Hello Everyone

Hey everyone, I updated my Valentine's Day illustration. It is in the Shhhh...The Illustration Board blog. Thank you.

Wanna Play Ball?

This is another image I have been working on for a long time. Thanks to everyone who had input in this to make it a better illustration. I don't know if I was able to get the dog's body right, but I can't figure out what I can do to make it better. I also extended the grass as Patti suggested. Please let me know if there is anything else I can improve on.

October was unseasonably cool. The newsmen claimed it had been the wettest one on record, too.

One day, late in the month, the sun battled its way through the ever present clouds and shined briefly on the world.

Juan and Levont took advantage of the break to burn off energy at the neighborhood playground in the watery sunlight.


I needed some more boys and more ethnic flavor in my portfolio. Comments?

Scepter in the Lake

Yay!!! Finished! I'm totally going to do an illo to go along with this one to help build story. :) I'm very pleased with the outcome and am proud to have it finally in my portfolio. One piece meeting portfolio requirements, many more to go. ;) Bring it!

I also kicked out the dark sepia line and white acrylic that is usually in my work. I like seeing the pencil instead. Sometimes I think the sepia enhances, but the softness of this I can't get over. Wonder why I never thought of using the lightbox for this...beyond me. Gonna have to get a bigger lightbox, I like skipping the retrace. :D I think it also pushed me on color choices too. Tho I try to make my choices without relying on the lines, but not having them there just pushed me harder. I dunno, what do you see? I've been staring at it too long. :P

Finished Lion art

Geez, I think this illo is done. Thanks for everyone's help in fixing this image and giving suggestions on how to make it better. I'm pretty happy with. That's not to say it's perfect, so if you see anything that need help let me know. Been working on it so long that I might be overlooking something.

Check it!

Hey everyone, go on over to the secret part of our group and see if you're interested in one of our member's proposition! I encourage it if you can! :D

Not Giving Up

Okay, I re-approached the piece today after taking a wee break from it yesterday. Went for an entirely different perspective. I've lost the skaters, yes, and all of that detail, but I am liking the movement in this one better. I bought the book "Ignis" today illustrated by P.J. Lynch (a new fave!). The book is filled with spreads! So hopefully over time I'll get the hang of it. :P

I want more detail, but thinking maybe this piece just isn't meant to have a lot of detail. I dunno, if you can see a place for it or if this spread just doesn't cut it, let me know.

Again thank you for all of your support and feedback. It has helped A LOT!!

Just a quick doodle

"The fields lay fallow. The pumpkin harvest had been exceptional this year. People had come and gotten the best pumpkins to take home to carve into Jack O Lanterns. Only the small and lopsided fruits remained. A lone crow landed on an orange gourd and cawed loudly into the still, moonlit night. Nothing answered."

In the 'better late then never' mode, I attempt to catch up with the rest of you. LOL. I finished the last of my traveling unpacking and putting away yesterday. I have a vague idea on my NaNoWriMo novel. I signed up for PiBoIdMo. (Picture Book Idea Month) Plus, I have a book to illustrate that final art is due to the publisher on February 21, 2010. So I have enough projects to keep me more than busy for the next month. Hee. One of these years I'll learn to simplify.

blah

I'm quickly loosing interest now. I tried sketching out a scene looking down from above...but it's frustrating when I don't know where to start with perspective. I wasn't taught perspective much and it holds EVERYTHING back for me. :( I'm very frustrated.

So what you see is where I've ended up. I have a feeling I'm screwed if I can't get perspective around my head. Any suggestions on books or sites that make it easy to understand? I have one of those small dover books about perspective...and even that I'm having a hard time understanding. Don't have any classes available to get into either. I also need books that talk about the figure in perspective. Out of all of mine, there's like one page on the topic and it's assuming you know perspective.

I'm so lost. I feel like this piece just got WAY boring.

ideas

These are some really rough ideas to explain what I was talking about. The circle with the has marks isn't my favorite, but just thought it might stir some ideas on how to show this. Hope it helps.

Play Ball?

This is another portfolio illustration. I've been working on a bunch of portfolio illustration. I forgot to add the doggie drool dripping from his tongue. You can see the steps to how I created this piece on my blog at link

Interview with illustrator Matt Phelan

Visit my blog to read about Matt Phelan, award winning illustrator of "The Higher Power of Lucky," as he answers questions about his new graphic novel and his other work.

http://wendymartinillustration.com/wordpress/2009/10/21/interview-with-matt-phelan/

Please spread the word to any others who you think might be interested.

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I've been on book tour for most of the last month or so. I am slowly digging out from under all the accumulated "have-to"s and hope to be able to jump into new illustrations this afternoon. Yeah! Miss you guys!

IF - Frozen (sketch)

Taking your crit and applying it, the story grew. :D Dunno if this makes any more sense visually, but am I on to something? Surprisingly I'm still interested in this piece after all of the perspective work and reworking. Normally it grows stiff and I never finish it. :P



Hey everyone! Sorry (I say that a lot don't I), on another track of mind and got lost. :/ All of the work just looks so freakin' fantastic. What's awesome is you can see progress in your works and technique. I truly hope that somewhere in there the critiques have helped improve your skills as well.

I can finally say that I am now devoting 100% of my work time to childrens' books and building my portfolio. It's awesome and kinda scary all at the same time. I have realized how much isn't in my portfolio. Technique, check, color, check, detail, check. But I lack in interaction, interesting perspectives, and play. Most of my work is posed or better suited for licensing.

With that I took this week's word from IF and made it a challenge. I started with half of the size above. I knew full well the perspective was off and it wasn't interesting enough. I posted it on the scbwi forum but after two days no response for critique. After that I reworked it today and this is what I came up with (above). The only thing I see now to change is where the two skaters' legs meet making a "v". It's driving me nuts! But do you see anything else? Do I need to jazz it up more? Something missing?

Thanks everyone for being so productive!

IF: Fall...late again

So here's my Illustration Friday entry for 2 weeks ago! :) The word was "fall." I'd enjoy hearing your thoughts.

I've been finishing it as I recover from a bout with some sort of illness that has knocked me out of commission for about 4 days now. Just want to be well again...c'mon immune system!

Just a quickie sketch...

I did this for Illustration Friday - It's been forever since I've done any art for myself...

I'm currently working on character turnarounds with my square creatures because a producer saw my art show back in July and wants to see if we can't turn it into a cartoon.  It's slim (and very speculative)...but it's a chance...

Anyway - While I've been working on that, I haven't done any art here...so I remember someone saying that we should be posting our illustration friday stuff - so this one is mine for the week of "Frozen."

Dad's in charge 2nd

Here's the changes to my illustration after getting some feedback. I think there was a huge improvement here. Let me know if you see anything else that I can improve on.

please see the "shhh board"

Dad's in charge

Been working on this one for a while now for my portfolio. Not finished, but just wanted to post it so I can see what changes I need to make. Any and all suggestions very much appreciated.

Migration (Illustration Friday: Flying)

My entry this week for IF. I've been doing a new technique lately that combines watercolors and oils with an acrylic sealant in between.

Story image

I have been really busy doing things that are for licensing and haven't been doing as much book work lately. I have been talking to an agent that likes a story that I wrote and wants me to do a dummy for it. This is one of the images. I started this a while ago and am just getting back to doing some sketches for it. The bottom area is for copy.

Flying....Literally and Figuratively

I am sorry I have been absent from the blog. I am getting back in my head after a miscarriage about 6 weeks ago (ongoing before that for 2 or 3 weeks), so I have been dealing with unfortunate personal things without doing much drawing or anything else. I am well now and back into my doodling and this is one of my latest.

I submitted my first sample in a bid to illustrate a book and I have decided to focus on doing more digital full-color spreads to build up and make my portfolio. Up until now, I have just created characters and simple scenes, but I think it is time to go whole hog and create like I was doing a book. Now geez, why didn't I think of this sooner. LOL I know why...it takes soooooo much longer, but I am liking the results. I am getting used to painting in Photoshop and I borrowed some tips from Steve...so thanks Steve for posting those tutorials and step-by-steps. I hope I get better as I go. :)

October, the month it could happen!

Despite my lack of posting on this and my personal blog, this has been a very exciting month! I was contacted by a start-up publisher to begin talks for actual paid book illustration. The publishing author has been a great person to deal with. I've been paid for spec work and will receive advance plus royalties in the contract! Yeah, I said contract and advance! Everything is very legit! No contract has been signed yet, but I'm confidant that those negotiations will be taking place soon!

He found my art via the scbwi illustration portfolio section, so if you haven't uploaded yet I would soon. Apparently people are checking it out.

Sorry for being a bit absent.

Here's my most recent illustration. It was completed on Friday (too late to post) for the IF word, "welcome." My interpretation was for "welcome to dreamland."

I've decided to bail on the canvas paper (which I used on this one) ... too many holes and I don't like the idea of building up the paper before painting...I'll stick to illustration board or watercolor paper.

Spider and the fly

Just something for fun. Any one a deviant art member? You can see my life drawings here for deviant art members.link

postcard...done?

well...this is the big idea. I think I'm going to try it without the grass...as Steve said it's iffy to have the grass bleeding (to the edges)...so we'll see if I can't do something where they're standing on something (like a shadow, at least)...

Monster, creature and pug sketches

These are also from the same sketchbook as the people below

People sketches

Here's some sketches of people that i work on in my mole skin drawing journal. I just quickly capture the pose and then work on them more when I get home. Good exercise to get different body types drawn.

postcards...

Hi there,

There's a small illustrator's convention (sponsored by the SCBWI) in los angeles at the beginning of November. They're having a postcard contest and I thought I'd throw something out there...

The due date is very very soon (Wednesday, I think) - so I have to finish this, and quick! I was wondering what you thought of this idea of having the characters busting through the front and then on the back of the postcards are the back of the characters...

I only included two copies because i want this to be full color on both sides, but wanted to show that there's space on the back for where the postage and addresses go...

Germs WIP

Sorry I just couldn't get my act together last week, heheh -- my brain was not having this "Pattern" business! Well here's a WIP for this week's IF... super simple but thought I could do it as a spot illustration (wash your hands before you eat to avoid germs, that sort of thing).


Is this *too* simple? As in boring? Any suggestions?

Mermaid

Not for any kids book, just wanted to post something since it's been so long.