An epic of Biblical proportions!

This is me attempting to assist a friend of mine in illustrating the "David and Goliath" story. Ready when you are, C.B.!

"...and he shall appear!"

Just having some fun. I modeled the nose partially off of my own (every drawing has an element of a self portrait, don't you think!), so he is indeed a handsome...well you know.

It's been five(5) looong months since my last post. Far too long. So, in commemoration of the New Year (5768), here's what I hope will be a long post which I hope you'll enjoy. Here's the rough drawing for my High Holiday card:

Here's the "clean" version.

Here is the completed image with color. The inscription inside reads "Shofar, Sho good":

"A NOTE OF THANKS"

The task: To create a "thank you" card for my friends and family in Israel who were so kind and generous to me and my family on a recent visit over there earlier this month. The challenge: I was faced with the option of getting the card done quickly, or of sending them store bought cards provided by my mother. I was determined to avoid that at all cost, and to give the Israelis a card that would be unique, something specific to me. The result: A card created, drawn up, and printed, all in the course of about ten hours. (I was doing other things during the ten hours too, like unpacking, and recovering from jetlag).

As you can see, this all took place on April 16, 2007. After much brainstorming, for about 30 minutes, I came up with the brilliant idea of showing the words for "thank you" in Hebrew, but make it appear to be made out of ancient stone, weathered, and with clumps of grass growing from the cracks, like something in the old city of Jerusalem. Think of the "Ben Hur" poster. On top would be a non-descript figure, holding the Israeli flag. What could be more "me"? Here is the initial rough sketch, scanned directly from my sketchbook. Yes, Hebrew reading bloggers, it is spelled incorrectly. You can see me working out the correct spelling in the upper right hand corner. BTW, "Imcrazywonderful" is the handle of a Hebrew speaking girl whom I stumbled onto on MySpace. I made a note to check her out later.

Non-Hebrew speaking bloggers, did you know that Hebrew is written and read from right to left? Well, you know what? Hebrew is written/read from right to left! In the background on the right, is an "ancient" skyline, inspired again, by old Jerusalem, and by the port city of Jaffa (Yaffo). I think Mary Blair would like it. (Do a search on her). Getting there, but something isn't quite working...

This is more like it! Of course! Put the skyline on the left, so the letters lead to it rather than away from it!

Finally, I added some colors that would suggest old stone, using, fittingly enough, some old markers. Note to self: learn photoshop already. I used some lighter values for the background elements.

I then scanned the image, with the "Gold's Greetings" logo upside down, with the copyright and blog info, to create the back of the card. A trip to the printers, and I was done. Kind of crude, but effective. And most importantly, like nothing you could buy in a store. If it suits your purpose, feel free to print it yourself. It will need a little trimming, but should fit a 5"x7" envelope.

It's been a while since I've posted, but thank you for coming by and visiting. Sorry, but I didn't get around to a Passover or Easter card this year, but as consolation, I've uploaded some of my other work that I dug up, and I've included some "process" pieces from the "Leprechaun" card. I hope you find them inspiring. It's my goal to make you feel good with my work. I would be remiss without mentioning Charles Zembillas and The Animation Academy, where I got a lot of my instruction (www.theanimationacademy.com). Also, for the latest buzz on the industry, from those inside it, or fans like myself hoping to break in, there's no better place than www.animationnation.com.

This is a piece that went over well with friends and colleagues. It incorporates 3-point perspective, with a curving horizon, character design posing and staging. (I act like I actually know what I'm talking about). On the "Falcon" building, you may notice references to the Chrysler building, as well as the Pan Pacific Auditorium, which no longer exists.

A cleaner version of my superhero, with some tone.

My tribute to B-movies. An attempt at "retro" futurism.

Here's how it all started. This is a rought sketch of the leprechaun, (which I just noticed got mirror reversed somehow) in col-erase blue.

Here is an experiment with tone using col-erase blue. I'm trying to get a balance of darks and lights throughout the piece. These blue tonal studies always remind me of tiles on a Dutch fireplace or something.

Here's the clean line version of the leprechaun. The circle and square that you see on the final card were done with the computer. This image was done with graphite. As you can see, I started experimenting with color on this one.

Here is a better version of the Davinci leprechaun. The first one has some unsightly "stains" on his vest, which I was able to remove for this one.

St. Patrick's Day card

Here it is! My St. Patty's card, which, for the time being, you can print for free! I'm still in the process of getting used to this "blogging" thing, but I found that it's best to print these in "landscape" rather than "portrait". The first image is the inside of the card, with the second image (Da Vinci Leprechaun) being the front and back. Got it? After printing, cut along the green dotted line, fold in half, and you've got it! I hope my Catholic friends are still my "friends" since I'm having fun with one of their holidays, and "The DaVinci Code". Now, I've got to start working on Passover and Easter.

My first post this year. If you're reading this, it means you're visiting my contribution to the, what is it, the blogsphere? In appreciation, and just in time for Valentine's Day, you are welcome to make use of my first "printable" Valentine. To make your own, (two(2) actually), just print out the image below, (you might try saving it to your computer first), then print out the text page below on the back side. Cut along the dotted line and "voila", you're own caveman Valentine! (Thank you, Samuel L. Jackson). No charge for the use, but feel free to leave a comment! (one note: you don't have to use my text! Feel free to leave the inside blank and inscribe it with your own sentiment).