It should come as no surprise that I’m a huge fan of Mythbusters. I like their “failure is always an option” maxim, meaning if you have an idea you should try it out, what’s the worst that can happen?
While watching the program one day, I noticed something weird about their forklift — it moved sideways. [...]
I’ve always been into music but only recently picked up a guitar and started to learn to play. I had seen guitar tablature (or “tabs”) before, but only knew it as some sort of esoteric shorthand musical notation encoded in monospaced gibberish; a specialized language for people who had studied music and practiced guitar to [...]
The first decorated trees were adorned with apples, strings of popcorn, candy canes and pastries in the shapes of stars, hearts and flowers. In 1847, Hans Greiner, an artisan in Lauscha, Germany, began producing more permanent decorations – glass baubles in the shape of fruit and nuts.
To do this, he heated a glass tube over [...]
Some fellow techies and I have started Technical Illustrators.org, a blog and community by and for technical illustrators. We feature portfolios of colleagues and share tutorials, techniques, resources, tips & tricks of the trade.
With more and more of the traditional in-house technical illustration jobs moving overseas, techies are finding themselves out on their own. In [...]
Some new features have crept into my site:
Site Search find what you’re looking for
Easier Navigation use your arrow keys to navigate the portfolio
Editorial Illustration a new body of work I’ve been developing
Mind the wet paint, and if I’ve missed a spot or something’s missing please let me know!
My site is currently undergoing maintenance. Everything should be working, but you might encounter a bug here or there. I’ll be wrapping this up as soon as possible.
In the meantime, check out my Technical Illustration Portfolio.
I’ve been receiving questions from a number of people curious about technical illustration. For the benefit of anyone else who’s interested, here’s some of the questions and answers:
What does a technical illustrator do? What is technical illustration?
“Technical illustrators create highly accurate renderings of machinery, instruments, scientific subjects…technology, cartography, or virtually any subject that requires precision [...]
Los Vesparados: Art of the Scooter opens tomorrow in Minneapolis, MN. My contribution fuses technical illustration with the style of vintage travel posters. Prints will be available for purchase at the show, and from ImageKind. The show features an impromptu scooter show, vintage scooter memorabilia, mod tunes and lots of great artwork. If you’re [...]
Maker Faire was a blast! Lots of amazing things to see and do. I saw some great presentations, inventions, projects and kits and even did some tinkering of my own. When I got back, I was inspired to do a DIY spot illustration series to capture the energy and creativity of everything I saw.
This weekend I’m headed to San Francisco for Maker Faire, the world’s largest DIY arts & technology festival. Looking forward to seeing Bre Pettis & MakerBot and Jared Boone & the Make:TV crew and their Episode Dispensor, both projects I helped out with some design & illustration work.
Hope to meet a lot of [...]
I just wrapped up a personal project that’s been on my backburner for some time, an illustrated collection of my favourite iconic mid-century modern furniture. Included are designs by Eames, Jacobsen, van der Rohe, le Corbusier, and more, forty pieces in all.
It started as a project to develop my editorial illustration – to find [...]
The New York Times has a slideshow of the work of artist-turned-med-student Satre Stuelke, who takes CT scans of everyday things – from a toaster to an iPhone, to Barbie, to a Big Mac. His aim is to get people to “think about how things are constructed.”
Images like this are captivating, they satisfy some [...]
Marketel has been recognized with an Applied Arts Interactive Media Award for Leaveless, Air Canada’s environmental responsibility site. I provided illustrations for the site, in the style of safety brochures found on planes, to explain Air Canada’s safety measures against climate change.
Well done Marketel and Air Canada!
I’m a guy who likes to get things done. I enjoy the journey, sure, but when you’re done you can move on to something else. When I saw Bre Pettis‘ and Kio Stark’s Cult of Done Manifesto, it struck a chord with me, so I whipped up this poster to illustrate their 13 concepts.
The Vancouver International Boat Show opens today, so I thought I’d create a micro-site that highlights some of my marine illustration.
I’ll be heading over shortly to check out the latest in marine technology and snap a few photos.
I’d just like to take a minute to wish everyone happy holidays and say thanks for a great year. I’m sending out a holiday card and thought I’d share it here.
Green technology has been top-of-mind throughout 2008 – hybrid cars, solar panels and compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) were all trendsetting Google search terms. If [...]
Air Canada’s new environmental responsibility site, Leaveless, is now live. Featuring flight safety styled technical illustrations by me, the site explains the company’s green initiatives including more fuel efficient aircraft, weight reductions and trials with hydrogen fueled ground vehicles. Hats off to Air Canada for taking measures for a greener world.
New to the site is a phantom illustration of a cordless circular saw featuring the next generation of rechargable batteries. Nanophosphate lithium-ion batteries are said to recharge in minutes rather than hours, have ten times the life cycle and double the capacity of current rechargable batteries.
These batteries are currently being tested in consumer electronics, [...]
In his article for The Boston Globe, Dushko Petrovich looks at the work of American wildlife illustrator John James Audubon and reveals why illustration remains the medium of choice for scientific reference.
“When we turn to a picture to identify a bird – or the human pancreas, or a Doric column – we want a likeness [...]
I’ll be participating in the Philip Greenspun Illustration Project, a project to fund the creation and improvement of illustrations for Wikimedia, the foundation that runs the free online encyclopedia, Wikipedia. This project is made possible by a personal contribution from internet entrepreneur Philip Greenspun, who acknowledges the importance and efficacy of visual communication. He and [...]
I recently illustrated a series of architectural cutaways for the article A Change of Plans in the August issue of Alberta Venture Magazine. Drawing inspiration from architects Rem Koolhaas, Frank Gehry and Daniel Libeskind, the conceptual structure is used to explain Building Information Management (BIM) software, which aided in the design and construction of [...]
I’ve begun distributing a promo postcard, “Information Matters.”
Using controversial subject matter, the taser device, it explores the importance of information, and the clarity with which it can be communicated visually, in compelling and provoking viewers.
The images used on the postcard can be seen (and zoomed) in the technical illustration portfolio.
If you’d like to receive a [...]
Inspired by illustrator Nate Williams, I’ve developed a new password-protected client portal system.
Powered by Blogger, a client’s portal will include project briefs, delivery dates, sketches, roughs & comps and final files. This will allow me to keep clients constantly informed on their projects, and make available their files at their convenience.
Want to have a peek? [...]
1. The 700 MHz band will be vacated by TV broadcasters
2. Broadcasters will switch to Digital Television (DTV)
3. The 700 MHz band will be used to build a new nation-wide wireless network
4. The new network will have more coverage and faster connections
5. The new network will be open to all devices
6. All devices will be [...]
If you use multiple computers during your day, you know that all monitors are not created equally. A computer monitor uses phosphors or crystals to colourize light as it’s transmitted through the screen. Depending on the manufacturer’s specifications, gradual deterioration of materials and the type of backlight used, the resulting colour can vary significantly. Add [...]
Made a couple additions to the site: An illustration of Boston Dynamics robotic mule, BigDog, and a spot illustration for Canadian Woodworking Magazine. Also made some minor layout changes and major backend changes that should improve the efficiency of the site.
Wired Magazine has published their annual review of the best consumer electronics of 2007. From VoIP phones to vacuums, from camcorders to corkscrews. Be the first to kick yourself for buying the best at twice the price and half the specs six months ago!
Many thanks to Charlene for featuring my Camry Hybrid Cutaway Illustration and my website on Illustrophile. My work is in good company on her blog.
Added a set of instructional illustrations done for Downtown Toyota to the Illustration Portfolio. These illustrations were part of a guide to orient new and returning customers to their newly renovated facilities.
Also new to the site is a Style Pricing Guide to help prospective clients match an appropriate style to their budget.
I’ve added a link [...]