Illustration Guy Blog – The Chad Frye

Creative musings about creative stuff by a creative cartoonist.

Nancy Reagan 1921-2016

I was saddened to learn of former First Lady Nancy Reagan’s passing yesterday. President Ronald Reagan and Nancy graced the White House with an elegance and charm during their stay in the 1980s. Unlike any United States president in my lifetime did I ever see so many Democrats and Republicans working together and seeming to…
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The Making of a President – Step 3

Welcome to the final step-by-step explanation of the Abigail & John Adams illustration that appears in this month’s issue of Clubhouse Magazine. Today we will look at the last digital methods to add some color to the art and to age it a bit. First, I start with the traditionally painted image, and scan it into…
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The Making of a President – Step 2

Yesterday I began sharing with you the preliminary steps in coming up with the composition and overall drawing for the John & Abigail Adams illustration published this month in Clubhouse Magazine. Today I will share with you the next step in the process in which the traditional art supplies come out of the drawer to…
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The Making of a President – Step 1

That’s a pretty austere title, isn’t it? The Making of a President. While I don’t fancy myself a political puppeteer making it possible for certain people to take possession of the Oval Office, I do, from time-to-time, make images of presidents. Today I wish to share with you the methods used to make the illustration…
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Happy Valentine’s Day 2016

Today, when many thoughts are turned to love, I wanted to share with you a lovey-dovey illustration I created for a children’s magazine. Clubhouse Magazine, a publication for kids put out by Focus on the Family, hired me last year to illustrate a story they were running in their 2016 February issue about the love between…
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Star Wars Nesting Dolls

With an interest in Star Wars recently being reawakened (pun intended), some of us never actually fell asleep in the first place. Today I thought I’d share with you a set of wooden Star Wars nesting dolls, otherwise known as matryoshkas, that I painted while floating down a lazy Russian waterway two years ago. …
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Travel Sketches

When one packs for a trip, especially a trip with lots of time sitting in airports, one would be remiss to not include a sketchbook. On my latest travels, I ended up spending the most time at my own Los Angeles airport awaiting my flight. I picked out a nice comfy seat facing the airport…
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In the Bleak Midwinter

I recently spent some time on the east coast of the United States, and was terribly disappointed that not a hint of snow was to be had anywhere in my travels. I returned to California this past week, and of course, the snow fell upon the ground I had tread just a few days before.…
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