eclectic artwork & other random things
Back in May I did character design and concept work for another Clarks Pest Control commercial. This time a giant cockroach invades the city and he’s way too much for the army to handle… better call Clark! I love the way Clayt Ratzlaff breathes life into my little two dimensional pictures.
I scribbled this fellow into my sketchbook last night while watching the news and then slopped about fifteen minutes of color on him for good measure… and, yes, I heard something to this effect quite often as a kid…
Quarto Publishing just released a new drawing book by Carlos Gomes Cabral and I was asked to make a “guest artist” appearance in it… and this is it.
It seems people really enjoyed seeing my rather… uhm… humble… beginnings as an artist… so I will go ahead and show you the other sketch I did last weekend.
My very first professional jobs were for Silver Dollar City, a theme park in the Missouri Ozarks. I did three different park maps, coloring books, activity books and miscellaneous other illustrations for various products. For some reason, this weekend I was thinking about those old SDC coloring books. It… Continue Reading “Silver Dollar City Coloring Books”
I’m not sure why they used to call those guys soda jerks but I’m guessing they probably deserved it.
I’ve been doing a lot of “behind the scenes” work that is confidential, but here’s some character development work for a tv commercial that’s close enough to production that I can show. I love the spider Clayt Ratlaff built from my sketches and to see… Continue Reading “It’s Spidey… Man”
We’ve gotten by pretty easily this winter here in Northeastern Indiana, but with snow in the forecast I think it’s time to settle down in front of the fireplace, turn on the NFL playoff games, open the garage door, crank up the Snowbot and tell it to… Continue Reading “Snow In The Forecast”
Concept work is always fun. This is a project I worked on a couple of years ago… a crazy little pack of finger dog puppets. In concept work my role is not to create finished color artwork, but to develop characters and then show them in front, side, three… Continue Reading “Running With The Big Dogs”
Gather ’round kids and I’ll tell you a story of how old timers used to make pictures back in the olden days. As an illustrator, you have to be ready and able to draw anything a client might ask for, so photo reference is a must.… Continue Reading “Antiquated Artist Clip Files”
I’ve been extremely busy for the last several months, so not a lot of posts happening on the old blog. One of my jobs was drawing an old time Salvation Army Band… for the Salvation Army of all people… in Canada – ay! Big fun!
Another snippet from the book I’ve been illustrating. I finished the art, sent everything in to the publisher and the book is due to be printed and available sometime this fall.
The new book I am currently illustrating has a little bit of everything in it. Here’s another snippet showing concept, rough and finished art.
Here’s another small glimpse of the book that I am currently illustrating. I tried something new on this one. On previous books I’ve always figured everything out on paper first. On this one, I did all the “figuring out” on the computer. I first created… Continue Reading “Another Look At The Book”
I’m currently illustrating a new book. The publisher has graciously agreed to allow me to share a few snippets of it, so here’s a small glimpse. The book is scheduled for release in the fall and once we are past the confidentiality stage of… Continue Reading “A New Book In The Works”