Monday, December 8, 2008

Mountain Bike Magazine



Mountain Bike magazine asked me to do a spot for their opinion section. This one was about how environmental organizations are making it more and more difficult for bikers to experience certain trails since a lot of forests have been turned into nature sanctuaries thus barring human beings from ever stepping foot in them. The writer of the piece believes that these preserves should be opened up for recreational purposes. Here are two sketches that I presented to them. I really liked the one with the hands, but they chose the chain sketch. Looking at it now it probably does read a little faster. I'm always looking for opportunities to draw hands.

Here is how the final turned out. The image was going to print pretty small so I tried to make the final design as simple and clear as possible. I also used a pretty stark contrast between the warm and cool colors to create depth. I'm pretty happy with how the biker turned out.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Break Away


This is my first illustration for Break Away magazine. Break Away is a christian youth magazine and this story was about a group of youth missionaries that were held up at gun point by the most wanted thief in Africa. He and his cronies all wore African tribal masks to hide their identity which immediately made this image a fun one to work on. I was a little nervous that this image might be offensive when taken out of context.

Here is a sketchbook page where you can see some of my original concepts. The most obvious change from the original sketch is the machine gun. The art director also asked that the African Mask be made to look less menacing. I still kind of like the gun sketch better. I really wanted to paint a machine gun.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Witches



I finished up this image this morning for an art event later this week that my friend, Barry Fitzgerald, is organizing. It will be in Lawrence, Kansas at Blue Plate Dinners from October 21 - November 22. Tons of illustrators are participating so be sure to check it out. The only requirement for the show was that it involved food in some way and that it could fit in a freezer bag in which it will be displayed. I am very happy with how this one turned out. These are actually characters that I want to use in a comic book that I'm attempting to develop at the moment.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

New Business Week Illustration


This was a full two page spread for the latest issue of Business Week. The story was about companies who gather information on their employees by mining data from their computers, telephones and anything else that might leave a trail. This then gives the company better means at using their employees in the most efficient way. I also did several spot illustrations that ran along the top of the story.

Here is an example of my favorite spot I did for them. All of the spots were connected to each other through the numbered ticker tape. This was a huge project and was a lot of fun to work on. I have decided to never draw a tiny business man for the rest of my career. I must of drawn over a hundred of these suckers by the end of it all.

Monday, August 25, 2008

New Illustrations!!!



Okay. It's been awhile since I last updated. This first image was for New Angeles Monthly. The story was about a new library being built in Silver Lake, California. The story itself didn't really have much conflict in it so I decided to create an image that was pleasant an welcoming. This illustration was also done 100% digitally. I'm not sure if it was easier or more difficult to do it this way. It was fun however.



This is my latest illustration for Nexos magazine. This was for a story about how children are better at learning multiple languages than full grown adults. This is my third spot for this magazine and it is a lot of fun trying to break down my ideas into simple, clear designs. They also take about half the time. I really need to start making all of my illustrations like this.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Business Week


Business Week was writing a story about college students being lured into signing up for credit cards by college alumni associations. These Alumni groups later receive a profit cut from the whatever the big credit card companies make off the student. So these universities are basically selling their students into debt. This was the rough sketch I sent along for approval. They liked it and told me to move along to final.

Here is the final drawing in all of its glory. One thing the art directors realized after I had painted on it for awhile was that the image was strangely cropped on the right side. They asked if I could extend it to include the rest of the man in the corner and also the entirety of the pit of debt. I agreed that the image would greatly be improved with the change and went to work on a pretty complex patch.

This is how the final turned out. I'm pretty happy with it. I really like the guys in the foreground. I think the fine folks over at Business Week were happy as well.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Canadian Punk


I finished this one up for Alternative Press last week. This is for the same section that I did the Mexican Punk illustration for a few months ago. I like that it is a quick read and I also like the neck. It's way over the top and most people that look at it get a little grossed out. That, in my mind, is a success.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

New Angeles



I recently finished up a job for the July edition of the New Angeles Monthly. The story is about South Central and how the cops are cleaning up the streets and kicking out the homeless and the drug users. The story is told from the perspective of an ex heroin user who misses the realness of how it used to be. He also thinks the original inhabitants are being mistreated and that South Central belongs to the homeless. This is the rough sketch that I sent in for approval. The author of the story definately takes the side of the people who live in South Central so the cops developed into a more ominous presence. I liked the idea of have the cops using syringes to fumigate the city with money.



This is how the final turned out. I didn't realize how much was really going on in this illustration until I began painting it. Everything for awhile was screaming on the same level and it took a lot to create a clear hierarchy. The radioactive green helped to center the illustration around the cop while the rest of the piece was painted with more muted colors. The homeless at the bottom of the page or more of an afterthought rather than the main focus as they could have easily become.



Here is what the final layout looked like.

Friday, June 6, 2008

New Content Soon



Thought I would let everyone now that my website is being tricked out so that I can finally update it on the fly without my web programmers assistance. It is something that needed to happen a long time ago and now that it has expect to see regular updates on my main website from here on in. Above is a pianting I worked on just for fun. His name is Blake and he is addicted to creation and destruction.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Music Showcase 2008



I thought I would show a little of my process for this one. This was for the Pitch Music Showcase that happens every year and I was asked to submit some ideas for it. The Pitch asked a few other illustrators to submit as well and they decided to go with my idea. The sketch on the left was what I sent them originally. My concept was to create a music goddess in the stylings of Vishnu. I wanted every aspect of her to have something to do with music like her piano skirt and the bells in her head dress. They liked the concept and asked to see another with her facing forward instead, hence the sketch on the right.



After being given the go ahead I went ahead and refined the drawing and blew it up to its full 18x24 and got to work on drawing the final. All color and effects were done in Photoshop. This was a very elaborate piece with a lot of detail requiring me to take extra care in making sure that everything worked as a whole and that no elements seemed distracting or unneccessary. I'm very please with how the final turned out and I can't wait to see it as a full sized poster. Click to enlarge the image to see a more detailed version.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

The Village Voice


This was the other project I took on last week. It's my first cover for the Village Voice and it was a lot of fun to work on. The story was very sad about a girl who was kidnapped and murdered and how the police didn't do their part in trying to find her. Since the story was already very graphic and depressing the art director wanted an image that wasn't too dark. The story was titled "Missing In Action" and I think the image works well with that.

Here is what the final layout looks like. The art director was Ivylise Simones and I think she did a bang up job.

Rhino Bowl


This is my first illustration for the RiverFront Times. It was for their Night&Day section and it was about a charity event that will raise money for Rhinos through bowling. It was a quick turn around with another project going on at the same time. It was fun to work on and I hope to do more for them soon.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Nexos


Nexos is a Spanish magazine published by American Airways. They asked me to do an illustration for an article about words that get lost in translation from Portuguese to Spanish. The art director and I both liked the idea of people looking for something lost in the woods so conceptually this was an easy one to develop. I wanted the image to work more as a spot than a full illustration and I'm really happy with how it ended up.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Don Quixote



Miami New Times was doing a story about a street musician who travels around playing his piano in random parts of the city for everyone to enjoy. He considers himself a modern day Don Quixote and that was the theme we decided to take for this illustration. Horses are tough to draw as anyone who has ever tried to draw one can tell you, so I ended up actually going to the library this time for reference which I need to be doing more often than just using the internet. If you don't know, the library is an ancient form of Google that is still used even today mostly by children learning how to use it and homeless people. Anyhoo, I think this one turned out and I had some fun working on it.

Friday, April 18, 2008

SPECTRUM 15!


I found out yesterday that this illustration which was done for The Pitch Weekly will be published in Spectrum 15: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art. I've always been a big fan of this annual and it is an honor to be involved with it. I used to flip through this book when I was just a kid so it has been with me for quite some time.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Hi Doc



A german children's health magazine called "Hi Doc" contacted me a week ago to do a cover and spread illustration for a story about a boy with such large ears he can hear everything in the world. The cover was a simple design and was finished pretty quickly. The spread however . . .



. . . took a little bit more time. I wanted to fit in as many things as I could to create a sense of sound and music in nature and the world around him. It was a lot of fun to make and I always love the chance to sneak my dog into my illustrations.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

New Lawrence.com Illustration



Just finished this up for Lawrence.com. The story was about transgender people and their ability to see the world through the perspective of both male and female. It was a pretty quick turn around and I ended up having to do the drawing and painting in a single day. I always like to have at least two days for painting to allow for time to get away from it and come back with a fresh set of eyes. The short deadlines due force me to quit fussing about and make some executive decisions that I wouldn't make with extra time. Sometimes that is a very good thing.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Cougar!


Lawrence.com was doing a story on peoples irrational fear of cougars here in Kansas. Not that you shouldn't avoid a cougar if you see one, but generally they don't attack people and keep to themselves. They wanted the illustration to look like a vintage horror movie poster and this is what I came up with. The most challenging part were the people running away in the corner. I swear that woman in the corner made me want to throw myself out the window, which wouldn't accomplish much since I live in a one story house. I think everything turned out though. The cop was the most fun to draw.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Bargain Auction



Lawrence.com asked me to do a color spot for a story about an art auction that happens here in Lawrence where people bid on local artist's work at bargain bin prices. I think it turned out. It has a simple, quick read.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Mexican Punk


I just finished this illustration for Alternative Press on a story about Mexican punk. You know, it's when you get a chance to paint skulls and mohawks that makes it all worth it.

Friday, February 22, 2008

LA CityBeat


Here is another recent image I made for LA CityBeat. The story was about teenage sex offenders whose lives are ruined by laws meant to keep true criminals in line like rapists and pedophiles. I had a completely different sketch in mind for this story that was approved and then later altered last minute due to editorial changes. These things happen and the art director was very helpful. In the end, I think we both created something very cool under the gun.

Here it is with the final layout. I really like their main header. Very dynamic.

Preparing For Spring




The Good Life, a Jersey based magazine, asked me to create an image for their gardening section. They liked the quality of some of my lighter images and were looking for something in that vein. I'm always happy to work this way in that the layout and design usually consist of basic shapes to create a simple yet dynamic drawing. Most of the detailing is saved for painting in photoshop. The flowers were probably the most difficult aspect to figure out. I had something far more complex in mind before I decided to go the simple route. I'll have a ton of new updates soon, however I have to wait a little while until some of those see print.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Online Privacy


This image was done for Lawrence.com on a story about ways to protect your personal information online. The idea for the person wielding an encrypted sword and shield came pretty quickly. I came up with several variations for what would be attacking from the computer screen until I realized the obvious and most clear solution with the iconic hand.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Uptown


I wrapped up this piece for the Pitch earlier this morning. The art director wanted a stylized painting of the Uptown Theatre in downtown Kansas City and told me to have fun with it. I was inspired by the neon in the sign and decided to go for a BladeRunner kind of vibe. I think it turned out well. I still get a little nervous when I have to draw buildings.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Eulogy for an Oak



The San Francisco Chronicle called me a few weeks ago to do a spot illustration for a story about a woman's relationship with an old Oak tree that was cut down in Golden Gate Park. In her story she describes the tree as a warrior that can never truly die and how it will live on in her memories and in the trees that it produced while it thrived.