Uncle America.

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.

That's Silly, Baggage Claim!

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!

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.

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

Backyard Superman

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.

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Research. Research. Research.

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!

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

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

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.