Jesse's Sketchblog

Teatime

2012-04-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

A little past pizza time

2012-03-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

Cute dragon….

2012-03-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

This is a little less scary. I'm actually teaching an illustration class, and we're talking about character design, so this will be a nice example of how shape affects character.

Whoa!

2012-03-06T19:54:00.000-08:00

This got a little more frightening than I had intended…

It's Pirate Monday: Boombox!

2012-02-13T14:10:00.000-08:00

Until the end of the 18th century, most boom boxes had only rudimentary controls including volume and port/ starboard balance. Megabass buttons were strictly for show.

The Newton Kansan

2012-01-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

Here's a nice little piece from the Meet an Artist section of the local paper. I enjoy and get a lot out of reflecting on my work, and yet I rarely do on my own. Note that this appeared before Christmas, note the last 4 words, and note I'm still working on a few of them….

NORTH NEWTON —Compiled by Wendy Nugent
What do you like about your art?
I like being surprised at where creativity takes me if I let it lead. Though I strive to be as clear and deliberate as possible, I enjoy hearing others make connections and interpretations that weren’t intentional. Also, it makes me smile, and that’s worth something.

How did you get started?
Like most of us, I drew when I was little, but I never stopped. After graduating from The American Academy of Art in Chicago (and before that Bethel), I got a job illustrating books and doing graphic design work for a marketing agency where I learned as much as I did when I was in school.

Describe a memorable moment from your pursuit of art and/or any schooling.
Most of my life I’ve gotten compliments from friends, family and schoolmates about my art. In my first class critique by a teacher who would end up being incredibly influential and important to me, he walked up to one of the student’s pieces on the wall, looked at it and said, “This? This is terrible.” He said it as nicely as you could, but at once I realized the line was pretty sharp between drawing for fun and drawing as a profession. I also realized what a powerful tool honest critique is, if you can bear it, and I’ve tried to incorporate that into other aspects of my life.

What are you working on right now?
Right now, I’m illustrating several pieces for two different grammar workbooks, designing images for a manual, and trying to finish some Christmas presents.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T14:55:00.000-08:00

Ba da, ba da ba bum...

2011-11-17T08:28:00.000-08:00

Hey!

Roadblock

2011-11-09T12:23:00.000-08:00

I found myself saying this to a friend the other day and kinda thought it was funny and sad.

Duck Crossing

2011-11-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

With apologies to Robert McCloskey. His books Make way for Ducklings and Blueberries for Sal are some of the earliest visual memories I have. The duck crossing scene in particular has always stayed with me.

Winter

2011-10-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

Octopus Juice

2011-10-17T09:25:00.000-07:00

As I was finishing this I realized it could be Psych fan art.

Monster Ball

2011-10-10T11:59:00.000-07:00

Flying away

2011-10-05T07:15:00.000-07:00

An actual painting

2011-10-03T12:18:00.000-07:00

Busy summer! Hopefully a busy fall, too. I've got a lot of new work to put up on the site. Even though it's almost 90° and hasn't rained since, like, May, I'm looking forward to fall days like this.

An actual sketch

2011-09-22T21:06:00.000-07:00

Ziggy Fins

2011-08-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

The folks down at Flint Hills Design and I finished a new game for the iPad and Android tablets! You can find out more here.

John Hamford

2011-07-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

With great respect, deep apologies, and sincere love for my hero John Hartford. This was for the fun website Dueling Banjo Pigs which invites illustrators to draw banjo playing pigs. There's a lot of great stuff in there.

Swinging

2011-07-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Trying out a new style and way of working.

The Frog King of Zimmerdale

2011-06-15T15:05:00.000-07:00

Agent Albert Rosenfield

2011-06-08T22:27:00.000-07:00

Weird Tales of the Strange!

2011-05-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

True story. Basically. Click the image to see the rest...

Happy Thursday!

2011-05-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

Thor! How great is Thor?! This was just going to be a pencil sketch, but before too long it smote all other competitors on my to-do list in order to hasten my ascendence as Jesse: God of Procrastination. With a single tap of my mouse, I can read about cheese. By my side, a ukelele. And, as Atlas supports the Heavens, forever trying to catch what my cat knocks off my desk.

Repaneled

2011-04-29T07:37:00.000-07:00

I did a piece for the Repaneled blog where artists reinterpret a panel from a comic in their own style. I repanneled The Fantastic Four #23, by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and George Roussos. You can see the original panel and my piece side by side here.

ADVENTURE TIME 2!

2011-04-25T15:28:00.000-07:00