Woody Allen at Work

I've loved New York since I first discovered that it was the inspiration behind just about every superhero I loved as a kid. And years later, when I finally set foot in the city itself, the deal was sealed.

As a bit of a love letter to the city that inspired me as boy (and continues to jazz up my life in ways that only New York can), I've started an illustration project that will feature some of the most iconic artists and authors associated with the big city. As an added bit of fun, I thought I'd do the entire thing on an iPad.

The above illustration of Woody Allen directing (who else but) Woody Allen is the first portrait in the series. There's a lot to say about it compositionally, but I'll leave most of the discussion for when I've got the whole set completed (the idea is that the series will ultimately form something of a narrative of the artist in New York throughout the eras). 

Here's a look at the painting under construction in the Brushes app:

Stay tuned for portraits of Scott Fitzgerald, Walt Whitman, and more. And for those of you interested in seeing more cool portraits of super famous directors, check out some of Madhi Chowdhury's inspiring illustrations here, including Chaplin, Scorsese, and other greats. 

A Dean Is Born

This week marked the first appearance of Superhero Dean Rogers in Fordham's highly prestigious student publication, the paper. In case you missed it, you can read the gripping origin story above (you comic book enthusiasts will notice the homages to classic '30s era origin tales). I've also included Dean Rogers' presumed response to seeing himself in superhero form below.

Look, Up in the Sky!

It's a cue ball! 

It's Lex Luthor! 

No! It's Superhero Dean Rogers! 

Coming to a the paper near you this fall.

Tim's Art Blog...IN 3D!

I started picking up Blender (an open-source 3D modeling and animation program) over the weekend, and after getting over that fact that it has one of the funkiest user interfaces I've ever encountered, I've come to like the program a lot. Here's my first go at modeling a simple 3D face...IN 3D!!!!

And here's the quick sketch that I was working off of:

I haven't gotten to the point of actually rigging the model for animation yet (i.e. adding a posable skeletal structure), but I'll be trying to tackle soon. Until then, please be sure to recycle your 3D glasses on your way out of the blog.

Vacation Sketches

Give Me Liberty

A Justice League of Their Own

I've been incredibly lucky with my internship at an ad agency this summer...not only does it feature free coffee (and snacks on Tuesdays and Thursdays), but it's given me the opportunity to work on some really cool illustration projects.

I can't disclose too much about the specifics, but the batch I've posted here comes from a pitch we were doing for a non-profit youth activism organization that was looking for some new flair. Our team thought it would be cool to come up with a colorful squadron of super heroes (a "justice" league, if you will) to champion the three major causes we were going to pitch: badge-based volunteering, animal activism, and get out the vote.

Sooo, lots of cups of free coffee and one all-nighter later...

...we had the three the comic book covers you see at the top of this post. Not bad for a 48-hour turn around. I'll go through each one in a little more detail if you're interested in hearing more about the process.

First up was Badge Boy, the spokesman for a merit badge-esque social media initiative that was  essentially Boy Scouts for the Digital Age.

I proposed a number of different comic book covers for this one, but they really wanted to stay with the traditional pin-up approach--which ended up looking great once everything was done up in Illustrator.

Next up was the Animal Avenger (originally named Captain Cuddles), who championed a initiative to get teens to volunteer at dog shelters.

I thought the cover could be a little more heroic than a typical day at the puppy shelter, so I had the Avenger jumping out of an exploding building while saving a couple of endangered pups. Who wouldn't sign up if that were the kind of adventure we promised on a daily basis?

Finally there was Democracy Diva, who had the misfortune of being the last hero on my list, and thus the one that didn't begin until 4:00 in the morning. 

Nonetheless, I think she turned out alright...although I'm can't tell whether it's Tina Fey or Sarah Palin under that mask. The world may never know.