YSA Comic #3, in COLOR!!!

I've actually been working on some paying illustration jobs, but until they're done I wanted to post another young single adult comic I did awhile back. I'm experimenting with line and coloring comics in the computer. Lately I've been using non photo blue pencil and then scanning the inked lines at 600 dpi in line drawing mode, and the blue lines don't even show up at all. It's a cool trick I discovered from my friends and from my tricky little scanner.

When a Lime Loves a Lemon...

I've been messing with converting .jpgs into vector art using Inkscape. As a result, I came up with a vector art version of an illustration I did earlier in the year. Obviously there was some tweaking done. The design is now on a t-shirt to be voted on at threadless.com. Please follow this link and vote for my t-shirt. I could win cash and prizes people! Support my future, vote for this shirt!

Sibling Caricature #5

At the beginning of the year, I decided that for all my siblings' birthdays I would make them a portrait caricature of themselves. Some of the ones I did didn't turn out like I would have waned, but this one seems okay. Normally, I don't post these pictures before I give the sibling the actual painting, but this brother saw the sketches and everything already so I don't think there is any harm in posting this image now.

YSA Comic #2

I continue to try and flesh out ideas for great comics about young single adults. Of the ideas I had in my sketch book, I liked this one the most. In reality, I don't think it's even a bad idea for a calling. Think about all the people that would go to activities if they were texted the information on their cell phones every week. It's funny yet profound at the same time. I've also included the rough sketch that I made the comic from so you can see what I went from.

YSA Comic #1

I'd like to mix up my work with illustrations and comics. For those dear friends of mine who actually read this blog, I'll let you in on a little dream of mine. I think it would be cool to illustrate a comic book aimed at Young Single Adults and their quirky yet exciting lives. Ya know,something you might see in Deseret Book Store. I could see it.

A Day in the Life of a Donut Man

Ah, another final illustration after what seems like forever. It'd be neat to make a series out of this character and out of the ostrich cowboy characters. I left space for what could be type in the top right corner. Again I used 140 lb. watercolor paper, Sepia ink, and watercolor. I did a thin wash of an off-white, yellow kind of color to begin with so that things were sort of harmonized, and then went from there. I hope it looks good.

A long break and some sketches...

Yeah, I know, it's been like forever since I've posted something. I've been busy working part time jobs and chasing women, which surprisingly takes up lots of time. Honestly though, I need to do more final pieces. I'll try to have some posted soon. On a separate note, I was in St. Louis on Sunday and that was fun! I got to see the Arch and a Rams tailgating party. Woo hoo!

Illustration Friday: Open

Nothing says open like the open range! Of course, most people don't think of a wild hog farm being managed by ostrich cowboys when they think of the open range. I did this awhile back, in sepia ink and watercolor on 140 lb. arches watercolor paper. Enjoy the open range ya'll!

Oh, and don't forget to vote for me in the Forums for the competition!

Snail like progress

Surely but slowly I progress on my painting. I've been sick the past week so I haven't moved much, let alone got up to paint. Here is the color comp I did today in preparation for my final painting. I hope I can make the painting as fresh as color comps and sketches....sigh.

On the Drawing Board

It's been awhile since I've posted anything new. This is a near final sketch of something I have been working on. I'm still looking for work and making illustrations and this will hopefully be something that can aid me in that attempt. Enjoy!

The White Rabbit

I'm a big fan of the book, Alice in Wonderland. For fun I've been recreating the illustrations in the book with my own style and this is the first one I did. Let me know what ya think!

Illustration Friday: Citrus Love

This is a post for Illustration Friday and the weeks theme was "citrus." I didn't plan on doing anything for this theme but I had a funny idea about lemons and limes always coming together to make great tasting soda pop so I had to make this image. I hope it speaks for itself without me having to explain it. Enjoy it either way!

Batter's Up!

I did this simple little illustration again for fun and for my website/portfolio. I appreciate the help and comments from friends who visit my blog. Keep the constructive criticism and helpful comments coming! Enjoy!

Just for fun

I can never wait til I draw something big to post it, so I'm posting a little sketch I did today just for fun.

Look Ma, No Ink!!

This image comes directly from my watercolor sketch book which sadly doesn't get much attention. I drew it with pencil and colored it with watercolor. The paper was also extra rough, hence the extra texture in the image. I usually use ink to draw my lines so it was nice for a change to try something different.
Oh and for those looking at this from Illustration Friday, "remember" those really cool stone lions from China? I don't, but I saw one once in a movie.

Illustration Friday: Fortune

I actually had this posted for the evening of last Thursday for "Green" but since it was posted for so short a time, and it fits this weeks topic, I wanted to keep it posted for one more week. I executed this image mostly in watercolor, a little bit of colored pencil and some tweaks made in photoshop and it didn't take me more than a week to do it.

Illustration Friday: Ah...Snap!

Nothing says "snap" like a bunch of polaroids!

Illustration Friday: I Spy...

Because I can rarely make a new illustration within a week, I've decided to post another "old" illustration. Besides, I couldn't pass this one up with a topic like "I spy." Enjoy!

A little work

This is an illustration I did for an international business who's headquarters are not far from where I live. I know one of the guys in charge and he tipped of some other people in the business about what I do. This little guy will serve as a kind of mascot for the companies newsletters. They also wanted a comic, but that idea didn't fly with the CEOs.

Illustration Friday: Hide!

Another post for good ol' Illustration Friday here. This time I'm actually using something I've done before in the past. It's not even a digital piece, it's brush & ink with watercolor. For the extra ambitious, try to find the stuffed animal rabbit, the guinea pig, and the rabbit with a carrot. Enjoy!

Illustration Friday: Communication

This has been part of a line of experiments trying to do things digitally. The composition isn't the best, but I like the characters. Enjoy!

Experiment #527

Here's another version. Which is better?

Experiment #526

Here is the latest in my experiments with different techniques using digital illustration. I traced this figure in illustrator, and then overlaid on some textured paper in Photoshop. I'm new to anything remotely associated with this kind of technique. Any art fans out there, please critique me. Thanks!

Illustration Friday: Gravity!

Here is yet another attempt for Illustation Friday. Enjoy!

Illustration Friday: Sprout

This is my first Illustration Friday submission. Its nothing really to brag about, but I couldn't wait any longer to post something for Illustration Friday.

Piece by Piece

So here is the big illustration I have been working on for that last little while. The actual size is 27" by 17". Since my scanner is only 8 1/2" by 11", I had to piece together 8 separate scans. I didn't think I could do it, but I did. Since its watercolor, the colors never quite scan as good as I would like, but its still pretty good.

The $500 comic

I mentioned earlier that I wan a national award for best comic in a college newspaper, or at least the best of those that were entered into the competition. At any rate, I got an award that I thought had a cash award with it. I got the award, but there was no money. I waited and waited and waited, but nothing came. So after a few months I gave up, thinking it must have been some sort of mistake, but alas, I received a check in the mail just yesterday for $500! There was money attached to the award! I was pretty excited to say the least. Since I'm not currently pursuing comics right now, I think it's funny that I actually won money for this comic. So I'm posting it just to show people that this comic is worth $500. And to think, when it first ran in the paper, most people didn't think it was that funny. Honestly, I don't blame them. Ha ha!

Just a sketch

These lil' pictures here are just sketches. When I was trying to figure out what the people in Ancient China might look like I came up with these characters. I liked them enough that I'm posting them on the blog.

Dinosaurs!

Here is the sketch of my latest project, or at least half of it. I have about this much inked in of the other half. I ran out of good ink brushes, so now I'm working on sketching anther scenario while I wait for the brushes. The other scenario that I'm working on is Ancient China. I'm pretty excited about that one. About this image though, don't try looking for Timmy yet. He's actually in the other half. But you can try to spot the "hiding" dodo birds. Its really hard to find these, isn't it? Not!

Portrait of a Sister

Just for kicks and in case anyone actually reads these posts, here is a new image to look at. It's a cartoon of my sister and her two girls. Her husband is not in the image, because the picture was a Christmas gift for him. I think she intended for him to put the framed picture in his office so he can look at his wife and kids all day at work. It's a sweet idea, I know.