From The Vault - Ryan Burke 2007 (?)

It had been about a year since I drew anything related to OilCan Drive when I sat down and did this piece of Ryan Burke, the lead singer of the cartoon band.

I don't remember now what kept me away from the band for so long but I suspect it must have had something to do with me being busy. I also think that I had sent the previous OilCan Drive work out into the world and the feedback was less than flattering. So, I put it away for a while.

But, as we've found out, the little band in my head will not die an easy death and they all came back to the forefront of my brain about a year later.

I think I originally intended this to be some sort of t-shirt design or something. Here's a secret I learned about myself a long time ago. I NEVER draw just to draw and have fun. Somewhere in my head my artistic side needs a reason to do something. So, from time to time I can fool it into creating by telling it I need an image for a t-shirt or a flyer or a CD cover. Once the brain think it's for a project it goes to work. Even if I never use the piece for which it was first intended it has helped me yield some great pieces over the years.

The only odd thing about this piece, looking at it now, is how darn small I made Ryan's head! It's teeny! Maybe this was Ryan's "fat Elvis" period or something.

But, again, that's how we get better. Do it, look back at it later, and learn from our mistakes.

Always learning, always learning...

EMS Lighthouse

One of the projects that came my way a few weeks ago while I was really busy and in the middle of a few client jobs was a request to do a logo for a group of Maine EMS workers.

Because it was for a friend of a friend I agreed and threw it into the schedule.

After thinking of a few ideas I came up with the concept of a very iconic looking lighthouse with the symbol of life at its base. I think it was what they were looking for so I did a few versions and sent them off to see if this was going in the right direction.

It's been more than a few weeks now and I have yet to hear anything back.

But, I like the piece. I like it's simplicity and how different it is from most illustration work I do.

Still, it would have been nice to get an email back.

The Tech21 Leeds Pedal

One of the thing that showed up in the mail while I was under the media blackout was the Leeds Pedal I pre-ordered from the fine folks at Tech21 a few months ago.

It felt like I had been waiting forever for this thing and I kept checking the website to see when it would be available. The problem was that every time I would check it seemed like the release date was pushed back another week!

Then...one day...out of the blue...it was here!

And it sounded just as good as I thought it would. The Leeds pedal is built to mimic the sound of the old Hiwatt amplifiers used by both Pete Townshend and John Entwistle of one of my favorite bands of all time, The Who. Not only was I plugging my guitars into this thing but it works amazing with my bass as well. Of course, because I was so busy I only got to play with it for about a half hour or so before I felt guilty and had to get back to work.

But, of course, being a Who pedal, I couldn't put it away before I grabbed my guitar, jumped up on my art table, did my best arm windmill, and crashed out a huge power chord.

It looked almost exactly like this.

So, thank you Tech21, thank you. You have just given me another tool to play with in my search for the tone and sound of OilCan Drive.

But, for now, back to work...

Whitewater Courage

I finished up the interior illustrations for the "Whitewater Courage" kid's story last night so I figured it was time to show off the cover.

The story deals with a couple of kids who visit their uncle in Australia and take a rafting trip down a surging river. Of course it becomes dangerous and in the end all three of them are fighting for their life in a very Indiana Jones type moment. It was great to draw and a lot of fun. Actually, to make the job more fun for myself I simply pictured their uncle as the Asian version of Indiana Jones. That seemed to help a lot.

I showed off a few stages of this cover previously on the blog and you can see those HERE and HERE.

I also used some of the photos I snapped when I ducked some of the police tape and made my way along the Boulder Creek Bike Path to see the surging creek a few weeks ago. I'm glad to see that my bending the law was well worth the trouble.

I think all the images and photos came together well to make a nice cover. I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like once the title and credits are thrown on top of it.

Race Race Race!

So, one of the pieces I got done during my so called "media blackout" (Rob's words, not mine...but it seems apt) was the new cover for the collected Jake Maddox Speedway kid's books.

Using the reference I created in the computer, this angle was chosen and then the real work began. The funny thing about a piece like this is that the drawing and inking of the cars is almost the easiest part of this piece.

Then there are all the little details it takes to pull a piece like this off. Painting the cars in such a way that they look shiny and metallic, adding all the little stickers and numbers to give the cars that sense of Nascar detail, and then creating a background that makes it look like these static images are jumping right off the page at you.

It's no wonder I was in a media blackout.

But, I think I really pulled it all off with this image. Of all the images I created for the Speedway race car books I think this cover is, by far, my favorite.

From The Vault - 2005 The Trap Door Maker

Back in 2005 Peter Bregman, a guy who was one of my art directors at the Geppetto Marketing Group, was getting ready to unleash his graphic novel, The Trap Door Maker, on an unsuspecting public.

The story dealt with Erik, the man who would one day become the Phantom of the Opera, and his adventures before he found his way into that fateful opera house. It was a three issue series and, after the publication of the first issue, he asked me if I'd like to do a pin-up for the second issue.

This is what I came up with.

Later, after Peter got some feedback from his first issue, a lot of fans pointed out that his version of Erik looked a bit too bulky and muscular. He asked me if I'd go back in and slim down my pin-up a bit. But, because I did the piece for free and as a favor it was one of the few times that I worked with Peter where I felt comfortable saying no. If he didn't want to use the piece, that was fine by me.

Plus, I find it's best never to listen to a few naysayers when you're doing your own projects. There are always going to be a vocal few who try and tell you what you should and shouldn't do. Even on your own project. But, that's why you're doing your own project in the first place. So no one can tell you what to do.

Happy July!

Happy July!

I was planning on looking for something a little more Americana and patriotic for July but, with time being at a premium these days, I figured a nice shot of Mr. Mucho just might fit the bill. I figure, if nothing else, a shot of the little rag doll in the middle of summer will make Manu happy.

It's been a busy past couple of weeks. I almost forget how easy it is some days to NOT do a blog until I try to start writing again and realize how hard it is to start it up again. But, here's hoping it goes a bit smoother over the next couple of days.

In the past few weeks I've finished up one kid's book, designed and penciled another, and am in the middle of inking it as we speak. I've also done two new covers for the new books as well as doing a new race car cover for the collected version of the Nascar books I did last year. I did my monthly Sports Illustrated Kids gig and been doing a lot of illustration for a new educational website that mixes a bit of social networking with academia. On top of that I did some logo work for a friend of a friend back in Maine.

Like I said, it's been busy and a bit overwhelming.

OilCan Drive and the music side of things have taken a seat WAY in the back of my head.

In the middle of this I somehow bought myself a laptop computer. I'd been looking for a new system to replace the computer I'm using now to get on the internet and send my work out. So, on the advice of a friend, I bought the same computer he has. I got it in the mail and played with it a bit. Honestly, it felt kind of the same way it did when I walked out of Star Wars Episode 1. I didn't like the movie but felt I had so much invested in liking it that I couldn't admit to myself that it wasn't that good. I felt the same about the laptop. It sat on my shelf for a few days before I admitted to myself it wasn't the laptop for me and I brought it back. So now, while I'm still in the market for a laptop I'm a bit gun shy about pulling the trigger on a new one. I feel like I'll just mess it up all over again.

So, yeah, it's been a bit busy these days but I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel and I've been relying on some late night bike rides through town to keep me sane.

OK, back to it...one more day of inking on the interior of this kid's book and then its on to the computer to add some grays.