IT HAS ARRIVED!!!

My new book POCKETDOODLES FOR BOYS is hitting bookstores this week. If you see it on the shelves, check it out and let me know what you think. THANKS!

5 Days of Favorites: FANTASY FRIDAY!

I took a bunch of my favorite fantasy characters and threw them all together in this fun little mess below!

5 Days of Favorites: TYPEFACE THURSDAY!

I was asked to create artwork for a wonderful Christmas project at a local mall. The Rankin/Bass inspired display featured life sized 3D people & elves, a mini town and the interrior of Santa's castle! It was a great experience and I enjoyed creating the logo for the exhibit. Below are some of my design ideas & the finished logo! 

The Christmas exhibit was the brainchild of artist & visionary Dean Calusdian (who usually designs haunted houses!) and you can check out his amazing artwork at www.dreamswithindreams.com !

5 Days of Favorites: WEIRD WEDNESDAY!

I'm really enjoying my current assignment illustrating an activity book for kids. Some of the things they're asking me to draw are just SO cool! Below is the "Roadkill Queen"! The black & white version is for the book and I quickly did a color version for this post.

5 Days of Favorites: TEENAGERS TUESDAY!

One of my favorite projects is illustrating STEPPING STONES! Stepping Stones is a continuing series about the lives, friendships & triumphs of four teenagers. It was originally a comic feature in My Friend magazine and now it's a series of paperback books.

Stepping Stones: The Comic Collection is in stores now and The Stepping Stones Journals hits bookstores this April!

The writer of Stepping Stones is the amazing Diana Jenkins and you can check out her blog at djsthoughts-dj.blogspot.com !

5 Days of Favorites: MYSTERY MONDAY!

I really enjoyed creating this mystery scene for a kid's magazine.

Drawn with a rapidograph on smooth bristol, colored in Photoshop.

CHANGING STYLES:

A client who I've illustrated many children's books for ask me to come up with a different style for a series of adult employment guides. So, below are the cover designs I created for their books on CHANGING CAREERS, the PERFECT RESUME and CAREER ADVANCEMENT.

The next book was on JOB SEARCHING and below are the two final sketches they liked.

And below is the final cover design for the CAREER SEACHING guide created completely in Photoshop. Very different look for me, but I enjoyed the challenge!

'Til Death Do Us Part ART:

Above is a little piece that had a surprisingly long honeymoon. It was first created to illustrate an article titled "I DO" in a now defunct black & white magazine, then I colored it and sold it to a greeting card company as a "Happy Wedding" card, this past fall I featured it on one of my promotional postcards and now it's on my blog. View now or forever hold your peace!

ANATOMY of an IDEA:

Here's a peek at a recent job I really enjoyed. I was honored that Gibbs Smith Publishers asked me to produce their latest holiday card! It was a dream job: they offered me a blank canvas with no restrictions and they even paid me for it!! I knew the card had to appeal to the masses and make people think of both the holiday season & Gibbs Smith books. Below are some of the roughs I sent them (remember these are just roughs):

The above rough is my ARTSY/FUN APPROACH. I had just created Pocketdoodles for Boys for this publisher, so I thought this card would reproduce some of the fun of the book. And I think it says that the holidays can make anyone, even business people, jolly!

The above rough is my INSANE APPROACH. I just love this cartoon and I thought it would convey the chaos of the holidays in a fun way!

The above color rough is my LOW TECH/HIGH TECH APPROACH. Snow lady reading a traditional book and robot reading a Kindle type of device. Good books can bring everyone together during the holidays!

The above color rough is my WARM & FUZZY APPROACH . Books will light up your holidays and warm your insides!

I have no idea what to call the approach I used in the color rough above. I was trying to show the joy & ideas books bring...especially at the holidays! That's the Gibbs Smith logo on the cover.

Above is my FAMILY FUN APPROACH. My favorite subject to draw is crazy characters. I think this said family, books & holidays...I think this would have looked cool in color!

Above is my EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK APPROACH. I threw everything into this one: crazy characters, parodies of five Gibbs Smith book series, a bus and a horse! This was my favorite, I had a great time creating it. 

I sent all these ideas to Gibbs Smith because they had the final choice of design. And the winner was...

They picked my favorite which was very brave of them because it is a bit bizarre. Although they were going to produce these in full color, we agreed to just go black & white with the border and their logo in red so it would really stand out.

I'd love to hear what people thought of the roughs and the final design choice. Thanks!

If you enjoy the creative process, check out amazing artist Renee Kurilla's current blog post taking you through the character design process for her latest book series at kurillastration.blogspot.com!

HAPPY SUPER BOWL WEEKEND!!!

If you're not into the game (no Patriots....SOB!), enjoy the incredibly creative commercials, the halftime show featuring The Who or just savor really unhealthy snacks with family and friends!

Note: If you'd like to know more about what's happening on the field, pick up The Complete Idiot's Guide to Football written by NFL great Joe Theismann and illustrated by me!