Toronto Rules

The above pic is from the Skim Launch last week... a full house at the Gladstone! THANK-YOU everyone who came to that event and the OCAD talk.

(P.S. The girl in green? My sister, Lauren.)

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A few leftover Skim links, before I resume regular posting:

-National Post feature (which hilariously featured the subhead "Nepotism at Work" in the print version)

-FFWD (Calgary weekly) Interview

- A CBC podcast inteview of Mariko and me on "Q"!!

- If you are interested in viewing ORIGINAL Skim art, visit The Beguiling on Markham St (around the corner from Honest Ed's). A small collection of original sketches, pencils, and inked work will be on view of a few weeks.

SKIM BONANZA

Hey guys,

This will be last post for about a week. I will be up in Toronto promoting our book. I thought this would be a good time to do a megapost about the latest and future goings-ons in Skimland.

First: an excerpt! This is a little cut from Part 1 of Skim. You can also download a .pdf version if it's too big for your browser or you'd like to zoom in on the art.



If you are in Toronto, come to The Launch. Mariko and I will be doing a small presentation where I will be showing sketches and other process stuff. And, of course, yammering about our experience. And partying. Details:

This Is Not A Reading Series, Skim Launch
Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - 7:30pm
Gladstone Hotel
1214 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON


Also on Wednesday, you can listen to Mariko and I on CBC's entertainment radio show "Q". I think that comes on around midday. Check local listings. I was actually on Q once before with the lovely Hope Larson. But that time we had a guest interviewer... this time I will actually meet celebu-host Jian Ghomeshi. I am terrified.



If you are an OCAD student, you can also come to a talk next Friday. It will be more in-depth and illustration-focussed. Mariko will also be there to talk about Skim. We'll probably bring some copies to hawk.

Friday, March 28, 2008
10am-12pm
Ontario College of Art & Design
Auditorium (room 190)
100 McCaul St



Lastly, I thought I'd post some media tidbits, including a review from last weekend's Globe & Mail and this month's BUST Magazine. Read a small online article about my comics-making soundtrack at Drawn (thanks, Matt!). And, lastly, a feature in the National Post is due to run on Wednesday. I archive all this stuff on my website under the "books" section.




THAT. IS. IT!

Thank-you for your patience. I thought I'd blast all this info at you at once, instead of stringing it along over multiple posts. Maybe I'll meet some of you in Toronto!

-J

ESPN Fantasy Sports

Here's a recent project done for ESPN's 10th Anniversary Issue. The concept: "Fantasy Sports are Fun"! The editors actually came up with the idea of the pinata party, which was initially a bit daunting. How exactly does one draw a group of kids grabbing at 10 specified athletes flying out of a pinata? But actually, I think the challenge did me good.







There's something that makes me think the image actually looks better in the layout than by itself. I'm not sure why. Maybe the "JACKPOT" extends the line of the girl's arm or something. Anyway. You'll notice the asian girl got a bit of a haircut and became a boy for the magazine version! I suppose girls aren't that into fantasy sports, but I do like the black of her hair in the original. AD Siung Tija.

The FAQs of Life

Isaac Klunk, a student at SCAD, posted this Q&A we did a few weeks ago for his class presentation. I wish I had a drawing of Tootie to accompany this post.

Telephone Doodle

Raymond Pettibon, NYTimes Op-Art: Spring

Raymond Pettibon, No Title (“Dateline: any town, anytime”), ink on paper, 2007. 

Photo Joshua White. Courtesy Regen Projects, Los Angeles.

Watercolour Scheme: Calgary

Watercolour Scheme: New York

Watercolour Scheme: Banff

Watercolour Scheme: Reykjavik

Watercolour Scheme: Vancouver

Dr. Seuss

Test your knowledge of Dr. Seuss. How odd to do an illustration about an illustrator.

Lunch: Deconstructed Sushi Salad

I used to make sushi rolls for lunch. At the end, I'd gather up all the leftover scraps of vegetables, rice, nori, etc. and dump them in a bowl and eat that too. Eventually I cut out the "roll" part and now just make this rather strange salad.

First, make "sushi rice". I put that in quotations because my technique is pretty much an affront to all of Japanese culture. But anyway, "sushi rice" involves washing 3/4 c rice, then adding 3/4 c water, then turning on the rice cooker. After it's done (not long... 10-15 min?), mix in about a tbspn each of mirin and rice vinegar. That's it.

Cut up cucumbers, carrots, and avocados. That's my own trifecta, but you can put whatever you want in it. If I have kimchi or lettuce, I will also add those.

Put everything in a bowl. Season with soy sauce. Cut up a nori sheet if you have one and/or sprinkle with sesame seeds. [Gong]

Watercolour Scheme: Blue

Watercolour Scheme: Red

Watercolour Shapes

19th Century Japanese Toy Design

Via BibliOdyssey.

You've seen the James Jean Prada stuff. The SoHo store is basically a giant, fabulous shrine to him. James, you are truly a champion! Read Chris Butcher's rundown on the whole Prada deal. It's an exhaustive little post.

I've noticed a growing trend of illustration colliding with high fashion. I collected some pictures for you.

(I don't know how to do the "behind the jump" thing.)

People Dancing

More mechanical pencil drawings.

I thought this was appropriate because we just watched Footloose with Jessica tonight. To reiterate a post from a few days ago: I like my entertainment light. EXTREMELY light.

Mechanical Pencil Drawings

I used to draw all the time with a mechanical pencil when I was in school. Then I stopped.

More Horses, More Faces

Face to Face

Yesterday during our class at Parsons, we spoke about "Visual Language" (which I think is a less oppressive word than "Style"). And how it is our duty (and fate!) to explore our own languages thoroughly throughout our entire lives, not just as students.

Also, there is the problem of always drawing the same face (usually a variant of our own? I for example, actually have a problem drawing eyelids, not being a proprietor of any myself). I try to break away, as the above illustrates: usually with only minimal success.

On Crappy Graphic Novels

Chris Butcher ponders the 3300+ graphic novels released last year (that represents almost a 20% increase from 2006). He knows of what he speaks: Chris is the manager at The Beguiling, in Toronto.

Horse Show

Meds

Design and the Elastic Mind

Origami Remote, Hayeon Yoo

In the past few decades, individuals have experienced dramatic changes in some of the most established dimensions of human life: time, space, matter, and individuality. Working across several time zones, traveling with relative ease between satellite maps and nanoscale images, gleefully drowning in information, acting fast in order to preserve some slow downtime, people cope daily with dozens of changes in scale. Minds adapt and acquire enough elasticity to be able to synthesize such abundance. One of design's most fundamental tasks is to stand between revolutions and life, and to help people deal with change. Designers have coped with these displacements by contributing thoughtful concepts that can provide guidance and ease as science and technology evolve. Several of them—the Mosaic graphic user's interface for the Internet, for instance—have truly changed the world. Design and the Elastic Mind is a survey of the latest developments in the field. It focuses on designers' ability to grasp momentous changes in technology, science, and social mores, changes that will demand or reflect major adjustments in human behavior, and convert them into objects and systems that people understand and use.

Another reason to visit the MoMa. I love these conceptual design shows they put on. The exhibit has a very interesting and interactive accompanying website (it's worth the load time).

Link via Chris Makris.

Boob Tomatoes

Yes, boob tomatoes. How else to describe them? Plus a few rejected sketches. For Esquire, AD Erin Jang.

Lunch: Brie Sandwich with Apple and Beets

Ok, this sandwich is amazing. Firstly, peel a beet. Slice it thinly then put the pieces in a pan with a pinch of salt and a bit of water. Cover, and steam until tender-crisp (or softer if you like). Meanwhile, slice green apple and pieces of brie. Spread some dijon mustard on some bread, then assemble the beets, apple, and brie. Fini.

Yes, that sandwich is huge. Yes, I ate it all. What of it?

I Only Watch Horrible 1980s Movies

Yeah, this is 80s-kid pap. But we watched The Wizard yesterday and it was pretty awesome. Or was it awesome because I remembered it to be awesome when I was 9? Who can say.

And then I got depressed when I realized most of the students in my class at Parsons were born the same year The Wizard was released.

Also, Mecha Bart Simpson:

"Color Chart"

I just spent the last 12 hours painstaking choosing a colour palette and manipulating balances. So it was strangely liberating to read about this new show at the MoMa about Found Colour. Here's the slideshow.

Usually I shy away from the idea of "straight out of the bottle" colour in my own work. However, at this moment, "colour as a ready-made" seems like a shot of fresh air. MODERNISM!