Satellite Dish

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New painting! The first image shows a bit of my process, how I worked out some of the broad color and composition.  The second is the final product.  Enjoy!

Sneak Peek

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Finally getting around to finishing this sketch out! In the meantime, here is a sneak peek of what I've done so far.

Company Christmas Card

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More Soon.

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Not done. More soon.

Alligator Bag

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She found that beautiful bag tucked away in the corner of her favorite pawnshop, its price tag dancing in a twisted dangle and then falling still as a cranky oscillating fan rotated its head from side to side. She turned the tag so that the price was facing her and smiled at her find. It was a good price--a steal in fact. That is pride you see in her face. Yes, folded into the blistered wrinkles of her weary scute is the pride of a woman who now has something precious, an heirloom of sorts, which she may, at some point later on when her eyes no longer break the surface of water because she prefers instead to stretch along the lazy length of a sun-warmed rock, pass on to her child.

3 Character Designs

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Three early character designs for an animated project I'm working on with Aaron Hawkins. I cannot discuss the project in much detail, but the overall design ultimately took on a different, more simplified look, inspired in some part on the stylized designs that came out of the UPA in the 1950s. And while we're on the subject, Amid Amidi's beautiful book Cartoon Modern collects much of the work from this era--it is a beautiful book and I highly recommend it!

Prismacolors

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Another drawing from the sketchbook...Gotta love the vibrancy of prismacolors.

Such passion!

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Yet again, a drawing excerpted from my sketchbook. It's not the best sketch I've ever done (those hands feel a little lazy)--but he's just so passionate and so happy, it's hard not to like him.

A little something for everyone...

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Another page from the ol' sketchbook. I don't know how I feel about the lady yet, but the geometric face of the waiter (or is he a maître d'?) makes me happy, makes me feel like I'm onto something.

Quick Sketch

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Things have been busy. I recently finished a spot for Sesame Street and have moved on to doing some work on another PBS show. I have been trying to find time to complete several of my character designs. I also have been frequenting the library, checking out their huge photography books in search of inspiration for characters and ideas.

The above is something quick I did in my sketchbook last night while the film "Lenny" played in the background.

Jazz

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Something recent from my sketchbook. I really love the loose gestural quality I get when using a China Marker. Very interesting and almost abstract forms emerge when I draw that way, and I love building on those forms.

Mirror

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This is something else from my sketchbook that I like. (While it doesn't play with abstraction or graphic forms in the same way as some of my other recent work) it is indicative of my recent incorporation of and experimentation with pattern.

Musician

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I like this guy--I plan on using him in a larger piece, though I haven't yet decided whether to do it digitally or in traditional media. Perhaps a combination of the two.

From my sketchbook

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A sketchbook is always full of notes, scribbles, and often drawings that you wouldn't want to reveal to the world. But I have a few things in my sketchbook that I feel confident about, and so the next few posts will be glimpses into my sketchbook. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Some old squidbillies drawings...

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So I was going through some drawings I did--and I realized I never posted these on my blog.

One late night last year, when I was living in Atlanta and working on "Squidbillies", I was playing around with Alias Sketchbook Pro. I wanted to draw something, but that particular evening, I wasn't feeling particularly inspired. So I turned to the show I had worked on for 2+ years for inspiration...besides, I figured it would be fun to see these characters (some of whom have such strange designs) fleshed out in a more realistic manner.

It is actually because of these drawings that Jim Fortier, one of the creators of "Squidbillies", asked me to create this drawing of Early Cuyler for the show.

Early Cuyler Design

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I apologize for not blogging recently. Unfortunately, I had some technical problems with photoshop which prohibited me from both doing more work and resizing things for the web. I have resolved any technical issues, and so finally I am able to post this drawing I did for the show "Squidbillies".

I had been doing very realistic drawings of "Squidbillies" characters in my spare time just for fun--it was a way to continue drawing and designing even when I wasn't feeling particularly inspired.

We were struggling with the concept of creating a caricature of Early on a dune buggy, and Jim Fortier, one of the show's creators and writers, who had seen some of my more realistic renditions, suggested that I try doing one for the show, the idea being that if a caricature is typically a simplified version of reality, then it might make sense for a caricature of a cartoon, which is already simplified, to be the opposite. It can be seen in episode 32, entitled "Tuscaloosa Dumpling".