Smoke Signal #4 + Other Stuff

Hi All,

Dirty Mike has been published in Desert Island's Smoke Signal zine. Thanks, Gabe!

It's available in-store (540 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn) and online.

OTHER NEWS!

♪ I will be at San Diego Comic-con.

♪ I will be on a panel at MoCCA.

♪ Skim will appear in my foreign translations! Edicoes SM (Brazil) will publish the book in Portugese and Uitgeverij Sherpa (Holland) will translate to Dutch. NICE!

♪ I'm attending this year's ICON event in Los Angeles, where I will eat many, many burritos.

Not Re-Inventing the Wheel

These pictures are from a killed job.

Sometimes I have to laugh at how seriously people take illustration ("people", of course, being illustrators themselves). Of course, there's a degree of conceptual thinking, intellectualization, etc., but I have found that a large chunk of the jobs one encounters involves creating pleasant, positive images.



I don't mind doing this sort of thing from time-to-time. It makes me feel like an old-timey illustrator and there's a certain challenge to bringing a little finesse to such content. Drawn.ca recently posted about a cookbook illustrated by Charley Harper that speaks to this.

Animals

Radio Silence.

Sorry! I've been in Florida again. I'm addicted!

Anyway, this isn't really anything comprehensive... just a few excerpts from a handout on Animal Anatomy I'm putting together for my class tomorrow. I get asked to draw quite a few animals, so unlike some other things we've gone over in class (perspective!), I actually feel somewhat qualified to speak on the subject.

There is no formula to trick to drawing animals, or anything else for that matter. Only through observation (ideally from life), and practice will give you a fundamental understanding of structure and form. This might be a bit of a bummer to hear as a student, but I believe it's the truth and applies to all drawing.

Witchy Woman

This lady is loosely based on an Icelandic saga we learned about in a very terrifying wax museum in Reykjavik.

Is there anything more intoxicating than the concept of a witch? (FYI: in the original saga, I believe the woman, Freydís Eiríksdóttir, was NOT a witch.) In retrospect, people who were deemed witches were probably just women who were a bit eccentric or had no interest in living with men and their rules. Which to many men, even today, is very irritating indeed.

Thoughts on Context, in which The Author rambles on Sloth, Musical Instruments, and Public Television

Gourd Drum (Ipu Hula or Ipu Heke), 19th century, Hawai'i

I've been feeling shitty about not going to museums lately. I mean, why exactly does one put up with the crappy things about the City if not to take occasionally take advantage of the wonderful things?

And I missed the MoMA Bauhaus show. Boo.

Anyway. I was thinking I might go somewhere tomorrow. This Met exhibit of Oceanic instruments looks pretty cool. They're something so beautiful about an object for which you intuitively know its use. Sam and I were talking about this the other day when we observed that he immensely, surprisingly, enjoys kitchen supply stores despite the fact he doesn't cook.

For many of the instruments, you can listen to curators speak about cultural uses and hear audio of them being played. The site is simplistic, but it offered a glimmer of how museums could harness interactivity to reach many more people and, more importantly, deliver a more thorough understanding of the subjects at hand.

Context is important.

I'm currently working my way through a PBS documentary series called Art: 21, about fine art in the 21st century. 3 or 4 contemporary artists are profiled per episode, and the experience is so RICH. You're brought into someone's studio, peeking in on them working, speaking to their family, oftentimes their subjects, hearing memories of their childhood. So much more compelling and accessible to hear it from the artists' mouth versus reading a curatorial text. You realize how much of creativity is simply exploring things that perplex you or that you're curious about. Didactics come later. Or, perhaps, full meanings are discovered through the process of creation.

On illustration. Illustration has always been a late adopter, often reinterpreting or refashioning artistic "styles" several decades after they were conceived by the art world, and applying them to commercial purposes. It's kind of a nostalgic form. No judgment on that (that should go without saying!). And yes, it does go the other way sometimes too (see: pop art). But! I think there's a valuable lesson illustrators, particularly students of illustration, can learn from Fine Art… that work should come from a place of exploration and introspection. To copy a "style" is simply a superficial appropriation of someone else's context. Someone else's life experience, interests, travels, tics. It's just surface. There's nothing underneath.

Flute (Pūtōrino), ca. 1800–1820

Aotearoa (New Zealand), Bay of Plenty region, Māori people

Salinger

I think I did this last year or 2 years ago. It was a crazy-rush piece (start to finish in a few hours), so it's not the best thing in the world. But I was thinking about how I feel a TINY bit more connected to notable deaths if I've drawn the person. You end up meditating on that person for a while.

Sometimes that person is JD Salinger. Other times, it is Mariah Carey.

Bewitched

I was dutifully doing work when I started watching a documentary on the Shakers. Then I had to draw a picture of the Shakers because I'm a sucker for the costume of religious fundamentalists.

Watching a movie about Shakers while filling in virtual shapes with virtual paintbrushes, and streaming said movie over a worldwide network of fiber optic cables and pulleys. Unpack that for a while.

Society of Illustrators Silver Medal

Wowee, what a way to kick off the year. Yesterday I received a Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators for my Newsprint piece.

I feel bad because I never can manage to come up with anything beyond “… thanks!” when accepting things like this. Everyone else just seems so witty and funny and charming. So let me say it here: nothing means more than being recognized by your peers. Rewarding this particular piece, which originated in my personal sketchbooks, is a huge confidence boost. It can be a struggle to retain a sense of creativity and personal vision as a commercial illustrator. I always tell students it’s their JOB to make assignments interesting and engaging for themselves. Because believe me, it doesn’t get any easier when you graduate!

Speaking of students, I was thrilled to see a former student of mine, Lulu Wolf, was also included in the show. Check out Lulu’s lovely work here.

The show for Uncommissioned and Sequential works is on view at the Society of Illustrators in NYC, Jan 3 – 26.

It's 2010.

Hi! I hope you had a good holiday. I hope you HAD a holiday. Or at least a few days off from wherever you toil.

What will 2010 bring? 2009 was a little scary, to be honest. Worked dried up for most of the illustrators that I know. I especially noticed a lag in the summer. It seems to have bounced back, but who can tell? Illustration DID die over 60 years ago, so.

-I have a small book coming out this year. It's true! Indoor Voice will be published by Drawn and Quarterly (dates forthcoming). I consider it a bit of a blog extension or companion to Gilded Lilies (2006). A compilation of things. You will hear more about it later! And yes, I am working on getting a longer, narrative work going. Fingers crossed.

-Skim goes on. Foreign translations are forthcoming in Portuguese and Dutch. Nutso...

-Speaking of! Right-wingers officially hate Skim! Read about it here!

-I'm teaching the 2nd semester of the Drawing for Cartoonists class at SVA. I will be switching to the Illustration department in the Fall.

-I am speaking with Gabrielle Bell and Jessica Abel later this month at the Brooklyn Public Library. Just a tiny thing on Brooklyn comickers. Deets: Jan 28, 7pm, Brooklyn Public Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Dweck Centre (lower level).

-Half World, the totally awesome book by Hiromi Goto, will be released April 1 in the US (Viking/Penguin). I did the illustrations for it. The book is already available in Canada.

That's all I can think of now. Bye!

Goodbye!

I’m heading back to the Arctic Tundra (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) for a bit of skiing and Vietnamese food. I’ll be back on Jan 3.

(Until then, I can’t take any jobs. Let’s work together next year!)

Readers, please have a safe and happy holiday.

Byebye!

National Geographic Animals

This project was definitely one of my highlights of the year. It was completed back in September, but the issue is just out now (Jan2010).

The series was about Asian Wildlife trafficking. You can read the article (and view some very disturbing photographs) here.

Animals, along with Dance, are probably my favourite things to draw. I was very excited when the AD, David Whitmore, suggested a simpler, painterly approach similar to the guy in this post. Thanks, Blog!















This wash technique is a very different one from my typical method... more of a one-shot deal with very minimal digital manipulation. (I still sent pencil sketches, albeit very rough ones.) Some of animals were done a dozen times before I got a few that worked. I would send the AD several final versions to choose from. Here is a picture of (mostly) discards.



It was an exercise in a new way of thinking and a good lesson for me as I try to streamline my illustration work. I have discovered through teaching that the most important thing you develop in school is not technique but PROCESS: a way of working that allows you to operate within the confines of Art Direction but still leaves you psychologically free to create work that is fresh and stimulating.

Independent UK

I did a few things for this next weekend's [of the 20th] Independent newspaper in the UK. I think it may be out on Sunday? I think it's part of the magazine? I'm not sure the details, but if you're over there, I'll assume you know what I'm talking about.

There are more, but I like this one best. The illustrations accompany a Christmasy story by Louis de Bernieres.

(AD: Ben Brannan)

Speaking of Christmas, I was dropping some stuff off at the Society of Illustrators today and decided to drop in at Bloomie's since I'm looking for boots. I'm only slightly exaggerating when I say the shoe department was COMPLETE carnage and the first thing I thought of was "I wonder if this is what Baghdad looked like after they overthrew Saddam Hussein." There is nothing like witnessing shopping-induced mayhem to make you feel ashamed to be a human being.

So many dead-eyed husbands.

Anyway. Apologies for the lack of sketchbooking lately. It's always really crazy before the holidays.

Feminist Choice

(click to enlarge)

Here's a recent illustration for Smith Alumnae Quarterly. I like the colours in this one. They're a bit of deviation from my usual palettes which are more restricted and complementary.

The article is about feminism giving women the freedom to define themselves as they wish.

I watched A League of Their Own when I made this picture. So good! Avoid the clap.

AD Ronn Campisi.

Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival

Come visit me at the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival in Williamsburg this SATURDAY! I actually think this may be a hopping show! I have had many people mention to me they're going to go check it out (often citing that-YAY-it's free).

Festival program .pdf here.

I DO NOT HAVE A TABLE. I will only be signing, 1pm-2pm. The location has been listed "on the stage", so I suppose that will be apparent upon inspection. (I'm happy to sign books you bring from home too.)

Our Lady of Consolation Church
184 Metropolitan Ave
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

15 Uses for Newsprint, with 200% more Studio Photos

'Spent yesterday at the Pencil Factory stuffing envelopes and drawing pictures. Sometimes you collaborate with other people and it ends up better than you could do by yourself and you get depressed.

Anyway, the promo posters are going out soon (contest winners, I'm mailing today!). You can now buy a poster package online for $10 if you so desire.

I was asked to take some photos of my studio space for Pencil Factory Promo, so here they are. I have three desks: one for computer, one for light-table/drawing, and another (not visible) that simply exists to hold paper.


I had to bribe the cat with a tub of catnip to be in the room for this photo.


I also have to designate a cat sleeping area on my desk. That's precious real estate, you know. This cat is a total pain in the ass. Print by Suvinai Ashoona, god's-eyes by Alison Yip.

To view all posters and some way more interesting studio spaces, go here.

Heart Running

Here's an illustration for Runner's World Germany. It's about running with a heart condition. Usually I don't use such a "deep space" in illustrations, but this was kinda fun. A little atmospheric interference* goes a long way.

*for students: the basic principle, as it pertains to art and drawing, is that things get more "low-value" as they get farther away. This is due to moisture, pollution, and other particles floating in the air between your eye and whatever you're looking at. That's why someone standing 10 feet away will appear crisper and more high value, than, say, the Empire State Building a mile away in the distance. In reality, the image above maybe isn't the best example, since it's kind of about fog and whatnot. The example of the Empire State Building is better.

Bird Brains

Pencil Factory Promo

We've started to brand The Pencil Factory. What is The Pencil Factory? It's a big old building here in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (a genuine pencil factory) where lots of people have their studios, including Sam Weber, Josh Cochran, Christopher Silas Neal, and others. I am only an honorary member (I work out of home), but I occasionally bake cupcakes and bring them to the studio, therefore I COUNT.

Anyway, we made a little promo of newsprint posters (that's mine, above). Go here to see who's involved and to get some handy ideas on what to do with your poster after you're finished enjoying it.

I have 12 copies of the poster package to give away. Email me with the subject line "PRINT IS NOT DEAD!" and I'll send you one... FREE! All the posters are gone. Thanks for playing! I think there will be a chance to buy them in the future. I'll keep you posted.





P.S. Thanks to Josh Cochran and Jennifer Daniel for putting the paper together.

Passing the Ball

For Plansponsor.

You may recall, this was in the Gallery of Rejected Sketches. Thanks to SooJin Buzelli, AD, it's an orphan no more!

Sam helped colour this one.

Best Illustrated Books: The Plaque

I was charged with making the award plaques for this year's NYTimes Best Illustrated Books list (see post below). Here's the illustration I did. I was pretty nervous to see the plaques handed out to the winners. Here are people who KNOW illustration and –yipes– will probably be putting the thing on their wall to look at, you know, forever.

Best Illustrated Books 2009

(Taeeun Yoo, from Only a Witch Can Fly)

I had the pleasure of judging this year's New York Times Best Illustrated Books, along with writer Adam Gopnik (!) and librarian Lisa Von Drasek. The process basically involved being sequestered in a room for 8 hours (with a lovely 3-course lunch in between), hashing through many hundreds, if not thousands, of children's books.

Here are the books we chose. Here is Adam Gopnik talking about the process.

It was an extremely interesting day. Obviously, my exposure to children's books is almost solely from an illustrator's perspective. I learned so much from Adam and Lisa in terms of the "other side" of reading/evaluating an illustrated book.

Lisa, in particular, should conduct some sort of seminar for people who want to write or illustrate children's books. Things like "read-aloud-ability", continuity, rhythm, surprise, appropriateness of voice... all elements to consider very carefully when creating books children actually want to read.

Thank-you to Julie Just for asking me to participate.

Baby's First Blurb

I blurbed. For some reason this seems blog-worthy.

I'm really happy D&Q is publishing gekiga (dramatic, serious comics, for lack of a more informed term). I was surprised to hear Yoshihiro Tasumi say that gekiga is not popular in Japan. It's nice to know it's found a following here. Red Snow is the latest venture.



And this is what I think of it.



What I REALLY want to see is a book of Yoshiharu Tsuge's, but apparently he doesn't let the stuff be translated/republished. Read about his work here, read "Screw-Style" via scans here (scroll down a bit).

Situational Readymades 4

I need to talk about something uncool for a sec.

Let's be straight: I love animals and I love dogs and I've owned a few dogs myself. I know people in the city that own dogs and they're cool and I like them. That said, I think NYC Dog Culture is very peculiar. New Yorkers really love their dogs, that's clear, and they kind of expect you to love their dogs too.

I will just say this, and leave it at that: it is NOT OKAY to let your dog drink out of public water fountains. Fountains are for people. And yes, I know my very own hands carry more germs than your dog's mouth or the average toilet or whatever. But please! DOGS LICK BUTTS. THEIR OWN AND OTHERS!

FOUNTAINS ARE FOR PEOPLE.

Marathon

The Marathon snakes a block away from my house in Greenpoint. I always like watching a bit of the NYC Marathon, even though it can be a bit of an inconvenience should you happen to have business on the other side of the street.

Today I was lucky enough to be there just as the elite women's pack was running past. I got a little teary-eyed, actually. It's not every day you see someone performing at that level, the culmination of years of training, sacrifices, and regime. You're watching what this person works towards every single day of their life.

An artist does not perform in this way. Accepting an award is not the same thing. The breakthroughs and struggles are usually experienced alone. But the idea of regime is not dissimilar. Building your skill as an artist is not too very different from an athlete conditioning herself DAILY to perform when it counts.

Sometimes it seems students expect to improve by simply being enrolled in an art institution or completing projects. It's like expecting to win a marathon simply by owning running shoes or doing a lap or two a few times a week (which, by the way, is pretty reflective of my own running routine). Be prepared to sweat, struggle, and make sacrifices to improve, if that's truly what you want.