And We All Fall Down

So here we have it. And even on schedule. I would like your thoughts guys. I was thinking about tweaking it in hue/saturation to try different color schemes. But this one seems ok to me.

Crit and stuff

So I've had a weird bout of artist productivity. I attribute it to Chad's wise refrain from use of negativity as a motivator and instead called me a dirty sonuvabitch. Thank you Chad.

So yah, I've been going to a lot of life drawing sessions and, as I mentioned to Christina,  I even went to the local zoo to draw. The following are highlights:

Additionally I am working on a new portfolio piece and want some input on the comp drawing.

I'm thinking the ground is suspiciously devoid of anything besides a cat and rug. A dresser or couch perhaps? Or I could just ignore the area and cleverly cover it up with sneaky color and shadow. Which is what I'm leaning toward now. That big open foreground book is going to feature an illustration within this illustration (I love stuff like that). This is the sketch for that:

 Get it? Falling? It's so self-referencing and post-modern.

I'm gonna finish this all digitally. Something along the lines of that Badir fan art I posted a while back. Thoughts appreciated. Look Chad, I drew!

poo

well needless to say i feel like shit and am totally jealous you guys are producing so much.. i moved to harlem in a really beautiful apartment and i got a sexy new glass drafting table.. so i will have more soon. awesome work guys.

Super Post II -- Booktastic Boogaloo

Oh, hello there. As you guys probably know, one of my main focuses post-graduation has been marketing the heck out of my children's book Vesuvius -- The Jet-Pack Bat. In October, I was in a reading festival hosted by the local newspaper and in the few weeks prior to the event, I made a bunch of new stuff to go along with my book.

It began with an attempt to fix the book's interior type since it felt a little thrown-on-at-4-in-the-morning-so-I-could-get-the-book-printed-in-time-for-my-final. I then got it reprinted at this local print shop I found and they did an amazing job...but I'm not posting shots of my new book, so I just made you read this exposition-laden paragraph for nothing. Nyah!

Following that, I figured that kids have walls and probably like to put things on them, so I made posters of each of the characters featured in the book:

Vesuvius! A surprising amount of children asked me why he is wearing his little aviator helmet/goggles since he doesn't have his jet-pack on. Clearly, I fail like a whale with no tail.

Chickadee in all her pink pinky-ness. You can't really tell, but her talons are pink as well. Too much? Nah.

Copernicus, a.k.a. The One That Started It All. Interesting fact: this is the very first time I have drawn him with his mouth shut. Seriously.

Sassy Hydrangea. She's a whole lotta hippo. You didn't hear this from me, but I'm pretty sure when I get around to actually making a follow-up book (which I really want to do), it's gonna be about her. Sorry Drummond.

And finally, Theloniussss. Unfortunately, he is another instance of my no-tail-whale-fail seeing as he is a totally different snake in this image than he is in the book. Don't judge me.

I then thought that maybe it would be cool to hand out character bookmarks with my information printed on the back rather than business cards. I created three different versions:

I will probably make one for both Sassy Hydrangea and Theloniussss at some point in the future, but these three seem to generally be the favorite characters of the group, so I'll stick with them for the time being.

I didn't really feel like posters and bookmarks were quite enough, so in an attempt to create other things to sell at my booth, I picked up a needle and thread. These are what happened:

I think Copernicus came out best, but considering I had never sewn anything before in my life, they all look decently endearing in their crudeness. I made two different Sassy Hydrangeas, but they are both AWFUL, so I shelved her stuffed form for the time being.

Clearly posters, bookmarks, and stuffed animals were still not enough, so I had t-shirts made as well:

With all this shiny new merch in hand, I was ready for the festival and aside from the fact that I was put next to another children's book booth with an overzealous lady who would swoop around and steal costumers from me as I was talking to them, it was a success! I sold stuff, people reacted really positively to the book, and I even have my own mailing list going.

Since then, I was in another show in December, recruited a 'street team' (i.e. four awesometacular high schoolers volunteered themselves), and I have read at two local elementary schools. I have another show coming up in April, and I might apply for two more, so I really need to crank up the production of the stuffed guys. I kinda wish I could make like The Prestige and clone myself endless times, but I think the moral implications would prevent me from actually going through with it.

To break up the monotony of just working on one big thing for an extended period of time, I have been trying to randomly draw and sketch as much as I can, so I will probably upload some of that stuff in the near future.

Brendan, draw more.

new portfolio stuff

Brendan, I was motivated by your last two posts and so decided to upload one of my own. Keep them coming! (I would love to see some of your zoo sketches)

The first two finished illustrations are the beginnings of my new portfolio done in my new style. I've been putting a large emphasis on shape and color and combining it with "pattern-y" ink work (sorta like the sketches I posted previously). I use watercolor for the shapes and background and ink (including a variety of colored inks) for the line work.

The next two images are comps for my next two pieces and I would love some feedback. You may notice that I am kind of on a jellyfish kick... at least I'm officially over my awkward bird phase.

I made a new logo and so, naturally, I designed a new business card. Yay! Here are the front and back images. (Oh. And you may notice that I have a new website address. I'm in the process of designing my new website and it should be up in the next month or so, so keep an eye out.)

Chad, this took me approximately 15 minutes, so you should take a break from the 50 million things your working on and post just one or two things... you could even munch on a snack while you upload. (And, yes, I am aware that I'm being an annoying nag on this subject and you're probably rolling your eyes as you read this, but that's why you love me.)

Thumbnails

for a new illo!

Gratuitous Girl Head

oh god someone tell me to draw more often

Also, I repainted bits of that painting I put up here awhile ago. Then used photoshop wizardry to pull it further back form the precipice of crap mountain. And then I watermarked it because I am terrified of the internet.