Introducing: Ratty Rhymes

While working on Vulture Verses there was always talk about doing a sequel book, but it was never for sure and couldn't be committed to. After dropping hints, begging, and pleading -- ok, maybe not very much at all -- we finally got the word in September from the publisher that they COULD commit to a second book! (I knew they would all along...hehe)

So with MUCH excitement, this is my official announcement that the sequel book to Vulture Verses is Ratty Rhymes! Coming Fall 2013, published by Prospect Park, with more fun and educational poems by the wonderful Diane Lang, and illustrated by me, of course! This book will be mostly bugs that live on or in the ground, but also the oh so cute mouse and rat!

I will be posting a few sketches as they are developed but for now, here is my sketch for the front cover. I hope you are as excited as I am, but I highly doubt it. :)

More news and announcements coming soon...

Sketch Progress for New Book Project

Back in September (that was a long time ago!) I started on a new book project, now titled Dimplemeyer's Design, that was put aside for awhile during the holidays so I could finish some other projects with more strict deadlines. Fortunately for me, the author of this book was gracious enough to allow me to take a break. Now I'm back on the project working on the final sketches before I start painting. Here's the evolution of one of the sketches from thumbnail to (almost) final sketch. I will be posting a few more in the next few weeks.

Thumbnail sketch just to get the gist of the narrative and idea.

Slightly more developed sketch with atmosphere and detail in the character. The stereotypical gesture of the character isn't doing it for me. But sometimes you just need to get it out of your system. That's what sketches are for.

Setting the composition. Still not satisfied with the character's actions...

Tight, detailed sketch fixing a lot of problems with proportion, composition, narrative, etc. Now the character is holding a dying flower which recalls an earlier event and also holds some symbolism in the story. (Hurray for symbolism!)

That's as far as I've gotten so far on this sketch. Next is to add value/lighting, and color before I can move on to the final painting. I'll need to finish all the sketches before I can do any painting, so that wont be for awhile. Plus I will be taking a month off to backpack through Europe with my husband (WOOHOO!) so that will put a hold on things even more. This book WILL be finished this fall (I'm determined!) and hopefully published shortly after. But we'll see how things play out. More to come!

Project Sketches

Here are a few sketches for the projects I'm working on. Can't reveal too much, but here a few character studies for a story someone is self-publishing. It's more of a classic fairytale type story. The second book is what I am doing for Prospect Park Books in Pasadena. These animal sketches probably wont be in the book, so it's fine to post. But I thought they were so cute, I wanted to at least post them so they didn't just sit in my sketchbook forever. More to come!

Book Cover - Ghost Tales

Just finished a Book Cover for a client. This is probably one of the easiest projects I've done in awhile. The client had no complaints about the sketches or the final painting, so there were no revisions! Now those are the kinds of projects I like!!

As always, I did a sketch and added some values in Photoshop. This time, however, I did some underpainting values...which I never do. It really helped! I'm going to make it part of my process because it makes the painting go faster in the long run.

The book will be released sometime around September as an eBook only. I don't know many more details other than that. But look for it soon!

Gloria The Ostrich

Here is a sketch for one of the characters in my next children's book. Gloria is a performer in the circus, and her special talent is Hula-Hooping while riding a unicycle! It's pretty amazing! She also has a thing for feet and only speaks in idioms. Her favorite phrase is to "always put your best foot forward" (her best foot is her right foot). I'm in the final weeks of school and there is still a lot to be done to finish my book....so why am I spending my time posting something instead of drawing?....that's a great question!!

Character Sketches

While I wait for the paint to dry on my next project I guess I could post something. Here are some character designs for a new project I'm working on with a friend. It has kind of been put on hold for awhile, but I'm still very excited to finish it at some point. Hmm...I think the paint is dry! Back to work! Enjoy!

Fishy

Sometimes you are inspired by the most unlikely and random things in everyday life. This is a result of that experience. I saw the faint shapes of this little fishy on a steamy mirror in the bathroom and he just had to be drawn out! Nothing amazing or ground breaking, but just kind of cute.

A Sketch

Something from the sketchbook. Maybe I'll color it...