Creative Check-in!

Hi All!  I've been on sabbatical from the SLC blog while I figure out this new baby and toddler thing.  I've had a few brief moments of free creativity between them and my freelance jobs.  Here is a piece I created last night for a friend's new baby girl.  Hop over to my blog to check out some detail shots!

Halloween ideas

Halloween ideas I'm playing with.  I'm playing with some technique ideas.

I think I'm a little bored of digital color at the moment.  I might just do these in collage or watercolor... not too sure yet.  Hmmmm.....

IF: Obsession

What person (or monster) wouldn't be a little obsessed with a cake like this?

He's a friend of the other monsters I sketched and posted on my blog here.
Maybe now I'll be able to get over my color commitment fear and get them finished!

Monster Sketch

   Hi all.  So sorry I've been absent from my posting duties.  I'm hoping I can get myself pulled back together soon.  Here is a monster I'm working on for a birthday card concept.  I'm sort of playing with a new drawing style, though I'm not sure if it is a fluke or something I'll stick with a bit longer.  You can see a few other monsters I did in the same style over at my blog.

   I have to say, though, I am totally anxious about putting color to him.  I have a couple ideas of what I might want to do but it's that first move, that first color decision, that often holds me back.  Does anyone else deal with this?

Sarah's Studio (...sort of)

Here's my "studio" space.  I used to have a whole room with great light... and then it turned into a nursery and I was moved into the basement and share a room with my husband's office and his gym equipment.  Here's hoping for a well lit studio in the next house!  Please excuse the mess.  It's always like this.  (Click on it for a closer view).


My working style has transitioned several times over the past few years, going from colored pencil and marker to almost entirely digital coloring.  Today I want to share with you my all time favorite illustration tools.  If you're an artist you can understand how it's possible to be in love with a tool, so much that your day is totally ruined if it's misplaced.  As you can see, it's not all that hard for me to do.

Uni TouchMatic Eraser - I bought this at least 10 years ago at Jerry's Artarama in West Hartford, CT.  I am constantly amazed how it has yet to run out.  I love this this click-style eraser because it gives me the precision I can't get with my regualar eraser.  It seems Uni has upgraded the TouchMatic to its current form, the E-Knock found at JetPens.

I fell madly in love with the Faber-Castell Dust-Free Vinyl Eraser when I picked it up this past year.  I end up having way less smudginess where there used to be a pencil line, and the line actually erases.  Imagine that!  The "dust-free" aspect of the eraser is that the eraser dandruff rolls together in a neat little nugget that you can roll off to the side instead of brushing off of your drawing.  I picked mine up at ACMoore, but you can get them here, too, at Dick Blick.

Since purchasing old school Wacom Intos tablet (circa 2000) a year ago via CraigsList, my digital painting has improved significantly.  Actually, up until that point I hadn't really colored digitally because I didn't like how little control I had with a mouse.  Now my little grey friend follows me to my in-house job and home everyday.

Then there's Photoshop.  Who doesn't love Photoshop?!  I work in it 8 hours a day while at my in-house job, designing gift bags and boxes.  You'd think I'd be sick of it the computer, but at the end of the day, when everyone else has gone to bed, I'm back at it digitally painting away at my latest illustration project.

Other notables from my studio:
    • Holly DeWolf's book Breaking Into Freelance Illustration - this inspired me to grab the bull by the horns and make this dream reality
    • Canon MX860 All-In-One - no complaints as of yet.  I picked it up for its nice scan quality and nice art paper printing
   • Guayaki Organic Yerba Mate - gives me the kick I need for these late nights

On my screen there you can see a final color illustration from my current project with author Barbara Ann Simone.  Check out my BLOG for a close up of this page and a few others!

So, what are some of your favorite tools?  Is your studio space as messy as mine?  * Here's a secret, all my art supplies are on shelving units in the other part of the basement, so what you see is only a sliver of the goodness.*

Flying Penguin Revealed

I've been working on this little guy on and off for a couple weeks.  Thanks to the ladies of Smells Like Crayons for the tips and suggestions to help him come to life!  Here are a few of my process shots.  I love having my working palate over to the side of my piece.  How do you guys work your palates (digital or traditional)?

You can see the original sketch at my blog here: http://sarahpecorino.blogspot.com/2010/09/penguins-cant-fly.html

First round of color:  I tried to work with a limited palate,

but I wasn't convinced it was the right one...

So I adjusted the blue sky a bit and added darker values

and new highlights to shift the light source.

 I tweaked the blue sky again and changed the color of the parachute.

And here's the final version:

 

Have a creative day!  - Sarah

An Introduction to Sarah Pecorino

Hi there.  I am Sarah Pecorino, the newest member of Smells Like Crayons.  I'm so happy to be part of a very talented collective of artists.  Since this is my introductory blog post I think it suits the event to give you an introduction to Me.   (Thanks to the illustrators group We Love to Illustrate for the great bio questions).

1. What’s your illustration background?

I have a BFA in Studio Art from Endicott College.  I have been working on my illustration career since second grade.  I declared in the "about the author" section of one of my self-published duct-tape-binding books that I would become a children's illustrator. 

2. Where do you live?

A little town called Auburn, New Hampshire.  Thirty minutes from the seacoast, forty-five minutes from the mountains, and fifty minutes form downtown Boston.  I can't really complain.

Home Sweet Home, 2007

3. What are your sources of inspiration?

My one year old son, nature, and all of the other amazing illustrators out there. 

4. What are your favorite techniques?

My style has made a gradual progression to its current state.  For a long time I worked with Prismacolor colored pencil, and then added Prismacolor markers to fill in ground.  I would use the blender to bleed the markers and make a smoother transition between colors.  When I illustrated "Ugly as a Toad" I drew my sketches on one sheet of paper, then on my light board placed a sheet of marker paper over it and made the color elements.  I then combined them digitally.  Since then, and with the purchase of a used Wacom tablet, I have scanned my original sketches, edited them as needed in Photoshop, and colored them digitally.  I love being able to adjust colors and "UNDO" as often as needed (which is a lot).

5. Do you have a favorite food?

I love a big plateful of grilled veggies with pesto, but I have a severe soft spot for good 'ole creamy ice cream, preferably with home made hot fudge.  (One of the best places ever for ice cream is nestled in the woods of Granville, MA, The Gran-Val Scoop.  I highly recommend it.  Also, I'd recommend Captain Dusty's in several locations on the North Shore of Boston, including my favorite spot - see #7).  Oh, and sushi.  I L-O-V-E sushi.

 

6. What’s your most productive time of the day?

Since I have a full time job, and a little guy, I work between 8pm and 12am, so those HAVE to be my most productive hours. 

7. Do you have a favorite place?

Singing Beach in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA.  My husband and I lived in town and I would run to the beach nearly every morning.  It's also there that he proposed to me!  It you ever want to live in the cutest most warmhearted town, I would send you to Manchester-by-the-Sea, but be sure to bring a big check with you.  The houses are enormous, beautiful, and mighty expensive.  If I ever, or should I say WHEN, I make it big we want to move back there. 

8. What are your future illustration goals?

I plan to break into freelance illustration full time and illustrate more children's books.  I'd love to come up with my own story and illustrate it. That would be pretty cool.

You can find me on my website sarahpecorino.blogspot.com, Flickr, or Facebook.

from "Sadie & Rosebud" by Mary LaFleur Langdon