Sketches

Making a Robot Update

After receiving some feedback from other artists, I made some changes to this painting. They suggested that I add some props to make the storytelling stronger. It's just what this picture needed. Not only is the story more rich now, but the composition is more interesting as well. 

Making a Robot

Until now, my digital paintings have had a smooth rendering style because of the digital brushes that I use. I wanted to get away from that look, so I created some new brushes that have more texture. 

Painted Middle Grade Cover

I just finished painting this one, and I'm pretty happy with it. If you were twelve years old, would you want to read a book with this cover illustration? Let me know in the comments. See something that isn't working? Let me know about that too.

Work in Progress: Ready for Paint

With this illustration, I'm trying to broaden my children's illustration portfolio. Most of my current portfolio targets younger children, but I would also like to work on middle grade books (ages 8-12.) For this picture, I pretended that I was designing a cover illustration. I wanted the characters to be prominent and to be in a dramatic moment. I also wanted to create a specific setting that would grab a reader's interest. I based the look of my fantasy world on Viking and Slavic cultures, and I spent a lot of time looking up reference material. In my current process, I draw my composition on paper and then paint it digitally. I'm still terrible at drawing on my Wacom tablet, and the painting stage goes smoother when I only have to think about color and light.