I get to draw conquistadors?? My job is awesome.

Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto sharing a 'friendly' meal with an Indian chief

De Soto's men discover Ortiz, a survivor from a previous failed expedition who has been living among the Native Americans

De Soto meets the Lady of Cofitachequi

Here are some more illustrations I just did for an educational publishing company called Core Knowledge. The biggest challenge was finding a way to simplify my process in order to meet a tight deadline without sacrificing quality (hence the huge stylistic departure). Don't know that I'm there yet, but I was super-glad for the opportunity and had a lot of fun (maybe too much fun, as evidenced by all that ridiculous foilage?)

What do you think of this style? Does it work, or no? As always, your opinions, critiques, sage advice complete with lengthy anecdotes and heck, even bad puns are most welcome, so please feel free to comment.

New Year, New Work

These are some illustrations for a 3rd grade textbook on ancient North American civilizations. I didn't know much about the Moundbuilders, so it was neat to learn some about the people that left behind these really cool, kind of mysterious earthworks.

It seems some rust has accrued in my inner illustration machine, and I'm feeling motivated now to brush up on a bunch of stuff (anatomy, perspective, value contrast! cast shadows! reflections!) Mostly though, it just feels really incredible to be working, so yay for producing stuff!

Birthday Drawings

Trying to start an annual tradition of birthday drawings for the niece and nephews. Did absolutely no research whatsoever on this dragon, so I'm crossing my fingers it will somehow meet the approval of a certain 13 year-old dragonologist. The pirate, of course, is meticulously researched and 100% historically accurate. Happy Birthday, Brock and Tavo!

TreeSpiritGirl drawing... thing

For one of the coolest nerds I know. (He plays Magic the Gathering, and this is a really bad photograph of a drawing I did for his play mat). It was kind of fun to do something quote-unquote Fantasy, and the background (adapted from an Arts and Crafts era print, artist unknown) got me started on a path I'd like to explore, leading, I think, to the world where plants, geometry and pattern meet.

I'm still a little bemused, though, by the randomness of it all. I mean, little girl alone in the woods, sure - Little Red Riding Hood. But how to explain Grandma as a glowing, shrunken head floating between her palms? Awesome points for anyone who comments with their own interpretation!

Illustration Friday: Mesmerizing

Nothing so mesmerizing as a pair of eyes... This started out as a doodle that reminded me of these lyrics from a song by the Shins: 'Mercy's eyes are blue/ When she places them in front of you/ nothing really holds a candle to/ the solemn warmth you feel inside.' In keeping with this theme, I will be merciful to my own drawing and only point out that her eyes aren't aligned correctly and that the lettering is haphazard at best. There, drawing, you got off easy this time. Bloggers, feel no obligation to be so kind!

The Ever-So-Refined Mr. Green

Okay, so he's really not that refined yet, but at least we've narrowed it down to these two directions:

I think both of these directions have potential and also need some more work to really nail down their features and how they move. Which do you like better/hate less/would rather see in a children's book? Your input is critical! (And hopefully of a critical nature...) As always, thanks so much for your opinion!

Building Character(s)

Some character design sketches for a picture book concept I've been working on with a graphic designer friend. First we have Lily, an observant, thoughtful, innocent little girl who has a rough day on the playground and wanders off into the woods.

Next we have Mr. Green who, believe it or not, is an embodiment of the color green and in charge of all things green! (The trouble is that he'd rather be any other color). We drew some inspiration from flat retro cartoon figures including Pixar's brilliant short film Night & Day, and the mustachioed fellow from the Pink Panther cartoons. But still, I'm having a really hard time pinning this guy down...

The truth is I've never done character design on this scale before, and I'm wondering: how do you know you've arrived? Is it like love at first sight - you just recognize the right one when it appears on the page?? Or is it a more analytical decision-making process of trying out shapes and parts to see what feels right? Help me out! How do you design characters? Leave a comment, and don't forget to vote for your favorites - they just might end up in a picture book!