On the Digital Drawing Board: A brief drive-by

Happy Summer Solstice.

I'm stopping in, and taking a few minutes away from the studio, after catching up from family vacations (more on that later) to post a few recent things on the drawing board.

I'll start with a few 'New Yorker' cartoons...

(with some color added for their inclusion in Cartoon Stock's collection).
 

 

 Link to CartoonStock download

 

 Link to cartoon download

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 Link to cartoon download

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Here are a few pieces in process for a large book illustration project. I'm working directly with the author, in concert with his publisher. I won't identify him, but he's a charming fellow with scintillating insights. As a former exec with Dream Works, and consultant to Apple, Adobe, Google, and other Silicon Valley notables, he has years of wisdom regarding prioritization, and its practical application to companies and organizations.

I began by reading the book manuscript, and then began writing material to highlight key concepts. The book is going to press soon, and will publish in Spring of 2024.

An illustration to accompany the author's interview with recording artist Rosanne Cash

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Another ongoing book illustration project - this is from a book about online dating...

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 One of a series of cartoons for National Grid, in London.

 

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Lastly, I was surprised and thrilled to take home 1st place for the Editorial Cartoons in the Society of Professional Journalists 2023 awards, for the Rocky Mountain States. The annual contest covers newspapers and media in four states; Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming.                        https://coloradospj.wordpress.com/                     

The reason I was surprised is that I didn't submit my work for the contest...and I didn't know about this until it was awarded. (A newspaper editor submitted some of my political cartoons on my behalf.)        

One sample, published this past November: 

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Update: Some additional blathering and pics from a summer trip... We went to see my Mom and my brother (and his family), rendezvousing in Chicago, and then heading way North, to Manitowish Waters Wisconsin, a place where my family had a vacation home for many years. We haven't been back there in over 18 years, and I campaigned to go back again, so that our kids could see what all the fuss was about.

We rented a house on Clear Lake, right near our old stomping grounds, and arrived ready to become water creatures. We kayaked, canoed, and hiked. I also rented a ski boat for tubing and water skiing, as well as a large pontoon boat. The latter helped with allowing our entire group to travel and sightsee comfortably, as there are nine lakes which are connected to each other.

After a few vacations over the years that involved tubing behind a boat, our daughter Julia decided she'd like to learn to water ski. So, I began the process of teaching her...which involves an array of things to consider, rope grip, how to curl up in the water, arching your back and bending your legs when being pulled up, (and to not fight the boat or try to pull yourself up.) And then, if/when you get up, you need to suddenly shift to a fully upright position and lean back to water ski. (the opposite of snow skiing's need for leaning forward over your skis).

The rule of thumb (as we were reminded by the natives and the purveyors of ski equipment in that area) it usually takes a first-timer an average of 30 to 40 tries to pull themselves out of the water successfully, and then balance long-term with stability on water skis. It seemed like Julia was going to approach that number, but then at around #15 she got up briefly...and by #20 managed to stay up. It seems like perhaps her bountiful time on snow skis helped.

 

Next up was my niece, who had been water skiing many times over the past two years with friends with a lake house near her home. She had been trying to slalom ski (one ski) over the past few months, but thus far hadn't been able to do it. My brother and I worked with her, and after demonstrating it, she did it! We were all thrilled with their aquatic milestones. Very exciting stuff.

I had a few runs, too. This was my first time on water skis in nearly 20 years, and the first lap around the lake was a little rusty. Over the next few days, it all came back, and I was able to kick off a ski and do some slalom laps. (Old dogs, old tricks.)

We saw bald eagles float and soar above us, and also watched loons dive into the lake, and call for their mates in their distinctive manner. It was an incredible week in a stunningly beautiful place - and I've found myself thinking about it over the past few days since getting back. It was like seeing an old friend again after many years. I get the feeling that my Dad was smiling from above while we were there.

On the digital drawing board: What is the proper mix of work and play?

I was recently talking with a college friend, and amidst the usual discussion of family and life's pursuits, we pondered the proper ratio of work and time off. We came up with some algebraic formulas with a little calculus thrown in. 

 

Truthfully, math was my worst subject in school, so there was nothing of the sort. And we both admitted to being at the mercy of outside forces.

 

Our numbers were fuzzy and inexact, but I felt that the Pareto principle ("The 80/20 rule" often used in business) was close. 1/5 of our time spent in absolute joy allows work to flow the other 4/5. 

 

Well, actually, 100% play, 0% work is a really favorable ratio, but few people can pull that off, except for perhaps trust-funders and ex-Hollywood actresses who marry into the British royal family. 

 

Even 80/20 is tough for me, with a daughter at a private college. Weekends off usually have to suffice, but a vacation is always nice. 

 

I have not posted here since February, and that's mainly because I've been swamped. (I know I'm fortunate; many friends, colleagues in my field, and family members, including my wife have had major downturns in business/work since Covid descended.) So, a long gap of no posts. But in keeping with the work/play theme, I'll mention a couple of highlights since last popping in here. 

 

My family and I took a few trips, including one late season ski jaunt, taking advantage of a big snow storm. It was a multi-resort, week-long respite after 4 weeks of intense work. (See, there's that ratio.)

 

I also took a solo trip to Nashville to move my daughter out of her dorm. Carrying belongings, furniture and what they now loosely call "dorm refrigerators" (85 pounds and three times the size of what I had in my dorm) down two flights of stairs, packing and shipping boxes, is not really a vacation. But it's still a break, and terrific exercise. She and I also couldn't pass up the chance to see some live music downtown. We saw some new singers, a good Pearl Jam cover band, and of course, some country, which I tolerate.

 

That was in April and early May. It has been nearly all "play time" writing and drawing. (I call it that so that it remains fun and that I never feel overworked.) Before I go, here are a few glimpses of recent work (or playtime?) from the drawing board:

 

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A A few weeks ago, large oil producer Colonial paid a hefty ransom to the hackers who infiltrated its system and forced the shutdown of a major oil pipeline supplying fuel to the East Coast. 

A long-time Silicon Valley California-based client is a cloud computing pioneer who offers solutions for the increasingly common ransom hacks of corporate websites. I worked in concert with the CEO and the Marketing Director on this one, starting with some sketches and gradually refining the scene to this.

 

 

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This was created for a Disney Channel writer who is transitioning into advertising copy writing. She's with an agency in Los Angeles, and wanted several humorous illustrations to use to pitch to clients. She wrote the concepts and came to me for the art...in this case, the client is Omaha Steaks, with a scene from the movie "Psycho". Fancy a steak grilled by Norman Bates?

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A cartoon for a woman in New York, commissioned as a gift for her husband's birthday. (The concept was an idea he had for a New Yorker cartoon.) It was matted at 8 X 10 and framed at 11X 14.)

 

 

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A character and series of humorous illustrations created for Merck Pharmaceutical & Johnson & Johnson. This was for their corporate website and an interactive area for customers with questions about Covid vaccines and prescriptions.

 

 

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  After a long week of deadlines, I can relate to the guy on the right in the above cartoon.

 

 

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A New Yorker cartoon - about that never-ending fad of "ink".

 

 

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 One of a series of cartoons for a physical therapy business in New Jersey. 

(Referred to me by another long-term client.)

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A book cover illustration from a recently published biography of a American physician who became a mayor and then an elected regional leader in the Congo. The stories cover 60 years, and they are fascinating. (In addition to the cover, I was commissioned to create 18 Pen and ink illustrations.)

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Peter Linquiti is a distinguished professor at George Washington University, and he recently authored a college textbook on philosophy and practical self improvement. As he mentioned to me over the phone, it applies throughout one's life; in school as well as into the work force. He hired me to create a series of humorous B&W illustrations for the book, and later the publisher approved several of them to be prepared in color. One is pictured above.

 

 

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(Clicken to embiggen)

 

 

This was a personal commission for a gentleman in New York City who initially called me to discuss creating a large 18 X 24 high detail cartoon illustration print to give to each of several friends. He wanted a group scene set in a famous casino room, depicting he and his friends seated at a high stakes poker table. 

 

 

I worked from individual photos of everyone, and since they were typical phone snapshots taken with varied lighting, and expression, the trick was giving everyone the same same light source (highlights and shadows), with a similar range of emotion/smiles. etc. I also made the decision to draw everyone in tuxedos to fit the tone and to make it cohesive. After approval of the B&W draft, I added watercolor. After he approved the color art, I  gave the client a high resolution digital file which he easily uploaded to an online specialty printer, to have the canvases printed and framed.

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Lastly, a Happy Father's Day to the dads...and with that, a cartoon to remind us of the importance and joy of spending time with our kids, (both planned and unplanned.)

Hand Drawn Illustration Meets Digital Illustration

An experiment inspired by the social media drawing marathon known as "Inktober". I drew the hand on the left with my Wacom Cintiq.; the hand on the right was ink on paper. Both are "hand drawn" so-to-speak, the left hand was recorded by the computer as it was drawn, the other was scanned from the drawing on paper.