Ian's Penguin Poster

I was talking to my son Ian on Monday. You know him; he’s my son with the 3D glasses in May 10ths post. He loves Penguins! I get messages on my phone, “Hi dad, it’s me Ian. How’s the penguin book coming?” On Monday he said, “I wish you would draw some more penguins, maybe one playing the flute or piano.”

Immediately an image popped into my brain!

Quick back story;

Every time we were going to have a child, Jennifer would bring me her proverbial hat full of names. Some times I could tell you from the get go what I thought, Ian was one of those. Up until that time, I only knew one person named Ian, Ian Anderson; he was the flute playing leader of Jethro Tull.

So when that was one of my picks I thought, “Great name. I want a son named Ian.” And now I do. So the picture I saw in my head is what you see in front of you. I had my backgrounds done. I knew I wanted a rock hopper penguin, and he was already standing the way he should, so it was just a matter of getting the image out. I’ll show you the process.

This is what Ian Anderson and a Rock Hooper penguin look like. Finally, the steps I took to render Ian’s penguin. Note: I generally don’t draw with pencil, but for this time, because I was extra shaky, it was easier to ink then paint.

So without further delay, Ian here is your flute playing penguin [also named Ian] love, Dad.