Gotta Love a Man in Uniform

I really enjoyed my Information Illustration class during my last semester, especially since I had a chance to delve into the rich history of the North West Mounted Police. I feel like the mounties have the potential to reach almost mythological status akin to the likes of American icons like Wyatt Earp and Elliott Ness. I have probably ranted about my love of the iconic mountie before, specifically with regards to my creation Colonel Phantom.

But here is a project that details the initial march of the mounties across Canada. Based on historical journals and the illustrations of embedded illustrator Henri Julien, this comic was my attempt at making Canadian history accessible and fun and a comic book. I inked it quick and loose and I dig the spontaneous "on-site" sketchy look.

I wish I had the time to throw in some extra pages and more values but I may do that at a later date. Also my lettering is kind of meh. But the school deadlines, oh, how they loom!

Anyways, it's time to let the work speak for itself. Enjoy!

...But Seriously

It is hard to believe, but in less than one weeks time, I will be walking the stage at my convocation. Four years at ACAD went a hell of a lot faster than I'd anticipated. But then I consider all of the work that was done over those four years and it kinda feels like a lifetime.

I'm already feeling nostalgic but that may just be because I'm listening to Phil Collins as I post.

Here is another collaborative piece with one of ACAD's many uber-talented, graduating graphic designers, Dylan Mason. He was working on a rebrand of Sushi Bento and was having some trouble breathing some life into his little sushi mascots. I did some character sketches for him and he turned them into vectored gold. You can see the evolution here: the magic of collaboration! (*Nick's hands burst open and a million stars burst forth and float up into the stratosphere.)

These are the basic silhouettes I scribbled out to ensure each character's basic shape was unique.

Here is the final vector work by Dylan...

...and these were the provided sketches. They were super fun to do because Dylan invented eccentric personalities for each character. They'd make great little collectibles. 

I should also mention that the 2013 Calgary Expo has passed and it was a great time, as usual, thanks in huge part to amazing company from my pals Jason Mehmel and (Young) Neil Lalonde.

I did a lot of sketching this year and below you can see a sampling.

My first comic cover sketch. It made me super nervous ... and then it was super fun!

In other news, I now have an official portfolio site which you can find here.

Say the addy out loud. It rolls of the tongue!

Next time we speak, I'll have a Bachelor of Design. So don't make eye contact ;)

Bridesmaids, Handmaids, Drag Queens et Moi.

Well, my last class is less than a month away and things are picking up speed. Four years has gone by so damn fast yet it has felt like an eternity. But let's not think about time! Let's talk drag.

Not sure if you're familiar with Sharon Needles but she won season 4 of RuPaul's Drag Race and her knack for horror camp made her the perfect subject for my latest illustration assignment. This was lots of fun. I love messing around with the figure and rendering torrents of blood.

The design kids at school are working their asses off in efforts to complete their magazine projects, due next week I believe. It was a pleasure to donate some artwork. They are a mad talented bunch. The above images relate to an article about The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. The below image is a spot about a 1920s lady who's husband-to-be brought another lady home from Europe to marry. Ouch! And she stepped in to be the bridesmaid. Wha!?!

And here is a rather romantic image of my life as a freelance illustrator, surrounded by felines and sunshine. Those socks are way nicer than any I own... This was a submission for an online event which  I will talk about when it happens.

Not sure if you're a fan of IAMX but he's one of my fave acts of all time. Right now, 'dis my jam!

Lebewohl!

The Kids Are Alright

One of the jobs I've been working on this year during school was for a publisher in Toronto who creates a series of books for kids called Deal With It. The topics range from dealing with gangs, to cliques to bullying, and my topic was Homophobia. I think it's great that they are approaching these subjects in junior and senior high because it can be a rough time, as we all know. It felt really good to be a part of this. If you're interested, you can purchase it in advance here on Amazon.

That said, it was definitely a challenge because the illustrations for this included over a hundred unique characters of various ages, genders and cultural backgrounds, presented in spot illustrations, full page spreads, double page spreads and even some comic strips. It was fun playing around with the facial expressions, gestures and fashion.

I ended up doing the inking and colouring twice: once to submit the job as a school project, and again to meet the requirements of the publisher. In the end, all of the hard work was worth it and I'm pretty proud of the final result. Here are some of the choice pics. I think it's about 75% of it.

The cover image

Full page illustration

Double page spread

Some comic strips, sans speech balloons