Wisdom Wednesday-Perspective Tool

Here's a nifty and free Perspective tool for Photoshop users. As well as a great little video tutorial that tells you how to use it.

The tool is presented by Freddie Williams, the author of The Dc Comics Guide to Drawing Comics Digitally. As you will see the tool can be used for 1 point, 2 point and 3 point perspective. The tool is available on his website for free here. Enjoy the tool!!!

Stevie Wonder Saturday-They Won't Go When I Go

Stevie Wonder Saturday
They Won't Go When I Go
From the Album, "Fulfillingness" released 1974



And the version done by George Michael from his, "Listen Without Prejudice" Album, released in 1990

This Just In.....Wisdom Wednesday

I just got this email below from 3X3 Magazine. With a prognosis for how the market will be this coming year. As we celebrate the Holidays and New Year, let's keep a positive outlook for next year.

Let's use our imaginations and talents to propel ourselves to the next level. Let's use that energy to push our artwork and talents higher and higher. Seek out your peers, grow from their wisdom and insight. Do the same for others. If you don't see a place for yourself in the industry, create your own. All of us have unique perspectives and approaches that have a home out there.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to everybody!


"Dear Wilson,

The results of our recent survey shows illustrators see a brighter future for 2011. Based on 469 respondents from the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe and Asia, 45% see themselves as better off financially in 2011, 24% will be about the same and only 7% say they will be worse off. This compares nicely to the AIGA Designers Confidence Index that had 42.7% of graphic designers saying it would be better off, 47% about the same and only 10.1% worse. A major difference was 24% of illustrators answered that they didn't know if they would be better off, worse off or the same.

Asked about fees, 10% responded that fees had gone up, 29% that fees had gone down and the majority, 46%, saying fees remained the same.

Asked about the number of projects, 32% saw an increase in the past twelve months, 31% saw the number drop off and 28% saw the number of assignments remain the same; 9% were unsure.

Participants included 53% from the US, 11% each from Canada and the UK, 18% from Europe and 7% from Asia. 53% were full-time illustrators, 34% were part-time. 52% had a bachelor's degree, 31% had a graduate degree; 58% were male, 42% female, 59% were between the ages of 25-44.

We will be able to break down the research in more specific areas of age, years in the industry and education in an upcoming announcement but for now we wanted to share these top-line results. Find out the latest updates on our blog, blog.3x3mag.com

Wishing you the happiest of holidays and a wonderful new year."

Wisdom Wednesday-If Only You Knew

If you only knew how many times I have had to have this conversation with someone. Yikes!!
Very funny little video shared with me by Jack Foster by way of Will Terry!

Cardinal Luv Fest!-Worksheet Sketch

This is a comp for the worksheet. There are still big issues with the kerning and whatnot of the actual puzzle. (Add some letters take some out to fill the space better.) Gonna be lots of fun fixing that! LOL!
I'm thinking of having a full color scene behind all the hearts. Maybe grass and some trees or something to give it more depth. All of that would be masked inside that amoeba shape that is going around everything. While that would probably translate well in color, I doubt the same would be true of the B/W version. We'll see. Suggestions are welcome!

And Oh Yeah! The puzzle is complete! So please check to make sure you can find all the words! Thanks!

As always Click for bigger image! Then Use Ctrl/+ to enlarge the image!
(Can be done multiple times.)

Cardinal Luv Fest!

Sketch for a Vector Spot image! I think his expression could be amped a bit. Maybe make him smiling a bit more? You know, he's cute but the emotion isn't really reading as anything specific to me. What do ya think?

As always Click for bigger image! Then Use Ctrl/+ to enlarge the image!
(Can be done multiple times.)

Also, yes, this will also be going up for "Mail" on Illustration Friday! I want to have it done by Wednesday! Which also means that it needs to be a worksheet. (Worksheet Wednesday you know!) I'm thinking a crossword puzzle will work. Anybody got some clues and words that will go with the theme of this sketch??

Wish me luck!

Commercials I Can't Stand!!!

Just Wrong on Sooo Many Levels!

Blustery Day Worksheet Colors

Here ya go! Final Colors. I have one with type and the other without. I couldn't decide which I liked better. I am leaning towards without type. The idea should be self explanatory enough that the little dialogue isn't necessary. But that depends on the age of your audience. (Not that the younger ones could read it anyway.) So I have both options.

As always Click for bigger image! Then Use Ctrl/+ to enlarge the image!
(Can be done multiple times.)

Commercials I Love!!

Stevie Wonder Saturday-Doo Doo Wop!

I've been listening to a lot of Stevie while working lately and I think he is deserving of tribute for as long as his music lasts me. Then I'll move on to someone else!

Songs like the following are proof positive how powerful and timeless his music can be. This song is just as relevant today as it was the day he wrote and produced it. And it JAMS just as hard today as it did back then! I, sadly, feel confident that it will remain relevant for a long time to come.

Enjoy Stevie Wonder Saturday!

Blustery Day Worksheet Black and White

This is where I am on this at the time. For future purposes I need to have a black and white version and a full color one. I'm still shaky on the type, so look for that to get added in later! Thanks so much for everyone's suggestions! I'll try to integrate them even more as I move forward with this!

As always Click for bigger image! Then Use Ctrl/+ to enlarge the image!
(Can be done multiple times.)

Soul Holiday!

Some holiday celebrating!! Love this song!!

Blustery Day Worksheet Roughs

This is a color rough for a worksheet I'm working on. I'm still deciding if I will finish it in Photoshop or Illustrator. I'm thinking Illustrator. I need to expand the vector portion of my portfolio. Plus this will probably look good in bright colors on the little boy.
There's still some design things that need to be worked out. I think the wind from left to right and then up to down can be integrated better. I think the purplish sky areas can be limited to the upper portion of the image and the bottom purple stuff can be combined with the already existing snow border. I'll probably jack up the size of the hat to give it more weight. The type should be a bit plainer and easier to read. I'm still not very satisfied with some of my color choices. But we'll see how things go as I transition to finals. Enjoy till then!!

Wisdom Wednesday

Growing up my family was lower income. Money was not growing on trees. Things like going to the movies and tons of toys weren't frequent visitors to our home. (Though that did change some later in my adolescence.) I didn't see any of the Star Wars movies until I was in college. Star Wars was released theatrically when I was in kindergarten.



Luckily, I did have those little mini picture books that came with a 45 record. You played the record and it would recite the story. Usually with a storyteller as well as characters from the story reading the words and a distinct sound from the story notifying you to turn the page. (In the case of the Star Wars story it was a series of R2-D2's bleeps and whistles that signaled you to turn the page.) Needless to say, without these little inexpensive books, I wouldn't have known the first thing about the plot of the Star Wars movies. I'm not sure if this type of option is needed nowadays for children but I was always thankful for these little books when I was little. A lot of the scenes from the movie, my imagination had to fill in for me. Which I'm sure has been a benefit for me now!



Anyways, I am happy to say that I was watching The View the other day and as part of an, "It's Free" segment they talked about a website called, Kiddie Records Weekly. This website is offering up the audio files of a number of those little books from my youth and even before for FREE. You go on the website, pick from their roster of available books and download the audio and image files. For Free! Very neat!



So for parents who adore these classic stories, these are a great option for you! For the artists this opens a door to the classic and amazing illustrations that were available and produced at this time! These images are a Master class on classic Children's Book Illustration. The stories also serve as a great resource for Illustrators looking for classic stories to illustrate and add to their portfolios.



Another aspect of these stories is that they also open up a door to the kind of racism and stereotyping that was typical of that time period. Some of the images are awful, but also inspiring for how far we have come since then.

This site is full of wonderful lessons and content for parents as well as Illustrators to enjoy! So stop by and get to downloading! There's something there for everyone!! Follow this link to their archives for easy visual access to their catalogues. They are categorized by year of release on the site as well as a section solely for Christmas selections!

How Are Things Looking For Children's Books

The Sun May Still Shine On the Children's Book Market! Check out this article from the Publisher's Weekly called, "Don't Write the Obit for Children's Books Yet." Check it out!

"Children's book publishers are still reeling from the New York Times front-page story back in October called "Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children." Was the venerable newspaper right? Or do publishers consider the article and its alarming title the kid-lit equivalent of "Dewey Defeats Truman"?"

Sesame Street PinballSong

When I was coming up watching Sesame Street, I loved this little song!! How many of you are old enough to remember it? As an adult I was surprised to learn that this is actually performed by the Pointer Sisters! That just makes it that much cooler!



The Pointer Sisters are highly underrated! The deserve way more accolades! They had a ton of hits in the 70's and 80's. I put up a performance of a medley of their hits as well! Enjoy and be wary of these outfits, it was the eighties!! LOL!

"Automatic" was my favorite song from them! For the longest I didn't even know this was them. I thought this song was sung by a guy! Ruth is my favorite in the group. She sings those deep leads on this one! And June needed to run a check on her skirt! I know the guys below her got quite a show! Anita is on the left.

Holli Conger-Holiday Gift of Advice!

Image is © Holli Conger 2011

All this month, Childrens Illustrator Holli Conger is writing numerous articles about various aspects of getting started in the Industry. For this month she'll be posting a question everyday and then she'll answer further questions about that post over on her Facebook Fan page! We're already 6 days in so get on over there and catch up and soak in all the great information!

Day One Post-How do you find clients??
Day Two-Balancing Work and Family
Day Three-Find Your Style
Day Four-Process-Working Start to Finish
Day Five-Paying Your Dues
Day Six-Going Out On Your Own

Inside Illustration Competitions E-Book

A friend of mine suggested that I start participating in more contests as an alternative form of self promotion. Granted, the promotion works best if you win! But what a good idea and what a great vehicle for promotion that could be!

Most Illustrators that I am aware of are from seeing them in Society of Illustrators Annuals, Communication Arts, Spectrum and so on. The first time I saw Kadir Nelson's work, he was being awarded in the Student portion of The Society of Illustrators Annual. I'm sure that's how a lot of AD's saw him for the first time as well.

So when I saw Thomas James of Escape from Illustration Island, promoting his latest e-book, Inside Illustration Competitions. It seemed right up my alley! So I think there is a good chance that I may splurge and pick this puppy up! If I do, I'll give a review afterwards to let you guys know what I think!!

"The 4th book by Thomas James of Escape from Illustration Island features a behind-the-scenes look at the way Illustration competitions are run, with the help of contest organizers and jurors such as Charles Hively, Mark Heflin, Luke Stoffel, Scott Hull, SooJin Buzelli, Stephanie Glaros, Edel Rodriguez, Anita Kunz, and others.

If you’re curious about how the jury is selected, what criteria they use for choosing the best of the best, how the winners are promoted, and a lot more, be sure to pick up your copy right here on Monday, Dec. 13th!"

Questions/Answers with Art Rep Nicole Tugeau

Recently Nicole Tugeau of Team Tugeau2 Art Representatives answered a series of questions from some of her followers on Facebook and Twitter.

Nicole is a Children's Art Rep who represents such great talents as Don Tate, Dani Jones and Orlando Ramirez. Nicole is the wife of Jeremy Tugeau, an accomplished Illustrator. Jeremy happens to be the son of Chris Tugeau, who is also a Children's Art Rep(CATugeau Art Representative). Talk about keeping it in the family!

I was lucky enough to have two of my questions answered. Lots of great information for those who may be interested in getting an agent at some point in the future! It's great to know how they think, feel and approach their craft! Follow this link to the article!

Nicole also offers a Portfolio critique service. It costs $65 for a portfolio of up to 24 images. Check out her site for info!

IF: Savour

Illustration Friday: SAVOUR

Lesson learned

These are some sketches and a color rough I did up for a possible book job that I didn't get. :(

But enjoy these images anyway! I guess you have to Savour both the victories and the defeats! Lessons to be learned everywhere! Enjoy!