Brand New Sketchbook

It's about time I posted some new things, yes?
Well, here are a few of the first pages from my new sketchbook.
Click 'em to view larger :)







It's a very different feel working on this paper, in this new sketchbook. The first few pages have all been joyously done up in watercolor. Watercolor behaves very differently here than it does on watercolor paper, but the paper is so heavy and it takes the color so nicely, so I love it.

Ex Libris for To Boldly Fold

New things have been a-brewing.

I mentioned in my last post that it was about time for a new sketchbook, and I went with something different this time around! It's a gorgeous, handbound, leather softcover sketchbook made by a good friend of mine, Melissa Chao (To Boldly Fold), who sells her books on Etsy. Let me tell you, it is a dream to draw and paint in. You'll be seeing some new things from that sketchbook in the near future.

So! Melissa recently asked me to create some creature & nature themed illustrations to use as 3x4" bookplates in a limited run of her books, and of course I agreed! Nature, creatures, beautiful sketchbooks, need I say more? I came up with some sketches, Mel chose her favorite 5, and I took those 5 to final.

Have a look!











And for fun, I've put together all the images from sketch to finish! Click the image below to view larger:



From sketch to finish, the whole project took about 2 weeks. It was tremendously fun! Maybe in the future I'll do a few more paintings based on some of the sketches that weren't used.

Anyway, if you'd like to support a talented independent crafter and buy a handmade book from Mel Chao, visit her Etsy shop! And of course, I'll keep you posted on when those bookplates will become available!

Paper!

I've been in a collage kind of a mood lately.
Here are some paper pictures from my sketchbook.

This guy is based on a sketch I did for a puppet -


And a pair of singing sirens -


I can barely close my sketchbook now. Almost time to start a new one!

Snake Battle

Another digital experiment. Didn't turn out quite the way I wanted, but that's the nature of experiments, isn't it? You never know how things will turn out!

Isn't life exciting?

Box Boys and Gals

We had a bunch of empty boxes lying around and I doodled on the sides of a few with a sharpie. I figured why not scan and color them in? So here they are. I drew them in no particular order, so feel free to read them up, down, left, right, diagonally, randomly-- anyway you please!

So there you have it. I am playing with digital coloring for a change. It's pretty fun.

Oh and here are some of the boxes -