Expressions

Wow, it has been a long time since I've posted anything. As everyone always says "life got in the way..." and it did. Between graduating, moving to a new state, possibly moving again in the near future, looking for jobs, and sending out my first batch of promotional packages (phew!) it has been very, very busy. I must admit, it has also been very emotionally draining to say the least.

Needless to say, I have felt all of these emotions weekly for the past three months, the first one being the first sketch on the top left. That emotion was felt after graduation, hehe.
Since all of these emotions have been presenting themselves lately, I decided to pay them tribute in this exercise. I chose Poppy to display these emotions, she's one of my most constant characters and I wanted to see how she displayed emotion.

I'm very happy seeing her come to live.

Publishers Beware

...in a good way!

     Post cards are in, and soon they will be in the mail heading over to select publishers. Select, as in the ones I feel will benefit from my work!

 Also, this is my business card design. I selected rounded corners for a different look to my cards, and  I'm pleasantly surprised on how well they came out.

    By the way, I used GotPrint to print my promo material and I couldn't be more pleased with the quality of the paper, color, cost, and super quick delivery.

   As the title suggests, publishers beware! I'm an armed artist with my promo material ready to be a published children's book illustrator, and I'm not afraid to use them!

   Hmm, I guess I sound kinda pushy...oh well!

The Basics

You know, the basics, as in traditional illustration!
Worked out the ol' graphite muscle in these animal drawings.

My favorite by far has to be the Shoebill Stork. What an amazing creature!
It shames me to say that I didn't think this bird existed. The first time I saw it was in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

They were used as concept in the game and they were fantastic! Later, as I was searching for birds to draw I came upon a picture of a Shoebill. At first I said, "wait...it's a real bird? No, no, somebody must've photoshoped it or something!" but no, It is a real bird. Who ever said games don't teach you anything?

Moving on, I also illustrated a three-toed sloth, and an African gecko.

Book Cover: Finished

 

   Yes, it is all finished...the book cover that is!
Really like how this came out.

   I'm trying to work on my lighting. I really appreciate illustrations with dynamic lighting, I believe it adds dimension and mood. For this piece, I wanted the element of surprise and mystery to really dominate the piece. It's almost like a spot light indicates her surprise to find there mysterious creatures watching her from the shadows.

   Who are there creatures?

Book Cover

It was fun designing the book cover in square dimensions.
Still have to work on the type. I want to attempt making my own type, hope it turns out!

Here's Poppy!

This is Poppy!

Her hair is always up. She hates having hair in her face while researching.
She has big glasses, but they have a stylish frame.
Also, her bangs are cut too short because she refuses to have a hairdresser touch them.
Her baggy shirt is due to her "all comfort all the time in order to make research a breeze" policy.
She wears denim shorts with fringe bottoms to hide the rough edges.
Lastly, she enjoys flip-flops because they're easy to slip on and off, this allows more time for research.

My Children's Book

I've decided to give it a go. I'm talking about making my own children's book of course.

Daunting, I know.

However, it must be done!

I'm also going to try the self-publishing route. I've done some research and I believe I've found a good place to do business with.

The title of my book is Poppy. I might change it later on...we'll see!
My story is about a 6 year old girl who loves plants, insects, all nature basically. During a family picnic she encounters strange plant like creatures. These creatures, she later realizes, are not in the know it all plant encyclopedia, Plant Pro. What are they? Who are they? Are they friendly, or mischievous?

That is the basis of my story. I'm really living this project right now. I'm constantly thinking of layout ideas, dialog, character concepts, you name it! Ah, the joys of being an illustrator.

The drawing above is the first spread of my book. This is Poppy's room. I decided not to introduce her until the second spread. I thought it would be interesting and fun to meet the character through her belongings first instead of a illustration of her. Also, each spread is going to be a full illustration, this gives me more room to add as much detail as possible.

Hope I can finish it by the end of the year!