Best posts made by LauraA

I learned a lesson on this one: Don't spend a week drawing fox studies for foxes that you're going to eliminate. Composition (story) comes first!

Thanks for doing these prompts and contests, guys! They really are testing my ideas and skills, and slowly, I'm building a process that has some consistency, even though the "medium" varies.

And I really hand it to all my fellow artists who came up with such creative takes on this prompt!

I just changed out my entry for a version with my name on it. I hope that's ok. It's exactly the same artwork but I keep forgetting to include my name!

Some types like to be alone. Others, not so much...

Autumn reflection

The sole purpose of this piece was to see if I could finish something in a day, and to have fun. Yesterday I did have fun, and I thought I had finished it. But then it became evident that the legs were flipping (that is, you couldn't tell which one was in front and which in back). So today I spent most of the day redrawing it over and over until it worked, which was less fun. But I finished!

I'm very tempted to add a popsicle to that hand sticking out, but not today. Happy June!

Just trying to produce more finished work so I can evaluate it and have it evaluated online. This is a waiter I saw in a (coffee) bar in a tiny mountain hamlet near Aosta, Italy. He looked fierce and eccentric and I thought he might make a good character. I am always torn, though, between whether to exaggerate for comic effect or whether to keep things relatively realistic.

I didn't have much time to be on the forums while I was taking the Backgrounds course, but now I'll try to start posting and commenting again ️.

Because it rains every day in November where I live, and even a little patch of color brings hope.

Thanks for inventing Slowvember, Lee!

I spent the last week doing a brick and mortar workshop at which we assembled a lot of traditional elements into a digital collage. Our assigned story was The Musicians of Bremen, and we had to choose an environment, so I choose the rural US in the early 20th century, probably because I had to choose quickly and it was so far away from where I really was.

I spent most of the week developing sketches of the characters, and I did a super quick storyboard, during which I was amused to realize that the donkey thought he was going to play the lute and told the dog to play the kettle drums, but it will never work because the donkey only has hooves! In my story, the donkey became a she, and the instruments changed as well, but during the process I got an image in my mind of when things are settled, they finally get to play, and the donkey is found out.

This JPEG loaded really green for some reason. It doesn't look that green on either my Cintiq nor on my computer monitor, so I don't know what to do about it! But the original has much more muted, almost taupe-ish greens throughout, including the donkey's skin and the drum.

I'm supposed to go see relatives the end of the week, but I really wanted to get this piece to a decent point first. I'm tired of not finishing things! I'll probably get to my relatives' house and realize I didn't pack any shoes or something...

This morning I cleaned up all my January contest "tracks in the snow" files before putting everything on an external hard drive. Honestly, I was shocked at how many changes my contest piece went through, and how late some of them happened. And yet, I think some of those last minute changes really helped.

So I thought I would write down some notes and share them with you guys. What you get out of them--or not-- will obviously depend on your needs at the moment. I'm especially working on trying to get stylistically consistent and solidify my process so I can increase productivity and up the quality of concepts and technique as well. And I would be interested in hearing how your processes work as well, because that's not something we talk about that often.

First, a huge thank you!!! Because you guys really gave great critiques, I used pretty much all of your ideas, and they made the final drawing so much better! I just hope I can eventually internalize them.

Secondly, for whatever reason, I had nine different iterations, as in photoshop files, of this piece from the time I chose my thumbnail to posting on the contest thread. I find this is about average. It would be nice if I could get the number down, but generally either I get confused by all the options or the file just gets too unwieldy and I lack the confidence to eliminate previous versions. Hmm...

A couple of things stayed pretty much the same from start to finish, and I kept them because they were fresh looking. One of them was the drawing of the dog. A lot of the drawing on the trees stayed the same as well, though I changed their positions.

In summary, what I learned so far:

-The boards really help!!!
-Always, always get the compositional problems worked out first!!!
-Flipping the piece horizontally helps. I have a tendency to develop a directional slant, and while I never eliminated it completely, flipping did help.
-I'm going to try something else in this style
-Reference really does help, as does working out drawing problems just after the thumbnail stage
-Making animal people is fun! I still prefer drawing realistic-ish children, but I'm also starting to loosen up a bit by trying all these different things.
-Perspective study really helps just after the thumbnail stage
-You really can produce something personally satisfying from a prompt that doesn't inspire you at first glance

If you want to see the contest threads, I think you can find two or three of them under my profile.

What have you been learning in the contests and in your recent WIPs? I'd be interested to hear!

This drawing is, ironically considering it's Slowvember, an attempt to produce something quickly. It only took a few days' work off and on, which for me is unusually fast. It's based on a friend's son who likes to come home from preschool and dress up as Rapunzel. He's definitely a boy, but who doesn't like the idea of going around with swishy blonde hair now and then?

An illustrator friend posted this article and I thought it was interesting, so I'll share it here to see what you guys think:

https://qz.com/quartzy/1728767/why-editorial-illustrations-look-so-similar-these-days/

It talks about low pay, but we knew that already, didn't we?

What is more interesting to me is how economics and above all, technology, affect style. Here's a quote by artist Alex Eben Meyer:

“I think it is less about an artist working in a particular genre and more about having a strong point of view, ideas, style, and craft,” he explains. “For me personally, color (regardless of depth) and humor are some of my most important attributes.”

In short, he doesn't care about the style issue. To me, this is almost a throwback to a medieval sensibility in which the technique was a given and the variety came within a limited set of choices. The fun part about medieval illustrations is the particulars of what the figures are doing. And I do like the illustration of his that the article shows.

But I also think it's very different from a children's book sensibility, and very different from my own. I think I spend too much time wading through style issues. Of course, I'm a beginner and he's not.

Also, brings to mind how often Will, Jake and Lee remind us to come up with a good concept. That's especially important in editorial illustration.

Somewhere there should be a good mix of all the above that is also doable economically! What do you guys think? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Hi guys! Sorry I haven't been around. Like many of you, I got into the holiday season/present negotiation/preparing to travel crush. But I was also determined to finish the piece I was working on a while back of the little girl with the dog and sausages. Only a week or so ago it became a little girl with a dog and ribbon. Today is my deadline, because I will be traveling and can't take my tablet with me. I may come back and redo this piece at some point, but it's also important to be able to work to some kind of deadline, so here it is:

Before I put it on Facebook and Instagram, is there anything you'd change that I could accomplish within about an hour? You can also give more comprehensive critiques, but I just won't be able to carry them out until later. I know what's still bugging me, but I'll let you decide. For now, I'm just pretty relieved that I finished something! Thank you so much in advance and maybe I'll be able to check in more often!

Pamela, I'm sorry for your year, even not knowing the details. I appreciated the struggle part of the podcast as well: A lot more awful things happen to people than they talk about publicly. Sometimes they can't if they wanted to, because it would compromise someone else's privacy. So you shouldn't feel the need to pretend everything's fine or feel down on yourself because you have to take care of basic needs instead of charging ahead in your work. Do what you need to do to process your exhaustion bit by bit, because that's what will help you get going again in the long run.

I also see that you have 5 kids, which of course means you get interrupted all the time even when things are going well! Life really does come in stages, and there were long periods during the kid stages in which I didn't do a whole lot of drawing, if any. Maybe it's not fair to think that women are usually the ones who do most of the child/home care, but it's still reality for a lot of people, and taking care of a family is important work.

Now, specifically about drawing: While there are times when emotional priorities make drawing hard to impossible, it is also true that the steadiness of drawing can help settle emotions. Don't put pressure on yourself, but just do the drawing you think you can do that day (if at all), with as much regularity as you can. For instance, if you don't have the concentration for a big brainstorming/thumbnailing session, do something you think you can do, even if it's just doodles and exercises to keep in shape. Doing the curriculum might help, but that also depends on what your artistic needs are. Your work should push you so that you feel you are learning, but gently. You might want to do an evaluation of where you are artistically at the moment and what your needs are and what you think you can realistically do. Then do it, even if only for a short time each day to build the habit. Small steps do accumulate, and you'll know when you're ready for more challenge.

One thing I've heard people say that was helpful to me is, don't compare yourself to others, but to where you were last year (or two years ago, etc.). This may not be helpful to you now if you could work before and have had to take a break, but it might be helpful a year form now if you start rebuilding your drawing habit slowly. It might not feel like you're doing much day by day, but when you look back, you see that you did indeed make progress, and that can be just the thing to keep you from a counterproductive level of frustration.

Also, don't succumb to the pressure to post regularly to Instagram if you're not ready. (It sounds like you've already figured this out!) The comparison monster is always out there and will try to short circuit your brain! Just do what brings you satisfaction at the end of the day, knowing that maybe you will enter into a more productive stage later in life.

I have been through some very difficult years during the past decade, which I can't talk much for the sake of others' privacy. In fact, I started drawing again a few years ago explicitly to regain some sense of steadiness and control. I hope that one day I can be a professional, but if I don't get there, so be it. I would never choose to go through the same situations again, but when I look back, I also see the beauty, consolation, and emotional growth that have come out of them.

I hope that you can find a routine that is helpful for you, and remember, a lot of people do understand! Thanks for being brave enough to bring up this subject and remind us all that there are a lot of different situations on the other side of our screens.

Reality check time! After 2 days of working out the details of thumbnail 2, I've established the story and characters a little more, and done a first pass at color.

I've only done animals as people once, and I've never done snow at night, so this is going to be a challenge! Here are my questions:

Does the story make sense?
Does it matter that I don't really have the foggiest idea how to foxtrot? (I researched it, but finally decided that an interesting pattern was more important than an accurate one.)
The perspective has a slight 3-point splay, seen from above at an angle. Does it make sense?
The scene is going downhill, but I want it to look like it is meant to, not like it accidentally ended up that way. This stage has been one long battle with establishing things in space. Does it work?

I just need to feel like all these spatial technical details are established before I can really think much about details and lighting. Thank you for any critique you can provide!

Getting in the game this month for the first time. It really did help me to finish! Thanks!

This is intended as a final page in the Musicians of Bremen.

Hi everyone! I too am late to this conversation. But a couple of things: One is that I really liked your explanations, @carlianne, especially about the prompt. It makes a lot of sense, even though I really do wonder what Lee would have said since he came up with it! Mine wasn't even one of the pieces that took this positive approach to isolation, but I'm still curious.

I also think you explained the subtleties of concept vs. rendering very well, Carlianne. I would also argue that there is a sort of third category, that is, those which have a "primitive" style yet are quite aesthetically beautiful. Maybe some would argue that that is technical skill, and I would accept that.

The other thing I would like to add is that I too prefer a more critique-heavy format. I have to admit that "Sweet 16" format means that my favorites are often pitted against one another early on, while the adjacent bracket doesn't interest me as much. Also I confess my decision-making skills are not so sharp late at night and I have coin toss moments! I'm not so sure the participants benefit from either of these things, because they don't even know. So in general I prefer the more critique-heavy formats because we don't learn as much from the voting process. Some could argue that in real life the selection process is arbitrary and we should get used to it, but we can confront that once we get so far. And of course, critiquing 120 pieces is close to impossible and I applaud Will and Aaron for even trying! But somewhere in between there must be a happy medium that we could all benefit from, even if our piece doesn't make the cut.

This time I got lucky, because even though my piece wasn't chosen, I understood from the critique what the problem was in a way that will help me improve. The last time I entered, I honestly had no clue what was wrong. Naturally I would like to make it in, though, because then I would get more critique!

In any case, it's good to have prompts and deadlines, and I really appreciate the effort the guys put into this every month just so that we can have them. And regardless of formats or winners, the energy we are all putting into this, and the way we are all spurring one another on, is a very positive thing. I don't think I could work in "isolation" without it!

Along the lines of Gary's 100 kids, I'm trying to draw a lot of characters at the moment to work on style. One problem is that I am too slow, so I made this quick illustration based on a little girl I sometimes see in my neighborhood. Her mom was calling after her, "Topo!" which means "mouse" in Italian.

I don't think I'd always work like this, but I rather like it as an alternative to a more rendered style. I'd like to know both what you think about the style as such and whether you have any specific critiques. I have my own ideas but I'd like to hear what other people have to say independently. Thanks!

It has been a really hard week to get anything done, so I just wanted to post something! Today I'm knocking out color schemes and struggling to use a fairly realistic color palette for a dark building in my neighborhood. (I have another scheme in which the building is red.) I added a texture to this one and rather like it because it's simple, but I'm not convinced the color mood is right. The rest of the process is in a thread called Children in the Neighborhood Series WIP and eventually I'll post all the color schemes there.

And I signed up for the book cover class! Have a good end of the week, everyone!

I don't know which my favorite piece of 2019 is, because I'm just working hard to get faster (and better), but here's my December piece. It's things that could happen when kids put on a Christmas pageant, and I finished it just in time because I have to get on a plane tomorrow morning! Happy holidays everyone!

Just finished listening to the first podcast! Like everyone else, I think it's a great new addition. The main reason: Everyone else mostly seems to just interview famous artists (mostly in vis dev or animation) and say, "You're so cool! Did you draw when you were young? How did you start working for Disney/Pixar/insert famous company here? And what is your next big project?" A few podcasts might do something similar for children's books, and sure, that's interesting, but the emphasis is more on stardom, not the thick of the struggle in which you wonder if you'll ever be able to support yourself. I really like that you guys are more specific and have practical information that applies to everyone.

Re this first episode, I particularly liked two things: One was Jake's story about how he upped his character creativity level from generic to more interesting by intensive study.

The other was the mention of the need for tough critique. I went through a fine arts program many years ago, and my professors were flippant, merciless and sarcastic. They also pointed out that I hadn't lived yet, so how could my work be interesting? Now, maybe a critique doesn't have to be as mean spirited as some of the ones I received (not to mention that some of them would now be outed for harassment), but we beginners NEED tough critiques so we won't waste our time. Sure, we've all had those critiques where someone pointed out what we already sensed, and of course style and opinion vary, but we want to get better, and that's why we're here! This is one reason I'm trying to take more live courses now. Critique helps, and sometimes I think it could be tougher.

Really looking forward to episode 2, which I hope to listen to sometime today. Keep up the good work!

You are so right, Lee! I wasn't so happy with my piece in the end, but in the end I thought of whichever of you is was who said, "Challenges help because they make you put your work out there and say, this is the best I can do right now." In fact, I think that was you, Lee, reflecting on your art school exhibition days.

Today I am taking stock of my Slowvember experience, clearing files off of my almost full computer, and cleaning my neglected house. Tomorrow it's on to putting the Slowvember experience to work! (Along with preparing to go visit the relatives for Christmas.)

I actually wrote a blog post this morning about my first Slowvember experience. This blog is a mixed bag and not strictly, or even primarily, about illustration, and also I am convinced that the only person who reads it is my mom. There! Don't say I didn't warn you! But this link goes directly to the Slowvember post.