Illustration, animation and general thoughts from the merry land of Otis.

Prepping For New York

2012-01-18T06:49:00.000-08:00

Well, it is that time of year that many illustrators and writers in the children's book market begin prepping for the New York SCBWI conference at the end of the month. I have joined their ranks and begin putting my portfolio together for the conference. I decided to show around 12 pieces in my book. Many of them were created within the past few months. I am moving into a new style direction with my book illustrations. By using Photoshop instead of Illustrator, I am getting the traditional look that I have been yearning to achieve. Plus the comments that I have received over the past year have pushed me into a new and very freeing direction. Many have told me that they like my sketches and drawings better than the final vector pieces I was producing. They felt my Illustrator style was too clean and I need to loosen up a bit, especially for children's books. So I have taken these words to heart and begin experimenting with Photoshop. I will not abandoned working in Illustrator, which I still love. It is still a work in progress but it is getting there.

Back to putting my portfolio together. I noticed there was a hole in the story telling part of the illustrations and needed one additional piece that would help showcase the storytelling aspect of being a children's book illustrator. I spent about a week coming up with various concepts and sketches trying to get a visual story working. Thus "Wendell Takes A Ride" was born. The goal was to draw the viewer into the piece and have them asking "who, what, where, why, when, and how", hopefully that was accomplished with this illustration. As I worked on the piece, a full story started developing which I need to address once I have completed the story in the works at the moment. Details for that story will be talked about on a later posting.

Since the conference is a week away, I need to run off and get cracking on some paying work and get those off to the clients. When I return, I will give you a full report, with photos, on the conference. I am looking forward to seeing old friends, meeting up with some of the Pixel Shavings gang, making new friends and contacts, and taking in the city for a few days. Until then, ciao.

"A book, being a physical object, engenders a certain respect that zipping electrons cannot. Because you cannot turn a book off, because you have to hold it in your hands, because a book sits there, waiting for you, whether you think you want it or not, because of all these things, a book is a friend. It’s not just the content, but the physical being of a book that is there for you always and unconditionally." ~ Mo Willems

Saying Goodbye

2012-01-13T15:24:00.001-08:00

Last night we said goodbye to a beloved member of our family. Jasmine was with us for nearly 21 years. She came home with our daughter after visiting family in Tennessee. Jazz, as we called her, got to see the kids grow up, visiting family and friends when they would stop by, a move to Maine, and to see other furry family members come and go. She was very social and the first to greet guest at the door. Often jumping in their lap once they sat down. Jazz was with me when I left a design studio to chase my dream of becoming an illustrator, sitting by my side when I am drawing. She would sit in Lynn's lap while she read. I think Lynn would read to her secretly. Always quick with a purr, a meow, and some attitude at times, she seemed to enjoy being part of a family. We will miss her terribly, we already do. She will always be part of the family and in our hearts forever.

Finding the Groove

2012-01-05T11:28:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope each of you had a wonderful time with family friends during the holidays. We kept it very low key here. Our son came up for a week long visit while our daughter stayed in Pennsylvania with her boyfriend. Nate and I got to go to Gillette Stadium to see a Patriots game which was a real treat. What a beautiful stadium! We had a great time, especially since the Patriots won. Go PATS!

I took a much needed break last week but found myself in the studio anyway. I had this idea for a promo piece that I was itching to work on. After breaking out my sketchbook, I did a quick doodle of the idea. Once I worked up the sketch, I realized that it was not working conceptually, so I thought about it and came up with a much better idea. Again, I worked up the idea, made revisions and finally had a a drawing that I liked.

This was the final drawing that I scanned into Photoshop which became the base for the painting. For the color palette, I wanted to keep the colors toned down and warmer to emphasize the friendship between the two characters. Usually my colors are very vibrant, this was something different for me.

Just like working traditionally, I did a gray underpainting to establish my light direction. I was happy with my first attempt and decided that the values would work. Oh, I made it a "multiply" layer some that the pencil work would show through.

I copied my gray underpainting and added a deep brown tint to the copy. Again, the "multiply" was turned on for that layer. This made the underpainting very dark which is what I wanted to build the colors upon.

The sky was painting first which keeps the traditional way of thinking of working from back to front. It was hard not to put a bright sky in but I wanted to stay try to the color palette that I wanted to use. I built each component in layers with the "normal" setting on since I wanted to paint over my base painting. This allows me to tweak or redo something as I progress.

Once the sky was completed, the grass was next to be added. The colors are flat except for the bright yellow and a few highlights. This was intentional to help draw the eye up towards the figure.

The next step was to paint the oafish, troll-like giant. Having again to fight the urge to use bright colors, the bulk of his vest is an olive green and his pants a maroon red. The skin tones where built up in many separate layers which were flattened once I got them to my liking. I feel that I still need some work in the color theory for skin tones but it is getting there. Practice, practice, practice!

His vest seemed to missing something so I laid in a burlap texture from an old scan I had. It worked really well. The layer is set on "multiply" and the opacity was set to around 35%. The tree branch and bird was also painted in at this time.

The next step was to paint the girl. With the muted colors being a backdrop for her, I focused on brightening up the colors for her. I wanted to her to airy and very lively looking. Lots of purples and pinks were used in her clothing and a base of orange for her hair helped me achieve the look I was after.

The final touches like highlights, some lines, and a few dollops of color were added to bring the final piece to life. I was very happy on how the final turned out. Seeing the textures of the brushes helped make this look less digital and more traditional. Your thoughts and opinions are greatly welcomed.

Until next time, I leave you with this quote:
"If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all." ~ Michelangelo

Happy holidays!

2011-12-24T06:09:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank each of you for following the blog this past year and to wish you a happy holiday season.

A Cornucopia of Things

2011-12-10T13:46:00.001-08:00

It has been a few weeks since my last post. Where does the tine go? I have had my nose to the grindstone this whole time. I just finished up some things for a large video game company. During this time, I was approached by another game company to develop a central character for a concept they are working on for an early 2012 launch. After several attempts, this design is what I came up with for the main character. I cannot reveal much info about him but I can tell you that this design was not picked. I do like him and so did the company. Apparently they had several illustrators working on concepts. I can post this image since I own the copyrights to him.

Recently I have also been doing some figurative work in the evenings. Every couple of weeks I gt together with some area artist for a Tuesday night drawing club. This inspired me to do this drawing of a friend of ours who was pregnant at the time of me shooting reference photos. After 4 attempts, I finally got the proportions fairly accurate so I could render the drawing. I spent about 20 hours on it but could have easily spent more time. This is going to be a surprise Christmas gift for her. I also did this little nude a few weeks ago which I like. It was from a photo but a good exercise.

Major Manners is almost wrapped up. I only have few more spreads to do. The publisher has been wonderful to work along side and I hope this is the start of many more books.

The past month I have sent out 400 postcards to various publishers and art directors. After the holidays, I want to mail another 200 or so. Also I need to start writing down some story ideas and begin cultivating them into a book form. It would be nice to have a dummy together for the SCBWI Winter Conference but that might be a bit ambitious. First things first, a well developed story.

I picked up a client from Africa recently and we are developing some animal characters for a card game. She is also talking about a possible book.

November and December have been very mild here in Maine. So mild, that today we put a new bay window into our house. It really will be warm and cozy when the snow and wind come to town for the holidays and winter months. Maybe I should go build a fire this evening and enjoy the view.

"I talk as I sketch, too, in order to keep their minds off what I'm doing so I'll get the most natural expression I can from them. Also, the talking helps to size up the subject's personality, so I can figure out better how to portray him." ~ Norman Rockwell

The Holiday Spirit

2011-11-26T06:00:00.001-08:00

As the holiday is upon us, I thought it was time to do a special illustration to get me into the holiday spirit. Of course, I wanted some humor in the piece so with paper in hand, this is what materialized. The idea behind it is the little boy getting a "special gift" he dreamt of the past year. The big questions are how did Santa get him into the small box and did the boy eat his Wheaties that morning in order to lift him. I think each of us would love to get a monster as gift. Well, if he/she was a nice one.

The entire illustration was created in Photoshop. After scanning in the sketch, I added a gray tone to the drawing in order to establish a light source which came from the top left. This allowed the boy's face to stand out.

I then duplicated the gray layer and used the saturation tool to change the tone to a color. The layer was made to "multiply" the previous layer which gave me a dark base to work the final color.

The next step in process was to block-in the color. I wanted the boy's pajamas to be a cool color against the warm tone of the monster.

I continued to block in the color with the boy's face and the other features on the monster.

This is the final result. Keeping the cool colors mostly on the boy allowed him to stand out against the warm tones of the other parts of the illustration. Final touches were a wisps of hair, lines on the arms and legs of the monster, details on the box, and the highlights. i pulled a few dark blues into the shadows of the other components to pull everything together. The drop shadows need a touch of purple to add some pop.

After completing the piece, I realized that many of my pieces of late have been vignettes so I need to do a series of illustrations that have environments or situations. I like the direction the illustrations are heading by working in Photoshop so time to keep pushing forward.

Last weekend I wend to a workshop in New Hampshire sponsored by NESCBWI. Guest speakers were Sally Mavor who spent 5 years working on the illustrations for Pocketful of Posies. To see her fabric work up close was simply amazing. She hands stitch every piece. There was a giveaway so I won a signed book from her. Jennifer Morris and Carlyn Beccia did a digital workshop where they shared their tricks and tips. Carol Goldenberg shared her process of designing a children's book. Casey Girard and Anna Boll did a wonderful job putting the event together so a big THANK YOU to each of them.

Time to enjoy the weekend so I will leave you with this quote:

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island." ~ Walt Disney

It's Been A Long Time

2011-11-08T15:41:00.000-08:00

I just realized that it has been 3 weeks since I last posted on my blog. Where did the time go? It really has gotten away from me lately. There is so much going on here in the merry land of Otis. Some things I can tell you about and others are under wraps for now. I don't want to let the cat out of the bag too early but 2012 could be a very exciting year.

First things first, I just did a new promo postcard that will be sent to various reps/agents, publishers, agencies, game developers, etc. The Pinocchio piece turned out quite well so I thought it would be a good sample and lead off for the second style I have been working on as of late. I have fallen in love with Photoshop! It is letting me get a traditional feel with this style. I have not abandoned Painter but Photoshop just has a familiar feel to it since I worked in Illustrator for many years. If you would like a postcard, send me an email to russ@smilingotis.com. 100 of them just went out the door so fingers are crossed for a response.

Major Manners is moving forward pretty quickly now. All sketches have been approved so I have been working on the final art. The book should be out early next year. Molly Kite is also moving along and should be hitting the store shelves very soon. There are some big plans for both books but I must keep things under wrap for now.

I have been getting a lot of inquiries from self publishers these past two weeks. The advertising is really paying off as my name seems to be getting out there a bit more. Hopefully a more publishers will be calling. I am really enjoying venturing into picture books at this point of my career.

In January, I will be heading to New York for the winter SCBWI conference. Fred Koehler, Ward Jenkins (Chicks Run Wild), and I will be sharing a room. That should be interesting and a great time. I am looking forward to seeing many friends, old and new plus learning some things. Maybe you can teach an old dog a new trick.

This past weekend, I organized a figure drawing workshop with Isaac Peleko. He is a New York based artist that I knew from my PCA&D teaching days. We had 16 area artist take the workshop and I think each of us learned quite a bit from him. He is coming back to Maine in the spring aka Mud Season to teach a portraiture class.

On a personal note, my wife and I had a Halloween party. We have been talking about it for years but finally said "Enough talk, lets do it!" We had about 40 people in our little house. Everyone was dressed in wonderful, fun costumes. I was dressed as the tooth fairy and my wife one of my victims (see above photo). There was a ton of food. We provided a pulled pork and bar-b-que dish that we made look like a leg that a zombie was chewing on (see above). Everyone was telling us that this will be an annual event so we better start planning for next year!

The weather is rapidly changing up here in Maine even though today was a beautiful 60 degrees. Everyone is prepping for winter which is right around the corner. I hope it holds this weekend so I can button down the outside.

Until next time (hopefully it will not be 3 weeks!), I leave you with this:

"I learned to draw everything except glamorous women. No matter how much I tried to make them look sexy, they always ended up looking silly... or like somebody's mother." ~ Norman Rockwell

A Different Take On A Classic

2011-10-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lag in between post. I have been quite busy with various projects plus working on a new promo piece which is what you see above. A few weeks ago I was down with a bug. During the day, the urge to sketch was more powerful than the flu so out came the pencil and paper. The idea of doing something different with Pinocchio has been swirling in my head for a month or so. I wondered what would Pinocchio look like if kids had built him. Without any real direction, I begin sketching and out popped the basic idea for an illustration. I added and revised a few things in the final than what is in the sketch. To tie in the "modern" version with the classic story, a cricket was added above his radar ear. I was quite happy with the final art and will be using it on my next postcard mailing.

Major Manners is still moving forward. All of the pages have been sketched and are at the publisher for review. Once they come back it will sleeves rolled up and some late nights.

Still waiting on word on the status of Molly Kite. The publisher has everything so now Tam (the author) and I are in a holding pattern.

My website has some new images and animations added to it so if you get a free moment, give it a gander.

Our daughter and two of her friends are coming up for a three day visit this weekend. My wife and I are looking forward to seeing her. The five of us will be heading to Portland for "Harvest on the Harbor". It would be a perfect weekend if our son could be here as well. But someone has to deliver the goods across the country. No rest for the weary so is the life of a truck driver. We are happy to see him doing something he loves. Plus he gets to see parts of the country that very few get to visit.

My wife and I are putting together a Halloween party for friends in a few weeks so our evenings have been filled with prepping for it. Our little house is going to be packed with all kinds of costumed characters.

Until next time.

"To create one's own world in any of the arts takes courage." ~ Georgia O'Keeffe

The Major Comes to Life

2011-10-02T07:19:00.000-07:00

With summer coming to a close and fall pushing its way into Maine, the cooler weather makes me want to hunker down in my studio. Progress is being made with Major Manners. We just completed a sample spread and cover. The decision was made to do the tub scene since it has many elements and would be good to get the color of the characters dialed in. I was thinking of doing the illustrations in pencil and Photoshop but felt more comfortable in doing this book in Illustrator. I did not want outlines to weigh down the characters and elements so they have been kept to a minimum. Lately I have been using the bristle brushes in Illustrator a bit more so it gives the illustrations a more hand painted feel. The publisher is very happy with the look and style so we are moving to the remaining pages.

While working on the Major, two other books have come in. They will be self published but will be a lot of fun to do. I know some people shy away from self publishing but I think it is a good way to get your name out there and gain valuable experience. They will only help with ones ability to tell a story a visually and work with the text.

Speaking of self publishing, Molly Kite is at the publisher and should be out nationally very soon. Other books are in the works as well as some possible cool merchandising items. Stay tuned!

My experimentation in Photoshop continunes. I am really liking how I can get a traditional look and letting my sketches show through the coloring. The above piece was done for a Pixel Shavings promo that we are sending out very soon. The idea just "popped" into my head so I quickly sketched it out and added color. I want this look to be looser and less labored looking than my Illustrator pieces. It still needs development but it is getting there. After I get a few more pieces completed, it will be time to do a new post card.

Since I have all of these book projects coming in, it has made me want to get back to my own book. I really need to spend some time fleshing out the story. It has been in the back of my mind lately and it is time I really get it written. Who knows where it will go or if it will turn out but you never know until you try.

My wife and I had a wonderful time Boston for our anniversary. We spent a day at the Fine Arts Museum where I got to see some John Singer Sargent's paintings up close. I could have spent the day just looking at his artwork. Just beautiful! The two of us went to see Wilco and Nick Lowe at the Wang. A must see tour! Boston is such a clean city. That really amazed, especially for its size. We will definitely go back.

It is time to head out the door and make play some banjo with two musician friends.

"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance." ~ Aristotle

Animals Gone Wild

2011-09-18T06:17:00.000-07:00

Fall has arrived early here in Maine with crisp, cool nights and a slight chill in the air during the day. The leaves are turning and have begun to fall. There is something about this time of year that I absolutely love and really gets my creative juices flowing. Of course we know that winter is right around the corner so the few weeks and weekends we have of outside weather is spent prepping for the cold and snow. Another season that I truly love.

These past few weeks have been a blur work wise. I just completed a project for Kids Crooked House in which I got to create animal characters for each letter of the alphabet. Here are a few of my favorites that we did together. Working with them is pure pleasure and great loads of fun. Can you guess the characters? Hint: they have two words in the name and each begin with the same letter.

Major Manners is coming along quite nicely. The publisher is very happy with the sketches to date. I will be working on a full color cover and a spread so they can begin promoting the book. There are already talks of additional books. Molly Kite is at the publisher now but I am not sure of when the book will be hitting the bookstores but I do know it will be this fall. The other two books in the series will begin sometime early next year.

My lovely wife and I are celebrating our 23rd anniversary together by heading to Boston for a few days. We want to go to the Boston Museum of Art while there. I really want to see the John Singer Sargent exhibit. We are also going to see Wilco and Nick Lowe which the two of us are looking to seeing.

"One must from time to time attempt things that are beyond one's capacity." ~ Auguste Renoir

Progress

2011-09-05T12:55:00.001-07:00

Lately, I have been playing around with Photoshop to develop a second look or style. It seems to be coming together as I get a handle on the software. I am trying to get a color pencil look to my digital illustrations that I am developing on Photoshop. Illustrator is still my main tool but I feel the need to branch out beyond its limits. The banjo pig was actually done for a website called "Banjo Pigs". I felt it would be a good starting point. The entire pieces was built in layers, working from dark to light. The highlights were the last to be placed. The real goal with this piece was to keep the color fresh, bright, and lively while keeping the sketch visible. I still have a ways to go but the plan is to do a new piece every two weeks. Hopefully by January, I can start promoting this second style as I head to the New York SCBWI conference.

Keeping very busy as Major Manners is being developed. The initial reaction to the sketches and characters have been very positive. We have moved on to a spread and cover which I will finish up soon so they can start promoting the book. I also am talking with a couple of other people about illustrating their books. Plus I have a large character project in here as well. I am so grateful for all of the work.

In my spare time, I am setting up a figure drawing workshop with Isaac Pelepko. Isaac will be coming up to Maine for two days in November to lecture and demonstrate rending the human form. It seems as if the artistic community are equally as excited because the workshop is almost full. If you are not familiar with his work, you can view his website.

I should call it a posting and enjoy the rest of Labor Day so until next time.

"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way-things I had no words for." ~ Georgia O'Keeffe

Development of a character

2011-08-21T08:33:00.000-07:00

For this post, I thought I would share a character that is in development for a children's book. The book is called Major Manners from Outhouse Ink Publishing. I know most people will not show anything until the project is completed but they want me to post things as it progresses. All the images are copyrighted including the story.

The overall concept is that the main character teaches children to do basic things like brush their teeth before bed, cleanup their room, etc. Major Manners is a big rugged military looking, but very friendly guy who has a real soft spot for children. We started off by doing a series of head studies to find a direction. After previewing the samples to many people for feedback, a head study was selected. From there, I did a full body sketch

After a few tweaks to the body we moved onto doing some various facial expressions to see how the character will work in the various moods. I tried to keep that in mind as I design a character, especially for a book. One must think like a director (thanks Sheri) when developing the visuals for a story.

We are now working on a sample spread and cover design so the promotions can begin. Most of the work from here on in will be kept secret until the book is published. I can you that it has been a lot of fun so far and I am excited for the finish book. There are already talks of more books so fingers crossed.

Speaking of more books, I just learned a few weeks ago that Molly Kite's Big Dream has been picked up by a publisher and will be available nationally in the next few months. They have also ordered two more books so it will be a very busy next few months. Stay tuned for more details!

With all of these books projects, I am hoping that some more doors open up in the publishing world and maybe find a rep by early next year. I also need to get back to my story that is in development. As I work on other things, I keep working and reworking it in my head. It is soon time to get some of the changes back onto paper and get some feedback. Once the story is to my liking, I will then create a dummy which will be used for submitting to agents and publishers. But first, the story needs to work.

"Practise what you know, and it will help to make clear what now you do not know." ~ Rembrandt

Bad Hair Day - A New Profile Image

2011-08-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

A quick post for this week. I figure it was time to update my profile image so I did a quick sketch last week and came up with "Bad Hair Day". I was not happy with the original gremlins so I redid them which where then dropped into place in Photoshop. Once they were placed, I then painted the image in Photoshop this afternoon with custom brushes that I had created. The main goal was to treat it like a traditional painting so there was an underpainting. The colors were built up in layers from dark to light with the highlights the last thing I added. The overall color stayed bright so I did not have to tweak the hue and saturation. The other goal was to let the original sketch show through which helps keep the image loose.

"Painting is just another way of keeping a diary" ~ Pablo Picasso

Some Artwork From Monhegan

2011-07-29T12:11:00.001-07:00

Another week has come and gone with July almost over. Next month we will begin prepping for fall and winter here in Maine. The above images are sketches and plein air paintings I did while on Monhegan Island. I had another sketch but another artist liked it so much they asked if they could have it. I was flattered so I gave it to her. The first of the two sketches was done at Squeaker Cove. It was our first full day there. It was beautiful with the waves crashing onto the rocks. I decided to do a rock study which i was happy with the outcome. The first painting I did was in the Cathedral Forest. It was my second attempt as my first painting fell onto the ground so it had to be wiped clean. Maybe that was a good sign. This was the first oil painting I have done in years. At first I could not remember what to do so i decided to just smear some color onto the canvas. I was fairly happy with the painting. The colors pop more in real life. I did some other paintings but was not happy with the results. One can only paint trees, water, and rocks for so long. I was watching these chickens and a rooster so I took some quick reference photos with my iPhone. The next day I worked on the chicken painting for a couple of hours. This is the result of my efforts. I finished up the faces once I returned home but could not scan it since the paint is still wet. The last sketch was done on the final fay on the island. It was done at Pebble Beach. Yeah, I know, it is a rock and water sketch. Sometimes the place decides what you will draw or paint. Hopefully I will get to go back next year. This trip has really given me the oil painting bug.

The past few weeks have been extremely busy. I finished up one book and have begun a second one. I am really excited about this one. It will be a ton of fun. While I have begun this one, there might be another from the same publisher coming in. Fingers crossed. I also finished up an animation project with a second one waiting in the wings. The animation work ebb and flows. With all these projects I get to design a poster from some dear friends in Lancaster, 26 characters for some playing cards, various logos, and trying to do some additional Photoshop illustrated for myself. Busy, busy, busy! You will not hear me complain. Hopefully everyone is just as busy or busier.

With everything going on, my story concept has taken a backseat. I am still sorting it out mentally and hope to get it mocked up soon.

The illustrators group I belong to just put out some bookmarks. If you would like one, send me an email and I will get some out to you.

"Every time I paint a portrait, I lose a friend." ~ John Singer Sargent

Returning From Paradise

2011-07-18T13:17:00.001-07:00

I am back after a week away on Monhegan Island which is off the coast of Maine. I went with a group of 20 area fine artist for a week of drawing, painting, eating, drinking, and music (I brought my banjo). It was such a fun trip and much needed. I did not know most of the people who went but with a group of artist, it is very easy to fit in and in a short time. A majority of the group go to the island every year so I was lucky enough to be asked to join them. The island is less than a mile wide and two miles long so we did a lot of exploring. They have many trails so it is easy to maneuver from one spot to the other. It seems like after every turn, you saw something new and jawdropping. From the Cathedral Forest to Lobster Cove to the cliffs of Squeaker Cove and the rocks of Pebble Beach, each step was breathtaking. Everyday was spent drawing and/or painting with a critique in the evenings. I will post some of the pieces I did once the oil dries a bit. I have not painted traditionally in years so I was a bit perplexed on how to paint. It finally cam back after much trail and error.

During our stay, everyone was a assigned a meal to cook with each person taking turns for cleanup which usually had a song and dance involved. Laughter and music filled the air afterwards with the evening ending in some card game. The days were warm but the ocean breeze keep us cool in the evenings. Only 40 people live on the island during the winter but a majority are artist. We also went to the many galleries and studios. There was one artist who I really loved how she painted. Alison Hill does landscapes and figurative paintings. We chatted about her artwork and I asked if she did any workshops. I would be willing to go back for a week of painting and island life. It was very hard to leave and come back to reality. I think all of us "newbies" are going to rent a place next year so we can join the core group for another week of merriment. For now, I need some rest.

“You can't do sketches enough. Sketch everything and keep your curiosity fresh.” ~ John Singer Sargent

Playing with Photoshop

2011-07-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I hope each of you had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. We did not do too much. My wife and I mostly worked over the weekend. I did manage to get to a cookout on Sunday which was lovely.

Since I worked all weekend, I decided to play around this morning and do something for myself. After watching Will Terry's Photoshop painting tutorial several times, I thought it would be a good time to try out Photoshop for painting. The alligator image was a quick doodle that I did this morning. What I am trying to do now is develop a more traditional look but still work digitally. Not that I am abandoning Illustrator which I still love, I feel like I need to grow as an illustrator and branch out. I was happy with the way the gator turned out. Especially since I only spent around 3 hours on it. There are some things I do not like such as the thermometer which I may do again. The idea of keeping the original sketch in place forced me to keep the overall look loose. Next time I will probably do a bit tighter sketch so the pencil work is a tad cleaner.

I got one of the two book projects that I bid on a few weeks ago. I am very excited about working on the book since I will have a lot of creative freedom. Hopefully this will lead to a series and a long lasting relationship with the publisher. Speaking of publishers, looks like Molly Kite did get picked up by one so the details are being worked out now. That is all I can report on that for now.

Next week I am heading out with a group of area artist to Monhegan Island to paint and draw. There will be around 20 of us for the week sharing two houses, cooking and cleaning, plus many bottles of wine. I have never done something like this but know it will be a valuable experience. My darling wife encouraged me to go and have a good time. Got love a partner like that!

Once I return from my vacation, I hope to go back posting weekly. It is hard to do during the summer. Especially here in Maine since we have only a small stretch of it before we are prepping for winter.

Until next time, I leave you with this:

"To become truly immortal, a work of art must escape all human limits: logic and common sense will only interfere. But once these barriers are broken, it will enter the realms of childhood visions and dreams." ~ Giorgio de Chirico

A few steps forward and a tumble backwards

2011-06-18T07:48:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

It has been a few weeks sine I have posted anything. I am in the middle of illustrating a children's book which has consumed most of my time. Plus I have an animation in the works as well. So it has been long days and some weekends. While this is going on, I have been contacted to possibly do two more books. One is a self published story that is quite charming and the other is with a small startup publisher. I read the story for the publisher and it sounds like a ton of fun! Both contacts really like my work so my fingers are crossed that at least one comes through, if not both. So things continue to move forward.

Now for the tumble backwards. On Thursday I was using the weed whacker around a bush when a rock was kicked up and hit me the eye. Only seconds before, I was thinking, "I should put on my sunglasses." Of course I did listen so I paid the price. I had to go to the eye doctor yesterday who told me I have a bruised cornea but was very lucky I did not loose an eye. I know one thing, I will always have some form of eye protection from here on in. Live and learn.

Last Saturday was spent with my figure drawing group. We hired a model, Michelle, for the day. She was outstanding! It was a great break from the past few weeks and just draw for myself. There were lots of excellent drawings so I may start a blog or website just for the group so we can post our progress. I was also thinking about a possible gallery show but need to research that a bit more. I was hoping to have something to share but the drawings are fairly large and will not fit onto my scanner.

This evening my wife and I are off to spend time with friends as they have their annual Sumer Solstice Bon Fire. It will be nice to get out of the house for a few hours. Of course I will have to wear sunglasses tonight due to my eyes being sensitive. I know that many of you have the Corey Hart song running through your heads right about now.

"Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things." ~ Edgar Degas

Busy, busy, busy!

2011-05-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is enjoying their 3 day weekend. Since it looks like rain today, I plan on spending the day relaxing on the couch. Maybe I will do some sketching to get a head start on the week. My wife and I spent all day Saturday cleaning out our basement. We still had unpacked boxes from our move to Maine 3 years ago. It always feels good to get a major accomplishment done around the house.

Things are a bit hectic in the merry land of Otis. Last week was spent working on an animation for Scott Pet. They will be using the Flash animation on their new website. I cannot post the final animation just yet but here are some of the images that was used. I posted a sample of their character and the storyboard with the final artwork. The total animation last around 12 seconds. It was good to dust off the Flash cobwebs. I have second animated piece in the works for another client but it is still early in the storyboard stage.

While at the NESCBWI conference a few weekends ago, I received a phone call about illustrating a children's book. The call was from the author who really liked my work. She is working with a small publisher who gave her the go ahead and find an illustrator. The author is a very lovely person and I think we will work well together. I cannot give out any details on the book due to signing a NDA but hopefully can post things once the book is published. The real kicker is the deadline for all of the illustrations is at the end of July. Plus I have a vacation in there, YIKES! These next two months are going to be very busy so if my post are few and far between, I apologize. I will at least try to give a quick update.

I did some character develop this past week as well for a website. The client was very happy with the character I created and has more work for me. The "In" pile keeps growing which is a good thing and I will not complain. Especially since many in the field and in general are not working at all.

Last weekend I moved my office into another section of the house. I now have more sunlight, room, and air circulation. It feels good not to be so crowded even though there is something comforting and cozy about a small work area. I would like to get my easel in the new space but it might be too much. I still have a few things to move over but am in no rush at the moment since they are stored in the closet.

Well that is it for this week. I hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day but try to remember and thank those who allow us to be free and feel protected.

"There is no must in art because art is free." ~ Wassily Kandinsky

Tales from the NESCBWI Conference

2011-05-18T10:20:00.001-07:00

Well I survived another children's book conference. Most of last week was spent prepping for Friday and Saturday. The NESCBWI conference started at noon on Friday. My good buddy Hazel Mitchell and I drove down to Fitchburg which is a 3 hours trip. Our journey was a tad bit longer due to Google map giving us the wrong info and it printed out in reverse order. After many wrong turns and circling around, we made it to the Marriott. We registered for the conference but could not check in to our rooms until 4. By the way, we got moved to another hotel due to some air conditioning issues. No big deal. They ran a shuttle for everyone who had to relocate.

My first session was a meet and great with several other illustrators hosted by Jennifer Morris. Jennifer is a wonderful illustrator who wrote and illustrated the Alfie the Alligator series. We chatted about portfolios and promoting ourselves plus the general state of the industry. Many of us brought portfolios to share. I had a printed and digital version which was on my iPad.

The second session was about ebooks. There were only 4 of us in the group but it had a lot of information. One of the people in the group is a web/app developer who was a wealth of knowledge. Cards were exchanged and then it was time for the welcoming address. Several speakers including Jane Yolen, Lin Oliver, and Tomie dePaola gave humorous talks about when the New England branch of SCBWI was formed.

In between breaks, I got to meet and chat with several illustrators, writers and editors. You can definitely tell the illustrators in the crowd. We are the rowdy bunch. Plus there were not many of us to begin with. Speaking of a small group, the men there were very few. You had a better chance to spot Bigfoot than see one of us. Some of the wonderful people who I got to hang out with through the whole conference was Jennifer from the meet and greet and Katia Wish, who won the Tomie dePaolo award for her Heidi illustration. Illustrator extraordinaire Robert Squire who won the poster showcase last year and was a speaker at one of the breakout sessions. Andy Smith is an illustrator and author who also gave a presentation with Robert on illustration styles. Andy's style is so much fun and full of life. Another member of the crew was Melinda Beavers who actually won the poster showcase (congrats to Melinda). I got to meet Hazel's friend Harold Underdown who is an editor and a lot of fun to be around. Got to know Ernie D'Elia and Meiera Stern who are aspiring illustrators like myself. Also met Jim Hill who told me his son loves my robot and girl piece. He goes to my website all of the time to look at it. I should send him a print but maybe there will be a drop off on hits if I do.

After heading back to the hotel for a quick shower and a change of clothes, it was back to the evening events. The first event was a cabaret act put on by an editor, illustrator, and a few other folks about the birth of a book. It was done quite well and very enjoyable. Next up was the "Silver Anniversary" party. Everyone was encouraged to wear some silver. I painted a bow tie silver and added a silver band to a top hat. Hazel decorated the hat with some silver stars. It was fun mixing with other creatives but the big thrill was hanging out at the bar with Tomie dePaola. He is such a lovely person and the few people with him were equally as nice. We all laughed and chatted. There were about 4 or 5 of us, not counting the drunk person who would staggered in and mumble something once in a while. We finished the evening with some night caps and then caught a ride with Jim back to the hotel.

The next morning started at 7:30 with registering our showcase posters. The theme was to take a classic children's book and redo the cover. I picked Mike Mulligan And His Steam Shovel because it fit my style. You can go over to Pixel Shavings to see how I worked up the concept. Everyone mingled for a bit and looked at the posters before the first workshop started. I signed up for Donna Gephart's (How To Survive Middle School) quirky characters workshop. Her lecture gave me a whole new insight and approach to the story I am developing. The tips and little things we can do to bring out the personality of the character was worth the price of the conference. My second workshop was with Robert, Andy, and two others who spoke on developing an illustration style. Another good lecture with insight since many of us artist struggle with whether we have one or not. We had a break and then it was time for Jane Yolen's keynote speech. Jane talked about being rejected but you must keep trying, never give up. Very inspirational. After Jane's speech it was time to announce the winners of the poster contest. Our new friend Melinda Beavers won a couple of awards for her beautiful interpretation of Aesop's Fables. Hazel and I did not win anything but that is okay. Just having people look at and comment on the posters was enough.

The final workshop was illustration perspective. It was good but I knew the material. I should have read the course details a bit more. I thought it was more of an insight look at illustration. It was still nice to get a bit of a refresher in perspective. After the workshop, it was time to say goodbye and head home. Before I left, I gave my print to a little boy who was waiting in line to get some books signed. It turned out that he loves Mike Mulligan And His Steam Shovel and it is his dad's favorite book. It was meant to be. That was better than any award.

Hazel and I made it home safe and sound. I already miss the new friends I made but look forward to seeing them next time, if not before.

Until next time.

"One must from time to time attempt things that are beyond one's capacity." ~ Auguste Renoir

Conference Week

2011-05-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

It has been a whirlwind week as I am getting ready for the NESCBWI conference that starts on the 13th. I had to finish up my book cover illustration for the poster contest. I will post the image next week along with notes from the conference. The print arrived today from Picture Salon and as always, they did a great job with it. Now I must mount it on foamcore and pack it up. I am not expecting to win anything but hope that someone likes it enough to want to chat about my work. My postcards were ordered and delivered so I will not go through the same mess that I had to deal with in New York. The other thing I need to do is update my portfolio. I have a couple of new pieces to add to it. The other thing I am doing portfolio wise is to add images to my iPad. There are several portfolio apps but after reading some reviews, I purchased Foliobook. It seemed to have gotten several recommendations from artist and photographers. The paper portfolio can be passed around but I wanted a backup in case something should happen to it or if I do not have it with me. My good friend Hazel Mitchell is riding down with me so the car ride in itself should be an experience and a hoot.

While prepping for the conference, I did several pieces for McDonald's FunTime booklets. I really enjoy not only illustrating the books but working with Ken at the agency who handles the account. He is so much fun and always like for the illustrator to add their own ideas to the artwork. The two above images are from the recent book. One is a spot about Greek actors playing both the male and female roles. The other is a coloring page on dinosaurs. A photo of Ronald will be placed into the illustration.

My children's story is coming along slowly. I have not looked at it in two weeks. During that time, it has been rolling around my head, working itself out. I think I finally have a something that may work and hold it together. The first draft was more a of a list and not having a common thread to hold it together. My writer friend, Laura, gave me some helpful feedback and made me rethink it a bit. I truly believe that she will get a publishing deal very soon. While writing at the library, a second story hit me so I switched gears and quickly wrote it so I could go back and review it at a later date.

Spring has finally arrived here in Maine. Winter really fought staying around for a few more weeks. It was enjoyable to get out this weekend and cut the grass for the first time this season. My wife and I had friends over for a cookout on Saturday. That was a blast and a half. I asked my wife what she wanted for Mother's Day and she said for us to clean out the garage. After breakfast (which I made for her), we spent all day cleaning and organizing. Today, we are both sore and realize that we are not spring chickens.

I met on Friday with a fine artist friend, Renate, regarding our upcoming July painting trip to Monhegan Island. It will consist of 16 artist who will spend a week on the island painting, drawing, and laughing the whole time. She filled me in on what I should pack and the best way to prep my art supplies before the trip. I am so looking forward just spending the week doing artwork for myself and plan on doing a lot of drawings and alla prima oil paintings. My portable easel just arrived so I will have something to use instead of my 30 year easel that will not stand up any more.

Songs/albums currently blaring from my speakers:

Elbow-Build A Rocket Boys!

The Decemberists-Hazards of Love

Matt Pond PA-Spring Fools EP

Soviet League-Soviet League

P.J. Harvey-Let England Shake

Until next time.

"The artist need not know very much; best of all let him work instinctively and paint as naturally as he breathes or walks." ~ Emil Nolde

We Have A Winner!

2011-04-30T06:23:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Lyn Smith for winning the "Robot and Girl" print! Lyn lives here in Pittsfield and is one of our wonderful local librarians. Thanks to everyone who entered the contest and are now following my blog, Facebook fan page, and/or Twitter postings. There will be other giveaways throughout the year.

Not a lot to report at the moment. I am finishing up some logos and spot illustrations with a possible animation job in the next few weeks. Since the NESCBWI conference is in two weeks, I am completing my book cover illustration for the contest being held at the conference. We have to take a classic children's book and do our take on the cover. I am not revealing what my book and cover are the moment but will post the final art before the conference.

Speaking of the cover, I need to finish that up today so I can get a print. Maybe that will be the next giveaway. Hmmmm. I leave you with this quote.

"One must from time to time attempt things that are beyond one's capacity." ~ Auguste Renoir

I'm Still Standing

2011-04-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone in Bloggerland,

My apologies for not posting last week. Time got away from me. I'm very grateful to be busy so I cannot and will not complain. Some new McDonald's work came in which needed my attention. There a few small spots that I need complete over the weekend.

As some of you may know, I am a member of the Pittsfield Historical Society. We are a small group that preserves and notates the history of Pittsfield. We are also trying to restore our depot station which is used as our museum and where we store the town's artifacts. Since I am new to the town, and really cannot contribute anything historical at the moment, I decided to redo the group's logo. The above image is the design we settled on for the logo. I wanted to capture a turn of the century vibe without using a local icon. There is so much history in the area that I felt it would have not been fair to focus on one element. The font came from Letterhead Fonts which has a great vintage font collection.

I have been itching to get back to Painter. I have a few ideas that I want to try out and hopefully build a second portfolio of samples. But one must pay the bills first and focus on the task at hand. I foresee some late nights coming up in order to cure that itch.

Another thing I must work on is my poster illustration for the NESCBWI conference in May. That is just around the corner. We must take a children's book that we consider a classic and redo the cover artwork along with the lettering. Yesterday I finally decided on the story I am redoing. I was originally going to redo The Stinky Cheeseman but Lane Smith's illustrations are so iconic and beautifully created that there is no way that I can compete with their perfection. I will tell you the week of the conference the story I am doing. Do not want to let the cat out of the bag just yet. I will say that I think it fits my style.

Last week I did a blog radio interview with Dellani Oakes, Christine Fonesca, and Kinsy McVay. If you want to hear the interview click here. I had a good time but my new nickname is Ramblin' Russ and will leave it at that. Those of you who know me will probably be cracking up the whole time. Enjoy!

My children's story is coming along slowly and I have been chipping away at it. Trying to get a flow and rhythm to the story. One of my writer buddies has offered me some very good feedback and advice. This is a whole new venture for me and even though it is for a children's picture book, I am finding it very difficult to get the story just right. I have the visuals already worked out, but the words are a struggle. I have even a greater respect for those who can write a good story and a sense of wordplay. Going to the Pittsfield Library on Friday's is a big help. With my iPad and headphones, I can zone out and focus on the story.

Last weekend I did another life drawing session with the Bangor Life Drawing Group. John LeBlanc and I organize it. We had a great session with Jason who modeled nude for the first time. He did a wonderful job. I know there is no way I could do it. Of course, no one would want me to! Lots of kick ass drawings came out this session. Sorry that I do not have anything to post from it. I gave Jason my favorite drawing. Plus the paper would not fit on my scanner and I hate taking photos of artwork. I think we are going to setup a group show in the fall. Our next session is in June. I'm already looking forward to it.

Well that is it for this week, er, past two weeks. My wife and I are heading to Bangor to meet up with some friends. Speaking of my wife, she no longer is working at Dunkin' Donuts. She got a great job as a dispatcher with Delta Ambulance in Waterville. No more 70 hour weeks and early morning shifts. Now we must learn to be around each other again. Hopefully I will not drive her too crazy.

Oh, do not forget to sign up for the "Penelope and the Robot" print giveaway which is at the end of the month. Just post a comment under the giveaway post.

And THANKS to everyone for following, I have broken the "100 Followers" mark!

"The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery." ~ Francis Bacon

Print Giveaway

2011-04-05T09:17:00.001-07:00

I will be giving away a 24x20 signed print of the "Robot and Girl" at the end of April. All you have to do is "join" this blog and post a comment under this posting or "like" my Facebook Fan Page and leave a comment regarding the giveaway. At the end of April, I will put the names who made comments of the contest from the blog and FB page in a hat and draw the winner. The print is archival on a heavy uncoated paper and printed by Picture Salon. Good luck!

"Art is literacy of the heart" ~ Elliot Eisner

A snake called Carl

2011-03-29T15:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late posting but it has been a busy week and a half. After the review last week, I worked late nights just to block out time to work on the children's book story on Friday. I got a bulk of it down on paper but now it is time to really hone and craft the story which is my goal this Friday. Once I get it to my liking, I will let a few friends read over it, tweak it, and then send it to Marietta at Nancy Gallt Literary for her opinion. After that, who knows what the next step will be.

After doing the dancing gator a few weeks ago, I really wanted to get back into Painter. To take a break from writing, I decided to spend the past weekend learning more about the software. An idea of a large snake named Carl who escaped with his owner telling him to get back into his cage just popped into my head so I went with it. Marietta also wanted me to "just do" and not over think while I experiment. I quickly sketched a very rough drawing and scanned it into the computer. My goal was to keep the drawing loose and lively while maintaining a bit of my style but also exploring a more 50's and 60's retro look which I am very fond of. This was the end results. I could have spent some additional time tweaking it but I did not want to overwork it and let it loose its spontaneity. I would have done a few things differently but for the most part, I am happy with the final. The colors are probably my favorite part of the whole illustration. The irony is that I had a perspective client email me asking if I had any samples with a lizard like character and a car so I sent him this piece and the dancing gator with a couple of other samples. We shall see what he has to say which will be a good litmus if I am heading in the right direction with this style. I am already sketching out the next one so stay tuned.

That is about it for this week.

"There are more valid facts and details in works of art than there are in history books." ~ Charlie Chaplin

Portfolio Review

2011-03-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

Hello one and all,

After posting the contest for a portfolio review on the blog early last week, I learned that I won the review. I must thank Marietta Zacker from Nancy Gallt Literary for taking the time to look over my artwork and share her thoughts. She was a delight and willing to share her insight in the industry. So late last week, we exchanged a few emails back and forth, setting up a day and time, making this afternoon the big day. We spoke on the phone for over an hour. Marietta is a wealth of knowledge which will help guide me as I try to venture into children's books. Her comments were very positive and any concerns I took as a plus. She thought my work is appropriate for the children's book market. I commented if it was too commercial and she said that was a matter of opinion and not to get hung up on that. She did say that most of my samples needed more of a story instead of coming off as spot illustrations. They need more depth and provide an emotional response from the viewer with a story. Her favorite piece was the robot and girl. She said that there was a story there. Actually she saw multiple stories within the one illustration and suggested that should be a guide for me in developing newer samples. Even though she liked my style and thought my work was full of energy, color, and liked the facial expressions I use, she would like to see me develop a style that when someone sees it, they know it is my own. Editors are looking for unique portfolio samples so the books stand out on the shelves. She said for me to find my visual voice or signature and run with it. I should ask the question, "can anyone do my style or is it unique to me?" It is not a matter of digital or traditional but more with what I am comfortable with doing and want to show. One thing she mentioned is that more editors are using digital artist that should not be a concern. I said that I would like to loosen up with a second style and she thought that it was a great idea. When I told her how I came up with the pieces she liked (I just sat down and kind of did them without any real thought), her recommendation was to more pieces like that and to "LET IT GO". Just do and not over think.

The second part of her review regarded my story ideas that I emailed to her as a synopsis. I am not going to share the stories just yet because, well, read on. The first story she thought was funny but needed to be expanded on since the idea is limited. She provided me some wonderful insight in pushing the idea and make it sound less like a parent at the end. Okay and now for the really exciting news, she LOVED one of my ideas for a story!!!! She said that she has never seen nor read a story like I proposed. She wants me to send it to her once I am completed with it so she can add her thoughts. That made me really excited and lit a fire under my butt to get moving on it. I have some of it written but now I must go back and work on it after hearing her input. I think I will try to block out most of Friday to get the idea onto paper so I can then actually write it. A writer friend gave me that advice, thanks Gene.

Well, that is the bulk of the review. Marietta and I spoke on the phone for over an hour. I cannot say enough nice things about her. She gave me more feedback than I could have ever have hoped for plus she is such a lovely person. I would work with her in a heartbeat. It might be time to come down to earth for a bit.

"Art is a passion or it is nothing." ~ Robert Fry

Illustrators Critique Contest

2011-03-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

Hey illustrators! WriteOnCon.com is giving away a personal portfolio critique by Marietta Zacker from Nancy Gallt Literary. This is a great opportunity to have your work seen and reviewed. Click here for details.

A Blink Of An Eye Studio Tour

2011-03-13T11:18:00.000-07:00

This week I thought it might be interesting to post images of my work space. I enjoy looking at the work areas of other artist and see the equipment they use. My little work area is very small. It may be 10 x 8 but I like it on the cozy side. Compared to the space I had in Pennsylvania, this is a matchbox. My Pennsylvania studio was two 14 x 20 rooms with two work spaces. Now, I have everything nearby and very handy.

I do most of my drawing and sketching on the lightbox. It is from an old print shop which I bought years ago. With its size, I can keep folders, notes, and my sketchbooks at hand. I am trying to do more drawing in my sketchbooks so if they are nearby, I am more likely to use them. If I do a doodle on scrap paper that i like, I can take it up on the wall

For a bulk of my work, I draw on the Cintiq tablet by Wacom. It is an older model but still works great. I spent some time getting it dialed in to how on I draw digitally. It also has a Cintiq Partner pad so I do not have to drop what I am doing if I need to use the mouse. I use a Mac and Adobe products as well as Painter. Once I get a handle on Painter, I want to try my hand at Blender (3D).

A bulk of my books at right behind if I need them. I have a lot of different items on the shelves, ranging from reference items to other artist books to "how-to" books. My book over flow is stored in the basement until I make some additional room on the shelves.

Yes, I do play the banjo. The banjo on the right is my main instrument made by Bart Reiter. The other is a gourd banjo that is fretless and a hoot to noodle around on. If I get stuck or need a break, I pick one up and play for a few moments. It always helps and is very therapeutic. The rug on the floor was made by my friend Eric Weit at Studio Weit (eric.studioweit@gmail.com). He weaves beautiful handmade rugs from recycled fabric. It is too nice to put on the floor. I like having the tv in my studio as background noise. I work alone so much that I need to hear human voices so I feel like there are other folks around. The doors behind the banjos go to my storage closet. This spring I want to paint the doors and use the to tack up ideas, notes, and sketches. Seems like a perfect spot to do that.

Well that is a quick tour of my little space. I do have an easel, taboret, flat files, and other artist supplies that I keep in our basement. I have thinking about moving into another room that is a bit larger so I can have everything in one spot. But for now, I will keep my little studio space as it is.

"A painting is never finished - it simply stops in interesting places." ~ Paul Gardner

Teaching An Old Dog A New Trick

2011-03-08T13:21:00.001-08:00

This past week and weekend, I decide it was time to open up Painter and learn the software. I've had it for a few years but never really dove head first into it until now. After reading through a couple of books, I realized I still needed some help in finding things and how all of the components work together. I've heard good thing about lynda.com so I signed up for a month long membership. In 3 days, I knew more about how to use the software than a year of reading through books and articles. If you are looking to jumpstart any software knowledge, I highly recommend starting with them. I may use the rest of my time to try to learn some Blender (3D) basics which I could never get an idea on how it works.

I am showing you what I did in case anyone has a better idea or way of using Painter. I am open to all suggestions.

After a few days of learning some basics, I did this quick sketch as a starting point. No rhyme nor reason for it, just something simple to do.

After adjusting the layers so that the white background of the sketch disappears, I began blocking in colors. Since I liked painting with gouache back in the day, I used the brush setting for it plus the gradients tool. That took some getting use to but I figured out how it works.

I blocked in some basic colors on the gator and then added textures to the background. For that effect, I used the sponge brush on separate layer and then ten adjusted the transparency so the blue showed through. Each part of the illustration was built in a separate layer.

Again, more details are added while using the sketch as a guide. I really like how authentic Painter feels while painting. Much better than Photoshop in my opinion but I do not use Photoshop enough to be an authority on it. The funny thing is, I did teach a class on it many years ago. I think I learned more from the students than they did from me.

Highlights and floor details are now added. I then exported the Painter file (riff) to a Phoshop file (psd) and imported the illustration into Photoshop. I tweaked the overall colors just a tad and added the spotlight effect.

Overall, I am really happy with it. It has a traditional/hand drawn look to it which I have been trying to get in Illustrator. Some have told me the final as a cool retro look and others have said it is more kid friendly. I am not abandoning Illustrator at all, I just want to add another look to my portfolio that may capture the attention of art directors. For the past 18 plus years, I have studied and learned little tricks in Illustrator, which I still love. Maybe I will join the two somehow down the road. I guess you can teach an old dog a new trick.

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." ~ Georgia O'Keeffe

Still Here

2011-02-25T09:22:00.001-08:00

Sorry to the two week pause in posting on the blog. Time just got away from me with various projects and promotional stuff. I finally received postcards for mailing to art directors and a few agents. They turned out quite well. On Tuesday, I mailed out 60 to various places. My game plan is to do 20-30 a week until the cards are gone. Then it is time for a new image or two and a second mailing. And so the cycle goes on.

This past weekend I got together with several Bangor fine artist and my good friend The Wacky Brit to do some life drawings. We hired a model for the day. There were many really nice drawings. I like the above drawing which was done in 30 minutes. It was drawn on 18x24 newsprint with a pencil (I had to scan it in sections in order to get the whole image together). My favorite from the hour and a half session, I gave to the model. I used brown crafter paper, pencil, and white charcoal. The tone of the paper was lovely and helped the white charcoal pop. Hopefully everyone had a good time and learned a few things. Everyone was excited to do it again so this will be a bi-monthly event. We have several other models ready to go. I hope they are as good as Meghan. She has really raised the bar.

My new website seems to be a mild success. I have gotten lots of positive feedback on it and few inquiries about some possible jobs. Speaking of jobs, this month seems to be logo month for me. Lots of logos in the works. I really enjoy the challenge they bring. To brand someone's product or business properly can be stressful, but I welcome the challenge. I cannot post any sketches due to signing NDA's but will once they are launched.

I am also working on an app for the iPad and iPhone. That is another project that I cannot say anything about until it is launched. This will be first project for that format which I find very exciting. There is so much to learn with this new area of the graphic arts. Maybe this will lead to more and a few books. One can only hope and keep reaching towards it. Now I need to get an iPad which I will wait until the new one comes out.

Slowly I am making progress writing three book ideas that I have on the drawing table. I am finding it hard to focus on just one story at the moment. It is a bit intimidating since I never have written a book. The visuals are there in my head but I need to get the words onto some paper. Going to the library every Friday for an hour is a good break and provides me alone time to concentrate on the writing part of the stories. My goal is still to have one written and comped up by June. I think I need to have one completely written and fine tuned by the end of March so I can move forward on the visuals. Since I signed up for the NESCBWI conference in May, it may be of my best interest to have something to take with me. I am not going to rush anything for the conference, but it could help me move along a bit faster and get some things completed.

There is a really cool app for the iPhone called Hipstamatic. It allows you to create a vintage/retro look from those old toy cameras with your iPhone photos. I shot the above image very quickly this morning while it was snowing (and it still is!). There is also a website dedicated to Hipstamatic photos.

Tomorrow, I am off to see Flogging Molly with my wife and son. We are looking forward to heading to Portland for the evening. Flogging Molly is a great band live. Check out if you get a chance.

"I try to apply colors like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music." ~ Joan Miro

New Website

2011-02-11T04:38:00.000-08:00

Greetings on this chilly Friday morning. After many late nights since returning from New York, I would like to announce that my new website is now online. My goal was to make it friendlier than the previous one. I stripped it down to the bare essentials by reducing the color pallet and simplifying the navigation. The images are now larger and sprinkled throughout the site. I added a section for sketches plus a page for work that is a bit different from my usually style. Let me know what you think.

With the website now up and running, I can now send out postcards to art directors. This weekend will be spent revising my mailing list database. Once I receive my postcards, I will mail out 25 a week and then send a new card every couple of months.

Last Friday I went to the Pittsfield Library and did some writing. It did wonders for me to get out of the house to work on my stories. This will be a Friday event for the next several months, if not longer. My goal is to have a story written and the book dummied up by June 1st. From there, I will send it out for review. We shall what happens.

As far as current projects, I have some animations to work on, a few logos in the works, some character development, and there are rumblings regarding Molly Kite. Nothing to report just yet but hopefully something shakes out with her.

Have a lovely weekend and coming week.

"There is no such thing as talent. What they call talent is nothing but the capacity for doing continuous work in the right way." ~ Winslow Homer

SCBWI New York Conference

2011-02-06T11:09:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I am back from New York and have finally caught up on some much needed rest which is why my update is a bit late. The SCBWI Conference was a much needed experience. After 4 days with a group of creatives, I came away energized, excited, and determined to expand into the children's book market.

The trip did not start off very well with a delay in receiving my promo postcards (which never arrived) and my flight being cancelled early Wednesday morning due to the impending snow storm. I was traveling with my good buddy Hazel Mitchell, aka the Wacky Brit, who called me Tuesday night to inform me of the flight cancellation. We decided to take a train from Portland to New York on Thursday instead of flying in early Friday morning which is the first day of the conference. After some worries about getting into New York, we finally arrived after 14 hours and a few minor delays. Hazel checked into the hotel, I met up with my good friend Ilene Block and her family in Brooklyn where I spent the night. It was so much fun to spend some time with her. She is an amazing designer who I met while working on "World World" characters. Friday, I headed to the Grand Hyatt for day one and the "Illustrators Intensive". Immediately, I met some outstanding and inspiring illustrators who are the in book market or are inspiring to get into illustrating children's books. Dan Yaccarino gave a very funny but informational keynote. Dan has written and illustrated such books as Oswald, Go Go America, and Willa's Wild Life which is also a tv show. The main focus of Friday's intensive was talking about ebooks, enhanced books, apps, and the digital market. The various panel members stressed the need for an online presence by using blogs, social networks, and websites. My thinking is that my style might be a good fit.

Later in the evening there was a showcase for the illustrators to enter one piece, 14x18, along with cards, to display for agents, reps, art directors, etc. to walk through and pickup samples. Luckily I had some bookmarks that I could use. They did not match the print but it was better than nothing. I entered the girl and the robot. We got to walk through after the private viewing to pickup our pieces. I must say that the artwork was topnotch. One definitely got a sense on where they stood in relation to the other artist. Awards were presented on Sunday for Best of Show" and three "Honorable Mentions". And no, I did not win but did have a lot of cards picked up which made me very happy.

Saturday was spent in workshops which were in smaller groups. My focus was art directors and agents. After hearing advice from them, especially Lucy Cummins who LOVES illustrators, it made me refocus my efforts and rethink my approach. We were provided a lunch where I sat with a cool group of illustrators and writers. My weekend roommate, Josh Alves, joined us. He actually met an editorial director who is interested in his comic books. My fingers are crossed for him. R.L. Stine, Goosebumps, spoke during lunch. He was brilliant and very funny. His advice is "to always say YES". He wanted to write humorous books and magazines until some suggested he write a spooky story. So he said "YES". That was 350 million books ago. Yes, 350,000,000 books!!!! The evening was spent dining with new friends and then early to bed. Well, early meaning midnight.

Sunday was the last day of the conference. We heard talks from Mo Willems, Marvin Terbean, Lenore Look, and a beautiful speech by Sara Zarr. If someone posted that on Youtube, you must view it. It makes you say "I can do this". After goodbyes, exchanging of info, it was time to uptown to spend the evening with Eric Brown, a close friend from my art school days. Eric is an animator on "World Girl" and created "Shorties Watching Shorties". We had a ton of laughs and a few beers.

Monday I was back on train heading home. I felt more determined, focused, and ready for the next than ever before. I reviewed my notes on the train only to realize that I had ideas for 21 stories. Whether any of them are good or not, is irrelevant. It is that the ideas are flowing so I must stay on track. I am working on new website with hopes of getting it online this week.

Here are some of the cool people I met with a link to their work. Josh Alves a comic book artist; Debbie Ohi aka iPadgirl, a published book writer and illustrator; John Deininger, illustrator extraordinaire with a ebook coming out soon; Erik Brooks, established children's book illustrator and author; Jeremy Provost, another illustrator who did a beautiful piece for the show; Nancy Foulke, another illustrator and great person; Heidi Sheffield, aspiring illustrator who does a very cool collage style; and Laura Clement who is writing several children's books. There were many others and I hope to stay in touch with through the course of the year. I am looking forward to next year's conference.

"Just say YES." ~ R.L. Stine

Ready for the weekend

2011-01-25T09:13:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone out there in the great frozen tundra or the sunshine of the South. I hope you are staying warm. We are getting some additional snow at the moment but at least it is a tad warmer. Not that I really mind the cold, I enjoy it more than the heat.

I spent this past weekend working on my portfolio for New York. Hopefully I will get an opportunity to show it to some key people for feedback. It is a long shot since there will be hundreds of others wanting the same thing. But one has got to try, right? The above images are from my portfolio and were quickly shot with my iPhone. I used my Epson to print everything out, sprayed the pages with a fixative for protection, trimmed everything, and bound it with special kit I purchased many years ago. My goal is to have it stand out, since it is in a book form, from the traditional cases that most will be using. Towards the back of the book are printouts of sketches that were done for some of the illustrations in the book. I know some like seeing the thought process as much, if not more, than the finished piece.

The SCBWI conference is this weekend so along with my portfolio, I ordered postcards to hand out and a giclee print for the illustrators review. I found a great place to get archival prints, Picture Salon. They are an excellent group to work with and do an outstanding job. I ordered a couple of larger prints as well and was extremely happy with the final prints. i am now thinking of a limited print run of a couple of illustrations.

There will not be a posting this Friday but will give you complete details of the conference once I return. My fingers are crossed that something good comes from it. Just going is a step in the right direction. Hey, it is New York! Enough said!

"Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it, we go nowhere." ~ Carl Sagan

Almost there

2011-01-17T16:02:00.000-08:00

After a long weekend of work (and play), I am almost ready for New York. All of the new artwork is completed. A print and new postcards have been ordered. Now I working on a portfolio to take along in hopes of showing it around. I need to setup a agent and/or publisher meeting for next Thursday since that will be my only downtime while in the Big Apple. The above piece is new. I posted sketches a month or so ago. I think it turned out quite well.

Time to turn my attention back to some paying jobs. It seems like logo month here. I also go a cool menu job where I get to design and illustrate the whole thing. Some inquiries have come in as well regarding animation work. It has been a few months since my last animation so that should be fun. 2 of the 3 book projects fell threw due to budget restraints. the third one has some promise but not until early spring.

Onto some personal chit chat. I got together with a fiddler, singer/guitarist, and another clawhammer banjo player for some pickin' and grinnin' in the old-time way. It was our first time together and there was definitely some chemistry. We played for 3 and half hours. I even broke out the standup bass for some tunes. We are talking about playing together on a regular basis. It has been over 3 years since I have played out and really miss it. We shall see where this goes.

The weather here in Maine is on the chilly side. The high this morning was 8 with a breeze. It is better than a cup of coffee to wake up with just by sticking your head out the door.

I am tired so I want to call it a day.

“I shut my eyes in order to see.” ~ Paul Gauguin

Better late than never

2011-01-09T14:17:00.000-08:00

I am running a few days late on my weekly blog update. It has been extremely busy here with projects, new promo pieces, quoting, etc. There seems to be an alignment of the children's book gods as of late. I have been getting numerous request for quotes and just received another over the weekend. This writer actually has a publisher and was searching for an illustrator. He found me online and liked my work so we are chatting more tomorrow. I am not sure if the publisher will allow him to choose the illustrator but it could at least get my work looked at by the publishing company. You must take advantage of any door opening no matter how small the crack may be.

On Friday I was asked to join a group of fine artist for a week long get away on Monhegan Island for some drawing, painting, music, hiking, and all around good time. Monhegan is basically an artist community that you must take a ferry in order to get onto the island. If you are interested, you can go to their webpage for more information. I am looking forward to it. Some members of this community and I are starting a life drawing group. We are hoping to having our first session next month. This should be a golden opportunity for me to improve my drawing skills.

My wife and I, along with two friends, went to Unity College Friday evening to see The Fishtank Ensemble. We did not know too much about them but we are so glad we went. They were absolutely AMAZING! They have a gypsy jazz vibe to them but incorporate other styles into their music. The core of the band is standup slap bass, saw and vocals, flamenco guitar, and fiddle. If they are playing near you, and you love music, please go see them. You will not be disappointed! Click here to see a video clip of them live.

Speaking of music, I am getting together with three other musicians next Saturday for some music and mayhem. I have been searching for people who want to play some old-time music. It is not country or bluegrass but you can hear its influence into those styles. The singer/guitarist and I got together this past week and I was blown away with his vocal ability. It is inspiring to find someone who loves music as much as I do, especially the old-time sound. Now I want to get better at the clawhammer banjo. It would be nice if the four of us click and could do something musically together but one step at a time.

I am not going to post any images from this past week. I am almost finished with the new pieces for my promo and will share some next Friday. Have a lovely week and I leave you with this quote:

“The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work.” ~ Emile Zola

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T11:21:00.000-08:00

It has been quite a year here in the merry land of Otis. Lots of fun projects, wonderful people to work along side, learned some new things, improved on the old, just a remarkable year. No complaints. I am very grateful to those who hired me for their projects. Many people in the industry struggled or had to find other things to do for employment. I hope 2011 is equally as prosperous and energizing not just for me, but for all of you as well.

I have finally finished up a new promo piece and have three others started. I am excited on how the "Tea Party" turned out. I incorporated some things that I learned with the "Space ship" piece while maintaining my style or look. Doing away with the outlines, gives the illustration more life and movement. The colors really pop. This illustration has more of a retro look and feel to it. I did a version with a textured that was over top of the entire image but most people liked it without since the colors are more vibrant. I hope to get two of the other three completed this coming week.

This past week I quoted on a children's book with another book coming in for a quote shortly afterwards. I did not get the first book which is disappointing. The story and concept was really clever. It would have been a lot of fun to work on but their budget was really small. Maybe next time. Still waiting on whether the second book is a go or not. Fingers are crossed.

With the coming new year, I am teaming up with a couple of other creatives to start a licensing company. We plan on building a database of images to lease. One of the partners has major connections within the food franchise market. Plus he is a marketing wiz. We are looking forward getting this going since we have been talking about it for year.

I leave you with this quote. Have a wonderful New Year!

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.” ~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce

All wrapped up!

2010-12-25T07:13:00.001-08:00

Otis and Russ wish you a wonderful holiday season!

Back in the saddle

2010-12-19T09:28:00.000-08:00

Many apologies for not posting last week. Caught a bug that had me under the weather for a few days. Plus my workload was still heavy so I had to get some things out the door.

These sketches are for a personal project that I am trying to develop. I'm not going to reveal too much information but will post things as they progress. The kids are bit different than what I normally do with larger heads, simplified the eyes, and softer features. The other characters are my standard style and look. I still am still working on the overall look but needed to get the first set of sketches down on paper so I can review them periodically.

Progress is being made on new promo pieces but nothing completed to share with you right now. Time is running out since the conference is less than 5 weeks away. A lot of late nights coming up after the holidays are over.

I am in communications with some Bangor area fine artist to put together a regular figure drawing class. There are some very impressive artist involved. I hope we can get something going on a monthly basis. It would be a perfect opportunity to learn and grow as an artist. Our first session is in February and will post results.

Speaking of figure drawings, you must check out Isaac Peleko's drawings. We have a couple of his paintings. Simply beautiful.

On a personal note, I am taking this week off for the Christmas holiday. Our son and daughter will be around and my parents are driving up from Tennessee. It will be warm, festive house for Christmas. I do a post this coming Friday.

"Color is an inborn gift, but appreciation of value is merely training of the eye, which everyone ought to be able to acquire."~ John Singer Sargent

Let it snow

2010-12-06T13:25:00.001-08:00

Today has been a beautiful day here in Maine. The snow has been falling all day and really has put me in the holiday spirit. This may be my favorite time of the year. My wife and I sent out some Christmas packages to a unit of soldiers stationed in Afghanistan over the weekend. We hope they arrive in time and spread a bit of holiday cheer.

Several projects are moving along but I cannot post anything from them at the moment. Maybe in a month or so I can post something. I am still working on my promo pieces. I think I have shown all of sketches to date and have only completed one piece which I am thinking about redoing. In between projects, I am trying to get some feedback on whether my work is right for the book market. So many different opinions on the matter that I will continue doing things in my digital style until I can talk to some directly on the matter.

The above samples are a couple of older pieces that I recently found. The first one was a magazine spot illustration for an article on goats. I cannot remember the details but I guess it has to do with bathing them. The sketch was done for a client putting together a website on school kids. Again, I am hazy on the details but I like the drawing. I figured I would post something instead of having just copy.

I hope to be back on track Friday but with the holidays and busy schedule, one can only do so much.Have a lovely week.

"I decided to be more brave about what was coming out. I used to draw that stuff in secret and throw it away. Flush it down the toilet. I wanted to see what the readership could take." ~ Robert Crumb

Thanksgiving leftovers

2010-11-28T11:39:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the late posting this week. With the Thanksgiving holiday happening this week, it through my schedule out of wack. I hope everyone living in the States had a wonderful holiday. My wife and I had friends over and our son was in town. We had a wonderful time. Good friends, good food, and lots of laughter.

I am continuing working on new pieces for the conference while working on paying projects. This sketch is something I quickly scribbled out while waiting for a file to print. I felt I needed a couple of animal related pieces to breakup the all of the human illustrations that are in the works. I hope to find enough time to complete all of the new ideas that are sketched out. Two months is not a lot of time with Christmas and New Years squeezed in there.

I am hoping to have my portfolio printed in a book form. Does anyone know of a good digital printer that does small quantities in book form?

This week is a short posting but I leave you with this quote:

"Practise what you know, and it will help to make clear what now you do not know." ~ Rembrandt van Rijn

Experimenting

2010-11-20T14:47:00.000-08:00

This week was spent experimenting a bit using some of Adobe Illustrator CS5 new brushes. I previewed the sketch in last week's posting. I am trying to give my work a fresh look while maintaining my "style". While playing around with the very cool "bristle brush" feature, I discovered how it could give my work a more painterly look and feel. It is the softness of the new brushes that also help give the characters some dimension. The overall look of the final illustration seemed to be lacking something. I then had the idea to add some texture to various components with a final texture laid over the completed illustration to pull it all together. I am not sure if I will continue to work in this style. I think it has a cool retro look overall. I am not sure if I will add this to my portfolio to show in January. The composition may have to be simplified in order to get all of the textures to work together. Another thought is to actually paint it traditionally or in Painter. Experimentation is always fun and refreshing. You discover so many new things which could open doors in other areas. It plants the seeds of growth as an artist.

Last evening my wife and I went to Bangor with a group of friends for an art walk. Saw lots of nice work and even cooler work spaces. My goal for next year is show a couple of fine art pieces in a show. Even though I did not like some of the artwork, I admired all of the artist for letting people see their inner working and thoughts. No matter who you are, some will love it and others will not.

Well, I need to get ready for a party so I will leave you the following. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

"When I work, I work very fast, but preparing to work can take any length of time." ~Cy Twombly

Short and Sweet

2010-11-12T05:57:00.000-08:00

As this week progressed, I continued to work on some new promo pieces. The above image is something that I have played around with the last few weeks and finally got it where I am ready to start the final art. I like the idea of kids playing outside and using their imaginations. It is something that I feel is slowly fading away with all of the various media outlets and toys that are out now. It brings back memories of my childhood where we would be outside playing, building things, and not coming home until dinner time. It was a different world back then. Not that I am against the new technical toys we now have at our finger tips. I guess there needs to be a balance.

I got an offer to work on a series of books but we could not agree on a price. That happens and I was flattered to be asked to do them. I also had an e-publisher ask me if I had any stories that were illustrated ready for publishing. That really lit a fire under me to get them at least written and sketched out. I would like to have one ready for January but that might be a bit ambitious.

If you haven't done so, please head over to Pixel Shavings and follow our "Glog". It is a wonderful group of illustrators. I also have moved my "20 Minute Sketch Fridays" to its own blog. I have included a few other artist to post with me and hope to add more.

Well, I have some looming deadlines today so I will leave you with this quote:

"All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness."-Eckhart Tolle

The Lead Continues To Fly

2010-11-05T13:46:00.001-07:00

This week has been a mix of paying projects and working on some new pieces for myself. I just picked up a new project from AAA which will involve some spot illustrations and a game design with illustrations. They will be programming the game but it will be fun to help them put together the elements. The game will be used in-house for training purposes.

I started sketching out some new illustrations so put into my portfolio for the SCWBI conference. The above sketch is a play on monsters under the bed with the kids being the little monsters. I am going to put a title on the book with something like Brats Go Bump In The Night. I like putting a twist to things and adding little detail elements to help with the concept.

After reviewing the girl and robot sketch, I thought it was a little flat and needed more dynamics. I changed the viewpoint so the robot looks larger and pulls the eye towards the girl. The outer edge will be organic with the flowers crating the border. I may enlarge the robot a tad more. It has been a while but I may attempt to do this one with dyes and gouache. I am feeling daring this week!

Another thing I want to work on is to make my digital work more illustrative and less commercial. Illustrator has a ton of new features that I began testing. I want to retain the looseness and energy of my sketches. The "Paint Inside" feature is wonderful and saves a ton of time. Plus the new brushes allow you to apply color in a painterly way. I may try a second sample this weekend by taking the sketch into Painter and applying color. I will post the results.

If you haven't done so, I am now on Twitter. You can find me as @smilingotis. Also sign up for the other two blogs where I am posting samples: Pixel Shavings and 20 Minute Sketch Friday.

I got a new banjo so I am outta here to drive my wife crazy!

"Where the spirit does not work with the hand thee is not art" Leonardo da Vinci

All Hallow's Eve

2010-10-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

There is so much to chat about this week that I do not know where to begin. I think the first thing to do is make a few announcements. I FINALLY broke down and created a Twitter account. You can follow me @smilingotis. I hope to link up the blog and Facebook pages with it so things work together. You may get a bunch of repeat postings until the bugs are worked out so I apologize in advance should that happen. I also joined up with a talented group of children's illustrators to create a new blog called Pixel Shavings (http://pixelshavings.blogspot.com/). Please take a moment to follow us there as we are just getting this off the ground. The artwork on the site will be based in the children's market but it will give you a chance to see some other creatives in the field.

Like last week, I began sketching up some ideas for new promo pieces. This sketch I call "The Tea Party" with a glutton monster eating all of the cupcakes while the others are not thrilled with his manners. I need to workout the background elements to give it more depth and frame the action. Last night, I showed this sketch, along with several others, to a critique group, The Revisioners, that I joined. They had some interesting feedback. Many of them loved how I sketch and thought I should try to develop a second style based on looseness of the sketches. I am torn between attempting to work traditionally or doing a better sketch (but still loose) and working on it in Painter. Clients love the ease of a digital file but the group got me to thinking, "am I missing a golden opportunity to show another side of my illustrations?". This is not the first time I was told this. My buddy Hazel (http://hazelmitchell.blogspot.com/) suggested this to me months ago. Any thoughts from you?

The Roscoe Holcomb sketch I posted months ago has apparently been seen by his family. I just had his great niece contact me about it. She and the family love the sketch and were very honored that someone would do a drawing of Roscoe. Now I am inspired to find the time to do the final artwork. If you do not know of Roscoe's music, check out this YouTube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOLplVapDjc

Projects are continuing to come in. I am blown away on how busy I have been this year. My gratitude goes out to the folks that hire me to work on their projects. I think we have a great time working together. Oh, the History Channel project did not happen but I was thrilled they called. Hopefully the project will happen down the road.

My current reading list is mostly art related even though I am in the midst of Anthony Bourdain's Medium Raw. I am almost finished with the book on Alla Prima painting and learned a ton. A must read for anyone wanting to paint. This week I purchased a book on drawing the figure so I can improve that part of my artwork as well. Also a book on Adobe's Flash Catalyst so I can rework my website for the first of the year.

Speaking of figure drawings, I will be moving my 20 minute sketches that I do on Friday's to a separate blog with a few other artist. I need to get that setup this weekend.

Well, I am typed out, so I will leave you with this:

"Drawing never dies, it holds on by the skin of its teeth, because the hunger it satisfies.. the desire for an active, investigative, manually vivid relation with the things we see and yearn to know about.. is apparently immortal."
Robert Hughes

Where did the week go?

2010-10-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

Is it Friday already? Where did the week go? Wow! I must have had my head to the grindstone all week. It really has been pretty crazy here in the land of Otis.

I mentioned last week about me going to a conference for children's book writers and illustrators in January. And that I need to begin work on some new pieces to show at the conference. During the evenings, I have begun sketching out ideas. This is the first one I came up with during this time. It is a tad different from my usually concepts in that it is less wacky or wild. I like the idea of this little girl handing a flower to some big robot. Not sure where it came from but I do like it. It might because everyone is different but can still be civil to one another. I am struggle whether the robot should be less friendly looking or keep his facial expression warm and friendly. There are more ideas flowing for other pieces that I need to get sketched out so I can edit and figure out which of them are solid enough to do finalized illustrations.

I am still in the midst of several large projects but I got a call from the History Channel about the possibility of working on some illustrations for a logo they are putting together. Nothing is set in stone and everything needs to be approved before any work is begun but I am excited about the possibilities and doors it may open for me.

On a different topic, has anyone read any of Mary Roach's books? If not, you must do so. They are funny but still educational at the same time. They read like you are talking with her at a bar after a few drinks. Great writing! I just finished Packing For Mars and laughed throughout the book. It is about the space program and has some interesting facts that you may or may not know about. Also checkout Bonk, Stiff, and Spook.

My wife and I are heading to Portland tomorrow for their annual Harvest On The Harbor event. A day filled with food and drink from restaurants, vineyards, food providers, etc. from the state of Maine. We went last year and had a great time.

I think it is time to call it a day so I will leave you with this quote:

"Painting is just another way of keeping a diary." Pablo Picasso

A rainy Friday

2010-10-15T08:34:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone,

Sorry for not posting last week but I was sick for a majority of the time. My wife brought a bug back with her after being in Pennsylvania. Hopefully that was our illness for the season.

This week was spent in catch up mode. With me being sick, I got behind on some projects. Many late nights this week but I am back on track. Still working on a couple of large website designs, characters, and animations. While developing a character, I had a client comment on my sketches and how they really like the look and feel of them. Which got me to thinking about how I do my final art. I want to start experimenting with getting that same look when I complete my illustrations. Get away from perfect shapes and clean lines. This would involve developing another style. I do not want to dump my current one because it has served me well and I am identified with that look but to offer an alternative would open more doors, especially in the book market (hopefully). What I plan on doing is to take this sketch of the girl and try some different methods on rendering her. I will post the pieces for comments. Now I must make some time to do so.

Speaking of sketches, I think I need to go back to working on tracing paper instead of the cheap copier paper that I use now. The lines and tones are richer looking. The leprechaun was done on tracing paper. You can see the difference between the two sketches that are posted.

In some other news, I registered for the SCBWI (Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators) New York conference in January. I am looking forward not only going to New York again but to be around other creatives in the field. I hope to make some contacts and new friends while there. Plus visit some old friends while in town. This will inspire me to create some new pieces, get a new website and promo piece, and maybe get my book written. I plan on some Russ time before then to get things ready. If anyone is going, please let me know so we can meet up somewhere.

Also a group of us started a new blog for children's illustrations. We are still setting it up but I will make an announcement when it is up and running. Everyone involved works in the children's market and is very talented. Stay tune.

I am also going to start another blog for my "20 Minute Sketch Fridays" for my quick studies that are different from what I normally do. I may ask a few others to contribute once I get things up and running. Below is todays sketch. I toned the paper with graphite and drew on top of it. Afterwards I pulled out the highlights with a kneaded eraser. There are some issues with the drawing like her face but it was fun to work this way. Doing a larger drawing would have allowed me to get those midtones in there. Maybe I will do a larger version. I know, I know, I need to get ready for the conference!

That is it for this week so I will leave you with this:

"I have learned that what I have not drawn I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing, I realize how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle. " Frederick Franck, The Zen of Seeing.

Peaks and Valleys

2010-10-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

This has been an up and down week here in the merry land of Otis. I was selected to do some style samples for a card game that is going to be in stores nationally. I cannot indulge too much info at this time because the game is in development. I must say that they are a very friendly and professional group. They understand that samples takes time and paid for them. Many people/companies today think they should get the work for free so they can decide which they like better. I do not mind working on paid samples but I will not do "art contest". Anyway, enough of that rant, so it was narrowed down to another illustrator and myself. Well, I did not get the project. BUT, they liked what I did so much that as soon as they develop a kids game, it will be mine. As disappointing as it was, there is definitely a bright spot. The above image is what I submitted. I tried to tone down the my cartoon style a bit and go for a more graphic look. To give the illustrations a texture, I placed a paper image over top and played with the transparency controls to give them a more organic look. The smaller icons needed more work but it helped convey the approach I was after.

The sketch above is for my "20 Minute Sketch Friday" thing I started doing last week. My aim is to do something different from my usual style. I wanted to do a quick portrait study with quick line work and few details. I enjoy the looseness of the sketch and how incomplete it looks. Putting a time limit on the drawing kept me from adding more detail which I tend to do with a lot of my artwork. Less is more. Doing these sketches really have me wanting to attend some workshops or drawing sessions here in the area. I may head over to Belfast for a Monday night drawing session in the next few weeks. Being around other artist will help improve my drawings and paintings plus meet new people.

On the project front, it seems to be hospital or medical illustration work coming in at the moment. Working a serious of spots for some information sheets. And I am doing a large campus map for a hospital in PA. Doing this type of work is a wonderful break from the cartoon stuff I usual do and re-energizes me. We should always try new and different challenges. It is what makes us grow, not only as artist, but as people.

Well, I need to get back to some projects before the storm hits. The winds are picking up so we might loose power today. I leave you with this quote:

Sketch Friday

2010-09-24T11:30:00.001-07:00

Another Friday has arrived so it is time for me to spiel about what is going here in the land of Otis. More projects keep flowing in with even more on the horizon. This has been a wonderful year for me so far and I am very grateful. Since I am busy with working with others on their projects, it is leaving me less time to do some things for myself. So, I decided to start doing a 20 minute or less sketch on Fridays and posting them here on the blog plus on my Facebook page. I will not doctor or erase them in Photoshop except to boast the contrast. You will get to see and comment on the drawings with their warts and all. I hope to stay away from my usual cartoony style and do more life drawings. This is the first one that I did a few minutes ago. I saw the image online and thought her back was beautiful. There are a few problems with the sketch but I enjoyed it and am quite pleased with it.

I recently have been on a art related reading kick (as you can tell from past posts). From my research, I read excellent reviews on Robert Schmid's Alla Prima: Everything I Know About Painting so I purchased a copy. It arrived today and is very detailed. I want to find a few hours this weekend to begin reading it. Oh, if you want a copy, it can be very expensive, especially the hardbound edition. I got the softbound directly from his website which sells for $49.95. You can find it at http://www.richardschmid.com/book.html. This book is used by many painting instructors and professionals. I will give you my feedback after I finish it.

Tomorrow I am heading to Colby College with a bunch of artist friends to view a James McNeill Whistler collection. I have been looking forward to this all summer. A full report will follow next week.

Until next week, i leave you with this:

"I dream a lot. I do more painting when I'm not painting. It's in the subconscious." Andrew Wyeth

Missing Links

2010-09-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

For this week's post, I thought I would share links to various articles and links that I find interesting. I think as artist we need to constantly discover new things, read just about anything, listen to and touch the world around us. They are equally as important as our visual senses.

Here are a few sites/links to get you going.

Since I am on an oil painting and the human figure style kick as of late, look at the work of Kevin Wueste. He works traditionally and in Painter (which Is till need to dive into at some point).

http://kevinwuesteart.blogspot.com

Wimp is a great video site for things odd, creative, inspiring, thought provoking, and amazing.

http://www.wimp.com/

For those of us old enough to actually used Letraset, Chartpak, and/or Formatt, you may enjoy this article.

http://www.creativepro.com/blog/scanning-around-gene-when-letraset-was-king

If you are into old recordings, field recordings, and lost records of long ago, you must spend some time at Dust-To-Digital's website. They are rediscovering the gems from the early days of recording.

http://dust-digital.com/index.htm

A fun site for those of us who like toys and art. Mostly modern art and toys but still a ton of information.

http://www.vinylabuse.com/

If you are into pinup art, spend some time at http://www.pinupcartoongirls.com/ The artwork on the site is very tastefully done. And this site has great reference for clothing from the 40s until today, http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/menu/1/index.html

Paper Chase Press can print custom portfolios and books. I have seen some samples from then and the printing is top notch. http://www.paperchase.net/

If you are thinking about getting into character licensing, this site is a good start for legal information.

http://www.publaw.com/graphical.html

For those of use that do Flash animation and need a some additional training/knowledge, you must purchase Chris Georgenes and Justin Putney's new book, Animation with Scripting for Adobe Flash Professional CS3. i have just read the first 50 pages and learned a some new things. Chris has a Flash forum page that you can post questions or information that you may have regarding Flash and animation. http://keyframer.com/forum/index.php

Well since it is my anniversary today, I am shutting down early to spend time with most amazing person in the world. Lynn has been my biggest fan and supporter for my artwork. Without her there to push me, I would not be where I am today.

I will leave you with this quote for the week:

“I prefer drawing to talking. Drawing is faster, and leaves less room for lies.” Le Corbusier

Another Friday Has Arrived

2010-09-10T13:25:00.001-07:00

Well another Friday has arrived which has left me wondering, "Where did the week go?" I am busy finishing up various projects which means at least one day this weekend will be a working one.

The above image is from a cover of a book I designed for Nancy Williams, a writer in California. This was a bit different for me since I mostly do kid's illustrations, animations or logos. I got to design and layout the complete book which also included some information graphics. Nancy was wonderful to work with on the project. This is the first book out of a series of four.

The cow icon is a character design I did for Ford New Holland at the beginning of summer. Little did I know that they make the cow into an inflatable mascot. They use the mascot at various events and farm shows. I thought it was pretty cool to see something you did as an actual physical piece.

Some other interesting news is that the sketch of Roscoe Holcomb I did a few months ago was seem by someone on Facebook who knows his family. He asked if he could show the sketch to Roscoe's daughter which of course I said "yes". Roscoe's daughter was flattered that someone wanted to do a piece of art of her father and LOVED the sketch. Now I am inspired to do the final art. I hope to do this on a large scale and traditional (pen & ink and watercolor).

My wife, our friends Hazel and Holly, and myself worked the "Welcome Table" here in Pittsfield this morning. The "Welcome Table" feeds elderly people and the less fortunate in the area. It was our first time doing this but we had a great time. We cooked baked ziti, bread, fresh green salad, and apple pie. We are a bit worn out so I will end this week with the following quote:

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures." Henry Ward Beecher

Relief!

2010-09-04T15:48:00.000-07:00

Finally some relief after a week of hot, steamy weather! Earl was welcomed up here in Maine. I almost did not post something for this week because of just being worm out from the heat and lack of sleep.

I was going through some older pieces and came across these two pieces that are a departure from my normal style. With these two illustrations, I did away with the outlines and used shapes to form the imagery. I really enjoy this look because it really has that retro feel to it. It also makes you simplify your composition but allowing the color and shapes to shine through. I would like to do more in this style.

I stumbled across this sketch I did a few years ago and thought it was very amusing. I am not sure who it was done for but the I liked it and thought I would share. With some work, it might make a nice spot for a magazine article.

A couple of new logos came in this week including one for an Autistic website. Cannot show you anything at the moment but as you do research on subject so you can design and/or illustrate the subject matter, you really learn lots of new things. As artist, we should always be reading and observing just as much as sketching. It keeps the mind sharp and the creative juices flowing.

It is soon time for a website redesign. My existing one is almost two years old. I have been thinking about incorporating my blog into the site. Has anyone done this and have any insight that they are willing to share? You know the pros and cons of joining the two. I definitely need some fresh animations to add to the new design. I just storyboarded a 2 minute clip for a song from a band I was in a few years ago. It is a matter of finding the time.

My other thinking of late has been to search out an agent at the first of the year. I have been compiling a list during these last two months so I need a fresh promo piece, a new site, news samples with several new animated clips, AND it would nice to have my book written and illustrated. Progress is being made in that department as well. I figure even if I had it set up as an ebook, that would be impressive and offer a new skill set. I prefer a real book but you must keep current as much as possible. But one can only do so much during the course of the day.

I leave you with this wonderful quote:

"Dreams are illustrations ...from the book your soul is writing about you" ~ Marsha Norman

Onward

2010-08-27T07:08:00.000-07:00

Things are still moving forward with "Molly Kite" being published. Not a lot of details to posts but we did develop another character for a possible future book in the series. Her name is Nana Wacky. She is like a hippy grandmother that is filled with wisdom and is a ton of fun.

McDonalds contacted me this week about doing some artwork for them which is always fun. The deadline is tight but that is the norm for their turnaround. Other projects are coming in as well. Still working on an animated piece for a client that is both fun and educational. I have a couple of logo projects in here as well. One is for an Autism website so I have been doing a bit of research for that one.

Last night I began sketching in my sketchbook for the Brooklyn Art Library's "Sketchbook Project Tour 2011". The theme that was assigned to me is "figuring you out". I have a bunch of ideas for it but need to find the time to really dive into the book. The sketchbooks are due back at the first of the year. Afterwards they will go on tour around the country, including Portland, Maine. You can keep track on how many times your book is being viewed. The sketchbooks will stay in the library's permanent collection. It will be nice to have something in a collection.

Speaking of sketchbooks, here a couple of pieces that I scanned in to share with you. The first one is just a series of doodles. As you can see if you look closely, they were done on a hotel note pad. There is something about drawing on notepads that I find makes drawing easier. I guess it might be that the paper is already tarnished with ink so you cannot screw it up. The second sketch is just something silly. It is pretty typical of what a boy would do. The thinking, or lack thereof, would be "HEY! I can use this fishbowl as a space helmet!" Of course we would forget to dump the water out or remove the fish.

Until next week, I will leave with this quote:

"It is only by drawing often, drawing everything, drawing incessantly, that one fine day you discover to your surprise that you have rendered something in its true character." Camille Pissarro

Another week has come and gone

2010-08-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

Another week has come and gone. I took some time off this week. We had friends come up from Pennsylvania for a visit. It was wonderful to see them and be able to hang out. Lots of lobster, scallops, and mussels were consumed.

I purchased a couple of books to help improve some of my skills. The first book I bought is How To Cheat At Flash CS5 by Chris Georgenes. This is a must have book for those with some Flash capabilities. It provides easy-to-follow explanations of various Flash workarounds. It is geared towards animators but it also has some ActionScript tutorials which are very helpful for someone like me who has tried doing some ActionScripting but just cannot get a handle on it. Chris is also very helpful if you have any questions regarding Flash. He is very down to earth and willing to share information. His blog is http://www.keyframer.com and website is http://www.mudbubble.com.

The second book I purchased is Traditional Oil Painting by Virgil Elliot. Ever since my oil painting workshop last month, I have the bug to paint traditionally. I figured that I needed a refresher since it has been years of my last studio class. I read some very good things about this book. Having read the first few chapters, I can say that the reviews were spot on. The book provides samples and details of how various masterpieces were painted. Plus the author provides demostrations as well. If you are thinking about reading up on oil painting, this is the perfect book to get you on track.

I bought a couple of new sketchbooks so I am ready to do some drawing in them. After reading An Illustrated Life by Danny Gregory, I have been inspired to draw for myself. The book shows samples from various artist's sketchbooks and has them talking about why they work in them.

Well this coming week is going to be very busy. Hopefully I can post some samples.

"A critic in my house sees some paintings. Greatly perturbed, he asks for my drawings. My drawings? Never! They are my letters, my secrets." Paul Gauguin

Friday the 13th

2010-08-13T09:22:00.001-07:00

Hello one and all,

Sorry for not posting last week. It seems like the weeks just come and go so quickly this summer. With all of the projects I am working on, time is flying by. Sorry I cannot post images of things that I am working on but when you sign NDAs, you have to keep things under wraps for a while.

I thought this poster/flyer was brilliant! It seems to capture what we creatives are going through these days. I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked to work for free or have seen job postings asking the same thing. Why would anyone think we are willing to put hours into something for exposure? Do they offer that to a doctor, plumber, carpenter, etc.? I think not. We offer a specialized skill and should be paid accordingly. Bravo for whoever designed this poster.

Lately I have been kicking around the idea of character licensing. Spoke with a close friend today about it since they have the capabilities of selling characters to merchants and franchises. We will see where this goes. I know I need to get back to my book idea as well. I really just need to get the words down so I can then really write the thing. Hopefully something will come out of the story that is worthwhile. Speaking of books, nothing new to report on Molly for now. Fingers are crossed.

I ordered a bunch of sketchbooks this week so I can start carrying them along with me when I leave the house. Hell, they may make me get out more often. I also ordered some additional painting supplies and have lined up a model for another painting session in October. Looking forward to that. An Illustrated Life by Danny Gregory is a great book about artist and their sketchbooks. It inspired me to get back to using them and to draw for myself again.

We are having some friends come up for a visit next week so I must get some cleaning done around the house this weekend. I better get to it since it does not want to clean itself. So I will leave you with this:

From the age of six I had a mania for drawing the shapes of things. When I was fifty I had published a universe of designs. but all I have done before the the age of seventy is not worth bothering with. At seventy five I'll have learned something of the pattern of nature, of animals, of plants, of trees, birds, fish and insects. When I am eighty you will see real progress. At ninety I shall have cut my way deeply into the mystery of life itself. At a hundred I shall be a marvelous artist. At a hundred and ten everything I create; a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before. To all of you who are going to live as long as I do, I promise to keep my word. I am writing this in my old age. I used to call myself Hokusai, but today I sign my self 'The Old Man Mad About Drawing." Hokusai

What a week!

2010-08-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in posting this week but it has been one very busy week. Worked on several logos, some character development, a couple of websites, and various illustration projects. I feel the need to do some work today just to stay on top of things. It is good to be busy. I hope everyone who follows the blog and FB page are busy as well.

The BIG NEWS this week is that the book I illustrated, Molly Kit Has Faith, has ben picked up by a publisher. I do not have a lot details right now but it could lead to a national release plus other books in the series and possible dolls from the characters.

Nothing on the later is set in stone but I did get the news about the book being picked up.

I did a workshop last weekend which we drew the figure in oil paint. It was so much fun to actually paint again. I love oil paints and their flexibility. Now I have the bug to paint some more and hope to do that really soon. The above images are a couple of the studies we did. The time for each one ranged from an hour and a half to 2 hours. The photos are a bit crappy but it gives you an idea of what we did.

Well this is going to be a short post but I will make up for it next week.

"Drawing is . . . not an exercise of particular dexterity, but above all a means of expressing intimate feelings and moods." Henri Matisse.

Where did the week go?

2010-07-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

This has been one crazy week for me. I cannot remember the last time I was this busy with projects. It seems as if a new one is coming in on a daily basis. I am not complaining. A lot of people in the industry cannot find a job or project so I am very grateful. The projects are ranging from web design to animation to logos to cd artwork to illustrations.

I just finished up a cd project for a Pennsylvania based musician named Jeremy dePrisco. We have worked together before. He wanted a different look for the artwork this time around. We discussed a "steampunk" look but that was not really working the way we envisioned. I played around with some old engravings and that lead to a completely different look and feel. Combining the engravings with textures, photos and type really captured what he is trying to do with this album. He was quite pleased with the results and the disc is being manufactured now.

This weekend I am heading up to Orono for a "figure drawing with oil paint" workshop. I haven't worked traditionally in years. This should be interesting. I hope I remember how to paint with oils. We are working with a model so that will be nice to do quick studies. I may post some of the pieces if they are presentable.

Pittsfield is having its "Egg Festival" this weekend but I will miss it. It is such a charming festival with that Americana feel that seems to be missing in most of the country. I watched the parade from our house last year and loved it.

Speaking of Pittsfield, I joined the historical society here. They found out that I am an artist so they are planning a bunch of things for me to do. It will help me learn more about our lovely little town plus contribute in some way while doing so. They are a very nice group of people.

Well that is it for me this week. Like everyone else, I am a bit worn out. Must rest up for tomorrow so I leave you with this quote:

"I could draw Bloom County with my nose and pay my cleaning lady to write it, and I'd bet I wouldn't lose 10 % of my papers over the next twenty years. Such is the nature of comic-strips. Once established, their half-life is usually more than nuclear waste." Berke Breathed

Back in the groove

2010-07-16T10:31:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Sorry for not posting the last two weeks but I was in Tennessee for some fun and family visiting. My parents just moved to the Greeneville area and have been pestering me to come down for a visit. My sister, her twins, my daughter and myself made the trip down. We spent one day rafting in "Funyaks" which were not a lot of fun the last hour on the river. We went 10 miles in 8 hours due to the water being so low from the lack of rain. We were told that some have made the trip in a hour and a half. Now that is moving! I did not fall in but was constantly stuck on the rocks. Even the guides were getting stuck so I did not feel so bad. It was sweltering in Tennessee but not as hot as the Northeast during that time. Even Maine was steamy which my wife let me know about when I called. Things are cooling off a bit now. I'm looking forward to fall!

All kinds of new and fun projects were waiting for my return. Some things I cannot post at the moment due to confidentially agreement I signed. Lets just say lots of illustrations, logos, and animations with a sprinkle of web design thrown in for good measure. I am busy for the next month with the possibility of more coming in. Oh yeah, I am doing cd cover for a Pennsylvania musician which has been fun and very different for me. Lucky for me I got my vacation in just in the nick of time.

I may have a big announcement in the coming weeks. It really depends if the illustration gods align the planets just so. If things do fall into place, I could be busy for the rest of the year and into next. Stay tuned!

Dustin picked a final type treatment for the "Demon Garage" logo. We are now ready for color which I need to do when I get a free moment. I've attached the winning design. It still needs a few tweaks but it is almost there. It is my favorite design.

Well that is it for this week. I need to get back to the stack of projects on hand but I will leave you with this quote: "To draw, you must close your eyes and sing." Pablo Picasso

More Demon Garage

2010-06-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hopefully, you are not sick of me posting the Demon Garage logo development. I think some people like to see the progress and steps in developing artwork. This next phase of the project deals with the adding of type to the car icon. I wanted to combine a vintage/retro style with a contemporary font. The idea of using a gothic font kind of stuck with me from the beginning. Playing with the different values of backgrounds, fonts, and borders also help the readability. With a few of the logos, I incorporated the flame icon from the "DG" graphic. The client wants to have shirts, hats, patches and signage made with the logo. Once he picks a direction, I will work it up with color and then it should be ready for print.

I have been playing around with the new features in Adobe's CS5 upgrade. I must say that I am really impressed! The latest edition of Flash has a bunch of time saving features. Some of them were in CS4 but I was using 3. The new method of tweening is as simple as moving the image the frame and Flash remembers the move(s). Also it looks like animators/designers can do more ActionScripting without having to learn all of the coding involved. Then there is the bone tool which will make body movements more fluid and natural. Flash Catalyst really has me intrigued and I cannot wait to redo my site so I can try it out. You design you site in Illustrator and do a drag & drop in Catalyst to make it interactive. Amazing!!! Since I use Illustrator all of the time, there are some new tools which is going to save me a ton of time. I can report on them later.

I am going to try to do an update next week but leave for vacation later in the week and will give you a full report on the trip. Have a lovely week.

"He who pretends to be either painter or engraver without being a master of drawing is an imposter." William Blake

Progress!

2010-06-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,Sorry for not posting last week but too many things were going on and keeping busy with various projects. Plus I finally ended my battle with Adobe. That ate up a major part of my time. I received my refund so I reordered the appropriate upgrade and spent the weekend installing CS5 versions of my software. I must say the latest upgrade is really nice. Flash, Illustrator, Photoshop, etc., have great and very time saving features. Flash Catalyst also has me very intrigued and I may try some things out with a new website for Smiling Otis. I also installed Snow Leopard which makes my system run much faster. So far, there is harmony in the studio.

The "Demon Garage" logo is coming along quite well. In the above image, you can see where I started adding the line work to the sketches. I keep the lines at 1 point or less so I can see the template (sketch) underneath. Plus it makes getting the curves to where I want them much easier. The flame on top of the "DG" was simplified so it would look a bit less cartoony. It fits into the top much better than on the sketch.

After I get the line work completed, I then go in and change the weights of the lines so I can a good balance of thicks and thins. You can see this step in the image. From there, I convert the lines to outlines and join the endpoints so I get my tapered line look. I use the handles and adjust the curves if necessary. Once the line work is where I want them, I them remove sections that overlap. CS5 will save a ton of time with how I work my lines. There are some other things I do but I don't want to spill the beans on everything or I will be out of work. LOL!

In this final image, you can see the line work in place and then some tone added. My next step will be add color which will probably be 3 or 4 PMS colors. But first, I need to work on the type treatments. I will show that in the next phase and post here.

Well, tomorrow is Friday and we are having a large shindig here at the house so I must spend some time tomorrow prepping for it. Have a lovely week and I will leave you with this quote:

"Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad." Salvadore Dali

Demons, Adobe, Oh My!

2010-06-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

Keeping it short and sweet this week.

I thought I would share a logo that I am working on for a friend's business called "Demon Garage". He works on a lot of rat rods, hot rods, and vintage cars. Of course the logo must capture that "retro" look and feel. I wanted to give him three images that can be used with a typeface or used separately. I have some ideas for fonts but wanted to focus on the images for now. The image of the demon with a wrench in his mouth would work well for hats, shirts, and stickers. The "DG" gothic lettering can be used for the same promotional items as well as business cards. The demon in the car would be the main identifier for the business. The color pallet will be only 4 colors (black, red, yellow and orange) to keep the bold graphic look of the sketches. I really want to finish this logo in the next few weeks and post the end results.

Well it has been two and a half weeks of battling Adobe's refund management. This all started when one of their online tech people sold me the wrong upgrade. I have been on the phone and online numerous times trying to resolve the issue. The last person I spoke with said I had to fill out a form which is now going to add another 7-10 days before I get my refund. Then I must reorder the software again. Sorry to vent but this has been a tiring ordeal. Hopefully no one else has gone through this experience.

"Good drawing forms the 'bones' on which a strong painting hangs." Chris Bingle

A Day Late and A Print Short

2010-05-29T05:29:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Sorry I am a day late with the post but yesterday was a bit busy and before I knew it, it was dark outside. Sometimes we all have days, weeks, months, or even years like that.

Well we have reached the "50 Followers" mark this week so a BIG THANK YOU for signing up to my little blog. And since I said I would give a print away once we reached that mark, I did that by using a online random number generator so the winner is ... drum roll please ... JILL SANDERS! So a Voltar print will be going out to her next week. I guess I will have to do a second giveaway of some sort once I hit a 100 followers. Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to sign up.

I started some new promo pieces which include the Roscoe caricature and the bikini girl but some projects came in that required my time. I hope to get back tho them soon. Here is a study of Roscoe's head which I tightened up the sketch and exaggerated more of his features. It has been a while since I have done a caricature so I wanted to make sure I could at least make a half decent attempt before I go to the final art. I will completed the piece on watercolor paper with pencil and ink which I am looking forward to doing.

That is about all I have for this weeks update. People here in the States, have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and remember those who sacrificed for our freedoms.

"I prefer drawing to talking. Drawing is faster, and leaves less room for lies." Le Corbusier

Labels, Adobe, and More

2010-05-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

For this week, I thought I would share some beer labels that I worked on. The very cool designs were done by Dantinne Design Communications (http://dantinnedesign.com/). They contacted me to work on the illustration part of the project. Even though I usually do cartoon or kids stuff, I also do a couple of other styles like the engraving look for these labels. The way I created the label illustrations was first to sketch out the composition. Once the roughs were approved, they were tightened up and submitted for feedback. After final sign off on the layouts, I enlarged the drawings to 8 1/2 x 11 and placed paper over top of the originals. I used various sizes of Sharpies to ink the final art. That was done freehand so the lines would have an organic, rough look to them. White gouache was used in areas to clean up edges and help get that woodcut look. The inked drawings were scanned back into Photoshop at 600 dpi and reduced 75%. The scanned images were imported into Illustrator where I used the Live Trace to vectorize the artwork. Lines were cleaned up, if needed, and color dropped in on various layers. This process helped maintain the old engraving/woodblock look the client was after. I think everything fits well and gives the labels a classy, old-time look and feel. Now I am waiting for the liquid samples!

Has anyone tried upgrading their Adobe software? Am I the only one confused by their upgrade process? I think their online tech people are as well. I am trying to upgrade CS3 and CS4 versions of various software as a bundle (so it is cheaper next time to upgrade everything) but they have different prices and packages. The tech guy had me upgrade to a package that I thought had everything that I used but when I got an email receipt, it listed software that I do not use. So for the last few days I have been trying to cancel this order. What a pain-in-the-ass this has been. I love Adobe products but they really need to make upgrades more user friendly. Of course, less expensive would be nice too.

The other thing I have started doing is writing my first children's book. After much prodding from my wife, I finally gave in. An idea struck me a few weeks ago so now I am in the early stages of flushing out the idea. Once I have it written, I will send it to a few people for proofing and thoughts. I want to work up a cover and sketch out the interior pages to submit to a publisher. We shall see if there is any interest in it. If not, I may either self publish it or give it away online. But first I must get the thing written and see if it is any good before we head down those roads.

I will leave you with this quote: "Drawing is putting a line (a)round an idea." Henri Matisse

Until next week!

Voltar Giveaway

2010-05-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, several people suggested that I give away a piece of artwork. I think it is a good idea so what I am going to do, is give away a limited edition "Voltar" calendar. This piece was designed, illustrated, and printed last year as promo piece. I worked on the concept and illustrations with New York designer extraordinaire Ilene Block. We shared the piece as a promotional tool with 1800 Postcards who supplied the printing. They did a kick ass job with all of the spot varnishes, die cuts, foil stamping, etc. The wheels really turn to not only to show the date, but it will give you advice on your investments as well. This was a ton of fun to do. It is not often that you can go hog wild on a piece.

So my contest/give away is once I hit 50 "Followers", I will draw a number and match it with the person in my "Follower" list. I may do a second "Voltar" drawing once I reach 100. If the winner wants me to do so, I can sign the back of it. Does this sound like a good idea?

Not much new to report for this week. Our daughter was up for a visit before she heads out to Chicago so I was out of the studio for a majority of the week. I will have more to show and chat about next week.

A great quote: "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." Picasso

Chat with you next week.