Eric Overton's Blog

A bit of this and that

2011-07-01T17:49:00.003-04:00

Thanks again to everyone who came to the Steamwhistle show this month! Yesterday was the final day, and as always I had a great time working with a great group of artists.

This piece is one I did for the Glenn Gould Foundation this week. It's rare that I try to do a full painting from sketch to final all digitally, but I had a lot of fun with this, and I think it's something I'll explore more in the future.

This is a piece I did for my Grandma's 75th birthday, a family tree featuring all of her descendants. I love my relatives, but boy are there a lot of them!

Smiling Antimatter pics

2011-06-07T18:17:00.003-04:00

Thanks a heap to everyone who came out to the show last week! And thanks especially to Hyein for running everything, the rest of the artists for putting such a great show together, and Steamwhistle for being such great hosts as always.

Here are a few pictures of my pieces, if you missed out on the opening you've got until the 1st of July to go check it out (Steamwhistle hours are here). Sorry they're not clean scans, they're a bit too big to fit on my scanner. Thanks to Ilichna and Hyein for the photos!

Smiling Antimatter

2011-05-29T17:04:00.002-04:00

Coming up this Wednesday at the Steamwhistle Brewery is Smiling Antimatter, a group show featuring some great Toronto illustrators, and me as well. The show runs until July 2, so if you can't make it to the opening, be sure to stop by some time, have a frosty beverage, and enjoy some great artwork. Here are the details:

https://smilingantimatter.wordpress.com/

Participating Artists
Vicki Nerino • Britt Wilson • Roben Nieuwland • Selena Wong • Ale Diaz • Ilichna Morasky • Ty Dunitz • Eric Overton • Hyein Lee • Franzisca Barczyk

Opening Reception June 1st, 2011, 7-11PM
Exhibiting June 1st - July 2nd, 2011

We heard the news. Scientists finally produced mysterious antimatter atoms for the first time. We don’t know what it means, but we know that the future is here. We live in a science fiction world, the world our previous generation hadn’t even dreamed of. We converse with people on the other continents face-to-face using video chat, watch movies on our cellphones and tweet our daily routine to everybody. How does it feel like to be living and depending on high technology? What would tomorrow bring?

“Smiling Antimatter” is a mixed media painting exhibition. Each artist captures the anxiety underlying the experience of living in a science fiction-like society with humour and carnivalesque grotesqueness.

Hope you can make it!

This Place Show

2010-07-19T21:12:00.004-04:00

Here are some photos from the show I did with Not an Octagon last week. It was at Balsam Bistro, in Toronto's Beaches neighbourhood, which is always a great spot for a show. I had a great time (despite being pretty under the weather), and we're all tremendously grateful to everyone who braved the heat and made it out to see us.

These are just the paintings I did, to see more be sure to check out Not an Octagon's group blog here for more on the show.

This piece was inspired by the G20 protests here in Toronto a couple of weeks ago.

Here's a portrait of Beaches native Glenn Gould. I think I'll be developing this one into a larger piece somewhere down the road.

Some leaves floating in the water at my grandparents' cottage.

And a collaborative piece I did with Hyein Lee. She did the drawing, which I painted over. While I was painting it, there was a huge house fire on my street, which may have contributed to the colour scheme. I'll try to put together a clean scan of it soon.

Hitting the Slopes

2009-12-14T00:09:00.004-05:00

Here's a card I did for a lawyer here in Toronto. I'd previously designed his business cards, and he asked that I maintain the same graphic motif as the business card and adapt it into a seasonal image. It was an interesting challenge! The business card design is below: personal information has been obscured to protect the innocent.

Silver and Gould

2009-11-18T20:27:00.004-05:00

Here's the artwork for The Glenn Gould Foundation's new Christmas card. Thanks again to the Foundation for taking the illustration route!

On a somewhat related note, here are a couple of photographs of the billboard I did for them last month in context. Sadly, its stay in Toronto was a short one, but I'm told it's on its way to Caracas, Venezuela where it will be hung permanently(!)

The Glenn Gould Foundation also hired me to be their embedded photographer, documenting the entire week that the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra was here in Toronto, and I have to say it was an amazing experience. I'm hoping to post some photos of the week's photos soon!

Gustavo Dudamel

2009-10-15T17:15:00.005-04:00

Here's an ad that's going to be printed more or less as a billboard and displayed at the Four Seasons Centre at Queen and University. Gustavo Dudamel (new conductor of the LA Philharmonic) is conducting the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, as part of the Glenn Gould Prize Celebration of Music Week. Big thanks go out to the Glenn Gould Foundation for giving illustration a try! The piece is digital, done in Adobe Illustrator, from an original photograph by Chris Christodoulou.

The Side Show continues

2009-10-04T18:17:00.003-04:00

Thanks to everyone who made it out to the Side Show last night! For those of you who couldn't make it, the show goes until next Saturday, so it's not too late! Here are my two pieces. And below, you'll find the crew that made it all happen. Missing: Irma Kniivila, the bottom of my face.

The Side Show!

2009-10-02T22:43:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone!
If you're in town for Nuit Blanche tomorrow night, come check out my new show with Not an Octagon! Here are all of the savoury details:

The Side Show, at 2nd Half Gallery, 250 Queen St. West (across from MuchMusic, between Starbucks and Tribal Rhythm)
Opening Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 7:00pm, running until October 10th.

Featuring:
Pat Butler - http://www.patbutlerillustration.com
Wendy Ding - http://www.wendyding.com
Greg Hill - http://www.ghillustration.ca
Irma Kniivila - http://www.irmakniivila.com
Hyein Lee - http://www.hyeinlee.com
Eric Overton - http://www.overton.ca/eric
Liz Pignataro - http://www.lizpignataro.carbonmade.com
Jack Shepherd - http://www.jackshepherd.ca
Hieng Tang - http://www.hiengtang.com
Jhosephine Taniwidjaya - http://www.jinguj.net

There will be merch and food for sale there too, so don't miss it!

This post refers to you.

2009-07-25T13:19:00.003-04:00

Here's the cover I did for Miss Maya's new EP, which you can pick up tonight at the Beaches Jazz festival! It was fun to try and extend the photo outwards into something that that is more of a stylized design element, but still make the transition look convincing. Maya will be playing with MINT and a slew of guest artists at 1910 Queen Street East, from 7-11 tonight. Plenty of other funky and amazing bands will be performing there as well, so don't miss it!

Photography by Emma Ercolani and Shawn McPherson. See more of Miss Maya at her site, www.mayism.com

Lonely Robots 2: Eclectic Boogaloo

2009-07-12T15:36:00.004-04:00

Here's the final piece for the Lonely Robots show at Magic Pony.

Daisy, Daisy
Acrylic on Wood Panel
16"x20"
$400

The work is up from July 13 - July 19, and the reception will be on Thursday the 16th from 7-10. Magic Pony is located at 694 Queen St West here in Toronto.

Just look at all of these cool people who are participating! Tell your friends!

For more info, go check out http://lonelyrobo t.ca/artshow

The Good Show Roundup

2009-07-09T15:20:00.004-04:00

A big thank you to everyone who made it out to last night's show at Balsam Restaurant! We had a great crowd all night, and I think everyone had a pretty good time. I'll be posting photos of the show soon, as will the other members of Not an Octagon. Special thanks to Pat Butler for organizing the show!

For those who couldn't make it, here are the pieces I had up. Three are new, one I've posted before:

Moonlight Becomes You
Acrylic on Wood Panel
Approx. 8.5"x11"
Available for $200

Nature's Bounty
Acrylic on Wood Panel
Approx. 9"x12"
Available for $200

One with Sprinkles, Please?
Acrylic on Canvas
12"x12"
Sold

Portrait of Sophia Perlman
Oil and Acrylic on Wood Panel
12"x24"
Available for $350

The Good Show

2009-07-07T14:58:00.005-04:00

Tomorrrow night is The Good Show, a group exhibition I'm doing with the Not an Octagon Collective over in the Beaches. Come on by to enjoy some good food, hear some great music from Toronto's own Peirson Ross, and see new paintings from Hyein Lee, Pat Butler, Liz Pignataro, Wendy Ding, and me.

Here are all the details:

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 6:00pm-12:00am
Balsam Restaurant, 2343 Queen Street East in Toronto (map here)
Call 416.699.2343 for more information

The show is for one night only, so be sure to check it out!

Mazel Tov!

2009-06-26T19:35:00.002-04:00

Here's a wedding invitation I did for my brother and sister-in-law to be. It's a pretty big departure from my usual style, but sometimes it's fun to stretch a bit. Congratulations you two!

Business Cards

2009-06-21T21:27:00.004-04:00

Here are some business cards I've done recently. With the exception of the Clovertone card (online store launching soon!) the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

The Moore the Merrier

2009-06-15T16:26:00.003-04:00

Here's a poster I did for Toronto's own Soular and rising pop sensation Miss Maya. Catch them at the Lula Lounge this Thursday night!

Lately, I've been sketching at the Art Gallery of Ontario quite a bit. One of my favourite spots is the Henry Moore Gallery. It's awfully quiet, and being surrounded by all of those giant stone forms feels like being in an immense cemetery. Spooky!

Lonely Robots

2009-03-16T22:01:00.002-04:00

Here's a piece for a show this summer called Lonely Robots. I'll let you know the details once everything's ironed out!

The Birds and the Bees

2009-03-15T19:55:00.003-04:00

Here's a piece I did this week of the Birds and the Bees show at the Jerome Jenner Gallery. Come check the opening reception out on March 20, from 7-11pm (you'll find the gallery at 2880 Dundas West here in Toronto). It's a fundraiser for Sheridan College's Illustration program, so be sure to bring your cheque book and help out a good cause! This sexy lady can be yours for a mere $200!

Continuing in our Jazz Diva series...

2008-06-22T12:48:00.003-04:00

Here's one I started ages ago, but only just got around to finishing: The lovely and talented Sophia Perlman. You can catch her Monday nights at the Reservoir Lounge here in Toronto.

Maybe she's born with it?

2008-06-11T22:44:00.002-04:00

Here's some unused art I did recently for a promo for rising star Maya Chilton. She's got some great new stuff coming out, and she's sure to make a big splash before long! Don't miss her show this Friday with KC Roberts at the Revival, featuring some of the heaviest musicians Toronto has to offer!

CCBB Redux

2008-05-26T21:00:00.002-04:00

Here's the latest poster for Toronto's own Composers Collective Big Band. Be sure to check them out June 2 at the Rex Hotel on Queen Street!

A Night at the Museum

2008-02-04T11:59:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of drawings from the old sketchbook:

I spent yesterday wandering around the ROM sketching their statue collection.

Trying out a few new pen nibs and brushes.

Seinfeld reruns! What's the deal with airline food?

Please Mr. Music, will you play?

2008-02-02T13:45:00.000-05:00

Here are a few recent pieces I've done. January is music month!

First up: A poster for local jazz ensemble, The Composers Collective Big Band. They're playing at the Rex Hotel on the 23rd, and are well worth seeing! The band lineup is subject to change as the show approaches, so I'll change the poster accordingly.

Next: a demo CD design for the Holiday Brass, a classical quintet that plays at events over the holiday season (I suppose I'm a little late in posting this)

And finally, the finished version of the Humber Recording Studios logo.

Mic check one two

2007-11-12T11:58:00.000-05:00

Here are a few logo concepts for Humber College's new recording studio. The client wanted to basically keep the college logo, but still say "recording industry". The consensus seems to be that the middle one is the way to go.

Last week's new arrival, this week's work in progress

2007-11-06T16:13:00.000-05:00

ANOTHER UPDATE: Ok, so maybe a *little* more work couldn't hurt. Here's where I'm at as of this morning!

UPDATE: The work continues, I think maybe another day of work should finish it off nicely. Oh, and don't tell Judy! James wants her to be surprised.

I guess it's been a full week since I posted! Don't worry, I've been toiling away on new work, but these ones will take a bit longer to finish. In the meantime, here's a painting I'm working on of my brand spanking new niece, Lillian. If your reading this, James, make room on your wall! Hopefully it'll be done and dry by this weekend.

I switched to oils this week, and I'm pretty happy with the way it's turning out so far. Looks like the next few pieces I do will be a mix of acrylics and oils. Stay tuned!

(sorry about the crappy cellphone pic, I promise I'll get a respectable scan of it once it's done!)

One for the ladies

2007-10-30T12:57:00.001-04:00

Here's a painting I did this week as a gift for my friends Victoria and Laura. Kind of a warm-up before I move on to some bigger, more involved paintings. Acrylics on board, 12x24.

It's a poor substitute for a Luck Dragon

2007-10-26T00:16:00.001-04:00

I was totally going for a "Neverending Story" meets "Shadow of the Colossus" thing here, but now that I look at it, I realize that I'm really just channeling Rey Ortega. I guess after sitting next to a guy for a year, he's bound to rub off on ya! Go check his stuff out, he's a beast!

Acorn Attack!

2007-10-25T18:05:00.000-04:00

Another couple paintings from the ol' sketchbook. First, a horse! Girls like horses, right?
Next: They shouldn't have placed the nuclear power plant so close to those oak trees...
(the colours kind of got mutilated in the scanner)
General Takahashi gasped in horror as the missiles had no effect... fists clenched, he stepped forward to the radio. "God forgive me", he thought to himself, as he solemnly whispered the words he had hoped never to speak again:

"Summon Squirrelzilla"...

Acrylics: The Return

2007-10-22T20:50:00.000-04:00

Back to using acrylic, and not a moment too soon! Today: Gay C3PO, and a Tasmanian devil. I suspect that if they were drawn this way in the cartoons, Bugs Bunny would have been a lot more intimidated.
I swear, one of these days I'll start drawing backgrounds...

Chet Baker squared

2007-10-22T12:48:00.000-04:00

Scientists in Montreux, Switzerland have proven, through the use of modern computing techniques and advanced particle simulations, that it is a statistical impossibility to be as awesome as Chet Baker.

Added bonus: Some guys I saw at the Rex last night. Sly Juhas on drums, John Meyer (?) on bass. Still plugging away at using gouache, with mixed results.

Book Cover

2007-10-21T15:27:00.000-04:00

Did I really never post this?

It's the cover art for a forthcoming saxophone method book. The client (local saxophone legend Charlie Finlay) wanted it very clean and diagram-ish, and intimidating! Accuracy, thankfully, was not a prerequisite.

Sketchbook Saturday

2007-10-20T19:31:00.000-04:00

Here's some stuff I did today. It's always fun to switch up styles a bit...

First up, my brother Christian, auditioning for a role in Sin City 2. I'm trying out some gouache today, it's never been my forté. But practice makes perfect!

He's sick this week, so think convalescent thoughts...

Next, a detail of Michelangelo's Pieta. I'm not really happy with it, maybe I'll work on it some more.

Here's my cousin Julia, looking glamorous as always. Pretty girls = hard to draw. I don't know how Tessar does it.

....Aaand I got nothin'. Rusty robots are fun?

And this!

2007-10-15T20:48:00.001-04:00

A Bold New Post!

2007-10-15T12:55:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!
I was getting bored of seeing the same thing every time I opened a browser window, and so I have been shamed into making a new post. Since I haven't been painting a lot lately (mostly busy applying for jobs, etc), we'll have to make do with some pages I did in my sketchbook yesterday. Pretty random, I cannot deny.

None of these are actually *of* anything, except for page 2, which is of a bass player Katie and I saw at Notre Dame de Paris way back when.

In reality, however, he did not have Spider-Man hands.

W. Garfield Weston

2007-06-21T12:32:00.000-04:00

This kindly-looking fellow is W. Garfield Weston, Canadian businessman and philanthropist, and founder of the (aptly named) W. Garfield Weston Foundation. Through a scholarship, the foundation did a lot to help pay my way through college, so this painting is a thank-you to the Weston Family for their generous support. Hooray burnt umber! In related news, my scanner seems to be on its last legs.

More information on Weston and the foundation can be found here.

Slide Hampton

2007-06-19T16:01:00.000-04:00

Here's a commission I just finished, a portrait of this guy, jazz legend Slide Hampton. Acrylics on board, 24x36". Now that school's over with I've got some time to take on projects like this, so if anyone wants something done, don't hesitate to give me a holler.

Moichindizing.

2007-05-12T15:13:00.000-04:00

Well, I finally sent the skateboards off to their new home, where I hope they'll lead happy, fulfilling lives. It seems to me I never did post a picture of the finished set, so here goes:
(sorry that it's so grainy. Low light conditions, don't you know)
Furthermore, I've just been sent some photos of the new Christian Island Cottagers' Association merchandise, featuring a logo by yours truly.

T-Shirts!

Hats!

Sweatshirts!

Which, if you're the cottaging type, you can purchase here. It's all part of the early phases of my future merchandising empire. Hello Kitty had best watch her back.

Sheridan Headlines Show

2007-04-28T13:27:00.000-04:00

Well, the end is finally here! We've had the first two nights of our BAA Graduation show, and I think it's safe to say that Sheridan's illustration students really knocked it out of the park. Up above you can see my board (big thanks to Jesse Helmer over at the CMSF/GWMSC for the photo). I actually ended up selling the Star Trek boards last night, which feels pretty great. If you haven't checked out the show yet, you've got until 6:00PM today! All the relevant details are can be found here.

Would you could you in a box?

2007-04-20T02:30:00.000-04:00

As part of a project for my visual narrative class, I had to create an entire kids' book. Needless to say, this meant I had to do it all in a much faster style than I usually work in. It's about a kid who gets all kinds of presents for his birthday, but after a few days he solves the puzzles and beats the video games and the flashy toys run out of batteries, so he plays with the big box his toys came in. Here are a few pages, sorry the colours are so desaturated, but it comes with compressing files for the web.

Eric Overton's House of Cards

2007-04-11T20:57:00.000-04:00

My business cards came in the mail today, they shine like glazed donuts in the sun. Now I just have to completely redo the site that it will guide people to (this is more than four years old, sadly!)

The design may bear a strange resemblance to the cards my brother got, but what can I say? Sometimes you only have time to make one design. Besides, random splashes of colour say "I am a creative professional" in the universal language (no, not math).

They look pretty good, but for anyone interested in using overnightprints.com bear in mind that UPS will kill you with the shipping cost. The best advice I can give is to get together with some other folks who are ordering and split the shipping. On the plus side, their turnaround is ridiculously fast.

Brought to you by the BBC

2007-04-10T22:33:00.000-04:00

This week marks the last big push of my college career. As such, I haven't been getting a lot of sleep, but I have been watching dozens of BBC documentaries over the internet during my marathon painting sessions. I find having some kind of intellectual stimulation at 4 in the morning is pretty important to keeping my head in the game (and off of my desk)

Here are a couple of pieces I did this weekend: Another in my series of wrinkly, middle-aged Star Trek skateboards, this time featuring none other than Captain James T. Kirk! Following that up, we have a slightly more editorial piece on everyone's favourite prison-bound peer, Lord Conrad Black.

It's hard to believe that we're actually on the home stretch!

Peach Train Live at the Cage!

2007-04-06T15:08:00.000-04:00

My band played our last Lounge Night of the year this week, and I think we went out with a bang. Katie also stepped up to the mic, and I had the pleasure of backing her up (despite my lack of guitar skills). Thanks to everyone who came out! The full photo album can be found here. Thanks to Ash for the photos!

In case anyone was wondering, Peach Train is:

Pat Butler - Drums
Mariah Burton - Banjo and Vocals
Ryan Lowe - Guitar
Eric Overton - Bass

Hyein Lee and Wendy Ding - Gogo dancers and honourary members.

Portfolio Movie

2007-04-03T02:10:00.000-04:00

Dailymotion blogged video

Here's a very quick little animation I did as part of my computer class. Sorry about the video/sound quality, I'll see if I can post a version that's not so compressed later on. Eagle-eared Sheridanites will note that the soundtrack features my band, Peach Train, which is amazing because it is comprised entirely of Sheridan Illustrators.

A Dizzy spell

2007-03-16T08:31:00.000-04:00

Here's another I'm working on. I know, I know, the bell needs some work. All told, though, I'm pretty happy with how it's going.

Permission to board, captain?

2007-03-13T03:21:00.000-04:00

So I decided to do something different for the skateboard deck. With any luck, I'll be able to corner the market on Spock-themed skateboards. I'm going to try and see if I can wash colour over top of this black and white painting, which could possibly speed up my painting process dramatically. Cara says if I apply a nice coat of matte medium over top, I should be able to sand it down to a nice smooth surface. Clemente says I should try using oils over top of my acrylics, which seems to be the way to go as well. How nice to be surrounded by pros!

I'll post it again once it's all gussied up nice-like. Stand by!

Weaker than what?

2007-03-04T22:39:00.000-05:00

Hey! Here I am, still alive. I've been working on longer-term projects lately, but prepare to be barraged with scads of artistic goodies in the coming weeks.

For now, a quick (and poorly scanned) sketch of one John K. Sampson, of The Weakerthans fame. He's a fellow who manages to blend the sensitive lyrical stylings of a Bob Dylan with the rugged good looks of a Keith Richards. I think he might end up being painted on a skateboard deck. I'll keep you posted!

PSA

2006-12-18T00:10:00.000-05:00

Here's a rough for a public service announcement I've pitched to Food for Life Canada, a charity that collects food from grocery stores, etc, and delivers it to food banks, shelters, and other needy places. The final will have a voiceover and look a lot nicer, but hopefully this gets the idea across!

FFL_PSA_01

Triple Post!

2006-12-15T00:03:00.000-05:00

Here we are. End of the semester, and three paintings for your perusal. In reality, they're all fairly big. The first two are the finished versions of Marvin Gaye and Erykah Badu from wayback (I hope she meets with Eshwin's approval this time around), the third is a new one, of folk-blues god Chris Smither. With a face like that, I suppose a pop music career is closed to you.

Sorry the pictures are so blurry!

Computer project

2006-12-10T23:42:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick animation I did for my computer class. All in all, about 2 solid days work. Next semester, I'll be doing a bigger project, so watch out!

PS - Making sense was not a prerequisite of the project.

Dailymotion blogged video

Since it's been a while...

2006-12-05T15:38:00.000-05:00

Here's basically a more involved doodle, like everything on this blog it's not quite finished. The colours aren't very vivid on this scan, and I cropped off her boobs because they weren't painted all that well. Oh, and you can't tell here, but the sort of brown-y bits are fake gold leaf.

Look forward to some major posting next week, with any luck!

Baduism, part 3

2006-11-17T20:13:00.000-05:00

Here's Erykah Badu again. I need to skinny up her cheeks a bit, smooth out a bit on the neck and shoulders, and make the eyes bigger, but I think the rest will stay pretty much the same. Next up: D'angelo, I think.

Rhinofish!

2006-11-08T02:18:00.000-05:00

For this month's Mighty Wall: Hybrid Animals.

The battle continues

2006-11-06T02:38:00.000-05:00

Here's where I'm at with Marvin Gaye and Erykah Badu. With Marvin, it's mostly a matter of punching up the colour and contrast from here on in. For Erykah, I have no idea where I'm going with it, but it's been a lot of fun so far. I'll post the final versions once they're done.

Halloween and Superheroics

2006-11-05T01:00:00.000-05:00

Tessar posted a challenge on his blog for other Sheridanites to do superhero sketches. After Fred's masterful turn as Cyclops this Halloween, I couldn't resist the opportunity to show off the superheroes I hang out with every day. Here we have Fred as Cyclops, Rey as Nightcrawler, Tessar as Batman, and Chad as Tony Stark/Iron Man. Daredevil and Supergirl appear as their own badass selves. Finally, here's me in my Halloween costume from this week. I figured it was my last chance to be Ghost Rider before the movie comes out and ruins everything.

Another Rough

2006-11-03T01:14:00.000-05:00

Work continues on Marvin Gaye, hopefully he'll be done in a day or two. In the meantime, I'm kicking around ideas for the next one. Erykah Badu maybe?

Marvin Gaye - Final Rough

2006-10-19T22:57:00.000-04:00

Here's a rough for a painting I'll be doing next week. The plan is to do a series of R&B legends, they'll be about 18"x24" in the end.

The Hook

2006-10-17T03:03:00.000-04:00

Here's another visual narrative assignment. The outline: a four-panel conversation, with a "hook" at the end. My friend here seems to be Steve Leduc, but in platform shoes.

Why you shouldn't spit into the wind.

2006-10-07T18:54:00.000-04:00

Here's a quick little assignment for my Visual Narrative class. Be forewarned, it's been established that this is little bit avant-garde for some people.

Robofun

2006-10-01T03:04:00.000-04:00

Hey, I'm back!
Here's a piece I'm working on for Harvey Chan's Interpretive Illustration class. Basically, he went through my sketchbook and picked out all the fun stuff and said "do that". So I did.

Kinda looks good in horror-movie sepia, too.
The scan's a little blurry and cropped, as the piece is just a little too big for my scanner.

CICA Logo

2006-08-17T13:06:00.000-04:00

Sorry about disappearing for a bit, it's been busy.

Unfortunately, I've had to discontinue work on the kids' book for the time being, since the co-op office wants me to do more work involving clients. This is a logo I'm working on for the Christian Island Cottagers' Association. The black and white one is just playing with the idea a little bit.

Down in a Hole

2006-08-03T17:02:00.000-04:00

Here, our heroine falls down a big, scary hole.
Sometimes, I feel the same way.

Frogs and Rabbits

2006-08-02T15:25:00.000-04:00

Here's another work in progress. Current plan is to get them all mostly done fairly quickly, then revisit them later with some touchups and digital magic. The scene here is a daring amphibian rescue at sea.

Work in Progress

2006-07-19T13:29:00.000-04:00

I'm heading out of town for the week, so I thought I'd post something before I head out. Here's a work in progress, an illustration for Chapter One, say about two-thirds done. This is more or less the style you're going to see from here on in, I'm trying to mix my usual cartoony stuff with more of an impressionistic feel.

See you next week!

Barking up the wrong tree.

2006-06-17T13:40:00.001-04:00

Here's a quick, aborted sketch for the same book. This is our protagonist, Peter, albeit twice the age he's supposed to be (what can I say, I'm not used to drawing realistic kids). While doing the digital watercolour thing is fun in its own way, it's becoming apparent that this style of drawing probably isn't the way to go.

In art school, we're all trying to establish our own individual look that will set us apart from other artists. With the many sketches and studies I've been working on over the past few weeks, I've basically been throwing mine out the window, in favour of a more classical, realistic look. It's always nice to try something new, but at this stage I should really be refining my own individual stuff (which, if you're curious, usually looks more like this:

It's time to seriously rethink the look of these illustrations. Be prepared to see something pretty different this week.

Ciao!

First Art Post

2006-06-14T11:47:00.000-04:00

Here's the first of a series of media studies for a book that I'm working on.

The story is about a young boy who finds himself living in a magical forest with a bunch of animal friends. Normally, my stuff is pretty cartoony, but for this book I'm trying to figure out more of a hazy, dreamy style. I don't think this is quite it, but it might be heading in the right direction. I did this one using Corel Painter 9, but I'll take a few swings at the same drawing using different media to see what I like.

More to come!

Hey look, another blog!

2006-06-13T12:34:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,
This is my new blog. Here, you'll see some of the stuff I'm working on this summer. Feel free to leave comments, criticism, whatever. I'll come up with something to show you real soon, I promise!