Sara in the 6th Grade

The past few Lunchbag illustrations as Sara makes her way up Math Mountain.

April Drawings

I have been very delinquent in posting, here are some of the illustrations that were done in April.

The story of the Lunch Bags

A little over seven years ago, I was packing a lunch for my daughter to take on a school field trip and decided to doodle a princess on the brown bag she was taking that day.  She returned that evening with the bag laminated and informed me she wanted a drawing on her lunch every day.  Foolishly I agreed and each day her lunch bag had a quick sketch of a popular character or relevant holiday theme, but sketching a drawing a day can eat up the subject matter quickly. So I decided to write a story about Sara and her family that would travel with her each day.  When my son asked for the same treatment, I was knocking out two of these bags a day.  Finally, at the end of the school year I put my foot down, and in one of the greatest bargaining sessions I have ever been involved with, I managed to get taken in by two kids.  I went from a couple of daily 10-minute sketches to something that consumes most of my free time in the evenings.  I now produce a fully illustrated and rendered bag each week for my daughter.  Fortunately, my son let me out of my contract with him a few years ago.  Each Friday she gets a bag, which revolves around a story that begins on the first day of school and ends during the last week before summer.  The stories include Sara and her friends and family and often take place at school.  Each year is a different adventure as we have seen her deal with Soggy Stickers, go on a Freaky Field Trip, handle a Problem Puppet, and other unusual escapades. 

I start with normal, store bought brown bags that are flattened out so the side without the seam is available for drawing.  Then, using a blue or red pencil the week’s image is sketched out and composed before it is inked and hatched, and finally markers and other media are used to finish up the image. The bag remains fully functional, with the image having no impact on the size, structure or capability to successfully deliver a regular middle school lunch.

The story is generally plotted out at the beginning with enough flexibility to incorporate changes that appear during the school year, such as the time when Sara got a new puppy, both in the story and in real life. The stories also try and address real issues that she has to deal with, such as stage fright or transitioning to middle school. They have changed a little over the years as Sara has grown older, but they still revolve around her family, friends, and school. The weekly adventure is written in serial form, printed on card stock paper, and cut down to the size of the lunch bag.  The card stock helps give the bag rigidity and protects the image from the food inside. 

In Sara and The Broken Bean Bag, Sara is sucked into the books she reads while relaxing in a bean bag, but something isn’t quite right; the stories are slightly “off” and suddenly, she is meeting Maura Shingles instead of Laura Ingles and Gary Kotter instead of Harry Potter.  Soon she comes to realize the classic story characters are jealous of the attention that the newer characters are getting and are plotting to steal the books. Sara has to use her imagination to overcome these villains. 

This year we find Sara exploring the world behind the locker, where she meets up with the Locker Gnome.  He’s that guy that steals your homework or picks up a misplaced coat.  She sneaks into his lair only to discover he is having issues maintaining quotas due to the amount of electronic media the kids are using today.  He may get downsized, and the Gym Rat, who wants to move his equipment into the Locker Gnome’s territory, is threatening his storage facility. Finally Sara’s mom shows up in the story with a plan to help the situation. 

Another tradition that has been added over the years has been the holiday bags.  After Thanksgiving, the story is put on hiatus while we explore different Christmas Carols.  A song is picked and I research where the song came from and create an image to illustrate a scene from that carol.  A brief history of the song is written up and inserted into the bag for that week.

These bags have been fun to create and Sara looks forward to each Friday when she can bring them in and share the latest chapter with friends and teachers.  I have been fortunate that she has allowed me to continue to make these for her, even now that she is a middle schooler.  They have allowed me opportunities to explore other avenues of illustration, just so long as I meet that weekly Friday deadline!

For more information please see:

www.doodle-bags.com

doodlebagdesigns.blogspot.com

@doodlebags – Twitter

pinterest.com/doodlebagsprod/ (recently created)

6th Grade Lunch Bag - The Bookworm

All images and text copyright 2014

The most recent lunch bag find Sara at the bottom of the book return and meeting the Book Worm that is working the old card catalogues!

Pitt Pens, copic markers, prismacolor, gel pens and oil pastels on brown paper bag.

6th Grade lunch bags for February

I have also been behind on posting the lunch bags so here are a few week's worth:

All images and text copyright 2014 Michael Smith - Doodle Bag Productions

Sara has returned from her mission to the Sun and has found that all the books have gotten their definitions all mixed up and she has to get them right before the access to the school can be opened.

Pitt Pens, Copic Markers, gel pens, oil pastels on lunch bags

6th Grade Lunch Bag - 18

All images and text copyright 2014 - Michael Smith - Doodle Bag Productions

This week we find that Sara has returned to Earth from her field trip to the sun to find her brother engulfed in a stack of books.

Col-erase pencil, pitt pens, copic markers, oil pastels and gel pens on a lunch bag.

6th Grade Lunch Bag - 17

All images and text copyright 2014 - Michael Smith - Doodle Bag Productions

This week we have Sara on her trip to the sun to return the wayward ball of energy to its original source.  She has exited her craft and the debris that wasn't tied down has started to float out along with her.

Col-Erase Pencils, Pitt Pens, Copic Markers, gel pens and oil pastels on a lunch bag.

6th Grade - Lunchbag 16

All images and text copyright 2014 - Michael Smith - Doodle Bag Productions

This week finds Sara has bottled the energy and realizing that the majority of all energy on Earth comes from the sun has put on a space suit and is boarding her spaceship to deliver the energy back at it's source.

col-erase pencils, pitt pens, copic markers, gel pens, and oil pastels on a lunch bag.

6th Grade - Lunch Bag 15

All images and text copyright 2014 - Michael Smith - Doodle Bag Productions

This week we return to our normally scheduled programming!  Sara returns to her search for what to do with the energy that she discovered.

Col-Erase pencils, Pitt Pens, Copic Markers, Gel pens, oil pastels on a lunch bag.

We Three Kings 2013

All images and Text copyright 2013 - Michael Smith Doodle Bag Productions

The last Christmas Lunch bag (and lunch bag) of 2013 is an interpretation of "We Three Kings" represented by homeless men outside of the Stable Inn.  The traditional gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh hinted in the coffee cup, the box that is being carried, and the hat.

Col-Erase pencils, Pitt Pens, Copic Markers, oil pastels on kraft paper (lunch bag)

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

All images copyright 2013 Michael Smith - Doodle Bag Productions

It is the time of the school year when Sara's lunch bags switch over the Christmas Carols. This week we start with "Hark the Herald Angels Sing". The angels are singing or harking away.

Col-Erase Pencil, Pitt Pens, copic marker, prismacolor, gel pens, and oil pastels are combined on the lunch bag to create the illustration.

There is a text insert that gives the history of the carol.

Lunch bag and insert side by side

6th Grade Lunch Bag 14

All images and text copyright 2013 - Michael Smith - Doodle Bag Productions

This week Sara has to figure out what kind of energy it is that has escaped her science books. She is determining whether it is Potential, Kinetic, Mechanical and a couple of others that I have forgotten. She has placed the sphere on a high platform to see if it has potential energy, it has crashed down through the ground and she is looking at it.

Col-Erase Pencils, Pitt Pens, Copic Markers, white gel pens, oil pastels on a standard lunch bag.

6th Grade Lunch Bag 13

Last week was mis-labeled as #11, so I am back on the right track with illustration #13 for the year:

All images and text, copyright 2013 Michael Smith - Doodle Bag Productions

This week finds that Sara has made it out of the social studies books and into the realm of science.  Sara has found a little ball of energy that has broken free from the text books and needs to return to its point of origin.  She has to determine what kind of energy it is first, potential, kinetic, chemical, thermal, electric, mechanical, or nuclear so she can take care of the little guy.  She is surrounded with things that use or make energy.

Col-Erase Pencil, Pitt Pens, Copic Markers, white gel pens, oil pastels.

6th Grade Lunch bag #11

All images and text copyright 2013 - Michael Smith - Doodle Bag Productions

This week we get back to the main story.  Sara helped clear out the mess that was blocking the irrigation system of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and now she is investigating the issue with the science books.

Copic markers, pitt pens, col-erase pencils and oil pastels on a lunch bag.

Halloween Lunch Bag

All images and text copyright 2013 - Michael Smith Doodle Bag Productions

Thursday is the last day of the week for Sara, AND it is also Halloween, so the normal illustration is replaced with something holiday appropriate.

Col-Erase pencils, Pitt Pens, Copic Marker, oil pastels on a standard lunch bag

6th Grade - lunch bag #10

All images and text copyright 2013 - Michael Smith - Doodle Bag Productions

We are back in school after fall break! This lunch bag has Sara needing to find a spot to stick all the components of the Egyptian Chapter of the history book so that the water will flow for the Hanging Gardens! She calls upon the Locker Gnome to store the stuff until they are ready for it in Social Studies.

Regular Lunch bag, col-erase pencils, Pitt Pens, Copic Markers, white gel pen, oil pastels.

Lunchbag #9 of 6th Grade

All images and text copyright 2013 - Michael Smith - Doodle Bag Productions 

This week Sara discovers that the chapter in her social studies book on Egypt has been storing their stuff in the aqueduct system of the Hanging Gardens. Now she has to figure out a way to clear up the mess.

Col-Erase pencils, Pitt Pens, Copic Markers, white gel pen, oil pastels on a brown paper bag.

Lunchbag #8 of the 6th Grade

All images and text copyright 2013 - Michael Smith - Doodle Bag Productions

This week finds Sara deeper in the hanging gardens trying to find out why the water isn't supplying the plants. We are still going with the braided hair.

Col-erase pencils, Pitt Pens, Copic Markers, white gel pens, and oil pastels on a typical brown lunch bag.

7th lunch bag of the 6th grade

All images and text copyright 2013 - Michael Smith Doodle Bag Productions

This week Sara delves deeper into the hanging gardens of Babylon to try and find out why the water has stopped flowing. I have also relented and made a drastic change to the character. The real Sara wears her hair in a braid, and after several years of her asking for the lunch bag character to have a braid I have given in.

Col-Erase pencils, Pitt Pens, copic markers, oil pastels, gel pens on a lunch bag.

6th Lunch bag of the 6th Grade

All images and text copyright 2013 - Michael Smith - Doodle Bag Productions

The social studies lesson at the beginning of the year has been about early cultures and the advent of written language. So Sara has met up with Hammurabi and she has to work out what his code is all about in order to make it through the Mystery of History.

Kraft Paper (lunch bag) col-erase pencils, Pitt Pens, copic markers, oil pastels, gel pens.