So I decided to put together a “video” of Field Trip to the Ocean Deep using the preliminary sketches. With the help of some royalty free music and sound effects, the sketches really come to life! Well… I think so. Also I’d like to point out that royalty free doesn’t mean something is sub-par. A lot of the music i found was really great…in fact one of the songs has become such an earworm that its a bit of a problem (Candelabra by Latasha in the Youtube Audio Library). Anyways, check it out, and if you like it check out the actual book - Even if that means literally checking it out from a library. I like to think the final art gives it a life and atmosphere of its own.
Avalanche!
Here’s a fun sketch from a story idea that’s on ice.
Salamander
When I was a kid, my favorite activity was exploring the woods near our home. One day I came across my first salamander. It was THE coolest thing I had seen up to that point. It was like a frog and a lizard combined. What could be cooler? I also quickly realized that, like a frog, it needed a moist environment to flourish. Which makes it all the more crazy that in ancient times, salamanders were considered creatures of fire! That notion is thought to have originated when prehistoric people would gather old, dead wood to burn - and when doing so the occasional salamander would emerge from the fire! (moist dead wood being a favorite home of theirs). So a legend began to develop that there were large salamanders out there with the power to start and extinguish fires! Kind of cool. But not as cool as just a plain old wet-log loving salamander.
Train Inspector
Here’s an old idea made into an animation. The original premise was that the reader was supposed to inspect the train page by page to make sure everything was okay. Of course everything was not okay, each page stuff gets progressively more strange. I think this idea still has merit and could be better executed if the inspector was a character and there was an actual plot arc with stakes….that said. I love that this has none of that. So give it a watch and see if the train looks okay to you. Forgive me if the old-timey music is too much! I was trying to figure out what way to go with it.
Still figuring this thing out
I’m having fun using the quarantine as an excuse to experiment. I just posted a video of a Prompt Sketch…just a super quick sketch based on a writing prompt. It is suuuuper basic and if I was to keep doing something like that, I’d make it a bit more interesting. Still….gotta start somewhere! Not saying this is the start of something….but if it was there would definitely be room for improvement!
Disembark
Here’s a sketch from one of the early versions of Field Trip to the Moon where the kids are shown getting ready to disembark from the bus and explore the Moon. This scene didn’t really add anything so I took it out, but I do like how the kid with the crayons doesn’t look to thrilled to be on the moon.
Underwater Adventure
This is a sketch from a project I’m currently making the final art for . So much has changed with the story, and while I think the current version is better, I like how intense the creature looks in this old sketch.
Goodbye Old Friend
A week ago my dear old dog and friend Marcus passed away. He was a spirited, ornery as hell wire haired fox terrier who had been a close part of my life for 17 years. My wife and I called him one of our “protochildren” (along with two cats), our kids before we had kids. I’ll miss him dearly! If you look at many MANY of my old paintings and illustrations, you’ll find him.
This is very VERY accurate representation of Marcus’s personality.
A painting from a board book made many years ago staring Marcus. You’ll be missed, buddy!
The Station
An old sketch of a train station from a story that I put on ice many moons ago. I’m itching to get these characters back in action when the time is right!
Alternate cover for Field Trip to the Moon
So right before I turned in the final art for Field Trip to the Moon, I had an idea for an alternate cover. It featured the class and space station more, and the bus less. Basically I just really thought the station should look like it spins to make artificial gravity. The editor passed on it, which I agree with, but I still like the way it looks.
This sketch show an alternate cover design showing the kids departing a station that spins to make artificial gravity.
And this sketch shows what that station looked like from space. The scale of it is much more enormous than the station used on the title page of Field Trip to the Moon. See below.
This is the final art of the version used.
Going for a drive
A Mercury Lander
Turtle Crossing
A sketch from my notebook. This is pretty accurate depiction of driving around with my dog. He likes to sit in the front seat which makes him subject to my lightning fast dad-arm-seatbelt.
JC Penney
Its time to get started on the 2017 Notable Missourian illustrations for Truman State University Press. The first book features James Cash Penney. That's right, JC Penney himself. Here are some of the sketches done for Chapter 1 - They show a young JC in the hog business.
San Juan Sketch
Organizing files and came across this sketchbook ink and wash made while in Puerto Rico a few years back. I still like it. Quite possibly because its cold and windy here and seeing this reminds me of sitting under a palm tree on the beach with a sketchbook.
Rooting for the home team - Rough sketch examples
Here's a couple more illustrations for this Kansas City project. If there's one thing KC has in spades, its passion for our teams. I shouldn't phrase it like that. There's certainly more than one thing we have. Did I ever mention we have Tacos In A Tub? Tacos. In a tub. That's right. SO let me start over.
PROMINENT in the long list of awesome things about Kansas City (including tubs full of tacos) is our passion for our sports teams. We have some of the best fans in the country - be it football, baseball, soccer, or college basketball - people here can't get enough. And they're good fans too. Go to a Chiefs game wearing a Raiders jersey and you'll still get offered brats, beer and ribs in the parking lot. Then again if you're a Raiders fan you might want to keep an eye on that Brat during its journey from the grill to your hand. Just saying I can't speak for everyone.
The point of this sketch was to put the emphasis on the excitement and experience of the crowd more so then the teams. I love our major teams, but I swear you could go to a chess tournament or a curling match in this town and still find people tailgating in the parking lot and lovingly yelling expletives inside. Its an awesome place to be a fan and we're always ready to root for the home team.
Being Sketchy
I'm working on new sketches for a story revision. Woo! Happy to be back to work on this labor of love. Here's a couple samples with no explanation or context. Ha!
