THE SUBMARINE

Just wanted to share a little bit of this work in progress.  It's one of my favorite illustrations in the storybook, and I'm making it my first limited edition print.  Am feeling a little bit OCD because I started going back into the illustration and making adjustments to the original, but couldn't help it.  It's therapeutic.  

These are a few of the colors I'm using... mixing Winsor Newton gouache with Liquitex acrylic paints with Acryla gouache.  A pinch of that opera pink really makes things pop.   

Here you can see the comparison... a few of the adjustments I've made...  I addded more blond hair creeping into the nearby porthole and have been refining the image overall with accents.

PINKY!

Been experimenting with this guy and bringing him to life through these animated gifs.  His name is Pinky the Blowfish and I'm working on a toy version of him as well.  

ANIME EXPO Los Angeles 2016

You can always tell when The Anime Expo is in town.  Color and manga magic fills the streets of Downtown LA.  Naturally I'm drawn to this... I brought my camera with me and snapped a few pictures.  I'm using a special Brian Wonders lens which adds more magic and sparkle to each image the longer the shutter is held open.  I'm still playing with the settings, but here's a few of my favorites.  

Got a little starstruck it's Hatsune Miku.  If you don't know who she is click on her link, it'll take you to a youtube.  Basically she's a giant anime hologram singer who sells out concerts all around the world.  She's rendered real time, dances and flips her twintails on stage... sort of in the world of Gorillaz.  Fantastic.

I think his name is Howl.

Character overload.  I don't know who she is but I like it.  

Calling all Asuka Langleys

If you appear in these pictures and/or would like credit or have comments, please send me a note!

BRIAN WONDERS Collaboration with DiSnapback

Last weekend I turned my studio loft into a photo stage for a collaboration with LA streetwear designer Victor Perez, of DiSnapback.  His idea was to shoot his summer collection surrounded by my illustrated wall and feature my Brian Wonders pillows and storybook.  

Model credit:  CJ Hammond 

Here's the result of our collaboration and a mix of behind the scenes images as well.  Many thanks to the models and Sonny the photographer for making the photos look so good -- 

Model credit:  CJ Hammond 

Model credit:  Marcio  

Model credit:  CJ Hammond 

Model credit:  Trent Thompson

Model credit:  CJ Hammond 

Brian Wonders: Now at the Wynn Las Vegas

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Excited to announce the Brian Wonders Storybook is now selling at the Wynn Hotel Las Vegas.

Spent the weekend scoping out the pools and garden mazes and cabana castles and couldn't help being inspired by the surroundings...  I wondered what if the gardens had a lazy river running through them.  I wondered what if the infinity pool went on for infinity.  So I sketched them out.   

Tiny Treasures in the Esplande, the newly opened gifting boutique for children.  Jewel encrusted tricycles, princess tents and Keith Haring furniture are among some of the treasures.   

Limited edition postcards and pillows are in production and will soon be added to my Brian Wonders Shop.  Follow my IG @brianwonders or join my mailing list to receive special offers and updates on gifts.   

BRIAN WONDERS IN ESALEN

Still feeling rejuvenated and a little blissed out from my weekend at Esalen Institute in Big Sur.  I highly recommend it for hot springs and meditation.  The drawing below shows how I was feeling moments before I got my cortical fields re-aligned.  I'm all good now.  

Julia Pfeiffer National Park, Big Sur.  Selfie in my DiSnapback LOS* hat  

Morning sketch at The Mill SF

Luna! Brian's magical friend

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Luna comes to life whenever Brian is especially bored.  Luna leans in and whispers a magical plot into his ear.  This time he has pirates in mind... and a kidnap.  Off to the deep end they go.  Double tap or hold on Luna to copy the gif, then paste to send him off on twirling adventures.

Here's a little behind the scenes of the making of Luna.  I'm modeling her in 3D using Maya.  And here's a few early sketches of Luna, including the final illustration from the storybook.  Currently working on a limited run of designer toys of this little guy as well as some more animations.  

More images from Bologna, Italy

Feeling nostalgic and ran across some pics from my last trip to Italy that I never posted... here's a few Brian Wonders images from Bologna and a couple from Venezia.  Huge thanks to Noemi and Francesca at ZOO, the spectacular bookstore in Bologna which became the first bookstore to carry my storybook!  Grazie mille!  Here's Brian displayed in their window!!  

Feeling in good company, placed next to one of my favorite illustrators, Emmanuel Hodart.

Follow the white rabbit up the steps to the upstairs shop at Zoo.

Brian Wonders in Venezia, Italy

I couldn't help leaving a few Brian Wonders Pirate Bears peeking about Venezia.  Morning started out with the best tasting pastry and coffee I've had.  Ever.

Brian Wonders Goes to Bologna

BOLOGNA CHILDREN'S BOOK FAIR 2015  -  BOLOGNA FIERA di LIBRI

Recently traveled to Bologna, Italy for their annual Fiera di Libri.  Was totally inspired by the festival and the artwork, and  brought back with me a pile of books.  Here's a few images from the fair.  More on my Instagram:  thevictorrobert.

Let the games begin

Does the U.S. have a minister of culture?  Italy does.  Here she is kicking things off, bestowing the Honorary Libri di Brian Wonders.  Ha, just daydreaming, but that IS HER.  I love her look.  She may end up inspiring a character in one of my books.  

And they're off!

Getting there early on the first day pays off -- it's a mad rush of illustrators scrambling and clawing for a sliver of wall space.  Of course, I had no idea.  

Fortunately, I had arrived early and prepared for anything.  I unfurled a Brian Wonders print and made for the wall.  For the most part, people were pinning up flyers and posters, but the serious ones were putting up large cut outs of their characters, dioramas offering trays of business cards, marionettes and even a miniature fairytale set.  It was beautiful.  

This is what the walls looked like in the aftermath. 

First day at the fair

Through a secret elevator...

I discovered where they keep all the literary agents -- rows and rows of them.  This room went on for several blocks.  

One of my favorite illustrators, Emmanuelle Huodart.  It was a treat to see her drawing.

The Making of a Picture Book: journal entry 27

COVER STORY:

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In case you missed it -- Brian Wonders is on the cover of The Binding Edge!  The article shines a light on the custom slipcovers for our storybooks, created by Silvanus Products in Missouri.  It was their collaboration, along with our printer in Minnesota and our binder in Nebraska, that took our slipcover concept from prototype to finish.  I am thrilled to see them featured on the cover of The Binding Edge.  

Below is an excerpt and links to the full article, by Jen Clark.

A 3D rendering of the slipcover concept (left), and the final slipcovers (right)

Collaboration Brings Brian Wonders to Life, by Jen Clark

Over the course of the last year, Los Angeles, CA-based illustrator Victor Robert took his concept for a new children’s book from prototype to reality with the help of a yearbook printer in Minnesota and a pair of Binding Industry Association-member companies.  Brian Wonders was created for little storytellers with big imaginations. The book that Robert said was "years in the making" has no words, yet empowers kids to dream up their own stories.  It is the first in what will be a series of limited-edition picture books.  continue reading here...