blog 30 x 30

That Silly City Park!

2012-02-01T14:14:00.001-05:00

I'll be quick since I'm quite busy and sick. February's Highlights High Five features one of my That's Silly illustrations (as well as my monthly work in the craft/cooking spread). Yay! My wife, daughter and myself can be seen walking below the center tree dressed in our usual cowhand gear.

Interesting note: In the published art the parent and child crashing into the hedges at the bottom of the hill was removed.

Sketchbook project

2012-01-19T16:43:00.001-05:00

I just completed my sketchbook for the sketchbook project. As you can see by the cover my theme was "I remember you." I decided to make it into a comic strip book chronicling the many rejections I received from women over the years. In order to see the content you'll have to wait until it is visible on the website or in the tour starting in April.

Please let me know if I can see your sketchbook. Drop me a note!

Marriage Advice.

2012-01-09T12:13:00.000-05:00

There is a story behind this one, bare with me or you really won't get it. On their wedding day my friends, Scott and Tracie, provided a book for the guests to write marriage advice. This October is their tenth anniversary so Tracie recently looked thought it and stumbled on this comic. I had forgotten that I had drawn it for them until Tracie showed it to me this past Sunday...

Now the story behind the punchline: During Tracie's weekend bachelorette getaway in a quaint cabin located at Nockamixon State Park, her soon-to-be husband Scott, myself and another friend, Michael traveled up for a surprise/prankly visit. To make a long story short we proceeded to scare Tracie silly by having Scott pop out of the woods dressed in a complete BigFoot outfit (one I still own to this day). The result was Tracie losing her mind, jumping on Scott and pretty much beating him up. It was kind of awesome. We have it all on tape.

After a nice letter explaining any marriage advice that I (as a single person at the time) could give, I drew them this comic...

I had my phone number listed for Scott which I blotted out for the post.

Craft and Cook spread

2012-01-05T16:49:00.001-05:00

For the past year or so I have been the illustrator of Highlights High Five's monthly craft and cook spread. One thing that I have discovered while working on these is that it is deceivingly hard to draw someone pouring something. Most of the time I find myself acting out the action in a mirror or googling an action online but photos like that are hard to come by. Also, with drawing these steps I found that I was drawing lots and lots of bowls, spoons, and measuring cups which brings up an interesting point: Why is it that the things that we look at every single day are the most difficult to draw? Cartoonist Chris Ware said he draws an everyday object everyday which I think is a wonderful habit to get into.

Anyway, posted here are some of the many craft and cooking steps I have drawn...

Christmas Card 2011

2011-12-29T15:12:00.003-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was fun and chaotic which is just the way life is when you have a 2 year old. Here's the christmas card/booklet I sent out two days after Christmas which folks should have received by now...

Promo postcard- part 2

2011-12-29T14:57:00.003-05:00

I forgot to post this so here you go! This is the other side of my promo postcard created specifically for the Highlights folks. There are some inside jokes here but I think if you are an illustrator or are familiar with Highlights magazine then you will probably see the humor.

Sneak Peek!

2011-12-01T10:40:00.001-05:00

Here are two sneakity peekities at some upcoming illustrations I did for those wonderful folks at Highlights. The top one is for High Five and the bottom is for Highlights. Both will be available in April, 2012. Can you guess what satellite is pictured above? Keep in mind that the solar panel on the left was added to make it look more "visually acceptable." Hint: It is the most distant man made object from earth at 8.7 billion miles.

Below are some cute bunnies. The chocolate bunny snuggling up to the guy made this illustration for me. It was actually one of those happy accidents while I was drawing it.

Summer Memory (before it's too late)

2011-11-15T22:45:00.001-05:00

I drew sometime during the summer when my family and I were down the shore in Delaware. It's of my daughter and I after a long day at the beach with my attempt at hosing her off. I thought I'd have time to finish it as a little comic, but considering winter is just around the corner I can't imagine that is going to happen. Perhaps this comic is best left as is...

B is for babies.

2011-11-11T09:40:00.001-05:00

When my daughter was born some of my Highlights illustrator friends created art for my daughter in celebration. My wife and I received several pieces of original art created by some of the best Highlights' illustrators which, as you can imagine, was one of the most touching things anyone had ever done for us. I think I cried for about two weeks as they came in. It was overwhelming.

Now, two years later, it has become a tradition. Friends and illustrators, Nancy Cote and Linda Weller recently became grandmothers so I, along with many other wonderful illustrators, choose a letter of the child's name and created a piece around it. The first piece (R for Harper) was created for Nancy who wanted a pumpkin theme to carry through all of the illustrations. The Y was created for Linda Weller. I'm currently in the process of creating a T hidden picture for illustrator Tim Davis who recently became a grandfather. Congratulations to them all and special thanks to Anni Matsick for getting this fun tradition started.

What's Wrong, Cattle Drive?

2011-10-17T15:12:00.000-04:00

On the back cover of the November Highlights is one of my favorite What's Wrong? illustrations to date. It was so much fun to research and put together. My wife and daughter can be seen on the horse to the back left.

Below is the line art. Sometimes I don't complete the background because I want to keep it free of line, that way it stays in the back. When I get the time I do finish up the line art just in case anyone ever decides to buy it.

The sketch is below. You'll probably note the major difference of the adding of the horns to that cattle but what you may look over is the removal of all of the udders. Ha ha!

Promo Postcard

2011-10-12T09:48:00.000-04:00

I recently drew this for a promo postcard. I'm sorry I haven't updated my blog in a while, I was off fighting some deadlines and the general zaniness that is my life.

Some summer sketches.

2011-09-12T14:07:00.001-04:00

I did these sketches over the summer in Philadelphia, Portsmouth, NH, and Dewey Beach DE. Sorry, I don't have time to clean them up so I'm just going to post them as is.

Ultimate Extreme Kite Flying! Hurricane Edition.

2011-08-30T10:54:00.002-04:00

This is what my friends and I do during Hurricanes because we are ULTIMATE! We are EXTREME! Kind of makes you question your manliness doesn't it?

MOBILE VERSION

That's Sneaky!

2011-08-29T21:16:00.000-04:00

Please forgive my lack of post, I have been plenty busy with some fun stuff for Highlights. Here's a little peak from an upcoming That's Silly! to be featured in Highlights High Five's February issue.

Street Hockey!

2011-08-15T16:35:00.000-04:00

This What's Wrong? is on the back cover of September's Highlights for Children that should be available now on newsstands. Once again I drew inspiration from my life in Philadelphia and the many sports we would play together. I think street hockey was everyone's favorite which was usually played in alley ways such as this one here. Alleys can be kind of magical places if the lighting is right - you get the sun bouncing all over the place from the reflections in the windows and the shafts of light pour down much like they would in a narrow canyon in the southwest.

By far my favorite thing in this piece is the break dancing mice in the right corner. Sometimes it's the little things, you know? In this case, hairy little things in track suits.

Sketching video.

2011-08-01T23:32:00.000-04:00

I recently had to record myself sketching for the nice folks at Graduates Payment System. I've never done anything like this before so there was a bit of a learning curve sorting everything out. I was given a written script and did some sketches before hand. Other than that, there was no plan. As you can see it had to be shortened quite a bit...

Here is the slower test version I made for myself:

New website!

2011-07-11T14:12:00.004-04:00

It's been a long time coming but my new website is finally up and running. Yay! Please stop by and let me know what your thoughts are or if you run into any problems. Thanks!

3D Glasses not necessary!

2011-06-29T22:27:00.000-04:00

I have been holding on to this for a while. Toward the beginning of the year I got involved in some fun facebook shenanigans in which the first four people on your comments would receive something homemade in the mail. Of a few of the lists I made it onto, brilliant sculpture, fellow highlights artist and friend, Helena Bogosian, was one of them. I had no idea what to expect. Sometime a few weeks ago the sculpture below showed up in the mail. Upon opening it I literally screamed and laughed with excitement. Helena had taken my drawing of the Dirty Student (as seen below the photos) from my book, Which Art Student Are You?, and turned it into a three dimensional piece! It is honestly one of the coolest things I have ever seen and it is extremely touching. Thank you so very much, Helena! You're awesome!

Give me a home...

2011-06-17T12:58:00.008-04:00

I don't know what my fascination with the wild west is but I'm partly convinced I was born in the wrong state and at the wrong time. In 2003 I went on a solo camping trip to Wyoming and I just never felt at home here on the east coast. Late last year I discovered that my great - great - grandfather, Luke Dillon, was an army cavalrymen stationed in Wyoming so maybe it's just in my blood.

Giddyup.

2011-06-16T10:28:00.001-04:00

I am working on something extra fun.

That Silly Parade!

2011-06-12T21:37:00.004-04:00

Drawing a marching band is not easy. So much research was involved in making this as believable as possible, from the individual instruments to how to correctly hold them. I've really only ever played some guitar so my wife's knowledge of these instruments was invaluable to me. This piece is currently in the July 2011 issue of Highlights High Five which is available now.

I put a lot of cameos of family and friends in this one. The band is loosely based on my wife's high school, North Penn and their Marching Knights, of which she was a member. My wife can be seen playing the clarinet with holly attached to her hat. My Grandfather (of whom I am named after) can be seen on the left with my Grandma Vi. The four children sitting on the curb (one has a horn) are of myself (I'm wearing the Canada cap), my two brothers and my sister. We would often go to parades that were just up the road from us on Frankford Avenue in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia. Some of my nieces and nephews are pictured as well as a couple of friends with their kids.

Here is the line art:

Subtract.

2011-06-11T21:44:00.000-04:00

Sometime last year Illustration Friday's theme was subtract. I submitted the image below but I found it confused people more than made them laugh. I eventually removed it. I didn't want anyone to think I was being gross. I just thought it was a funny thought that the Love is couple were Ziggy's parents since they don't wear pants. That was IT. Honest, you sickos. Perhaps I was just missing my older target audience who actually remembered the comic strip, Love is?

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is to show you the sketches below. I'm currently building my new website and I stumbled on them while looking for some files. I thought they were pretty funny and I may do more.

Leonardo.

2011-05-31T22:53:00.010-04:00

Hello everyone! I recently became a member of the Autumn Society so I could participate in the Ninja Turtle tribute. Thank you for the invite, Jeffro and Chogrin! I hope to contribute to other events as well.

Back story:

In 1986 my older brother came home with the comic book, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (issue 7). Prior to seeing the TMNT comic my only real exposure to comics was in Mad Magazine. This was a turning point for me. I had always liked drawing but I never seemed to know where it would go. The TMNT comic, as well as the artists at Mirage Studios, inspired me more than I could ever explain here.

I have always preferred the raw grittiness of the original b+w comics hence the flavor of my illustration. I drew this sketch back in 2003 but put it to color in the past week. I hope everyone enjoys my piece. This is illustration is out of the norm for me so it was a lot of fun to work on. I may have to do more.

Also, I have to mention that I had a one shot comic in TMNT #57 back in '96 that can be seen on my blog here if you're interested.

I will be at the Autumn Society Ninja Turtle tribute art show in Philadelphia this Friday, June 3 (more info below) from 6 - 9pm. I will be selling this piece at the show in a nice expensive frame. I'm not sure if it is okay to sell prints but I will find out asap. I will also have copies of my Which Art Student Are You? book (as seen on the right side of the blog) for purchase. Look for the short guy wearing the green TCRI canister shirt. Really.

Cruise Sketches.

2011-05-26T10:08:00.000-04:00

Daisy and I went on a southern Caribbean cruise last week. These are some of the sketches I did while laying on a beach chair doing nothing but people watch.

IF: Safari

2011-05-13T21:26:00.000-04:00

I made this Hidden Picture some 10 years ago for Highlights for Children, I think. I figured it suited Illustration Friday's theme this week.

Find the following: rhino head, kite, flashlight, cowboy boot, whale, balloon, slice of pie, bird, tea cup, compass, ice cream cone, magnifying glass, and a banana.

What's Wrong, Highlights? You're only 65 years old!

2011-05-13T21:15:00.002-04:00

I was given the fun task of creating the What's Wrong? illustration for Highlights' 65th Birthday issue! It was a lot of fun to have my hand at the Highlights' regulars: the Timbertoes, Arizona (as well as her little brother and sister Tex and Indi), Goofus and Gallant, the little mouse web dude (does he have a name? he definitely needs one), and the Bear Family. The 65th Birthday issue should be on news stands now. It really is a great issue with a lot of fun surprises. Be sure to pick up a copy!

My apologies for being so long between posts. My wife has been traveling a lot for work so I have had my hands full taking care of our daughter, dog, fish, house, laundry, dishes, etc, all the while teaching and freelancing. This week I officially finished teaching (until autumn that is) so I will have more time to post stuff I have been working on. Speaking of our daughter, you can see her and I on the left side of the illustration. I made myself taller so no one would notice me but it didn't fool anyone at Highlights. I think they're on to me...

Uncle America.

2011-04-14T10:24:00.002-04:00

Part of my Photoshop class is spent on coloring in the "comic book style." Basically it is painting the light on, which is fast and effective but a tad confusing. After coloring the student's superhero character they also make a mock up comic book cover such as the one I did here.

The story behind Uncle America. Back when my niece, Corinne, (who was 4 years old at the time) was living with my Mother and I she stumbled upon my full length superman costume in my closet. Startled, she asked my Mom if I was Superman and she of course said that I was. For several weeks Corinne was convinced I was Superman fortified by the fact that on some days I would hide the costume and play it up. Around the same time, for a reason I can't remember, I had Corinne and her younger sister Rebecca jokingly call me Uncle America. Basically I just put all of this together hoping to make a comic about it one day but I never got around to it like so many other things.

Uncle America is the disciplinarian of the rude and inconsiderate. He was gifted with concrete vision and he uses hard ginger snap cookies to hurl at his enemies. Uncle America wears glasses to protect his secret identity as the mild mannered, Carl Duhlman, shoe salesman.

Virginia.

2011-03-29T11:09:00.000-04:00

That's Silly, Baggage Claim!

2011-03-25T10:24:00.007-04:00

April's Highlight's High Five features one of my That's Silly! illustrations. Be sure to pick up a copy for the little ones in your life (or you can pick one up for yourself, I won't tell).

Below is somewhat of a step by step on how I went about making this piece. I say somewhat because there were steps I forgot to take screenshots of. Maybe I shouldn't be giving out my secrets, huh? I may be putting myself out of work.

Below is the hand drawn line art. I use a 05 micron with some touch up done with a 03. I find it gives good clean line weight.

Flat colors are added via Photoshop. I knew I would be drawing the stuff outside the windows with my tablet so there was no need to ink it.

I turn off the colors layer and add a gradient layer knocking out the light with my tablet.

Finished shadows and some of the outside started.

Flat colors and shadows combined as well as some more details and changes.

I added more depth with the shadows under the feet of the characters at the request of the art director.

Finally the finished piece below. The shadows were pulled back about 65% (one of the benefits of working with layers) to print correctly on the Highlights paper.

This piece took about 8 hours to sketch, 2-3 hours to ink, and 10 hours to color. This was a quick rush job so I am happy it came out as nice as it did. Whew!

Highlights What's Wrong? of the Year 2010!

2011-03-17T09:59:00.005-04:00

I just received the Highlights Silver Plate Award for the What's Wrong? illustration of the Year (2010)! The award was given to me for the above back cover illustration that was featured on the July 2010 issue. Thanks to the Highlights staff for all of your support and encouragement. It is wonderful to work with folks who really appreciate the extra effort you put into your work. I am honored and grateful.

More info about this piece can be found here.

2011-02-11T14:16:00.001-05:00

I drew this in my sketchbook for Illustration Friday's surrender theme but it's too late now.

Backyard Superman

2011-02-02T16:48:00.001-05:00

Tiny Superman just moved into my back yard into his tiny fortress of solitude. I was going to start charging him rent but I'm afraid he might beat me up.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.6

Research. Research. Research.

2011-01-20T19:55:00.006-05:00

Here are some of the photos I took at the Delanco and Riverside train stations for my research for the last That's Silly! I posted here on the blog. Like most illustrators I try to find research online but in this case I just couldn't find what I was looking for so I took a little drive and took some photos. Although I didn't this time around, I also find it very helpful to make some quick sketches while on location. Even with digital photography there are just some details you're going to miss without studying through sketching.

Research is so important. I can't emphasize this enough to my students. It can make any illustration 100% more believable then if you're just making it up.

Look back at the illustration on the last post and you can see where the ideas came from.

The tile pattern.

The bench's iron work.

The map.

That's Silly, Train Station!

2011-01-14T13:13:00.006-05:00

Delanco, New Jersey's Riveline train station stars in February's Highlights High Five's That's Silly! (now available on your local magazine rack)

Delanco is a small all American town that sits on a peninsula surrounded by the Delaware River and the Rancocas Creek. I lived on the second floor of a remodeled old general store dating back to 1852 for 8 years. It was the first I was truly on my own. The train station was just three blocks away which would take me into Camden, NJ for my connection to the Patco line into Philadelphia. I love Delanco and I miss it quite a bit. It really is a great place to live. A lot of the suburban illustrations I make get their inspiration from my short time in Delanco.

I knew this scene was going to be published in February so I wanted to give it the feel of a cold snowy morning with the sun just rising. The funny part is that when I started working on this piece it was in the middle of August at 101 degrees.

Also, I am illustrator for the Make it! Cook it! spread each month in High Five (along with the talented Liz Dubois who illustrates the Cook It! Ingredients). I'll post some shots of the recent spreads soon.

For those who don't know, Highlights High Five is a magazine aimed at children 5 and under. Get a subscription today!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-29T16:00:00.003-05:00

I didn't have the time to make a full color Christmas card this year so I stuck with something simple and easy to reproduce on my home printer. The drawing is of my daughter Virginia.

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators Interview

2010-12-21T13:06:00.003-05:00

Good news! I was recently interviewed by Anni Matsick for the December issue of the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators newsletter. The interview focuses on the release of the Which Art Student Are You? book. This is just a screen pic below but you can read the full article here. The article is on pages 6 and 7.

Thanks to Anni and the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators for allowing a Philadelphian to join in the fun. I really do appreciate it.

Welcome to Paper Bag Town.

2010-12-01T09:35:00.005-05:00

In the December issue of Highlights High Five I had the fun privilege of creating the aptly named Paper Bag Town. The feature was in the interior back cover. The idea is that children can create a small village by cutting out each part and attaching them to stuffed paper bags. I can't help but imagine all of the little boys that, after putting it all together, destroyed it like Godzilla. Virginia and I didn't get a chance to yet but we will. Winkity wink.

This was a lot of fun to work on especially since I got to play with my design skills for the store signs. Thanks, High Five!

Highlights High Five makes a swell gift for the little ones in your life. It does, it does, it does!

The Backyard Murder.

2010-11-23T16:07:00.002-05:00

This morning I woke out to find that there had been a murder in my very own backyard. It's terrible. You can see the photos and read the story here. Make sure to read the captions.

What's Wrong, Ice Sculpture?

2010-11-16T13:04:00.006-05:00

This is my submission for IF: Winter.

This What's Wrong? piece was really fun to work on. It appears on the back of the December issue of Highlights for Children. Below is the finished line art. Roughly 16 inches wide. More details and secrets below...

Below is the sketch. Going into this I thought it as going to be really difficult but it all came together pretty easy. It wound up taking only 7-8 hours to sketch. You can see the major differences between the final art and the sketch here. Changes of note: Most of the sculptures are close to finish. The Texas shaped base of Ranger Kent. The guy with the chainsaw. The sea turtle the woman is standing on. The kid "stabbing" the fisherman in the back (not intentional). Also, Ranger Kent looks like he is sitting inside the horse, a major oversight on my part.

Below are the little "secrets" that I added. Again, I think it would go over most people's heads but it's fun for me to add them in.

Kayakity yak yak yak.

2010-10-26T22:51:00.007-04:00

Things of note in this one: I not only added Usagi Yojimbo to this piece, he's the white rabbit with the top knot in the inflatable raft, but I also added Jim Lawson's frog, Orson, from his comic Bade Biker and Orson. The comic books Usagi Yojimbo and Bade Biker & Orson were two of the biggest art influences on me when I was in grade school.

In the final printed version of this piece (see below) Usagi was changed to just a plain white rabbit. Cindy and David caught me on that one!

November's Highlights Magazine features not only my work on the back cover (see above), the interior (November's hidden picture referred to earlier in blog here) but for the first time my work was on the front cover (see below)!

Okay, okay, not REALLY. Look closer. MUCH closer. I just had a snippet from my hidden picture on the front cover. Re-cork the champagne...

The weirdest of the weird.

2010-10-19T12:22:00.004-04:00

I have seen some weird stuff in my days of living in Philadelphia but this one takes the cake. If three of my students did not see it with me I really would have thought my mind was making it up. Take a quick look at this sketch and then read the story below.

It was raining and we were walking back from Subway after lunch. To the left of us I see, what I thought at the time, was either a dressed up statue or a man doing spontaneous performance art (a sight usually only seen on our First Fridays). He was perfectly still in this odd position leaning to the right with his left leg extended as far as it could go in the opposite direction. I leaned in to get a better look and that's when I realized that he was peeing. Not with his pants unzipped as you would think but he was peeing down his left pant leg and allowing it to flow out by his shoe! I guess the angle was supposed to help keep his leg from getting wet? Before you judge him, remember he was nice enough to allow the urine to come out onto the roots of a tree because if there is one thing we have learned in school it is that trees LOVE urine. Now I have to say, I may have half-expected this from a homeless man but this guy was in his mid thirties, dressed fairly well and was carrying flowers in his backpack for his sweetheart. I can see it now, "Oh! Thank you, honey! (pause) Why do the flowers smell like urine?"

Courier Post

2010-10-12T14:04:00.002-04:00

Back in August I was featured in an article in our local newspaper, the Courier Post. I hesitated to post a link to the article here because the accompanying photo contained a sketch of the That Silly Highlights' Building which I did not want my fellow Highlights illustrators to see since it was to be a big surprise for this year's Highlights Illustrators' Party. I foolishly left it out on the drawing board and didn't realize the writer had taken a photo of it.

Here is the article, if you haven't read it. Thank you to writer Kevin Callahan and the folks at the Courier Post.

Riverline.

2010-10-12T13:23:00.005-04:00

My wife's latest obsession is Fantasy Football which means we have been watching a lot of football which means I am bored which means I have been drawing a lot and catching up on sketchbook stories that I have been meaning to draw out for several years. Man, that was a long sentence. Anyhoot, here is the latest sketchbook story in all of its unedited glory.

This happened about 2 years ago.

That Silly Highlights Building!

2010-10-04T14:44:00.027-04:00

Back in July I was asked to create the above mural for the Highlights Illustrators' Party. A big honor. The theme was based on Highlights High Five's "That's Silly!" feature, a variation of the Highlights' "What's Wrong?" feature that is found on the back covers of which I have been doing a lot of the past year.

Since blogger will not allow you to get a closer look at this image I have split and uploaded the mural as close up segments below. A detailed description of how I went about making this piece is below the last segment.

A lot of people have asked me how I did this piece so I will do my best to explain this process without boring you with too many details.

Right away we knew we wanted the Highlights building to be the central feature of the piece so I started on some loose sketches using photos I had taken myself and some that I had found on Google Maps' street view. I also did some brainstorming by writing down some silly ideas.

Once I had a rough sketch of the scene chosen I enlarged it and made these rough sketches on top to flesh out the ideas for the silly situations (some I made up and some were suggested by the staff of Highlights). All four season were to be represented in the illustration which was hard to pull off. Winter and fall were easily recognizable but how does one differentiate between summer and spring?

Once I had some ideas down I did more research and sketched out the building with the characters to be added later. I always consider the background just as important as the characters so I take the extra time to make sure it has enough character to stand on its own. I also didn't use any vanishing points since using them often makes the drawing stale and kind of phony looking. I just eyed it up as best as I could. All of this was done by hand on a 24" wide piece of paper.

As you can see above I only drew 2 windows and a few of the small pillars but after it was scanned I duplicated them and carefully put them in position using Photoshop's distort transformation tools. I also separately sketched some elements to the right and left of the building to fill the 40" width as seen below. I had to keep in mind that when printed it would be 13 x 40 feet so I worked with the ratio of 1 inch = 1 foot. Some of the drawing was also done using my wacom tablet.

After the building was completely sketched, I tile printed it and taped it together. Now it was time to add the characters. I placed two sheets of 24" layout on top and went to work. It went form one side of my art table to the other.

After the characters were finished I scanned them in and used Photoshop to place them in the scene. I think there were some 40 layers at 175 MB before I flattened it.

At this point the file was sent to the Highlights' Art Director, Cindy. A week or so later corrections were sent so I quickly revised the sketch as seen below. A big benefit to having all of your characters on separate layers is that if something needs to move, be removed, or replaced it is fairly easy to do. The windsurfer was removed and replaced with the cabin among other things.

Now it was time for inking. Usually I ink all of my work by hand and scan it in but once I started I realized that all of my small details were getting entirely too fudgy. Since this piece was going to be enlarged I knew that all of the flaws in my inking would be magnified so I decided to ink with my wacom tablet in Photoshop using the brush tool. That way I could get up close and personal with the line and really have control over the small minute details (click on the 100% view below). I'm not a big fan of the artificial smoothness of the pen tool so I stuck with the brush tool. Thanks to the suggestion of a few illustrators I inked at a higher than normal resolution of 600dpi.

It definitely took some getting used too and I really damaged my hand inking it over the next few days (a price I'm still paying for). Once done the entire piece was inked in one 13x40" file. I inked only two windows, one small pillar, and duplicated them here as well.

After the inking was completed I reduced the file to the standard 300dpi resolution and got to work on the colors (click on the 100% view below). I start off with point-and-click paint bucket coloring first and move onto textures later. I have designed and/or downloaded some of brushes over the years to use for texturing.

A little over a week later I finished the coloring and sent it off to Cindy.

UPDATE: I forgot to thank my wife, Daisy, for pulling some single Mom duty to give me the time to finish the coloring. Toward the end there, I was working 18 hour days in order to have this done on time.

That same day it was sent off to the printer and enlarged into this billboard sized mural. After being delivered those brilliantly handy guys at Highlights built a frame so it could be to be placed in the local firehall for the party. Here is a photo of it before the party.

Tim was nice enough to let us see it before the party so I could get a few photos with my family. I can't put into words how cool it was to see my art so large.

It really was weird and wonderful to feel as though I was standing in my art work.

Thanks to everyone that made the decision to honor me with this crazy project. I hope I get to do something this fun again. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

100 years ago.

2010-09-28T12:02:00.006-04:00

Our home is 100 years old this year. With that comes a lot of thought into what it must have been like living here in 1910 and who exactly it was that lived here. As far as we know there was a Dairy Farm in the back of the house (the foundation is still there) as well as the Post Office and General Store which is the current house next door. A friendly neighbor recently told me that the man who built the house was a police officer and his wife was still the owner of the home only 5 years ago. Anyway I often think about what their conversations were like just after building the house. Did they think about who would own the house 100 years later?

Now I'm thinking about who will be in the house in 2110 but that's a story for another time...

PS: Absolutely no research was used in the drawing of that radio, that's why it looks so bad.

Here is a link of life in 1910.

Sketches of Philadelphia locals.

2010-09-27T16:31:00.004-04:00

I managed to draw these three (over about a 5 day period) last week. When I see a person in the street or at the Bourse Building, I stop and quickly take some notes, which are nothing more than quick lines to help me remember a gesture or something about their character. Later, when I find the time I finish them up by memory.

This jazzman had on a thin red plaid suit. I wish I had the time to color it.

This is an example of someone who thought they would never age. By 22 he was covered in tattoos (including his face, neck, and head) and by 35 he realized that it was getting pretty difficult to find a job. My personal favorite accessory is his puffy top-knot.

Which Art Student Are You? books are now available!

2010-09-21T16:14:00.010-04:00

As stated in the book trailer above, the Which Art Student Are You? book is now available at IndyPlanet.com! Featuring all 22 original student types as seen on my blog and 3 all new never-before-seen types. Plus, a look into the students' future in 15 years later. All characters have been completely re-lettered and colored for maximum humor potential.

Available for purchase at IndyPlanet.com! You can also purchase the book via the paypal link located on the right side of my blog as well.

Thank you for your support. Please forward friends to this blog if they are interested in purchasing a book.

New Basement Floor!

2010-08-31T12:13:00.004-04:00

My wife and I recently put a much needed new basement floor into our 100 year old house. To celebrate I skated to the tune of the hustle. I don't usually post videos but I think this one may be worth seeing.

What's Wrong, Southwest Ranch?

2010-08-18T17:46:00.006-04:00

Yee-haw! This is my latest What's Wrong? to be published by those wonderful folks at Highlights for Children! It can be seen on the back cover of the September issue which should be available now.

This one really had me missing the Southwest. My alter ego, Ranger Kent, can be seen teaching some kids how to lasso, and my wife's alter ego, Cowgirl Pearl, is riding a reindeer. As previously posted, the famous racehorse, Secretariat, is on the lower right.

The first sketch is posted below. You can see some of the major changes that needed to done to complete this one. Most notably the switching of Pearl and the Ostrich which really did improve the composition. The funniest correction I thought was that the sunbathing roadrunner because he looked like he was dead. I couldn't make myself get rid of him entirely so I moved him next to the birds listening to the boom box in the final art.

Click here if you'd like to get your kids a subscription to Highlights for Children. Don't subject them to only seeing Highlights when they are sick or about to get their teeth drilled. That's not very nice, is it? Be a good parent.

Summer sketchbookings.

2010-08-17T14:50:00.005-04:00

This summer I have been the busiest I have ever been which is why my sketchbook is fairly empty these days. Sure, there are sketches and thumbnails but 90% of them are work related so I can not post them here (plus they are rough, incoherent, and boring). I rarely find time to sit and sketch leisurely these days but I have had a few chances this summer...

The first three here are from Philadelphia's Penn's Landing on the eve of Independence Day, during the fireworks.

Below are sketches from Delaware while on vacation with Virginia, Daisy, and her family.

For those of you who are not aware, a sunfish is a small sail boat.

I will be back teaching in the city in a few weeks so I should have more time to sit and draw weirdos.

IF: Star Gazing

2010-08-16T11:39:00.004-04:00

Earlier this summer my dog and I were treated to a light show each night. Honestly it was hard to tell the difference between the star and the fireflies some nights. It was truly magnificent. I'm not much of a poet but sometimes a drawing needs more than words to explain what I may have been feeling at the time.

Which Art Student Are You? Cover Art

2010-08-09T09:17:00.006-04:00

I have finally been able to get this book finished. Special thanks to my wife Daisy, Anni Matsick, and Janelle Saaybe for helping me with the editing. Grammar is not one of my strong points so I am so very grateful for the help. At this point the only thing left to do is make the grammar/spelling corrections and send it off to the printers.

Thankfully I found some extra time to make a new cover instead of using a collage of the existing art (as I had posted in the past). The scene is a typical freshman fine art figure drawing class at Hussian, although this scene is filled with the best of the worst stereotypes studied over the past 10 years. I choose this rear view because we are able to see the artists' work or lack there of. Obviously not every student is present since it was a Wednesday so Comic Book Student was at the comic book store, Whiny Student broke her epidermis, Disappearing Reappearing Student never showed up, Alien Student was at the snack machine, Returning Student was in court for a DUI charge, Mom Student was running a little late, and the Grade Hungry Student stormed out of the room when she received her first critique.

The book will feature 25 student types (a few new student types have been added if you were wondering where the Grade Hungry Student came from) and a 12 page look at each student some 15 years later.

I'll keep you posted on when the book is available.

Coming Soon

2010-07-22T16:50:00.003-04:00

Here are some previews from upcoming work I recently did for Highlights for Children and Highlights High Five. The first two are from High Five and should be available in the winter. The first preview is from a "That's Silly!" illustration and the second is part of a surprise that will be included inside the back cover. The rest are from back cover "What's Wrong?" illustrations for Highlights for Children.

The lost mountaineers above are none other than Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, the first men to climb Mount Everest on May 29,1953.

Pictured above is the dog I grew up with, Tootsie.

The horse in blue is America's favorite horse, Secretariat.

What's Wrong, Street Corner?

2010-07-06T12:16:00.003-04:00

This month's Highlights for Children features one of my What's Wrong back covers! I had a lot of fun with this one and hid some pop culture stuff to make it a little more fun for adults who are paying attention. I realize some text/images are so small or so obscure that the only way you'd know is if I told you so here is my answer key below:

Dad.

2010-06-18T14:52:00.004-04:00

My Dad taught me to fish like no one's business so don't ask me to teach you because it is none of your business.

Creepy Kid.

2010-06-08T15:53:00.004-04:00

My Mother and Father in law own a small mobile home in a trailer park on the Rehoboth Bay in Delaware. While they only use it for vacation purposes there are some that live in the park permanently and I have concluded that those people are from another planet.

Illustration Friday: Trail

2010-06-04T09:20:00.005-04:00

In 2002 I hiked alone in Yellowstone National Park which was not recommended in every book I read on the subject. The impression I had going into the park was that at every corner I was going to be beaten by a bear or eaten by a bear. Since I took a lot of precautions I found it to be quite safe. I made this little comic in my sketchbook journal to poke fun at my fear. Sorry about the quality of the scans, I don't have time to rescan the originals.

The following sketches were done while on the trail in Wyoming, Arizona, and Utah. Descriptions are below each sketch.

Taking a nap at the Weaver's Needle. Superstition Mountains, AZ.

Picacho Peak, AZ.

Devil's Tower, WY. The local Indians tie colored ribbons to the trees around Devil's Tower. They also leave unlit cigarettes as offerings (I guess).

Devil's Tower, WY.

Old twisted tree I saw at the base of Devil's Tower.

Grand Tetons, WY.

Bryce Canyon, UT.

Grand Tetons, WY.

Bryce Canyon, UT.

3rd Wedding Anniversary.

2010-06-04T08:00:00.005-04:00

Believe it or not the traditional Third Wedding Anniversary gift is leather because it is durable, long lasting, and strong. Rather than buy Daisy some boring leather passport holder I decided to make her a little portrait of our family (starring Kent, Pearl and Virginia, of course) made entirely of leather. Initially I was going to actually draw/stain the leather but I couldn't find smooth enough leather and I was limited with time. Instead I just cut simple pieces which was still equally tricky to do.

Doodles: Circle of Life.

2010-06-01T17:14:00.003-04:00

Illustration Friday: Transportation!

Here is another mindless doodle. This is actually one big piece but I had to break it up into small parts so you can see it better (blogger shrinks images of a certain size). I had to doctor this one up a bit but it is pretty much the same as it is.

It is the life of a man as seen through the vehicles he rode throughout his entire life.

Philadelphia Weirdos.

2010-05-26T08:37:00.005-04:00

There was a time when I would try not to be too obvious when I was drawing people in public. Sometime this year I just stopped caring. I figured if you are weird enough to get my attention, then you want attention so I will happily give it to you. I will stop everything I am doing and pull out my sketchbook and start drawing your weirdness for all of the world to see. I hope you're okay with that, because I am.

Illustration of the Year Award.

2010-05-22T09:27:00.007-04:00

Last week I was honored with the Highlights High Five Pewter Plate Award for the "That's Silly" Illustration of the Year. It honestly brought tears to my eyes. Just to know someone out there cares about your work really means a lot. I had no idea Highlights sent out awards so I was very surprised to receive it.

The award was for the illustration above which was published in the October 2009 issue. More on my process of making this piece can be seen here.

Thank you to everyone at Highlights and High Five for challenging me with crazy busy illustration assignments. I promise to never get lazy.

Doodles.

2010-05-21T16:35:00.004-04:00

I draw these for no reason while I have some down time while teaching. I grab a thin piece of illustration board that is lying around (usually by the paper cutter) and just start drawing with a micron. I have no idea where it's going to go so its fun to see what my brain is secretly thinking. It's kind of relieving.

Illustration Friday: Equipment.

2010-05-14T15:48:00.003-04:00

I like to hike. I like to hike with my bike.

I drew this back in 2003 when I hiked alone in Yellowstone for 2 weeks. In hindsight I probably should have rode the bike.

Mom.

2010-05-09T21:08:00.003-04:00

It is time I confessed a secret to the world. I know it, the government knows it and now you, too, will know it. It may sound crazy but you must trust me and hear me out. The truth is that all Al Qaeda really wants is my Mother's Meatloaf recipe. Honestly, I have lost count of the amount of people who have sworn off meatloaf but upon tasting my Mother's recipe have completely changed their minds. Because of this recipe lives have been changed and the balance of power in the West has depended on its survival.

Lucky for us it has been preserved in the National Archives under H for, "Holy Mother of God, that is really good meatloaf." Don't ask any government employee to show you, they will deny it's existence. That is all.

Illustration Friday: Fearless

2010-05-08T08:13:00.000-04:00

Skateboards!

2010-05-06T11:35:00.006-04:00

I did these for absolutely no reason in my sketchbook a few weeks ago. I drew dozens of them. Sometimes I do that to try and stay awake. I also color some stuff from my sketchbook to occupy my down time while teaching.

Squirrel with a Bagel.

2010-05-05T09:58:00.003-04:00

That's what I saw one morning looking back at me from one of my trees. Be a good neighbor and cover your trash cans.

15 years later.

2010-04-07T09:50:00.004-04:00

For my upcoming Which Art Student are You? book I am adding a small section that shows all of the students 15 years later. Each character will have a small "photo" with a paragraph of text. Above is a little preview of the hip-hop student. I won't give away what his future is just yet.

I have also completed all 25 types and have decided to stop for now. Recently the Dean of students here at Hussian was kind enough to put all 24 (the 25th wasn't completed yet) of the student types on display in the halls and I am glad to hear that they have been received very well by the faculty and the students alike. It seems that the world does have a sense of humor about itself despite what all of my hate mail says.

What's Wrong? Teasers.

2010-03-25T10:25:00.006-04:00

I have been extremely busy and I am very thankful for it. Between taking care of my daughter, drawing, teaching, and telling my wife just how cute she is, I haven't had much time to update my blog and I apologize for that. The good people at Highlights for Children continue to keep me busy with the What's Wrong? back covers and here are some little previews. The first three are from a City Street Corner scene which will hopefully be on the July issue (I'm not sure). I crammed this one with as much stuff as I could. There are a ton of "nods" to pop culture as well (although I suppose most kids won't get them, the parenst should have some fun finding them). How many pop culture references can you find in the toy store window below?

I love drawing pigeons and raccoons.

The two shown below are from another What's Wrong? that I am currently in the process of coloring. The colors are actually not finished but I thought give you a little preview anyway.

Can anyone guess the name of this horse?

The Ostrich was my wife's idea.

Creepy Visitor.

2010-03-03T11:42:00.006-05:00

We had two great blizzards here in the Philadelphia area last month (a total of around 84 inches since December 2009). With only a week left of my wife's maternity leave these blizzards were a welcome event. I got to spend some good time with Daisy and Virginia. However, we did receive an unwelcome guest at our back door...

On February 21, 2010 at 10:53 am Snowman died at our back door. The very thing that he sought destroyed him. There is a lesson in this for us all. Snowman leaves behind his children: Water, Vapor, and Dirt. Funeral services were held in Chuck Dillon's back yard with a eulogy by the gracious Pastor Shovel.

We will miss you, Snowman. You were a very creepy companion over those couple of weeks.

City Park - What's Wrong?

2010-02-23T14:18:00.004-05:00

This illustration will be featured on the back cover of this March's Highlights for Children. One thing to note in this one is Ranger Kent sitting and watching an old western next to the statue base. I've finished one more of these What's Wrong back covers and I am currently working on two more. I'll post a little snippet from each when I get a chance.

Anyway, below is the line art. I keep certain elements out such as the kite string to be added in later.

Below is the printed piece.

Also, this was in February's High Five if you didn't see it. I'm glad the colors came out well. This one was colored with a new technique and I wasn't sure how it would print. You can see/read more about this piece here.

Love.

2010-02-11T15:29:00.008-05:00

In honor of Valentine's Day I am posting some old comics I did on the subject of love. The first comic is self explanatory. I really don't need to go into it. However, the second is based on a dream I had in which I was Charlie Brown sitting next to Peppermint Patty underneath a large tree discussing the topic of love. I have strange dreams.

Two Weeks Southwest.

2010-02-10T10:13:00.007-05:00

I got all of you a gift for my birthday (it's what we hobbits do)! Click on this link and you can download my 80 page sketchbook journal, Two Weeks Southwest. I drew it day by day during the trip in 2004.

Here is the link: files.me.com/chuckdillon/f55hoa

The password is: heston

Available for download for: 7 days (until February 17, 2010).

Before you read it please be aware:

1. That the compressed file is 25MB.

2. That I am considered to be a zealot in some circles.

3. I believe in the second law of thermodynamics.

Thanks and have a great February 10. We are snowed in.

Hourly Comic.

2010-02-02T13:32:00.009-05:00

I know it's been about an entire month since I last posted. We're still getting used to life with Virginia. She has been a dream, but I obviously don't have anywhere near the time I used to. Anyway, on to my post here...

One really does do a lot in one hour, let alone one day (at least most of us do). Yesterday I made an hourly comic inspired by John Campbell's Hourly Comic Day and Paula Becker's own version. The rules are simple. Every hour that you are awake on February 1st you make a comic describing something about the past hour.

I loved this little challenge and I hope to see more cartoonists/illustrators give it a try.

Here it is in all of its messiness. Forgive the quality of the scans, it's difficult to scan a sketchbook and I don't have the time to clean it up.

Coming soon.

2010-01-06T10:04:00.005-05:00

I've been working on the "Which Art Student Are You?" book for some time now. Above is the front cover.

The book will be available as a 28 page full color comic book format. It will include a few new characters, my favorite hate mail quotes, and it will be entirely re-lettered.

I was expecting it to be available by the end of January but after the holidays and a family matter that needed attending to I'm not entirely sure when it will be printed. I will let you know asap. I'm hoping for the end of February.

Christmas Card 2009.

2009-12-26T07:04:00.011-05:00

I am submitting this for Illustration Friday: Trail. Forgive me if I have submitted this for another theme, I honestly can't remember if I did or not.

For the past few years I have incorporated Ranger Kent and Cowgirl Pearl (two characters my wife and I portrayed for our church's annual Vacation Bible School) into our Christmas card. This year, with the birth of our daughter Virginia, I wanted to put her in as well our dog, Charlotte. The problem I ran into was that Kent and Pearl were never married so I would have a lot of explaining to do if they showed up on the card with a baby, right? I decided to go with it anyway and added this little note on the back of the card:

Last year sometime Ranger Kent and Cowgirl Pearl got hitched and had a baby some 10 months later. Oh, and they also adopted a dog, apparently.

________

I hope that straightens things out kids!

As a little side note, if you go back and look at some of the illustrations I have done for Highlights this year, you can see Kent or some kind of cowboy in the illustration.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. God Bless you and your family and best wishes for a successful and healthy new year.

- Chuck, Daisy, and Virginia.

O Bethlehem.

2009-12-20T23:58:00.001-05:00

In April of 2001 I had the wonderful privilege of visiting Israel, a trip which changed my life and forever altered my appreciation of God's word for the better. This is a small excerpt from my Israel trip sketchbook, as well as my Christmas card for 2001. I hope to have my Christmas cards delivered to me by Tuesday which means I should be posting the illustration on Christmas Day at the latest. Meanwhile, enjoy and have a Merry Christmas.

Forgive the quality...

Miniature Golf - January Highlights Magazine

2009-12-14T16:08:00.004-05:00

This one took me a while. The fun part of a "What's Wrong" illustration is that you can add some pretty off the wall things but they must be obvious for the kids to get. The problem with this one (as instructed by the art director) was that miniature golf courses already have unusual things on them (windmills, etc.) so I needed to make this work in a way that still looked "wrong." I decided making a generic miniature golf course and focusing on the people and their accessories worked best, but this was after a few trial and errors.

This illustration will appear in the January issue of Highlights for Children which should be in stores now.

Coming soon in Highlights...

2009-11-23T15:13:00.010-05:00

I just received my copy of the December 2009 Highlights in which I illustrated a fun story written by Cecil Dzwowa. This is my first double page spread for Highlights so it was really nice to work on using all that space.

Also, I recently completed some big illustrations for the back cover of the upcoming issues of Highlights magazine's "What's Wrong?" feature (see below). Look for them in the February and (I think) March issues. Here's a sneak peek at a couple of the "wrong" things.

With the Holidays coming I'm sure all the little ones on your gift list would love a subscription to Highlights or High Five.

Virginia Paige

2009-11-13T00:30:00.004-05:00

On Tuesday November 3rd at 10:54 pm my lovely wife, Daisy, gave birth to our daughter Virginia Paige weighing in at 6 pounds 9 ounces and 20 inches long. Virginia is in perfect health and Daisy is recovering nicely. We're the happiest we could ever be.

Ilustration Friday: Fast

2009-10-25T16:52:00.006-04:00

In the little river town of Delanco, New Jersey (where I had the pleasure of living for 8 years) is the Holiday Skating Rink. Older costumed roller skaters come from miles around one Tuesday night a month to roller skate to the organist's music (yes, they still have an organist- one of the few in the country to still have one). One night I accompanied a friend and was amazed to see just how good these folks were. I was simply shocked at how fast they were roller skating all the while doing their fancy dance moves. It was captivating to watch, especially when the couples would "roller dance." They would move in flawless unison to the music. One woman tried to teach me but I was hopeless. I met with a few of them and sat back and sketched them as they whizzed by me.

Latest Art Student

2009-10-21T11:54:00.004-04:00

At my height I am often mistaken for a student, especially in the beginning of the year by the Freshman. When I first started teaching it was a struggle for me to maintain respect and discipline the students. Short people simply do not get the respect that tall people get and I'm okay with it, it's just a fact of life.

Let me share one of my experiences with you:

Once, after a long day of teaching, I was on the train drawing and the elderly woman sitting next to me asked if I was an art student.

"No," I kindly replied, "I'm actually an art professor."

To which she responded, "Well, you don't LOOK like a professor."

So I quickly said with a smile, "Well. you don't look like a rude person but here we are!"

I followed it with a laugh and thankfully she laughed with me. What a funny memory for both of us.

You really can say anything with a smile.

IF: Frozen

2009-10-16T17:24:00.004-04:00

I did this back in 2006 for the Philadelphia Zoo's Big Cat Falls exhibit. There was some signage there with some corny kid's jokes in which this one asked, "What kind of treat do cats like on a hot day?" The answer, of course, is "Mice Cream Cones." Laugh hysterically.

Now available...

2009-10-13T15:45:00.003-04:00

Two of my pieces were published this month. The first here is in this month's Highlights High Five and the second is on the back cover of this month's Highlights for Children. See? I'm not a liar.

Autumn Leaf Kite

2009-10-05T13:04:00.002-04:00

Several years ago I had a dream in which a young version of myself was flying a leaf as a kite. I sketched it out and it sat in my sketchbook until now. Since Autumn was upon us and I had a little extra time I wanted to finally make this into a finished piece.

Illustration Friday: Pattern

2009-09-28T09:16:00.004-04:00

I hope this fits into this weeks IF theme. Ever since they asked that we strictly follow the rules (something I am all for) I have second guessed every submission. My point is that I'm not too sure if this one fits, but it does have a good amount of pattern to it. I know we may be looking for something deeper but this is all I've got.

I did this back in 1993 for one of my Junior classes at Hussian. We had to design a Marathon poster for the city of our choosing. Since Jerusalem is home to our world's three major religions I thought I'd incorporate them in as the pattern.

Garbage.

2009-09-24T22:02:00.006-04:00

I did this years ago for the Philadelphia Zoo. It was the second job I completed for them I think. Anyway, enjoy it's grossness. I had fun researching the bugs and worms that lived in a compost heap. It's good that we have them around or we would all be up to our eyeballs in filth. Food for thought!

Boys will be boys.

2009-09-23T11:26:00.007-04:00

This is one of my favorite Inside Dirt comics from 1993. Every so often I would make a comic in which the main characters would be their younger selves. Doing so would allow me to illustrate some memories from my childhood. In this case it was based on my two older brothers, Mike and Dan, who would spend hours building intricate models and soon thereafter would go find something flammable in the garage and set it on fire. Our unsupervised single Mom lifestyle taught us many things about combustibles and I'm sure it brought much joy to the hearts of our neighbors.

Vincent VanGroening.

2009-09-20T08:23:00.009-04:00

Just to warn you I am probably going to be uploading a lot of my old stuff on the blog here. This week I started the process of moving my studio to the third floor to make room for our baby. With any move I usually take it as an opportunity to purge some unwanted art (mostly unworthy sketches) and along the way I discover some stuff that I forgot about or simply haven't looked at in years.

In this case, in what has become a very common art school assignment, I took the VanGogh painting, Portrait of Madame Augustine Roulin and Baby Marcelle and turned it into a portrait of Madame Marge Simpson and Baby Maggie. The idea was to copy the style of an accomplished painter in order to learn about their technique and color sense. For what ever reason we were instructed to add some pop culture into the mix.

The original Van Gogh painting is below. I felt like I never really got the technique down since VanGogh worked in oils and I had to work in acrylics.

PS: My wife hates both of these paintings and I am a little tired of holding on to mine. The first person to contact me gets it for free so long as you agree to pay postage and handling or you can come to my house and pick it up. If you come to pick it up I'll throw in a house tour and we can take my dog for a walk. I live in East Philadelphia, also known as Southern New Jersey.

Morning Exercise.

2009-09-14T11:02:00.003-04:00

Our little dog Charlotte just graduated to being let loose from her leash occasionally and we're really enjoying it.

Illustration Friday: Welcome

2009-09-11T10:42:00.004-04:00

I did this colored pencil piece back in 1993 for our Media Techniques class taught by the great Jim Souder.

My thoughts behind this were that while it is truly wonderful to be outside playing in the snow all day, there is also nothing quite like returning to the warmth of your home where Mom was usually making tomato soup and grilled cheese.

I remember at the time of making this illustration that I was experimenting with the coloring pencil technique of self taught illustrator and Caldecott Winner, Stephen Gammell.

The best part of my job.

2009-09-10T10:45:00.003-04:00

The best part of my job is learning about how things work. It's not often I get jobs like this but when I do I always try to go on location and see the machinery (or animals as well) in motion. In this case I had to go to the local Occupational Training Center's recyling plant and see how recycling is sorted. Besides the melodious smell I found the trip to be very educational and downright fun.

Below is the trammel screen that sorts out the broken glass.

This next one fascinated me. The spinning drum puts out a charge that repels the aluminum but magnetizes the steel/tin while leaving the trash to fall straight down. Brilliant. It was fun to watch the aluminum "jump."

This high velocity fan blows the light plastic and aluminum while the heavy glass drops down.

And of course, here is the aluminum compactor. It was fun to paint all of those cans.

All of these were used as signage in the plant (with some text) to help explain to tour groups how everything worked.

Little Bird

2009-09-08T11:37:00.009-04:00

I recently finished this Hidden Picture for Highlights High Five. It will be featured in the February issue's "My First Hidden Pictures" which are hidden pictures designed to be easier for younger kids and they are also accompanied with a poem. This was my first time coloring one of my hidden pictures. I have been experimenting with a colored pencil Photoshop technique and decided to try it out for this illustration.

Look for the following objects:

Magic wand, birthday cake, mitten, spool of thread, ruler, pencil, eyeglasses, and a tea cup.

There were many changes to the original sketch (the one posted above is actually the second revision). You can see in the sketch how the window was changed to make it easier for the younger kids to "read." My technique in making a hidden picture is usually to make a purposefully busy composition and then find the objects in the sketch with some manipulation. With this one I felt I really had to pull back and simplify which was much easier on my brain.

Below is the line art minus the bird. The bird was done separately so I could control the depth/color of the line in the finish.

High Five is a beautifully illustrated/written magazine. Click here to get a subscription.

Moonless Night.

2009-08-31T16:38:00.006-04:00

I got some work done early today so I decided to quickly color this piece from my Adirondack sketchbook.

Adirondack sketchbook.

2009-08-31T13:28:00.009-04:00

Daisy and I vacationed in the Adirondacks (specifically the Lake Placid and Saranac areas) and here are a few pages from my sketchbook. I foolishly started it in very thin pen (01 or 02) and felt like I had to stick with it. Please be kind while looking at these, I did them without any pencil and I have done no spelling or fact checks so I may come across as an idiot.

After watching the olympic Aerialists train and do their show, I had some of them autograph my sketchbook (below). I thought it was pretty funny that the only one to sign the actual drawing was a bob sledder who just happened to be there that day.

I later found out this bird below was actually a Chickadee.

I actually did the below sketch on a return trip from DC. I quickly drew people as the zoomed by us. It was a fun exercise so I thought I'd throw it in here.

I can't remember why I drew these bears. I was probably wishing I was in Yellowstone, which is how I spend a good 25% of each day.

Reject.

2009-08-12T18:06:00.005-04:00

I was requested to draw a hidden picture for Highlights with a polar bear theme. For whatever reason I decided to go with a more realistic feel. Given the threatening overtones of this sketch I really wasn't sure if it would get approved but to my surprise they approved of the sketch and I went to a finish. It's now 3 years later and I'm still not sure if this ever went to print, perhaps the editors didn't like it after all!

Unfortunately I never scanned in the finished line art to this one so what you're seeing is the finished sketch.

You can get a set of Highlights Hidden Picture books right here.

More Scenarios.

2009-08-11T08:40:00.015-04:00

These are part of a series of illustrations that I work on for Psycholinguistic Technologies' Sentence Shaper 2. What was nice about this run was the fact that I was asked to use a wide screen format. The characters needed to remain centralized in the composition and the backgrounds needed to be as simple as possible, but it was still refreshing.

Special Touch Ministries Banner

2009-08-07T15:08:00.008-04:00

Two years ago I was asked to teach an art lesson at a special needs camp for Special Touch Ministries. Since we had limited time I wanted to make sure to do something that everyone could easily follow and complete. I drew this image of Jesus on 20 pieces of heavy stock and disassembled it before anyone could see what it was. Each camper then colored it using anything from pencils to paint. At the end of the night I reassembled it for the campers to see. To me this is a good allegory of the body of Christ: We are all different, bringing with us our strengths and weaknesses but God still uses them all to bring his love to the world.

Special Touch has since gone on to use this image as a banner at all of their events in New Jersey.

A day off in Pennypack Park.

2009-08-04T12:54:00.007-04:00

I can't believe it has been 9 years since I did this sketchbook story but I guess it's just proof that I am getting older. This was back when I was still living in Philadelphia struggling to make it as an illustrator. Pennypack Park is still one of my favorite places to ride my bike and I try to make it there a couple times every year. (Fun Fact: Built in 1697, the King's Highway Bridge, which crosses over the Pennypack Creek on Frankford Avenue, is the oldest stone bridge in all of the Americas. Anyone that traveled north out of Philadelphia used this bridge including our Founding Fathers. I used to wait for the bus on this bridge everyday in high school.)

Usagi Yojimbo's 25th Anniversary.

2009-07-29T09:51:00.005-04:00

As a fan of Stan Sakai's award winning Usagi Yojimbo I was asked to make an illustration for Usagi's 25th Anniversary by his online fan club. All the fan art and letters were assembled into a book and presented to Stan this past weekend at the San Diego Comic Con.

As indicated by the text attached Stan is a fan of Highlights for Children's Hidden Pictures so I thought I'd make his very own 25th Anniversary Hidden Picture. For those of you unfamiliar with Usagi's world, the characters depicted are 2 rather funny woodcutters that Usagi often runs into as he wanders around Japan. The lizard on top of the wood pile is Usagi's pet, Spot, and you can see Usagi walking away in the distance.

I have been consistently following Stan's work since 1987 (the year I discovered comic books) and it is pretty obvious to me how much of an influence he has had on my work. Most would remember Stan's Usagi Yojimbo as "that samurai rabbit on the Ninja Turtles cartoon," which is correct but most aren't even aware of the volumes of wonderful Usagi comics that Stan has put out there (23 collected books so far). Honestly, if you're not reading Usagi Yojimbo, you're missing out on one of the best comics out there. Pick a book up at your local book store (or give it a try at your library)- you won't be disappointed!