Some new work

Here's some things out of my sketchbook. Enjoy!

Something fun.

It's getting to be that time of year when people go on vacation and decide to travel. So I decided to do a sort of brochure type of piece. I also did this on my tablet.

Looking for Inspiration?

Then check out these awesome sites!

Redbubble - just type in a subject and check out all the awesome art there!

How about orange? - for lovers of orange and colors. ;)

And how cute is this?

Definately is giving me some things to think about for this spring. ;)

New Work

Okay, so I haven't gotten to see Coraline yet, however it is on my to do list. :) Apparently movies don't run as late in the winter here as they do in the summer, and since this is a kid's movie, it only runs on the early times, so it will probably have to be a weekend before I can see it, and they're jam packed right now as it is. However, I will try to post about it when I see it. ;)

On another note, I still haven't been able to scan my newest sketches and works, but I have been doodling and playing around with my tablet and computer and came up with somethings I thought was cute last night. Thought I would share them with you guys really quick. ;)

Here's one that was more of an experiment. I've been trying out some of the techniques on adobe and here's a few of the pictures I've come up with so far.

I love the one with the airplanes. I tried printing it and it came out a little dark, so I may need to lighten it a bit, but I thought this would make a great luggage tag or something. I'm going to play around with adobe some more and some other techniques to see what I can come up with. ;)

Another Great Website

A friend of mine told me about this website and I have fallen in love with it. The colors are vibrant. The pictures are adorable. What more could any illustrator/artist want? ;)

Check it out for yourself:

Vlad Studio

Movie Pre- Review : Coraline

Sorry for my prolonged absence. I have some new art I need to put up, but I haven't had the time lately, however I do have lots of new pieces I need to post and share. :) Not sure when I'll be able to get them up though, so in the meantime, I thought I would post about the new movie, Coraline, coming out. I believe it's based off a children's book, however I haven't done much research on it yet, so I'm not really sure. I have found the movie website and I have to say, it's one of the best I've seen in a while. It's perfect for children and those young pre-teens (and even those kid-at-heart adults like myself!). There are all sorts of things to do there. You can visit Coraline's world, visit her neighbors, watch the trailer and even create your own flower and post it to your facebook or myspace page, or even email it to your friends and family. The movie is stop-motion with clay animated figures, which I have always loved. I can only imagine the patience the people who made that movie have. There aren't too many stop motion movies out there right now, which makes them all the better in my opinion, since we get to see how those movies grow and develop. I especially love watching the behind the scene footages. The website actually has some of those you can watch as well. It's quite fascinating to see how Coraline's world is made and how all of her clothing and facial expressions are created. Again, the patience those people have to make those things astounds me.

Anyway, I haven't seen the movie yet, but hope to in the very near future, which is why I have titled this entry my 'pre-review'. Hopefully once I see it, I can get back on here and let you know my full review. :) Until then, I would definately recommend checking out their website. It does take it a few minutes to load, so you may have to wait. But believe me, the wait is definately worth it. ;)

Oh, and Happy Late Valentine's Day!

Ack!

I'm so behind! I completely missed November. :S The rest of my life has been so hectic and crazy lately though that I just haven't been able to post anything new. I have been creating some art (mostly little doodles and sketches), but I haven't had time to scan them or photograph them to upload them. :S

Anyway, I just wanted to pop on here and let the world know I haven't left My Art World. ;)

I've actually been trying to make a few Christmas gifts for some friends, so that's one thing I'm hoping to post later, though I'm not sure when. :S

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. :)

Time to junk your pumpkin!

I'm way behind on posts, but I finally got my pumpkin junked and just submitted it in and wanted to share it with ya'll. ;D



If you want to junk your own pumpkin, you can submit it here. Or you can visit Holli here and check out her awesome art! ;D

Happy Halloween to everyone! :)

*Update* I won second prize in this contest and received a copy of one of Holli's awesome pieces. Yay!

Another new header!

Since fall is coming, I've decided to make another header. ;) Here's the sketch I drew out for it.

And here's the finished project, which I drew in photoshop, over the original sketch. ;)

Not sure I'm completely satisfied with it, but it will be a nice change anyway, so I'm going to try and put it up as the new header for awhile. Hope you guys like it! ;D

A little lumpy dragoon...

Just a little something I did with my tablet. ;) I did one without a very decorative background, and then one with a little bit of decoration. Not sure which one looks best. :/ What do you guys think? ;)

Plain background:

Somewhat Decorative background:

Pumpkin Abstract

This is another pumpkin I did with my tablet. Thought I'd make it a little more abstract and different.

Then I tried tweaking it in photoshop and came up with this one that's a little bit darker and a little more bolder. Not sure which one I like best yet. Probably the first one. ;)

Sweet Pea

Here's another piece I did on my tablet. ;) I like to call her Sweet Pea.

Pumpkin patch fencerow

Phew, have been busy, but I'm finally getting somewhat back into the groove of making art, so thought I would post a new pic for you to celebrate the coming of autumn. ;) I know, it's still a ways off, but I just love autumn! ;D

So, here's a little pumpkin I did. ;) Hope you enjoy it! Drew it with my wacom tablet, which I haven't used in ages either. Definately felt good to have that pen back in my hand once again. :)

An oldie, but a goodie.

I'm sure I've talked about some of the artists that have influenced me before, but there's one I just recently rediscovered. As a child, it used to be the norm for everyone in my school to get folders and backpacks and binders with cutesy little pictures all over them. Or at least is was for girls. And almost every year I would get several folders with art by the same artist; Lisa Frank. I absolutely loved her art. And still do! It's so vibrant and cute, and her characters are so lovely and sweet! My favorites used to be the horses, dogs, and bears that she drew. They always had the most adorable back stories to go with them. If you'd like to see some of the characters or their stories, you can visit them here.

I don't know what made me think of this artist after so long, but I'm so glad I did. I plan to check out her website more thoroughly and see what new characters she's created. Hope you guys check her out, too! Her art really is inspiring. :)

Book Reviews

I figured it was time I did something a little bit different. So I've decided to give a book review of my two favorite books (to do with art and writing, that is)! I just love these two books. They've become fairly essential in my writing and my art.

The first one is called Roland Harvey's Drawing book (Young Designer Series), published by Scholastic. Of all the many art books I've read through and looked at, this one has been the most helpful to me so far. Because I'm the type of person who needs to read and see something to learn it, this book is perfect. Roland Harvey's illustrations are very funny, cute, and clever, as well as informative and helpful. For a beginning illustrator and/or artist, this book is great. He even shows how he works on illustrations for books! If you're a new artist, or are just looking for some helpful tips or ideas, you should definately check it out.

The second book is The Pocket Muse by Monica Wood, published by Writer's Digest Books. This book is simply full of ideas. Literally. Monica lists all kinds of ways to get ideas for stories. There are even pictures that are meant to give you ideas. Very helpful if you're having writer's block. :)