Sketchbook Friday!

Elliott and Amélie in Wonderland - pencil sketch

This week the kids were watching Alice in Wonderland, they like the real life Tim Burton version, so I was doodling while they watched the movie.  It's one of my favorites too, both the Disney Cartoon version and the Tim Burton one, just so much imagination in the world they create! I think this doodle might have to become clean art at some point, I quite like it! Feel free to click the above image for a larger view!

To see previous sketchbook Friday's click here!

 

 

Echo Visits her Nation's Capital, Ottawa! - photo, digital illustration

Echo visited Ottawa last week. She had a great time. For more details on her trip visit her album on her Facebook Page :) 

 

Payneful Feat map - digital illustration

Please click on illustration for a larger view!

I am  posting this instead of the regular Sketchbook Friday illustration. I've been working on it in my free time this week, and wanted to share it with you all. 

This July myself and 3 fantastic ladies are doing the Oxfam Trailwalker's 100 km hike, sound easy enough? We have to do this hike in under 48 hours! We've been training for the past 2 months, and are hiking a minimum of 30 km an outing now. This is an illustration of last weekend's hike. As you can see we have a lot of fun, and are getting quite the workout. Our support person is in charge of keeping track of our time, since we need to stay on target, but we are easily distracted. Perfect set up for a Family Circus style map non?! 

If you are interested in sponsoring us, or checking out our Facebook Payneful Feat page here are the links!  Thank you all! 

*The Family Circus logo is not mine, I am using it for parody purposes only on my personal site.

 

Echo's Countdown to Bedtime Spread #5- digital illustration

4 beetles join the scene. 

To see the previous pages click here!

 

Sketchbook Friday, Eddie and Violet - coloured pencil sketch

Here is another Sketchbook Friday drawing. These two are characters I made for the kids of their aquatic pets. For Valentine's day we got them a little jar with each a Marimo ball in it. For those of you who don't know what a Marimo ball is, it's a kind of algae that grows in lakes into a velvety ball. The kids want a fish aquarium so badly, but they are still little, and I know the work would fall to me, and I just don't have the time right now. So this is the substitute for the time being and the kids LOVE them! You would be surprised to see the amount of stories my 5 year old has written about these little guy's adventures. Who knew two little green balls of algae could be so much fun!


If you want to check out the Marimo balls, there is a good Etsy store called eGardenStudio, where I purchased mine, check them out, they have lovely ideas for unique gifts!


Celeste xo

 

To see more Sketchbook Friday's click here! 

Green Illustrated - pen, ink, digital illustration

This is a little preview of the newest weekly update that I plan on doing on my blog. Every Monday I will post an illustrated green tip.  This is my way of marrying my love for the environment and my love of illustration!

So stay tuned! This Monday will be the first one!

Celeste

 

Echo's Countdown to Bedtime Spread #4 - digital illustration

1- cat in a beanstalk

2- peas in a pod

3- chickadees

For you long time Echo fans, you might recognize these little chickadees, Echo helped them out once when it was very cold outside ;) 

To see the previous book page spread click here! 

Celeste

 

Echo's Countdown to Bedtime Spread #3 - digital illustration

It's funny, as I am working on these, I find myself wanting to change things up a little. The nice thing is sharing this process with you.  I start with something like this doodle...

 

...And then do some minor changes, and add colour. Even now, I like the original position of Echo in the rough, and will probably go and fix that. Also the way I am applying the colour, I can see it being more playfully done if I change the style I am using in the background and secondary characters. I am not a fan of the airbrushed softness of the peas right now... why post it like this then, you ask? Because sometimes good things come from mistakes too, and I am not afraid to show those!

You will probably be seeing changes between these posts and the final files!  Once all the spreads are completed I will re-post it as an entire book, with corrections made from these pages.

This is a great way to show the progression of my work, it's NEVER perfect the first time round, or even the second ;) But that's part of the fun right?! 

Celeste xo

To see previous Echo's counting book posts click here!

 

Echo April Calendar page - digital illustration

Here is April's free downloadable calendar page. Fit's a 5 x 7" frame.  Want to see the previous months? The little doodle at the bottom will tell a story when the year is up! And a desktop wallpaper below! Just click the image for a larger version.