Rocket Launch

Today we launched a rocket built from PVC pipe and 2-liter bottles. Brian and Adam built it with a little Daddy-Boy time and it sure did fly, much to the delight of friends at the park!

I think the charcoal and white pencil easily looks good on toned paper. I'm glad I stole some time to sketch this memory tonight. 

Biddy Ball

Here's some sketches of my silly boy during basketball practice.

Personal time

This is what it looks like when I try to get some quiet time. I love this season of life!

Prismacolor doodles

Sometimes I fill in my sketches and life drawings with prismacolor markers.

Big Hair & Knees-and-Elbows

Sometimes I observe my son and think, "How does his little neck support that enormous head?" But then it's mostly hair. I also notice that he's developing the lanky all-knees-and-elbows look characteristic in older boys. When did this happen?!

Car Seats

I was sitting in the back seat of the car between my two sons when I sketched this. I didn't finish because I started to get carsick. :p

Blooms Like Heaven

I found this old sketch of my boys, and thought I'd share. I did it about a year ago. I have moved away from realism so much since then! Stylization is much more expressive and fun, but realism sure looks good!

Fair detail

Here is a pic from my phone of the sketch I did tonight. Well, it's a detail of one of my busiest pages for "Invincible Me".

Grabbing Moments in my Sketchbook

I've been super busy painting for a commissioned project. I haven't done any personal projects for myself due to deadline crunching, and also because my husband and I decided to buy a new house.  Golly, that takes a lot of time on the phone! 

But there are always moments here and there I can put into my sketchbook.  My friend Sara bought me this adorable little 31 purse for carrying my sketchbook. It's the exact size of a moleskin, unzips to lay flat, and has a built-in pencil pouch. Perfect! I've been toting it everywhere and pulling it out even if only for a few seconds.

I did this one, "The Littlest Birds Sing the Prettiest Songs," based on a song that comes on my kids' radio. I think it's adorable. I grabbed these moments every day, a few minutes at a time, in the parking lot, waiting for Kindergarten to let out.

This one is based on my father-in-law's true story about a time he took the train in the summer-time, and a little boy was curious about his white beard, sure he was Santa, but trying to act skeptical. Very cute! I want to finish this one, 4 panels, in watercolor and ink.  Someday when I finish these commissioned pieces!

One artist whose work I admire, John Hendrix, illustrates the Sunday sermon, so I thought to try the same thing one day in church.

Also, in church, sometimes I sit where I can get a good view of others on the other side of the sanctuary, and they don't know I'm drawing them. ;)

In our small group, Katie is one of the pretties mommies I know with such a beautiful little boy. I had to draw them, too.

I drew this one in church too. My favorite fantasy when I was a little girl.

Land Ahoy!

 

I might have gotten a little carried away with this character sample. The client only asked for a boy with red hair, wearing a towel like a cape. It sounded like a specific boy, and I couldn't decide on the hair. Or the nose. Or the shape of the face. I took it as a chance to experiment with drawing different faces. It was fun!

 

 

 

As I drew, I was inspired by my son's imagination. I drew other sketches. A boy on a tire swing. A boy pretending to fly "up, up, and away." And a boy looking through a telescope. I loved the latter, and decided to take it all the way with a watercolor. 

 

 

Drawing little boys is definately my #1 interest. Even before I had sons, Peter Pan was my favorite character. Since then, I fell in love with "The Little White Bird" by J.M. Barrie. I love the magic of childhood and imagination, and the adventures of boyhood are the most exciting! I plan to read that book again sometime. Just think of the inspiration!

 

 

 

Temporary Home

Here's the little mouse in her temporary home... Rough sketches. 

Sketchbook full of studies.

Behind every strong illustration is a sketchbook full of practice sketches and studies.

Peek

 

 

 

 

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Another sketch for the mouse book. I think this one looks great as a sketch and will look even better finished in watercolor!

Party

A rough sketch for a personal project I want to paint. I have some exciting watercolor plans for it. I don't know when I'll get to work on it again, though, because I'm illustrating the mouse book. Maybe Sunday... if I keep up with the mouse book?? 

Coffee Can

The next few sketches I post will probably be for the new book I'm illustrating, "Little Mouse Finds a New Home," by Liz Siivola.

I thought this page was cute. :) 

Saturday afternoon sketches

Sketched around today while hanging out with the fam.

Glass Jars

 

 

The mouse was a cinch to draw! I have a live reference any time I want. My boys have pet rats.  (Believe it or not, they actually make excellent pets for kids!)

Thumbnails & Roughs

The process of creating an illustration page will have 5 steps: 

1. Thumbnails

2. Rough sketch

3. Transfer to watercolor paper

4. Ink

5. Watercolor

 

This first picture is a thumbnail sketch. I keep my thumbnails so rough, no manicure can fix them! (har har) I just want to play around with various compositions before I commit to greater detail in the final drawing. I do all the thumbnails at once before I begin the sketches. This is so that I can see the book as a whole, make sure it flows with problem, climax, solution, and be sure I don't have a lot of redundancy.  I even plan color schemes to match the flow of the story, and emotion of the scene.

 

The second picture is the final sketch. With this particular page, I added all the details and even did a bit of rendering. But I am not sure doing so is helpful. On one hand, it takes a lot of time to add texture and details, which in the end is wasted time because I'm just going to re-draw it on watercolor paper. On the other hand, it lets the client know the kind of quality and detail the end product will have.  And if I were a client, I'd be a bit nervous, hoping the new artist I just hired will deliver what I hope she will.   I think I might be able to make my sketches looser as the pages continue and the client feels more confident. But we shall see. It is a learning process for me.   

Here is the final piece! You may notice the position of the mouse has changed. The author thought the mouse needed a little more personality, and it was a very positive change. I love how it turned out!

IF: Wool

I am going to experiment with a new process. Here's a sneak peek at this week's Illustration Friday word, the sketch for "wool"

 

I inked it! I think it looks great! I saw another artist who does this before she lays down watercolor. I thought her watercolors lacked color, but then, she didn't spend very much time in the color, trying to deliberately achieve an aged look. So I wonder what will happen if I added bright colors to this?  I've never been a believer in adding black for a darker hue. Yet this isn't mixing color. It's painting over an ink wash. Hmmm... I wonder what it will look like? Update to come. I think it's fun to experiment!

Here is the final piece. I can't decide if I like it or not.  I love the limited palette, the structure, and the textures, but those things could have been done without the ink wash.  What did the ink wash underneath contribute? Is it worth repeating? I think grey for value changes is not as powerful as adding more color, layers upon layers of beautiful color.  But then again, the muted colors give a comfortable feel. Is that it? I can't put my finger on it.  Is this a process I will try again?

Avanti's

I drew this at Avanti's while waiting for my three year old to finish his tortellini. I love my special dates there with him. I also love Avanti's for their crayons and white place mats!