More from the Haul of Wonders …

 … in which I haul out illustrations and wonder publicly why I drew them. This is from the Vaguely Familiar Wing, and required crack detective work to solve.

The clue is the clock (really more of a watch with a hormonal imbalance) and its only numbers, 10 and 31.

Hidden in my sketchbooks, similar watches dance and gesture like something from an animated fever dream sequence. Each watch displays the same time, 10:31:

I even inked some of the watches, so they definitely were being prepped for some final use.

(I gotta say, though, I like the feel of black Prismacolor pencils as final art; I've gotten away from that over time.)

Other sketches in my books show the same desk scene and the word Timcor, and then most of the mystery was solved: I did this for a consultant in a branch of the tax industry called a 1031 exchange (don't ask; the explanation made my eyeballs shrink two sizes). I applaud the guy for trying to humanize his line of work. I believe the desktop was for a Web homepage he was building, and each element on the desktop would take you to a new page (very Web 1.0).

For all the fun I must have had, you'd think I'd have a better memory of this project.

Sweetly twisted

Best tattoo parlor

Drawing for The News & Review (Sacramento, Chico and Reno) has always been a celebration of integrating editorial art and design. I've worked mostly with art director David Jayne, and it has never been about me just dropping off art and waiting to see how it turned out in print. David has always been interested in making sure everything fits aesthetically, so frequent conversations during from thumbnail to final are the norm. The freedom of the N&R assignments have also taken me out on the shaky branches of my "usual" work.

Case in point: A series of illustrations for one of The Reno News & Review's Best of Northern Nevada issues. David's idea was to make the awards resemble collectible figurines, which evolved from a kind of Precious Moments™ look to something that still retained the cloying kitsch without getting too close to the parody bone. Some of these figures, after all, were going to get dragged through the Reno grit. Ten or so figurines were needed. First came an "eye test:"

Can you say "trademark infringement?"

Bob's Big Boy's stepchild?

Then came some sketches, for many more awards than the newspaper had room for, like these for the best bowling alley and "Ugly Coyote"-type bar :

Most of the final art followed the sketches closely, which was nice, given tight deadlines:

Sen. Harry Reid

 

"Folsom Prison Blues" was just too perfect for this illustration

Best outdoor venue, I think …

The cover was the challenge. We went back and forth over several ideas:

Though I liked the simplicity of the cowgirl, the showgirl version won out. The sun gave way to the giant Burning Man effigy.

But a funny thing happened on the way to final. The showgirl got less showy. Watch as she disappears behind the blue ribbon:

Capped off with a sugary type treatment, though, this was a lot of fun packed into a very short turnaround:

Introducing the Haul of Wonders …

… wherein from time to time I haul out items from my sketchbooks and wonder publicly why I drew them.

Though the criteria for inclusion into the Haul are simple, not every squiggle and jot from my sketchbooks can make the cut (your sighs of relief are palpable). The criteria:

1. I can't remember who the client was, or a gang of ganglia in my cerebral cortex has ganged up to force me to forget.

Exception 1 (A): I may have a notion about the client, but no idea why I created this drawing.

2. It must come from my sketchbooks. Duh!

3. Evidence must be abundant that I intended for the client to see the sketch. Clues might include tight renderings and complete drawings, sometimes in multiple variations. The sketch can't have been done for my own amusement or ideation (Is this really a word? It fits for "development of idea or ideas" but it seems too easy. Maybe I should refudiate its use.)

4. It's highly unlikely the sketches went to final art (if I can't remember that, then I'm in trouble).

The first inductees: These two bears and a tiger dressed as police officers

Huh? My only guess is that these were game pieces for a board game project, which up until that time had nothing to do with animals. Did I fever-dream this and try to talk the client into it? There's no date on the sketchbook page (I'm usually diligent), and nothing indicates I inked any final versions.

The only reason I guessed "board game" is that these are a few pages away from the board game sketches.

Why did I render these in different styles? Why police officers, and no other profession? Why a tiger and bears, no lion? Oh my. Why is one so different from the others, and in a state of menace? Why are the others so eerily cheerful?

They mystery deepens … or maybe not.

… to save the day!

Advantar Man (no sexy superhero name or backstory, yet; maybe his inability to balance molar equations turned him to a life of chemistry), is a media creation of Bouchard Communications Group for Advantar Laboratories, and Bouchard let me come up with him. Here he is at work (above). And here he is in evolution:

The client wanted something between Superman and the Flintstones, which is a wild and weird divide to navigate.

Whatever direction this guy was going to take, apparently he was going to have a chin with its own area code.

With a body to mix and match:

My preference: Clean lines.

Cartoon steroid version.

Jack Kirby on steroids.

Jack Kirby on helium.

Pretty much it.

Superman and Fred Flintstone were murder on this dude's body.

Whichever body he would inhabit, it would be clad in the regulation boots, glove, briefs and cape.

For a brief instant, I turned Advantar Man's head blue: a Bunsen burner flame and a nod to Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen:

Now Advantar man plays the convention circuit:

 

And the print world: I like this crop; superheroic:

Who else needs one?

From the fecund folds of my sketchbooks, this forlorn figure who seems to summarize at once the aftermath of 2010 and the prospects for 2011. To wit:

What? What did I do?! and

I need a hug.

Peaceful new year.