Funeral for el Señor
book promotion, illustration process
A sketch of the funeral procession from Señor Don Gato. I drew this in 2002, and it was the first time my illustrations looked painterly rather than cartoony. I consciously mimicked Diego Velasquez for this project. You'll notice that…
The Wreck of the Salty Carrot
book promotion, illustration processThese images from Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies are up on my website, but they're kind of small. I thought you might like to see them here, so you can embiggen simply by clicking on them.
For the shipwreck scene, I wanted to mimic antique…
Hot & bored
book promotion, illustration processFour bored kids on a hot summer day—the opener from Peter Spit A Seed At Sue. Thumbnail and tight sketch.
This is the wraparound porch on my old house in Pittsburgh. And that's my dog, India snoozing on the left.
An editorial assignment
illustration processOccasionally—very occasionally—I get an assignment to create an image for grownups. These two were for a business magazine; the article was about decision-making. One was to be of a couple of football players and an umpire flipping…
Peter Spit… cover ideas
book promotion, illustration processA bunch of cover ideas for Peter Spit A Seed At Sue.
These are all rough sketches, drawn about the size of a playing card. One idea was selected, and I drew a tight sketch—
Please add the watermelons!
Art director Jim Hoover creates…
How books get bought
book promotion, illustration processGood article by a bookstore owner about the picturebook-buying process.
The king’s coach
book promotion, illustration processThere's a little throwaway scene in Joe Bright and the Seven Genre Dudes where Joe is invited to a royal story-telling competition. For this image I needed to design the royal messenger and the king's coach.
The story isn't set in any particular…
Stella the storyteller
book promotion, illustration processHere's Stella, from Joe Bright and the Seven Genre Dudes.
Thumbnail sketch for pp 6/7. Stella the storyteller sees her rival, Joe Bright, in the back of her magic story-telling chair.
Tight sketch for page 6.
A close-up of my color…
Joe Bright and the Seven Genre Dudes
book promotion, illustration processI just got my catalogue from Upstart Books, and Joe Bright and the Seven Genre Dudes is available! This is my second title I've illustrated for author Jackie Mims Hopkins. We previously worked on Goldie Socks and the Three Libearians.
Upstart…
