Lastly we have the 4th and final drawing in my short series for the TV show, Four Courses With JB Smoove.

The goal of this illustration was to communicate a sense of being chosen. This, through the act of being welcomed into a private event within a fancy restaurant.

This one was probably the most exacting of the four. The welcoming gesture is in fact a rather subtle one, which was also the intent of having it. Instead of an energetic "over here" wave I wanted something more sly. I found that the subtler the gesture, the more exclusive we the viewer felt as the invited company. The challenge was to convey this without it looking confusing or arbitrary. The addition of the hunched down shoulders and halfway opened door also helped quite a bit.

Hope you've enjoyed the drawings. Later on I might post a progress GIF going through the various stages of one of the drawings.

Thanks, talk with you soon.

Doug

Here we have the 2nd drawing in my short series for the show, Four Courses With JB Smoove.

Since the show takes place in New York this piece is meant as a play on the Statue of Liberty. JB himself is playing as stand-in for the grand ole' lady - the menu in place of the tablet she holds and the glass of wine as a substitute torch. This is why that classic pale green was chosen for the ink wash - to match the patination that's occurred to the copper hanging over the statues' frame.

I also wanted the New York skyline resting in the background, but it needed to be recognizable as the Big Apple so we included the Empire State Building and Chrysler building.

Quick Side Story: A number of years ago I worked in NY as a temp. I worked here and there and moved from place to place, as temps do. Then one day I realized I'd been working in the Chrysler building for about a week. I guess I'd become acclimated to the city since I never took the time to look up when walking on the street.  I had no idea. New York. Funny place.

Hope you enjoy. I'll have the drawing numero tres posted next week.

​D

This is the first in a short series of drawings done for the TV show, Four Courses With JB Smoove. JB, if you're not aware, is a high energy uber funny comedian. I first came across him in the Louis CK film, Pootie Tang back in my MICA days (thank you James Favata). He acted in and narrated the movie. Check it out if you haven't. You'll love it or hate it. He's also hosted Last Comic Standing and guest-stared on Louie CK's show, Louie.

My art director, Masha of Plastic Palm Tree, approached me with the project and I was more than excited to do it. The premise of the show is pretty straight-forward: JB sits down with celebrity friends and chews the fat. These sketches were used as concept pieces. Kind of 'visual ideas' to communicate a particular direction for the marketing campaign. The show and JB are light-hearted so that was a clear goal - to get across JB's personality and the show's tone. So in this piece we have him just finishing a meal, then wiping his mouth while wearing a comical smirk.

If you'd like to find out more about the show you can visit MSG Network here.

Hope you enjoy. I'll have the next drawing posted on Thursday.

​D

It snowed again here in Philly this morning, just briefly, but enough to inspire me to post the process of making the Cooking w/ Kyler winter scene.

Here's a step-by-step slideshow showing each stage from sketch to final.

Hope you enjoy.

D