I think I have an outline for what I'm going to teach...we'll see what happens. I'm not going to go in depth to lecture on any of the topics, just a really quick "this is what this means and why this is important, now lets try it in a drawing" set up. I'm going to plan more than enough stuff to fill the time, and if it takes them longer on the first drawing then the later topics will just have to be homework. Part of the reason I want to try and cover the topics myself is simply that they are explained so poorly in the badge requirements, I'm kind of hoping to get my two cents in so they actually have some good information.

Well, I think I have a winner 🙂
I played some more with Manga studio. I tested default brushes and it behaves very similarly to SAI which was my favorite before, Work with large files is ok. Masking layers and groups are also there. And since it offers much more flexible brush managment and few other features that might be useful, the decision is quite simple. Manga studio 5 seems to me like a really strong painting alternative to PS

I wanted to do full artwork like I did with all other programs(Astrid and Charly in sketchbook, Ostrich in PS(finished in SAI since it started to lag hard), Rooster rider and Poe were done in SAI), but as I said, demo does not have save, so hopefully there will not be some fatal flaw I do not see now 🙂

@Rob-Smith Thanks!

I think I would like it better if the dark and dreary part were higher up near the top. The placement is a bit off (I could have fixed that digitally too...ugh! ) So much to learn 🙂

Thanks everyone! I posted my poe entry if you want to look at it and tell me what you think, I'd appreciate it. It's already turned in but I can still learn.

I started doing yoga this morning in hopes that it'll prolong my illustration career. Crossing my fingers that it'll be effective.

@Marsha-Kay-Ottum-Owen said:

If you're a member of scbwi, there is a list of tae kwondo exercises written in it for writers. I'm sure they would be beneficial for illustrators too. Maybe you could google tae kwon do for writers and see what comes up.

Does SCBWI really have tae kwondo exercises???

@Edie-Ostrowski
wow thank you! thats great information! thank you so much for the link! =3

When an illustration is not working out the way I had envisioned, I save it for a later date and move on to the next. And in case I have abandoned it too early, at a very rough stage (sketching or rough forms), I create an extra layer in Photoshop and add a few bullet points describing what I was trying to achieve. So if too much time passes between archiving it and opening the file again, the notes will remind me of what my goals were at the time.

Is your internet fast enough? I had the same problem, then changed from .03mbps to 60mbps! It's a dream and no problems since!

poebookcover.jpg Oh! It worked 🙂 Thanks!

Delightful - love the style and colors and compositions!

Hi guys.
I'm looking for advice from those of you who have approached and got yourself an agent. I write children's poetry and have a collection of dragon poems I would like to turn into a book. So I am wondering what you think is the best approach. Should I go ahead and create the book (poems and drawing in full) then send the book out to agents, or should I send a few sample images from the book while it is being created or???
And then of course... how do I know what agent would be a good one... where to find one, etc.
Thanks in advance for the advice 🙂

@shinjifujioka thanks. it was a really fun challenge. I can't wait to scan, edit, and plug them into the book.

I just added to my wish list - Creative illustration by Andrew Loomis. Just by flipping through it you can see that it gets so deep into composition like no other book I ever seen. Also, there is a free scan on the web, poor scan, but legal 🙂

Also do you have some favourite reference books? For example I just bought "Racinet: Complete Costume History" for references on historical clothing. Since it was really hard to google some good 12th century clothing references and be sure it is somewhat accurate.

Hahaha, no problem! 😛

Awesome, I just spent 15 minutes looking at him how he does happy little bushes 🙂

Thank you, @leontine!

@AWall said:

I liked your first drawing but I really dig your second. It might be taken farther if you can do something to distinguish Poe from the other characters. You might try a variation in size to isolate him since they are so tightly packed. Just an idea but play around with it a bit more, I think it can get even better.

I'll second that. You will either want to change the value of those characters (probably go lighter) or go with a different color for them.

The other main thing: you will want to really work at getting their organization just right. As it is, it more resembles a cut-n-paste/randomly placed crowd milling behind him. You want their placement to be very deliberate and designed. Don't be afraid to use different angles (you have most of the figures vertically aligned) and the figures can (should?) bleed into each other.
Related to that: you might want to vary their shapes/sizes more.

This is a really great image--one of the stronger ones I've seen so far for this contest. Really excited about it. I think you nailed the Poe figure and I like the composition of him and the text.

I'm not a TV/Movie guy but I've always loved the concept artwork for Big Hero 6. Very, very stunning.

@Aaron You guys rock!!