A Work in Progress

This is an unfinished sample color spread from my dummy book- it's meant to be held horizontally (only for two spreads in the book).  Going to be submitting this one to an editor who liked a story a sent years ago.  I still have her letter inviting me to send more.  Hope she likes this one!

Seesaw

illustration Friday: Ferocious

Three bear cubs practicing their 'ferocious' roars and growls on the bees.

Ugh

Fall Bike Ride

Actually it's a tricycle that I redesigned for piggy's short stature. :)

Lost

More Raccoons!

                     

Skating Giraffe

Night Time Stroll

More Drawings

A Day at the Carnival

Sing Out, Irene

I'm having fun drawing my own versions of various books.  This is from Sing Out, Irene by James Marshall.

Illustration Friday: Mesmerizing Part Two

On a crisp Fall afternoon, sometimes there's nothing more mesmerizing than sparkling new school supplies. 

This is my version of Eugene from James Marshall's Four Little Troubles.

Watercolor Texture in Scans: How to Remove It

Grainy, overly textured scans getting you down?  Try this little trick in photoshop.  Go to Filters > Blur > Smart Blur, and move the Threshold and Radius sliders until you get your desired effect.  This image was a spotty mess until I found this article. 

Illustration Friday: Mesmerizing

This cow is mesmerized by all the other cows trying to jump over the moon.

Illustration Friday: Boundaries

Halloween: the one day we can break our diet boundaries and eat till we're sick.  Raise your hand if you haven't done this:

That's what I thought :)

Today's Sketches

 

Playing in the Rain

"I am sure it is a great mistake always to know enough to go in when it rains.  One may keep snug and dry by such knowledge, but one misses a world of loveliness."  ~Adeline Knapp

Playing in the Rain Sketch

Illustration Friday: Mysterious II

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science." --Albert Einstein 

 

Mysterious Forest

Dummy Book In the Making

I strung a couple pieces of wire across the wall in front of my desk so I can hang the dummy book pages and see them all together.  It's really helped with seeing the flow of the whole book while I work (some of the first few pages are missing because they're in my sketch book).  I'll be starting a second version of the book here soon in a square format with some tweaking--I really want to get this one right and it's been quite a challenge!

High Wire

Illustration Friday: Mysterious

It may take a second to see the mysterious element of the illustration...but there's a story behind it.  When I was kid, around ten or eleven, I saw a movie entitled Critters.  Not a hugely popular movie, more like a B horror film.  It happened to be on HBO one night, and reminded me a little of Gremlins because there were these little red-eyed critters that terrorized people.  Anyways, there is a scene  where someone is in the kitchen washing dishes late at night.  The camera pans in towards the pitch black window, and two little red eyes appear staring at the mother of a family.  Oh my goodness did that give me the willies!  From then on, at night when I'm washing dishes, that scene sometimes crosses my mind, along with (my overly active imagination) the thought of someone or something staring in at me from that pitch black window in the kitchen.  :0)  BOO!

A Small Idea

Very tiny thumbnail sketch

Illustration Friday: Disguise II

I liked this theme a lot, so did two entries.  click to enlarge, this is a big one!

Trick or Treaters

Illustration Friday: Disguise

The Tyrannosaurus tried his flower disguise, but he still scared everyone away. 

Sketchbook Pages

These were inked with a wonderful brush pen.  I love them because they mimic brush and ink and are very easy to use!

Roar!

Illustration Friday: Imperfect

This is what I call an imperfect ending to a magic trick:

Tea Party

Tea Party

Sketches

A dummy book in the making.

Summer Concert

3d Model

My nieces were playing with some sculpting clay so I made a small model of the little boy in my recent story with his blanket.  It takes 5 days or so to dry and I'll paint it with some acrylics.  Should be fun!

From the Sketch Book

I've been sketching A LOT lately.  Mostly because it seems like the more I sketch the better I improve as an artist.  I've never been one to sketch much, but I'm changing that.  It's like doing scales on the piano or drills in soccer. 

Illustration Friday: Obsession

My brother was obsessed with flying when he was young.  He became a realio trulio pilot when he grew up.

Hmmm

Whimsical or more realistic?  ARGH...it's ok, the decision making isn't driving me batty (actually it is).  I know they both could work.  The question is which I would enjoy the most.  That's what's important to me.