BEAR HUG!

Remember back in grade school when you'd celebrate Valentine's Day by giving away packets of tiny cards to all your friends and classmates? Well, I recently had the chance to create those very cards for Just Like Me magazine, produced by  Baxter International.  Just Like Me is a publication specially tailored for kids with PI (primary immunodeficiency disease).

This series of kiddie cards was printed as a special insert in the Spring 2011 issue of Just Like Me. They feature the magazine's resident mascot, a blue bear named Igi V.

Igi V. exists in the 3D world as a plush toy that is given to all the children who read the magazine. He is a comforting friend and companion on their regular trips to the doctor's office, where they receive immunoglobulin medicine that helps fight infection. 

It was my privilege to be commissioned to design the 2D cartoon version of Igi V. and his friends, as well as the world they inhabit. Every issue of Just Like Me includes an Igi V. coloring page, comic page and look & find puzzle. The stories and pictures often feature Igi V. going to the doctor's office, making new friends, and generally experiencing the fun of being a normal kid.

As we speak, JLM issue # 4 is going to press and the art for issue # 5 is now under way. In the future I look forward to sharing more illustrations and comics from this very special publication!

Painting a Monster

Americhip Books contacted me in 2008 to illustrate a story about a boy named Cameron who uses various night lights to keep the "monsters" away. It was a fun-sounding concept so of course I said yes!
   One of the challenges was laying out the artwork to accommodate a light bulb and "press" button for each spread. The other challenge was keeping the scenery interesting, since the entire story takes place in the same darkened room. A mixture of "camera" angles and closeups helped keep the readers engaged as Cameron tried scaring the monsters with a lamp, a flashlight, and a firefly, among other things.
   The final art incorporated rich, dark colors built up in Adobe Photoshop. Below are the layers from scene 3, depicting Cameron's firefly leaving the room.

Base layer

General shading, PJ details

Light source, shadows, wall details, final text

Back from the Dead

Wow, I can't believe it's been 2.5 years since my last post. Gulp! Suffice it to say, I got a bit sidetracked. But this does not mean I've slacked off illustrating. No way! If anything, it has been my most prolific period yet. I simply didn't feel like writing about it. However, it simply won't do to ignore the need to write. And now that I'm up to the task, there are many cool projects I need to catch you up on. For now, please accept this humble illustration as a peace offering.

It feels good to be back from the dead.

The Joy of Line Art

It's not too often I get to work in simple, good ol' fashioned black and white line art. These days,it's mostly all about saturated color and richly detailed artwork. But what about when you are asked to create minimalistic imagery – in one color? How do you keep it interesting and dynamic?
If it's still in the realm of line art, for me the answer is 1) composition and 2) line weight. And when I say line weight, I mean effective, thick to thin line strokes, that get fatter where indicating more volume, or curvature, or weight. I just love the results you get when you let the lines get expressive.
These pieces are from a batch of German kid's books I illustrated last summer for Hooked on Phonics. Lots of pictures of fish, cats, and crazy dogs. Seems these would also be pretty fun if they were coloring book art. Hope you enjoy these.