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By: Michelle Lana,
on 8/22/2010
I finally received my sketchbook from the gold folks at The Sketchbook Project. The theme I chose is: "A Day in the Life Of..."
It's going to be a great project and I will start drawing right away. Anyone - from anywhere in the world - can be a part of the project. Check it out »
By: Michelle Lana,
on 3/28/2010
I recently did a shower invite for my friend - I had no idea A Sprinkle Celebration is a little different than a traditional baby shower celebration. But, nonetheless, I was honored once again to provide a cute little invite for her 2nd baby. Here's a snippet of the card for her Sprinkle Celebration!
By: Michelle Lana,
on 1/21/2010
My good friend and colleague, Cynthia Sheppard, inspired me to experiment on my drawing techniques and try to aim to have a variety of drawing styles. Cynthia is a remarkable Fantasy Illustrator and am a big fan of her work. We briefly talked about art and drawing today at work and from that brief moment I learned that I should not limit myself to only one style or even if I want to keep my style, I should probably use a combination of different techniques just to practice those drawing muscles a bit, right?
As an artist, you've always got to keep your artwork as fresh as the day it was created. Here are some examples of the things I've done to keep myself motivated:
1. Finding Inspiration - exposing yourself to many different drawing styles or taking art classes or even just walking outside and looking at nature.
2. Setting Your Own Goals - set yourself up with a personal project and a designated due date or even redesign an existing children's book cover or even your favorite magazine to get those ideas rolling...
3. Learn Different Things - try using a different medium, try drawing a different subject matter, and get out of that comfort zone.
4. Work Those Drawing Muscles - very important! Practice, practice, and practice... Draw something at least once a day even if it's on a piece of napkin.
So, what do you guys do for motivation and how do you keep your artwork fresh? Would love to hear your thoughts!
By: Michelle Lana,
on 12/30/2009
Benjamin Franklin was a pioneer in the study of electricity and renowned for his many contributions throughout history. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. Benjamin Franklin is truly one of America's most influential Founding Fathers.
By: Michelle Lana,
on 12/30/2009
I've noticed a lot of people have been contacting me about this illustration I did a while back on Sir Isaac Newton. The first one who contacted me was actually Bob Ryan from NBC. He was going to use it for a weather site, but I think I responded too late and he had to use a stock art illustration instead. A couple of other students who came across my Sir Isaac Newton cartoon have asked me as well. I am truly grateful that they like this little cartoon and because of this I have decided to do a series of illustrations depicting influential individuals of all time. With that being said, I am going to start with Benjamin Franklin, a pioneer in the study of electricity.
Stay tuned...
By: Michelle Lana,
on 12/30/2009
Many thanks to Thomas James from Illustration Island for featuring my site on his blog - "The 8th Element of an Effective Portfolio Website." Illustration Island also featured the 7 Elements of an Effective Porfolio Website and has mentioned lots of great tips on how to present your work and how to achieve an awesome portfolio site.
Thank you to Thomas James for his creative input!
Click here to read about the post »
By: Michelle Lana,
on 12/6/2009
By: Michelle Lana,
on 12/5/2009
I'm saying this a little early, but Happy Holidays everyone! May you have a safe and prosperous New Year!
By: Michelle Lana,
on 11/25/2009
Here's an oldie but goodie drawing I did back in 2006. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
By: Michelle Lana,
on 11/15/2009
By: Michelle Lana,
on 11/8/2009
"Honey, can you pass the salt, please?"
By: Michelle Lana,
on 11/6/2009
I have been drawing ever since I was small, but I think it all came together during my Sophomore Year in High School when I joined Mr. Burns' Journalism Class and became the first cartoonist in Thomas Edsion High School to grace its newspapers with monthly comic strips. I wanted to compile a couple of old sketches that I have done from the very beginning and see how my characters evolved throughout the years. It hasn't changed much, really, but I think I have made some improvements along the way. I hope you like them!
Click here to view »
By: Michelle Lana,
on 11/2/2009
Hello guys! I have finally completed my website re-design and right on my target date of Nov. 1, 2009.
Thank you to all who helped me out during the creative process. I couldn't have done it without you.
Hope you guys like it. Enjoy.
http://www.mitchlana.com
By: Michelle Lana,
on 10/23/2009
Today is my brother's birthday. Happy Birthday, Kuya Chuck.
I miss you. Rest in Peace.
Oct 23, 1968 to Sept 15, 2006
By: Michelle Lana,
on 9/6/2009
A good friend of mine asked me to draw some Sesame Street ® characters for her son's 2nd birthday. I was more than grateful to help out. I used to watch Sesame Street ® back in Manila everyday after school. Those were good ol' times.
Sesame Street ® characters copyright Sesame Street.
By: Michelle Lana,
on 8/23/2009
You guys know I am ALL INTO anything cute and chubby - which is pretty apparent in my cartoons/illustrations. But, on the other hand, I am also a big fan of anything gory. I know I do not show it as much in my work, but I love a little bit of horror and goo from time to time. So, with that being said, I will post my first art challenge and showcase "Sweeney Todd." I loved the movie and hope you guys like my little rendition! (of course, I still have to keep the cuteness in there somewhere) :) Enjoy.
Stay tuned for next week's character...
By: Michelle Lana,
on 8/9/2009
Ok, so I have decided to do a small challenge for myself. Since I haven't been participating on IF or Monday Artday and all the cool drawing blogs, I really have to push myself to practice drawing again. So, with that being said, I will challenge myself to draw 1 character every day for 1 year. It will be sort of like drawing on a Munny® - I"ll keep the same shape and just draw different characters for 365 days. I think this will be a good practice for me and get my pencils sharpened again. So, I really don't know what i'm getting myself into, but here we go....let's do this!
Start project: August 10, 2009
End project: August 10, 2010
Characters: 365
Stay tuned...
By: Michelle Lana,
on 6/11/2009
Hey guys, please check out the cool and awesome works of my good friend and colleague, Cynthia Sheppard. She is an awesome Fantasy Illustrator and a great designer! Check out her work here: Visit Cynthia's Site Here!
~ Cheers!
By: Michelle Lana,
on 5/24/2009
By: Michelle Lana,
on 5/6/2009
I guess Bat Girl calls the shots after all...
By: Michelle Lana,
on 5/5/2009
Hello everyone!
A good friend of mine wanted to redesign his site so I was honored to help and give his site some cosmetic updates. I previously did his first site long ago when there were "tables" :) So, I obviously needed to upgrade him to CSS and just created a simple and cleaner site. (which reminds me, I will need to upgrade my own site very soon too!)
My good friend, Carlin Hertz, is a DJ here in the DC Metro Area. If you guys need any DJ services, Carlin is the perfect guy for you! He is truly awesome. I still need to fix the contact form at the bottom and do some minor tweaks, but other than that, http://www.djnferno.com is LIVE and ready to roll!
Pls visit his site and take a look around! If you have a special event coming up and need any DJ Services, Carlin Hertz is the one to call!
Cheers!
By: Michelle Lana,
on 4/26/2009
HI guys. I couldn't help but draw Hamlet for this week's IF. Hope you like it! Cheers.
By: Michelle Lana,
on 4/22/2009
I can totally understand the frustration with website designs concerning CSS layouts and browser compatibility issues. It is a lot to learn and I am sure everyone has gone through a lot of trials, lots of testing, and basically just making everything work. I recently got scolded by a programmer because I used a z-index and absolute positioning in one of my sites. I did not think there was anything wrong with it, but he mentioned it was a "dirty code" and not to use it ever again! So, ok. I got it. No more using z-index. I felt like a kid wearing a dunce cap :) But, oh well, I got a nice t-shirt graphic out of it at least....
By: Michelle Lana,
on 4/20/2009
"It's just not going to work out..."
By: Michelle Lana,
on 10/21/2008
That's so cool! I saw it a few days ago and I was this close to buy one for me, Michelle. Then I saw my little boy and I knew that I can't do it right now :(
Enjoy it! I know yours is going to be drop-death gorgeous!
Hi Michelle!!!! I miss you so much! It has been so long since I heard from you. I wanted to join the projects to, saw the link at Andi Butler's website. Will join soon as I have plenty of $$ in my PayPal.
HI Emila, I miss you too! I miss you too Pati!
Haven't seen you guys in a while. Yes, if you could join the Sketchbook that would be great. It'll be very exciting and they will keep our books in the Brooklyn Library and archive it there. Let me know when you join ok? Thanks guys!