35 Elephants

Tonight I sat down to try to whip out 100 elephants with pen and ink in my sketchbook. I got to 35, and then realized, hey, it's late, and I better call it quits for the night. What do you think? Should I try for another 100? I just might. It took me 3 hours to do this many - not too shabby, right? I hope you challenge yourself to scribble 100 of anything you want. And if you only get to 35, that's perfectly all right. Thanks for looking at my 35 elephants. Which is your favorite? I kind of like them all, but I'm biased.

Illustration Friday-CELEBRATE

Another week, another Illustration Friday challenge! This week the theme is "Celebrate". And this little guy has LOTS of celebrating to do tonight! The tooth fairy is on the way! I decided to try collage, in the spirit of my recent adventures with scissors and glue and paint!

The Elephant Made Me Do It!

I've been resisting the urge for several days to do one more collage with my little lonely elephant. I kept telling myself all week I didn't want to do it....that I'm just not a collage artist. That I have no freakin' idea what I'm actually doing. That I'm probably not very good at it anyway. But the need to try one more just wouldn't go away. So I pulled out the glue, the pens, the brushes, a bit o' courage and went at it this afternoon. Ok, so there's not much going on in the way of storytelling. I realize that so don't flog me! I'm just experimenting with technique, getting comfy with my exacto blade, and adjusting to using paints instead of my old, familiar markers. I don't know why I love this so much. But I'm conflicted now because it's almost like a whole new style emerging...and it doesn't look like the art I've been doing. Maybe this is just my therapy. Maybe it's ok to just let myself feel like a little kid again with all the cutting and pasting - and NOT the digital kind. Maybe it's just a step up to something else that eagerly awaits me. Well, in the meantime, I'm enjoying it. Without a doubt.

Keep your suggestions for collage techniques and materials coming, please! I just might see what else I can do with other yummy papers and inks and glue (oh my!).

Need Some Inspiration To Write Today? Here You Go!

I’ve been in a bit of a creative funk for a few weeks. A few really, really long weeks. It’s nothing new. I’ve gone through this before, like all writers have and will. But it never ceases to feel like I’ll never write again. I’ll never have another good idea. Stick a fork in me - I’m done. (Oh, the drama!) On the other hand, my illustration seems to be picking up more momentum than I know what to do with so I guess I shouldn’t beat myself up too much. Besides, experience tells me things will eventually balance out and maybe even shift in favor of writing. But for now, since I’m feeling like I really need to keep trying to write, I decided to make a list of topics that might generate some inspiration. Since it’s possible YOU might need a push, a shove, a tap, or a yank, here’s eight idea’s to help get you (and me) writing. Please let me know if any of these work for you. Would you like more prompts? Do you have any of your own that you’d like to share? Happy writing!

Write about a pair of pants your mom bought for you. You hated them. She made you wear them anyway.

How did you feel on your very first day of school? Do you remember saying goodbye to your mom and/or dad? Were you scared? Excited?

Were you afraid of rollercoaster’s when you were little? Did someone make you ride one? What do you remember about that experience?

Who was your favorite superhero? What did you use to improvise a costume? Recall as many details as possible.

Did you keep a diary or journal when you were a kid? Did your little brother or sister read it? What happened next?

What do you remember about learning how to do a cartwheel? Were you outdoors? In a gym? Were you good at it? Who taught you?

Were you forced to take music lessons? What was the first lesson like? What were you doing when you should’ve been practicing?

Were you afraid of thunderstorms? Were you more fearful of thunder or of lightning? Where did you hide during thunderstorms?

How Do You Do That Doodle That You Doodled So Well?

Where would I be without doodles? When I look back at my sketchbooks throughout the years, there's a good percentage of pages just loaded with doodles and boy the variety! Swirlies, hearts, boxes, flowers, circles, spirals. And stick figures. LOTS of them. I doodle most when I'm on the phone (classic doodle opportunity) and also when I'm out to dinner and encounter that yummy white paper they place over the table cloth in my favorite Irish restaurant/pub up the street (com one already, that's like a dangling candy in front of a baby). Thankfully my husband and friends understand my insatiable need to scribble and let me have my doodle moments.

Having a dance background, stick figure ballerina's often sneak into my doodles. When I'm frustrated, my doodles get linear and box-like and sometimes look like EKG's. When I'm feeling happy and optimistic and care-free, I go all swirlie and girlie! Heart doodles make frequent appearances. Yay!

So I was curious. When do you doodle? On the train going to work? At lunch? WHAT do you doodle? Flowers? Hearts? Faces? Clouds? Are you an abstract doodler? An emotional doodler? An opportunistic doodler?

Here are a few of my inky, spontaneous, potentially meaningful visual ramblings. Doodle on, everyone!! Doodle on!

My First Attempt At Collage-Because I've Put It Off Long Enough!

There's nothing like a good creative challenge, right? Right! Last night in my picture book illustration class, we talked the benefits of using collage as a way to connect with your own characters. At first the idea didn't appeal to me, but in the course of two hours, I opened my mind to the possibility that this might be the thing I need to snap myself out of my creative funk. One of the best things about this exercise for me personally was being able to let go of the 'rules' and expectations and play like a kid in a sandbox. I love the experience. I loved the feel of glue on my fingers, and cutting, cutting, cutting, and scribbling over gouache, and cutting some more, and gluing some more. And scribbling a bit more. It was therapeutic, and a rather successful attempt to loosen up and think a bit differently about my approach to making art.

So how did I do it? I thought I'd share my process here, and maybe it'll inspire you a bit too! This was done at 11x14. Scroll down for piccies!

Step 1. I used gouache and water color on bristol vellum, and just randomly painted 5 or 6 sheets. The stuff warps A LOT when wet, and it's a bit thick which makes cutting/tearing a challenge. But it takes the paint well. I used a size 12 brush, nice and wide, to cover the background.


Step 2. I cut out a couple basic shapes for the characters from areas of paper that I liked. I have lots of paper left over...play time tonight!


Step 3. I taped the paper to my drawing board so it wouldn't buckle when I applied a light wash. I dried it with a hair dryer to pick up the pace a bit (impatient Aries that I am). Then I glued the characters down. NOTE: Elmers glue hates me. Nearly ruined the pic when I spilled it everywhere. Elmers 1, Cyn 0. I'll win the next round.



Step 4. Next I gathered my high tech drawing/painting utensils: a size 2 brush and Uni-ball Vision Liner. You can get these at Office Max or anywhere they sell pens. It's not a fancy art pen but it bleeds beautifully when nudged with water (it's not waterproof). You can get really good washes with it. Very cool, simple effects. I also painted the body of the elephant in this step. Rocket science.



Step 5. Finishing touches of Deleter white. People, add this to your collection. It's used by comic book artists as a sort of correction fluid, this stuff is awesome for highlighting. It comes in either water proof or not, and you get various effects with either. I love this stuff. It's way better to use than any other kind of white paint or ink I've ever tried.



Step 6. Oh my god! I'm done! Wow, that's cool. I hope you give it a try. What are your tips for collage? What's your process? Tell me about it!

Illustration Friday-TIME

This week's IF theme is "Time". Not having much of it myself this week, I hastily whipped this up in my sketchbook! I think it's something I'd like to develop further. It feels a bit like a launching pad for some a story. But will I have the time?

10 Commandments of Writing for Children

Every day I find myself wanting to soak up more and more knowledge about writing for children. I search high and low for information that sparks something in me, and I toss out what doesn't apply. Amidst all my recent digging I came up with this, The Ten Commandments of Writing for Children. I hope you find something useful in it and pass it on.

Like To Draw Kids? Some Books I Recommend

In my opinion, the best way to learn how to draw children is to draw from life. Of course, the way they move around like mosquitoes can make it quite challenging. And I felt a little weird once when I sat at the playground with my sketchbook (I was the only adult without a child, and the parents were looking at me funny). Also, I don't have kids of my own. All of this makes it a big challenging to learn to draw the little buggers so I've acquired a growing collection of reference books. These are two of my favorite.

Virtual Pose by Mario Henri Chakkour (Hardcover)
This reference book should be in every picture book illustrators library. There are loads of poses to choose from. All the models do a fine job of looking quite natural, though I wish some of the poses were a bit more varied and dynamic. The book even comes with a companion CD with additional poses. It's viewed through QuickTime so be sure to have it installed in your computer. You can rotate the poses horizontally!

Facial Expressions Babies to Teens: A Visual Reference for Artists by Mark Simon (Paperback)
I keep this one by my side at all times, at all costs. Thousands of black and white photographs of real kids making really great expressions - angry, startled, shy, you name it! Once again, they are very natural and spontaneous looking. There's an excellent range of ages, from babies to teenagers and a variety of ethnicity's as well.

I highly recommend you add these books to your library, especially if you're a children's book illustrator.

Illustration Friday-FLAWED

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so this little guy may or may not be quite so flawed...

How Do YOU Make Your Book Dummy's?

I've taken a couple classes about writing and illustrating picture books (which I'm so happy I did!) and one of the first topics covered is how to make a book dummy. There doesn't seem to be any any right or wrong way to do it, but I'm just curious how you prefer to make yours? I've seen everything from simple printed black and white pages stapled down the center to fabric-bound hardcovers with full color illustrations. What method works best for you? For publishers? What would say is the one thing you wish you knew about making book dummy's from the start? I'm curious to here your answers. I'll be sharing my techniques with you too.

Your Logo Next to URL

Every wondered how to get your logo to appear to the left of the URL at the top of the browser window? I was wondering the same thing, and so I did a quick Google search to find the answer!


It's the coolest thing ever and super easy! Here are the exact directions I followed!

IMPORTANT! I had to restart my browser in order to actually see it. I'm using Firefox. I used Dreamweaver and Photoshop to make the logo. Did it work for you? I hope so!

Valentine's Day Coloring Contest!

In honor of Valentine's Day, I'm holding a coloring contest! Here's how it works. Print out the coloring page I drew just for this contest! Color it however you want! With markers, with crayons, with paint, or anything! But please keep it limited to traditional media only. No digital art please! Scan your art, or have your parents scan it, and send me an email containing the following:

Your Name
Your Age
Where You Live (your city, state, country)

IMPORTANT: Please attach the artwork as a JPG or PDF.
IMPORTANT: Place the following in the subject line:Star Wars Coloring Contest


Send your entry to: ccummens@gmail.com

This contest is open to kids 12 and under. There are two age groups. 9-12 years old, 8 and under. So be sure to tell me your age! Email your entry to me by 6 pm EST February 13th. Please only 1 entry per child! I will personally judge each entry and announce the winner at 12 pm EST on Valentines Day! I will also post the winning entry on my official site!

Each winner will receive a $10 gift card for iTunes!

Good luck and have fun!
-Cyn

Getting Your Materials Printed

When it comes to business cards and postcards, the stuff us artists need to get noticed, there seems to be an endless sea of print on demand sites from which to choose. A few years ago I decided to try Vista Print.com and have stuck with them ever since. My first batch of business cards came in less time than I expected, and the quality is great! I've since used Vista Print for my postcards, magnets, and other assorted promotional goodies (notepads, pens, etc..). And once you make that first purchase, Vista Print sends weekly emails for all kinds of free goodies! You just pay for shipping, and a file upload fee. Next time you want to send your postcard to a publisher, give Vista Print a try!
www.vistaprint.com