Heartland MAP - a labour of LOVE

For the past couple of months, interrupted by breaks, I have been working on a big picture!

The image contains musings about a land of love and I’m sure I will want to add things in the future. Perhaps a different LAND OF LOVE image may brew?

With this image I started off doing a big pencil sketch and thought I might hand paint it. However as I tried to dive in with colour I knew that a digital approach was the only way to realize my vision and all the detail I wanted to include.

My plan is to make some printable items from the image. Who doesn't love a big colorful tea towel or maybe a tote bag? The print part I have yet to investigate.

The over riding motivation was, as a wise teacher has said many times, ‘Do the work you want to get’ so here is HEARTLAND.

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Sketch to finished art

Here is a window into my process creating the Multilit reader series illustrations. Below are very rough sketches which were the starting point through to approval sketch and then full color printed image. The "very" rough pencil sketches were snapped with my iPhone and used as a guide to redraw in photoshop on a wacom cintiq. This project required a lot of illustrations over a short period of time so using a digital process was invaluable. What I love about working digitally is having the layers and being able to cut and past to move things around. It is also a lot quicker to color digitally and the process works well if you set your color palette at the start of the project and pretty much stick with it. I use the Adobe library tool to keep track of colors and graphics. 

Learning Never Ends

Recently I completed (well sort of) my second Lilla Rogers, Make Art That Sells Illustrating Children's Books course. I thought the second time around I would be very prepared and stylistically nail all of the five week assignments - Character, Emotions, Poses, Environment and Cover.  I'm not sure if it was the detox diet I was on during the course or just letting life get in the way of concentration but unfortunately I did not do the course justice this time around. Each of my assignments were stylistically different which was the exact opposite of what I was hoping for. Since the course finished I have been reworking my assignments. Pictured is an image combining the Emotions and Poses weeks. My take away from  the course is that whilst I can draw in many different styles my challenge is to maintain stylistic consistency. Lilla Roger's course are a fantastic way to improve as an illustrator. Whilst you may feel you do not do your best work during the course you will definitely reap the benefits as time goes by. After completing the first Illustrating Children's Books course I was lucky enough to get an illustration contract working on a Children's Learn To Read series for five months. It was such a joy!

For the Love of Line Art

The process for most of my illustration has been the same for years, start with a line art drawing. I envy illustrators who draw with a brush and create beautiful color work with watercolor and gouache. I keep telling myself to try this approach. The truth is I love pencil and being able to erase and I love the look of line art.

This featured work is a Make Art That Sells  project - a notebook cover with lettering and flowers. My flower name - Jonquil. I scanned the line art into Photoshop amd gave it a gradient background. I may print it out on watercolor paper and paint it or maybe paint digitally.

Success!

I was lucky enough to have my image printed as a postcard with Studio Montclair

Coloring Book Mania!

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You may have noticed that adult coloring books are everywhere these days. A recent Make Art That Sells project I did was to design a cover for a coloring book with the theme of 1920s ladies, hair and/or head gear. You may also have noticed from my mixed media work I am very partial to a head dress. Here is an illustration that I have refined for the Studio Montclair postcard design competition. Wish me luck!

Illustration and developing a style

Over the past year I have thoroughly enjoyed being challenged and having my art ego kicked on the quest to develop a bankable illustration style. I am still at the gate and not even on the race track yet but I am very grateful for the time and guidance I have been lucky enough to receive from the Lilla Rogers Studio School. Below is a selection of some projects that I have completed inspired by Lilla's school.

Next week I start another Lilla Rogers Make Art That Sells course. This will be my 3rd and I am signed up for the monthly bootcamp assignments next year. Yep, I'm excited. The courses are all consuming or at least that's how I roll with them. I am looking forward to seeing if I can crank up some pace to get on the freelance illustration race track. I feel particularly inspired today seeing the 3 finalists from the Global Talent search. Congratulations Kate, Katie and Clairice. You work is stunningly gorgeous and very inspiring!

Global Talent search entry 2015 - Round 1

MATS Home Decor course 2015 - design for ceramics.

MATS Home Decor 2015 course - video competition entry.