IF:POISE

So this is the Troll for "The Three Billy Goats Gruff"

You could say that Big Billy Goat lost his poise and kicked the troll so hard that he was never seen again!

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by! It is Spring Break here, so I'm off to spend time with my kids!

Second Billy Goat

Small Billy Goat Gruff

Yes, I am illustrating "The Three Billy Goats Gruff". This is the youngest Billy Goat. I'm enjoying these character studies. They are not as simple as I thought. 

I still have the second Billy goat and the Troll to come up with. 

IF: SUBSTRACT

Quick update: Goats can look like rams if their horns turn inward like the one below. I changed the horns so there is no confusion.

This may be a bit of a stretch for IF, but I was working on this character study this morning and when I scanned it, the lines were too light and the background was too dark. Pretty much gray on gray! I had to substract the background in Photoshop to make the sketch visible.

This goat is one of four characters from a story I plan to illustrate.

I will post the other characters as I come up with them. I originally intended to illustrate my own story but after my SCBWI local meeting I realized that it will take quite a bit of work to get it to be a decent story, that's if I ever really get it to the point where I would feel comfortable reading it out loud to other people. In the mean time I will illustrate an existing children's story.

Can you guess what story I plan to illustrate from this character study?

Thanks to Deborah Mori for all her great help! I'm so glad I met her here on blogland!

 

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Drink some green beer today, wear green and celebrate St. Patrick's Day!

I love tutorials! You can learn some much from them. Especially if they are short and well done like the one I found at Vectips.com  to make the four leaf clover above. It took me about 5 minutes! Try it out. It's fun!

IF: LEGENDARY

Colored in Photoshop.

Antagonists are usually as legendary as protagonists in some stories.

I haven’t drawn any mean characters yet. Really, I’ve been focused on creating work that is pleasant and soothing and celebrates children. However, it occurred to me that if I want to illustrate a story for a book maybe I should draw a mean character or two…since books almost always have an antagonist! I’ve been thinking about this Troll for quite some time, and it seemed appropriate to sketch him for this week’s IF. For my first ‘meany’, he might need some work, as he looks part Witch, part hunchback of Notre Dame, part Troll…but I think whatever this character is, he fits well into an antagonist role. I am pleased for now!

My good friend Annie started her blog Hip Organic Mama not too long ago and already she has a strong following, and rightly so! Her blog is a wonderful resource for mom's trying to provide a healthier lifestyle to their families while being greener to our planet. 

She was kind enough to award me the Kreativ Blogger award, and I feel so honored as she is a wonderful inspiration. When I had my kids she inspired me to make healthier choices for my family. I've also learned a recipe or two from her. She is really fantastic. Please take the time to check out her blog!

Oh, right ... I need to nominate 10 people, but since I think all of my blogging friends are so creative... I nominate everyone on my 'Blogs I Read' list. Go ahead, take a peak... you'll find some amazing artwork!

On another note, I finally joined the SCBWI! 

Have a great weekend!

Edrian

IF: INTRICATE

"When Lurvy arrived with breakfast, there was the handsome pig, and over him, woven neatly in block letters, was the word TERRIFIC.  Another miracle."  --From the book Charlottes's Web

A pretty intricate web! I had this idea while on the road. I didn't check the quote until now, as I was getting ready to post it...I see the letters should be more square and less rounded.

Finished Illustration Rambunctious Children

I finally finished this one! I went back to acrylics this time. This scene had more characters and more elements, so it definitely gave me more to think about. Without adding all of the countless interruptions...I spent about 12 hours on this. I know it is a lot of time, but I didn't want to rush. I really liked how it came out. The actual size is 10"x15". I think I will add it to my portfolio.

I am off this weekend with my family, so once again my creative time is limited... but I can't complaint!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Oh, this is my latest addition to my ETSY store:

Birthday Invite

My daughter's birthday is coming up. I designed the cards above and left room on the front for her to put stickers of horses with trees and bushes that way she could be involved in the process. She loved the idea!

illustration Friday: BREEZY

"Milly loved to run across the field on a breezy day and feel the wind on her fur"

CUSTOM PAINTED CHEST

I just completed one of the projects I volunteered for at my son's school. They are having a silent auction and my job was to put together a class project that involved the children. I decorated a toy chest and had the children’s put their thumbprints on different bugs. It was a lot of fun!

I really enjoyed pyrographing the lines into the wood and then painting the shapes with acrylics. I also applied a protective clear coat.
Here are some pictures of the toy chest and some close-ups of the pond scene:

Illustration Friday: INSTINCT

“Little prairie dog came out to see the sunshine but she should’ve listened to her instinct and stayed inside.”

This is my entry for this week's IF. I only had time for a pencil drawing. I've been very busy lately. I've had little time to reply to emails and visit my regular blogs.

Boy Climbing - Full color

I finally had some time to post the finished version of the IF challenge word 'climbing' from a couple of weeks ago. I used water soluble oils for the first time and I really enjoyed them. They take a couple of days to dry, so next time I try them I think I need to have several illustrations going on simultaneously to make the process more efficient. I am not sure how this medium benefits my work, so I'm still considering wether or not to pursue it further.

 I have been so busy with design projects and projects for two silent auctions that I haven't had a chance to participate in IF and I miss it. I still have two portfolio pieces to finish and an idea for a book. Yes, a book! More than the idea of having the book published, I plan on creating my own dummy to have it in my portfolio and show character consistency, layout, design, etc. I think with my time constrains it would be realistic to take 6 months to develop a full dummy. I still don't have a full working story.