Circus wagon

Awhile back I decided to give a go at doing a sketchbook completely dedicated to circuses, traveling sideshows, carnivals, and the people that attend them. It was my first "themed" sketchbook and it proved to be quite the challenge. Here's just a sample of some of the stuff I put into it; an old school circus wagon that the troupe would use to travel from town to town.

Delta Airlines safety video

The next time when you fly Delta Airlines and they show that onboard safety video, there will be a guy in that video furiously taking notes as the flight attendant explains the procedures. No, I'm not that guy- but when they cut to his "notes" in his sketchbook, those will be my drawings. These are just a few of those pages I did for that prop. There's also another bit where another passenger is so obsessed with taking notes during the take-off, he's literally surrounded by hundreds of Post-It notes in his cabin area. I did those couple of hundred notes too. They're filled with gibberish mathematical equations, quirky doodles, odd jumbles of my license plate, phone numbers, and whatever numbers struck me at that moment.

Now I'm not sure when this video will "air" but I just finished the job awhile ago. I have no idea how long it'll take to edit all of the footage and have it clear any legal hurdles but I'm personally kind of stoked that it'll be my artwork seen on every Delta flight soon.

Fish of the deep.

Not sure if it's because of all the hype of James Cameron's recent excursion to the deep ocean but I've been on a wee bit of a kick to draw fish, specifically deep water fish where they have just an off worldly look to them.

Where's the snow?

This has been an amazingly mild winter. In one sense it's great that it's +70º in mid-March but I always thought part of the appeal of this area was that we got all four seasons. It seems as though Winter and heavy snowfall decided to take a hiatus this year.

Bugs!

For whatever reason the last few weeks my students and I have been talking about bugs- from cockroaches that live in the dorms to the ones I kept as pets once. I couldn't help but sketch something silly about it.

Horns

I think I may have been watching far too much of the National Geographic Channel last month! I've been drawing all sorts of deer with wild horns & antlers.

Aging hipsters.

There's something really brave and sad at the same time watching older people still trying to look and dress hip. It rarely follows any norms other than their very own. Some can carry it off and do it well, while some others can't.

The morning commute

It's the twenty first century already! Where are those wonderful flying air cars that were predicted 60 plus years ago that were supposed to help relieve traffic congestion and the morning gridlock? Oh one can only hope and dream some day.

Treehouse environment

Seriously who hasn't wished they lived in the trees? Or at least off the ground? I figured I'd give a go at designing a small community that would be akin to "birdhouses meet tree forts". I figured the core of the tree itself would be the actual living space and the exteriors would just be for sunlight and exit/entrances.

The joys of a grey marker

Every now and then, just for fun- I find it loads of fun just to sketch with a grey marker. There's something about it that seems less permanent, less precious, and much more liberating than using a solid black line.

The appeal of Dracula

I'm not sure what it is, but there's always something fun about drawing Dracula or vampires for me. Is it their cool suave nature? Is it their swanky outfits? Or is it just the fact that they and I have the same office hours?

It's snowing in Michigan.

It's finally snowing in Michigan! Much to the chagrin of some and much to my delight. I'm not sure why but I've always enjoyed a good dusting of snow. And I couldn't help but draw up with some offbeat contraption to help beat getting around these parts.

The Green Goblin

Not that I could even come close to what John Romita, Sr. could envision for the diabolical Green Goblin but I've always loved this classic Spider-Man villain. The idea that some psychopathic, super strong, drugged up villain riding around Manhattan on a rocket powered Bat Glider (no offense meant to the friendly folks over at DC Comics I hope) was great!

Halloween costumes

Seeing as how Halloween just passed, I thought I'd toy around with the idea of some of the costumes I've seen as of late. Some of which have been genius, some not so much- but it is the one day out of the year where people can dress up in the most ridiculous of outfits and be socially accepted for one night.

Vehicle sketches

I've been on somewhat of a tear with drawing these super utilitarian 4X4 vehicles as of late. I love the non-aerodynamic nature of these sort of moon buggies, safari vehicles, utilitarian transports, and how bit of their carriage is dedicated to a functional use.