PJ's story continues...

So I'm working on filling out my portfolio, trying to fill in some gaps and get things ready to show to publishers, and particularly to show at the SCBWI Southern Breeze Illustrators Workshop coming up in October.

I really liked how my Illustration Contest entry came out (check it out in an earlier blog post), so I decided to continue building on the concept with another piece. In this scene, we'll see that PJ and the little furry critter have made friends, and the little guy has convinced PJ to help him on an adventure. Their quest is going to lead them first to a mysterious cave, and then into the cave and beyond.

Here's the initial sketch:


This is the final drawing on acrylic paper and the background inspiration image from an old copy of America - Land of Beauty and Splendor (Reader's Digest):


Stay tuned to see the final painting!

Torch

Way back when I was about 12 or 13 years old, I sat down with paper and pencil and created a little green dragon I named Torch. In the original drawing, I used a set of really cool markers I got as a gift to add color. I've kept the sketch all these years (it's now 15 years old - if you look in the lower right corner, you'll see my initials and the date). Torch quickly became my favorite character, sort of like Mickey was to Walt Disney. I drew him over and over, putting him in all kinds of situations. I also ended up putting a lot of myself into his personality.

Then I went several years without drawing him, and I have to admit, I truly missed the little guy. So I decided to break out my brushes and acrylics this week and spend some time bringing Torch to life again. I really enjoyed working on this project; it was like getting to hang out with a good friend you haven't seen in a long time.

plan on doing a series of illustrations with Torch, so check back for more of this little guy!

New Deviant Art Webpage

So my bud Trey finally got me hooked up with a new webpage through a site called Deviant Art. It's another great tool to promote your art on the web. Trey's had a page there for years and has been encouraging me to get on board. Now that I am, I'll be posting my illustration work there along with some of my other artwork outside of illustration. Take a minute and check out both our pages!

http://jeremydevans81.deviantart.com/ Jeremy's page

http://corumdeo3.deviantart.com/ Trey's page

Thanks Trey!!!