Interview on DAVID-WASTING-PAPER

I've been interviewed for a great cartooning site. You can see answers to some questions on cartooning at David-Wasting-Paper: Kevin Spear - Cartoonist Survey #118.

My blog has moved

Just a reminder my blog has moved to my main domain at http://kevinspear.com. See you there!

I am moving my blog to kevinspear.com

I have decided to move my blog to my main web site and use WordPress. Now you can see what I've been up to at http://kevinspear.com.

Blessings,

Kevin Spear

Cartoon: Better Cooks

Cartoon of a couple talking to a pastor. The man says, "We decided to come here when we heard your church has better cooks."

I drew this for the "CHOGnews" February, 2010 issue. You can find the newsletter at this link.

Illustration Friday: Adrift

Illustration Friday: Adrift, originally uploaded by speartoons.

Cartoon of cat and dog on and iceberg. Dog says, “On the bright side, at least the snow has melted.”

When this week's word, "adrift," came up for Illustration Friday, I thought of all the snow in my backyard and my poor pets. They have had a hard time with the snow. And Indiana hasn't gotten the kind of snow that has assaulted the east coast. We've had only a small taste of Snowmageddon.

I drew this in Adobe Illustrator CS2

Comic: Snowman Disaster

Cartoon of  girl and snowman. Girl says, “So maybe the hot tub was a bad idea.”

There's lots of snow here this week. Snow people have been sprouting everywhere. There are certain things these new citizens should not enjoy. Hot tubs are one of many potential hazards for the common snow individual. Be sure to warn them.

I drew this in Adobe Illustrator CS2

Comic: Cat Backpack

Cartoon of a boy with a cat on his back. Boy says, "I grabbed him in the dark. I thought he was my backpack."

Cases of mistaken identity can happen all the time when it's dark and the middle of winter. I just checked and I am happy to say I wore the same color socks today.

If you ever catch me with a weird combination of socks or a cat on my back, I'll just say it is a fashion statement. I would advise you to do the same.

I drew this in Adobe Photoshop.

Illustration: Colts vs. Saints

I drew this illustration for an upcoming work party. We are all in the spirit for this Sunday's Super Bowl.

I won't tell you who we're rooting for, but everything in the office is dyed blue, I'm wearing a number 29, Joseph Addai jersey and we live in Indiana. 

When they asked me to put together a flyer, I wondered what it would look like if the mascots went at it. True, they aren't the real mascots, but the Saints dog just didn't look threatening to me.

I drew this in Adobe Illustrator CS3

Six more weeks... stupid groundhog!

CNN is reporting Punxsutawney Phi has seen his shadow once again . The oversized rodent says there are six more weeks of winter in these United States. The weatherman keeps threatening more snow in Indiana, so Phil must be right.

My heart was broken. Yet, I had enough strength to spread the news the low tech drawing way, via a chalk interface device. Thanks to cameras, I can spread it high-tech too.

Whenever something catches my attention, or just bugs me, I have to let it out somehow. Drawing or doodling is the best way for me. I might as well get some creative mileage out of it.

I'm thankful for some new chalkboard paint at work. It's a great new outlet that doesn't involve pixels or bezier curves. It's okay to be low tech once in a while.

illustration Friday-Focused

Here is my digital illustration for this week's topic on Illustration Friday. This week's word is "focused."

When they announced the word, I immediately thought of a camera. After all, I've been having all sorts of fun with a point and shoot camera. But the thought soon left me, so obviously, that didn't have much of an impact on me. If I didn't care all that much, I didn't expect anyone else to care either.

When I went back to the sketch, the word, "cheese" stood out. Why do we say cheese when we pose for a camera anyway? Wait, a minute... cheese? What animal is the most focused? I thought of my cat. That critter can get focused on anything that moves. Cats... cheese... mice.... I wondered what connection could be there.

Here were the sketches I made as I was thinking and doodling. As I was thinking of a mouse, I thought how focused one feels if they get the feeling they are being watched. 

I took my illustration into Adobe Illustrator. I started drawing the mouse.   

I begin drawing by using the pen tool. It takes a little while to get used to, but you can't beat the accuracy and the flexibility once you master it. The pen tool allows you to draw with a mouse or a digital tablet equally well. When I finished the drawing, I took it into Live Paint, eliminated the unneeded strokes and started filling in areas with color.

Next, I began drawing the cat. I put each character on a different layer so I could move them around and apply different effects to each.

I put the eyes and whiskers of the cat on different layers to I could apply a glow to the eyes, and a faded effect for the whiskers. Next, I added a layer of dark color just above the cat layer. This helped everything pop a little more and give a little mystery to the cat.

I drew this all in Adobe Illustrator.

Web comic: complaint Department

Cartoon of man at complaint Booth. He says, “You’re supposed to be resolving complaints, not giving them.”

It's so easy to give complaints, isn't it? It seems easier in the cold, dark days of January. I drew this cartoon to bring my attitude up a bit. One always needs to remember to give themselves a good attitude adjustment. We wouldn't want a bad one to start multiplying like a flu virus.

I drew this in Adobe Illustrator CS2

Illustration Friday-Wilderness

Illustration Friday-Wilderness, originally uploaded by speartoons.

This is my sketch for Illustration Friday. This week's word is ";wilderness" Whenever I think of wilderness, I envision the old Hanna Barbera, Yogi Bear cartoons. As a kid, I thought everyone was mean because they wouldn't feed the bears. This is how I would have liked those cartoons to turn out.

My idealism changed when we went on a vacation to the Smoky Mountains and I saw a bear charge a tourist. That settles it. It's not a good idea to feed the bears.

I drew this in Adobe Photoshop

Illustration Friday: Confined

Illustration Friday: Confined, originally uploaded by speartoons.

Illustration of a mom and two children looking at the snow from a window. There is nothing like a snow day to bring the joy to children and depression to parents.

Yes, my kids have a snow day today. And mom is home with the gang. I hope she is having a better day than the poor women in this illustration.

I drew this for Illustration Friday. This week's word is "confined."

I drew this in Adobe Illustrator