From Start to Finish: River Habitat!

Hello hello!

Here are some snapshots I took as I worked on the River Habitat piece for Project #4. If my client is happy with it, we might just sign a contract to do a whole book! Woo hoo!

Initial sketch...

Inking

Done Inking

Underpainting

Basic Colors

Deepening of Colors

Allllmost there!

and the final scan...

I don't have the graphic elements painted, like the little not or photograph of the Bald Eagle, but those will be done separately. But I'm happy with it! I'm curious to know... what do you think? (Kind criticism is welcome.)

Chairry Cake!!!!

Hello Readers!

Check out the LAST CAKE EVER of 2011! Classes are starting and I've got projects to do, so we went out with a real bang with this last cake of the year... Chairry from Pee Wee's Playhouse! Pee Wee was also cool enough to Tweet to the whole wide world about it, and to wish my pal Brook a Happy Birthday! And there are a ton of "Likes" on Facebook now, How awesome is that?!?!

My photos aren't as pretty as Brook's, but here they are, taken just minutes after I finished piping it. :)

To see more cakes, for the fun of it, go here. Thanks for visiting! :D

River Research

Drawing something new takes lots of sketching and practice! Especially if it needs to be scientifically correct. Here are the sketches I've drawn, and later pieced together, to create the River Habitat:

Why I Love to Draw and Paint

Got this in my Inbox this morning, from the SCBWI New England email list:

"Hello to all you illustrators,
The protagonist in the middle-grade novel I'm working on loves to draw. I'd love some input from you who draw and paint as to how creating a scene, person, animal makes you feel?
Thanks to any and all who can give me a glimpse into your passion for illustrating.
Joyce A. Stengelwww.joyceastengel. com"

             And here's my answer...

You know why I like art?

Because when I'm drawing or painting, I'm the boss of what I do. No one can tell me that I'm doing it wrong, because art is subjective, and a creative process. I can choose any color I want just because I love it, any topic I want just because I love it, and draw it in any way that I want just because I love the way it feels to draw. People can try to tell me otherwise, or wonder why I chose to do the things that I do, but they can't change the fact that I did it, and I LOVED doing it, and that I'm proud of it. And in the end, I always win them over anyway, because in the whole wide world of hobbies and talents and things to do, this is my circus and I'm the ringleader, (and we've got the funniest clowns).

So teachers can try to lead or admonish you, and parents can "tut tut" or ask "what is that supposed to be?" and your friends may scoff at you for drawing purple bunnies instead of toads, but you can bet those will be the best darn bunnies they've ever seen. Because when someone really truly loves what they're doing, it shows in their work.

In art, Love  is no longer just ethereal, it become visible on a page.