The Chad Frye - Illustration GuyI had a few minutes to doodle something the other day, and returned to the topic of cats. Then the few minutes turned into another few when it felt like the little guy (and his even littler buddy) should be in color.
A little ol’ digital gouache painting, all in Photoshop. Having fun with the Kyle brushes.
Earlier this summer, I created a summertime illustration that debuted on a promotional card for my attendance at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) conference held the first weekend in August in Los Angeles. It was inspired by a pencil sketch in my sketchbook created this past spring (which you can see if you CLICK HERE.)
I remember silly images like this in my favorite picture books when I was a kid, overcrowded with visual stimulation that made my little mind soar with wonder and amazement. This was likely how the seed was planted in me to one day wish to illustrate children’s books.
While in recent years I’ve worked primarily in animation, my career actually started in children’s books with the first one published way back in 1992. Hard to believe it has been that long. I have worked on around 30 or so books both on my own and together as a team with other illustrators. Maybe one day a blog post about that should be in order.
So, I’d like to do more children’s books, which was why I went to that conference earlier in the month – to get an idea of the state of the industry today. It would be nice to think that my brand of silliness could find a place once again on the shelves of Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or any number of small intimate bookshops scattered across the country.
For now, though, I leave you with some close-ups of this traditionally watercolored and colored pencil painting. (Only the lens flare was added digitally for those of you curious about such things.)
If you would like to see the major steps in the creation of this piece from rough sketch to final art, feel free to seek out my Instagram page where those were posted earlier this summer. You can get to it by CLICKING HERE!
Every now and then I get a little time where I can experiment. Still playing with some new brushes (to me) in Photoshop, working in a rough painting style. It’s kind of fun blocking in colors to get the feeling and action across instead of the detailed noodling I’m used to doing.
Also, I’m Batman.
I generally don’t get too personal here on the ol’ blog, but today is a mighty special day in the Frye family. On this day in 1968, my parents were joined together in holy matrimony.
I wanted to do something a bit special for their 50th anniversary. I hope they don’t mind, but I decided to interpret their 1967 engagement photo in my own little way. A time when I could only possibly have been a mere twinkle in their eyes as they prepared to spend their lives together.
As my own experiences have taught me, that had to have been a HUGE decision for them to make. I often marvel at how two total strangers from different upbringings can find each other and choose to craft a life together – a life that will undoubtedly have many ups and many downs.
Through thick and thin, and always with an eye towards the Lord, my parents have come through the ups and downs that 50 years together have presented. They have four children who love them, and love the Lord because of them. They have two sons-in-law and a daughter-in-law who are grateful to them for the children they taught and nurtured. And they have nine grandsons, all in varying stages of awareness of what their 50 years mean to our family.
Due to some mitigating circumstances, we all gathered together on their 49th anniversary last year. It is unfortunate that we couldn’t all be there to jump up from behind doors and couches to surprise them today on the day.
To my folks, thank you for always putting Christ first, and training up your children in the way we should go, so that when we reach your age, we will not depart from Him. (Proverbs 22:6) I love you.
Two of the summer’s hottest films are Pixar’s The Incredibles 2 and Universal’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Both serve up thrills, chills, laughs and excitement. They also both serve up amazing soundtracks written by the same composer – Michael Giacchino!
Incredibles 2 has a boffo score that jumps and jives with the best energetically melodic groovy jazz, while Jurassic World 2 soars with classic intrigue and adventure in the vein of the musical path first blazed by the legendary John Williams, while taking us to new places of big teeth and terror.
So, what if for their next sequels, both movies were combined? What would THAT soundtrack sound like?!
Welcome to the month of May!
Hopefully spring is happening all over the country by now after a prolonged winter in many places. With spring comes a renewal of life. Grass grows, flowers start blooming, and babies are born.
Well, maybe that last one isn’t true for all. But it is true for a friend of mine who is about to have her first baby. I did this little watercolor Pooh for the impending little one. Spring abounds!
Today in the United States we have a little known and even lesser celebrated holiday called Arbor Day. It usually is superseded by the more popular Earth Day that came earlier in the week this year.
Arbor Day is all about trees, and folks are encouraged to plant a tree to mark the occasion. There are so many holidays on which people celebrate with a greeting card, but never for Arbor Day. This is strange to me, because cards most often come from trees giving up their lives to become greeting cards. So it is high time that there is a greeting card celebrating the trees that cards come from!
So, this year I sent these out to close friends, family, and business contacts. While more trees probably wanted to get in on the deal, they are too late. You now get to enjoy the card digitally!
So, all that to say, a very happy Arbor Day to you and yours. I hope you get lots of great Arbor Day presents, and enjoy the many Arbor Day parties you no doubt have lots of invitations to tonight! Stay safe!
Back in December of 2017, I shared with you a new and improved version of Captain Traffic, a character I created about 16 years ago for ComedyTrafficSchool.com. There were even more poses I did of the courageous Captain, and now that Comedy Traffic School is using a few of them on their website, it was time to show you a couple more here on the ol’ blog!
Originally conceived as a humorous comic book type of character all those years ago, the whole approach to the good Capt. this time was to create him without the typical comic book lines. It kind of gives him a more modern look now, with a hint of nostalgia and a whole lot of whimsy. And who doesn’t need to experience a little bit of whimsy when they have to experience traffic school, am I right?
If you’d like to see the previous Captain Traffic illustration posted last December, feel free to CLICK HERE!!