More Greeting Cards

Check out another bunch of greeting cards created for Hallmark! Such a great company to work with!

A Toy Whale

Sometimes, I'm surprised by how small and wonderful our modern world is.


Earlier this year I received an email from 82-year-old Roberto Lou of Guatemala. He created a toy wooden whale, inspired this guy from my free ebook, Do You Know What I Am?


Check out Roberto's video below. You can also view more of his incredible work here.

Check out this handful of greeting cards created for Hallmark Greeting Cards! Hurray!

Touchdown!

As a fan of the Canadian Football League and Saskatchewan Roughriders, I was pretty excited to get a chance to work on a bunch of spot illustrations for their online fan survey. The survey also included a field goal kicking game at the end which I provided digital elements for.

Check 'em out below! Hike! Hike! Hike!

Two for the Road

Most illustrators and designers love working on gig posters. I think it's because the goal and message is simple — "Come to this show".  Generally, these projects provide creative freedom, coupled with interesting restrictions which tests one's creativity. They are an opportunity to create a great piece.

When Belle Plaine asked me to develop a poster for her Two for the Road tour, I was thrilled. I love her music, had seen her play live, and had recently met her at a little workshop I gave at Creative City Centre.

  

Belle came with a loose concept: show the slightly chaotic experience of a cross-Canada tour.  Belle and her bass player, Elizabeth, fill a car with instruments (including a double bass), gear, and suitcases. With barely enough room for themselves, they hit the road.

As I started sketching and thinking about the design and concept, rather than drawing the car, I thought the poster could represent the vehicle. Filled with  stuff, but also looking outward; experiencing all the things we see and do when travelling cross-country — wildlife, coffee, radio, greasy diners, the foliage, weather, etc.

Because this poster will be used at different venues across the country, we needed to have a way to either plug in details ourselves, or let the venue hand-write them in. The gig posters I like often have the image and type integrated together. With that in mind, we didn't want one big blank area for venue owners to customize. We wanted something a bit more subtle and thoughtful. We think the solution turned out pretty well. 

The project became a labour of love for me. I was so happy when it was well received by Belle, friends on Twitter, and on Dribbble.

My friends Wade and Dean suggested the poster should be silkscreened. I'm happy to share that the girls at Articulate Ink are working on an edition of 200 prints. They do great work and I can't wait to see the finished product. I'll be sure to share photos when I do.  

These prints will be available at Belle Plaine shows and via my website, within a couple weeks.

A Wonderfully Eventful Three Years

If you look at the date on the post below, you’ll see I had abandoned this blog about three years ago. Life has changed a lot since my wife and I announced we were expecting a baby. 

Most importantly, our son Brin was Born Sept 30th, 2009. He’s a happy boy who loves to run, play with cars, and eat pizza.

Also noteworthy: I became a partner in Saskatchewan’s (arguably) largest advertising agency. However, to make a very long, complex story short, I discovered working at an agency is not for me. So, I quit. Now I work as a freelance illustrator, full-time. 

I hope to use this blog to share some of my experiences and observations about freelancing and illustration. Of course, I'll also share my work. The blogs I enjoy most are those with short, easy-to-read, regular posts. I’ll do my best to remember that. 

I hope you find it helpful and/or interesting.

Ultrasound

My wife and I are expecting our first child on October 14, 2009! We went for our first ultrasound and the baby is happy and healthy!