Empty Tomb (unfinished illustration)

Here’s an unfinished sketch I did for a proposed Easter illustration. The client went with another approach, but I had fun doing the sketch. I haven’t worked from a still life set-up in quite a while, so I was interested to see if I could still do it.

Pumped Up!

Oliver was living proof that it is VERY difficult to be a well-rounded bodybuilder and be obsessive-compulsive with a left arm fixation.

Cry Gator!

As you know, if you’ve followed my blog for long, I really have no interest in spectator sports, but I DO love mascots and cartoons. So when an idea pops into my brain for a toon, I draw it, sports related or not.

And sometimes, I sell it!

There’s a reason it’s called a “murder” of crows

We have a crow problem at work. Well, it’s not really a problem…it’s actually somewhere on the border between annoying and amusing. You see, two crows have decided it’s their duty to attack our windows at random moments. Wings flailing and talons making a lovely chalkboard screech against the glass as the crows pound on it with their pointy little skulls. They seem VERY determined to accomplish….well…whatever the heck it is they are trying to accomplish.

I’m just glad they don’t have hammers.

P.S. The title of this post is in reference to the fact that the proper name for a group of crows is a murder. If you didn’t already know that, now you do. Your life is complete.

“Coming to the End of Yourself” Illustration

My illustration for an article in the March 2010 issue of In Touch magazine. The article is about the widow of Zarephath and how, at the end of everything she had, God revealed Himself to her in an amazing way.

Illustration © In Touch Ministries

The Weight of Fear

I was recently going through some of my older illustrations, and came across this one I did for the May 2009 In Touch magazine. The article was written by a woman who had struggled with anorexia since she was a child, and how God brought her through it. It’s in a different style than most of my stuff, but I was pretty happy with the final result.

Illustration © In Touch magazine.

When Squirrels Go Bad (yeah…like THAT’S a stretch!)

As my friends know, I DESPISE squirrels.

Well, as if my feelings towards these nasty little vermin needed any prodding, I stumbled upon a video of a squirrel dropping the false pretense of “cute little acorn eater” and going full-blown, Wild Kingdom carnivore on a blue jay. (Due to the nature of the video and some language therein I won’t post a link, but it isn’t that hard to find the video in question on YouTube.)

Now, before anybody starts yacking about “he was only defending his nest”….nope, that argument doesn’t work. To kill the blue jay as an act of self-preservation is one thing, but the bushy-tailed rat EATS the blue jay! There’s even a follow-up video that shows what was left of the bird when ol’ Squirrelly McNutjob got finished chowing down.

So think about that the next time you’re tossing crackers to a squirrel in the park. He may be nibbling away on that saltine, but the whole time he’s doing that, he’s also scoping you out and thinking, “Mmmm-mmmm….fresh meat!”

Santa vs. OSHA

C’mon! I mean, the man flies around the world at light speed being pulled by reindeer! And without the benefit of so much as a seat belt! Do you honestly think job safety is a high priority for Santa Claus???

This is the illustration for the poster advertising my town’s annual Christmas Tree Lighting. Still can’t seem to get drunken Santa approved.

Maybe next year…

Step-by-Step Illustration Quickie

Here’s my latest piece for In Touch magazine. The article is about turning times you stumble as a parent into opportunities to grow closer to your child. Thought I’d give you a condensed version of how I did it.

Step 1: As you can see, I don’t believe in submitting tight roughs for concept approval. If you get too detailed, you risk losing some creative flexibility in the final execution.

Step 2: Final line art done in ballpoint pen (I’m starting to really like using them for my illustrations, and not just my doodling).

Step 3: I convert the line art to a “multiply” layer in Photoshop, and create a second layer underneath it. On this new layer I then paint in solid areas of color.

Step 4: Finally, I go in and do some color modeling to give the image more depth.

And there you have it… one extremely truncated explanation of the steps I use to create a finished illustration.

And his robot guardian angel warned him, “STAY AWAY FROM THE FLAMING PEAR!!”

We were developing some cartoon characters at work, and one of the characters my friend Jennifer came up with was this little slug guy in his underwear. Her concept for him was great, and all I really had to do was flesh him out a bit, as you can see here.

However, my brain is wired in such a way that I have to flush out any competing variations of a character before I can really get moving on the final, approved version. So, flush away I did…all over an unsuspecting piece of paper in a meeting.

Where the toothy robot and flaming pear bomb thingy came from, I have NO earthly idea. I guess the current from the “slug flushing” was just too strong and they got pulled in by the rip tide.