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Recent work: Drawing Board wrap-up

Some highlights from a very busy few weeks...

We'll start things off with some cartoons for for a consortium of physicians in Nashville who are fighting for the right to make decisions in the best interest of their patients -- rather than in the interest of  insurance companies. This is a subject familiar to many...and apparently it is not easily resolved.

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Another advertisement for AFS automotive...(The provider of car floor mats for all Hyundai and Kia vehicles). They are now offering their mats as aftermarket products for other vehicles and wish to expand their presence in the U.S. market.

They hired me to create a series of monthly ads for automotive magazines, and we have completed four this past Spring, which are apparently getting a good response.

I was contacted by their corporate office last week, and they would like me to create a few more.

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This next piece was a challenge...and also a great deal of fun. It is a cartoon created for a "Transformational Declutter coach" and author. It started a fairly sparse scene, with just an indication of disarray. But as we got further into it, it became clear to her that she wanted to really show how messy some of her clients' homes are...and that meant drawing some unique and specific details...and several iterations. (Believe it or not, she is the second "declutter author" I have worked with...and oddly, it does not seem to be rubbing off...my studio is not that neat.) 

Black and White inked, approved cartoon

Watercolor finished art

Take a peek at her services: http://www.ashispeaks.com/services/

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Elizabeth Frisch, author and the director of The Rival School (http://thrivalschool.com/) came to me after having a bad experience with a cartoonist who was recommended to her by her publisher. (No need to go into details). Suffice it to say that she needed cartoons to illustrate concepts in her book -- which was going to press within two days. That left me with a 12 hour turnaround deadline. No problem. A few of the cartoons:

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"Aunt Frieda" is a geriatric cougar...and a funny character. I got to know her this past year while illustrating a book for her creator and author, Katherine Lerner. (Here's the book: http://www.amazon.com/Over-Age-Dating-Adventures-Frieda/dp/1484970012)

Now Frieda is onto to new frontiers, debuting in a series of greeting cards. Here is one of them...

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A few cartoon illustrations created for Downeast Cider House, a hard cider company in Boston. They are telling their company's story in cartoons on their website and in advertising...and I was initially hired to help with that earlier this year. (I posted a few of the "origin" cartoons a few months back.) They are now adding more to the story and contacted me to create more cartoons, (below).

It's always fun to learn how various companies came about, as well as the challenges they faced.

Here's the link to their history in cartoons (thus far): http://downeastcider.com/history/

Two cartoons created for New York City based media firm, Connect 360 

These two examples are being used in marketing and advertising...

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I'm working on a few projects that I can't share here yet; including a few book illustration jobs.

One particularly interesting book deals with how to handle "difficult" people in a business environment. The authors are an ex-CEO from a large firm in North Carolina and a psychologist, and their insights are terrific. (Who has not dealt with someone who is just a little "off-kilter", either for the moment or for a few decades?) We'll post some of that after it goes to press.

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Lastly, I recently competed for a large project for the John Morrell Corporation in Chicago. (Eckrich sausages, ham, bacon, Armour hot dogs. As Homer Simpson would say, "mmm...bacon".) I was up against 21 other cartoonists throughout the U.S., and in the end was fortunate to land the job. (It was strictly based upon portfolios, not cost...which is nice for a number of reasons.)

The work will involve a corporate mascot used in ads, employee training materials, as well as several work safety posters. Great people and best of all, when we're all finished, they promised me samples!

Aside from a few short trips east, not much time for much vacationing this summer...but that will come soon. Hope your summer has been relaxing and fun.

On the Digital Drawing Board: June

Last-minute client deadlines are beckoning, (and my daughter would like to go biking later today), so I'll get right down to it.

Some recent projects...

A few advertising cartoons for long-time client CGNet, (California-based Cloud computing and software company.) 

I loved the chance to draw some Acme products...as well as the R. Runner and W. Coyote.

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I also worked recently helped them revamp their site, adding illustrations to several of their pages...working in concert with a website developer in San Francisco. new splashy site

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Two cartoons commissioned for a Real Estate firm in London, (interestingly, they call them "Estate Agencies" there, dropping the term "real".) (Hey, prices everywhere are getting unreal these days.)

Apparently, the trend in England is to sell homes and property online...without the use of an agent. (Something the agencies are fighting, naturally.) I'm sure the same is soon to happen here.

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Two examples of a series of nine cartoons written and drawn for a Korean auto floor mat company, AFS, (the main supplier for Hyundai and KIa automobiles.) These will be ads in Car & Driver, Motor Trend and Road & Track magazines. (As a car nut, I read all of those magazines, so it will fun to look for them in coming months.)

               

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Lastly, a couple of cartoons commissioned to accompany Axel Merk's financial column, a regular contributor on CNBC.

(In case, you're wondering, that's new Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen, dressed as a USA soccer team member, kicking our currencies into the abyss, just in time for the World Cup).

One last note; I received word that one of my cartoons appeared in Forbes magazine this past month. Once I find the online version I'll link it.

Happy summer solstice to all!

On the Digital Drawing Board

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind.

Fortunately some of that period included a vacation in the mountains with my brother and his family flying in from Chicago to join me and mine -- for some much-needed time off. (Some terrific skiing, too, getting doused several times with fresh powder.) It was perfect way to recharge and to enjoy the last vestiges of Winter with a bang.

Now Spring is upon us, with mountain bikes singing their siren songs for spare moments of outdoor time.

With several large corporate client projects nearing completion...and some ongoing book illustration jobs that are still in process, (and are not to be released yet), I don't have much to show, but here are a few things that graced the drawing board recently:

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A couple of pieces for Axel Merk' column, (founder of California-based Merk Investments). 

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Two cartoons created for a New York, NY-based advertising agency and their marketing efforts.

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One of a few editorial cartoons created for a newspaper in Encinitas California, 

taking on some local politicians and their interests.

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Two cartoons for a book about online dating, by New York author, Peter Millrose.

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An illustration for a Miami Florida insurance company.

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Lastly, a character creation project for the University of Arizona's Skin Cancer Institute. This was a great deal of fun...and involved designing and drawing a mascot for their public awareness efforts. "Ray" as he is called shows up at parades and University of Arizona football games. (photos below).

Funny Baseball Cards

Baseball season is officially under way.

I just picked up some Cubs tickets from the University Illinois alumni association...and I'm excited for that game as well as some Rockies games here in Denver.

What brought this subject to mind however was something I saw online last night about goofy looking baseball card photos...

Several were shown, and most of them featured old hairstyles, etc. Two stuck out as funniest to me: Greg Minton and Steve Trout, (I'm old enough to remember the ex-Cub, Trout.)

See below:

You can easily see what qualifies them as "goofy" photos.

Then, in a whole group of images of baseball cards, after doing a search for Steve Trout on Google, (not in a search for "goofy bb cards") I found this guy:

He has to be one of the most primitive looking guys I have ever seen.

Those eyebrows are one seamless line of furriness in the top card.

 Based upon this, you could argue that we are not as far from our Neanderthal days as we think. (My wife and daughter would agree, as I often look worse than this after I first wake up.)

On the Digital Drawing Board: Recent editorial work

(Recent work blog post part 2. I posted this in real time, so here it appears before Part 1.)

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A couple of editorial cartoons for Axel Merk's financial column.

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Political cartoons for a San Diego newspaper. 

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  A cartoon illustration of google executive Matt Cutts, created for a software industry magazine.

On the Digital Drawing Board: Recent corporate work

My apologies for the gap between posts. It has been a busy period of work, play, life in general, with little time to step back and reflect. --But that is when life is at its best, right? Lived rather than pondered in retrospect.

Onward, with a few recent pieces for corporate clients: 

 The annual conference poster for Career Directors International Inc. I've enjoyed doing these for about 7-8 years running now....but this one was even more fun than usual, allowing me to play with a hang glider, and to dabble in fantasy. (No such thing as a 3-person hang glider...2 is the max.)

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A few pieces for the Georgia Beer Wholesalers Association, for a series of ads to fight proposed legislation at the state capital. (Commissioned by a PR firm in Atlanta.)

Sketched concept.

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Speaking of alcoholic beverage manufacturing... Some cartoons created for a Boston-based hard cider company, (Downeast Cider). The two founders contacted me last month wanting to tell the story of their company for use on their website. Starting from ideas, inception, growth, move from Maine to Boston -- and their continued evolution. A few samples:

I learned a great deal about brewing cider...but not quite enough to start my own moonshining operation. (Just as well; I don't want to end up like a character on "Justified".)

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Updated illustrations created for the Erickson Air Crane Corporation, whose specialized snow-moving helicopters were used in the Sochi Olympics. (And boy, did they need them...lots of melting going on in those high temperatures. 18 ski racers wiped out in one day due to the slush. Doubt we'll be seeing the games hosted in that location again.)

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Just for fun, a blast from the past: One of several advertising pieces created way back in 2002 for Adelphia cable, (yes, that Adelphia...the cable company that whose founders were charged with securities violations. They were later acquired by Time Warner.)

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Back to the drawing board...