Siren

February 26, 2023February 22, 2023Leave a comment

Fresh from the ocean.

A cute cartoon siren lays on the ground with her cheek cupped in one hand and tail raised to curl behind her. She is smiling slightly. She is wet. Her black hair is plastered to her head and body, the ends pooling on the ground at her side. There is a puddle around her. As a siren, the lower half of her body is a fish tail, and her skin and scales are blue. As a cartoon, she has a small body and huge head with disproportionately large eyes. She is isolated on a pink background.

Rocky The Human Squirrel

February 25, 2023March 2, 2023Leave a comment

My most recent project has been illustrating a book for Jean Ball-Maurer titled Rocky The Human Squirrel. It’s a short, illustrated chapter book. I did the color cover (front and back) and 10 black and white interior illustrations.

She just emailed me that that the paperback is up on Amazon now. She’s so excited to see her first book out in print! Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW385B6V

The ebook will be coming in a few days. I’ll post about that when it’s up and I’ll share a look at the illustrations pretty soon also. In the meantime, here’s the cover:

The front cover of a book with the title, "ROCKY The Human Squirrel" and bylines for "Jean Ball-Maurer" and "Illustrated by Karen B. Jones". The word "ROCKY" in the title is in all-caps and uses an acorn for the "O". The cover artwork shows a cartoon squirrel standing on a branch holding a tree bark sign reading "FREE TO BE ME". Behind the squirrel and branch are tree leaves on the sides and top and blue sky behind everything. There is a copyright notice across the top that reads, "Copyright © 2023 Jean Maurer. All rights reserved."

Gorgon

February 24, 2023February 24, 2023Leave a comment

Using a mirror is a safe way to look at a gorgon, so she’s in no danger of being turned to stone.

A cute cartoon gorgon stands with one hand arranging her hair-snakes and the other holding a mirror she is looking into. She is smiling, pleased with her reflection. She's dressed in an ancient Greek style, including a simple white shift and sandals laced up her calves. As a gorgon, she has snakes for hair, green skin, a flat nose with slits for nostrils, fangs, and yellow eyes with vertical slits for pupils. As a cartoon, she has a small body and huge head with disproportionately large eyes. She is isolated on a yellow background.

Satyr

February 22, 2023February 22, 2023Leave a comment

Let’s take a break from the mundane cartoon people I’ve been posting. I’ll come back to them, don’t worry. (I have 150 of them, after all.)

But for today, I bring you Greek mythical creatures. Cute ones. I have four to share. Here’s the first one, a satyr.

A cute cartoon satyr stands with one hand on his hip and the other gesturing as if encouraging the viewer to come take his hand. He is smiling and winking. As a satyr, he has goat legs and a tail, horns, goat ears, a small goatee, a brown tip on his nose, and his golden eyes have a goat-like horizontal pupil. As a cartoon, he has a small body and huge head with disproportionately large eyes. He is isolated on a green background.

Number 45 of 150

February 20, 2023February 2, 2023Leave a comment

Last of the batch. Doesn’t he look snazzy in his bow tie and suspenders?

An old man stands with arms wide, gesturing while speaking. He has a mustache and his hair is bald on top. He's wearing a blue and white striped button-up shirt, a red bow tie, suspenders, tan trousers, and brown boots.

Number 44 of 150

February 18, 2023February 2, 2023Leave a comment

I think I found the old ladies the most delightful to draw.

I originally used a brown, yellow, and black combination which I thought was very stylish. But the client wanted purple, yellow, and black instead. So, that’s what we went with.

An elderly Middle Eastern woman is walking towards the viewer with one hand raised as if waving. She's smiling and looks like she's moving carefully. She has a yellow hijab, white, yellow, and light purple horizontally striped shirt, light purple cardigan, loose black pants, and yellow slide-on sneakers.

Number 43 of 150

February 16, 2023February 2, 2023Leave a comment

A man in a thinking pose, larger body type.

A Middle Eastern man standing with one hand raised as if gesturing and the other touching his chin as if thinking. He's wearing jeans, sneakers, and a button-up shirt. He has a larger body type with a prominent belly.

Number 42 of 150

February 14, 2023February 2, 2023Leave a comment

Moving onto the adults. A lady in a floral skirt and matching hijab.

A Middle Eastern Muslim woman wearing a long floral skirt, leggings, white blouse, flats, and a hijab. She's standing with her right hand on her waist looking to her left.

Number 41 of 150

February 12, 2023February 2, 2023Leave a comment

One last child for this batch. Traditionally female clothes (skirt and leggings) in gender-neutral colors (black and turquois) worn by a character drawn to read a little more masculine than feminine. If I got it right, it should be unclear what their gender identity is exactly. Again, inclusivity and diversity was an important part of this project.

I really like how the skirt turned out, in particular.