Earlier this year I created a series of space-themed illustrations for San Francisco start-up Helios. I approached them a bit differently than illustrations I’ve done before, working with shape as well as line (my old stand-by). Though these started as line drawings and shapes drawn with ink, they were then vectored and collaged together in Photoshop, and then embellished with textures and overlays. (A process I also used when creating the Living California wildlife map, which I documented over at Ten Paces & Draw.) You can see some of the sketches for these here on the blog. And be sure to see the entire set or visit Mattt Thompson’s use of them at Helios.io. Really pleased with how they came out and excited about Helios’ launch today! Thanks and congrats Mattt! 

Wanted to share a few sketches for an awesome freelance project I’m working on. I’ve got three simultaneous projects going at the moment; enjoying each one. Really grateful to be able to spend my days drawing fun things like these. Looking forward to sharing the completed pieces soon!  

Howdy friends! As you may or may not know, I’m a big stamp nerd. So I decided to start a blog called Stamp Drawer where I share the stamps I collect as well as stamps I’ve designed & illustrated myself. Here’s my first design, commemorating the upcoming Year of the Snake! 

Happy 2013 friends! This morning I’d like to share a holiday card illustration I did for one of my favorite clients, CharlieDog and Friends. I’m traveling right now but am really looking forward to getting home and starting some new projects. I think 2013 is gonna be the best yet—I have a few lofty goals, including getting going on my first children’s book—and I’m super excited! Thanks for sticking with me over the last couple years as I’ve navigated through the freelance illustration maze, developed relationships with some truly awesome clients and created some pieces I’m pretty proud of. 

Guys! I made a gift guide for Ten Paces and Draw today, with items selected just for the quirky and creative kids in your life! Head on over to the blog to see where you can get all these rad things. But for those of you in San Francisco, I made it a point to include things you can pick up locally! Some of my favorite shops carry several of these items, including Rare Device, Paxton Gate Kids, Sou Sou and Muji’s new SOMA store. 

I REALLY enjoyed putting this together and may create more for this blog in the new year! Would you like that?

Continuing with the holiday illustrated infographics, here’s “Snow Day”! Let’s celebrate days home from school spent stomping through the snow! Available as a print from Cuddlefish Press.

Are you excited about Turkey Day? I am! I’m a vegetarian, though, and have never dressed a turkey. I made this little infographic for newbs like me. You can bring a little humor home this Thanksgiving by getting the print here. 

Here’s the line drawing. And the Japanese brush pen I use for 75% of my ink work. 

And here’s the original sketch. This was a super fun little project. I’m making more holiday infographics as we speak. 

Ten Paces and Draw is, hands down, one of my favorite illustration blogs. I’m sure I’ve mentioned it previously, but I’m so impressed with what Alyssa Nassner has built it into over the last couple years. Originally a collaborative illustration blog (it still is), it now also interviews artists & art directors, hosts character redesign projects, provides “unsolicited advice” about the illustration business and invites illustrators to share their processes with its readers. It’s become an awesome resource that I return to again and again. So I was humbled when Alyssa asked me to contribute a post describing my process for creating my Living California wildlife map. I wrote this back in September but forgot to share it here (sorry!). If you’re interested in how the map was planned, sketched, inked, lettered, vectored, composed, colored & designed, take a look! Oh! And the finished map is available as a print from Cuddlefish Press.