Graphic Novel Panel Discussion Tonight!

I'll be doing a panel discussion about graphic novels tonight at the Orem Public Library with a few other comic book artists, Brandon Dayton, Jess Smart Smiley and Mr. Missile Mouse, Jake Parker! It is at 7pm on Wednesday (tonight!) Should be good!

Once again, I apologize for the massive delay in regular posting. I'm juggling like a maniac over here. But it is all exciting stuff. Lots of fun things on the horizon. But regular daily posts should be back up and running soon (ish.)

Painting Preview

Hang in there folks, we should be over this hump soon.

Anyway, I realize that for an illustrator's blog, I rarely post much of my actual illustration work. Here's a detail from a painting I did last week for a Scholastic Book Fair series I've been doing covers for. It's called The Secret in the Attic series. This one's based on Christopher Columbus.

This is all Photoshop. I'm getting better at making my digital paintings look like my paint paintings.

My title for this is, "Hey you kids! Get down from that mast!"

Next week I'm going to power right through to the end of the Taco Hell story. For real.

The gaps! The gaps are everywhere!

Hey guys. In case you haven't noticed I'm dropping posts like...I don't know, a guy who drops a lot of posts. 2010 me is deeply ashamed of 2012 me. I missed, like, two posts that year. Yeesh.

The reasons are good--very good in fact. I've got lots of terrific projects coming in. In a stunning show of confidence, my publisher has ordered books 3 and 4 in my historical graphic novel series! This was unexpected. I was sure the publisher would apply the usual Wait-and-See-Sales tactic before extending the series. But apparently the first two books went over extremely well at their sales and publicity meetings. So it's game on for the next two books!

In fact, the manuscript for book #3 is due in two and a half weeks. Yikes!

The bible is going strong. I'm in the book of Matthew and this week I'll pass the halfway mark on the entire job. Whopeee! Today I'm illustrating the concept of forgiving someone "Seven times seventy times." Where's my calculator, I don't even know how many that is...is it 140? That sounds right.

In any case the gaps will keep coming. We're very close to the end of the Taco Hell story. Think of these gaps as a way to extend the grand finale--sort of like in the Lion King, when Scar and Simba fight in cheesy slo-mo. The gaps are the cheesy slo-mo.

Taco Hell Drive Thru Part 2-22

Taco Hell Drive Thru Part 2-21

Taco Hell Drive Thru Part 2-20

Hoo! Are we really in March? This story was supposed to be a month-long Halloween October story. I think we've now beaten Sergeant Snookums for the longest story on the blog.

Dr. Seuss via Stephen Gammel

Quick interruption! I know I said I wouldn't, but I think you'll like this one.

One of my favorite blogs, the School Library Journal children's book blog Fuse #8 was asking artists to Re-Seussiffy Dr. Seuss. Meaning illustrating a Dr. Seuss in the style of another well-known children's artist. I went with one of my absolute favorite children's illustrators, the terrifying Stephen Gammel (of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark fame.)

Oh man, did I love those Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books. They came out right when I was in grade school. MORE Scary Stories, the second book, came out when I was in fifth grade. I got into a fight in the school library--an actual physical fight--over the library's only copy.

You will not find scarier illustrations in ANY book. Those pictures are AMAZING. Profoundly gruesome, nightmarish images. And they were in books meant for little kids.

If you don't know these images (and you should--the books were HUGELY popular) do a google image search for "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark." You will get an eyeful.

Anyway, here is my Re-Seussifaction via Stephen Gammel:

Link over to the Fuse #8 blog to see the other entries. There's some great stuff.

Taco Hell Drive Thru Part 2-19