round

I know. I know.  It's a little too soon to bring out the Christmas art, but this is the first thing that came to my mind for the word "round."  If I have some extra time, I might even do a version in blue.  And for all you parents out there, here's a black and white version that your kiddos can color:

I missed picture book class this week, but I definitely have a few more tidbits to share.  Remember how I mentioned Suzy Lee's book "Wave"?  Well apparently it's a part of a series.  They're all wordless books that are filled with gorgeous illustrations and creative concepts.  You can check out all her books here!

silent

I feel like silence definitely plays a huge role in a mime's performance. . it makes you focus more on his/her actions.  This is probably going to be a popular topic for Illustration Friday's "silent", but hey. . .I've always wanted to draw a mime :)

In other news, I've been working on my story "Attack of the Space Chickens" for the picture book class and have pretty much figured out the layout.  Through the process of planning out my pages, I learned so much about the design of a picture book.  Some of these lessons include:

--You can use the gutter (that's the fold in the center of the book) to your advantage by emphasizing the division of two groups.  Here's a great example from Wave by Suzy Lee

Notice how the girl and the waves are separated by the gutter, acting as a natural divide.

--Avoid having two full page illustrations side by side, because they end up competing for attention.  Instead, make one illustration the primary focus (i.e. the full page image) and break down the other into  "spot" illustrations (i.e. smaller drawings on white space).  See if you can spot where I use this principle in my "Attack of the Space Chickens" layout.

 

Next step: turn two spreads into full illustrations *gulp*  Wish me luck ;)

stripes

I couldn't help it. . .November always makes me hunger for pie.  Especially pies with stripes. . I think the traditional term is "lattice top."  I like "stripy pie" better :)

Being 2nd generation Taiwanese, my parents never went the traditional route with Thanksgiving.  Last year, we had Peking Duck.  This year, I think we'll have sushi.  Still, pie will always be part of the occasion. . even if it's me picking one up at the local Safeway.  With my newly discovered gluten allergy, we'll have to be a little more creative.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Art-wise, things have been crazy.  The picture book is progressing well and I'm taking a picture book class taught by an art director of Chronicle Books.  One lesson for all you illustrators out there. . .did you know that the end pages of a book can really screw with your page count!?  Click on the image below to learn more.

I highly recommend taking a look at the difference between "separate/colored" and "self-ended" pages before planning out your book. . lesson learned, lesson learned lol.

scary

Cute and scary. . that's how I roll :).  For a Halloween treat, I'm sharing this Pudgy Puppy Zombie Dog coloring page that you can print out and scribble on.  If you think you or your little one creates a masterpiece, feel free to share it in the comments section.

Speaking of Pudgy Puppy, remember Illopond's spoooky anthology?  If you want to read a few gorgeously drawn and creatively written stories, accompanied with a personalized doodle, just click on the image below:

fuel

Sorry folks.  It's busy busy here so this illustration is A LOT more rough than usual.  However, I thought the concept was too fun to let slip by. . squirrels fueling their own Jack O' Lantern. . tee hee.

Maybe I'll clean it up in the future. . play around with perspective/colors a little more. . we'll see.

Until then, ever wonder what I sound like?  You can hear me geek out over our APE experience at this month's pondCAST:

Warning:  I sound like an auto-tuned chipmunk

scattered

When searching for an item within a gigantic grandma purse, you often end up with all its contents scattered across the nearest surface.  I am always amazed at what comes out of my grandmother's purse. . .dried mushrooms, scraps of paper, jade figurines.  Who knows how she keeps track of everything.

I'm playing with a more limited palette this time because it seemed to somehow fit this week's Illustration Friday better. It was definitely a challenge since I looove color so much.

In other news, I recently did a piece for my friend's wedding site.  Her husband-to-be is over a foot taller than her so we thought we'd play up their height difference:

Once again, I used a limited palette and I think it came out pretty well! I'll be doing another piece for their RSVP mailers soon.  So fun :)

contraption

I was watching Mythbusters this week and they tried to recreate the pendulum contraption based on Newton's laws.  I figured a nerdy squirrel would have to resort to more natural materials if he wanted to build a similar contraption.

Spooky Apple Lanterns aside, I know you want to read some awesome spooky tales created by awesomely talented people:

Click on the picture if you're awesome ;)