Just finished a really fun commission for some artwork to go on a wedding. The couple wanted to highlight one of my favorite pairs of places in the world (NYC & SF) so it really was a pleasure making this for them.

Folks ask me a lot about my process for something like this. So here it is:

The clients (Rebecca and Ellery, hence the “RebEl” on the billboard) had given me some basic things they wanted in the image like SF & NYC, their dog, my kinds of drawings of people, food and booze. So I sent them this sketch:

They loved the idea. (Yes! That’s always a great email to get back from folks.) But were afraid some details like SF’s Sutro Tower would be lost on New Yorkers and suggested I just go for the two iconic bridges. I changed up the sketch and inked over it on some 100 lb. Bristol. The inked piece looks like this:

They also had mentioned their wedding colors were coral, blue and green. That was kind of a fun challenge for coloring this piece. The limited palette also added to its graphic look, which I figured would be better on a wedding invite. And to give a sense of how that kind of coloring works, I scanned the inked image and then cut out all of the whites in Photoshop. I then made that one layer (and usually I’ll convert the black of the lines to a dark blue so it’s less oppressive with other colors) and then made another layer of colors. I digitally painted in the color in that layer with a Wacom Tablet. Minus the line art, here’s what that layer looks like:

And that (minus all of the coffee/snack/beer breaks, walks in the parks, email checking, trips to Brookyn Boulders) is basically how it’s done. Questions?

This summer we entered a t-shirt design contest at our favorite San Francisco bar (where Shitty Kitty was born!), Shotwell’s– and we won! Here’s the design that goes on a classic white tee:

You can pick up your very own next time you swing by Shotwell’s for a brew. Make sure to say hi to the bar owners Dave and Tom for us!

You can also order the shirt online here from the good folks at Taverntees, but recommend stil going and saying hi to Dave and Tom for us.

We began our 2 week West Coast tour in LA with Oscar’s. No, not actually at the Oscar’s– for some reason we weren’t invited. But the Oscar spirit got into us nonetheless! So without further ado, this tour’s winners are…

Hottest Reading-The-Book Photo

Laura + Laura @ the Launch Party at Mission Comics and Art. What a party! What sexy reading eyes!

Best School Signage

A school gym in LA. Yes, we make quite a team! That’s us with Lisa Becker (our amazing LA media escort) and Jon Scieszka (Casey’s dad/author of the middle grade series Spaceheadz for which we are the Digital Team).

Best Post-Presentation Question

“So… are you two married? Or still dating? Or not together anymore?” asks a hopeful teenaged girl to Steven after our presentation to the 9th and 10th graders at Ingraham High School. STILL DATING.

Best Bathroom Graffiti

Hicklebee’s Children’s Books in San Jose! Steven tagged the heck out of their bathroom. Good thing a million other authors and illustrators have had the same idea so we won’t be the only ones getting in trouble.

Best Home Coming

Pitzer College! (Casey’s alma matter.) We had a reading and signing at their oh-so-cozy Grove House and can’t wait to return for Reunion Weekend.

Most Satisfying Photo To Take

Outside our old studio in The Mission in San Francisco where we wrote the book. Look studio, it’s DONE!

Most Beautiful Library

Sammamish Library in Washington has a FIREPLACE and a SKATEPARK and GEOTHERMALLY HEATED FLOORS. Frankly, I’m surprised we ever left.

#1 Unexpected Interview

Angela from Kepler’s Bookstore in Menlo Park, California caught us by surprise for a quick interview about the book. If we sound high on life it’s because we are. We’re also really not used to 18 hour days.

Best New Friends with Basically The Same Name

Timbuk2! The uber cool folks of Timbuk2 bags had us over for a tour of the offices and custom bag factory in our old San Francisco neighborhood, The Mission. We’re working on some kind of cross-promotional bag with them…

Most Productive Bar Experience

Our signing at at our old San Francisco haunt, Shotwell’s! GOOD. TIMES.

This post originally appeared on allthewaytotimbuktu.com, the website for our brand new book To Timbuktu. To see the post there, click here.

We’ve been running around like craaaazy out here on the West Coast talking to kids about Spaceheadz and To Timbuktu! LA, the Bay Area and now Seattle. A more detailed update coming soon, but for now, a taste of the madness:

And by the way, are you in Seattle right now? We’ve got some events for you! Check out the schedule here: http://allthewaytotimbuktu.com/events/

Our cheeks are very red right now.

Publishers Weekly gave our book To Timbuktu a very flattering starred review this week. Not only did they call Casey’s writing “Impressively witty, perceptive, and candid” and describe Steven’s art as “fluid cartoon sketches, seamlessly incorporated into every page” they even took on Dr. Seuss:

Come grad season, skip Oh, the Places You’ll Go!–this will be far better appreciated, with its effortless mix of globe-trotting adventure, romance, humor, and expanding self-knowledge.

Please read the whole review here.

We’re so excited for To Timbuktu to come out March 1st! Come Sunday we’re off to the West Coast for a To Timbuktu/Spaceheadz tour. Watch out L.A., San Francisco, and Seattle. We’re coming your way!

It’s party time! We’ll be heading to the West Coast this March for loads of To Timbuktu and Spaceheadz events at schools and bookstores. LA, San Francisco, Seattle… We’ll be putting up details on our Events Map soon, but for now, mark your calendar for a CRAZY LAUNCH PARTY on MARCH 5th in SF!

A couple weekends ago Steven and I were in his childhood room and came across his trading card collection in a shoebox. And guess who we found? Some residents from our former neighborhood in San Francisco, The Mission!

For people who have no idea what we’re talking about when we say The Mission: We’re generally not big fans of the word “hipster”, but in the name of a speed, let’s just say that that word usually makes it into people’s descriptions of the neighborhood. Let’s also have it be known that Steven regularly wears a flat brim SF Giants hat.

Bottom line, the new Chris Brown is not nearly as cool as the old Chris Brown.

Steven was in SF and Berkeley last week muraling a big wall at Causes and then a Shitty Kitty bathroom at Mission Comics and Art.

Here’s the one for Causes. (They’re the good folks who bug you on Facebook to help out nonprofits.) It’s a world map made from hand cut stencils of animals. All the employees got to pick their own spirit animals to be included. (Look the pandacorn!) Click on the image to enlarge it.

And here’s the Shitty Kitty Shitter for Mission Comics and Art. Wow. She really likes bathroom humor. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Details for the Causes mural:

Details for the Shitty Kitty Shitter mural:

And hey, check out this cool video of Steven drawing Shitty Kitty:

As always, if you’ve got a blank wall just dying to for some paint, send Steven an email at
steven (dot) weinberg (at) gmail (dot) com, he’ll send you a plan, and the rest will be mural history.

Saturday night we took over much of Mission: Comics and Art for a little behind-the-scenes/making-of a graphic novel party. There were process sketches, final illustrations, covers ideas to vote on, plenty of cans of beer and lots of folks who stayed until the wee hours of the morn’ dancing their butts off.

We absolutely can’t wait until this book comes out so we can have book-dance parties ALL THE TIME.

What’s this book we’re talking about anyway? It’s right here.

Doesn’t the poster say it all?
Come see us showing how we’re making our graphic novel this Saturday night. Beverages will be served.
Mission Comics and Art is here in SF:

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See you there!