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WonderCon sketches March 30, 2016 11:11
From Jess:
In between our continuing work on the next stories in the series and the reprint proofread, Chris and I made the time to drop by WonderCon, held this year at the Los Angeles Convention Center over Easter weekend. You know the saying: all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy -- and, as we have to remind ourselves, getting out and getting inspired is so much better for the quality of your work than just keeping your nose to the grindstone all the time. Fortunately, WonderCon was a font of inspiration!
Toting a 9"x12" portfolio full of Bristol and character reference sheets, Chris and I visited a few of our favorite artists and asked if they would sketch our Rescue Sirens. While two of the artists took their pages home to work on them after the convention, we came away from the show with a trio of wonderful new drawings, each wildly different from the next but equally delightful.
First up: Pippa, skillfully sketched by HBO Digital Products production designer Claire Hummel. Chris and I are pretty convinced that Claire is magic; she can draw anything from a mermaid like Pippa to an armored triceratops to a gorgeous rocky landscape to a Disney princess in painstakingly historically accurate clothing -- and she does it all so quickly! Plus, Claire might actually love the National Park Service more than we do (which is saying a lot), and talking to her is always a pleasure. We were so happy that she agreed to draw one of our girls, and pleased as punch that she chose Pippa! You can see more of Claire's fine work at www.clairehummel.com.
Next: Maris, stunningly illustrated by freelance visual development artist Casey Robin. We've been wanting to find an excuse to collaborate with Casey for ages now; her artwork is adorable, her enthusiasm is infectious, and she draws gorgeous mermaids and fairytale creatures. While Chris and I generally suggested that each artist we approached draw the mermaid that she or he thought would be the most fun, we really wanted Casey to draw Maris. Lucky for us, Maris was the mermaid that Casey wanted to draw, anyway! And, as you can see, her graceful colored pencil illustration turned out perfectly. For your daily dose of sweetness and light, visit www.caseyrobin.com.
The last of the three commissions that we collected from WonderCon, another sketch of Pippa, is from an artist new to us: Chrystin Garland (also known as Lady Garland), a comic book artist currently working on the "Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems" miniseries! We learned of Chrystin's cute, quirky work from Casey Robin; both artists contributed to the recent "Curiouser & Curiouser" and "Sweetheart Show" galleries, and Casey said that Lady Garland would be the perfect person to draw bubbly, boisterous Pippa. She was right! =) We're crazy about the high energy and cartooniness of this piece, and Chrystin herself was a joy to talk to. To see more of her art, including her work on the "Adventure Time" comics, check out www.ladygarland.com.
How cool is that? We love seeing our lifeguard mermaids drawn in other artists' styles; it's so much fun to discover how other people choose to interpret our characters, and we can't wait to receive the final two sketches that we commissioned at WonderCon when they're finished! As soon as we have them, we'll share them here on the blog as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr. In the meantime, we hope you've had a marvelous March!