10 QUESTIONS FOR MARK PINGITORE

10 QUESTIONS FOR MARK PINGITORE

On sale this month is the first issue of the Garbage Pail Kids Puke-tacular comic book by IDW Publishing. IDW also publishes many other popular comic lines such as My Little Pony, G.I. Joe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Transformers. With the release of the first issue, IDW offered four variant covers. The main cover was illustrated by fellow GPK artist Mark Pingitore which shows classic GPK character Nat Nerd as a superhero swinging from a rope of his own snot. Mark also illustrated a two-page story for this first issue (Con Crud).

Mark agreed to do an interview for the funtime blog and share some photos of his collection and work space. So here we go...

TEN QUESTIONS FOR MARK PINGITORE

1.) What were your earliest experiences with Garbage Pail Kids trading cards, and how does it feel to be working on them for the next generation?
  I was only three when they came out, but I remember carrying around stacks of the earlier series cards. My older brother collected them, so the first couple series were probably doubles I acquired from him. I can remember opening packs of 3rd series and up by myself, and I was hooked. It's been so much fun to work on the new sets after collecting them when I was younger. I really can't believe sometimes that this is what I get to do for my job. 

2.)I remember seeing your first artwork on the Garbage Pail Kids around 2006 but as I discovered later you had been creating concepts for dozens of Garbage Pail Kids before that. What was it like to start painting the final card art and come out of the shadows?
  It was a little scary, but also very exciting. Scary because I wanted the fans(myself included) to be happy with my work, and excited because it was something I had been working toward for many years. You always have a specific image in mind after coming up with an idea, so it was great to start having more control over making the final card look that way. I'm my biggest critic, but I'm happy with how my work has progressed each series.

3.) In 2012 Topps came out with the magnet series in which you did the final artwork for 12 of the 16 magnets. That must have been amazing to see that series hit the shelves.
 Definitely. It was a great chance to do that Magnet set. It had been awhile since there had been any new GPK sets after ANS had ended in 2007 and the Flashback sets had started up. Also, it was the first time where I was allowed to draw them in the OS style, so it was a big deal to me. On top of that, all of the new cards were from my concept drawings, so it was like my own mini set. I'd still love to revisit them someday and do acrylic paintings of them because they were originally done digitally.


4.) I lost my childhood Garbage Pail Kids collection and started rebuying them in 1995. I read somewhere that the same thing happened to you. Have you been able to amass a decent collection since then?
I lost them at some point in the early 90's and was able to buy complete sets from some random card dealer I found in a trading card magazine. It had been a kind of quest of mine to find any GPK cards again after finding Ali Gator in a box of family photos, and I was lucky enough to eventually find a great source to buy them from. In 96-97 I bought a few sets each month until I had the complete OS1-15 sets. I got all of them new except for OS1 that I had to buy on ebay. Those are the cards I still own today, all kept in one gigantic binder.


 5.) Off the top of your head can you list some of your favorite classic/old school Garbage Pail Kids?
Some of my favorite classic GPK would be Cracked Jack, Split Kit, Mugged Marcus, Dyna Mike, and Cactus Carol.

 6.) Who are your inspirations and favorite artists?
My biggest inspiration and influence, as convenient as it may sound, has been John Pound. His art really influenced my style at an early age. I'm also a big fan of Norman Rockwell, and I love Greg Capullo's work, especially what he has been doing with the latest Batman comic books.



 7.) What is your opinion of the 1987 Garbage Pail Kids movie?
 I appreciated it the couple times I saw it when I was young, but I can't say that I'm a fan now. It's doesn't quite reach the so bad it's good category for me, just bad. Haha. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with the new movie. I think it could be great if done by the right creative team.



8.) In order of humor, which of these 5 things are the funniest? Snot, barf, farts, zits, or pee?
1.farts
2.zits
3.snot
4.barf
5.pee


9.) Tough question. Of the Garbage Pail Kids that you've created, which ones are you the most proud of?
I'd say I'm most proud of my most recent work, specifically Rick Grimey/Sheriff Biff and Split Krit/ Connie Science from 2014 S2. I think those have been my best GPK paintings so far. I always aim to have the artwork be able to sit beside John Pound's OS artwork and look like it belongs. I tend to look back a few series and wish I could redo some of those earlier paintings.



10.) With the 30th anniversary of Garbage Pail Kids coming up, what do you see in the future?
 I think 2015 is going to be an exciting year for Garbage Pail Kids fans. There will be several new card sets, toys, comic books, shirts, the documentary, games, and I'm sure much more being cooked up that I'm not aware of. It's definitely a great time to be a fan!

Thanks for the interview Mark. I agree this is going to be a big year for Garbage Pail Kids. Keep up the fantastic work!

WACKY PACKAGES CHROME SKETCH CARDS

Topps Wacky Packages Chrome series is just around the corner with an estimated release date of 7/23/2014. From what I've read and the massive amount of work that Topps and their artists have put into this series, it is looking to be an amazing set!

 

There is a nice breakdown of what the set includes at : http://www.cardboardconnection.com/
I had the pleasure of working on 200 autographed artist sketch cards for this set which are smaller sketches that will be embedded in the chrome bordered cards and inserted into the packs as rare chase cards.
This will be the third Wacky Packages series I've done sketches for but the first one to be released so I am excited to see people find my sketch cards in their packs next month.

I thought I'd share some mock-up scans of the sketch cards I did based on the preview of what the borders are supposed to look like (these are not actual versions of the finished product). I had a lot of fun working on these and hope the fans and collectors like them.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MR. POTTERS MARCH UPDATE

Just checking in to update everyone on my recent activities.
I've been keeping busy and trying to avoid the frigid winter weather as much as possible.
I'm currently working on a set of sketch cards for the Topps Wacky Packages Chrome trading card set that is scheduled to hit the stores June 2014. I'm doing 200 cards for this series and I'm a little over halfway through. This series has been more difficult than previous ones I worked on for a couple of reasons. Fist of all the blank cards are much smaller because they will be embedded into the chrome borders of the finished cards after they are mailed back to Topps so I have been using much smaller pens to attain the detail I typically put into them. Also the cards contain products and characters from only the first three series (1973) so there is only a limited number of subjects to choose from. Up until now I haven't had to do duplicate any characters so I have to find creative ways to make each sketch card one of a kind and unique. I spend about 30-45 minutes on each one and try to get at least 10 done a day.

Once these are finished I have 200 sketch cards waiting to be illustrated for Wacky Packages Old School 5 series which is due to come out in August 2014.

I already sent 266 completed sketch cards to Topps for the Wacky Packages 2014 series 1. It appears that set has been postponed to a November 2014 release so I won't be sharing any images of them on the Funtime Blog for a bit.

In Garbage Pail Kids news: I will be a guest at the Rod Library Mini Comicon at the University of Northern Iowa on Saturday March 9th. The four-story library on campus will be hosting the Comicon and there are tons of presentations, artists, vendors, tournaments, competitions, and contests.
At my tables I plan on doing free sketch cards, displaying a complete timeline of GPK collectables, dicussing the history of GPK, and selling artwork.

 

I will also be doing an appearance at Free Comic Book Day at the local comic and gaming shop The Core on Saturday May 3rd. This will be the third time I've done a Garbage Pail Kids sketch event there. The Core is the kind of Comic shop that every science fiction, horror, and fantasy nerd loves. It's got about anything you can think of including a large selection of Garbage Pail Kids items for sale.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecoreonline.com%2F&ei=qDMYU7mHMdKDrQGntYDADA&usg=AFQjCNHBCBkG6GWVQkjUuNjjdkJH6jtrYw&sig2=GDUHAN_hpQ04vUAgyiQiGA





Here is a video showing previous sketch card events I participated in at the Core.



The best part about these events is the kids (the adult GPK fans are great also), they love talking about the Garbage Pail Kids and it's fun for me seeing everybody getting a kick out of the humor and discussing their favorite cards.

TOPPS GARBAGE PAIL KIDS RETURN CARDS

Each time an artist works on a series of sketch cards, Topps also sends them 10 extra blank cards which are referred to as "Return Cards". The artist can illustrate these cards and sell them off on Ebay or to collectors.
Usually these are real nice cards with higher quality art.

Here are photos of the 10 return cards I did for the Garbage Pail Kids 2013 BNS3 series:
















I sold all of them but one which is still listed for sale on Ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/321309329421?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

For the 2014 series of Garbage Pail Kids stickers I received 11 return cards (1 extra garbage can shaped card). I decided to have some fun and do some unique twists on these ones.

My first idea was to do "Scratch and Sniff" versions.
Back in college I did some gallery shows where I sold "Scratch and Sniff" paintings. I always loved "Scratch and Sniff" stickers as a kid but always wished the smell would stay on the sticker longer instead of getting rubbed off after scratching it. So I searched for information about how the smell is put on the stickers and what methods are used. The smell is actually encapsulated in the coating and is released as the tiny capsules are broken. You can create the effect by cooking gelatin and adding the scent and an adhesive. I messed around with different ingredients and came up with an excellent formula.
People who bought my college paintings over ten years ago have told me that they can still walk by them in their house and scratch them and get a good smell!

I've got a couple of cards ready to go. I've got a Junkfood John with a chocolate ice cream cone that smells like chocolate. I also did a test version on cardstock with a strawberry cone (which smells like strawberry). I just finished up an Anna Banana card with a test version that smells like banana (that one has already been sent to Topps for approval). I also plan on doing a Bazooka Joe that smells like bubble gum as soon as I can find a store that has the scent.

Here are some sneak peeks at those cards:

 







After I'm done with the smelly ones I'm planning on doing some other twists including Glow-in-the-dark, Blacklight, and Stereoscopic 3D.

I already started a practice card for a 3D Gpk. There is a 3D Garbage Pail Kid called Blurry Blair which is a fantastic card but if you put on 3D glasses (which I did as a kid) it actually isn't in 3D.
So I just redrew the character in actual 3D to see if it would work and it came out great except it was a little to much 3D and the eyes and feet stuck out too much so I'll have to tone it down for the final card (this is why I do a test card). I plan on selling it with a pair of 3D glasses.



So I'll keep updating the funtime blog with my progress. I hope the GPK fans don't mind me having a little fun with these!

GARBAGE PAIL KIDS 2014 SKETCH CARDS

For the Garbage Pail Kids 2014 Series 1 I drew 250 sketch cards (200 regular shaped sketch cards, and 50 garbage can shaped sketch cards). Like the Brand New Series 3 sketch cards I did in 2013, I did different characters for each one and did not repeat any of the ones I did before with two exceptions (I repeated Bloody Mary from the first set in the card where Nasty Nick is attempting to drink the blood squirting from her finger, and Nasty Nick appears again as the Tom Bunk card back version).





Here are scans of the sketch card backs:





Here are the scans of all 250 sketch cards. This time I added color to some of them. All of the sketch cards were drawn in ink and colored pencil.