Julie Olson Books - Author/Illustrator: 2007

Christmas Spirit

So I've been busier than busy this season with finishing sketches for the 2 books I'm working on and all the holiday hoopla. I haven't had time to really keep up on my illustration blog this month but most of you probably haven't had time to look anyway. But today I felt like painting something to get me more focused on the real meaning of Christmas and not all the things I have left to do on my list....

What's more like a zoo than a school cafeteria. This is an old illo I did for fun one day that fits the topic. I'm swamped illustrating 2 picturebooks that have worked themselves into the same schedule...I'm finalizing sketches and starting painting on both. I'm unbelievably busy with that and all the holiday season stuff. I need a n...

This is cutting it close to the deadline and is a day late as far as the holiday goes. But, hey, I made it. I sketched this at my son's wrestling practice. I'm working on two books too and newest news of all, we got a dog this week. So, life's been busy....

I don't often do logo designs b/c I'm not a graphic artist. But my Aunt and Uncle requested one for their racing team (MoJo Racing - for Monique and John) and you get what you get when it's pro-bono right? Well, here's what I came up with per their requests. A graphic designer probably could've done better but at least it's not completely hokey like a lot of "do-it-yourself" logos. Unless, I'm horribly...

So I'm working on illustrating that Christmas book and was pointed in the direction of illustrating the idea of "peace" (Christmas style) in a simple illustration. Here are 3 I came up with. I still need to do one of them over again to get the watercolor exactly right. I like the colorful one b/c I like color...but the star doesn't stand out enough. Which one do you li...

I'm working on illustrating a little Christmas Gift Book (out next year) that is a bit more for adults than children. I've never illustrated for the adult market before but was chosen to do this book b/c the publisher liked my style. The story does have a child in it, but the client wants a more grown up look to the illustrations. I was asked to show some of my illustrations before I got too far into...

Sometimes I fill my schedule to the point where I'm just wanting a nap every day. But too bad...work comes first. The client wanted the files digital so I did all the drawing by hand and all the painting on the computer. The big blank snowy areas are for text. (DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE ROOM FOR TEX...

I'm on the planning committee for a conference sponsored by Utah Valley University (formerly Utah Valley State College) and SCBWI in March (the 20th-21st). We already have the main Keynote Author booked, Kirby Larsen. But, I was just able to book David Small and Sarah Stewart as our Keynote illustrator and picture book author. We are SOOO excited. David has won the Caldecott Medal and the Caldecott...

I had fun doing this one. I don't plan to physically have any more babies myself, but they sure are cu...

This is just a quick sketch painted in Painter. Can you guess what she's missing...good old summer days. My kids are dreading the start of school. They love summ...

I saw this theme and instantly thought of that poem "Footprints" which has been WAY overused in my opinion. I used to like it when I was young but it's lost all sensibility for me now. But I had this illustration in my mexico sketchbook that speaks to that poem. (notice the footprints) It's actually a nice poem, but as I said, just way overused. If by chance though, one of you have not read it, here...

I mostly focus on the drawing part of what an illustrator does. But I just thought I'd share this tid bit to show that we all do have a life outside of the day/night job of illustrating. Although, our lives sometimes involve using a little bit of those skills. My mother-in-law puts on a great "fair" for the grandkids every 24th of July (which is a holiday here in Utah celebrating when pioneers first...

This plays on the theme on 2 levels...first...the fish discovers the worm...second...I discovered the sketch of these fish when looking through a college sketchbook as I cleaned out my closet.I liked the fish and didn't like much else in the sketchbook. Thank goodness I've improved. Hopefully the next 10 years will bring the same level of improvement. I colorized the lines in photoshop and threw on...

This is a sample illustration I did but the job got canceled. It would've been fun...but that happens from time to ti...

I just did this piece as a sample illustration for a client. I really hope to get the project. It's a big time committment but I would enjoy doing it. Anyway, the TP twist fits this weeks the...

Occassionally I do illustrations for workbooks. They are just black and white line drawings and are completely straight forward. I just emailed off a set of illustratio...

So I had the chance to fly back to the midwest and get together with my parents, 6 brothers, 2 sisters and their families for a great big family reunion. We had it at a Kentucky State Park about an hour and a half south of where I grew up in Indiana...a place we went to as children for family vacations...Pennyrile. It was WONDERFUL! The weather was perfect...not overly humid or hot, and the reunion...

This is an illustration from my book "Already Asleep." I don't think I've posted it before. But it fit in beautifully with the theme this week. I love the mouse dangling from the boy's shoe. I had fun putting the mouse throughout the book. I always try and add something unexpected or secondary in the books I illustra...

I just finished a 32 page picture book for Woodbinehouse Publishing. To quote them "Woodbine House is a publisher specializing in books about children with special needs." The book I illustrated deals with Autism. It was an interesting project to be involved with. I was able to learn a lot along the way and hopefully it will help those who need ...

My paradise most recently was Mexico at "Xel-Ha" near Cancun. I did this sketch relaxing on a cliff edge after swimming with the dolphins (which was completely amazing). Snorkling here we saw TONS of fish and a stingray. It was paradise. (the photo is of my husband and I snorkling in a cave). This was the perfect place to go in the middle of a cold Utah Februa...

Mailers sent

Well, I got the postcards back from the printer a week and a half ago (or more). They turned out perfectly. I ordered a stack of business cards as well. I got 500 oversized postcards and 500 business cards for $110 including shipping from VISTA PRINT. It was a special offer but even their real prices beat Modern Postcard who I used to use for postcards. I was only concerned about the quality. But the color turned out great and it all worked seemlessly. So I'll be using Vista Print from now on it...

I did this illustration for a 3rd and 4th grade reader. I had to leave a lot of room for text. But I like how it turned o...

My mother-in-law loves items with a history. She's great at finding old pots, benches, books...things with a story. Put them all together and they are worth a fortune. She only wishes she could have a fortune to buy all the cool stuff. Don't we all. Anyway, here's a picture of a girl in her grandfather's antique shop. The lady wants to buy the grandpa. This was a spec illustration done for a publisher...

Well, I ordered my spring promotional mailers. I'm trying out a new printer. I'll let you know if the quality is as good as Modern Postcard. The price is better for sure. I love Modern postcard, but we'll see how this works. Here is the front of my postca...

Well, I went out to Guy Francis' blog and saw this cute little pixie looking off to the side. That made me wonder, is she just day dreaming or is she flirting with a pixie boy. So, I came up with this kid. I thought he went with the illustration friday theme of green pretty well...leaves, spring, etc. Check out Guy's girl here.I sketched it with a brown pencil and painted it in painter with my computer...

The projector and School Visits

Well, I've used the projector I wrote about a few posts ago for over 3 school visits now. I'm not a know it all on this projector and maybe if I new a little more I wouldn't have listed some of these cons, but here's my initial review.Here are the pros...no laptop needed, thumbdrive holds all the presentation, bright display, easy operation, can place it close to the screen and get a large picture, has a button to blank out screen if you need to just talk with no picture up for a minute.Cons...the...

This is an illustration of a mother about to SNAP! ...it's always at dinner time...everything comes crashing down. Drawn from a little personal experience here obviously. Luckily, I have a husband who's great to take over for me at these times. Thanks, sweetie! Here I show the sketch scanned in and tinted brown. Then I painted in in Painter. I'm still trying to get more used to it and make it look...

During the Children's Lit conference, I'd sketch now and then. Here's one colored in Paint...

I drew this before the last illustration Friday but didn't get to post it. So here's my "I Spy"...We used to play the game in the car on long tri...

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I've been dealing with my 3 year old's kidney problems, which thankfully are now all resolved after many tests, procedures and 2 surgeries. After all that, I was able to take a break and attend a conference I was on the committee for. I hosted the guest illustrator, Brett Helquist (illustrator of the Series of Unfortunate Events books and many others). He...

This is a piece I did for a book I was writing myself. Philomel had it for a little while and I was working with an editor there on it but it never came full circle. Didn't make it through the big board room. It was also one I painted in Corel Painter. I loved this little girl and her great aunt. They were fun to draw. I seem to lose some of the charm in her character as I do other characters and...

I went to Peruvian Park Elementary School last night and did a couple of presentations for kids and their parents for Literacy Night. It's always a lot of fun to share my love of illustration with kids. They even help me create while I'm there. Because I only had 30 min for each presentation, I only had 9 minutes to draw at the end. I call on students to come up and help me create a character. Last...

This was just another test with Corel Painter and my Wacom. I downloaded a trial version of Painter X and like the pens and markers, but the watercolors still need work. I just used my Corel Painter 3 essentials to do the painting on this. The sketch took less than 5 minutes with my Wacom tablet. The color...about 30 but that includes interruptions from my 3 year old and 8 year old giving tips. I...

I've been doing some school visits and parent night presentations (more and more just recently). Over the last few years, I've always just carted my grandma's old old slide projector around and showed my slides through it's dirty lens. But it finally died on me. The last time I did a little 50 minute presentation at a young writer's conference a week ago, I borrowed my brother's digital projector...

Here are thumbnails for a book I'm working on. Just thought I'd share a stage or two of the process. The girl is trying to vie for the attention of her visiting Great Aunt. The photo is my son posing for me to sketch fr...

This particular piece was done recently and just appeared in Highlights Magazine's February Issue. Hopefully gravity won't cause more than her hair to fall down. The editors were worried about this in an earlier sketch I sent shown here as well. I thought it was a little more fun in this position...but they were afraid of gravity. No potential accidents in the children's illustration world. It's like...

I thought I'd FINALLY post something for illustration friday since it's been FOREVER since I've done so. This isn't a crazy crash or anything, but is a childlike crash. But as long as he catches the ball, he won't ca...

So I've been gone for a while, a sort of sabbatical from Blog Posting. I apologize if there are or were any faithful readers out there. I couldn't keep up with it all so had to let go of some. But Hey, I'm back. After a very relaxing 10th Wedding Anniversary trip to Mexico with my husband...I'm back.While there laying on the beach, by the pool, and roaming about, I kept a sketch journal. These are...

Christmas Spirit

Illustration Friday: the zoo

Illustration Friday: Trick or Treat

Logo Design

Illustrating an idea...PEACE

Client Approval

Educational Reader Done

Calling all illustrators and writers of Children's Books

Illustration Friday: Captain

Illustration Friday: Missing

Illustration Friday: Poem

It's not all drawing

Illustration Friday: discovery

Another Sample

Illustration Friday: twist

Workbook Illustrations

Family Reunion

Illustration Friday: camouflage

HOORAY!!!!!

Illustration Friday: paradise

Mailers sent

Illustration Friday: Polar

Illustration Friday: Fortune

Sending out mailers

Illustration Friday: Green

The projector and School Visits

Illustration Friday: Snap

Conference sketch

Illustration Friday: I Spy

Conference on Children and Literature

Illustration Friday: Hide

Win a Hippo

Illustration Friday: communication

School Visits anyone?

Thumbnails for new book

Illustration Friday: Gravity

Illustration Friday: Crash

A Little Sabbatical

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