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Angel Card at zazzle

I drew this yesterday but by the time I'd finished it I was so tired I didn't have any energy left to scan it in! SO here I am, bright and early this morning, posting it finally.

I bought a gorgeous angel ornament two days ago and liked it so much that it was the inspiration for this drawing although I changed the colours and the expression on her face, and added the heart and the star :). She was still the model who posed for it, so I must give her the credit due for inspiring me. It was also wonderful to be able to pick up a pencil and draw again -- am going to have to fit as much drawing as I can into my upcoming very busy schedule.

Cheers!

Thanks to Kat over at Smidge who showcased my holiday cards. I really appreciate the mention!

I was asked to draw a rooster ... and thought it would be fun to try one, so here's my first attempt!

Meanwhile, am preparing for a 10 day trip so I'm not sure if I'll have the time to post anything, even if I have the time to draw in the first place! Will take my sketchbook with me but we'll see how things go as far as actually getting anything done. If there's an internet connection I'll definitely be posting something!

Rooster Card at Zazzle

I was asked to draw a rooster ... and thought it would be fun to try one, so here's my first attempt!

Meanwhile, am preparing for a 10 day trip so I'm not sure if I'll have the time to post anything, even if I have the time to draw in the first place! Will take my sketchbook with me but we'll see how things go as far as actually getting anything done. If there's an internet connection I'll definitely be posting something!

I thought I'd show a bit of the progress steps from drawing to finished product! I started this ATC last night. It's 2.5 by 3.5 inches in size and it took me about a couple of hours to draw, nice and quick which is why I call them my "doodles"!

Once I'd completed it, I scanned it in and then cleaned up the edges a bit and this was the result, all ready to turn into a card:

All the digital work is done on my tablet pc in Photoshop CS2. I then played around with a design to frame it in. And some text (which is where my tablet pc comes into 'proper' play and is invaluable!), and finally created two cards out of it:

Ta-da! :D It takes me a whole day to actually complete the whole process from start to end, including creating products and uploading designs onto my online stores, but I have to admit that it's so delightful seeing my designs on the products. I always make matching stamps and stickers for the cards as I love things that fit together well ... Highly motivating and fun too! Cheers!

Carrying on with the text design theme plus my decision to be positive about life and the future ... here's my latest attempt!

I have a tablet pc ... the screen can be twisted so that it folds down flat on the keyboard. If you want to see it, it's here: toshiba tablet pc. It's absolutely wonderful as you can write and draw directly on the screen. So I begin with a rough sketch of the type onto the background (on photoshop) to make sure that everything fits where it should, then I just keep on refining and smoothing it till I get the final result, then decide on whether I want it in colour or not.

There's quite a soothing, therapeutic effect in using the pen on the screen, it's smooth (unlike paper) and quite different but still enjoyable, so I've had fun doing text designs and they seem quite popular on my products which is really nice :)

It does not replace drawing in any way ... so I'll be back sketching madly pretty soon ... probably doodling more Christmas related fun stuff, as I'm still busy planning and preparing for a trip and then a huge move -- both pretty stressful, but I remind myself to breathe and to Love Life!

On November 15th, David Tolin author of Buried in Treasures: Help For Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, and Hoarding will appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show. To get you excited we asked David to give us some advice for avoiding hoarding during the season of plenty. Below is his advice.

The holiday season is traditionally a time for reflecting on how the past year has gone, and to decide what (if anything) we want to do differently in the coming year. For people with hoarding-related problems, it can also be a particularly challenging time. In addition to being unusually busy, we’re bombarded with advertisements and marketing strategies trying to get us to buy things we don’t really need. (more…)

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Well, what with planning and stressing out over what I'm about to do (will let you know once the decision has been made!), I haven't had much time for anything but doodles recently. And as Christmas is coming and I'm trying to get some products up at my online stores, I'm afraid that it's going to be a festive theme for the near future -- hope you're all feeling merry already!

I turned her into this card:

Am quite enjoying the festive theme, it's bringing a bit of much-needed positive air into my life. Cheers!

Another cake ATC for the challenge at ATC Quarterly!

A lot has been going on in my life at the moment, major changes coming up I think, and at present am not much in the mood for doing much more than doodle aimlessly with my colored pencils. I find it strange that no matter what my mood, I seem to produce these sweet, happy-looking, colourful doodles and drawings ...

EDM Challenges 142: Something Hot & 143: Herb or Spice.

Am taking a bit of creative license with the 'spice' portion of this challenge! This was quite a quick sketch in colored pencils, based on photographs I took months ago of these chilies I'd bought specifically because I liked their twisted shapes.

I'm now free of deadlines for the next couple of months but I'm tired, and so much has happened to me in just the last couple of weeks that it's quite drained me and I'm re-evaluating my life and my priorities. Not a small job, but the drawing is therapeutic and keeps me going. Cheers and all the best to all of you!

EDM Challenges 142: Something Hot & 143: Herb or Spice.

Am taking a bit of creative license with the 'spice' portion of this challenge! This was quite a quick sketch in colored pencils, based on photographs I took months ago of these chilies I'd bought specifically because I liked their twisted shapes.

I'm now free of deadlines for the next couple of months but I'm tired, and so much has happened to me in just the last couple of weeks that it's quite drained me and I'm re-evaluating my life and my priorities. Not a small job, but the drawing is therapeutic and keeps me going. Cheers and all the best to all of you!

Was`asked to do a simple, colourful graphic with specific instructions as to what should be in it. This is the result and it surprisingly took me much longer than I expected it to -- and I'm not at all happy with it, but ... onward and upward!

Coloured pencil.

Illustration Friday: Trick or Treat.

I'm digging up the pumpkin illustration I did in July, for this week's Illustration Friday topic. And below is the card that I turned it into :D

There I sat, in front of blank sketchbook, mulling over what to do for my next job, when I had this little visitor! He announced himself as Critter Cedric and insisted that I draw him -- what could I do? His gift to me was: a huge pinch of fun and humour between jobs ... am sure it will be different for you ... :D

I'm feeling sad today. I'm supposed to be working on a couple of jobs but just couldn't concentrate so I drew this instead. One of my cats, Mozart, has been missing for two days and two nights. This is unusual -- they are always home for their food and always indoors at nights, so although I still hope that Mozart went walkabout for a bit of adventure, I can't help but think the worst.

I'm not a person who's normally prone to tears (exceptions being soppy movies when I always have a box of tissues on hand) but I've found myself being overcome for short but frequent points during the day today.

This is the spot on the sofa/couch/lounge, where he normally curls himself up, next to the very bedraggled but soft teddy, and it's missing him. We hope he comes home soon.

This started off as a doodle but I got a bit carried away and it took a bit longer then I'd expected. All very therapeutic though. I of course turned it into cards, one with a striped background and another against plain red. Here's the striped one for your viewing pleasure :)

I've been asked to do a special commission for a friend and am putting it up here so that she can have a look at it and pick the colours that she prefers, so please excuse this post! I drew the text digitally in photoshop (am not too proficient at illustrator!) and then designed some mugs in different coloured backgrounds in her preferred colours. Hope she likes it!

Editorial illustration for HOMME magazine. I was given very specific instructions for this and a very very tight deadline so didn't have time to do as much research or preliminary sketches as I'd have liked to, but am not tooooo unhappy with the way it turned out.

Raja Malek is a brilliant set designer and talented all-around creative mind, who is also an old friend of mine, so I tried to portray both his sweetness and determination and I hope I've come close -- with the only photograph i had to work from!

ON a different note I've been doing up a card and some products for a friend of mine who will be turning 40 soon. As I don't think she peeks into this blog too often (neither do my family!!!) I think it's safe to post them up here ...

The one I did up for her actually has her name on it -- I did this version to put up on my online stores. Phew. Am now off to find something to draw for today! Cheers!

3 Duck ATCs for a group swap on Monday Artday ATC. Colored pencil.

First time I've ever drawn ducks so I've kept it simple. Drew them in one strip and cut them up into 2.5 x 3.5 sections. Looked through tons of reference photographs and am getting quite fond of these birds!