Near Done Pulling in more blue and less muddy colors. Working out the light issues. Light value study that I used in the piece. Started with a Pencil drawing.
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Blog: Jennifer L. Meyer Sketches (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Blog: Squish! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Hi guys, the Next Big Thing is a global blog tour, started in Australia, to showcase authors and illustrators and their current work. I was tagged for The Next Big Thing Blog Tag by the very talented author/illustrator, Peggy Collins.
I thought, as an interesting twist, I would share my tag with Lisa Dalrymple, the author of Skink on the Brink, illustrated by ME, since it is due out at the end of this month-YAY!! We are super excited!
After reading Lisa's manuscript I left it to float around inside my head for a bit. This foot tapping, singing skink had such a great personality that the ideas practically flew out of my head down through my pencil. I really enjoyed capturing all the emotions Stewie went through on his journey of self discovery. I sometimes made faces in a hand mirror to get just the right expression, when sculpting my plasticine Stewie.
3) In what genre does your book fall?
It’s a children’s picture book, subtly educational.
4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
This is Stewie the Skink’s story about self-esteem and change, as Stewie grows up, his shockingly bright blue tail fades to gray and he has to discover just who he is when he can no longer call himself “Stewie the Blue.”
6) Who is publishing your book? Fitzhenry & Whiteside publishers in Toronto.
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript? How long did the illustrations take to complete?
The roughs, rom initial thumbnails to tight rough sketches took a few months, and then the really fun final artwork created in plasticine, took approximately 4.5 months to complete. Each illustrations took anywhere from 20-40 hours, depending on complexity.
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
The Carolinian population of the Common Five-lined Skink is Endangered in Canada – an Endangered Species of lizard in my own backyard (or at least where I camp out) that I had never heard of! I knew I wanted to know more. The more I researched, the more I heard a little voice singing in my ear, “I’m a skink on the brink of extinction, I think.” There was no turning back.
Due to the cross curricular component of this book, as it is part of the Tell-Me-More Storybook series, I wanted to ensure that the habitat of the five-lined skink, including vegetation, predators and other animals found in their habitat, was accurate, so I really did my homework. Ontario has such a great variety of animals friends and foes to choose from that it was often hard to choose who to include in my illustrations- just look at my big stack of reference photos!
Stewie’s story is a familiar one to all Common Five-lined Skinks. The juveniles of this species do have incredibly bright blue tails, the colour of which fades as they reach sexual maturity. Mature males also develop bright orange or red jaws and chin, particularly during breeding season. It’s no wonder Stewie is having an identity crisis!
Blog: Jennifer L. Meyer Sketches (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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A few of the early thoughts for the cover to Aesop's Ark. Early Ark Sketches The center was designed to be a drip. The dove and raven frame the title. The exterior story design was inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry
Blog: Jennifer L. Meyer Sketches (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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I've started doing some quick character sketches for warm up and fun.
Blog: Squish! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Yup, that's right, it is final artwork time!!! I'm so excited to get started on the plasticine art. Can you tell? It has been so quiet on the blog lately and I didn't even even get a chance to make a July desktop calendar- so sorry everyone, but we made a last minute dash to the cottage.
So this is what is going on over here. I've been mixing and kneading lots of plasticine. It's a great way to keep the arms toned ;) I also keep track of my ratios on a sheet of paper, a sort of mixing chart, so if I run out of a colour I can refer back to it and make it again.
I'm SOOO excited to get cracking on the plasticine art...I think I already said that, oh well. I still feel like I need to pinch myself most mornings because I feel so incredibly lucky and honoured to be working on this picture book project. The story is such a perfect fit. And I have had such a wonderful time bringing Stewie the skink to life in my sketches from Lisa Dalrymple's fab manuscript. I still have a few revisions awaiting approval, that might need further tweaking. It has been a great learning experience to go through my sketches with my editor, Christie Harkin. She gives great constructive feedback, and our brainstorming sessions always leave me feeling energized with tons of great ideas. She totally rocks!!
For those of you who follow me on FB, you may have noticed a bunch of Stewie(the real Stewie) pics that I shared yesterday from Lisa's recent trip to Pinery Park. She shot some fabulous photos of him. And it turns out, after lots of searching with the naturalist outdoors, Stewie surprised them all by hiding under a desk in their office. Stewie found Lisa! That silly Stewie :)
Blog: Squish! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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So I got sketching, and I tried not to copy, but rather be inspired by this gleeful expression:
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Blog: Jennifer L. Meyer Sketches (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Some of my preliminary work on the young Chewbacca Graphic novel.The project started with research and working on the design of the wookies.I did a full rotation drawing on Chewbacca and front/back notes on the others.After reading the script I did notes directly on the script then went to the rough stage (above).PencilsInksI did a few color studies of various panels before coloring the whole
Blog: Jennifer L. Meyer Sketches (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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!Happy Fourth of July All!I started with an idea for a ghost fox for one project.As I sketched the fox several times I realized I probably had 2 ideas running.(second round of sketches on the ghost fox)I decided to focus on the cute fox and develop it some more and while I explored various options (shorter nose, body, etc), I drew this:(1st version of LiL Fox)And a few sketches later I realized I
Blog: Squish! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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I have been working on a new plasticine illustration piece inspired by the glorious fall colours we are so lucky to enjoy here in Ontario Canada. I wanted to do a piece that depicted the beautiful red/orange colour palette of our fall foliage in a rural setting. Just like something you'd encounter on a drive along a country road up north. So far I have the background and middleground started. It will be a surprise what fun, playful ideas I have for the foreground. You will have to pop by again in a few days to see it completed and find out!
I have posted a series of images below to show my process- Enjoy!
I promise to have lots of action and movement in the foreground, so please do pop by again to see the finished illustration!!
Blog: Jennifer L. Meyer Sketches (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Here are 2 screen caps of my layer pallete in Photoshop on my working file of Jewel from Treasures. For the Bella Sara assignments we are asked to work on levels for production reasons. The left one is my normal layer settings and the right one is for the pencil layer.Jennifer-*click on for close up*
A good and informative post. I enjoyed both your comments, and your art work. Very unique and interesting children's book. I assume you work from home studio (children). I will return for a more in depth read of your blog.