Happy March!
Days are getting longer again, and I’m starting to feel a bit of spring in the air. I even painted some lemons the other day, because they remind me of warm weather and that’s the mood I was in.
Since it’s March, that means the Bologna Children’s Book Fair is coming up, so here’s a reminder for all of us who are going… get those postcards, business cards, and portfolios ready! It’s just about a month away.
If you’re new here, welcome! I use this newsletter on the first of the month as a space to share and reflect about the previous month. I really love hearing what you’ve been up to as well, so please feel free to share in the comments!
What I have for you this month:
Commissions:
I am really excited about a new commission idea I just came up with… If you or someone you know is getting married soon, let me know and I’ll send you the details!
If you’re intersted in any other custom art such as pet portraits, custom staionaery, maps, etc… I also welcome you to reach out.
But I am really, really excited about the idea for newlyweds 😁 So I hope to hear from some of you! You can click the box below and just write “I’m curious about the new commission,” I’ll send you the details!
Recordings from Live Events
Watch now - Illoguild Live: Productivity for Creatives
Watch now - Illoguild Live BONUS: Visiting the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
Watch now - Art Gym: Animals Workshop
Weekly Artist newsletters:
In case you missed any, here’s what I wrote about last month:
Visiting the Bologna Children’s Book Fair (Re-post from last year since BCBF is coming up!)
Get an annual subscription for $50 to get drawing workshops and all the things in the Library!
Online Shop
There are lots of cards in my online shop. One of my best selling cards is perfect for weddings, and since we’re starting to enter wedding season, stock up! Free shipping on orders over $35 with code FREESHIP35.
Upcoming Live Events:
Illoguild Live | Monday, March 4 at 3 PM EST / 8 PM GMT / 4 AM MYT* / 7 AM AEST*
*next day
(open to all subscribers)
Join the guild as we chat about productivity and how we organize projects for success! Click here to check the local time and register.
Art Gym: Faces Workshop | Tuesday March 26 at 10 AM EST
(open to paid subscribers)
Join Adam Ming and me in our third Art Gym workout! We have tons of good stuff to share with you about drawing faces. We’ve already thought of some fun games to make drawing faces very approachable! If you’re a paid subscriber, click here to sign up.
Updates from last month:
Chocolate bar design
I’m in a lettering class, and I’m learning so much! The main purpose of the assignment was to hand letter the wording on a chocolate bar. On my own list of things to draw, I had “lemon pattern.” So I imagined a historic chocolatier along the Amalfi coast. Their trademark bar is White Chocolate with Lemon and Sea Salt. That makes a lemon pattern fit the assignment, right? So I got to draw lemons and practice lettering! Here’s the finished product and a peak behind the scenes:
Now with these same lemons… I tried to become a fashion designer. I’ll blame my fiancé, V, for this. He sent me an application for a design gig with a fashion company, and I thought, "You know what… Why not? Let’s see if I can create some clothes with my work.” So, how did I do? V approved, but I’m curious what all the artists think! Let’s start with the lemon one…
DTIYS - Lunar New Year
I joined a super adorable Draw This in Your Style from @geeksarecool for Lunar New Year. I used it as an opportunity to draw the same characters in two techniques: digitally and with gouache. I have been going back and forth between gouache and digital, so this was a good chance to study both side by side.
Here’s the digital drawing:
And here’s the gouache version (90% gouache with the final 10% as digital edits):
Here’s my reflection, and please feel free to skip as it’s quite long. But if anyone else is caught in this digital vs traditional conundrum, I thought sharing it might be helpful :)
Gouache things I like:
Variation color/texture in big blocks of color such as her shirt and pants
Solidity to the figures (as opposed to watercolor being more transparent)
I enjoy the action of painting
I like seeing a finished product on paper on my desk
Colored pencil lines to define shapes such as on her sleeve (but I don’t like the scribbly marks - they’re not confident yet)
Gouache things I don’t like:
Stark edge between character and background (need to paint bg on the same page as character)
Can be difficult to match colors to my digital color test
Digital things I like:
Softer look (especially on edges of characters/shapes)
Ability to change colors and color drop exact colors
Flexible, portable, etc...
Sketching digitally
Digital things I don’t like:
No actual painting
I don’t want it to look “too perfect” but I think I’m getting better at creating some organic marks
It can take longer to create textures rather than just painting
Practicing more lettering and patterns
I revisited some of my old art and see if I could update it and/or create patterns using the icons from it. Here’s one of them:
Updated Cover for My ABCF at School
The team and I also decided to update the cover a bit, so here’s the new one. I promise it’ll be out soon!! I’ve found that final edits often take so much longer than expected, but when you have a good team that’s invested in the book, it’s bound to turn out amazing!
Secret Project🕵️♀️
I’m also working on a secret personal project that I want to bring to Bologna, so stay tuned for that… 👀
Monthly Pup-date from a snowy doggo
Good luck getting him to come inside when there’s snow…
That’s all for this month!
How about your month? What kind of art did you create? Are you also in the lettering class? Do you have a pup-date? Share in the comments!
I’ll see you all next week for the illoguild Live on Monday and for a newsletter on Wednesday.
- Katie
I love lemon pattern on the shorts. I’d wear that on a pair of capris or a skirt!
I just got an iPad and have begun learning how to use Procreate, which I think will be a fun and convenient complement to my ink drawings and maybe even my block prints. We’ll see!
I am absolutely in awe of your lemon chocolate packaging! 😍 It's beautiful and has so much story to it. It makes me want to know more about that lovely chocolate-making family.