think jot draw

This is a piece I did for a contest over at Think.Jot.Draw. They make these really cool journal/sketchbooks where some of the pages are blank, some are ruled, some have boxes for quick sketches and some have a combination of the rules and the boxes. This contest is for illustrators to design a cover for the books. I can't wait to see what other people come up with for this, I'm sure I'll be blown away by the creative genius of the participants. They'll have a gallery of all the entries on their website sometime in January. Entries are due by 12-31-07.

The art shows the front and back cover:
(On the lower right I left room for their logo and I left room for the UPC code on the left.)

IF - horizon

Jenny had a lot to think about with so much on the horizon after high school.

My 'almost to the last minute' entry for Illustration Friday this week with the theme of horizon. I'm trying to work looser and more sketchy, so I scanned in my pencil sketch this time and colored it in Photoshop, eliminating the ink phase. I think it worked pretty well, but I have a tendency to clean it up too much in the painting phase. There's a fine line between loose and messy that I need to find!

meowy christmas and a yappy new year!

ho ho ho

I was celebrating yesterday after finishing my Christmas shopping, until I found out my Mom bought my daughter the exact same book that I did! So, it's back to Barnes and Noble today for an exchange...bummer! I hope I can find a place to park, then find my car when I get back to the parking lot! Isn't that the worst feeling, when you see an ocean of cars and think, OK, where's my car? That little bit of panic that starts to slowly build? Wish me luck and happy shopping, everyone.

(Image from my line of coffee inspired greeting cards)

IF - backwards

My entry for the IF challenge this week with the theme word of backwards. Two skateboard dudes with their caps on backwards. I did a looser initial drawing with this illo, where the lines are more scratchy. I thought it fit the imagery better than more clean lines, but it was a bit problematic when I went to do the coloring in Photoshop. I'll have to work out the issues I had, if I want to try this again! I'd love to hear what you think of the scratchy style. Does it work for this piece? Please, leave me a comment with your thoughts. I'd appreciate the feedback.

Background textures courtesy of mayang.com/textures. (love them!)

the end

The long road to the championship game finally came to an end on Saturday with a defeat. The mighty Lasers couldn't score against the dreaded Blasters. (yes, they had to play them again! It was a double elimination tornament and they came back to do it all over again!) The end score - 2-0! The girls took it pretty well - after all, 2nd place is not too shabby. It was the farthest they had ever made it, so I think even though it would have been great to win, they felt satisfied with what they accomplished. It was really, really cold on Sat. and I think everyone was just ready to call it quits for the year. No one should be playing soccer in Dec.! Unless of course you live in a warm climate. The top photo is Nikki getting her 2nd place patch. The bottom photo shows the girls being presented at the beginning of the game. See the "war" paint they put on! I guess it didn't scare the opponents as much as they hoped!

the finals!

woo-hoo! The mighty Lasers have made it to the Championship game! After a glorious victory over their arch enemies, The Blasters, in the semi-finals, they will play for the trophy this Saturday! It's the Seattle Rec league all-city tournament and the Lasers play in the girls U14 gold division. Nikki plays sweeper, the position right in front of the goalie and has become quite a good player. I am, of course, so proud of her accomplishments! They have been working toward this goal for years and it's finally here. Wish them luck!! Go Lasers!

IF - little things

I loved doing this for Illustration Friday's challenge of "little things". You know how you sometimes have an idea in mind and then you try to capture that idea and it somehow doesn't turn out exactly like you had imagined? Well, this one actually matches perfectly with what I saw in my mind. I love it when that happens!

IF - excess

Excess living. Hand drawn, then painted and textured in Photoshop. Not much else to say about this one. I tried to do something a little more edgy this time, not so "cute".