IF- Haunt

Illustration Friday word "Haunt"

Been a while since I have had a chance to finish a new piece. Felt great but I crammed two drawings into one short evening. We've been waiting to lose power since early afternoon, but we are high enough elevation that I don't think Hurricane Sandy will effect us too bad after all. Still early, so we'll see.

Anyway I started this doodle last week one night and wanted to finish it before the power went out... maybe I can get ONE more piece done tonight :)

Have a safe & Happy Halloween!

Couple of quick doodles lately...

Working on a lot of character studies/sketches lately. Here are two I did tonight. Still in rough form but very fun to draw!!






- sent from iPhone

96 more projects to go...

Okay I talked enough about myself in the last post. Here are some of the items I have already crossed of the list from Dani Jones fabulous post on 101 Projects for Artists & Illustrators...

#88. Start a blog.
Well here we are, started in 2009 I think, not knowing what the heck to write about, but wanted to document this wonderful journey.

#92. Look at other artists’ work through portfolio sites and blogs.
See the links on the right side of the blog. Some of these talented folks I know, some I have learned from & some are just too ridiculously talented not to mention!

#91. Find and study online tutorials.
Here are a couple of great resources:
• Folio Academy (inspiring Will Terry videos & other artists)
• Schoolism
• Dani Draws: Tutorials, Tips, etc.
• Youtube ( it's amazing how many useful videos are out there!)
• Carlyn Beccia does amazing work in Corel Painter
• 50 Illustrator Tutorials every designer should see

#93. Subscribe to Drawn! Check...
#94. Subscribe to Lines and Colors. Check, Check!

Okay my brain is a little fried so we'll take a break for now. There are just so many great things on this list that I wanted to share a few. Have a great night!

New Challenge in 101 days... inspired by Dani Jones

Dream Big & Follow Through...

Still working on Sweet Squares from the lovely Challenge that Diandra Mae started back on September 3rd, 2012. It really has opened my eyes to new techniques, and really pushed me to learn more and improve in all areas.

There have been a few people who have really inspired me lately and in the past who have shared their knowledge and experiences to help out another fellow Illustrator stay straight on the path towards Children's Book Illustration. I read a good quote once (which I'll try to find later). It basically said, when you have something, use it, appreciate it and then pass it along to someone else who needs it. In a competitive market, these wonderful people have shared their knowledge and given advice to a person that they have never even met before. If you get a chance please check out their amazing talents: Aja Wells, Vanessa Newton, Rachelle Anne Miller, Renèe Kurilla, and all of the lovely people I met at the Advanced Illustrator Workshop at the Highlights Foundation in Aug/Sept. (Some of those people are listed among the links on the sidebar)

So back to my point of this Challenge, I was watching one of the videos from the talented and generous Will Terry, and learned so much in a short time that I kept researching and kept coming across the very talented Dani Jones. She has so many wonderful tutorials also & shares a ton of helpful information. I stumbled across a post this evening called: 101 Projects for Artists & Illustrators. As I read through some of the items on the list I felt a little better knowing that I had already accomplished some of these things along the way. It really inspired me to take on the challenge of the rest of these great ideas on this list. (Just so happens there are 101+ days until January 16th...)

Since the Advanced Illustrator Workshop I made a promise to myself (and my husband) that by January 2013 I will have postcards & business cards ready to mail out to publishers, magazines and art directors to see what happens. I have a few pieces to use in the promotional material, and although I have a couple of areas to continue working on, I've made great strides in a short amount of time. I am not expecting to break right into this business, but am open to spot art projects, commercial Illustrations, editorial work and maybe a children's book if my style fits with the right text. You can learn more about my background by visiting my website in progress: http://sageandgracedesigns.weebly.com/about.html

It seems like all of the puzzle pieces are suddenly falling into place, and I would be a fool to just sit on it. My motto has always been DREAM BIG & FOLLOW THROUGH... After 15 years in advertising, a life time of illustrating and over 5 years of attending SCBWI conferences (entering contests, building a portfolio and absorbing more information than a new sponge...) I am ready to push even further and see if I can check off everything on this list BY JANUARY 16th, 2013... here we go!

25+ days of Sweet Squares...

I have not finished all 30 days yet, but here is a compilation of 25 of my squares so far... started a little behind so I have a few more to go. Honesty I don't think I'll stop at 30 either.

It has been a joy doing a new drawing or trying a new technique each night and I feel that I have improved in a couple of small areas. I have many sketches and things that I've Illustrated in the past few weeks that have not made it on to the blog, but I hope to turn them from sketches to compositions soon.

Thanks Diandra Mae, for sparking more creativity in this fun challenge, and thank you Aja Wells, for your great insight & inspiration over the past couple of weeks! You have been so kind!

Relaxing Sunday OFF

I decided that I needed a little break to avoid getting burned out. I have been trying to learn SO much, and improve in certain areas, and just honestly I can't... stop... drawing! But house projects are calling and our kids need a little more attention than usual, so we are taking a little break today to slow down before the rush of Monday comes.

While I was cleaning, my mind was still running 100mph trying to remember everything that needs to be done for work on Monday and going over upcoming bills in my mind, and a million other daily stresses that we all go through. Then out of the blue as I'm cleaning out the Laundry room I found these little gems that I did a few years back: Whimsi-kits by the scrapbooking company My Minds Eye.

It was my first "paying" illustration job, and usually when you look back on older work you think, "wow I've come so far", or "oh how embarrassing". Well this time I thought to myself, "I had SUCH a great time doing these!" and realized that my "style has sort of come full circle and I'm back to a similar way of drawing that I have always done for years, except now I'm mostly digital. So now I feel ready to continue forward improving on subject matter, and creating more interesting compositions with characters that have more expression. But the same style I had in high school drawing in sharpie and then painting with watercolor using a paper towels, or back before kids when I would draw for hours using a ball point pen, water color pencils and spit to blend... it's all the same!

Now I draw in my sketchbook in pencil each night after I'm done working and if I like a sketch I go over it in pen using the inkling. That transports into the computer keeping all of my sketchy pen strokes that I love, and then I color everything in using photoshop. Sometimes I'll go over it again with a pencil brush to form stronger shapes or even add more texture. It really feels organic and natural... just like it has so many times before!

Anyway, here are a few pics close up. It had a short shelf life as they decided to go all digital the following year using only graphic patterns. That's how fast industries change. I'm glad to have found an area in children's Book Illustration that allow the pen strokes to stay the same and they can grow along with trending colors, subjects and mediums. Feels like home :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

IF-Book / Sweet Square #24

Here is another new creation. I have been drawing like crazy in my sketchBOOK in the evenings after the kids are asleep. Tonight my husband and I watched the ballgame and I decided to fine tune and color this sketch in. Here is what I came up with...

Sweet Square #23

Not a lot of free time today to do a full drawing or experiment in a new medium, but I did however try to work on more character designs. (Most of the sketches I did today are thousands of lines that formed into figures, but I thought this little character was polished enough to share) I might revisit this character again soon to turn it into a future square, but for now she lives in the land of black & white pencil lines. :) Have a wonderful day!

Sweet Square #21 & 22

This was a two day drawing. (Actually drew it a couple of times in my sketchbook, and once on the computer to see if I could draw it exactly the same twice...) I watched a fabulous video last night from Will Terry on Character Design. Some things I learned back in college, plus his technique really clicked and worked for me! It was so much fun! I hope to try this again in future drawings to keep improving on them. It felt very organic & natural. If I wasn't so tired from working all day & didn't have to get dinner started, I would probably keep drawing for hours...

Fabulous Tutorials over at Folio Academy!!!!

Good Morning, I was just looking through MANY videos over at Folio Academy: http://folioacademy.com/ and am having a hard time choosing which video to buy first. They are all wonderful!!

Whether you are a traditional artist, a digital artist, picking up a new hobby or are an aspiring Children's Book Illustrator like me there is seriously something over there for everyone! Can't wait to start putting some of these on my Christmas wishlist!!!!

I looked through several of them, and it seems that they can answer a few questions I have and also help fill a couple of holes in my work. Can't wait to get started!!!! Have a great day, Kelli

Sweet Square #20

I wanted to experiment with another idea that I keep seeing successful artists practice... warm up sketches. I should have probably drawn a character or something a little more challenging, but it's close to lunch and a fresh turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, onion & horseradish sounds SO yummy to me right now... so here is the first thing that came to mind...

I have used this book in the past just to stretch my brain a little, but it might be a good tool to use for "warm up sketches". I tend to be more creative when I'm winging it or not trying. It really helps you open your mind a little and draw a looser than usual.

Sweet Square #19

Great weekend. Worked on a new idea of sketching out first and then going in with detail. Have not finished the entire piece, but here is the initial concept sketch.

I think I like working this way better because it helps get you to create the entire scene and out of the rut of just creating a vignette. Really takes me back to the days of creating storyboards for commercials too...

Sweet Square #18

Sitting on the back deck over looking the golf course at my Sister in law's house. My nieces asked me to draw a picture, so I used their toy pony as a reference. Can't say that I've ever drawn from a sculpture or toy, but I like it. Lots of contrast and texture to play with.

Sweet Square #17 and IF- "Crooked"

Beautiful Friday, and what a fun word to play with!!

Decided to use today's Illustration Friday word for my Sweet Square for Diandra Mae's fun 30 day exercise: http://diandramae.blogspot.com/

Sweet Square #16

Looking for some new casserole recipes and keep finding recipes that use a lot of Carrots. For some reason I LOVE to draw fruits and veggies. Could be because I've studied their curves and textures for so many years or that I'm avoiding working on drawing hands & feet or anything else that I need to work on. Regardless I still like to draw carrots. :)

Drawn with inkling pen and brought into Photoshop for color

Sweet Square #15

In honor of "Talk Like a Pirate Day" I had an image of a treasure chest in my mind and wanted to play around with hand lettering today. For some reason I keep getting drawn to natural fibers and colors. Maybe tomorrow something a little brighter might pop up...

Sweet Square #14

Picked up a good ole fashioned pencil again and then brought this into photoshop to add a wash to it. Our son took a shot at drawing today too, so I wanted to document it.

Sweet Square #13/Illustration Friday "Burst"

I've been working on this idea in my head ever since I saw this little kid get smashed in the face by his big brother's ball. I have been studying the face and how it morphs what something elastic smashes into it. You see some pretty funny faces!!!

So this idea transformed into a quick sketch for the Illustration word burst. I my try to use this concept in more detailed future sketch, and try to fine tune it a little more. In the meantime this was a really fun to study...

Sweet Square #12

Lovely day filled with Church, Family Grocery Trip, Hazelnut Coffee, Football, AND Baseball! I promised our daughter we would start "Scribble Sundays" so we have have a set time each week to paint or draw together. Today we both sketched out our square, and then held it up to the window and traced it with a sharpie onto our watercolor paper.

After that, it was time to mix colors and paint! My inspiration was looking through the vera bradley catalog earlier and all of the lovely colors... Our 5 year old wanted to create a unicorn... I actually think her square turned out better than mine today! Regardless we had a great time.

Now off to make Nachos for the 2nd half of the football game, toss some laundry in the wash, and get ready for the baseball game. Gotta love relaxing Sundays!!

Our 5 year old's beautiful rendition of a unicorn:

Sweet Square #11

I tried out some charcoal today. It's a little different than watercolor because I feel like I personally can't get as much detail, but it was fun playing anyway :)