Ok folks, I decided I wanted to do a giveaway- (Mostly because I like winning free stuff )- But also because I like you too.....
You're going to have to do all those things other giveaways annoyingly make you do. But it's ok because you might get a free drawing out of it. Pays off right?
**This original 5x7" sketch**
Entry1- Become a follower here on my blog ---> up in the right corner
Entry 2- Become a facebook fan
**Plus there are bonus entries as well**
That wasn't too bad right?
Giveaway ends on Friday the 17th, 2012
***Sorry only open to US residents (for shipping purposes)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
If you're in the Utah County area keep your calenders open for September 22. I along with
Brittany Tingey will be doing caricatures at the Harvest Moon Hurrah. It's definately fun for the little kids- this year they have some great entertainment as well *this year it's Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson- And it's FREE! you can't pass that up! I've been doing caricatures here for the past couple years and they are way cheaper then you would pay for one at a regular fair. If you stop by, be sure to say "Hi!"
Really cool little illustrated message illustrated by Ben Simonsen
What does he see? You'll have to find out in a couple months... The illustration is finished but it's not published yet. I don't usually post before- I think at least -.-
Acrylic 8"x10"
I had a unique experience with this small painting- It was something too special that I don't feel to share it though- A lot of prayer went into this painting, I had moments of silence, overwhelming feelings and tears when I painted this, it was an honor to say the least.
It's been about 2 years or more since I've been able to use oil paints, which I would have loved to use instead- Hopefully I can get into those soon. So this was done in acrylic.
One of my old neighbors boy passed away the other day at the age of 21- So young!
I ache whenever I hear of someone losing their child- Breaks my heart.
But I do know and believe that families can be together in the next life. I am so grateful for that.
Rest in peace Morgan.
"But if by a still small voice he calls to paths I do not know, I'll answer, Dear Lord with my hand in thine: I'll go where you want me to go"
Through a friend I recently came across the story of Katherine Nelson and her struggle to get into music- (which with her talent obviously wouldn't be hard to do) But God had something else for her to do before getting into music. She's inspired me and I am really excited about her new cd. It's Awesome- my favorite song is "Good for me" About courageous moms raisin boys and girls out there. I'm always looking for new good music to listen to whilst I illustrate.
Her story helped me realize I need to be patient and when the time is right I can do what I love too-
"When we strengthen women, we strengthen the world. We are all born brave." - Katherine Nelson
Check out her music-
http://www.katherinenelson.com/
I only wish the photograph showed the rest of her hand...
I only wish the photograph showed the rest of her hand...
Click on the texture to enlarge-
So maybe I'll get a microphone someday so I can talk while doing any videos- However this is a silent film. Kind of boring but if you pay attention you can learn how to apply texture to your brush if you don't know how.
I usually start out by taking my texture in Photoshop and making it into a
"pattern".
You do that by selecting
'edit' then
'define pattern'.
When that is complete you can open your brushes folder and selecting
'texture' and selecting the arrow on the right side of the texture box to select your new pattern or any other patterns that are there.
An important key is to also make sure that the
'other dynamics' selection is checked. That will make it so that you can apply little pressure or a lot with the wacom pen and thus showing your pattern.
You can pay close attention to the boxes I do have selected in the video if you want to replicate a similar brush that I had on the screen.
Hopefully you can understand this very quick tutorial-
So I was making some textures today for an illustration I am working on. *Note that I do my work digitally. An important part to creating good digital art is to make it feel as "real" as possible (like a real painting). Some great artists can pull off some great digital stuff- You can totally tell it's digital, not a lot of texture involved. But for the most part I've noticed that it really is a pleasing piece of art if it feels like you created it with your own brush. To help with that I like to make realistic textures, or find some free ones online and apply it on top (as well as in my digital brush in Photoshop).
Here's a easy fast way to apply texture to your artwork:
Open the texture in Photoshop, drag it onto your artwork using the arrow button.
Using 'Free Transform' you can make it fill the whole image to the size you need- (Make sure it's already close to the same size as your image- if it's too small of a file and you blow it up, it will just look pixelated and yucky).
Go to the 'Layers' tab and right where it says "normal" click the arrow next to it and you'll see a selection of options to choose from-
I like to choose "Overlay" most of the time (sometimes "multiply")
Up to the right where it says "opacity" change it anywhere between 20%-65%- depending on what looks and feels right to you. Just make sure to "keep it real" if you know what I mean.
Tomorrow I'll share another texture and some tips on applying it to the actual brush itself.
Click the image for the full size:
Have fun! :)
This weekend was well spent with the husband. We visited the Church's art history museum and enjoyed the paintings from this years art contest- Someday I tell myself, I'll be part of that. For now life is full of child watching and dealing with auto- immune issues.
But I have started illustrating again which is great relief for my soul. I have had a good 9 months worth
to realize I can't can't CAN'T live life without doing art. I consider it one of my "organs" because without it I am not doing well- physically and emotionally.
Alright, enough of that soul pouring talk.
I was thoroughly impressed with many paintings I saw at the show.
Some new names come to mind-
Sherrie Nielsen
Others I've admired for quite some time-
Walter Rane
And there were those I knew of or knew from BYUI
Josh Clare
Albin Veselka
I came across this clip you'd probably enjoy. I'll admit I'm kind of envious of his art space-
By the way, does anyone know of some options to record a digital painting in Photoshop for free using Windows? I have a painting I thought would be fun to record the process-
I think he likes it.
There's nothing better then going out to your mailbox and finding a big box, which you know contains several books awaiting.
Charlie by Ree Drummond (the pioneer woman)
My little boy loved reading this book, and the illustrations are pretty cute too :)
0 Comments on What I'm reading... as of 1/1/1900
Happy Easter on Sunday!-
Although this is not my view on the true meaning of why we celebrate Easter, here are some bunnies I drew with my boys along side today.
I really need to get on board and start posting some stuff-
Life kind of gets busy with kids, and then add health issues and other life
stresses on top of that and it leads to not being very productive.....
I've been working on a painting over a long period of time-
trying to get a paint stroke in here or there when I have the time-
I'll post the full image when I complete it- maybe I'll show a glimpse of the process as well.
And look at these new little babies!-
Child '1' was so excited to see his seeds turn into sprouts and now into plants-
And last but not least, I was reading this
post by a friend
Will Terry and he wrote down some excellent advice for you illustrators out there trying to figure out what to charge- It's a great read- (I know. I'm on this "let's post other peoples posts" kick lately) But it's too great not to share :)
I promise myself I'll start posting my own garb soon. See ya.
I was keeping posted with one of my illustrator friends on her blog and I found one of her posts to be very beneficial and on a subject I am currently thinking about....
(hope she doesn't mind)
Manelle Oliphant-
find post
hereBelow is what I read and liked a lot! Thanks
Manelle!
""She mentioned hearing somewhere that a person should read 100 picture books before they try to write one. Now, I am sure in my time I have read at least that many. But it can't hurt to do it again. I decided to read the 100 books and pay special attention to the writing. Normally I pay most of the attention to the illustrations so this was a bit of exercise for me. I started checking books out at the library and reading them. I picked books randomly off the shelves making sure not to judge by the illustration or how well known the book is. I haven't gotten through the whole hundred but here are some of my over all observations so far. First: I noticed that I don't like a lot of picture books.Second: Books that have gotten, or are getting, a lot of attention usually deserve it, especially when compared to all the other books out there.Third: The shorter the text the better I like it. When I look at a picture book I imagine reading it out loud to a child. If it's too wordy I don't think I would get through with out skipping parts. The shorter tighter stories also felt more fun and less weighed down by words. I also enjoyed the books that have a narrative story rather than those that were more of a list type book. But I think the list books tended to have a better rhythm and rhyme scheme in their writing. "
I watched a create clip on the creation of a children's book- take a look!
How cool/weird is this? Some chick or company or something takes your kids drawings and makes them into dolls..... I wonder if they'd make something from one of my drawings.... hahaha- That might be a little too intricate...
Even though the drawing is cute, the doll is leaning a little on the creepy side for me.....
What do you think?
Hey all
I am in the process of updating my website.
Since there was a laziness factor on my part I've lost my original domain name.
Lesson learned......
My new website address is
www.tolmanillustration.com
Hey all, it's been a while since I've posted. We are enjoying a new little guy around here :)
And seriously my children are the most amazing pieces of art I've ever created. He's honestly the cutest darn little thing you ever saw. I don't really have any artwork hung anywhere in my house because I have my kids faces plastered all over ;) - except for
this piece done by Hala Swearingen that hangs in my hallway.
Here is a way to start off the new year for my artwork-
I did the cover for the January issue of the Friend magazine a couple months back.
It was such a fun illustration to do. I guess I say that a lot, but really this one was super groovy to work on.
I wanted the focus to be on the game at hand, and well when I play games I totally get into them. So of course the mom is totally going to win this one...
Have a happy fantastic New Years!
I have been anxious for Fall to come this year for one reason alone.....
#2!
So sorry for the lack of posts this summer, I've been artistically cooking another masterpiece. possibly a Halloween baby.....
I've got some more stuff I plan to post soon so stay tuned in.
This was actually my first time illustrating a night time scene. I always seem to illustrate with upbeat happy colors, so this was definitely a fun little different piece for me to do.
I'm always excited for new challenges :)
Ok so I am finally posting some of my art.
This one recently came out in the New Era magazine for March 2011.
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That was really cool! Thanks for sharing!