tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56180859831914972142024-03-12T21:32:12.874-07:00Sleeping Troll StudiosMichael Kochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06325091957474685241noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618085983191497214.post-47201365375002182342013-05-11T17:16:00.001-07:002013-05-11T17:18:32.489-07:00"Tales From the Tacklebox: The Hydrilla Clump and the Bigmouth Popper" Now Available<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi Everyone. I'm here to announce that my latest illustration project, <b><i>"The Hydrilla Clump and the Bigmouth Popper"</i></b> is now complete and available for purchase. This is the second installment in the "Tales From the Tackbox" series by author Jason Whiteley. You can see my post on the first book here: <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://sleepingtroll.blogspot.com/2012/04/escape-from-crooked-tree.html" target="_blank">http://sleepingtroll.blogspot.com/2012/04/escape-from-crooked-tree.html</a></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Please check out the books Facebook page for more about the author, book and series: </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/tackleboxtales" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/tackleboxtales</a></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">The book is available here online: </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hydrilla-Clump-Bigmouth-Popper-Tacklebox/dp/0988794608/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368311440&sr=1-2&keywords=hydrilla+clump" target="_blank">www.amazon.com</a> </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1115242471?ean=9780988794603" target="_blank">www.barnesandnoble.com</a></span></div>
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As always, Enjoy and Thanks for Looking!</div>
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Michael Kochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06325091957474685241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618085983191497214.post-70832668523388882312012-08-22T17:13:00.002-07:002012-08-22T17:16:20.759-07:00The Adventures of the Last Jelly Bean Dragon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"The Adventures of the Last Jelly Bean Dragon", is an interactive iBook project I've been collaborating on, written for the iPad. The story itself will be fully interactive with many additional games & activities. It's a fun story with really great characters. Here is an official description:<br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: inherit;">THE ADVENTURES OF THE LAST JELLYBEAN DRAGON IS MORE THAN A SIMPLE iBOOK... It's a hybrid. An interactive, illustrated chapter book with multiple game components that take readers on (educational & developmental) adventures, in and out, of the main story... High quality interactive art that's entertaining & educational !!</span><br />
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We are mounting a <span style="color: red;">KICKSTARTER</span> campaign to help fund the project, to cover the considerable added expense involved in an interactive iBook verses a traditional children's book. Here is a link to our Kickstarter page (going live September 1, 2012):<br />
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<span style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2059302411/1946378799?token=57152e14">http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2059302411/1946378799?token=57152e14</a></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><br /></span>The Kickstarter campaign is going live <span style="color: red;">September 1st</span>. Please also check these other important "Jelly Bean Dragon" links, including our website, detailed press release, and Facebook pages to see more of my artwork, video samples of the interactivity, info about the talent, detailed information about the book and the story, etc.<br />
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<span style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.jbdragon.com/">http://www.jbdragon.com</a><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/JellybeanDragon">https://www.facebook.com/JellybeanDragon</a><br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_685911660"></span>https://www.facebook.com/events/248654251904126<br />http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/7/prweb9719727.htm<span id="goog_685911661"></span></a></span><br />
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"Like" us on Facebook if you get a chance. Thanks always for reading!</div>
Michael Kochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06325091957474685241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618085983191497214.post-51774433888103610232012-06-10T13:17:00.000-07:002012-06-11T08:08:08.683-07:00"Escape From the Crooked Tree" Available Now!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>"Tales From the Tacklebox: Escape From the Crooked Tree"</b>, is my recently completed children's book project and is now available in hard and soft cover: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Tacklebox-Escape-Crooked-Tree/dp/1457511525/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337869329&sr=1-1">http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Tacklebox-Escape-Crooked-Tree/dp/1457511525/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337869329&sr=1-1</a><br />
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Again, the book is written by author <b>Jason Whiteley</b> and illustrated by myself. Here is a link to Jason's and the book's official websites, where aside from learning more about Jason, You can buy the book as well as some fun <b>merch:</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.tackleboxtales.com/">http://www.tackleboxtales.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.jasonwhiteley.com/">http://www.jasonwhiteley.com</a><br />
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You can also read more about Jason and the story and see more of my illustrations in my previous blog entry: <a href="http://sleepingtroll.blogspot.com/2012/04/escape-from-crooked-tree.html">http://sleepingtroll.blogspot.com/2012/04/escape-from-crooked-tree.html</a><br />
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The next installment of "Tales From the Tacklebox<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">", </span></span><i>The Hydrilla Clump and the Bigmouth Popper </i>is already in the works. We are always looking for new and interesting ways to market the book, so if anyone has an idea, let us know. As always, Thanks for reading -Michael Koch</div>
<br />Michael Kochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06325091957474685241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618085983191497214.post-29059531929123549792012-04-09T06:57:00.000-07:002012-06-11T08:06:21.262-07:00Escape From the Crooked Tree!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm here to announce that my latest book project, "<b><i>Tales From the Tacklebox: Escape From the Crooked Tree</i></b>", will be available very soon on iTunes and Amazon as an audiobook, with a hard and soft cover book to follow. It is fully illustrated by myself and written by author Jason Whiteley. The book is about 7 fishing lures and their adventures on a fishing trip, and is first in a planned series. Here is the official description:<br />
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<i>Deep in the murky water near the crooked tree, MT is hooked on an underwater log next to a giant catfish. If he ever wants to make it back to the boat, MT will need help from his friends from the tacklebox. Will they pull together a plan in time to save him? Or will MT be stuck under the crooked tree forever?</i><br />
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Jason has had great success with his non-fiction book, "Father of Money: Buying Peace in Baghdad", entailing his experiences as a captain in the Iraq war.Working with Jason was great and we plan to continue collaborating on future installments.<br />
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Right now the book is available for pre-order at the following:<br />
<b>http://www.jasonwhiteley.com/Tacklebox_Store.html</b><br />
I will provide more details about the eBook and where to buy, links, etc. as they become available.<br />
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As always, thanks for reading. Here are some more illustrations from the book. Enjoy! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieq8zFYMeL1udkVoMeA6M04aNTjIdDfPLps0nUopvIknnQyiimdWBe0KJaeqw0gu49tFVT6SZYDW-anCxmIEnr0T1waqyIuoPgDqS6rGXnza0ngQZfPWlgBqV2Zk7ST2frtIYwq7PWyOLM/s1600/Shartroos-and-Frances.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieq8zFYMeL1udkVoMeA6M04aNTjIdDfPLps0nUopvIknnQyiimdWBe0KJaeqw0gu49tFVT6SZYDW-anCxmIEnr0T1waqyIuoPgDqS6rGXnza0ngQZfPWlgBqV2Zk7ST2frtIYwq7PWyOLM/s320/Shartroos-and-Frances.jpg" width="251" /></a></div>Michael Kochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06325091957474685241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618085983191497214.post-21925104249662233622011-12-29T08:20:00.000-08:002011-12-29T08:45:03.012-08:00The Grinch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TTAF97XScqc/TvyS4shqBGI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/Vk5y8PUgT-s/s1600/Patted+His+Head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TTAF97XScqc/TvyS4shqBGI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/Vk5y8PUgT-s/s320/Patted+His+Head.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
I just had to pay homage to what I consider to be the best Christmas cartoon of all time, and definitely one of the greatest works of animation ever, period--You guessed it, "The Grinch That Stole Christmas", directed by Chuck Jones and based of course on the book by Dr. Suess. I also have to list some of the other important players, because without their contributions, the masterpiece would just not be complete:<br />
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Phil Roman - Lead animator<br />
Philip DeGuard - Lead background artist<br />
Maurice Noble - Production Design<br />
Albert Hague - Music<br />
Boris Karloff - Narrator/Grinch<br />
Thurl Ravenscroft (best name ever) - Vocalist<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> I can't think of two people that have inspired my art more than Chuck Jones and Dr. Suess. Every year I watch and dissect The Grinch, trying to glean whatever techniques and ideas I can, trying to determine what exactly about it makes it so magical. The answer is--EVERYTHING. I've included some sketch/storyboard/ watercolor art from around the web-amazing stuff. Enjoy!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8wYVAARvdi0/TvySD1y4WuI/AAAAAAAAAJM/oeDMJDDgqGs/s1600/Upside+Down.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8wYVAARvdi0/TvySD1y4WuI/AAAAAAAAAJM/oeDMJDDgqGs/s320/Upside+Down.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0CFfggXkSDI/TvySO0Uq4aI/AAAAAAAAAJY/iBXJ5t08Dkk/s1600/Cindy+and+Max.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0CFfggXkSDI/TvySO0Uq4aI/AAAAAAAAAJY/iBXJ5t08Dkk/s320/Cindy+and+Max.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-blNFyIgk3PQ/TvySPB6T1vI/AAAAAAAAAJg/VhsRB7Zphrs/s1600/Jing+Tinglers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-blNFyIgk3PQ/TvySPB6T1vI/AAAAAAAAAJg/VhsRB7Zphrs/s320/Jing+Tinglers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wyQYxAQjauo/TvySPTLmb-I/AAAAAAAAAJo/o8A7VvSYJ50/s1600/Mirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wyQYxAQjauo/TvySPTLmb-I/AAAAAAAAAJo/o8A7VvSYJ50/s320/Mirror.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MLk7Yrl0s_I/TvySP6zISAI/AAAAAAAAAJw/6bsLg8mDGbg/s1600/Ramshackle+Sleigh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MLk7Yrl0s_I/TvySP6zISAI/AAAAAAAAAJw/6bsLg8mDGbg/s320/Ramshackle+Sleigh.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pSJhIZpZ6p4/TvySQFnapGI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/rP2POxoaEfc/s1600/The+Fib.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pSJhIZpZ6p4/TvySQFnapGI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/rP2POxoaEfc/s320/The+Fib.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Michael Kochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06325091957474685241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618085983191497214.post-68101244615188410832011-12-21T07:22:00.000-08:002011-12-21T07:22:17.604-08:00Willie Wigglesby<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE63Ex6jx5O1e5dTpjKfzqACWS4cbMs3DtsTUrnlh8tQYZrYkvciU0YVoollcdG4PFEfLH-31QvxWmg175d3f31q6vlR2n21HFW0k0hREhrivQCHqpPaEii-y_H4bh_vmbJCzixUj0mDEk/s1600/Willie+Wigglesby+Final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE63Ex6jx5O1e5dTpjKfzqACWS4cbMs3DtsTUrnlh8tQYZrYkvciU0YVoollcdG4PFEfLH-31QvxWmg175d3f31q6vlR2n21HFW0k0hREhrivQCHqpPaEii-y_H4bh_vmbJCzixUj0mDEk/s320/Willie+Wigglesby+Final.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYuHWNTIxzLIFvSu2D_N-a9tf0iSxzKtgLSjs3MaAb3XxD6AyMc03TRxyN-Xqx5WIcRHM6s2PiylEIX6wHjkhPPlQbITI-xrKffaFWw2SKQf6ndza1zc3lBp2NJwHcqkBsl1lYg86svx0J/s1600/Sally.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYuHWNTIxzLIFvSu2D_N-a9tf0iSxzKtgLSjs3MaAb3XxD6AyMc03TRxyN-Xqx5WIcRHM6s2PiylEIX6wHjkhPPlQbITI-xrKffaFWw2SKQf6ndza1zc3lBp2NJwHcqkBsl1lYg86svx0J/s320/Sally.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigcUo6JKOSE_DO9Z0mrx1hh3VXLz19d3DfkqOjWtecZt6jA_v5h-BElxXmeW8FbjCd1vFSoD7EaCg1cXMbkLTGeqkvi0YLcbrtIzY03hzMUT9leLiE_tayHrQ7rnTceQppYni6cKdwrq3k/s1600/Classroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigcUo6JKOSE_DO9Z0mrx1hh3VXLz19d3DfkqOjWtecZt6jA_v5h-BElxXmeW8FbjCd1vFSoD7EaCg1cXMbkLTGeqkvi0YLcbrtIzY03hzMUT9leLiE_tayHrQ7rnTceQppYni6cKdwrq3k/s320/Classroom.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Here are a cover and 2 interior illustrations for "Willie Wigglesby" a book I recently completed work on. The story was written many years ago by Paul J. Gustat, a man in his 90s, who recently decided to have it illustrated and produced.Michael Kochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06325091957474685241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618085983191497214.post-14094818825320412822011-12-18T10:12:00.000-08:002011-12-18T10:12:38.048-08:00Mistress Sea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSUqCWJq1nbxukMizPwmajUk7IVIiAjegLgJQpLg7CQQbPWSFil0HODJsSCikt3WXUSwio1s7eCsUn-cF56ERgM5_Wj3qGxd8lQpzmN16fOVQcdr3hso6wqFUGj9ouFJvfCSkzro-6figB/s1600/Mistress+Sea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSUqCWJq1nbxukMizPwmajUk7IVIiAjegLgJQpLg7CQQbPWSFil0HODJsSCikt3WXUSwio1s7eCsUn-cF56ERgM5_Wj3qGxd8lQpzmN16fOVQcdr3hso6wqFUGj9ouFJvfCSkzro-6figB/s320/Mistress+Sea.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>Here's something different. This is a comp I submitted to accompany a book of poetry, a project that is currently on hold. I really like the image though, and the opportunity to work on something not necessarily children's oriented, not literal, and maybe a little bit out of my comfort zone.Michael Kochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06325091957474685241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618085983191497214.post-71016862315009568322011-12-17T12:45:00.000-08:002011-12-17T12:45:22.386-08:00The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLtO0MnOpE2YZbGLqEqaW9ooYINKPKf4AYBq3Q3lq44tf6iHVeW-4qY0hQb6_197N6wIEYgR4thuC0s8liwIoKBxm317VGQ7OxM9esmORb6xLxhssf0t9vh0Ck2bocvb6PGgPQ7SIsK2I/s1600/Burzee-Ball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLtO0MnOpE2YZbGLqEqaW9ooYINKPKf4AYBq3Q3lq44tf6iHVeW-4qY0hQb6_197N6wIEYgR4thuC0s8liwIoKBxm317VGQ7OxM9esmORb6xLxhssf0t9vh0Ck2bocvb6PGgPQ7SIsK2I/s320/Burzee-Ball.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ho, Ho, Ho. It might not look like it, But this illustration is holiday-themed. It is based on a children's book, "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus". It was written by L. Frank Baum, of "Wizard of Oz" fame. It's an alternate and interesting take on the origin of Santa Claus. There was actually one of those cool "Rankin-Bass" stop-motion specials (Rudolph) made about it which is pretty cool in it's own right.Michael Kochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06325091957474685241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5618085983191497214.post-11611966656108690592011-12-17T12:17:00.000-08:002011-12-17T12:17:09.704-08:00Sleeping Troll Studios<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmDU_HfwUiYP_9PY0pYq4J2XwgJaUcs7QPtPgEEEjoNSdvWo9WanmJvtQJmeO84KjY6ZfnrLChLOCuxYdSMxdXtG8WfRgT52_l9k4WTV0S7u6Jk3tlAVySSgLW34n3hfWeb_TkjAOJiaS/s1600/Sleeping+Troll+full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmDU_HfwUiYP_9PY0pYq4J2XwgJaUcs7QPtPgEEEjoNSdvWo9WanmJvtQJmeO84KjY6ZfnrLChLOCuxYdSMxdXtG8WfRgT52_l9k4WTV0S7u6Jk3tlAVySSgLW34n3hfWeb_TkjAOJiaS/s320/Sleeping+Troll+full.jpg" width="312" /></a></div>Hi. My name is Michael Koch and I'm an illustrator/designer working out of Cleveland, Ohio. I specialize in children's/fantasy illustration, hence the name of my company, Sleeping Troll Studios. Six months ago, after many years working in house, I have decided to go out on my own. I'm starting this blog to showcase my finished art, sketches, raw concepts, fellow artist's work, and maybe a thought or two in between. Hope you like it and here goes.Michael Kochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06325091957474685241noreply@blogger.com0