Sketch for one of the SCBWI Draw This challenges.
Gift Book Cover
All grown up, leaving home and venturing out into the world…
The Pied Piper Strikes Again
The Pied Piper has come to Antarctica…
In this sketch I’m focusing on depth (the z axis) and building an environment. To see the final art, visit my Children’s Work portfolio.
infant and toddlers
Working on a sketch for a black and white spot illustration. I imagine this is how Bonnie first met Clyde.
Here’s the final art:
Cave
This bear would do anything for fresh honey…
Tiny Dancer
This week I’ve been working on a new character design. Meet Claire, the tiny dancer. She loves to dance. It’s hard work, but she doesn’t mind. Just don’t interrupt her performance…
Experimenting: Various Medium Studies
Exploring style:
I took an existing image from my portfolio and started with small quick (5-10 minutes) studies. I wanted to see what mediums played well together and which weren’t so friendly. It was a lot of trial and error. I did about 25 quick studies in total. #1-4 are examples of quick studies.
I tried everything in my supply closet, which is a lot. I liked the way water-soluble wax pastels, oil pastels and charcoal were getting along (see #3). I explored those mediums further on illustration board (see #5). I started with charcoal but moved to an 8B graphite pencil. (Did you know that an 8B graphite pencil will draw over oil pastels?)
Time take things a bit further… In studies #6-7, I started to play around with different textures. #6 has a color pencil background and oil pastel foreground. #7 is done in gauche paints. Both are on illustration board.
Working a bit larger allowed me to loosen up a bit.
…And here’s the final portfolio piece! Overall, this was a fun exercise. It got me to loosen up a bit and try new mediums and techniques.
Childhood Memory
When I was as young as two and a half years old, my mom started giving me home perms on our kitchen counter. It didn’t matter how big a fuss I threw. My mother was determined I have curly hair. Here’s the sketch I created based on that memory.
And for those of you who are curious, here’s the outcome. Enjoy!
New Animal Characters
This past week I’ve been flushing out sketches for 10 new animal characters…
Dancing Cats!
Ever wonder where your cat sneaks off to in the evening? Hint: They rumba in the park after dark.
