Hipster bear sketch drawn this morning. Available on Etsy!

It’s about 2 am and I am up late looking at my portfolio and trying to figure out where to improve it.  Right now the character design section is kind of hodgepodged together full of somewhat random character illustrations, which is nice, but doesn’t quite show off my ability to design a consistent character. So, for the next couple of weeks I think I’ll try to round out this section with more interesting poses. Like many artists, I tend to find myself drawing the same pose over, and over, and over again, not so much because I can’t draw anything else, but because it is easy, and doesn’t require thinking. This is a nasty habit- a drawing is always much better with intention and thought behind it. So, here is a loose start to what will hopefully be a productive session.

Little Worried Bear, 2012

“He heard a noise coming from outside. Nervously, he grabbed Mr. Rabbit and went to take a closer look.”

Fearless Ruben 1, 2012

“Ruben was fearless. He flew birds through the clouds, and rode frogs like a cowboy.”

Here is another illustration in the more detailed drawing style. I really like the way that this work is going. I need to do some brushing up on crosshatching and find a good groove, but I think this is definitely in the right direction.

This illustration is going to be a part of mini series depicting the same mouse character, who I have temporarily named Ruben. I came up with the prompt, “He flew birds, rode frogs, and even tamed a snake. Below you can see the rough layout of how i play to arrange the work. I think I’ll work on that Python next. I am toying with a few ideas to show how the snake is tamed. Maybe they could be sharing an ice cream cone? Either way, I am having a lot of fun with this.

This is so cool, Aja! I especially love the fight scene!

Something I have been struggling with for a long time is how to finish my illustrations. I can draw really fast, but it takes me hours to try to render out my illustrations, with somewhat questionable results. I spent forever working on this redrawn (all digital) version of the hipster bear, and it looks Okay but it honestly wasn’t very fun. And you really have to think, if you are going to go through all the trouble to pursue a creative career, shouldn’t you try to make it fun?

So, last night at around 3am I quickly sketched this bear, using more pencil lines to describe the form more than relying on the paint. I felt like I was onto something…

This morning I worked up this little guy. The color could be better, but I think I am really digging this style. It’s going to take some time and work, but I think this could solve my problem of hating to paint and loving to draw. What do you think?

Living in Portland, you get a lot of good reference material. These are sketches I think I want to bring to finish.

Full Disclosure: I sort of want that typewriter shirt.

For more sketches, check out my facebook page, www.facebook.com/ajawellsillustration

Dancing Rabbit, 2012

When I was in college, probably around 19, I made an illustration I appropriately titled, “Dancing Rabbit”. It was my first real attempt at drawing the same character in various poses. As horrifying as it is to show you this, here is the original illustration:

It really isn’t THAT bad, but I recently stumbled upon it in my archives and decided to redraw it. It has been brutally hot here, low 100′s, and so naturally I decided to make it Christmas themed so I could trick myself into thinking that it’s cold out.

The first thing I did was make a very loose drawing of the same character, just to get the feel of it. VERY loose. I decided that this version would feature more realistic rabbits, rather than stylized ones.

Next, in my sketchbook, I drew three of the rabbits. I decided to not include the first one, because a sequence of three still gets the idea across and has a good variety of poses. I like to sketch on Bristol paper with a mechanical pencil. Once I finished this, I scanned them in Photoshop and lined them up. If you don’t have Photoshop, you can do the same thing by drawing on tracing paper:

At this stage, there are a lot of errors. The middle rabbit’s hand is far too small for one, and the feet seem to wobble around in size. But, no matter- the next stage is to ink over the illustrations in Photoshop. I like to use a brush tool that is very similar to a real pencil or charcoal pencil. At this stage I really focus on correcting anything that turned out wonky.

As you can see, I tightened the drawing up, fixed some problems, etc. I like my characters to have a thicker outline, but that is just personal preference. From here, I start coloring. Right now I’m really digging some custom watercolor brushes. I also use a layer lock to color my outlines (tutorial coming soon). Right now, here is where the  drawing is:

As you can see, the rabbit on left is more or less complete, but I’ve still got to render the other two. Also, the “Joy” is a reference not only to the rabbits happiness, but also because I foresee using this as my Christmas card. I will probably either hand-illustrate this type or find a more appropriate font. I may eventually add a bit of a snow ‘swirl’ behind them. But, for now I am just pleased to see how the character has come along.
Stay tuned this weekend for the finished illustration to be posted!

Talented at an early age. Glad to see you persevered!

Visiting my mother, she showed me my first picture book I ever wrote, at age 9. Here it is:

A Snake Adventure

There was a boa really near,
He stretched 60 feet from head to rear.

He met a lion big and mean,
He was the biggest one he’s ever seen!

“My name’s King Lion, the King of all!”
“Hello, King Lion, my name is Paul.”

“I challenge you to fight me,
But a challenge is not right to me,
But if I must, I shall, I shall,
You good old buddy of a pal.”

King Lion shouted, “Everyone here now,
Get read to bow,
let’s start this fight right now,
Ready, FIGHT!” (bird says, get your karate suits on!”)

A brilliant fight scene.

“Pal! Pal!
I did not win it was a foul!”

“Apples Peaches, Pumpkin Pie,
Now you see me, now Goodbye!”

“Oh no you don’t! You won’t escape!
You are in the lake!” (ehh… got a little lazy there)

“You could be a carrier,
You could be a barrier,
You could be a guard,
And I could be like Captain Picard!” (genius….)

In the jungle very far,
There was a snake as strong as a bar,
With razor teeth,
Of course he was a thief,
Waiting, he was bizarre!

Paul and Lion were walking through,
When suddenly he stepped in doo,
All of a sudden the doo turned blue!
What a funny thing to do when doo turns blue!
He lifted up his paw with the help of the gang,
And it was not funny anymore, underneath was a fang!

“I challenge you to fight me!
But a challenge is not right to me,
But if I must, I shall I shall,
You bad excuse for a washing towel!”
(Note: I never progressed past this caliber of insult)

“I have saved the day!
Hip, hip, Hooray!
I’m Paul, I’m Paul,
I’m not very tall…..
But I’m long!”

Great insights Aja. You’ve said it all.

Free coloring page! Celebrate fall and going back to school my dragging and dropping this image to your desktop to print. Tip: Click the image above to bring to full size before saving.

Okay illustrators: We all know that the standard method to promote is to send out postcards. I myself am actually in the middle of filling out an ungodly amount. But often, a more concentrated, carefully executed promotion will yield better results.

I had the great fortune to work over the summer with some amazing promotional gurus, Danny Pelavin, Chris Spollen, Jeff Seaver, and Lisa Cyr at the Low Residency MFA in Illustration at the Hartford Art School – University of Hartford. All are accomplished illustrators and brilliant at marketing. After reviewing some amazing promotions that illustrators have come up with, I mocked up a simple yet unusual promotion targeted at activity/coloring book publishers.

I bought the cheapest box of crayons I could find, and used the box as a template to design my own version in Illustrator. I then laid out my own branding and images, and printed out a black and white version to make sure that it looked alright. Once I tweaked it a bit, I printed it out on high quality luster paper and assembled the box, using acetate for the window. I then stripped the crayons of their original branding, and made new wrappers with my website on them.

Included with my promotion are a few coloring pages, so the art director can see my style and, should he or she not care to hire me, at least they have a free toy for their kid or something to entertain their intern with.

Try to think outside the box: What can you do that an art director hasn’t seen before? What can make you stand out in a sea of submissions? Research the companies you want to work for, create relevant (and fun to make) promotions, and get them out there.

This is a little bit late, but on May 18th I attended the “Inspiration Station” SCBWI Portland Oregon Conference. This was my second local SCBWI conference (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, for the uninitiated), and my fourth SCBWI conference overall. I have to admit, I was a little bit worried about attending this year. The previous year was a bit of a bust for illustrators in my opinion, with very little usable or interesting information given out that applied directly to illustrators. However, I am pleased to say that this years conference was a wonderful experience.

Attendees were invited to choose from four intensive tracks to follow through the conference. The choices were Picture Book, Middle Grade, Novel, and Illustration. I decided to follow the straight Illustration track, because the Picture Book track focused more heavily on writing (though many illustrators decided on Picture Book and enjoyed it).

The first session I participated in was a workshop focused on character design. A lecture led by Art Director Laurent Linn explored contemporary children’s books, and we took a look at raw sketches with art direction notes. It was wonderful to see how the characters evolved, and how a healthy relationship between an art director and illustrator can create a beautiful unified vision. When we first registered for the conference, were were invited to participate in an assignment to provide multiple character sketches of either Puss in Boots, Rapunzel, The Mad Hatter, or another character of our choosing. I decided to do Puss in Boots. Mr. Linn gave brief critiques and suggestions to create stronger characters. It was an excellent, engaging lecture and I think everyone got a lot out of it.

Along the same vein, following was a lecture on putting emotion into our illustrations. Robyn Waters and Robin Koontz, both illustrators, went over some of the most famous children’s books and reviewed how the emotion behind the characters keep the story fresh and relevant for audiences over generations. Remember: Without emotion, there is no connection or payoff.

After a brief break, Ward Jenkins, another Portland illustrator, animator, and most recently a college instructor, gave us an overview of how his career has developed over the years. He also shared a few Photoshop techniques with attendees who were unfamiliar with digital tools. This was met with great excitement by many, and a lot of illustrators left with a better idea of how Photoshop can enhance their work. I have to say, Ward is just a delightfully kind person and if you do not know his work, go check him out immediately!

Next, illustrators volunteered to have their work publicly critiqued by the intensive panel. While many were nervous to have their work shown on the large projected screen, the reviews were overwhelmingly positive and constructive. The idea of course is to recognize an artists strengths, and to help them discover ways to enhance their work.

I also signed up to have a personal critique with Laurent Linn which went very well and was quite helpful. Some suggestions that he had for me (which I agree with entirely) were to 1) add more detail to costuming and clothing, 2) Show more varied compositions, and 3) Include at least one sample of the same character from multiple positions. I have to admit I am embarrassed that I do not currently have #3 on my website! I have done multiple projects that have involved the same character, but I have not been able to share them yet. No more excuses! Time to make more. Remember to cover your bases with your portfolio: prove to whoever looks at it that you are competent in not only drawing, but color, composition, and storytelling.

The evening ended with a panel discussion on the changing market, along with book sales, critique group networking, and a lot of wine, cheese, and bread. This was also a time to share and hand out postcards, business cards, and the works. Here is a glance at my materials I brought. ALWAYS bring some sort of take away item to a conference.

There was a second day to the conference, but I felt that I had gathered enough information from the first day to mull over for a while. I am very pleased with how much our local SCBWI chapter has improved and I hope that I can participate at this conference for years to come.

If you are interested in learning more about SCBWI, please visit www.scbwi.org. If you are a current SCBWI member, make sure to log into your account to discover what regional events are happening in your area.

It feels like just yesterday that I was nervously sitting down in the lobby of the Marriott Residence Inn in Avon, CT, for graduate school orientation. Was that really back in 2010? Have three summers really passed? Graduation always seemed impossibly far away, and now suddenly here I am sitting with my MFA degree.

So what did I learn? Here is a summary:

Being around other artists is key to personal growth.
Hands down, the best thing about being in an MFA program is that you get to surround yourself with other artists. Exchanging ideas, receiving honest and helpful critiques, learning art tips, swapping favorite brushes or photoshop plugins… it was fantastic. You can learn so much in such a short period of time just by watching fellow artists work. It is also often validating to to be able to commiserate about difficult clients, how the market has changed, and what promotions have and haven’t worked. Whenever possible, be it through conferences or critique groups at coffee houses, find and meet other artists.

Illustration is a business
It is a surprise to no one that artists are often terrible business people. And it is true, that the reason we chose to do illustration over a desk job is because it gives our lives meaning and makes us feel fulfilled. But we are in business to make money, and to make money you have to understand contracts, taxes, what your minimum hourly wage needs to be, what your expenses are, how to promote effectively, and where you fit in the marketplace. I have seen magnificent artists fall into obscurity because they do not know how to promote themselves or couldn’t keep a deadline. Do whatever you can for your business- join the Graphic Artists Guild, hire an arts lawyer to look at your contracts, keep records of your expenses, and take your work seriously.

Do work that is meaningful to you
While we all sometimes have to take jobs that do not excite us, it is important to continue to make art that is fulfilling. Put work that reflects your ideas and is meaningful to you in your portfolio in order to attract similar jobs (duh). Don’t just throw work up that is “good” that you don’t enjoy making, or you may find yourself creating illustrations that are far away from your artistic vision. And if you cannot avoid doing busywork, make sure you have personal projects going so you do not lose your creative outlet.

There is always more to learn
So I sort of hoped that by the time I got my MFA that I would be done growing, and everything I made would be a masterpiece. Well, that didn’t happen, and it never will. Growth should be constant. There is always room for improvement. Right now I am working on accuracy by drawing directly with a pen instead of with pencil. It’s sort of horrifying to see how off my proportions can be, but the only way to get better is to practice. You have to make hundreds, thousands of bad drawings and paintings before you make a good one. So don’t worry, keep working, and keep learning. Buy new books, try new techniques, look at other artists. Keep growing, exploring, and you will always have a new great work to create.

When I prepared to attend my first SCBWI conference a few years back, I wanted to leave a take-away item that was more inspired than a postcard. While browsing my local craft store, I found some printable magnet paper. Excited, I bought a few pieces and made a print.

However, I quickly discovered that the actual paper quality was roughly equivalent to regular printer paper, and so the magnets looked dull and very home made. So, I returned to my local craft store and I found this:

Adhesive backed magnet! For a 13 by 24 sheet of rolled adhesive magnet, the general cost is about 9 dollars, but can be found cheaper online.

Now all you need to do, is lay out your design on a 13 by 19 inch (or a few 8 1/2 by 11 sheets) high quality paper. I prefer using luster paper, but for this project I used professional quality matte paper. Be sure to put your designs close together to maximize the amount of magnets you can produce.

After printing, remove the adhesive backing from the magnet roll and carefully lay your print on top.

When it comes to cutting them out, I have found that very sharp, new scissors are preferable to using an exacto-knife, as the magnet is thick and I have a lot of rounded edges.

Hand cutting magnets are best done by non-arthritic hands, or interns.

For extra gloss and ink protection, consider spraying your magnets with a sealer. Tadaa! Instant, beautiful, professional looking magnets. Now go create!

Hooray! After months of waiting, tinkering, and adjusting, my new website is -pretty much- all set up!

This is a custom made Word Press website, which was designed for me by my good friend and stellar illustrator/designer, Kristian Olson. Check out his work, it will knock your socks off!

In addition to functioning as my portfolio site, I’ll be doing all of my blogging here and will be archiving my old blogger blog. I had a great time writing it, but these last couple of years I found myself posting less and less, and I feel that it is time to put it to rest.

When I started blogging, my intention was to document what it was like to be a brand new illustrator in search of defining a style, working with clients, and breaking into the industry in general. Now with a few years of experience and an MFA in Illustration under my belt, I want to use my blog as a space to document my creative processes, share sketches, interview other artists, and provide general illustration and illustration market information. I hope that I’ll be able to provide informative, helpful, or at least vaguely amusing content for you to enjoy.

If there is anything you want me to write about, let me know! Leave a comment, ask a question, or e-mail me directly at [email protected], and I’ll be happy to try to help you out! Now let’s get started!

Lizard and Locust Lick Lollipops, 2012
Part of the Wondrous World of Animals alphabet series