Secrets of the Tooth Fairy, REVEALED

The Brief: I have some questions for the tooth fairy:
   1) People think you're small.  Are you small?
   2) Do you wear clothes?
   3) What's your name?
   4) Are you really a fairy or just a magic person?
   That's it.  Here's a drawing of me holding this note and a tooth.


The Response from the Tooth Fairy:



The Critique: I'm beginning to wonder if parents might leave these things...
Job Status: Under Review
The Backstory: TAD lost a tooth recently

Jon Foster on Cherie Priest’s Dreadnought, once and again

Here’s a situation where we got a great image from Jon Foster but...Marketing felt it was missed the steampunk mark a bit. I hated to admit it, because it is a great painting, but it does feel too solidly placed in actual history. So, giant steam robot to the rescue!

And through the wonders of the internets, the first still gets to live in the world.

For Cherie Preist’s Dreadnought, sequel to her Boneshaker. You can see another Foster-Priest collab set in the same world on Clementine, published by Subterranean Press.

UPDATE: For author squee.

Ice Cream and Frenchy on the Promenade

The Brief: A dog jumping up on me


The Critique: I like it! I want two scoops of ice cream. No, three scoops!
Job Status: Approved
Additional Comments: Daddy some dogs even don't have tails! They only have buttholes!
Artist's Note: Tiny A.D. was electrified by this idea and drew 4 versions of it. Below is my favorite.  This was done a while ago and is one of the pieces from the book that I hadn't posted yet:

More Silly Dinosaurs

The Brief: More Silly Dinosaurs



The Critique: Does pterodactyls has feathers? I don't think so. Mine is the best. I'm a bit more talented. And I've been practicing.
Job Status: Rejected. Art director to use her own piece, below



Artist's Note: I donated the original Silly Dinosaurs to the school auction so TAD asked me to make a replacement, but I agree hers is quite good.  Those are brachiosauruses, of course, but they also have blowholes like whales.

update: see the comments below - apparently TAD didn't make up those blow holes herself -- scientists did!

Contest and Article at Neatorama

Check out my article "At the Met with the Tiny Art Director" at Neatorama and enter our father's day contest while you're there: You can be the art director and tell me what to draw! best 5 entries get signed copies of Tiny Art Director: A Toddler and her Vision. The grand prize is the original art of the winning entry - spread the word and enter!

And just for fun here's a piece I just finished that might get critiqued soon...:
[EDIT -- see above for post!]

School Trip

Belsay Hall, Northumberland

A couple more images from the Extraordinary Measures show which is on at the moment in Belsay, Northumberland - this time showing the final work in situ as well. The last installation, School Trip, was placed on the visitor's scale model of the hall and grounds - the graffiti is still there too, English Heritage haven't buffed it yet :)

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A new book that I am featured in, Beyond The Street: The 100 Leading Figures in Urban Art by Patrick Nguyen and Stuart Mackenzie, is available now. It really is a brilliant book which not only weighs a tonnes but also has a tonne of photos and interviews with loads of amazing people from artists such as Jose Parla, Swoon, Judith Supine, and Blu, to websites like Wooster Collective, magazines such as Juxtapoz, as well as galleries, auction houses, web forums and art festivals. I am very proud to have been featured and if i could recommend one book about the tricky-to-pin-down street/urban art 'scene', this would be it.

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If you are in Los Angeles, check out the group show Booked at Carmichael Gallery. It opened this weekend at runs until 3rd July. It features a few of my pieces, alongside a load of other work by the guys listed on the flyer below, and a selection of books by the artists featured as well as many more.

Wish You Were Here

Belsay Hall, Northumberland


Creating 5ive-Alarm Concepts


"Creating 5ive-Alarm Concepts" Presentation.

FYI: This presentation has been updated since I posted this. The content linked to this post is still good but the updated presentation is only available through in person speaking engagements. If you'd like to invite me to speak at your event contact me here. To see dates and locations of where I'll be speaking next visit the Glitschka Studios facebook page.

Over the last three years I've had the privilege of speaking at the HOW Design Conference.

My two previous presentations were:
- HOW 2008, Boston: "Illustrative Design"
- HOW 2009, Austin: "Living a Creatively Curious Life"

And this year I'll be doing a presentation called "Creating 5ive-Alarm Concepts" which goes into how designers should think and always be expanding their knowledge base in order to facilitate original ideas.


Lots of notes, writing, and re-writing to refine the message.

Because of my trip to Africa I started my presentation production about a month late. I've been cramming non-stop for the last three weeks straight pulling all the information and research together I've collected into a coherent narrative. (At least I think I have?)

I take a lot of notes and over the last ten months or so I've been jotting down my thoughts and interviewing others about the whole realm of idea generation. How one goes about conceptualizing an effective design solution.

The end result is a folder jam packed full of chicken scratch notes and marked up print outs.


Frazzled.

I'm not sure why, but my mind as I work on a project like this often fluxuates between thoughts of "I think this is coming out pretty good." and "You're going to clear the room, or put everyone to sleep." In other words a lot of doubt pops up. These self-inflicted head games make the whole process harder. I suppose it's fear of failure?

A long time ago someone gave me some very wise advice when it comes to relaying information to others. They said:

"If it doesn't challenge and compel yourself, don't expect it to resonate with or compel others."


That has proven to be very true in many areas of my life.

In previous years I've had the audio supplied to me after the fact. The first time it worked out OK, the second time it was hostage quality and I just couldn't use it. I'm done relying on others for my content.

Whether you were able to make it to the HOW Conference or not, you can experience the presentation now. Download everything listed below, go through it at your own pace and hopefully glean something you can integrate into your own creative pursuits. (If I manage to get an audio recording I'll update the download but at this point no audio exists)

Files included in download:
- "Creating 5ive-Alarm Concepts" Presentation (PDF Format)
- Conceptual Method Diagrams (PDF Format)
- Complete outline notes of presentation (PDF Format)

Download "Creating 5ive-Alarm Concepts" Package (76 MB)

If you'd like me to speak at your local AIGA group, AdFed group, design event, school, in house art department, or side show circus just shoot me an email and lets talk.

Shaun Tan’s The Lost Thing trailer. In word, awesome!



Shaun Tan’s fifteen minute animated adaptation of his book The Lost Thing—the story of a boy’s empathy with a lost, er, thing and his attempts to help it find its place—is completed and making the festival circuit. If anyone gets a chance to see it, please report back! I’m dying to see it.

In the meantime, anyone else as in love with Shaun’s work as I am can play around on thelostthing.com.There are character studies, color keys and production drawings to see. And if that is not enough, check out this 5 minute documentary on the movie.

Our Natural Habitat

Extras
When we were putting the book together we weren't sure of the exact page count so I put together a few extras to have in reserve. Here is one I liked that didn't make it in:



Our Natural Habitat

The American Museum of Natural History is where we come for inspiration, and where the Art Director explains the difference between Crocodiles and Caimans, T-Rexes and Allosauruses, and wonders why they have a stupid Apatosaurus instead of a Brachiosaurus.

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