Chicken dance

Pirate Knight

Here is my idea for a pirate. I got so excited I just had to draw it. His armor is not made of metal because if he fell in the water he would drown. He has an eye patch under his helmet. One of his arms is a mace. He is wearing a dead British captain coat.

Wolves and Saber-tooth cats

Thought I'd write a post about how art-life is going right now. The Big Project of the year is a graphic novel--which is basically a comic book that doesn't end on a cliffhanger; it stands by itself as a complete story. They're commonly published as web-comics first, and this one will be no exception. It's a long-term payoff plan project: I think it'll eventually be something I can sell at conventions and such, as web-comics tend to generate a following and attention over time. So, it's part boot-camp for me (600-700 drawings will make anyone get better at something) and part marketing ploy to stand out a little more. (Hey, look over here, I made something!) I'm 25% done with the pencil pages, out of a planned 112 total.

The second thing going on right now is an attempt to get my work in front of the art director of a company called Wizards of the Coast. Hokey name, but they're kind of a big player in the world of fantasy art, which is where I want to end up in the long term. They've seen a few pieces of my work and basically asked 'Can you do it again, but more painterly? Oh, and by the way: people.' so I'm taking a few weeks to bang out two or three fresh pieces to see if my style will work for them--they like more realistic work, and right now my portfolio has a lot of children's book style stuff in it. This is the current one, which is slated for color this week:

I'm thinking of doing a pirate one next, since I already have some reference shots of piratey poses from a while ago that I never used. Any suggestions, what kind of pirate would you like to see? What's the coolest pirate thing you can think of?

Student teaching

Student teaching is AMAZING! 

I'm teaching English right now at Roy High School. I'm teaching 11th and 12th grade. 

The first day I taught, I realized that I had chosen the right major in college. Teaching is definitely my calling in life (well, as far as jobs go...).

I haven't really had a day yet where I come home and just complain about my job. 

Every day is awesome. Sometimes, I am disappointed in the students' work, but they're cool enough that it's worth trying again the next day. 

So, if I had to sum up student teaching so far, it would basically be like any inspirational teaching movie. Roy's kinda sketchy with some kids that have made some really bad decisions in life. I've done a lot of crazy teaching techniques to get them to learn, and so far it's worked out great. 

So pick a movie: Freedom Writers, Coach Carter, the works. That should give you a good idea of life at Roy High. 

Life is good at the Harker home, though. 

There's your update for now!

I am excited for Christmas

So Sarah, Miranda, and I are going to Utah for Christmas. We are so excited. We have been wanting to do this for about 2 years. Last Christmas kind of got destroyed by the qualifying exam.

It will have been about a year and a half absence when we get to Utah in December. I wonder what will be different.

What kind of activities are we going to do?


What is everyone excited for?
I am excited for free babysitters. Miranda is going to have a blast in the house. So many things to explore.