THIS BLOG HAS MOVED

Yes, I'm moving into my own apartment. Alice Ink blogging will now be a part of my website: www.aliceink.com.
Thank you all for being a part of my blogger world and come visit me at my new address!

Intention

With the enormous task of fleshing out my portfolio looming before me, I am aiming to tackle more black and white/spot art. Illustration Friday is my inspiration of choice for the next few months. This past week's word was "Intention."

Here's the early thumbnail depiction. (The Wolf encountering Little Red Riding Hood)

Alice

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do. Once or twice she peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, “and what is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversations.
So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.

-Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Entry for the 2012 SCBWI Carolinas art contest

Sink

Illustration Friday.

Sink....

or, not to sink, that is.

Today I'm working at staying afloat upon the fragile foundation that either saves or betrays.

Cats, part deux

Final image for Upstate Book Project.

Cats

So I'm working on a collaborative book for the Upstate Book Project (http://bit.ly/o5sKpQ) The first page was given by Chuck Bailie (http://bit.ly/4Vx70o) and then sent in progession to 19 other artists/writers. I'm page 13. By the time I received it, Graycie (the main character who lives in a world void of color) had just free a hoard of cats from a world of color by way of a broken mirror in her bedroom. So I've been drawing cats. Cats. And more cats. And you know what? Cats are pretty expressive and fascinating creatures to illustrate. Who knew? I usually shy away from animals and am drawn towards people. If it hadn't been for this project, I know I wouldn't have spent a week drawing cats. Thanks, Upstate Book Project, for reminding me to venture outside of my comfort zone.

Above image is the pencil draft of page 13....with 8 cats!

Process: Step 3 (final highlights)

The last step utilizes the top layer to create the finishing highlights and details. Keep in mind that painting over the drawing will cover lines and texture. It's perfect for achieving highlights and areas that need to really pop out. Really only a few touches, but it usually makes a world of difference.
Since most of my color work lies underneath the drawing, the top layer looks something like this:

And here's the final:

So that's it. My process. So far.

I'm sure (and hope) that it will continue to change and evolve. This weekend I think I'm going to play around with other ways of achieving line besides the pencil. Scratchboard and maybe even some woodcutting...