sketch freely

Cover for "The Bully"

2011-10-22T19:07:00.000-07:00

Here, at last, is the cover for "The Bully." It's been about 2 months since I last posted...been busy moving to another state, marrying the man of my dreams, and starting a new job! Thankfully, freelance goes on and I'm enjoying wrapping up this lastest book, the second in a series. Above is the finished cover.

Here is my first attempt at the cover. Notice how the scene is lacking. Without a background or some sort of context, the character appears flat and uninteresting. What a difference surroundings make.

The Bully (in progress)

2011-08-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

Making headway on a painting of a bully...it's fun to do character pieces, to get inside the head of the character I'm creating. I'm not sure if his expression is quite there yet, and there will be more to come soon with some text added behind the character's head.

Mural Completion

2011-06-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

The second painting night was a huge success! With more people helping, the mural was painted in no time! A few more pics to come

Mural in Progress

2011-06-10T05:27:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of our first painting night- most of the outlining had been done and needed bright colors to be filled in. Several people from the singles group came and were a big help! I can't wait to see it finished. We're having another painting night on Tuesday, so more pics to come soon

Mural

2011-06-08T14:00:00.000-07:00

It's been about 4 years since I've painted a mural. Above is the plan for an aquarium that will surround the fellowship hall at church. Since yesterday morning, the sketches have been transfered and almost all the outlines painted. I will post pictures soon of the progress. I'm really happy to have other people helping with such a large task! The mural is for vacation Bible school starting at the end of the month. The two teams (Sharks and Rays) compete to see who can get the most money raised, and they are given fish to put up underneath their respective team's mascot. I'm excited to see how everything comes together...

Reflections

2011-04-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

Today is Good Friday, a time when I reflect on what Christ has done for me on the cross. I love Easter- a time to celebrate and rejoice- but Good Friday must come first. Wondering why the day Jesus died is called Good Friday? Then definitely check out this animation done by a fellow illustrator. I also think about my life and if I have been faithful in using my time wisely for Him? I don't want to be morbid, but we only have so much time on this earth, why waste it? What will you do with the years, months, maybe hours given to you?

True love is...

2011-04-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

Poor porcupines...this was a fun series of sketches to do for a poem about learning to love each other despite our flaws. I love how animals really do have personalities, even if they don't speak, they don't really need to.

Since people drop their pets off at my house for my mom to take care of while their owners are gone, I get to observe many different temperaments and quirks. Our own dog, Muffin, is a shaggy, lazy but lovable lump. Then there's Candy, an active, rambunctious dog who can circle the kitchen, living room and back and leave our old dog Muffin in the dust. Any she circles it- many times, for no reason. Then you have Bruno, a big old boxer who whines at you until you pet him, then whines some more, so you pet him and feed him a snack and he still whines and looks at you with his big droopey eyes. Oh and Bruno takes the occasional snorefest outside my door as well.

I have to mention one other special dog- a chihuahua mix named Reggie, who growls at everyone at first, then jumps on your lap and wants you to pet him, then growls some more if you don't pet him just so. I am planning to do a sketch of them soon, that will be interesting...

Muffin tasting some snow :d

Parable of the Dragon

2011-04-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

Switching between two very different projects these days- a children's book about a mischievous goose and a poem book more suited for young adults and older. In this poem book, each poem has its own illustration. The illustration above is about a dragon and a prince. The prince is entranced by the dragon and starts visiting it regularly to take thrill-seeking flights on its back. However, the prince soon discovers the destructive nature of the beast but is unable to stop his "addiction". He develops scales and starts to become the thing he inwardly desires. He returns home to his father the king, and all are repulsed by him and call out for his death. However, the king forgives him and welcomes him back as his son. This poem reminds me of the great love and forgiveness Jesus gives to all who come to him out of repentance, no matter how great the sin. What a merciful God we serve!

Alvin

2011-04-03T05:08:00.000-07:00

Presently, I'm working on a children's story about a goose named Alvin. His primary function is to keep watch over a family farm, strutting all around the farmyard for part of the day. At the end of the day you can find him resting under the grapevine, but beware- intruders get a rude awakening. More to come!

Now available!

2011-03-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

The book I've been illustrating for the past few months, "Mama, When Will I Be Popular?" has just been finalized and is now available for purchase at www.booksbythomasina.com. It's been fun to create a book based on the author's own experiences and family, something I've done before, certainly. I was able to achieve a real sense of warmth and realness to the characters I believe, partly because I loved the concept so much and could relate to it a bit myself. Thomasina herself has seven children, and there are more books to come for sure. I can't wait!

bring on the rain

2011-01-31T15:44:00.000-08:00

Freelancing is an interesting journey, for sure. I love the ability to choose my projects and working with great clients. Seeing my work in print is a huge motivator and it's pretty cool, I won't lie. If there is a downside I have to say it's the unpredictability of the work flow. Working a part time job has strangely allowed me to get more work done. Maybe it's the extra pressure- we artists work notoriously well under it. So bring it on. Maybe someday I'll figure it all out, but for now, I'm content to keep enjoying doing what I love.

Welcoming 2011!

2011-01-08T07:05:00.000-08:00

So it's been a crazy year. I haven't posted as many sketches as I've wanted, but have been producing plenty of commissioned work! Time to look back and reflect. In 2010, I've seen 4 of the books I've illustrated published. Most recently, Carolyn and Her Tiny Red House and The Wave.

Like everyone else, I have resolutions for the year. They include losing 10 pounds, not drinking ANY Coke or Diet Coke, posting on the blog more, participating in sketcholic.com sketches, and growing closer to God throughout the year. Excited for whatever God has in store for me this year! What are some of your resolutions, and have you been able to stick to them for a week? One week at a time I keep telling myself, especially when it comes to Diet Coke :P

The above is a piece I did just before New Year's for another children's book coming soon. It's an inspiring story about the awkwardness of growing up that we can all relate to, and the relationship of a mother and daughter that reinforces the importance of that bond.

Happy New Year everyone!

New Book!

2010-10-22T09:14:00.001-07:00

So this is more of an update than a sketch post. Back in March I posted sketches of a creature called a Paku from a book I was working on. That book is now in print! Visit www.maxthebook.com for info, even buy a T-shirt or to join the Max Club. This series is going to be great for kids who want to read an original, exciting story that entertains, enriches, and is fun to read out loud. I'm excited to start working on the rest of the series!

Paintin' Potato

2010-07-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

This piece was entered into the July 1st contest for Sketchoholic.com. Assignment: paint a Mr. Potato Head face on something other than a potato. Whether I win or not doesn't really matter (although I could win a drawing from Pixar animator Aaron Hartline if I do!) but what does matter is that as artists, we keep sketching and challenging ourselves. Love this website for how it encourages that! By the way, if you saw Toy Story 3, then you know the joke. If not, go out and see it! It really was epic, and a great way to end the trilogy.

Shoot 'em up

2010-05-21T18:48:00.001-07:00

Apparently I am subconsciously a tad bit jealous of my friends in SC who are going shooting this weekend, because this is what I chose to sketch today! And it's high time I sketched something for fun...and boy did I have fun!

dragon sketches

2010-04-18T18:18:00.001-07:00

I've been fascinated with dragons for awhile, and was exploring different facial expressions and such. I've been wanting to create a humorous or magical illustration containing a dragon, but I don't want it to be a typical scene. We'll see what I come up with for next week. I'm open to ideas as usual!

Emily

2010-03-24T07:26:00.001-07:00

Congrats Emily on your Master of Arts show this coming weekend! I am so proud of her!

Emily Process

2010-03-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

Here you can see the underlying drawing, which is kept pretty loose. My thought is, since I draw while I paint, this serves as more of a guideline for the placement of features.

Now for the color block-in, where I'm establishing lights and darks and getting a feel for the overall color scheme.
At this stage, I start drawing and adding more detail. I've been working on one layer until now, where I add the glasses on a separate layer while I get them drawn correctly so as not to disturb the painting below.
The background looks too flat and blue, so I attempt to liven it up. Later I will decide to darken it so the face will stand out. Here at the end, I can finally recognize my subject in the painting. Some artists prefer to get the likeness from the get-go, while I take a different approach. If I can establish correct shading and placement, in the end the result should look like my model.

Dan Portrait

2010-03-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

This is a quick painting I did of my boyfriend... :) As usual, feel free to comment any ideas for next week!

Variations on a Paku

2010-03-09T18:43:00.001-08:00

This little Paku lives in the caves and befriends Max, the main character from Max and the Memory Machine, by Ben Henriques. Just thought ya'll would like to see what one of my concept sketches looks like. It's probably my favorite thing to do, since I get to take a concept and run with it in different directions. In the end, the chosen Paku was #4. I have an idea of what to draw for next week...but I am still open to suggestions for future weeks of course!

Rudy & Rebecca

2010-03-02T19:44:00.000-08:00

This one is for my friends Rudy and Rebecca!

Quoth the Raven

2010-02-22T19:58:00.000-08:00

I confess that I have not had much time to sketch this week. However, I was able to sketch something! Which is the point. Thanks to friends encouraging me through this blog to keep sketching things for myself, I can continue to grow creatively and keep the passion alive. So what do you think? Should I color in the above sketch or do something new for next week? You decide!!

Sleeping Beauty

2010-02-15T19:37:00.000-08:00

I was feeling more painterly and realistic than usual with this one. It was a nice change from my usual style, but I'm ready to create something really different for next week. Any suggestions??

Cinderella sketch

2010-02-08T22:55:00.000-08:00

This is the first of a series of fairy-tale sketches, and I'm leaving the next one up to you! What should I draw next?? Leave a suggestion in the comments and I will choose whichever one sounds most interesting. Also, check out my process below...

Cinderella process

2010-02-08T22:47:00.000-08:00

Expressions

2010-02-02T20:35:00.000-08:00

Creating character's for a possible children's novel. Working on the range of expressions.