Subway Sketching and Pen Drawings

Here's a bunch of sketches. The yellow ones are from subway sketching and the rest were done on my recent trip to France. It's subtle but I think my sketches changed a bit during my time there.

Some people ask me why the yellow paper...
No reason. I found a stack of old yellow paper in a drawer and didn't want it to go to waste.

"LIFE" by Silver

I wanted to give a quick update and let you know that the March 25th character design course with schoolism is almost filled, just a few spots left. Also I wanted to let you know that my new book "LIFE" will be shipping at the end of this month, you can preorder it right now through my website. www.silvertoons.com. I have done a limited run so it will only be available through my website and any conventions I will be attending. My first convention of the year will be Wonder Con in San Francisco on Feb 22nd. So be sure to stop by and say hello.

Sketch for Business Week

This is a quick sketch that I just did for Business week. They wanted something very loose, sketchy, and washy. Very similar to a Billy Joe that I did a while back. They also wanted a darker palette. The sketches below the final sketch were done in prep for the job, trying to come up with a concept or idea for the drawing. They wanted to show that this guy is headed for a tough year. I right away thought of the roadrunner cartoons and thought it would be funny to have him leaping off a cliff . . . turns out they wanted something much more simple and even less detailed, more loose, more sketchy. It's fun every once and a while to do something quick and loose. BTW, the final was done with a BIC ballpoint pen, with a few washes of watercolor . . . drawn in my sketchbook.

from France with love.. Angouleme 2008

The Town of Angouleme

Before going to Angouleme, we didn't know too much about this festival except for the fact that it's one of the largest comic book fests in Europe. When we arrived and started to learned more and more about this fascinating town, it started to seem like this place was a dream come true, that we were wisked off into a magical wonderland of a comic book world! Every person in the town not just appreciates art but truly loves it! In every shop, whether it be a clothing store, a bakery or a dental office, they would have their favorite comic book characters decorated all over their place!



In the center of town there is a giant bronze sculpture of their town hero, Hergé, the creator of Tin Tin! That just shows how much this whole town revolves around art and literature.


An amazing site to see.



One of the many adorable shops we saw.



The town is covered with many fun murals..these are just some of them.



A night view of the city hall area (its the big castle on the left.)


One of the alleys in the main resturant district-- The Moroccan resturant we kept coming back to for their couscous!



The Show

The humble population of 50,ooo of Angouleme quickly grew into 250,000 as the festival started, attracting people from all over Europe and North America. It was inasane, you just have to be there to experience it all...






..the people were sooo nice, the food was nothing but the finest, freshest quality, the air was pure, and the art was simply divine. It's one of the best trips we've had, and we can't wait till next year.

If you want to see some videos from the festival here's a link. (Its in French, but you can really get a sense of how the event went.)

And stay tuned for some journal sketches and our adventure in Paris!!

Bisoux!
Kei

Digital Painting classes in Toronto starts next week February 5th!

Seneca College Digital Painting classes are open for Registration.
Start Date: February 5, 2008
Location: Seneca (York campus)
(Keele, north of Finch) MAP
Duration: 9 week course.
7-10pm every Tuesday
Cost: $595
Bring a tablet. There will be a few tablets available but not enough for everyone.
Register HERE

It's bigger and better than the one that I did at Sheridan. Now with the integration of schoolism.com it's the best of both worlds. You'll be able to do the live classes with me and also have access to my online class videos so you can review the classes at home as well. The only thing you won't have is the one on one critique videos on your own work but I'll be answering any questions in the live class.

Please click HERE for testimonials from the classes I did at Sheridan.

Please leave any questions in the comments area.
Updates on our France trip to come shortly!

"Bath Time" - And we're off to France!

..Even baby sea dragons need bath toys to keep them occupied so they don't figet too much while they're being washed.


..And in other news!!!

This coming week, January 23, Bobby, Mr. T and I will be in Angoulême for the Bande Desinee festival!! This will be our first time at the festival and we heard nothing but great things about it. So expect to see pictures soon!

baisers!
Kei

[Edit: We're in booth H27 so everyone who will be there, come by and say bonjour!]

More progress with my Tom Hanks Caricature!

Not finished yet, but getting there . . . just a bit more to go, some more textures, and maybe a little more work on the hair and some of the edges. Currently I'm working on a large two page spread for Golf magazine. Six people and a lot of detail, will post soon.