2012 so far - Anteaters, Birthdays, and Weddings

My blog has been sadly neglected for most of 2012, primarily due to my choice to become a librarian! Illustration is in no way an easy career choice, and after a series of soul-destroying day jobs, I decided to get serious about library work. My artwork may be on the back-burner for the moment, but in the future, I think I'll be able to find a happy balance between library work and illustration.

Since my last post, I was accepted on postgraduate library/information science course here in London, which I began at the end of September. In early spring, I started volunteering with Westminster Libraries, which was a great opportunity. I think everyone who enjoys books, reading and encouraging kids to read books, especially aspiring children's book illustrators should volunteer for their local library's Summer Reading Challenge. In July, I quit my depressing job to spend a few weeks in Denmark, France, and back in the U.S., where I showed my European boyfriend the wonders of Chicago's Superdawg, National Mustard Day at the Mustard Museum in Middleton, WI, and the Historic Auto Attractions Museum in Roscoe, IL (okay, that last one he actually discovered). Upon returning to London, I was lucky enough to get a job in an academic library, and now I'm well on my way to being a librarian/illustrator.

While recovering from all the soul destruction that had been caused by spending too long working in catering, illustration wasn't my main priority. Here's a quick update on the (few) illustrations I did since my last post.

This anteater made his way on to a custom t-shirt I made for my boyfriend's birthday in January. He looks very pensive. 

Below is the front and inside of a mix tape sleeve/birthday card I made for my mom in July. If it's not obvious, the cake is decorated like a record. The slice is probably the most delicious-looking thing I've ever drawn, I think it's probably strawberry cake with strawberry jam layers and purple-coloured chocolate icing. The contrast of purple and orange really make this pop. 

My little sister turned 21 in July, and having recently visited the ring-tailed lemurs in London Zoo, I drew some of them partying. The lemurs form "21" with their tales on the front of the card ...

... and the lemur inside the card drinks his margarita and offers a birthday cupcake.

My most recent illustration project was for my cousin's upcoming wedding in New Mexico. I created some maps of the region and the resort where the wedding is being held (see below), and some illustrations for their wedding program, including a connect-the-dots and colouring-in page.

Like in my Eli the sloth illustrations, I used layers of digital colour and watercolour scans to create some subtle texture. The drawings of the buildings were probably the most time-consuming part, but I like the effect.

So that's really all the news for 2012 so far! Here's hoping it doesn't take another 10 months for me to post again.

Work in progress: Eli's Dad in Trafalgar Square

I was working on this illustration for my sloth book before Christmas, and I mean to go back and finish adding colour soon. After planning my book, this was the page I was most excited to draw. I was thinking what professions a sloth would be suited to, and I came up with the idea that Eli's Dad could be a living statue, and his Mum an artist's model. I hope the concept of a 'living statue' is universal enough to make sense for most readers. I decided to show Eli's Dad as a sort of Lord Nelson-type statue in front of the lions in Trafalgar Square. I had a lot of fun drawing the 60's-era pigeons with pill-box hats and bouffant hair, as well as the Polar Bear family as tourists dressed for the relative heat of London!

The next page, which I've done some sketches for, will show a framed copy of the photo the Dad Polar Bear took just as Eli's Dad moves and scares the Little Polar Bear. The rest of the page will show pastiches of famous portraits with Eli's Mum as the sitter.

Mix-Tape

I've been obsessed with the idea of mix-tapes since reading 'High Fidelity' when I was a teenager. 'Love is a Mix Tape' by Rob Sheffield is still one of my favourite books. For us geeky music girls whose ideal man arranges his record collection 'autobiographically', a mix-tape is just about the most romantic gift. Having coerced my own vinyl-loving boyfriend into making me a Christmas mix-tape, I decided to return the favour. I guess the strong point of my own mix-tape may be its cover, although even that doesn't have the charm of my boyfriend's hand-made CD sleeve featuring a photo of a penguin chick taken from his 2011 calendar.

Here' the front cover:

Notice I finally utilised the snowflakes I made for the Morozko illustration.

The back cover will be up soon once I finish tweaking it a bit.

Sherlock Holmes

For Christmas, my sister bought me 'The Complete Sherlock Holmes', published by Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics. I'm completely in love with these vintage-inspired designs, I think I've spent more time staring at the cover than reading the book (although I definitely plan to get through the whole collection at some point).

I also love the Jules Verne and 'Arabian Nights' collections.

It's fitting that my sister bought me this just as the new series of 'Sherlock' started running on the BBC. I'm swooning over the TV series as much as everyone else, but I don't think another version of 'Hound of the Baskervilles', will ever have as much impact on me as the 'Wishbone' version I saw as a kid. I remember it being dark, deeply atmospheric, and ultimately terrifying. I don't think I slept properly for at least a week afterwards. Obviously, 'Wishbone's versions have lost some of their grandeur and mystique now I've gotten older.