December Commission work

 Happy holidays everyone!

Here are two book cover assignments I've recently completed. The first features a flying squirrel carrying a mysterious bundle, while the second showcases a nefarious, bloodstained chipmunk.

As usual I began with thumbnails, and detailed value studies. Making a chipmunk look less than adorable, even when daubed with blood, was tricky to say the least. I mean, these are critters I've occasionally coaxed into my hands with peanuts.

How could this ever be scary? DAWW

Google Image's tempting, but inadequate reference options for "Angry chipmunk"

Then again, Gogo Yubari in Tarantino's "Kill Bill" was somehow all the more disturbing by how cute she was

 Gogo Yubari .gif

So that ironic flair to this character ended up being one of my favorite parts of the project

"Can I eat peanuts from your hand?... Or else?"

A few of my thumbnails for "Fall".

I noted that two of my previous covers, from quite a while back, had a formal, portrait-like quality,

This time around, I focused more on the landscapes' depth, texture, and color. I wanted to create more of an atmospheric context for the animals.

It was fun incorporating new little design elements to the typography ( a maple leaf for "Fall"and roots for "Overworld") to add continuity from the nut and feather symbols previously used. Overall, I had a great time learning from the new challenges these paintings presented.

Now onward to my New York reaction piece, and thesis work! So much to do, and so much I'm looking forward to doing!

My cute little varmint celebrating the holidays