..and OFF I GO!

The day is finally here, when I leave for the so awaited SCBWI Regional Conference to be held in Miami. I will post about the conference next week after the holiday. Thanks for all your kind comments and good luck wishes. They really mean a lot to me. 

I don't have time to participate in illustration friday this week, but I decided to post an oldie. This is a very old illustration, or I should say color study. I could not find the final piece. I did this back in college when I took editorial illustration classes. Sometimes I look through my old stuff to see how I've evolved, yet still remain the same.

Originally, I thought the image did not apply to IF's theme, but then I looked up the definition of 'pale' and it read: "a space or field having bounds". Does a checkerboard have bounds? I would think so, but you be the judge! 

Have a great weekend!

IF:Ballon in color

Playtime! Yes! I had some time to play in Photoshop today. I took the black and white IF post I made for ballon and colored in Photoshop. I played with the brushes to try to get some texture. If anyone knows of any good free brushes, please let me know!

WEBSITE RE-DESIGN and TEARSHEET

If you visit here often, you are probably tired of reading about my preparations for the  SCBWI Florida conference. The refreshing news is that I am pretty much done! So I'll be writing about the conference itself next week, and moving on to other stuff!

I think it is important to go as well prepared as you can be to show a high level of professionalism. If a fellow artist is taking his/her time to review your work, or an editor takes the time to grab your card (a must-have!!!) and then looks at your web site, this one needs to be ready with your newest and best work. As I see it, every little thing you do counts and in the end it will pay dividends.

So in an effort to be fully prepared, I redesigned my web site last week. It was a lot of work! But thank goodness I have not only a design background, but a web design background so I was able to do it without assistance. I am very happy with it, and I invite you to visit it and click around. You'd probably seen most of my work, since I have used the Illustration Friday posts to build my portfolio. In any case, I hope you like it as much as I do!
I also updated my sample tearsheet which includes samples of my work and contact information in PDF format. Tearsheets are used as portfolio samples that Art Directors keep on-hand and usually leaf through when selecting an illustrator. Illustrators mail them to publishers but it is also common practice to email them as attachments or have them on their web site.

I have added links to both my website and my tearsheet on the left column.

Digital experiment

REVISED POST: 

Well, I found myself on the computer last night looking for texture brushes for Photoshop and ended up downloading some brushes from mccannas.com to explore more textures. I think I need to find a different set of brushes. Although I did not mind the 'pastel' feeling of these. I used to do a lot of pastels when I was in college and these brushes definitely reminded me of that (minus the mess!). I would like to try more of a painterly style brush, or ones that don't have a square shape. If any one knows of a better resource, please comment. 

Here's the newer revised version. After following some suggestions, I added some more shadows and highlights. If I were to do it over I would add a night stand with some medicine on it. I think it would add to the story.

One of my goals this year is to experiment with more mediums. My first IF post was a digital piece I did in illustrator. All my other pieces have been done in acrylic. I do use the computer to refine sketches and make color studies, but I've always found that trying to draw with my drawing tablet is like drawing with a left hand (and I'm right handed).

This was not entirely digital. I worked from a sketch which I then colored in Photoshop. I spent about 4 hours total. I'm sure it could be better, so if you have suggestions please feel free to comment. However, I thought it was a good start.

My first self-promotion postcard! & IF: Contained

I am getting all my promotional pieces ready for the SCBWI Florida conference and this week I thought I would write about the postcard I created.
I used vistaprint for my printing. They were having a promotion and I just paid shipping. It was a great deal!
Since these are to pass out at the conference, I did not worry about a printing service that offered direct mailing. I may send some of these out to publishers and editors, but I still have to build a mailing list. (That may be a task for next month).
If you would like a postcard, send me an email with your info, and I’ll get one out in the mail.
I created the postcard in Photoshop with all the printer’s specifications (size, bleeds, resolution, etc) and saved the files as .jpg. 

Here’s the front of it:

The first thing I came up with was a ‘theme’ for the card and tied in the words, front illustration and back illustration to them. (I guess my advertising background comes in handy). I picked an image that had great energy and was vibrant and colorful so it would stand out but wasn’t too busy. I thought it also fit IF's theme because the boy is well contained in his  go-kart.
I also added my contact information on the front, as with my business card, I think contact information should be on the front to make it easy for Art Directors to contact you.

On the back I included all of my contact information, as well as company name, name and title, and I also used a black and white spot illustration that tied in with the theme. The right half is left untouched on purpose, this is where the address label and stamp would go. If you are making your own and want to use some of the space on the right, check with the post office to find out how big of a blank area you need to leave.

Welcome to the new layout!

I've seen blogs with 3 columns before and always thought the space on the screen was used much better, and it allowed the user to view more content without having to scroll down. Since I have a good background in HTML (I used to design and code web sites for a living, and sometimes still do), I decided to add a third column to my blog. Not a great idea at 10:00 pm !

I backed up my blog template and started to edit the HTML following some instructions on another blog which did not work. I then tried a different blog's suggestion. It did not work. Tried a third one... it did not work either. I should probably mention that when I say it did not work, it means that blogger was giving me some strange error and saying it could not process my file, or I was still seeing two columns. I panicked! By now it was close to midnight and I had no blog! I went back to my backup and except for the colors everything went back to normal, and even that step was not as simple as hitting browse file, upload, and restore. I am not one of those people to give up easily... so I kept at it... I finally found a good link that explained how to get the three column layout to work. It also tells you that you could lose all your widgets but that you can copy and paste them back into the code from your back up (which I had). While I was doing this, I started to get different errors and found a site that helped clarify that too. After some more tweaking, voilá! it worked! But not without a major hick up. Yes, the widgets were gone, but I had my back up, so I copied and pasted them back in the code. However, what the site doesn't clarify for you is that the content of the widgets is not saved! -- the images, text, javascript etc...all gone!  It was about 1:00 am when I decided to take a break and fix it today. I have almost everything back, but I did lose many of my links and many of my favorite blogs!

TIP: If you are going to make a 3 column layout... backup all of the content in your widgets first...images, html code, links, javascript etc. Backup your main template. Have a WSWIG HTML editor available to help you read the code better, and have lots of patience! 

SELF PROMOTION and IF:RESOLVE

The SCBWI Florida Chapter is having a conference the middle of this month. I am so excited about this conference. This is a great opportunity to meet fellow illustrators and get a first look at the industry. In addition to attending a few workshops, I signed up for a portfolio critique and I am also exhibiting my portfolio. I was apprehensive about signing up for the exhibit without having the critique, but without exposure, there’s no way to know how good I am. So I will take my chances and have my work out for everyone to see!

The next two weeks are all about getting ready for the conference. It is my resolve to spend this first half of the month on fine tuning my portfolio and working on some self-promotion pieces. I have made some progress and the first piece of self-promotion I worked on is my business card. 

A few months ago I printed my first set of cards with Psprint.com, and I was very pleased with their quality, price and turn around time. I received great feedback on the cards and now I am running low and decided it was a good time to revamp what I already had.

New Front

I changed the spot illustration on the front for an image that was more dynamic and full of energy and representative of the style I wanted to be working with.I left my name on the front and what I do so that anyone looking at the front understands it.

I also think the boy shows determination and resolve to have fun on his scooter which fits IF's theme perfectly!

I left the back of the card untouched. I listed all of my contact information and repeated my name and what I do to make it simpler for people reading the card. Otherwise, they’d have to flip the card to be able to read my name (yes, I’m funny about things like that).

TIP: If you are designing your own business card, my recommendation is to keep it simple but include key information such as who you are (name/company/title), what you do and how to contact you. If you are an illustrator, definitely include an image of your work! This image needs to be simple since it will be rather small and it needs to have great impact. A character or a spot illustration would be a great start. A two-sided card would make it easier to fit all information and have your spot illustration stand out more. On the back list all contact information. Don’t forget your website and your e-commerce site if you have one!

I’ll be writing about post cards next week...

HELLO 2009!

Happy 2009 to all my blogging friends! Last year was really amazing! I started my blog and got a chance to meet so many wonderful people that have offered their support and have inspired me so much as I get myself and my portfolio ready to enter the great world of picture books! I am very grateful for all these new friendships and all of your visits and comments, they have helped me develop as an artist and have given me more confidence to believe that I am after the right dream! I have really enjoyed visiting and getting to know a little bit about you and sharing with you bits about myself.

I wish you a fabulous and very creative 2009!

I'm starting the new year with a new look, new masthead and new colors! - there's nothing like a make over!

IF : VOICES

This is another quick post and probably the last one until the New Year. There's just too much going on right now.  I am having a great time though, enjoying my kids, my family and my friends. This is most definitely my favorite time of year. I wish you all Happy Holidays!

I only wish I had more time to visit all my favorite blogs. I am way behind!

I did get a chance to rework the composition of my last IF entry, since I wasn't to thrilled with it. I changed the big bird on the foreground to the dancing girl, and I think she is much more interesting to look at than the bird. I also moved and flipped the pets (thanks to Photoshop) to make the negative space more dynamic, and added some props to the kids. Oh, and the Dad magically aged a few years. He looks more like grandpa, which is fine. I can see grandparents in this type of predicament as well. Oh, and I figured with all the commotion, one could almost hear the voices of the children! There! That's how I link it to this week's IF. I do plan on painting this one, but after the New Year!

IF: Rambunctious

Here's my entry for this week's topic. I tried ink a few weeks back and I really enjoyed it so I tried it again. I am not 100% pleased with this piece. I think it's the composition and some of the line work turned out heavier than I wanted. I've realized I work much better in solitude than with my children around! But these days, I can't find much time for blogging or art.

Oh, well! I may play around with it some more or give it up completely as one of those that didn't quite turn out! 

and the winners are...

This was my first giveaway! Thanks to everyone who participated. I really loved reading all of your stories! Some of the stories that stood out to me:

1. Deborah - Your story about your son being your favorite gift, really brought tears to my eyes. So touching! 
   
2. Kate- I'm glad you still have "Shnoop". My kids still have their favorite 'blankie' and 'bear' but they are still little! We'll see as they get older!
   
3. Eric- My favorite part about the holidays is family gatherings and the warmth and love that comes with it. I've found that now that I have my children, as long as we are all together, my heart is warm even if extended family is far away!
   
4. Alicia- What a great gift! and soooo romantic! travel tickets to Lake Tahoe! wow!
   
5. Chris- A selfless gift. So honorable and caring especially at times like now, where so many families are in need. You have inspired me to give more to my community.  I heard that the Salvation Army ran out of presents for the kids. We all need to give a little more, if we can.
   

...and now to the winners:

My son picks: K. SPOERING

My daughter picks: ALICIA PADRON

My son picks: BELLA SINCLAIR

CONGRATULATIONS WINNERS!!!! Now, please email me your info so I can get the card in the mail asap!

THANKS FOR PLAYING!!!

White Elephant Gift Exchange Party

This past weekend I had a White Elephant Gift Exchange party at my house. It was so much fun!

I wanted to share with everyone a surprise one of my friends had for me. She made a cake for the party and used my card as inspiration for the decoration. I thought it turned out so cute and adorable! She did a fantastic job! The cake was so delicious too!  She is incredibly talented and I am so grateful and touched with her kindness!

 The cake

The Card

IF: Similar

These kids are dressed similar as they prepare for Santa's arrival.

I'm not sure if I still have time to get this illo printed for my x-mas cards, but I will try!

I still need to add some text to it. I'll repost the finished piece at a later time!

If you would like to participate in my giveaway scroll down 2 posts below for instructions.

IF:Balloon and award!

I almost didn't make this week's theme! I have been busy with the holidays, as everyone is, I guess... I  just thought I would not be able to finish this on time. I bought some pens and got to try them out for this illustration. It had been a while since I had done something in just ink. I had a good time. Now that I look at it, I think I may want to color it in Photoshop just for fun.

There's still plenty of time of you want to participate in the giveaway I'm having. Just make a comment on that post. 

I also wanted to mention that my dear friend Nicole awarded me the "Uber Amazing Blog", and I must say that I am so honored coming from her! She is so talented!!! Definitely check out her artwork if you get a chance. She also has some cool jewelry and art on ETSY worth a browse! 

Here are the rules:

*Put the logo on your blog or post.
* Nominate at least 5 blogs (can be more) that for you are Uber Amazing!
* Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog.
*" Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from."
Here are my uber bloggers who I think might follow the rules- check 'em out:

- Vanessa

- Deborah

- Alicia

- Kate

- Candace

- Diana

- Jannie