"Escape From the Crooked Tree" Available Now!

"Tales From  the Tacklebox: Escape From the Crooked Tree", is my recently completed children's book project and is now available in hard and soft cover: http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Tacklebox-Escape-Crooked-Tree/dp/1457511525/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337869329&sr=1-1

Again, the book is written by author Jason Whiteley 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 merch:

http://www.tackleboxtales.com
http://www.jasonwhiteley.com

You can also read more about Jason and the story and see more of my illustrations in my previous blog entry: http://sleepingtroll.blogspot.com/2012/04/escape-from-crooked-tree.html

The next installment of "Tales From the Tacklebox", The Hydrilla Clump and the Bigmouth Popper 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

Escape From the Crooked Tree!

I'm here to announce that my latest book project, "Tales From the Tacklebox: Escape From the Crooked Tree", 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:

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?

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.

Right now the book is available for pre-order at  the following:
http://www.jasonwhiteley.com/Tacklebox_Store.html
 I will provide more details about the eBook and where to buy, links, etc. as they become available.

As always, thanks for reading. Here are some more illustrations from the book. Enjoy!

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

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.

Sleeping Troll Studios

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.