I made the deadline!! Mermaid in a bottle.
SVSlearn.com contest submission for Mermay2019.
www.laurabalmaceda.com
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misslaurabalmacedaart/
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"Don't step on a crack, or the underworld attacks..."
A goggle search to research superstitions informed me that "Don't step on a crack" had once held the dark fear that demons would escape from the underworld if a crack was trod upon. And... Percy Jackson has been playing non-stop on audiobook over summer road trips...This is what I came up with...

Bongo and Clyde! Going for practicing process on this piece.

@misslaurabalmacedaart
@laurasketchesart

This is the slowest of slowvembers for me. I played the viola in high school. (I was dismal at it..._)I daydreamed in Orchestra quite a lot. On the back of the sheet music for Vivaldi's Four Seasons, I sketched a cellist with a tree in each of the seasons sprouting out of the neck. The image has rattled around in my brain ever since.
For this piece, I wanted to explore some of the ideas I learned in the Light and Shadow class...and practice digital painting...which I'm still learning.
Slowvermber: Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Hopefully representing the power of music.

Snow angels... making tracks in the clouds.. I mean snow...
http://www.instagram.com/misslaurabalmaceda/

Hey y'all...I'm in for inktober this year.... (nail biting). But, in years past I've always become overwhelmed and burnt out. This year, I'm combining my desire to do some character design with the pressure of daily drawing. AND I loved @Braden-Hallett's idea of drawing through September so that I only need worry about inking each day. Also, I needed a theme: my art directing daughter (age 10) has been audiobooking through the first series of Percy Jackson. Which is the young adult stories for which I think my illustration style fits best. Speaking of style, I am also trying to channel my "influences" (read--I want my art to be exactly like) Wylie Beckert and Mucha. Here are some of my drawings....am I hitting my stated goals? Does it matter that I am disregarding the prompts completely? 

"Its bedtime...turn off the light!!!!" The conflict every night with my book-loving kiddo. Nightfall means the advent of imagination brought on by stories. My instagram: @misslaurabalmacedaart. It's my 11th hour entry....but, I made the deadline! (Thanks, leap year!) 

www.laurabalmaceda.com
@misslaurabalmacedaart
Eleventh hour entry... Cinderella (not the dress part of the story--although that would be really, really fun to draw, but the moment when the prince realizes he's just as excited to see the cinder girl as he is the princess).
Love this story....

@andersoncarman You picked some tricky fish!!! I was stumped with a solution for the combo of "rockabilly" from Tom Bancroft's official mermay list, and your fishy prompts....especially because a sturgeon looks so mean (great solution from you with your warrior merman!) - I considered sturgeon merman gangs (think west side story) for a minute then gave my rockabilly mer-chic a tatt. I seriously need some free time to paint all my sketches....

@misslaurabalmacedaart
https://www.instagram.com/misslaurabalmacedaart/

I am VERY 11th hour...again. But, here is my submission for "The Moment Before..." I have a fear of deep water--especially for the things that might rise from the deep. Acrylic on paper... open to critiques (although, it is probably too late for me to do revisions, still, I'd love to know where I can improve.) Kraken High-Five.!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misslaurabalmacedaart/
Facebook: @misslaurabalmacedaart

Thanks guys (@artbytra and @Coley) do you have suggestions for prompt contests that generate more showcasing on social media? (excepting SVS and Inktober, of course...)?

Hey there illustrators,
I wonder if anyone knows where to find links to social media contests/prompt lists. I'm thinking specifically of SCBWI's #drawthis... the website with the prompt seems not to be current...?

@deborah-Haagenson Thank you--I think this is the thumbnail you liked...? It was my favorite, and It seemed the most straight forward to do (as I am a bit short on time this month)

@miranda-hoover Thank you! Making the thumbnail (and then remembering use it) helped!

Bongo and Clyde! Going for practicing process on this piece.

Thanks guys! onto sketches... I'll post my progress.

Hey all, I'm working on improving my process in illustration.... step one...thumbnails. Please let me know which thumb is working best for you and (more importantly) why. (I sometimes get lost in drawing and forget what I am trying to achieve in an image). Many thanks in advance!!!

Congratulations!!!

A modern take on the Little Mermaid.

@Braden-Hallett hey brad, i may be too late, but id loooooove to join the facebook group! I obviously missed the meet up today, but would like to know about future opportunities.