Children's Book Illustration | Character Design
I have been illustrating characters for as long as I can remember. I still have artwork from when I was 5 years old. Art is in my blood and in my heart. I attended the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia and majored in Illustration. I also have a minor in Art History.
If you need a book cover, interior illustrations or just some character design done, please contact me with details. I am a traditional artist at heart, but have moved to the digital age so whether you want a traditional painting or fully digital piece, I'm the man for the job.
Here is a sample of the tools I use for my projects:
Below, you can see a sampling of illustrations I have done over the years to get a feel for my style.
Alien Bunnies vs. Carnivorous Carrots
This illustration is a work in progress.
I am transitioning to a mostly digital workflow and this is my first full blown illustration using all digital tools.
I will probably never get away from sketching with paper and pencil, though. It just feels right.
The Bunny and the Warthog
This quick illustration was done as an excersize to learn more about my WACOM Intuos3 drawing tablet and Adobe Illustrator.
I used a pencil sketch I did in High School as my basic concept. It's fun bringing old work to new life!
Nihm - Wise Ole Owl
This is the first of 3 illustrations I did based on the children's book "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nihm".
All Father
Odin is the "All Father" of the Asatru/Viking religion. This is my tribute to the All Father.
Nihm - Dragon's Bowl
Here is another illustration from "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nihm".
Egyptian Thief
I've always been interested in Egyptian history and wanted to translate that interest into an illustration. This was a personal project.
The Finishing Touch
My mother loves Christmas time so I wanted to give her something she could put up every year to celebrate the season.
Industrial Wolf
This is an illustration I did for a friends Birthday in college. Here you can see an animated version.
Lone Wolf
This illustration was done from photo reference for a college project.
VW Scirocco
I've always been a car guy and the Scirocco was the first Volkswagen I ever owned.
Wooden Wolves
My mother had some craft supplies around the house when I was younger and I decided to see what I could do with them. The supplies were balsa wood shapes and popsicle sticks. This is what I came up with.
VW W12 Concept Car
Volkswagens are one of my passions and this has got to be the best VW ever. Too bad it was just a concept car and never made it to production. Let's be realistic, who is going to pay over $100k for a VW? Most likely no-one.
Swans
I wanted to practice painting something other than a cartoon and swans are such beautiful birds, plus the babies are so cute!
Space Dog
This illustration was done for a friend when she was going to be going off to college. The idea came from a Tori Amos song called "Space Dog". I took the song titile literally and came up with this.
Squeeks
Everyone has a pet they will never forget. Squeeks is one of them for me. This was a visual respresentation of my pet for a Role Playing Game called TMNT based on my pet Ferret.
Animated version here.
Smaug
This painting is the largest piece I've ever done, at 4' x 2'. This is now in my parents personal collection.
I'm Sorry
Sometimes life throws you a curveball. This is how I dealt with one of those curveballs.
Light Reading
This piece is my In-Laws library. My wife and I fixed up one of the In-Laws extra rooms into a library and I thought this would be a great addition.
I Want A Pony!
One of my old college roommates was a perfect subject for this illustration.
Mighty Joe Plum
Music is an inspiration for any artist and Mighty Joe Plum inspired me to do this painting.
I took the painting to their concert and the whole band signed it. The lead singer, Brett, gave me the pick he was using during that concert! Great night!
Insane Clown Painting
This is probably my most macabre piece to date, but sometimes you gotta break from teh norm and try new subjects. This illustration was based on a song by the Insane Clown Posse called "Dead Body Man".
You can also check out an animated version here.
Retirement
When my mother retired from the United States Air Force, I wanted to give her something special. She's an avid bird watcher and I thought this would be perfect.
Morning Breakfast
In Art School they give you lots of different excercises to stretch your imagination and see what you can come up with (especially if you are doing Illustration for your major).
This project included a list of elements that had to be included in the picture like a bullseye, 2 cows, a shoe, a hat and it had to show some perspective. I had a lot of fun doing this one.
The Summoning
I wanted to try soemthing new with this illustration. This is the first painting I used 3D relief sculpture . The 3D relief was done with Super Sculpey, a polymer baking clay.
The Encounter
This one is called "The Encounter" and is based on the story of Ragnarok from Viking mythology.
I took liberties with the characters, but thats what art is all about. Adding your own flair to whatever it is you do.
The Wizard
This is another visual representation of a character for a Role Playing Game.
Don't Touch This!
My college roommates would constantly change the temperature in our house so this was a warning above the thermometer.
To the Clouds
I had never done an illustration wth pink in it so this was what I came up with.
This is another large piece at 2'x4'.
Snow Deer
I had never done an illustration wth pink in it so this was what I came up with. This is another large piece at 2'x4'.
Indy Car
This is another pencil sketch I did in high school. I know you don't normally put old work like this up, but I like to preserve history and see how far I've come over the years.
Tom Petty Crash
This is a pencil sketch I did in high school. I know you don't normally put old work like this up, but I like to preserve history and see how far I've come over the years.