Thursday, August 06, 2009

There's a New Blog in Town: Planet Markix!




I have been a fan of Mark Hicks' art work for many years, and now he has started a blog for everyone's enjoyment! Check out his whimsical and charming ink and watercolor illustrations--welcome him to the blogging universe too if you have an extra moment :-D

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Unwelcome Guest


Sketched this idea while waiting for an appointment.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Monday, July 27, 2009

Friday, July 24, 2009

Illustration Friday: Idle

He won't be idle for long! This is one of those pictures where I just started drawing on a piece of watercolor paper and adding things as I went along. I don't know the story behind this, why the cat is there, or where this mouse lives, it's just an image I had in my mind. It was fun to draw that way, very unrestrictive.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

In Color

Illustration Friday: Tango


If you can't make it out in the scan, there's a couple dancing the tango in the house window.


Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Antonio Revamped


This is Antonio in my watercolor/colored pencil style - a bit more rotund, more depth and shading.

Raj's Softer Side


I'm considering going back to my softer style for Raj as opposed to the pen and ink pieces earlier. I'll see what the Charlebridge folks think. One of the curses of having multiple styles I'm afraid..that constant worry of: did I choose the right one for the story?

Come to think of it, I might resketch some of my Antonio images in this style as well, just to make sure I'm going in the right direction for my dummy book.

Monday, July 20, 2009

And We're Off



First spread of the book...actually totally redone after spending three hours on another version and completely scrapping it after looking at it in the mirror. Those mirrors are the worst critics aren't they? They show you every mistake within seconds.

The lines are basically marks of where the text will be. I'll be adding the text later via Photoshop.


Dav Pilkey Book Dummies!

If you need some inspiration while you're working hard on your own book dummies, check out Dav Pilkey's site. He has posted the full mock-ups of some of his books along with stories about how he got them published! Great stuff from a great author/illustrator. Enjoy!


My favorite posting is "Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving" because he struggled so hard to get that one published and finally found a publisher (the 26th one I think?) who had some sense! Look out how detailed it is - he almost didn't need to paint it in the end, it would have been great in black and white as well.

Who knows how long these treasures will stay online, but I intend to download each book onto my hard drive :-D

***Edit: another link added by the very talented Woody Miller. Thanks Woody!

Antonio



This is my little side project: a character study for another story I've written. I've decided never to submit a manuscript without a full dummy/mock-up ever again. I dare say I think I lost out on getting one published because of not doing so. I should always present my work under the best light possible, don't you agree? Ah well, lesson learned.

It's 1am.... time to get some book dummy work done :-)

I'm not giving up!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Raj the Bookstore Tiger




I'm sorry I've been away for so long, I've had some "life" things come up that have been time consuming--some difficult and some (such as my recent book projects) very wonderful and enjoyable. Raj (star of the book: Raj the Bookstore Tiger, written by Kathleen T Pelley) has been keeping me company. Always purring and jumping in my lap, wanting attention. He's such a charming kitty I can't wait for everyone else to meet him. I'm now getting to my favorite part of the book-making process...the painting!!! It's where the magic really starts to happen. I created my wall of art, where I hang wires across the walls and hang the book art in order to see how it's all coming together. I then put up the two color pieces shown in the photo below, and while I was talking on the phone the wire came undone. Argh! Down came the two spot pieces! It was not far off the ground, but still, it startled me lol. I'll be using nails for the wire this time instead of tape! I'll also post photos of the wall as I progress through the book.

The bw ink drawing is unfinished - still need to add more books, and of course the watercolors after that!


Tuesday, June 30, 2009

The Quest for Inspiration


Edward Degas

Inspiration is a tricky little bugger. It plays hide and seek, arrives when you least expect it, and leaves without a trace.....sometimes for weeks at a time. If you think your job as an artist is just to paint, draw, and create then boy are you in for a surprise.

Many artists feel alone when they're uninspired. They wonder if others go through the same thing (yes we do) and wonder if other artist's slumps have lasted as long as their own (yes they have). But please take comfort in this fact: losing and gaining inspiration is part of being an artist. It is the ebb and flow of creativity; a natural swing of things that you will continually try to weather and work with.

It's careful balance. Don't push too hard when you're just not inspired, but also take responsibility and try to gain that inspiration back. Reading books about your favorite artists, visiting museums, going for a long walk on a beautiful day, whatever works for you. Sometimes the best thing to do is take a break from drawing and do something completely different for a while. That way you'll return to your desk feeling refreshed (of course don't do that sort of thing when you're on a tight deadline!).

The main point is this: don't let it get you down or scare you. It's just the wave pulling back from the sand for a bit. It always comes back. Believe me, I have to remind myself of that many many times.


Sunday, June 14, 2009

My First Teddy Bear


My first attempt at 3d needle felting. He will look much happier when my niece Emma adopts him--she's visiting today :)

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Illustration Friday Cracked II


Pig sat with his rear stuck tightly in the cannon and listened while the fuse sparkled and cracked. Suddenly there was a big KABOOOOOOOOOOM! He popped out like a buttery ball of dough. The crowd roared their approval.

Illustration Friday: Cracked




This elephant is a little cracked in the head.