Above the fruited plain

I have a niece who is serving in Chile, and each week in her letters home she writes about how cold it's getting; in our mission we always managed to celebrate Independence Day. So when you put those two together...

You've got to mooove it, mooove it!

This one almost didn't make it past the sketchbook stage. Perhaps I was wrong to move it along!

---

Later
I've had a little more time to think about it, and modified it just a bit. I like this a bit better:

Share and share alike

I lied. But not intentionally. There was one more New Era promo that I inadvertently skipped over.

Gone with the wind

The handbook that never was

We just recently remodeled our headquarters building at the Oregon Department of Transportation, and it has several cool new features. As we prepare to move people back in, we're giving employees a new building user's guide.

These are some illustrations from an early draft of the guide -- it was going to be an interactive PDF with little illustrations and factoids to draw people in to the text and make it kind of fun.

Alas, bureaucratic heads prevailed, so the user's guide is now a Word document that's pretty much straight text with a couple of photos and floor plans dropped in here and there. Sigh. Not that it's bad; it just could have been so much better.

This first group shows (clockwise from left) the introduction, restrictions on wall height, the new showers and locker room, noise restrictions, recycling and the new mail system.

This second set illustrates restrictions on eating at your desk (snacks are OK, but take smelly foods to the lunchroom or outside), a ban on personal fans and space heaters (the building has a very sophisticated climate control system), building policies and procedures (always a favorite), cleaning up after yourself, quiet areas, and (center) an orientation to your new cubicle.

Monday Sketchbook: I'm going there someday

Our Primary kids came out from classes a few weeks ago wearing "things" on their heads to remind them of their lesson. I kinda liked that idea.

With one accord

I think this might be the last of my New Era promotional cartoons for a while. This one features most of their regular cartoonists (from left): Me, Arie Van De Graaff, Val Bagley, Jon Clark and Ryan Stoker. I drew a character in the style of each. I just thought it was kind of fun.

Blanket coverage

By permit only

Another idea from my evil apprentices.

Something in the way

This is another of the New Era promos that ranks among my favorites.

"Tut, tut!" or "Isn't it supposed to be the first day of summer?"

I had an "Oh, no! I'm becoming an Oregonian!" moment the other day. It was cool and overcast, and I wore a light coat to work. Then it occurred to me that it was the last day of school/first day of summer vacation...and I was wearing a coat to work...and I didn't even think twice about it! For a Utah boy, that's just wrong!

Perhaps it's time to make another pilgrimage to the Land of the Mountains High...

A burden of light

No, we're not done with the New Era promos yet!

Monday Sketchbook: Who's There?

OK, if you don't know by now, I am kind of a geek. Of course for cartoonists, that's not a big leap; it's almost a given. As such, I've been thinking it would be fun to incorporate some sort of Dr. Who thingy in with some missionary gag. This probably isn't it.

I like the implication, however, that they've tried some Who thing before.

So many daddies!

I'll bet ol' Methuselah had quite a collection!

Happy Father's Day!

It doubles as an umbrella

This is probably my favorite of the New Era promos.

Which reminds me: the purpose of the cartoons is to encourage people to subscribe to the New Era. Check it out online or subscribe today!

Ain't it good to know

Yes, it's a bit of a spinoff from the old commercial from the Church with the tagline, "When families don't listen, children can go to the dogs."

Oh, happy day!

Happy Flag Day!

Lights out!

This New Era promo is based on real life. I have one son who loves to stay up late reading in bed. But he doesn't read junk: Shakespeare, Tolkien, Orson Scott Card, Watterson, Schulz, Borgman and Scott, Van De Graaff... And, yes, the New Era.

Up, up in the sky!

Another from the New Era promo series. It's kind of a groaner, but I like it!

Monday Sketchbook: At least it's not radioactive

This is one idea for the New Era promotional cartoons that didn't make it past the sketchbook stage... but I think it has some possibilities. Can you tell I worked on it around the same time our family went to see The Avengers?

Let's start with a bit of a back story to set up this cartoon just a little better.

The New Era invited a bunch of its cartoonists to draw up some cartoons to use for some promotional materials for the magazine. Over the next few days, I'll be sharing a few of the ones I submitted.

In the beholder's eyes...

Sometimes the difference is which side of the argument you're on.

Tales from the hive

I got to wondering about what kind of bedtime stories they might tell in a beehive...

451

We interrupt our regularly scheduled cartoon for a moment to pause and honor Ray Bradbury on the occasion of his passing. He was an amazing author, with keen insights and writing skills that transformed the genre. Fahrenheit 451 was one of my favorite books, and I enjoyed many of his other stories as well. He will be missed, but his work will live on.

Strong with this one not so much

At home the other day we had a discussion about the Sith -- what makes a "good" Sith and what makes a bad Sith. These are a few of the "not-so-good" candidates for Sithhood.

Getting to the point

Monday Sketchbook: It's the cup, Stanley

Try as I might, I just can't wrap my head around the Stanley Cup finals finishing up just a few weeks before the Summer Olympics begin. It just seems wrong.

Following the prophets

This just proves the point that meaningful scripture study takes time, planning and effort. But it does have the potential for a big reward!

Magnificent desolation

There's a stark contrast to traffic on and around campus between graduation day and the day after.

Finals countdown