CD Cover Illustration For Greathall Productions

Here's an illustration I did for the cover of the latest Greathall Productions storytelling cd, George Washington: First in the Hearts of His Countrymen, told by award-winning storyteller Jim Weiss. 

The project posed a bit of a challenge in that I needed to be able to replicate the style of art they normally use for their covers, in less than a week, and using only traditional media (i.e. non-digital). 

I made the switch to digital coloring long ago (I still prefer to ink traditionally) and all my paints, brushes and related supplies are currently in storage, and probably not in the best of shape. 

I did a quick digital sketch and sent it to them, and while waiting to hear back I borrowed some really nice watercolors from my good friend and fellow Urban Sketcher, Jessie Chapman. After that came a very frantic day of painting, during which I sorely missed my beloved Photoshop. Thankfully, I had some water-soluble colored pencils to help me out.

In the end, I got the job done and my clients were very happy with the final piece. The original is now framed and hanging on their wall along with all the other covers they've had done over the years. 

Curse of the Beercation

Latest work for Utah Adventure Journal for an article called "Curse of the Beercation." According to the article, microbrewery tours and early morning kayaking don't really mesh well together. Who knew? 

Below is the sketch that got approved along with an alternate idea for a zombie-themed illustration featuring drunken hipsters on a microbrewery tour.

FORE Magazine: Pace of Play

Here's a piece I did for an article in FORE Magazine, put out by the Southern California Golf Association. The story is about efforts being made to encourage golfers to speed up their game a bit. Below are some of the sketches I did that didn't make it.

And here's a digital tear-sheet:

Sketchbook portrait

Here's a quick sketchbook portrait I did of my wife's cousin when he came to visit us over the summer. It turned out to be a pretty good likeness, so I colored it in Photoshop. You can see the original below.

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/

Ullr, God of Snow?

Latest work for Utah Adventure Journal on whether or not the Norse god Ullr (stepson to Thor) is truly the god of snow. Below are some of my initial sketches for the assignment.

Latest Work For Utah Adventure Journal

Latest work for Utah Adventure Journal. Had fun with the 50's retro approach and limited color palette. Below are a few of my initial sketches before hitting on the final idea.

CFA Institute- Bridging the Gap

Here's a piece I completed recently for the CFA Institute's website for an article on their new customer management software, ensuring they have the latest, up-to-date information on all their customers around the world.

Below are a few of the ideas I sketched out before doing the final piece. 

I kind of liked the second one, but is perhaps a little too symmetrical, while the last one is probably a little too Minority Report. Below is a work in progress pic and the final image featuring the title for the article.

Utah Adventure Journal

My latest work for Utah Adventure Journal for an article on taking your dog hiking. Below is my initial thumbnail sketch followed by a more refined version. I wanted to push things a bit more to emphasize the dog's enthusiasm, and felt giving the illustration a "fish-eye" lens effect was the way to go.

 

Santa Boy book illustrations

Here's the cover art for the book Santa Boy, a short e-book available on Amazon.com. I completed this awhile back, but I felt it would be nicer to wait til Christmas time before posting. I did a couple of interior illustrations as well, but you'll have to buy the book to see them! You can order your own copy here: http://www.amazon.com/Santa-Boy-ebook/dp/B005MU9GOY/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323288558&sr=1-2

 Original sketch for the cover.

This was an alternate idea for the cover. I thought of giving the book more of a 50's retro feel, but the AD preferred the first version. I still kind of like the simplicity of this one, though.

And here are some sketches of the interior illustrations.

Album art for MoonTravelers CD

Here's a piece I did for up-and-coming hip-hop artists (and friends of illustrators everywhere!) the MoonTravelers for their latest CD The Traveler. The CD features a booklet of illustrations for each track on the album, done by a variety of illustrators. I haven't gotten my copy yet, but I'll be sure to post an update once it arrives. My piece is for the track "Fly Me To The Moon."

Below is the initial pencil drawing after being scanned into Photoshop and adding some additional highlights and shading:

And here are some of the initial thumbnail sketches: