Star Wars Dragons: Chewbacca

A great client of mine wanted to give her boyfriend a unique gift for their anniversary. He was both a fan of my dragons and a fan of Star Wars, so she thought I could combine the two, and do a series of Star Wars dragon pictures for him. Of course, I jumped at the chance. The first character she requested was Chewbacca. I'll post the rest over the next few days.

Red Apples

Check out the latest podcast from my dear friend Steve Hearn.http://www.1st-cartoon.co.uk/Site_3/redapples/Entries/2009/11/25_RedApples003.html

Steve and I have been friends for many years. He is an artist from the UK who I met through the ISCA. We developed a friendship and consider ourselves brothers. Stop by his blog http://www.pencildreams.com/ and and be sure to listen closely to the second half of his latest podcast.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving from Durkin's Dragons!

Durkin's Dragons Store: Open for business!

Welcome to the Durkin's Dragons store!

The Durkin's Dragons store is now open for business and ready to take orders. You will find t-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, cards, posters, stickers, buttons and many other items all emblazoned with the whimsical characters from Durkin's Dragons. New items are always being added, so be sure to check back often.

Hannah Montana Dragon

Why? I don't know.

Coming soon...

Durkin's Dragons products and apparel are being produced, and will be available to purchase soon. You should see the bibs and infant clothing with this guy on them...

Durkinworks around the web.

Besides this blog, you can get updates and network with me other places on the web. Check me out at

, MySpace, and DeviantArt.

I've conveniently added those links to the right sidebar as well.

Live caricature gigs: In the chair

After doing some digging, I found a few more live caricatures I've done. These are all from different, random gigs. I'm going to see if I can find some color work to show you...This gig was a 16th birthday party for a girl who was a fan of Phantom of the Opera. All of the guests wore masks, which seemed to bring out some of the guest's inhibitions, like this fella here.

She wasn't a very happy subject, but I drew her happy anyway.

This gentleman was smoking a cigar, and refused to take it out of his mouth while I drew him. The caricature looked like him until I finished it, and he took the cigar out of his mouth and started laughing. Then his whole face changed. Oh well..

Here's another example of the crowd coming up with an idea after I already draw the picture. They shouted out "He's a golfer!" so I just drew the golf ball hitting him in the head.

I really wished I could have gone a lot further with this one, but I wanted to be invited back for future gigs...

Black Cat Bone Chapter 1: The Blues is Born. Now Available

Black Cat Bone is an adventure story about the history and mythology of blues music as told through the life of Kit "Blue-Eye" Baxter, a black cat.

It has been a project of mine for years now. Previously, it's only been available at comic book conventions, but it's now available online at IndyPlanet.

Chapter one focuses on the events leading up to the birth of Kit Baxter. It's my first attempt at sequential art, a process which I have a new found respect for those who do it. Chapter 2 will be available online soon, in the meantime you can order Chapter 1 on the right sidebar.

Recent gig caricatures

I'm taking a break from the shameless plugging today to share some of my recent caricature gig pics. Enjoy it while you can, because the money-grubbing returns tomorrow!

College Program girl. She was a singer. Any time someone says they're a singer, I try to get them to sing for me in exchange for the caricature. They never do. Divas...
This was at a retirement party for this guy. His buddies always greeted him with "Party on Wayne" even though his name was Bill and he didn't look like Mike Myers. Inside joke I guess.

Too often at caricature gigs, the crowd will give you information about the subject way too late, and you have to try to fit that idea into your original theme. This gentleman's catch phrase was "Tuck and roll", a detail revealed to me by the audience only after I drew him doing a cannonball. Whew, that one worked out in my favor!

Durkin's Dragons book now available!

Dragons...the world has always be enchanted by them. From the mythological dragons of Greece, to the benevolent dragons of the Orient, to the ancient dragons of Europe, dragons have been the subject of folklore and tradition for centuries. Join illustrator, Kenny Durkin as he celebrates the fun and whimsical side of dragons.

Durkin's Dragons is a collection of humorous dragon drawings by Kenny Durkin.
Previously available only at conventions, the book is now yours to own at IndyPlanet. Click the link on the sidebar and order yours today!

Durkin's Dragons Calendar: Available Now!

The Durkin's Dragons 2010 Calendar is now available at IndyPlanet. Click the link on the sidebar to the right and order yours today!

Norman Phartephant

Meet Norman Phartephant. Norman is an African Elephant that was adopted by a US zoo. Although Norman is enjoying his new permanent home, the change of diet has caused him to become rather gassy. He was created by Fierce Fun Toys in the form of a plush toy with sounds and now a book as well. Written by Angela Larson an Illustrated by Kenny Durkin, Norman Phartephant is the first is a series of books about Norman and his adventures. Go to www.phartephant.com to order Norman, the book I illustrated and the accompanying coloring book version. I've added the link to the right side of the blog for future reference. Book two is currently in the coloring stage. I'll announce that book when it becomes available. Enjoy!

ISCA convention 2009: My wall.

This is my wall space for the ISCA convention. From the top left is Tom Richmond/Keelan Parham, below them is Dave "Bippy" Boyer and the bottom is Kim and Steve Dorris. In the right column starting at the top is Bob East, below him is Patrick Harrington and the bottom is Jan Opdebeeck.

ISCA Convention: Video Part 2

Brian Vasilisk has done it again! This is part 2 of the 2009 ISCA convention video. I make appearances all over this one too. Thanks Brian, great work!

ISCA Convention: Video

Brian Vasilisk created a wonderful fly-on-the-wall video showing one of the final nights of the ISCA convention. Most of the convention attendees are shown, finishing their competition pieces for their "wall space" in the convention hall. Keelan Parham, my father and I show up around the 4 minute mark.

ISCA Con 2009: Wrap-up

The ISCA convention is over, and it was easily the best convention I've ever attended.

I competed...Attended seminars..."Networked"...Drew a lot....

And finally collapsed with some exhausted Asian artists.

It was a very busy convention, and I'm both inspired and tired. But time waits for no man, so in a few hours I will be boarding a plane and heading back to Florida, where I will immediately drive to a Disney location to draw retail caricatures tonight. Thanks to the ISCA board, my old friends, my caricature idols, and all the new friends I met for a wonderful time. See you all next year!

ISCA Con 2009: Hermann and the Speed Competition

I got a chance to speak with MAD artist Herman Mejia. Here's a shot of him politely laughing at what was most likely my lame attempt at a joke.

Behold the beautiful insanity of the Speed Competition. Organized chaos never looked so good.

2009 ISCA Convention: Gold Member Reception

Wednesday night was the ISCA Gold Member reception; a private meet and greet with the ISCA Convention guests of honor and the ISCA gold members like myself. It was amazing to have some one-on-one time with these legendary MAD artists. A few of us were lucky enough to get a shot with all four of them.
Here's Sam Viviano and I. After this picture was shot, we pulled each other's fingers.
I'm teaching Sam everything I know about drawing, a process which only took about seven seconds.

This is ISCA President and great friend Robert Bauer and I. The man knows how to throw a convention.

More to come...

2009 ISCA Convention: Icebreaker Reception

Here's a few pics from the icebreaker reception the first night of the convention. Pictured is my buddy Keelan Parham, myself, MAD artist Tom Richmond and MAD artist and art director Sam Viviano. I've always cited MAD magazine as a huge influence to me and the reason I got into the caricature business. However, my gateway into caricature was a magazine called Dynamite! which I read in the late 70's and early 80's when I was a pre-teenager. Sam Viviano was an artist's whose caricatures featured prominently in the magazine. I remember Sam's caricatures vividly, and recall that they were easily my favorite part of the magazine. It was a thrill for me to be able to meet him and speak with him about his influence on me. He's a great guy.
This is me, Keelan Parham and Lar DeSouza. For those who don't know, Lar is a very talented artist with a funny, cartoon style. He conducted a seminar today that revitalized my passion for caricature and reminded me what to focus on when I draw live caricatures.

Stay tuned, there's plenty more to come!

The International Society of Caricature Artists Convention 2009

I am currently at the International Society of Caricature Artists Convention in Sandusky, Ohio. I'm going to really, REAAAALLLY try to update the blog during the next week of the convention. As usual, Dad's with me taking way too many pictures, some of which I plan to share with you here.

We are staying at the Kalahari Resort, which is absolutely gorgeous! So we've checked in, and registered and are waiting for the icebreaker reception to begin. There seems to be well over 200 caricature artists from around the world attending, and the special guests are Tom Richmond, Sam Viviano, Mark Fredrickson, and Hermann Mejia all from MAD magazine. It's going to be a great convention...

Durkin's Dragons Calendar

Coming soon...

Patience my dear friends...patience...

I realize there has been a lack of updates lately on this blog. First of all, I'd like to apologize. But I do have my reasons. I've been quite busy these past few months. I've had several very fun projects in the works. I still can't show you what I've been working on quite yet, but one of the projects is hinted at in this clip from Happy Hour on Fox Business News. Pay close attention....

Me, 1000 years into the future.

Saturday, I had the chance to hang out with some of the talent involved with one of my favorite shows, Futurama. From the left is David X. Cohen, executive producer and head writer. Next is Phil LaMarr, who voices Hermes and others. He was on MadTV, acted in movies like Pulp Fiction, and was the voice of Samurai Jack, Wilt from Foster's Home of Imaginary Friends, Green Lantern on Justice League and has tons of other vocal credits.

Next to him is John Dimaggio, the voice of Bender and other characters. Among many other characters he's voiced are Dr. Drakken from Kim Possible, Aquaman on Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and Marcus on Gears of War. Also he's completely insane.

To my left is Maurice LaMarche. On Futurama, he plays Lrr, Kif, Horrible Gelatanous Blob, Morbo and even the headless body of Spiro Agnew. He's done decades of voice work including the Brain from Pinky and the Brain, Yosemite Sam from Looney Tunes, Egon from The Real Ghostbusters and many more.

On the far right is Billy West, voice of Fry, the Professor, Zapp Brannigan, and Dr. Zoidberg. He's yet another long-time vocal veteran with credits including Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd from Looney Tunes, Woody Woodpecker, both Ren and Stimpy, and Doug from..well, Doug.

I got some autographs as well. Futurama thankfully, has been renewed by Comedy Central for 26 more episodes. I wish everyone involved with this show the best of luck and I look forward to seeing (and hearing) more of their amazing work.

Thundercats are on the move...

Remember Thundercats, the animated television series and toy line from the 80's? It's this week's Toony Bin challenge. Here's my take.Also, it had one of the coolest openings of any show at that time. Check it out.

Back to School

Here's the latest Toony Bin entry for the challenge entitled "Back to School."

The 1960's

Here is my Toony Bin entry for the 1960's challenge. Just hangin' out at Woodstock.