"I'll Chop Your Head Off!"

"I'll Chop Your Head Off!" is the battle cry of Axe Cop, the do-gooder protector of babies and unicorns and the nemesis of bad guys everywhere. He is also the hilarious creation of brothers Ethan (age 29) and Malachai (age 5) Nicolle. Malachai dreams up the stories, characters, and absurd scenarios that don't seem quite so absurd when told via the logic of one very imaginative child. Then it's up to older brother Ethan to draw the artwork and polish it all into one extremely entertaining comic book.

A year ago at Comic-Con, Ethan introduced himself - and Axe Cop - to me, saying that the Daily Zoo had been a source of inspiration for him and Malachai when concocting some of Axe Cop's adventures. The sample copy that he gave me was hard to put down!

A few months later, Ethan invited me to do a guest "pinup" piece for the back of Axe Cop's next collection of bad guy crushin' antics: Axe Cop Vol. 3. I was thrilled to oblige, but it was tough to choose who to draw from the great catalog of characters that he and Malachai have created. Should I do my interpretation of Dinosaur Soldier, Axe Cop's trusty partner? Or perhaps Sockarang - surely his lumberjack beard and tube sock arms (yes, that is correct) would be fun to draw? In the end though, it really was no contest. I settled on Wexter, Axe Cop's Tyrannosaurus Rex companion who sports shades and machine gun arms (and can also fly and breathe fire, of course). 

You can see my rendition below. And if you're in the mood for a good chuckle, or just want to remember what it was like having the limitless imagination of a 5-year-old, I highly recommend giving Axe Cop a try. 

Click here to visit the Axe Cop website.

The Daily ZooMart: Now Open!

Greetings, folks. Just wanted to let you know that after much procrastination, I bowed to popular demand and now have a webstore up and running: The Daily ZooMart. There you can find DZ t-shirts for men, woman, children, and infants as well as notecards and prints. Prints are available of any of the DZ characters.

















You can also order both Daily Zoo books. As always, I'm happy to sign them and do any animal sketch you might request.



















Currently I'm busy working on my next book, MY Daily Zoo, a drawing activity book for all ages due to be published in May 2011. I hope to post the cover and some preview images soon.

Until then, be well and draw, draw, draw!

The Daily Zoo in Spectrum 16

Last spring, I was thrilled to learn that two images from The Daily Zoo had been selected for inclusion in the latest volume of Spectrum, the annual compilation of some of today's top sci-fi and fantasy art. Good news: Spectrum 16 just hit bookshelves and is another fine collection of some amazing work by many talented individuals. If you're not familiar with Spectrum and you like dragons, femme fatales, and big kick-ass robots, you should do yourself a favor and check it out.

My thanks to the jury for including images from The Daily Zoo and also to editor Arnie Fenner for including a mention in his Year in Review essay: "The Daily Zoo: Keeping the Doctor at Bay with a Drawing a Day by Chris Ayers [Design Studio Press] was an inspirational, often hilarious chronicle of defiance as Chris battled leukemia by drawing a new creature everyday for a year."

The Daily Zoo: Year Two...cover revealed!

It's official. The follow-up to last year's Daily Zoo - Vol. 1 has gone to press and will hopefully be available in early to mid-December. After completing my initial goal of drawing an animal a day for a year, I kept right on drawing on Day 366. The Daily Zoo: Year Two continues the journey with another year's worth of armadillos, babirusas, and zombie frogs along with further commentary on my artistic process as well as more reflections as I continue to learn what it means to be a cancer survivor. To whet your appetite, here's a look at the cover.

Spoils from Santa

Happy New Year!

In addition to featuring my artwork on this blog, I'd like to periodically share other cool art that I happen to come across. Today I'd like to share two very cool books that I just got my hands on.

First up is Fantastical Creatures Field Guide: How to Hunt Them Down and Draw Them Where They Live by Aaron Lopresti. It is filled with whimsical creatures and characters; wonderful art and well-written and humorous text. A sort of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-esque look at our planet's obscure fauna not yet recognized by science.

Second is Evolution by Jean-Baptiste de Panafieu with photographs by Patrick Gries. I haven't had a chance to read much of the text yet, but I was completely awed by the images: hundreds of black and white photographs of complete animal skeletons (aardvark, sloth, orca, lizards, primates, bison, coelacanth, you name it...) Really fantastic reference material - great for creature/character designers!

And so it begins...

Finally! Time to get this blog-journey started! Thanks for visiting - I hope you will find some things of interest and stop back periodically.

Briefly, an introduction: I'm a Los Angeles-based artist working in the entertainment industry, specializing in character design. You can find out more about me and view samples of my work at www.chrisayersdesign.com

The purpose of this blog is to share more of my artwork and musings, as well as post updates on my latest creative endeavors. With that in mind, let's start with the first update!

I just had the first book of my artwork published about a month ago. It is titled The Daily Zoo: Keeping the Doctor at Bay with a Drawing a Day and is a collection of 365 animal sketches that I drew one per day as I recovered from and reflected on my battle with leukemia. You can read more about it and view sample pages at my website. It is published by Design Studio Press and available through most major book retail outlets such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders. Or check with your favorite local independent bookseller!

Best wishes to you and your families for a peaceful holiday season and healthy & hopeful New Year!