A bit of this and that...

So, I haven't posted since after Thanksgiving. Bad! What I've been working on besides teaching classes are several paintings and some Flash animations. Today, I'll just post some info on the main animation I'm working on. It's inspired by my current surroundings - I live and work in the country right now so I got the idea for a country superhero.
When I start working with ideas like this one I always have to draw it out first. I find that I can create much faster that way than by trying to build it from scratch on the computer. So the first item is the result using Illustrator and the second is my sketch. I'm going to transfer this to Flash soon. The copyright marks are there because once one of my creations was copied as is from a sporting goods company from the Mid-East and used on all their products. I wasn't sure if I should be flattered or offended. :)

So Why Pencil to Pixel?

OK - So I first thought I would explain the name I chose for the blog - "Pencil to Pixel". I started out wanting to be a cartoonist, artist, or comic book artist when I was young. I spent a lot of time working on my skills. But my problem was choosing a style. I drew according to my mood or inspiration. So I could draw from life or pull stuff out of my imagination.
While I was working on being the "next DaVinci" or "next Charles Schultz" :) I decided to get a job in graphic arts. I liked it when I started because there was still a lot of hands on work involved.
Jump forward a few years and somebody was shoving a 40meg apple in front of me and calling me the Art Director. WOW.
I still was drawing but like so many artists turned graphic artist I just got too busy to devote time to what I loved.
I was drawing for companies but it was always someone's idea. VERY UNFULFILLING.
So I decided to leave my old life behind and shake things up. I quit my job, started freelancing, and spent more time working on art. Now I teach college (graphic arts, again) and am splitting time between art and education. That brings us to the "Pixel" portion of my title. I started out working and loving traditional art and now because of my job I have immersed myself daily in the design monster we call "ADOBE". This semester I was teaching out of every book for its design suite.
Anyway, that's the gyst of the reason for the blog title. I'm posting two samples today to show you my work. The
"Notice Me" is my cartooning style set to oil. The "Fish" image is part of a children's book done entirely in Photoshop after being drawn by hand. Feel free to voice your opinion.

Hi World Wide Web! It's my newbie post. . .

Hey, out there in webland! I'm just starting to post and will build in more content as time allows. I hope you find this blog interesting as I will be sharing with you what I do and know about everything creative.
Feel free to comment and say if you love it or hate it. If you are wanting to work in the creative fields drop me a line with any question you might have. I'll give you an honest opinion.