Posts Tagged ‘children’s illustration’

Visual Texture!

Filed under: Art Lessons,Illustration,Lessons of an Artist,My Books,Shanda's Journey | October 24, 2024

I’m working on the final color art for Lilibet Makes a Friend (written by Kersten Hamilton). Every book I work on teaches me something new about the artist I want to become, and THIS book is telling me to play up the TEXTURE! (Yeah, books speak to me. That’s normal, right?)

So, I’ll follow the lead and give extra love and attention to gritty pencil marks, painterly brush strokes, and stacks on stacks of layered color :)

The right amount of textural touches gives art that … “chef’s kiss.” Your eye moves around it, and it delights you at every angle. Sometimes fast. Sometimes slow. What’s the “right” amount of texture you ask? Beats me! For now, I have to rely on my taste and intuition because I can’t quite articulate/measure it. When I’ve gone too far and over-complicated an image, I get a feeling of overwhelm. The “right” amount of visual busyness is exhilarating yet manageable to take in.

I’m especially drawn to Brian Biggs’ work right now. In my opinion, he’s a texture expert! He appears to have loads of fun doing his work, too. Brian has made over 75 books, but honestly, he’s just now truly on my radar. His art is distinctive and playful yet educated and calculated. The guy knows what he’s doing. He’s honed his craft for years and pivoted when things felt stale (which I learned from this podcast).

From afar, Brian Biggs inspires me to keep going and keep learning. Hey, it might take me 75 books to make my mark in this industry and figure out who I am exactly.  If so, I’m 7 books in, 68 to go.

Kids Meet Authors (replay and next event)

Jannie Ho, Bethanie Murguia, and I had a lovely time answering real kids’ questions about reading and creating graphic novels. Enjoy the replay below!

The next event is on November 1st, all about STEM stories! Sign up to join live or to get a replay link.

2 Events for Kids THIS Saturday in person!

I’ll be doing two kids’ events at Alpharetta Public Library this Saturday, Oct. 26th ! Books will be available for purchase/signing after each session.

  • 11 am – 12 pm, I’m presenting about Rad Robots, reading my STEM-friendly picture book, DOLL-E 1.0, and teaching kids to draw the robot from the story!
  • 2 – 3 pm, I’m presenting Words + Pictures = MAGIC, reading my STEM-friendly picture book, DOLL-E 1.0, and teaching kids to draw like an illustrator!

Lesson #8: Real Paint Soothes the Soul

Filed under: Illustration,On My Mind,Sketchbook | March 6, 2014

color_image by Shanda McCloskey

 

Something has been missing for me lately. I’m not quite sure what it is, but I think it might be real paint. Not that I was ever a master painter, but it bothers me that I’ve gotten so far from painting since I’ve tried working digitally. I’m feeling like I should bring some paint back into my work somehow, at least in the backgrounds.  The Ladybug Girl series is a beautiful example of watercolor backgrounds with flatter characters on top. So is Winnie the Pooh, and some Calvin and Hobbs. I’m not sure to what extent I can do this, but I’m willing to start experimenting. I’d like illustrating to feel good. Lately it has been a real struggle in my heart. Most of what I create, I hate. Is that normal? I hear it’s normal to make more mistakes that triumphs, but it’s getting ridiculous!

I understand why someone would quit now. It’s a roller-coaster ride for your mind, heart, eyes, and brain for what seems like it should be so simple. Ha! Not simple for me!

I couldn’t sleep last night so I put some watercolor down on paper, scanned it, and put it behind a character I drew. Something about it is sort of nice. Next I’d like to try a real scene with characters interacting and details of the setting. Hopefully, I’m on the right track.

Headed to NYC today!

Filed under: Illustration,On My Mind,Shanda's Journey,Sketchbook,Uncategorized | February 20, 2014

Right now, I am sitting in the Atlanta airport waiting on my flight to New York City to attend my first SCBWI national conference.  I have my love, Ben, beside me, which is nice. He works in New York often, so it was awesome that we could travel together!

ny14scbwi

I have always dreamed of attending the NYC SCBWI conference, although now that I’m headed there today, things aren’t exactly as I imagined them being. Not a bad thing, just different, because (if you didn’t know already) I am 5 months pregnant with another precious girl! And I feel really great these days, so I knew I had to seize this opportunity before I have a newborn in my life again :)  I also got to experience a full body pat down for the first time at the airport! I didn’t want to walk through the x-ray scanner being pregnant and all. The lady really explored my maternity pants. I guess you could really hide some stuff in all that extra stretchy fabric!

February has been a busy, packed month preparing for this adventure. My to-do list looked almost impossible for the month of February (March will be the same way), but I did everything! It’s amazing what a little planning can do. Here’s a little bit of what I was working on for this trip:

 

Illustrating a mandatory assignment for the illustrator’s intensive…

Research:

snowwhite_research

Thumbnails:
snow_thumbnails
Character sketches:
snowwhite_sketch
Layout Sketches:
snowsketch
snow_sketch2
Value Study:
value
Color:Snow White by Shanda McCloskey

Preparing my portfolio for the Portfolio Showcase… (I am really looking forward to seeing other’s portfolios and how they crafted and organized them.)

portfolio

It also helped that my 3-year-old started a little preschool program this month. So, for 2 mornings each week I had work time to myself, and it was really fun to see HJ discover school, have a Valentine party, overcome some shyness and anxiety, learn about frogs, learn to write her name, choose a packed lunch or what the other kids were having, and be picked for a table cleaning job. This was all stuff she told me about when I pick her up after lunch.  I also can’t forget about the help and support I have from my mom, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law when it comes to HJ. She is one loved little girl, and I know she’ll be happy and safe all weekend (having 3 different slumber parties with them) while I’m gone.

supermanI miss her though! 5 days is the longest I have ever been apart from her. I know she’ll be just fine, but it feels really strange still. We found PINKY, the owl, in our bed this morning :)  So, I brought her with me!

pinky
Okay, here we go!

Honk! I Got A Gig!

Filed under: Illustration,Sketchbook | February 12, 2014

"Honk!" poster by Shanda McCloskey
Every now and then, an artist will get an opportunity that they just can’t pass up. That’s what happened when my friend, Anna in Brooklyn, emailed me about this job/project about a month ago. She is directing “Honk!”, a musical based on The Ugly Duckling story, and she needed a promo illustration, and 4 background illustrations (that felt like a vintage children’s story book) within 2 months. I didn’t really have time for it, but I felt in my heart it was worth squeezing into my schedule somehow. At this point, I’ve only completed 1 of 5 illustrations, but it’s a great start I think. The poster above is the completed promo piece.

thumbnail
Honk Sketch by Shanda McCloskey

I colored this sketch digitally with my Wacom tablet. A weakness I believe I have is color. So, I found a vintage book cover online (which happens to be an Ugly Ducking book) and selected its colors in Photoshop and used them to follow a color scheme on my own piece. I learned so much by doing that. Colors can be VERY deceiving. You may think you are seeing blue, but that’s only because of the colors around it. If you select it, it may actually be green or something.

photo

This was also a nice challenge for me as I need more illustrations with backgrounds in my portfolio. Backgrounds don’t come all that natural to me. I’m more of a character person, and find that I avoid backgrounds… too much. I’m definitely still a work-in-progress as an illustrator, but I’m very happy with the way this turned out.

Stay tuned for the other illustrations in this project. I hope I like them as much as this one :)

 

 

More Charlie…

Filed under: Illustration,Shanda's Journey,Sketchbook | September 6, 2013

oops by Shanda McCloskey

 

scientist by Shanda McCloskey

It Feels A Lot Like Wrestling…

Filed under: Illustration,Shanda's Journey | August 30, 2013

…to write a story, create the best character in words (and then in art),

…then tweak the story, tweak the character (words and art),

…..then tweak the story, the character, question your purpose in writing… or life for that matter, etc. (repeat until you need therapy).

AND THEN ADD in drawing a character CONSISTENTLY!? I’m telling you- writing/illustrating picture books is so hard. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Here are 3 out of 6 views I’m trying to make of Charlie. There’s a 4th in there, but I’m undecided if that one looks similar enough. She started off very young and sweet in my earlier sketches on this blog, but the more I work on my story, hear feedback, and draw, this is who she has become- I hope I’ve made the right choices  :)

charlie_gazing_atdoll
charlie_hugging_doll
charlie_happy_withdoll
charlie_mad
Some of you told me that you enjoyed seeing the sketches before they were colored so here you go…

sketches3

Continuation of Character Studies & Technique Experiments

Filed under: Illustration,Shanda's Journey,Sketchbook | August 21, 2013

charlie_headdown
ch

 

This is another view of Charlie from a story I’m working on. I started this sketch in pencil. Scanned it. Painted it digitally with some things I’ve learned (from Will Terry) in combination with my gut feelings on how to move the digital paint around. It’s pretty cool how un-digital it looks! I mean, I think so :) Stayed tuned for more studies of Charlie!

-Shanda

Lesson #6: Draw More

Filed under: Illustration,Lessons of an Artist,Shanda's Journey,Sketchbook | July 28, 2013

charlie_sketch1

I was proud of myself this week. I drew almost every day. Drawing is just as important for an artist as exercise is to every body, and we KNOW this, yet we can slip into times where we don’t do it for days, weeks, and even months. After I had my little girl, I was so mad that I’d let 6 months pass by without making art. Now, to my defense, having a baby just about did me in, but it is what it is, and that’s no way for an aspiring illustrator to be.

I am feeling like I really have to make some choices that will define how I spend my time from now on. Some of those choices is to draw more, every day if I can. I found that when I spend more time drawing, I feel more prepared for an illustrative future (like I’m getting somewhere), which makes me feel happier and calmer, which allows me to be more “present” while playing with my daughter. They say, moms who take care of themselves, take better care of their kids. I can see now.

And each day that I drew, it felt progressively more natural, and even easier maybe. If that’s the case, can you imagine if we drew (almost) every day for years and years? I believe we’d actually get pretty good!

I am working on the look/feel of a girl character in a story I just completed the first draft on. Looking forward to the feedback I get at my critique group this Wednesday night! They are wonderful, and I know it will become a better story with their help.

Here’s my progression through this week…

charlie_sketch2

charlie_sketch3

charlie_sketch4

Illustration Friday: Robot!

Filed under: Illustration,Sketchbook | July 23, 2013

robot_book_character by Shanda McCloskey

This one has a little bit of digital details, but I’m not sure I like the color and contrast as much as the originals below.

photo 1
 photo 2
 photo 4

 

I love this one the most. I like the high contrast, and simplicity in the hair. These were brightened(exposure) on my iphone Photoshop app. Somewhere here is where I want to be.

-Shanda

 

Loosening Up To A Little PINK…

Filed under: Illustration,On My Mind,Shanda's Journey,Sketchbook | April 27, 2013

Miss Featherbottom Sings by Shanda McCloskey“Just give me a reason
Just a little bit’s enough
Just a second we’re not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again
It’s in the stars
It’s been written in the scars on our hearts
That we’re not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again”

 

Miss Featherbottom Not So Sure by Shanda McCloskey

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Shanda McCloskey, Children's Illustrator & Author