Spotty's Soft Steps

The Brief: A Deer. He lives in the forest. He's in a clearing. The sun is bright. It's in the summertime. He's just got a new pair of antlers. The ground is wet and soft. His hooves are quiet. He waits to hear another one of his kind. Deers live in a pack. He has a spotted back. When he hears a predator he'll jump and leap. Mountain Lions strike softly and quietly.

The Critique: I like it because his antlers are in a funny shape and he has a blaze on his forehead.

Job Status: Approved

Additional Comments: TAD has realized that the best way to get something done right is to do it herself.

Ice Cream and Frenchy on the Promenade

The Brief: A dog jumping up on me


The Critique: I like it! I want two scoops of ice cream. No, three scoops!
Job Status: Approved
Additional Comments: Daddy some dogs even don't have tails! They only have buttholes!
Artist's Note: Tiny A.D. was electrified by this idea and drew 4 versions of it. Below is my favorite.  This was done a while ago and is one of the pieces from the book that I hadn't posted yet:

Sneaking Away

The Brief: A Brachiosaurus sneaking away from a T-Rex



The Critique: Brachiosauruses don't have spikes! I like how you made his teeth yellow - because do dinosaurs brush their teeth? I don't think so! I think you should do some of her babies sneaking away too.

Job Status: Approved
Additional Comments: I want to do a version!

Here's my version (that's the tip of the guy sneaking off's tail)

AAARRR-F!

The Brief (From Facebook contest winner Kelsey Quiring): A pirate puppy on a pirate ship. And he caught a colorful fish in the ocean. And there's lots of blood.
The Critique (From TAD as usual): Well I was wondering, why did he catch a butterfly fish? Why didn't he catch a goldfish? You should draw it like: blood streaming down the butterfly fish.  Where's the blood? I want there to be a bit more blood. I want there to be like blood streaming down and dripping.
Job Status: Approved
Artist's Request: Please keep your feet off the painting.
Additional Comments: How's the pirate going to get that alligator off the ship? Probably stick his hook right through his heart.  I hope the puppy wins.  Can you draw some more blood streaming down? Please?

Guest Artist: Lunch Bag Art

Lunchbagart draws awesome pictures on his kids' lunchbags. He bravely took a commission from TAD:
The Brief: A pug puppy being fed a bottle

See what she said here: http://lunchbagart.tumblr.com

Buried Up In Fire

The Brief: A dragon blowing fire all over

The Critique: Whoa! that's awesome! I like the way he's so mad - and I think you should draw his claws sticking out of the fire.  He'll still be really buried up in fire.
Job Status: Approved

Artist's Notes:Thanks to Mark at boingboing for posting about TAD!  Also the contest winners have been announced at the TAD FB Page - as a result I'll be painting a pirate puppy!

Stuffed Metallic Diner Vinyl Rocketship

The Brief: A Stuffed Rocket (On Spec - I did this for myself, of course)
The Critique: Zooooom!!! Rocket Blast!!!
Job Status: Approved (She loves it!)
Additional Comments: Dadda, you better put this up high where I can't reach it
Artist's Comments: More pictures here:http://www.billzeman.com/bz/vinyl.html

Tiny T-Rex

The Brief: I don't even want a drawing.  Do whatever you want.

The Critique: Now that's what I like -- That guy! He has such tiny hands! Let's pretend another dinosaur is fighting with him and he's scaring it!
Job Status: Approved

Flying Chital - A Collaboration

The Brief: Flying Chital


Artist's Note: Chital are apparently a kind of deer. These ones fly.
This is a new kind of collaboration for us - I scanned in her drawing, let her color it in photoshop and then put my background on it (it's also the background for the TAD twitter feed).

The Critique: I asked her what words we should add -- meaning what we should say about it on the blog:

"I don't think we should put words on it. It's my picture and I get to take care of it and decide if there should be words."

"No, I  mean what do you think about the picture? The words are just for the computer - not on the picture itself."

"Oh. Ok... I didn't want there to be volcanoes.  I just wanted there to be snow mountains.  So Dadda can you please erase the volcanoes and I'm going to see how it looks with the lava gone and the smoke gone?"

Job Status: Approved anyway

The Keep

The Brief: A Bad Dragon



The Critique: What's he going to do to that castle? I think he's going to eat the princess. Is he mean? I think he should be mean. I think the princess is stuck in there for her whole life and then the dragon family came and went swimming in the lake and got eaten by crocodiles.

Job Status: Approved

Artist's Note: I have books! All the pre-orders ordered from me are in the mail - more info here: http://www.facebook.com/TinyArtDirector

Lone Lion

The Brief: A Lion


The Critique (on the inked version, above, after some fussing with details by the artist): You showed me that a million times! I think it's awesome, but I don't want to see it again. I don't like all of that ink. So take all that black away except the black of the out-lions... Hey - out-lions of the lion!

Additional Comments: You're not supposed to color in with black. That's what my teacher says. You're doing art the wrong way. Hey, talking about ink can I try using ink? Please please please?



The Critique (on the colored version, above): Whoa! That, my friend, is awesome! ... I've been wondering: why does this side have 3 whiskers and this side have 2 whiskers?

Job Status: Approved

Artist Notes: Thanks to everyone who weighed in on the facebook page about the different versions of this! If you haven't checked out the facebook page or the twitter feed yet, you should - there is stuff there including upcoming contests that won't be here!

A Lion of Lions

The Brief: A Line of Lions...It's the same word! Line and Lion! Hey, how about you draw one of their prey, like a dead antelope that they want to eat?
The Attempted Assistance: Hey, want me to do the horns for you? And they bit her, so I'm going to make a little hole of blood. Can I do that at the end?
The Critique (of completed work): Coool - but you didn't do the little blood spot... What about lion cubs? I want you to do it with the lion cubs. And the mother right next to them. Why did you do it all boys? I wanted you to do some mothers.
Job Status: Approved

What is it?

The Brief: A cat eating a fish
The Critique:
"Cool! What is it?"
"You can't tell what it is?"
"No."
"We were just talking about it..."
[No Response.]
"Do you like it?"
"Sure."
Job Status: Approved?

Collaboration: T-Rex, Superdog and Girl

The Brief: I'll show you. I'll draw it and you copy [fig. 1]. It's a T-Rex trying to eat a girl.
The Critique (on sketch, after TAD's, no longer extant): I hate that girl. You erase her and I'll draw her as I like her. I want her to be brave. She's not scared of one thing cause that's me and I'm not scared.
The Critique (on sketch, improved by Art Director [fig. 2]): I think my drawing's a little bit better than yours.
Comments on collaborative painting, above: That's my bag, and that's a puppy in it. I'm not noticing the dinosaur, but the superdog [note the 3 eyes] knows what to do. She bites it on the neck and kicks it into a lava pool -- that's the volcano.
Job Status: Approved

A Snowman Family

The Brief: A Snowman Family
The Critique: It’s pretty good. I love it!
Why do I have the smallest carrot?
Why do I have three buttons?
Why did you paint the lamppost? I’m wondering why it’s so thin.
Who built us? I think we built us.
Why can’t we build a snow kitty?
Job Status: Approved

Artist's Note: You may notice that this piece is not exactly seasonal - I've been withholding a bunch of pieces that I did over the last few months for the book, and now that the manuscript is (nearly) final, I'll be doling them out over the next few months.

Snail Renaissance

The Brief: A mama snail and a baby snail
The Critique: I'm sorry to say that you're worser than me. You gotta learn to draw as me. You just don't draw so well. Why do you think that is? It turns out that I'm the good draw-er. It turns out that you're the art director.
Artists Note: The critique is on the initial sketch, and compares to hers. She actually likes the painting.
Job Status: Provisionally Approved, pending addition of jumping fish in the lake

X-Ray T-Rex

The Brief: A dinosaur in a X-Ray
The Critique: I just want to see a little mousey in his tummy
Job Status: Approved (after addition of mousey)
Additional Comments: That's what kind of bones dogs like to chew on. Dinosaur leg bones.

Dog Legs

The Brief: I'm going to tell you what to draw. Draw a dragon sneaking up on a girl. She's picking flowers.
The Critique: Daddy it's not supposed to be like that! He has dog legs! I'm so mad at you! I'm going to erase those legs! Daddy why did you do those legs??? [collapses in tears]
Job Status: Rejected


Second Attempt:
The Critique: No I hate the dragon's head! Because there's two dragons - see look: this is a dragon and this is a dragon. That one has paws and this one has paws. See look: That is the difference. Now draw it on the back! Get that one away. Erase it daddy - erase it now. Don't put it on the computer!
Job Status: Rejected

Late Update: I added the oil painting of the first one above and it's actually APPROVED! The rejection is from the sketch.

Kangaroo Rat

The Brief: A cat killing a rat
The Critique (on the preliminary sketch - no longer extant): No! He's supposed to be in the cat's mouth! That rat looks like a kangaroo! [Art Director grabs my eraser and succeeds in erasing the entire sketch before I can stop her]
Job Status: Rejected and destroyed.

Second attempt (above):
The Critique: Yeah, like that.
Job Status: Approved.

Some Silly Dinosaurs

The Brief: Some Silly Dinosaurs
The Critique: I like it
Artist Angling For A Better Quote: Anything you don't like about it?
The Critique: Don't ask me that Daddy! Just give me a treat right now!
Job Status: Approved