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Dylan Bonner draws the Rescue Sirens September 12, 2016 15:20

From Jess:

I first ran across Dylan Bonner's work on Tumblr probably a year or two ago, and I loved what I saw: his use of shapes and colors is masterful; his illustrations are full of life and joy. They make you smile just to look at them!

Dylan's artwork has been featured on Buzzfeed ("This Man Had His Girlfriend Turned Into Disney Princesses For Valentines") and  E! News ("Alternate Reality: Disney Princesses Swap Lives and Wardrobes!"; "See Disney Characters Getting Into the Holiday Spirit in Your Favorite Christmas Movies"), and with good reason: Dylan's work, to me, brings to mind Disney Legend Mary Blair, a character designer and concept artist whose work is timeless in its appeal.

This past spring, while Chris and I were preparing the paperback reprint of "Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist," I saw one of Dylan's recent mermaid drawings, and, feeling sassier than usual, I decided to contact him to see if he'd be interested in taking a commission to draw one of our Rescue Sirens.

Fortunately for us, Dylan agreed, and we were so delighted with his drawing of Echo that we asked him to draw the rest of the girls and a group shot!

(Click to enlarge.)



Aren't they gorgeous? We're in love!

You can follow Dylan's wonderful artwork on Instagram, Tumblr, and deviantART; you can also purchase prints and other merchandise in his Society6 store.

SDCC 2016 highlights August 8, 2016 12:42

From Jess: 

"It's the most won-der-ful tiiiiime of the year!" If you visited our booth at San Diego Comic-Con, you might be surprised to find me singing Christmas carols in July, but this convention really does mark the most wonderful time of the year for us.

SDCC is an equal parts exhausting and exhilarating four and a half days spent in our 10'x10' booth on the San Diego Convention Center's exhibit floor, debuting new products and spending time with some of the most creative people on the planet. It was at SDCC last year that we introduced the world to "Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist," and some of the most thrilling moments of SDCC 2016 involved people who bought the book twelve months ago dropping by to say hello and show their appreciation for our lifeguard mermaids. We thought we'd share a few of those with you!

The first of those people is Becki Santana, who swung by on Preview Night to show us her beautiful Kelby Cortez cosplay. Becki dressed as Kelby in her human form, rocking her lifeguard gear and even her spot-on perfect reading glasses. Wow! We love talking to Becki, who's smart and funny and so kind, and she brought Kelby to life in a very real way. She posted two sets of gorgeous in-character photos on her Tumblr that you can take a look at here and here. Naturally, we also asked to take some pictures with her!


The next day, Chris and I arrived at our booth to find a fin-tastic surprise waiting for us: Sabrina Stein of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, wearing a totally handcrafted Nim costume! Sabrina's cosplays are always a pleasure to see and show an immense attention to detail, but this one takes the cake for sheer ingenuity.

Mermaid costumes present a major challenge when it comes to mobility, but Sabrina solved the tail issue brilliantly by painting a hoop skirt to resemble a rock and then building Nim's tail around her waist (including the dorsal fin on the back!) and down the front of the "rock." When she wanted to walk, Sabrina could simply pick up her foam tail and stroll off. The illusion was so convincing! Even knowing how the costume is constructed, it still looks like Sabrina-as-Nim is seated comfortably in the middle of aisle 4600. We loved it! Her hard work warmed our hearts.


Speaking of hard work, Joanne Garcia of Fierce Fantasy Designs delighted us with a sweet and generous handmade gift: a necklace featuring the tiniest Nim sculpture inside a bottle! Joanne makes and sells bottle necklaces like this in her Etsy store, and we were so touched that she took the time to make one for us! The ability to work in such small scale, and inside a bottle, is incredibly impressive; I may take a video of it later, since photos just don't do it justice. It's so cool that I can carry a miniature Nim around with me wherever I go!


One of the best things about SDCC is getting to reconnect with friends and people whose work we admire, and Chris and I were excited to see Robert Short again after meeting him for the first time at SDCC 2015. Robert's an Academy Award-winning makeup and special effects artist whose work you've seen in "Beetlejuice," "E.T.," and -- if you're a fan of mermaids, which you probably are if you're reading this! -- "Splash," and he's always such a pleasure to talk to. He's full of great stories, and his work on Daryl Hannah's mermaid tail in "Splash" continues to inspire after three decades! You can check out Robert's work at his website, www.robertshortfx.com, which has a bunch of cool photos and videos from all the projects he's been a part of in the past forty years.


There are marvelously creative people wherever you look at SDCC, and we asked three of them if they would draw our Rescue Sirens for our original artwork collection: artist and designer Morghan Gill (upper left), who painted Nim in gouache and iridescent paint; visual development artist, children's book illustrator, and animator Bill Robinson (lower left), our awesome neighbor from across the aisle, who drew Kelby; and comics artist Terry Dodson (right), who also drew Kelby, using Copic markers and Pitt pens.


Let's take a closer look, shall we?

First up: Morghan Gill's gouache painting of Nim. This is something else that I should record as a video! Morghan included iridescent accents in this piece -- golden highlights in Nim's hair, glittery blue scales, and even a silvery sheen on the jellyfish -- that add such a life and sparkle when they catch the light. We're crazy about Morghan's use of shapes and color in her work, and Chris and I were thrilled to score one of her original paintings. Nim and her jellyfish companions look mer-mazing!


Morghan offers sketchbooks, stickers, original paintings like these, and even a soft little plush shark named Pango (you know how much we love sharks, so we bought one of our own!) in her Etsy store; you can also follow her artwork via her Instagram.

Next: Bill Robinson's Kelby sketch! Bill's Flimflammery booth was across the aisle and to the left of ours, so Chris and I sat behind our table and chatted to one another about how appealing Bill's artwork was and how he had such a cute, fun style -- and then Chris suggested that I go over and ask if we might commission a drawing from him. Now, why didn't I think of that? I walked across the aisle and asked Bill if he would draw one of our Rescue Sirens; he very kindly agreed, and, in no time at all, he'd given us a gorgeous underwater scene showing our tiger shark mermaid and some fishy friends. What a beauty!


Bill sells books and prints in his Etsy shop, although it is, as of this writing, closed for vacation because Bill is currently in Iceland with Light Grey Art Lab, teaching character design to other artists in one of the most picturesque places in the world. Stay up to date and see more on his Instagram!

And that leads us to Terry Dodson's Copic-and-Pitt sketch of Kelby! We've followed Terry's art for years; if you read comic books, you've doubtlessly seen his distinctive and immediately recognizable work, since he's worked on a ton of titles and properties in the past two-plus decades ("Spider-Man," "The Avengers," "The X-Men," "Wonder Woman," "Superman," "Harley Quinn," "Poison Ivy," and "Star Wars" are just a few). I'm so fond of the way Terry draws women: more realistic than most women in comics, but no less beautiful or appealing. The word that comes to mind when I think of Terry's style is "striking." I always have to stop and take a better look when I spot one of Terry's covers in a comic shop. He's just so original!

Although I'll happily talk your ear off about mermaids or sharks or ocean conservation, I'm super shy when it comes to everything else, and I carry a dread fear of coming off like a total dork in front of people who I look up to... like Terry. However, I very badly wanted to see what one of our Rescue Sirens would look like in his style, so I gathered up my courage and ran over to his booth to ask if he was still taking commissions at SDCC, and, if so, whether he would mind drawing the Rescue Siren of his choice. Terry and his wife -- a great talent in her own right, Rachel Dodson inks Terry's drawings! -- were both incredibly nice and easy to talk to, and I was ecstatic when Terry said that he'd sketch one of our girls.

He chose to draw Kelby, who's had her peaceful swim interrupted by a rather shocking greeting from a jellyfish -- the setting as well as the sense of action and story instantly identifies Terry as a skilled comics artist and leaves me wanting to see what happens next. Chris and I are really honored to add an original Terry Dodson drawing to our art collection, and we look forward to the next opportunity we have to talk to both him and Rachel.


Want to see more of Terry's work? Like Morghan and Bill above, you can follow Terry on his Instagram account, and you can even purchase some of his original comic book pages in his online store.

You can also view larger versions of these (and other illustrations) in our "Guest Artists" gallery, which features "Rescue Sirens" artwork that we've commissioned -- like the above images -- as well as a handful of our favorite fan art pieces. It's just such a kick to see our lifeguard mermaids depicted in other artists' styles!

With San Diego Comic-Con 2016 in the bag, Chris and I are already making plans for SDCC 2017. We want to thank each and every one of you who came by to say hi and talk to us about "Rescue Sirens"; SDCC is a lot of work, but you make it all worth it!

For those of you who can't make it to SDCC (whether due to geography or to the fact that SDCC badges sell out in about seventeen seconds), we have some good news: schedules depending, Chris and I are looking to exhibit at more conventions next year, so you may see us pop up at shows like WonderCon in Anaheim or maybe even an East Coast con! As soon as we know more, we'll let you guys know here on the "Rescue Sirens" website as well as our usual social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr.

Nim and Kelby, drawn by Brianna Garcia April 23, 2016 17:29

From Jess: 

One of the artists that Chris and I like to pester visit with the most during comic conventions is illustrator, storyboard revisionist, and color stylist Brianna Garcia. Her drawings are fun, joyful, and utterly beautiful, and she herself is such a pleasure to talk to! We'd been wanting to commission her for quite some time, and we finally asked if she wouldn't mind drawing two of our Rescue Sirens: Nim and Kelby. Luckily for us, Brianna agreed!

Working with her was a breeze; after we briefly described what we were thinking about, Brianna went off and came back with four awesome sketches of Nim and Kelby being BFFs (best fins forever) together. The hardest part was choosing which version to bring to final!

(Click to enlarge.)


Any one of them would've been amazing, but we finally decided on the second of the four sketches. The endearing expressions and the poses that showed off both girls' mermaid tails helped make this our favorite, so Brianna cleaned up her drawing and gave it a striking paint job:


Gorgeous, isn't it? Chris and I are so happy that we had the opportunity to commission Brianna -- her take on Nim and Kelby couldn't be cuter!

To see more of Brianna's wonderful artwork, check out her Instagram and Tumblr.


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!


Genevieve Tsai at CTNX 2015 November 12, 2015 08:00

From Jess: 

Genevieve Tsai, the talented artist behind "Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist"'s seven interior illustrations, will be appearing at CTN's animation eXpo in Burbank, California from November 20th through November 22nd!

If you're in the Los Angeles area and you're in the mood for adding to your art collection and/or being incredibly inspired, drop by Table T-70 and visit Genevieve. She'll be selling new prints, including those of her work on "Rescue Sirens"! Plus, she's an all-around awesome human being and incredibly fun to talk to.

For those of you who can't make it to CTNX but still want to get your hands on "Rescue Sirens" prints by Genevieve, they're for sale right this very second in her online store (with worldwide shipping): http://genevievetsai.etsy.com

Genevieve's two collected volumes of sketches and finished artwork are also available online. Her first compilation, "For the Love of Lines," is an absolutely delight -- it's one of the reasons that we approached her about doing the illustrations for "Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist," in fact -- while her follow-up sketchbook, "For the LOLz," is every bit as good. Both books are full of beautiful artwork, but what we find equally as impressive are the sketches showing all the work that goes into a single finished piece. It's fascinating, and it illustrates just how talented and skilled an artist Genevieve really is.

If you'd like to see just how much work went into Genevieve's "Rescue Sirens" pieces, drop what you're doing and take a look at her latest blog post, which details her process from thumbnail to finished illustration. It is dizzyingly inspirational! We're pretty sure that Genevieve is magic.  =)

To follow Genevieve online, check out her website, her blog, her Facebook page, and her Tumblr. She continues to amaze us, and we can't wait to see what she does next!