Art Challenge Day 4 - Node Rugs

It's Day 4 of the 5-day Art Challenge! I was nominated by Gary Fabbri to start this challenge, where each participant shares 3 drawings/paintings each day for 5 days and also nominates a fellow artist each day to do the same. I've invited Jason Hart, Stephen Macquignon, and Peggy Collins to share their awesome work. Today I'll nominate Lidija Paradinovic whose incredible talent is only matched by her giving nature. Lidija is always working something incredibly cool and I can't wait to see what she can share.

Day 4:
Last summer I was invited to exhibit in a picture book show in Spain with Oliver Jeffers, Chris Haughton, Crowther Catherine, Sunkyung Cho, and Yann Brien. I still think I may have dreamt the whole thing, but then these fair trade Node rugs showed up at my door... Read more about it here.

:: Game of Pixels ::

Threadless Friends! Get $5 off when you fund my design "Game of Pixels" with code "AG79X7". Only need 50 backers to have my very first Threadless Tshirt printed. So please support by voting, backing and/or sharing. Thanks! :)

:: Top 28 Picture Books (+9 runners up) ::

Wow! Time certainly flies! It was a year ago that I created this little collection of my favourite picture books out of Lego. When I'm not reading these titles to my (now one year old) son, they sit proudly on his bookshelf.

The links below also contain some of my written thoughts on each book and why I love them so. Feel free to check them out on my Pinterest board, Flickr set, Tumblr account and/or Facebook page too!

:: wittlebee + threadless Kids subs ::

When I heard about the Wittlebee + Threadless Kids design challenge, I knew that I had to create something. Not just because I love designing for kids, but rather I now have the very best inspiration ever... in my beautiful baby boy.





This first design "Daddy's Little Monkey" was inspired by my little monkey.

As an artist, I thrive on that feeling of satisfaction from creating art. That sense of pride and accomplishment is second to none...

That was true, until I became a parent. As a new dad, I find my heart overflowing with pride and joy that I helped bring this little baby into the world. Watching my masterpiece get brighter and more beautiful every single day is just amazing.






This second submission "Knock Knock" is an infographic design of, "Three Little Pigs". It's clear, concise and parents can use it to tell the classic fairy tale to their child.

Just in case you needed a refresher, Christopher Walken is always happy to help you out! Just play the YouTube video below and enjoy the best four and a half minutes of your day!

Enjoy :)

:: Game of Pixels ::

I've submitted this design to Threadless, so please feel free to vote here!

To help with the mood, here's the Game of Thrones theme on three Commodore 64 sound chips




Anyone else pumped about Game of Thrones Season 3?

:: 8 bit Bravest Warriors ::

I am a HUGE Pendleton Ward fan and have really enjoyed both his Adventure Time and Bravest Warriors series. So when I heard about Threadless' Bravest Warriors design challenge I just had to put something together.

With the mini hiatus from my daily 8-bit Lego creations, this seemed like a perfect chance to jump back in.  Several of the great Threadless community was also hosting a Pixel Community Challenge.  Plus can you honestly think of a better fit for an animated sci-fi series than an 8-bit pixel design?  Conditions were perfect!

This was so much fun that I actually submitted two different entries.  The first one was illustrated in a monochrome monitor style aka green screen from the 80's.  It was a bit tricky, but I only used four shades of green on a black shirt.  The official Bravest Warriors logo is also illustrated in this style.



For my second entry, I wanted to depict the characters with their heat sensitive stickers animal friends.  The Warriors summon animal weapons by rubbing heat-sensitive stickers on their suits. Danny has the Dog Sword,  Chris has the Bee With Excellent Leadership Skills, Beth has the Cat Lashes and Wallow has the Falcon Axe.  The Bravest Warriors is a super colourful and vibrant series, so I decided to use a full colours palette for this second sub.



If you like either of these designs, please feel free to drop by here and here (or click on the images above) to support by voting!

Thank you!

:: Lego Picture Book #37 ::

#Lego #PictureBooks Book #37 "The Sneetches" by Dr. Seuss

Some Sneetches have stars on their bellies while others don't. The Sneetches with stars feel superior and look down on the ones without. One day, an entrepreneur named Sylvester McMonkey McBean rolls into town with his amazing contraptions. He charges the Plain-Belly Sneetches a small fee to add a star on their belly. Soon everyone had stars on their bellies. Unhappy about this, the original Star-Belly Sneetches turn to McBean. He charges them even more money to remove their stars. This vicious cycle repeats many times until everyone's money is given to McBean who promptly rolls out of town. Leave it to master story-teller Dr. Seuss to weave a fantastic story that deals with prejudice and racism while doing so in stylish rhymes and his signature artwork.

:: Lego Picture Book #36 ::

Book #36 "It's a Book" by Lane Smith

Monkey is reading a book when tech-savvy donkey joins him. Not understanding what a book is, Donkey asks all sorts of annoying questions. Can the book tweet? Blog? Scroll? WiFi? Text? Monkey repeatedly answers "No, its a book." Donkey then takes the book and reads it for hours. There's a delightful double entendre at the end, that may or may not begin with the letters on Donkey's face above. This "Technology vs. Print" controversy story is cute, cheeky and has stellar art - as always! Check out the amazing book trailer!

:: Lego Picture Book #35 ::

Book #35 "Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World" by Mac Barnett & Dan Santat

A fantastic story about a young girl who wins 1st place at the science fair. Unfortunately her giant robot starts to rampage! Did I mention that the robot also has a superclaw, laser eye and the power to control dogs’ minds? Well, after many failed attempts to stop the ear-less, illiterate robot that can't feel pain, our hero hatches a new plan. This naturally involved creating a giant attack toad to combat the giant robot... Barnett's highly imaginative story is too much fun! And Santat's awesome artwork is chock full of so many delicious details like the brilliant frog montage and robot blue print end papers to name just two... TWO GIANT THUMBS UP!!

Check out the amazing book trailer!

:: Lego Picture Books #34 ::

Book #34 "George and Martha" by James Marshall

George and Martha are two best friends who happen to be hippos. They enjoy doing everything together and learn many valuable lessons from each other too! Important things like practical jokes can sometimes backfire and hiding soup in your loafers is not the best plan to spare the chef's feelings. Make no mistake that these deceptively simple stories and illustrations are masterpieces. James Marshall is a talented storyteller who possesses the gift of whittling great ideas to their basic core. The stories he shares are always warm, funny and sincere.

:: Lego Picture Books #33 ::

Book #33 "Around the World with Mouk" by Marc Boutavant

One early morning, an adorable bear named Mouk packs his things to travel around the world. His wild adventures take him to many beautiful cultures and different countries. During his exploration, Mouk meets many exotic animal friends along the way. This vibrant and colourful over-sized book is packed full of wonderful details on every page (reminiscent of the great Richard Scarry!) This book even includes two pages of reusable stickers - guaranteed hours of fun!

:: Lego Picture Books #32 ::

Book #32 "Along a Long Road" by Frank Viva

A man cycles around town along a shiny yellow path while enjoying all the beautiful scenery. This book is certainly is "about the journey and not the destination" - and what a sweet journey it is! The sparse text helps to highlight the abstract, sleek and stylish design. Possibly most impressive is the fact that this book was created as a single, continuous 35' long piece of art using Adobe Illustrator. Mind. Blown.

:: Lego Picture Books #31 ::

Book #31 "Pssst!" by @MrAdamRex
One day a young girl visits the zoo and has a series of strange conversations with the animals. Each animal requests for a seemingly random item. This curious list included things such as tires, paint, trash cans, flashlights, bicycle helmets, and corn. The baboon even gives the girl a bag of coins picked from the fountains to purchase everything for them. Hilarity ensues.

Adam Rex is a master picture book craftsman with a wicked sense of humour. He weaved a truly special story that starts and ends with, "Pssst!"

:: Lego Picture Books #30 ::

Book #30 "The Happy Hocky Family" by Lane Smith

Meet Mr. Hocky, Mrs. Hocky, Henry Hocky, Holly Hocky, Baby Hocky, and Newton (the dog). This lovable, quirky family enjoys a variety of family activities and they always remain positive. Even when things go wrong, everyone manages to stay happy! Written as an early reader book, the clever, subtle and deliciously sarcastic humour will have readers of all ages in stitches. Beautifully designed by Molly Leach, this book is printed on recycled brown paper to really give it a classic 40's feel.

:: Lego Picture Books #29 ::

Book #29 "My Name is Elizabeth!" by Annika Dunklee & Matt Forsythe

Elizabeth is a spunky and direct little girl. She has a great name that she absolutely loves. What drives her crazy are nicknames, so please don't call her Lizzy, Liz, Beth, or Betsy! One ordinary autumn day, Elizabeth discovers her power to change things once and for all. Both story and artwork are ridiculously cute. There is a beautiful interplay between the delightful text and gorgeous line-work. It's hard to believe that this was a picture book debut for both Dunklee & Forsythe - Can't wait to see what future projects they work on next!

:: Top 28 Picture Books #28 ::

Book #28 "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss

One rainy day, mom goes to run some errands, leaving Sally and her brother home alone. The kids are bored, but then a mischievous cat shows up! Cat and his buddies cause so much chaos that the house ends up in shambles. Will they clean up in time and, more importantly, will the kids tell mom the true story?

This classic tale has all the Seuss trademarks: rhyming ridiculousness for read-aloud fun accompanied by the good Dr.'s signature artwork.

This concludes February's Top 28 Picture Book list, but stay tuned for March's 31 Runner-ups!

:: Top 28 Picture Books #27 ::

Book #27 "The Gruffalo" by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler

A clever mouse defends himself from many would-be predators by outwitting them with a tall tale about a mythical beast, The Gruffalo! Ironically the mouse eventually runs into the gruesome Gruffalo and has to outwit him too! Written in iambic pentameter, this cute and clever "brains beating brawn" story also features whimsical cartoon artwork that will have the reader rooting for the underdog!

:: Top 28 Picture Books #26 ::

Book #26 "Grover's Own Alphabet" by Sal Murdocca

Grover literally bends over backwards to show us all the letters of the alphabet. He uses his own lovable furry blue body to contort into every single letter. A charming story with great vocabulary, fantastic artwork and beautiful design that will always hold a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf. Five year-old ME would have had this delightful Little Golden Book at #1 hands down. I still own my precious childhood copy which has endured many family outings, car rides and sick days.

:: Top 28 Picture Books #25 ::

Book #25 “Scaredy Squirrel” by Mélanie Watt

Scaredy Squirrel is scared of almost everything. As a result, this quirky squirrel owns detailed plans, emergency kits, graphs, lists, and even comparison charts to keep him safe. One day, Scaredy is forced to leave his nut tree and face the big unknown… with some surprising results! This charming book series teaches us about facing our fears, taking chances and discovering new things. It also features scarily cute, clean and stylish art.

:: Top 28 Picture Books # 24 ::

#Top28 #PictureBooks Book #24 "My Friends" by by Tarō Gomi

A super sweet story about a little girl who shares many different things with the reader: all the different things she learns from her animal friends, from her grown-up friends and even her friend, the book. The bright, gorgeous watercolour art across the beautifully designed spreads will win you over right to the last heart-warming page.