@eriberart Thank you! I am thinking of reworking the design to make certain title is front and center...

@Lee-White Thank you for the feedback. And you are right-I LOVE drawing the characters, so taking a step back to make certain I have a solid design is great advice. Also, (and in response to @carolinedrawing) I AM looking at portfolio reviews by fantasy art directors in nearly the same time frame as the opportunity with SCBWI--I've noticed my work tends to lean towards wanting to make images that are leaning towards an older young adult audience...(I also am raising a daughter, so I'm aware of the imagery consumed by her age group.) Is it possible for my portfolio - specifically this piece to straddle both markets?

Hello Artists,
So...I'm working on fixing/finishing pieces in my portfolio in preparation for my first ever SCBWI Illustration Conference wherein I'm signed up for portfolio reviews...and I'm kinda freaking out about it. I have three months to work on my stuff...and I want it to be my best "right now" Over the summer I took the interactive class for Book Covers with @Lee-White and Jamie Zollars (It was fantastic--please do more interactive classes!!!) And so I am re-working one of my pieces: a book cover for Wizard of Oz. One of the crits that I got was that my characters were not tispy-turvy enough for their situation.... I'm showing my old art first, then the line art for my rework... Any advice/critique would be appreciated before I begin value/color studies.

Old art:

My line art re-work:

Just in case you need a point of reference for where my head was at- I've included my rough sketch and thumbnails ideation work below:


Thanks for advice in advance!!!!
Love you all..

I'm doing something I've never done.... ask for WIP critiques....I am working on a book cover sketch (Wizard of Oz) to add to my portfolio.... I've done a whole bunch of re-works...advice about the line art before I move to value...?


This is where I'm headed next... I'm in. How does it work?

@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.

I am JEALOUS!!! I had intended to go, but.... life. If you feel inclined to share your notes, I would be interested in geeking out on them with you....please.

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? 

@Braden-Hallett and @StudioLooong THIS is exactly why I come to the forum. Thank you for asking (and responding) to all the right questions. Also, it's helpful to not feel so alone in the journey

congratulations!!