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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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.

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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Major redesign from the previous incarnation of Mel, but I think this guy’s a bit more compelling (though, maybe that’s due to his wardrobe being conspicuously similar to my own). Thinking of doing the whole book in this style: muted watercolors with colored pencil on smooth(ish) paper.

Any thoughts?

Here we have your average family of goats, just back from a trip to the mall! Papa goat found some tools at Horn Depot, Mama goat picked up a few items at Bleat, Baaaahhhhhhh and Beyond, and wee little Baby goat got a few knick-knacks at Targoat. The whole family seems very pleased with their purchases. And why not? Everyone knows goats are ravenous consumers!

After many weeks of drawing goat after goat in a bunch of different styles and situations, I think I’m about ready to begin working on my book in earnest. A script has been drafted, the main character is (almost) designed, the existential motivation to make something worthwhile before I die is revving in the pit of my stomach. All that’s left is WORK WORK WORK.

I’ll keep you guys updated as more finished illustrations come down the line. In the meantime, hope you enjoy this little preview. Also, don’t get too attached to the sketch above; it didn’t make it into the script.

Oh, and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to fellow Cambridge School of Art MA in Children’s Book Illustration student and world-class illustrator Anca Sandu for compiling a bunch of reference photos for me from her recent excursion into goatland. Her own take on the subject puts my efforts to shame. Be sure to check out Anca’s Society6 and Etsy stores!

Guess the world’s just not ready for a Homer’s Odyssey meets the Maysles Brothers’ Saleman meets LucasArts’ Sam and Max Hit the Road picturebook mash-up. THEIR LOSS.

Oh well! On to the next project!

You can take a gander at the previous spread here.

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The sheep-wagon driver drops Euell off at the closest establishment with a public payphone: The Mystery Shack! Built on a negative energy anti-ion vortex, the Mystery Shack breaks all the laws of physics (also, a few city ordinances)!

SEE: The Parlor of Floating Bowling Balls!

GAWK AT: The Balancing Broom!

FLEE FROM: The Hallway of Unflattering Mirrors!

TRY YOUR LUCK WITH: The Weightless Commode!

So much to do, it’s a MYSTERY you’re not already there!

If this postcard looks familiar to you, it’s possible you’ve seen it on my updated portfolio site (it’s also possible you’re psychic). I’ve recently added a whooping 27 images to the portfolio, two of which I haven’t shared before. So if you haven’t visit yet before, check out the updated site and see if you can spot the other new illustration. Also, let me know what you think about the update by leaving a comment below.

And thanks!

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Remember, you can always find me on Twitter!

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Remember, you can always find me on Twitter!

The previous Progress Report featured a postcard sent by Euell from Heckhole Station in Michigan. Above you see that postcard in context.

Each segment of Euell’s journey is described in the book via four separate elements: a simple two-color illustration showing how Euell traveled this leg of the journey, the postcard front, the postcard back, and a full-color illustration that shows what actually occurred (which often doesn’t square with what Euell writes in the postcards, as you can see).

Our class had the final critique for this project on Thursday, and I’ve been beat ever since. But I should have four of these segments finished by May, and will be posting each illustration as they are completed. But for now, in honor of World Book Night, I’m going to go read someone else’s book.

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Heckhole Station was once the train depot for Cnossos, MI, a suburb of Troy, MI, itself a suburb of Detroit, MI, itself a heckhole. On a sunny day in march back in 1943, the earth opened up under a newly-arrived passenger train and swallowed 9 cars. None of the three people in those cars, including two porters and a porter-in-training, were ever heard from again.

Some, such as the Cnossos City Council and the US Department of Transportation, would lead you to believe a subterranean river caved in, creating the sinkhole. But many others, the proprietor of Heckhole Station Museum and Cafe chief among them, are aware/originator of a darker account of what happened that day. This “concealed history” is told only to those brave enough to pay for the hole tour ($8 adult, $7.50 child with military discount available). I can’t quite remember how it goes, something about a cursed Indian burial ground, a large sum of Confederate gold, and pocket-sized earthquake device.

Frankly, I couldn’t be bothered by the story. I was too busy expectorating into the hole in an attempt to aurally discern its depth. Lougie after lougie, no report returned to aid my deduction.

Suppose we’ll have to take it on faith that the hole truly leads to the bowels of heck.

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