Custom Tract Source recently commissioned this illustration of Santa for a “Christmas Cash” gospel tract. The tract will resemble colorful toy money, with an upper-body “portrait” of Santa on the front, and on the back Santa will be holding his “naughty and nice” list. There will be some accompanying text with the Christian message that we are all “naughty” sinners at times, and therefore we need a Savior.
It was a fun project to work out. I mean, how could you not have fun drawing Santa?
Wow. This really puts it in perspective.
(Thanks to Mirosław Urbaniak for the link.)
My wife and I went up north this weekend for a mini-vacation at a friend’s cabin and to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. It was also our first trip together with no itinerary, no friends or family, nothing to do but relax. We had a great time, and we both came back very refreshed.
Of course, what’s a weekend getaway without some sketching? It was nice to just kick back and draw whatever I wanted without having to worry about deadlines or a client’s specific needs. I’d recently purchased some 8B leadless pencils and was looking forward to trying them out (John Naverez does wonders with those things). There was a nature magazine in the cabin so I sketched a bird from a photo. I think this took me about an hour.
If you look off to the right, you’ll see lots of art blogs listed. I just added about a dozen more. It’s a pretty long list, but they are all super-talented artists. I try not to link to a blog just because it comes from my grandma’s third-cousin’s nephew. I post links because the artwork is excellent and/or inspires me in one way or another.
Below that I’ve listed some other artists who inspire me but (unfortunately) don’t have blogs.
Then below that is a new section, “Misc. Blogs”. These have nothing to do with art, but nevertheless make me think or make me laugh. As if you needed more time wasters….
Doug TenNapel – A prolific comic-book artist, writer, animator, director, and producer. His posts are often witty and thought-provoking.
Ken Levine – Emmy winning writer/director/producer/major league baseball announcer. He has worked on MASH, CHEERS, FRASIER, THE SIMPSONS, WINGS, and EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND.
Capn’ Wacky – Lots of silly humor. Their “Lists” section is hilarious (for example, Upcoming Air Travel Passenger Regulations.)
Albert Mohler – Christian radio host and commentator. Time.com called him the “reigning intellectual of the evangelical movement in the U.S”.
Pulpit Magazine – A website about “key ministry issues and contemporary evangelical happenings”.
Savage Chickens – A addicting little comic strip about, well, chickens.
Purgatorio – A wacky look at American Christian subculture. Particularly funny are the “You Supply the Caption” contests.
[EDIT]: I’ve also added a few more lniks to the “Podcasts” section. Great stuff to listen to while drawing.
Why does the modern illustration market seem to be in a slump? Adrian Shaughnessy offers some thoughts on DesignObserver.com. His article, Graphic Design vs. Illustration is very thought provoking (despite his overuse of big fifty-dollar words). There are also some really good comments posted by readers who echo the problem but draw different conclusions.
From the article:
“The professional world of illustration is widely believed to be in poor shape. As Steven Heller noted recently: “I am an advocate of illustration and saddened by its loss of stature among editors who feel photography is somehow more effective (and controllable).” There are, of course, many reasons for illustration’s fading stature…” Read more.
I’ve recently been hired by a dairy producer to create a cow character that will be printed on kids’ milk cartons. The cow needed to look smart and scholarly, maybe a Socrates or Einstien cow. These are the sketches I’ve developed so far. Last I heard the project is “on hold”, but they are leaning towards Sketch C3.
(Click for a larger image).
A must-read for any aspiring freelancer.
Thanks to NO!SPEC for the link.
Last weekend was the annual meeting of the North Central Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society. The meeting was set to coincide with FallCon here in Minneapolis. Two weekend cartoon events for the price of one. It was a blast! I had a great time catching up with some old art buddies and making a few new ones.
This weekend was also our first wedding anniversary. And my wife’s birthday was the day before. Fortunately I have the most supportive wife an artist could ask for. I made it up to her with a Gondola ride Sunday night and plans for a weekend getaway at a friend’s cabin later this month.
Here’s a few pics from the weekend events. The NCS chapter meeting kicked off Friday night with an art show at MCAD.
MAD Magazine artist Tom Richmond calls for backup.
Guest lecturer Michael Jantze (The Norm) asks, “Where’d you get that sweet hunting jacket?”
Ken Alvine and Dave Phipps admire a lifelike statue of Mike Edholm.
Illustrator extraordinaire Bucky Jones talks shop with one of the artist’s wives.
Terry Beatty (left) is an instructor at MCAD and the inker on The Batman Strikes. And he has a killer goatee.
Saturday afternoon I took part in a panel discussion on cartooning with fellow NCS members Tom Richmond, Michael Jantze, and Jerry Van Amerongen.
Bill Brewer emceed the discussion: “How many cartoonists does it take to change a light bulb….?”
Tom dozes off as I ramble on.
Back on the show floor, Batman’s cape is stuck in his car door. “This looks like a job for Superman!”
My lovely wife Jennie helps me man my table at the Con.
Michael Jantze had the tidiest table at the convention.
Nicole Nelson, Bucky Jones, and Dave Phipps (right) man the NCS table. Dave has a weekend radio show devoted to cartooning.
Kelly McNutt and Mike Edholm. No bald jokes, please.
My Dad collects old comic books (especially westerns). So he and Mom stopped by the Con to say “hi” and pose for a few pics:
Incidentally, Dad is running for Le Sueur County Commissioner. If he wins, he gets to ride one of these in the parade:
(In the background, a policeman gives Batman a speeding ticket.)
The weekend was loads of fun. Big-time kudos to Tom Richmond and the gang for pulling it all together.
These are two pages from a children’s book I am currently illustrating for Living Waters Publications. It’s going to be a “scratch-and-sniff” book with a different smell on each page. Lots of fun to work on! (The blank areas are for text).
With comic book sales in a slump and with newspaper readership steadily dropping, is it possible to be successful in comics or cartoons these days?
Certainly. In recent years a few have become quite successful, thanks to the internet. The internet is opening brand new doors for comics creators to explore. But while some doorways eventually lead to success, many others are proving to be dead ends. With the internet still in its infancy and technology changing so rapidly, there is not yet a well-trodden path that cartoonists can follow to digital success.
I’ll be part of a panel discussion at FallCon this afternoon where we will discuss this very thing. Since I’m an illustrator and animator, not a cartoonist, I’ve had to brush up on the issue. In my research I’ve found the following articles on the subject. Maybe some of them will be helpful to you aspiring cartoonists out there:
Can you make money posting your cartoons online? Here’s an interesting interview about comics and micropayments.
PVP creator Scott Kurtz discusses problems with the current syndicate system.
Here’s a blog totally devoted to helping artists make money with their webcomics. I don’t know whether the advice is good or bad, but it seems worth a once-over.
Comics guru and author Scott McCloud is trying some fascinating new things at his website. He writes that information wants to be cheap and briefly discusses Reinventing Web Comics.
Got any other links/articles to recommend? What are your thoughts? Post a comment and let me know.
