Coloring Pages for New Curriculum

Here's the first couple finished coloring pages for a new curriculum that I am contributing toward. Can you spot the difference in versions one and two of Lesson One's coloring page?

Artist Notes - First hand sketched with 2B Kimberly pencils, then overlaid on my light table for inking. For the inking I used Faber Castell pitt artist pen Medium. Afterward, I scanned the inked sketch into the computer where I imported it into CorelDraw for tracing and final clean-up. Then I exported them as PNG files to be used in the new curriculum.

Halloween Children's Book - Update Finished and Published

Whew! I just finished uploading the final files for my latest children's book, entitled "Jack the Pumpkin Head". It is available for purchase at the following address - http://www.lulu.com/content/3990650. If you have problems or questions about ordering, please feel free to email me at mcrosser@teamexpansion.org. I have had a great time working on this book and feel very satisfied that it is finished. There are some cool background notes. Throughout the book I put some "Easter Eggs". For those who don't know "Easter Eggs" are hidden things in a book, dvd, game, etc... On one page I put the street address of our first home, where I came up with the original idea for Jack the Pumpkin Head. Another street corner represents the home address that I grew up at. On a fence post there is a hidden dedication to Angie. Also, the character Andy has a couple of interesting notes. First of all he is wearing a ghost costume. It is similar but chosen because of my love for Charlie Brown's Peanuts comic strip. One of the best holiday videos in my opinion is "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown". The second thing about Andy is that while you never see him in the book (due to the ghostly sheet) it isn't the last you'll see of him. He is actually the main character in another story I have been working on since 2002. That story takes place at Christmastime. I have had quite a creative burst of ideas lately, so more things are in the pipeline, but with Jack done, I'll take a little break. Not long, just a bit in order to relish in the completed project. This is a book I started in the Fall 1997, that's eleven years. It's nice to have it done.

The Empty Tomb

So, about a month ago, I was asked to help design and build a tomb for an actor portraying Jesus to emerge from on Easter Sunday at Cedar Ridge Christian Church in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. I was part of a creative team that did similar set design and building at East Tulsa Christian Church for years. It was great to be involved and I had fun working on it with some of the same people I used to create sets with. Here are some pictures of the process and the final shots, followed by a short video of the tomb in action.

Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the video.

__________________________Video Below_________________________

Building Background - All four

Okay, so here are all four buildings I created side by side. We plan on using these first as a background of our booth space at the National Missionary Convention. Each building will be on a banner that is 3 feet wide by 7 feet tall. Then for future presentations, for children, adults, classes, large groups, etc....; we can use any combination or number of these banners. Also, at our missions table, we can put one or two next to our other banner which is longways and sits behind a table. Hopefully, they will do more than just add color. They have many traits and characteristics of Italian architecture. They should, I used real buildings as my references. Hopefully, they will provide an Italian atmosphere as well as encourage questions. Tell me what you think!

Building Background #4

Whew. Building number four is done. And here it is.

Building Background #3

And then there was one. This is building three out of four that I am working on. I am very happy with how they are turning out. They are basically exactly what was in my head when I envisioned them, which is extremely rare. See if you can spot the pigeons.

I Want To Ride My Bicycle

This bicycle is also from the building background banners that I am working on. I was so pleased with how this one turned out. It makes me want to ride it! Or better yet use it for an animated short.

Building Background #2

And here is building number two for the backgrounds I am working on. Hopefully, I will finish buildings three and four in the next week.

John Curriculum - New Webspace

I just finished uploading the John curriculum for children that we created to a new home on the internet. It is found at http://crossersjohncurriculum.blogspot.com/. There are 23 full color story cards, as well as 23 color sheets to go with them. The stories are in Italian, so those will have to come later, but if you have a Bible you can create your own stories in the meantime. Let me know if you have any questions.

Building Background

So, I am working on an idea I had for promotions. It would be used in places where I would have more than just one table for our mission display, or I could also use it behind me as we speak. Basically it is a vertical banner, or rather four vertical banners. Each one is to look like a different building. Buildings in Italy are often several stories, multi-colored and consisting of apartments and businesses. Many businesses will have the bottom storefront door and the rest of the building is composed of either apartments or offices. Here is my first building for a banner. I am posting the three final stages.



1) First is the final before texturing...

2) Second, texturing is added...

3) Finally, shading is added for the final look...

Italy Mosaic Finished

Here is the final, albeit lower resolution, Italy Mosaic. This is one half of our banner that goes behind our missions table. It is compromised of about 750 pictures, all taken of people, places or things in Verona. I added to my own photos, those taken by Rae Bubp, April Kilgore, Jason Casey and Charles Lawyer. Thanks for helping take pictures everyone!

New Prayer Cards

So, I have been working on lots of new graphics and promotional material for the new team and ministry. And here is the result of some of that work. New prayer cards for Angie and I. I also did new cards for the Blackburns and later I will tweak them for April and any new recruits that we happen to get.

New Logo made for our new ministry

I finished a new logo for our new team this week. Here it is. I took advantage of the fact that it is in Northern Italy to use the arrow pointing up. I am possibly going to incorporate arrows into our website or newsletter. Not totally sure yet, just thinking.

Germano Reale Duck

While at a team offsite meeting, I was inspired by the meeting center's adopted mascot.

Route 66 Photo Book

Well, the Route 66 photo book is finished. I didn't have time to do any original artwork. It includes only the photography that Angie and I took while taking our two trips down the old path. In a future edition I will add some original artwork based on Route 66 highlights, as well as add more shots from the front half of the trip (Chicago to Claremoore, Oklahoma). If you are interested it is available at Lulu.com by clicking here (http://stores.lulu.com/mcrosser).

Art for our Ministry's Coffee House

Each month, we offer an American style Coffee House, where Italians can practice their English and experience American traditions. At each one, we have a theme (like Thanksgiving, American football, etc....). In February, our theme is "The Valentine Blues". I created this heart playing the blues just for this theme. Included here is the black & white inked version and the final colored version. Enjoy.

Fat Baby is Published!

So after three years of work, the children's book Fat Baby is done and available on lulu.com. You can purchase it for for download or buy a copy that is shipped directly to you. If you do purchase one, I would love to hear your feedback. Post here or at lulu.com on Fat Baby's page.
This book was a collaboration between myself and friend, Milton Hendricks.

Life Sketches - Giraffe

I go to the zoo from time to time and take pictures of the animals for depth of research, practice and realism in my drawings. Here are some practice drawings of a giraffe including the original picture. The first drawing is the more realistic version and the second is the more toonified.