When it Rains

A quick invite for a work event. I am the go-to girl for invitations now, but any opportunity to draw classy ladies (and I can make anything an opportunity to draw classy ladies) is welcome.

In other non illustration news, a Scottie won Westminster this year.

All prides and tithes aside

For an ongoing project. Trying new things.

Because if I don't, I'll always just do the same things.

Okay, here's one thing I've learned: Starting a project is really hard if it stops being fun.

So many artists say they're going to "do a portrait a day" or update every day and so forth, then as soon as their once-exciting project feels like work, they give it up completely.

For a personal project, I don't give myself deadlines, parameters, quotas, I just tell myself to do what I can, when I can. It becomes my default thing to draw when I'm bored and can't think of anything to draw. It has yet to feel like work, and I've stuck with it longer.

How about you? How have you stuck with your personal projects?

On a separate note...

Are you following the Reel FX Art Department blog? Check out what we do when we aren't doing commercials. That's right, we're drawing tricycles.

WIP it good

A work in progress.

I don't have the most interesting process. I have a very different attitude for personal work vs. professional work, mostly in that I let my personal work develop organically. With no deadlines or agenda, I forget studies and thumbnails, and just push some pixels for a while. For the book I'm working on now though, I did literally hundreds of thumbnails before I sent in sketches. It all depends on the challenge at hand, and the most efficient way to tackle it.

How about you? Structure and thumbnails and studies? Or the good ol' start-and-see-what-happens method?


And to complete my noncomplete work post, here's a still shot from a commercial I concepted and art directed (ie, why I've been busy lately).
This was my first foray into art direction, and it was a lot of fun to really work closely with the CG artists to get the look right. Not to mention, I got to draw literally every asset in the commercial.
Soon enough I'll be able to post the final, and the concept work I did, but for now, an enigmatic still.

In other news, I put new work up on www.emcguire.net for your viewing pleasure, and all my updated info. 2010 is going to be a fun year, right?

Archival

Some old work, from a John Woo project we did when I first started. Sometimes you just gotta draw ninja chicks all day. It's a hard life. This was a really great learning experience, for putting more color and mood into my images, and starting to think more cinematically.

It's odd, even looking at student's blogs now, I can see trends going through each class in whatever major, and it's funny because everything starts to look similar sometimes. Once you graduate, and everyone disperses into the world, you'll find that your tastes change, and maybe the type of art you want to make is different from what you (and all your classmates) were doing at school. Everyone is more nervous about getting jobs than they are about satisfying their own aesthetic at that point. It's hard to realize that the world is bigger than art school. The more I work in film and publishing, the more fun I'm having just thinking up stories and worlds, and bouncing ideas off Drew and Adam. It's nice to take your time, and focus on what you care about.

We forget that we're young, and we have plenty of time.

Thatched

I was a little tired of all of my work having golden hour light. So, a quick night piece, for the longest night of the year.

Christmasgirl

Did a quick invite for our Christmas party at work.

Speaking of work, I started a Reel FX Art Department blog, where we'll be posting up stuff we're working on, and stuff from around the studio. Add it to your reader and enjoy.

Hope all are well and enjoying the holidays.

bee-eff-effs

Some Rejects ;]

This was an early round of character designs for a big project that has taken up most of my time lately. Can't say much more until it's done. These girls ended up being too old for the subject matter, and we went with a slightly different style, so they're off the hook. Sometimes it's nice when that happens because I can show something a month after I did it, and not a year after.

Busy times lately. Trying to fit baking, reading, and a variety of wintertime soups into my schedule without going nuts. Hope all are well.

Porter

Winding down after a long crazy week of work.

together like towers

I've updated emcguire.net with new work, and new sketchbook work.

A few items of note-

Writers House finished their new site for all the artists they represent, here's my page.

Also, Steve Dilley interviewed me for his blog, about the few pieces of concept work I did on Radium's "Magic Chairs" AMC spot.

It is getting to be good tea weather. Also good baking weather. In general, weather has more impact on me than it should, and I love having lazy autumn evenings to open my windows and not look at photoshop. I look at Photoshop for too many consecutive hours in too many consecutive days. Some people have asked me about my inspiration, and sometimes taking an evening off is just as inspiring as looking at artwork. Times like this I wish I had a bike.

Or at least a treehouse.

Quick

An exercise in simplicity.

I like October. We get along well.

Stomp

These illustrations were completed for a project at work, which unfortunately was cancelled. We spent a whirlwind Sunday doing a pitch for a new client, and after the agency saw all the boards we'd done, it seemed like these were what they had in mind.

Alas, after much excitement, our client's client decided to go a safer, established route. I was excited about the possibility of working on a commercial with real moving ErinGirls, but no doubt the possibility will exist in the future. It was pretty cool to do more work that feels like my personal work, and not having to feel like a trained wrist.

Not to give away what the campaign is, but it's about a chain of events, and how little acts have big results.

Other than that, exciting things happening and not enough time in my days. Hope all are well.

Violet and Benny

Development piece for an old project at work. One of the more memorable ones since I got to stay in my normal illustration style.

Dallas sure is rainy these days. I wonder if this means fall is coming early.

Newsworthy

My piece for the Traveling Man Robot was used for the printed promotions of the project, and distributed at the unveiling last week. The Traveling man was also featured in Envy Magazine this month, so the project has been getting lots of good press.

Glad Dallas is getting some cool stuff to line its streets.

Also, my piece for Terrible Yellow Eyes got into the upcoming Gallery Nucleus show, along with my buddies Adam Volker and Sarah Caterisano. Gallery Nucleus shows some pretty heavy hitters, so this is super exciting to me :] The show opens September 19th, so if you live in the LA area, you should go and see some great work.

And, finally, I just got back from Colorado, where I ran around and hiked and saw foxes and was completely overwhelmed at how big and beautiful all of the nature was there. I've avoided oil paint for 2 years now but being there made me want to landscape paint again.

A few pictures





Til next time.

Dr. Wizard

Saltflats

Speedpaintin and trying new things.

And a few sketchbook gals.

I wish I had more time and energy for sketching. Lately I find the same peace and zen like focus through cooking, and that has been a worthwhile and delicious substitute for my evenings. The parallels between cooking and art are obvious to me, and I'm sure if I ever become a teacher my students will have to endure lots of cooking metaphors and call me Crazy Ol' McGuire.

I've been at Reel FX over a year now, it's kind of crazy to realize that amount of time has flown by so quickly. I'm running off to visit folks in Colorado for Labor Day, since no summer is complete without a mountain adventure. Hope all are well.

Travelin' Man

You know your job is pretty cool when your boss designs giant robots.

I created a few promotional images to go along with the upcoming Traveling Man Robots that my friend Mr. Brandon Oldenburg designed for the city of Dallas. The official site can be found here. I'm excited to have these guys just a few blocks from Reel FX. 

You can also be a friend of the traveling man, on Facebook.

all horns and thorns

A Boy and a Girl.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I assure you I support equal opportunity awkward adolescent portraiture. Awkward boys in suits are just as welcome as librarians, girls sitting by windows, walking through fields, or doing other wistful things with their gangly knees and elbows. I hope I'm not becoming too formulaic. Let's call it personal iconography.

Things on my mind lately include sourdough bread, ducks of the french variety, my much neglected sketchbook, Ireland, harpists, and just how loud I can play this on my morning drive to work without blowing out my speakers. 

Coke AMC

Radium, the commercial group at Reel FX, updated the site with some stuff I worked on. This Coke/AMC job was pretty fun. If you go to an AMC theater this summer, keep an eye out for our work before your feature presentation. I worked on the concept stuff for the pitch, and some matte painting in the final shot. 

Click here to see the final piece.

Hope all are well and keeping cool. :)

Palindromes

Monster friends

I like the few hours after I first get a new sketchbook. There's always a sense of "I should probably draw something cool" and a little bit of pressure with that first page to not be something dumb. Or should be Miyazaki monsters. 

Also, emcguire.net is updated with the two new pieces finished recently. I also redesigned and updated Drew's Website with a ton of his new work. Check them out!

If you're like me and have an insatiable need for new stuff on your google reader, here are some of the more interesting blogs I've come across lately.

Journey Round my Skull

Junk Camp

Grain Edit

The Intern

Heidschoetter

This is going to be a busy summer. I hope to fit in some reading though (recommendations?), and trips to the Dallas farmer's market. Hope all are well and busy!

Terrible Yellow Eyes

I was invited by Cory Godbey to participate in the Terrible Yellow Eyes project. Today is Maurice Sendak's birthday, and this project is a tribute to him and Where the Wild Things Are. Do you remember reading the book when you were little? I remember Max's bedroom transforming and thinking it was the coolest thing ever. 

Glad more Ringling crew got in on the fun, check out Sarah's, Eric's, and Adam's pieces as well. 

The day you burst

click to enlarge

Betsy

I miss the banyan tree at school.

So, I guess now that some things are official, I can officially talk about them. I've had some really exciting things happen in the past six months.

Candlewick Press approached me to do children's book, I'll be illustrating French Ducks in Venice by Garret Freymann-Weyr, and I'm psyched. The subject matter is so attuned to my aesthetic that it really feels like it was written for me. Seriously. It mentions cats and tea in the same sentence. It's going to be a fun year working on the book.

Also, in a separate and equally exciting turn of events, I am now being represented by Writers House for all literary related artwork, children's books and book covers. Being that they represent a handful of my heroes, I am really humbled by the whole thing.

I feel like books have always been an important part of my life, and if you'd asked me 3 years ago what I wanted to do after school, I wouldn't have said anything about concept art or working at a big animation studio, but definitely something about children's books or book covers. Maybe the whole teacher's daughter librarian thing is paying off. Thanks to everyone who has helped me on my way, and the folks at Writers House and Candlewick.