Boston Colorin'

Tired of the Boston yet? Here's a quick color test.

pencil rough : digital

Boston Drawin 3

blue col-erase

Boston Drawin 2

blue col-erase

Boston Drawin 1

blue col-erase

Christmas Card Conundrum 2010

graphite & digital || click to see larger

There is no project—personal or professional—that gives me illustrator's block like the annual Christmas card. So pervasive is this condition that I have not put one together for the last three years. We'll skip the suspicions I have about why this is and continue with the drawing part.

ballpoint pen || click to see larger

 Here's the original rough... not much more than a thumbnail.

graphite & digital || click to see larger

This was the original color of the card. After spending an hour on it, and then accidentally printing it on my grey-scale printer, I decided to toss the full color for the duotone version above.

graphite & digital || click to see larger

This is the color with the duotone laying on top of it. For me, this was a close second to the duotone. More wintery... how I am feeling this year.

Which color approach do you dig the most?

Bird Brained

My initials?

C. S. J.

See S Jay?

Ballpoint pen. Digital.

There's an irony here. Blue jays, while beautiful birds, are also bullies. I got no patience (nor love) for 'em.

Top Turkeys 2010

The Fort Worth Star Telegram is an excellent newspaper. I've been drawing for them for over a decade. For almost five years, I was their sports editorial cartoonist.

Every year they identify the top numbskulls of the year and crown their Top Turkeys. After a three year hiatus, they contacted me to 2010's batch.

Granted, some are more successful than others. Regardless, it's a really fun assignment.

BP

Charlie Sheen

The Dallas Cowboys

Dr Laura

Jesse James

Lindsay Lohan

Mel Gibson

Paris Hilton

Tiger Woods

Tom Hicks

© 2010 Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Sketchbook : Parrot

Drawing parrots is nothing new for me. One of the first things I drew as a kid was pirates, so many have come and gone. This one dropped in a few days ago.

Ballpoint pin

Sketchbook : Hound Doggin

I sat and sketched with my nieces and nephew over the Turkey Day holiday.

They have a bassett hound. While this is not, specifically, one of those fellas, it is a sad dog.

Col Erase Pencil, Ink

Getting a Head

Pencil. Digital.

A spot illo from a series on vague symptoms of indeterminate sickness.

I Draw Robots : 1

This little guy is part of a larger project. He has been in development for a while. While he may be no more than a stepping stone on the way to the final design, he's got some things working for me.

Original Sketch. Red pencil.

Pencil sketch cleaned. Digital.

DOMY Monster Show 2010

"Trouble Town" 8.5 x 11, Wax pencil

I was invited to take part in the Monster Show at Domy Books in Austin and Houston this year. I broke out the Prismacolors and let the medium do the talking. I channeled a "kid on the carpet" vibe for the set, of which this drawing is one.

A Wonderbar Birthday to Me

This is the cover to the book I am illustrating for Dial Books for Young Readers (part of Penguin Group). I submitted final illustrations. I'm getting feedback from the editorial staff and we'll tinker them. We're close to finished though!

I popped in at Amazon.com to discover the book is being released on my birthday—May 12, 2011.

Killing All the Polar Bears, One Sheet of Paper at a Time

18x24. All this real estate and invariably I draw right in the middle.

Comic Con NYC : Custom Sketches

Sorry some of these are blurry. I took them with my camera.

"No Mustard for Monsters"

For a Spiderman themed sketchbook. Not a single Peter Parker in there, so I added one.

Hellboy Bust : Fan Art

Here's the final and the original drawing. (Done for a draw blog I sometimes contribute to.) It lost something in the final that was in the original (where he was gonna have on a cowboy hat, but then you miss the detail of the horns).

The Missing Incredible Rockhead Books Arrive

I like when boxes of books show up at my house. The final two books of the “Incredible Rockhead” series (ages 9-12)—illustrated, but not written*, by me—showed up today.

You should get them.
 * Written by the brilliant Scott Nickel.

Death Goes for a Drive : Circa '55

After watching a show on '32 hi boys, I had to draw me one.

Sketch. Pen & digital.

The Batman : Fan Art

I like my Batman in cloth, throwback to his early detective days.

Head and cowl detail.

Batman © 2010 DC Comics, Inc

The Batman : Pencil Study : Cowl (Fan Art)

Batman © 2010 DC Comics, Inc

Rogue's Gallery (Fan Art)

The Penguin

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Joker 1.0
This is "sad clown" Joker, and while I've worked some things out—I like the outfit—this is not my final version.

Batman © 2010 DC Comics, Inc

Town Musicians of Bremen : Development

Here's some quick development sketches for a print I've been thinking about doing for a while now.

I love the tale of the Town Musicians of Bremen. I have ever since I was a kid.

These sketches are 5 minute knockouts, to get the brain working.

But I haven't read it in a while, here's a few things I want to know before I move on.

1) Where did this go down? Can I take cues from the folk art of that land?

2) Who are these characters and what gender is each animal? (I don't remember. Obviously the rooster is a dude.)


....that's kind of it at this moment.

Rooster.

Cat with background, chopped. (This is what happens when you begin your sketch at the bottom of your sketchbook page.)

"In no way right cat." The cat needs to be streamlined, thin. This guy, well. He's too big and angry. (Sometimes you have to draw out the angry cat before you can move on... meaning, you got to start at wrong to find what's right.)

OTHER THINGS I AM THINKING ABOUT:

Another thing that will determine the characters is the balance of characters as a whole.

The shape will come with the integration of all four animals. Donkey. Dog. Cat. Rooster.

How do they fit together?

How much of their personality is related in the original story?

They end up standing on top of each other. What if one was too fat to be on top? (Comedic tension!)

Rockhead Covers

Here are the covers of numbers 2 and 3 of the series of graphic novels I illustrated for Stone Arch Books (Graphic Sparks). The covers (and books) were art directed by the talented and insightful Bob Lentz.

The first is available now!

Pre-order book 2. (Release date Aug 1.)

Pre-order book 3. (Release date Aug 1.)

A Beloved Boston

Boston Terrier study/sketch

Gorilla Editorial

The rough for client approval.

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In progress.
Pencil for the line. It's how I roll.

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The final cover illo.
(Note rotation of gorilla's bike for more visual interest, and also to make Triumph owners steamed at me for blowing it. Coulda drawn a Harley, guys.)

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The interior spot illo.

Produced for the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

© 2010 McClatchy Company

© 2010 C.S. Jennings