Kitchen Scene in Progress
I mapped out the kitchen (above) using sketches and images pulled into a Photoshop composite. I like using Photoshop to experiment with my compositions because I can move, rotate and scale the elements easily without having to redraw them. I transferred my composite sketch to the canvas and began painting in the hardwood floor. To give the floor a smooth appearance, I needed to make long brush strokes without awkwardly painting around the many things on the floor.
I marked the edges of the cabinets with masking tape. I painted masking medium over top of the sketches of the girls, boxes and ferret, then painted in the hardwood floor. After everything dried, I peeled away the masking tape and masking medium and worked on other sections of the kitchen:
Here's the illustration so far:
The scene needs to look very busy so I plan to add more clutter and detail.
Drawings for the book
The two little girls in the story help their pregnant mom with the animal care. Here are a few drawings I'm working on, one of the sisters bottle feeding an otter, and both girls helping their mom feed the birds:
I'm working on developing a family likeness between the two girls and their mother. It's been difficult getting good pictures of the sketches, since my lighting setup is optimized for paintings, and the sketches are much more sensitive to uneven light because of the white background. However, I just got a scanner for the drawings and I'm in the process of setting it up.
Tying Shoes
The young girls in the story are learning to tie shoes, so I needed several illustrations of shoe tying. I have a very difficult time with both hands and shoes in general, so this was doubly hard. However, I have two that I'm happy with :
Here's Queen Ferret overseeing the shoe tying. This sketch has less detail because I am thinking of using it to make a painting for the cover.
New Book Drawings
I'm illustrating a children's book written by my father-in-law. The story has a ferret narrator (here and here) and features a family preparing for a new baby in the midst of a move. My sister Gillian modeled as the pregnant mom in the story, a week before her own daughter was born.
Here's another drawing of Gillian as the mother in the story:
Here's the ferret narrator, dreaming up mischief while she rifles through the laundry basket:
Here's the younger daughter holding the ferret:
Sketches of my sister
My beautiful sister Gillian helped me out by posing for the drawings of the pregnant mom in the story. Her own baby girl was born a week later. In the book, the mother of the family runs an animal shelter in the country. She's about to give birth to her third child.
The ferret narrator (and comic relief figure) is shown here watching her clean:
Ferret Sketches
I've been working on illustrations for a children's book written by my father-in-law. It's a nice story about a young family preparing for a move while awaiting the birth of a new baby. It's based on a story from my childhood.
The family in the book runs an animal shelter in the country. Parts of the story are narrated by their pet ferret. This ferret loves to cause trouble and steal things, and does a happy dance when she's victorious. She's my favorite part of the book. Here are some sketches of her in action:
More Ferret Sketches
I don't usually draw much, but I love drawing ferrets. They have such unique, spirited personalities. Our ferrets loved nothing more than stealing socks. Here's a ferret in the laundry basket:
Ferrets also love to dig:
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