Peas in a Pod

Petey Pea was never as big as his brothers. He couldn't wait to move out on his own.

Anthropomorphic Romance

Monsieur Forknoir could wait no longer. He had to express his undying love to Spoonita before it was to late!
Though a little tarnished , Spoonita looked past his outer layers and saw true love in Monsieur Forknoir eyes. The two have married and live very happily in a kitchen draw at my house.

"Anthropomorphic"

he is the king of fishery.

anthropomorphic

sleeping sausages.

the summer autumn winter dance and spring song

if you'd like to see this full size, I've posted it on my blog here

headed for SCBWI conference in LA!

Hi Everyone! Thanks for all the wonderful illustrations this month--everyone did an excellent job. I'm headed for the SCBWI conference in LA tomorrow, so I already posted the winner for this month. I may not be able to get to a computer for several days, but if you need me, send me an email & I'll try to check that. It's very difficult to select a winner, so your comments are very important. Thanks for all the great comments, the advice given, and the techniques shared--that's what makes this an interactive site. Thanks to all of you for being a part of Watercolor Wednesdays!

it sang to me...

This is what I finally ended up with. Thought that cropping the picture might help, don't really know if it worked. Besides, the colour still needs a lot of working upon. Tell me what you think...

the complete picture

Poor Swallow

Last minute entry. Once again I got mired down in perfectionism. The actual image is a lot brighter, I just couldn't convert it to the web without loosing all the bright color saturation.

Thumbelina was always one of my favorite stories. Maybe cause I was always the smallest kid in the class.

Upcoming Event

Hi everyone,
In case any one is interested, the New Jersey SCBWI chapter is hosting its very first annual Illustrator Day at the Theological Seminary in Princeton on November 9, 2008. I am the Illustrator co-ordinator for the day and — seeing as we all here are wanting to illustrate for children's books — I thought you might like to know about it. if you would like more details I'd be happy to add you to the mailing list, just e-mail me leeza(at)leezaworks(dot)com. I'll be sending out the e-flyer toward the end of August.
Thanks and Lin, I hope it's okay to post this here!
Leeza

Thumbelina

Hi, everyone! Like many of you, this is my first posting. I mentioned on my blog not being as happy with this as I hoped (it's too brown), but I like the characters in it. I suppose part of my disappointment was that I finally bought a few professional grade watercolors and this was my first time to use some of them. I was also experimenting with some iridescent stuff on the bird and on Thumbelina's dress, but it doesn't show when you scan it in (I didn't think it would). I look forward to doing more with you all. Thanks to those of you who have commented on it on my blog. If anyone has suggestions on how I can improve this piece, I'd be happy to hear from you.

"Thumbelina"

Thumbelina is one of my favourite children stories.

But it's difficult to draw such a special situation with so many good takes before. 

So, I chosen to draw thumbelina, simply, floating down the river and listening to the birds beautiful song.

Vacation

Hi guys! I just wanted to let ya'll know that I'll be incommunicado for the next couple of weeks. We're off to the North Country to go camping. Have fun drawing, and I'll jump back in when I'm home again!!
:) Michelle

thumbelina's dream about the beautiful wonderful song

linda sarah

Thumbelina, Thumbelina …

Another great assignment, Linda!

I tried so hard to come at this from a different angle/perspective, but in the end, this is what came out.


First came the India Ink and Dr. Marten's Watercolor Inks …


… THEN, I went back to my signature style. (Acrylic/Pencil/Mixed Media). As an illustrator I always look for ways to push myself creatively. Here, my pencil work (line art) is much more sketchy than I typically use. It's a little heavy for my liking but a good exercise nonetheless and personally, I prefer #2 to #1, but that's just me. What do you think? The only thing I might do with #2 is add some shadow to create a little more depth and atmosphere.

What do you do to exercise and push your creative boundaries? Do you stay in your safety area or boldly tread out of your comfort zone? How do you evolve?

thumbelina cringed

i bet this was thumbelina's expression when she learned she had to marry the ugly, old rat.

ok sorry i didnt read the topic carefully! i read it in glimpse and thought, "oh, its about Thumbelina!" i apologize if this is off-topic....oh well, it still has Thumbelina in it isnt it.. :)

Thumbelina

Such a sweet story.... here is my entry, would have liked to spend a bit more time on it. Overall, I am pleased with the bird most.

Thumbelina & the Swallow

Thumbelina & the Swallow

"Perhaps this was the one who sang to me so sweetly in the summer," [Thumbelina] said; "and how much pleasure it gave me, you dear, pretty bird." Such a sad part of the story, but what compassion in her heart to care for the dead bird and wonder if it was the one who sang to her.

This is my first submission here at "Watercolor Wednesdays'. I'm new to children's illustration and hope to share and learn lots through these prompts as it's a bit of a challenge for me with proportions and angles. As well, as much as I love watercolor, I do find it frustrating sometimes with respect to how much more control I have with colored pencils & pen.

Again, thanks for having me ;>

Thumbelina and the Swallow

This is such a sad part of the story but things change from this point, leading to a happy ending. I like a happy ending!

We are almost at Capacity!

We are now twenty-four members strong! We are a specialized site with a focus on children's book illustration in water-based media, and membership is limited to 25 members. We welcome new members who are committed to the wonderful world of children's book illustration. Interested members, please post both your EMAIL address and art web/blog address here. Thanks!

I just got in from work and I had to come and see what everyone was up to. I did get a chance to
comment on the wonderful illustrations earlier this evening. Even though it's ten at night and I need to sleep, I wanted to
do one last illustration before slipping of to dreamland.

Thumbelina and dear, pretty bird

"Perhaps this was the one who sang to me so sweetly in the summer..."

Thumbelina and her bird

Thumbelina was one of my favorite stories as a kid. I used to love imagining what it would be like to be that small.

thumbelina and dear pretty bird

i agree with Michelle: Andersen was a wonderful storytailer. we could make an Andersen-series from his works...

Thumbelina

"Perhaps this was the one who sang to me so sweetly in the summer," [Thumbelina] said; "and how much pleasure it gave me, you dear, pretty bird."

This is such a sad, sweet part of the story - where Thumbelina finds the dead little bird and she cares for it in it's death. Mouse and Mole are too busy carrying on with business to even bat an eye at the misfortune of the bird.

Did you ever see the Danny Kaye movie "Hans Christian Andersen"? I remember watching it when I was a little girl, and the song "Thumbelina" is stuck in my head now:
Thumbelina, Thumbelina tiny little thing
Thumbelina dance, Thumbelina sing
Thumbelina what’s the difference if you’re very small?
When your heart is full of love you’re nine feet tall

"This Little Piggy"

Hello to all. This is my first submission with a little (shy) piggy. 

Watercolor Wednesday

This little piggy likes to take a ride with friends.
Watercolor and ink on watercolor hot press paper

This Little Piggy

This little piggy just loves to wear blue!

Membership is Growing!

We are now twenty-two members strong and growing. We are a specialized site with a focus on children's book illustration in water-based media, and membership is limited to 25 members. We welcome new members who are committed to the wonderful world of children's book illustration. Interested members, please post both your EMAIL address and art web/blog address here. Thanks!

And this little piggy …

… loves Chocolate-Cherry-Berry ice-cream … but he doesn't like sprinkles!


Medium: Acrylic/Pencil (just in case you were wondering!)

What a great topic. I just finished reading "This Little Piggy's Book of Manners" written by Kathryn Allen and illustrated by the oh-so-talented Nancy Wolff. I just love her work! It's a great book by the way. Fab illos, fun read-aloud and great humor.

This little piggy...

...went to market, of course!

This little piggy...

Built a house out of straw...

Thanks for having me aboard. This is my first submission. I hope you all like it. :)

http://wendymartinillustration.com

This little Piggy...

Pigs in a blanket!

www.robertabaird.com

A Mouse in the House

This little piggy is a Buckaroo!

This little piggy

This little piggy is my own pig-headedness!
Watercolor and ink ACEO

Membership is Growing!

We are now nineteen members strong and growing. We welcome new members. Interested members, we need your EMAIL address and art web/blog address. Thanks!

this little piggy

This little piggy

Thought he could fly,

Stuck in a tyre,

Suspended really high!

this little piggy is too greedy

:)
hi all!

This little piggy

... stopped to smell the flowers. That's one smart piggy!

this little piggy... loved to dance

my first post, piggy and all. Thanks! =)

this little piggy...

...decided to learn ice-skating.

this little pig...

linda sarah

It was a dark and stormy night …

I'm on a pirate kick at the moment, this is Pirate Jane ... her story is slowly starting to unfold in my mind, which I think has the potential for a chapter book. All thanks to the lovely Linda - cheers and thank you for inviting me to join the blog!

My medium is Acrylic/Pencil/Mixed Media. This particular piece is India Ink/Pencil and finished as Mixed Media. All the textures I create are made by hand with a water-based medium, usually acrylic. I have been experimenting with India Ink for my black & white illustrations though as a way to force myself away from 'greyscale.'

Hope you like!

This little piggy ...

Santa brought the girls finger puppets for Christmas a few years ago. My favorites were the Fairy Tale puppets - Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and The Three Little Pigs. The girls never get sick of hearing the stories, and I never tire of seeing their performances!

It was a dark and stormy night...

But Christopher was safe and warm... deeply invovled in a video game!!!

www.robertabaird.com

A Mouse in the House

Scaredy Bear

'It was a dark and stormy night, and Daniel felt sure that the tree outside his window was coming to get him...'

It was a dark and stormy night

...and this little fellow is trying to make it home! Don't worry, he'll make it!
Ink and watercolor, with a little bit of white goauche.

Membership is Growing!

We are now seventeen members strong and growing. We welcome new members. Interested members, we need your EMAIL address and art web/blog address. Thanks!

Dragon Mommy Reading

Finally finished this! Actually, I just finally made myself stop.

it was a dark and stormy night ...

Since this week's theme is "a dark and stormy night" I thought I'd place Little Red Riding Hood in a dark and stormy woods. I think I've got the dark part down, but I found the stormy part a little hard to do. Any suggestions for how to achieve the look of "stormy"?

I also wanted to make Red a little hispanic girl. I'm not sure it really looks like that.... Thoughts?

it was a dark and stormy night...

A reminiscence of a cat

i like this topic because watercolor is high tool to represent stormy night.

Dragon Mommy Reading...

This is no where near ready, but I wanted to at least have something posted today! Sooo...it's a work in progress.

Membership is Growing!

We are now eleven members strong and growing. Today is our first day! We welcome new members.