Evan Johnston is a book designer & illustrator
living in Brooklyn, New York.
S K E T C H B O O K
4-20-24
These are the inks for a print in my shop. You can see the colorized version here.
4-20-24
Parking at Rockaway Beach is always a challenge, and always worth it.
4-13-2024
This is a personal project: an illustrated zine from me, about a toyline that vanished verrry quickly.
You can buy it here.
11-17-2023
of Godzilla. I would run out of the room when it was on the TV. As a teen I watched
as many Godzilla(and Gamera movies) as I possibly could.
9-23-2023
requote this image on Bluesky! Incidentally I'm @evanjohnstondesign on BlueSky.
4-14-2023
Grave Spirits Inks
1-10-2022
Working on the first page of the next-to-last installment of Grave Spirits for Bayt Al Azif.
11-12-2022
Cutie Still Life
I kind of can't believe this is the first still life illustration I've posted here. When I first started drawing every day (2013), I feel like I just constantly drew avocados and orannges and they never looked right. So I quickly just started darwing people, if I was gonna get something wrong, it might as well be the important stuff. Maybe that will be the next still life I post will be an avocado.
The last time I drew a self-portrait I had just turned 40. I'm now 46, with more gray hair than ever, glasses—the whole bit. It catches me off guard every now and then. My eldest kid sometimes asks what it was like when I grew up with the dinosaurs (it was awesome, duh). I struggle with my old responsibilities, my new responsibilities, and every day I try to prepare a little more for the future. But I also try to remember the fun stuff. I skateboard when I run an errand now and then. I watch cartoons with my kids. I play the video games that I never got to play as a kid. And as you've probably noticed in this sketchbook, I draw whatever's on my mind, whether or not I think it looks "professional" or "serious" or not. And I don't do these things because I think they stop aging; they definitely don't! But looking back on moments when I felt like every moment had to be taken seriously, I realize that was fun--the pursuit of stuff that I liked--was the thing that I wasn't taking seriously.
This is the first iPad illustration I've done in about 8 years. I used to mess around with Brushes on my iPad mini. When I started drawing every day, I really just wanted to work with pencil and ink. I love nibs, brushes, I love a good sheet of bristol. But as a parent of two kids, I'm becoming more mindful of the fact that all the process takes space and time. And as someone who likes to hit deadlines, I don't know that adding that step of scanning and cleaning up illustrations is all that great.
Also? I love the freedom of being able to ink whenever I want and not worrying about spilling ink all over the floor. I love being able to decide if I want to do the under-drawing pencil sketch as a layer or on a sheet of paper. I like being able to un-do things that I didn't want to draw. I'm looking forward to bringing this sketchbook even more work in the next year.
--Ev.
8-31-2022
MF Doom sketch.
Like I said earlier in this sketchbook, I don't think I'll ever stop drawing MF Doom. Whenever I hear him on a track, or watch a live performance on YouTube, I just want to put pen to paper and try to imagine what it would be like if I was working on a poster or album art for the Villain.
But this sketch is a bit different. I was listening to Great Day and thought about how it sounded different than the other tracks that I listen to more frequently. That brought me to this sketch. I know there's a lot of MF art out there but I can't really imagine not drawing this artist whose lyrics and production have been a part of my daily life for over ten years now.
As with some of the other selections here, this was originally used for a book cover design that wasn't selected, and then I just started building on it, creating a new scene that was in my head. I like the idea of this character listening to jazz music in a bar for the first time, or maybe they just feel like they're hearing it for the first time. Maybe something contemplative like this or something a little more rollicking like this.
8-23-2022
Unused illustration for a book cover.
2-10-2022
Song art for You Died.
I haven't played Elden Ring, although I watched a few playthroughs while working on this artwork. I love this song, though.It's got Dungeons & Dragons references, a great sample, and it captures what it's like to play an incredibly hard game.
2/10/2022
I first came across these big mechs as snap-together kits, then later in a Song art for Mega Ran. This song is ridiculously good, I like it better than the show! As you can probably tell, I totally flipped the artwork from this print to make it. I've always liked Metroid. It's a game where the art An IG 88 illustration brought to you by a January 24, 2022 Twitter poll.
Robotech comic book. I love 'em. I could draw them all day.
2/10/2022
direction, the story, the game mechanics, all click into place for me.
It makes sense, but it also gets weird at a pace that feels just right. 
1-31-2022
Boba falls forever.
This illustration started off as a kind of standard fan art drawing for me,
(I have always wanted a shot of Boba falling for a long time through the Sarlaac and
actually trying to do something about it) and then I started looking at options to print
it in a way that I thought would introduce some interesting flaws.
I sent it to my brother, who suggested creating those flaws in the image instead.
The result is this print, which I like an awful lot.
1-20-2022
After reading the trade paperback of Far Sector by N. K. Jemison,
I had to draw Jo Mullein. Jamal Campbell's art is
just gorgeous,every page just looks like a painting.
1-2-2022
12/20/2021
I've always wanted to make art for a podcast, and when Mega-Ran started doing Castle Greyskull Radio,
I had my chance.Gotta say, there is nothing quite like hearing a "thank you" on a set of headphones.
Twitter promotional image for the 4-Eyed Horsemen's 2021 tour.
If you grew up in the 80s or 90s, you will recognize this as an homage to the GI Joe
action figure artwork, brought to life by Hector Garrido, who also
painted some notable Hardy Boys covers.
Promotional illustration for The 4-Eyed Horsemen: MC Lars, Shaffer the Darklord,
Mega Ran, and MC Frontalot. Nice guys, all of them.
More Doom fan art from me. I was looking through some pulp magazines
online and wanted to try out a "Doom Mystery Theater" theme.
Watercolor based on a great cosplay from Instagram.
Wolverine.
Aug 7, 2021.
Another MF Doom remembrance.
MF Doom was the first artist I learned about when I moved to New York City, at that
point he was still doing open-mic nights. I love Marvel comics, especially Dr. Doom,
so I was an easy mark for the mask gimmick. But the gimmick wasn't the music, and it's music
that continues to pull me into a realm of words and images that are recognizable but redefined.
He may be gone, but I know I'll be drawing Doom for a long time.
Some song art for Mega Ran. Winter Errand, Brooklyn. We said goodbye to our heavy stroller last week. And by that I mean Untitled portrait of my kiddo. Hey Mando! A comic about being a kid and watching Night of the Living Dead Nightcrawler is my favorite X-Men character.
Pencils and a little ink for a Beowulf llustration. So my son saw me drawing, went into this pose, I found myself drawing dice for Dungeons & Dragons.There's something about the array of shapes that's just captivating. My godson's Dungeons and Dragons character, a fearsome half-orc Ranger. I drew this in Procreate while waiting in line for coffee.Waiting for coffee is kind of a dark time for me . . . M. F. Doom.
Procreate phone drawing / favorite X-men character. I drew this in Procreate while waiting in line for coffee.I guess waiting for coffee is kind of a dark time for me. Valentine sketch for my wife. Final Inktober 2019 sketch. The prompt was "Legend." Zaotichi sketch. Maybe too scary for this anti-hero / hero? Zaotichi is a blind masseur/gambler and secret swordsman, these movies are funny, sad, intense.
Hello watercolor my old enemy. I swear I will get better at you someday. Two panels from my comic, Grave Spirits, as it appeared in the magazine Bayt Al Azif. This was a present to my son, who is almost as big a Transformers fan as I am.I haven't quite figured out the circumstances that would allow an insecticon to battle a dinobot on cybertron yet, but give me time. A Night Gaunt, first seen in issue #1 of Bayt Al Azif.A high point for me, because I have always wanted to havean illustration in an RPG magazine. Inktober sketch of Godzilla, from 2018, "Villains" theme. Inktober sketch of Beetle, from 2018, "Villains" theme. There's really nothing like the villains'costume designs in Spiderman, they're just imbued with so much mystery. The theme for this day was "Angular", which I didn't manage to capture here, but hey. Inktober sketch from 2018, my theme was "Villains." Tetsuo, the frail yet all-powerful villain of Akira.What I like about this is that I just went with the shape of my 3.5 X 5.5 Moleskine Notebook. Inktober sketch from 2018, my theme was "Villains." The prompt for this one was "Transquil." Rough sketch of the Kannjawou cover. A sketch of the protagonist from Where the Creek Runs. I am the least qualified person to ever write about video games or computers. This was a very limited print (50 copies) that I made for a signing of Memento Mori at Carmine Street comics. I smile whenever I see it. I really love Dungeons and Dragons.For two years, I was the DM for a small group of friends.I drew this illustration of one of their adventures as kind of a keepsake. This is from a project where I reveiwed videogamesthat I made up, which was a nice excuse to make weird images. This one is where you try to get a dragon to be social. This is a cartoon that I didn't submit to anybody, but still kind of makes me laugh. A flyer I made for my father's italian folk band, Benchabob.I remain thorougly impressed with my dad for retiring,going back to school, and started a band. Goals! Toshiro Mifune, Samurai Rebellion I drew this just after George Romero's death. After posting it on Instragram,I was honored to have it accompany a piece about Romero in Berfrois.
It's hard to talk about Romero's influence on me without getting sentimental: This dapper cat was staring at me from a window, so I did a quick sketch. I did this thing when I drew Twitter avatars for people. Here's @aetataureate. I did this thing when I drew people's Twitter avatars.I have lost track of who this account belonged to,
I drew this after running some snowy errands, posted it on Instagram,
and someone suggested it should be available as a print.
it's in our hallway, having been replaced by a smaller one that we
now use all the time. It was a heavy, stubborn ox of a stroller, and our kid
was too big for it, but I will miss it just the same. There has to be a word
for the gratitude you feel towards an object that your kid was safe with.
for the first time on Halloween. You can read it here.
Teleportation? Check. Two-fingered hands and a thumb? Check.Always in shadow? Check.
and demanded I make a picture out of it.
Not so captivating when you fail your perception check and a cloaker attacks.
I'm proud that this one isn't photoshopped, it's all ink + white paint.
January 1, 2020
April 2020
If you haven't seen the first two Zaotichi movies, I strongly reccomend 'em.
Whenever I look at this one pic I want to re-watch Stranger Things
and just draw everything. Everything.
The prompt for this day was "whale" so I went with something
that I actually knew how to draw.
I like this one really small, it feels like a sticker or a stamp.
I haven't finished most of the console games I've played and don't understand
much when it comes to hardware or code.
I am, however, one of the few people who owned an Atari Jaguar.
I really wish this piece could properly convey the strange sense of joy that was infused in
this experience, I had some really funny and smart friends who always had something funny to say.
They're the real reason I pursued this weird piece of hardware.
You can read it here.
after watching Night of the Living Dead on Halloween, at age 13, I wrote
maybe 2 or 3 screenplays about zombies (and insisted they be in black and white).
but their cat seemed cool.
I drew this during a snowstorm in NYC, probably 2017.
My son and I watched The Empire Strikes Backand I had my sketchpad in front of me.
I used to be so embarassed about drawing scenes from
Star Wars, but now I think that's like being ashamed of
drinking water. There's
so much detail in those costumes and sets,
and they're full of compositional and design brilliance.
Another Washington Square Park sketch.
I like Washington Park in the morning, when it's usually nearly empty.I was walking through one winter day, when suddenly this guy just leaned forward into a
handstand, then started walking on his hands, which he did for a very long time.
Well, long enough for me to get a sketch out of, at least.
This is a pigeon from Washington Square Park, who was very cooperative with the sketch,and then demaned I pay it a hundred dollars for five minutes of modelling work.
I talked it down to twenty dollars and then fled in a taxi cab.
Just thinking about all this still makes me angry.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon remains my
favorite Universal monster--the Gill-Man has always
seemed fantastic, tragic, and frightening to me. What a great costume.
Inktober 2017, horor movie theme.
The protagonist from Eyes Without a Face.
This is from Inktober 2017, I wasn't follwing the Inktober-issued prompts, I decided to just draw characters and scenes from horror movies.
This is supposed to be a character from The Bird with Crystal Plumage.
It didn't end up resembling her that much, but I like it anyway.
Inktober 2017, my theme was horror movies.
There are lots of good reasons for anybody to not do Inktober,
but making a finished ink drawing once a day was a huge learning experience for me.
I used to write short humor pieces for publications like McSweeney's Internet Tendency, the Awl,
and . . . graphicdesign.com? This was one of my first attemps to add images to a longer written piece.
I can't really draw or write at this point but for some reason I didn't let that stop me.
Rock afficionados will notice that these images are all based on photographs of bands
like Fugazi, Nirvana, Shellac, and Elvis Presely. And smart people will cringe at the food allergy
humor, which is not my best moment.
I don't know if this is a good comic or not,
but the comments in this weird comic about the hyperbolic promises of jackets
are just the best. The Toast was the one site where you really could read the commments.
You should read it here for the comments, or here.
It probably doesn't look like it, but I worked on this for months.
I would stop, swear it was no good, then go back to it anyway.
When it was published, I almost tried to forget about it because if
people didn't like it, I had no way to make it better.
I had recently completed a cover that I thought I didn't like and felt kind of rotten about it.
One day I walked into a bookstore, browsed for a good long while, and picked up a book
that looked interesting. To my surprise, it was the troublemaker I'd worked on for so long.
I wanted to create a longer comic for The Toast, but I often felt like my attempts were poor
at best. So keeping this book design experience in mind, I just stuck with it.
With this came the realization that how we feel about what we create doesn't equal what
it looks like in the real world. You can read it here.
My wife posed for all the images here, and that's supposed to be me on the left. She was pregnant at the time
with our first kid, so this one always makes me smile. You can read it here or here.
This is my second comic ever and it's one of my own favorites,
because I got draw so many things that I wouldn't have ordinarily thought of drawing.
You can read the whole thing here or or here.
Some bookstore window silliness.
You can read the whole thing here or here.
This is a cartoon that I didn't submit to anybody, but still kind of makes me laugh.
This is my first comic published on The Toast in 2013.
I had no idea what I was doing.
I had written this originally as a funny list, and Daniel Orterbergwrote back and said if I made it into something other than a list,
they would publish it. So I spent the next two weeks learning
how to make cartoons. I've been doing that ever since.
You can read the whole thing here or here.
My loyal cat.
She was easy to draw only when she was asleep.
A guy with a very ornamented leather jacket,
drawn from a noodle-shop window in the West Village in 2013.
I would have drawn more, but my noodles arrived.
One of my first watercolor attempts, a portrait of of my mom.
From when I first started carrying around a little Moleskine with me in 2013.I saw this black cat in an abandoned lot, and started sketching. This is a pretty bad scan of the image but I still kind of love it.