American Royal Barbecue contest Poster

So, for the past three years, the American Royal Barbecue Contest Poster Contest (can that get more convoluted?) has given me a fantastic excuse to illustrate a poster in the hopes that I'd win a $500 scholarship. This is my final entry, considering that I am a senior, and I think that it was my most successful. Yet, with each entry, I fall short of the glorious cash, and all I’m left with is a sweet portfolio piece. So, I’m adding this poster to my pile of contest losers, joining my Harrah’s illustration and the BBQ poster from last year.

Oh, my favorite detail is the chef in paril being grasped by the giant cow. He's so cute!

Good news though, about a month ago, I found out that my jr. film, “Alejandro”, was accepted in the Philadelphia Film Festival. I can’t seem to upload animations to this page, but if you’re interested, search my name on youtube.com to view the full animation.

New Poster

Well, it's not really new, as you can tell by the dates. This was a poster for the animation end of semester show. I just wanted to make a poster that people would want to steal. I printed this using the Vandercook press in printmaking. Not enough people use that thing. If it weren't 700lbs, I'd walk away with it. Although, I'd also have to steal all the type drawers weighing propably another 1000lbs. aww, shoot.

Jonah

I made this book in my printmaking elective last semester. All the pages were printed from woodblocks. The text was added by xerox transfer--a real pain in the butt process. It's real pretty though.

Living Room Set for "A Very Hairy Christmas" and a son for Ireland and Phyllis.

Love it! We finally finished our build with the living room and another puppet, Milton, the adorable son. It paid off to work over winter break, and our class presentation of our progress went very well, and I was so proud that Kevin and I had finished. We are finishing up the lighting for the first shot now. Lighting is something that we do not have any experience with and it is kicking our butts, but we should be animating in a day.

Introducing Phyllis

The grocery sack was made by Kevin and Regina made the box of lights. Amazing!

My Red Sketchbook: Blind contours

I started this book right before I went on Christmas break. Coffee shop trips and winter intersession classes helped fill this up so far. These blind contours are really loosening up my drawings and helping me see better when I draw. That's kindof important.

New Poster, "Playing with the Boys"

This is a poster that I created for the Harrah's Casino "Night at Harrah's" advertising campaign that was canvassing for a local artist to create an image for a 90 by 90 foot space on a Main St. building side. The winner, in addition to the huge canvas that would be viewed by thousands of people on a daily basis, would win $10,000! That's a lot of money, and I'm sure that I would spend it wisely. There were just over 50 entries, and sadly, the top ten were very dissapointing to me. Seven of ten of them were images that I could have pulled from a stock illustration book. I don't want to be too bitter, so I won't go into detail. I would like to think that there is a reason that I haven't won a contest yet. I'm happy for the winner, a girl that I didn't know. Winning the contest sure made her night. Anyway, I designed an art deco piece to fit with the feel of our new down town. "Playing with the Boys" depicts a young woman and several meanings. She is the center of attention to not only us as the viewers on Main Street, but also the audience of gentlemen who have come to watch, impressed by her play. With her large stack of chips, we can assume that she is doing well at the table making her even more attractive on this night. Lastly, I subtly placed two kings around an ace on the table. With those boys on the table and the smirk on her face, we can only wonder what boys she might be hiding in her hand. In all, I designed this poster with an attractive style that would be appeal to all, making this game of intellect and chance a glamorous game, but not too intimidating. The attire of the characters evokes a nighttime feel: a night out. The suits and her sleek dress remind me of New Year's with a warm glow from the lights. The woman paying more attention to her cards then her visitors, exudes confidence in every aspect of her play.