Bloggerasaurus

The Shopasaurus, popular 80's icon that has faded into the past.

Funny thing about Web search — not everything shows up just because it’s out on the Web. You’d think that by putting a site up  with Saurus characters, that if you searched Google for “shopasaurus” that my little pink dinosaur would appear in the results — not so. Web experts use techniques called SEO (search engine optimization), which get the thing you want people to find to show up higher in the results. But shopasaurus didn’t show up at all. There’s a lot of technical reasons for it, but one thing that helps, is if I post it on this site, which has been around a lot, and has a lot of outgoing links.  So here be Shopasaurus, that 80’s icon of excess.

Now I know how rock stars feel when fans insist they play their hits. I created Computasaurus, Shopasaurus, Partyasaurus, et al back in Feb. 1986, and some 23 years later I still get requests for Saurus shirts, coffee mugs, plush toys, etc., especially Dadasaurus.

I’m currently working on a completely different project, so to spend time on launching this new site, with our partners Digital Imagining Services of Spring Texas, really brings me back to the days when Saurus was the top selling T-shirt line in America. Many times I’ve tried to put Saurus in my past and move on to something grittier, something more challenging. But what I realize about the simple little Rockasaurus and Beachasaurus, is that they gave me the life and career I have today. I’m able to create what I want because they gave me the confidence and the freedom to go wherever my imagination takes me. Thanks Saurus.
You can find them at www.saurusgang.com

All the credit for this one goes to The Mighty Dan Humphrey, our Senior Art Director, who not only wrote the definition, but came up with a great color combination as well. Maybe he was listening to the red, white and black clad band the White Stripes at the time for inspiration. All I know is I was really stumped on the colors for this one, and Dan stepped in and took charge. He’s also responsible for many of the definitions on the original Sauruses.

Here’s a sketch of a new Saurus. I’ve recently gotten into kayaking. I injured my hip last year, and have been unable to get up on a surfboard, so I needed another activity that involed getting out in the water. I’m amazed at how many people are kayaking — probably, because it’s relatively easy to get started. It doesn’t take years and years of practice to have an enjoyable experience. I live three blocks from the Navesink River, and less than a mile from the Shrewsbury River. Both empty into the Atlantic Ocean to the east. about three miles from my home. To west, the rivers are fed by tidal estuaries , which are habitats for herons and other amazing birds. I try to get out there several times a week in the warmer weather. So I guess that makes me a Kayakasaurus.

A new Saurus for a new millennium — sounds a bit too dramatic, but it’s been some time since I drew one of these guys. I’ve still got some work to do on the definition, but I’m happy with the drawing.

The printer didn’t seem necessary, but I felt a desk and chair might bring all the elements together. Wow, this was way easier when I didn’t really think too hard about what I was doing — I just drew the first thing that popped into my head, and that was usually the design we went with.

Here’s a first shot at a 2006 version of the Computasaurus. My biggest problem: what should be on the screen? Second: the definition. The old one was rather simplistic. So send me some feedback as to what it is people generally do with their computers.

The final push to make a new Saurus actually came from my father. A few weeks ago, he sent me his version of a modernized Computasaurus. He’s been learning Photoshop and used it to insert a new monitor and keyboard. I thought it was a great choice of color and I was finally moved to update the old classic.

After some digging, we found an old stat of the original Computasaurus. Penned around February 1986, this was the drawing that started it all. A phone call from a friend who was struggling to learn DOS on an IBM personal computer inspired this sketch. It was done with one single drawing, there were no studies or alternate poses. It just appeared.

This site was originally posted on Blogger.com as bloggerasaurus.blogspot.com and up until recently, it was very easy to import a blog from Blogger into a new WordPress blog (which is what I’m using. Unfortunately, I have to import all my posts manually and have no way of preserving the dates of the posts or eveyone’s comments. So for the record, this blog was actually begun in November of 2006, but it will appear to have started February 2007.