Between This and That and Those Over There

Between class assignments to polish, a possible commission, my own ideas, and art business that needs completing, I think I'm in the midst of about nine projects. Not bad, and much preferable to the alternative!

I've been playing around with some of the techniques demonstrated in the SVS Photoshop Power Day class, and after tonight's wrestling match with PS, I conclude I need to re-watch the videos! But my buddy Koki, and the serpent under his feet, finally received their value layer (I used the lasso and gradient tools for most of this part), and are primed for color. Stay tuned next week for another peek!

Koki and the Serpent (value layer)

Progress was made in designing a character from a novel (written by someone close to me who must remain nameless for tonight because I neglected to get permission to share). This will be a grayscale piece for the book's website. It was really fun to begin bringing her to life visually, and the author approved the preliminary sketch. On to the final!

I also filled about a dozen pages with little sketches of dogs. Oodles of deranged fluff-balls. I want to tell the story of an extraordinary experience I had with a rather maniacal dog whom I loved very much. I'm going for a loose style to give this character the crazy, exuberant, bigger-than-life-yet-not-quite-safe personality found in the real dog. I think I'm close. HA!!  


So, loads to do and tons of fun await. Have a great week, everyone!

Hats Off to the Internet!

Mrs. Pepper's Party
Illustration from a class at SVS

A few months ago, I stumbled upon a gem: internet classes and videos teaching story Illustration. I never knew! I've now sat in live internet "classrooms" with people from all over the world, watched some amazing videos, and have crammed this passion for learning the craft of illustration into all the spare moments I can find in a day.

Illustrator Will Terry was the first person I found who provides a wealth of online support and encouragement to those eager to learn about illustration. His most recent offering is SVS, the School of Visual Storytelling.  I was tickled to be a part of the very first class taught at SVS, and recently completed a second course. I also participated in a crazy fun Photoshop Power Day where Will had assembled four other professional illustrators to join him in doing demos for us - 12.5 total hours of instruction! Will has many free videos on YouTube  (including a series for kids!), as well as affordable video lessons at Folio Academy. 

Check out the links above if you want to learn more about illustration. Or hunt around online for something else that grabs your interest. Why not? It's all there on the internet!