Illustration Friday: Dreams

I thought I would go to bed early last night. I was very tired, my bed was very comfy, the windows were open to the cool night air. The perfect fall night. Perfect for perfect dreams. I would wake after having a great dream then I would do a great illustration of it. At least that was the plan.

Thwarted by a blasted mosquito! That dang bug buzzed my wife and I all night long. You know that feeling when you know a mosquito is there, and even if it’s not touching you, your mind starts thinking it is. It got me twitchin’ and itchin’ all night. I think I only got bitten 3 or 4 times, but it felt like a full squadron attack. I couldn’t stand it. I was wide-awake too. I finally got fed up and went down to my studio. So much for dreaming.

So, when it came time to draw something about dreams I was stumped. I could’ve illustrated an old dream from the past. Like that time I was pedaling my bike at top speed through the Utah desert with Ronald Reagan on my handlebars. We were chasing down jackrabbits. But, who wants to see a picture of that? Then I had it! I would draw the very thing that was plaguing my dreams. The killer mosquito. Drawn actual size. My new dream is to bite it back.

Mouse

Playin video games.

Routine Sketch

I did another little color study today. I did it as a learning experience. I was trying to do some different things with lighting because I think I often get stuck doing the same old thing. I think it is good to always try to improve your skills, and for me lighting and color are things I need to work on. Boring...

On a different note, the kids are back in school. Well, at least two of the four are. So life around our house can get back to some sort of normal. Our "routine" just seems to die during the summer. The kids are much happier on a routine and so am I. Now I can spend a lot more time in the studio with half the distractions. If I need a good distraction from work I have to make my own. Not very hard to do. Look, I'm writing this blog.

I have a busy fall ahead of me but that is okay because I love the fall. My studio has been so hot lately. I makes my hands all sweaty-- pencil gets all slippery--Paper sticks to your arms. Ugh! I hate that. Cooler days, less interuptions. Life is good. Now my two youngest will no doubt redouble their efforts in creating chaos. Their fall routine.

Illustration Friday: Reflection

Reflections make me think of puddles and water and mirrors-- stuff like that. I wasn't in the mood to draw puddles, water and mirrors. I was in the mood for spy gizmos. So, this is what I came up with. Lame? Maybe, but who cares. I did have fun playing with the color even though it didn't work all that great.

Update: I just did this sketch that I like much more.

McBloom

So, this is a big announcement or maybe it’s just a shameless plug. It’s the release of my newest book: Mrs. McBloom, Clean Up Your Classroom! It is the thrilling tale of the sweet Mrs. McBloom who is retiring after fifty years of teaching. She now has to make room for her replacement, but that is easier said than done. Her room is piled with clutter and build-up from her many years of teaching. Tons and tons of junk. Believe me, I had to draw it all. I even included the kitchen sink. She enlists the help of her students to come up with an idea to clean up the mess and craziness ensues.

I had a ton of fun working on this book and a bunch of looong nights, and I’m very excited about it. Hyperion recently sent me my first copy of it and I think it turned out great. That is always one of the best parts about doing a book. I spent months and months of my life looking at the same ole pile of sketches and paintings and to see it finally finished is a real pay-off.
For those of you who like to see the process, (I always do) I thought I would include the sketch of the cover for you to check out.

I typically do a drawing like this, scan, print and then paint it in acrylics. Officially the release date is September 1st, but I’ve heard that people have picked it up already. I know it is available online. If you would like to order one or view more images from the book go to my website.

I’m not saying that you need to run out and buy it yourself—I just want you to have someone buy it for you. Several copies, in fact. Tell your mom, friend or neighbor to do it. Mostly I just hope people have as much fun looking at it as I had making it.

Illustration Friday: Wisdom

Just a sketch this week. Just an early idea really. I promise to do better next week.

15 minutes

I dont' have a lot of time to do much this week except work but, I did think I could take 15 minutes to post something. So here are a few little acrylic paintings. They each took about 15 minutes to paint. I hope that explains the lack of craft and hands. Nothing really exciting. I didn't even know what they were going to be until I started putting something on paper. I guess he's a pirate of some sort and she is.. um.. beats me.

I'm currently working on another Ghostville Elementary book and it's keeping me very busy. I did the cover last week and I have to do the interiors this week. I missed last weeks Illustration Friday because of a these pressing deadlines and I'm afraid I might miss this weeks too unless I can find an extra 15 minutes.

Butler

I have been working on a little cd cover job all morning so I took break and did this. Just did another quick coloring of a sketch. Mostly just playing around. Hope you all enjoy it. Now I have to go back to painting for real.

Vinni

Yo, dis here is a little color study I did. It's a pencil sketch see, with color added in photoshop see, using a Wacom tablet. Know whaddimean? You don like it? I breaka yo face.

Illustration Friday: Aging

Old men are great. Especially if they have hats. No time for a real illustration but I did a bunch of sketches of old guys so that will have to do.

And some thoughts on aging...

I don’t feel old. I don’t know why that is. My body shows me that I’m getting older and fatter. I get the occasional sharp stabbing pain in my back that makes me walk funny for a week. I have aches where I never had them before and the hair that I can still call mine is now grey or is creeping down my back. Not to mention the fact that I now have four kids and I’ve been married a looong time. Okay, so I’m older (not old, I’m only 35) but inside I feel as young as ever.

This past week I was reminded of how just how old I am getting. Years ago I was made the scoutmaster of a small troop. It seems like just yesterday. Actually, it was about 10 years ago, but just yesterday I went out to lunch with two of those small 12-year-old boys—the very first two I worked with. They have since grown up. They’re 21 now. They both just returned from missions for our church and thought it would be fun to go to lunch with ole Papa Moose (that’s what they called me) and catch up on old times. They brought up a ton of old memories, some of which have been buried deep in my old senile mind. Things like:

“Hey Moose, do you remember that time I broke out half of my tooth so you pulled the rest of it out with the pliers on your pocketknife?”
“Remember when you taught us how to do back-flips off of the sand dunes?”
“Oh man, you got so mad at us when we…”
“How about when you dared us to jump into the ice-covered pond?”
“That was an incredible hike!”
“Remember when you broke the rope bridge and fell in the pond?”
“That was the best food!”
“We didn’t wash our face for a week.”

It went on and on. They had a million stories and it was great to hear them all.

I have been working with scouts and young men for all of these years, from those first two scouts through a whole mess of other ones, until a few weeks ago when I got a new assignment. I’m going to miss it. There is nothing more rewarding than watching these young stupid kids grow up to become men with strong values. Working with them can make you age very quickly (they gave me the grey hair) and yet at the same time make you feel younger than ever. I hope I never grow up.

Cowgirl

Here is a really quick little sketch of a cowgirl. YeeeeHawww!

Falcons

My daughter and I found a cool picture of a falcon so we both did a sketch of it. She is quite good don't you think?

Illustration Friday: Tranquility

Tranquility? Tranquility? What the heck is that? It is not something I am all that familiar with in my life. I mean, I have four kids. Need I say more ? For the sake of this blog I will. As I was thinking about the topic of tranquility I really had to think about my life. It is quite hectic sometimes. I don't seem to have very many quiet, peaceful times or what you would call tranquility. With all of the pressures of life, the deadlines, paying the bills, oh and the kids. It's hard enough to find sanity, let alone tranquility.

What kind of things give me those hard to find tranquil moments? Clean sheets on a newly made bed. Oh man, I love that. I can slide into bed and feel real peace for a few moments. Ahhhhhhhh. Or what about homemade raspberry jam? Oh baby, don't get me started. You can block out the world for a short time when you eat a piece of toast covered in homemade raspberry jam just like Mom used to make. Mmmmm mmmm mmm. And the best is that moment when the unharnessed atomic power contained in a two year old kid comes to an abrupt halt and he falls asleep. Behind the couch, on the stairs, in a plate of spagetti-o's. It can happen anywhere, any place and when it does--oh the tranquility. The only problem is that it never happens when you want it to. If you could make it happen when you want...if you could find that off switch and use it whenever you wanted...the power you would have! You would be the envy of parents everywhere.

That brings me to tranquilizer guns. I think it would work. When you become a parent the government should just issue you one. Think of the possibilities.

Illustration Friday: Karma (and old men)

Crotchety old men make me laugh. I once saw an old guy parking at the grocery store. He got out of his old pick-up truck and started walking towards the store. He then stopped, turned around and started walking back. I was totally shocked as I watched this old guy reach into his pocket, take out his keys and scratch, or more appropriately gouge, a big grove down the side of a BMW that was parked accross two spaces. From the headlight to the tail light. I couldn't believe my eyes. I waited around and told the BMW guy what happened. He freaked out. Later the cops told me that the guy was 91 years old. What!!?!? I could picture some punk teenager doing something like that but a creaky old man? I even had to go to court to testify against the guy. I guess you never know. He must have had some bad karma.

Bunny

Tiny quick sketch. I might be doing a bunny illo. job so I guess I have bunnies on my mind. Enjoy.

Edit:
After posting this cute little bunny I began to have a few worries. What will people think? Has Guy gone soft? Will he only draw cute widdle bunnies that live cute widdle lives, eating nummy widdle carrots? It is true that I can draw this sort of cute stuff but, one can only draw so much cute. As with this bunny, I normally only draw the nice part of the story. The part people want to see. The part that makes people say "awwwww, wook at the cute widdle bunny". But, to balance the cuteness of it all I need to picture in my mind the not-so-cute part of the story.
I'm sure most would look at this and think that the little bunny will soon have a little carrot nibble followed by a pleasant romp in the garden under a smiling sun. For the sake of the viewer I thought I would pull from my mind what I think really happened.

Illustration Friday: Metropolitan

This is my first post for Illustration Friday. I always thought it would be fun to do but I have never taken the time to do it. I also have this new blog thing so I thought I'd give it a shot. My son wanted me to draw him a robot and this is what happened. It has buildings so I figured it fit the topic. Hope you like it.

Sketchin'

Here is a little sketch I did this morning as a warm-up. I have a whole bunch of small scraps of nice Arches watercolor paper sitting around. It is great stuff to draw on-- wonderful texture. It's not my normal way of sketching. I normally draw on some heavy, very white, 8.5x11 copy paper (cougar opaque). It is also great paper. I like to use the copy paper instead of a sketchbook because there is no stupid spine to get in the way and If I do a crappy sketch, which I do quite often, I don't have the feeling that I ruined a whole book. Then at the end of the year I take my stack of drawings down to Kinko's and have them bound together. See, I still end up with a sketchbook, I just don't have as much crap filling it's pages. So, the cougar opaque is the only stuff I use--except for the little scraps. I'm a sort of paper snob. I think I got way off track here. My point is that while I'm working on paintings I'm not sitting next to my copy paper so when I am bored or have the urge to sketch, I reach for the little scraps. And, because I'm sitting at my drawing table next to my paints, It's easy to do little color studies. It is a really refreshing break and sometimes it gives me just enough of a boost to make my normal work tolerable. These sketches are usually quick. anywhere from 5-20 minutes from start to finish. That way I don't feel like I'm wasting too much time. That is until I waste a hour trying to put it in a blog that was only meant to be a couple pictures and a quick comment. Oh well..

Work or cowboy?

I was sitting there looking at the painting I should be working on and thought I'd rather draw a cowboy. So, here it is. Enjoy.

Here is a little work update. I'm currently working on a new picture book called "Dance by the Light of the Moon". Here is a link to one of the paintings. Preview If this works it is the top two images. The goose and the pig. It is keeping me busy and the deadline is coming up quick. I think I only have ten more paintings left to paint. The painting I'm doing now is frustrating me so I find it easy to be distracted-- that's where the cowboy came from. I'm having a hard time making the picture in my head match the one on the drawing board. I gotta just keep plugging away I guess. Who knows, maybe another cowboy will happen.

Potato Bot

So, I don't just draw robots. I want to make that clear. And I don't want to post artwork that I do for work, just the stuff I do on the side that I think people might like. It's just that I have to draw stuff ALL the time, it's my job--it's what I do. So when I have time to draw something just for fun, robots are one of the things that just pop out of my head. Besides, they are really cool. With that in mind I'm posting another couple robots.

I just got back from camping on a youth conference with a bunch of kids from my neighborhood. We had a blast. We did all kinds of things from service projects to Wrestle Mania. For one of the activities one of the girls taught everybody how to make wooden pens on a lathe. It was cool and they turned out very nice. Well, if you make a wooden pen you should have something to write on so we also made sketchbook/journal things. I was in charge of this little project. Why? I don't know. They were pretty basic. A stack of paper, spiral bound with cardboard covers. I thought they could decorate the covers themselves to make it their own. We used stamps made out of carved potatoes. I made sense at the time. I decided that for my cover, a robot would be just the thing to make it the most coolest cover in the world. Well, it wasn't but it still was kinda cool so, there you have it. I drew the second robot on another cover. I hope I captured the tragedy of the moment.

Maybe my next post will be a cowboy.

bot01

bot01
Originally uploaded by kactiguy.

I'm new to this blogging thing so I hope this works. I want to be able to post sketches and pictures and this is my first try. Robots are always cool.