I have decided to start a new blog and change my main URL to danijones.com. The site at danidraws.com has served me well over the years, and there’s lots of great stuff contained within its archives. Don’t worry – I am not taking it down anytime soon! All of the posts will remain online indefinitely for you to read and peruse.
The archives will remain here.
Please redirect your RSS readers and bookmarks to danijones.com for future updates!
I have decided to start a new blog and change my main URL to danijones.com. The site at danidraws.com has served me well over the years, and there’s lots of great stuff contained within its archives. Don’t worry – I am not taking it down anytime soon! All of the posts will remain online indefinitely for you to read and peruse.
The archives will remain here.
Please redirect your RSS readers and bookmarks to danijones.com for future updates!
On February 1 of every year, comic artists around the world participate in Hourly Comic Day, where we record our happenings throughout the day. This is the third year I’ve done it. You can see 2012 and 2013 here and here.
Here’s my comic for this year. Enjoy! (Warning: VERY rough drawings!)
On February 1 of every year, comic artists around the world participate in Hourly Comic Day, where we record our happenings throughout the day. This is the third year I’ve done it. You can see 2012 and 2013 here and here.
Here’s my comic for this year. Enjoy! (Warning: VERY rough drawings!)
Some of my favorite personal art moments:
I completed a personal project and published a sketchbook.
Amazon link
http://danidraws.com/summer-wonder
http://danidraws.com/2013/12/11/summer-wonder-new-art-and-sketchbook/
http://danidraws.com/2013/09/19/painting-experiment/
I particularly liked my Hourly Comic Day from this year:
http://danidraws.com/2013/02/02/hourly-comic-day-2013/
And I had a lot of fun during INKtober.
http://danidraws.com/2013/10/01/monsters-ink-and-inktober/
http://danidraws.com/2013/11/05/spooky/
Plus you can now wear my art on a Star Trek t-shirt!
http://danidraws.com/2013/11/05/starfleet-girl-tee-now-available/
http://www.welovefine.com/6879-starfleet-girl.html
The best of the rest
Advice for New Illustrators and Art School Graduates
http://danidraws.com/2013/04/30/advice-for-art-school-graduates/
Managing Time and Being More Productive as a Creative Professional
http://danidraws.com/2013/08/13/managing-time-and-being-more-productive-as-a-creative-professional/
How to Find an Illustrator For Your Picture Book, Part 2
http://danidraws.com/2013/01/12/how-to-find-an-illustrator-for-your-picture-book-part-2-the-self-publishing-edition/
And I started a new website specifically for iPad art related reviews and questions.
http://ipadforartists.com
I had several books released!
Monsters Vs. Kittens
Monsters Vs. Kittens is my first authored/illustrated children’s picture book. It was released as the first title for the new publishing company Stan Lee’s Kids Universe. Yes, THAT Stan Lee, of Spiderman and lots of other comics and movie cameo fame.
http://danidraws.com/monsters-vs-kittens
Amazon link
Because the book and company launched at the same time, I got to see lots of fun things surrounding MVK, such as this cool video of Stan Lee reading the book to a roomful of kids.
Once Upon a Time There Was a Pig
Once Upon A Time There Was A Pig is my second picture book, also published by SLKU. It was released just recently in paperback and digital formats.
http://danidraws.com/once-upon-a-time
Amazon link
iPad For Artists
And on a completely different note, I wrote an instructional book about drawing on the iPad called iPad For Artists. It was published by Ilex Press early this year. It has achieved pretty good sales and feedback. I started up a new website where I can continue to share tips and reviews about making art on the iPad at ipadforartists.com.
http://ipadforartists.com
http://danidraws.com/ipad-for-artists
Amazon link
I went to MeCAF and Kids Read Comics.
http://danidraws.com/2013/07/03/con-pics-mecaf-and-kids-read-comics-2013/
My comic My Sister the Freak won an award for Favorite Webcomic! Here’s the video of the ceremony (my category is 21 minutes in):
http://youtu.be/NYcCa44tRCU?t=21m=
I also got my first magazine cover published!
http://danidraws.com/2013/07/17/friend-july-2013-cover-process/
Favorite Movies:
FROZEN!
If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, I think it is no secret that I am in love with this movie. Music. Art. Sisters. Feels. Yup.
Here’s the rest of my top 5. Go see them!
Monsters University
Saving Mr. Banks
Thor: The Dark World
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Favorite Books:
Shamefully, I am dreadfully behind on my reading. So many great books came out this year, but a lot of them are still on my shelf waiting. However, I did read…
Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen
A fun story about teens, robots, and evil cheerleaders. Plus there’s stellar art by Faith Erin Hicks.
United We Spy by Ally Carter
This is the last book in the Gallagher Girls series. I was sad to see the series end this year, but was happy for this book. If you haven’t read them, it is a fun series about a secret spy school for girls. I am ever in favor of all books that feature independent kick-butt leading girl characters, and this has got plenty of them.
Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth
These did not come out this year, but the third book Allegiant did. I haven’t read Allegiant yet, but I thoroughly enjoyed the first two and am looking forward to the Divergent movie in 2014.
And a couple older titles I just got to:
Giants Beware! by Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado
Ok, this is not THAT old (released in 2012). It is very very funny with gorgeous art and awesome characters you will love as soon as you start reading.
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
This book came out ten years ago. My sister made me read it this year. It is probably one of my favorite books ever now.
I include these lists not just for the fun of it. As someone who is in the business of creating, making art, and telling stories, I want to encourage others to support those who are out there doing it too and doing it well. Go watch/read/buy these super things, and encourage your friends too!
Little Women
Remember my Little Women Graphic Novel Project? It kinda went on the backburner this year, but it has not disappeared. Look forward to more March sisters in 2014.
New books!
I am deep in the trenches of a new as-of-yet-unannounced picture book. If all goes well, you should see that released in 2014.
I illustrated a couple readers for Simon & Schuster that will be released in March. There are page previews up on Amazon right now.
Do Not Open! on Amazon
The One-Eyed People Eater on Amazon
Looking back at 2013, I got a lot done and hit a lot of milestones. For 2014 I’m hoping to get back into comics and writing. Besides making slow progress on my webcomic, and getting a sketchbook published at the end of the year, I didn’t do a lot in 2013 on this front. I got a lot of freelance work this year, which is a good thing, but it will be good to get back in the habit of more personal projects and original work.
Hope to bring you lots in 2014! As always, thanks for reading.
Some of my favorite personal art moments:
I completed a personal project and published a sketchbook.
Amazon link
http://danidraws.com/summer-wonder
http://danidraws.com/2013/12/11/summer-wonder-new-art-and-sketchbook/
http://danidraws.com/2013/09/19/painting-experiment/
I particularly liked my Hourly Comic Day from this year:
http://danidraws.com/2013/02/02/hourly-comic-day-2013/
And I had a lot of fun during INKtober.
http://danidraws.com/2013/10/01/monsters-ink-and-inktober/
http://danidraws.com/2013/11/05/spooky/
Plus you can now wear my art on a Star Trek t-shirt!
http://danidraws.com/2013/11/05/starfleet-girl-tee-now-available/
http://www.welovefine.com/6879-starfleet-girl.html
The best of the rest
Advice for New Illustrators and Art School Graduates
http://danidraws.com/2013/04/30/advice-for-art-school-graduates/
Managing Time and Being More Productive as a Creative Professional
http://danidraws.com/2013/08/13/managing-time-and-being-more-productive-as-a-creative-professional/
How to Find an Illustrator For Your Picture Book, Part 2
http://danidraws.com/2013/01/12/how-to-find-an-illustrator-for-your-picture-book-part-2-the-self-publishing-edition/
And I started a new website specifically for iPad art related reviews and questions.
http://ipadforartists.com
I had several books released!
Monsters Vs. Kittens
Monsters Vs. Kittens is my first authored/illustrated children’s picture book. It was released as the first title for the new publishing company Stan Lee’s Kids Universe. Yes, THAT Stan Lee, of Spiderman and lots of other comics and movie cameo fame.
http://danidraws.com/monsters-vs-kittens
Amazon link
Because the book and company launched at the same time, I got to see lots of fun things surrounding MVK, such as this cool video of Stan Lee reading the book to a roomful of kids.
Once Upon a Time There Was a Pig
Once Upon A Time There Was A Pig is my second picture book, also published by SLKU. It was released just recently in paperback and digital formats.
http://danidraws.com/once-upon-a-time
Amazon link
iPad For Artists
And on a completely different note, I wrote an instructional book about drawing on the iPad called iPad For Artists. It was published by Ilex Press early this year. It has achieved pretty good sales and feedback. I started up a new website where I can continue to share tips and reviews about making art on the iPad at ipadforartists.com.
http://ipadforartists.com
http://danidraws.com/ipad-for-artists
Amazon link
I went to MeCAF and Kids Read Comics.
http://danidraws.com/2013/07/03/con-pics-mecaf-and-kids-read-comics-2013/
My comic My Sister the Freak won an award for Favorite Webcomic! Here’s the video of the ceremony (my category is 21 minutes in):
http://youtu.be/NYcCa44tRCU?t=21m=
I also got my first magazine cover published!
http://danidraws.com/2013/07/17/friend-july-2013-cover-process/
Favorite Movies:
FROZEN!
If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, I think it is no secret that I am in love with this movie. Music. Art. Sisters. Feels. Yup.
Here’s the rest of my top 5. Go see them!
Monsters University
Saving Mr. Banks
Thor: The Dark World
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Favorite Books:
Shamefully, I am dreadfully behind on my reading. So many great books came out this year, but a lot of them are still on my shelf waiting. However, I did read…
Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen
A fun story about teens, robots, and evil cheerleaders. Plus there’s stellar art by Faith Erin Hicks.
United We Spy by Ally Carter
This is the last book in the Gallagher Girls series. I was sad to see the series end this year, but was happy for this book. If you haven’t read them, it is a fun series about a secret spy school for girls. I am ever in favor of all books that feature independent kick-butt leading girl characters, and this has got plenty of them.
Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth
These did not come out this year, but the third book Allegiant did. I haven’t read Allegiant yet, but I thoroughly enjoyed the first two and am looking forward to the Divergent movie in 2014.
And a couple older titles I just got to:
Giants Beware! by Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado
Ok, this is not THAT old (released in 2012). It is very very funny with gorgeous art and awesome characters you will love as soon as you start reading.
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
This book came out ten years ago. My sister made me read it this year. It is probably one of my favorite books ever now.
I include these lists not just for the fun of it. As someone who is in the business of creating, making art, and telling stories, I want to encourage others to support those who are out there doing it too and doing it well. Go watch/read/buy these super things, and encourage your friends too!
Little Women
Remember my Little Women Graphic Novel Project? It kinda went on the backburner this year, but it has not disappeared. Look forward to more March sisters in 2014.
New books!
I am deep in the trenches of a new as-of-yet-unannounced picture book. If all goes well, you should see that released in 2014.
I illustrated a couple readers for Simon & Schuster that will be released in March. There are page previews up on Amazon right now.
Do Not Open! on Amazon
The One-Eyed People Eater on Amazon
Looking back at 2013, I got a lot done and hit a lot of milestones. For 2014 I’m hoping to get back into comics and writing. Besides making slow progress on my webcomic, and getting a sketchbook published at the end of the year, I didn’t do a lot in 2013 on this front. I got a lot of freelance work this year, which is a good thing, but it will be good to get back in the habit of more personal projects and original work.
Hope to bring you lots in 2014! As always, thanks for reading.
I’m happy to announce my latest finished personal project SUMMER WONDER. It is a series of illustrations, plus sketchbook.
The project was born during the Art of Personal Projects course that I took over the summer, put on by the Lamp Post Guild and taught by Cory Godbey. The class was a huge inspiration and fun to participate in. Thanks for the great class LPG!
I was excited to experiment with different subjects and media. I used a combination of gouache and digital techniques to do the paintings. I explained a lot of the process in my previous sneak peek blog post. I’m really pleased with the results!
Check out the project!
P.S. I have a print book in the works. It should be available soon. If you want to be notified when it is, you can sign up for my newsletter.
I’m happy to announce my latest finished personal project SUMMER WONDER. It is a series of illustrations, plus sketchbook.
The project was born during the Art of Personal Projects course that I took over the summer, put on by the Lamp Post Guild and taught by Cory Godbey. The class was a huge inspiration and fun to participate in. Thanks for the great class LPG!
I was excited to experiment with different subjects and media. I used a combination of gouache and digital techniques to do the paintings. I explained a lot of the process in my previous sneak peek blog post. I’m really pleased with the results!
Check out the project!
P.S. I have a print book in the works. It should be available soon. If you want to be notified when it is, you can sign up for my newsletter.
UPDATE: I’ve put up a preorder link for signed copies of the paperback book here. Wide release on Amazon.com and other distributors should go up soon.
I recently found out that I won a runner-up prize in the Star Trek design contest over at welovefine.com! I won with this Starfleet Girl design, and it is now available to buy over on the We Love Fine site. (And in case you missed them the first time, check out the rest of the designs I made in my previous post.)
Here are the shirt links:
P.S. If you end up buying this shirt, I want to see PICTURES.
I recently found out that I won a runner-up prize in the Star Trek design contest over at welovefine.com! I won with this Starfleet Girl design, and it is now available to buy over on the We Love Fine site. (And in case you missed them the first time, check out the rest of the designs I made in my previous post.)
Here are the shirt links:
P.S. If you end up buying this shirt, I want to see PICTURES.
This is a quick doodle I did in Photoshop. I totally meant to post this on Halloween but alas I forgot. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it anyway.
This is one of my ink drawings I made for Inktober last month. I just completed the entire series which you can see in my last post. Plus you can buy the art via originals, sketchbook, or poster! Check it out.
This is what the poster looks like:
HAPPY (late) HALLOWEEN!
I will be participating in a sketch challenge called INKtober throughout the month. Check out Jake Parker’s blog for the details if you’d like to draw along. The gist is this: Make one ink drawing on a regular basis throughout the month of October.
I will be adding my sketches to this post as I go. You will also be able to follow my INKtober updates on my Twitter and Instagram feeds. (And if you want to see ALL the INKtober sketches, search for the #INKtober hashtag on all the major social whatnots.)
I will also be posting each original work up for sale as soon as I finish them. Each purchase will also come with a FREE digital sketchbook that will contain all the pieces in the series. The book will be delivered automatically to your email once it is completed around November 1.
You can buy them at this link:
https://gum.co/monsters-ink-original-art
This is a new painting I just finished. It is part of a series that I am currently working on. I wanted to try a painting experiment that merges both digital and traditional painting. It has been a big learning process, but fun too.
I really like to paint with gouache and do a lot of landscapes and sketches for fun. However, I’m more comfortable working digitally for more complex illustration work. So, I’m trying to merge the two processes together and create something painterly and colorful. The way I’ve decided to do this is to paint the backgrounds traditionally with gouache, just like my typical landscape paintings. Then, I adjust the painting and draw the characters on top with Photoshop.
Here’s some of the process…
This is the rough sketch and the color comp, drawn in Photoshop:
Then I painted the background with gouache:
And here’s the resulting scan of the background:
I think I have a lot more things to adjust to with this process, but I’m liking it so far. I have a few more paintings planned for this series of illustrations and am excited to share them with you when they’re done!
As a bit of fun, I decided to enter a contest over at We Love Fine to design a Star Trek t-shirt. You win the contest by getting lots of good ratings, so if you’re a Trek fan and want to see my art on some geeky t-shirts, head on over to welovefine.com and rate my designs! Rating is open from 8/20 to 9/17.
The first design is my homage to the Trek ladies…
The second features a cat (of course).
And lastly, I couldn’t resist drawing a cute Riker.
Please rate these other shirts too, if you please! They were designed by my sister Nicole and I think they are super cool and I want to wear them on a t-shirt really badly.
I’ve done a lot of things over the course of my creative career. In addition to working as a freelance illustrator, I’ve run a blog, written many tutorials, made videos, built websites, written books, kept an ongoing webcomic, and on and on. And one of the biggest questions I get is – Where the heck do you find the time??
The truth is, I don’t always know the answer to this question, and I have not always succeeded. It’s one of my biggest challenges. There have been times when I feel like tearing my hair out under all the stress. Recently I sat down and tried to evaluate what has worked and what hasn’t, what has driven my career forward, and what has gotten in the way. Here are some of the thoughts I gathered…
Continue reading: Managing Time and Being More Productive as a Creative Professional
Hey all! I had an illustration published on the COVER of the Friend magazine this month. I’ve done a lot of magazine work, but this is my first cover so I’m excited about it.
I thought I’d show you the process behind painting. Enjoy!
This is the original idea sketch for this cover. The art director gave me some good feedback, such as reversing the girl and adding flowers.
Here is my sketch ready for painting.
The illustration was painted in Photoshop. I blocked in initial colors and gradually added more detail as I went along.
And here’s the finished cover without the type.
This year I attended two comics shows and both were super fun.
First up was the Maine Comics Arts Festival – MeCAF – back in May. If you have never been, it is a beautiful show that takes place right on the water in Portland, Maine. This was my second time visiting, but my first time exhibiting.
Here was my view from my table:
Me:
Nice crowd:
And here’s all the MeCAF photos:
Kids Read Comics was as fun as ever! This was my third year attending. As usual, there were lots of great artists and lots of enthusiasm for comics from kids, creators, librarians, parents, and teachers alike.
Me and my table:
I was excited to see my former schoolmate Mike Laughead, who attended the show for the first time. We haven’t see each other since our BYU-I days. Nice catching up Mike!
This year, they also held the first ever Kids Comics Revolution Awards. I was honored to receive the award for Favorite Webcomic for My Sister the Freak. My award was almost stolen by the evil Vordak, but he was rescued by a good librarian and it now sits on my desk.
The rest of the KRC photos:
Fun times! These are the only shows I had scheduled for this year, but I hope to go to these shows again or find some other events for next year. Thanks to all those who came up to me and said hi. I hope I get to meet more of you all in the future. I enjoy it immensely.
Next week, I will be headed to Michigan to attend Kids Read Comics in Ann Arbor. It will be Saturday and Sunday June 22-23 at the Ann Arbor District Library. There will be lots of other comics creators there like Ben Hatke (Zita the Spacegirl), Raina Telgemeier (Smile), Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy), John Green (Teen Boat), Rafael Rosado (Giants Beware!), Mike Laughead (Legend of Acornhead), and James Anderson (Ellie on Planet X). It is a really fun event (this will be my third time attending!) so please come and check it out!
Details, schedule, guest list, and more at kidsreadcomics.org.
I will be attending the Maine Comics Arts Festival in Portland, ME this weekend May 19. I visited the show last year, but this is the first time I will be exhibiting. It is a great show and the location is beautiful! Please come and enjoy Portland and all the great comics artists that will be there. I am looking forward to meeting some of you in person. (Plus, you know, Jeff Smith will be there. You might want to come for him too.)
The show is 10 AM to 5 PM at the Ocean Gateway. Adult admission is $5, and kids 12 or under are free.
The Kids’ Comics Revolution podcast are holding their own awards at the Kids Read Comics convention in Ann Arbor, Michigan next month (which I will be attending, BTW). I was honored to find out yesterday that my webcomic My Sister the Freak has been nominated for Favorite Webcomic!
Here’s the info you need to know:
Voting is open to kids only. You can vote online or by mail. You can also pick up a ballot in person at the Toronto Comics Arts Festival or at Kids Read Comics. Winners will be announced June 23 at the KRC convention.
My fellow nominees are all awesome webcomics in their own right, and I’m flattered to be included among them. They are:
Please take a moment to vote if you can and show appreciation to your favorite comics creators, even if you’re not voting for me! Many of these people are some of the hardest working, most dedicated people I know and they deserve the recognition!
See you at Kids Read Comics!
You just graduated from art school. Congratulations! Now what?
There is a lot of ambiguous advice out there like “get your name out there” and “create a portfolio” – but how exactly do you do it? Based on my experience, here are some essential and very specific things I think you should do.
Continue reading: Advice for Art School Graduates
I am prepping for some shows I will be attending (MECAF in May and Kids Read Comics in June). I didn’t have any new comics printed since last year, so I decided to make up some minicomics featuring my short Zombie Bunny comic. I’m also reprinting my Captain Bacon comic which I sold as a mini last year.
I love doing these quick homemade type books, and I love buying them from other artists as well. They’ve got an indie-artist-handmade-craftiness to them that I like vs. the pro printed books.
I’ve seen other artists make both down-and-dirty-photocopied-stapled numbers and the really-fancy-expensive-paper-individually-screen-printed kind. Mine are on the cheaper side, but I decided to use some colored cardstock to pretty them up a bit. I thought I’d share my process. Enjoy, and MAKE COMICS!
Continue reading: Making Minicomics
Hey all – this is a public service announcement to inform you that I updated my portfolio with new work.
I recently had some work published in the children’s religious magazine Friend. These are some samples from three different Easter stories/activities that I illustrated in the March issue.
Check out the issue if you have a copy! You can even download the PDF for free here.
Thanks to everyone who entered the Monsters Vs. Giveaway contest. I had my family help pick the winners in order to get a variety of unbiased opinions, but they pretty much all agreed on the winner. And so without further ado…
The top pick goes to Kat Valencia, who made this super cute illustration:
Awesome! Congrats Kat! You can find more of her artwork here.
The contest also included one winner randomly picked from the rest of the entries. That winner was Seth Wilks, who also made a superb piece of artwork. Congrats Seth!
View more of Seth’s art here.
Winners, please email me your addresses so I can ship your books to you!
A shout out to the lone kid entry by Lucien, age 4 (with help from mom Casey):
And this super twist on the theme by Seth Greenwald, in which the kitten gets the better of the monster!
Thanks again to all those who entered!
You can check out more info about my book MONSTERS VS. KITTENS here.
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