“3-2-1 Penguins!” Character Designs (part 1)

On Saturday NBC aired another episode of 3-2-1 Penguins! for which I did some character designs. The plot centered around a malfunctioning time machine that sends the penguins’ space ship into the future where they meet their future selves. (The lesson for kids was about respecting the advice of our elders.)
The original penguins were [...]

Eaten Alive In The Studio Jungle

Here’s an interesting article from the LA Times about Deborah Gregory, an author who created “The Cheetah Girls” and sold the property to Disney. Her characters have appeared in two TV movies, sold millions of CDs and DVDs, and have toured in over 80 cities. Her contract with Disney gave her 4% of the gross [...]

The Value Of A Mascot

As a freelance illustrator I work on a variety of projects, but my specialty is character design. I periodically get calls from ad agencies and design firms wishing to hire me to design a mascot. In recent months I’ve designed characters for Kikkoman soy sauce and SunCor (a large gas station chain).
Having a character or [...]

Keeping On Top Of The Clutter

I’m slowly getting over a monster cold, which means work is piling up and my to-do list is growing whiskers. It doesn’t help that, like many creative types, my ducks aren’t always in a perfect row. Fortunately a few months ago I put a simple system in place that has helped me stay (mostly) organized [...]

Sick Day

Sorry folks, but I’ve been flattened by a bad cold and fever. So no post today. But before you leave check some of the great art blogs listed over in the left-hand column. Inspiring stuff!

13 Reasons NOT To Be A Freelancer

I’ve been freelancing for eleven years and I love it! Despite the high highs and low lows, overall its been a great career choice for me. But freelancing is not for everyone. I’ve written about the drawbacks and benefits before. Recently I came across a great post written by Chad at ProFreelancing.com that looks at [...]

Happy Easter!

Today is Good Friday, the day when Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. “Good Friday” seems like an odd name one of the most bloody and tortuous executions in human history. How could such a horrific event be “good”?
Because Jesus suffered and died for your sins. He paid for your crimes, then rose from [...]

Just For Fun: DVD Easter Eggs

Did you know there are Easter eggs in your DVD collection that you may not even be aware of? “Easter eggs” are hidden special features that filmmakers intentionally hide on a DVD for you to try and find. Not every DVD has them, but many do. Here’s a rather extensive collection of DVD Easter Eggs [...]

HOW Design Conference

HOW Magazine is sponsoring their annual design conference in Boston May 18-21. The conference offers dozens of workshops and presentations. They are primarily aimed at graphic designers, but there appear to be a lot of topics that could easily apply to illustrators, web designers, and others in the various fields of commercial art.
I’ve never attended [...]

Fleas and Ticks

Recently I was hired by a publisher of Christian music curriuclum (Praise Hmyn Inc.) to do a spot illustration for a children’s song, “The Tick and the Flea”. My instructions were to depict a tick and a flea having a picnic on top of a Shitzu’s head.
Here’s the final illustration, sketched, inked, and colored [...]