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Zombama Returns

About the artist

BeastPop

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jimiyo

Words from jimiyo:

Zombie Obama is back from the dead! Now with more decomposition! How appropriate is a zombie design for our first ever Teefury Classic Reprint?

If you are unfamiliar with Zombie Obama, it was one of our first major successes when Teefury was still a baby.  We are still just a few months past our tee-rrific twos, but we'd like to think we give the big boys a run for their money, and we wouldn't have been able to do it with the support of all our Teefury community.

Let us know what you think about the reprint concept. We might do some more Classics if the Teefury community pines for it.

Interview with BeastPop (formerly Pop Monkey)

Where are you on the map?

I'm right in the crease when you fold it up, so I'm a bit hard to find (North Carolina is my home... for now).

I'ts been a long time since you sold a design through Teefury. What have you been up to?

Well, let's see.  My professional art career took a bit of a swampy, mosquito-plagued detour for a couple years where I was forced at gunpoint to take a warehousing job driving a forklift for 12-hour shifts.  I knew it was time to get out and overtake my captors when I started dozing off while operating the machinery.  Nothing puts the fear of God into you quite as much as waking up in the driver's seat of a forklift with about 600 pounds of cat food suspended 125 feet up in the air above your head!  Zonga!  Then I did some time in the big house, and now I'm a free man trying to make a living doing the only thing I have been blessed with a talent to do (that's "art" for those of you a little slow on the pick-up).

What's a day in the life of Jared like?

I wake up in the early afternoon, spend a bit of time reading and thanking God for keeping me going, soak myself in coffee and hit the computer for a couple hours, browsing the web, collecting reference, answering emails, working on artwork, and  updating blogs 'n' such.  Then when my daughter gets home from school I spend some time with her, go outside and get some sunshine and some exercise, do family type-stuff, etc.  Once she's in bed, it's back to the drawing board or computer.  I might wind up the night with a movie, some TV or some comics, but I usually just pass out from exhaustion when my eyes start bleeding in the wee hours of the morning!

You were picked up for respected Spectrum Contemporary Fantasy Art Book that comes out every year. What was the outcome of that?

Uh, not much, honestly.  I was hoping it would skyrocket my career to new heights of popularity and adoration, but I didn't get so much as a peep from any art directors or clients.  Maybe they got my contact info wrong in the back of the book ... I should go check.  It was still really cool to be featured in that annual, though.  I've been buying Spectrum since around volume 5, and we would all gather around each new volume and salivate over it in art school.  Very inspirational stuff in there -- highly recommended.  Hopefully I'll make it in there again.

What was your job before you went solo freelance?

I managed a comic book and game store for 4 years while attending art school, which was great fun!  I could borrow and read any and every comic that came out every week, so I was hip-deep in the world of comics.  Plus I could order whatever I wanted from the catalog at my nifty employee discount, which resulted in me buying a lot of toys I didn't need.  It was frustrating dealing with some of the more obnoxious comic book guys and gamers, though, and Friday Night Magic (the Gathering) was always a nightmare.  After that, there was a brief stint as a concept artist for some folks in LA, then the dreaded warehouse job I mentioned already.

Some of us Teefury guys work remotely from our home. Are you feeling lonely and disconnected from world yet?

Yes.  Will you please come over and play my Zombies! board game with me?  It's hard, especially living in an area where there's not much going on in the art scene.  I don't even have as much time as I would like to keep up with some of my friends through email or phone correspondence.  I really miss the camaraderie of art school -- being surrounded by eager and talented artists and feeding off of that.

What made you want to jump out of the security of the 9-5, especially in this economy?

I HAD to.  The 9-5 was eating away at my soul.  I need art to survive, so I knew I had to make it work.  Plus, I'm not getting any younger, so I don't know how much more of a window of opportunity I'm going to have.  The student loans are still a haunting spectre of financial doom, but I think I'll be okay.

What's your favorite form of entertainment? Any TV shows?

Comic books are by far my favorite, with animation coming in a close second.  I love the unique merging of art and story and the variety of style and genre that can be found (superheroes are great, but there's more to be had).  Plus there is no limit to what you can depict -- the creators aren't hampered by budget -- if you can imagine it and draw it, it's achievable.  I do love TV, but I don't get as much time to watch it as I used to.  I'm turning more towards DVD and just buying or renting season sets and watching them at my leisure rather than have to be tied to TV schedules or DVRs.  There are still some shows I don't miss, though, like  DOCTOR WHO.  Recent favorites include BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, LOST, METALOCALYPSE, TIM& ERIC SHOW: GREAT JOB!, SUPERJAIL, THE SHIELD, 30 ROCK, ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, and FUTURAMA.

Got any ideas for future Teefury shirts?

Yes, I just finished 2 that I'm submitting and my sketchbook is full of doodles and notes that will hopefully grace this site in the near future.  It's the pop-culture mashups that seem to get the best response, though, so I'll have to come up with more of those.  I plan to be a regular feature on this site from now on.

Where would be the best place for fans to find you on the internet?

My facebook pages or my illustration blog.

Shout outs?

I'd like to hail Kino over at J!NX and Ben over at FRIGHT-RAGS for being supportive of me and continuing to give me work despite some delays and hiccups in my personal life.  Check out their websites and order a bunch of cool shirts and stuff! Thanks, guys -- you're the best!