Gross Net

A NY Times Op-Ed letters illustration about mosquito net donations to malaria ridden countries. (Link). Thanks to Kim Bost and Brian Rea.

Loose Teeth

Congratulations to Toby Barlow and the release of his fantastic poem/novel Sharp Teeth. It is an ambitiously unusual book about werewolf packs at war in urban LA, and how they intersect with human civilization.

I had the chance to hear Toby read and speak about his book tonight - he was hilarious and enlightening, having put much thought and research into it. Coincidentally, his partner, graphic designer Keira Alexandra, is an old friend of mine from college.

Even more coincidentally, I was asked to sketch cover ideas for Sharp Teeth by the awesome Paul Sahre, who was designing the book a year or so ago (My drawing above). The book switched publishers in the process, and (unfortunately for me) they used great existing art from it's UK edition. The final book can be seen, and bought with high recommendation, here.

Sharp Teeth Updated and Animated

This animation evolved out of the aborted book cover illustration for Sharp Teeth. Toby Barlow, the author, and I discussed an idea I had for the novel - to put a flip book of a beautiful woman transforming into a wolf in the corner of the book.

Toby thought it would be a great concept for an promo which may appear soon. This is an animation test of the idea, tying in the title illustration. Check out the Sharp Teeth web site which contains several amazing finished animations.

Papa-Zow

Written by Brian Frazer, The Krazy Korner Fun Page is a very funny idea brought to me by LA Magazine (for their back page Hollywoodland feature). It includes all sorts of puzzles, mazes and activities that satirize headline-grabbing celebrities. A.D. Joe Kimberling let me throw in the portrait of K-Fed and a Range Rover full of kids, for kicks.

Space Junk

A Week In Review spot to go with this story about arms escalation - and debris - in space.

Petroli-yuck

I am excited to have a 6 page comic story Weatherman coming up in Nozone X: Forcast - the 10th edition of Nicholas Blechman's fantastic ongoing book series. I will save the comic for publication, but this is one version of a divider page I was asked to contribute at the last minute. I think we're calling it Maelstrom - (scary!)

Sopranos duet

GQ needed an illustration to go with a story about the new crop of “slash” fiction - which I understand to be underground fan fiction that recasts male tv characters as gay lovers... and is usually written by women (?). I first heard about the genre as a Star Trek-related phenomenon, and it that it spawned a decade’s worth of graduate sociology theses.

Anyway, this article focused on fiction written about Tony Soprano and Pauly Walnuts. The idea was a little hard to stomache, so I thought a Lady and the Tramp reference might ad the right touch of amore’.

MORE dudes

From a story called “Ten Guys I’m Glad I Didn’t Marry”

The Skinny

Occasionally I make more work for myself under tight deadlines by providing one or more finished peices at the sketch phase. It's a gamble that works only sometimes.

In this NY Times week-in-review story - about the health contrasts between heavier and thinner people - I chose to follow through with 2 abstract directions (above) while the piece called for a more direct approach (below). I am happy with all though.

a couple MORE

Disaster Date

When The Big One Comes

I was contacted by MORE Magazine, the magazine for women in their 40's. I was a little worried that I'd be too far out of my demographic element to do a good job (ok, I'm just one year and one gender away), then I read the stories, which were really fun and funny, so the ideas came easy. They seemed to enjoy a little rawness to the art, as well. Thanks to Maxine Davidowitz.

Slight Family Resemblance

It must be the time of year, but every fall, I feel the need to do some extra-curricular drawing (maybe it’s a latent back-to-school feeling left over from childhood).

Anyway, this one was inspired by a family trip to PetSmart with our Boston. Watercolor is not something I know much about, but this sketch came together pretty well.

Soft Targets

Daniel Kiss (a great rockstar name), from the Chicago band Soft Targets, contacted me about doing a poster. He liked the Thempire comic I did for Nozone X. It's been a while since I've had any art silkscreened and I thought it would be fun. Plus their band name suggested lots of possibilities (this one selected from several concepts). The poster should be printing right now, and if your in Chicago next month-- check out their show. No Cover!

Emmy in a Box

When he is not design director of NYTimes.com, Khoi Vinh, runs a great design-related web site called Subtraction.com. He's also launched abriefmessage.com which features a short, weekly, 200 word essay on design/culture paired with an illustration or photo. He was kind enough to ask me to contribute to a story about SNL's Dick in a Box video winning it's well deserved Emmy.

On the Road– again

Getting the cover assignment for this week’s NYTimes Book Review was thrilling, especially since it’s subjects are Jack Kerouac and the 50th anniversary of ”On the Road.” I'd seen JK's original scrolled manuscript in a Beat artist exhibit - It helped inform the drawn type on the cover. We kept this one simple, although for added drama, we knocked the masthead out of his shock of black hair. The second illustration is from a related interior article about Kerouac’s continued relevance.

Unlocking the Code

This was for a great story in Business Week about DNA tests exonerating innocent convicts. It casts a pretty amazing and hopeful light on the modern world.

Marathon Drawing

The good folks at Runners World magazine have given me several great assignments recently, but this drawing may be the most complicated assignment I’ve ever tried to pull off!

For their magazine opener, Design Director Kory Kennedy and his editors envisioned a Where's Waldo-type dissection of a marathon race day. They had 40 specific scenarios for me to draw in the spread, everything from porta-potty etiquette to photo-finishes. After a few style explorations, we decided to go with a clear, almost European comic style (I even threw a grown-up Tin Tin into the race for fun)

Collapse

August 1st was a horrible day here in Minneapolis. The 35 W bridge was a main artery through town, driven by everyone. It's collapse was a shocking reminder of how fragile even the most massive structure can be. Sadly, news of the victims continues to emerge. As well, stories of the survivors and rescue workers make me proud to live in such a great city.

I attempted to put my feelings about that day into a graphic narrative.

* this has become a work in progress with color added 11/07, maybe a finished version will see the light of day sometime.

Good... Times

Aviva Michelov is someone I'd enjoyed working with when she’d freelance art direct at the Times. I was happy to hear she'd been given the Week in Review post permanently. These are a few drawings and Timeline illustrations I have done with her.

More Good... Times

A few more for Brian Rea and the Op Ed page: Mr. Oh (below) is the all-time greatest home run hitter in professional baseball, with or without steroids. He just happened to play in Japan, so he's not a household name stateside.


(Above) a mood peice about Antiqua for the Times's Summer Scapes series.

...and a bottle of Rum

A.D. Adam Levine from Prologue asked me for some loose sketch art to use in an animated opening sequence of Cane: the Sopranos meets Miami Vice television show starring Bail Organa-- I mean Jimmy Smitts!

Prologue is the motion graphics house founded by the amazing Kyle Cooper.