The Mice of Cobblestone Lane

Here is an illustration for the story I'm working on with my friend (Same story that the character sketches below are for). Something I need to work on and experiment with it my process of the medium I use. At first, the colored pencil goes on real nice and vibrant but after a few days the whole thing gets kind of faded and it loses it's vibrancy. I think there might be some kind of chemical reaction going on between the paint and the colored pencil....or something...I'm not really sure. I have tried a matte finish to put over, but that didn't really work. I will have to try and experiment with a few more things so my drawings will be preserved well!

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!

Jack and the Beanstalk

Here is an illustration for Jack and the Beanstalk. I wasn't too excited about this assignment at first but I think it is something I could use for my porfolio. I'm pretty satisfied with it! More than I thought I would.

My thumbnail sketch. Just getting the idea down on paper.My first sketch with some value, still working out the narrative.My final sketch/line drawing, ready for for the final drawing.Final illustration! For this project I was trying to focus more on controlling my application of the color. I didn't want everything to be really saturated, which I tend to do a lot.I am also working on improving my values so the focal point is clear. So here is a grayscale I made in Photoshop to check my values. Could use some adjusting in some areas. But that's ok!

Pop-Up

I got to make my own pop-up spread for my children's book class! I assemble them all the time at work, but I have never designed my own from beginning to end. It was very educational and I respect people who make intricate pop-ups because even the most simple things can be complicated. The project was to do an alphabet pop-up (my letter was "I") about a boy who does different magic tricks, sometimes they go wrong and sometimes they work, and they get more and more extravagant as you go through the alphabet.

So I started with a sketch...
Then I did a mock-up of the spread to get the mechanics right and make sure it opened and closed without catching on itself or ripping. (Definitely not as easy as it sounds!!) I used a heavy card stock paper so it would hold up. Regular paper is too flimsy.
Finally, I did all the final drawings, painted the background and each of the pieces of the pop-up, scanned them into the computer, printed them on thick paper, and assembled everything! This was the first time I used just acrylic paint for a project. I kind of like it, I think I will do more with it. The photo certainly doesn't have the same effect as the actual pop-up...it just doesn't "jump out at you" like the real thing...who knew!?...I'm pretty satisfied with the finished product. A few things didn't turn out the way I expected, but that's ok! It was still fun!

Writer's Block

I need to get off my block and write some stories! I suppose it's just like artist's block, but I feel more confident getting off my artist's block because I'm an artist! I know it will pay off...with writer's block I don't have as much motivation to get past the block because I'm not a great writer. Sometimes I like just hanging out on my writers block...

Learning Something New Every Day

The time I have spent in college has been more helpful to me than I can even imagine. But I hope some day I will realize it completely. I have one more semester of school and I don't want it to end. I love learning and practicing art in a school setting. I love learning methods, techniques, and concepts from professors that I trust and admire. However, once school ends, that is not the end of my learning. I should look at it as a chance to take everything I have learned in school, and use it!...and then learn something from that. School is not necessary to learn about art or to do it well....a passion in your heart, a desire to know more and understand, and an eagerness and drive to explore and discover new things is what is necessary. Besides, even when school is done, and I have my degree....that doesn't mean I can't take art classes for fun! In fact, that is my plan! So....I will stop worrying about leaving school and just think of it as a chance to learn something new.

Today I realized how much I have learned in school as I have studied art. I did a little sketch of an owl just the other day and remembered another owl sketch I did awhile back...a little over a year, actually. There is quite a difference! But certainly, there is still much to learn and room to grow!

Commissioned Caricature

Well, hello! I feel like I haven't posted anything in a long time! This holiday season has been very eventful in good and bad ways. But lets not get into all that right now. One thing I did was a caricature for a Lieutenant who was retiring. A friend wanted to give it as a gift and asked me to do it for him. Of course, I was more than happy to! It was a lot of fun and I'm pretty satisfied with it, especially since it was my first one! I would love to do more, maybe I'll get more opportunities soon...we'll see!
I started with a rough sketch just to get an idea of how he wanted it to look. Then I made a few changes based upon his requests. Then I did the final inked drawing.Then I scanned it in the computer and colored it! DONE!