Joel Kimmel's Illustration News Blog

A Bad Host

2008-05-14T17:13:00.002-04:00

I'm currently in the midst of switching website hosts so there are some kinks that still need to be worked out with my blog and a couple of other issues.

Sorry for the ugliness and all the little boxes with red x's in them. As soon as I figure out how to turn those into pictures, everything will be just fine.

Thanks for your patience!

NBA Monday: Amare Stoudemire

2008-05-12T11:04:00.006-04:00

On Friday I posted the progress of my newest NBA Friday painting - Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns.

I am a big fan of the Phoenix Suns and their uptempo, run and gun style. Their style changed a bit halfway through this season when they traded for Shaquille O'Neal and I suddenly found myself cheering for someone I promised I would never cheer for.

Their head coach, who was the mind behind their offense has left to coach the Knicks and Steve Nash, their tricky and sharp shooting point guard isn't getting any younger (he's 34 years old).

Amare Stoudemire on the other hand is just getting started towards being one of the top players in the league. He is a great young player, and that's why I chose to paint him over any of the other Suns players.

I painted this piece following the shape and design of a basketball key where Amare's portrait is in the circle at the top of the key. The two large cacti make up the sides of the key, the two birds are the hash marks below the free throw line and the sun is the half circle marking the restricted area for drawing charges. I thought it would all work nicely with an Arizona landscape.

NBA Friday: In Progress

2008-05-09T12:19:00.004-04:00

Here is a photo of this week's NBA Friday in progress. The team of the week is the Phoenix Suns and I chose to illustrate Amare Stoudemire, their 6'10" power forward.

I didn't get a chance to finish it in time for today, but I will get in done this weekend and post the completed version on Monday.
For this painting I am working on 90 lb cold press Arches watercolor paper. I like the 90 lb stuff as opposed to the 140 lb because it has a bit of a smoother texture. If I'm doing an illustration with a lot more ink work I will usually work on 90 or 140 lb hot press paper.
I cut a full sheet in half and soak it in the bathtub for 25 minutes, then place it on my gator board and staple it down like crazy to prevent buckling. It works great!

Come back on Monday for the finished illustration of Amare, some cacti and a coyote.

NBA Friday: Dwight Howard

2008-05-02T13:27:00.002-04:00

Back in February Dwight Howard won the NBA's Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend. One of his dunks included him revealing a Superman shirt beneath his jersey and donning a cape (which I wrote about after that weekend).

Since that weekend he has taken over one of Shaquille O'Neal's nicknames (one of many), Superman. He's got the biggest shoulders in the NBA and led the NBA in rebounds this season at the age of 22.

I've always been a fan of the Superman comics. When Clark Kent proposed to Lois Lane in Superman #50 my parents scoured the city for the issue the day it hit the shelves. We figured it would be worth a lot of money someday and we ended up with 4 copies.

For this piece I wanted to paint Dwight Howard in a classic Superman pose, with Dwight tearing off his suit, hat and glasses and revealing his Orlando Magic uniform. The top of the Daily Planet is in the background, modified to include Dwight’s name and the grooves of a basketball.

You can see this piece on SLAMonline in the Links by Lang Whitaker.

Seattle Weekly Dining Guide

2008-04-28T11:04:00.004-04:00

I got a really great assignment a couple of weeks ago to do the illustrations for the Seattle Weekly 2008 Dining Guide. They picked 100 restaurants and divided them into categories like Art Gallery, Circus, Gazebo and Farmhouse (to name only a few) to describe the mood or type of food at the restaurants.

I had 6 themes to illustrate as well as an illustration of a Dagwood style sandwich for the cover. I added some architectural details on the sides of the sandwich since the art director was designing the cover to look like an issue of Architectural Digest magazine (and changing the title to Architectural Digesting).

I really enjoyed painting the cover. I set up all the food in front of me and was hoping to eat it when I finished but by the time I was done painting, the lettuce had wilted, the bread was stale and the cheese was hard.

They were all a lot of fun to paint. If you're in the Seattle area you can pick up the issue this week before Wednesday, or visit their online guide to read the reviews and see all of the illustrations.

You can see all these illustrations larger on the Portfolio page.

NBA Friday: Allen Iverson

2008-04-25T14:20:00.004-04:00

For a long time I rarely drew pictures of basketball players not named Jordan, Pippen or Rodman. In my last year of college I had a portraiture assignment and for the first time I decided to paint a basketball player from a team other than the Bulls (or Wizards). I chose to draw Allen Iverson and came up with the illustration below (from 2003).

That was the first time I painted him, so with the Denver Nuggets up for this week's NBA Friday I decided to paint him again.

One of the first words that comes to mind when describing Iverson is heart. He's always been undersized in stature but made up for it with the energy and passion in which he plays the game.

You can often see Iverson on the court, hunched over and tugging at his shorts for a quick breather, his heart pounding. I wanted to portray a moment like that where he's in the middle of a tough game, facing players who are bigger and stronger than him, and he stops to gather himself before heading back into battle. He's also an emotional player, so I put some hearts on his sleeve.

You can see this piece larger on the Portraiture page or on SLAMonline in the Links by Lang Whitaker.

sub-Terrain Magazine Illustration

2008-04-23T18:18:00.006-04:00

This is an illustration I did recently for a short story in sub-Terrain Magazine, a literary magazine based out of Vancouver.

The story is called 'The Day Neil Armstrong Walked on the Moon' and was written by Norma DePledge.

This piece illustrates a moment described at the beginning and the end of the story in which the main character walks into a service station bar where the patrons are watching the moon landing on TV.

You can see this piece larger on the Black & White page.

NBA Friday: Dirk Nowitzki

2008-04-18T01:44:00.002-04:00

This week's NBA Friday team is the Dallas Mavericks. I'd like to consider this Part 1 of the Dallas Mavericks for NBA Friday. I only had time to make this quick sketch of Dirk Nowitzki last night. I've been painting up a storm all week for other projects, so when I get the chance there will be a more involved painting of Dirk or someone else from the Mavs.

I did this drawing with ballpoint pen, pencil and ink. I prefer drawing Dirk with hair. When I drew him last year he had the short hair look going on and it wasn't nearly as much fun to draw as the long, wavy hair.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Dirk does in the playoffs this year. Last year his number one seeded team lost to an eight seed in the first round, so I can imagine he's looking to redeem himself.

Lemons in a Cigar Box

2008-04-11T13:05:00.008-04:00

A couple weeks ago I decided to paint a few lemons in a cigar box. I started to paint them in a bowl, but then decided I'd try this approach instead. I think it's a bit more unique. I have a few cigar boxes lying around, most of them are holding my paints and watercolor mediums, inks and other art supplies. I find they just look better than plastic containers.

This box was pretty stinky when I started this painting, but now it smells lemony fresh!

You can see this piece larger on the Portfolio page!

[Note: NBA Friday is on hold for this week as I am in the midst of a few other projects. Come back next week!]

NBA Friday: Chris Bosh

2008-04-04T12:36:00.004-04:00

I knew I wanted to paint Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors since the beginning of the NBA Friday project. I like how he plays and he consistently surprises me with his ability.

Bosh was picked fourth in the 2003 NBA Draft behind two current superstars, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James.

Bosh has taken over as the franchise player of the Raptors since Vince Carter left a few years ago.

I wanted to show Bosh in a prehistoric setting, with some pterosaurs flying overhead and volcanoes erupting in the background. Then I designed the illustration to look like a page from an educational picture-book about dinosaurs, and added a few facts and tidbits about Bosh.

For example, the text box on his shirt reads: "Long Neck. A long, flexible neck allows Bosh to see over opponents and helps him to appear more intimidating."I also included a height scale comparing Chris Bosh to a Tyrannosaurus and a map of Bosh's current location.

This piece is best viewed larger on the Portraiture page. You can also see it on SLAMonline in the Links by Lang Whitaker.

NBA Friday: Caron Butler

2008-03-28T11:03:00.004-04:00

Caron Butler of the Washington Wizards grew up in Racine, Wisconsin. He had a difficult childhood and started selling drugs at the age of 11.

By the time he was 17 he had been arrested numerous times and had recently spent 9 months in jail on drug and weapons charges. The view through the tiny window in his cell was a basketball court, seen between the steel bars. He believed basketball was his way out of trouble.

He recalls his grandmother sending him Bible versus while he was in jail, one of the most memorable being 1 Corinthians 13:11 that read:

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

Basketball became Caron Butler's salvation and that's the most important thing I wanted to show in this illustration. I painted it with the influence of a medieval religious painting with a basketball halo around him, protecting him from the dangers and temptations of his hometown.

Caron used basketball as his way out and attended the University of Connecticut. In 2002 he was a lottery pick in the NBA and is currently having a solid season for the Washington Wizards, averaging a career high 21 points a game along with 7 rebounds a game.

You can see this piece larger on the Portraiture page or on SLAMonline in the Links by Lang Whitaker.

NBA Friday: Dwyane Wade

2008-03-21T01:10:00.002-04:00

Yes, that's how you spell his name. Dwyane Wade is a great player for the Miami Heat who have been less than great this season. They won a championship two years ago and now they're the worst team in the league.
Nevertheless, Wade is a great player who earned the nickname Flash from Shaquille O'Neal when they played together.

I've always been a fan of the Flash comic character. I dressed as him for Hallowe'en when I was 10 years old. I dressed as him again when I was 17, 20 and probably at least one other time after that. My mom made me a great costume with a mask made out of a bright red tuque (winter hat) and an awesome hand-sewn lightning bolt symbol.

Because of my love of the Flash, I had to work that into my illustration of Wade. I studied a lot of Flash covers and decided to use a classic running pose with some speed lines. I put some of the Miami skyline on the horizon with some seagulls to give it more of a Miami feel. Wade wears number 3 so I snuck it into the illustration in a few different places.

You can see this piece larger on the Portraiture page and on SLAMonline in the Links by Lang Whitaker. It's best viewed large, so I'd recommend clicking either of those links.

Every Friday for the last 21 weeks I've drawn one player (at least) from one NBA team every week. In those 21 weeks I've drawn approximately 26 players and covered 18 teams. There are 12 teams remaining, so keep checking back every Friday for the newest installment of NBA Friday!

NBA Friday: Tracy McGrady

2008-03-14T14:00:00.004-04:00

I have one very memorable moment from watching Tracy McGrady play in person. I was lucky enough to have tickets to a Raptors game when they were playing against Michael Jordan's Bulls in February 1998. All I remember of the play is Tracy McGrady jumping from way out and throwing down a dunk on Scottie Pippen. He actually missed the dunk, but hung on the rim for a little while with Scottie beneath him. It was very impressive and a bit of a glimpse of his talent in his rookie season. Despite being a Bulls fan I still wish that dunk would have gone down as it probably would rank amongst some of the best ever.

With the Houston Rockets up for this week's illustration I decided to paint Tracy McGrady. I had some requests to paint NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon and I was putting together some ideas for that piece when my brother text messaged me. He told me I should paint someone from the current team since they have just won 20 straight games (second best streak in NBA history).

I agreed and started to think up some ideas. The process started by researching rockets. I thought it would be cool to paint McGrady as a rocket scientist, posing with a couple of test rockets with schematics on a chalkboard. From there I developed the idea into making McGrady a rocket scientist/Rocketeer type figure with a steampunk (elements from the steam powered era combined with modern or fictional technology) influenced fashion.

Coincidentally, as I was working on this piece I learned that Dave Stevens, the creator of the Rocketeer, passed away.

The border includes schematics of rockets and was a lot of fun to draw. I really enjoy adding technical details to my illustrations.

It was a lot of fun to work on. I tried to make the Houston Rockets jersey subtly visible in his outfit. To push the steampunk direction I made the buttons on his jacket and his earrings appear like bolts and machine parts. I also had a lot of fun drawing the gears at the top of the image and the billows of smoke.

You can see this piece larger on the Portraiture page or on SLAMonline in the Links by Lang Whitaker.

Illustration Inspiration: Rien Poortvliet

2008-03-10T11:48:00.007-04:00

One of my favorite illustrators is Rien Poortvliet. You may not recognize his name but you would most likely recognize his work. He is most famous for his illustrations in the book "Gnomes," which was published in 1977 and written by Wil Huygen.

This was one of my favorite books as a kid, and maybe one of the reasons I liked to draw so much. The paintings are beautiful, and the paintings of the evil trolls and Snotgurgles (below) haunted me. We also had a pop-up book of gnomes illustrated by Poortvliet.

For a long time I forgot about him and it wasn't until a few years ago that I was given the Gnomes books we had in the family. I've really found an appreciation for his work. He doesn't just paint cute little gnomes; he paints intricate landscapes and is able to capture a fox's fur or a bird's feathers with expertise.

He also does a great job painting buildings and adding interesting details to the gnome world he creates. He created the way we see the world of the gnomes - how they live and what they eat. The way we think of gnomes and how we see them is thanks to Rien who creatively gave them tools and clothing made out of things small enough for them to use.

As much as I enjoy the Gnomes series, I recently came across a copy of his book, "Noah's Ark." I had never seen this book before and as it was the only copy in the store I bought it right away for a great price. It's full of incredible paintings of animals. The theme is Noah's Ark, but it was really an excuse for Poortvliet to showcase his love of drawing animals. With oil paintings, watercolors and charcoal and ink studies this book is an extensive gallery of the animals on the ark. He paints them in their natural habitats and even illustrates how he feels the ark was designed, built and maintained.

There are a lot more books out there that he's illustrated that I'd love to have in my collection. He illustrated more than twenty books in his career.

Rien was born in 1932 in Schiedam, Holland and died at the age of 63 in 1995.
A museum of his work, The Rien Poortvliet Museum, opened in Middelharnis, Holland in 1992 and was dedicated to his works. Unfortunately the museum closed in December of 2006.

The illustrations shown here have been scanned from the Noah's Ark and Gnomes books. I highly recommend them!

NBA Friday: Luol Deng

2008-03-07T13:50:00.004-05:00

I've been looking forward to doing an illustration of a player from the Chicago Bulls all season. They were my favorite team throughout the 90's and I still have a strong loyalty to them. I'm such a fan that the Bulls logo on the t-shirt was the easiest part of this painting because I spent most of my high school career drawing it in the margins of my notebooks.

This week I decided to paint Luol Deng. When I choose a player I try to look at a few things to come up with an idea for a painting. I look at the nicknames, the city he plays for, the team's history, the player's personality, where the player grew up or where the player was born, etc...

In this case I decided to work around where Luol was born, which is Wau, Sudan. He didn't live there for long though. His father moved the family to Egypt to escape the Second Sudanese Civil War. From Egypt Luol moved on to London and then to high school in New Jersey and college at Duke.

With the Sudan in mind I was able to portray Deng back in Sudan amongst some Dinka cattle (Luol was born in the Dinka tribe), which the Dinka people revolve their lifestyle around. They also make for good subjects in a painting of a Chicago Bulls player with their intimidating and impressive horns.

The drawings that border the painting are inspired by some unsettling images created by Sudanese children who have witnessed the conflict in Darfur.
I wanted to show Luol in Sudan because he has come forward to help with the problems there by appealing for help to stop the crisis in Darfur and is offering $50 for every point he scores this season to the ninemillion.org campaign to help the refugee children in Sudan.

You can see this piece larger on the Portraiture page, or on SLAMonline in the Links by Lang Whitaker.

The Bogeyman

2008-03-03T11:56:00.004-05:00

About a month ago I read about a call for submissions for art to be included in the second volume of an anthology of mythical creatures and monsters called Beasts.

There was one spot (or a few) open and I thought it would be fun to submit an illustration.

It wasn't too hard for me to decide on the creature I wanted to do. The one creature that comes to mind immediately from my childhood is the bogeyman.

I thought the bogeyman would be an interesting creature to portray since it has no specific appearance and because so many people grew up believing in it or being afraid of him. Its appearance is different for everyone who ever witnesses it or imagines it.

The bogeyman is most often thought of by children as the creature under the bed, in the closet or scratching at the window. It is also often used by parents to persuade their children not to misbehave, or the "bogeyman will get them."

There are a few variations of the bogeyman but I wanted mine to represent the version I grew up believing in - as the creature under the bed that threatens to grab your feet if you get out of bed before morning, or the creature that will pull you under the bed if you attempt to rescue your fallen stuffed animal (in this case, Franklin the turtle).

When I was younger my brother and I actually witnessed the bogeyman. We rushed out of the house after dinner with a backpack full of leftover meatloaf and some juice boxes. We met up with some friends under a tree where we inspected our laser guns and cap guns and set out to find and kill the bogeyman. After a while of searching for him, we "saw" him in a truck driving down the road that had no driver. We ran, and never got off a shot.

You can see this piece on the Portfolio page.

NBA Friday: Richard Jefferson

2008-02-28T23:48:00.008-05:00

This week's team is the New Jersey Nets and I chose to illustrate small forward Richard Jefferson.

I decided to place him in a swamp, since the arena the Nets play in is often referred to as "The Swamp." I've also wanted to paint a swamp or marshland for a while and this gave me the perfect excuse.

I enjoyed working on this painting, building up the colors and textures of the trees, painting the birds and painting the reflections in the water. I also love using that bright green color which works really well in a swamp painting.

[Note: I was first introduced to that color, Holbein Permanent Green No. 1, by Tom Lynch, who taught a watercolor workshop in Ottawa a few years ago. Tom is a great watercolorist who hosted a painting show on PBS years ago and has published some helpful watercolor books. I brought him a Frosty from Wendy's and I quickly became his favorite student.]

Richard Jefferson has had a great season, although the Nets haven't fared too well. The team is in the midst of a rebuilding stage and just traded their key player, Jason Kidd. New Jersey fans will have to enjoy their team while they can, as the Nets are planning to relocate to Brooklyn as early as the 2010 season.

This piece is painted on Arches 90lb cold press watercolor paper. I used ink, watercolors, oil pastels, gouache and pencil crayon. You can see this piece larger on the Portraiture page and on SLAMonline in the Links by Lang Whitaker.

NBA Friday: Kevin Martin

2008-02-22T10:28:00.005-05:00

Last week I posted an illustration of Ron Artest of the Sacramento Kings. Due to All-Star weekend madness last week things were thrown off a bit so I'm sticking with the Kings again this week to coordinate the NBA Friday schedule with SLAMonline.

I'm glad I had a second chance to do a drawing of Kevin Martin because he's been a great player this season. He is in his third year with the Sacramento Kings and currently averaging about 23 points a game to match his jersey number.

I went with a pretty simple drawing of him on some toned watercolor paper. I used technical pens, black and white conte crayons and pencils.

Dunk Contest Update

2008-02-17T11:14:00.004-05:00

Well, unfortunately Rudy Gay didn't use the dunk I designed for him in last night's dunk contest. He performed two dunks but didn't make it to the final round, where I am assuming he was planning to unveil the Dirty Jersey dunk.

Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic (pictured) won the contest with some creative and freakishly athletic dunks, including this dunk where he donned a Superman shirt and cape. Ah, to be 6'11".

NBA Friday: Ron Artest

2008-02-14T23:12:00.005-05:00

For this week's NBA Friday I decided to paint Ron Artest of the Sacramento Kings. There have been rumors that he could be traded before the trading deadline next week and his teammate Kevin Martin is probably a more deserving player, but Artest is just a more interesting subject.

Instead of concentrating on the team he plays for I wanted to focus mainly on his face. I wanted to show that despite his great defense and scoring abilities, when you think about Ron Artest, unfortunately other things come to mind instead of his basketball talents.

Artest was involved in the "Malice at the Palace," a brawl with other players and fans at the Palace of Auburn Hills during a game against the Detroit Pistons. Artest was suspended without pay for the remainder of the season (a total of 73 games plus the playoffs), having received the harshest punishment out of everyone involved.

The fines and suspensions can overshadow his game and if he's going to be traded then teams will have to consider his reputation.

I wanted to represent the Queensbridge Houses where he grew up and I drew in the numbers he's worn over his career (he wore one number, 91, to pay tribute to another NBA player notorious for bad behavior, Dennis Rodman).

I had also originally painted in a Circuit City (Artest applied for a job there during his rookie season so he could get the employee discount), some images of the brawl in Detroit, and even a Rottweiler (alluding to his problems as a dog owner as well as a nickname, Ron-Ron the Rottweiler, given to him by SLAM magazine's Lang Whitaker) but all that was too distracting, so I scaled it back to what you see now.

You can see this piece larger on the Portraiture page and on SLAMonline in the Links by Lang Whitaker.

Rudy Gay's Response

2008-02-14T17:20:00.006-05:00

Last week I posted a step-by-step illustration of a dunk I came up with for Rudy Gay (of the Memphis Grizzlies) to perform at the Dunk Contest this weekend.

Today, writer Michael Tillery posted a Q&A with Rudy Gay on SLAMonline where he posed this question:

Tillery: There is a talented illustrator, Joel Kimmel, who does stuff on SLAM. He drew up this dunk where you throw the rock in front of you...as it bounces you catch it in your shirt as you rise...with your left hand slap the ball around your back and as the ball comes out you put it between your legs and throw it down. That possible?

The look on Rudy's face after I explain each step was priceless.

Gay: (Laughing) I don't know man, I want to see him do it. That could be hot.

I'm not counting out the possibility that Rudy was bluffing! I'd love to see him try my dunk or a variation of it. Watch the Dunk Contest on Saturday night to see what happens or check back here to find out if he attempts it.

Binoculars and Bird Nest

2008-02-13T11:45:00.004-05:00

Here are a couple more little drawings I did recently.

It snowed most of the day here yesterday. It was the first time all winter that it really snowed and it was quite nice.

Coming from Ottawa, where they are currently approaching an all-time record for snowfall, it's strange to be somewhere in the winter with no snow. Unfortunately it's been raining here all day so the snow is mostly all gone.

Oil Illustrations

2008-02-11T11:36:00.001-05:00

Here are a couple drawings I did for a recent project. I enjoy drawing these technical things.

NBA Friday: The Dirty Jersey performed by Rudy Gay

2008-02-08T13:00:00.001-05:00

This is a bit of a variation on the NBA Friday series. This week I illustrated a slam dunk that I invented (I think I have at least).

The reason behind my doing this is thanks to the campaign by one of this year's NBA Slam Dunk contestants, Rudy Gay of the Memphis Grizzlies. Rudy posted a video on the internet asking fans to submit a video of a dunk they would like him to perform during the All Star Weekend's dunk contest.

I keep a sheet of paper on my drafting table with a growing list of all the things I want to paint and for about 8 months I've had "dunk process" written on it. Rudy's call for entries got me moving on this illustration I've wanted to do for a long time and now there's a slight possibility that if he sees it and likes it he may attempt it.

So, here is the how-to illustration of my dunk, which I call The Dirty Jersey. It is essentially a between-the-legs dunk with a twist...literally!

I was inspired by the dribble move where the dribbler bounces the ball upwards into his jersey, slaps it and sends the ball twisting around his body where it falls out of the jersey in front of the dribbler (a streetball move).

I imagined this being pulled off in the air and turned into a through-the-legs dunk. It can all work pretty seamlessly, as diagramed in my illustration.

Step 1: The player throws the ball into the air and chases after it.
Step 2: As the ball is about to bounce, the player begins to jump.
Step 3: While jumping, the player opens his jersey to allow the ball to enter off the bounce.
Step 4: The player catches the ball in his jersey.
Step 5: With his left hand, the player slaps the ball to send it spiraling clockwise around his body beneath the jersey.
Step 6: As the ball exits on the left side, the player takes the ball with his left hand and moves it under his right leg.
Steps 7-10: The hardest part is over and the player completes the dunk.

The dunk I diagramed is the more difficult version, with a lot of the difficulty coming with getting the timing right to get the ball into the jersey off the bounce. The slightly simpler version would be for the player to place the ball under the jersey and then attempt the dunk. Either way, if Rudy can complete this dunk I'd be honored and proud. Good luck, Rudy!

The Dunk Contest isn't until the weekend of February16th so I hope this gives Rudy enough time to practice if he feels it's a good enough dunk to perform.

You can see this illustration larger on the Portfolio page or on SLAMonline.com in the Links by Lang Whitaker.

Endangered Species

2008-02-04T10:54:00.001-05:00

This is an illustration for an article that looks into the possibility that boys could be an endangered species where there are high levels of pollution.

After researching numerous communities where there were high risks of exposure to pollution and toxic chemicals, researchers found a disproportionate number of girls to boys.

The problem has even been found in areas that seem remote from any risks of pollution, finding that high levels of chemicals have made their way into the people's systems through their seafood diets.

You can see this piece larger on the Portfolio page.