David M. Ward's Blog

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Here it is. This is not a picture of the printed book. This is just a digital version as I work through the formatting process. I hope to be holding my first paper copy in a week or two. I’m so excited! Not only to have this project complete, but also to be able to start the next book!

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Some of the randomness that came out of my brain in this marker sketch when I was about 17 years old. It still feels good to just draw with no specific goal in mind. It was very therapeutic for me back then.

After 2 years and 2 months of drawing on my rare free time between working a full time job, raising 2 wonderful girls with my wife, studying for raises at work, and life in general, I have finally completed the last page of my first book!

I’m so proud and excited! I still have several pages that need touching up, need to go through a layout process (probably with Kindle Direct Publishing), and need to choose the character names, but the bulk of the hard work is done. If you are close to me and know a little one who may enjoy this book, please contact me. I want my closest friends and family to see this book first, personally autographed, and hopefully for free. If you know anyone else that would appreciate this book, please let them know how to find my site, my Facebook, my Instagram, or give them my phone number. I will be asking all of you to help promote my book and help me make this a career. I give tons of credit to my supporting Mother, Father, and wife, for making this possible. Much love!

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As a working father, it is nearly impossible to dive head first into a project. Usually my art sessions are full of interruptions from my two little angels. It is important to never give up on your projects if you really love them and believe in them. Many of my projects date back to my teenage and early adult years, making some of the concepts, plots, and even storyboards, over twenty years old. They will all get finished. These sketches of early hunter-gatherers are the beginnings of a series of stories that could take a decade to finish, Who knows? It’s up to me to decide if I believe in it enough or not to continue but I’d really love to hear your input, friends.

Though I am totally focused on finishing “Marley and Her Friends,” it is helpful to take a break from a huge project to clear your head.

These ancient peoples’ stories are intended to give people an idea of what life could have been like thousands of years ago. If you’ve never wondered what that type of life was like, then at least be prepared to hear my stories when they’re published. I hope to transition to graphic novels in just a few years, so it could be sooner than I think.

I loved painting these cartoony dinosaurs in my boss’s old climbing gym at Paragon Adventures. My kid got to climb on them for a couple years. I miss them. This was my first paid mural. If any of you friends remember these, please comment below and share the link on your social media platforms. I appreciate the exposure.

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Here’s a tiny sample of a future book I will be creating. These are just a couple character development sketches for a story about an ancient family and how they survived thanks to the help of their creative and brave daughter. I present to you, the first glimpse of

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As some of you know, my day job is the coolest ever! I am a guide for the top outdoor adventure company in the Saint George Utah area, Paragon Adventures. When people ask what I do for a living, my common sincere reply is “I throw people off cliffs.” This logo I RE-designed for our company’s stickers shows a few of the activities we guide. I can do a lot of graphic designing and I will be showing more of these projects as the work load increases. Please contact me for details and prices.

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Though my creative process begins in my mind (and sometimes the minds of my wife and children), my process for creating the visual part of my art nearly always begins with a mechanical pencil. As a teenager, I got pretty good at using ink only, but occasionally would ruin a piece with one wrong movement, leaving myself quite disappointed. I don’t take that risk anymore (reckless youth!). Now everything begins with pencil. Sometimes the penciling is re-done a few times or more before inking. I use mechanical pencils, usually with 05 and 07 size graphite, and occasionally with 09. I am not picky about the brand of pencil or graphite.

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For the past several years I have used only Pigma pens. I have a nice collection of them in nearly every size they make, including brush tip for large black areas. I try to only trace my pencil. If I see that something needs to be changed before I trace it, I will re-do the pencil so I am not freestyle drawing with permanent ink.

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The next step is to WAIT!!! Patience is golden here. I try to wait at least a couple of hours before erasing my pencil so as to not risk smearing my fresh ink. Often I will wait until the next day. I am not picky about the brand, but it has to be a white eraser. Colored erasers can leave a colored smear on your paper.

For my children’s book art, so far I have been coloring strictly with Prismacolor’s colored pencils, “Verithin” colored pencils, and their color sticks. They all use the same exact pigments and are very consistent. In the picture below are all three types. I can never have enough of these. Seriously, it’s kind of ridiculous how many I own. I should buy stock in Prismacolor!

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Before knowing what colors to use for an object or character, I use an experimental page like you see above. I need to see the base color next to its highlight and/or darks to make sure they will work well together. Then I take notes on what colors I will be using, especially for multi-page projects like children’s books. If not, then the characters would change color from page to page. This also makes coloring faster.

Large areas are filled in with the color sticks (which are basically colored pencils without the wood), then the smaller areas, or where two different colors border each other, I use the regular colored pencils, sharpened to a fine point, or the Verithin pencils for very fine lines, as they do not break as easily and can be sharpened to an even finer point. Then, the darks and highlights are added with the Verithin pencils and colored pencils.

When I get time I plan to experiment by coloring with a combination of markers and colored pencils. We will see if it is worthy of sharing. Do not expect me to start painting my books. I have never taken to paint. I am okay with acrylic paint, but do not feel comfortable with the results. I will use it for murals when asked.

Many artists overlook this step. I am not referring to framing or spraying your work with solvents. I am referring to keeping your own greasy hands off of your page as you draw. From the very beginning of a finish piece, I keep a blank piece of paper on top of the page to rest my hand on. Every time I need to move this page to work on a different area of the piece, I pick it up to move it, rather than sliding it across the piece, because sliding it will smear your graphite, undried ink, and color medium. Then, yes, as soon as I decide a piece is finished, I protect it by putting it in a plastic sheath if it is not being framed. I have not sprayed a piece in many years but I will likely begin doing this again as I produce more color pieces.

Feel free to ask questions regarding my methods or for advice regarding your own.

Thanks for reading!