A look at San Diego Comic-Con 2023 by Chuck Todd Artist
Art, artists, inspiration & POP CULTURE fun at SDCC 2023
After the manic whirlwind that was San Diego Comic-Con 2023, I now have time to debrief and share my experience. As an illustrator, Comic-Con is an annual art pilgrimage, a place to catch up with friends, see amazing artwork and comics projects, network, be inspired and have some fan boy pop culture fun. This is my 10th SDCC. I’ve maintained my professional status, perhaps one day I’ll get a table. So untethered, I’m more of a free range artist when I attend.
Overall my impressions were that with Hollywood writers and actors on strike, there were fewer studios and celebrities in Hall H or elsewhere, which felt like a reset for Comic-Con to focus more on the true creatives that drive comics arts and storytelling. The floor at times was crowded, Artists Alley seemed to be busy the whole Con, and there were a lot of great panels to attend upstairs. In many ways the Con seemed closer to normal compared with 2022 SDCC coming out of the pandemic. I saw almost everyone I had hoped to see. I had a new batch of postcards of my recent work, and handed them out to a lot to folks, mostly to other artists, and got very positive feedback.
7/19/2023: My wife Anita and I got a late start and had a long drive from the San Francisco East Bay down to San Diego. Our daughter Sheridan couldn’t go this year since she started an internship at a wildlife preserve in Minnesota. My daughter Sienna was already in San Diego and checked in early to our room at Town and Country. Our hotel was very close to the Fashion Valley trolley stop, so we used the trolley this year to go to the convention center. Not free like the shuttles, but less crowded (mostly) and more direct to get to our Gas Lamp Quarter stop. As it was we barely made it in time to catch about the last hour of preview night.
Art Pilgrimage Stop #1, Bill Sienkiewicz on Preview Night
Our first stop was saying hello to illustrator Bill Sienkiewicz at his booth. If possible I try to see Bill on Wednesday Preview Night before the crowds descend, and before he is sold out of his sketchbooks. (The sketchbooks were not printed in time for Comic-Con this year, so I’ll have to order one this time around.) Bill had on display many newer original works and a few older pieces. Spider-Man, several Batmans, including an incredible promotional illustration for the most recent Batman film, Moon Knight and a dynamic portrait of Stan Lee. Seeing the work up close is a visual feast of color, drawing and mixed media techniques that is a masterclass in the possibilities of illustration and comics art. Bill and I had a nice chat, he introduced me to a couple of friends, and we caught up a bit. I was thrilled when Bill told me that I was “killing it” with my recent work. (I studied for a week with Bill at the Illustration Academy in 2017, so that affirmation means a great deal to me. Thanks Bill!) And yes, he got the first batch of my postcards!
We had about 35 minutes or so to scout out some of the exhibit hall to get our bearings for the rest of the Con. We took in the prints and originals of Alex Ross at his mega display.
A new publisher DSTLRY was there with their convention exclusive copies of “The Devil’s Cut,” a sci-fi horror magazine anthology that gives a sense of some of the exciting creative teams and stories they will soon be publishing. Some of the writers and artists in the issue include: James Tynion IV, Joelle Jones, Mirka Andolfo, Jock, Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso, Scott Snyder, Francesco Francavilla, Becky Cloonan, and Tula Lotay.
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After the hall closed, we got our traditional meal and brew at Union Kitchen and Tap. Then back to the hotel for prep, planning and rest for our Thursday SDCC 2023 plans.
Part of our hotel package included tickets for free grab and go breakfast burritos each morning. Massive, but good to get a big energy boost for the day. Anita usually fixed us up with lunch sandwiches to take with us to save on food costs and long lines. And pro tip, if you have a pro badge, find the pro lounge upstairs for free coffee, tea, lemonade and a refuge to take a break, charge a phone, eat lunch or plan your day.
A Whole Lotta Panels!
Thursday was my big day of panel sessions to attend and it did not disappoint!
On Thursday morning (7/20/2023) I made it to the floor before going up to hit the big slate of panels I planned to attend, the major one being the Spotlight on artist P. Craig Russell and his scheduled signing afterwards in Sails Pavilion. I hit the back issue comics area with the single purpose of getting the Killraven graphic novel, or something else with art by P. Craig Russell for him to sign later that day. I struck out in my limited time to find Killraven, but did find Marvel Graphic Novel #2, ELRIC by Russell and writer Roy Thomas. Sold! Before leaving the Exhibition Hall I found Ron Lemen at his LEMENAID (lemenaid.com) booth to say a quick hello as he was setting up for the day. After hugs and giving Ron some postcards, I was off to my first session upstairs. Seeing Ron and Vanessa Lemen at San Diego is a big highlight and treasure each year at Comic-Con. We are as inspired by their artwork as we are blessed with their friendship.
Thursday Panels at SDCC 2023:
Adapting Stories to Graphic Novels:
Outstanding panel with creators talking about how artists and writers adapt personal content/stories, historical content or collaborate with others to create graphic novels. Hosted by the amazing designer and publisher Chip Kidd! On the panel were Joel Christian Gill (Stamped from the Beginning), Briana Loewinshon (Ephemora: A Memoir), Carrie Vaughn (Wild Cards: Then and Now) and Mattie Lubchansky (Boys Weekend).
This was an incredible panel for me to start off Comic-Con 2023. Moderated by the legendary Chip Kidd, who asked fascinating questions of the creators about their work, approach and process. Learning about their projects and how they research, process personal stories, or adapt fantasy fiction to create their graphic novels was enlightening. The panelists had a great variety in the type of stories they were telling with their work, so it was both informative and inspiring. I asked a question along these lines: “Since graphic novels and comics are a very intimate way of communicating with readers, how do they factor in the audience they want to talk to when they approach their work?” Joel Christian Gill, who teaches sequential art and creates graphic novels, spoke about depicting racial tropes that his graphic novel tackles and who he is speaking to and for. I’m not sure if a video was made of this panel, but if so, it is well worth watching.
Spotlight on John Romita, Jr.
I caught only about half of this panel, but wow! John Romita, Jr. in answering a question about Daredevil told a story from when he was a little kid. His father, John Romita, Sr., was a long time artist on Spider-Man for Marvel and was Marvel’s bullpen art director for many years. John Sr. passed away earlier this year, so it was an extra emotional story. JR Jr. and his brother were into sports and such and didn’t really pay much attention to what their father did for a living. When John Romita, Jr. was about 6 years old, he had a nightmare, and was scared that there were monsters in the closet and he couldn’t go back to sleep. Living in NYC, his father had a studio in the attic loft, and you had a pull down ladder from the lower floor to go up to where is dad was working late. Crying the boy went up, and his dad, busy at his drawing board, motioned for the young boy to wait for a moment. Then, father had his son look at the Daredevil cover on the drawing board. Paraphrasing here, his dad says: “This is Daredevil, he is a superhero like Superman, and he defeats all the bad guys. And he is blind” The young boy’s mind was blown, and he stopped crying as he looked at the cover, and thought about the blind superhero. Then he sat on the floor in his dad’s studio and drew for 2 hours, while his dad worked, and he was hooked.
The DSTLRY Live Draw
A start up comic book label, with an anthology magazine I picked up, and new titles coming out this fall. Artists Jock, Tula Lotay and Mirka Andolpho doing a live draw.
Mirka did an beautiful drawing while the others talked about the upcoming comics projects. I’ve seen Jock draw before so knew he would kill it. The wonderful artist Tula Lotay had some technical issues on the tablet she was working on, ended up with a nice portrait, but no time for Jock. I didn’t feel too bad for Tula, since she won an Eisner award on Friday night. I’m excited to see the creative work coming from this publisher!
Spotlight on P. Craig Russell
This was a major highlight of Comic-Con for me. Since I first saw his work in Epic Illustrated and the Marvel Graphic Novel, KILLRAVEN, P. Craig Russell has been one of my favorite and most inspiring illustrators. His work continues to transcend and motivate me in its beauty, storytelling and craft. Artist, colorist and scholar Jose Villarrubia moderated the panel with Russell.
In an insightful discourse with Villarrubia, Russell presented examples of his work through the years that he revisited to reimagine and/or improve on. Examples were artwork from Spectre, Marvel Fanfare (Spider-Man and Scarlet Witch), Doctor Strange, Sandman and Norse Mythology. Hearing Russell talk about his work and why he decided to change and improve on certain aspects of his artwork was a real window into his vision and aesthetic as a master artist and storyteller.
To complete the circle of my illustration pilgrimage, I went to the autograph session following the panel to meet my art hero. I had picked up an Elric graphic novel he illustrated for Marvel for him to sign. I thanked him and gave him some postcards of my own artwork. “Oh, this is quite good!” (Yes!) I asked if I could take a photo of him and he offered to hold up my artwork. Wow. I told him it should be a photo focused on his work, so he held up Elric with my postcard sticking out. What a generous artist. Thrilling!
A big personal moment for me during SDCC 2023: The P. Craig Russell panel and then meeting the master! I’ve been inspired by his art since seeing the Killraven graphic novel years ago. And his current work is even more magical and awe-inspiring. He offered some kind words on my work. Thrilling art pilgrimage moment for me! (A kind gesture I didn’t ask for: P. Craig Russell is holding one of my postcards along with the signed copy of ELRIC. Wow!)
Drawing with Dustin Nguyen
My last panel for the day was the last half of Drawing with Dustin Nguyen. Dustin is one of the most talented artists working in comics today doing traditional pencils and inks, and amazing watercolor illustrations. He was creating quick sketches as he answered questions for the audience and moderator. He told a story about working for Stan Lee studios, and other anecdotes of his creative work, all while drawing. At the end they gave the original sketches to some of the kids in attendance and took a large group photo. Very cool! One of my last purchases at SDCC on Sunday was getting his sketchbook in Artists Alley. (Got it as he was closing down his table..whew!) What a gem!
Thursday evening after our exit from the confines of Comic-Con we departed for an out of this world experience. Our daughter Sienna made reservations at a sci-fi themed speakeasy MOTHERSHIP. So fun, great backstory and the decor looked like a crashed spaceship embedded in an alien cave environment. Even the bathrooms were sci-fi crazy!
Friday focus on panels and the Eisner Awards that evening
Friday 7/21/2023 was another busy day for panels, but I found more time to explore on the exhibit floor. One highlight was finding some very cool prints by the artist Alex Nino. He is getting older and wasn’t there at the booth. I love Nino’s work and talked with his son about his father’s artwork. I also got to say hello to my good friend, and absolutely amazing artist Tony Guaraldi-Brown. Always wonderful to see Tony and see what art and comics projects he is creating. I got another great print this year. (My family got some more prints, too!) Also, late Friday afternoon, I saw the fantastic illustrator David Mack in Artists Alley and got a print and a graphic novel. Mack is great to talk to about art, so it was fun to share my postcards with him.
Spotlight on Lee Weeks
Comics great, Dan Jurgens, hosted the spotlight on the prolific and outstanding illustrator Lee Weeks. He was honored with an Inkpot award, very well-deserved!
Great session. Dan asked insightful questions, and Weeks offered up some rich detail of his influences, and storytelling approaches in his career as a comics artist. He talked about his early years in Maine, a friend whose uncle was an illustrator, and his experience in art schools, almost giving up until he got paying gigs. He discussed early days at Marvel and his different approaches to characters such as Daredevil, Batman and Superman. And in a answer to my question on influences outside of comics talked about a teacher that gave him a word of encouragement at just the right moment and giving him a professional contact. Influences also included film and music, particularly Jazz.
Later I found him in Artists Alley and got a breathtaking Batman print that Lee signed (see below). We talked about art, music and jazz after I gave Lee a set of my postcards. I had on a Silver Surfer #4 shirt with a BW version of the famous John Buscema cover of Thor and the Silver Surfer. He asked me if I liked Buscema. ( Hell yes…LOVE Big John!!!) He told me a story about the Marvel bullpen calling in the young artist in the 90s, and they attended a John Buscema workshop, basically drawing the Marvel Way! One tip, when drawing superheroes running, don’t reference athletes running, look at hockey players, because their movements to move on the ice are more dramatic, and makes for more dynamic poses in your drawings. And the Thor on my shirt – Lee said that basically John Buscema was drawing Mickey Mantle taking a big swing of the bat. The way Thor’s body twists ready to strike the Surfer with Mjolnir is basically the twisted posture of Mickey Mantle taking a big swing. I gave him some of my music postcards, and then we talked about jazz and Pat Metheny. He gave me some kind comments on my work. So great to meet Lee Weeks, wow!
Panel with Gene Luen Yang and Thien Pham
Graphic novel creators Gene Luen Yang and Thien Pham talked about their long time friendship, collaborations and creative support. They also discussed their recent work.
Gene talked about Disney adapting his graphic novel AMERICAN BORN CHINESE, and his many new projects. Thien talked about their friendship and discussed his recent work FAMILY STYLE, his graphic novel memoir. I saw Thien and Yang both recently at a special event signing at Flying Colors Comics in Concord, CA. (http://www.flyingcolorscomics.com/ ) If you don’t have it, you have to pickup Family Style. It is a charming, heartbreaking, funny and poignant story of a journey Thien takes with his family from Vietnam when he is a very small child on a refugee boat, to a camp and then to America, where he tries to fit in. Also I highly recommend watching American Born Chinese on Disney+ and reading the graphic novel. With a television series based on his original graphic novel, Gene talked about the changes, differences and story choices for the show.
The star of the panel, besides the comics work, was their friendship on full display. Their presentation was full of jokes, teasing each other, and sharing their support and love for each other as friends and as comics creators. This was without a doubt the most fun panel I went to. Their humor and enthusiasm was infectious!
The room was packed for the session, and on the exhibit floor the next day, Thien had a very long line at his signing at First Second Books. Great stuff!
Painting Quality Quick Portraits lesson and demo by Ron Lemen
Ron had three art instruction/demo panels at Comic-Con 2023. (Wow!) This was the one I went to. Sienna and Anita attended all three. Ron is an incredible artist and a wonderful teacher. He has the ability to give really important, valuable information to artists of all levels, making it fun and accessible. And he followed through by incorporating all of the approaches he discussed in a portrait drawing and into a 5-minute video of a head drawing that ties in all of the concepts he discussed. Ron’s sessions at Comic-Con are always some of the best each year. And for artists looking to find out what it takes or are looking to up their game, these are MUST attend sessions for all levels of artistic skill. Find out more at LEMENAID.com.
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When I was on the exhibition floor I did see some cool stuff:
35th Annual Eisner Awards
We attended the Eisner Awards, sitting in the back, and enjoyed seeing all of the nominees and winners. The presentation was stripped down a bit this year with fewer celebrity presenters. With the writers and actors on strike that was not a surprise. Unlike previous years, the Hall of Fame inductees were announced earlier in the day at a separate event. That is one part of the Eisners I really enjoy, seeing some of the top folks in the comics field get honored after distinguished careers. (I’ll have to catch a replay of the separate session they did.) The length of the main show didn’t feel much shorter, so I hope they reconsider this next year. So many deserving projects and creators were nominated and it was great to see all of those who won well-deserved awards. A big congrats to Zoe Thorogood who was awarded the Russ Manning Best Newcomer Award. One winner addressed some recent controversy that they said made their honor bittersweet. I’m no expert on the specifics, but hopefully this is can be a growing moment for the comics community.
My daughter Sienna and wife Anita were tired, so they left me to attend the after party. Rookie move on my part. I had a beer and a table at a good spot with hopes of meeting some folks and networking, but my phone was at 8%. D’oh! No way home if my phone is dead and no transit ticket! I found a plug on the side wall, away from most folks, but near a photo backdrop. So standing there leaned up against the wall, charging my phone I became the “Hey, would you take our Picture” Guy! With my phone charged up enough so I could access my trolley pass, I made my retreat. This Clark Kent vows to have his phone fully charged next year!
Here is a link to a list of Eisner winners: https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards-current-info
SDCC 2023 Saturday 7/22/2023: A Series of Very Interesting Events
Shaping Comics
This panel with Comic-Con special guests was assembled to compare how comics were created and shaped in the past with how they are created today, and what the future holds. Unfortunately, P. Craig Russell was not on the panel as billed. He and the amazing letterer Janice Chiang were the two panelists who could really compare approach and process from the past to how it is done currently. Chiang shared some wonderfully detailed stories about how she started, how it was working early in her career, and what her process is now – going from all hand drawn letters, to using her letter forms to make custom fonts. Her approach to storytelling and how she relied on others in the process was the best part of the panel. Writers Barbara Friedlander (Romance Comics for DC) and Merrie Spaeth (Horror and Mystery titles for Gold Key, and also a journalist) had really entertaining stories of how they worked in the past, but couldn’t really speak to how things are done now. Although the panel was very interesting, missing the artist part of the equation to contrast the art process today vs. in the past was unfortunate.
Later in that afternoon my family assembled to catch the Dave McKean presentation. I joined them in the room and caught the last part of the Mike Mignola panel, and saw the passing of the room baton between McKean and Mignola. Very cool.
The handoff between panels: Exit Mike Mignola and enter Dave McKean.
Dave McKean: Thalamus
This was a total powerhouse, blow your mind, inspire you and make you think session with the master himself, Dave McKean! In about 45-50 minutes of slides and his narration on his artwork, his projects and approaches, he took the audience through his whole career.
At the end, McKean had very prescient and thoughtful things to say about the impact, craziness and disruption of AI. (The upshot is that it is not intelligent and it has no soul.) And he previewed his upcoming retrospective art book: THALAMUS. This session and the P. Craig Russell spotlight were definitely the highlight panels for me at Comic-Con this year. My wife, daughter Sienna, and I all attended the Dave McKean presentation. As we left, Sienna said that her brain was tingling from processing all of the inspirational and in depth art input! I’ve had the opportunity to see McKean on few panels before, usually talking about a specific project and taking some questions about his career. This one was transcendent!
Later in the afternoon, I found Dave McKean signing on the exhibit floor and got to talk with him more about his work, and on the disruption of AI. Got a couple of things signed, looked at a bunch of originals and saw an amazing limited edition set of silkscreen prints (8 individual prints) that were spectacular. We talked about his process of creating the art and separations for the silkscreen prints. Really wonderful to pick his brain and see the originals and prints. I really wish I had extra funds available for those prints.
Frazetta Legacy and the Future of the Frazettaverse
Another great panel that included the granddaughter of the late, legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta.
Sara Frazetta, and artists Bill Sienkiewicz and William Stout discussed his influence and impact on them and beyond.
They were joined later in the panel by the Dynamic Comics folks that are publishing Frazetta inspired comics, and also joined by a filmmaker, who has begun a documentary on Frazetta. They previewed about 5 minutes of the doc. That will probably be finished in a couple of years. Really excellent panel. Bill Sienkiewicz passionately talked about Frazetta’s work and influence on him and others. Bill Stout told a great story from his childhood about seeing a Conan paperback cover from across a drugstore that hit him like a laser. He was hooked and credited Frazetta for being the reason he became an artist. With the large number of panelists each had a limited amount of time. I would have loved to hear Stout talk at more length on Frazetta. I imagine he could do a whole session by himself on the topic. They packed a lot into an hour, so it was a great session to attend.
Saturday SDCC Exhibit Hall fun:
Some highlights of the fun I had on the floor on Saturday 7/22/2023.
One of my early stops was going to Keith Knight’s table in the small press area. Keith is funny and brilliant as a cartoonist, writer, artist and satirist, and is one of the best we have creating work today. His work was recently turned into the live action comedy series on Hulu “Woke.” I told him that by far he had the funniest line at the Eisner Awards on Friday night. I’m paraphrasing with Hollywood on strike, “the Exhibit Hall at Comic-Con has been so busy this year, that by Thursday the bathrooms already smelled like Saturday night!” I’ve been a big fan of Keith’s for many years and it is so great to see the success he is having. I picked up some of his (th)ink series of posters to go with others we have. This year I got four: James Baldwin, Muhammad Ali, John Lewis and Maya Angelou. I told him how much I love the series, and he said it is so rewarding for him to research and learn more about the important figures he depicts with portraits and quotes. I also picked up his latest book. His kids were there and he introduced me to his wife. Thanks Keith! You can get your own prints from Keith at www.kchronicles.com
Somehow I must have melted under fan boy pressure and didn’t get a photo of Keith.
I stopped by and said hello to my friend and comics artist Matt Harding, working at the ONI booth. Great to see Matt. I got him to sign a comic he colored and he pointed me to a new Sci-Fi Anthology Comic ONI is publishing and I got the artist to sign the comics. Thanks Matt!
I also stopped by Red 5 Comics to congratulate Jim Ousley on the Eisner nomination for the series he wrote Atonement Bell. It didn’t win, but the graphic novel collecting the series was selling briskly. I picked up a copy so I can read the whole story. It was also great to catch up with Alex De Luca. His Dragon Whisperer series for Red 5 is going well. In fact all of the copies he had of it were sold out by Saturday. Well done!
After the Exhibit Hall closed, we walked outside in hopes of having some brews on the Voodoo Ranger Pirate Ship, but it was closed. So we walked all the way back around to the other side of the convention center and ran into Ron and Vanessa Lemen at the crosswalk. We went back to the sidewalk and visited with them for a while. Saturday Night we were in the audience for the Masquerade (Cosplay) on-stage competition. There were 30 competitors with some crazy and amazing cosplay designs. Many of them had full on stage acts or routines they did along with showing off their creations. When the 30 finished, the judges needed time to deliberate. So to fill in the time (about an hour) there was a Jedi Light Saber troupe that did a whole staged Jedi battle story and then a Zelda storyline Dance Troupe that performed. Then the awards were handed out. Fun, but long evening. Below was the view as we waited in line to enter the show at dusk.
Sunday finale at San Diego Comic-Con
7/23/2023: For the final day of Comic-Con I reserve for as much time soaking in original art, and catching as many folks as I can in Artists Alley. The one panel I thought about going to had a really long line so it was a no go! Sunday is a no time to waste day!
I came across the great Jae Lee. He was busy working on commissions, and also signing prints. Who could pass up signed prints from Jae Lee? I got a set of 3, 1 for me and one for each of my daughters. Great way to start Sunday!
Comics great Adam Hughes was very busy at his table. I looked at some of his originals and picked up a Captain Marvel comic with his cover art that he signed. I told him how much I appreciated his stories and remembrances in the Dave Stevens documentary. He said he appreciated that. If you love Dave Stevens artwork, you need to stream the documentary. I also stopped by Keron Grant’s booth, killer work! I picked up a few things. A new discovery for me was the poster work of illustrator Kevin Tong. WOW! The MIles Davis poster in the gallery below was spectacular! 18×24 was just a little bigger than I could handle. Shoulda got it!
I had noticed on Facebook that the amazing Comics Super Couple Matt and Sara Harding were having an anniversary. They were both working at the ONI display, so I cruised by as they were both helping customers and yelled, “Happy Anniversary, Matt and Sara!” I guess I didn’t take a photo. Hopefully there is not on security camera footage somewhere that will haunt me someday.
William Stout and the Blues
At William Stout’s table I picked up a Comics Journal Special Edition (from 2003) that has an impressive 43 pages of content looking at Stout’s career. I have quite a few art books and prints of Stout’s, but this looked like it covered portions of his early work I’m less familiar with. So I was happy to get him to sign that for me. In talking with him, you guessed it I showed him my postcards. Bill is a music historian, especially on the Blues. So we talked about my music portraits and about his work. He thanked me for the postcards and then he gave me a copy of magazine with an illustrated article he also wrote entitled “The Godfathers and Godmothers of the British Blues.” So cool! Wow!
The Magic of Barron Storey
I stopped by Eidolon Fine Arts to see Barron and to look again at some of his originals. Barron was completely engaged and in the moment, sketching people standing in line near the booth. I decided not to break his magic trance. I had talked with Barron, and Ryan Graff, on Friday evening at the booth and picked up one of his graphic journals “Trumped” that he signed for me. I had also spent time with the master at his art opening early in the month at Ryan Graff Contemporary Gallery in San Francisco. (www.ryangraffcontemporary.com) So, it was much more inspiring to stay with the moment as it was, look at Barron’s art, and enjoy watching him create. I also snuck a couple of photos. Without interrupting Baron, I did pick up a beautiful sketchbook featuring the art of Joao Ruas.
Since returning from Comic-Con it was announced that Barron was inducted into the Society of Illustrators all of Fame. Well-deserved and overdue. Congratulations Barron!
What an amazing moment to observe. Another big highlight from SDCC 2023 for me.
More art and artists
I circled back to Allen Spiegel Fine Arts booth to have the influential and prolific illustrator and fine artist Kent Williams sign the art book I had picked up the day before. We talked art for a bit and I shared some of my postcards with him. He had a few questions about my work and he really liked my Joshua Redman Muse piece. Thanks Kent! One of the great things about having access to artists at SDCC 2023 is to be able to not just see their work, but have chance to pick their brain.
One regret this year: I should have spent more time looking at original art. Soaking in original pieces and seeing artist story notes in the margins, the faint pencil and blue line left under the ink, or studying the paint and technique is where the magic happens. With limited time on Sunday I only skimmed the surface of what I could have seen. Here are some examples in the galleries of some of the work I happened upon.
Illustration Greats. Also, savoring the originals of illustration giants at the Taraba Illustration booth is a special treat on Sunday! I didn’t take a picture of everything, but among the work I saw included studies by Leyendecker and several drawings and studies by Dean Cornwell.
And more original comics work…I think at Heritage Auctions booth, with auction estimates.
Then for the quick wrap up on the floor to say goodbye, when Anita and Sienna met Chewie. Family vacations are now being planned!
Sienna in the above photo has in hand her freshly purchased Peter Kuper print. Sweet!
In Artists Alley we bid farewell to the amazing artist and our fabulous friend Tony Guaraldi-Brown!
Thanks to Sara Wilkinson for snapping the crazy photo of Tony and my gang! During the Con we stopped by Tony’s booth a few times to catch up. There seemed to be a lot of folks stopping by his booth and he seemed busy. I got one of his great prints to join my Tony collection at home. (Check out his work at tgbart.com ) His next door art neighbor Sarah Wilkinson (www.SarahWilkinsonArt.com) looked like she was having a great Con as well. Somehow I didn’t get a photo of her, but I did get one of her Star Wars prints.
Earlier during SDCC 2023, on Thursday or Friday, I stopped by the great Peter Kuper’s table. I talked art with him and his recent projects and upcoming graphic novel. The recent library installation and project he worked on in NYC is leading into his next graphic novel. So exciting. LOVE his work and and I got a couple of posters from him. Sienna had also picked up a print. He had some kind things to say about my art. Unfortunately, I whiffed and didn’t get a photo with Peter this year, but I did snap the photo below in Artists Alley on Sunday.
Ron and Vanessa Lemen: My Art Pilgrimage is Complete @ SDCC 2023
And no trip to Comic-Con is complete without spending some time with Ron and Vanessa Lemen. We had been able to chat with Ron a few times and had attended some of his presentations. We did bump into them both on Saturday evening outside the convention center. Vanessa is busy painting for upcoming exhibitions, so was she limited with the time she was at SDCC this year. On Sunday, Ron and Vanessa took time during the busy final hours of Comic-Con to look at some of the originals that I brought with me. I had a few finished pieces, and also some of the sketches and quick pieces I have created as part of the Drawing Hive community. That was extremely generous and amazing. I really appreciated the feedback, questions and comments. They are such talented artists and such caring friends. Thanks Ron and Vanessa!
That’s a wrap. It was five days full of art and enrichment. My hope of sharing this here is that you’ll find inspiration, or something to explore or to research further. Thanks! ‘Nuff Said!
Chuck Todd, July 2023
Feel free to email me if you have any questions or want to talk about my artwork. chucktoddartist@gmail.com
For more of my illustrations and artwork go to: www.chucktodd.net
A Post Conference Postcard Post
I started with an image of me holding the postcards. So for a post credits postcard scene, here they are:
Eastern Fox Squirrel illustration for Los Angeles Magazine
For the September issue of Los Angeles Magazine my illustration of a fox squirrel accompanies a Know Your Neighbor column by Jason G. Goldman. I have turned in artwork for October’s column and am looking forward to more wildlife illustrations for the monthly column. As they publish I’ll share.
Here is the link to the column with some fun facts on how non-native fox squirrels found their way to Los Angeles and Southern California.
http://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/know-your-neighbors-eastern-fox-squirrel/
Eastern Fox Squirrel illustration in Los Angeles Magazine http://www.lamag.com
Injustice: When justice attacked and rendered powerless
It seems that too often in America justice fails us.
Yesterday’s grand jury announcement that there would be no criminal charges against the police officer who killed an unarmed 18-year-old named Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri sparked more rage, unrest, looting, riots and violence. Many more people were hurt and buildings destroyed in Ferguson. Unrest, protests and riots happened around the country last night and including close to home in Oakland.
Today, It seems fitting to post a b&w illustration I did last year for VERDICT on the theme of justice being cut down and rendered powerless.
We should not let injustice, racism and violence rule in any form. We have work to do as a nation and in our communities to mend justice and find true peace and equality.
Chuck Todd Illustration of Lady Justice being attacked and cutdown, rendered powerless. Created for VERDICT
Chuck Todd’s Smartphone Kill Switch artwork featured in newspapers; Huffington Post story
Artwork by Chuck Todd for Bay Area News Group; Illustration was also used by Huffington Post. “Kill Switch” technology locks down smartphones in an effort to keep phones and private information out of the hands of thieves.
I created this illustration for Bay Area News Group to go with a Dana Hull story on lock down technology used by Apple and other smartphone makers to thwart thieves from stealing private information from a cell phone. In print the illustration ran in the San Jose Mercury News and in the Contra Costa Times in the TechMonday business section. I few months later I was delighted to learn that my artwork was also picked up by The Huffington Post and ran with this story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/16/smartphone-kill-switch_n_5158926.html
The illustration was created with pencil, photocopy and Photoshop. I wanted to really push the threatening feeling of the hands trying to snatch the iPhone. I did this as a separate drawing, xeroxed it to push the blacks and texture and then worked back into it some more. On another piece of bristol board I drew the hand and the lock with chains wrapping around the iPhone to keep it locked down. I scanned both in and accented the hand and phone with color in photoshop. Keeping the background black and white was more striking and sinister. This approach harkens back to my love for printmaking and etching.
Devin Farney Poster and CD cover for Brilliant Ideas, Advertising
Chuck Todd Illustration for Brilliant Ideas advertising for promotional material and CD cover “Introducing the Music of Devin Farney” Pencil and Photoshop.
For this and more of my illustrations go to my Directory of Illustration portfolio:
http://goo.gl/oQZCQq
or visit my website: http://www.chucktodd.net
Art direction by Briliiant Ideas, Advertising (copyright)
For more on the music of Devin Farney and Brilliant Ideas go to:
http://biadverts.com/2013/07/july-22-2013-the-devin-farney-press-release-is-on/
Freud and Siri
Freud attempts to get inside the mind of Apple’s enigmatic Siri.
Recently I got this illustration assignment for a Pat May story published in the San Jose Mercury and Bay Area News Group papers. Pat was interested in finding out what made Apple’s enigmatic, helpful (sometimes) and mysterious female concierge tick. He wanted to get inside SIRI’s head. To do that he enlisted the help of a local psychologist to probe and ask SIRI questions to discover the mind behind the iPhone voice.
Trying to psychoanalyze SIRI was a fun assignment to get. When the story was pitched to me by the Business editors we hit the idea of putting SIRI on the psychiatrist’s couch. I took the idea and ran with it. And what more famous couch…or psychiatrist to dive into the mind of SIRI than Sigmund Freud himself. No kidding on running with this assignment….with other newspaper deadline work I had just a morning and part of the afternoon to go from thumbnail to finish.
You’ll find in the illustration a few apple and female related symbols.
You’ll find Pat May’s story at this link:
A goodbye to James Gandolfini and Tony Soprano
Detail of James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano. Illustration by Chuck Todd
The funeral for actor James Gandolfini was held today in New York City. Gandolfini died last week of a heart attack in Italy at the age of 51. Gandolfini brought the character of mobster Tony Soprano to life in HBO’s “The Sopranos.” He breathed into the character complexity, vulnerability and a violent power seething under the surface. So sad to lose such a great actor in the prime of his life.
As friends and family of the actor gathered to celebrate Gandolfini’s life I thought I would share this illustration I did of Tony Soprano for the Contra Costa Times when “The Soprano’s” ruled.
Pencil and watercolor illustration of Tony Soprano (James Gandolini) in boxing gear for The Contra Costa Times
Battle for the Emmy’s A&E cover for the Contra Costa Times. Illustrations by Chuck Todd. background and design by Dave Johnson. Art direction by MaryAnne Talbott.
The A&E cover for the Contra Costa Times featured boxing poster take on “THE BATTLE FOR THE EMMYS” with James Gandolfini and Martin Sheen portrayed as boxers as “The Sopranos” and “The West Wing” fought for Emmy Awards supremacy. I created the characters of Tony Soprano and President Bartlet in pencil and watercolor adding in boxing gloves, shorts and some details that matched each character. Fellow artist Dave Johnson did the design, background photographer and combine them in photoshop…art direction by MaryAnne Talbott.
RIP James Gandolfini.
Priority Based Budgeting graphic and Budget Story project get national attention
An infographic created for the city of Walnut Creek to explain how the process works in their city. Part of a group presentation I gave at the “Transforming Local Government Conference”
I was honored to be part of a group asked to give a presentation at the Alliance for Innovation “Transforming Local Government Conference in Atlanta on April 10, 2013. Our presentation was entitled “Think Outside the Bar Chart! Creating Compelling Budget Communications for Public Engagement” Walnut Creek Assistant City Manager Lorie Tinfow, , Multi-Media Producer Liz Payne and I were joined in spirit by Communications and Outreach Manager Gayle Vassar in spirit though she could not be at the presentation in person.
Last year I was asked to work on a project that grew into “A COMMUNITY CONNECTED: THE 2012-14 BUDGET STORY” for Walnut Creek, CA. The project grew out of a desire to create a more visual, informative and engaging publication than the typical large budget binder. To create something with more context and to also help the public understand the work the city is doing…and the tough challenges and choices ahead. Gayle and Lorie assembled a team that included Finance Manager Cindy Mosser, Liz Payne, Blue Ribbon Taskforce member Karen Majors and myself.
As a visual journalist on the project I was brought in to find visual ways to tell the story. And in the presentation I got to discuss what a visual journalist does and the process of working on the publication, cover and the Priority Based Budgeting infographic. A visual journalist takes complex information, data and ideas and turns it into a visual story….focusing on key messages and what is important to connect to the reader. Visual Journalism is visual reporting using illustration, infographics, design and/or sequential art.
Priority Based Budgeting is a process where a city establishes goals and with input from The City Council, city staff and citizens rank programs and spending in how well they met the goals. It is new, innovative way for cities to aproach budgets and the city of Walnut Creek is one of the first to embrace the process.
The graphic and publication has been well received by the citizens in Walnut Creek and has garnered national attention. It was a great honor to be asked to give our “Think Outside the Bar Chart!” presentation at the TLG conference. I’m including here the cover and a two-page spread from the Budget Story.
It was a great experience and I even got to meet the folks who came up with the idea of Priority Based Budgeting. Getting compliments from them on how well the graphic described the process was high praise indeed! For more about their work go to ( For more on Priority based Budgeting go to: http://www.pbbcenter.org)
VISUAL TRIBUTE TO GARY BOGUE
After 42 years Gary Bogue’s final column published in Friday’s Contra Costa Times.
Gary wrote his pets and wildlife column for the Times for 42 years. Amazing. More amazing is his wealth of knowledge, his empathy for wild critters and his connection to his readers. I have had the honor of working with Gary at the paper on graphics, wildlife posters….and on our three books for HeyDay Books. Gary is a great resource, a gracious and incredible collaborator and a dear friend. We have been on many adventures together to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum for research and events…and giving talks to schools and civic groups throughout the Bay Area. Gary is a pure storyteller, in his columns, in his books….and on our roadtrips to various events.
I’ll miss working with Gary at the Times…I don’t think the place will ever be the same. But, I better clear off my schedule. Now that he has more time…he’ll be hitting me up with many more book projects to illustrate. Bring it on Gary, let the adventures continue! And congratulations on 42 wonderful years of columns that connected, enlightened and raised millions in funds to help preserve open space and care for animals in the Bay Area.
Here is a link to a story on his amazing career in today’s CCT Times.
IDEA INVESTING
Illustration by Chuck Todd. Story by Peter Delevett. Centerpiece design by Daymond Gascon. For the Monday TECHNOLOGY section in Bay Area News Group print and digital editions
How do you illustrate the concept of Investing in Ideas? One of the two startups highlighted in Peter Delevett’s story called MOTIF aggregates companies into motifs or ideas. Say an investor likes PETS. Yup you can invest in a grouping of PET companies. Or GREEN companies, or FAST FOOD companies or MOBILE TECH companies, etc.
I thought of an idea taking off, earning money. The concept of turning light bulbs into a flock of ideas flying up and away popped into my head. After a couple of thumbnails the idea gelled. I used $100 bills to construct the wings, which created some fun, bird like patterns. I kept this one loose and fun, I painted up one light bulb and incorporated the finished wings all in photoshop. Then I duplicated the ‘light bulb with wings’ image on multiple layers and made the smaller ones more transparent. I used my artistic license to keep an old style of light bulb…allowing me to leave a subtle birdlike beak on the bulb.
This appeared in Monday print editions. To read Peter’s story online go here:
GUYPOCALYPSE NOW
Illustration by Chuck Todd for story by Bruce Newman for Bay Area News Group
Don’t blame the end of the male species on sex, drugs and rock and roll. A new e-book claims that violent video games and online porn are leading to the “Demise of Guys.”
In today’s online and print editions of San Jose Mercury News, Contra Costa Times and Oakland Tribune Bruce Newman writes about the new book.
Newman writes: ” Lamentations over the fall of man reached a crescendo recently with the publication of a celebrated Stanford University psychologist’s e-book, which suggests that guys may be doomed by their addiction to Xbox video games and X-rated video dames. Among author Philip Zimbardo’s more startling conclusions in “The Demise of Guys,” co-authored by Nikita Duncan: “Video games and online pornography could kill you.”
To read the whole story click here:
For the illustration I wanted to highlight the violent video games and online porn that the authors claim are isolating and rewiring the brains of men. I contrasted the physical play of a video game with the internal impact and social isolation. I drew the teen head and shoulders in pencil and created a separate drawing of the hands and the controller. Most of the line art to represent video games and porn was done in Photoshop. The zombies I sketched and scanned in. The rest was painted in Photoshop.
CLOUD CONFUSION
Here is my latest illustration for today’s (June 8) editions of the San Jose Mercury News and Bay Area News Group papers for a column by Mike Cassidy. With all of the “cloud” storage out there for apps, photos, documents, videos and such it makes it virtually impossible to keep track of the virtual clutter. Cassidy says that the “beauty of the cloud” doesn’t help when ” I don’t even know what cloud I’ve seeded with what document.” Here is a link to Cassidy’s column on http://www.mercurynews.com:
I explored the motif of having someone’s head in a cloud. Rather than it being a positive…the clutter of files swirl about…the cloud, like fog, makes it hard to see…or remember where things are. The cloud hides, twists and confuses around the head. I like the fog-like fingers of the cloud that start to wrap around the man’s head and in front of his vision. The final is painted in Photoshop on top of rough sketch. For speed, I sketched out the line art clutter in pencil on paper, scanned it in and layered it into the photoshop file.
THE INFLUENCE OF BARRON STOREY
I wanted to share an illustration project I did a few years ago for the Contra Costa Times that shows the influence on my work of master illustrator Barron Storey. Barron has done everything as an illustrator, book covers, Time magazine covers, National Geographic…he has a mural in the American Museum of Natural History and portraits hanging in the National Portrait Gallery.
If I have ever seen true genius at work it is looking at a Barron Storey original…once in illustrator Bill Koeb’s old apartment in San Francisco and I have had the luck of catching a couple of gallery shows in the city over the years. His sketchbooks are legend: His personal visual journals and his graphic novel work have influenced and inspired many artists: Dave McKean, Bill Sienkiewicz, Greg Spalenka, Bill Koeb, George Pratt and Kent Williams among them.
As a teacher he may be without a peer…so I hear. Barron is the reason I moved to the Bay Area in 1996 to pursue a graduate degree in illustration at the Academy or Art in San Francisco. I researched the influences of artists that influenced me…many of them cited Barron as an important influence. That’s how I discovered the Academy of Art and how I ended up in the Bay Area. My timing was a bit late. By the time I started my graduate courses in the fall of 1996, Barron was no longer teaching at the school, but was teaching at California College of Arts and Crafts and at San Jose State. Although I didn’t take one of Barron’s classes I was taught by artists who studied with Barron (Carol Nunnelly and my graduate advisor Bill Koeb)…so I was able to absorb some of his wisdom though them.
I have had the privilege of meeting Barron a few times. The first was at a gathering at Bill Koeb’s pad in San Francisco probably in 2000. About 5 years ago I was attending the Alternative Press Expo (APE) in San Francisco with Gary Amaro ( another of my graduate advisors. ) I had some samples with me including these Cancer Journey pieces.
About the Cancer Journey project. Contra Costa Times writer Dan Borenstein penned a five part series in 2007 on his harrowing experience with cancer and cancer treatments. I was honored and humbled by the challenge of illustrating each installment of the series. ( And indebted to Dan for sharing his story and giving me such a poignant project to be a part of.) I came up with the thought of a sequence of panels, interconnected that could each tell each part of the story individually. But when combined –on the final day of the series – made a sequence of panels telling the more complete narrative. The layering of elements, with drawings and line work is a direct influence of Barron. Not as much in the technique (who the hell can draw as well as Barron Storey?)…but in an approach to storytelling that I have soaked in from Barron’s journals.
Coming full circle: At the Alternative Press Expo, Gary and I found a table that Barron had been at to sign his journal book “LIFE AFTER BLACK.” I bought the book, word was that Barron was around and would be back. As we walked around the hall looking at the variety of local artists and creators we bumped into Barron. We talked for a bit and I asked if he wouldn’t mind taking a quick look at some of my work. He very graciously did…and when he saw the Cancer Journey images has asked me about them. I gave him a quick rundown of what it was about and said that I created them for the newspaper. He said something to the effect “Amazing work. So great that they published this in a newspaper.” I honestly died and went to heaven. I felt like I had come from the world of wanting to be…to being. That I had ascended the mountain top after toiling and struggling for years on the climb. From a dream of wanting to be better than I was as a visual journalist and illustrator in Missouri. From a dream of studying with the master in California and falling short. To finally, the master himself holding my work and finding value in it.
Barron continues to inspire me and give me something to aspire to. If you are not familiar with Barron’s work you should be. Here is a link
Here is the note Barron scribed for me in his book “Life After Black.” Thanks Barron.
CONNECTION POINT
In Today’s TECHNOLOGY section in the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times is my illustration for a Peter Delevett story on new startup services that allow users to stay connected to friends from multiple lists and networks from one central location. Many of the services use geo-location features that allows users to track friends, and their locations, in real time. Here is a link to the story:
This was a super quick turnaround. Thursday I had a thumbnail sketch approved, but I wasn’t able to start illustrating on the finished piece until Friday morning. The concept I came up with conveys a connection to many contacts in multiple networks. Of course this meant on Friday morning I cranked out 28 different faces in my sketchbook. ( I felt like I was doing a homework assignment for the late, great Barbara Bradley at the Academy of Art in San Francisco!) About two thirds of the faces are from photo reference, about a third are invented. ( I snuck in a few friends, family and even jazz musician Joshua Redman.) The main figure holds up her cell phone into the singular connection point that all of the other networks of friends are joined to. The circles were created in illustrator, the faces and figure were sketches I scanned in and rest was painted and combined in Photoshop. Starting on the faces at 9 a.m. I turned in the finished illustration to the designer at 5:30 p.m. I can’t think of a better way to spend a day!
Here is how to looked on the page, design by the talented Daymond Gascon:
Bidding Wars in hot housing markets and Apps with the latest Rental vacancies
A quick post with two housing themed illustrations for Bay Area News Group. The Bidding Wars illustration went with an A1 story on the San Jose Mercury News and other front pages on housing markets in parts of the Bay Area that are red hot. In some South Bay areas, the demand is sparking multiple bids and bidding wars on high-priced homes. Hey those newly rich Facebook folks have to find a place to live.
The second illustration below went with a business and technology story in Bay Area News Group. This story dealt with apps and websites that allow users to get up to the minute updates on Rental properties in the Bay Area.
IS INVESTMENT IN SOCIAL MEDIA KILLING REAL INNOVATION IN SILICON VALLEY?
With the recent Facebook IPO and a lot of venture capital spending going for the quick return of social media companies, there is a growing concern that the pursuit of the quick buck is killing real innovative technologies (in medical, robotics, clean energy, etc.) that take longer for a return on investment. This is my illustration for a Chris O’Brien column in the Sunday (May 27) San Jose Mercury News and Bay Area News Group papers and websites. O’Brien quotes entepreneur Steve Blank as saying that it is “pushing real innovation outside of our country. And it might be the demise of what we do in Silicon Valley.” O’Brien explores the ideas on solutions to the problem that Blank and others have, including the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps. program. You should pick up the paper or go to the story online to read the article…link is below:
For this illustration I used a landscape to depict innovation and contrast that with an opposite. The futuristic landscape is an abstraction of Silicon Valley. Innovation is like a bright light…so the sun represents the light of innovation and ideas. Massive clouds gather, casting a shadow over the valley and buildings and starts to block out the light source of innovation. In the cloud I had fun layering in swirls of money, a few social media companies…and even an eye from the back of a dollar bill. The cloud is building energy and momentum as it pulls in more money.
Here is how the page turned out with a great design by Daymond Gascon.
THE VERDICT: IMPRISONMENT WITHOUT DUE PROCESS
Illustration for The Verdict by Chuck Todd
A couple of quick, direct black and white images for The Verdict – a quarterly journal published by the Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals (CCLP). I created these a couple of months back, the magazine should be out soon.
The illustration is for an article on the National Defense Authorization Act and its lack of constitutionality and due process that allows for indefinite detention of individuals. Senator Dianne Feinstein has submitted to Congress the Due Process Guarantee Act that would prohibit the indefinite detention of American citizens or permanent residents.
The edgy, gritty images show individuals who have lost their freedom, they are prisoners who have no voice or rights. The illustrations I do for Verdict are always black and white…bring out my printmaking, pen and ink and sequential art skills and influences.
Prisoner spot illustration for The Verdict by Chuck Todd
Sinister Malvertisements: Even when you don’t click sneaky cybercrooks use these ads to attack
This is a very disturbing trend. Disturbing and scary make for some great visuals. So…OK, I admit it. I had a lot of fun with this illustration for the TECHNOLOGY section published May 14 in the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times. According to the story by the Merc’s Steve Johnson, cybercrooks are using “malvertisements” to steal data, infect computers and wreak havoc. Codes are hidden in these malicious ads…and the ads can show up on legitimate sites that screen for ads gone wrong. Not only are the malware codes hidden, a user does not even have to click on the ad to become a victim. Experts say this trend is only going to get worse. This story is worth a read to understand the problem and to get a few tips on how to protect yourself. Here is a link to Steve’s story
When I came up with the motif of the sinister shadow of a clawed hand and arm coming out of a computer everything else fell into place. The trick was to show someone getting attacked, but being unaware. I had the woman looking at a website with ads on the side. Out of one of the ads the shadow, filled with malware code, shoots out and wraps around. The hand is just about to get the woman. I hit on the idea of binary code interspersed with the word “MALVERTISEMENT” to layer into the shadow. I would have to say this one is one of my favorites so far this year for Bay Area News Group.
Here is how it looked in print across the Bay Area News Group papers, with a great page design by business design chief, Jennifer Morris.
iPhone Freedom…or Life After Your iPhone
A quick post on a recent illustration for a Jessica Yadegaran column for the Contra Costa Times and San Jose Mercury News. The column was about her newfound freedom from the trappings of her iPhone. Jessica left it in the back seat of a plane after letting her kid play with the phone during the flight. She was unable to get the phone back and was forced to revert back to her old phone. At first she missed her iPhone and felt lost without it. But she soon realized she was spending more time enjoying life in the moment, rather than respond to each text, tweet or status update. Here is a link to Jessica’s story:
I played with the concepts of being trapped, shackled or imprisoned to contrast the idea of freedom. Also I tried to factor in how to depict the lost iPhone. I started playing with the idea of flight to symbolize freedom. The birdcage seemed like a great way to express being trapped. For the final solution I created the iPhone in illustrator and used the old cartooning trick of using dashed lines to indicate something that is a ghost or invisible. The rest was created in photoshop. The line art of style of the birdcage further contrasts the swirls and looser more painterly approach to the background and the woman with wings flying out of the cage.
An infographic to share on Mothers Day
I created this graphic for Bay Area News Group back in March for a Mike Swift story on the ShoeBox app for iPhones that allows you to make a digital archive of old family photos . Here is a link to the story on the ContraCostaTimes.com website http://tiny.cc/iln8dw
In creating this graphic and in helping come up with visuals for the print presentation, I dug out a tattered shoe box full of old family photos. The main photo I used in the graphic to show how the app works is a photo of my Mom, Carlita Carolyn Todd. I hadn’t planned on using this image for the graphic, but it really seemed to be the best portrait I had in the old shoebox to use to tell the story. The portrait is a school portrait from her early years as a teacher in Fordland, Missouri. I would guess the photo is from 1960 or 1961 or thereabouts.
I researched how to use the app, and took photos with my iPhone for the graphic. I used a ink marker to draw the hands and phone and opted to keep them simple and graphic with no color to keep the emphasis on the photos and the process of upload images in the ShoeBox App. I combined all of the elements using photoshop and illustrator.
I haven’t posted many infographics on this blog. But for Mothers Day it seemed appropriate to share this graphic and the photo of my Mom. Although Mom passed away in 1991, she got to see my illustrations and graphics work published in the Springfield News-Leader. One Sunday when she was in the hospital before she passed, I had an illustration on the front of the paper and a TV book cover illustration of Twin Peaks (yes…that long ago) in the paper. The nurses told me how proud she was to see my work and how she glowed when showing them. As my teacher, my mother and as an incredible influence, she still inspires me.
To all Mothers past and present…Happy Mothers Day.
And if you haven’t checked out the ShoeBox app…it is a very handy way to archive and share those old family photos.
‘IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN’ EARTH DAY ILLUSTRATION
Angela Hill’s story, published Sunday in Bay Area News Group papers, explores why it isn’t easy being green…in fact it can be downright confusing. What may claimed to be green, when looking at the carbon imprint and the amount of energy used in manufacturing a “green” product may net an adverse impact on Mother Earth. So sometimes when we are trying to be green we may not be…thankfully sometimes we are. The story offers tips and sites where you can go to help make good green decisions.
For the illustration I wanted to evoke a sense of Earth Day and of the dichotomy of making green choices…and choices that end up not being green. I wanted to avoid using a big earth for Earth Day…been there, done that. Instead I wanted to focus on the personal side of someone making green decisions. I came up with the concept of the Earth being used as the lens in a pair of sunglasses. One side the earth is green with blue ocean in the lens. The other has the continents in red and water is gray. On that side of the figure the color scheme is gray on the figure with red in the lens and background.
On the green side…color is vibrant..using a green, blue color scheme with warm flesh tones in the figure to give that side more life. We positioned the headline in the head scarf and the story in the dress of the figure. An extra embellishment was picking up the continents as a pattern in the scarf and dress.
Of late…all of the illustrations at the news job have been quick turnarounds…but challenging and fun. I working up a rough sketch, scanned it in and did more drawing and painting in Photoshop. I rendered the continents first in Illustrator and then imported to photoshop. Features Design Chief Jennifer Schaefer pulled it all together on the page and made it all work. For the page we used a tight, more dynamic crop.
I’ve been slamming out so much illustration work for Bay Area News Group recently I have had little chance to update my blog…I’ll start catching up this week.
THE AURATOR: DEADLY SECRETS by M.A. KROPF
Illustration and logo design by Chuck Todd for "The Aurator: Deadly Secrets." "The Aurator" is a sci fi / fantasy, medical thriller by M.A. Kropf. The first of a trilogy of book covers I'll be illustrating. The first book is NOW AVAILABLE as an ebook, in hardcover and softcover from Xlibris.
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IT WAS A REAL JOY AND FUN CHALLENGE TO WORK ON THIS SCI FI / FANTASY BOOK COVER. This artwork has the kind of visual storytelling I love the most. Mystery and drama..think Sci Fi and Film Noir..that really gets the creative juices flowing. A lot of fun elements to play with for an artist: fog, threatening shadows, a San Francisco landmark….and The Aurator, Megan, entering the scene with her glowing red aura. The book written by M.A. Kropf has just published and is the first of a trilogy. I better get busy on the next two cover illustrations.
You can find the book here: http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-0111572049/The-Aurator.aspx
UPDATE: Now available as an ebook as of Friday, March 9.
Here is a description of the book:
THE AURATOR: Deadly Secrets by M.A. KROPF
First book of a Trilogy. Genre: Fantasy/Sci Fi
Illustration and logo design by Chuck Todd
“Megan is a nurse, wife and a mother who learns that her lifelong heightened sensory perception puts her among an ancient elite group known as Aurators—those who can read people’s auras. Mentored by Max, leader of the Aurators, she is swiftly thrust into membership within a secret historical medical society originating back to ancient Greece and her world quickly wobbles between reality and the supernatural driving her to the brink of insanity. In discovering her powerful bloodline, she also learns the prophecy marking her to protect the world from the Caduceus, an equally ancient society intent on world destruction. Conflicted between her professional oath to do no harm, and her prophesied calling to protect the innocent, Megan cannot deny an inherent and swiftly growing urge to do the unimaginable. Barely juggling her new Aurator life, work and family, Megan tries to confide in her rock solid husband only to discover that he too has secrets of his own—leaving Megan to question if her marriage and family will ever be the same.”
For more information on the book, an excerpt from the story and on author M.A. Kropf go to: http://www.theaurator.com
You can also visit the Facebook page for more updates: www.facebook-the aurator.com.
The Aurator: Deadly Secrets by M.A. Kropf Detail of artwork by Chuck Todd
INTROVERTS UNITE
My INTROVERTS illustration for a Bay Area News Group story by writer Angela Hill. Although extroverts get all of the attention, several new books highlight the advantages for those who prefer solitude. Some famous examples of successful and influential people with a more introspective approach to life include: Author J.K. Rowlings, Director Steven Spielberg, Albert Einstein and Eleanor Roosevelt. I can relate, particularly when I’m working on artwork…solitude and quiet…help me on the path to finding my muse and to be creative and productive.
For this piece I thought it would be fun to illustrate some famous introverts. However, when I read the finished story, the focus was more on the individual who identifies with the traits of an introvert….and that they are not alone. In the original concept I wanted the famous introverts coming out of a shadow, or from behind a door or curtain. I liked the concept of pulling back the darkness to be enlightened. I shifted the dominant part of the image to be a woman in deep thought and used the portraits of Rowling, Spielberg, Einstein and Eleanor Roosevelt as background elements…perhaps they are thoughts or inspirations. I used a warm/cool color scheme….and kept the famous portraits in deep blue tones.
Technique? All painted in Photoshop CS5…this is my third recent illustration done predominately in Photoshop. Rather than scan in drawings and coloring them in photoshop, I used my wacom pen and drew and painted digitally. Years ago I used Painter, I’m being inspired by my friend Jeff Durham who does spectacular illustrations in Photoshop.
Here is a link to Angela’s story on Introverts: http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_20072237
An update: It was CRAZY busy in the month of February and so far the month of March is keeping the trend going. I will be catching up on my posts in the next few days with a recent book cover and other illustration work.
Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., would have been 83 if he were still alive. I had the honor of illustrating the great civil rights leader when I worked at the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader. After researching the writings and many images of MLK I decided on this profile to show his intensity and to emphasize the power of his words. Fun technique. I used china marker (wax pencil) on gesso, worked in ink…and scratched back into the surface with drypoint scribe and an exacto blade. I created the illustration in 1993…it is still one of my favorites.
Chuck Todd Artist 