They are zombies!... Finish

Here's the latest. There are bits of this I'm really excited about, I like the really minimal line work and am trying to figure out the balance between this and the really pattern-y stuff like the last painting. I've also recently discovered mixing a bit of concentrated watercolor in with the gouache which really makes the colors pop, though you can't really tell in the scan on this one the pink is a bit brighter than it appears on screen (and even worse once publish to the web, anybody have any suggestion on how keep images from being washed out when put up here?). General thoughts/feedback/etc? Thanks everyone and expect more soon.

EDIT: Thanks to Mark and Justin for their help with the color problems, still needs a little tweaking but a vast improvement.

They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhh!

Here's the latest sketch this one's for "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhh!" by Sufjan Stevens, this may have just been an excuse to draw zombies. You know the drill final to come if it doesn't suck.

You and I finish

Here's the final for that sketch I put up a few days ago, still trying to get a hang of this painting business but I think there's some improvement here. Mostly just trying to get this whole using a brush for line work thing. I'm still at the point where I like the sketches more than the finals but I'm going to get the hang of this if it kills me. As always feedback is really appreciated and more to come soon.

Maybe I want to do what bunnies do with you, if you know what I mean

Here's the drawing for my next painting, I've decided to stick with this whole painting thing for a bit see if I can get a handle on it. This one's from Ingrid Michaelson's You and I, which is a cute little song I also happen to be trying to learn on ukulele at the moment. I am a bit worried that I might just look like the bunnies are humping the people's heads though. Same rules as last time apply, will post the final if it doesn't suck.

Static Electricity finish

As promised here the finish for that sketch I posted a few days ago, turned out alright I still have a lot of work to do on this whole painting thing. Mostly I'm having trouble getting the nice sharp lines of a pencil with brush. Feedback would be much appreciated.

what's going to be the death of me? static electricity

So about once a year I get it into my head that I'm going to teach myself to paint and it's about that time of year again. I usually get discouraged after about a week or so, we'll see how long it last this time.

Anyways here's a sketch that I did last night loosely based on a line from the mountain goats song I love you let's light ourselves on fire, which quite frankly is one of the greatest song titles ever. I'm going to try and paint it over the next day or to and if it turns out alright I'll post it.

1/16 Skecthbook Scans

A bit of new sketchbook stuff, been playing with gouache lately more to come.

first sketchdump of the new year part 2

and part 2, mostly I've been just doing lots of exploration hence the vaguely schizophrenic appearance of the work as of late

first sketchdump of the new year

I decided to scan my sketchbook from over the holiday now that I have access to a scanner again. I'm going to go ahead and split this into 2 post because there's a fair bit of stuff.

New Plush: Alan

It's been way too long since I've made a new plush toy and I forgot just how satisfying it is to finish one. This is Alan, he's a deer and is probably around 15 inches tall (which is a really nice size to squeeze). Making this made me miss my sewing machine a bit but they're something nicely relaxing about the repetitive motion of sewing with a DVD playing in the background.

I Swear I'm Still Here

Okay so not a whole lot to show right now the past month or so has been really busy working on my Masters, but the whole research side and not so much the fun lets draw monsters and dear and ladies side, though making mix cds and rereading "Love Is A Mix Tape" and "I Hate Myself and I Want to Die: The 52 Most Depressing Song You've Ever Heard" and some Nick Horby as research is definitely not the worst thing I could be doing. I have a few sketchbook things to upload because I think there's something to them but not really any finishes right now, I did recently finish a cookbook based on the genesis story for class but it's not in my possession at the moment so it may be a while til it gets posted.

Anyways sketch-dump time

I realized that I need to draw monsters more it's been way too long



I'm not sure what's going on with these next two but there's something to them I think is worth exploring.







And now something that looks nothing like the rest of my stuff.

Holy Roller

Here's a piece that I did recently for the Texas Observer, they contacted me for something to accompany a book review. The review was for Holy Roller: Growing Up in the Church of Knock Down, Drag Out; Or, How I Quit Loving a Blue-Eyed Jesus by Diane Wilson and recounts her upbringing in the pentecostal church. It was a nice, quick and smooth assignment and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Cthulhu is love

Yes i know there's a spelling error, Lovecraftian words are hard to spell off the top of your head.

green deer

something from the sketch book, I've been drawing lots and lots of patterns lately and I think I'm going to start integrating them into my cut paper stuff.

How to make something disappear

Hey everyone I'm still here and have finally managed to get settled in in the UK. I've mostly just been sketching for the last month or so, so expect some sketch dumps soon. But I've also been working on this book project thing based on the idea of surprise in a narrative. I used the idea of a magic trick but changed it a bit to fit into something a bit more me. Any ways here are the images, please note that the text does not fit with the image, as they are formatted to be bound (in fact I bound it today and it's being pressed as I type), so I've placed the correct type for each image below the image. Thanks for the patience everyone and expect more soon

Oh also I've finally gotten a phone in the UK so it is possible to get in touch with me that way I'll be putting that on my website in the next couple of days, though email is still probably a better way to get in contact with me.

so first the sketch



and then the finishes



Step 1: Hold a heart (mine in this case) at the very end of your fingertips in your right hand.



Step 2: Move your other hand over from above as if to take my heart.




Step 3: Just before you’re about to make the switch subtly allow the heart to fall into the base of your right fingers; do this move swiftly and smoothly to simulate a handoff.



Step 4: Carry on with this grasping motion, tightening both hands into fists at the same time, which will hide the fact that my heart remains in your right hand.



Step 5: Take your right hand (where my heart still remains) and make an elaborate pointing gesture at your left fist, throwing in some “magic” words, such as “presto-change-o”, “trust me” or what have you.


Step 6: Open your hands and reveal that my heart hasn’t disappeared…

Website Updated

Finally got around to updating my website with a few pieces in preparations for my last mailing before I head to England.

Project Rooftop: ReVamp

My submission for the latest project rooftop, this one was to redesign vampirella. This turned out alright but I wish I would have had a bit more time to work out the design but the last few weeks have been nuts. I admit that I don't really know anything about vampirella but in the course of researching her I tracked down some of the original vampirella comics, they're cheesy, lewd and hilarious and I would absolutely suggest reading them.

Girl and Deer Final

Well here's the final for the sketch from yesterday I'm pretty happy with the way that it turned out and I think I'm going to go ahead and finish designing the postcard tonight/tomorrow so that I can get a mailing out before I head across the pond.

Sept 3 sketches: In search of a new promo piece

Okay so the goal for today was to pump out a piece for use on a new promo piece which didn't so much happen. Thing just weren't working out for most of the day but ultimately I came up with the girl with a deer which I will hopefully finish tomorrow. Below that is another idea I had that may turn into something eventually but for now just wasn't right, the idea of seeing someone across a crowded subway/space shuttle and making a connect. Anyways more soon.

Rollergirl Final

Here's the final of the sketch from earlier, not quite sure about it still may go back to this at a later date.