(Updated Nov 8, 2007)
Halloween is one of my favourite holidays to illustrate greeting cards for, as the subject matter is fun and often aimed towards kids. Sending Halloween cards has increased in the last couple years, becoming as popular as Christmas in the US!
 |
 |
 |
 |
Date : Oct 31st
Publishers start thinking about designs : March
Read on for some of my Halloween brainstorming notes…
(Read on …)
Date : North America June 18th
Publishers start thinking about designs : December
Date : Second Sunday in May
Publishers start thinking about designs : November
(April 2, 2007 : I updated this post after reading some recent market trends –Heather)
Date : The Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox, between March 22 and April 25.
Publishers start thinking about creating Easter designs in : September
Having a few kids books under my belt, I’ve fine-tuned a process which allows me to enjoy the experience of illustrating children’s books, rather than stressing out over missed details. I thought I’d share for any newbie illustrators out their on their first children’s book who are a bit daunted with churning out 30 illustrations…
© 2006 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved.
“Lost City of the Night Elves”
I stayed up late last night finishing up my artwork for the Blizzard 2006 Art Contest. The final submission is just uploaded…so now I’m crossing my fingers for that trip to Las Vegas! Ah, I can dream can’t I?! Part of the terms of this competition is once the artwork is submitted, I transfer all rights to this image over to Blizzard who may do with it as they please. So if anyone sees it printed on a Care Bear or something too cute like that, drop me a note so I can see too!
Inspiration : I want to give credit to Maurice Dufrène, a turn-of-the-century Art Nouveau jewelry designer. His portfolio of designs on plates was reprinted by Dover, “305 Authentic Art Nouveau Jewelry Designs by Maurice Dufrène” in 1985, and Dufrène’s images within are now copyright free. His jewelry designs inspired my structures …and one piece in particular (triangular shape with loop on top) is from a design for a hat pin that I adapted into a repeating archway and kept the design very close to the original. I am constantly studying this book of his work (I picked it up for $1.99 at a book sale) as it challenges me creatively as I strive to capture the fluid structures of his designs.
Here is the illustration-in-progress after an inital wash, scribbling out some areas with white pencil, and going back for a second wash to deepen various areas. I’m simplifying the concept to be simply of the Night Elve’s ruined homeland beneath the sea. I used a mix of large grain sea salt and regular fine table salt to create the texture throughout that gives the illustion of light. Not sure how I’m going to handle the water line and above water bits yet….but will work it out by the weekend when the contest deadline is!
Here are a few tips of the trade…and faux pas…that helped me get going in my illustration career when promoting my work to potential clients.
1) Research the target market
First things first…know your target audience so that you can tailor each sample package to each company you are approaching.
With thirteen days ’til deadline for the Blizzard Art Contest, I’m pulling together the scraps of paper I’ve been doodling on and notes and sharing them before I put paintbrush to paper. You can check out my sketches & concepts here, and please feel free to comment / critique / add your two cents worth…
(Read on …)
