My son likes to sit at the kitchen counter a lot. He watches my wife cook there. He likes to draw there. It might just be his favorite hangout spot.I've been experimenting with using fountain pen and marker on watercolor paper. It's been pretty fun. The color is really vibrant, but obviously the texture and subtleties of watercolor aren't there. Still, it's quick, and it's not messy.
Benjamin Turkey
I made a series of illustrations recently for ilearn4fun. This story was about a turkey who eats stuff. That's pretty much the entire plot. Anyway, here are a couple of images from that. I wanted to create a flat, Eric Carle-esque look.Oh, and Benjamin is French. Hence, the awesome bowtie. (I also included a little history and made Benjamin look a tad like Benjamin Franklin.)
Gollum
Here you go, Tyler.
Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit
Drew this little sketch of Frodo, Sam, and Gollum while waiting for my computer to stitch together another image.
People sketches
I drew these a long time ago but finally decided to post them. Must've been a sad day. They all seem a little down.
Look Left
Thought this guy looked pretty cool.
Kid Doodle
Some days, you don't have time to post something big, ya know?
Sneak Peek
Here's a glimpse of a project I'm working on. It's already a completed dummy*. (This is a big deal. The process leading up to the book dummy takes forever.) Here's hoping an editor somewhere likes it...* A 'dummy' is a picture book mockup that helps editors decide whether you will succeed in life.
Milton Glaser
A quick little sketch I did of Milton Glaser while my students were working on a project. If you don't know who Milton Glaser is, here's his site. He's the guy who created I ♥ NY, among a bazillion other designs.
Labyrinth
Icarus knew that the string was his only chance of escaping the labyrinth alive.
Dog Doodle
It's a teeny doodle today, guys.
Happy Hobo
Drew this on a post-it note a while back. Cleaned it up a bit in Photoshop.
Napoleon
It's not your birthday, Napoleon. Plus, you weren't quite as humble as Mr. Washington seems to have been. But you do have a cool hat.
Happy Birthday, Mr. Washington!
If I've counted correctly, you're 281 years old. Congrats!
Oliver Twist
I made this just to play around with halftones and textures. Kinda fun. The layout has some odd trapped spaces, and Oliver is looking off to the left with very little lead room for his face. I thought this sort of tension worked, since the story is about a boy caught in difficult circumstances.My wife hates the musical, Oliver! I think she can't get past the boy's soprano voice. We used to make fun of the line "just thinking of growing fat" all the time at my house, but I love the movie.
Kid
No story here. Just a kid. With the secret to all human knowledge tucked inside his pocket.
Bird Sketchbook Doodads
Drew these while I was putting together those pigeon illustrations. I like the one that looks like a platypus.
Sketchbook Doodads
I've really liked working with the Pentallic Nature Sketch books. The paper's nice and thick, and it has a good texture to it. Plus, it makes it easier to draw weird-looking hats, robots, and things drifting away on balloons.
Norman
I'm not sure how well this guy's doing in the Scripps Howard Intergalactic Spelling Bee, but at least he has a cool sweater.
Another Machine
Weird machines that perform unclear functions are awesome, as I've mentioned previously.