Hi there everybody! I'm new to the forum and this is my first submission, love all your work and I'm super exicited to be here!

Well... at least it is furry...

Hi everyone, here is my little traveler. It turned out very different from my WIP posted earlier. Younger, more naïve and more children book-ish... I hope you enjoy it!

And here is mine. I did upload it to the website (but it is not showing yet), so I hope I don't get @AustinShurtliff a headache... and it is also nice to keep them showing in the forum.

Amazing entries everybody! Here is mine, trying out some new techniques and still a bit rough...

@PieterVanDerBeek Gefeliciteerd! Congratulations! I love your card. My daughter was born 5 days ago, so I have been also working on a announcement card. It is fun!

Hi everybody, here is an update. Well… update, it is more a complete makeover
I changed the composition completely because I think by putting the child and the fish together they have a stronger interaction, you are more part of the fantasy of the child. It was also easier to play with scale and focus this way. At first I was worried that everything became too flat and boring, but I think it is ok. Secondly, I added more colour and contrast to make the piece a bit more uplifting / interesting. I have a lot less urban environment but maybe it was too much for this story anyway.
What do you think? Good or bad decision making? What is your favourite and why? Thanks, you guys help me a lot!!
PS. I’m not making an other one

Hi there!
I made the following illustration but Im not yet happy with it. It is about a child having fun despite the rain and "harsh" urban enviroment. Is there someone who wants to critique it? Any remarks are welcome! Thanks!

A new try. Better or worse? I let it rest now, time to draw something a bit less rainy...

Thank you! @davidhohn Really awesome that you re-recorded it for us and the lecture is amazing. I have some thoughts after listening to your analysis, if someone disagrees let me know!
Beekle is Alice and Beekles journey is Alice’s journey. First of all, it is Alice who creates Beekle and draws out his story as you can see on page 34-37, she uses elements of her surrounding to create this fantasy world. The parts of the playground are turned into the island and into the journey (and not the other way round). The crown comes from the pencil box, the rainbow on the island from the rainbow she draws on the paper, etc. The tree is tricky, is the tree with beekle in it the real tree or a reprensentation of the tree Alice did draw ( the leaves have a form of a star…). Secondly, I think that she does not only makes up the story but it is also a story about her self. It is said that she had no friends, and story is about looking for a friend. And is the boy who Beekle thinks of on page 8 not the same boy who she become friends of in the end? The search for a friend in the playground on page 20 is Alice looking for a friend?
Anyway.. super interesting. I’m really curious how he wrote this. Did he start with the story of beekle and than added layers and references over time? This is a fun story for kids and literature for adults all packed in a “simple” picture book! Love it!

@LouD Thanks! Those damn tangents, you are always missing one . And I will look into the value of the bench and bin.

@Melissa-Bailey-0 Thanks!

Hi everybody, here is an update. Well… update, it is more a complete makeover
I changed the composition completely because I think by putting the child and the fish together they have a stronger interaction, you are more part of the fantasy of the child. It was also easier to play with scale and focus this way. At first I was worried that everything became too flat and boring, but I think it is ok. Secondly, I added more colour and contrast to make the piece a bit more uplifting / interesting. I have a lot less urban environment but maybe it was too much for this story anyway.
What do you think? Good or bad decision making? What is your favourite and why? Thanks, you guys help me a lot!!
PS. I’m not making an other one

@Adam-Thornton-0 @Melissa-Bailey-0 You are right that the piece is too flat. I’m going to work on my values. I did actually made a value study and I have a layer in procreate that makes everything B/W (tip: make a layer black and put it on color mode). I think I kept everything too subtle because I was afraid to kill the rain effect.
Im on holiday now so a new version will take a while. Thanks!

@Kori-Jensen @Kim-Rosenlof Thanks! It is true that the focal point is the child, I can maybe put a bit more emphasis on him, I will play around with that. About the colour of the jacket, I started with yellow, then it became red to have a better value contrast and more focus on it. But when I tuned down the fish I made it yellow again and now I don't know anymore I think it stays yellow.
Kori, you are spot on with your premise and I really like your idea to put more imagination/fantasy in the illustration. Hmm, I have to think about it. It is maybe a bit too much for this composition (although if I change the direction of the fish they can follow him off the wall (like Escher!))
Thanks a lot you guys, I will let it rest a bit and then will pick it up in the near future!

A new try. Better or worse? I let it rest now, time to draw something a bit less rainy...

Thanks @geekinm @RachelArmington @Randi-Gordon ! You guys are absolutely right that the mural draws too much attention now. I think I enjoyed drawing it too much and therefore giving it too much focus. I'm going to play with the colors and changing the big fish in the corner. I hope to post an updated version soon!

Hi there!
I made the following illustration but Im not yet happy with it. It is about a child having fun despite the rain and "harsh" urban enviroment. Is there someone who wants to critique it? Any remarks are welcome! Thanks!

@Moana-Maureen Thanks! I really like your style and technique.

Well... at least it is furry...