HandBook Sketchbook: Spead 02

Not too much going on here... but a little princess doodle, and some faces. lerve tiki stuff, and that lamp is awesome. And who doesn't need a $10 pewter cracker to grace their plate.

HandBook Sketchbook: Very First Spread!!!

I'm doing it.. I'm starting to scan in the pages of my third sketchbook, and have a question for the few that visit my blog. I am on the fence about this, and can't make up my mind. I've been thinking about transferring over all of the sketch spreads from my sketch dump blog over to this one, but am afraid if I do that, they'll get lost amongst the other postings. Should I leave it as it is, or start posting them here? hhmm... While we figure this one out.. Here's spread 01 from the Hand•book sketchbook.

I'm not terribly fond of this spread, since it brings back terrible memories of our short stay in NC. It was a good logo redesign brain-sketching session though!

Monday Art Day ACEO: Kitty Trade

My three submissions for the ACEO trio cat trade. They're Kokeshi Kitties!

Illustration Friday: Garden

A simple & quick illo from a sketch for a girl named Tulip, who indeed loves tulips from her tulip garden.

Cheers!

Massive M2 Sketch Dump!

I've been a busy bee, scanning in the remaining spreads from my M2 sketchbook and uploading them to my sketchblog!

I'll be putting up spreads from my latest sketchbook soon. I changed brands, and went with a Global Arts Hand•Book brand this time around, which definitely has more tooth, but for some reason reminds me of drawing on construction paper. I enjoyed drawing on the smoother surfaces of the Moleskines, and will be going back once I've completed this one.


The sketch above is from M2: spreadFortyTwo. It's a prelim. sketch for a "We've Moved" announcement. That's one of our kitties in the tree enjoying the view!

We're back in VA!!! (Belated Wooot!!!)

I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with my blog for sometime. My husband and I have been transitioning back into the DC/NOVA metro area since early December from our unfortunate relocation to NC. Lucky for us, it's been pretty smooth. After we came back to VA, everyone we passed on the street said that "NC is for the retired." Now they tell us! We definitely appreciate the things we took for granted before we left, so in saying that, I'm glad that we took the chances that we did when we decided to move.

So now instead of sitting on my bum all day looking for a job in NC, I'm doing it in VA, with much better results! I honestly can't wait to start working again.. this whole temporary retirement thing has had me bummed out and stagnant... Posting something up on the blog has brightened my day though, so maybe I'll continue to do a little more of that! The sketch above is a snippit from my M2 spread 40 on my sketchdump blog. Cheers!!!

Sketch Blog Updates!!

I haven't shared too many details, but I've been MIA due to a big move to the Charlotte, NC area from the hectic DC metro area. It's been pretty crazy, but things are starting to settle down some since the big move. We have been wanting to move out the DC area for awhile, so when the opportunity came up for my husband, we took it! We did a lot of research, and had the chance to visit before moving. I have a friend who moved from this area up to DC, so he's been super helpful as far as finding good eats, and fun places. There's been ups and downs, not gonna lie, but I think things are starting to settle, yay!
It's been a tough job market for me down here, compared to the DC area. I think I'm doing everything a job hunter can do to find a job, so it's just a matter of time. (i hope) If you've read down this far, and know of anyone in the charlotte area looking for a Graphic/Web Designer, I'd love to chat!Now, the big news!!! I've updated my Sketch Blog with new spreads, so go check it out!!!

IF: Citrus

I made it this week, Hoooray! I'm really happy that I could make some time this week to participate in IF. It's been a little hard lately, I know I keep saying that. This was designed to be the front of a card. It was sketched out on textured lined cream cardstock, outlined in pen, and colored in with watercolor colored pencils. There's some tweakage to be done, but I love how the banner at the top turned out, overall, and being spot-on with the hand-lettering. (I never can get that right.)

Here's another little sketch of something goofy I like to do when eating oranges. :D

Geisha on a Cliff

Watercolor (in progress) done from a doodle. The idea was to show a geisha losing her virginity for the first time, by showing flowers flowing from under her dress in the wind. When I had finished up with the sketch, it looked like maybe she had let one go and was bashfully saying 'oops, I tooted'

Even though that's what it looks like.. I really like how the flowers and lines flowed from the dress. I may just carry this over to the watercolor anyway!

slowly makin my way back!

I have a little more time on my hands (finally!)
I've started uploading a few moleskine spreads on my Doodle Monkey Dump blog, if you want to check those out.
I hope to keep uploading a spread/day until I can catch up with the current spreads.

I also hope to share with you some concepts I have for my portfolio site, portfolio booklet, and card, if anything it'll help me see my progress, and hopefully some feedback from you! I've been taking some time to do some research and getting some resources together to do this! I'm kinda excited about the design, and think it will reflect me as a designer, and on a personal level as well. :D (i'm screaming like a school girl inside! ieeee!!!)

Ok.. i can't contain myself.. here's a sneak peak! This is a concept for the portfolio booklet.

The 'M' and the banner are common theme elements I plan on using on all media. I'm not sure if the booklet will be square or more rectangular, since it depends on how I lay out the inside.

New sketch spreads from M2

Took some time this weekend to scan in some pages from my second moleskine, (if yer intuh-rested!)

So go grab some hot cocoa and sit yer butt down for some more fun sketchie randomness! That's one thing I've noticed with my sketch books is the amount of randomness there are in them. It's with me 24/7 and open so if a thought occurs I can quickly scribble it out!
I have to apologize for all the writing in them too.. I'm in planning and brainstorming mode, so you'll see a lot of notes-to-self.

The Doodle Monkey Dump

IF: Phoenix

there's always one in the bunch that wants to live on, so it found the Fountain 'O' Youth!

IF: Quiet

It's been awhile! I think I was burnt out from the pressure of sketching, creating and finishing up home projects, and was soooo relieved that we actually had a few weekends to relax. I'm starting back up again! I'm also in my interior decorating mood, and have started planning, laying out, measuring, etc... all the upstairs bedrooms, halls and bathrooms!! I'm a little slow on the uptake, so this weeks effort was a little weak, but I wanted to contribute to help get me motivated again.

She's enjoying a nice cup of cocoa in a big comfy chair in a quiet coffee shop, after a brisk walk in the bitter cold. yum.

Not-so-booples

:::UPDATE::: I've been told that Booples already exist :( so sad.. mine are cuter!! So they can no longer be called Booples... Any name ideas???

I'm couldn't think of anything else to call them, so Booples seemed fitting. I'm thinking of painting these guys on three pretty decent sized panels. Most likely will use acrylics, since I'm ok with them. Any thoughts and ideas?

moleskine sketch page

Stickerific MooDude

MooDude sent me a wonderful package of his stickers this past weekend! I had had a long day at the office, and recieving this colorful pieces of stickiness really made my day!

random illustration

Thought I'd share few old sketches. This was sketched out years, and I mean yee-ears ago. I have always thought of doing more with it, like an life-size painting with this style. I've done a bird using this illustration style, but stopped there. sigh.. one of these days!

*Silly Monkee Sketch Blog*

Yay! I've been meaning to get this started forever, and I finally had the time to scan, and upload all the pages from my MoleSkine sketchbook. This book now goes everywhere I go. I'm getting braver and am actually opening it up in public to make a few sketches! I'm still a little shy about drawing in public. *grin* I hope you get a chance to look at it, and that you can draw some inspiration or motivation from it!



Check it out! SillyMonkee Sketchblog

Afro Hope

Sidetrack from a major brainstorm about creating a positive ad campaign.... didn't realize how difficult it was, especially with the subject matter I have to create it for... argh... I've got a few good ideas... what a challenge.

Afro man started out as a pair of eyes and a brow. I wondered what it would look like if I created his face out of shapes, and this is what happened! The Hope poster, was created after Afro man, as the continuation of my brainstorming!

Beaty's Only Skin Deep

Let the imagination and pencil fly after I was done with the feet, and this is what happened. For some reason I fell in love with the 'dead' expression of the face, and it made me think of the pressures we put on beauty. I'm hoping to grow old gracefully, but if my face starts to resemble a turkey, I may feel inclined to defy gravity.