One Step Forward, Two Steps Back!

After being a stranger to my own blog, I am now proud to post some photos of the Sketchbook Project show, which I attended in San Fransisco last week. The show featured mine and several other artist's sketchbooks with various themes and varying degrees of skill - but all of them were the result of sheer passion for visual art! The show itself was representative of 'humble beginnings' for most of us participating artists but it gave me a taste of the fruits of my labour, as I gazed up at the lofty ceilings of the bright and airy studio it was held in... I was so proud of my little accomplishment - I just wanted to burst through that ceiling!!! Here are some photos of that event...

The downside to this week was that I had to go back to the drawing board (literally!) with my UTales book, as I felt that taking it slow and being sure that my work is of a certain quality was more important than getting any effort of mine on there as an eBook. So I'm back to thumbnails and developing really tight sketches for "Baby Bop" which will give me an additional challenge! Also my Picture Book Critique Group has fueled my pace with redrafting and editing my writing, specifically on my story "Kavya's Magic Blanket Ride" and I will be submitting that in the Cheerios Spoonful of Stories  contest next month! Yay! Lots to look forward to....

"Shapes" eBook WIP:

As I conquer the nuances of my Sketchbook Pro app, I think my work will show serious improvement. But I still would like more functionality that it seems only Photoshop can provide.... Here are some excerpts from my eBook called "Shapes". I'm still sketching out the second book.... Little baby steps!

This eBook will be available on the UTales app when it is released for iPhones and iPads. 25% of the cost for this book will be donated to Pencils of Promise, where $3.00 will buy a day of education for a child in one of their schools located in Asia or Latin America. Hope you will check it out when it comes out!

IF: Safari

I've been a bit lax with my work lately, and this week's Illustration Friday challenge just inspired me back into it!

These two little critters (Blue tongue lizards) can be found on an outback safari and they want to say "Crikey!" in an attempt to pay homage to one of the world's great explorers and conservationists, Steve Irwin. Done digitally, on my iPad - I now use my iPad as a sketchbook and am in the process of teaching myself the latest version of Photoshop and the rest of the CS5.
In other news, I have now almost finished publishing my first iPad app book on UTales Beta, which is sure to pique some interest once it is released! I have to complete artwork for my two iPad books called "Shapes" and "Baby Bop" for ages 0-2. I am now working on my two other books (ages 3-5) born from the Sketchbook Project in the "Kavya's Adventures" series and am also still developing artwork for my Biligual books.... So at least I haven't been totally goofing off! Will get samples posted online for comments....

IF: Bicycle

An old sketch for a Corporate T-Shirt design...

IF: Bottled!

A simple mime doing his thing...

A-ha, so that's what he is trying to get our of....

IF: Cultivate

The little mouse had cultivated some good habits while hiding out in his hole....

Although my mouse looks more like a cat, I still think the overall imagery works.... I remember watching a scene from Tom & Jerry when I was a kid and Jerry the mouse had a spool as his nightstand and a matchbox as his bed.... and so here it is again.. conjured from my childhood memories of it!

IF: Stir 2

Fine go ahead - stir this soup and eat me, you know I'm full of trans fats and GM food.... not a thing about me is organic!

IF: Stir

Who says witches have to be evil?

Maybe she's cooking up some mischief and stirring it with her spirit and smiles!

TDAC: Recipes by Artists

Finally got around to doing a recipe for the fantastically innovative website http://www.theydrawandcook.com/, but my scanner didn't do the job - so although it's been posted in the 'recently added' section, I will do another one with figs for the 'Year of the Fig' contest.... Hope you like the Fruiti-licious recipe! It's a popular way to eat a zesty fruit snack in India!

IF: Swarm

When I first saw King Kong, I was so amazed by the character of Kong... how fantastical he seemed and yet I was able to get all emotional about this scene! It's a great cautionary tale of humans taking over nature and how it ends up blowing up in our faces!
 Although my versions of iPad sketches are improving, neatness is still an issue! I swear one day I will be great at using the Sketchbook Pro app.... if anything, it's great practice to eventually work on a wacom! I do want to try with a finer tip stylus... any tips & recommendations are welcome from all those digitally-capable artists out there!

IF: Layer

What is a Sari but just layers of cloth...

As a proud Indian woman, I cannot help but feel graceful whenever I don a Sari. Sure it's not the most comfortable for us modern women of the jeans-wearing persuasion, but you certainly feel a certain grace and elegance being swathed in all that luscious fabric!

IF: Sweater & Reverse

A little late this week with my IF entries.... been trying to set up my own work space and getting acquainted with my drawing table.... coming along slowly but surely.

 I think an elephant in a sweater-vest can do just about anything!!!

Irreversible!

IF: Surrender

Took down the previous post, as it was awful! Here is one I did back in Design School - called "Casanova" - question is are they surrendering to him or the other way around?!

IF: Dusty

For this week's IF challenge, I thought of the Slim Dusty, a well known Aussie country music singer, whose first big hit was called "Pub With No Beer" - which is exactly what they have left in the flood-ravaged state of Queensland in Australia! It's a long bough, but go with the flow (if the Aussies can, you can)! As funny as this sketch may seem, many  around the world have lost their homes and their livelihoods to floods and droughts. This is dedicated to those who bear this loss.

Point to note, Aussies have just come out of a long drought and now have lost crops/property to floods.... anyone think this might have something to do with global warming?

IF: Chicken!

I just recently acquired an iPad, and was quick to get the 'Sketchbook Pro' app to try my hand at digital art. I now understand why I feel like I'm being brought into the new century 'kicking and screaming'!!! Whilst this does not yet feel as intuitive as pencil/paper sketching, I think it's fun enough to spend hours on, and test my confidence as an artist. So voila! My first iPad sketch...

"What are you looking at, you big CHICKEN?!" shouted charles the chicken!

Sketchbook Project Update - Mission Accomplished!

Finally finished 40 pages of drawing and writing in my little red moley.... Posted my sketchbook on Friday. It's called "Kavya's Magic Blanket Ride" and it's about a little girl's adventures on her magic blanket which takes her to places around the world.... like a travel book for kids!
Now back to some IF and my digital book creation.... Next book - my very own pet project. It's a secret!!!! Meantime, here are some finished pieces that I'm very proud of!

Work, Work, Work.... A Good Start!

There is nothing more I enjoy than a good challenge, so I just wanted to show off what I spent my Christmas break working on. These samples for a book did not quite make the cut. I was happy with them as samples. Now back to work on my Sketchbook Project entry which is nearly done... and time to get cracking on another e-book, as well as my own pet project. Still more work to do... Psyched!