Visuals

I can only show a few images per story, so here are some of my favorites. These ones are from the ebook "Daisy and the Dragons" mentioned in the previous post. It's this kids' book about this young girl Daisy (our eponymous hero) who encounters two dragons while roaming about the countryside. There's a red one and a blue one, and all evidence presents both of them as hostile beasts. However, using her wits, Daisy is able to overcome her individual troubles.

This was a fun project to work on with all the characters and interactions. I made a lot of discoveries and found some new effects with the medium. Plus, Intuary gave me free reign to do whatever I liked with the backgrounds! If you download the app, I think you'll see the play in each page.

That's about it for this story. Check out other RISD '11 profiles to see some more examples of Farfaria illustration! It seems the pool is growing every day. Also, here's a bonus image from the previous ebook. The frog page.

Book Two

I've got a second story up on Intuary's Farfaria app, check it out: http://www.farfaria.com/stories/title/daisy-and-the-dragons

Now that it's published I can show some work from this big stack on my desk. Expect some illustrations and another post shortly!

New eBook is Out

They finally did it! Intuary's ipad app Farfaria was launched just the other day, and with it my book work! "Lullaby in the Swamp," written by Christine Sawinski and illustrated by yours truly, is a poetic story about animal residents of a swamp as evening transitions to a magical, peaceful night. The link to the story is here, and for ipad users you can get a free 30-day trial of the app.

At last, I'm allowed to post some of the work, which has been waiting since the fall! Here's one page illustration; it depicts a nest of mourning doves settling in for the night, as dragonflies and a rogue fairy find other things to do. The medium is gouache and colored pencil.

If you're curious about the other pages, get the 30-day-free app! And tell me how it looks (I haven't got an ipad, unfortunately). Another story is in the works too, with a greater emphasis on fantastical characters and not so many night scenes!

Happy Holidays!

December is back, bringing with it a lot of diverse work opportunities.

Recently, I finished some illustrations for Butlr.com that are now published online - including a short comic that provides an origin story for the company's logo, Butlr Bot. All of this work is experimental for me; everything is digitally colored and edited in photoshop. I also collaborated with senior visual designer Moly Yim in adding photographic depth to each piece. That link is here.

Additionally, I'm finishing up my first ebook, which I'm pretty excited about! I believe the app is debuting in January, so look for an update then. It's a good time working on publishing work, and my art directors have been fantastic. More details will come in 2012, and expect images!

Anyways, happy holidays! If I get the green light post 25th, I'll post some holiday gift pictures here. I like to wrap presents in a very distinct way.

Sketchbook (Among Other Things)

It's been a long time since the last post, but I've had a lot going on with moving locations and working. I'm happy to be living in Boston now with a steady job and some engaging side projects. One of my freelance jobs in particular promises some fun assignments - I'll be saving those for mid-November. Right now, there's not much that I can put online apart from personal work.

I was fortunate to run across a nice scanner while visiting friends, and I was lucky to have my sketchbook with me. So this post is all about the later pages of my book, Niente. Some of the images you may recognize from earlier posts, but the difference in scan quality is incredible.

The Meadows at Van Deusenville

One day, you could live here. This is a rendering I did for an architectural site in development by David E. Lanoue, Inc. It's called "The Meadows at Van Deusenville" and it's all historical housing built with modern conveniences.

And these are some sketches:

It was challenging to create an illustration from the architectural plans and line drawings, but also exciting. Something about disrupting the balance of mathematical architecture with organic landscape really appealed to me. Anyway, I'm happy with how it turned out. It's the biggest I've ever worked with using my mixed media, about 30" wide.

Aladdin Backgrounds

So if you couldn't guess, I've been working on backgrounds for Aladdin (in fact, the Arlington Children's Theatre production of Aladdin Jr!) If anyone will be in the vicinity of Arlington, MA during July 31-August 7, you should stop by the Regent Theater! Get your tickets here and prepare for a good show. I can't wait to see the performers bring these environments to life! Here's the art:

It was a fantastic learning experience from sketch to finish - the best part being an increase in my working speed. July has been busy and I will be taking a small vacation. When I get back, onto the next project! (Which happens to be very architectural.)