New York City Skyline: It begins!

I've received a lot of positive feedback about the Austin Skyline project that I finished last year. So I've decided to expand the idea to other cities. First up: New York! As you can probably tell, this is going to take a while. New York has a huge skyline. So huge you can't really get it all from one vantage point (see the picture at the bottom). The vantage that I've chosen is from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and stretches from the very southern tip of Manhattan (Battery Park) to the Brooklyn Bridge. Obviously, this gives some preferential treatment to Lower Manhattan, but the Empire State Building and the Chrysler building will still be visible in the background. I'll be posting updates frequently, so people who are interested can watch the progress. I started a few days ago and here is the progress so far:

I'm working left to right (south to north). So what you've got here is the southern tip of Lower Manhattan with the Staten Island and Governor's Island ferry terminals (incomplete, obviously), One New York Plaza and 125 Broad Street. As I said, this is just the very beginning, this thing is huge and is going to take a long time. But I like big detailed things, and hopefully other people out there do too and you'll stay tuned for more.

This is what I'm dealing with. Freakin' huge.

Constellation Explorer: A Compass to the Southern Sky has arrived!

Do you prefer Corona Australis to Corona Borealis? Is "Southern Cross" more to you than just a great Crosby, Stills, & Nash song? When you saw Constellation Explorer: A Compass to the Northern Sky, were you all like "Yeah, but where's Alpha Centauri?" Fear not, friends. Constellation Explorer: A Compass to the Southern Sky is here! Marvel at the majesty of the Magellanic Clouds! Wonder at the counter-clockwise progression of the days! Rejoice in the discovery that there's a whole other sky down there! Head over to the Municipal Prints site and order yours before the Earth's axial precession makes the whole thing inaccurate!* And oh yeah, I made it.

*Don't worry, this will take a few thousand years. You'll be long dead.

Mt. Whitney to Badwater Basin: A Topographic Profile

Recently, while spiraling down a Wikipedia wormhole, I discovered that the highest peak in the lower 48 (Mt. Whitney) is really close to the lowest point in all of North America (Badwater Basin). Only 86 miles! I thought to myself, "That's a hell of a drop over a short distance. I wonder what that looks like in profile?" Unable to find a good topographic profile of that data, I decided to just make one. Using good ol' Google Maps (terrain view), I stitched together a bunch of images and interpreted the data into this infographic (click for a larger view):

Mt. Whitney to Badwater Basin: A Topographic Profile

Over a distance of 84.6 miles, the land in California climbs 14,787 feet. Which makes this guy a complete badass:

JJ On the Couch #3

 

Third in the series in which the contortionist greyhound makes himself at home on the living room furniture. His comfort knows no obstacles.

Finally Got That Girl Scout Patch I Always Wanted

Last year I did an illustration for the Andrew Low House in Savannah, GA. Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts, was the daughter-in-law of the house's namesake, Andrew Low II. To honor the connection, the Andrew Low House has created a commemorative Girl Scout patch for sale in their museum shop, featuring my illustration. I'm pretty sure this makes me an honorary Girl Scout. Score!