Happy Holidays!!!

Illustration Friday: Stripes | Free Coloring Page

This is both my entry for Illustration Friday and a Free Coloring page. You may print it and color away!

If you have some time, stop by Once Upon A Sketch. We are a group of illustrators offering tips, news and other related industry information to our community.

FREE COLORING PAGE: GHOST

Just in time for Halloween. Enjoy this freebie!

Puss in boots, The movie: Trailer

Dreamworks is releasing their spin off Sherk film, Puss in Boots this weekend. I always find animated films fascinating. Even if the story is not great, I always admire the set design, character development, compositions, action moves, and so many other creative characteristics.  The special effects have gotten so much better over the years. I've seen some movies where I'm in awe over the details such as the hair, or wind, or feathers.


I'm sure I'll enjoy this next film...

October Mailer - Illustration Process

This is the second mailer we as a group created over at Once Upon A Sketch and the second time I create a video documenting my process. It still has not background sound, but I slowed it down a bit from my last one. I’m trying to keep them short. I still start all my drawings with pencil and paper and then scan the drawing and work from it. Sometimes I make adjustments in Photoshop by making some characters bigger or smaller, or moving them around to make the composition more interesting. The video shows how I take the final sketch and color it. I hope you enjoy the video.

And here’s a picture of the final piece.

Magician's Hat with Bunnies

Good old fashion colored pencils!

FREE COLORING PAGE: Leprechaun

Feeling lucky this week!

Click on the image to print and color. Enjoy!

*Please respect copyright. The pages above are approved for personal use only.

iPad, Adobe Ideas, Bamboo Stylus = Tips and Tricks

I recently discovered a new tool that is becoming my favorite tool to draw digitally, especially to create coloring pages.

I’ve had an iPad for over a year and in all honesty, I never used it much. It seemed to me as a larger version of the iPhone, and the iPhone is just easier to carry around.

I had heard about the various stylus for the iPad, and after reading a post on Dani Jones website, I decided to give it a try. I ordered the Bamboo Stylus from Wacom from Amazon.com for $30.00. I took 2 months to arrive because it was on back order.

Once the Bamboo Stylus arrived, I discovered a new love for the iPad. It felt so natural to drag and swipe with it. I downloaded Adobe Ideas for $4.99 and bought the layers add on for $.99. The software is so intuitive and easy to use. The stylus makes it so comfortable to draw and have that eye hand coordination that is not easy to get with the tablet on the computer. It was amazing how in less than 1 hour I had finished the drawing below. I should clarify, that it was more of an inking job, since I had brought in a sketch I had done a while back. It has an auto correct feature, so even if your strokes seem to go a little gagged, it auto corrects them and smoothes them out. You can vary the width of the pencil and eraser, play with opacity, change colors and zoom in and out. Yes, there are some limitations, but as far as creating a quick black and white graphic, it works great!

If you are wondering how to transfer files from and to the iPad, there’s another really cool tool/website called Dropbox. Once you create and account you can put files in a folder and share them with any computer/device. I downloaded the Dropbox app for the iPad and immediately had access to files in my folder. I then saved the images to the photo library in the iPad and then brought them in to Adobe ideas. The greatest feature is Adobe ideas’ own PDF export. Basically you email the file and it attaches the graphic as a fully editable PDF.

This is another drawing/ coloring sheet I created on Adobe ideas.

Adobe ideas will definitely increase my productivity and the iPad is now my new digital doodling/sketchbook tool.

Giraffe Digital Painting : Process Video

I have been talking with some fellow illustrators about recording some of our drawing sessions and posting them online for those curious to see how we work.

Well, I finally got around to it. Sorry, there's no sound to it. I'm not narrating my work for now. I'm not sure I'm ready to broadcast my voice yet. I hope you enjoy it.



and the final drawing...

FREE COLORING PAGE : Tomato

Click on the image to print and color. Enjoy!

*Please respect copyright. The pages above are approved for personal use only.

PROMOTIONAL ILLUSTRATION POST CARDS

The Fall 2011 promotional postcards are in the mail! What a huge undertaking and a big sigh of relief! Even though this card is for the Fall, it's theme is not season related. I had been wanting to work on a mermaid for a while, and thought this would be the perfect opportunity.

This time I expanded my mailing list and was able to reach over 250 publishers. Crossing Fingers!

FRONT

BACK

Don't forget to check out the giveaway I have going on for a few more days...

FREE COLORING PAGE: BROCCOLI

Don't miss out the chance to win the giveaway of myMemories Digital Scrap booking Software. Click below for all the de

tails.

Click on the image to print and

color. Enjoy!

*Please respect copyright. The pages above are approved for personal use only.

FREE COLORING PAGE : PEAR

Don't miss out the chance to win the giveaway of myMemories Digital Scrap booking Software. Click below for all the de

tails.

Click on the image to print and

color. Enjoy!

*Please respect copyright. The pages above are approved for personal use only.

My Memories Review and Giveaway

What an amazing find! I came across this very easy to use and cool digital scrapbooking software and I had to share it with everyone. I usually keep my posts to illustration related stuff, but when I tried the MyMemories Suite v2 software and noticed how easy it was to use, and how many incredible and creative templates and themes it had, I had to blog about it. Besides, I love giveaways!


When my kids were first born I had the creative impulse to document their life in scrapbooks. I bought a ton of tools and used my graphic design abilities to create very interesting layouts. I quickly realized that it was very time consuming and as much as I wanted to scrapbook, my time was too limited, and I was slowly falling behind. Now that I have MyMemories Suite v2 I plan on doing a lot more scrapbooking.

It comes with over 1500 background papers, 1300+ embellishments, 20 new templates, a resource gallery that lets you drag and drop pictures, embellishments, shapes, backgrounds directly onto your layout. There is also a wizard to help you assemble your book quickly and easily.
This product is so easy to use, that I downloaded it, installed it in 5 minutes, and it only took me ½ hour to create the 5 pages below by using the theme templates. Cropping, resizing, moving, and deleting objects was so intuitive!










It is well worth the $39.97 investment, but wait… you could get it for FREE here by entering this giveaway.

Here’s how you can enter to win:
(Each entry requires a separate comment)

MANDATORY
1. Visit My Memories and comment back here with your favorite digital paper pack or layout.

EXTRA
2. Follow My Memories blog.
3. "Like" My Memories on Facebook.
4. Follow My Memories on Twitter.
5. Follow Edrian Thomidis Illustration.

This giveaway will run through Friday September 9th at 11:59 p.m. The winner will be announced on Saturday, September 10th.

It will be YOUR responsibility to check back and see if you've won.


If you can’t wait, or you end up not winning, you can use coupon code STMMMS81019 for a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value!

Good Luck!

Illustration Friday: Disguise

It has been a while since I participated in Illustration Friday, but this week's topic fit perfectly with something I had just started working on. I hope you enjoy it!
Also check out my groups blog OnceUponASketch.

FREE Coloring Page. Dancing Squirrel

Week 7 Collabo Coloring Sheet-Edrian and Wilson

This was posted a while back on my group blog. Make sure you visit it for more FREE coloring sheets. A free downloadable coloring sheet/digital stamp for this week! A new collaboration from the "Once Upon A Sketch" Group. Edrian Thomidis and Wilson Williams, Jr.! Edrian provided the initial sketch and Wilson did the finishing inks. Enjoy!

Back to School. In color

This is my version on the Back to School coloring sheet I posted earlier this month all in color.

Keep Germs to Yourself. Sneeze in your Arm and Wash Your Hands.

Kids go back to school, and in a matter of minutes are exposed to countless germs! Nowadays, schools teach kids to sneeze in their arm or in a tissue and dispose of the tissue. They should also wash their hands afterwards to prevent the spread of disease.

Here are two free coloring page/digital stamps.
Click on the image to print and color.

*Please respect copyright. The pages above are approved for personal use only.

Free Coloring Page - Back to School

It's time to think about going back to school. Enjoy this free coloring page/digital stamp.
Click on the image to print and color.

Promo Process - June Mailer.

I know I had shared this piece on an earlier post, but now that I can openly share that this was OnceUponaSketch's first mailer as a group, I can also tell you a bit more about the process.

As a group we decided on the theme of mythical creatures and I wanted to focus on a Unicorn. The design of the postcards was pre-selected and we all had to work within a specific format.
Below are a few images that highlight my process.




I start with a sketch (not shown), which I then clean up, and use as my final art line once I scan it (first image). I then add color, shadows, and all other details (image 2). I wanted to use a soft palette that would complement the light colors of the Unicorn, but wanted to balance it out with some splash of color shown on the flowers and fairy dresses. I also wanted to give the right shading to the Unicorn to balance the dark eye, but without taking away from the movement of the piece. This last part was a bit more challenging and I used the “call a friend” card. I asked my peers and they were able to help me get the right balance.


Tip: Another tool that I use constantly as I’m working is the saturation tool, and I usually have it as a separate layer. It allows me to see that I have a good tonal value throughout the composition (image 3).

Illustration Friday - Remedy

Hopefully he'll feel better soon...

New Short Visual Story in Black and White - Flip Book Style - Enjoy!

I recently added a short visual story to my website showing a morning routine scene with a dog like creature as the main character. I hope you enjoy it. Hide / Show FlipBook

 

Hide Flip Book

Introducing Once Upon a Sketch

We all know that great feeling we get when we belong. Well, I belong to a group now and not just any group but an illustration group.
YES!!! I am now part of Once Upon A Sketch. A new illustrator collective, master-minded by the very creative Wilson Williams Jr. with the idea to promote our individual talents and also to reach out to other illustrators in the community by providing useful information through our group blog.

There are four members in the group: Norm Grock, Aja Wells, Wilson Williams and myself. Please take the time to visit our website, get to know us and follow our new group blog. There will be lots of interesting stuff posted regularly.

IF:Beginner

Beginner's Guide to Middle School. At least that what you think of with the book "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". I watched the movie and it got me thinking about characters.

The sketches above are some of the characters I drew to depict a variety of personalities and ethnicities in Middle School.

Life has been hectic, so I hope to get it in color sometime before the summer. In the mean time, your comments and suggestions are welcome!

I'll be making an exciting announcement in the next coming weeks, so stay tuned!

Experiment

I recently experimented with a new style. It was not intentionally, but more accidentally. I had an image in my head that I had to put down on paper and execute and in the process I realized that it had nothing to do with my current style. After questioning my own style direction for a while, i embraced this new image as just an experiment and a way to dabble into something a little different, more Middle Grade oriented.

As an artist, I am always trying to refine my craft but also aware of the pitfalls of not having a consistent style, so it is a tricky balance to allow yourself the room to experiment, learn new techniques that allow you to grow as an artist, but maintaining that clear undeniable signature that defines your style.

In any case, I thought I'd share the original image here, and also the version I later modified to match my current style.

New Promotional Piece

This is my new promotional piece which will be going out before my birthday I hope.

Random girl images

Illustration Friday : Stir

I had a chance to create a new sketch for illustration Friday. I went to the Zoo with my kids a while back and really wanted to draw some Zoo animals. This Giraffe is happy to stir some cake batter.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is a drawing my 8 year old made for her Valentine Cards.

Nothing like seeing your kids develop their own talent!

Enjoy your Valentine!

Updated illustration of boy riding a flyiing dragon

Updated illustration...Horse stable

Updated illustration for Animal Birthday Party

This is probably the 3rd rendering of this idea. It is amazing how much perspective you can gain from taking a break and coming back with a renewed and fresh view on things. I can say that 2010 was a growth year for me. I really struggled with my style. As much as I thought I had it figured out, I still felt the line weight and eyes were a bit forced and made the illustrations more stiff. Somewhere between the pencil and the inking, I was loosing the fluid feel of the drawing. My thoughts were confirmed when I had a very candid email exchange with an agent that represents very accomplished illustrators.

I have tweaked some of my past illustrations to make this small modification while keeping all the work consistent. I've gone back to working only with pencil and skipping the inking process. As of today, I am quite pleased with the work. Of course, that won't last for ever since it is only natural to keep evolving and changing as an artist.

I'll post some of the other revisions later this week.

Illustration of girl playing with dog

This is another finished illustration from last week's drawing session.

Mother holding phone and groceries. Illustration update

Here's the final digital illustration. Last week I was able to have a long drawing session. This is one of the drawings from that session that I colored in Photoshop. I'll be posting the others later this week.

Mom Carrying Groceries on the Phone ... illustration in progress

From the Sketchbook

One of my 2011 goals is to draw more often. To draw anything, just for fun and without purpose. it could be a small doodle or a character, or whatever. Ideally, I would like to sketch once a day. I haven't quite been able to draw every day, but pretty close. Here's some of the sketches from last week...

Illustration Friday: Dusty

Nothing like a bad fall to end up all dusty!

The Finished Owl and Lemmings

Here's the final piece. I'm very pleased with the mood lighting I was able to create with the sun peaking through the trees. Now let's hope this owl gets the message to the right critter!

Something I'm working on...