Sit up straight, kid!

This is a teaser illustration I dropped into a proposal for a client to create and design keyboarding (typing) software. FableVision got it, and we're actually on the home stretch of the project right now—though they didn't go for my wackier approach to things.

Fleischer at Classic Cartoons

It's rare that I would post about something from another blog, but for the past couple of weeks the gang over at Classic Cartoons have been posting animation stills from the Fleischer Color Classics. Notably "Tears of an Onion," which I have never seen, and "Play Safe," which I had on VHS when I was a kid. I wish I could see the onion one, but it's supposedly still under copyright protection. I love the sequence in "Play Safe" where the trains are about to crash. It actually repeats over and over again with the trains whistling at each other for a good 30 seconds as they are barreling towards each other. Please hop on over and have a look for yourself. I love the visual style of the Fleischer cartoons...they are both cute and bizarre, which I find appealing.

Line, please.

Lately I've been exploring my curiosity in line. I find myself torn between the brush stroke that I've grown more accustomed to from working in Flash (using a tablet), and the single width line I get from a uniball pen. The good thing is that when I break out the pen nibs, I usually get something inbetween: enough variation so that I can get a thick or thin line depending on which tip I use (and there is some variation built in). Two comic artists that I'm fond of, Ron Regé Jr. (line) and Seth (brush), appropriately represent opposing ends of the spectrum. My brain seems to adjust to the tool that I'm using, offering differing results. Below are some recent pages from my sketchbook.

Cluster 2

Love me...

Welcome to Beantown

I just finished an illustration for Improper Bostonian, a local arts and entertainment magazine. They're easily one of my favorite freelance gigs, because I get a 10" x 12" full pager to tackle. And the art director gives me a lot of freedom. The articles are usually funny—this one is a laundry list of everyday annoyances for city-goers in Boston. I tried to cram a lot into the picture (worked large at 14" x 17") and had a lot of fun with the details. The street date is Oct 11th, so look for it if you're in town.

Fold into books

2 Heads

Just playing around with a brush in my sketchbook. I guess I shouldn't be afraid of brushwork as much as I am...it does create a wonderful line. When I work in pen and ink, I normally use pen nibs—which don't give me quite the thick to thin line variation, but I'm more comfortable working with a pen as a tool. And I can achieve the same line with tablet in Flash. Actually, these were created with a brush marker...so I am still cheating.

Decisions

Hellish serpent