I have a illustration spread published in this month’s issue of Chirp magazine (June ’13). It was a very fun piece to do (as all these busy, festival pieces are)! Challenges with this project was working out the rough on my laptop and Wacom tablet (verses my desktop and Cintiq), and deciding from what angle to best depict the boats, festival goers and fireworks. Below is the cover and spread, from afar:
The first page:
And bits and pieces at random:
This came in my mail yesterday–tear sheets! This was an illustration I did under the category of “editorial”. I enjoy this side of the business as I get to put my brain to work in a little bit different way in that I’m illustrating for adults, not children. The article itself is a nice read, about making your plans, but God directing your course (Proverbs 16:9 stuff, pretty much). I was happy with how this turned out. And I was drawing this at a time when Barbara Johansen Newman was promoting her latest book, Glamorous Glasses around the internet. I love her work, and so I wanted to add some “glamorous glasses” to my character, too!
I found this illustration I did up on the Highlights For Children‘s website the other day, and realized I’d forgotten about it:
(Copyright Highlights For Children)
It’s the illustration for a poem by Marileta Robinson. Can’t say I’ve ever had hot pickles! Have you? The little girl certainly is enjoying it, but not without some tears–albeit happy ones!
It’s been a while since I’ve participated in Illustration Friday. It’s kind of a challenging prompt “Tribute”. Yesterday I was working outdoors and was thinking, it would be a nice “tribute” to spring to sketch a leaf. We are FINALLY seeing spring in these parts. With a series of 70-plus degree temperatures, spring has been just busting out all over!
When you sketch a leaf or flower, you notice things you wouldn’t when you admire it from afar, and the bulk of leaves on a tree. So I was appreciating how this leaf and the flower near it was constructed, the number of blades, the structure of the veins, the number of petals and pistols. I noticed, too, that I started impatiently to draw it, but quickly settled down to enjoy the process. And I’m so used to drawing on the computer, once I had the line drawing, I wanted to preserve that and make multiple copies to colorize, always having the original line drawing. Funny how that is. Oh, and what kind of tree is this…? I’m not sure, but the leaf looks like it might be a Maple of some sort.
Maybe this will encourage me to start sketching again. It’s been a long time.
Happy May, everybody! I’m working this week on some black and white images for a client’s curriculum (below). Fun stuff!
This week’s work on the drawing board. All are works-in-progress and at the rough stage. A range of styles keeps things fresh!
Thankfully, spring looks like it’s making it’s appearance. I see buds on trees, I spotted some bulbs sprouting, temps are on the rise…and most of the snow is melting away. I soon may be able to put the parka away for good!
Below are some segments of illustrations I did this year for a poster about reading books. You can read a book anywhere, dontcha know!
(copyright Highlights For Children)
What do these things have in common? Nothing, really. Other than they are things I’ve been drawing the studio as of late. Below are just a sampling of illustrations that have been on my drawing board recently. Fun stuff, drawing octopuses getting married. Heh.
Something different–and quick: Illustration mixed with photos.
Some fun with softer, less cartoony bunny images for Easter cards.
And so I shall round out the week with more rabbits. Or bunnies. Either/or. And a rabbit/bunny pattern, to be exact.
Making patterns is enjoyable, I find, though that is an exercise I pretty much do on my own time, for my own projects. It’s a completely different approach to creating something visual. Whereas I’m usually doing something that creates or enhances a story, to just simply take an image–and related images–and play with juxtaposition, alignment, color, texture, etc., has a very liberating quality to it. No need to weave a narrative. I am free to just enjoy the design.
A quicky warm-up for Illustration Friday. What a fun topic! So many ways to go with this. And I’m keeping the Easter theme going.
Check out all the other submissions at Illustration Friday.
I love this pink bunny.
