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Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Illustration Friday: Skinny-Where the Wild Things Are


So here's the skinny on my alternate ending to Maurice Sendack's 'Where the Wild Things Are'. (I know another bad stretch of the topic.)

Max was not so sure his mom would react favorably to him bringing home his new friend. But, the Wild Thing convinced him that once he goes on his diet he'll be skinny enough to fit under Max's bed unnoticed. "Okay, Max said hesitantly."

I've been wanting to do some Wild Things tribute art for quite some time. I went to see the movie for inspiration, and oh, did it ever come pouring in! I can't remember ever smiling more during a movie. I absolutely loved it! Spike Jonze took an already wonderful story, and created a treat for the senses. I love how Jonze focused on the theme of how to abolish sadness. How do you not be sad anymore? This question is what drew me in, and also how Max wanted to believe his acting out was justified and innocuous. After the movie I still wasn't sure what these characters would look like in my drawing until I looked down at my sketchbook and there they were.

I've been having a lot of fun in the sketching stage lately, so I decided to share my pencil sketch this time. As you can see the decorative waves swept in from my last post. Also, you can see I increased the size of the Wild Thing, (Carol in the movie), once I brought it into photoshop. I realized halfway along that he was too small, but decided it would be easier to adjust it after scanning it into the computer. Ahh, the digital age. :)

edit: sail color adjustment

edit#2:
This illustration can now be seen on Cory Godbey's Terrible Yellow Eyes site. "Terrible Yellow Eyes is a collection of works inspired by the beloved classic, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak."

Visit the Terrible Yellow Eyes blog to see all the contributions.