Ides

I've been painting a lot of snow lately, and this sketch was almost another winter landscape. Then I realized I'd just finished a similar illustration for this book with HarperCollins, which will be out later this year. So I decided I'd save my snowy efforts for that book, and make this one thawing. It is spring, after all.

I have a lot of things coming out later this year, and the patience is killing me! I can't wait to share stuff with everyone, so this fall should be exciting for a few reasons. You can follow book releases on my Goodreads page, if you're so inclined.

Friday Sketch- Springtime

Friday Sketch at work was springtime. Us Florida girls are no strangers to rain like this. ;)

Yeah I am

This doesn't particularly look like me, but I felt like doing something self-portrait-esque. I included Ginny, my lil' buddy. She's a lil pudgy and has a crooked tail but she's still the best. I'm not a crazy cat lady :|

Real Drawrins!

Dr. Sketchy February Session. You can actually see this pose on the Dr. Sketchy Blog. As you can see, I didn't get her cane in there, but I thought it looked fine without it. (Though, it might just look like she's doing The Creep)





The model, Hollis Wakefield, was probably one of my favorite models we've had at Dr. Sketchy. She reminded me of old 50's and 60's fashion illustrations, so I had a lot of fun hanging out with Sarah and Elise and getting some drawrins done.

I think I have a different outlook on figure drawing compared to most. To me, it's like jogging to get ready for a race. The training is important, but the race is the point. Though, that being said, I sorely miss having time to sketch for fun. I guess that's the equivalent of skipping, in my running metaphor ;)

Hope all are well, I think Spring's just around the corner.

Signs of life

Bored girl and a scottie for good measure.

After a week of crazy weather for Dallas (before we hosted the Super Bowl, no less), I'm finally feeling back in the zone of making more art.

Drew and I had a great (but cold) time in New York City for the big SCBWI conference. I feel focused and inspired, and excited to tackle the projects on my plate. It's good to remember that you can't let the well run dry, and time spent getting inspired can be more worthwhile than hours drawing in circles and getting nowhere.


Me at the Met, checkin out Joan of Arc

We also got to spend time with our friend Chase, a former Reel FX'er who showed us the ropes a bit. And, I finally got to meet my agent Susan Cohen, which was really cool considering how much we've worked together without having met. Seeing the Writers House offices was one of the highlights of the trip.

As for the conference, it wasn't so much of a "networking" opportunity, as it was a chance to get a pulse on the publishing industry, and where it's heading next. Also, keynote addresses from RL Stine and Lois Lowry can't hurt.

I wrapped up my first picture book with Candlewick, and am hard at work on two projects with HarperCollins. In addition, I should have a book out this year from Simon & Schuster (the newest in the Lucky Trilogy), and a cover with Scholastic. In the midst of all of this, I hope that 2011 is the year I focus on some personal projects as well. Trying to pick a new travel destination as well. Maybe Ireland to visit my people. ;)

Hope all are well and staying warm!

2011

A belated Happy New Year to you, blogosphere. Here's a sketch playing with some new brushes in Photoshop. This came from a combination of seeing True Grit, and driving through the bleak Texas landscapes on my way to Austin last month to see Michael Pollan give a talk.

I'd say the only thing that comes close to my dedication to illustration is my interest in food, and the science, politics, and preparation of it. I think I must drive my friends and coworkers crazy when I get going about something, but it really is fascinating to me.

I'm happy it is 2011, 2010 was an insanely busy year for me. In addition to working full time at Reel FX/Radium, I worked on 7 book projects across 5 publishers. If nothing else, I got a crash course in time management, so hopefully 2011 is the year of balance, improvement, and developing my own projects as well.

Heading to New York City for SCBWI at the end of the month with Drew. So much to do before then!

Friday Sketch - Fort

For those who don't follow the Reel FX blog, thought I'd throw this up here also. We did "dream forts" for our sketch topic. Cats are good buddies.

Fun Size

Click to enlarge

In lieu of a Halloween illustration, here are some creepy buildings concepts that got cut from a music video project at work, being lead by Nader Husseini. They ended up using no backgrounds at all, but they were still fun to come up with.

This year is flying by for me, hopefully I will soon have a lot to show for it. Stay Tuned!

Higher Power Cover

Higher Power of Lucky

Simon & Schuster

After completing the Lucky Breaks cover last spring, Simon and Schuster approached me again to do a matching paperback cover edition for the Newbery Award winning Higher Power of Lucky, also by Susan Patron. Quite an honor to do covers for such a beautifully written series!

I'm currently working on interiors for the third book in the Lucky series, which will be out in the spring next year. Oh and still finishing final details on French Ducks in Venice. And maybe some other things.

And, a sketch-

I saw this adorable girl on Sartorialist today and wanted to do a drawn version of her. She had a lot of character.

Even though I get busy, I try to find time to sketch for myself. Sometimes if I can grab enough time through out the day waiting for emails or feedback or whatnot, I can usually fit in a little sketch. I also made my Photoshop history take snapshots every time I saved, so it occurred to me I could make a little gif of this sketch coming together

My process is THRILLING I know ;)

Til next time!

Autumn Sketches

Friday Sketch topic at work was Autumn. You can keep up with other sketches and such from the art department on the Reel FX Art Department blog.


I also drew this gal.

I really enjoy autumn in Dallas. Everyone is in a nice mood, there are all sorts of pumpkin flavored things, and I can have my windows open.

This has been a busy few months for me. I'm wrapping up on French Ducks in Venice, as well as the illustrations for the next Lucky book with Simon and Schuster. Books are a lot of work. I'm still deciding whether or not to go to the SCBWI conference this winter. We'll see I guess! :)

In the bits of free time I can find, I'm also taking a baking class this week, the guys from Baked NYC are on tour for their new book, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I have their first book, and everything I've made from there was really tasty. Baking is what I do instead of video games, I find it relaxing and delicious.

Nothing new besides that. Just wanted the blogosphere to know I'm still around. I hope to have a lot to show soon. Until then, I hope all are well.

I can tell that we are gonna be friends

I'm not in school anymore, but I still get nostalgic at the beginning of the school year. How easily we forget how hard it was to be a kid.

My mom and sister are both teachers and I have a great deal of respect for the profession. It was always eerie being at my mom's school after hours or during the summer; seeing the school empty and the teachers relaxed and speaking freely about their lives. Teachers were always real people to me, I never doubted the existence of their personal life, because they were also family friends.

But enough sentiment.

I'm finally done(!!!) with all of the interiors on my children's book, just needs a cover and I'm finished. The next book, another in the Lucky series, is already next in line, and I'll be switching gears from ducks to desert children forthwith. Reel FX is keeping me busy also.

Also, after running out of reasons not to, I joined twitter. Better late than never, I suppose. Follow me and I promise I won't retweet too many 50 cent posts.

Hope all are well :)

Pool Party

Friday Sketch at work - Topic was Pool Party.

Trapeze Swinger

Our Friday Sketch at work was circus themed. I must admit, I had never cared much for the circus, until I read Water for Elephants a few years ago. I guess years of explaining that Ringling College had nothing to do with the circus made me a little jaded also.

Quick sketches like these are really enjoyable, and I feel like it helps me to make aesthetic decisions a lot more quickly. Back at school, we used to get together in the computer labs and do one hour thunder-domes to practice finishing work quickly. I feel like that was a pretty beneficial exercise, especially given the deadlines in the real world.

Kind of crazy that students thought ONLY A WEEK for an illustration was an insanely short amount of time. I don't remember the last time I had a whole week to finish something ;) Actually, for this piece, I asked for 3 days of time to work on it and was laughed at. So there. Kids, learn to work quickly and you will be happy you did.

Finishing up some big projects while some other big ones loom on the horizon. Hope all are well :)

Countdown

Some quick studies at work. I purposely kept my canvas small so I wouldn't zoom in and noodle the thing to death. The top one still got a little overworked maybe, but they were fun.

Once Texas stops with this triple digit weather business, I may need to go to the Arboretum to get my landscape painting fix.

Also, a bunch of us just went to the most recent Dr. Sketchy in Dallas. For those who don't know, it's a life drawing session with dancers and burlesque models, and it's really laid back and fun. They have groups in most major cities, if there's one by you, check it out! This was our third time going, and it's a lot of fun. Breaking out the watercolors for these 20 minute poses was refreshing as well. I could tell I was a bit rusty though :]

In other news, it is mega-children's-book-crunch-time, as I work to finish up French Ducks in Venice. It's been a great experience working with Candlewick, and I'm excited to see how the whole thing comes together. This is probably the biggest project I've done, so I can't wait to show the finished product as well. All in time.

Hope all are well and surviving the heat :]

epilogue

I think I'll call this one done. Drew called this creature a Goat Ball, but I'll have to think of a better name.

Until August, I probably won't be posting much. Deadlines aplenty and only so many hours in the day. I have a children's book to finish and commercials to make. Art is hard work and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise (if the fight consists of a scrabble match).

I'm busy but I don't think I'd like it any other way.

Take care, folks.

Zydeco

Work In Progress

As for the day job- Here's a Shrek commercial I worked on, doing matte painting. I painted grass and fence posts for about a month. Painting grass is just as fun as it sounds.

As for the book stuff- Working on a few projects, and enjoying the ride. Half the battle with large projects is staying organized, but I think I've found a system that works for me. It's cool seeing a large body of work develop over time, I feel like I'm making progress. I'll be excited to show what I'm working on, once things are released.

As for everything else- Enjoying the start of summer in Texas, and eager to go on a few little adventures this summer. After visiting Adam and co. for Memorial Day, I'm excited to get to see Kyler and McLean this summer as well. Old college friends are a great comfort in these crazy stressful times, so it's good to keep in touch while we can.

I hope all are well and making lots of art.

Lucky Breaks

Lucky Breaks by Susan Patron

Interior Illustrations by Matt Phelan

Paperback edition cover Erin McGuire

A few months ago the kind folks at Simon & Schuster asked me to do a cover redesign for the paperback edition for Lucky Breaks, the sequel to the Newberry Award winning Higher Power of Lucky. I had a great time reworking Lucky, the main character, and her drawing her adventures in the Mojave desert. Book covers are an interesting challenge, and the many rounds of thumbnails taught me a lot about what makes a good cover.

Many possibilities! At one point there was a donkey.

It's funny seeing your book cover on Amazon, and I got a bit more of a cheap thrill today when I saw it on the shelf at Barnes and Noble (and texted a picture to my mom, after all it is Mother's Day ;] ) in the YA section.

Still hard at work at French Ducks, as well as some other projects coming down the pipeline. Being this immersed in the book world is like running a marathon, but I think I'll make it through just fine. Oddly enough, the more time I spend on books, the less time I have to read, though I am almost done with Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth, because I will always make time for her short stories.

In my free time, Drew and I are trying to grow many varieties of hot peppers, as well as herbs and tomatoes. I've never really had a garden before, so I'm having a good time learning as I go. Hopefully I can have some personal work to post soon. I hope all are well and enjoying the warming weather.

For Boston, for Boston

Click to see full size :]

Recently I was commissioned by the North of Boston Library exchange to create some promotional materials for their library system. I was excited for the opportunity because 1. I like libraries, and 2. My entire family is from Boston. It was a fun challenge fitting 7 figures in a composition, I've always thought that people interacting (or crowd scenes) are a good exercise.

I'm just getting everything back to normal after a fun week in San Francisco/Bay Area with Drew, Matt, and Megan. California really is beautiful and inspiring, and I welcome any opportunity to run around some mountains and eat some cioppino.

Enjoying my last remaining months of temperate weather before the Dallas summers go into full swing. There's a lot to be done.

Dallas Film Festival

Film Festival time again!

Just like the materials I did last year, I was asked to complete some theater screens and promo materials for this year's Dallas Film Festival. I'm always pleased when I'm asked to draw fantastic contraptions. The stuff on the screens are shots from our reel, of various projects we've worked on.

that we must change, or pay more for remaining the same

This time of year seems so busy and restless. I've been working pretty nonstop to finish up a few projects, and it's crazy that another year of students is already graduating. Time really speeds up after you leave college, and it's a strange life change, learning to live and work on your own for the first time.

In seeing a lot of buzz about recruiting and job hunting, a few of us were thinking about how we got started, and were reminiscing about this anxious time of year. I graduated before the recession, so I'm sure graduating into an almost 10% unemployment rate is even more nerve wracking. However, I don't think it's all doom and gloom. This generation has a lot of technical advantages on their side, and the industry isn't as dead or dying as we think. It is changing, but regardless, people will never stop needing art, and that's just that.

That being said, I had the idea to post about a few of the things I think graduating students should consider, or things I found helpful in getting started:

• First off, Ringling students who are graduating this year, if you have a blog or website, don't put "Senior Year Illustration Major!" on your site. Go and edit your information right now, and just say that you're an Illustrator, because you are. How you present yourself to the world (or internet world) is how you will be received, and if you go out of your way to tell me you're a student, you'll be treated like a student. It tells art directors and employers that you still need training and that it's fine to pay you less. After all, you're telling me you're just a student.

• Between graduating and moving for work, I bought and read How to be a Graphic Designer Without Losing your Soul and I highly recommend it, even if you aren't a graphic designer. The advice is just about the client/artist relationship, and how to really act like a professional and understand the business. I thought this was straightforward and helpful. Ringling's portfolio class (basically a business of art class) was not really helpful to me in any way, so this book made up for all the things I should have learned.

• One of the best concepts from that book, was that nothing gets you work like work. It feels like such an impossible Catch-22, that you need to have work experience to get your first job, but that's how it is. Previous work reassures a client that you've worked before and aren't going to leave them hanging. Look for an opportunity to do some work that will show clients just that. For me it was the Hallmark contest I entered all those years ago. After that, having some work with the Ringling Design Center was just another way to show I knew how to actually finish work.

• Be smart about the opportunities that come along, but when you see them, take them. We joke about the job postings on craigslist, because it's ridiculous that someone would design a logo for $50, but those jobs exist because people take them, on the false premise that the "exposure" will make up for your low pay. On the other hand, there are companies that freelance out cool work at a lower rate, and the work probably REALLY WILL get you more work in the field, a client on your client list, and a cool portfolio piece. If you're smart about which work you take, you'll work your way up eventually. If getting that first job is too hard, try selling prints on Etsy, entering designs on sites like Threadless.com, or submitting work to competitions. You're trying to show how legit and un-studentlike you are, and when you're starting out, how you spin what experience you have makes a difference.

I have a few more points, but I'm thinking of splitting those into my next post. For now, I wish everyone the best of luck. I'm taking a much needed vacation.