Arrrrr matey...

I did a few rough sketches last night for a portfolio series idea. I have so many family photos of my boys dressed up as pirates, so I thought, that would be a great theme for a series of portfolio illustrations that show continuity of character, different perspectives, and different facial expressions. Luckily, my boys are always very willing to pose and goof around for me, so I have live models to use for reference photos or sketching. I can't get anymore real then that! Hopefully that will help me to fully capture children's true inner sparkle.

I can't wait to clean them up, and get on to the final sketches then start the plasticine illo.s....

I'd love any crit.s or suggestions as always :)

Jumpin' into the Digital World

Guess what just arrived in the mail!!! My very own Adobe Creative Suite CS 5. I am giddy with anticipation to delve in and get cracking...I know it is going to be a work in progress, as there is a humongous learning curve, but it is a program that is used by everyone to some degree in this business, so I might as well learn it while I am just starting out. 

Did you know that if you are a student or a teacher you can purchase Adobe products through there Adobe Education Store for North America and if you qualify you can purchase products at a HUGE discount...we're talking 80% off!!!! Holy mackerel!!! When I came across this amazing info I just about fell off my computer chair!

So if you are STILL a student go and buy your software NOW before you graduate! And if you are lucky enough to have a wonderful hubby who happens to be a Vice Principal (moi) then you are in luck too!!!

My hubby jokes that I am fused to the keyboard of my computer right now, as I am having trouble tearing myself away..hahaha. Adobe has some great tutorials and I know I will be using that HELP feature about every 5 or so seconds at first to figure things out.

Wish me luck!!!

And if anyone has any great tips please through them my way :)

Now...what to do...hmmmm

Wait!...can't...remove...fingers....from...keyboard...stuck....send....caffeinated beverages....and....reinforcements for kiddies.....

Ahhh... summer time...

We were up at the cottage for the past few days, soaking up the glorious sunshine and keeping cool in this crazy heat(43C- with the humidity- wheeewww). My munchkins were in the water the ENTIRE time...I think they may have grown webbing between their toes!

It was such a nice break after the hectic school year. There's nothing like some fresh air, outdoor play time and cool, fresh water to tire out my gang and have them sleep like logs, to awake refreshed with smiles on their little faces :)

My boys looooove getting "action" shots of them jumping off the dock. Here is one of the best, it's tricky with my little point and shoot camera . My youngest wouldn't jump off the dock but she did end up going in the water and assembled quite a large rock collection for a wee-one. 

Each one made really great progress in the water; learning new floats, swimming, jumping further down the dock, - they are a brave little bunch! I can't wait to get up there again soon!

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far...and that it is filled with good times with friends and family, to create some lasting memories. :)

Where it all happens...

Today is the last day of school for my kiddies. The excitement and energy in our house, with the anticipation of summer,  is so abundant you can just about taste it. It will be nice to not be ruled by the clock for 2 long months and to really get in some good quality bonding time with my little monkeys.:)

 I hope to get a whole bunch accomplished over the summer too...website up, more portfolio pieces, and business side of things up and running.  And my wish list of illustration related items keeps growing....eeek !sorry hubby :(.  The more I delve into this wonderful world of illustration the more I realize that I am really going to need to get myself Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. I tried each out this year using the trial version. I am hoping to get the Adobe Creative Suite at some point....it looks so fantastic.  I'd also like to get a scanner, for my sketches...if only I could scan my plasticine illos...grumble.  For this reason I am also looking into digital SLR cameras, so I can hopefully take good photos myself for portfolio work etc, and then only need to hire a professional for illustration work.....I'm looking at the Canon Rebel XS and the  Nikon D3000. If anyone has any thoughts/ suggestions or preferences I'd be happy to hear them!! :)

I just purchased the Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. It is chalk full of everything I will need from contact info, pricing, forms, copyright info ...the list goes on. I know it will be full of earmarks and well worked-in over the next few year. If you don't already have it I highly recommend it.

Now I should go tidy up my desk!!! I know,I know it is a MESS! It's like a plasticine bomb blew up all over it!!! :)

I'm finished!!!! Yeah!!

I am happy to report that my final "End of the year -Teacher Gift" plasticine illustration  is now completed!! I was getting a little worried as time was just evaporating and fiinding some time, with all of the end of school craziness was harder to come by than previous years.

I am very pleased with how this illo turned out. I think son#2's teacher will really appreciate the Canadian animal theme, and I had so much fun making them. Below are a few detail shots of the new characters I just added.  

Enjoy!

There's a moose on the loose...

I am almost finished the last of the teacher gift illos! Yeah!!! I sure hope they like them!

This is for son#2's grade 1 teacher. She loves polar bears and moose, so I thought a Canadian animal theme would be perfect! I have one more animal to add, and I am torn between a blue heron and a chipmunk. I will have to think on that a bit....if anyone has any suggestions I would loooove to hear them!! :)

I think I will be making many more moose (is there a plural for moose anyway??) in the future....I really enjoyed creating this big furry guy...I really love their serene soft faces, they look so gentle for such  a humongous animal.

And here is a close up of my little lonely beaver friend....don't worry little guy I will have a little friend near you really soon!! The texture was fun on this little guy too.

Bye for now :)

Hoo hoo hoooo.....

I'm not yet finished my third teacher gift illo quite yet, but I thought I'd post a detail photo of the work in progress. I am really liking my tiny, squirmy baby polar bear- he is just barely hangin' on there- "don't fall little guy!" I am also pleased with how my horned owl turned out. It was the trickest one yet, with all the brown and white feather detail, but I am fairly happy with it. Hopefully I will have it completed by tomorrow night :)

I'd love some feedback from you guys so feel free to leave a comment. ;)