Where did the last year go? Here's a Clue...

Well, it's been over a week since her actual birthday, but this picture was done right around then in the ol' sketchbook. Can't believe she's already 1 year old!!

She's very busy and quite the handful, but I'm seeing some opportunity to spend some time on developing that picture book idea previously mentioned. In the meantime, I don't see much opportunity to add much color to this blog - pencil and paper are just so simple and handy. Perhaps when I finish unpacking studio stuff over Easter Vacation, then maybe I can at least locate my colored pencils.

Until then, there'll be lots of baby and dog pictures in pencil.

More babies

You'll probably be seeing a lot of baby and dog sketches these days as I'm building that visual library for my children's book idea. Here are a couple I did quickly today. I think Lindy's legs are too short - there's that proportion thing again. But, I sensed that as I was doing it. Unfortunately, she was moving a bit as she slept, so I was rushing a bit. Still, I think I should take the time to capture the proportion first, details after that.

Anyway, I wanted to get some different angles, perspectives, and practice some details of the face and feet.

Post-Disney Doodles

Just trying to keep the momentum going with the drawing. I really wasn't able to do any drawing at Disneyland like I thought I might. But, I never really had the chance (even waiting with the baby for others to get off of rides). So, I took a bunch of pictures of interesting shapes and architecture to have fun with at a later date.

I did get a couple marks on a page once before being interrupted, so I just came home and doodled with them. Here's the result...fun stuff.

Illustration #5 - I Sorta Took A Shortcut

Ok, I'basically had 1 day to do this last drawing since we're leaving on a family trip tomorrow and my son's going to turn his project in before we leave. Soooooo, rather than redrawing the original sketchbook drawing, I just went over it in ink with very few adjustments. Therefore, I'm now noticing an issue with the position of his legs and foot - not quite right. But oh well...

Do I still have my pouch of ammunition and gunpowder? Yes, I do!

One thing that I'll take away from this little mini-commission is the importance of time management. I need to expect to do multiple drawings for a single illustration - in some cases, probably lots! But, this was fun - hope I get an "A."

Now, it's off to Disneyland. I plan to take the sketchbook as we'll have to take turns waiting with the baby for some of the rides - I'm guessing she won't make the height requirement for Space Mountain.

4 Down - 1 To Go

Illustration #4, again, would be a decent 1st draft. I like the proportions of the foreground figure (for the most part). But, there are several things that I would adjust if I had time to do it again.

He got up to the shed and almost screamed as he almost walked right into the path of an armed guard. But, he realized the guard was asleep.

As I'm rapidly running out of time - we leave for Disneyland tomorrow afternoon - I'm working even more quickly and letting things go that I normally might spend more time on. But, I still have one more drawing to do, laundry to put away, suitcases to pack, dogs to bathe...

Short Story Illos #2 & #3

I managed to knock out a couple more illustrations over the last couple days AND still get some dishes done.

#2 was a quick one since it's a distance shot - little detail to worry about. I wish I hadn't used the thicker pen in the background trees, creating that darker line. Should've just stuck with a thin line, atmospheric value. Oh well...

One day on the farm, when Jake and his brother were plowing the fields...

#3 there are aspects of this that I really like, however the proportion thing is still a bit of a struggle. The table is too short and so the soldier looks at bit cramped under it. Also, the boy is a bit too young looking - proportions seem to work BUT they fit a younger age than I intended.

The recruiter was a Colonial Regular and had obviously been in many battles for he had scars on his face and a bandage around his head.

I actually have one more almost completely done - just not photographed. One more to go. I'm getting a little less meticulous as I really only have one or two more days to work on them. Wish I had time to add a watercolor wash!

Illo #1 and Lessons Learned

Working on the illos for my son's short story has been quite educational. While it's not a "real" illustration commission, it's given me a sense of what working on a job might be like. I've completed a few drawings in pen/ink. One of them is shown here (critiques welcome):

Suddenly the laughter at the table stopped for everyone was curious about what Jake had to say.

I'm not 100% thrilled about this picture. I started with this one and it's probably the most difficult of the 5. There are several people of different ages - requiring different proportions. They are all seated around a dinner table - requiring lots of "clutter" among the people and lots of legs beneath. I didn't have anything to look at, so I just had to work it out in my head (I did have my son model the hands for "Jake").

This has been very eye-opening, and I've learned many things about the whole process. Such as...

1) Make sure you have lots of time before the deadline to do - and redo - and redo - until you're totally satisfied.

2) This will be the final product for his assignment, but it's really just a 1st draft (after those sketchbook studies) of the entire composition. Now, I see all kinds of issues that I would change if I were to be doing this for a publisher.

3) I have a tendency to shorten legs - one of those proportion issues - but I've dealt with that a little better in drawings 2 and 3 (to be shown later).

4) Lighting is a bit of a mystery to me - I would have liked to enhance this image with effects of the lighting they would have had during that era (candles). But, I didn't have time to explore that and I would prefer to have something to directly observe.

5) Historical fiction is not my 1st choice of genre to illustrate - certainly not with a 1 week deadline! It's another layer added to the illustration - having to think of period correctness of costumes and props. More to think about and research.

My First Illustration Job!

Well, Ok...my son asked me to do some illustrations for a short story he did for his English class.

My first thought was "No - it's your project." But, I talked to the teacher who said students were allowed to have outside help on the illustrations. And, my son has always been the type who would rather have dental work done than do anything arts/crafts.

So, I thought it would be a good learning moment for me - translating text into 5 illos. Now, I have less than a week to do it (and I still have to be a mom and homeschool teacher), so they won't be the quality I'd send into a publisher. But, it's still good practice nonetheless.

The story is about the Revolutionary War. So, these are some sketches I've done, just practicing figures and costumes. Luckily, I have LOTS of books about this period in history among all my homeschool resources. A couple of figures are pretty close copies to some in a Revolutionary War coloring book (disclaimer in case you recognize them). Of course, I won't be using those figures - the rather stiff-looking General (above) I copied for warm-up and for the uniform. The woman (below) I used for the pose (her face and hair are different, and she was holding a long canon ramrod in the original - not waving). Hmmm, now that I see her on the screen, her head looks too small for her body - YIKES!

Anyway, this is a rather serious story so I'm trying not to make the figures too "kiddy cartoony" - that's my goal anyway.

Babies and Dogs

One thing that's sweet about having a very young child and a dog is that the picture book ideas just reveal themselves as you watch them interact. I've got a couple that I think might be worth pursuing. So, today I was motivated to start doing more sketches of Lindy while she's still small. I want to catalog a lot of different poses for when I have time to work on a book.




She happened to be napping on the floor this afternoon (hey - if she's sleeping well where she's at...). I liked the angle I could see from my spot on the couch - a little foreshortening. Unfortunately, I didn't work small enough to fit in the foot that was hanging out of the blanket. But, I was happy with how it came together since I was working really quickly - you never know how long she's going to stay still (even when she's sleeping). The other sketches were done really quickly since she was awake - hard to get the right proportions!

I'll be sketching the dog, too.

Finds at the Bookstore...and some much-needed color on this blog!

As we get closer to the date of store closure, I've found a couple little gems among the picture books on the shelf. I remember seeing a couple of them when they arrived, but they're a little smaller in size and, I think, got a little lost among the bigger books.

Anyway, I picked up "Binky the Space Cat" by Ashley Spires. I just loved this little cat and it's plushy pal. I'm not normally a fan of the graphic novel, but I really like the characters and the way this one's done! I tend to enjoy the limited color palette and the - very artfully done!

Another find is "Red Ted and the Lost Things" written by Michael Rosen and Illustrated by Joel Stewart. Again, it's a creative approach to the graphic novel/picture book. I like the bright, well-defined characters set against the muted background.

The third book I brought home last night was "Sky Tree" illustrated by landscape painter Thomas Locker. It's simply shows a tree as a changes throughout the year with 14 BEAUTIFUL paintings and limited text.

I hope to be able to add MY OWN color to this blog soon, but I still have to dig some of my supplies out of boxes from the move. Maybe now that the holidays are over, things will settle down a little. Of course, we start back to school on Monday...oh well.

Illustration Friday: "Pioneer"

I know - not very original. But, it's all I've got right now.

Illustration Friday: "Crunchy"

"FEE-FI-FO-FUM- I smell the blood of an Englishman" (Mmmmm! Nice and crunchy they are, too!)

This happened to be a doodle that I'd recently started and it worked out quite nicely. But, since it started as a random doodle, there're some things that I would do differently - better center the image so it fits on the page, mainly. I think I'd like to redo this one for the portfolio and maybe add a watercolor wash.

I didn't think I would have time to really work on this. But in the warm comfort of my car during the soccer tournament this weekend as the baby napped for over an hour, I was able to make a lot of progress. Gotta love those long naps!

Animals...and the End of a Sketchbook

I really appreciate this family image.

I really enjoy drawing these animals - it's so much easier now. Not because my skills are so much better than when I was in college (although there has been improvement). It feels more psychological than anything else. It's a lot easier to relax and enjoy when you're not rushed by deadlines or have grades looming over every project.

Anyway, this set of drawings brings me to the end of my sketchbook. I started it about 10 years ago and this is its last page. I've filled other sketchbooks in the meantime. I set it aside many years ago when I was doing other types of art and little-to-no drawing. I found it and its many empty pages when I finished my last sketchbook (musn't be wasteful).

A whole book of blank pages awaits...

Some Animal Studies

It's been a while since I've done this, but I've done a few more animal studies on my break at work.

There's a face that only a mother could love.

Illustration Friday: "Blur"

"...what happened next was just a blur."

This was another doodle from the sketchbook that I was playing with at the soccer field last weekend. Although I wasn't going for a repeat of an earlier picture, once I had the worm image developing, it only seemed logical to put in a bird. So, I'm re-posting the other - more whimsical - worm/bird picture called "An Invitation to Dinner." As you can see, the new one is a bit more ominous.

I like to see different approaches to similar ideas. In fact, that would be a fun exercise.