Assembly Line Collectives: You Lucky Bastard Tour

I was asked to participate in the You Lucky Bastard Tour, in Vancouver, Canada at the Assembly Lines Collections. It starts on April 15th from 7PM-11PM. Its at 88 West Pender St. on the 2nd floor. It's an amazing gallery and I'm hanging up next to some major talent! I'll have three pieces in it! If you are in the area definitely check it out!

For more info check out this link.

Los Feliz Figure Drawing

Recently I've been attending the Los Feliz Figure Drawing Workshop in Los Feliz right off of Kingswell and Hillhurst. Here's the link. It's such a refreshing thing to do as I haven't drawn from life since I graduated CCS in the Spring! I was a bit rusty but got back into it pretty quickly! I really love drawing from the figure, its extremely relaxing and there are no deadlines! I plan on attending as much as I can. For those of you in Los Angeles that haven't been there yet, check it out. Here is some info from their website:

"We are hosting lifedrawing and painting workshops Monday and Thursday evenings from 7 to 10 pm. Both evenings are twenty-five minute poses for uninstructed drawing. We are located at 4451 Kingswell Ave, at the Northeast corner of Kingswell and Hillhurst in the heart of Los Feliz Village. There's a long driveway and we're all the way at the back, through a little courtyard to a burgundy door. The donation is fifteen dollars per session on a pay as you go basis."

Camping at the Malibu Creek State Park

I've been meaning to post about this since Halloween. My newly married friends Molly (Jacques) Erickson and Cody Erikson, and myself went camping at the Malibu Creek State Park instead of the normal Halloween deal. Sorry Trick 'r Treaters. :) We had a great time camping under the stars, hiking through the mountains and taking plenty of pictures. Well Cody did anyways, I totally forgot my camera!

We only spent for two days but it was definitely a refreshing experience to be out in the woods again. I'm a Michigan boy through and through so I need woodsy fresh air once in awhile. I'm happy that I went on this last minute adventure because I love making good memories with my best buddies.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK 3D TRADING CARDS: TOPPS CARDS

A few months back, I was contacted by Topps Cards to create 106 Empire Strikes Back sketch cards. Every morning I would start sketching 1 or 2 of these, while watching clips from my favorite Star Wars... that's right The Empire Strikes Back!

Seeing as though I've been a long time Star Wars fan I could turn down this opportunity to draw Storm Troopers, Star Destroyers, and the whole gang!

Topps Cards was also nice enough to send me a whole box of the trading cards! I will be auctioning these off very soon however I thought I would make a Pre Auction Sale to readers of this blog as well as Scoundrel Art Community Forum Members.

My Summer at Mattel and Matchbox

Starting off I was a lazy/scared photographer this summer. Unfortunately I didn't take any of these pictures. I actually didn't know all the rules about photography and confidentiality at Mattel so I just passed on the whole thing. So instead I just ripped these from the web, much better right? :)

It's been a crazy couple of months. I graduated from the College for Creative Studies in Illustration. (Pictures will follow.) About three weeks after that I waived goodbye to all of my friends and family, flew out to Los Angeles, unpacked my bags, and designed toys all summer. That's right I worked at Mattel (Matchbox Division) designing toys! It was an amazing and eye opening experience!

Basically I worked in Matchbox Plastic Division, where I designed a varied of toys. Two of these toys will be released in Fall 2011. I was given permission to post my orthographic drawings and final EA models after February (after their release at Toy Fair 2011.) I'll keep you posted.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) I did concept work for the rest of the summer for a toy line in 2012! The unfortunate part is that I can't show anything. :/ The fortunate part is if I could it probably would not come out at all. So I'm both sad and grateful! It was a great experience non the less.

I lived in El Segundo, CA for the summer. Only 10 minutes from Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, and all those other beaches. It was absolutely gorgeous and refreshing to go to the beach after work.

Now I've moved up to Los Feliz and all my friends from CCS have seemed to follow so we live in a 2 block radius! I am so excited! I'll post up a few pictures of my apartment as everyone has been hassling me about it. Take care and I'm glad to be back illustrating again!

The Illustration Board

I was recently contacted by my buddy Ryan Schuster who has created a forum for illustrators to connect and get critiques. I've made an account and flipped through the artwork pages and forums. It looks as though this is going to be a useful resource! There are a lot of great illustrators already on there so come check it out!

Link: The Illustration Board

Society of Illustrator's Student Competition 2010!

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Jules Vernes

I was pleasantly woken up on Friday morning to the news that I got into the Society of Illustrator's Student Competition 2010! I am extremely humbled and honored as there are a ton of amazing pieces in the show. Really I could not have done it without my family, friends, and teachers. They have been amazing supporters and I love them all.

If you happen to be in New York City between May 5th - 29th, the show will be at the Society of Illustrators.

Sketches