Disaster preparedness illustrations for the developementaly challenged

I was commissioned to do a series of illustrated pages for developmentally challenged adults who are living on their own showing what to do in case of an emergency. The emergency scenarios varied from natural disasters such as flooding to man made disasters like terrorism. The challenge for me came not from the sequential aspect of the illustrations, but from the direction that I was not to use any words. The illustrations had to instruct the viewer what to do through the images only. I had fun working on this project and hope it helps people out there who might use it.

Daily Sketches

Novak Birch Super Team Force Go!

I just received a copy of the manual I did for Choice Hotels via. the great people at Novak Birch in Baltimore, Md. So I did a quick drawing for them as a thanks.

Terror of the Carnage Beast

Illustration for the 8th Annual Video Boater Film Fest in Fayetteville, WV

Choice Hotels Comic Guide for thier In-House GIS System

I was commissioned by the good people at Novak Birch in Baltimore, MD. to illustrate n instructional guide for an internal computer program used by Choice Hotels. It was a fun project and the entire creative team was a joy to work with.

Punch-Drunk, Defender of Portland's nights

Random Sketches

Just a few warm-up sketches, and marker exercises.

Early Morning Sketch to Music

My favorite song

Drink & Draw Session 4

It's been a few weeks since I last attended a Drink & Draw in Portland, I just got my scanner hooked back up and here are my latest figure drawings.


This is my favorite model.

Surfin' Sundays Assemble!

Here is a little breakdown of the process. Two concepts were created, this is the version chosen by the client. For this piece I created two separate illustrations and combined them together for the final illustration seen above.


NORSE, the God of Rafting (Norse is a popular raft guide paddle, very heavy like Thor's hammer)

The Raft-Avengers


The sketch created from the thumbnail.


Initial thumbnail sketch


Sketch 2, not chosen but I love the Hulking Raft monster in the background


Thumbnail sketch for unused concept.

Flash of Green Light

Drink & Draw weeks 2 & 3

Any and all artist in PDX need to check this out. Every Monday evening at 7:30 at the Canvas Bar in NW Portland.

Flossophy 101 Storyboards

Here are some storyboards for a children's music video called "Flossophy 101" It is promoting flossing

Drink and Draw!

The Canvas Art Bar & Bistro in NW Portland has a great event every Monday. Drink & Draw. Good drinks and food while the Bar supplies a model dressed in cool costumes. A must for anyone who has been jonesing for a figure drawing session.

New High Score

The Rumor Mill

A series of sketches I did for my friends collection of Umbrella Academy character sketches.
This is The Rumor.

Evolution of a Pin up

First I start with a rough figure drawing. It actually starts rougher than this. But this is the earliest saved version I have. In this stage I am trying to get the pose I want, and the general shape of the figure.

After I have decided that I like the shape I try to slowly work in some of the detail, and add a bit of weight to the drawing. Here I have started playing with adding the helmet. I have a really difficult time drawing hats, and helmets.

A big jump here to giving our heroine the rest of her gear, pfd, and her skirt. The helmet is getting more dialed in, and a few lines represent her rash guard and shorts. This is where I start to add details like her face, it takes a bit of experimenting to get the proportions right. I've also started to add a touch of shading, to establish a light source.

My next step is to outline the drawing, this cleans it up, and allows me to give it the slick look I want this piece to have.

I continue now with adding line weight to the outline, and my heavy dark areas.

I have a few kayaks around the house, so I use my new favorite as a reference for this illustration.

After I have completed the drawing to a cleaned up state, I change it into vector art so that I can easily manipulate the colors.

Some of the only restrictions I had with this illustration was I could only use 3 colors, including a background color. Here, I've tried to make three colors seem like more than that. And I've added a touch of shading, to further convey a light source.

Lastly, I add my text. I'm not as strong of a typographer as I am an illustrator. But I'm reasonably happy with the results here. In this stage I also utilize a few geometrical design elements to give the illustration a bit more pop, and more of a complete design feel, instead of just a drawing. I wanted it to convey a 50's pin-up feel. I think I got it pretty good. I hope you've enjoyed seeing this illustration evolve!