IF: ADAPT

The Troll is trying to adapt to the changing circumstances by compromising with the two Billy Goats and letting them cross the bridge while waiting to eat the older bigger brother.

I missed last week's IF and missed visiting many of my favorite blogs...I really need to catch up! It was a busy week since we are wrapping up the school year and there's a lot of functions and extra curricular activities for the kids. The next couple of weeks will probably be  just as busy as we try to adapt to the new summer routine. I'm not looking forward to the scorching heat that's for sure!

My goal is to finish, print and bind the Three Billy Goats Gruff dummy book before our summer vacation which is in about a month. It seems like a lot of time, but really with all of the stuff that I have going on, seems a bit unrealistic. Well, nothing like working under pressure!

Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by.

IF: CONTAGIOUS

Poor Timmy, he's home sick with Chicken Pox!

It's a good thing his dog is keeping him company!

I needed a break from my troll and goats.  So I drew this earlier today. I had the idea in my head, but I did not think too much about composition, perspective, etc. If I had to do it over, I would change it some.

YES! I won last week's challenge at Monday Art Day! Please check them out if you haven' done so already. They have some great talent!  I was so surprised. I had not submitted anything in months because of time, and I submitted something last week and it won! It feels great to have a little validation.

I promised I would post the progress I'm making with the Three Billy Goats Gruff dummy. I had an incredibly productive week last week. I am also becoming more familiar with InDesign, which seems to be the software of choice. So long for Quark Xpress! 

There's a couple of spreads that I'm thinking about revising because now that I see them in color, the composition doesn't work as well as it did when I was looking only at the line work. Rather than getting stuck on revisions, I will continue to move forward and do the revisions at the end. -- I'm half way through. Yay!

Comments are always welcome!

This is the middle Billy Goat

IF:PARADE

The Small Billy Goat Gruff was unaware that the Troll was about to rain on his parade. Crossing the bridge would not be so easy!

This is a stretch for this week's IF.  However, I am happy to be making progress on this dummy book. I will be adding the text after I am finished. So the bridge may seem a bit much, but that's where the text is going to be.

I am painting birdhouses at the moment to give myself a break from the troll and goats.

Have a great weekend!

IF: HIERARCHY

The Three Billy Goats Gruff walking in hierarchy.

This is another spread for the BGG book I am working on. I really feel more comfortable with this medium than I did a few weeks ago. I can consistently replicate textures and brushes digitally and I really think it feels very much like my traditional work. I am very pleased with the progress I am making. Now if I can only get my 7 year old epson 3000 stylus printer to print without any lines, then everything would be working as it should!

Have a great weekend!

TODAY MY BLOG IS ONE YEAR OLD

Happy birthday to me and to my blog! It was a year ago that I made the commitment to be creative every week by having a blog and posting my work here. My friend Nicole encouraged me to get blogging!

It was shortly after, that I discovered the wonderful world of children’s illustrations and realized my new path and my new mission in terms of my career. I set a few goals for my self for the one-year term: Create a portfolio, update my web site, create promotional materials and attend a conference to receive feedback. I accomplished all of those goals in about 8 months, so I feel very good about reaching those goals. However, the last year has not been all that easy.

After my conference, I thought my work needed quite a bit of fine-tuning to make it more appealing to publishers, and I’ve been working toward improving my portfolio. My new project is to illustrate a whole book. However, my biggest hurdle the past few months has been time. I’m not sure how many of you could relate, but as a stay at home Mom, balancing career and family is sometimes a daunting task. I’m not saying it is easier for Moms that work out of the house, but I do think it is easier to manage time if you have a block of time where you are ‘just’ working without any distractions and you know your kids are well cared for by someone else. I think it is a challenge to be productive when you have to stop your day numerous times to drop off, pick up, cook, clean, help with homework, play dates, go to activities…this is without including the unexpected illness, hospital visit (which we’ve had 3 this year!) or simply paying bills, holiday gatherings, doctor visits and other tasks to run the house.

Earlier this year I wanted to send out promotional materials to publishers since I know it may be a while before I get a call back, but the thought of actually getting a call back and be given a chance and not be able to fulfill because of my time constrains, stopped me from moving forward.

I have been reminded many times this year that my time is not my own, I have come to the conclusion (this is not the first time either) where I think I need to step back, count my blessings, enjoy my young kids (they are only little once) and wait. The time will come, where I will be able to dive into my work. As long as I remain creative even a little I’m being good to myself… My youngest starts Kinder in 2010, so I do see a light at the end of the tunnel.

I love having a blog, it has allowed me to connect with people that I would other wise have never meet. I have met so many other creative people that have provided kind words of support, inspiration and friendship. It’s been fun!

For this second year, I will enjoy my art, experiment, have fun and continue to refine my portfolio.

 

Thank you all for your continuous visits, comments and friendship. They really touch my heart. It’s Friday! Celebrate my birthday! GO HAVE A DRINK!