Eric Sturdevant

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

2010-12-20T18:47:00.002-05:00

Books

2010-11-03T16:52:00.004-04:00

Bookshelves piled very high... Soon the books will touch the sky.

Another "Pen in Hand" illustration for Jack and Jill magazine. This is a regular reader submitted feature. For this issue it's a poem about the heights of imagination that reading books can take you.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2010-10-26T17:53:00.001-04:00

New Website

2010-10-04T10:54:00.006-04:00

My revamped illustration website is now officially launched! Simplicity with big inviting thumbnails was the intention with this one. Click on over to www.esturdevant.com to check it out!

Contract Lifecycle Management - InsideCouncel

2010-10-03T18:54:00.007-04:00

This is the illustration I did for InsideCouncel for an article about Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM). Often contracts are stored in various locations and formats making them difficult to access and amend. CLM is about creating computer systems that keep track of contracts across a global enterprise. In the previous post I showed you the concept that was rejected which I later did a finished illustration of on my own. Here are the two sketches and the final of the selected sketch. Click images to enlarge.

Managing Your Documents

2010-09-22T10:23:00.013-04:00

click to enlarge

The client chose to go with another sketch for this job but I figured, "Why let this one go to waste?" so I did it too. It was for an article about creating a centralized, digital data repository of documents for easy storage and access. Pretty dry, technical stuff which makes for an interesting challenge. Stay tuned to see the one that got picked...

Update: The selected illustration is posted here with sketches for both pieces.

Halloween Stickers

2010-09-16T17:49:00.005-04:00

While in Target today I found these cool Halloween stickers that I did the artwork for for American Greetings. With the Great American Presidents puzzle I did for Crocodile Creek I'm pleased to say that I now have artwork on display at Target and Barnes and Noble.

Overdue!

2010-09-08T12:59:00.008-04:00

This recent job I did for Scholastic News regards a library book titled The Law of Nations recently found at George Washington's house that was never returned. Imagine the accumulated overdue fee! Apparently another book was returned in by mistake. The father of our country's honesty remains intact. Above are the initial rough, final sketch, and completed illustration. Click to enlarge.

Scott Pilgrim

2010-08-23T20:57:00.005-04:00

I saw Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World this weekend which I thoroughly enjoyed. At the coffee shop today I did a sketch of Michael Cera as the title character.

From the Archives

2010-08-18T22:21:00.002-04:00

From a job I did for Richmond Magazine a few years ago. It was for an article about Valentines Day.

Visual Commentary

2010-08-08T22:44:00.002-04:00

Steve Jobs goes retro for his latest iPhone design.

From the Archives

2010-07-27T11:24:00.005-04:00

Recently while I was going through my back-up files I decided to start a new feature for the blog. "From the Archives" will be a periodic "look back" at old jobs waiting to be rescued from the island of forgotten works.

Starting off is a job I did for Charlotte magazine a few years ago. As I recall these spots were for an article about where to go in Charlotte to get various types of repair work done. Click image to enlarge.

Presidents Puzzle Up-Close

2010-06-14T09:55:00.003-04:00

Here's a closer look at some of the U.S. Presidents from the "Great American Presidents" puzzle I did for Crocodile Creek. Click on images to enlarge.

Living With Windows - Macworld

2010-06-02T21:42:00.007-04:00

Here is a full page intro illustration and 2 spots I did for a feature which appeared in the May issue of Macworld titled "Living With Windows". It's about running Windows on your Mac and how to best share files and drives and stuff with a PC. The art director wanted something showing Mac and PC characters living together harmoniously as roommates.

Sketches for full page intro

Sketches for spots

Finals. Click images to enlarge.

Celebrate America!

2010-05-04T22:40:00.009-04:00

The new Sticker Stories book that I illustrated for Penguin is coming out next week. Celebrate America! has many festive scenes celebrating July 4th that you can decorate with 75 reusable stickers. Follow our family through events including barbeque, parade, picnic, concert, fireworks display and more! Click bottom image to enlarge.

Gum in My Gums

2010-04-13T11:17:00.003-04:00

A recent job using my "cartoony fun" style for Jack and Jill magazine. This piece illustrates this month's "Pen in Hand" reader submission. It's a funny/nonsense poem about a boy who has a very difficult time trying to blow bubbles with his gum.

The Great American Presidents

2010-04-05T12:05:00.009-04:00

Out now, The Great American Presidents Puzzle and Placemat that I illustrated for Crocodile Creek! From George Washington to Barack Obama the individual portraits depict "fascinating and fun facts" about each president. This project was lots of fun to work on and I'm excited to see the products now available. Click on image below for large view.

Bird Watching for Science World

2010-03-23T21:06:00.007-04:00

Here's a job I did for the classroom magazine Science World published by Scholastic. It's an for an article that teaches kids about the joys of bird watching while learning about nature. I love the way the illustration integrates with the page layout. Click on image to enlarge.

Hummingbird Feeder Kit

2010-01-18T14:18:00.009-05:00

The Hummingbird Feeder Kit was a project I illustrated for Running Press Kids which was lots of fun. In addition to a hummingbird feeder for your backyard, the kit comes with a 32 page picture book on hummingbirds and some cool stickers and magnets. All of this is put together in a nice colorful little package. The book written by Alison Trulock is chock full of facts and information about hummingbirds.

cover illustration

contents page of book

spread from book

a couple of illustrations from book

spread from book

PowerPoint Tips - Macworld

2010-01-11T16:18:00.011-05:00

Greetings 2010! With the holidays behind us I'm eager to get the New Year off to a flying start. Although 2009 wasn't the best year for the illustration biz overall I feel excited for all the wonderful prospects in store for us in 2010 and beyond!

Here is a spot I did for Macworld magazine for an article giving tips on PowerPoint – pretty straight forward.

The article covers things like animating graphics and using laser pointers and mobile devices to optimize your presentations.

Of the three sketches I submitted, the laser pointer as "magic wand" concept was picked.

From there I went to final.

vector stage

Finish in Photoshop.

Happy Holidays

2009-12-14T12:12:00.005-05:00

Here's my holiday card for this year. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!

Apollo 11 Quiz

2009-12-02T11:53:00.007-05:00

These are a series of spots I did for a spread in Jack and Jill magazine. For the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing they had a quiz "What the Apollo 11 Astronauts Left on the Moon". Many items were left behind, including some you may not have known about such as a gold imitation olive branch for other moon explorers.

Here are the finals. Click to enlarge.

Managing Your Business - HOW Magazine

2009-11-12T12:16:00.012-05:00

This is an illustration I did for HOW magazine for their business column titled "Be A Smarter Manager". For designers who runs their own business, managing employee issues is among the biggest problems they deal with. Various mistakes owners range from doing everything themselves to not communicating well with their staff. These are the concept roughs I submitted.

After the "chess" concept was chosen I worked up a final sketch.

Vector stage.

And then to the final piece. Click images to enlarge.

Macworld: Half-Page Illustration

2009-11-11T14:40:00.004-05:00

This is a job I did for the great folks at Macworld magazine. Third party developers were having problems with Apple's new App Store. They were waiting too long to get updates submitted for their applications and were having other communication problems with Apple. The concept to have the App Store as a nice facade with the apps rioting on the other side was supplied by the art director.

Start of final in vector format. (above)

Here's the finish using Photoshop. The art director requested I put an Apple employee in the mayhem trying to keep everything under control. Click images to enlarge.

3D TV: Holography

2009-11-09T21:25:00.001-05:00

This is the process for a spot illustration I did for Electronic House magazine. Their "Near Future" column was about holography, or 3D video, which is the next big thing for home entertainment. The article describes the fascination with 3D that goes back for more than 50 years to campy sci-fi classics such as Robot Monster and It Came From Outer Space. For the sketches I took off on the 50s era 3D movie experience to illustrate the futuristic home 3D technology.

Once a sketch is chosen I start the process for the final beginning in Adobe Illustrator.

To finalize I go to PhotoShop to add texture and depth with brushes using the Wacom tablet. Click images to enlarge.