Jon Stewart sketches

i like these as quick studies but not as finished drawings. they are a bit too literal for me. but i would like to do more caricatures in the attempt to maybe get more caricature work. anyway, jon's a funny funny guy and deserves a drawing! i once met him in a bar and he bougth me a beer. nice guy!

character roughs for new books series

just follin around with some drawings for a little chihuahua character for an upcoming book I am writing and illustrating. This little guy is 'Zilla'. Also pictured, is the size comps for the whole cast in the book.

final 4 Junk Band paintings are complete!

I'm all done!!! Now just need to frame these four and bring them to the gallery with the other three! Should be a good show!

Home Insurance

just a quick spot illustration...

first three JUNK BAND paintings are complete

SCBWI Contest Entry

Created this for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Halloween Illustration Contest. The goal was to illustrate a middle or high school football half-time show taking place on October 31st.
http://www.scbwi.org/contest.htm
Originally, it was going include other monsters (but I ran out of time)... The conceptual sketches for the monsters are below.

BILLIONS OF BATS, artwork complete!

Above is the cover and below two spreads from my third book, Billions of Bats. Now it goes off to my publisher for design owrk. It's due out in January! Now time to get started on another book and a few side projects!

Quick spot illustration

This little guy was originally a design for a contest at my gym. Design your own smoothie. Now, Im no smoothie expert... but there were NFL tickets as a prize... I figured, I whip up a character and throw a few ingredients together and call it "Move Over, Hang-Over!"... who wouldn't want that!? The only thing I didn't figure was the due date. It was due the following day that I saw it. Oh well. I wanted to finish it anyway, so here it is!

Was able to do this in under 2 hrs!

JUNK BAND UPDATE 90 - 95% complete!

Rough Character Sketches

(above is the proposed finished color of the Stink Bug and his snail)

These beauties are preliminary sketches for a book I am working on. They'll be pushed and pulled a bit and will definitely be subject to the publisher's revisions/additions. I also want to simplify all of them. It's always tougher for me to start simple. I have to pare a drawing down through a series of eventual drawings..

Junk Band UPDATE

These are a series of 'Junk Band' paintings I am doing. There will be seven in all. These are the three most complete and they are still a ways awy from finish. This image does not at all do them justice (I'm actually quite happy and proud of these). This is as close to a style that I am happy with as I have been in a long time. Could be the start of something good. They are part of a show at a gallery in Canandaigua NY later this summer so I have to get crackin'. I will update more on these guys as soon as I have more to show... and a better quality image!


BELOW ARE SOME UPDATES (in various levels of completion)

This guy is only about 25% finished. :(



About 50% complete for this one.


Shes lookin' good but still only about 60% finished.


This guy strummin' the bass is the most complete of this bunch. I'd say he's at about 85%...

Snoozin'

Here's my lady nappin'

BLISSFULLY IGNORANT T-SHIRTS -- now available!

look stylish and show your disdain for George W... all at once!

Gimme Shelter

I made this painting on cardboard for the Gimme Shelter homless benefit show. http://www.gimmeshelter.co.uk
Check out the link! I wanted to have two pieces but didn't have time. Semi happy with this one.

Billions of Bats -- rough cover design

Here is the rejected version...

Here is the revised edition...

Here is the rough colors...

more changes...

Think i am finally done now... added some digital textures that (I think -- I HOPE) help it.

reworking an illustration, A LESSON IN REVISION

I am still not thrilled with the final outcome but it is FAR superior to my earlier attempt... I always hated it but have never gone back and totally reworked a finished illustration before...but this one just bothered me. It didn;t look stylistically like my other work and the text was far too digital for my tastes. I felt I had the Bush likeness down but it just was too bland. Not fun and cartoony enough -- not pushed enough in general. So I am happier in that regard, but I don't know, too much reliance on colored pencil, prehaps? I need to try working from start to finish in acrylics! A scary task for me!!!

Conceptual Character Art

These were some early concept designs for the main character of my first book, Robot Rampage... at that time, his name was Levi Wallace. The name would later change to Buzz Brainstorm (certainly flashier, but I was always partial to Levi).


Thought I had made it with this one...


..but at the last minute the publisher (the fine people at Stone Arch Books!) asked if he could be african american... done! And there he is, pictured alongside his little brother...

VIRTUAL STUDIO TOUR

... Actually, it's just three pictures of my studio that I added to the 'PROCESS PAGE' of my website!

See the rest of them at... http://www.smittycartoons.com/process.html It'll give you an idea of my everyday environment!

logo design

not at all my forte, but i owed a favor to a friend of my fiance's and whipped this up for him...

SUPER DAD!

another for the parenting mags... hopefully!

H2 Ramb-O

did this one for the 'Son of Rambo' site at http://www.sonoframbo.com/
Wanted to satisfy the criteria of that project (which is pretty wide open) while at the same time make something that was kid/parent-friendly, as I am trying to get some work from some parenting magazines, that I might have a few good contacts at.