Thumbnail Illustrations

For a few years I did a number of projects for the now, sadly, defunct Shaman Drum bookshop in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The work ranged from small in-store displays, larger window displays, an enormous installation for the children's section and some images for their website.

The images shown here were all done as illustrations for the website, meant to symbolize various categories of books being sold. The images were also designed to be viewed at a small thumbnail size of less than an inch in height, which is how they appeared in their header locations on the category settings.

The actual pieces weren't much bigger. Most were less than five inches in height. The visual components had to be simple and easy to read at such a small scale and also to visually encapsulate what they represented. I also tried to stay away from obvious clichés.

Since Shaman Drum is no longer with us and their website is now simply an announcement of closure, I've decided to post the images I created here, in an easier to view size. Click each image to enlarge. Keep in mind these were meant to be viewed much, much smaller.

The image at the top of this post was for "cultural studies."

                                                                       "Business"

 I think this one served double duty on "cookbooks" and "wellness."

"Environment and Science"

"Literature"

"Michigan and the Great Lakes"

"Language"

"Classical Studies"

"World Studies"

There were other categories that I never got to such as "History," "Philosophy" and "Poetry." There were some that were made for categories that ended up being dropped, and one other that I completed for "education," that I can't find the image for.

To see some of the other work I did for Shaman Drum, including the unused images for the dropped categories, look here and here.

This Blog Turns Six Today

Six years is hardly a milestone, but it's the first year I happened to notice when the anniversary of this blog took place. Initially begun with the intention of solely promoting new work of mine as it became available, this blog quickly morphed into something not quite so commercial and a bit more personal.

While many of the posts were announcements that the latest issue of a comic book series I was working on was now available for purchase, or that a television episode I wrote was airing, more and more of the posts ended up connecting to things that have influenced me and my work over the years, particularly the stuff that shaped me as a child, so suddenly there were posts on children's books that had an impact on me as well as posts celebrating the birthdays of figures whose work had their own influences on me, and the dark reverse side of that coin, posts marking the deaths of those who meant something to me whether I knew them in person or only through their work.

I also began to give a look back stage into the processes that I go through in producing my own work, which led to a companion blog aimed at kids which introduces them to as much material as I can come up with connected to visual storytelling. With that spirit of sharing in the process behind why and how I do things to create my work, for this anniversary I've decided to direct you to some of the material that I've posted here from the past six years that I think is most significant to the evolution of this blog.

1. Fun with Scissors - While 2005 had no posts worth revisiting (or even initially visiting), in January 2006 I began a series of posts that would slowly peter out to a halt at 121 in November 2009. Most of these posts happened in 2006. This was a daily collage of various tv cartoon characters that I created in real time each day until I got too busy with other things and had to let it fall by the wayside. This proved to be a popular series, and if you search for any random cartoon character, you are likely to find one of my collages as an example (sometimes the only example) which made it something of a useful resource. It brought in a regular stream of visitors, some of whom still stop by on a regular basis and led to some sales and some commissions. Many of these collages are still available for purchase at very affordable prices here.

2. The Children's Book Display - I created for the now, sadly, defunct Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor,  Michigan. This was the first time I'd ever constructed anything like this and I pretty much made up how to do it as I went along. I also took the time to record and share the process here from start to completion. This was the first time I shared the process of how I did anything. I did many more installations and illustrations for Shaman Drum which can be found here.

3. Countdown to Halloween - In 2006, myself and a handful of like-minded individuals independently posted our own 31 daily posts counting down the days to Halloween (my favorite holiday). Some of us were already in contact with each other, others found us (or vice versa) as the month progressed. The following year a formal list of links of participants was put together, followed by an official blog of its own. It is now an annual online event attracting over 250 participants last year and countless visitors. I'm proud to be one of the founding fathers of this event and to see it grow in popularity year after year.

4. Star Wars 30th Anniversary - In 2007, Star Wars (or as it's now known Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope) turned 30 years old. When that movie was first released I was at exactly the right age for it and it had a huge impact on me mostly because it was the first movie I'd seen set in a non-existent place that presented it that location as completely convincingly real. Unlike the usual gleaming, new, sterile white locations of most science fiction, in Star Wars everything looked, and sounded, like it really worked and had been used, and repaired a lot. This was a universe that real characters lived in. Every editor I've worked with, and many of my fans, have praised my world building abilities in my work. Thank this movie for it. For the entire month I put up a daily post on some aspect of Star Wars. In 2010 I did the same for the 30th Anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back no doubt I'll carry on in 2013 when Return of the Jedi turns 30.

5. Semi-Regular Features - Throughout the years, I've tried to settle into a schedule of regular posts of a particular type with mixed results. The first attempt, Random Objects in my Office never came close to having any regularity.  The second of my regular planned features, From the Archives grew out of my occasional postings of odd, or interesting items associated with some past project of mine. I later decided I was going to run this feature every Thursday, but didn't stick to that either. Right now I'm hoping to get it at least on a monthly schedule, and hopefully, bi-weekly. The most successful in both terms of regularly keeping to a set schedule, and usage, is my ongoing Ask Me Anything series, where visitors can literally ask me anything and I will answer. This post goes up on the first Monday of every month except October. My answers follow any time during the course of the month the questions are asked.

6. My second most popular post far above any other in terms of visits, except for this one which brought in more traffic over two days than this blog usually sees in months. Thousands of people stopped in to take a look at that collage thanks to Pee-Wee Herman himself, who kindly shared that collage on his social media sites including his facebook and twitter accounts.


So now, for the years to come, and in an ongoing effort to improve this blog, I ask you what you'd like to see that I haven't done yet, what you'd like to see more of that I have done, and what you'd like to see less of. Brutal honesty is best here.

Fall Update

My apologies for the lack of posts of late. I've been busy, busy, busy. In addition to the exciting world of freelance writing, I've also been constructing a number of large papier-mache pieces for a number of window displays at Shaman Drum Bookshop for the upcoming months. Because these things are easier to make outdoors, and dry faster when the weather is warm, I've been trying to get a bunch of these done all at once over the summer, which can cause some weird seasonal confusion when making a 4-foot tall snowman in 84 degree heat in September. I've also been trying to get as many other projects completed, and out of the way as possible, so that I can fully embrace celebrating Halloween for the entire month of October with work intruding as little as possible.

Speaking of Halloween, while the posts have been few and far between over the summer, beginning October 1st, there will be several posts a day here as I begin my second annual month long Halloween countdown. If you missed last year's check the archives. On October 1st, I'll tell you more of what you can expect this year.

In the meantime, here are a batch of small, quick, themed displays I put together for one of the alcoves in Shaman Drum's children's book section.

Nearly Headless Nick

With the new Harry Potter movie about to open, I thought it would be a good time to post this photo of Nearly Headless Nick. This prop, which included a belt and sword and scabbard, was actual size and featured legs which trailed off into an ectoplasmic tail. I built it (along with two Dementors) for the book launch party for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" at the now, sadly, defunct Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor, MI. Nick was suspended between two ceiling lamps over a table loaded with food for attendees.

For some reason I neglected to photograph Nick, or the Dementors, and this photo (courtesy of former Shaman Drum employee, Laura Grey) is the only picture I have.

Unused Collage Work

Towards the end of last year, I created a batch of collage pieces for the Shaman Drum Bookshop website. The pieces were meant to illustrate various categories of books in the store's inventory, and would be viewable only as postage-sized images. Because of this I had to take a more simplified, graphic approach to creating these illustrations; something that would be representative, and recognizable at such a small size, but hopefully, without resorting too much to cliche. This last part was tough to avoid as reducing the images to symbolic graphics, it became almost necessary to resort to cliches.

It was a fun exercise. The actual collages were pretty small as well. Most were no bigger than 4" x 5".

After creating these, the project languished as responsibility for the website changed hands, as did ideas for what would be on it. Now, many months later, my collages are back in action---with one slight change. The categories have been rethought, so that many of the collages I did are no longer necessary, and where new ones will need to be created for newly chosen categories.

The illustrations being used will most likely be up on the Shaman Drum website by Fall. In the meantime, here are some of the images that won't be seen there. These two were created to illustrate "Africa" and "CDs and DVDs"

I'll put up a couple more tomorrow.

Spot Illustrations

Between other jobs, I've been creating illustrations for the Shaman Drum Bookshop's website. These images are meant to illustrate a number of categories of books which they sell. Figuring out what single image best depicts a topic as broad as, say, "history," is a real challenge. You want something that's iconic, but without being too cliched, which is hard enough, but more difficult is choosing something that is discernable at the small 160 pixels x 200 pixels size that is required, while suggesting the category that it accompanies.

Because of their small size, I've tried to keep the images simple. there's not a lot of detail in any of them, and they aren't really meant to be viewed any bigger than the small thumbnail size indicated.

At this point, I think I've still done less than half of them, but if you're interested in seeing what's there, then go to this page, then arrow down where it says "browse by categories, on the right hand side of the screen. Click on the various categories. The images, such as the one depicted here for "Michigan and the Great Lakes" can be seen on the right side of each category page.

While you are there, why not pick up some choice reading for yourself.

New Images

I've been pretty busy of late, which is why there haven't been any new posts in a while.

Not too long ago, I created a few new images for the website for the Shaman Drum Bookshop which can be seen by going to to the right of the screen and clicking on "Browse By Category" scrolling down to each category you will be able to see the thumbnail sized images I created.

I've only got five left to do. For the most part they are a fun challenge. Coming up with an image that encompases an entire field of study and having it work visually in a space that's 160 pixels x 200 pixels in size takes some doing. I'm pretty pleased with what's there so far. What image I'm going to choose to represent all of "history" or "philosophy" is beyond me at this moment. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comments box.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 3

Some time ago I posted about a papier-mache Nosferatu head that I constructed for a display I was building for the Shaman Drum Bookshop for Halloween.

As you can see, Nosferatu is completed (though, like all vampires, proving difficult to photograph) complete with glowing eyes.



To dress up the window a bit without having to paint, and then repaint the walls, I created a castle-like setting for him with stone blocks and a barred window all completely cut out of paper and taped to the walls.




The interior of the store got a bit of the Halloween treatment as well. A corner of the children's section was webbed in with spiders.




Another sign was created for a display set on top of one of the low built in shelving units.

Now to get the decorations up in my house.

Harry Potter

The final Harry Potter book comes out in 20 days. To find out how you can possibly win this original 11" x 14" collage I created, contact the Shaman Drum Bookshop.

Illustration Friday - "Fortune"

Designed as a large thumbnail for the "business" category of the Shaman Drum Bookshop website, I thought this recent collage of mine seemed perfect for this week's topic at Illustration Friday.

Winter Display

Here's the winter holiday display I did this year for Shaman Drum Bookshop. I intentionally created something that evoked the winter holidays without being specific to any holiday.





I had the most fun making the birds, choosing ones that could wear winter hats yet still remain recognizable; the blue jay's hat mirroring the crest it would have naturally, and of course the two black capped chickadees.




I filled the interior space with paper chains and hand cut snowflakes connecting the overhead lighting throughout the store, and brought back the penguins from last year.

Penguins

Here's a penguin display I cobbled together for the Shaman Drum Bookshop for a winter display window.




There's actually a bit of a narrative to it. One penguin has been knocked off his feet by a snowball to the back of his head, while two other penguins react and the culprit who threw the snowball rolls another one.

It wasn't until I downloaded these pictures that I noticed one of the foam sheets serving as a base for the snow has been dislodged and is now obscuring part of the snowball making penguin's activity.











You can see here how it's meant to look, minus the background books from an earlier cookbook display.

My work in Publishers Weekly

This is not Halloween related, but the installation piece I did for the Shaman Drum Bookshop, was featured in the October 16, 2006 issue of Publishers Weekly.

Even cooler, on the reverse side of the page was a small article on Maurice Sendak's "Mommy?"

There will be one final post about this installation in a week's time when the elements currently being used in the store's window display are moved to their final location in the main installation.

Sorry about that bit of distortion on the final line of the article. My tempermnetal scanner is not cooperating lately. It's way past time I should have scrapped and replaced that thing. That's why there haven't been any recent "Fun With Scissors" posts either.

Children's Books Display - Part 1

After toiling away for the past month and a half, or so, the installation piece I created for the Shaman Drum Bookshop is finally completed and installed.

It took about seven and a half hours to install, including mishaps such as a drill battery which died less than halfway through the installation, and other tools completely left behind at home, and the single casualty seen in the bottom two photos. This monster character meant to bring up the rear, behind the robot, snapped off at the ankle. It's an easy repair job, and I'm glad that this was the worst damage to happen.

In addition to the main diplay itself, I also put up an accompnying window display seen here. The monkey in the window, and, perhaps, the boy will be moved to the main installation at the end of October. The monster from "Space Giants" my son has claimed for his bedroom, though I thought ebay would be a better home for it.





Beginning tomorrow, I'm going to start posting the step by step process in creating this piece from the sketch shown here, to the final installation. There will be plenty of detailed pictures as well, so you'll get a better look at everything.

Almost Finished!

I'm not sure if the heading for this post refers to me, or one of the projects which has dominated much of my summer. I mentioned in a previous post that I was working on a fairly elaborate installation piece to spruce up the children's book section of the Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor, MI. I had a week long setback due to weather (high humidity and papier-mache in need of drying do not mix) but have finally reached a point where I feel like I'm approaching the finish line. All but two of the figures are constructed, leaving just some painting and accessory assemblage before the entire piece can be installed.

Mostly I've really enjoyed the experience, but simultaneously, I'll really be glad when it's over. At that point I'll start posting a step by step process of the entire thing.

In the meantime, here's a monkey I constructed for the piece.

Installation Piece

Aside from some writing projects, I've also embarked on a couple of art projects for the Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The first, as noted in a previous post was creating a series of thumbnails to serve as visuals for a number of book categories for the store's website. There will be 15 of these when completed.

My larger project is an installation piece for the store's children's section to make the section more inviting, and hopefully, a bit more magical for that section's intended audience. It's a huge undertaking which I'm hoping to have completed and in place by the end of August. So far things are progressing without incident, and I may actually manage to meet this self-imposed deadline.

Here's a sneak peek of a portion of the piece. I've tried to document ever step in constructing this work, and once it's completed, I'll begin posting the complete process until enough of you scream out with boredom, begging me to stop.

Still More Unused Collages

Here's the final two unused collages for the Shaman Drum Bookshop website. These were created to illustrate the categories "World War I & II" and "Pulp Fiction."