Process on work for my portfolio (ongoing)

[MichaelaH]

The publishers I am in contact with like my animals, but say I still have to work on human/kids, so last week and this week I did the daily exercise:

[MichaelaH]

[BichonBistro]

@MichaelaH I will always love your imaginative animals best but your humans are fabulous too!

[MichaelaH]

@BichonBistro Thank You so much for liking my work

[Amanda Jean]

Did they specify what you needed to improve with your humans? I think some of them are pretty good, and that last one is great! Life drawing really helps this stuff, if you can't get to a class, just get to a busy area and do some gestures for 30-60 minutes. You will be amazed how much you can pick up and how it translates to your work after a little while.

[MichaelaH]

@Amanda-Jean I almost never draw ppl, only animals, so I think they didn't like this less amount of ppl I ever drew to that point, I liked to draw animals more, but now I like ppl also. I never really exercised ppl before. I am going to frankfurt book fair this october and I will get feedback there, I will take my new ppl illustrations also with me.

[MichaelaH]

Process on August Superstition
I didn't have much time for this one. At first the storm was coming from left to right, but after I got some some feedback I changed it, because I wanted the first focus to be on the bird and the calm scene.

[Judy Elizabeth Wilson]

@MichaelaH Hey Michaela. What brilliant work. It's so insightful to see your process! Your facial expressions are fantastic and there is so much fun kids will love in your illustrations.

[MichaelaH]

@Judy-Elizabeth-Wilson Thank You Judy for Your nice words

[NelsonYiap]

Fantastic. Thank you for sharing!

[ambiirae]

@MichaelaH I love this there is so much to look at and your animals are adorable

[MichaelaH]

@NelsonYiap and @ambiirae thank You both

[MichaelaH]

Ok I am working on my portfolio and #fauxInktober Tomorrow's promt is bait and day after freeze, it started only with the grandpa, but later I thought I could do the opossite site for my portfolio (have always two sides), like the before story of little Flip. What do You think? And what about the text?
No problem if somebody with better author (maybe @hannahmccaffery ) or english skills looks over it.

And this was the first time little Flip talked to a human.
„I am not good bait, too small, too fishy, big mouth and talking all the time.
The other fishes don‘t like me, bad bait, bad bait.“
The fisherman didn‘t get to say anything before Flip started talking again:
„But I can tell you a great joke?“
„You know this one?“

[A Former User]

@MichaelaH Hi Michaela,
I love your facial expressions on your characters, you always capture great emotions!!
Just so I can understand properly, do you want the two illustrations and text to be part of the same story? At the moment, the text doesn't make a lot of sense when put together, the illustrations could work together though. If your fisherman is fishing at the side of a lake/pond, maybe you could put Flip down in the bottom right corner just peeking up from the water, and he's listening to the joke the bait is telling? Then he goes on to tell Berry? That's only a suggestion anyway, your fisherman illustrations looks wonderful as it is and will work wonderfully as it's own piece.

In terms of the text, maybe something like:

Little Bait had to think quickly so that he could make his escape.
"You don't want me!" he said earnestly "I'm far too small and smelly for the other fish in there, they won't want to eat me! I'm bad bait! VERY BAD BAIT!"
etc etc then he goes on to tell the joke somehow?

It's only a suggestion but do you see what I mean? If you're going to use both illustrations as a double page spread, then you have more room to maybe rewrite the text so that it fits with what is going on in your illustrations

[MichaelaH]

It is only beside each other, because I wanted to have tweo stories with Flip, Flip as really young fish and Flip as a big adult fish, still bla bla bla, telling joges and talking. Because in portfolio I need some illustration for both side I will put them beside each other, but it will be not like from same double page side like in book it would be.
So the bait is the little Flip, not other fish.
Here how far I have come, it is still not finished.
But maybe I could write something like "Some years later" on the Berry page.
PS thank You so much for helping me @hannahmccaffery

[A Former User]

@MichaelaH Ohhh I see, sorry I thought you meant it would be a double page spread. Yes maybe you'd need to explain that it is Flip when he's younger or something as it's not very apparent at the moment
Lovely idea though

[MichaelaH]

Ok, finished...

[MichaelaH]

Mafia in Bar...I did the sketch for this illustration for "Building Backgrounds" class in May this year, I almost forgot it. I didn't use the giraffe, because it was not connected with the rest of the characters (great critique from Ajar), and I didn't have time to connected it now. So I had this half sketch...So why not color it? I was in need of some other illustrations for the upcoming Book Fair in Frankfurt. I have to say, it was the first time, I didn't thought so much while coloring, I colored it very quickly (don't have time anymore, book fair is next week)...The light is maybe not optimal, but I did my best doing this dark scene, I think I should practise more dark scenes...

[DarleneAnico]

The illustration is really cool! I love all the characters of the animals and their subtle interactions

[MichaelaH]

@DarleneAnico Thank You very much for Your feedback