Children’s Book for Goldfish Swim Schools

Goldfish Swim Schools hired me to illustrate another children’s book featuring their cast of mascot characters. Here’s a couple of sample pages:

Bubbles and Friends’ Golden Adventure is not available to order on line but it is available to purchase in the gift shot at select Goldfish Swim School locations.

Cowboy

More sketchbook practice. I drew this last night while re-watching the John Wayne classic THE COWBOYS. (There are no snakes in the movie. It’s just a good flick to have on in the background while doodling buckaroos.)

Abortion Infographic

I am pro-life but my heart goes out to anyone facing an unplanned pregnancy. That has got to be scary. A few years ago I decided to try making a cartoon infographic that I hoped would address the issue in a way that was gentle, thoughtful, and respectful. I wanted to outline several reasons to consider alternatives to abortion, in the most sensitive way I know how.

I read several articles and took a lot of notes, and started doing a few sketches. Then life got busy and eventually the project got buried under other things. With Roe v. Wade back in the news, I decided it was time to blow the dust off and finish it up. I sent a finished draft to a few pro-life organizations for feedback and notes. The response was very positive and suggested revisions were minor.

The final version is below. Feel free to download and share it on social media. If you work at a crisis pregnancy center, church, or pro-life ministry let me know and I can make a version with your contact info at the bottom. If you would like a printed version to hand out, I’m also working on a foldable brochure layout that I can license for a fee. Please contact me if interested.

Cartoon illustrated infographic about abortion addressing concerns about unplanned pregnancy, outlining the pro-life reasons to consider carrying your baby and answering pro-choice objections. Copyright © 2022 Cedric Hohnstadt. All rights reserved.

House Monsters

One of my clients, Strottman International, has a toy division called Luki Lab. In Fall 2021 they launched a toy line called House Monsters. The concept was to have friendly plush monsters that live in your house and make messes while you are gone.

I did not design the monsters. That was all done before they brought me on board. But I was hired to illustrate a children’s book featuring the characters, as well as to create polished stand-alone illustrations of each character for marketing purposes.

I sketched everything up and then hired two terrific illustrators to render the color. Canadian illustrator Ben Reynolds helped bring the children’s book to life and Swedish illustrator Andrea Fermerstrand worked her magic to give texture to the stand-alone illustrations.

Here’s a sampling of the book with Ben’s color and texture over my drawings:

And here’s a sampling of the character illustrations. Andrea did beautiful work with the textures:

Ben Reynolds and Andrea Fermerstrand were both great to work with. I would heartily recommend both of them for any illustration needs you might have.

To purchase House Monsters toys or the book, check out the House Monsters website. They are also available on Amazon.

Dracula Sketch

Messing around with brushes in Procreate. Why am i drawing Dracula in April? No idea. But I am realizing my understanding of lighting and color theory are getting a little rusty.

If you like my work, I’ve got two sketchbook collections available in my store.