Did anyone see Hell's Kitchen last night?

Alright, so the title was a hook to get you to read this post. Truth be told, I am a sucker for that show. Both because my lovely wife is studying to become an Executive Chef (Sultry or Sweet, she hasn't decided yet, but I'm leaning toward the Sultry, if you know what I mean, growl!), and because I'm a sucker for reality show conflict! Although the cast from this season can by no means compare to last season (they're either socially retarded or can't cook worth a stitch), they sure do bring the conflict entrees to the table in heaping helpings!
Anywho, there are a few changes to the blog that are of note. I'm not going to post the Pirate illustration any more, regardless of progress on it. Reason being, is that I'm sworn to a non disclosure agreement with my employer, and although I haven't mentioned them or any of my co workers by name, there's a slight possibility that anything I produce at work could be considered the property of my employer.
And seeing as how I love my job, and I can sometimes play with fire too much, I'm dropping the piece from my blog, I'd rather 'err on the side of caution' than pick up the proverbial unemployment check, which is not a good spot to be in!
Instead, I'll show you a digital version of the sketch that started my blog, the dinosaur beaver! That and the fact that I had spoken with a few professional animators for a while via email and AIM and was just incredibly motivated to start one up!
(A HUGE thanks to Kristen, Steven Silver, and genepool, Gabe Swarr, and DEFINITELY Corbett Vanoni, who has taught me a lot about things I thought thatIi already knew!!)
The second image was a quick pencil sketch that I worked up in Illustrator and then painted in Photoshop, which I'm pretty happy with.