I Use Priceless Freeware!

I just have to share a few freeware programs that I find absolutely priceless (pun intended, of course) and all run on Mac OS X. There’s TONS of freeware (free software) out there for the Mac, and a perfect place to find them is at FreeMacWare.com. I use their handy widget on my dashboard to get the latest freeware they feature, and it’s updated almost daily, sometimes more!

Anyway, here’s what I find indispensable (click on the links to get more info and to download for yourself!)

Cyberduck
This is an FTP client that I not only love, but need every day. I work from home for a company in another state, and I’m frequently submitting artwork to them. I’m also working on updating their website. This little ducky allows me access to their server in the simplest way, and cheapest. It’s awesome!

GMail Notifier
An unobtrusive little envelope icon resides right on my toolbar where I can access it at any moment. It lets me know when I have a new email in my Google Mail inbox. This is where all my notices come when I get nice little comments on my blog. It’s so much better than getting online and checking my gmail account all the time. Instead, it comes to me, and all I have to do is click on it and decide which new emails I want to read. So handy!

iScroll2
I have a PowerBook G4 that I bought late 2004 which didn’t include the nifty two-finger scroll ability on its touchpad that the newer models have. iScroll2 takes care of that little problem. Now I can’t live without it. Thanks RazzFazz! You’re a finger saver!

Konfabulator (now called Yahoo! Widget Engine, dumb name)
This is just like Apple’s Dashboard, but it resides right on your desktop! I wish Apple’s Dashboard had that feature so that I can see the weather, my photos, my Mail status, without ever having to push F12. I know, I’m lazy. But Konfabulator caters to that wonderful laziness!

VLC
VLC was a life saver for me. I recently recorded some video of my kids on my Palm Zire 72s, and found out that the video was not Mac compatible. I was so bummed, almost so much that I wanted to get rid of my Zire. VLC to the rescue! It’s a video player that plays so many video formats that I’ll keep my Zire for a while longer, I guess.

There are so many more useful and fun free programs out there! Just get yourself a Mac, and head on over to FreeMacWare.com. You’ll be so glad you did!

Illustration Friday: Tattoo

This illustration kinda took on a life of its own, and kept growing and growing! I didn't even get a chance to ink it in and color it before Friday, so a sketch is all I have so far. You gotta click on the image to see it larger so you can read all the signs posted on the walls, and I'm sure I'll come up with more before I finalize the thing. I'm just having too much fun with this one!

And here are the inked version, and the colored version. It didn't quite turn out like I'd hoped, but my free time is very limited, and I need to leave it so I can post it. So... here ya go!

Moonroes 19

Moonroes 18

Olympic Creed

Here's a handwriting assignment my son brought home from school. It has a great message I thought worthy to remind us all.

Moonroes 17

Here is where I ran into a glitch in this premise. It's extremely difficult to draw a comic about the future and its technologies when technological miracles are being invented every day! What used to be absurd ideas, now are common household items. It's very difficult to come up with "futuristic" inventions that haven't already been created in better ways. Oh well...

Moonroes 15 & 16

Ooops... I missed a day, so here's two for you.

Illustration Friday: Insect

Well, I suppose this would be a good time to present what I've been working on the last 10 months. I've had to keep it under wraps until now, and Illustration Friday gave me the perfect opportunity to give it a proper debut! If you'd like to purchase these fun little garden tools and accessories, go to Insect Lore's online store!

And now, Introducing...



And this last image was brilliantly created by my comrade Kurt Hettinger for our booth in the Toy Fair in New York last month.



This line was so much fun to create, and I worked very closely with the most creative and knowlegable people in the toy industry. I was blessed to be able to learn so much, and I also thank my dear wife for putting up with all the extra hours I had to put in to get this out in time. She's a god-send.

Moonroes 14

Moonroes 13

Moonroes 12