Scary School 2 "Monsters on the March" RELEASE DAY

Woo-hoo! Happy Scary School 2- Monsters on the March release day!

When I first got offered to illustrate the Scary School series, I read the first few chapters of book one and laughed out loud! It was a no brainer for me to jump fangs first into this series. Anything that taps into the little boy inside me who grew up on Scooby-Doo is a must-do for me.

The author , Derek the Ghost (aka Derek Taylor Kent) tapped into everything I loved as a kid. )And based on reviews for book one, everything boys love today too.) 

Dragons, zombies, talking tarantulas, mummies, it 

is all in there. And it has been a pleasure to draw this book. Thanks Derek!

The cover is ballpoint pen and acryla-gouache with a bit of digital polish at the end. The inside has 50+ ballpoint pen drawings on Strathmore 500!

(My weapon of choice was a Parker ballpoint.)

Book one was also just released in paperback for $5.99.

Great for Summer reading on those long road trips!

Enjoy!

  

 

IMC Sketching

 

I had an amazing time teaching at the Illustration Master Class 

last week in Amherst, MA.

One of the good habits I picked up at the IMC this year was to draw again. But I mean to draw for no reason. It seems the last few years I am mostly drawing for something specific. Be it a cover, or a kids book idea or whatever. There is an end-game in mind. I forget to let all the randomness in my head out sometimes.

This is all straight ballpoint. On one of the pages I used the mythical James Jean pen. (The SKB SB-1000 ballpoint.) Which is quite a nice pen. Thin .5mm that feels cheap, but has a beautiful line and tonal range. It will get blobby at the tip though. So be ready to wipe it off from time to time.

And then the James Jean pen imploded on me. (Leaking on the inside) Ahhh well, I will have to track down some more. They're worth the risk.

The IMC provides a sketchbook for you to take notes in, draw, and pass around like a yearbook at the end of the week. They are pretty neat because they are gold leafed with a drawing from the guest artist of the year. In this case Brom laid down some line to go on the cover. 

Some of my sketchy fun: