Happy Halloween !!!

I woke up this morning to find that my son had re-arranged the paints in my studio. Now he's 3 1/2 and I just found his organizational accuracy and attention to detail almost disturbing! Now, if he would've arranged them by color, maybe then I would have something to worry about.

I had so much fun with my family this week! I usually don't post any pictures of my family, but I couldn't resist!

Here are the pumpkins we carved the day before Halloween. By the way, the electric knives are so worth the money! It makes carving the pumpkin so much easier!

Now these are some shots during trick or treating. I really liked the ghostly effect of the pictures!

My daughter dressed as a horse and my son as a firefighter

Illustration Friday: Repair

This teddy is beyond repair!

I used this for another IF, but it seemed to work. However, here's some of my latest work:

I have been working on completing a few pieces for my portfolio... 

This is a little mouse I sketched on an  evening while watching T.V.

This week I'll be busy with Halloween parades, parties, cupcakes, trick or treating and more! On that note, here's a piece I just finished to complete a character study that I started a while back:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!

Thaks for stoping by... comments are always welcomed!

New Logo

This is a logo I recently created for a local furniture design place. It was fun to work on graphic design for a change!

Sketch :: Kids Running

This is a work in progress. I am not sure yet if I will paint it or not.  As I look at my portfolio I see that I may need more 'action' pieces, and this may be one that I include. I also need some adults. I'm realizing that most of my work is children... I guess I just love children!

I have one character study, but that may be the next thing I tackle ... a character study of an animal...maybe...

I've had a ton of ideas and not enough time! I've been writing my ideas down, not even having the time to sketch them. I guess it's better to have ideas, than to be wondering what to do next, right?

Illustration Friday: Late

This boy is upset because his play-date is late and he was looking forward to racing cars on his special race track!

Let's hope the other boy shows up!

Illustration Friday: Strings

This week I'm submitting a quick black and white sketch with gouache for illustration Friday. I have been on the road a lot and away from my studio, so I've only had time for sketches or graphite work. I miss my paints, but I really enjoy pencils.

This little girl was inspired by my oldest daughter. 

About portfolios

I am 5 months into my 1 year timeline of being ready to send out my work to publishers etc. I think I am making great progress and know I will be ready, (my one big dilemma for next year is  whether or not I will really have the time to dive into projects with my current family obligations...humm?) 

I am planning on attending the Miami conference in January to get feedback on my portfolio, but I first need to make enough WOW pieces to assemble it. Since the holiday season is starting to ramp up, I know I won't have much time at the end of the year. I have been doing some research on how to assemble a portfolio and what to include etc.

I wanted to share some links I found that may be helpful to others in a similar situation. Also, if you are a professional illustrator reading this and want to share some of your thoughts about assembly, or anecdotal experience, please leave a post below.

Some of the articles below were written recently and some a few years back, but I found that most had many similarities. Most agreed on showing small portfolios, dividing the work by styles if you show different styles, creating a logo for yourself, showing no more than 15 pieces, and the most important element....only show your best work!

I am also on the market for a good small portfolio case, if you have any suggestions please let me know! - What do you think of leather cases vs. aluminum cases?

• Heather Castles - How to build an illustration portfolio
  
• How to be a Children's Book Illustrator - Blog
• Art and Illustration Community  Creating a Portfolio by Ingmar Zahorsky
• Self-Promotion for Illustrators by Phyllis Pollema
  

Illustration Friday: Sugary

I worked on this drawing a little while ago and I thought the boys 'sugary smile' was perfect for this week. Happy October!!

IF update and portfolio

I had some time last weekend and played around with my original illustration to see if I could get it to a point where I was happy with it without changing it completely. My basic problem was that the main characters (the ants) were a little lost. (see previous post) There seemed to be a lot more going on around them. I wasn't sure if the problem was the color or the overall composition. I used someone's suggestion about making the flower green, and it was a bit better, but the overall foliage still overpowered the ants. I brightened up the ants, but the big cupcake was still a major visual point, and I did not want to make the cupcake darker or more dull because, well, it's a cupcake, it needs to look yummy!

My final change was to crop the image focusing in on the ants, and I think this is a stronger piece than the original. I am still not sure if I will add it to my portfolio.

Speaking of portfolios, I have been thinking about mine quite a bit lately.  I have been thinking about how to assemble it and what pieces to put in it. Do people still use leather cases? I also think I need some good black and white or graphite pencil pieces in there.  I have read the artist portfolio 101 and think I have a little bit of everything.  However, if you have any suggestions or links please share them here.