Getting It Right

I'd love to be a fly on the wall of other illustrators to see how they deal with problems. Especially lately. I had an idea for a Christmas card, and no matter how many times I sketched it out I couldn't get it right. You know in comics - especially Peanuts - when a scribble cloud is drawn over a character's head to show anger or frustration? I had a big one above my own head while I worked on this last night. Just leave it alone, you might say. Give it some time, take a break. Already did that--several times. To add to it, there's time pressure and pressure in terms of a lot (and I mean A LOT) of people seeing this illustration in the end. And just when I think I'm getting it right, Lucy pulls the football from underneath me. AAAARRRRRRRGH! I say.

I went for a bike ride around the lake today and didn't think about the drawing. I only thought about the colors reflecting off the water, and the falling leaves. I thought about the other biker I passed dressed in a bike helmet and death-metal attire (including looooong goatie)and his surprisingly disarming, friendly smile.

With the minutes ticking by tonight, and the card due tomorrow, I have a half done painting, and it's actually working. Maybe I just jinxed it by saying that, but ah well.

Sketches

Motivational Poster

Illustration Friday: Scale2

Big ship, little pirate.

Illustration Friday: Scale

This pig plays scales that are so beautiful, he makes himself cry. Created with watercolors, Doctor Martin's watercolor dyes, and colored pencil for the outline. Many thanks for the wonderful comments left on my last two IF entries!

Been Busy

Sorry for the lack of posting this past week. Here is one of about 20 or 30 doodles I did recently that actually came out okay. The rest have an appointment with my waste paper basket. Oh, and do wear shades when viewing this yellow. You might as well be staring at the sun.

Illustration Friday: Hats 2

I guess a crown is a kind of hat, right? I actually had a tiger suit when I was around this age. And I thought for sure when I put it on it would make me strong enough to defend myself against my older brothers. WRONG. I sure did have fun with it though.

These are both (the post below) new images created just for IF!

Illustration Friday : Hats

I guess this is a sort of revenge for all the rabbits who have ever been yanked out of a hat by their ears. ;-)

Revenge Of The Blob

Today started out like any other day. Little did I know what lurked in the dusty corners of my art studio. I was working on a mini-book to test out some images for a new manuscript (I've finished the dummy of the previous story and am waiting for an updated operating system to scan it all in). Alls it took was a quick, thoughtless flick of the wrist to have the entire contents of my Higgins Black Magic Ink spill all over my hands, desk, rug, pajamas and drawing. At least it wasn't something I had spent days on. But still, I was not happy. One bit of humor did keep me from getting too annoyed. The boy seems to be smiling and looking right at the blob. "Hi Blob, it's so nice to see you again," said Henry. There we go, I'll run with that as a new direction for the story. Then I don't have to redraw anything.

For Cat Lovers

Illustration Friday : Trick or Treat

Sam found the tallest hill in his neighborhood and sat all alone....where no one else would get his candy.

New Blog Title

Lion is really happy about the new blog title. Mostly because it looks more like a buffet than a title....

Lost

Pirate Final

Pirate Sketch for Recent Project

A Little Video I Made For Robert's Snow

This video features the first auction of snowflakes. I apologize for the typo in the word "November".

Not A Sissy

Blogs I'm Diggin'

A couple of new kids on the 'blog' that deserve a spotlight. I'll let the art work do the talking.

My Place Over The Hill By Alicia Padron


Eric Orchard's Blog

King Of The World

High Five November Issue!

...I'm in it. Here's the layout sketch.

Illustration Friday: Grow

Never ever ever never

....EVER....grow out of your imagination.

More Dummy Pages

As I've worked through this recent dummy book, I've started to become more aware of where the horizon line is located. Even with smaller spots it can have a huge impact. For instance, I drew the left spot image several times and could not figure out why I didn't like each version. Was it the way the person was sitting? The monkey? I couldn't put my finger on it. Finally, I moved the horizon line down, redrew the bench and the way the man would be sitting at the new perspective and suddenly the entire illustration improved. It was well worth taking the time to solve this problem, instead of winging it and moving on to the next image, because I've learned something new and important that I can add to the tool box.

An artist that's very talented at applying different angles and perspective is Mark Teague. His compositions flow like silk across the page and the fact that he is self-taught is even more amazing. I first discovered his work when I saw his One Halloween Night (not a big fan of this new addition and format) book on the sale rack. I had never seen anything like it before, and was so excited I couldn't sleep that night. He really made you feel like you were in the worlds he created--what a concept!

First Back Street Boys Fan....Who's a Parrot

My blogging pal Elizabeth Dulemba had the funniest video posted on her blog. I had to pass on the laughter.

It's Time..

The auctions for Robert's Snow: For Cancer's Cure are about to begin! To spread the word, the folks at 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast are pooling together articles and interviews of the illustrators contributing snowflakes. Paula Wiley of Your Neighborhood Librarian volunteered to write mine. Thanks Paula!

So roll up those bidding sleeves, and don't delay! Like real snowflakes, these unique treasures will be disappearing fast.

Hippos

I'm still testing different art styles for the dummy of my latest manuscript. This is my favorite so far. The illustration is actually pretty darn big. It started with a scratch piece of watercolor paper where I sketched in some hippos, and it just kept growing. I had to piece this one together via Photoshop from two scans.

Illustration Friday: Extremes

Extreme COLD!

Quick Sketches/Ideas for Book Dummy

This book dummy stuff is wonderfully exciting, frustrating and mysterious all at the same time. Anyone know if any good links to other dummies, or dummy instructions? Please list here and I'll make a separate post for it--or even put a section for it on the side-scrolls of the blog if there are enough. Here is a link I found from Dav Pilkey's site. For one of his books he includes his entire book dummy, which I find incredibly inspiring. Also, Babette Cole is selling a DVD that explains her process for book making, which I purchased. I'll give a little review once I receive it.
Dav Pilkey's Behind the Pages
Babette Cole DVD

Suddenly my imac g5 is running like it has thick honey in it. It must have something to do with all the graphics I'm using and the generous 250 MB RAM included with the package (whoopie). I guess I'll be upgrading (cry) with more memory. I'm sure it will be well worth the purchase (she told herself). I'm tired of watching that little wrist watch count down every time I do anything to a graphic. At this rate I'll be well into my 90's before I get this sent off.

Zoo Illustration - Color

More Sketches

Dummy Dummy Dummy

I've decided to dummy up my recent manuscript - a daunting task if truth be told. I have to draw tons of animals, all grouped together doing very unusual things. It's exciting though to see it come to life.

My first thought was to just make a loose dummy, but don't I want to make the best impression I can, and put that book in the best light possible? So it will be fairly tight. Here's attempt number one at pages 4-5. I will probably redo it, but am happy that the feeling I was trying to get is at least there.

Get Well Soon, Soldier

Sketch

This is for a long time friend and neighbor who had to have an operation. He's a history buff and actually owns something signed by Abraham Lincoln himself! Hope the color comes out well.

Illustration Friday : Open

It's almost Halloween! Open wide and ROAR.

Boy have I been away from the drawing table too long. Drawing is like breathing for me, when I don't draw I feel like I'm holding my breath. It was nice to finally exhale.

Illustration Friday : Wedding

Click to Enlarge!

For "W is for wedding" I knew that the usual star of a wedding is the bride, but I didn't want her to be the star of my 'story'. The little boy and the mouse were the main actors, so I placed focus on them with darker colors, while leaving the bride almost void of color and very sketchy. I had a lot of fun with this one - a welcome change from some creative struggling I've run into this week.

Mommy?

Guess what's around the corner, kids (by the way when I say 'kids' I mean us illustrators/authors out there, who really are just big kids). Halloween--one of my favorite holidays! A book you might want to pick up this year--if you missed it last year--is Mommy? by Maurice Sendak, Arthur Yorinks and Matthew Reinhart. It's a beautifully created, extremely intricate pop-up book that will leave your jaw dropping to the floor.

I found a video on youtube which talks about the book and includes an interview with Sendak. This video is the first time I've actually seen Sendak 'in person' since all of what I knew about him previously was through articles and interviews in books. He's equally as animated and expressive as his characters. Enjoy!

Staring Contest 2

I digitally added eyes to this one. I like both renditions for different reasons.

Staring Contest

Happy Belated Birthday Jen!

Cover Image For Manuscript 2

Color Version

Full page sketch for manuscript 2

The Hiss Heard Round The World

From manuscript number two: this cat delivers some devastating news to his canine house-mate, and does it with a lot of sass mixed with a little evil ("Ev-Vil" - Austin Powers). Fortunately the dog is smart enough to turn the new bit of information around to his advantage.

More Character Sketches

Now these very rough (not final) sketches are for manuscript number two. The more I compare the two stories, the more I lean towards this one for my first submission. My goal is to just get one of these stories out of my house and in front of a pair of eyes - along with a couple final illustrations and character sketches. Come on girl, get your butt in the chair and follow through!

Postcard Countdown

Okay, this is my very first attempt at sending a postcard. Four hundred of them hit the mail today. So now, there's nothing left to do but sit back and wait. Yes I will be checking my website stats about 1000 times a day. I'll give a full report, for better or for worse.

Illustration Friday : Alphabet Pt. 2

I'm still trying to figure out what style of art to go with for my manuscript. I'll keep experimenting...

Illustration Friday : Alphabet