Professional Illustrator

My daughter just turned six and is the most wonderful part of my life. She’s at that amazing age where she’s aware there is a bigger world that exists beyond our neighborhood, but still young enough that her imagination is foundational to that worldview. Case in point, if you were to ask her the most trite and stifling question that all adults ask every child without a hint of comprehension, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” she won’t hesitate to reply, “A princess rock star singer with one hundred kitties living with me in my castle” and hell yes, by the grace of God I want that for her more than she does. Deep down, we all know what a mean–spirited question that is even if we don’t intend for it to be so. “Hey small person who is completely uninformed and currently uncaring about the real world… when you’re neurotic and old like the rest of us, how would you choose to pass the majority of your day so that you have enough money to then retreat to a place where you can contemplate that choice?”

When I was six and some dumb adult asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I thought to myself, “Well, I have a puppy, I love that puppy, I would very much like to be around more puppies, so a veterinarian seems like a solid way to make that dream happen.” Forget the fact that I am squeamish around blood, do not care to clean up after my own puppy, and have less than a zero interest in medicine, treatment, or healthcare in any form; that two–faced laugh from the dumb adult that just heard that response from me sounds more condescending than quaint, so for that reason alone they can take a long walk off a short pier.

The old adage, “Do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” however, is equally threadbare. Now I realize this is all taking a pessimistic tone, but it’s crucial for today’s post which centers around the fact that I am a professional illustrator. I won’t lie, it feels really really good to say that. I am in fact a professional illustrator who gets paid to draw as my full–time job. The irony is that the link from that “I love puppies so I want to be a vet” ideology isn’t a far–fetched detraction from when I was a kid to now as an adult. As I got a little older, I realized the second part of the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Isn’t just tangential to what you want to do, but what you can do. I thought I was decent at drawing so maybe that could play into a full–time job, but in all honesty, the older I got, the more I didn’t know what type of “job” those skill sets could accommodate. But I’m not going to bore you with that trajectory. Let’s just all get on board with the fact that I got to where I am, and today I’m going to explain the pros and cons of that.

Side note: I am hereby dedicating this entire post to my mother. The inside family joke is that one time I was very proud to show her a huge project that I had completed to which she enthusiastically said, “Wow! It almost looks professional!” Granted I had been an actual professional for over a decade by that time, but sure, “almost professional” is better than, “It sucks” I guess. I love you, mom.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I have been feeling the lack of a desire to draw on my free time because I’ve been doing so much of it on my paid time. I’m doing what I love, but arguably I’m doing it for other people, so I thought I’d talk about the pros and cons of what that is like. And seeing as we’re already out the gate with the negative, let’s keep that pessimistic vibe going and start with the cons of being a professional illustrator.

The Cons of Being a Professional Illustrator

Real quick, all of this is me venting and not meant to discourage anyone from pursuing their dreams or goals, whether they be an illustrator, veterinarian, or rock star singing princess. Case in point, the first con of being an illustrator?

Little Wooden Drawing Mannequins

Figure drawing is arguably a key skill set to have and it absolutely raises any illustrator’s game tremendously. The human figure is by far the most illustrated subject world wide. Sometimes it’s not possible to have an actual human model on demand and available to pose exactly how you’d like (and most friends and family won’t be keen to do this in the nude either as is traditionally expected). You can try Googling a pose that’s close to what you need, but even in today’s limitless selection of online images, you’ll never get exactly what you’re looking for. So what’s the the next traditionally available substitute? Androgynous No–Face McSlipper–Hands over here, that’s who.

A standard wooden mannequin, my snazzier wooden mannequin (who was also a mascot from my original website), and the interface of my poser app

The wooden drawing mannequin is as ubiquitous a traditional art tool as a nib pen. They practically give them away with certain drafting supplies at craft stores, but if you’ve ever used one, you know how fallible they are. They don’t hold a pose quite as dynamically as you’d like, they have no defining qualities like muscle or fat, they are completely featureless, and you just know that if they were real, they’d just bore you with bland trivia and complain about the lighting in your studio. If Pinocchio were initially a wooden drawing mannequin come to life, the Blue Fairy would urge Jiminy Cricket to immediately escort him to the fireplace. Yes, they make other, more dynamic mannequins but who cares? Incidentally, I use a poser app instead myself.

You Rarely Draw Cool Stuff

Yes, it’s a thrill to be a published illustrator and having the chance to work on a project that has (or soon will have) a huge following, but when you are an illustrator for any number of blanket projects, you’re not first in line to draw cowboys riding dinosaurs fighting ninjas. It comes up occasionally, but usually it’s things like a graphic to accompany an article about mental health, a helpful hand sign pointing the way to services for mental health, or a cartoon cat who is seeking guidance with their mental health. Yes you’re drawing, but you constantly wonder if it’s having an impact on your own mental health.

Draw Worser

This is an odd one, but you’d be surprised how often I receive the direction to “draw poorly.” I’ve worked on several projects where my work was criticized for being “too refined” or “too professional.” Sometimes it’s because the style of the illustration is supposed to look fast and loose like something from a tourist trap map. Sometimes the art is intended to look like a child drew it which always seems to translate more to “draw like someone who has just suffered severe head trauma and rather than go to the hospital has opted to sketch their family having a sad dinner.” I get the idea of what the client wants, but “drawing like a child” should never mean, “Draw like a wild animal is violently slashing a crayon around in its mouth.” There’s cute, there’s bad, and there’s subjective. Besides, why would someone who can’t draw, direct someone who can? Incidentally if you’re wondering, this assignment usually comes to talented artists because you actually have to be able to draw pretty good to effectively draw pretty bad. It should be a weird breath of fresh air to get notes back that insist that you’re drawing too well and it should be crappier, but I can assure you that it is not.

Unseen Work

The most frustrating aspect of being a professional illustrator is how much work never sees the light of day. There are drafts upon drafts upon drafts that nobody cares about of course, but I’ve done so many fully rendered (or at least nearly fully rendered) illustrations that never saw print or publication for hundreds of reasons. Sometimes the client changes their mind, sometimes deadlines quash the concept, sometimes you’re working with other illustrators and they manage to get the job done to greater satisfaction before you can, sometimes the project is just cancelled, and sometimes you just can’t show anything because of the professional illustrator’s thorn–in–their–side: the NDA. It’s all part of the job and there’s nothing that can be done.

Occasionally something may get resurrected way down the line, but by then, you the illustrator are no longer happy with the initial work and decide to start over. If you’ve ever checked out a book that features a lot of concept art for a project, you should know you are looking at an incredibly tiny fraction of the total work done. That’s just the stuff the publisher wanted (or rather allowed) you to see and it’s usually so they can claim ownership of those unused ideas as well. No artist just draws one picture for a job and that’s all there is. Whether it’s dozens of concept sketches or previous versions that needed further contemplation, every illustrator could literally fill a book with the work that has never nor will ever be seen.

My mom thinks I’m cool

The Pros of Being a Professional Illustrator

Okay, enough Debbie Downer talk, let’s chat about what’s great about being a professional illustrator! Being able to draw is one of those cool parlor tricks everyone wishes for; like sitting down and playing piano at a party, or randomly speaking a foreign language when a distressed stranger needs you to help solve an international crime, or juggling for everyone waiting at the doctor’s office before an invigorating colonoscopy. “You draw for a living?” A bright–eyed little boy marvels as you doodle a helpful sign pointing the way to services for mental health. “I do!” You reply knowing there’s now someone on earth who will briefly see you the way you’ve always dreamed of being seen.

Kids Are Impressed

Being a professional illustrator always catches kids off guard when they find out what I do. I am not exaggerating when I say literally every single child who has ever stumbled upon me drawing always, always asks, “Are you an art teacher?” This question comes to me so often that it depresses me to my core. Not because I think “art teacher” is a bad job (quite the opposite in fact, I think art teachers are the greatest and most inspirational humans on the planet), but because that’s the real world extent kids think an illustrator can do. Illustrators typically aren’t billionaires who like to eat trail mix before paying for it whilst browsing the dollar section at Target such as myself, but there are so many other opportunities other than just functionally rolling out other talented teachers. This is what expectations are though when schools eliminate the arts and music; you force kids to think there’s no other place for them.

But that’s all to say when they find out there are other options, they start to think (and dream) beyond their initial expectations in regards to their own future. That’s right boys and girls, this middle–aged, dollar section bargain hunter can be you. You’re welcome.

Work Pays For Stuff!

If you’re a freelance artist this does not directly apply to you, in fact this may be a con for you, but as an in–house illustrator, my job pays for all my supplies! Adobe CC? Work covers the subscription. My 22” Cintiq HDT? Work. New nibs for the Apple Pencil my job provided me? You guessed it, work! Because I draw professionally, all these toys and tools may not belong to me personally, but I get to use them that way. If you’re a freelancer, you can claim that stuff on your taxes I suppose. Freelance artists will create their pros and cons lists differently I imagine.

I Don’t Know How To Label This Next Part

Nowadays I do 99% of my illustrative work on an iPad Pro which means I get to stretch out on the couch while Netflix drones on in the background. That’s it. That is definitely a pro.

I’m sure there’s a fourth thing to tip the balance in favor of the pros, but honestly if you’ve read this far, let’s call it even and we can all go home early.

A letter from my grade school art teacher after I had reached out to him

I want to take one last opportunity here to mention my love of school art teachers with two short examples. My grade school art teacher Mr Megill was the first person who really encouraged me to see art as an extension of myself. He got me excited to try new techniques and I know all my classmates felt the same. He is one of those educators you think of when you hear about those special teachers who keep the world turning. Mr Megill is a super human and I adore him. The other is my daughter’s art teacher. One day, she came home from school and told me, “Daddy, Mr. Fourre is a way better artist than you! He’s amazing!” You think that would have knocked me down a few pegs but I was so thrilled to hear that. Kids need real world heroes other than their parents and the idea that she sees her art teacher as superior to me absolutely filled me with so much joy. Effectively, she separated me from something she admires more in someone else and man am I so proud of that. Granted, it meant the cat illo I was working on looked too refined and happy for the mental health guidance they were seeking, but I intend to watch season 5 of The Crown while I make those changes anyway.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Follow me on Instagram and Twitter for more reverse mermaids, Muppets, and whatever else I normally push.

A Gonzo Father's Day Gift

For the first nine years of my life, it was just my dad and I. As a child, he was a superhero to me. As a teenager, we certainly had our ups and downs and I can’t say I was his biggest fan. As an adult (and especially now as a father myself), he is again a superhero to me. The ultimate superhero. 

I very vividly remember going to something of a book fair when I was in kindergarten and getting him the first gift I ever bought; a coffee mug with “Dad“ repeated over and over which he still has today.

I mentioned before that my dad is largely responsible for my love of the Muppets. Being the two swinging bachelors that we were back in the early 80s, we would have dinner together in our tiny guestroom where our television set was and watch The Muppet Show or Fraggle Rock. We would laugh and look back and forth at each other—him on the couch and me nestled in our green and blue shag carpet—musing over a gag or song (Quick parenting pro tip: actually watch TV with your kids. Don’t go on your phone or whatever. Bond over your child’s interests in that program. I know it’s hard, I struggle too sometimes. A lot of kids shows today are actually pretty good though!).

My dad and I in the ball pit at Sesame Place in Pennsylvania, circa the early 1980s

I would often draw pictures of the Muppets for my dad including the above, nifty picture of Gonzo which is the focal point of the story I am sharing today. I had found this crude drawing a while back and thought it was so funny how I’ve essentially been drawing these characters my whole life. I knew I wanted to do something else—something new—with this fading illustration on dot matrix printer paper, but I wasn’t exactly sure what. 

A few illustrations of the famous weirdo a few years after the original drawing I had done for my dad

Not too long after, I was lucky enough to be invited to the set of the 2015 sitcom, The Muppets. What an absolutely amazing day in my life, but the real opportunity was to use this old illustration to my advantage. Like most dads with their kids, my father is very proud of me, and the opportunities I’ve had to work for the Muppets have been a super fun subject for us to focus on. I decided I was going to give this drawing I did of Gonzo for my dad back to him, only this time with an upgrade. So on the day I went to the set in Burbank, I tucked my old art away until I could show it to the muse who inspired it.

On set talking to Dave Goelz (and Peter Linz hidden behind me). John Kennedy looks on from the side. February 4, 2016

I had briefly met Dave Goelz before, and I was very grateful he remembered me. Goelz has been The Great Gonzo’s performer since 1976 and he is incredibly kind and gracious. Getting to hang out with him and the rest of the crew is easily one of the greatest moments of my life and I wanted to make sure I used my time well. After lunch, people were just hanging out, so I took my chance and approached Dave with my very old, very crude fan art with one request, “Please sign it.” Dave was floored that I would ask him to “ruin” something so special I had made for my dad so long ago. “These things are so precious to me!” he protested. “I can’t!” Here’s where I was able to tell this man who inspired me creatively so much as a child—and well into adulthood—about my father. How we watched everything together when I was a kid, how much we both love the Muppets, how proud he was of me that I was there and having the opportunity to be commissioned by them, and how special it would be now if Gonzo could circle back and justify not just the trajectory of my career, but our entire fandom.

Dave Goelz acquiesced and then asked, “Who should I sign it to?” I explained my father and I both had the same name and are both artists, so it could effectively be for both of us. Dave then added, “Hope this art thing works out for you!” Signed by both Dave himself and everyone’s favorite Whatever. Perfection!

Four months later, I not only gave this newly autographed art back to my father, but included a picture of me around the age I would have been when I first drew it holding a Fisher Price plush Gonzo dress up doll, the Gonzo illustration that was included in one of the commissioned pieces I did for the performers that hung in Dave’s dressing room, and a shot of me holding the old art alongside its subject matter—Gonzo himself.

Little me with my plush Gonzo on top of the Howard Johnson’s in Asbury Park, NJ circa 1983 on the far left

One could make the argument this is a slightly cooler Father’s Day gift than that mug I first got him, but for me it’s confirmation that my dad is really the one who gave me such an incredible gift: a loving superhero of a dad who inspired me just as much if not a whole lot more than the Muppets themselves ever could.

Dad and I with a certain Frog (Christmas 1980), my whole family going to see The Muppets (November 24, 2011), and my dad and Abby Cadabby on the set of Sesame Street (November 1, 2018)

Happy Father’s Day to all you amazing dads who make your kids feel like they can do anything, especially my own father and Dave Goelz too! Follow me on Instagram and Twitter and tune into this blog every Friday for more fun and creative thinking.

Creative Daddy II: The First 5 Years

When I wrote about finding a creative outlet through kids and how exciting it can be, I neglected to really show off what that entailed. I suggest you check that post out first if you haven’t already, but with Father’s Day a little over two weeks away, I thought I would share some of what that actually looks like and present some of what my daughter and I have a blast doing.

She couldn’t directly contribute to our shared creative endeavors as a baby, but she was still a huge inspiration

Now initially there wasn’t much she could do being a newborn, but that never stopped her from being my newfound muse. Mostly I drew her and it is always a privilege to draw my daughter. It’s very meta to watch my art of her grow with her and that’s something I’ll do for the rest of our lives. I also found fun ways to incorporate her into other mediums.

Also featured are her cousin and mommy!

Every kid starts with crayons before their parents introduce—then immediately take away—markers. Of course, these are mediums that we’ll use for years to come. My daughter and I still love drawing giant posters that we hang all over the house. At first there was no rhyme or reason to our drawing. I would casually draw while she would climb all over me and scribble all over the paper, me, the floor, the wall, the television, the cat, and most prominently herself. Nowadays we plan what we will put on our posters (usually characters from whatever she’s currently in to) and then wallpaper the playroom. This isn’t just a fun thing to do, it’s decorative and serves a purpose.

I was convinced we weren’t getting our security deposit back on the apartment we moved from there were so many marks on the walls and floors!

The other fun thing about these giant posters is that they are shared experiences for my wife as well as anyone who comes over to visit. Family always contributes time to coloring these posters and its a great activity anyone can share in.

The real irony is how we no longer really watch any of these particular shows anymore, but we still love having them decorate our playroom

Afterwards, we make something of a big deal when we formally place our poster up on the wall and peruse the place like a museum.

One of our more prominent creative outlets have been our Big Show; a fun little talk show style video series where we chat about any and everything. We’ve even occasionally done a news type segment. This gives her a chance to not only be seen but heard and who doesn’t love watching themselves on TV?

What makes everything we do so much fun is often how new it seems for both of us. Paper maché, construction paper stick puppets, our own newspaper, rock painting, or even just regular playtime. She’s even getting more interested in photography.

Dry erase markers on windows is a lot of fun if you remember to explain only those markers on only the windows

However, what we’re known for throughout our neighborhood is chalk drawing in our driveway (in fact, we even recently created an Instagram account for that we would love for you to follow!). Whether it’s taking suggestions from other kids or making huge holiday murals, I tend to get more carried away than she does. What I have to constantly tell myself is that this is our project, not mine. I may draw the lion share of stuff, but it’s 100% okay for her to contribute or draw over. It’s not messing something up if it’s a collaborative effort she loves as well.

Follow us on Instagram @rosestartsp

I’m also grateful that I’m not the only creative influence she has. We have many variations of talented artists in our family and close circle of friends that expose her to music, dance, writing, acting, and just being silly for the sake of silly.

My wife, dad, brother–in–law, and sister are just a few of the other creative people in my daughter’s life

While drawing will always be my immediate go–to with her, I never want her to feel obligated to follow directly in my footsteps. It’s natural for a creative person to be highly influential in a child’s development, but it’s important they have opportunity to find their own voice, their own style, their own approach. Being creative isn’t limited to, “the arts.” It’s about being able to see things differently so that problem solving is an open–minded pursuit. And if you’re wondering, my daughter adores her school art teacher, insisting, “He’s a way better artist than you, daddy” which I absolutely love. Not just because she doesn’t have an obligation to putting me on such a pedestal, but because she feels comfortable enough to set her own boundaries and even start to appreciate different art forms, styles, and approaches.

Sharing artwork together

My (step) mom always said after she married my dad and became my mom, “There’s no manual” referring to how much of a learning curve there is to being a parent. That continues to make more and more sense the older my daughter gets, but I think there’s something to be said for parental instinct. I started drawing her little pictures for her to find in her lunchbox when she started school before someone my wife and I admire suggested we be careful so as not to make it seem like we were forcing any of our interests onto her, or worse; take attention away from her friends and accidentally redirecting it on to us. Having grown up without my mother often meant I felt I had huge shoes to fill and I didn’t want that burden to be placed on my daughter. After a couple weeks of not placing these drawings in her lunchbox however, she read me the riot act about being disappointed that there were no drawings with her snacks anymore. Now I can draw Louisa from Disney’s Encanto from memory.

Princess Tiana (with a special frog), Luisa from Encanto, a cheese bear-ger, and Bruno also from Encanto

In the end, my personal feeling is that whatever my daughter finds joy in, that is where her passion will lie. Having the creative freedom to find that joy is such a fun and wonderful journey, that it’s beyond developmentally stimulating; it’s foundational too. Please follow me on Instagram and Twitter and follow my blog every Friday!

A little bit silly, a little bit fantasy, a lot of fun, and a healthy helping of “throw a ton of stuff at the wall and see what sticks”

Artist Games Featuring Noah Ginex

Two weeks ago, Will Carroll and I played a game together where we would take a pass at a drawing, back and forth adding to it until it was so crammed with stuff we decided to share it with you. This time around I’m playing again with Noah Ginex! Before we get into any of that, first let’s talk about Noah.

Some of Noah’s characters.

Aside from being a super talented artist (who is also a fellow Muppet Mural alumni), Noah is an award winning puppet builder who has an exceptional sense of humor and is wonderfully and wildly creative. I was very excited to play this game with Noah because he really knows how to look at things from a very different and even unconventional angle. He has also played this type of game with his daughter so this was not his first rodeo. For everyone else who may have missed the first time I played with Will, here’s how this works:

The Rules

One artist draws something rather fleshed out then passes it on to the other. There are no time limits or space restrictions. Either artist can draw as much or as little as they want before passing it on. One artist can add to or obscure the previous work as much as they like as long as they don’t manipulate it (within reason).

The Game

Whenever I play this with an artist, I give them the option of using a full color render of the illustration I did or just the line art. I drew a white gloved cartoon hand holding a phone receiver. Noah chose to stick with the line art.

“It’s for you.”

Noah Ginex: I didnt know what to expect at first. Honestly the first volley was a lot more fully realized than I was expecting, but that just meant i could bite off a bigger chunk myself. I responded with traditional pen and ink the first time, because I didn’t have my Cintiq with me. Which I think directed the piece more to traditional black and white.

Noah’s first pass.

Just as when Will first responded, I was so excited to see that Noah had taken this in a direction I never could have anticipated. For starters, I was excited we were staying black & white, but anthropomorphizing the handset was super cool. My high school nostalgia sparked me to channel my inner Sam Keith and go really off the rails. I also took the opportunity to refine my previous line art to pop more now that the black & white direction had been set.

This weird Radio Shack rabbit then headed back to Noah.

Noah: I see faces everywhere, so it was nice when Dave responded with even more opportunities to add little details. I especially loved the phone cord turning into curly ringlets.

I don’t know what exactly this thing does, but I’m skeptical of its warranty.

Aside from minimal cleanup on my previous passes, I didn’t want to do anything else to the main art. Truth be told, I was completely lost on what I had done and what Noah had done. This fusion that normally marries two different styles together whilst retaining each artists unique styles was somehow obliterated. Noah and I had achieved a very comfortable simpatico… thing and I loved it. Still channeling those Sam Keith vibes I felt before, I opted to add a splash of red and cover it in chaotic text so it looked like a splash page right out of The Maxx.

The final collaboration.

Noah: I think the final piece ended up looking very Ralph Steadman-y, which is fine by me, so I signed it with a Steadman-esque version of my artist stamp. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I think it's perfect.

Again, this was so much fun. I actually am sad when I finish these games because it’s liberating, exciting, and so creatively satisfying. If I were a braver man, I’d consider this for a tattoo!

Thank you to Noah for being a part of this week’s post! Check out all his art by following him on Instagram @artbyNoahginex and his website too: noahginex.com

You can also follow me on Instagram and Twitter and tune in every Friday right here for more creative thinking!

Artist Games Featuring Will Carroll

My nibling, niece, and I. November 21, 2010.

As I’ve noted before, kids are a fantastic and fun resource when it comes to stretching those creative muscles, especially when you have a mental block of some kind. When they were little, my nibling, niece, and I would play a really fun game. I would draw something—something incomplete—and then they would add to it. Sometimes we would have time limits, sometimes we would draw until we felt our part was over, but ultimately we would just keep passing the art on to the next of us until there was no room left to draw or we were in stitches laughing too hard to do anything else. This game was a huge influence creatively for all of us and no doubt helped shaped how each of us saw the world around us and was also a great exercise in true collaboration.

That was a game we played for years and years, and now my daughter and I also continue on the tradition as well. Ever since I first had the idea to do this with my family well over a decade ago, I always wondered what it might be like to try it with another artist; someone with experience, style, and imagination. Flash forward to present day coupled with the constant search for blog topics and voila! It’s here that I want to shine a light on this week’s featured artist, Will Carroll.

One of the great joys of working on The Great Muppet Mural for ToughPigs was getting to know so many artists I hadn’t known before. Will Carroll was one of the big stand–outs for me, so I had been looking for an opportunity to do something else with him. Will has a really fun, retro style. As a graduate from the Art Institute of Philadelphia with a degree in animation, his work is instantly recognizable and oozes charm. He’s fast, talented, and he took to this game like a fish in water. So what exactly is the game?

The Rules

Unlike the more simplified and quicker version I played with my nibling & niece, one artist draws something rather fleshed out then passes it on to the other. There are no time limits or space restrictions. Either artist can draw as much or as little as they want before passing it on. One artist can add to or obscure the previous work as much as they like as long as they don’t manipulate it (within reason). That’s about it! So I’ll start things off.

Just broccoli on a fork, but the fork is gold so that counts for something, right?

The Game

When I play this with kids, I’ll draw an eye or a blank head and then the features get added as the illustration gets passed around. With Will, I had more time and freedom. I didn’t want to explode out the gate though and I have grown familiar with his work and was confident he’d take the reins in a wild new direction. So I started out pretty tame and bland, and you can’t get more bland than broccoli on a fork. There’s not much going on here, nor is there much to work with.

Will Carroll: Looking at the picture for the first time made me think back to an old drawing I did about two years ago, which had a little Doozer looking farmer holding a fork with a grape on it like he was holding a pitchfork, and that also made me remember sketches of a character doodle I’ve been meaning to use, so I decided to use it for this project.

Will’s previous designs for his Farmer character.

I always loved seeing tiny little creatures interacting with normal sized objects and adapting them to help them in life, characters like The Smurfs, The Borrowers and most recently The Tiny Chef comes to mind. So I decided to go down that angle and made them a farmer, who harvested “huge” vegetables.

Will’s first pass.

I knew whatever Will sent was going to be cool, but I was super excited when I saw the direction he took it with the little farmer. The fact that he came up with this was more than I had hoped for. I was tempted to stop right here because it was just so clever, but I thought I’d expand on the tiny size idea and place the group in a real world area, so I drew a woman discovering them. At first the “discoverer” was going to be another other–worldly creature but I felt keeping it grounded would be a better fit. Initially I was also going to draw the interior of a refrigerator, but I wanted to savor the creativity of the exercise and held off. I also muted the line art and color of the woman so the focus stayed on the original pass.

Initial sketches and 100% opacity art work.

My second pass back to Will.

Will Carroll: Decided to add more fully into the camp of “little people, BIG WORLD” angle, including making the blank space around the woman, the inside of a kitchen pantry, and adding a hungry cat behind her, a reference to Azrael from The Smurfs. In addition to the pantry, I also added more little guy farmers, the one in the wall’s design I based on the old cartoon character Farmer Alfalfa.

Will’s second pass back to me.

I was thrilled Will took it upon himself to take on the background art and the pantry was much more preferable to my initial idea of a fridge/freezer. It was at this point I channeled my inner Jamie Carroll (no relation to Will) and went full on overboard. I added a couple extra characters of my own and the bottle of fish oil pills just to complete the pantry aesthetic. I thought I’d go over–the–top with creating a magical lighting system with the idea that this pantry is so infrequently used in the “real world” that the tiny farmers just installed all sorts of accoutrements with complete disregard towards their human landlords. It was at this point that Will and I agreed we were done.

The final image!

Will and I both genuinely had so much fun doing this, noting how much it really got our creative juices flowing and were really happy with how it turned out. We’re looking forward to trying this again in the future! Huge thanks to Will Carroll for having fun with me! Make sure you follow him on Twitter @elaboratesunma1, Instagram @toonheads0215, and Facebook, and check out his website too!

Of course I’d love it if you followed me on Instagram and Twitter too! And tune in every Friday here for a new blog post!