YELLERZ/INSPIRATION FOR KOATR

yeller Kidz – digital – 2021

The idea for this drawing began with the robot. I envisioned that face: A large metal sphere, like a team mascot’s head, and a wide open grin which would be the access port to its ‘brain.’ Inside it, I saw yellowed glowing bars for eyes. The overall appearance would be that of a grinning cat.

I imagined a sassy, crass-talking robot with a full-on Midnight Cowboy “I’m walkin’ here!” New Yorker attitude—a blend of Disney’s Cheshire Cat, the lizards from Vaughn Bodē’s comics, and a rusting, tattooed, T-shirt-wearing R2-D2.

I thought he’d be a cool character to flesh out, so I drew him first and then surrounded him with a freestyle background.

The world he inhabited had to reflect his demeanor, so I distressed it a bit, added a couple of tough guys, and incorporated graffiti written in alien letters.

The vibe that lingered for me after the drawing was complete was that of a lived-in world. It would be a world I’d return to flesh out fully in the upcoming King of All the Rust series. This drawing became one of the inspirations for the KOATR story.

‡