ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ MUDDY

A little late this week... but definitely very muddy *:)

©Ginger Nielson 2010

I have been working to finish a picture book for Stemmer House Publishers. And while I was in the midst of it my older wacom tablet began to behave badly. Why? Well after 5 years of heavy use the overlay became very scratched up from the pen nibs which were wearing down.

I had to choose between getting a CINTIQ much earlier than I could afford or trying out the Wacom Intuos 4. I chose the latter and I am delighted with the new large tablet. It is sleek, large enough for me to be happy with, and even has little lighted keystroke buttons. So if I press a button I actually Know what it will do. The new pen is a joy as well. It comes with a holder that has a secret compartment for the pen nibs...ten in all. My favorite is the black and white tipped one. With the new tablet and the pen it really feels like your brush or pen is gliding across real paper. MMmmmmm what a nice addition to a digital artist's supplies*:)

Another reason for my decision, my Macintosh screen is much larger than the cintiq, so I rationalize that I will be more at home with the tablet ... at least for now.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~VACANT

~ Sometimes they would go to the VACANT lot to feed the ducks.  But when the bag of bread was VACANT the ducks would become impatient.  Because Ethan was so much smaller than Jennie he would cling to her for support and protection.    All would end well when the ducks grabbed the bread that fell instead of the tender fingers that had tried to feed them.

PS~   I am aware that this is a stretch of the subject, but I have been working on this one illustration for several days, and wanted it to 'fit.'  It is the fifth version of a much earlier work.  Sometimes when  you think you have a good image and look at it a year later you can see a new way to create the mood.  That is what happened with my old "duckpond" illustration.   I think I may have it where I want it, but who knows it may resurface again at some point.

So.... Kate asked about the original. This is it. It was okay, but I wanted to feature the children a bit more and create an Asian influence.

First I resketched the children and made them larger than in the first illustration.



Next I completely changed the background. I wanted it to be more parklike and even though I did try it with a city scape in the distance I liked the final version better.