Page 31, Moonie is Thirsty!

My book, which will be called "Moonie Makes a Masterpiece," is set up to be an educational book for younger children that teaches the colors of the rainbow.  Moonie goes through the rainbow while making a special piece of art, demonstrating one color at a time using different objects or supplies.  On this page, Moonie is so thirsty because making art is hard work! (Like how I squeezed that fact in there? Ha) What color do you think Moonie will be reaching for?

This is just the sketch:

Page 24, Finished

I always go back and tweak, but for now, page 24 is complete.

[Mini celebration dance]

Children's Book, Page 24

From this point on I'll be working heavily on my senior thesis, which - unless something goes terribly wrong - is a children's book.  This is the only thing I've ever truly done digitally, so bear with me, ha.  I'm using solely Photoshop.  I figured it would save me some time if I didn't do it with physical paint.  Boy, was I sorely mistaken.

Anyway, this is just a little development of page 24, when a paint can falls on Moonie(the mouse)'s head. 

Astray

"Astray"

Here's another little something different.  This isn't relatively new, but it is quite divergent from my usual shtick.  I started doing this style a couple months ago.  It was a time when I was so incredibly lost with my direction, I decided to betray the fluffy and try my hand at abstract.  I actually found it quite therapeutic, not to have any rules.

I have a couple pieces like this, but all of them are still black and white.  I really want to color them, but a part of me fights to keep it black and white, also.  Months later, I'm still undecided.

Society of Illustrators LA

"A Day at the Fair"

This afternoon I received word that my work, A Day at the Fair, has been chosen for the Society of Illustrators LA exhibition.  (Who am I kidding, throw in a few of these: !!!!)  I'm pretty freaking stoked, considering I've been spending the last four months questioning my artistic directions and my place in the art world.

This was just the kind of news I needed to pick me up.  I'm looking forward to a night that doesn't involve nightmares of spending the rest of my life waitressing the midnight shift at a Jersey diner.  Just one night though.  Tomorrow night it's back to grind.  And the panic.

Here's a little info about the competition I entered, in case you're unfamiliar: http://www.illustrationwest.org/

Brrrrring!

Trying some more pen sketching.
(Look how long that 3D stuff lasted me, ha!  It may be back... someday.)  I'm not crazy about how I went about this one though.  I maaaay not try this approach again.  In any case, just adding it to the pile.  

Red Balloon

I have to confess something.  I've been stuck in a rut.  A HUGE rut.  Since approximately September. I mean, I've had artist block before.  But I'm battling the freaking Great Wall of China here.  I'm not quite sure how to dig myself out of this, and I've been spending many weeks trying to figure out how to escape this miserable hole of artistic impediment.  Hitting myself over the head with my digging shovel may result in more success.  I'll bookmark that thought and save it for later.

Anyway, here's something new I'm trying out.  It's been awhile since I've done pen and ink sketching, so I'm bringing that back into the mix and flirting that with my illustrative style.  Playing with the three-dimensional element is especially new to me, though.  I'm internally laughing at myself, questioning how long it will be before I get sick of cutting out small pieces of paper.

Sloth!

Did you know sloths move so slowly their fur becomes a breeding ground for butterflies, beetles, and other insects?  Actually, they move so slowly, algae grows right on top of them making their fur turn green.  Ha!  Cleaned this guy up though, just for the shoot.

First Image of the Year

I wasn't quite sure how long this exploratory series was going to last before I lost momentum. Peculiarly enough, I seem to be picking up speed. These are still only trial pieces, but fun little images to keep my wheels from rusting over the holidays.