Sketch for IF: Haunt

Here is my sketch for this week's Illustration Friday topic, "Haunt".   I hope you all had a Happy Halloween! Welcome, November! 

Breezy

Staying afloat, keeping drawings loose, & putting pencil to paper as often as possible!

 (I just finished a big, left-brained, "paying the bills" job and am feeling happy, feathery, and right-brained again.)

Upload Guilt!

Hellooo out there!  It has been a while!  ...Since June, it says?!  OMG. 
I hope everyone has been well and living happy, creative lives.  <3 br="br">

I can come up with hundreds of excuses for not blogging, but I'll only mention three here.  First, I've noticed a huge challenge when it comes to updating stuff online.  Many (most) contracts say I can't show my work online until a given project is publicly revealed.  Even if I'm drawing all the time, it takes a while before my artwork comes to the surface, and by then it's already "old work" to me and though I haven't forgotten about it, I am likely excited and preoccupied about whatever secret project I'm working on next, creating this difficult cycle which, coupled with laziness, results in the blog going stale.  My sincere apologies.  

Speaking of laziness, even when I draw sketches for fun, many of them don't even make it to the scanner.  Those little guys I do forget about.  But I really hope to break this bad habit.  The sketch above did make it to the scanner, so I thought I'd post it in the meantime while I get my ducks in a row for the fall.

Lastly, the summer really, really, kicked my butt as a work-at-home mom.  My 4 year old wanted to try out several different summer activity camps, and my 1 year old was napping less, and we went out of town every other weekend.  Any time for my own needs, including work AND drawing for fun, (not to mention exercise, etc.), diminished down into maybe 5 hours a week, total.  Needless to say, I had an incredibly understanding client over the summer, possibly the world's best, and I had to let go of any personal projects for the time being.

So there are my excuses, but I have learned from them and am moving on!  The delightful world of illustration is always a learning process.  

IF: Shiny

Hello all!

I've been keeping busy - preschool graduation is around the corner, and a few top secret work projects on the go.

This week's Illustration Friday topic is "Shiny". I started this character to be part of a larger piece, but since the subject matter suited the IF topic, I thought I'd go ahead and upload what I had.  Consider it a work in progress.  :)

Happy Father's Day on Sunday!

IF: Sight

Hi, all!  My current project is in vector format, which I am really enjoying.  Since I can't show you that work just yet, I thought I'd do this week's Illustration Friday topic in vector as well.  Unlike painting in the traditional sense, vector painting creates images by computing curves and geometric shapes.  (It takes me back to days when I studied 3D modeling.  Kind of.) 

This week's topic is "Sight," so I thought I'd do a little owl character.  Hoot hoot!  Have a great week!

Quick check-in!

Long time no blog!  How is everyone?

Unfortunately, I have been sidelined with a back injury that worsens when I sit for long periods of time.  It has been quite painful and so I have been resting as much as possible when I don't have to work or chase after my kids.

I've set up a standing desk and have been able to sketch more in the past week.  The above is a sketch for this week's Illustration Friday topic, "Jump".  Please bear with me and I will post more content soon!  Wishing you well!  :)

Ink for IF: Popularity

Hi folks! My schedule is crazy these days - juggling work projects, packing lunches for preschool, trying to fit a run in somewhere, and my baby still won't sleep through the night! So, I got to the inking phase for this week's Illustration Friday theme, but am very sure it won't be painted in time. I want to do this one in acrylic when I have a spare minute!

Hope all is well in happy drawing land! Until next time!

Sketch for IF: Suspense

I probably won't finish this by next Friday, but here is my sketch for this week's Illustration Friday, "Suspense".

IF: Forward

I'm still playing around with ink & acrylics. This technique keeps me loose, which I love. Here's my painting for this week's Illustration Friday:

Until next time!

IF: Prepare

I finished painting this one.  In case you missed it, the sketch is here.  Enjoy!

IF: Twirl

So, I was not able to finish digitally painting last week's "Prepare", but it is coming along alright and I hope to finish it sometime soon.

I've been playing around with brush inking & acrylics lately, so I tried out this week's Illustration Friday, "Twirl", in that style.  It was a quick exercise for a Sunday afternoon, and I had fun painting it. 

Here's the sketch:

Incidentally, the red panda is my favourite animal.  :)

Sketch for IF: Prepare

I hope I can paint this one this week!

 

IF: Grounded

I wish I had a more grounded personality!

Happy 2012!

Happy New Year!! I hope everyone in the blogging world has been well.  The past few months for me have been a huge game of improv - who knew it'd be so tough to get on the computer while running around after two little ones?  Ha! 

 

My new year's resolution is the same as last year, to be creative every day, cherish these early years with my children, and continue to beef up my client list and portfolio.  Like always I hope to be around more on my blog, but that would be icing on the cake, wouldn't it?  ;)  

Enjoy this year of the dragon!