Trick or Treat

The best Halloween I remember as a kid? The year my mother helped my sisters and I dress up as punk rockers ranks near the top. We made cardboard electric guitars and got to spray our hair pink.

That, was awesome. Thanks Mom.

Zephyr

Swirling, curling, unfurling - some after dinner sketching.

Almost Yearly-ish Giveaway

So -- looks like it's that time of year for a giveaway.

And what's yours for the taking you might ask? The illustration above was done this past Spring for postcards and I'll be giving away a print of that. Also, I'll probably throw in a few other goodies with your package, because that's how I roll.

The rules are pretty much the same as before:

1) To enter, leave a comment letting me know your favorite book. Not just the book you kind of like, I'm talking the book that you LOVE. An "I'd take it to a desert island with me/all the pages are dog-eared/I can quote random passages from memory" sort of book.

2) I'll take entries up until 11:59 PM Monday November 1 (EST).

3) No geographic restrictions; I'll mail both stateside and abroad. If you're overseas, you are responsible for any customs fees incurred.

4) The winning entry will be chosen Tuesday November 2 at random.

5) I'll announce the winner Tuesday evening. Easy peasy, right?

Break a leg!

Slight of Hand

Strike Out Into the Unknown

Illustration Friday - Spooky

For this week's Illustration Friday theme, "Spooky." Mwahahaha!

And Away We Go

Illumination

I watched "Everything is Illuminated" a few weeks back.

I now want to live in a field of sunflowers. Badly.

What I Wore Today

So the über-talented Gemma Correll runs a fun group over on Flickr, "What I Wore Today."

I figured I'd give it a whirl, mostly because I am not wearing sweat pants and/or a t-shirt for once.

Addendum

This week has been all about brightly colored leaves (see below), listening to the Handsome Family (see above) and trying to brainstorm a Halloween costume (go here). My weekend? Sewing this, watching these and baking that.

"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"

I've been reading Scott McCloud's "Making Comics" lately. What I like most is that the topics he covers are really relevant to illustration in general, not just comics.

At the end of each chapter there's exercises, so I decided to try one as a warm up sketch yesterday. This particular one dealt with illustrating your favorite movie in 16 key scenes (whoops, only could fit 15 onto the page), with no use of words. It was harder than I'd anticipated, but was a really good exercise in zero-ing in on what propels a story.

One Cool Cat

I was out sketching last week in a coffeeshop. I guess the hipster clientele wore off on me.

Also, I cleaned up this blog's sidebar a little and added a bit of new linkage (Flickr, Tumblr, Twitter, etc.), so happy surfing!

The Melancholic Mermaid

She's here - "The Melancholic Mermaid" is out! My copy came in the mail this morning and I'm kind of over the moon.

The book is by the lovely Kallie George and published by the delightful folks at Simply Read Books.* "The Melancholic Mermaid" is a magical story and, as someone who grew up near the sea, was a thrill to illustrate.

*I'm a graphic designer by trade, so was utterly blown away by the phenomenal attention to detail and production standards Simply Read Books has. I have two words for you - spot varnish. Swoon.

Take Up Your Arms

Illustration Friday - Beneath

Hot Jazz and Bathtub Gin