Hidden Agenda players will probably recognize this eco-conscious frog as Skip, the tireless crusader for a good cause who isn’t afraid to get his webbed feet dirty! What do you think is transpiring here between Skip and his avian server?

Submit your caption in the comments below, then come back Friday to vote on the finalists!

For those who missed it, I made sure to snap pictures of our PopCap crew manning their table and making art the whole livelong day!

I saw Sarah Dicken painting this, and now it is mine. Yes, in this case, the Finders Keepers rule applied to art acquisition. I'd've arm-wrestled for it if anyone got in my way.

David Ryan Paul and Rich Werner never stopped sketching, and the Zombie watched over them.

Jordan Kotzebue happily hawked Hominids while modelling the finest in Solitaire Blitz couture.

Hominids is a webcomic that comes out weekly online and then is collected regularly in print format. I hear that is the future of the comics industry. Go check it out!  (Hominids is not an all-ages comic. You are warned.)

Note: In this image, Sarah Dicken was busy painting the bunnies. And they are mine.

How adorable are these?! If I had kids, these are the blocks I’d want them playing with. Mix-n-Match Creatures by Sarah Dicken (aka One Dill Pickle), coming soon to an Etsy near you.

Karin Madan giggles behind her display copies of Monsterpedia, volumes 1 & 2.

Visit Karin online and check out her Etsy store for handmade jewelry!

When I saw Erin working on this kitty sketch, I was instantly jealous of whoever had commissioned it.

If you were there, send us pictures of you reading Hominids or Monsterpedia, wearing a Karin Madan necklace, drinking out of an Erin Middendorf mug… we’d love to see! If you weren’t there, you can still visit the artists’ sites and online shops, and you can even get a copy of Monsterpedia volume 2! It’s the easiest way to get your hands on some lovely bunnies by Sarah Dicken, among other things.

Monsterpedia 2 is at times monstrous, at times adorable! This story by Sarah Dicken proves that there is nothing more endearing than a bunny you could ride.

Although, she gives her bunny some adorable competition with this puppy of a unicorn!

Many of the original Monsterpedia contributors have returned for this second volume, as well as some new faces. I am immensely proud to have written a story for it myself, and prouder still that it is illustrated by the amazing Dev Madan.

Dev and I go all Twilight Zone on a poor comic book creator. It's kind of my favorite thing ever that Dev Madan's pencils brought my characters into the world.

Erin Middendorf will be on hand with more of her gorgeous pottery.

I look at this and squee, "Corgi! Kitty!" And so forth.

I defy you to look at her animal art without trying to reach into the art and pet the adorable creatures. It just can’t be done. Don’t believe me? Have you played Solitaire Blitz? There are puppies who are soaked through, and you just know they smell like wet dog, but of course you would hold them and cuddle them anyway.

Readers of the first Monsterpedia will be excited to know that Karin Madan is back for Volume 2 with another story about the tragic and endearing Lil’ Dusa.

Don't worry -- this is just the title page, not the final panel. Lil' Dusa will be fine... probably....

So if you’re attending the con this weekend, be sure to stop by booth 506 and visit! The full complement of Monsterpedia artists and writers will be around, so pick up a copy of Volume 2 for thrills, chills and beautiful bunnies that you could totally ride if only you were tiny enough. And who knows? It’s Comicon. Probably someone there is selling reproductions of Alice in Wonderland cakes, and you can’t be sure they won’t shrink you unless you try.

PopCap is a wonderland teeming with artists of all stripes. And any artist can tell you that the only way to stay strong is to never stop playing. Writers write, musicians jam, artists sketch. Often you have an assignment, but in between, you can’t just wait for inspiration to hit… so you play little games to jump-start the artistic impulse. One thing we do around here is called the Re-Masterpiece Project.

A 3D Ben Franklin became a perfect little zombie!

Once a year, PopCap employees rescue forgotten art from thrift stores. We each choose a piece at random and take it home, then do what we can to add to it, improve on it (perhaps), put a new spin on it at the very least. Check out some of the amazing results, some of which are by professional artists, some by programmers, testers, support techs… proof we’ve all got a little artist in us.

This kitty has been pumping serious iron. Watch out, Odie, the grudge match is on!

An angelic little girl is now a spacefaring adventurer!

Many PopCap artists are famous for their adorable animals, and they really brought the cute in this exercise:

A handsome rooster strutting through an empty painting is now surrounded by animated admirers!

This little girl won't be crying long with so many furry friends in flight to cheer her up!

This old-timey photo is much improved by kittens! What in life isn't, really?

Another very popular theme in Re-Masterpiecing is the insertion of monsters, friendly or ominous:

Aliens are the best way to liven up a simple landscape, I always say!

You have to love a beasty who keeps nice and clean!

I wouldn't like to run into this guy on a sand dune... though to be fair, he's probably just misunderstood.

Now go play! Write a haiku, practice your clarinet, doodle in the margin of your notebook… and call your mother.

Erin Middendorf was the first artist to sell out! Um, I mean that in the good way... she kept her integrity while unloading all her stuff.

Dev Madan and David Ryan Paul sketched and sold all weekend long and never stopped smiling.

In addition to prints and sketchbooks, Dev had a full-length adventure, Monstertown P.I., featuring Frank Neil Stein, the character from his delightful Monsterpedia story. This is one of the many items I failed to pick up, as I was mostly busy cosplaying and winning trivia contests. Fortunately, I work in the same building as Dev, so I guess it’s only fair to give the other fans first crack at his wares!

Lynn Hogan in PopCap finery, or "bling" as I hear the kids call it.

Lynn’s new graphic novel, Prydwen, is available in both hardcover and soft, and it’s gorgeous! She was busy signing all weekend.

Karin Madan went bananas for this con. Sorry, I really couldn't help myself there.

As I photographed Jordan Kotzebue, I said, "Ooh, hold still... your head is covering the boob in the picture right now, that's perfect."

There were lots of great costumes this year, including roving hordes of Doctor Who in his various incarnations, at least half a dozen Katniss cosplayers, Hogwarts students travelling solo or in packs and representing at least three of the houses (as usual, no love for poor Hufflepuff). Here are a few of the highlights I managed to get on camera:

All Gryffindors here, but Slytherin and Ravenclaw both made a pretty good showing at ECCC this year.

I would like this just slightly better if the team simply represented all four major Robins, rather than three Robins and a Batgirl... but still, very nicely done!

In line for Stargate Atlantis star Jason Momoa, a trio of Wraiths menace Rodney McKay (whose Ancient shield device must have worn off already, or he shouldn't look so scared).

And last year after San Diego Comic Con, I challenged readers to correctly identify my cosplay (incidentally, no one did, but their guesses were good). This time, I went with a much more identifiable character, so no challenge. It was great walking around being recognized even by very young children who love the character! Kind of gave me hope that the next generation of comic book fans is here.

Avengers, assembled. At least two of 'em.

One recent day, after loading up on salad fixings, I was mesmerized by this painting.

The Hunt

I was stunned to learn the painter behind this gem works right here in Creative Lab — my very own group! So I sat down the other day with Lorie Ransom, artist and Web Designer extraordinaire, and we chatted about her work.

Eve: So let’s just start with the basics. What do you do at PopCap?

Lorie: I’m a web designer in Creative Lab. I started as a contractor last September and then became a full-time employee in January. I design pages for game promotions, new downloads, other platforms and interactive type projects.

Sap

What was your inspiration for these paintings?

I’ve always enjoyed pop surrealist art so that’s probably my biggest inspiration. I’ll start with a sketch and I won’t really know what it’s going to turn into. I’ll just start by drawing a single line, then I’ll think about what else is going on in the painting, and I’ll add that, and it just goes from there. I also have lots of sketches in my sketchbook that have never gone anywhere.

The Axe

Is there any aspect of your work at PopCap that informs your art?

Well, I have access to a lot of our game art and seeing the work of the game artists at PopCap is incredibly inspiring. I mean, when you look at the art in our games, and the technique involved in that art, I definitely feel inspired by it.

The Nursery

Do you have any favorite pieces?

Probably my favorites are “Sap” and “The Nursery”. I like Sap because technically I really like the way it shows the wing on the bug, and the drop of blood looks very three dimensional. “The Nursery” I like just because it’s weird. I started out just drawing these heads, and then thinking about what was around them, and then it just happened. It just grew organically.

Godzilla Lose Ice Cream

What do you hope to convey through your art?

I don’t know that I’m trying to convey anything. Mostly I’m trying to capture a moment in time. Like in Godzilla, you see Godzilla, and then the ice cream on the ground, and you just wonder what’s going on, there’s a story there. I guess that’s really it – I’m interested in the story. For example, when I think about a still life it’s not that interesting to me. I like to capture a certain moment within a story.

I can see that. I mean, you can feel it’s a more dynamic, interactive experience as a viewer looking at one of your paintings. You imagine the story behind the painting – what happened before this moment, and what’s going to happen next. It’s very cool.  So do you have any current projects you want to talk about?

No, not really. (Laughter)

Where do you exhibit or sell your work?

Random places…. wherever I happen to make a connection with someone! I know I’ll be showing more of my paintings at Walnut Street Coffee in Edmonds next February.

Thanks Lorie for taking the time to sit down and chat. It was fun!

My pleasure. Thanks!

We don’t want to get all “it’s an honor just to be nominated” on you, but it really was an honor for our humble in-house design team to be included among many of Seattle’s top design firms.

And they nailed it.

Our marker sits just down the hill from our office, outside the Belltown P-Patch.

We landed there because, according to Web Art Director Jesse Doquilo, “It’s a community garden where neighbors come together to create a beautiful place. And it was a rare opportunity for us as a design team – the content team, video team, print team and web team — to come together and work on one project.”

Here’s the marker, in all its glory (and from both sides). It was a great collaboration between our Seattle and Dublin offices.

Here’s a view from the south side.

Now the north side, with several of the designer types who had a hand in the process.

And here’s the accompanying video about the Belltown P-Patch, which really is a nice getaway in the middle of the city.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words — and let’s face it, you’d rather see our pictures and I’m not paid by the word anyway — here are some photos of our zoo day. Check out our artists’ awesome sketches too.

As we soon discover, not all the animals are kept inside the exhibits.

Is it lunchtime already? Cool!

Ahhh... a mid-day nap. Paradise!

After lunch, we spread out across the zoo like a group of oversized day campers...

in search of animals wherever we go...

...even inside an African schoolhouse.

The jaguar slept through most of our visit... (Art: Rick Schmitz)

while this elephant made an excellent model. (Art: Misael Armendariz)

Yes, Virginia, there are giraffes in Seattle! (Art: Rick Schmitz)

Dart frogs look pretty. But don't get too close. (Art: Misael Armendariz)

Hmm... petting the porcupine is off-limits...

...but this dinosaur looks friendly, right? (Has anyone seen Yvette since Tuesday?)

Animals also appeared in unusual poses. (Art: Monte Michaelis)

The animal kingdom is bigger than we ever knew. (Art: Monte Michaelis)

We're not sure what happened here. (Art: Monte Michaelis)

Beware. This is what happens when you let writers draw. (Art: Philip Smith)

After a long but fun day, it was time to return back to the office. Hats off to Team Awesome for organizing our fabulous field trip!

This year, a number of our artists joined up to take on Emerald City Comicon, and in addition to their own unique wares, they brought a limited edition comic book anthology called Monsterpedia (the arty beast described above was not included, but that’s what sequels are for, right?).

Noah Maas’ charming tale of bonding with a bogeyman over the joys of dental hygiene makes you wonder if monsters might be friends you haven’t made yet.

Karin Madan’s sweet story plays on how we all feel a little monstrous at times… and how we can make peace with that.

The first question may be: Why monsters?  Well, why not?  For one thing, they’re fun to draw.  They allow a creative freedom unique to the fantastical compared to the restraint of depicting the recognizable.  And yet they are recognizable to us, a kind of shorthand for the subconscious, a shortcut to metaphor.

Lynn Hogan tells a tale of a nightmare monster (literally, a monster whose role is to visit sleeping children and inspire their nightmares). If you want to hug these monsters, you’re not alone!

Dev Madan (whom BlogRiders may remember as the designer of the Wolfpack shirt!) has a history in comics and started this monster ball rolling.

Dev brings us an old-school hard-boiled private detective story… starring Frank Neil Stein, PI

Monte Michaelis: I thought to myself, "Monster stories are fun, but what if monsters were REAL? What would you need exactly?" That was the genesis of the "Queasy Street PSA".

Monte: The Monsterpedia was really Dev’s brainchild, and I credit him with really lighting a fire under the rest of us. We all met for lunch to hammer out the theme, and I remember everyone being on board with drawing monsters from the start. The idea of the “Monsterpedia” just evolved naturally from our discussion.

Monte: My photo of the whiteboard notes from this first meeting. And, for the record, I have no idea who "Ashley" is.

Another driving force behind the Monsterpedia is the “all-knowing, all-seeing beard of David Ryan Paul,” known as DRP.

DRP: Everyone was immediately excited about the book, and we all got to work on planning faster than any game production I’ve ever done.  Dev and Steve (Notley, of Bob the Angry Flower fame!) were incredibly helpful on the practical points of the process, both having experience with printing and publishing books. The entire group was helpful during the story creation phase. I remember bringing in different versions of my script for people to read, and got good help hammering out the flow of the story. It was exciting, because everyone had a different approach to creating their comic. Seeing all the stories in various stages of completion was invigorating and inspiring. I think that’s the biggest advantage of doing an anthology… you aren’t alone.

DRP: The inspiration for my story, stylistically, was Creepy, Eerie, and House of Mystery... basically comic book versions of The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, of which I’m a huge fan.

Adrien Yorozu had what sounds like an unenviable task at the later stages of the Monsterpedia, but she pulled it all together like a boss!

Adrien: "Monsterpedia" is reference shelves meets shadows in the night and I wanted to convey that on the cover. My favorite is the "O"… she's so sassy.

Adrien: I really wanted to get involved from the start… I don’t draw awesome comics so I thought that I could contribute some of my print background to the cause while hanging around the cool kids.  It was exciting to see everyone’s work come together and nice to be part of making it really look like a collection.

Gene Blakefield’s Monster Pin-Ups are so hot, I can literally only show one panel: The Invisible Woman!

As a comic book fan, great visual storytelling knocks me out, and when there’s a single panel as gorgeous as this one by Misael Armendariz, I can get stuck staring at it for minutes:

(Check that out! You can almost *hear* that bell ring!)

And when I teased the notion of a sequel up top, I wasn’t just toying with your fragile monster-loving hearts!  A second volume of the Monsterpedia is in the works, so keep an eye out for PopCap artists at conventions so you can get a signed copy with nifty little sketches like this:

Emerald City Comicon 2012, here we come!

Of course, if you can’t wait till the next convention to get your mitts on this monster work, you can find it for sale here!  We must caution, however, these comics are not for all ages. As hinted by the “Invisible Woman” photo above, there are definite non G-rated elements to this book, not to mention some scary monsters!