debra ziss

I (heart) NYC - hand lettering

2012-01-26T15:31:00.000-08:00

Busting out the nibs and inks for the first time in 2 years. Forgot how much fun this can be!

dreaming of summer...

2012-01-19T09:02:00.001-08:00

2012-01-19T08:44:00.000-08:00

been doing more fashion work lately. doodled these while working on something for a client.

The Sketchbook Project 2012

2012-01-16T13:22:00.000-08:00

I can't tell you how many people email me about this whenever it's happening.
Late last year I decided to order a book and get to work.
You have to pick a theme to loosely base your work around.
I chose: In Ten Minutes, because that's 9 minutes more than I like to spend on a drawing. Zing!
But seriously folks, I just like to put it down and move on.
I'm posting some selected images here. For the entire book check out this link.

(this is my favorite drawing)

For your viewing pleasure: Nubile, young lasses.

2011-12-08T10:18:00.000-08:00

Still working out the kinks. Especially on the second one.

abstraction

2011-12-08T10:13:00.000-08:00

Been having a lot of fun with this. No thinking, just sitting back, relaxing and letting the shapes guide me.

An assortment of crap from my sketchbook

2011-07-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

Doma Cafe, West Village

Subway (the mode of transport, not the sandwich shop)

'innoteca LES

During a boring meeting at the Belarusian Church in Bklyn

Street vendor as seen from above in Union Sq.

Monthly Fashion Meetup

2011-07-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, I attended the Monthly Fashion Drawing Meetup hosted by Geoffry Gertz and Christopher Musci. Great experience. Loved the space, model and all the well-considered, fun-to-draw ensembles. I'm pretty darn rusty when it comes to drawing fashion (as you can tell from previous posts, I'm way more enthusiastic about fleshier subjects - oh Aviva! you are missed!) but am hoping that I'll get my mojo back with a little practice.

And while we're on the topic, here's some digital fashion croquis I did for Gap a while back.

30 seconds in HEAVEN

2011-07-18T10:21:00.000-07:00

I went to the Pratt Draw-A-Thon a few months back and came to a few realizations:
a. college students look really freakin' young.
b. there is no way I can even begin to pass for one.
c. I am no longer willing to wait on line for a slice of free, cold pizza.
d. kids + booze = vomit
e. (always check for vomit before stepping into an elevator, especially on a college campus)
f. i LOVE LOVE LOVE drawing 30-second poses. Here are a few from that night.

2011-04-07T13:59:00.001-07:00

Francie and Budda

2011-04-04T13:31:00.000-07:00

You know how you totally can't wait to wash your hair or take a shower when you've gotten a new, exciting bottle of product to try? Well that's how I felt when I drew these after coming home from buying supplies at Pearl this afternoon.

Guide Dog on the 2 Train

2011-03-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

I get über jazzed whenever I see a dog on the subway. I pretty much have to sit on my hands (or in this case, pick up my sketchbook) to keep from shnuzzling a beast while on the job.
(photo courtesy of Jro)

Subway Jumble

2011-03-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

Cute is in the eye of the beholder

2011-03-27T12:13:00.000-07:00

I drew these critters while talking down a hysterical, earthquake, tsnami and impending nuclear disaster addled Jro on Skype for hours and freakin' HOURS on end.
I don't find them particularly cute, but Jro loved them when she saw them sitting on my desk.
It's my attempt to forgo neoteny and still make y'all go "AWWWWW".

Drawing in Dumbo

2011-03-27T07:34:00.001-07:00

I drew at Studio 514 yesterday. There was just a handful of us in a big, bright studio and the model and setup were both great. The snacks were delicious too. Lavender goat cheese? Genius!
(note to self: NOT genius with kalamata olive tapenade)
Steve and Liam, you totally outdid yourselves.
An exaggerated drawing of the model.
And a slightly more realistic 10-minute sketch. I was listening to the Charlie Sheen Porn Star Beauty Pageant while drawing and it's all I can think of when I look at these. Winning!

2011-03-05T12:11:00.000-08:00

Just 'cause I haven't been posting doesn't mean I haven't been drawing.

this lady was awesome! wish i had some watercolors on hand. she was wearing a bright green coat with a yellow patterned scarf and hot pink and black skirt. sounds like a train wreck, but trust me, she was workin' it.

No one usually notices that I'm drawing, but this chick next to me was boring holes into me the entire time I worked on this dude. I just used chick and dude in the same sentence. I really talk like this, don't I?

a blind contour between subway stops.

Wondertwin powers: ACTIVATE!

2011-03-03T07:06:00.000-08:00

Jro and I combined our superpowers last week to make some fun things for our friends' bambina, who is due to arrive a few weeks from now.

She crocheted and sewed up the cute clothing and accessories and I designed the art to put on the t-shirts. Can't wait to see them on the wee babe!

2011-01-13T20:46:00.000-08:00

some 30-second gesture drawings

2-minute poses
(the model did not actually have a faun tail nevus)

New Year, New Drawings!

2011-01-03T20:16:00.000-08:00

Bedtime Kiss for Little Fish: Over 100,000 sold!

2010-10-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

...and to celebrate, I discuss my process with the books author and readertotz co-founder Lorie Ann Grover.
While I'm tooting my own horn, I also got the amazing news that Dolphin's Big Leap has sold over 330,000 copies in English and nearly 5000 in Arabic. Thanks to everyone who has bought and enjoyed both books!

At long last: new sketches!

2010-07-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

Kvarnen!

2010-07-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

I doodled this in between gobbling up the most delicious Swedish meatballs I've ever eaten and gulping an enormous bucket of Hoegaarden at Kvarnen in Stockholm.

A woman taking advantage of a warm day at an outdoor cafe in Sodermalm.

NPR Android App Promo featuring a bunch of very talented hands!

2010-06-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

This was a whole lot of fun to work on - all of the other artists were great and John Pavlus, the creator was incredibly kind and easy to work with. I'm the hand that waves in the lower right hand corner and then writes: "This just in..."
Here's a behind the scenes and full list of participants:
http://johnpavlus.wordpress.com/2010/06/03/behind-the-scenes-of-an-npr-android-app-commercial/

my favorite model in the whole wide world AGAIN!

2010-04-22T13:39:00.001-07:00

finally! some new drawings!

2010-04-22T13:28:00.000-07:00

child looking bored... wait a minute!

2010-03-17T08:27:00.000-07:00

that would be impossible since he's reading Dolphin's Big Leap!
(in english, not arabic).

Best. Model. Ever.

2010-02-04T21:06:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy I didn't decide to blow off figure drawing tonight.

The inspiration for this piece in the flesh!

Thursday Night Figure Drawing

2010-01-28T21:17:00.000-08:00

Subway Sketching

2010-01-28T21:02:00.000-08:00

2010-01-13T10:52:00.000-08:00

on the G train

2009-12-16T07:52:00.000-08:00

second-to-last drawing class of the 2009 season

2009-12-12T09:10:00.000-08:00

i never come with any idea about how i'm going to work that day.
been trying to re-learn everything i've forgotten or never learned in the first place while in school. it's been nice, just feeling my way around things and being surprised by how they come out. my work on the computer is very similar - i never have a real idea of what i want but rather "sculpt" the drawing until it feels right.

bits of randomness

2009-12-12T08:57:00.000-08:00

my first encounter with miss Bunny!

she has charmed her way into the hearts of a very nice family.

i'm so happy she's off to live the life of a very pampered puss,

but am still going to be heartbroken when she's gone.

man, that was one shaky train ride (probably a C!).
decided to go with it.

a sketch to see how much i can draw between stops downtown.

Parents Magazine 20 Best Children's Books 2009!

2009-11-22T17:24:00.000-08:00

wednesday figure drawing

2009-11-22T17:13:00.000-08:00

wednesday figure drawing

2009-11-11T20:51:00.000-08:00

If you squinted just right, the male model looked a bit like Jon Hamm as Don Draper.
Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday night

and a quote in copperplate for your viewing pleasure! (thanks mrs. metcalf)

2-minute scribbles

2009-11-06T06:23:00.001-08:00

hello, sailor!

figure drawing

2009-10-28T23:10:00.001-07:00

on the subway

2009-10-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

you might recognize one of the guys from a previous post.

Life Drawing @ SVA

2009-10-26T09:02:00.001-07:00

tell me the second one doesn't look like it's from a 70's sex manual.

copperplate

2009-10-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

some copperplate studies. the most fun you'll ever have with a nib.

bizarre stream of consciousness on the last one...

R.I.P. Little Lambchop

2009-10-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

It's been nearly a week since my tiny dog, friend and alter-ego, Lambchop succumbed to kidney failure. I fell head over heels in love with pictures of her on petfinder.com 9 or 10 years ago. She was captured by her foster mom, Inga, squinting in the sun while lounging out on her deck in the Catskills. I couldn't stop thinking about the scraggly tuft of hair on her impossibly teeny head or her elbows. Elbows! I mean, really! She was the kind of cute only I could love and I knew we had to be together.
We had a rocky start. Turns out she was hours from being put down at the city shelter due to "cage aggression" before Inga got her. And then she was adopted and returned by an old lady with a chihuahua who claimed she was allergic to her. Her loss, my gain.
After she made herself comfy in her new home, she decided that she was queen bee and was willing to get into a scrap to defend her title.
Time passed, she began to trust me and I fell in love all over again. Neighbors and friends who thought I was crazy for getting such a sickly-looking, older, and let's just say, um, "feisty" beast began to comment on how she was blossoming under my care.
I could judge a persons character by how they reacted to her the first time they laid eyes upon her. Whether they thought she was the most awesome creature they'd ever seen or the ugliest, she always elicited strong reactions from passers-by. Her proud, high-stepping trot had people calling her everything from a teeny pony to a "dr. seuss" dog. Old age and illness took away that awesome trot, but never robbed her of her pride. Her spirit was strong and beautiful to the end. She was my little daemon, and a part of me will never be the same now that she's gone.

2nd and 3rd time at life drawing in entirely too many years

2009-10-14T22:08:00.000-07:00

i've made a point in distancing myself from my wacom and mac the past few months.
and i've begun attending life-drawing again! i just kind of wing it and am usually surprised by what i come up with.

from my new sketchbook

2009-10-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

shameless self-promotion

2009-10-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

i got this photo today from my dear, childhood friend Nancy G (née C).
looks like my book popped up at her son's school book fair!
thanks for the tip, lady!

and while we are on the topic:
some doodles of deep sea beasts.
i can't get enough of dumbo octo's and anglers.

a very special reading of bedtime kiss

2009-08-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

by an adorable fan!

brooklyn body flip book number two!

2009-06-18T06:46:00.000-07:00

brooklyn body flip book

2009-05-14T05:02:00.000-07:00

an animation (my first!) for a flip book promoting the excellent personal training at Brooklyn Body

the sound effects were for my personal enjoyment. it took all my willpower not to sneak a few of these in!

2009-05-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

went to my first figure drawing class tonight since the 90's. i actually had to buy art supplies!
great space, host, model and fellow illustrators.
everyone there drew beautifully.
i was wildly inconsistent as usual - but had lots of fun nonetheless.

2009-04-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

some stream of consciousness drawings i did while waiting for a parking spot.

2009-04-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

sat outside on the bowery on a recent spring-like day and scribbled faces as they walked past.

homage to bacon

2009-04-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

i can't believe i never posted this!
oh sweet piggies, why must you be so darn delicious?

2009-04-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

some studies for a project i'm working on. drew them at gorilla coffee - and had to stifle my squeals of delight while scanning the web for reference.

stringer bell

2009-04-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

so, i'm on season 3 of The Wire, which might possibly the best show EVER besides Freaks and Geeks. started doodling while watching late last night. here's a very quick sketch of the hunky actor Idris Elba - aka - Stringer Bell. i think i might just name my first-born Stingerbelle. doesn't it just roll off the tongue?

vacation

2009-03-25T18:58:00.000-07:00

all GASP hand-drawn! makes me wish i was off to some exotic land.

2009-03-04T07:57:00.000-08:00

bedtime kiss for little fish

2009-03-03T12:37:00.000-08:00

just got a note from Lorie Ann Grover, the lovely author of Bedtime Kiss for Little Fish telling me that she's seen samples and it looks great! a quick google search later and it looks like it's available for pre-order on amazon, barnes and noble, etc...

on the 3 train

2009-03-03T06:52:00.001-08:00

snowy morning commute

2009-03-02T12:31:00.001-08:00

whoa! i can't believe this made it into the stores!

2009-02-25T13:53:00.000-08:00

this one too.

2009-02-23T14:18:00.000-08:00

Papermill Playhouse Poster

2009-02-18T08:44:00.000-08:00

¡Mira! My handwriting is caressing a vignette of Lynne Redgrave. The gorgeous illustration is by Melinda Beck.

2009-02-18T08:28:00.000-08:00

essence of bedlington

2009-02-13T12:02:00.003-08:00

my first sketch on my new laptop.

avian inspiration

2009-02-13T10:24:00.000-08:00

insert your wish into the speech bubble.
me and the bird just happen to have a thing for ice cream.

how we got there

2009-02-13T10:11:00.000-08:00

i thought it would be interesting to post pictures of my initial sketches for the book along with the final versions.
as you can see, my original vision was a little "darker". the wonderfully patient and kind team at Scholastic helped to guide me out of the dark and into technicolor cute.

pages from my new kids book - out july '09

2009-02-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

funky dawgs

2009-02-11T19:29:00.000-08:00

product (red) tee hit's Gap stores!

2009-02-09T20:10:00.000-08:00

just in time for Westminster 09!
my shirt, featuring sketches from this blog is hitting stores in the US and Japan this week!
they're limited edition, so get one before they're gone.

hobo head

2009-02-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

i was looking over some old files and spied one called "hobo head".
i drew it in the middle of the night not too long ago and completely forgot about it.
the dying fly technique was taught to me by my dear friend, linda.

Bettie Page and Roberta Lou: a touching tribute

2008-12-13T22:45:00.000-08:00

Children's books were the FURTHEST things from my mind when I was in art school. Back then, I was drawing smut any chance I got. What can I say? Too many all-nighters watching channel J (the extra E is for extra pee!) warped my already twisted mind, and began to creep their way into my work. My most cherished reference material was a catalogue of Bettie Page and Tempest Storm S & M photos. I am posting these in loving memory of Bettie Page, who's beauty and humor inspire my art to the present day and my mother who I can't believe has been dead for nearly 6 years. Thank you for eating dog food from '88-'92 so I could go to art school and draw big butts and angry, red twats. You must have been so proud! Here's some of my favorite Bettie-inspired drawings created at the sweet, tender age of 19.

i need to give a shout out to my hilarious ex-roomie Anne for naming this one "Betty Blue Boob".

2008-12-11T15:51:00.000-08:00

jro found these on my desk.
it's true - i love me a sexy sea otter!
click here for more cute creatures.

2008-12-08T11:06:00.000-08:00

more japan sketches

2008-11-07T07:59:00.001-08:00

japan sketchbook

2008-11-07T07:56:00.001-08:00

doggie doodles

2008-11-07T07:54:00.001-08:00

2008-10-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

another one from the archives

2008-10-10T07:43:00.000-07:00

i drew this woman while eating at barrio chino, in barrio chino.

morning commute

2008-10-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

i've been ignoring my sketchbook lately, but am finally showing it some love again.

2 second doodle becomes t-shirt graphic

2008-10-09T08:32:00.001-07:00

i've been reviewed!

2008-09-26T07:42:00.000-07:00

how awesome is this?
love rachel c.'s drawing.
nice work!

and in case you wondered what the book would look like in Arabic...
http://www.araboh.com/view_details.php?id=8

fun with photoshop

2008-09-16T13:25:00.001-07:00

you can see this guy on a shirt here

the sketch

the "painting"!

feeder friday!

2008-08-08T10:36:00.000-07:00

today i go back to my roots, folks.
saucy fat chicks!
these ladies are even more fun to draw than trucks.
maybe i'll turn one of them into a finished piece.

the mighty tiki burger

2008-08-07T12:38:00.000-07:00

some stuff for work. i dig making fake woodcuts in photoshop.
the first one was too fierce for our customers delicate sensibilities, so i had to change him.

duuuuude!

2008-08-07T12:33:00.001-07:00

that is some SERIOUS grindage.

2008-08-04T15:08:00.001-07:00

more from the "did i really draw this?" files

2008-07-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

lambie on a skateboard!

lambie!

eat yer heart out, Kliban!

trucks!

2008-07-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

bet you didn't know that i LOVE drawing trucks!
i love them so much i find myself stopping and staring at construction sites and snapping pictures.
today was a truck day at work, and i couldn't have been happier.

BIG HAIRY GORILLA

2008-06-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

and the end result:

pit-tastic

2008-06-11T11:33:00.001-07:00

On the 2 train this morning

2008-06-11T11:28:00.000-07:00

a productive sunday afternoon

2008-06-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

i've decided that "dieu" looks better with an X!

and chaud is prettier with an E.

Goodbye Miss Oolong Nairée

2008-04-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late in posting this, but my beloved cat, Oolie passed away on April 17 in our home. I adopted her at The Barking Zoo in Feb 1995. I passed on the Japanese bobtails with the drippy eyes and went with her, a sinewy, black kitty with a pretty heart-shaped face. The lady running the adoption described her as a "mush". Turned out she was in heat and was anything but mushy once she was spayed. I'd be lying if I said we didn't have a rocky start. After we got past the biting and scratching and cleared up the worms that were snaking their way out of her asshole it was relatively smooth sailing for 13 years. She was quiet and sweet and didn't ask for much more than an occasional sunbath, some gentle ear scratching and a bowlful of food.
She was very loved and will be missed.
Here are some drawings of her that I did when I first adopted her:

here's another tribute to her from miss craftylove:
http://craftylove.blogspot.com/2008/04/rip-queen-oolong-naire.html

drawing a dino

2008-04-23T14:54:00.000-07:00

so, i'm given this for reference:

and i had to flesh out a real-ish dino from it - a stretch for someone who draws hearts and butterflies all day
here's how i did it step by step:

more rejects

2008-04-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

can you believe i drew these?
the things we do for $$...

the agony of defeat

2008-04-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

seems i can't draw anything right at work.
here's some rejects. feel free to boo and hiss.

2008-03-27T11:58:00.001-07:00

this was so ridiculous, i had to capture it on film

lost on the way to Ikea

2008-03-27T11:58:00.000-07:00

ended up here:

looks like someone lost their lunch at Hoyt-Schermerhorn

2008-03-27T11:54:00.001-07:00

literally!

random scraps of paper

2008-03-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

i drew this picture before going to Buenos Aires a few years ago. i think i was scheming up a way to be bumped to executive class while leaving jro and mklee behind in coach.

i'm guessing this cute, little fella was drawn at a restaurant. this was probably during my "cyclops research phase", where i was looking at pics like this on the web any chance i got.