Bad progress picture....

This is a terrible picture (because I took it with my phone), but I just thought I'd post a little sneak peak of what I'm working on right now. It's from a series of drawings relating to the zodiac. Got three others I'm working on right now. After I did that Capricorn drawing a while back, I figured I'd see what else I could up with. Stay tuned......

"Pruning Required" sold

This little drawing sold yesterday. It's from 2007 and was created for my drawing-a-day blog I was doing at the time. He's taking a trip overseas.

Getting comfortable with lettering

These past few weeks have been pretty productive. I worked on a T-shirt design for a skateboard company, started a few new drawings for some shows, and even dabbled with some hand-lettering. I've been meaning to try some more hand-lettering because I want to get more comfortable with it. And as everyone knows, the only way to do that is to work at it. So I've been experimenting and it's actually been pretty fun so far. I've been using ink with my nib pens and bamboo pens, then going into photoshop to clean up the lines. No vector though. I still want a bit of that handmade look. I'm hoping to add them to my website soon. Will keep you posted :)

And I'm hoping to get one of those T-shirts that I worked on, so I will post pictures of that when it arrives.

Untold Method

I was invited by the kind folks over at Untold Method to take part in their ongoing collaborative comic. A bunch of great artists illustrate the pages of this very weird story. I was happy to see that Michael Hsiung illustrated the first part of the story in his humorous trademark style. It was a first for me doing this kind of thing, and I was definitely a little wary about how it would all turn out. My experience in reading comics and graphic novels is pretty limited (Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, some Chris Ware stuff and a little Daniel Clowes). I wouldn't say I grew up on the stuff. There were guidelines I had to follow for the continuity of the story, and each panel was described for me, with dialogue to be inserted. A few times I had to problem solve a bit because the composition called for one character to be facing a certain direction, and my natural inclination was the opposite. But I think it all worked out ok in the end. I drew it all by hand and then scanned it and adjusted the levels/saturation in the computer. I did have to fix one panel in Photoshop where I forgot to add the text bubble. Aside from that, the original and final digital version are the same. I look forward to seeing how the story plays out. Please check it out and follow along, or better yet, spread the word!

Hopefully, I will explore comics more this year with my own stories. I think this is a good kick-start anyway.

You can see a higher res version on my Flickr HERE.

You can read the comic here: http://philistone.untoldmethod.com/
Follow Untold Method on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/UntoldMethod

below are a few work-in-progress pictures of the comic

Interview for Join the Studio

Recently I was contacted by Kris over at Join the Studio to do an interview for the site. A big thanks to Kris! You can read the interview here: http://jointhestudio.com/2012/01/interview-jon-macnair-a-world-of-monsters/

December Issue of FRONT magazine

Forgot to post about this earlier, but my skateboard from the Open Casket show curated by Corpse Corps Boards, made an appearance in FRONT magazine.

Computer Arts Projects Magazine

Back in the fall I was asked to partake in the December issue of Computer Arts Projects. They wanted me to do a tutorial for their Character Design issue, regarding how to create an illustration using monsters. It was pretty much right up my alley, and I had a lot of freedom in what I created. The limitations were pretty much only in word counts for written descriptions and the number of steps required etc. This issue features a lot of really interesting work by great artists. I've posted some pictures below. Also, there is an animation tutorial by James Wignall using one of my characters from my tutorial. I think one of my favorite things about the issue is seeing artists sketches and initial thoughts in designing a character. It's really hard to find this magazine around where I live, so I was very pleased to get a copy sent to me by the magazine. Thanks guys :)
















below is a better image of my finished piece for the magazine.


below is the original work before the digital coloring.

detail shot


Click the link below to see the short animation James Wignall created using one of my characters :)
http://www.computerarts.co.uk/tutorials/create-hand-drawn-animation

Thanks Again Juxtapoz!

Juxtapoz Magazine graciously featured me on their website again in the illustration section! Thanks guys!

http://www.juxtapoz.com/Illustration/jon-macnair-illustration

Harbinger of Anxiety

New piece for an upcoming show.

"Harbinger of Anxiety"
India ink on paper
8" x 10"
2012

Savage Bouquet

A twist on the traditional flowers in a vase still life.

"Savage Bouquet"
India ink on paper
8" x 10"
2012

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonmacnair/6670461037/

PFTE artwork 2012

This is the piece I created for the 2012 "Postcards From the Edge" show.

"Down Below with the Fishes"
India ink on paper
4" x 6"
2011

 
Pictures from the show at Cheim & Read in NY.

Pencil Sharpener

Check out this pencil sharpener I got recently. My aunt came to visit and it was a Christmas present. Here's the backstory: About 5 years ago, my grandparents both passed away. During the visit for the funeral, we stayed at my uncle's (their eldest son) house. He had all all their things laid out in the dining room and people could take things they wanted. I saw a pencil sharpener just like this one and really wanted it. Being an artist, I would surely make good use of it. For one reason or another, I didn't get it. Fast forward some years later, and my aunt gives me a very similar one to my great surprise and delight. She said it was another one that belonged to my grandfather, and this was the one that was attached to his workbench. He used to make a lot of different things, like furniture and wooden boxes etc in his spare time. So I know he used this one a lot and that made it all the more sentimental. I'm really happy I have it. Right now, I don't have anything to attach it to, but I find that if I hold it a certain way between my knees and carefully turn the handle firmly but slowly, I can make it work. Still a great sharpener, and by the looks of it, it's old. I've tried finding out exactly when these were manufactured, but no luck. But I'd say it's probably at least 60 years.

Postcards From the Edge 2012 - this weekend!

The "Postcards From the Edge" show officially starts today and goes through tomorrow. If you live in NYC, don't miss this chance to snap up some great artwork for cheap!

Cheim & Read
547 W 25th St, New York

Saturday - 10am-6pm
Sunday - 12pm-4pm

Postcards From the Edge 2012

It's almost here! I'm participating once again!

If you live in NYC, go check it out! Great art and at a great price for a great cause. Can't beat that!
http://www.thebody.com/visualaids/current/postcards2012.html

Tumblr

Alright, so I decided to make a tumblr account today. I'm not sure if I have everything set up correctly yet, but it seems to be working ok for the most part. Kinda new to this whole tumblr thing......but hopefully it will prove beneficial in the future in terms of getting my work out into the world. We'll see.....in the meantime, please follow me if you have an account and are a fan of my work. Thanks to anyone who already follows me here on blogger. I appreciate each and every one of you!

http://jonmacnair.tumblr.com/

p.s. I'm still keeping my blog here :)

My sister sent some phone pics of the drawings I made for her, now hanging on the walls.

Juxtapoz Feature

This week a couple people alerted me about a post that Juxtapoz made on their website about my work. They have featured me on the site before, so I was really surprised and grateful that they did it once more. There are a number of images of my work on the site now. A big thanks to Juxtapoz! Really made my holiday :)

http://www.juxtapoz.com/Illustration/jon-macnair

More Christmas Art

This is a drawing I made for my sister as a Christmas present. She's traveled all over the world and lived in Japan for a number of years, so I wanted to incorporate a traveler figure somehow, and of course, a GIANT rabbit too. Please don't ask me to explain that because I doubt I could make any sense of it. It's just a curiously random drawing. The title is:

"Despite Having Never Encountered One of Such Massive Proportions In All Her Travels, She Found It To Be Surprisingly Docile"

India ink on paper
8" x 10"
2011

Bird Painting

Made this watercolor painting for my grandmother for Christmas. It's a European Goldfinch.

Happy Holidays :)

Hoping everyone has been enjoying the holiday season, wherever you are!

I managed to squeeze in some time to make some Christmas presents for family members this year. For instance, I made this for my brother. He's a Star Wars fan. I figured if anything, Jabba would be really fun to draw. His dialogue translates to: "Go Work Out You Weak-Minded Burnout Scum!". Jabba doesn't really have any nice names for people, so this is what you get :)

I'll post some more images of art gifts I made for people tomorrow.

Drawing Do-over

Back in mid-September I sent a piece of art to Romania that was purchased. Unfortunately, it never got there. It was sent as a package and I had to fill out the whole customs form etc. After several months and feeling like it was lost forever, I decided to re-draw the piece. Wasn't a big deal because it was just a small postcard-sized work, but I was nervous if this second attempt would make it there or not. This time I put it in a card-sized envelope, as if it was a letter. And guess what? It made it there in 11 days. Speedy! Glad the whole thing is over and I learned what I did. I guess some countries have more reliable postal systems that others. Here's the piece:


the redo


the original (now lost)

AMMO magazine "Monchrome"

Dave Hughes, the creator of AMMO magazine recently asked me to take part in this special edition called "Monochrome". As the name suggests, it features black and white artwork, and artists who primarily work in black and white. I've contributed to a previous issue of the magazine, and was really happy to be asked to participate again :)

As always, the printing is fantastic and the layout excellent. Each artist gives a little mini interview about their work and why they are drawn to black and white. Check it out if you can get your hands on a copy!

here's the list of artists: Alex Pearson / Alison Richards / Andres Guzman / Angela Keoghan Annita Maslov / Christopher Worker / David Cousens / James Wilson Jeffrey Alan Love / Jo Fallon / Joel Benjamin / Johanna Basford / Jon MacNair / Jordan Debney / Juan David Gómez / Kate Copeland / Kyle Stecker / Lauren Crow / Mr Millerchip / Mr Mead / Mutt / Nick Deakin / Nick Sheehy / Peter Diamond / Pit / Rebecca Hiscocks / Rey / Ross McEwan Simon Riviere / Tom Lane / Yelena Bryksenkova / Yema Yema

http://www.ammomagazine.co.uk/