Exclaim! contents page illo

It's taken me a couple weeks to track one down, but I finally found a copy of the October issue of Exclaim! I'm really impressed with how well my illustration printed. I'm always unsure how well the texture in my work will come out on newsprint but all the parts I enjoy are visible. Hooray!

I have to admit that I haven't been drawing lately. I'll get back into it soon as I have a ton of ideas that I'm excited to work on. However, at the moment I have a huge to-do list that has been neglected for months. I really feel like I need to take care of some of that stuff, as well as take a small break from art, before I jump back in. Besides, one of the things on my to-do list is to clean my studio as it has gotten out of control and I like working in a clean space. Of course, I'll still take on any work that comes my way...

Joy Division Portrait - Final

© 2007

Sorry for the delay. I didn't have time to post this yesterday.

Joy Division Sketch

© 2007


This is a sketch for an illo I just finished for Exclaim! It's a portrait of the band Joy Division. The were popular in the in the late 70's. The lead singer committed suicide and the remaining band members went on to form New Order. I put those 3 members on a separate branch for that reason. In the research I did about the band I found that they were described by the media as being "doom laden" and that death, sadness, anger, bitterness and loss were recurring themes in their music. I love using crows/ravens as metaphors for death and I love drawing birds so it seemed like a good solution. I wanted to incorporate the birds somehow and eventually arrived at using the bird's bodies. The art director wasn't crazy about my idea when I first suggested it, but he liked the sketch. That just goes to show that if you have an idea that you like, draw it even if it's not what the art director had in mind. They don't always know what they think they want.

I'll post the final tomorrow.