The Art of Science- Rogue Waves

Chronicle Books is publishing a visual anthology called The Art of Science and I was asked to participate in the collaboration. Each artist was paired with a scientist to answer a mysterious question. I was assigned "Do Rogue Waves Exist?"

Julia Rothman, the art director/curator, (for lack of a better description) described it like this:


We have been working with a huge group (more than 50) scientists from all different fields: Anthropology, Physics, Chemistry, Meteorology... They have described some of the big mysteries in their fields and the theories behind them. From the big picture (What existed before the Big Bang? What is dark matter? Are there more than three dimensions? Why does the Earth hum? Can evolution outpace climate change?) to the little wonders (Why do we yawn? Can trees talk to each other? Why do cats purr? What is the smallest unit of matter?). In many ways both scientists and artists are exploring the unknown, and we hope this book will amaze readers with both science's mysteries and artists' imagined explanations.

Needless to say, this is 100% fun, and the essential reason I love my job. Here are a few sketches, color studies and other thumbnail ideas from the creation process below.

 

I might be most proud of that super flat yellow, which was not created digitally. It is like I'm working in the 19th Century! 

Didn't realize I used the golden rectangle... (sort of) 

Come See the Design-ustrators!

I'm happy to announce an upcoming Gallery Talk at The Society of Illustrators in New York, featuring Chris Silas Neal, Jennifer Daniel and myself titled Illustrator As Designer. It will be on October 1st, from 2 - 4pm at the Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63rd Street, New York, NY.
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In all corners of the graphic world, the traditional line between designer and illustrator has been redrawn, smudged and reinvented. From book jackets, magazine spreads, hand-drawn type and informational images, illustrators and picture makers are no longer limited to the edges of the traditional art box. 

Come see this three-ring-circus presentation about designed images, drawn text and the creative process. Featuring John Hendrix, Chris Silas Neal, and Jennifer Daniel.

Ghosts in the Floorboards

A few overly-cute spots for Popular Mechanics about the troubles with living in old houses full of squeaky noises and mysterious sounds.

Drawing in Church- 8/7

Dragon Detector

The amazing art director from Asset International, SooJin Buzelli, gave me a fun assignment a few weeks back for the magazine Plan Sponsor. Now, this magazine has is about mutual funds and financial instruments that are way above my pay-grade and interest level. The particular piece I was given was summarized: Following the struggles of the financial crisis, the index providers are more important than ever for European plan sponsors. This is a very dense and not very enticing synopsis. But, SooJin asked me to respond to the prompt "Knowledge is Power." This is much easier to define for a visual metaphor, which is part of what makes her a great art director. (Take notes, student designers).

I had just seen one of my former students, Andrea Taylor, in a wonderful production of "The Hobbit" here in St. Louis. She played the Elf Queen but ALSO she created and built a wonderfully massive Smaug puppet for the shows final scene. I'd been in a mood for drawing dragons ever since!

Above, a very bad picture of it, I'm sure she has a better one somewhere.  

I sent three sketches that focused on some kind of tactical advantage because of tools or intelligence, and they all involved dragons! 

I did a few color studies and tests to figure out if I wanted to draw it all by hand or color it digitally. It ended up being a mix of both. Thanks for the piece SooJin!

Canary and Coal

My advertising reps,  Bernstein &Andriulli,  asked me to contribute to a new promotional directory which pairs images and famous quotations. This is a self directed drawing I did that will be appearing alongside the Tom Brunner quotation "Inspiration can come from anywhere, and usually when you least expect it."

Anytime you are working primarily as your own art director, it is tempting to be rather indulgent. My first sketched was an attempt to get a larger narrative to work with this drawing, but I found it ultimately distracting.

Final Sketch

Drawing in Progress. 

Final drawing without color. 

Color study/ Value study. 

Since the values of the ink were so rich, I used a very monotone/limited palate for the colors. I wanted the focus to be on the lighting effect and not the individual hues. 

If you'd like to know more about these two characters, stay tuned for an upcoming picture book about them! 

Coin-Op Cardinals

ESPN the Magazine asked me to do a drawing for their front-of-the-magazine package which only calls for illustrated type that says "Go Play." As long as you include that, the content is wide open.

I sent these four ideas for the art director to choose from, and I was positive they would go with D (the playground type) but was thrilled they let me draw these cardinals in a rocket. Look for it in next months issue.

Drawing in Church- 7/17

Free Buttons

Attention Shoppers: All orders from my webstore for the rest of the month will get a free button!

Harry Potter T-Shirts! New Store!

Breaking News: My new webstore is now live! Click the STORE tab on the left to start browsing now.

One item you might notice that is now for sale are my Hallows OR Horcruxes Harry Potter T-Shirts. A few images of the shirts are below.

As I tweeted about last week, my son Jack and I have been decorating our mantle with Harry Potter stuff, and of course, he is NOT allowed to play with any of these toys. They are for DISPLAY ONLY! 

Expecto Patronum

Gallery Nucleus asked me to participate in their Harry Potter tribute show, and it was an extreme pleasure to work on this image. The characters of J.K. Rowling's timeless stories have accompanied me on many late nights- a dear companion when I'm drawing in my dark attic.

Our house has gone a little Harry Potter crazy over the last few weeks- andrea, who is an astonishingly fast reader, is plowing through all the books again. Partially to refresh her memory for the upcoming movie, and partially to get me to stop pestering her with conversation about details of Harry-Potter-Lore-Minutia that she can't remember.  Jack and I have built a bunch of the HP Lego sets together, and set them up on our mantle piece to celebrate. He loves to play with the gear from Alivans, Master Wand Makers. Check them out if you'd like your own Elder Wand. Who wouldn't?

The opening for the show is this Saturday at Gallery Nucleus, 7pm. Wish I could be there! Also, make sure you look for my HP "Hallows or Horcruxes" t-shirt that will be debuting there as well. I'll be posting pictures of those on Friday, as well as a link for purchase.

A few images from my process below:

Some rough thumbnails, which lead to my final sketch: 

Some details of the final image, which has no digital trickery in it. So hard to make your images look right without the help of photoshop these days! 

Drawing in Church 6/19 & 6/5

I've had some actual deadlines recently, which have been unfairly getting in the way of finishing my recent church sketchbook drawings. Here is a rare double dose of pew doodles. Pentecost Sunday was last week, always a good subject for the sketchbook. 

Living Lungs

Scientific American called me for a illustration about new treatments for Cystic Fibrosis, a horrible illness that can cripple the lungs with mucus and gunk. These latest findings show evidence of cleaning up the lungs and making breathing easier.

Our last assignment, about the structure of the internet, was a fun problem, because it had to be metaphorical and accurate. As the magazine is geared towards the analytical, they feel a certain responsibility to making an illustration that is both true and beautiful, an exciting challenge. I was doodling during the graduation ceremony for Washington University, where I teach illustration, and came up with a couple good nuggets.

So, the sketches I showed focused on the feeling of being set free, finding new breath. I added a lot of gremlins and evil demons inside the gunk, but the art director felt those might be a bit distracting this time around.  Ultimately, the one with the actual lungs was the best fit for the article. But they were concerned that the gunk seemed like liquid and not mucus, so I had to do another sketch (with thanks to Basil Wolverton) that had more goop in it.

A few details of the final art.... perhaps I'll go back and add some demonic piranhas anyway.