It's All Over And I'm Standing Pretty, I Mean Twitchy...

Well folks, it's official. I actually finished Over At the Castle, the sequel to Boni Ashburn's Hush, Little Dragon. I honestly never thought I'd get there, but thank bejesus I did. The end of a book is a momentous occasion. You feel a pressure lifted off your shoulders and you can wipe your desk clean. But, typically because I have a tendency to stockpile my workloads, the end of a book equals more stress. You have to scan all of the work, wrap, and then box it all for delivery. All nighters are the norm before driving/sending a book to NYC. One (of the many perks) to being married (which mean insta-studiognome) is that they will gleefully scan all the images FOR you. It's AWESOME. You have no idea how much time it saved. I am uber thankful. So, without further ado, I will give you the final image of the book, and it's an exact representation to how I felt the moment it was finished.


NEXT!

Cloud City

But not where Lando lived. This here is a recent-ish finish for a Cricket magazine cover. There were a few sketches that were thrown around, involving Marduk's dragon. Marduk was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon. The mythical Dragon of Marduk with scaly body, serpent's head, viper's horns, front feet of a feline, hind feet of a bird, and a scorpion's tail, can be seen on the famous Istar Gates. King Nebuchadnezzar, and who's name comandeers the giant bottles of Champagne, ornamented the monumental entrance gate dedicated to Ishtar, the goddess of love and war, and the processional street leading to it with scores of pacing glazed brick animals: on the gate were alternating tiers of Marduk's dragons and bulls of the weather god Adad; along the street were the lions sacred to Ishtar. All of this brilliant decoration was designed to create a ceremonial entrance for the king in religious procession on the most important day of the New Year's Festival. Sure beats our lame 2009 goofy glasses. You know, the one's where the zeros are the eyeholes! CLEVER!

ANYWAYS. Here's the progression into the final cover. Obviously, the Babylonian referrence was a bit too obscur, but still cool to research and learn along the way.

The Ol' Wave

So, I am seriously within a stone's throw to finishing the dragon sequel. I am GIDDY with the thought. I never thought, while in school, that balancing projects would be so difficult. Granted, school is hectic for many reasons, but I figured after I graduated I'd enter the known business world of 9 to 5. I tried it for a short while, and hated it. I've been in this freelance career for roughly nine years. I may whine and complain more frequently than I say it rocks quite simply because it's really tough. Mentally and physically. It's been even tougher to try and fit social life events in there, too. Thankfully, there are great friends and family members out there who know that you are really working your hardest at your true passion. ANYWHO. This latest bookcover piece was shoved in between a month long painting marathon. It's got waves. I like waves!

Ok, the crystal clear has dried. Back to painitng.

Thursday Motivational Music Interlude

Sorry guys, I am way lame. Haulin' buns with a deadline, and then getting ready for school to start... so the only thing I got for you is Clap Your Hands and Say YEAH!

Peach Boy Birth

Peach Boy is officially published by Usborne Publishing! It's a UK release but you can still purchace it through Amazon. Here's a link to some samples pages from the publisher.

Check it out here.

Many more post to come!