The Sun Will Come Out...Tomorrow!

I've been pretty busy as of late, working on some new projects, so I haven't had the chance to post more of my Inktober pieces.  Here's my take on some characters from "Little Orphan Annie".  I love the comic strips from the 20's, 30's and 40's, and "Little Orphan Annie" is one of my favorites.  You will probably recognize Annie, Sandy, and Daddy Warbucks, but you may not recognize the female character.  That would be (my version of) Mrs. Warbucks!  She was only in the strip for the first couple of years, but it was she who actually adopted Annie.  She was also Annie's main antagonist at the beginning, though she became a "good guy" before she was killed off.

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

Here are a couple of pieces I've done recently based on moments from the book "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase".  The first one is of the maid Pattern dressing Sylvia, who's thinking about her poor old aunt who she used to live with.  The second shows the caretaker Miss Slighcarp speaking to the carriage driver while taking Sylvia and her cousin Bonnie to a boarding school.  Two of my favorite books when I was younger were "Blackhearts in Battersea" and "Nightbirds on Nantucket" by Joan Aiken.  "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase" was the first in the series, which I somehow missed back then, but have recently caught up with.  Joan Aiken wrote these wonderful Dickensian stories that take place in an alternative early 19th century world, and I just love them.  I've been wanting to do some black and white pieces geared towards middle grade novels for my portfolio, and these stories were the perfect inspiration.  Enjoy!

Making Valentines!

Hello Everyone!  I know, it's been a loooooooonnnggg time since I've posted anything on my blog.  Well, I've been busy working on an exciting project these past few months.  I'm done now and I'll tell you about it soon, but here's a little something I did this past week.  I've been feeling a need to break out and try some new techniques.  This was done, (except for the initial sketch), completely in Photoshop. (And only with a mouse!  I don't have a wacom tablet at home.)  I have used Photoshop (and Illustrator) before, but this is my first real attempt to do a piece on the computer with the same "look" as my work in traditional media.  I'm pretty happy with it.

IF-Zoom!

Well, I almost made it!  This piece was done for this week's Illustration Friday, the theme being "zoom".  This was based on a sketch I did in one of my sketchbooks a few years back and always planned on finishing someday.  I've always been a big fan of Mickey Mouse, especially the old Floyd Gottfredson comic strip version.  I just got the first two volumes of the new reprint collection and I'm enjoying and savoring them now.

IF-Sight

Thea came upon a most unusual sight.  What was behind that door?

My piece for this week's Illustration Friday, this was an idea I had for my portfolio,  inspired a little by The Wizard Of Oz.  I love the idea of moving between black and white and full color worlds.  It was also a chance for me to explore working just with value.  I do like to work in black and white a lot, but I still sometimes find it challenging to make everything read, so this was a good exercise for me.