Cover song Written on January 20, 2012, by Zack.
The final piece of the puzzle before I head to London for my class’s gallery show at Foyles Bookstore. For the book cover, I wanted to strike a vintage chord without going too far overboard. I’m no Saul Bass. More of a Saul Guppy.
I also wanted to introduce Melvin himself, give a sense of his personality before the story even begins. Hey! What a fun-loving, musical goat! Who’s also ambidextrous! Huh. Okay.
For the strictly-hypothetical published version of the book, I hope to have the purple area of the tuxedo cut out, exposing a small part of a completely purple and velvety hardbound cover beneath. I’d also hope the sunburst design surrounding the tux would be stamped in gold foil, and that the book itself would be sprayed with some sort of consumeristic pheromone that would force anyone within a 10-foot radius to buy a copy. As long as we’re in the realm of the hypothetical here.
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Remember, you can always find me on Twitter and Facebook!
2 Comments | Posted in: Goat, Progress Report, School. | Share: Technorati, Digg, de.licio.us, Yahoo, Google, Magnolia.
Red, woods. Written on January 10, 2012, by Zack.
Late last night, after spending a few days recovering from my big MA hand in and acquiring the world’s wussiest cold (if colds are jazz, I’ve come down with Kenny G), I realized I hadn’t done any actual work in days. So I gave myself three hours to draw something, and lo, this is what I came up with.
I put a bunch of splotches of dark blue and brown down first, then waited for the splotches to tell me what to do. Same method of creation used for this fella, this guy and these dudes. From now on, I’m letting splotches guide all future decisions. If it something doesn’t pass the splotch test, I don’t do it. And I’m going to be really tyrannical about splotch divination, too. A regular Splotch Test Monster.
Ah, good to be back.
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Remember, you can always find me on Twitter and Facebook!
1 Comment | Posted in: Monday Sketcharoo. | Share: Technorati, Digg, de.licio.us, Yahoo, Google, Magnolia.
At last, the big day arrived! Written on January 6, 2012, by Zack.
![[click for larger image]](http://www.zackrock.com/images/Pages16-17web.jpg){kind=link}
Two days ago, the final assignments for my MA were submitted to my professors. After a year and a half of dedicated study and work, I’m left torn between being super excited about finishing, and feeling a little lost. I have been wanting to get an MA in illustration ever since I left my undergrad, and have spent the last seven years researching programs, applying to them, and saving towards tuition. All that work and dreaming, to have it all over. Feels bittersweet.
Also feels like Heimliching out a half-chewed wad of broccoli. After 70+ hours a week in my suffocating studio, I can breathe again! I can go outside! I… I can walk! I CAN WALK!
And I can finally go birdwatching again!
And eat out!
And play games!
So much to do!
Then why the heck am I on the computer? ADIOS!
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Remember, you can always find me on Twitter and Facebook!
6 Comments | Posted in: Goat, Illustration, School. | Share: Technorati, Digg, de.licio.us, Yahoo, Google, Magnolia.
Shop talk Written on December 19, 2011, by Zack.
Just in time for Christmas, here’s the final version of the sketch I posted a few weeks back. I’m sure many of you can empathize with the condition these goats have found themselves in. Just wish I had the foresight to give one of the goats a canister of pepper spray.
Initially, the goats were to be surrounded by logos for the various stores they patronized, but I found the logos cluttered up the page too much (plus, I wasn’t a huge fan of how they turned out). If the book ever gets published, I’ll instead include them as a pattern for the front endpapers, with Melvin’s favorite album covers patterning the back endpapers. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peak.
No Comments | Posted in: Goat, Progress Report, School. | Share: Technorati, Digg, de.licio.us, Yahoo, Google, Magnolia.
We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams Written on November 28, 2011, by Zack.
At long last, the first completed page of my picturebook!
Here, Melvin’s adoration of music is introduced, as we see him experiencing a transcendent moment listening to Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life.” You can tell it’s Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life” because I got the score online and reproduced it (almost faithfully) on the scroll of notation enveloping Mel. Beyond that, there are 13 other musical references and/or puns on this page.
How many can you spot?
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Remember, you can always find me on Twitter and Facebook!
3 Comments | Posted in: Goat, Music, Progress Report, School. | Share: Technorati, Digg, de.licio.us, Yahoo, Google, Magnolia.