COVER REVEAL

 I am happy to announce the cover reveal of AMERICAN PIE, a book by Lynne Marie that I illustrated.

Watson the wombat can't wait to celebrate his first 4th of July in the USA, but can one wombat make a parade, a picnic, or apple pie? With no apples? Watson's quest for apples brings everything he wanted and more in this sweet celebration of American and friendships.

You can preorder this fun-filled book HERE, for the April 14 release.

xo

iPad Pro for Illustration with $6 Worth of Apps and I'm in Love

I opened the lovely (and probably expensive) box of the iPad Pro and the iPencil.

I did not read any directions.

I signed up and entered the correct WiFi numbers.

Then I uploaded the three apps that the girl at the Apple store told me were good for illustrators: Procreate ($4.99), Tayasui Sketches (free), and Adobe Photshop Sketch (free), and one I found myself called Amaziograph ($.99), and after trying them for about five hours last night I am happy to say I am very happy with the results.

The learning curve is practically nil, and the results were better than anything I was ever able to create on the Cintiq after a year.

I love this thing. 

The apps make drawing very intuitive and take out the guess work. The brushes, pens, and airbrushes are listed with a large sample of each stroke, and one click takes you to a new page to modify if you like.

The iPencil is the perfect weight IMHO, and the tip can draw microscopic dots to super wide background fill, and everything in between. Charging is amazingly fast--fifteen seconds gives you thirty minutes of use. 

I have to give some accolades to the apps too. The additional $6 I spent turned this thing into a drawing machine. Yes, I just got it yesterday and of course I have not run the gamut of drawing situations, but I can only compare it to what I had been using in the digital world and the ease of use and results can't be beat. 

The iPad itself is a great size, light enough to use on your lap, and unencumbered by any cords.

I'll keep you updated as I progress and improve as I use the iPad Pro.

Fun with the Amaziograph app

I was up all night using this thing, and although I am tired today, I am looking forward to using it again today.

I'll be checking out some more apps this week--I'll post about them soon. Off to draw!

xo 

Artists, Watermark Your Work

As artists we realize the importance of sharing our work, and we also realize the danger.

We create original pieces, and are always at risk of someone taking advantage and using them without our permission.

I found several watermark companies today, and after trying them, I found that for the work I am doing now, Visual Watermark is the easiest to use, and the trial period is free. After that, there are three levels to purchase, ranging from a one-time payment of $19.95 for one computer to $39.95 for up to ten computers.

Visual Watermark walked me through every step, from download to watermark image storage. 

I chose to use my name and a relatively transparent watermark. You will be able to choose the transparency, font, color, and design for your watermark.

You can also create a watermark in Photoshop or Illustrator if you have them, although you would not be able to do a large amount at one time.

We should also share our work on social media on low resolution, so a reproduction would be very difficult, if not impossible.

Our work is valuable, and we should do all we can to keep it safe.

Find Visual Watermark HERE.

Here is a link to a post of Nine Best Software To Ad Watermarks. I tried them all. CLICK HERE. 

Tell me what you think!

xo 

Yes! You CAN Make Money as an ARTIST and Be Happy

We all want our children to be happy and successful. We want to give them every opportunity and help them find the "thing" that they were made to do.

Many are especially happy if their children decide to become something professional, like a doctor or a lawyer. Getting into finances is smiled upon by many because it is assumed a good living will be made. 

Then there are the careers that parents are not thrilled about. There are plenty I do not have to mention, but sadly some of them are in the field of the arts. 

The term starving artist certainly came from somewhere, but happily a passion for the arts does not mean your child will be destitute and destined to live in your house until they get a real job.

Here are some jobs in the art field that make a very good living:

Graphic Artist - The average yearly income for a graphic artist is over $46,000. 

Fine Artist - All told, illustrators, sculptors, photographers, and painters made an average of $53,200 per year. (According to Google, if you live in Delaware you will hit the jackpot in this field, earning over $133,000.) Not bad.

Video Game Designer - Many hate that their kids are fascinated by video games. They should not feel too bad if their child decides they want to design these games for a living because the average salary for someone designing these attention-grabbers is almost $87,000 a year. 

Book Illustrators - Do your kids doodle all over everything? GOOD. If they decide they want to illustrate books for a living they can earn $53,000 a year or more. Medical illustrators make even more, starting at $61,000, and some making upwards of $250,000. 

Courtroom Illustrator - For those interesting in law AND art, earning $42,000 to be a courtroom illustrator is the perfect answer.

Storyboarding - Almost all films are made using a storyboard artist to plan the shots before filming. Film storyboarders can expect to earn over $84,000 a year, those in advertising around $64,000.

And there are more. Fashion illustrators, comic book artists, forensic artists, architect, tech designer, car designer, special effects expert, potter, jeweler, playground or golf course designer, landscape architect, art directors, and clothing designers can all make wonderful livings, and the list goes on.

So have no fear if your son or daughter decides on the arts, have no fear. Help them out by showing them websites dedicated to the arts, taking them to museums, or local shows. Even if you are not an artist yourself you can ask about their interests and find out about what they love.

Following a dream to a career is one of the most fulfilling things that can happen to a person. According to Maslow it is a peak experience. The ones that support and assist and help these dreams come true are real life angels.

So let them be artists--in fact help them become artists. Because we all know the EARTH without ART is just...eh.

xo

Working on a Book

My version of Old Barney in LBI--haunted.

The shivery Halloween season is upon us, my favorite time of year.

Although it won't be ready this year, I am working on another book for kids.

I used to love spooky books as a girl, and now I am just as thrilled to write them today.

So here's the thing: like many authors, I'm sure, the ideas for books come to me rapid-fire. I write them in notebooks, dictate them to Notes in my iPhone, or scribble them where ever I can--napkins included.

At home I quickly type the first draft into Word before I forget the feel of the story.

Then comes the hard part.

For me, the illustrations grind the creative process to almost a halt. It's not that I don't have the pictures in my head that go with the story, but the pictures seem to take a loooong time. Even compared to edit after edit of the writing, the drawings drive me nuts.

Penelope the Witch from a soon to be book.

To make it even more weird, I love to draw. If one of my books was being illustrated by someone else I am sure I'd feel odd about it. (If someone's style fit my story I would consider it--but I'm sure I'd still prefer to do it myself...I think...)

Anyway--I think the writing occupies my mind in a certain way that allows the time to seamlessly go by. When I draw I can think too much--the wash, dishes, MORE STORIES.

I just decided I am either going to start listening to music while I draw, or maybe digital books.

Sometimes this blog is better than therapy.

xo