jwokrooked

Chicago Theater

2011-12-27T07:03:00.000-08:00

I was asked to illustrate a Chicago landmark for a company card. I took a picture of the building during the day and then went back at night. I tried to convey a mood and ended up romanticizing the building a bit.

I have walked past this building so many times - I was amazed by the colors and beauty of the overall design when I was referencing the photos. I was very pleased with this -- I hope to do a few more landmarks this year since this one was such a pleasure to work on. Can't go wrong with something so classic!
Medium: acrylic with colored pencil on bristol board

Christmas Hydrant

2011-12-25T09:47:00.000-08:00

I actually created a Holiday Card this year...kinda silly, but those that know me get it. Maybe next time I will actually acheive mailing them? (I had a weird cold that threw me off schedule!)

The fun part was painting small, playing with color, experimenting a bit and enjoying some of the "mistakes" that come from working organically.
Medium: acrylic paint and color pencil on bristol board.

Belmont Mural Project

2011-09-07T17:52:00.001-07:00

I participated in a community mural project last month. The mural is a collaboration between neighborhood groups and the Chicago Public Art Group. Lead (awesome/amazing) artists are Tracy Van Duinen and Todd Osborne. They were kind enough to give me prime real estate within the mural to paint a bird. The bird is roughly 4ft x 5.5ft. It is the first bird that you see when turning left onto Belmont from LSD. The last picture is a photo I took from the bike path -- boaters, feel free to HOLLA!!

Branding a Wedding

2011-06-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

I was commissioned to design a label for a very customized wedding. The couple wanted me to illustrate blooming roses arranged in the shape of a heart to fit a 2" x 2" sticker that would be placed on the gift for the guests (a cookie with a recipe specifically created for the couple by a chef). In an effort to not let it look like clip-art, after a few versions I settled on one blooming rose in the shape of a rose. Due to the small size, I finalized it as vector art. A few days before the wedding the groom wanted a JPG formatted for a slide show -- when I arrived at the reception two very large projector screens greeted me with my design -- VERY COOL!! I was very pleased that an illustration made for such a small format could hold its own when projected (the beautiful room dressed up in red and gold helped as well).

King For A Day

2011-03-20T20:02:00.001-07:00

Nothing wrong with being King For A Day! I inked the monster, however, I do plan on building the city (inside the monsters mouth) in Illustrator. I am not solid on how I want the buildings to look just yet, so the development will be smoother tweaking it digitally.

Inspired Art - Charity Art Project

2010-10-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

Above is an illustration I created for a charity art project called the Inspired Art Project. It is a 16x20 inch mixed media piece (marker | ink | colored pencil). The Inspired Art Project enlisted local artists to create and donate original works, inspired by original poetry written by the youth of America SCORES Chicago’s after school program. The artwork will be showing October 14-19th, 2010 at the South Halsted Gallery (1825 S. Halsted, Chicago, IL).
*Details regarding the auction and purchasing the artwork will be announced soon on the Inspired Art Blog.

The poem I chose is below. It was so simple that I had to find a way to complicate things. My interpretation of the poem stemmed from me pretending the poet, K. LeCalvion wrote the poem as a coded description of a creature he bumped into. The character turned out a bit quirky, but I wanted to stay away from a literal interpretation as much as possible.

To See

The sky is sunny
It’s a nice day to explore
To see the deer running past
To see the colorful fish in the stream
To see the snakes slither past
To see the bears eat honey
To see the monkeys swing in the trees

LeCalvion K., age 9
Washington Irving Elementary

Quirky Bird - Complete!

2010-08-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

Quirky Bird has been on my shelf for a while...FINALLY I had a chance to get around to it. I am open to tweaking the colors later on and having one or two different versions, but the line work will stay the same. I added stylized elements that would give this piece the same off-beat feeling as Crazy Frog -- however, I neutralized the colors on the bird for a more bittersweet melancholy expression. Bittersweet it is!

Traditional Portrait Of Indian Wedding

2010-03-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

Above is a 24x30 inch painting that was commissioned to be a gift for a 30th anniversary (acrylic on illustration board). With a handful of life's demands that I am juggling these days—the portrait was completed within one month!

While working directly from a 5x6 inch photo, I was able to take some creative-license with the details (specifically the henna, the pattern on her dress, and the flowers in the background since the client wanted them a bit larger). The fun/challenging part of working on this was the skin tones and trying iridescent paint for the first time—when the light hits areas of the dress, light dances across it—very cool—without being tacky (which I was afraid of, but was relieved with the tasteful results). This specific project reminded me of how much I love working with my hands, eyes, faces and paint. I love my computer, but give me a moment, a face, a paint brush and a nice nook to work in (with some coffee) — that is perfection.

Sketchtime

2010-02-07T12:25:00.000-08:00

This year will be an interesting one on a creative level -- having been MIA for a while on here, I thought it was time to share a rough of a character that I have had in my head for a while. This is a page from my sketch book -- often my habit is to sketch a concept and tell myself that I will work on it later...the black and white sketch taped in the upper left corner was my original that I kept on my desk for MONTHS. At one point, I even accidentally threw it away and had to fish it out; but then for some reason I (again) let it sit for a month or two more. Hm. The good news is that he is still on my creative agenda and now that he is on my blog he is here to stay. I like to keep the original sketches on hand to remind myself what my original intention was. Development is often a winding path-- the mini sketch or outline helps me stay focused and not get too carried away. Something about the combination of his mustache, hat and eyes makes me happy -- can't wait to move forward on this!

Quirky Bird-Color 1

2009-12-30T21:44:00.000-08:00

While I haven't posted new work in a while, here is a version of the Quirky Bird that I have been playing around with. I like strong colors and have been experimenting with textures for a while but have yet to find an ideal balance (although this version is without the cleaner linework and stripes). I am hoping to revise this one soon-- the colors and accents combined with the gradients are a mess. Honestly, I let this one sit around for so long I figured that if I post this "incomplete" it will motivate me to FIX it. Nothing wrong with a little reverse psychology on ones self!!

Water Barrel Update!

2009-12-30T21:22:00.000-08:00

The water barrel is currently on exhibit at the Center for Green Technology (445 North Sacramento Boulevard, Chicago IL 60612) and is part of the 2010 curated show at the City of Chicago's Center for Green Technology. It will be part of the first rotation and will be displayed until January 19th. Above is a close up image of the white bear specifically because he is my favorite character featured on the barrel.

Water Barrel for Chicago Conservation Project

2009-10-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

A month ago, I painted a water barrel that is part of a conservation project for Chicago. Primary website is www.recycletheraindrops.com. My barrel (the one shown above) will be on exhibit @ Columbia College's GreenTown Chicago Conference on October 14/15 at 1104 S. Wabash. Conference website is www.greentownconference.com. The conference is not open to the public, however my barrel will eventually be placed somewhere in Chicago, so stay tuned, I will post the location when it is official!

Barrel is about 4ft tall and painted with acrylic paint. I was given the opportunity to paint whatever I wanted as long as it was appropriate for public viewing and the imagery covered the whole barrel—while this type of creative freedom doesn't come along often, I wanted to create something that would make me smile if I were walking down a street in Chicago and spotted it on the corner. They requested that I submit a statement regarding my self-assigned theme, this is my summary:

The general theme of the rain barrel is that we all share the same home (Earth) and we are all in this together. Water conservation is a serious topic that I wanted to rewrite as approachable with a playful depiction of animals tucked in a life saver floating elbow-to-elbow in water. A sun is at the top of the barrel circling the opening to symbolized water, life, and hope.

Quirky Bird

2009-08-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

Above is how the I Know I Can - Quirky Twin turned out when I cleaned up the line work. I am officially renaming it Quirky Bird now that it feels to have surpassed where I thought I was going with it. This is a different character entirely and is no longer a twin of anything as far as I am concerned. I am all for simplicity when it comes to sweet innocent characters. . .however, when working on a character like the Quirky Bird, simplicity tends to fly out the window (cheesy pun intended). Complex characters have complex stories and, in turn, are surrounded by complexity. Hmmmm. . .sounds like someone is projecting.

Muglove 2

2009-08-12T15:14:00.000-07:00

Here is Muglove with the linework cleaned up. I am really starting to love this one. I took the thumbs out on purpose and will put them back in. I like how complex the image has become, but it looks heavy; I plan to work that out in the next stage.

Crazy Frog -- Quirky Twin

2009-08-07T19:13:00.001-07:00

Here is another "quirky twin" based off of the original. Unlike my last entry, this image is final and has color. This image filled itself in pretty easily -- I can't help but make up a dialogue in my head about what these two may be negotiating. This leans toward creepy/dreamy/fantastical -- not sure if this passes for "children's illustration" anymore. . .

I Know I Can -- Quirky Twin

2009-08-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

I titled this piece as a "quirky twin" for a reason.
This sketch is based off of the original "I Know I Can" birdy. I have a darker style to my character development that I often fight but genuinely get a kick out of every time I surrender to it. Having spent over seven years in the consumer product industry, I have been trained to think that happy/approachable sells. I have all these rules in my head that I have heard from Marketing departments and Sales teams that vary industry to industry, but nonetheless are still in the back of my mind when I am creating something. I often wonder what my work would look like if I didn't have "industry standards" in my reference bank.

While I like upbeat and sweet characters -- the ugly•beautiful ones (like the one above) really make my eyes flutter and get my hands itchy for more.
I have a feeling that I have been holding off rebuilding my website because I do not see much of "me" represented in some of the work I have been creating as of late. I think if I do more pieces like the one above, I will see more of my sarcasm and whimsically-dark-instinctively-sweet side. . .and, in turn, rebuild the website to reflect both sides of my talent.

Above is an example of what happens when I stop trying to make characters have mass-appeal and really push myself to pair an emotion with a character and make the image appealing/beautifully•ugly to ME. When I do this, a unique environment usually builds itself around the character much more easily than the happy/bright characters. I do believe that our surroundings effect how we present ourselves to others and how we feel. I am very amused when an environment builds itself so easily and naturally like it did in this sketch -- Can't wait to bring this to full color!

TOWN HOOPTY Complete

2009-07-30T19:33:00.001-07:00

Town Hoopty -- complete! Well, for now, anyway. I have two other pieces similar in theme that I have in mind so I can have 3 as a collection. When those are complete, I will go back into this one and tweak it a bit.

Specifically, I want to add some movement and blur effects to the wheels. I am tempted to create a version that has a border to play up the messy plane/helicopter trails -- but that will be better explored after I figure out the other two pieces.

Town Hoopty

2009-07-29T12:58:00.001-07:00

This project is one of those that you fall in more and more in love with while you are working on it. Then again, I do have a strange affection for saying "Town Hooptie" outloaud. :)

Below is my original rough sketch and above is a happy in between stage.

There is still much to do -- among a few things-- shading needs to be added behind the buildings, behind the overall image, texture in the background would make the buildings pop (still debating on how much is too much) and the pavement needs some work (FPO for now).

STRENGTH

2009-07-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

It has been a bittersweet month with all the good news and bad news that is making this summer memorable. I am close with a few people out there that are working through some health struggles lately. . .unfortunately, I will be sending out three cards this month that will feature the above image on the face of the card.

Anyone out there that feels the need to send a card like this to someone they love, know, or are thinking of, is welcome to send me an email requesting the PDF file -- no charge/FREE.

The card measures 6.75" width x 5" height (requires typical midsize envelope).

Muglove

2009-07-24T12:45:00.001-07:00

Lately, I have been jumping around creatively and have started to produce images that have collected on my to-do list for sometime. This is one of them. The portrait from the mug is an image I always loved but never actively went anywhere with it (previously posted here for Illustration Friday). Just when I thought it couldn't get any warmer, it really does -- I like the image within this context.

Sibling Rivalry

2009-07-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

Below is an original rough-rough concept sketch of a primitive/tribal/hair pulling dispute between siblings. Above is how I modified my sketch in Photoshop (cut/paste/resized, etc).

Both images are a sneak peek of stages that I would never show a client unless I have worked for them before and they trust my vision/pace. For blog purposes, it is a valuable step to view when trying to grasp a persons creative process (especially for those students out there that think everything an artist creates is perfect). I love the subject matter and I am leaning toward a goth/tribal style which will be fun when I clean it up.

Bark & Bite 2

2009-07-21T16:45:00.001-07:00

I guess I should change the name to "Make My Day". . . we shall see. I revised the details and positioning from what I had in the original. I like this version much better.

Nautical Relief

2009-07-15T13:48:00.001-07:00

Here is another fishy piece -- for some reason I can't stop making scenarios/people/objects have some type of fish element tied into them. Best thing to do is to stop fighting it. . .I was out with a friend who (in my opinion) is more stylish than I. Her hair is pretty short so when she pulls it back it looks short and spikey. . .or, if you are me, it looks like a fishtail. While this is the rough, I am going to make this look like an actual ad for sunglasses. I have two other versions that play with this theme as well.

I laugh at the truth that is tied the image where I have "Fishing Gear" written in on the right side--I do believe my stylish friend would consider the sunglasses all she needs to go fishing with her hubby and his guys. . .while it is funny for me, I will continue to call this one Nautical Relief.

Bark & Bite

2009-07-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

Above is a sample of my humor that tends to be a bit "off", as well as an interesting way to incorporate a fishy-twist. Yes, I was in a mood when I did this one.

It is a rough sketch that, unless you are quirky like me -- I guess I need to clarify what is what. The gun is a shark who is all "bark". The little fish is a grenade who is all "bite". I plan on cleaning this up and making the fish characteristics more clear. Fun/silly piece. . .or violent. . .Now that I look at it -- this would make a great "Make My Day" t-shirt with a little work. :)

Magestic Elephant / Blk & Wht

2009-06-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

With anything I work on these days, I tend to create a black and white version when playing with layers and line work. Above is a sample of this in between stage (as vector) as I work out the kinks in my mind regarding what color will be used and how. Original sketches can be found through the Magestical Elephant link.

Tribe Vibe

2009-06-15T05:50:00.001-07:00

I was on the bus a while ago, eavesdropping on four guys that were decked out head-to-toe in Nike gear (including socks and flip flops). While color and style differed (and they each wore different baseball hats), the swooshes did not. One guy even had a swoosh on his knee.

While I am not anti-Nike and genuinely love the quality of their products, I am anti-branding myself. I tend to not buy clothing that has an obvious over-branded mark/label/color to it. The idea of me paying others to advertise for them bothers me. Additionally, when I see it in excess on others, I wonder how it doesn't bother them. With that said, I would love to work on graphics for a Nike shoe or hoodie, however, I can rationalize this borderline hypocracy as one relating to personal identity and the other to professional identity. Tricky.

Tribes have been an interesting subject for me lately. Who we associate with, what we look like, where we go and how we behave/think automatically pulls us toward one tribe or another whether we like it or not. The Nike-guy-tribe that I encountered was so over-swooshed that I had to illustrate it somehow. So, with no offense to Nike, I made the guys into Matryoshka dolls, gave them swooshes for their eyes/mouthes and accented their outfits with swooshes as their tribal markings.

Organization

2009-06-13T12:37:00.001-07:00

Religion is a concept that I always find myself debating with someone. The other day I asked a friend what top three words were synonymous with religion (in general/in his eyes). One of the words he said was "organization" (ironically, Jesus/Allah/Christ and faith didn't make the cut). In a society where our schools have become businesses and religion can be summarized as an organization, the above piece is what I came up with. Stylistically, I felt that if I went the ornate route I would get too carried away with the details verses the message, so I kept it rough and to the point. ..Below is a version that I experimented with textures a bit. A "sprituality" seems to be more present but considering the statement, I feel the black and white version is equally strong.

Magestic Elephant

2009-06-09T16:11:00.000-07:00

Above is a private piece that gains meaning the longer I work on it. The slightly colored version on the left is the original rough/sketch. The black and white version on the right is the cleaned/revised/current version.

I can honestly say that I remember where I was when I began this piece. Oddly, similarities to where I was in life at the time I created the rough is the reason I am revisiting it. Also, my recent obsession over a sculptors work (Chen Wenling) has reminded me of my illustrative roots.
Roots that, well, an artist can grow and set them aside, but I am becoming convinced that one can never completely let them go.

I am continually pulled to the "size relationship" of beauty verses ugly in my mind. I struggle with it on paper—what beauty is, what ugly is, who exactly decides these things for us, which one has more power/weight. . . . .and what (in the end) seems to esthetically prevail.

Is it true that ugly people see ugly things and beautiful people see beautiful things?

Craving

2009-06-05T09:17:00.001-07:00

Finally have time to post something for Illustration Friday - Yay!
I guess I'm feeling a bit edgy today. . .

Love Rules

2009-05-27T13:54:00.001-07:00

It has been too long since I last posted -- been busy with more than a few things. I am having a good day today and thought I would share a very loving Lion from a while ago. The image above is called Love Rules and was originally created for a very cool/funny/clever guy named Justin who was/is/will forever be obsessed with the Lion King. :)

Close. . .No Cigar!

2009-04-27T09:49:00.001-07:00

Above are pictures of how posters were exhibited at the award ceremony for the poster contest held on the ninth floor of the Harold Washington library last week. While I did not win, I am still ecstatic to have made it to the top 30 when 175 people entered their designs. The winner (chosen by the judges) was Holly Miller with her Patchwork design. Congratulations Holly! Always a joy to participate in Chicago!

Sharpie® Tribute

2009-04-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

Every artist has their favorite tool -- mine is a permanent black Sharpie®. Above is a recent tribute to Sharpie® and my (hopefully) last draft of the Get Ugly with Brilliance character. The color and white areas are Prismacolor pencil. I used leftover gray scrap board (generic) that I originally purchased for something else.

I have a pesky habit of buying frames at resale stores and thrift stores. I threw away over a dozen when I moved; these three I kept with me through my move and was determined to put them to use. Glad I did. I was clumsy enough to break one of the pieces of glass, so I went for the matte look (which, I generally prefer, so I am still surprised at my initial disappointment when I shattered the glass). I have an ideal spot for this guy -- right above my computer, since he makes me smile every time I look at him.. .and I spend too much time on my computer; smiling while I work is always a bonus.

"Get Ugly with Brilliance" -- Top 30!

2009-04-17T19:14:00.000-07:00

Yay! Today is a good day -- I received news this morning that my "Get Ugly with Brilliance" design/poster was chosen as one of the 30 finalists in the ChiPubLib.org Design Contest. (Nope, the colorful lame laptop design did not make the cut -- this also deserves a "yay!")

Glad to make it to the top 30 -- movin' on up!!

Ugly with Brilliance

2009-04-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

Looking back at the rules & guidelines of the Chicago Public Library poster contest—I noticed the request for the submitted images to work on both the poster format and on a t-shirt. I went back and decided to set aside the colorful technique I started with and create more of a silk-screen friendly image that hip people like myself would be willing to wear.

Not as a night shirt.

Outside.

Without a coat on.

The revised illustration contains new subject matter and pleasantly leans toward the rebel-esque Not What You Think advertising campaign the contest is linked to. The other day, I was talking with a friend about art and artists; not everything an artist creates is "good". Often, some pieces are only so-so or simply an experiment with technique (that was my slick non-apology but admittance that my first poster is weak and was a playful excercise for me). :)

I came up with the Get Ugly with Brilliance tag line—love it!

Chi_Pub_Lib_Org Poster

2009-04-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

To break up the monotony and to push myself to try new things, I often find local contests or art projects to participate in. The Chicago Public Library has one going on right now—above is my submission. While the one with the laptop explosion is the final version—I am specifically happy with the texture technique I used on the text. At the top, I posted a version of the text isolated and slightly lightened (my favorite part). I will be playing around with these colors and this technique with other pieces. I do like color. . .

A Very Poised Lily

2009-03-27T21:08:00.000-07:00

Funny—I started this image in hopes of threading a "protect your own" theme with Lily's striking stare. . .but settled on a very intense doggy-don't-you-dare-glare.

Lucky me—Poise is Illustration Friday's theme.

Clownin'

2009-03-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

I have officially moved! I have unpacked, shuffled items around to be visually pleasing and I am (finally) able to get back to some fun illustration pieces. Hopefully my blog posting will be back to a regular pace. More to come this week! The smokin' bunny is an old favorite of mine I felt worthy of sharing today. Not very child-friendly but it matches my mood.

Sea Chicken

2009-03-04T11:02:00.000-08:00

I am in the process of packing/moving/purging and have discovered quite a few treasures. The image above is from three years ago. Oddly, it has sentimental value and symbolizes the beginning of an era. Posting it on my blog represents the end—I will be leaving Graceland (that is what I call my apartment complex) by the end of this month.

This Sea Chicken has had a good run—time to leave it and many other things behind. Thank you, Sea Chicken, for your service.

Breezy

2009-02-27T16:40:00.000-08:00

I have been a bad blogger lately—busy with a few projects that have yet to see daylight. With that said (and with very little time today). . .I am posting a favorite sketch I did of my sister back in the day when her hair was long and we both lived within walking distance (miss you).

Illustration Friday's theme is "breezy". . .

Website Launched!

2009-02-16T14:45:00.000-08:00

My posts have been limited due to me obsessing over building the starter pages of my website. Today is the first "launch day" where I was able to test it out and be sure that it functions as expected.

Applause, applause—It is up and running! For now I am sticking with the jwokrooked domain name. . .go to www.jwokrooked.com to see all the handy work. I tried to keep it as clean and simple as possible—I have never enjoyed visiting sites that had background colors and crazy links popping out from everywhere, so you will see that while my artwork is expressive in nature, when it comes to function—I am a minimalist at heart.

To the lovely people that are following my blog, I invite you to visit the portrait link on my website. I included a few traditional portraits that I created before I started this blog. They are more traditional in style, represent my core illustration skills and the variety of mediums that I play around with.

The exciting thing about having the skeleton of my site up and running is that I can now focus on the work that will be featured on it. Yay!

Traveler

2009-02-10T11:02:00.000-08:00

I am renaming this Traveler—It is a better fit. Traveler complete! If you compare this version to where I last left off (El Girl and Bus Girl) you can see the development in the photo work and how the added vector art really pushes this image to completion. What I really like about this piece is the collage-dream-mood that was created with the layers of images while keeping its sassy-street depth. I kept the el tracks/map generic as an anywhere/anyhow statement. Here is a close-up of the color work in her face:

Bus Girl = El Girl

2009-02-07T09:11:00.000-08:00

I have been reworking this for about a week. It has come a long way, so while it is incomplete, the image above shows a great middle-stage regarding the development. With much clean-up still needed, many elements are working while being a bit murky compared to Disco Dancin. . .so much will have to be simplified and toned down a bit. Composition-wise, I am happy. I revised the background from the original Bus Girl sketch to be horizontal and on the el. Much better.

The challenge with this piece is that I wanted to combine my marker work with photography and vector art in a way that I had always envisioned but avoided, thinking it was impractical. Viewing it now, I cannot say that I dislike it. My goal is to allow a seamlessness between elements and this piece is not there yet. One surprise, that I really do like, is how the vector gradations compliment the marker work in the girls face. Kool. When I get to the final I will post a few close-ups so the details can be viewed.

New Blog Header

2009-01-31T13:14:00.000-08:00

While I am working on a variety of items. . .I revised the header while I was taking a break. The one at the top is the most recent, the one in the center was a transition stage and the one at the bottom was the very first version. Glad to see my style is evolving.

Lily in Color

2009-01-26T20:35:00.000-08:00

Lily is moving along. This is a healthy stage to share what is and is not working. This is my color stage before moving to the computer to clean up lines, change colors and clarify the composition a bit more. I am satisfied with the lil pup added in the center—its gaze is as engaging as I had intended. Something about the gray markings on the two larger dogs works on paper but not on the screen, so that will get considerable attention. I'd like to say this is "half-way there" but I know there are quite a bit more steps that need to be taken with it. It is safe to say that I am just getting started.

Lily

2009-01-25T21:27:00.000-08:00

In an effort to work on a piece that is similar in style as Disco Dancin yet different in subject matter—and not a portrait of a person—I started a sassy/sweet illustration of a crazy dog named Lily. Above is the first sketch.

I like the mirror image thing that is going on and I love playing with size relationships. In an effort to add an emotional pull with direct eye contact, I am going to add a smaller dog between them. I am leaning toward a "protect your own" theme. It will be interesting to see how the dog expressions will balance against the younger dog, help lead the viewers eye and play up the side glances the two dogs are currently throwing off.

I have an idea of where I am leaning with the composition but need to work out the smaller dog scenario first so I am certain that it will work. Also, this is similar to how I didn't discuss the disco ball in Disco Dancin until I put it on paper—no need to sabotage the development process.

Climbing

2009-01-24T12:17:00.001-08:00

After a long week of being late for many things. . .here is an image for Illustration Friday on a Saturday. Since it is a narrow piece—enlarge it to see the white accents and color work.

I Know I Can—Tweaked

2009-01-19T11:12:00.000-08:00

I went into the original I Know I Can image and adjusted the style by adding a similar pattern and changing select colors. Now the style is more consistent with the Crazy Frog and Rooster Racket illustrations. Sigh—much better!

Crazy Frog—Complete!

2009-01-17T14:14:00.000-08:00

I completed the frog without incorporating the new marker/ink style layer as I had hoped to. I do like that the frog is stylistically consistent with the Rooster Racket cover I created early on—except the frog has bolder color choices. To review the development of this piece see Crazy Frog and Resolve.

Disco Dancin—Done

2009-01-16T14:13:00.000-08:00

Here it is. I tried not to scare myself with the disco ball concept. Considering that the reference picture was taken on a dance floor, I felt it was appropriate and think that it turned out better than I originally thought. I knew I wanted the d-ball to have colors, not be too distracting, work with the heavy black on the side of his face and still play off the colors I used in the face rendering with a soft/fuzziness not used elsewhere. After I create at least one or two more samples in this style, I can use this image for self promotion.

To follow the development of the image above see Color Play 2. It has been a while since I posted children's illustration—I should have something by the end of the weekend.

Pale

2009-01-16T11:39:00.001-08:00

With the Illustration Friday topic being pale—I was tempted to create a porcelain angel of a little girl image staring at the moon or kissing a white bird. . .but settled on a buggy goth kid that forgot his lipstick. It is an odd Friday, so I figured I would go with it.

Bus Girl

2009-01-15T15:45:00.000-08:00

This is pretty strange—I have started and stopped on this one numerous times, never quite feeling like much was being accomplished. It was always the expression or the eye work that never sat well with me. With the ultra-colorful version at the top created most recently—I am beginning to see a direction (composition is at right).

Looking back, I think the actual age of the female was the problem. I will have a lot of play with the background but am leaning toward monochromatic in my minds eye‚the girl needs to pop. There are a couple of things that need to be tweaked but overall, I finally feel as though she is closer than ever.

Color Play 2

2009-01-14T20:31:00.000-08:00

The portrait is moving along. If you compare this version to the original
(Color Play 1) you can see a few changes have been made. The perimeter size is enlarged, more shoulder was added, the circle that was suggested in the background has been moved to the upper left corner and shadows/lines have been made very black for added contrast. In my head I have a plan for this but need to work through it a bit more before I discuss it.

As mentioned in my previous post, I am struggling with wanting to make the whole image vector art; but considering that this will likely never be printed larger than 20x20 inches—I should be in the clear keeping half my original flawed marker/ink/color pencil work and half vector art. This is going to be much more of a complex image than originally planned. I added more vector accents than I expected but love clean line paired with strong colors. No need to hold back if I am my own Art Director. Worst case scenario, I delete them if they bug me in the end.

The interesting thing about creating images is that when you are the person creating the layers, seeing the errors, categorizing all the options you chose not to move forward with, you take on a warped idea of what your work is doing as a whole. It is usually at this point that I set a piece aside and revisit it at a later date with fresh eyes. However, I am excited about the background concept and have a feeling I will not set this aside until that is complete. Ideally, this will be close to being done by this weekend-early-next-weekish.

New Blog Header

2009-01-14T13:28:00.001-08:00

My blog header has been revised—above is the before (gray & yellow) and after. The gray and yellow now looks dated since I have a new stylistic direction. Plus, I pieced that together pretty quickly while understanding that I was going to change it. With that said, it should be revised sometime mid-year, since I expect to have pushed the style a little further by then. Nothing is meant to stay the same but in the meantime—love the new color!

Color Play

2009-01-10T17:57:00.000-08:00

This is a great stage to introduce this piece and simply begin talking about it. This is a very cool portrait of my father making a face that runs in my family (my sister does it as well). Up to this point, I am unsure of what will be going on in the background but am very satisfied with the color work so far (note: the background color is subject to change). Most of it is marker, color pencil and ink. One fourth of it has vector art highlights. While I love the brightness of the marker and mild texture it adds; I am tempted to rebuild the whole portrait as vector art to see what that would look like. Ultimately, I want to stay away from making this feel flat or seem "too digital". Holding me back from doing 100% vector art is the fact that I like seeing perfect vector circles paired with my imperfect line work. It is visually appealing to me. I think this is a stylistic quirk of mine that I should play around with for a while.

I have three other pieces that I hope to incorporate this type of marker-color-splash style into. Something tells me to finish this one before I get the other three to this point—if I finish it by next week I can review my steps and look for shortcuts when working on the other three.

Also, there is an irony—and a degree of excitement—in the fact that the children's illustration that I have done up to this point is very digital. The Art Director in me ventures to say that most pieces are kind of flat. While many are strong in composition and concept (mostly) there is a uniqueness that is missing. Seeing the image above on my blog, looking back at the work I have done up to this point, I would even say that the over-expressiveness of the characters is trying to compensate for the computer medium and does not contain the colorful hand-drawn freedom as the piece above. Yikes. Yes, every artist is their worst critic—I believe that is true in my case as well. Nonetheless—self critique is a necessary evil and it works! This week I will be going back into a few pieces to see if I can create a hybrid style that combines my two strengths: marker/ink hand-drawn illustrations and vector art. This may be the push I needed to hit a turning point in the style that I am building.

Safariglyphics Revised

2009-01-09T16:20:00.000-08:00

This week has been a long one. While I haven't posted much, I have been eyebrow deep in learning a few new things that will make me more marketable next week. With that said, today has been an odd one. The kind of day that you sit down to start one thing, get pulled toward another and then the whole time you spend on the image you just can't figure out what lead you there.

Above is a finished version of Safariglyphics. I honestly never thought I would revisit this one. Considering how I dragged my feet and put this in my rainy day pile—there is not much to say about it now except for problem solved!

Farm Brat Pack Series—Complete!

2009-01-04T13:50:00.001-08:00

Above is the complete Farm Brat Pack series—it is always a good day when you set a goal and can meet it! I have another version featuring a thicker perimeter that incorporates a pattern around each image, but for online/blog purposes, the thinner perimeter is shown. Also, I can't wait to have these printed true scale so I can see how well the extra texture work on the characters translates. Note: Since the images above are being viewed online, the accents appear soft and subtle.

I spent more time on the text than usual but that actually helped the overall feel of these. I am pretty sure not showing the titles as two separate words (Bath time, Snack time and Nap time) will bother a few language purists out there—I will wait and see if anyone complains. Very happy that I took the Bathtime piece and created two more within the same style—I am tempted to do one more so I have a complete set of four.

Brat Pack X 3

2009-01-03T15:48:00.000-08:00

While spending a sizable amount of time on the Illustration Friday frog, I also pushed my Brat Pack series to where all three pieces are at an equal stage of development. Just a week ago I semi-completed the Bathtime image and decided to keep the Snacktime and Naptime pieces equally simple. Now all that is needed is texture, text and I am debating about pinching the image (as the perimeter of the original Bathtime is) and adding a border to tie them all together a bit more.

These three are along the lines of sweet-sad child-friendly characters that I tend to lean toward creating. I think I actually cannot decide which one I like more—now that is the best problem for an artist to have.

Resolve

2009-01-02T12:08:00.000-08:00

This frog is going to get that bug with or without his tongue!

This is my third Illustration Friday and finally there was a topic that allowed me to participate as well as continue working on a piece that was already in development. Nice!

I started this illustration in December—the rough was posted under the title Crazy Frog—and then became busy with something else. The good news is that I solved many issues with this round, so this exercise definitely knocked down two birds with one stone. The medium is marker, colored pencil and a little bit of clean-up in Photoshop. The goal with this froggy fun is to now move to vector art and revise the style to be similar to how I treated the Rooster Racket. Although, I will make a point of playing with all the stripes and dots to keep the quirkiness that the version above contains.

Marker, Pen & Correction Fluid

2009-01-01T15:47:00.000-08:00

I received some positive responses via email regarding the Bloody Bed Head portrait recently posted. Since yesterday was New Year's Eve, I didn't have time to work on much. . .so here is another portrait from the past that (to me) is a solid example of illustrative skill paired with cheap materials. Artists—you have no excuses if you think you "cannot afford" art materials. The image above may only be 4x4 (inches) however, it was COMPLETELY created with marker, pen and correctional fluid (White Out®) then (slightly) cleaned up in Photoshop (only because I spilled water on part of it).

I do not have the original reference picture but I do remember that the image I used was of a slightly distraught little girl (around age 5-6) that I took at a wedding—you wouldn't know that from what I turned it into. I remember making subtle tweaks to push the image toward being more creepy and mysterious like stretching the forehead wider, reducing the size of the chin and playing with the size and placement of the eyes within the art space. I did actually take this image and try to recreate a larger version on canvas, however, it didn't have the strength of the original small/marker/roughness and ended up looking a bit blah. I can't explain it but (in the larger version) the mystery was gone.

When I do portraiture and use a photo reference the challenge for me is to transform it into something new by pushing it to be something it never was OR accenting an emotional element that I imagine there to be. Ultimately, I aim for likeness but make it my own art piece (unless I am aiming for a very traditional "tribute" style).

Bloody Bed Head

2008-12-29T14:12:00.001-08:00

OK, so most of my blog (to date) has catered to children's illustration and silly doodles. I am getting a bit squirrelly with the subject matter (cows, pigs, oh-my) and need to start sharing more variety so we all don't get bored.

I love faces, character, eyes, hair and expressions. If you are my friend and I happen to take a picture of you, it is very likely that I will use it for reference in some of my work (family is included in this assumption). My portraiture work ranges from traditional to, well, not-so-traditional.

The image with the blue background (at the top) is named Bloody Bed Head. Originally I intended to add tons of color and sass to the hair and have the face be a secondary feature. The orange version is the rough that pushed me toward making the colors bleed into each other and make the face and hair an equal statement. The orange rough was too warm so I switched the skin and background to cool it off. I made the t-shirt white to break it up a bit. I have tried a few backgrounds with this without success. Maybe something will come to me later.

Overall, this is my favorite piece from 2008. Note: I do not have a set medium for my portrait work and tend to choose the medium based on the image. When I post more samples of portraiture work this will be more evident. Medium for Bloody Bed Head: Mixed media (color pencil, ink, gouache and a some digital work).

Farm—Brat Pack

2008-12-27T19:49:00.000-08:00

Well, one major holiday has past and I can finally get back to more regular posts! This animal/bubble bath sketch has been sitting in my "to do" pile for a while—glad to be this close to scratching it off my list!

I was hesitating working on this because originally the necks of all the animals were going to be springs (similar to a simplistic slinky). While I like the idea—it was not working on the page. Instead I incorporated the "bean-like" torso shape that I used in the Rooster Racket Spread (11/30/08) on the cows/pigs. This resolved the neck issue.

The yellow sketch was the first concept (with the slinky necks). The one beside it (at right) was the streamlined version where I eliminated the turtle/horse and reworked the torso's. A cow, pig, sheep and duck seem like a better grouping for a "brat pack". The full color version at the top is close to complete, however, I am working on a "Snacktime" and "Naptime" illustration that is featuring the same characters and the same style. Ideally, when I have the other two developed to this stage I can line up all three, push the texture further toward a soft grit and pop in a few more patterns. I love droopy eyes—very sweet.

Monkey Business

2008-12-23T20:34:00.001-08:00

This is a xmas present for a special someone—check your email!

Voices

2008-12-19T12:55:00.000-08:00

Since the topic this week is "voices" I thought I would share some of the voices that I often hear in my own head. Cupcakes. . .mmmmm. Love is love.

Doggie Day

2008-12-17T14:47:00.000-08:00

I have had a few people inquire about the dog that I was using as my image in the "About Me" portion of this blog. For those that wonder—the dog is not mine—it is an old friend's. I used it on the blog because the neon colors, heavy handed black line and murky marker work is very much in tune with what a good half of my funky illustration work looks like. Also, I like it because he is incomplete (just like this blog). I plan on the background changing to be more of a Chicago landscape, increase the height of the piece so you can see the dog tags, add a few layers of acrylic work to the dog to resolve the murkiness issue and to set more of a mood.

Broken Birdie

2008-12-15T22:33:00.001-08:00

I have been sitting on this sketch for a while. Originally I intended on incorporating text surrounding the bird as a simplistic background but the scenario evolved into something more bittersweet than imagined. Also, I have been working on textiles paired with stylized environmental elements and I was itching to incorporate the cloud in something. So here it is. I can still push this a bit further. I may play with the colors but overall (for a Monday) I am happy with the progress. Looking at this makes me want to go back into the Butterfly Kisses spot art and incorporate some of the pattern accents used in the cloud above so both pieces have more of the same style. Ditto on the I Know I Can chick. We shall see.

Now that I am pulling together rounds of sketches and placing them beside the more finished pieces (instead of throwing them away)—it is interesting to see where I am maximizing my time and at what point I add specific characteristics. If a rough sketch is rough enough that I can't decide if a bird has feet or what is going on around the character I focus on working on areas that I know need to change. When I moved from the rough to the clean sketch, I really wanted to pinpoint the shape of the bird. After completing that I moved to my messy marker habit/stage and added the accents (dots/curls/heavy outline). This helps me figure out what can be played up and what needs to be subdued. Plus, I love the neon green/heavy magenta hyper color; I have a feeling when I move on to streamlining my portraiture style, this hyper color will be tied into them more so than I can do with children-related subject matter.

Crazy Frog

2008-12-13T15:37:00.000-08:00

I have been away from illustrating for a few days --- busy, busy, busy! Here is a new expressive sketch. Yep, I guess I am not dropping the expressive tongue thing but you have to admit that it works! This is the rough ink/marker work. . .colored vector art coming soon!

FABULOUS HOLIDAY!

2008-12-04T15:45:00.000-08:00

I will admit—I have never personally created my own Christmas/Holiday card (bad artist). However, I never imagined that my first would end up looking like the one above. All I did was draw a cute (innocent) snowman that was dancin' around a bit. . .little did I know that I would give him a Miss. Foozie twist. So here it is—my first card! While this will not end up as a sample of my kid-friendly illustration work—I did smile while developing it. I dedicate this to Kevin—the only man that has better legs than me and has no shame in proving it. While this will not be sent to many (or ANY), I do believe it will make me smile every time I look at it and that is good enough for me.

This is also an example of what I do when I hit a creative wall—I get a bit sassy in my work. I have been reviewing the pieces that I started this blog with and am pretty frustrated. I can draw and create characters/digital art—so what?! There is not a consistent style and that is a huge weakness when building work to market yourself with. . .the style that artists create for themselves is the #1 reason that they are hired. I don't have it yet and am searching/experimenting. The Holiday card was my way of telling myself to lighten up a bit and not be so hard on myself regarding the generic appeal of the work I have built so far. So, here's a heads-up: while I hit more walls, expect more sass. The good thing is that I have an idea of where I am going and am beginning to see a pattern in my work.

Butterfly Kisses

2008-12-02T14:59:00.000-08:00

While this spot art was originally called Butterfly Knot—here is a good example of how meaning can change when developing a visual. The delicate line work and soft colors pushed it toward something very different than what I originally had in mind. While "earth" tributes are overdone these days—I am calling this one Butterfly Kisses because I do feel Mother Nature is going to self heal from everything humans have done to her. I think I surprised myself with this one -- the odd shaped butterflies and the whimsy line work are elements I will pull into other pieces.

Butterfly Knot—Sketch

2008-11-30T14:05:00.000-08:00

This is another sketch that I made recently—Butterfly Knot. I am working on the line work now. The swirls, dots and colors of all the butterflies will dominate more than an individual butterfly. I am debating about patterns that will work with this one, but that should work itself out when I get to color. I like the idea of butterflies looping around each other, so I will try to give this a sense of "light movement" through the line work. I am not totally sold on the positioning/composition and plan on playing with the size-relationship and composition as a whole when I am further along. For me it is easier to work that out on the computer verses with sketching. To view final illustration visit Butterfly Kisses.

Rooster Racket Spread Final

2008-11-30T11:16:00.000-08:00

OK, so I reviewed my post from yesterday and remembered the golden rule of illustration: if you can't decide which version is stronger then there has to be a happy middle ground. Above is my "happy middle ground". I minimized the EIEIO text so it stopped competing with everything. I reworked the sun beam that landed behind the cows so it is a safe distance away from the music ribbon (having the sun and the ribbon so close really bugged me). Now there is less visual tension overall. I fussed with the pig faces again, but reverted back to my original—NOW I consider this done.

Rooster Racket—Digital Art

2008-11-29T21:07:00.001-08:00

The final digital art turned out more festive than I originally envisioned. I made two versions so I can see what they look like side by side—clearly, I could not decide between simplicity and chaos. I am very pleased with the shape of the cows torso and will likely carry that into other work. The bean-like shape is whimsical/goofy and is flexible depending on what I want the characters to do. The cows seem to steal the show. I cannot say I am in love with the pig faces and may tweak them a bit later. The landscape gradations were almost an afterthought but they really pulled the whole scene together—very glad I fussed with it. I consider this done for now!

Rooster Racket Spread—Sketch

2008-11-26T22:32:00.001-08:00

Above is a sketch that I worked out to be a sample of a spread for the Rooster Racket series. I use the term "series" lightly because after this spread I will move onto a non-farm theme (farm scenes are marketable, will work well as a solid digital illustration sample but my interest in creating more scenes for "fun" is pretty low). This is my 6th or 7th sketch that has a good handle on composition and shows that I can represent animals with an anthropomorphic appeal. Since there are two pages and a total of 6 characters (if you count the rooster that will be in the barn) it may take me a day or two to share again—so stay tuned and happy gobble-gobble day!

Safariglyphics

2008-11-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

I had a very simplistic sketch of giraffes and elephants as silhouettes but in my mind I visualized them becoming more of a tribute to Egyptian hieroglyphics(I would have added more style and age in the next step;this was the stage where I make sure the line work and proportions are working). I thought it would be quirky enough to play out but I ran into difficulty figuring out what third animal would be strong enough to be compatible with the giraffes and elephants. I was pulled toward the zebra but as you can see (above at the bottom) I had to render the zebras as realistic and then simplify to get them to work with the giraffes and elephants. While the three at the top are passable, I am not a fan of how they turned out. This is a good example of something I would start, trouble shoot and then set aside for a rainy day when I cannot concentrate on something new and just want to play. It is safe to say that I do not see these as exciting and will sit on them for a while.

I KNOW I CAN!

2008-11-24T17:20:00.001-08:00

Today was an odd day—I started with this tiny chick sketch—little did I know I would need to turn to for encouragement and I would finish the day with it. I will share the design dilemma I ran into today in a separate post AFTER I SOLVE IT, of course. Meanwhile—use my chick for yourself if you need to.

Rooster Racket — Finished!

2008-11-22T20:03:00.001-08:00

I revisited the Rooster illustration and turned it into a cover piece. The composition has been tweaked and the trim size has been adjusted to work with the title placement and landscape gradations. I kept the orange stripes on the left because of the way it makes the tongue/interior of the mouth pop. Theoretically the stripes would wrap around and decorate the spine. The pattern in the green (on the first version) was fighting the rooster for attention so it was deleted. I rounded the corners of the eyes on the sun (to create warmth) and enlarged the smile so the sun was not overshadowed by the rooster. The wave of musical notes was pretty flat in the original so I wrapped it behind the title. This (thankfully) helps lead the eye smoothly from the rooster to the sun to the title and around again. I love strong composition. There are two other pieces that I plan on working on—yep, you will see a few screaming/singing cows and pigs soon. I will pretend that they are a spread inside this really silly book that I have yet to write.

Illustration Friday!

2008-11-21T10:48:00.001-08:00

This is my FIRST Illustration Friday—the topic is "opinion". Our opinions often warp how others see us and how we see ourselves. Opinions assist in categorizing elements of the world as ugly, saintly, justified, beautiful, strong or. . .whatever. Bottom line is that while we can act and look a certain way—our opinions will ultimately dominate and become known to others by how we speak about ourselves and categorize people around us.

More Monster

2008-11-20T21:51:00.000-08:00

This is my first run at adding color. . .I had a lot of indecision about what predominant colors the monsters should be. I started out focusing on only using primary colors, but the green/orange worked the best with the child-friendly sample on the left. I like both of them for different reasons but feel the one on the left is the stronger of the two. I am noticing an odd "tongue theme" that started in the Rooster piece and has traveled to the Monster image. Note to self: stop incorporating an expressive tongue. Final image is the one at the top with the dots/patterns downplayed a bit.

Say Cheese, Monster!

2008-11-19T22:15:00.000-08:00

I originally studied traditional illustration and have a quirky habit of drawing characters (and people I do not know) in a portrait/composition setting. . .almost as though they stopped by and posed for an hour. I am a huge fan of traditional portraiture and will begin sharing some of that soon.

While I am not a big monster person—I was having a monster day. I wanted to play around with subject matter where I didn't apply (imaginary) limitations on what was "right" or "wrong". With monsters there are no rules! On the left is my sketch; on the right is the vector art mostly in black and white. With simple images (like roosters) I can usually hop into color as I build the shapes. . .but with the patterns and line work that I had in mind, I started with the black and white. The lack of color allowed me to be sure all the line work was clean, consistent and balanced. Next is adding color. In my mind, I want to lean toward a vintage muted palette, but I have a feeling I will also play around with bright children's-market-friendly colors as well to see how they compare.

Screaming Tuesday

2008-11-18T13:16:00.001-08:00

Often, I think of titles and books that would never really be published (I think there is actually a website dedicated to this somewhere). As I began to work on the rooster sketch and add color—it took on a life of its own—I am officially calling it: Old MacDonald's Scream-A-Long. I personally used to love to scream songs when I was a child. . .and unfortunately never grew out of it (I still scream-sing when driving). So the title feels like a good fit.

I like simple colors and bursts of patterns and extreme character expression. I still plan on pushing it a bit more—this color version is what I call my "in-between stage" where I develop it to a point and then hide it from myself so I can see it with fresh eyes at a later date—stay tuned.
A portion of my background is in the children's publishing arena. I am working to pull together illustration artwork that is representative of my loud tendency to create beautifully ugly images. My goal is to have a diverse amount of pieces by the end of this month. I love visiting artist sites and watching them develop their work—I intend on using this blog to return the favor. Above is a sketch that I made the other day. . .

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