I Met The Walrus

I originally saw this on Swiss Miss's blog, so props to her for finding it. A short animated film, using as it's soundtrack an interview a nineteen year old kid made with John Lennon after sneaking into his hotel room in 1969. The visuals are amazing, and the interview is pretty enlightening as well (the kid's question about the Bee Gees is pretty funny , too).

Messin' 'round with a wacom tablet

Like the title says.



Could I have chosen a more yucky line color? That was a mistake-- I'm clicking on the wrong thing all over the place. It's a little trickier than I thought, but I'll get the hang of it. I became inspired after watching the multi-talented Mike Cavallaro use one at the Deep Six studio. Special thanks to Mr. Mariano Recalde for the loan until I can decide whether I can make this thing work well enough to justify buying myself one.

Zombies!

More top secret sketches from my top secret upcoming top secret project. Hint: it gots zombies in it.

Some More Ball-Peenishness

Some more preview pages from Ball-Peen Hammer, written by Adam Rapp. We've already met Welton and Underjohn, rotting away in their basement. Please meet Exley (the woman) and Horlick (the boy), the other two main characters, who are set above it all in a crumbling clock tower. Horlick is a feral child who was subdued by Exley, who spends the rest of the book trying to save him. This is pretty early in their relationship, hence his being tied to a chair.
This scene, and the little stalemate they've got going here, is one of the scenes that made me want to illustrate this book; it gets resolved, quite ingeniously, and finally, by Exley on the following page. Like I said, this book is definitely not going to be for kids so I had to be somewhat selective in what I show here. Nothing violent, just not particularly appropriate for an ostensibly all-ages blog.

Funny

"Get Your War On" from 23/6.com. First in an animated series from David Rees. Funny and sad.

More Hammertime

The final two pages of this particular scene. Check back soon for some more preview pics.

More Ball-Peen

Some more pages, continuing the scene from yesterday's post. Welton and Underjohn continue their verbal sparring.

Preview pages from my current project

Take a gander, if you will, at some pages from my next book with First Second, a graphic novel written by Mr. Adam Rapp called Ball-Peen Hammer. It's a very dark, very adult, graphic novel set during what seems to be a complete societal collapse. The finish line is finally in sight for me, which is good, as a lot of sad personal stuff hit during this book. I like to think I was able to channel a bit of that to capture the depressed, decayed feeling the story required, but, man, I'll be glad when this is behind me. It's a great story, and I'm really proud of what I've done with it, but I'm looking forward to drawing something prettier next.

By the way, the two guys are Welton (skinny, scabby dude) and Underjohn (glasses). They have recently been partnered together in this grubby basement for reasons that will remain secret for now, and are discussing the state of the world outside.

New Yorkery

Trying to get back on the posting horse, so putting up this. I think I managed the not-quite-funny, more-kinda-droll feel that I get from the New Yorker these days. This was one of the Thanksgiving cartoons I submitted to the Leonard Lopate show that didn't win (the winner is elsewhere on the blog).

Thumbnail

Not much to say on this, other than it's a rough composition of that moment when Athena bursts forth, fully grown, armed and armored, from the skull of her father, Zeus. This would be the thumbnail version-- I'll eventually post up a rough draft and a finished piece for comparisons.

Well, at least I can draw good...

How's this for the least photogenic man alive? While doing a Google vanity search the other day I can across this monstrosity of a photo on the Publisher's Weekly site. On the right is Rivkah, the cartoonist behind Steady Beat from Tokyo Pop. Nice photo of her, right?

Now, on the left, we have me. One will instantly notice the glassy half-lidded eyes, slightly askance to the wall, and think, "my, what a terrible photo". Oh, but there's more. A closer look at my right paw reveals that I am unintentionally flipping the bird at the viewer. How do I let something like this happen? What was wrong with me that day? How have I not learned to not hold a piece of paper like that? I wonder how many people saw this photo and thought terrible, unkind things about me? "Well, I was going to do a cover story on Mr. O'Connor, but after seeing that photo..."

Lesson learned? Always use my index finger, and invest in sunglasses.

A Little Some-Thing about Missouri...

So I just got an e-mail from my buddy and fellow children's book guy Nick Bruel telling me that my book Sally and the Some-Thing (henceforth referred to as my baby) has made the list of nominees for the 2008 Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award.




To explain what that means, please allow me to borrow liberally from their website. The Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award, administered by the Children's Services Round Table of MLA, is presented annually to the author and illustrator of the picture book voted most popular by preschool children in Missouri's public libraries. Designed to encourage reading aloud to children from birth through kindergarten age, the award was first given in 1996. Parents and other caregivers are encouraged to read aloud to children from a list of ten titles selected annually by a group of Missouri children's librarians. Colorful posters, bookmarks, activity sheets, and a manual of great ideas add to the fun.



Apparently the voting goes on from September until the end of December, and the part that has me excited is that it's actually voted on by the kids. They always say that it's an honor to just be nominted, and that goes double in that case. Always nice to hear this sort of good news