Monthly Archives: April 2010

Party Bombs – Eagle & Wolf Collaboration

Maryanna gave me this piece to color up a few weeks ago. Due to a heavy workload, I wasn’t able to get around to coloring it until just recently. The more we work like this, the more streamlined the process becomes. Maryanna sends me the raw art, and I work my digital magic. I love being freed up to focus only on color and texture, as Maryanna has handled the composition of the piece. For the next Eagle & Wolf collaboration, you’ll see this process in reverse. I have a larger drawing that I’ve colored in halfway with watercolors. I’m handing it off to Maryanna to work her analog color touch. I’m excited to see how it turns out. Stay tuned!

Maryanna’s original drawing:

Epic Birthday Bash…

Details coming soon…

OVER CAFFEINATED…

Sunday drawing…

As the weather slowly crawls out of the winter greys and into summertime blue skies, I’m reminded that one of my all time favorite things to do is draw outside. Even a quick 20 minute observational drawing session is enough to lighten my mood for the rest of the day. Nothing has taught me more about composing a page than observational drawing. Recording what you see in front of you on a piece of paper is an act of design in itself. Even if you don’t consider yourself an illustrator, the practice of observational drawing will sharpen your composition skills and your mind overall. Try it sometime.

Of course when it comes to drawing outside, I can’t hold a candle to my dad.

Finally Friday

There seems to be a lot of collective anxiety floating around the globe lately. The news reports are chock-full of dismal unemployment figures, catastrophic earthquakes, partisan bickering and celebrity sex-scandals. One wonders what has happened to common decency. We live in a very saturated world, with images, messages and value judgements constantly bombarding us. Working as a creative professional, you have to constantly evaluate where you stand. Am I still progressing? Am I still relevant? The constant turnover of ideas and trends is tough to keep up with, but we try.

I say to hell with the trends. Who cares what Johnnie Pixel Pusher on the next blog is doing. Do what you do because you love it. Enough of this keeping up with the joneses of design. Produce solid work that you’re happy with at the end of the day. Who cares if it gets bookmarked on FFFFOUND or not.

Let’s rid ourselves of this collective anxiety and enjoy what we do a bit more.

Have a great weekend everyone.

-JDH

Ribbon Lungs