A little contest...
I'm very happy to announce a new image of mine is going to be on display at the Pierre Bottineau Library in Minneapolis, beginning June 1st. Stop by and visit the awesome children's section. The first person who can tell me which of my images is on display at the library will win a signed print of the image. :)
A Faded shade of green…
This week’s Illustration Friday topic is “faded.” For me, the word “faded” made me think of age. Then I started thinking…everything seems to fade with time…even a frog’s skin. So, here is what I came up with. It’s titled “A Faded Shade of Green.” I hope you all enjoy it! Have a great Memorial weekend! 
A Faded Shade of Green
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Illustration Friday has a timely theme for the week…
This week’s Illustration Friday topic is “sight.” Fortunately for me, I have been working on “sights” for the last couple weeks.
As some of you may have heard, I have spent my last couple weeks designing sets for an animated short. The overall look of the animation is going to be similar to South Park, embracing a simplistic design. My job was to create a collection of sets which support a story of kids leaving a playground, taking a trip in a private jet and landing in a industrial area of China. The images I am sharing here are my pencil and color concept and the final image for the scene where the children arrive in China. Sticking to the simplistic design, I controlled the mood of each set by using bold color schemes. Here are the images. Hope you enjoy them! Have a great weekend!
China concept with color.
- The final set for Industrial China.
Enjoy the ride!
Well, the sun has been shining all morning and it looks to be a great day! When you stare at the screen or the drawing table for six or seven hours, it’s easy to forget about the world around you. Fortunately, the hundred-pound hound dog laying at my feet has made it his responsibility to make sure I don’t forget to enjoy the sun and fresh air once in a while. His favorite things are going for a walk and taking a ride in the car/jeep. It’s amazing what a little fresh air can do to your mind.
Last Friday, the IllustrationFriday.com topic was “Hitched.” After a busy week and weekend, I finally found some time to put an illustration together for the topic. I was inspired to create an image that shows how much Dutch enjoys his rides. Here is what I came up with. I know the topic “hitched” is subtle at best, but I figured he was “hitching a ride”…
Enjoy the Ride
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International Monster’s Day has come and gone…
UPDATE!!! I posted this about five minutes before I heard Maurice Sendak had passed. Now, maybe we should declare TODAY International Monster Day. RIP, Maurice. Your monsters rocked!
I need a better calendar. Apparently this past Saturday was International Monster’s Day. How official is this holiday you ask? Well, probably just as official as monsters themselves. Which probably explains why the special date wasn’t covered on the news or celebrated by a “monster-fest” on AMC Saturday morning.
Whether it counts as a day off for the working class or it means a vacation for every kid who fears the boogie man, I happen to think International Monster’s Day is a cool holiday. If only I had known about it a little sooner. I’ve set the reminder on my calendar
Hiding a monster isn’t easy.
for next year, International Monster’s Day. I won’t miss you again.
Here is an illustration for International Monster’s Day. This is a reworked image from a few years ago. Hope you all enjoy it!
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History and dogs eating ice cream…
April has really kept me on my toes. Last week, I spent an evening with Artists Del Norte’, a great little group of artists from the northern Twin Cities. I also met Nicole Klein, the Creative Director for Mind of Klein; a unique-minded marketing firm from Minneapolis. I also may time to attend meetings for SCBWI and CBIG-MN.
While I wasn’t attending workshops and meeting with great groups of artists, I was in my studio, working on a variety of illustrations. Since April 1st, I have worked on projects covering a super-wide spectrum. My days have been filled with corporate mascots, zombie hoards, ice-cream-eating dogs and ghosts from American history. Along with all of that, I still found time to work on the manuscript for my graphic novel. April was a busy month, and as I look at my schedule for May, the “busy” looks like it’s going to continue. Here are some samples of the illustrations I’ve done over the last couple of weeks. Have a great weekend everybody!
- Dog Days
Midnight Ride
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Illustration Friday: Jump!
This week’s illustration Friday topic, “jump” was an opportunity for me to finish up an illustration I have been working on for a few weeks. Over the last month or so, I have been exploring the concept of animals with human characteristics. So, this illustration shows a handful of animal characters doing human-type things. I hope you all enjoy it! Have a great weekend!
Jump!
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This week’s Illustration Friday topic is “Heights”…
This week was filled with meetings and work on a new children’s book (more to come on this one). So, my Illustration Friday ended up being delayed slightly. For this week’s image, the topic was “heights.” Once again, thanks to my wife, I was able to find a starting point…giraffes. I took her basic idea and twisted it in to a day at the zoo with that one kid who always seems to find his way in to trouble. Here is where the image landed. I hope you all enjoy it! Oh, and by the way…Happy Earth Day!
Heights
