everything I hope for with young actors (elementary young’n’s). Can you guess what it is? First, here’s the commercial…

My biggest pet peeve in film and TV is when adolescent characters are given lines in a script that sound nothing like an actual real-world child. Dialogue is obviously written by adults. But Zocdoc is different in this ad. I’m sure it was written by adults but I also have an inclination to believe those adults have kids or at the very least consulted kids in the making of this commercial. It could also be possible that the director gave the kids freedom to respond and speak freely to see what would transpire. It worked. With kids that age, everything is life and death. And random. Those elements are front and center with the boy sneezing, the girl having a flashlight in her mom’s face. It’s so funny, so genuine, so relatable. And in this YouTube version of the commercial, there’s something not shown on streaming or TV. Did you catch it? Watch the mother as she musters the energy to leave the chair at the end of the spot. She trips over books on the floor and I laughed out loud. Like when everything is going wrong, of course, something else will top the iceberg of annoyance.

Like Chris Farley having a bad day in Tommy Boy. Everything was falling apart. He was barely hanging on to his sanity and then he sat down on a sidewalk bench. The bench breaks and he says something like, “Could’ve done without that.” It’s that one thing that makes the fragile house of cards crumble. The mom in the ad could’ve done without everything the kids did and the trip at the end, it very well have not been on purpose, which makes it even better.

-Out of the Wilderness

Florida’s Forgotten Coast – Design Stages of Graphic Art

I’ve been on a major kick of designing and lately I’ve focused on Florida’s Forgotten Coast. You know, the coast you forgot. One of the first designs I created was a coastal lighthouse scene. I am very happy with how it looks but it started with just a few shapes and an idea. Here’s a walkthrough of the process…

I wasn’t loving the rectangle and thankfully, the oval got me out of that corner. Actually, it got me out of all the corners. 🤓 Are you ready to see the final design? And yes, I’m about to send you over to my Etsy site to see it. Hehe. Take a look at the pelican, lighthouse, horizon sun, and a bit more in my Etsy store — Out of the Wilderness on Etsy.

I hope you enjoyed a brief “behind the scenes” look at one of my creations. More to come!

-Out of the Wilderness