2012 Handmade Family Calendar

The 2012 Handmade Family Calendar is finally here!

Featuring scenes from Akira, Empire Strikes Back, Firefly: Serenity, Ghostbusters, The Legend of Zelda, Megaman, My Neighbor Totoro, Sesame Street, Spiderman, Star Wars, Tron, and Where the Wild Things Are.

The concept behind this years calendars is movies and dress up. Mr Handmade chose 12 of his favorite movies shows and video games, and illustrated them...with a twist. He came up with a set of rules. The kids would be the main protagonists, and would get accurate, high quality costumes for their scenes. Adults would take supporting roles, and their costumes would be thrown together. The settings for the scenes would also be things from around the house, We wanted them to be plausible, but also obvious what it is supposed to be.

We're really excited about this one, and love how well it all printed! Something that I planned for this year is the reusability of the images. I wanted all the pictures to be able to be removed from the calendar as a whole and be used as pictures for the kids rooms, without there being holes visible on them.

Calendars are available in our Online Store at handmadefamily.indiemade.com, at Fusion in Chesterfield mall, at E.L. Riley in downtown Kirkwood, or at I Am What I Am On Mainstreet in mainsteet Saint Charles.

Until next time, take care and be good!

Your friend,

Jeffrey

100 Themes: Break Away

Seriously, Barbie legs just don't bend like G.I. Joe legs did. Plus, I'm like twice as big as I was when I was playing with the G.I. Joes'.


The next theme is "Bliss". Until next time, take care and be good!
Your friend,
Jeffrey

100 Themes: Seeking Wisdom

If you had told me twenty-years ago that I would rarely play video games when I grew up, I'd have called you a liar. The thing is, games have changed over the years. There's still a couple a year that I pick up and enjoy playing, but rarely with the rabid fervor that I did when I was a kid. I'm just not that into driving and shooting games.

The last 4 game systems that I actually bought though, were for "The Legend of Zelda". The classic tale of the young man, facing impossible odds to save the princess and the world? Who couldn't love that? I don't remember what the wise woman that lived beyond the lost woods had to say to young Link anymore, but I do remember being frustrated with learning the pattern to get through them.

Next up is "Break Away". Until then, take care and be good!
Your friend,
Jeffrey

100 Themes: Dark

There are definitely mornings when I'm sleepier than I would like to be. Ha-ha-ha!

Next up is "Seeking Wisdom". Until then, take care and be good!

Your friend,
Jeffrey

100 Themes: Light

Trying something new with the eyes today... didn't quite hit it like I wanted, as they look a little like "crazy eyes" but maybe it's going in the direction I want. Also, moving forward with the hand lettering. It's better than yesterday, but I think I've still got a ways to go, ha-ha-ha!

Next up is "Dark". Until then, take care and be good!
Your friend,
Jeffrey

100 Themes: Love

Wow! Two in two days... I am on fire! I'm glad that love is one of the early themes, so that we can just get it out of the way. It's one of those that's both easy and hard... It's easy to make a drawing about love, but hard to make one that's not the same ol', same ol'. I spent a lot of the day thinking about what love is to me, and came up with a lot of ideas, but this is the one that stayed with me. The sheer joy on that girls face when I go to get her out of bed is simply heartwarming.

As a side note, I'm attempting to hand letter these, but so far my lettering is terrible. So I typed this one in photoshop.

The next theme is "light". Until then, take care and be good!
Your friend,
Jeffrey

100 Themes: Introduction

I've seen this meme floating around the interweb a bit lately, and it really caught my fancy. I know I've tried to do stuff like this before, with little success. 100 of anything just seems like such a commitment. I'm not setting a time line for this or a deadline, though. Maybe falling behind on the schedule in the past is what made me give up hope. We're just going to enjoy this, and see where it goes!

The first theme is "Introduction".

Until next time, take care and be good!
Your friend,
Jeffrey

More Resolutions, and Some Daily Life Drawings

I did something out of the ordinary at the library the other day...I actually talked to two people I didn't know. Not at the same time, either. This might not seem like a big deal, as I don't think I come off as a particularly shy or introverted person. And really I'm not, but getting the conversation started has always been a stumbling block for me. What do you say to people? Small talk (at least what we think of as small talk) just seems so...I don't know...small. On the other hand, you can't exactly open a conversation by talking about comparative world religions or how Sam Raimi ruined "Spiderman 3" and ways the movie could've been saved. Perhaps the problem is just that I'm over thinking it.

On that note, I made a resolution to myself the other day. I always tell people, that when it comes to school, blogging, forums, or heck, even just life, you get out of it what you put into it. This sounds like good simple advice, but it's hard to live up to sometimes. As a step in the right direction, I've resolved to comment back on comments received within a day instead of waiting until the next time I post. Also, I'm going to start commenting more often on the blogs that I follow. I know I always appreciate hearing from all of you out there in the world, so...

Okay. That's enough drama for the day! I did some new water colored character sketches of the girls and me as I continue to work on some new Daily Life ideas. I've started writing several stories that I think are pretty good, and have the thumbnails for one of the funniest things that happened over the Christmas break all done and ready to move on to a strip. You heard me. A comic strip...I hope you don't mind fart jokes. Ha-ha-ha!


There's also another reason I've done this set of watercolor portraits. We're using them as part of the promo, logo and ad portion of the new venture that Amy and I are working on. Pooling our resources, we've decided to form a new company "Handmade Family", focusing on gifts, accessories, games, and decor for growing families. We've set up a new blog for it, as well as an etsy shop to get things moving in the right direction. We have a couple of more plans to move forward, but will have to wait until they are a little firmer before talking too much about them. You can check out the blog here: Handmade Family. We'll be posting projects (both new, and in progress), events, specials, and whatever else strikes our fancy, so be sure to check in!

Whew! It's been snowing like crazy around here this week, and Amy's been home for the last three days. It's been nice having her, and we've gotten a lot done. I hope you all are all safe and warm. Until next time, take care and be good.

Your friend,
Jeffrey

Daily Life Character Sketches and Calendar Contest!

I got a few copies of the calendar in the mail today, and they look great! I'm really so happy with the quality of the printing, and it's such a relief to finally see them in person. Today, I'd like to share a few of the watercolor character sketches I will be including in the deluxe package deal available over at bigcartel.com, and I think I'm going to have a contest too. Also, as of right now, if you order the deluxe package it will actually arrive to you quicker than from Lulu, because I have them in stock. But first, the pictures.
Crystal gets to go first, because she always gets such short shrift. It's nice to finally have a drawing of her that isn't grumpy. Ha-ha-ha!I guess Justin should be next so that they can stay together. Go Packers!
That kid loves to build towers and then show them off... She got monster slippers for Christmas this year.
I realized after the fact that I'd drawn both of the girls in overalls. It's not terribly far from the daily truth though, so I guess it's okay.
A trip to the library means a huge armload of books and movies. I think she's up to the task.
One of the problems with being a nerd who also gardens is that sometimes your wife catches you practicing bo-staff moves with a rake.
And finally the contest portion of this post. The prize? The deluxe 2011 Daily Life Calendar package pictured above. What do you have to do to win such a rad prize? All you have to do is leave a comment in the comments section of this post (not on facebook, not in my e-mail, but on this post) and on Saturday, January 29 I will randomly select the winner. Easy, right?

Okay, so that's it for now. I have a couple of new posts in the pipeline to shoot your way soon (including a review of Ben Hatke's "Zita the Spacegirl" graphic novel), so check back soon! Until next time then, take care and be good! (and don't forget to comment!)

Your friend,
Jeffrey

More Calendar Illustrations

A few weeks ago, I saw "500 Days of Summer" starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. I thought it was a great movie, and it gave me a lot to think about, regarding life paths, and how each of our choices effect each individual outcome. Anyway, the main character (Tom) wears sweater-vests throughout the film. I'd always associated the sweater-vest with things I think are lame (like Fred from "Scooby Doo"), and this was the first time I'd thought it was cool. So I made myself one out of an old sweater that the sleeves were falling apart on... Amy hates it.

In other news, I'm working this weekend on small buildings and figures similar to the one I made for Abby for Christmas. I'm working with my wife on our portfolio for the craft shows, and specifically for an artist co-op in the city. We're building our sales plan around items for the family, mostly toy's and games for the kids, as well as blankets and comfort items. Also, as I posted about yesterday, I've finished the Calendar, and it's up for sale both in my shop at lulu.com, as well as on bigcartel.com. Here's the rest of the illustrations from the calendar, and you can also get a preview of the whole calendar by clicking the preview link under the cover image on lulu.

Daily Life Calendar 2011!

I've finally managed to put together the 2011 Daily Life illustrated calendar. Thank-you all so much for your patience, and I hope you aren't too tired about hearing about this projects. Taking a cue from another artist and blogger, (Ben Hatke from "Art and Adventure" who I will be talking more about very soon.) I've decided to offer two slightly different purchasing options for this book:

OPTION ONE: “The Basic.”: You can buy a copy of the calendar from Lulu.com for $18.00 by clicking here. This is the option that will get that calendar to you the fastest.

OPTION TWO: “The Deluxe.” You can buy the delux version from my shop on big cartel for $35.00 by clicking here. The deluxe version will be signed with small doodle as well as a small water-colored character sketch of a random Daily Life cast member... but wait! That's not all! Also included in the deluxe version will be one of the original 12 black and white Ink line drawings used for the illustrations. I’m only offering 12 of the deluxe version calendars, because there are only 12 months, first come, first served so order sooner rather than later! This option will take longer since it has to ship twice.

Here are a few more pictures from the Calendar:

Until next time, take care and be good!
Your friend,
Jeffrey

Hopelessly Hopeful List

Talked myself into doing this after looking at Mollie Greene's blog last night. Generally, I dislike resolutions because they remind me of my shortcomings, but here goes. If you don't set goals that seem big, how are you ever going to achieve big, right?

My hopelessly hopeful list of things to accomplish in 2011. I hope you all are looking forward to this exciting year as much as I am!

1. Get the garden going and keep up with the yard.
2. Spend more time outdoors with the kids.
3. Average 1.5 blog posts a week.
4. Participate in a craft show
5. Set aside 30 minutes to draw for myself
6. Say No sometimes
7. Get Some Sleep
8. Recognize when I'm procrastinating
9. Work ahead of deadlines
10. Attend figure drawing nights regularly
11. Eat less sugar
12. Exorcise daily and learn Tai Chi like I've been meaning to
13. Stop procrastinating
14. Clean up messes before they become messes

Um, no art today, but I do have some that I'm getting ready to post about soon. Nance asked that I post a picture of Olivia when I get a chance, so I figure this is as good a time as any. Ha-ha-ha! Until next time, take care and be good! Your friend,
Jeffrey

Daily Life: The problem with persona projects...

I feel like I keep on promising this thing, but it never gets done... ugh. I'm so close to finishing it up, but I have to stop again to get some actual client work done. I was stressing out about this, because I really wanted to have this finished and ready to put up for sale in the middle of November so that maybe some peoples would buy it, Ha-ha-ha! That's the problem with being a professional with a blog that showcases a lot of personal work and projects... in progress. I think it sometimes makes me look more irresponsible than I actually am.
If you're waiting to pick one of these guys up, thank you for being so patient. Like I said, I'm nearly finished with the illustrations, and I'm really happy with how they are turning out. I'm really excited to see them printed. In the meantime, here's three of the colored images for you to check out. I hope you like them as much as I do.


Thanks for looking (and hopefully understanding) and being so patient. Until next time, take care and be good!
Your friend,
Jeffrey