Yin the Master of Yo! BOOKS ARE HERE!!!!!!

THE WAIT IS OVER!!! The books have finally arrived. I am so so grateful for those who have supported me thus far. Without you all this would not be possible. These books look fantastic. Brandstudio Press did an amazing job on the printing. The production of this book was a dream come true for me. With the aid of my super talented friends who helped me out along the way, this book is a true testament to my creative vision and showcases what I'm truly capable of. I'm living proof that anything is possible. This first run of the book is limited to 1000 copies and is sure to become a collectors item. It's packed with 40 full color pages of wonderful artwork by yours truly. The eyepopping text & design by DanisGood is sure to attract. And it also has a special forward by the U.S. Yo-Yo Master Steve Brown The story is fun and enjoyable for all ages. So what are you waiting for? Start your Christmas shopping by giving the gift of reading! All you have to do is click the add to cart button there on the top right and order as many copies as you want!


Click the play button below to see more art on the inside.

WE DID IT!!!!!

we finally reached our goal, and then some. I am so so grateful for those who helped contribute. We couldn't have done it without you. I want to thank all of my dear friends, family and those of you who believed in this project as much as we did. It's such a blessing to have people like you in our corner. I am so elated right now. I can't believe we did it! Just to let you know, any additional funds we raise will be used to take our book to conferences and conventions. I will be putting in our print order for the book next week and I will keep posting updates on the process. We really appreciate all of you so much for your help in making this dream come true.




A LITTLE DEVELOPEMENT ART AND BACKSTORY


CHECK OUT THESE YO-YO MASTERS WITH THE NEW G5 YO YO!

My first indy kids book is almost done.

Here is a spot illustration I did today for my first independent kids book. It's been literally 7 years in the making (off and on) of me trying to get this book done. Thanks to a few of my close friends for helping me out here and there as well as them urging me to finish. I'm finally nearing the end. I'll be posting more updates as I finish things up. For now enjoy the new art.

The Great Valentines Day MixUp NOW ON SALE!

I posted a while back about the Valentine's day book I illustrated. Well it's now available to order online. You can get your little loved one a copy now by clicking on the image in the book scroller above, or do a search on Barnes and Nobles or Borders books. The book really stands out from other Valentines books because of it's bright blue color. I've posted some sketches and page samples below. Feel free to leave comments as well. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

SPREAD 12 (Step)

As I posted before, above is my layout sketch for spread #12 of my book. I roughed it out in photoshop on my computer, adding shadows here and there. I used the shadows to frame up the main focus which is the unsuspecting dog walking by. The buildings in the background also frame up the text and help bring focus to the yo-yo that's knocking over the paint.

Here I sketched out various poodles in my sketchbook. I knew there would be a poodle on this page, but had no clue what it would look like. I started by using a light blue Tombow brush and drew vague poodle like shapes across the book. I then thought about the attitude of the dog and took a black pen to begin sketching different kind of stuck up poodles around the blue blobs of color. I ultimately chose the dog in the middle.

Next I needed to find a color palette. For this, I chose a scene from an old Tom & Jerry cartoon (Jerry Go Round-1966) with beautifully colored backgrounds by Philip Deguard. I loved that these colors were a little washed out and really complimented each other. I grabbed a still from the episode and began picking out similar colors for my palette.

The first step in coloring my page is blocking in simple shapes with color. This way I can see if these colors I chose are working well together on my image.

Now I start adding the small details to the background and Character.

Then I add in the remaining elements and rough out my angry poodle to the right of the page to get a clearer idea of what that looks like.

I finish up the last details on my Blue painted poodle and give it all one last look (which for me is staring at it for what ends up being 30 minutes to an hour) When I snap out of it, I'm done. One down 3 more pages to go.

SUSHI PACK COLORING BOOKS

Look what came in the mail today. The Sushi Pack coloring book from Golden books I illustrated! My kids and I were so excited when we opened the box. The book has 100 pages including games and activities. We got our books, now go out and get yours. You can also order them HERE ON AMAZON. Here's the cover below. The actual book has a reflective foil cover (fancy).


Time to grab your Crayons and your pencils!

Let the good times begin. It takes focus and a steady hand to crank out a masterpiece such as this.

Coloring is no mere child's play.


It takes a true master to scribble in (or outside) the lines.

What are you waiting for? Go and unleash your pint size Picasso.

Valentine's Book pre-order

I noticed on Amazon today that they've posted my Valentine's book I illustrated available for pre-order. I know it's a long way from now (and I will plug it again)but I wanted to share the cover with you. I've also added it to my publishing carousel above along with my other published works. Feel free to click HERE to purchase it in advance or just click the image in the carousel. The book has a decoder game inside to help kids get the valentines to the right person. Lots of fun.

Reviving an old concept

This is an old project I'm reviving and developing with a couple of friends. I can't really spill too much about it, but I wanted to share some images.Maybe I'll post more next month. I've got tons of illustrations for this concept.
For some reason I had to make her dog a little black terrier. I personally think he's cute. The name Algebra kind of fits him too.

REX marks the spot book

Here's the cover illustration I did to a new Sushi Pack kids book. Go to your local book store and ask for it, or click on the banner above to buy your copy NOW!


HERE'S AN ACTUAL CLIP FROM THE EPISODE...