In the Spot Light

Another day, another spread. I decided to jump ahead to the first fully illustrated spread to see what details I needed to keep or ax. After laying everything out, I decided to get rid of the inner book decor and mustache curls. They were taking up to much real estate and leaving me with very little room for some tasty type.

I also did a quick invert to see how white line on black might look.

With a few inked spreads under my belt, it's almost time to start playing with color, shading and textures. Yipeee...

Bartholomew Debut

I've been in the lab working hard to come up with a creation that strays {just a tad} from Mutt Ink's usual process. The previous Bartholomew rendering was looking a bit generated, so I scrapped the computer {for a bit} and pulled out a set of old antique drawing quills. I'd never used them for finished work, but figured this was the perfect opportunity for invention.

Once I had the drawing figured out, I brought it into the computer, cleaned it up and added a few knick knacks here and there.

Next up; color, textures, shading and shadows.

And away we go.....

Well, things have been a bit slow with Bartholomew Hat’s piece and all my other work. I just got back from getting married, so projects are a bit all over the place. I’m also trying to balance out the recent success Mutt Ink has stepped into. Not bad issues by any means, but time consuming ones for sure. The one thing that can’t suffer with any of this is the quality of work. That’s what got me here in the first place. So if it means taking a few less jobs, then so be it.

Anywho, the next step with the book is to begin rendering. First up, Bartholomew himself. This is by no means a final. It’s just where I ended up by end of this week. He’s definitely starting to take form.

Time to Bake the Cake

OK, we made it through the concept dummy and things are starting to take shape. For copyright sake, I can’t show you everything, but here are a few concept sketches.

Once Upon A Time....

Since Mutt Ink’s conception, one of my main objectives was to find our way into the children’s book market. So I set out constructing elaborate materials and mock ups to market our concoctions and book sculptures, but to no avail.....till now. A few months ago, I was approached by Chris Watson from Scotland. He’s currently in the process of building a children’s book publishing house called Bartholomew Hat Publications and wanted Mutt Ink to illustrate and design their very first book.

Extremely honored by his request, I threw up a mental hi-five and got to work. First up, the concept dummy. This is definitely the most critical part of the entire process. The concept dummy is the the proverbial cake batter. No matter how fancy the icing, if your cake flops, you're left hungry. It’s where the pacing of the book is established and the general concept of each spread is conceived.

Next up, the DEADLINE.

When I first sat down and discussed the deadlines with Chris, I suggested 8-12 months to finish the book. Chris was hoping 4-6 months. After some negotiation and after seeing how complicated some of the illo’s we’re turning out, we decided to shoot for the 8 month deadline. This would allow the proper time needed to render out each spread and also allow Mutt Ink to bring other work on board to pay it’s bills and it’s one employee {me}.

Now, it’s funny how things work. Prior to Bartholomew, Mutt Ink was having a hard time finding pennies on the street. But in December 07, Mutt Ink was fortunate enough to land Scott Hull as it’s Rep and things have changed dramatically. I went from 1-2 job requests per month to 1-2 job requests per week, which is fantastic. A bit nerve wrecking, but fantastic. It’s the age old ”Feast or Famine” scenario. Believe me, I’m not complaining by any means....but I’m also not sleeping. With over 40 full spreads of illustration, my 8 month deadline doesn’t seem as distant.

Anywho, that’s the story so far.