#FrankStrong

A piece for a friend fighting a tough battle.
© DC Comics

More Practice…

Another One…

Trying Something Different…

Bring On the Bad Guys!

Old School Cool.

©DC and Marvel Comics

Saving The Galaxy With A Dance Off!

McGraw Hill Character Concepts

Proposed designs for a "Science Guy" character based on a real-life educator.

New Moshi Monsters Art

Here is new cover art I produced for an upcoming Moshi Monsters journal. It's always fun to work with these characters and the great folks at Penguin Young Readers!

More Characters...

Here are a few more designs from the same personal project in which I'm rounding out some of the supporting players.

This little guy is meant to be a silent character and for some reason I decided to cover his eyes which robbed me of a primary tool of expression and personality!

Another supporting character from the local scene. Socks and sandals were apparently REALLY big at the time.
With "sandals guy" I wanted to capture some expressions that would play to the duplicitous nature of his personality.

Finding Characters

Whether I'm designing for sports teams, corporations or publishing, my approach is one borne of story. In finding a character, I think about story elements in order to define personality. How does my character fit into the story? From there I consider other factors like what is her role? What is he trying to say? Does she wear glasses? How does he stand? What's her favorite color? What do these choices say about his personality? Every design decision you make should serve the overall narrative.

Let's begin with a collection of designs from a personal project. I'll make notes on topics which are helpful to me in character development. Later, I'll post additional character work and we'll see if I've learned any new tricks.

Our heroine is a spunky 12 year-old girl. She is described as being "too smart for her own good." She and her friends are into all things paranormal and they encounter a series of mysteries in their sleepy little town.

• Age appropriate clothing is very important. I look at everything from tween TV shows to clothing retail stores for ideas and fashion trends. It also helps to have daughters in this age group!

• I do my drawings in non-photo blue or Col-Erase red pencil and then tighten them up with graphite.

• I try to avoid the dread "smarm brow" but it sometimes creeps into my work.

• I'm always striving to convey personality through expression.

• I also think about recognizable silhouettes for my characters. Size and shape are very important in distinguishing one character from another and help to create visual interest in an assembled cast.

• Sometimes it can be challenging to develop readable silhouettes. This concept art for a Chase Bank book aimed at the hispanic community to promote saving and investment opportunities shows the importance of making similar characters easily identifiable.

Moshi Monsters

I'm an official Moshi Monsters illustrator for Penguin Books!

I'm currently working on a project for the property so stay tuned for more moshlings and fun…

Totally U Project

"Totally U" was a great project for the fine folks at The Bradford Exchange and the Ashton Drake Galleries.

I was hired to illustrate characters based on a line of dolls they were preparing to test market. First, I was provided with the reference for the four dolls in the prototype phase.

Next, I began working with the lead character to establish a style. The initial direction was "Disney-esque."

So much for the first attempt. We quickly regrouped and decided on this edgier, more stylized approach.

Here is an example of some of the edits I received before taking the final designs to finished art.

Now a look at the assembled cast. Unfortunately the program did not make it into production, but I had a wonderful experience working with the product team. My daughters REALLY wanted the dolls!

Florida Knights

Another great collaboration with Rickabaugh Graphics. I love the process of "finding" a character.

Texas Longhorns

I had a wonderful opportunity to work with Rickabaugh Graphics to refine the look of "Hook'em," for the University of Texas at Austin and their kids club. Here are my concepts next to the final product produced by Rickabaugh.

No Smoking, Grandpa!

Here's one from a couple years ago. I loved the idea of showing the little boy's fear of his grandfather's smoking habit in a visual way. Smoking is BAD!

Poptropica

A licensing test for Penguin Books. Poptropica is a great site with lots of fun characters!