Illustration Friday: “Warning”
“Although they received a warning, Ernie and Eddie continued to misbehave and were given a Time Out.”
Just had to do a cute- fuzzy-animal- illustration this week 
Illustration Friday: “Layer” (and musings about hot press vs. cold press watercolor papers)
I thought this process is fitting for this week’s Illustration Friday word “layers.” I am in the preliminary stages of drawing a somewhat complex illustration, and above are studies from the larger illo I did to help me decide my approach. The study on the left is created with hot press watercolor paper, and the one on the right is cold press.
I create many of my illustrations and fine art work using cold press. I like the ease of color blending and the richness of color you can achieve. However, the texture sometimes can be a distraction, especially if the illustration is on the small side–the peaks and valleys in the paper are even more apparent. With hot press paper, it is much easier to add details, either with pen, pencil, or finely brushed ink, and there is no texture to distract from the image. However, it is more difficult to work with (for me), as blooms and uneveness in washes are more difficult to avoid. In fact, the study above is probably the most success I’ve had using hot press paper!
I would enjoy feedback and opinions on which is the better way to go with this piece. Thanks for looking!
Illustration Friday: “Surrender”
“And then, at last, he surrendered to the dreams that awaited him.”
I enjoy drawing and painting in black and gray, but being a watercolorist and especially a colorist, I prefer to make my gray by blending French Ultramarine blue and Burnt Sienna to alter the warm and cool tones throughout the piece. It is just more interesting to me than using watered down black ink.
Converting to true grayscale is a simple click in photoshop, and as long as the highlights and shadows are consistent throughout, it will still work for assignments that truly need to be grayscale. Just for comparative purposes, here is a converted version below:
Which one do you like better? I welcome your comments and feedback!
Studio Makeover!
I had a chance between Christmas and New Year’s to do a mini-remodel and reorganization of my art studio. I spent some time thinking about what was working (north light!) and what wasn’t (storage!) and planned accordingly. Here are some before shots (quite embarassing I let it get so bad, really…)
Everything from the bland walls to my collection of children’s books in boxes on the floor (gasp!) was keeping me from being fully focused on my business and art.
After a couple coats of paint and some utility shelving from Home Depot, I made it look like this:
The drafting table was a Christmas gift to myself. It was a great price, is made with real wood, and the glass top allows me to double it as a lightbox (notice the clip lamp I attached under the surface!) 
I have my book collection displayed, with some of my favorites and autographed copies sitting on small easels on the bottom shelf. I think I will soon have to get longer shelves, however.
I have my printer, scanner, and computer on the other side of the space now, away from my paint and water jars (only would have been a matter of time before an accident happened!)
I have a little nook where I keep my oil painting easel and taboret, and can wheel them out whenever I get the urge to use them.
My desk space with shelves for invoice files, expenditures and receivables, and other business documents. Again, AWAY from the paints and water jars!
It’s still a bit of a work in progress. I would like to put up some more artwork and get a better chair for the drafting table, but the bulk of the work is completed. The main thing is I now have an inviting space where I can get much more accomplised.
2010 in review
This is a great WordPress feature, and it’s revving my creative engine for 2011! It’s encouraging to see how well my blog did in it’s first full year. For this coming year, the goal is definitely to share more information to my fellow illustrators. Stay tuned!
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.
Crunchy numbers
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,700 times in 2010. That’s about 4 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 23 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 36 posts. There were 47 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 10mb. That’s about 4 pictures per month.
The busiest day of the year was September 6th with 77 views. The most popular post that day was Illustration Friday: “Dessert”.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were illustrationfriday.com, auralesnjak.com, zero2illo.ning.com, clubhouse.zero2illo.com, and google.com.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for archaeopteryx, owl illustration, sketches of owls, hedgehog, and owl and the pussycat.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
Illustration Friday: “Dessert” September 2010
12 comments and 1 Like on WordPress.com,
SCBWI Conference Part 1: Illustrator Tips August 2010
6 comments
Illustration Friday: “Drifting” June 2009
10 comments
About May 2009
4 comments
Illustration Friday: “Clumsy” January 2010
11 comments
Illustration Friday: “Phenomenon”
It’s been a while since I participated in Illustration Friday, but I had this idea last night and thought it fit the concept nicely. The style is a bit of a departure for me as well, which is refreshing sometimes.
Illustration Friday: “Dessert”
Don’t worry, the mouse is safe and the kittens get a bowl of cream for dessert so they are happy too.
I wanted to take a little break from my usual watercolor illustrations and experiment with a technique that is new to me, cross-hatching with pen & ink. I think it turned out pretty well for my first one. If any of you inkers out there can offer any words of wisdom I’m all ears…just like my lucky little mouse friend here.
Thanks for visiting!
SCBWI Conference Part II: Talented People
It has been just over a month since the SCBWI Summer Conference came to an end, and I wanted to acknowledge just a few of the wonderfully talented and inspirational people that I met there before the memories of the whirlwind weekend begin to cloud:
Kelly Light A talented illustrator in her own right, Kelly is also the founder of “Ripple,” a not-for-profit that raises funds to help the animal victims of the gulf oil spill. Her efforts of coordinating buyers of original art sketch cards and the artists who create them have already raised thousands of dollars. To get involved, please click the link for info.
Molly Hall One of the most sincerely friendly people I’ve ever met, Molly is a YA writer and has a funny, witty and entertaining blog that I highly recommend following.
Heather Powers Heather is a Regional Advisor for the Southwest Texas chapter of the SCBWI. She is a printmaker, jewelry designer, and author, as well as an award-winning illustrator and she took the time to answer so many of my questions during the conference. Thank you Heather!
Jennifer K. Keller I got to know Jennifer during the Illustrator Social on the first night of the Conference. Her illustrations are so lively, and she conveys such wonderful expressions on her animals!
Lea Lyon A published illustrator and watercolor teacher, Lea had a lot to teach me about technique. Her paintings look effortless, something I try to achieve with my own watercolors. Plus, I really enjoyed her company during the Golden Kite Luncheon.
For each of these people, there were many others who I had conversations with between sessions, on the elevator, at the Heart and Soul ball, and all the inbetweens. It was really amazing to be surrounded by 1000+ people who all share the same passion for this industry, and I will always cherish the feeling of being connected to the creativity and energy that is embodied by the members of the SCBWI. I hope to make it next year for the 40th annual conference…maybe I should be working on getting some commissions so that I can pay for it!
Process: “A Dinosaur in my Room” Part I
I have a confession to make. The prior process posts I had–well, posted–were all done after the fact. In other words, I knew how they turned out before I even put up the first sketch. I am going to risk a little more and be braver with this one, because as I post this, I have no idea how its going to turn out. In fact, I haven’t completely decided what medium to use. I have been wanting to experiment with acrylics, but this piece seems to be calling to my watercolorist’s nature. And then, will I paint it on cold press watercolor, like 90% of my other work, or try hot press with colored pencil? I guess we shall see…
I also should mention, feedback is always appreciated. Thanks!
Illustration Friday: “Double”
My IF is a little late this week, but I’ve been very busy getting ready for the SCBWI conference happening this weekend, and I had to finish another piece before I got to this one (which, by the way, I completed in 14 hours in 1 day–I’m pretty proud of that!) I am happy that I was able to turn out one more portfolio piece before I exhibit my “collection” at the conference. I am thinking it may need a little bit more refining with some highlights, but overall I’m pretty pleased with the atmosphere.
My next post will be a recap of the SCBWI International Conference Extravaganza, from the viewpoint of me, a conference newbie, so come back next week!
