Brian Brooks

Brian is an artist and writer. Raised in Phoenix, Arizona, he has lived in Oakland, California since 1999. Brian is best known for his work in collaboration with other artists, most notably Rob Reger and the Emily The Strange brand.

Brian enjoys creating videos and zines documenting his neighborhood. This work can be seen in the Oakland Art section of this website.

Brian grew up drawing and has created many characters and comics over the past 40 years.  Brian is the creator of Oopsy Daisy and the author of Oopsy Daisy’s Bad Bad Day (Chronicle Books, 2002). His current projects are located on the Studio Art section of this website. 

Affiliations

Emily Wick

Brian co-created Smokey’s Tangle with artist Emily Wick in 2009. Smokey’s Tangle operated as a storefront gallery and design studio from February 2009 to July 2018. Smokey’s Tangle was awarded Best News Release by Oakland Magazine’s Best of Oakland, 2009.  Brian & Emily were named Best Art Duo by Oakland artist Scott MacLeod, in 2021. For a look inside the world of Smokey’s see, Smokey’s Tangle 5-Year Book PDF.

 

Rob Reger

Brian first met Emily The Strange creator (and Cosmic Debris Etc., Inc. owner) Rob Reger while studying printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute in the mid 1990s.

A few years later Brian deferred his enrollment in graduate school at the School Of Visual Arts in New York City to work as an illustrator for Cosmic Debris in San Francisco.

Together, Rob and Brian, along with the team at Cosmic, worked together to build global success with Emily The Strange® brand clothing, books, and comics. Rob and Brian also co-created The Oopsy Daisy character and international licensed clothing line program. Their animated series Boyz on da Run is one of Disney’s animated shorts.

Shane Tise

Brian met artist/musician Shane Tise while enrolled at Central High school in Phoenix, Arizona. Shane and Brian collaborated on drawings and stickers, and formed the band Breakfast With Idiots with Andrew Gottsfield. They played art openings, parties, and bars in Phoenix and Tempe from 1990 to 1995, and recorded 10 albums.

They agreed to attend whichever art school accepted them both. San Francisco Art Institute was the lucky winner.

Shane and Brian also demoed the songs for the Boyz On Da Run animation. In 2020, Shane and Brian created Psychic Coffee, an animation adaptation based on their 1992 concept album.