http://www.etsy.com/shop/darkkristallized?ref=si_shop
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Rubber duckie, you're the one
Just a little something I'm working on. Prints and originals are available for purchase here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/darkkristallized?ref=si_shop
http://www.etsy.com/shop/darkkristallized?ref=si_shop
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Behind the scenes of "Basel Bear's Big Birthday Bash"
I thought it might be interesting to show a little about the process behind my ebook "Basel Bear's Big Birthday Bash", and explain why some of the illustrations cannot be sold as they appear in the book.
The most important thing to understand about the book, is that from the very beginning, I was planning to turn it into an app. That meant I couldn't do everything in a single illustration. Most of the illustrations are done in pieces. Here's what I mean.
In step one, you can see the background, which is one illustration on a single piece of paper.
Next, through the magic of Photoshop, I "cut" all of the animals out of their respective images, and added them to the background.
In step 3, I added various bits and pieces of the background image to fill in any holes that needed covering.
The final step (which is the finished page) was adding highlights and shadows as needed, adding the text and making sure the page worked as a whole.
As you can see, the only way to sell this piece would be as a print. Almost every page in the book follows this same process. Only 5 of the pages are stand alone illustrations. Though there are only 14 pages to the book, in actuality, I did 55 separate illustrations. Hopefully, this will give you more insight into some of the reasons for the publishing delay.
In the past year or so, many people have asked if my original work is for sale. I'm happy to say I have recently opened a shop on Etsy, where you can purchase both original art as well as prints. The direct link is: http://www.etsy.com/shop/darkkristallized Paypal and all major credit cards are accepted.
For now, I will be working on a few personal pieces, but I do have a project waiting in the wings. Stay tuned!
The most important thing to understand about the book, is that from the very beginning, I was planning to turn it into an app. That meant I couldn't do everything in a single illustration. Most of the illustrations are done in pieces. Here's what I mean.
In step one, you can see the background, which is one illustration on a single piece of paper.
Next, through the magic of Photoshop, I "cut" all of the animals out of their respective images, and added them to the background.
In step 3, I added various bits and pieces of the background image to fill in any holes that needed covering.
The final step (which is the finished page) was adding highlights and shadows as needed, adding the text and making sure the page worked as a whole.
As you can see, the only way to sell this piece would be as a print. Almost every page in the book follows this same process. Only 5 of the pages are stand alone illustrations. Though there are only 14 pages to the book, in actuality, I did 55 separate illustrations. Hopefully, this will give you more insight into some of the reasons for the publishing delay.
In the past year or so, many people have asked if my original work is for sale. I'm happy to say I have recently opened a shop on Etsy, where you can purchase both original art as well as prints. The direct link is: http://www.etsy.com/shop/darkkristallized Paypal and all major credit cards are accepted.
For now, I will be working on a few personal pieces, but I do have a project waiting in the wings. Stay tuned!
Monday, March 18, 2013
Basel extras
I just realized that the "look inside the book" feature on Amazon doesn't show any of the interior illustrations, so I am posting a few images here. Enjoy!
Officially published!
At long last, I am officially a published author/illustrator. My children's book "Basel Bear's Big Birthday Bash"(http://www.amazon.com/Basel-Bears-Birthday-Bash-ebook/dp/B00BVG8L2Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1363590112&sr=1-1)has been published to Amazon and is available for the Kindle Fire for the low, low price of $2.99!
Originally, I had planned to have Basel ready for sale in December of last year, but various obstacles delayed the final publication. Some of those obstacles were my fault (movies that needed watching, books needing to be read), but there was at least one month when I was unable to work due to inclement weather (I work by natural light, and it was overcast/raining at least 4 straight weekends).
Never-the-less, the book is finally finished. Publishing it was a giant leap for me. Just a little more than a year ago, I was ready to throw in the towel and give up trying to be a professional artist. Now, I have so many ideas and projects I want to work on that I hardly know where to start. There will certainly be more books in my future, possibly even an app. I am also setting up an Etsy shop to sell both prints and original artwork, as well as providing a place to purchase a printed version of the book.
For now, trot yourself on over to Amazon, and take a look. Feel free to leave a review. Thanks in advance for the support.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Quick Update
Hi everyone. I just wanted to post a quick update on the current situation with my book. First, let me say thanks to everyone that is hanging in there, patiently waiting and quietly supporting me in this process.
The book is SO close to being finished. I have about 5 more pieces to finish. I estimate this will be ready to upload to Kindle Fire no later than the end of February, possibly sooner. I know that is quite a bit later than I had originally announced, and again, I am truly sorry for that.
In the meantime, here is a quick character study for an older drawing from the book. This was going to be "Three tumbling tapers". Ultimately I decided to go in a different direction, but I think I may use this illustration somewhere else very soon.
The book is SO close to being finished. I have about 5 more pieces to finish. I estimate this will be ready to upload to Kindle Fire no later than the end of February, possibly sooner. I know that is quite a bit later than I had originally announced, and again, I am truly sorry for that.
In the meantime, here is a quick character study for an older drawing from the book. This was going to be "Three tumbling tapers". Ultimately I decided to go in a different direction, but I think I may use this illustration somewhere else very soon.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Getting back on track
My self imposed deadline to finish my e-book "Basel Bear's Big Birthday Bash" has suddenly reared it's ugly head, and I find myself scrambling to get the finishes, well, finished!!
As I mentioned in my last post, I became distracted with several new techniques, and a crazy desire to make Christmas cards and tags, and other crafty things. However, I am buckling down to finish this book before Christmas. My hard deadline is the 22nd, and I am determined to make it!
In the meantime, her a few pictures of what was distracting me, along with another image (the optically challenged ostrich) from the book. This will likely be the last finish I will show. If you want to see more, check Amazon in a few weeks when the book will be (fingers, toes, eyes all crossed) released for the Kindle.
As I mentioned in my last post, I became distracted with several new techniques, and a crazy desire to make Christmas cards and tags, and other crafty things. However, I am buckling down to finish this book before Christmas. My hard deadline is the 22nd, and I am determined to make it!
In the meantime, her a few pictures of what was distracting me, along with another image (the optically challenged ostrich) from the book. This will likely be the last finish I will show. If you want to see more, check Amazon in a few weeks when the book will be (fingers, toes, eyes all crossed) released for the Kindle.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Getting distracted
Once upon a time, I had no ideas for projects. If an instructor said "Do whatever you want on this project", I would draw a blank. Now I have so many ideas, they often wake me up at night. Ideas come to me mostly as I'm falling asleep, but also when I'm walking to or from work, in the shower, when I'm looking through a magazine, when I'm watching movies. In other words, I'm CONSTANTLY being bombarded with new ideas.
I'm not really sure when or how this change came about, nor am I bothered by it. I LOVE it! The only negative (if you can even really call it that), is that I now have so many ideas that I have a hard time sticking to one thing and seeing it through. That is the situation I currently find myself in.
I have very recently (last weekend) decided to embrace my inner craftiness. It's something I've been fighting since Martha Stewart and scrap-booking became all the rage. Secretly, I would flip through Martha Stewart Living and drool over the cool projects I would never have thought of on my own. But for reasons too numerous to mention, I fought my desire to do crafts tooth and nail.
About 6 months ago, my friend Spring (check out her AMAZING work http://springmontes.blogspot.com/) was talking to me about crafts, and card making, and showing off her Martha Stewart punches. I poo pooed her and her scrap-booking nonsense, and continued my full time job as an unknown, struggling illustrator. But something stuck, and continued to tickle at the back of my mind.
Last month, I participated in APE (Alternative Press Expo), where our table-neighbor was Charlene Kelley otherwise known as Glitterside (http://www.glitterside.com/). I was really impressed with her work, and wanted to try it out. So I trotted down to the art supply store and purchased a slew of Martha Stewart glitter, some elmers glue and a wood board, and sat down to take a stab at this glitter thing. And man was it HARD! There was far more glitter on my face, and in my hair than there was on the board. But in the end, I had a not too bad representation of Papa Smurf. I was intrigued enough to try again, but I wasn't really sure what to try next. More on that in a moment.
In the meantime, because my job requires me to purchase products (art, candles, etc), I have been spending a great deal of time on Etsy. As I have been looking for items to put in the shop, I have been learning some of the ins and outs of selling crafts, and the sorts of things people buy. What I ultimately came to realize was that crafts SELL! That was all it took. My inner craftiness refused to be hidden away any longer. I ordered some books and a few things from Etsy (so I could deconstruct them), and spent about an hour (much to my boyfriends chagrin) wandering around Flax, and reveling in the world that was now open to me. I also watched You-Tube for about 12 straight hours, and at the end of that marathon, I knew how to make a wide variety of greeting cards, and candles (among other things).
The very next day, I opened my own etsy shop. I have nothing to list yet other than my original illustrations, but I have been thinking about what I want to sell, trying to narrow down all the options. I know I want to make greeting cards, especially considering the holidays are coming, but I'm not sure I can get enough practice in and make enough actual product to sell before the holidays really get going. So, what could I make that would still be Christmasy? That's when I remembered the glitter, though I wasn't sure what to do with it. Then it came to me; the Grinch!
Because I inevitably make things harder than they need to be, I decided I couldn't do just the Grinch. I needed to do Cindy-Lou Who and Max the dog too.
My first attempt at Cindy-Lou was a disaster. Started out well, but it went down hill very quickly (I'm still looking for a hole deep enough to bury it in). I had to re-group and try something else. I also felt like I was stealing Charlene's technique, and I definitely didn't want to do that. I needed to find a way to make it my own. After some serious thought, I decided to combine it with pastels (my chosen illustration medium), watercolor and color pecil. I'm MUCH happier with the out-come, though it's not quite finished.
I plan to do more of these, and hopefully sell them to parents who want to decorate their kids rooms.
All of this new-found craftiness has been a bit of a distraction where my book is concerned, but I am planning to get back to it with a vengeance this coming weekend. In the meantime, here's the title page, which I finished last weekend.
Check back next week for the last peek at the book, and the finished (hopefully) pieces of the Grinch.
I'm not really sure when or how this change came about, nor am I bothered by it. I LOVE it! The only negative (if you can even really call it that), is that I now have so many ideas that I have a hard time sticking to one thing and seeing it through. That is the situation I currently find myself in.
I have very recently (last weekend) decided to embrace my inner craftiness. It's something I've been fighting since Martha Stewart and scrap-booking became all the rage. Secretly, I would flip through Martha Stewart Living and drool over the cool projects I would never have thought of on my own. But for reasons too numerous to mention, I fought my desire to do crafts tooth and nail.
About 6 months ago, my friend Spring (check out her AMAZING work http://springmontes.blogspot.com/) was talking to me about crafts, and card making, and showing off her Martha Stewart punches. I poo pooed her and her scrap-booking nonsense, and continued my full time job as an unknown, struggling illustrator. But something stuck, and continued to tickle at the back of my mind.
Last month, I participated in APE (Alternative Press Expo), where our table-neighbor was Charlene Kelley otherwise known as Glitterside (http://www.glitterside.com/). I was really impressed with her work, and wanted to try it out. So I trotted down to the art supply store and purchased a slew of Martha Stewart glitter, some elmers glue and a wood board, and sat down to take a stab at this glitter thing. And man was it HARD! There was far more glitter on my face, and in my hair than there was on the board. But in the end, I had a not too bad representation of Papa Smurf. I was intrigued enough to try again, but I wasn't really sure what to try next. More on that in a moment.
In the meantime, because my job requires me to purchase products (art, candles, etc), I have been spending a great deal of time on Etsy. As I have been looking for items to put in the shop, I have been learning some of the ins and outs of selling crafts, and the sorts of things people buy. What I ultimately came to realize was that crafts SELL! That was all it took. My inner craftiness refused to be hidden away any longer. I ordered some books and a few things from Etsy (so I could deconstruct them), and spent about an hour (much to my boyfriends chagrin) wandering around Flax, and reveling in the world that was now open to me. I also watched You-Tube for about 12 straight hours, and at the end of that marathon, I knew how to make a wide variety of greeting cards, and candles (among other things).
The very next day, I opened my own etsy shop. I have nothing to list yet other than my original illustrations, but I have been thinking about what I want to sell, trying to narrow down all the options. I know I want to make greeting cards, especially considering the holidays are coming, but I'm not sure I can get enough practice in and make enough actual product to sell before the holidays really get going. So, what could I make that would still be Christmasy? That's when I remembered the glitter, though I wasn't sure what to do with it. Then it came to me; the Grinch!
Because I inevitably make things harder than they need to be, I decided I couldn't do just the Grinch. I needed to do Cindy-Lou Who and Max the dog too.
My first attempt at Cindy-Lou was a disaster. Started out well, but it went down hill very quickly (I'm still looking for a hole deep enough to bury it in). I had to re-group and try something else. I also felt like I was stealing Charlene's technique, and I definitely didn't want to do that. I needed to find a way to make it my own. After some serious thought, I decided to combine it with pastels (my chosen illustration medium), watercolor and color pecil. I'm MUCH happier with the out-come, though it's not quite finished.
I plan to do more of these, and hopefully sell them to parents who want to decorate their kids rooms.
All of this new-found craftiness has been a bit of a distraction where my book is concerned, but I am planning to get back to it with a vengeance this coming weekend. In the meantime, here's the title page, which I finished last weekend.
Check back next week for the last peek at the book, and the finished (hopefully) pieces of the Grinch.
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