Watercolor Pumpkin Studies

In celebration of the approach of autumn, a couple watercolor pumpkin studies. Originals are approximately 9"x12". 

"We... are the Crystal Gems!"

These are part of a series I did of portraits of characters from Steven Universe, one of my favorite TV shows! It was a lot of fun drawing so many different body types.

All were drawn digitally in Photoshop with my Monoprice tablet and gouache brushes by Kyle Brush. 

The Most Happy Fella poster & other designs for YMTC

I created this illustration and poster design for YMTC Berkeley for their production of The Most Happy Fella. Above is the final version, and the basis for all the other graphics promoting the show. 

This show was particularly tricky for me, because I was rather turned off by the story of the show. I had trouble celebrating the main character and central romance. We went through way more drafts and looks than we usually do. So there are a few versions below that I love visually but didn't do enough to convey the story and feel of the show. I especially like the one directly below. The love letters give a hint of the story, but perhaps not enough of one. 

The whole thing was drawn digitally with my tablet and using shapes in Illustrator, to be printed as both 11"x17" posters and smaller postcards.

The above design was an iteration of another pretty but not-story-ful draft, below:

Here's one where I tried to bring in the people and the romance, but still note quite the right vibe:

Here I'm getting close. Can you tell I love decorative borders? 

Awesöme Orchestra postcards

Closing out my series of belatedly shared design projects - here's a postcard I made last year for Awesöme Orchestra. Above are the 2 versions of the front that were printed, and below the back, which was the same for all of them. Really fun project for a great organization!

Website Design & Branding for YMTC

Here's another design project I'm posting a little belatedly - my design for YMTC's website. I also did a little branding work in that we're using the website color scheme and fonts on other materials, not just the site. Above is the mockup I created based on the wireframe I was provided, below is the color scheme along with the Google fonts used on the site. Check out the live site here!

Gender Creative Child - baby penguins

Here's another  illustration and flyer design for Our Family Coalition, this one for a workshop on gender creative and gender-nonconforming kids. Featuring an illustration of a two baby penguins dressed in a mix of gender-coded costumes. Drawn in Adobe Illustrator with a tablet. 

Parenting from Masculine of Center (MoC) - illustration and flyer

I realized recently I have a backlog of illustration and design work I haven't posted from my day job at Our Family Coalition! Here's an illustration and flyer design for a workshop on parenting from masculine of center. Featuring an illustration of a masculine parent playing with their yawning kid. Drawn in Photoshop with a tablet. 

Pet Portrait - Pepper

Pet portrait commission of this pupper, Pepper. This was a 5"x7" watercolor with gouahce accents, based on a photograph. This kind of commission, and more, can be ordered from my Etsy shop. 

Dog silhouette sketches

Watercolor and ink sketches and studies of doggies! Originals vary, but none are longer than 7" on their longest edge. Thinking about negative and positive space, the texture of pooling pigment, and keeping things simple.

Pie

Digital pie sketch.

Drawn digitally in Photoshop with my Monoprice tablet and gouache brushes by Kyle Brush. 

Spring Awakening poster & other designs for YMTC

I created this illustration and poster design for YMTC Berkeley for their production of Spring Awakening. Above is the version that was ultimately printed. Directly below is my favorite version, a somewhat self-indulgent take on secessionist art and poster design from the early 1900s (around the time the show is set). I just love the combo of rigid modern layout with the detailed floral patterns and decorated typefaces. Ultimately we went with a more "grunge" look to highlight the rock n' roll feel of the show. 

The whole thing was drawn digitally with my tablet and using shapes in Illustrator, to be printed as both 11"x17" posters and smaller postcards.

Below is a sketch of another direction we didn't go in - as you can see the text needed a lot of work (needs more refined curves, consistent line width, etc.) and it doesn't give enough information about what the show is about. 

Here's a less "grunge" version of the final.

Above is the illustration of the sad figure, below the illustration of the two lovers almost kissing. The one below is drawn from a photograph of the dress rehearsal of the show with the actors who really played these parts.

The postcard version of the graphic - always a challenge to have a design that can work both vertically and horizontally!

Another intermediate design between the full-on secessionist one above and the grunge filled final.

Turn the Page! Book Festival - May 6

Brook and I are going to a book festival at one of my all-time favorite places - FAIRYLAND! If you live in the San Francisco / Oakland Bay area and haven't been to Fairyland, you are seriously missing out. I hope that you (and any wonderful kids in your life!) can make it on May 6, from 10am - 4pm, for Turn the Page!

There are going to be some amazing children's book authors and illustrators there! Learn more about the event on the Facebook event page.

Below is a digital sketch I made of Fairyland itself. The shape, and the prominence of the shoe (of the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe) is inspired by this lovely vintage ad for Fairyland (further below).