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The Asian Children’s Festival takes place November 21 – 29 in Singapore. Click here to see the KidsASIA! activities being offered at The Plaza, National Library Building and here to view the Fringe activities being offered at local libraries. Librarian and programme director, Ms. Haryani Othman says “2009 marks the tenth anniversary of ACF and we are BIGGER, BOLDER and BETTER this year! Kids can expect lots of exciting activities from ACF this year. Plus, what’s totally new this year is that we have got segments for parents too. All these programmes and workshops are free of charge too!”
0 Comments on Asian Children’s Festival ~ Singapore as of 1/1/1900
I just found out that as part of its monthly Monday Nights With Oscar film series in New York, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present eight 35mm UPA shorts, including Academy Award winners Gerald McBoing Boing (1950) and Mister Magoo’s Puddle Jumper (1956), in a program selected and hosted by Oscar-winning animator and animation historian John Canemaker.
The screening will take place on Monday, December 14, at 7:00 pm (EST). Location is the Academy Theater at Lighthouse International (111 E. 59th Street, NYC). Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students w/ID. Advanced tickets must be purchased online or at the theater box office on the night of the event (pending availability). New Yorkers, check this out.
A Friend of Mine is Melbourne, Australia based design studio that is turning out some fancy work. This identity system for The Modern Flower Co. is so snappy — I love seeing the system work across multiple pieces. Plus, typography integrated into latticework is always exciting.
I particularly enjoyed the poster at the bottom: it’s designed for a 40th birthday party. 40 isn’t that old, is it? At any rate, I do hope he finds his marbles.
Here's my take on this weeks Mermaids. I decided to create a mermaid that may have had to endure the real hardships of living in the ocean. Not the typical Mermaid that just sunbathes on rocks with shell bikini tops while sailors hollar out.
Half way through completing this I came up with the idea of doing an Abegail Sapien instead....oh well next time if we do seacreatures or sea peoples.
Crzylady at Home Grown Insanity who is apparently both organized and an organizer has given me lots of food for thought and inspiration for reorganizing my creative space. She has this great checklist, perfect for creative spaces, and a wonderfully gentle manner. I'm planning to post my progress weekly, along with a project or two that I can actually work on as I gain space and order - and a feeling of peace.
As you can see, I have a long way to go - but I'm taking the first "baby steps" as Flylady decrees. (Flylady, in case you aren't already familiar with her, has a free online organize-your-whole-life-even-your-body website that has been very helpful to me in general, though not one bit with this space...). I'm throwing stuff out as well as shifting some things to other places, and creating some better homes (and labels) for the stuff I keep.
I took Crzylady's advice to start by clearing one big space, both to give me working room and a sense of encouragement - and it has helped. I got my drawing table cleared off of most of the unnecessary junk, re-established my stations and cleared the floor enough around them that I can fit easily in and out of my chairs. Phew! And then I even started clearing out the shelves on the wall behind. Look! There's some empty space! (Probably won't stay that way for long - but I'll settle for order.)
Anyway, I got things tidy enough to get working on my Christmas card (that's what the little Christmas tree in the foreground goes to), to make good progress on the sketches of two picture books, and to nearly finish this gift I started making a while ago. SPOILER ALERT, MARY LOU - don't peek.
It's a drawstring knapsack for my walking buddy. On Saturday mornings we visit estate sales and then take our walk in the neighborhood around it. I'm making her a bag to tote her loot, and I've used all thrifted materials I've acquired at the sales. The main fabric is blue and white ticking from a vintage pillow cover, the calico lining (shows at the casing) was a vintage fabric I bought from a crafter's huge stash (it was really something - and it takes a lot to impress a hoarder like me), and the pocket on the front is from an embroidered hand towel. The bag also has a couple interior pockets. I used the excelle
0 Comments on My Creative Space - Week 2 as of 1/1/1900
The prompt for Illustration Friday was unbalanced, which totally cracked me up. I had lots of funny image ideas, but finally settled on this unbalanced elephant who is getting ready for a birthday party.
Unbalanced Elephant
Update: I liked this image, but I didn’t think the cake worked and the background was too plain. The cake was a good idea, but was too small compared to the packages and made the elephant look more balanced than unbalanced. So, I revised the image, and I think it works better, sans cake and with a more textured background. What do you think? The new version will be going into my portfolio next time I update it.
Unbalanced Elephant Take 2
0 Comments on IF: Unbalanced Elephant as of 1/1/1900
I finally got around to successfully making a few prints of my art and putting them up in my new etsy shop.
But lemma tell ya ~ Making prints is not the "la la la, oh let's just print out a few little things and pop them up on etsy (or wherever)" kind of deal. Just so you know. At least not for me.
Oh, its not as bad as a lot of things I can think of. Its just not as simple as one would think. Here's what can go wrong:
Forget to select the right custom size for paper when you go to print. Here, instead of my special 6"x 8" inch size, I left it at 8.5 x 11, so my little bear printed like this on the paper ~
One sheet of paper wasted.
Then there are the times the printer decides to spit ink blobs on the paper. Not every time, mind you, just now and then, on certain images, just to be difficult. So you get this:
Another sheet down the drain.
Then there's the combination "need to adjust color" and "didn't print with even margins" example:
With some of my images, the color prints just fine. Others, it goes kind of dull or "bluish" and I really have to bump up the color or brightness in Photoshop.
Then there's my printer. I'm using an Epson C88 for these, which I think is a great little printer. But it tends to print the image starting about a quarter inch down from where its set on the page, leaving more white space on one end or the other. So I have to adjust the file for that before I print, and make I sure I know which end is going to get cut off or shifted down before I hit "print". (more paper wasted)
So its all a little fussy. When they do come out right, they're lovely! Its just the ones that don't make me pretty cranky.
On a more positive note, I'm really happy with the paper I'm using! Its Polar Satin from Red River Paper Co. They make really nice papers, cards, envelopes, everything, for every kind of printing job you can imagine. I highly recommend them. And this particular paper is like buttah. Its - well - satin finish, which isn't gloss or even semi-gloss - its just right. I'm printing mostly colored pencil work on it, and different "looks" of pencil (grainy, burnished, drawings on sanded paper, etc.) and they all look great. I've also done one pen and ink piece, and its perfect. I'm sure it would work well for watercolor or graphite too.
It also has a nice weight to it. The only thing is it doesn't take pencil on the front side
5 Comments on The joy of prints, last added: 12/3/2009
Hehe, I had to laugh at this Paula, just because you describe your trials with the printing so vividly and it would drive me nuts too! It would be great to just draw and leave all the technical stuff to an 'assistant' wouldn't it?! I think lots of people will be very interested in buying prints of your art (me for one!). Thanks also for the info re. papers, very informative :)
Yep, printing is a barrel of laughs. I usually sit down intending to make one little print and end up wondering where the day went. My favorite trick is printing on the wrong side of the paper.
Speaking of which--I've had a terrible time getting accurate reproduction on anything but Epson papers. Did you have to do a lot of experimenting on your paper? I hate wasting ink. Also, 2200 prints are considered giclee's?? I didn't know that. Where did you learn that?
I wanted to try selling Etsy, but for images I couldn't get past certain clauses in their agreement (you know which ones.)
Paula, you described the "joy of prints" perfectly! And all this time I thought it was just me. Hate wasting paper and ink. I guess the up-side is that learning by trial and error makes for a lasting lesson.
Weary of his circumstances as third crow on the fence, Friedrich decided to hitch a ride with the first eighteen wheeler and accommodating driver that came along with the hopes of gaining advantage by getting some windshield time while sitting on a dashboard, warm, refreshed and perhaps being the first on the scene for any squirrel mishap that he knew was common to such conveyances…….
0 Comments on Opportunity comes knocking … as of 1/1/1900
Hargis Art Services Studios and Gallery is presenting a year long children's exhibit in Greenville, SC! If you're in the area, please stop in and peruse. You'll see art by many children's illustrators working today including myself. I'm presenting four illustrations created for Highlights High Five Magazine, which won the 2008 AEP Award for Best Illustration in the K-5 category.
Look familiar? One of my pieces on display.
Some of the pieces are also for sale. An Author World, comprised of Pam Zollman, Tim Davis and Jim Hargis, organized the exhibit, so if you can't make it to Greenville, check out their site!
0 Comments on More Great Work on Display as of 1/1/1900
Are you looking for a free place to show off your work with a professional-looking portfolio?
Below is a list of 8 of the best sites designed just for this purpose, in no particular order. Some are strictly portfolio sites, and some also have additional components such as artist communities, forums, and print shops. I’ve listed some of their basic features, but it’s really up to you to explore them and decide which ones work for you.
So, post a portfolio at each one or pick and choose your favorites and get your work online!
If you have any suggestions for free portfolio sites that didn’t make the list, feel free to add them to the comments below.
(Note: In the interest of full disclosure, Carbonmade is a sponsor of EFII)
Are you looking for a free place to show off your work with a professional-looking portfolio?
Below is a list of 9 of the best sites designed just for this purpose, in no particular order. Some are strictly portfolio sites, and some also have additional components such as artist communities, forums, and print shops. I’ve listed some of their basic features, but it’s really up to you to explore them and decide which ones work for you.
So, post a portfolio at each one or pick and choose your favorites and get your work online!
If you have any suggestions for free portfolio sites that didn’t make the list, feel free to add them to the comments below.
Update: Thanks to Butler Designs for reminding me of Krop, which has now been added to the list below.
(Note: In the interest of full disclosure, Carbonmade is a sponsor of EFII)
This didn't really go to plan. I had something quite different in my head. And, the perspective is all over the shop. However, considering this is actually a drawing of a pixie's bunch of keys I think that bad perspective is the least of my worries, don't you?
(Thanks to everybody who has pre ordered my zine. They'll be the first lot to go out, and they'll all be in the mail by the end of this month. I've been really touched by the response. Cheers, my dears.)
Apologies for the delay in posting this comic. I’m at a boardgaming convention right now and wasn’t able to get Internet access in my room until this evening. I created the comic above during the plane ride to Dallas. Haven’t yet had a chance to look at your survey suggestions for Rover yet, but will [...]
1 Comments on NaNoWriMo Day 19: Ed Confides, last added: 11/19/2009
I recently signed up to advertise in the Directory of Illustration. I won't be in their book until 2011, but I'm online as of today. Yippee! It took me a really long time to resize and upload all my images to the specs they needed to be for the site and I'm only half way done! Hopefully, this weekend I can finish it up. You can find my DI portfolio right here.
2 Comments on directory of illustration, last added: 12/3/2009
Hi Nina Your stuff looks really great there!! Just curious...how did you decide on Directory of Illustration? Do you advertise on any of the children's book illustration sites, or the Ispot? Any preferences or advice? This is the top task on my to do list for the next week...
I packed my bags again on Tuesday, but I've not earned another holiday quite yet: I am spending 4 days working in Durham, as part of the Northern Children's Book Festival.
I really enjoy the social element of the NCBF: instead of a lonely hotel room somewhere, a meal for one with a book, followed by sitting on the bed to watch rubbish TV (pause to wipe a tear...), all the authors and illustrators at the NCBF are put up in the same hotel. It's so lovely meeting new people, and each evening we get to have dinner together.
We're shipped out every morning to a different area in the region, to work in various libraries or schools, before being dropped back again at the end of the day.
I took the train up on Tuesday afternoon and started my visits in Hartlepool on Wednesday, then Durham today, S. Tyneside on Friday. I'll be up there until Saturday night though, because Saturday is a wee bit special: a climax to the festival called Gala Day.
There is a big Gala Dinner the night before in Stockton, with everyone involved, then we all strut our stuff the following day. I will be doing events with Julia Jarman on Gala Day. We've done this several times now, and it's always good fun and rather mad. We had a great time together in Edinburgh.
I'll report back next week, hopefully with some photos. In the meantime, these sketches were done on Monday, on my way to and from Lisburne School in Stockport. Hello to everyone there and thanks for inviting me to visit. It was lovely meeting you all!
Introducing another way to connect with your fellow Illustrators.
In the spirit of the ongoing What’s Your Twitter User Name and Share Your Illustration experiments, I would like to invite anyone who’s interested to share the addresses (URLs) to their social networking profiles.
This can be another great way to find and connect with your fellow Illustrators through sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, design:related, or any of the other sites where you may have a presence.
So, in the comments below, feel free to post all of your social networking profiles, and connect with whoever you like. Be sure to check back as the list grows in order to add to your network, and invite your friends to join as well! I hope that this leads to some positive new relationships with your fellow creators.
On Wednesday, December 9, Bloomsbury Auction house will have a sale called "Capture the Imagination: Original Illustration and Fine Illustrated Books."
There will be one Dinotopia item in the sale, a rare first edition/first printing with an even more rare title page:
The Asian Children’s Festival takes place November 21 – 29 in Singapore. Click here to see the KidsASIA! activities being offered at The Plaza, National Library Building and here to view the Fringe activities being offered at local libraries. Librarian and programme director, Ms. Haryani Othman says “2009 marks the tenth anniversary of ACF and we are BIGGER, BOLDER and BETTER this year! Kids can expect lots of exciting activities from ACF this year. Plus, what’s totally new this year is that we have got segments for parents too. All these programmes and workshops are free of charge too!”
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I'll report back next week, hopefully with some photos. In the meantime, these sketches were done on Monday, on my way to and from Lisburne School in Stockport. Hello to everyone there and thanks for inviting me to visit. It was lovely meeting you all!
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Very nice! Luscious!
that's awesome. great expressive face and body shape. love that she looks a bit older and scarier than some of the the mermaids posted.
Nice work, great expression
Nice pencils!
very cool