Recently in Vintage Category

The site is going to be down for a bit while I update some things.  Some links may not (and probably won't) work, but should be at the very least be in working order later today.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

Just a quick little message regarding the site. Being officially finished with school has afforded me some time to work on the site. If you've been to the site in the last 24-48 hours you have probably seen it in various levels of functionality. So if you happened upon the site in a state of disarray, I apologize. In the next few days parts may be taken down for tinkering, but I hope to have everything running smoothly and looking its very best by the weekend. With this update I'll be adding some new work, content, and the highly anticipated (by me, anyway) "Very Short Story" project. I've tried to remember how many forms this website has taken and to be honest I can't remember all of them. Perhaps one day I'll dig through my files and see how much of the old Joshimation and Josh Webb Illustration stuff I have backed up and share the less embarrassing parts.

I've been talking a lot about this senior thesis project without really explaining what it is I was doing. As its now officially the 20th, the day of the big opening where my work will officially be open to the public (although it has technically been on display for about a week as its in the main foyer of the school) and as all of the work is up on the site, I think its rather appropriate to go into some detail for those who may be curious.

Back in November I was reading an issue of Wired magazine and in it was a feature that caught my attention. Sometime in the 1920's Ernest Hemingway made a wager of $10 that he could write a story in only six words. He wrote, "For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never worn." (winning the bet.) Wired magazine had asked 33 writers "sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writers from the realms of books, TV, movies, and games to take a shot themselves." The stories, as you may already know, were just fantastic and the fact that they were told in only six words just made the whole project all the more interesting. In the magazine they were arranged and presented by five different designers, each taking their own liberties with the presentation of the text. While I enjoyed the design work, I was disappointed that the stories didn't get the individual attention I thought they deserved. Right away I thought it would have been really interesting if the stories would have been illustrated in some way, this snowballed into the idea that a little illustrated story book would be a lot of fun to make and to read.

The idea of challenging myself in this way was really appealing. I received this great little storyboard notebook for Christmas and I decided to pick some of my favorite stories from the feature and fill my little sketchbook with ideas for images. It was my intent to illustrate as many of the stories as I possibly could in time for the senior exhibition.

For some stories the pictures came really easily, others were a challenge and required pages and pages of sketches to arrive at a place I was happy with. I found a printer for the book that was inexpensive and allowed me to print a small number of the finished books for the show and myself. Which, I might add, turned out really well.


So far the project has been really well received. I even mediated a minor dispute between a rather inebriated couple over what the project was about. If you've scrounged around the blog you may have noticed that one of the authors, James Patrick Kelly, found "his" illustration and commented on it. One professor here has even expressed an interest in turning it into an assignment for future students. The most gratifying response, however, has been observing people walk up to the work with a very serious look on their face and watching their faces slowly crack a smile as they "get it." For some it takes longer than others, but almost inevitably it happens.

The work is currently on display in the main foyer of the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and on joshwebbillustration.com. As of this writing, the opening/reception for the 2007 MIAD Senior Exhibition show is tonight, from 5PM - 9PM. If you're in the area, stop by and say hello.

Last night was the preview night for the big show tomorrow (which I hope a great many of you will be attending.) I must say despite the less-than-ideal weather, there was a great turnout (although I have nothing to compare it to, so I suppose it could have been not so great.) In light of this I decided to put my work for the show up on the main page of the site a little earlier than intended (so go take a look!). This is for you, the reader who won't be able to make it tomorrow and for you, the reader who saw it last night (or will see it tomorrow night) and just had to see it again. (All 2 of you.) Marissa, my personal professional photographer will be there tomorrow and I'm sure I'll have lots of great pictures to share with you. See you then! 5:00!

Today was the deadline to have everything up and ready for the big show. While I had everything up Saturday night, I went in last night to put on the finishing touches and display my books, postcards, etc. I've also made a couple of changes to the front page of the site, added some work to the illustration portfolio and in an attempt to whet your appetite, put up a heading for the 6 Word Story project. I'll post the final images from my show on Friday for the Gallery Night reception and I'll see about getting some images from the show itself up as well. I hope to see lots of you there!

Just a few more days until spring break! I'm wholeheartedly looking forward to having the time to concentrate on finishing some projects and thesis (which is moving along at a healthy clip) without distraction. Above is a postcard of sorts I'm thinking about sending out, I think it may work well as a graduation announcement, but we'll see. I looked at a lot of class pictures on flickr and tried to cram in as many of the characters I've featured in various illustrations throughout the past year. I may take another pass on it when I have some free time and cram in a couple more characters. I'd also like to stuff in the Starlight characters if I can finish them this week. We'll see.

Once again its been awhile since I posted anything new and for that I must apologize. However, last night I stayed up extra late working on the layout for the blog and I think its ready for prime time now. I've been working on a bunch of new projects, many of which I'll be able to share down the road, and some of which have already been added to the site.

I must say that while the sheer amount of work I am wading in is overwhelming, it is at the same time really exciting. The image to the right is for my thesis project illustrating 6-word stories written by science-fiction authors and screenwriters. It came about pretty fast, at least much faster than anticipated. My thesis project is officially in motion and I'll be sure to keep you posted as things get closer and closer to the big show.