Drawn

The Hallowed Seam: PR3 – the new beautifully-bound James Jean sketchbook – drops tomorrow (July 29).

I’ve seen an advance PDF of the book and it’s gorgeous. More of the same flowing ballpoint pen sketches that we saw in the previous two volumes but this book has a lot more paints, colour and model-sketches as in the images below.

Update: Note from the publisher: The shipping date on Amazon was incorrect, “the book actually won’t be out until Sept/Oct 2009. It should be getting placed on the ship right about now.”

Also of interest:
Preview of Kindling: 12 Removable Prints by James Jean

In a recent blog post, illustrator Nate Williams shares his method for generating ideas for editorial illustrations.

The idea behind this methodology is similar to writing a song. There are only a few musical notes, but by rearranging their order, length and speed you can create an infinite amount of songs.

The Brothers McLeod have been blogging the process and making of their latest short film. Check out all the work in progress posts on their blog.

Previously:
Dogg
Animated coffee stirrers
Pedro and Frankensheep
Spamland

Thunder Chunky offers up a step-by-step look at the creation of a giclée print by Ben the Illustrator from initial sketch to final printed product.

Link: Ben the Illustrator’s Giclée Print.

JabJab’s latest original music video, He’s Barack Obama, which premiered at the White House Radio & Television Correspondents Dinner this week, is my favourite yet.

I visited the JibJab studios last month, and everyone was hard at work putting the finishing touches on this piece. It was great fun to see all the work in progress, and bless their hearts, the JibJab team has put all of it on their production blog.

Anyone interested in how these sorts of things are put together owes it to themselves to check it out — they cover the initial writing process, scratch music tracks, character designs, rough storyboards, and the production of all the design and animation. Don’t miss the unused stop motion sequence.

One of my new favourite crafty blogs that I’m excited to read every time a new post appears in my RSS reader is Geninne’s Art Blog.

She posts watercolour paintings:

Journal pages:

And hand-carved stamps like this one:

Don’t miss her Hand-carved stamp tutorial. I can’t wait to make some of my own stamps like this.

Scott Morse has been posting his latest book — Dawn of the Geargeads — on his blog for free, as he finishes it. He’ll be removing it shortly after it’s finished. As of this writing, there are 5 pages to go, so it won’t be long.

On his blog he describes the spontaneous process for drawing the book:

This comic was done in the course of about one workweek, all drawn on scrap panels. No pencilling was involved at all. The drawing was all done with Tombow brush pens straight ahead, one panel at a time.

Previously:
Noble Boy

Watch as Alex Noriega harnesses Photoshop to create one of his signature creatures:

(via Peter Pen

Related posts:
Alex Noriega
Alex Noriega’s New Look
Bob Staake in Real Time

A new site fittingly called The Tools Artists Use aims to look at just that. On the site you’ll find a growing collection of interviews with numerous artists all sharing the various tools and art supplies they use to create their work.

(Photo courtesy of Leandro Bierhals on Flickr)

Earlier in the week I snagged two books that both celebrated the importance of sketching, and they serve as great reminders as to the value of sketching and drawing for fun, practice, and experimentation.

Sketchbooks: The Hidden Art of Designers, Illustrators & Creatives by Richard Brereton

I’m certain there’s no wrong way to fill up a sketchbook, but y’know, there’s nothing like looking through the sketchbooks of other artists to see what else is possible as far as stretching one’s creative muscles, and learning to play on the page. In Sketchbooks, Richard Brereton invites us deep into the pages of several dozen artists’ sketchbooks.

It’s really quite amazing to see the breadth of creativity in something so private as these journals-of-process: doodles, colour studies, notes, rough typeface designs, life drawing, collage, and streams of consciousness… these precious books are lovingly photographed, and it makes me wish I could hold the actual pieces in my hands. I’m keeping this one close to the drawing table.

Sketch Infectus: Doodles & Drawings from the Sketchbooks of Joe Bluhm

I’ve written about Joe Bluhm‘s inhuman caricature abilities before, and this book lets the reader dive into Joe’s personal sketchbooks in an attempt to figure out how his brain works. As added value, the book is littered with quotes about sketching and advice from over 35 professionals including Steve Brodner, Philip Burke, Stephen Silver, Tom Richmond and John Kascht. (Full disclosure: I am quoted in the book as well)

Some sample quotes from the book:

“Illustration is about logic and clarity. In coming up with ideas there must be a space where they can be put down, examined, revised, recombined. It’s only through sketching that this can be achieved.” – Steve Brodner

“Sketchbooks are where you should make your mistakes; don’t be afraid of generating brain-farts and pencil-vomit.” – Joe Bluhm

“You can never waste a page in a sketchbook or waste money on a sketchbook. Fill ‘em up fast, and a buy a new one as soon as you can.” – Aaron Philby

“Keeping sketchbooks is a very private meditation on where I’ve been and where I hope to go as an artist. Revisiting where you were artistically can be very therapeutic.” – Ed Steckley