Friday, February 8, 2013

Playing Catch(up) with Snowstorm Nemo!

Hellllooo! It's been a while, hasn't it? :)

I love our tree in the front yard!
Well, as I live in New England, USA, we are sitting here in the middle of a lovely snow storm they named Nemo. It is downright nasty out there, and I'm hoping the power doesn't go out! But I'm not here to talk about the weather, I'm here to do some catching up! I have a post to write about my Christmas crafting, and one about a little doodle I drew, and another about another craft project... plus another (semi)secret craft project... I've been too busy doing lots of little things that add up to one huge chunk of time!

On top of that, I am working on 3 new smaller projects (one illustration, one logo, and one custom birthday invitation), plus Little Raindrop's story!

Speaking of Little Raindrop- he's been quite busy himself! Have you seen his blog posts yet? Here, take a peek: http://littleraindropsblog.blogspot.com/ This little guy has been traveling all around the USA, and hopefully around the whole WORLD! He has been sharing his photos and stories on the blog for all to see! Very fun, and I can't wait to see where he goes next!

Alrighty, well, now that you know I'm still alive and all that, I'm going to write my overdue blog posts. See you soon, I hope! If not, that means the power is out, and Hubby is outside putting the generator together. That ought to be an adventure in itself!

Stay warm and safe!
~Melanie

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

From Start to Finish: Peaceful Pets

Here is my latest piece, From Start to Finish, destined for a friend's custom Christmas card! The animal portraits are based on a real cat and dog who ACTUALLY like to snuggle! Here they are in real life:

Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Aren't they the CUTEST?!?!

Anyway, my friend wanted something that conveyed peace, and something warm and cozy, and a bit on the sketchy side. I tried so hard not to tighten up my lines like I always do! But I ended up doing it anyway. Partially. (You'll see what I mean...)

Sketches:
Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Inking Stage:
Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Pencil and Finishing Stage:
Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Final Piece
Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan
Image ©2012 Melanie Linden Chan

I'm pretty proud of this one, though I wish I had moved everything up and to the left by half an inch. But it looks great cropped!

Happy Holidays, and wishing you all this kind of cozy Peace that our fuzzy friends enjoy each and every day!
~Melanie

Saturday, October 27, 2012

#PiBoIdMo 2012 and #PiBoIdMoBrainFlush! and IDEAS!

Hello! It's NOVEMBER again! (Well, almost.)


AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT NOVEMBER MEANS???


It's Picture Book Idea Month! Invented and hosted by the lovely Tara Lazar!

*ta daaaaaaaaa!!!* (this means, GO HERE ---> http://taralazar.com/)


It's a pledge, taken by writers, to come up with THIRTY (30) new picture book ideas, one for each day of the month of November. And we put them all into a fancy journal and keep them for future picture book idea usage. So we will always have a new story to be working on, all year long! Woo!

Here is my shy, quiet little PiBoIdMo journal:


shhh... it's sleeping

it's been around the block a bit...


And inside are... BAM!!!! IDEAS!!!!

HA! I'm not showing you my ideas, Silly!

Although this book works just fine for now, I just ordered (from Shutterfly) some custom matching journals for future use. I might even transfer over all of my ideas into those books, so I might come up with more ideas while I'm thinking! Who knows? WE DON'T KNOW!

Okay, now that you know more of what PiBoIdMo actually is, SIGN up and DO it! Not sure how to start? Go here ----> registration-begins-now-sign-up-here and then read this nice little Pre-PiBoIdMo Post! ----> pre-pibo-day-1-kathy-ellen-davis-and-the-three-little-ps/ by Kathy Davis.

In addition to the neat things Kathy Davis recommends doing to prepare yourself, I have my own personal favorite... the Pre-PiBoIdMo Brain Flush. This little method/game/process is from my own genius mind (me so smaht!). Because it almost feels like cheating when I start off my PiBoIdMo journal with a TON of "new" ideas that I've been brewing on but never had the chance to write them down. So I write down ALL the stuff and bits of things that are floating in my head until my brain is empty.

Yep. It's empty all right.   -_-

Also, I have been keeping track of new ways to get new ideas, so I can keep them in my journal for emergency brain fart removal.


I'd like to share with you some ideas on how to get ideas... but I don't have my whole list ready yet. I'm getting ideas from other people, too! And when I've got them all down in my new, shiny Idea Book, I shall show them to you! (I'm even going to TYPE them up, muah ha haa haaaaaa!)

Anyway, that's what I'll be doing this month. Time to go wait on some tables!
ttfn!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Project In Progress: #Owl Art

Hello!

I've been busy lately getting ready for the holiday season. "ALREADY?!?!" you say. Yes, already!

Firstly, I have been ordering prints of my work, matting and packaging them, so I may sell them in time for Christmas! I have plans to do a special Art Sale and Show at the family restaurant for November, and I'm just working out the details how I'm going to go about it. I will also be uploading images of my prints online at my online print store through Society6.com, here on my own little shop: http://society6.com/mlcillustration

Secondly, I have been busy creating new calendars for 2013, also for sale here at the family business. I don't know if I'll be making it available to order online in my Cafe Press shop (http://www.cafepress.com/mlcillustration) however, I shall let you know if I do! It will be featuring all of the art I still haven't displayed in last year's calendar, so it isn't new stuff... but it's new stuff to many customers who really haven't seen my art yet.

And Thirdly... Originally, I wanted 2013's calendar to have all new owl art... but stuff has been going on at home lately that has kept me out of the studio. I still want to finish the art for next year, though! So here are a few snapshots of what I'm working on right now:

Art Copyright 2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Art Copyright 2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Art Copyright 2012 Melanie Linden Chan

Art Copyright 2012 Melanie Linden Chan
Art Copyright 2012 Melanie Linden Chan

As you might notice, I'm starting to play around with colored inks! It's quite fun, and although I've got a good idea how I want to complete each painting, actually accomplishing what is in my Mind's Eye is going to be pretty difficult. So I've got a challenge ahead of me!