Rain : Rain : Rain : Flood!

This week’s Illustration Friday word is Rain. I found this very interesting because I just completed the cover art for PONY WOMBAT AND THE SECOND ARK. Now if ever there was a story about rain, it was Noah’s Ark. Forty days and forty nights… that’s a lot of rain!

You can preview the book for free! (aren't I nice!) or you could buy a copy (aren't you nice!)



front cover



back cover

The Story:

Third grader Pony Wombat has the idea to recreate the story of Noah's Ark using his pet collection and a rubber raft. Pony pretends his backyard is the ocean while he waits for his pool to be filled.

When the neighborhood bully Morton shows up, he makes fun of Pony. That is until the backyard pool cracks and the surge sweeps everyone down the street in one giant wave.

The seemingly miraculous occurrence gives Morton the idea to start a club that recreates Bible stories. Unfortunately Morton’s flawed understanding of the Bible ends in some silly disasters.

It's up to Pony to stop Morton before things really get out of hand.

Buy a copy today! Come on, it’ll be fun!

Hurricanes Win Stanley Cup

At 5 o’clock, Jim leans over my cube wall. I have an extra ticket to the game. You want to go? (derr!) Go to the ATM and meet me at the Eye. …. I run into him in the parking lot. He hands me my ticket. Game on.



Outside, the band played Ozzy, Crazy Train but changed the lyrics. I’m going off the rails on a Hurricane. Stormy comes off the stage and we hang.



Inside the place was crazy loud. Nobody sat. Not even the white haired granny sitting in front of me. The people were an interesting mix. Some guy Max sat behind me. He drove down from Virginia and had never been to a game before. Max was excited to say the least. He adopted Jim and I as his new bestest friends.



The horn sounded, the confetti dropped, the streamers flew… my voice is gone!



Cam Ward was awarded MVP. Good for him!

In the parking lot, the fat guy with no shirt and beer running down his face screaming, "celebrate!" ... high fives me. Beer splats off our hands. OK celebration over. Dude, go take a shower.

Portrait

Last weekend I took my sketchbook to the beach. I wanted to do a few gesture drawings of the kids playing in preparation for a new picture book dummy I’m starting. Later, I’ll turn these sketches into illustrations for the story. I thought these sketches would work for this week’s Illustration Friday word, Portrait.



This is a sketch of my daughter done in a small beach café waiting for our food to come. I asked her for a snotty pose : )



These are some color sketches I did later at home using the first sketch as a reference.