Painting with the Computer

Before coming aboard as a KidZui art director, I’d spent years as a freelance illustrator – doing artwork for advertisers and magazine articles – and then as an illustrator for animated educational CD-ROM games for school children as well as online computer games. Working for KidZui was different in that most of the artwork involved what’s referred to as UI, for User Interface, design. This means designing what KidZui will look and feel like – the buttons, the windows, the tabs, etc. – and how they all work together. I also got to design what the Zui characters looked like and to create much of the fun clothes, hairstyles and doodads that go with them.

But while all this is fun, my passion is still illustrating… painting with the computer and creating pictures that tell stories or create moods. So imagine my delight when KidZui decided that kids could customize their KidZui browsers with different backgrounds (See latest backgrounds below.) “We’ll need some fun background illustrations. LOTS of them!” they told me. “Of what?” I asked. “Anything kids would be interested in. Everything kids would be interested in. Colorful designs, fun places, sports, activities, animals, anything!”

For an illustrator who’s always been a little boy at heart, nothing could be more fun. Of course, that left only one problem. You see, I’ve never been a little girl, and KidZui is for boys and girls. So I’ve been eternally grateful to the ladies of KidZui for their endless suggestions and feedback on what appeals to the imaginations of both little girls and boys. Together we created a long list of themes and topics as idea starters. Plus we’re always looking ahead to special occasions like holidays and events.

My ideas come from all over… comic books, movies, paintings, anything. I’ll start a new background by wondering through my list, and inevitably something will smack me upside the head with a mental image. Once I’ve sketched out a composition, I’ll surf through the Internet looking for reference materials. Want to know what, oh let’s say, a rock concert stage looks like? Or a baseball player at bat? Or a Tyrannosaurus Rex? Or a pirate ship? There’s bound to be lots of images to help you start sketching. From there, it’s the years of experience and practice that take over. I work at my computer, using an electronic stylus and drawing tablet to draw, and then “paint”, directly to the screen, so what used to take me a few weeks now takes a few days. And unlike painting, I can move things around or change their colors with ease. It’s really quite amazing.

And the list of ideas is very long, so watch for new background art appearing for years to come.

Dan Owen Jones
Art Director

Take a look at Dan’s latest work! Click on any of the images to enlarge them. KidZui members can now choose from any of these backgrounds to customize their KidZui experience.