With visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads, we head to a coffee shop with our file folder and any new ideas that have been percolating. Keith knew he wanted to use a Ford Model A in the photo and pitched it hard. The most challenging part was figuring out a theme and what to put in the bed of the truck. Here’s that first sketch Keith drew at our Brainstorming Breakfast.
Read MoreAfter sleeping on the conceptual design, we have a few things we need to decide next: (1) what the theme will be, (2) what the caption will say, (3) where the card recipient’s name will be placed, and (4) what The Rat will be doing. I type out the key points of our thought process and we take as many days as needed to get a satisfactory solution for each question. Inevitably, we will change our minds and having all this documented is really helpful in finding our way back after jumping in all those rabbit holes.
Read MoreHere’s the original sketch with all our marginalia. The backside of the paper is loaded with even more. Most times the concept comes before the drawing, but this time, the Ford Model A idea came first and the theme followed.
Read MoreKeith chose to start the drawing with the Model A pickup truck. The first step is getting some reference photos of the truck. Lucky he has one in the garage.
Read MoreBefore he can start drawing, Keith has to decide if this will be a horizontal or vertical composition. He played around with both and decided on the vertical composition so there would be space for whatever he sticks in the bed of the truck (e.g., Christmas tree, giant bag of gifts, etc.).
Read MoreNext, Keith uses his reference materials to sketch out the pick up truck. He actually discarded this drawing because he didn’t think the shape was quite right.
Read MoreThere we go! Keith was pleased with this second drawing and is all warmed up on Model A drawing — whatever that means.
Read MoreKeith is rendering the truck. He uses mostly Prismacolor colored pencils and is very fussy about the tooth (roughness or smoothness) of the paper so it gives the right textured finish. There’s a little Goldilocks in him. We bought five different papers at Hobby Lobby so he could pick the one that was just right.
Read MoreI love this part. It’s where that blank sheet of paper really starts coming to life. Keith leaves the tires unfinished deliberately. You’ll see why in a moment.
Read MoreWith the majority of the car completed, Keith backtracks. He uses one of his earlier rough sketches to lay in some perspective lines. Since he has no good reference material for the next drawing challenge, this exercise will help him assure the snow ski under each wheel looks appropriate. Yep, snow skis for Model A’s has been a real thing since the vehicles were introduced almost a century ago.
Read MoreThis is one of several reference photos Keith used to decide how to fit the skis to the car. Rube Goldberg comes to mind.
Read MoreWith the majority of the car completed, Keith backtracks. He uses one of his earlier rough sketches to lay in some perspective lines. Since he has no reference material for the next part, this will help him assure the snow ski under each wheel looks appropriate.
Read MoreAfter a little relaxation, Keith is ready to start on the Keith and Mary cartoons. We take photographs of each other in the pose he plans to use. We snap about a dozen photos of each of us. Often for these photos, he forces us to wear a costume so he can get folds and shadows right in the drawing. The worst for me was baggy red long johns for the hippie card. For him, I think he’d say the fairy card. Maybe that’s why we’ve never divorced: we have decades of blackmail photos on each other!
Read MoreI really love this drawing of Keith. I think I should have it printed on a hoodie! He’ll always be Santa to me.
Read MoreAfter his head, Keith draws his body and clothes. You can see why those reference photos are so important.
Read MoreThis is where Keith starts digitally assembling the card. He uploads an image of the truck, his head, and his body. He resizes the images and moves them to fit where he wants them on the card. Keith also adds a background.
Read MoreNow it’s my turn. Keith draws my head based on that trusty photo reference material.
Read MoreWith the majority of the car completed, Keith backtracks. He uses one of his earlier rough sketches to lay in some perspective lines. Since he has no reference material for the next part, this will help him assure the snow ski under each wheel looks appropriate.
Read MoreAt last, I’m sitting in the truck also. Not quite a Dairy Queen level milestone, but worthy of some hot chocolate on the patio on an unseasonably warm December day. The thermometer says mid-fifties! Holy Mistletoe!
Read MorePhase 3 begins and is mostly a batch of local color pieces. The first he undertakes is a deer holding a sign who will be in the bed of the truck behind the cab. I love this little guy's expression. Adorable.
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