Wallaby Story Time

There are thousands of really cool and creative pieces of art found in children's books. It helps when the illustrations are paired with a good story, but it's always the artwork that draws me in. I think it is sometimes overlooked that children's books are marketed towards adults just as much as kids. Adults have the money and purchase books and adults are the ones who have to read them (over and over and over and ...you get the point.) The best authors and illustrators will throw their adult audience an occasional bone. Well-developed characters, humor, adventure, interesting artwork, colorful prose, and practical life-lessons are appreciated by both kids and adults. This is a subject that I'll visit again.

Here are some of our favorites:

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from Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard

A bird in a bad mood has an attitude adjustment as he encounters his animal friends. Wonderful digital collage style artwork and reading in a grumpy voice is so much fun!

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from I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry

A bragging squid gets what's coming to him when he is swallowed by (spoiler) a whale. He takes it all in stride, though. It is a big, fun ,and colorful book.

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from "Stand Back" Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze" by Patricia Thomas and Wallace Tripp

A funny rhyming story with great illustrations by Wallace Tripp. This was one of my favorites as a kid.

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from Dodosaurs by Rick Meyerowitz and Henry Beard

Great illustrations and very sophisticated humor. The subtitle of the book is The Dinosaurs That Didn't Make It. The above illustration, for example, shows the Paranoiasaurus and two Hypnosaurs (the one on the left hypnotized itself to death). Good stuff.

Monsters and Madmen(women)

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The Yellow Wallpaper (a tribute to Charlotte Perkins Gillman)

They had just moved in, About to begin
A life all their own
That little house stood, At the edge of the woods
Down Pine River Road

Now Sara was mom, And daddy was Tom
In this new little family
But baby would cry, Sara didn’t know why
She had become so unhappy

There’s something in the wallpaper
Something in the air
A yellow sickness spreading
Through the bedroom upstairs

Then Sara started to see, Things Tom couldn’t believe
Appearing behind the wall
Patterns in the paper, She traced with her finger
From the bedroom into the hall

Now baby was sleeping, As Sara was creeping
Towards that soft tiny bed
She had to save him, She picked up the blanket
And wrapped it around his head

Now Tom woke at eight, Couldn’t believe it so late
Rolled over and kissed his wife
So cold in her sleep, Tom pulled up the sheet
And that’s when he saw the knife

And as his eyes focused, Tom finally noticed…

There’s something in the wallpaper
Something in the air
A yellow sickness spreading
Through the bedroom upstairs

Horror Ranting and a Lightbulb?

"Hello, Claudia." said Eli. "Do you want an oatmeal cookie?"

"Does it have any blood in it?" asked Claudia.

"No, raisins."

"Oh......................sure...Thanks"

Here's the trailer for Let the Right One In: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICp4g9p_rgo A really good movie that I fear Hollywood will Twilightify. As a horror movie fan, it's disappointing to rarely get any original horror content out of U.S. studios. In the last five years, at least half of theatrically released horror has been remakes of foreign, classic, and franchise films. Arghhh...I've seen them already! And as cliche as it is to say - THE ORIGINALS ARE ALMOST ALWAYS BETTER. I do like the US versions of The Grudge and The Ring quite a bit, but they are exceptions. (And I may be in the minority of the horror community with that opinion). Still, I know there are new stories out there (or old ones that have never been filmed). Someone should take note and get some productions started. Here are a few suggestions from me:

• Pig Blood Blues or Confessions of a (Pornographer's) Shroud by Clive Barker


• The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman


• M.R. James, Algernon Blackwood, H.P. Lovecraft, Ambrose Bierce, Saki, and even Poe are grossly underused or misused (as in title only) in cinema.


• The Monkey, Jerusalem's Lot, Crouch End (and a dozen others) by Stephen King


• The Borderlands Anthologies edited by Thomas & Elizabeth Monteleone (I think there are five volumes so far) are full of the most unique and terrifying fiction out there.

OK? OK. Now on to something that has nothing to do with the above rant or Claudia and Eli. I have some character ideas and basic story line ideas for various children's books in my head - too many and that's just the kid story stuff. Most artists and writers will say the same thing - coming up with ideas is EASY. Picking and choosing an idea and nurturing them to a finished piece is very hard. Almost every time I get started on a project that I feel is worth investing months of time and effort in, I get distracted by a "better" idea. All of my favorite writers and artists have been able to focus. I need to focus.

So, last night I was telling my daughter a story and a lightbulb went on. I think I came across an element to finally tie an old character/story concept together. The pieces are still coming together, but they're pointing in the same direction. You might say--they are focusing. Hope you like your blog with extra cheese.

The Geek Show: Making Mixed Cds

Music is a huge part of my life. I've made dozens of mixed cds over the years. Actually, I started with mixed tapes and now cd's have almost been replaced by digital playlists. Pretty geeky, but I love music and it has given me another outlet to use my artwork on the cd covers. Plus a bunch of my friends did a disc club which was really fun and introduced me to a ton of great music. I should see if that's still on for this year. Here's some of my cover art:

Chow with Stripes

It doesn't want a hug. It wants a bite. Of you.

I went to the park with my daughter last night. I was watching her run. She is really fast but she holds her arms straight down her side. It's kind of like her top half is just casually riding her legs. And I'm thinking, if I ever get into animation, that's how a character should look when it's running. Seriously, though, I hadn't realized how fast she's gotten! We are going to the State Fair tonight. Animal poop and sugar.

I added the link to my deviantArt page in the sidebar. I go by the name crustibian. I also spent some time filling in my profiles at deviantArt and Conceptart last night. I need to clean up my portfolio page at deviantArt. It's a nice feature for a beginner like myself. It has it's own address which can be given directly to clients (so they're not wading through all of the junk on my home page). It needs to be trimmed and the pieces need to be accurately labeled. I want to put together a nice physical portfolio (relatively) soon and look around locally for some work.

I need to look into some printing options:

1. For my digital work
2. For my larger pieces that won't fit in a portfolio
3. Possibly invest in some postcard mailers (need to research this a bit before I go ahead)

I am also debating the necessity of having a professional website. I know I'll definitely need one down the road. I think my blog and deviantArt gallery and portfolio are fine for now.

I've been looking at some contract samples online. This site has been very helpful: http://www.cegur.com/html/framesupport.html It has some pricing guidelines and also some really nice contract templates that can be used and altered for free.

Wild Thing

I think I love you. But I want to know for sure. So c'mon and hold me tight. You move me.

http://wherethewildthingsare.warnerbros.com/
This could be really good (The teaser trailer makes the movie look fantastic). I choose to be optimistic about it. I love Maurice Sendak's illustrations. His influence in Tooth Head's stomp (above) is pretty obvious.

From Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak


I found this blog on the business side of illustration. Lots of great information here.
http://pbeachtips.blogspot.com/

Trippy Computer Trips

Some old vector based computer designs. I've made dozens of these over the years at work. The best way to learn the capabilities of a program is to have a little fun fooling around with it.

the Blubber Slug and the Alligator King

C.O.W. #151 Venomous, Pale Blue, Obese Egg-Layer

The blubber slug lives deep in the forest of the forgotten wildlife. As a juvenile, while it is still mobile, the male blubber slug slithers through the undergrowth to find an ideal spot to live it’s entire adult life. It emits a powerful pheromone that attracts the female blubber slugs. For months the females deposit their eggs at the male’s mouth, which he immediately devours.

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Some of the eggs are digested but most continue to grow inside the male’s bloating body. His body continues to expand and may contain thousands of developing eggs. Finally, his skin secretes a slick venomous slime and the eggs begin popping out of his vent. The process super heats his tail end which converts the slime into a poisonous steam cloud which covers and protects the eggs until they hatch. The male’s flabby sack of a corpse will be the young blubber slugs’ first meal.

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Bud Luckey is an artist, animator and musician. He is currently a character designer and animator at Pixar Studios. You can see his work in most of their films: Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Cars, Ratatouille, and WALL-E.

I've attached clips of some of his early work originally aired on Sesame Street in the early 1970's. Both clips are co-written, animated, and performed (banjo and voice) by Bud Luckey. Enjoy!

The Alligator King http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5zAdYFN_Hk

The Ladybug Picnic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlp1w-6XPHU

I Summon the Pudding Man!: A Post About Context

Sleep and work - You're the WORST! But I need you both -for now. I wish that there was some magical being that granted wishes. I would wish for time. Instead, all I get is the Pudding Man pictured above. He watches me while I sleep and while I work and it's really creeping me out. I can't complain too much because I'm lucky in so many ways. I just wish my time didn't start after 10:00 pm. No work on C.O.W. 151. grrrrr


Speaking of creepy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvkhvUzYKEI
Speaking of recut movie trailers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmkVWuP_sO0

One thing that helps me get through the work day is listening to podcasts. I subscribe to alot of them (they're free!) and I've put links for some of the art related ones in the Cool Places column. Listening to Artcasts help me to stay focused on art even when I can't physically pull out a sheet of paper or pull up a file that I've been working on. They focus on tips and techniques, business and networking, tools and tech, inspiration and so much more.

Some of my favorite non-art related podcasts are:
Horror Etc. http://www.horroretc.com/ Horror Movies
Anything Ghost http://anythingghost.libsyn.com/ "true" ghost stories
Hometown Tales http://hometowntales.blogspot.com/ Tall Tales and Urban Legends
Pseudopod http://pseudopod.org/ Original Horror Fiction
Just One More Book http://www.justonemorebook.com/ All aspects of children's books
Skeptoid http://skeptoid.com/ Critical look at pseudoscience and scams

An Accidental Sasquatch

A couple of months ago, I looked over at a painting my daughter had left on the easel. There he was...Bigfoot strolling through the forest. I think my love for monsters might be infecting her brain.

Here's her picture:

Here's how C.O.W. 151 is coming along. Another hour or two of work on it and I think I'll feel confident enough to submit.

Space Cases

I will be adding some links over the next few weeks to some of my favorite art sites. There is some really great stuff out there! Also, I'm trying to finish a piece to submit to conceptart's C.O.W. for the first time this week. I've spent hours over the past few years exploring all the great creature designs up there. I'm finally going to give it a try. Here's a rough sketch for C.O.W. #151 Venomous, Pale Blue, Obese Egg-Layer:

Let's see if I can finish it by Sunday.

Lovin' the Monsters

What is the best job in the world? My vote is Professional Monster Maker. Drawing, painting, sculpting, writing, animating, concepting, make-up, costume design, the list goes on and on. Anybody getting paid to create monsters is super lucky. Yes, yes, I know, and talented, and a hard worker, and creative, and SUPER LUCKY! Anyways, If anybody out there is in a position to hire a monster maker, keep me in mind. You won't be sorry. Bwaahh, Haa, Haa , ha! http://denverwagner.daportfolio.com/ Ha, Ha (Laugh to be imagined as Vincent Price's).

Firefly Art Fair

Hey, Why the long face?

I'm a chalk monster.

Oh.

My daughter and I went to the local art fair this morning. When she saw something that she liked she said, "Can I do that when we get home?" She is a creative and talented kid (parents don't say that about their kids unless it's true). Maybe someday she'll be in a position to help out her old man, since she thinks my work is "pretty good". I think her favorite thing about the fair, though, was the popsicle.

I love that my daughter likes to create but I'd never let a mess like this happen. Here's the trailer for My Kid Could Paint That:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j46V9wclBaw

I'm going outside to do some sketching. There was some very inspirational work at the art fair today. Plus, it's a beautiful day!

Music is Super!

Last night was really fun. I got together with some old bandmates for a impromptu jam at a local bar. I've played with these guys in different bands over the years and they've played together in different combos. It was a great line-up and the music came together easily. Music is such a great creative outlet and a strong bond between friends. Great guys!

Here's some musical artwork I've done over the years:

Sloppy with Paint

I love thickly textured paintings. I painted this pig with pallette knives and acrylic. I do like the sloppy look of it. (It is a pig after all!)

I used this painting to create this cd cover

I have plenty of clothes covered in paint and my basement floor is turning into a pretty cool abstract piece.

Here's a picture of my basement floor where I paint.

My kids have had a huge effect on my artwork. Seeing some awesome creativity in picture books and animation has shifted my work towards a more character oriented and illustrative style. Sometimes I wish I had focused on this earlier, but I've found great use for all of those old abstracts as texture and background. (See previous post.) And there's still nothing more relaxing than a beer, headphones, and being sloppy with paint.

Speaking of pigs, music, and the influence of children's media:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l33g5jn7p18