I’ve been experimenting with drawing on the iPad lately, seeing how comfortable I can get (and how close I can get to drawing with Photoshop & a Wacom). I’m getting there. I’ve tried a few different apps, but Brushes & Sketchbook Pro seem to be the best out there, IMO. I used Sketchbook Pro for this one, with a Jot Pro stylus.

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32

A good reminder…

A few of the Canadian Black History portraits I drew recently were used for these short commercial spots, airing on AMI in Canada.

As you may have seen on my twitter or Facebook feeds, I’ve been busy with my pencils again lately, doing portraits of a few more Black History figures (see the others here and here). Some were Canadian, some American, but all have a common bond in that they’ve done great things for humanity. Some of the portraits in the collection will have been used in print, on the web, and on TV when it’s all said & done — I’ll post updates when those projects appear publicly. In the meantime, here are the new ones — enjoy!

First of all, thanks to all who participated in the caption contest! There were some great ones to pick from that made it a very difficult decision! But, being a contest with huge spoils a $10 iTunes giftcard on the line, a winner had to be chosen. You’re all winners in my book, though. *wink*

So, without further ado, the winner of the “Gabbin’ Geezers Caption Contest” is…. (drumroll)….

MATT PLETT of Ft. Wayne, Indiana!

His entry, “These class reunions aren’t getting any bigger, are they?” rose to the top of the heap and now stands victorious. Congratulations Matt! Look for your giftcard in the mail just in time to treat yourself to Justin Beiber’s new cute little Christmas album.

I found this unpublished gem looking through some old work files yesterday, and I think it’s got too much potential to waste. I’m planning on submitting this toon for publication asap, but I need your help! Here’s the deal: you submit your best caption for this toon, I pick the outrageously hilarious winner, and we get published in some lucky yet-to-be-determined national publication. Sound good? I agree.

So let’s have ‘em! I’ll be picking a winner next Wednesday, Nov. 23, and the lucky guy/gal will receive a $10 iTunes giftcard (and local worldwide celebrity)! Enter your caption in the comments section below to be entered to win!

PS – Keep in mind, this is a family show, so keep it relatively clean, por favor. The old guys are sitting in a church pew, fercryingoutloud.

Keep Calm and Run Denard

[Ed: To those wondering what the flip this is all about, it's based on the British morale poster published during WWII. A Google search will show how parodied the poster's slogan has become, with derivatives splattered all over the internet. This particular spoof is in response to the University of Michigan football team's upset loss to Iowa last week, and the ongoing discussion/argument about how the new coaching regime is utilizing its reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.]

I’d been noticing all the cool vintage signage around town the last few days, so I decided to put the new iPhone4s camera to the test. Here’s what I saw, with a little help from the Camera+ app (Clarity; Depth of Field).

0 Comments on Vintage Sign Photos With the iPhone4s as of 1/1/1900

Well, it’s almost that time of year again (“that time” being the holiday season), and Madison Park Church of God was gracious enough to let me work on their Christmas event brochure again this year. The feel is similar to last year’s, but we jazzed it up a little bit and obviously added all the new event information. I think it turned out great! Here are a few iPhone pics:

If you’re a member of Madison Park or are ever visiting, feel free to grab a few and pass them out to those you think would like the events they have to offer. Or, if you’d rather have an online guide to all of their upcoming events, just go to http://www.madisonparkchurch.org/news.

Well, unless you pay NO attention to my social media streams whatsoever, you’ve probably read somewhere that the book I illustrated last year (Petunia Pepper’s Picture Day) has been made into apps for Apple’s iPhone and iPad. What you don’t get from iTunes, though, is a way to see how the app looks & feels in action.

Well, today is your lucky day. I made a little video run-through of the iPhone version to give you a taste of some of the features. The vid is a little blurry (sorry ’bout that = low light + too close), but you can get the idea. Take a look!

And for $1.99 and $2.99, you can take Petunia Pepper with you wherever you go.

Petunia Pepper for iPhone

Petunia Pepper for iPad (HD)

In honor of my Tigers getting ready to rough up the Yanks, here’s a little history lesson for you.

History of the D

Created by: Online Masters Degree

Trying to get characters nailed down for an upcoming project.

All kinds of dudes are now on Google+, and I’m one of ‘em. Just go to http://plus.christianelden.com to connect with me.

You might remember the Black History portraits I finished up a while back…. Well, in addition to the calendar they were originally commissioned for, Warner Press decided to use a few of them for their new batch of bulletin designs. Here’s a quick pic of the designs after a press check print (making sure colors are correct):

Always cool to see it in print!

Just in case you haven’t seen this around the interwebs yet…. (Anyone else gonna ask for a stand-up desk?)

Via: Medical Billing And Coding

When you revisit a project after stepping away from it for a while, you inevitably see things you would probably do differently a 2nd time around. I often take breaks from stuff I’m working on just to get it out of my head for a while, then come back and look at it with a fresh pair of eyes. It’s a helpful exercise to make sure you’re not taking the project in a direction you don’t want to.

In going back through the Petunia Pepper’s Picture Day artwork and formatting it for iPad/iPhone, there are a few minor things I’d probably tweak given another go at it, but I’m still pretty pleased with how it turned out, being my first book project. One thing that I wouldn’t change, though, is this guy:

Hot Dog Vendor from Petunia Pepper's Picture Day

Usually, character development takes some time, with the sketching/revising/sketching/revising, but this guy went pretty quickly. I just imagined what I thought a big-city hot dog vendor (or cabbie, or pizzeria owner, etc.) would look like, and then subconsciously added a hint of Super Mario (my childhood poking through, I guess). In this particular shot, he’s not quite sure what he’s looking at… or what’s about to hit him. Still feels good.

Here’s a portrait I was asked to do for my brother-in-law’s girlfriend — he gave it to her for Valentine’s Day this year. 1… 2… 3… AWWWWWW.

She said it was the “Most AMAZING Valentine’s gift ever!” I guess that means it was a hit. Happy Valentine’s Day, lovebirds.

Once I step in the gym, I’m within range. Here’s a “shot” of what I’m working on.

What are you working on?

If you had told me earlier this year that I’d be wrapping up 2010 by drawing portraits of a dozen African-Canadians, I probably would’ve chuckled, for I am very American and very white. But alas, that’s exactly what happened. It was a great project — I got to focus on straight-up drawing again for a couple months (which I’d wanted to do more of), and I learned a thing or two researching my subjects, as well. Win-win. I hadn’t done this much “analog” drawing since finishing the African-American portrait set that led to this project, so it was nice to return to that for a while. This new set will be featured in a 12-month calendar for a fundraising effort, which I’ll post details about when I learn them.

So, without further ado, I give thee the portraits. Featured are Anderson Ruffin Abbott, Elijah McCoy, Harriet Tubman, Harry Jerome, Josiah Henson, Mary Ann Shadd, Osborne Perry Anderson, Portia White, Rosemary Brown, Sam Langford, Viola Desmond, and William Hall. I think my favorite one ended up being the Sam Langford — what’s yours?

Just a little reminder…

Everyone have a safe & happy holiday season!