Ingvard the Terrible : Illustrator, Viking, Dude

The Creative Process, Step 3

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:34:00 +0000

If you've come this far in the creative process—you've done your research and you've explored all kinds of crazy ideas—then congratulations. That's the hard part. You've done the heavy lifting. Not that it's going to be as easy as making fun of a Jersey Shore cast member from here on out, but the more you invest in these initial steps, the smoother the rest will go.

But it's still not time to draw (or write).

Now is the time when you do, well, nothing.

Seriously. Nothing. At least, nothing active.

Think of it this way: You've scoured all the recipes online, watched hours and hours of Giada and Bobby and Ina on the Food Network; you've gathered all the ingredients for your marinade, mixed them up, and your steak is swimming in it. But it isn't time to cook. It's time to just let it... sit.

Welcome to Step 3:

Processing:
Absorb, Daydream, Talk It Out

Frankly, I think a lot of creatives tend to skim over this part. We're just so all-fired excited and eager to actually DO the thing. But processing all that information and exploration is critical.

Absorb

The "absorbing" part of this step involves going over all the work you've done. Just sit and look through your sketches and notes. DO NOT—I REPEAT, DO NOT—START JUDGING, CATEGORIZING, OR EDITING THEM. Just look. You are an observer ONLY. Absorb it all, the way you would if you were standing on a majestic mountain top, or before an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet, gazing in awe at the view. Lay in bed, sip a glass of wine, listen to some Colbie Caillat on your iPad and soak it up.

Much like our spongey little yellow friend and Mr. Hasselhoff's generously lotioned skin, you want to just absorb.

Daydream

I think it's because of this part that outsiders tend to think creatives are just a bunch of lazy "daydreamers." No, lazy is for Bruno Mars, panda bears, and, according to Newt Gingrich, the poor. But you know as well as I do, we're not lazy. It's just that our way of working is a little different.

"Daydreaming is looked upon negatively because it represents 'non-doing' in a society that emphasizes productivity," says John McGrail, a clinical hypnotherapist in Los Angeles. "We are under constant pressure to do, achieve, produce, succeed."

But daydreaming, as it happens, is now understood by scientists to be a VITAL part of the problem solving process (notice the word "vital" is in all caps and emboldenated, which means it's super-duper important).

From Psychology Today: "Daydreaming can be beneficial in many ways and, ironically, can actually boost productivity. But [getting stuck is what] happens when your mind is locked in tunnel vision when trying to brainstorm solutions. It doesn't have full-range access to your memory banks where all kinds of information resides. Think of these snippets of memory and knowledge as long-forgotten documents stored on the Z drive of your computer. You may not remember what's there or where you saved it, but that info stills exists and a good computer program can find it." (Emphasis added.)

In other words, there is tremendous value in staring out the window, or laying in bed and staring at the ceiling, contrary to what your teachers or you mother may have told you. People really don't do it often enough.

Daydreaming has three parts:

1) Be still. Sit or lay there, and switch the body off. Physical activity is too distracting at this point. If you have to move, go for a walk or a drive, or do something that's so simple and automatic, it doesn't require your conscious attention. Like writing a Twilight novel, for example.

Still a better love story than Twilight.

2) Let your thoughts wander. Simple as that.

3) Don't feel guilty about it. You know you're not being lazy at all. And not only will it help you solve the issue, it's incredibly refreshing in general.

Talk It Out

The "talking it out" part may or may not be necessary for you, it kind of depends on your personality type. Some people prefer to keep it introspective, while some like to talk through a problem with someone. Whatever works for you, do it.

. . . . .

Things to remember while in this stage:

1) You can mix these up as much as you need. Thumb through your sketches and notes, daydream a little, talk about it with a friend over lunch, watch an episode of "Hoarders", get pissed off at the people on "Hoarders" and swear never to watch it again, glance through your sketches a little more, daydream again.... The point is, this is the inactive stage, the processing, the marinating.

Just like Sandra Lee, your ideas need time to marinate before they can work.

2) This part may only take 10 minutes, it may take a day, a week, or even years. Of course, if it's your own personal project, it doesn't really matter how long it takes. But having a deadline looming in front of you can seem a wee bit intimidating. Riiiiight. About that....

Based on my experience, I've got some good news and some bad news for you:

Good news: The more times you go through the creative process in life, the more skilled you get at it and the less time it takes to do the processing (usually).

Bad news: Sometimes you have to just move on even when you're not done processing because you just have to get the thing DONE. That means some projects don't end up the way you wanted them to. You'll probably look back and think to yourself, I could've done so much better with that if I had the time!

I'm sorry about that. I really, truly am. I know the feeling, believe me. But as the French say, "C'est la vie"—that's life. They also say "We surrender" a lot, but I don't recommend that one. It may sound cruel, but you just have to grieve a little for the loss and move on to the next project (more on all that in a later post).

. . . . .

Okay, I promise the next step will actually involve creating something. Stay tuned.

CHICKENS!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:26:00 +0000

Can you imagine the exact same scene from a classic children's story illustrated over 250 ways? Well, my blog-browsing, time-killing friend, you won't have to, cause they're all on one blog, featuring a slew of illustration entries to the 2012 SCBWI Tomie dePaola Award —including yours truly. (I actually can't believe I forgot to post this until now. That's what I get for lingering a little too long in the Caribbean, but hey, it's winter and the crew and I enjoy a little sun and fun. And rum.)

The Creative Process, Step 2

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

I will assume that, by this point, you have already read my stunning 1st post on the creative process. If not, take a moment and go read it, then come back. And bring me a sandwich when you do.

Okay, now that you've done your research and you're an expert on your subject, it's time to start trying stuff out.

Wait wait wait, hold your proverbial horses there, partner.

I didn't say "start illustrating, or start writing your book." It's still not time to go anywhere near the computer, so just back up, Sally. I said it was time to try stuff out. In other words, it's time to

Explore

Ol' Chris was just trying to find a shorter route to India. In the process stumbled on a whole new land. That's the point of this stage of the creative process. Slaughtering natives and stealing their land, however, is not.

Another word for this step might be "experiment," or even "play around." If the Research Stage is gathering materials, this is the stage where you figure out just what those materials can and can't do.

BUT—and this, much like Kim Kardashian's much publicized posterior, is a huge "but"—don't settle with the first idea to come spilling out of your pretty little head. Chances are, that's the very same idea everyone else has already come up with and already done. Sorry, love, but you need to keep going. The really good stuff, the stuff university professors will use in their classrooms as examples of genius, comes from pushing beyond that first impulse.

If you're an illustrator:
You need to sketch, sketch, sketch and then sketch some more.

If you're a writer:
You need to do the equivalent, which would be jotting down ideas, descriptions, snippets of dialogue, possible scene locations, character traits. You should be constantly burning through notebooks the way artists use sketchpads. Take them everywhere, and use them to practice your craft. Like a musician, you should practice far more than you perform.

Both of you:
You need to try all kinds of angles in this stage: weird angles, dumb angles, impossible angles, stuff you think wouldn't work in a million years. No editing or erasing, no self-censorship, no holding back. Just PRODUCE.

It's been said that there is nothing new under the sun. And I'm sorry to be the one to break it to you, but that's more or less true. The mistake many people make is believe that it's the creative's job to come up with "fresh, new" ideas. Well, it ain't. A creative's job is to put existing ideas or concepts or... just stuff TOGETHER in a way that (probably) hasn't been done before.

Take vampires. Been done to death. Er, pardon the pun. You might assume, then, that you could never ever conceive of a good, original vampire story since the market is just so saturated with them, and decide never to try.

That's where the creative's magic little phrase comes in: "What if...?"

What if vampires were no longer living in secret? What if everybody knew about them? Well, they couldn't go around feeding on humans, now, could they? Okay, well, what if they resolved that with a synthetic drink developed to give vampires what they need without them having to resort to murder?

What if, instead of bursting into flames when exposed to the sun, a vampire just sparkles like a disco ball?

The answer is, you get The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, and the HBO program based on them, True Blood.

Or, let's see... Hey, vampires are popular, right? And so are pirates, right? What if we combined them and make... VAMPIRATES?!? (If you think I'm kidding, follow the link.)

Illustrators, let's say you have to illustrate a story about a child who accidentally leaves their favorite stuffed animal behind and the dad has to go back and get it. Pretty simple premise, eh? This can't be the first time an aspiring children's author has come up with that little gem. So how do you make it unique?

What if, instead of your usual style, you drew your characters but placed them on black and white photographs of the New York City neighborhood you live in? Well, then you get the 2005 Caldecott Honor and 2007 Carnegie Medal winning book by Mo Willems, Knuffle Bunny.

Or, what if you took the way you paint now, but paint characters you drew as a little kid? You know, like David Shannon did for his No, David! books.

What if I made a sandwich, but instead of bread, lettuce, tomato and all that, I just used a cat?

I could go on forever, really, but you get the idea. Plus, I'm bored.

Okay, I really, really hate it when I get into a brainstorming meeting and someone says, "There are no bad ideas." It's cliché, but the point is to stop rejecting or editing ideas right off the bat. That comes later.

Scrutinizing, analyzing, criticizing ideas is the left brain working. Right now, you need him to take a hike. This stage is right brain only, baby. That's why your figure drawing teacher in college made you draw models in only 10 or 20 second bursts. He wasn't just some sad, sadistic ex-hippy; he wanted you to capture the whole figure in that short of time; you have to skip details, you have no time to self-edit, you just have to GO and find the basic gist of the form.

Your goal: quantity, not quality.

Alright, that's enough of that. Comin' up, step 3.

The Creative Process, Step 1

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:27:00 +0000

My vast years of experience in the creative field as a designer, illustrator, writer, actor, and figure skater has taught me a great many things: about myself, about the world around me, and about how chicks will never, ever say no to posing for an artist.

But above all, I think the most valuable thing I've learned is what I'll call the "creative process."

Although even that term is slightly misleading. It's also the "problem solving process" and the "learning process." Put simply, it's how our brain works, and the better you understand that process—and the less you fight it—the more awesomer you shall become. Whether it's starting a new illustration or writing project, wrestling with a major life decision, or learning how to combat a gang of irritable wood trolls with a double-edged battle axe, this is how you go about tackling it.

And it's not just me talking here; science has backed me up on more than one occasion. I, uh... well, I just don't have any links to back me up off hand, but seriously, trust me on this one.

If you're ready to start drawing or writing, the first thing you need to do is stop.

No, I mean it. Don't draw a line or type a single word. You're not ready.

This is the first mistake a lot of rookie creatives make. Like a young, eager Viking who rushes into battle before taking to time to understand who or what he's fighting, you're bound to get yourself skewered like human shish-kabob before you can even draw your sword. Figuratively speaking, of course.

The first step, therefor, in this creative process, the problem solving process, the learning process, is not action, but understanding. You need to do your

Research

If you're a writer, chances are someone along the line has offered you this familiar bit of advice: "Write what you know." That, you should know, is absolute rubbish. Horrible advice. Real authors—not the bitter wannabes who are stuck teaching creative writing at the local junior college—understand the true mantra is "Know what you write."

It's not that you can't write (or draw) about something because you weren't there or haven't lived it, you just have to do your research. For crying out loud, educate yourself about the subject before you do anything. There's lots of ways to go about it:

1) Read about it. Easy enough, right? Books, articles, blogs. If you don't have direct experience with something, you can gain a lot from reading the accounts of people who have.

2) Even better, talk to them. If you have the chance to have an actual sit-down conversation with someone who was there, do it. Bring them cookies, woo them, give them a back rub. Whatever it takes. Reading gives you the facts; talking to someone gives you the personality, the emotion, the fondness for or revulsion by a given topic.

3) Watch about it. (Wait, does that even make sense?) In other words, watch all the documentaries, movies, TV shows on the subject. Go to the art museum and scope out the paintings from people who were there. Pay very close attention. Notice buttons and cloth patterns. Like Sherlock Holmes or Monk, you are an obsessive-compulsive detective solving the crime of the century. It's the little details that will bring your story or painting to life and ring true and honest with your audience.

You have facts, emotions and personality, and now a vision of it. But you can take it even further.

4) Collect stuff. Each of my jobs has a folder on my computer, and it almost every one is another folder called "Reference." When it comes to research, I'm a gathering monster. Don't expect to remember the stuff you learned when you need it. Even if you don't ultimately use much of it, you need to become an expert on the subject.

Hells bells, collect actual objects. True research involves all your senses, and your sense of touch shouldn't be neglected. Even if you can't travel back in time and experience the Civil War first hand, take the time to hold a rifle in your hands and feel how heavy it is. When you draw that young, skinny Confederate soldier, you'll know to make it look like he's exerting some effort to lift the blasted thing up to his eye.

Put on a cape and walk around a bit. (Just do it in the privacy of your own home, because, while capes and hooded cloaks are incredibly awesome and should most definitely find their way back into modern fashion, people tend to point and laugh when you wear one while dropping by Safeway to pick up a jar of peanut butter. Trust me.) You feel different, don't you? Mysterious, noble, even dangerous.

You may not be able to experience something directly, but there are ways to experience bits and pieces of it. Of course, if you have the opportunity, you should

5) Go there. This one isn't always possible. Traveling is expensive and time consuming. But if you have the chance, I'd take it. You'll get the views, the smells, the heat or the dampness, the sounds, the overal mood of the place. Almost impossible to get all that from a photo or a video.

. . .

I'll be honest, here: this isn't always my favorite part of a project. Often, I just want to get drawing or writing. Research can be tedious. It can be boring. But it's a critical part of the process. Patience is a virtue (or is it a virgin? No, that doesn't make any sense...)

Think of it like gathering firewood. You can't light the fire of inspiration (or cook a delicious reindeer steak) if you have nothing to fuel it with.

Next post, I'll drop some more knowledge on you with step #2.

The obligatory "look back"

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:40:00 +0000

Much like Katy Perry and Russel Brand's marriage, 2011 is dead and gone. A new year has begun (and the last one, if the Mayans have anything to say about it), which means that every blog and webzine is reminiscing with some kind of meaningless top 10 list about the previous year, or some ridiculous speculations about the next.

Sure they lasted a whole 14 months, but I still want the rice cooker back.

Looks I'm no different. Here we go, kids...

So, 2011.

You were weird.

I mean, yeah, 2010 was messed UP for sure, but you sir, were a Lindsey Lohan-class whirlwind of crazy-stupid. A lot happened. I mean a LOT happened. Some good, some pretty bad. Definitely the kind of crazy stuff that shook this monkey out of his comfort tree.

But oddly enough, I think I came out of the whole thing better off.

A lot of it had to do with my personal life, and since the subject of this blog is about illustration and writing, and not about the incredibly interesting, adventurous, sexy times of a rakishly handsome gentleman rogue, let's talk about that.

For starters, I didn't write a word.

Not that I didn't want to. I still love writing, and I really really want to write middle grade books like Kim Kardashian really really wants the public spotlight. I just made a conscious decision to focus on illustration for awhile. I tried some new things with my style and I kinda like where it's going. I also continued to network my pants off (figuratively, of course; I never wear pants when I work...) and have met a ton of swell creative peeps.

Many of my faithful thralls observe the "pants optional" policy here at Ingvard the Terrible Word Wide Headquarters.

So, what's on tap for the coming 361 days?

Well, as the expression goes, "If you want to make God (or Odin, as the case may be) laugh, make a plan." Still, it doesn't hurt to at least set sail in a general direction with something of a purpose in mind. You may not get where you intended, but you also just might discover Vinland. (Hey, that's good. I need to put that on a t-shirt...)

1) Get busy with the postcards
One thing I've always been bad about is staying constant and consistent with postcard mailings. Mostly, I hate managing the address list, but hey, no business—no matter how fun and life-fulfilling—is without it's dreary side.

Sure, pillaging is a dream job, but I could do without the sooty smell in my cloak.

2) Get busy with the online directories
Another goal is getting my portfolio onto more online illustration directories. It's been said that the biggest obstacle any business faces is "obscurity." Let's face it, Snooki ain't famous because she has talent. It's just that, thanks to those entertainment barrel-scrapping wankers at MTV, everybody just knows who the helheim she is.

Much like Leif Ericson was to Christopher Columbus in discovering cool new places, I've actually already gotten a good head start on it. The sucky part will be UPDATING all those portfolios as time goes on. And I may do a coupla more, if the funds are there.

3) Get busy with the retooling of the web site
I know what you're thinking: "But Lord Ingvard, your web site is phenomenal! How could you possibly improve it?"

And you're right. It IS phenomenal.

But I've also learned a lot about the WordPress platform, and I kinda like it. It would allow a certain amount of flexibility that I don't have now.

How can you possibly make the already criminally attractive ScarJo even more attractive???

By giving her some weapons and having her kick some serious ass, that's how.

Of course, since I don't want to use any of the crap-tastic cookie-cutter WP themes everyone else uses, and since I understand web coding about as much as Michele Bachmann understands politics, I'm gonna have to pay somebody. Fortunately, there are companies out there that will convert your Photoshop documents into a WP template for the measly pittance of a slightly used bar wench and a handful of Spanish gold, so I think I'll give that a try.

. . .

There's probably more thing I want to do that I can't remember just now, because it's early and I'm still nursing my first cuppa Joe, but those are the biggies.

Now, writing?

Uh....

I just don't know. I only have so many hours in the day, and cloning technology is still dabbling with livestock. So we'll just have to see.

I have a middle grade book that I abandoned halfway through, one that I do like, but the story kinda got out of hand, and may need rethinking. Or, maybe I'll start something totally new.

Regardless (and please note I didn't say "irregardless" because people who say "irregardless" deserve to be punched in the throat) let's hope it's a good year. Even if it's crazy, let's hope it's a good crazy.

Studio Tour: My desk

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:54:00 +0000

I've seen a lot of illustrators show their workspaces in the last couple of years, mostly at the request of other illustrators, who are—let's be honest—the only people in the whole of Midgard who would actually care what an illustrator's studio looks like.

If you happen to be curious what this or that illustrator's studio looks like, let me save you a little time and sum every single one of them up for you right here: small and cramped, lots of art supplies, crap everywhere, a Mac, usually a Wacom tablet, tons of art reference books they never look at, and coffee. Oh, and more often than not, a cat.

There. Mystery solved.

Now, the workspace of LORD INGVARD THE TERRIBLE—illustrator, viking, dude—on the other hand, is much different, and far more interesting. So, I thought I would do everyone a favor by quelling all of your uncontainable curiosities and giving everyone a glimpse of where the magic happens.

It's cozy, but with room enough to afford all the luxuries of being a viking warlord, such as weapon racks, barrels of the finest quality root beer, and an unending supply of pickled herring sandwiches, without which I would be completely unable to work.

BEHOLD! My mad drawing skills!

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:51:00 +0000

Just for funzies, I thought I'd record the process of finalizing one of the sketches for the sequel to my blockbuster international sensation, award-winning eBook "Pajama Girl", written by the lovely and talented Sarah Perry. I made rough thumbnails for the whole book, then scanned them and tightened the sketches in Photoshop.

This isn't a time lapse video, though. Just so you know. I actually draw that fast.

Can't touch this.

Final sketches for PJ2

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:44:00 +0000

The final sketches for PJ2 are almost done. Here's a peek of my Photoshop files thus far. Some of these pages I may break up into two, but we'll see.

Once these are approved, it's on to final art!

Sketching with your finger

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:30:00 +0000

I caught this video from illustrator Will Terry this weekend, and it's got me thinking. He talks about how his studio workflow is now basically paperless. He's been using a regular computer and Photoshop to render the final illustrations, naturally, but he's always used good ol' pencil and paper to do any sketching.

Now, it seems, he does that digitally, too. He uses his iPad and an app called Brushes and his finger. Yep, not a stylus—his finger. Give this a watch and he'll explain why, as well as take you through his process:

I can definitely sympathize with a lot of the frustrations he mentions about sketching on paper. Not just running out of room, but I might sketch one thing just the way I want it, but the rest would need to be re-done, or one thing's the wrong size, etc. etc. Rather than mess with all the tracing paper and light table crap, I'd scan it and play with the sketch in Photoshop until I got all the pieces the way I wanted them.

Once I got a Wacom Intuos pad, I tried doing my sketching on that for a while. It was nice to be able to skip the scanning process, but I still felt somewhat of a disconnect between what my hand was doing and where my eyes were looking. Drawing the old fashioned way—pencil on paper—gave me better, more natural results.

After seeing this, however, I'm beginning to wonder if I shouldn't give digital sketching another try. Like Will mentions, there's bound to be a learning curve drawing with a finger instead of a pencil or stylus, but if one could get over that with a little practice, then maybe all the benefits he mentioned are worth it.

One side note: He mentions emailing the images from his iPad to his computer, but if you have iOS5 and Mac OS Lion, I would think the automatic syncing should take care of that. If not (I haven't tried it), I've used an app called PhotoSync to transfer images between iPad, iPhone and iMac that works pretty smoothly.

Anyone else tried this?

Cowboy spread

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:56:00 +0000

Here's a peek at the first finished spread of one of the ebooks I'm working on. I chose this particular spread to be my first because it featured all of both main characters, plus the horse and mule. That way I could make all of my color decisions and build a custom color palette that I can use from here on out.

Now, this scene contains some lighting effects—a purplish hue for the shadows and a yellowish one for the light areas—that alter the basic colors. But each time I make a page, I'll start by coloring them according to the custom palette (right).

One thing I don't like about Photoshop is that I can't organize colors in any kind of group or folder like I could if I were working in Illustrator, in which case my color palette would look like this:

Cowboy Story

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:00:00 +0000

As it happens, I've started working on two digital picture books lately. One is of course the afforementioned sequel to "Pajama Girl." Here's a list of some possible titles we're working on:

Pajama Girl 2: Electric Boogaloo
Pajama Girl 2: Judgement Day
Pajama Girl 2: I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
Pajama Girl 2: The Search for Spock
Pajama Girl 2: Back 2 Tha Hood
or maybe just
Pajama Girl Strikes Back

As for the other story, it's a fun little western tale that should be pretty awesome, I think. Almost immediately after reading the text, I had a number of images in my head of many characters, settings, etc. Here's a bunch of sketches thrown together.

This is a tighter sketch of what I've decided on so far. I'll soon be doing some color testing, so things may change. Never know.

It just occurred to me these two could very well be discussing digging up gold, or the best place to bury a body.

"Pajama Girl" nominated for a Cybil

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:32:00 +0000

Okay, so it's up against approximately 637,921 other digital children's books, but hey, as the Botox-lipped starlets in Hollywood are so fond of saying, "It's an honor just to be nominated."

And speaking of "Pajama Girl", it looks like there will, indeed, be a sequel. Fortunately, Brett Ratner is definitely not directing. But this time around, we'll see a new character introduced. Fortunately, he will definitely not be played by Shia Labeouf. Here's a little peek...

Chinese Goldilocks & the Three Bears

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:01:00 +0000

I've always thought it would cool to produce a Chinese version of the old story of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." Anyone with a better understanding of Chinese history and culture care to write it, get it accepted by a publisher and then convince said publisher to have me illustrate it? Great, thanks...

Full disclosure. This is actually a reworked presentation of an old illustration. I've been having so much fun comping up my illos on made-up photographic backgrounds, I thought this one would look cooler that way, too.

Clue: Miss Scarlet in the Hall with the Candlestick

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Part 6 of a series of portfolio pieces, exploring my take on perhaps the most awesomest board game ever conceived and produced by modern man: "Clue".

Clue: Mrs. White in the Conservatory with the Rope

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Part 5 of a series of portfolio pieces, exploring my take on perhaps the most awesomest board game ever conceived and produced by modern man: "Clue".

Clue: Mr Plum in the Library with the Wrench

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:10:00 +0000

Part 4 of a series of portfolio pieces, exploring my take on perhaps the most awesomest board game ever conceived and produced by modern man: "Clue".

Clue: Mr Green with the Revolver in the Study

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:58:00 +0000

Part 3 of a series of portfolio pieces, exploring my take on perhaps the most awesomest board game ever conceived and produced by modern man: "Clue".

Clue: Mrs. Peacock in the Ballroom with the Lead Pipe

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Part 2 of a series of portfolio pieces, exploring my take on perhaps the most awesomest board game ever conceived and produced by modern man: "Clue".

Clue: Colonel Mustard in the Billiard Room with the knife

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 22:23:00 +0000

Part 1 of a series of portfolio pieces, exploring my take on perhaps the most awesomest board game ever conceived and produced by modern man: "Clue".

Sugar Plum Fairies! Teddy Bears! ... gag

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:59:00 +0000

Showing off a bit of recent work, but I want to make it perfectly clear that, as not only a man, but an extremely handsome and masculine one at that, I do not condone or support such fluffy, emasculate activities as ballet or teddy bears or coloring things pink or drinking tea (though I am a respected connoisseur of chocolates and cakes). These were made for an assignment, got it?

A little pride, a little prejudice

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:45:00 +0000

Somethin' I been workin' on. I've been trying a slightly different style with this, just for the fun of it. Well, I guess I'm drawing characters the same, but the way I color it is somewhat different.

Pippi's done

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:57:00 +0000

Aaaaaaaand here's the final Pippi Longstocking illo from the Uncovered Cover Art blog.

Just curious

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 04:12:00 +0000

I try to respond to people's comments on my blog, but I wonder, does anyone ever see those responses? I hope so. I love everything everyone writes, I'm so thankful for all of you...

Illustrators! The Girl Effect book cover campaign is on!

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:47:00 +0000

As I mentioned a little while ago, Heidi over at Uncovered Cover Art has begun a great little campaign to help The Girl Effect (which in turn was inspired by Tara Sophia Mohr's efforts) and I've been excited at the idea of helping out. I've even got a fancy-pants widget to slap on the ol' blog while it's goin' on (look over there on the right). And here's a peak at my submission (I'll link to the finished piece once it's posted):

So, what's it about? Simple: when we invest in a young girl’s education in the developing world, she grows up to a woman who can support herself and pull her entire family out of poverty. Research now shows that investing in a girl’s education is the most effective solution for fighting poverty globally.

Now, what's your part? Easy peasey.

1) You're an illustrator, right? You illustrate the cover of an existing kids book that features a strong, hear-me-roar kind of girl character (you don't have to mess with the typography if you'd don't wanna, just the image).

2) Submit it to Uncovered Cover Art.

3) Here's the cool part: for every cover sent in, Heidi herself will donate 5 bucks to the cause. If you want, you're more than welcome to pitch in yourself. Doesn't take much: $1, $5, maybe $10?

4) Tell all the illustrators you know. Let's see some awesome covers and help a great cause.

I myself have just finished mine, and I'm about to send it to Heidi the moment I get done typing this.

Some progress on Pippi

noreply@blogger.com (Ingvard The Terrible) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:27:00 +0000

Loose sketches, scanned, combined, tightened:

The scratchboard finished, some basic color laid down:

One of the unsettling things about scratchboard is that, in it's initial form, all those dark lines make the whole thing look incredibly "heavy" and, well, dark. Once it's colored, much of the internal "shading lines" will be lightened with color.

Next, full coloring, then type, then put on cool Photoshopped background like my other book covers. Then, a celebratory mug of root beer and some pickled herring on a cracker.

On second thought, I think I'll have that now.