See Hope

Fantagraphics is publishing a follow up to their amazing book, Beasts! published in 2006. This time round they had a open call for submissions for a a slot that opened up. This is what I came up with…

“The Penanggalan or `Hantu Penanggal` is a peculiar variation of the vampire myth that apparently began in the Malay Peninsula. According to the folklore of that region, the Penanggalan is a detached female head that is capable of flying about on its own. As it flies, the stomach and entrails dangle below it, and these organs twinkle like fireflies as the Penanggalan moves through the night. In Malaysian folklore, a Penanggal may either be a beautiful old or young woman who obtained her beauty through the active use of black magic, supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means which is most commonly described in local folklores to be dark or demonic in nature.”

colored photoshop file

pencils, 8 x 8 on tracing paper

Last fall I illustrated three decks for Foundation’s Spring 08 line. I think these are gonna be in skate shops pretty soon.

I was asked to create album artwork for the band, The Sort. They came to me with a loose Alice in Wonderland theme that I expanded upon. Here are the pencils for the four panels. I will post the colors in the next day or so.

I have been spending a lot of time sketching the past week recovering from hernia surgery, fun! These were some of the more successful pages.

Two quick months go by without posting, but I have been super busy on projects that can’t be posted at the moment. I am pleased to reveal art for the School of Visual Arts that I completed last month. Art Director, Brian Smith, wanted to create a holiday party invitation with cut out paper dolls, clothing, accessories, and a sleigh that the recipient could put together. I had a lot of fun drawing this and Brian finished it all off with his graphic expertise!

There always seems to be a lot of ocean imagery in their lyrics so I placed the band inside a bottle, lost in the middle of a still sea. The final illustration in Photoshop, 12 x 12 300 dpi.

Most of the work was done in the computer so the final pencils were pretty minimal.

And here is the initial thumbnail sketch I worked off of.

Portrait of Swedish musician Jens Lekman.

14 x 14 300 dpi Photoshop file

Final pencils on 14 x 14 inch Strathmore 400 bristol

I have been wanting to do a sports piece for my portfolio for a while now. I chose local superstar, and reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson as the subject for my illustration. I’m still not sold on the colors right now. Too saturated maybe, colors are not balanced. I’ve been working on this thing on and off for two weeks now and I can’t tell anymore.

12 x 10 300 dpi Photoshop file

final pencils, 17 x 13.5 inch Strathmore 400 brsitol