scary

Cute and scary. . that's how I roll :).  For a Halloween treat, I'm sharing this Pudgy Puppy Zombie Dog coloring page that you can print out and scribble on.  If you think you or your little one creates a masterpiece, feel free to share it in the comments section.

Speaking of Pudgy Puppy, remember Illopond's spoooky anthology?  If you want to read a few gorgeously drawn and creatively written stories, accompanied with a personalized doodle, just click on the image below:

fuel

Sorry folks.  It's busy busy here so this illustration is A LOT more rough than usual.  However, I thought the concept was too fun to let slip by. . squirrels fueling their own Jack O' Lantern. . tee hee.

Maybe I'll clean it up in the future. . play around with perspective/colors a little more. . we'll see.

Until then, ever wonder what I sound like?  You can hear me geek out over our APE experience at this month's pondCAST:

Warning:  I sound like an auto-tuned chipmunk

scattered

When searching for an item within a gigantic grandma purse, you often end up with all its contents scattered across the nearest surface.  I am always amazed at what comes out of my grandmother's purse. . .dried mushrooms, scraps of paper, jade figurines.  Who knows how she keeps track of everything.

I'm playing with a more limited palette this time because it seemed to somehow fit this week's Illustration Friday better. It was definitely a challenge since I looove color so much.

In other news, I recently did a piece for my friend's wedding site.  Her husband-to-be is over a foot taller than her so we thought we'd play up their height difference:

Once again, I used a limited palette and I think it came out pretty well! I'll be doing another piece for their RSVP mailers soon.  So fun :)

contraption

I was watching Mythbusters this week and they tried to recreate the pendulum contraption based on Newton's laws.  I figured a nerdy squirrel would have to resort to more natural materials if he wanted to build a similar contraption.

Spooky Apple Lanterns aside, I know you want to read some awesome spooky tales created by awesomely talented people:

Click on the picture if you're awesome ;)

hibernate

 

Did you know that Mushroom Bunnies gather Bendigo Jellynuts to prepare for hibernation?  I'm totally making this stuff up as I go. . but I'm thinking of fleshing out this mushroom bunny with a few more illustrations.  Any suggestions on activities/settings for him are welcome!

I had a blast at APE last weekend, finally meeting my fellow Illopond collaborators for the first time :)  Michelle Kondrich, Denver Wagner, Sam Kirkman, and I were there to promote our anthologies, including our most recent one called "Boo! Spooky Tales for Kids"

Would you like a copy? Signed by me?  With a personal sketch?  Why, look at that. . .I still have a few copies left at my Etsy shop :)  First person to order it and mention my blog in the Etsy comments section also gets a free sketch card!

ferocious

Captain Cluck is one ferocious space chicken, and his fleet of Eggsilon pigships is heading towards Earth with a very top secret mission.  Who knows what they want or what they're after!

This is a new story I'm working on for Illopond's upcoming anthology: "8 in Spaaace!"  I'm pretty excited about where it's heading and will be trying out this painterly style for the illustrations.

Speaking of Illopond, we'll be debuting our anthology "Boo!" at the Alternative Press Expo this weekend:

Please stop by table 515 to say hi!  I'll be there promoting our new anthology and selling some Pudgy Puppy goodies, as well as commissions.  Mention this blog and I'll even give you a special treat :)

mesmerizing

 

The moment I saw the Illustration Friday word "mesmerizing", I thought of two gigantic eyes. . which then led to owls. . which then led to the traditional practice of hypnotizing patients.  That's just the way my mind works ;).

I apologize for my long absence from this blog.  I came back from Boston/Ireland and then jumped directly into catching up with my picture book illustrations.  Thus, this week's IF is a little rough but in return, I give you a sketch I made during my travels:

It's of a traditional thatched roof cottage that was built in the 1800's by a poet in Adare, Ireland.   How charming would it be to live there?  The trip was fabulous by the way. . great time to catch up with old friends and get inspiration for a new show I want to do with Tea's the Season next year.

For now, I'm just glad to be back into the swing of things and I'm looking forward to spending more time on next week's post!