New Webcomic: Wrong Planet

I did an alternate version of Wrong Planet that I originally optimized for Instagram that lets you view each panel as a larger, separate image. But it was such a nice feature, I'm sharing it here as well. Check it out below!

Story Starters With YA Author Lamar Giles

Last weekend, I attended a local SCBWI event (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) in Richmond, Va. Among the three excellent panelists was YA author, and 2015 Edgar Award Nominee, Lamar Giles.

Lamar did a super-fun Mad-Lib-style exercise with us called Story Starters, where he and the audience create a unique opening line by committee. Once the line’s created, the writers/illustrators in the audience have 15 minutes to write or sketch whatever that line inspires.

The sentence we came up with was "Alice never wants to hurt anyone again, but the robots won’t end the experiment."  Here's what I came up with in 15 minutes: 

I liked the sketch so much, that I went ahead and did a more finished version at home:

The cool part was that Lamar was pretty excited to share what everyone did on his blog, so I happily sent him both the sketch and the finished piece. Much to my surprise, not only did he post my images, but wrote up a pretty great review of my work as well. You check it out here: http://www.lrgiles.com/story-starters-scott-dubar-illustrator/ And for everyone interested YA fiction, definately check out Lamar's books Fake ID, and Endangered.

New Web Site For Kid Hercules

Announcing the all-new, official Kid Hercules web site! Featuring daily drawings from my 365 challenge, a brief synopsis of my upcoming series, and a few action-packed illustrations of the world's strongest kid in full, blazing color! Check out all the awesomeness at www.kidhercules.com.

Kid Hercules 365 Challenge Update

Here's just a few samples of my ongoing 365 challenge for a character I'm developing called Kid Hercules. I actually completed the challenge back in April, but have a pretty big backlog of images to upload. This has been such a great project and something that has helped improve my work in ways I never expected!

You can follow my progress over at kidhercules365.blogspot.com and check out everything I've been able to post so far.

Comic Ground: Cartoons for Common Ground Magazine

San Francisco's Common Ground magazine is leading up to it's 40th anniversary with an issue devoted to the importance of humor. Editor Rob Sidon, who knew me from my days doing comics and short animations for a meditation center in India, called me up to ask if I had anything on hand. Alas, I had none. But that didn't stop me from putting pencil to paper.

The first one I did is a variation on an idea I had for a Grumpy Cat meme playing off Ekhart Tolle's The Power of Now. The second one, like most good humor, is actually based on a true event.

You can check them both out, along with the the whole issue, here: http://www.sopdigitaledition.com/commonground/#/20/

New Project: Kid Hercules 365!

I'm proud to announce  a new project I'm undertaking called Kid Hercules 365. It's basically just another 365 challenge where I draw a new Kid Hercules illustration every day for one year. I'm doing this as a way to help me develop my characters for a graphic novel that's been brewing in my brain for awhile now.

You check out my progress here:
http://kidhercules365.blogspot.com/

Singing King

Here's another illustration for HappyReading.org. The art director wanted me to go for a non-European king, suggesting perhaps a Maharajah instead. I loved that idea and wanted to make sure I included a variety of patterns typically found in Indian folk art.

Happy Halloween!

Here's a little something for Halloween. I actually did this for HappyReading.org, but I thought it was a good fit for a Happy Halloween image.

Cover: Graphic Artists Guild Newsletter

I got to illustrate the cover for the Graphic Artists Guild's upcoming newsletter, which I'm pretty excited about. The theme I was given was how we are connected via digital media. My idea for the image is a riff on former Alaska Senator Ted Steven's infamous declaration that the internet is "a series of tubes." I actually think Disney could make an awesome theme park ride out of this...

IF: Spooky

Here's a quick sketch for this week's Illustration Friday. It's actually part of a project I'm working on, but I thought it fit this week's theme well enough.

UPDATE: Here's the finished piece:

Proposed Book Project

Did these two pieces for a proposed book project. If a deal goes through, then I could end up with many more of these to do!

Disc Golf and Beer

Latest work for Utah Outdoor Adventure journal for an article on disc golf. I couldn't resist putting in the cliche golf clothes, which I think also help people unfamiliar with disc golf understand what's going on in the scene; specifically that it's not frisbee. Just for fun, I've included a couple of my thumbnail sketches below.

This Month's Map Illustration: Red River Gorge

There were a lot of fun features to draw for this month's map illustration, which happens to be an area just south of where I grew up.

IF: Atmosphere

I had couple of tight deadlines this week, so here's a little something I did awhile back for an article on air pollution.

Illustration Friday: Caged

This one reminds me a little bit of Charles Addams. Got the drawing finished, but will need to post an update when the rest is complete. Any feedback is welcome!


UPDATE: Here's the final piece in its full-color glory.

Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine

Here's my latest map illustration for Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine, featuring Brevard, North Carolina. I'm really happy with how this one came out. I also got to do some waterfalls this time, which was pretty cool.

Illustration Friday: Adrift

I think I may have been a bit 'adrift' myself with this week's Illustration Friday challenge. Overall I like the concept and the composition, but it still feels a bit thin somehow.

Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine

Here's my latest map illustration for Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine. This month features my hometown of Charlottesville, VA. I have to say I had no idea there were so many cool outdoorsy things to do nearby! But in my own defense, I live out in the woods with hiking trails, streams and a river right in my backyard, so I haven't had much incentive to look elsewhere for cool outdoorsy places to go.

Illustration Friday: Muddy

My concept for this week's challenge was based on my dad's career as a paleontologist. Digging in the dirt and mud was a regular part of his job, and an aspect he enjoyed thoroughly.

I had a bit of a setback with this image due to the huge snowstorm this past week, and an unintended consequence is that my color palette came out a bit "muddy" as well. At any rate, I'm really enjoying these weekly challenges and for having another good excuse to push myself to be more productive/creative, or as my meditation teacher is fond of saying, " Active, positive, creative!"

Illustration Friday: Entangled

This is my first attempt at the Illustration Friday challenge, and I'm really glad I took a shot at it. As you can see, I didn't quite finish it, but I'm really happy with the whole concept and the energy of the image and I'm looking forward to putting some more time into it over the weekend to really finish it off.