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High Resolution“More Wallace and Gromit than Dreamworks” is officially how I’m describing the title character for the Puss in Boots picture book I’m illustrating for Taeko’s World Fairytale series.
#illustration #children #Korean #fairy tale
1 day ago / 4 notes
High ResolutionI’ve always been scared to try a comic, even though I’ve had one written and waiting for three years, because I’ve read a lot of essays from comic book “masters” that are mostly about the acrobatics of technical reproduction, about applying ratios and golden mean, about many other things that make your head spin out like a ball of yarn because they have little to do with the heart of the story. James Kochalka’s essay, above, is an exhalation.
James Kochalka, “Craft is the Enemy,” from THE CUTE MANIFESTO
Fun fact: the dummy book I made for Steal Like An Artist was Kochalka’s Cute Manifesto (they’re the same format/size) with a homemade book cover:
#comics #inspiration
2 days ago / 332 notesMacbeth made new.
I’m going to try, during the next two weeks, to catch up on things I’ve been involved with but haven’t had time to post about. Several projects, and not really a peep out of me, so that’s a habit I need to break.
Epic Theatre Ensemble (@EpicTheatr) Executive Director Ron Russell, and director of their current production of Macbeth, has done some careful acrobatics with the tone of this play, a tone that of course needed to be translated to the print materials. It’s not just updated but also ringing with a levity that most people will find surprising. Additionally, the violence is engaged forcefully and bloodily. If you’re stumped, some of Terry Gilliam’s on-screen gallows humor may be a good reference point. In Ron’s own words (via The Wall Street Journal): “The witches are like workers at Evil Inc… . They punch in on a time clock. There’s a work whistle and postal-service-looking uniforms. They are people who walk among us.”
(Above: the Witches [Julian Rozzell, Jr, Aimé Donna Kelly, and James Wallert]. Photo courtesy of Epic Theatre Ensemble’s Facebook page.)Our starting point for the image that evolved from postcard to lobby poster and playbill cover was this beautiful photo of an old factory in Skien, Norway.
From there it became, for me, about the kind of unremarkable internalization we practice every day. No overt scars or evidence of self-harm. Just a general whiff of decay from the madness within.Special thanks to Epic’s Robert Chelimsky (@RobertChelimsky) for his tireless eyes.
See the full poster HERE or on West 47th Street!
Print’s Alive! is upon us!
(Above: promotional images by Mike Houston [left] and me.)
Carrier Pigeon: Illustrated Fiction and Fine Art, a quarterly publication for whom I am a content and copy editor, is currently heavily—up to their ragged eyebrows—involved in the creation and marketing of May 5’s “Print’s Alive! A Living History of Coney Island.” Along with Drive By Press and Cannonball Press, CP is presenting a day-long event, during the first part of which independent publishers, presses and stores will be displaying and selling their wares. If you are into supporting your local artists and retailers, this is a good way to do it! Gab, peruse, purchase, loiter, explore the side show. We’ll also be unveiling the all-new Carrier Pigeon issue 6, designed by John Bylander, with foil-stamped cover and wraparound woodcut by Cannonball Press, and including my “Sloth” illustrations for Matthew Blair’s short story.
(Above: sneak peek of CP issue 6 and “Sloth.”)__Part 1: free art fairLocation: the Coney Island MuseumTime: 1–7 p.m.Retrofit Comics will be there! Paul Hoppe! Wolfbat Studio! It’s a glut of good stuff. Full list here.
(Above: new Josh Bayer T-shirt [held up by Bayer] featuring an illustration from “Feather” by Mike Posillico; Raw Power, available through Retrofit.)__Part 2: special performanceLocation: downstairs theater of Coney Island MuseumTime: 9:30–1 p.m.Tickets: at door or here; $15 per personBeginning at 9:30 p.m. the downstairs theater will showcase the best in side show stunts, burlesque beauties and art performances. You may recognize The Dapper Donny Vomit from this Carrier Pigeon video.
There will also be fire eaters, snake charmers, etc. All of the things.Let the Facebook event page be your guide. And if you see Joanna Firneno, den mother of the whole shebang, give her a well-deserved hug.__Many of those both directly and indirectly involved are on Twitter if you’d like to follow general goings-on. Here are a few:@shortdivision (me)
Thanks to Chromatic Watch for a cool feature.
It’s always nice to hear someone else describe your work in a way that not only resonates with your own feelings about it but far exceeds the normal niceties.
Kristy Caldwell
Comic strip strokes and storybook colors give a vibrancy to Kristy Caldwell’s work; her children’s illustrations have an attractive sense of play, and she uses the same style in her work for adults, gravity emanating from the very lines that so entangle youthful imaginations.Letting the thumbnails seep in
First there was the wall (detail).
Then there were some scribbles. Next, there will be something (fingers crossed) jam-packed.
High ResolutionQ: Appropriate or inappropriate inspiration? A: Appropriate for the job. Also, I did not shoot it. I shot adjacent to it.
#research #inspiration #violence
4 months agoContent creation is a well-rounded career path.
In addition to illustration and the occasional and obviously hand-in-hand addition of print design, I like to mix it up in text. I’m one of those kids who (literally) flipped a coin in deciding whether to major in art or English. In the end, I decided I liked reading according to my own lists—no Beowulf included—and have been a dabbler ever since. I dabble in a lot of things because I’m easily distracted but also enthusiastic about the big picture of publishing. I want to know the language of color correction, at what stage “for placement” becomes the real deal, and whether endpapers are part of the page count. By jumping into the process I have learned a lot of answers to a lot of my questions. And to get back to what’s happening today, I have built up a whole separate resume in copy-editing. I can talk AP versus Chicago, if you absolutely want to. No one would. Beyond the shop talk is the overall goal of communicating clearly. The more ways you know to do that the more effective you can be in utilizing your technical prowess.Today is a proofing day for Carrier Pigeon: Fiction and Fine Art. A quarterly publication is a daunting task, and this publication adds additional challenges by featuring fully illustrated short works of fiction, which means giving the illustrators time to do their jobs. While the illustrators are toiling away at their drawing boards to come up with five to 10 complementary images for each assigned work, I’m busily formatting and copy-editing, going back and forth with the authors to reach approved versions that are clean while maintaining the authors’ voices.Once the designer has laid out the magazine with the approved text and we’re able to see a hard copy it’s time to address issues of consistency across the magazine. This really can’t happen on a screen. In addition to being lucky enough to have had illustrations commissioned for several issues, I act as the gatekeeper where these things are concerned. I hold the proof copy in my hands, scribble notes, twist my fists, go through rounds of changes with the issue designer, and then sleep in the knowledge that everyone’s hard work will pay off and no one will have to bear the public embarrassment of having written “waist” instead of “waste.” Even the tiniest issues with consistency among the punctuation of six pieces of fiction per issue by six writers—plus six artist statements and artwork descriptions—can have an effect on the reading experience, which is as important as the viewing experience. In order for the audience to be immersed, or even, hopefully, once in a while, transported, the whole thing has to be seamless.Below is a sneak peek at the issue, and tiny bits of my work space:
Above, my illustration contribution for Matthew Blair’s short story “Sloth.”
Above, a spread that didn’t need proofing, thanks to the guys at Cannonball Press.
Above, reference notes to back up marks generously applied to the magazine body.
And so it goes.
(Source: carrierpigeonmag.blogspot.com)
The Happy Stuff
Something has been introduced to me that I never could have anticipated: wedding invitation illustration and design. Consider this the confession of someone whose knee-jerk skepticism has been overturned in favor of love and one very happy day. Really.
The first commission came from a couple with very specific needs—like all pre-wedding couples, I imagine: specific content, tone, color palette. You know what? It’s kind of freeing. As I’ve reiterated (to myself and others) over the past couple of years, true collaboration is so appreciated in a client-based environment. Especially in a case like this, where the clients are so emotionally tied to the outcome. Together we put together a package that represented the personality and vision behind the occasion.
We started with (1) Save the Date cards, followed that up with (2) formal invitations and (3) enclosed RSVP cards inside (4) personalized envelopes, then created (5) two sets of driving directions to be included in hotel gift baskets, (6) programs for the actual ceremony and (7) food labels for the reception. I won’t bore you with a lot of process stuff, but below is a look at how it turned out.
Save the Date: I’m just now learning about weddings. This card says, “Hey! Please hold this date for our special event! And, by the way, here is an introduction to our event’s themes.” Easy breezy.
Formal invitations: There are levels of message here, various instructions to be made clear, and an anticipatory explanation of how the ceremony will be presented. This step develops the themes. And the way it opens was a consideration, so below is what you see, in the order that you see it.
The little travel section is for people who don’t feel like consulting the couple’s Wordpress site.
RSVP cards: This is pretty cut and dry, but the bride wanted each to be personalized for the recipient(s), so I created two variations with InDesign, and our lovely printer Frank Kiernan at Bubble Gum Print Corp fed the list of names through.
The envelopes and food cards kind of speak for themselves, and I stupidly forgot to take any photos of the food cards in the reception environment, so I’ll move on to the programs. The bride was so wonderfully specific in her description of the chuppah for the wedding, which she wanted to use to promote and thank those who had contributed to its success, that my rendering was pretty close, although deliberately distorted so that it could sort of enfold the interior items.
I was pretty happy that after choosing to represent the location with a bee there turned out to be bees everywhere at the live site.
Another Blogger® bites the dust.
Archived posts can be found in their no-longer-pleasing grave:
Howdy. This is an extension of my portfolio. See the slicked-back version:
