Stoked

I am starting a new project yet to be published, but the images in this cartoon so cool and inspirational.

Dear Maria Count Me In from hook music on Vimeo.

moleskine datebook ressurected

Found a great tutorial on making a sketchbook from a Moleskine datebook. I want to try this one day but will never remember where I read about it unless I link it. Thanks again Trumpetvine!

Sketcher's Box

My birthday is coming up and I am toying with the idea of getting a Windsor Newton Bijou Box...or some other box set. It's a bit of a tricky decision, there are so many styles to choose from. I guess I just need to head down to my local distributor and find the one that best suits my needs. I also found instructions on making one which might just do the trick for me.

And for a list of you need be prepared to head out sketchbook journaling, thanks Trumpetvine!

Molskine

What an amazing idea by Juan Berrio. I am a big fan. I discovered him through Simonetta Capecchi's blog (some of her travel sketchbook images were published in An Illustrated Life, and I loved her work).

Sketchbooks

Well since the birth of baby boy 3.0 I have not had or taken the time to keep up on my blog. I certainly have the intention to get back into it, but right now it's still a little busy. I have been reading lots though and got a great book from the library yesterday which I am finding inspirational. It's called An Illustrated Life by Danny Gregory, and is a compilation of images of sketchbooks from various artists/illustrators etc... They have each written a little about their approach to sketchbooks and I am loving it all-just so inspiring.

I have always wanted to keep a journal but am very poor at doing so. I have also wanted to sketch everyday. This has inspired me to do both at the same time.

New blog

This week through IF I found Cyn Narcisi's blog. She is one of the illustrators for the Clone Wars, so with two...okay including my husband three huge Star Wars fans in our household we are automatically big fans of hers. She also has some great information on her site for illustrators. There are a few books she has suggested for references when wanting to sketch children that I am going to check out. And for those who want to try drawing some Star Wars characters, there is a link to tutorials she has created.

IF - Celebrate

We have had occasion to celebrate lately too with a new addition to our family. It's left me with little time to draw over the last two weeks, but here' s a little sketch I managed to complete for IF.

IF- Climb

"Okay boys, no climbing in the grocery store please!!"

This will probably be my last post for a bit as new baby is arriving in just a few days. I wish I had had more time this week to work on this sketch. I like the idea, but it's obviously not finished, and I'm a little embarassed by the quality so will not be officially posting it on the IF website this week. It was a good learning experience though. This week I decided to try inking in Illustrator and once again relied on Dani for some guidance.

Authors hiring illustrators

Danidraws does it again. Here is an excellent informational post on authors looking to hire an illustrator.

IF - Pale

"Dancing in the pale moonlight"

Inspired this week by the beautiful colored pencil illustrations of Kathy Hare and suggestions at danidraws to try drawing something new I thought I'd try drawing a ghoul in colored pencil for this week's illo.