Illustration Friday: Smoke

Inspired by my son's Halloween costume, I came up with a SMokin' Mad Scientist. This was done quickly in Painter...the sketch and all. I don't like the pencil line's texture. I need to find a better tool for the line work if I'm going to sketch in Painter. But I also just need more practice in it overall. Thanks to illustration friday...I'm getting some more time in the program.

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Halloween portraits

Last Halloween, my photographer husband Rhett began the tradition of taking free halloween portraits for any neighbor or friend etc. who stopped by. This year, I got to design the set. So, I got out the cardboard and cut out a fence and tombstones and quickly painted them. I also stopped by an empty field and picked up a dead tree branch. The leaves were still attached and had the odd appearance of being blown in the wind. A black backdrop, brown tarp, and a paper moon later, we had the set. Here's a photo of my mad scientist son doing a test shot for my husband. It was fun.

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Illustration Friday: Ghost

I did this sketch in my sketchbook while waiting for my son's wrestling practice to end. Being in the school, seeing stinky booger picking boys made me think back to those tissue ghosts my school teacher used to hang from the ceiling. Here's what a little monster decided to do with one. At least she's using the tissue for it's real purpose.

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Illustration Friday: Smitten

This is a sketch from my sketchbook colored in photoshop. Young girl...in love...smitten. You'll have to imagine your own pimple-faced boy she's thinking of. Or maybe Guy Francis can draw one up. Guy?

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GOLDfish

Here's a sketch I did while my daughter was in the hospital. I finally scanned it and decided to try out the digital painting thing. I need some practice. I used Corel Painter. (watercolor settings) I also did a few assignments for Harcourt this way that turned out better than this but b/c of copyright, I can't show them yet. Any technique tips for Corel painter or painting digitally? I still like the old fashioned brush and paper better.

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Illustration Fridays: Farm and Safe

Last week I didn't get a chance to post. So I'm doing 2 posts in one entry.

I finally broke down and got a wacom tablet this week. I know, you're saying "WHAT?! HOW DID YOU SURVIVE?" Well, let me say I got very adept with a mouse. I feel much less so amazingly with the wacom pen. But, practice makes perfect, right? Any tips for a beginner? Here's my first sketch with the tablet. It's for last week's topic...safe.


And to go along with the topic this week. Here are a few farm scenes from my book "Already Asleep" available online now, in stores October 2006. The first is the dedication page and the second is the final full scene before the last page (when nearly everyone, but the mom, is asleep). These are sketched, scanned, printed on watercolor paper, painted with watercolors, and lined in pen. This is my usual process now. The night scene was trickey as they often are. But I think it turned out well.

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