A Basketball Story – Interior 6, Left Side

November 26, 2021November 19, 2021Leave a comment

The next interior has two images, one on either side. Here’s the first one. Someone taking the team picture. This same picture is also used on the cover.

An illustration of someone taking a team photo using a cell phone. Only the picture-taker's hands and phone are visible, with the team visible on the screen. The actual team is out of focus in the distance.

A Basketball Story – Interior 5

November 25, 2021November 19, 2021Leave a comment

A wide view of the team’s first game for the picture book project I just finished. The text for this page fits in the white space over the bleachers on the left side. This image gives you a good view of the logo I designed for the Jackrabbits. This image took longer than you’d think because, even though the people are tiny figures there are 28 of them and most of them had to be drawn and colored consistently with the depictions of those same characters on other pages. Uniforms do save time on coloring, though.

A wide view of a children's basketball game in a school gymnasium. A few spectators and the players on the bench cheer from the bleachers while players from both teams hustle on the court.

A Basketball Story – Interior 4

November 24, 2021November 19, 2021Leave a comment

And another interior for Entrepreneur Media, Inc.’s picture book. This two-page spread only has a little bit of text, so there’s room for it in the white space over the bleachers. Coach miles is taking his new team through drills.

Four kids are practicing dribbling basketballs under their coach's supervision.

A Basketball Story – Interior 3

November 23, 2021November 19, 2021Leave a comment

Here’s the next interior for Entrepreneur Media, Inc.’s picture book. Another two-page spread, with text to be overlaid on the blank spot to the upper left. The children are eagerly gathering around Coach Miles.

Children dressed in shorts and T-shirts eagerly gather around their basketball coach.

A Basketball Story – Interior 2

November 22, 2021November 19, 2021Leave a comment

Here’s the next interior image of the picture book I just finished for Entrepreneur Media, Inc. This one’s a two-page spread, with text overlaid on the blank wall on the upper left. The children are excited about basketball tryouts!

A cartoon illustration of a classroom of children raising their hands for Basketball Tryouts.

A Basketball Story – Interior 1

November 21, 2021November 19, 2021Leave a comment

Here’s the first interior page of the picture book I just finished for Entrepreneur Media, Inc. This image will have text overlaid over the sky and maybe the tops of the buildings. This is a nice spring day.

A Basketball Story – Cover

November 20, 2021November 19, 20211 Comment

This week I finished illustrations for a new picture book for Entrepreneur Media Inc. Here’s a mock-up of the cover. The final text will be formatted a little different, probably a different font, but this gives you the idea.

A little behind-the-scenes detail: I originally had a different cover design concept in mind (below) but the client wanted this one (above) because they wanted to show everyone on both teams and didn’t want them to look aggressive.

A rough cover mock-up for a picture book titled A Basketball Story: Always be Humble, based on a true story by: Miles Davis-Majors and Illustrated by: Karen B. Jones.

Two basketball players, both around 10 years old, hold a basketball between them with one hand each. The other hand for each is a fist. The Jackrabbit player on the left is frowning with eyes narrowed and eyebrows down. The Sea Turtles player on the right has a similar aggressive expression, but with his teeth showing. The Jackrabbits player is an African American boy with his hair bleached blonde on the top. The Sea Turtles player is an East Asian boy with thick, shaggy hair. A crowd seated on bleachers is out of focus behind them.

Boy Leaning on Windowsill

November 19, 2021November 19, 20218 Comments

Here’s a recent commission for rap artist, David Smith, who goes by the stage name Dave 3X3. This image is to be used for an upcoming album cover. He was wonderful to work with.

Good luck to you, Dave!

A cartoon illustration of a lovesick boy leaning on a windowsill.

This image (above) was based on an earlier image (below) from 2013 with the same character. You’ll notice these aren’t drawn in my typical style. The first was one of my experiments, playing with different ideas. Then I matched the style (and refined it just a little) for the new commission. I like playing with different ideas, and sometimes they even lead to new opportunities.

An illustration of a boy leaning back against a wall with arms crossed.

And always, I am accepting commissions!

The Neighborhood’s Night – Page 15

April 6, 2021March 25, 20211 Comment

Page 14 doesn’t have an image, so we skip on to page 15 from The Neighborhood’s Night by Juliana Catherine. This is the last illustration and the end of the book.

It’s not a completely happy ending because, even though Leena’s back in her own home, Amaya’s family lost their house. This is supposed to be a “tough subjects” series, so a not entirely happy ending is appropriate. But it’s not all bad because Amaya has sent Leena a letter saying how they found a place to live and are doing okay. They even sent pictures.

I made sure it’s the same couch and wall as page 4 so it’s definitely the same house. It comes full circle.

An illustration for page 15 of The Neighborhood's Night by Juliana Catherine. A girl curled up on her couch leans back against her mother who is sitting beside her. The girl is reading a letter and the mother is looking at some photo prints. They are both smiling.

The Neighborhood’s Night – Page 13

April 5, 2021March 25, 2021Leave a comment

Here’s the 11th illustration for the book project I just finished for Learning A-Z. Page 13 of The Neighborhood’s Night by Juliana Catherine.

This is the last one set in the school gymnasium. Amaya is crying after learning Juana’s news. Their house didn’t make it.