Birding Book

I was thinking of stuff I could add to my children's book portfolio, and my mind went to birds because I've gotten sorta into birding lately and I'm a massive nerd. I thought it would be fun to do a simple reference book that also tells a story. My idea was to follow a little girl and her father as they walk in the forest and spot a bunch of bird species. So this is sorta my test run for that!

Also, last night I was watching some Buffy and I ended up doodling the 'yellow crayon' scene because of feelings... so many feelings.

-Anna

Deer animation

I spent a few hours today playing around with the animation feature on Photoshop. Did this little deer walk cycle. I didn't use any reference so I was really just making stuff up. I definitely started rushing towards the end though... I wanted to be done and needed the deer out of the frame so I made him start to trot to get out faster.

-Anna

Sketchbook Characters

Today I colored some drawings from my sketchbook. The first is Illyria from the Buffy spin-off Angel. I drew it a while ago (after seeing Much Ado About Nothing) because Amy Acker is adorable.

The next two are characters from one of the (many) stories floating around in my head. They are siblings. I'm a big fan of Western-inspired science fiction (Star Wars, Firefly) so there's definitely some influence here.

-Anna

Amazing Adventures

I did this illustration over the weekend for fun. It's based on the book The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. In this post I've also include my black & white study and a few of my color comps so you can see a little bit of my process. I knew I wanted to go with a sepia sort of look, but I experimented with some different options (and mostly failed, but that's part of the process too).

 -Anna

Korra

Experimenting with new inking brushes!

-Anna

Assorted Stuff

Below is a recent commission. It's a scene from the Doctor Who episode "The Runaway Bride".

I just started a new series for Young Adult Magazine... pool party woo!

A new children's book sort of doodle. Aliens waaaah!

...And trying out some new brushes.

-Anna

British Men

Sketched my favorite English actors as a warm up this morning with some new brushes. Whenever I feel like I'm getting into bad drawing habits I draw portraits.

Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Matt Smith

-Anna

Breaking Bad - color

Colored my Breaking Bad caricatures because I AM SO VERY EXCITED for the final 8 episodes.

-Anna

Birding

I'm gonna pull a James Gurney and make a blog post with no drawings in it. I just thought I'd share some bird photos I've taken over the past few weeks, because I'm like super proud of some of them (particularly the hummingbird ones). Most of the photos were taken from my backyard and the woods behind it. It's amazing all the different species you can find. Once I realized how much diversity there was, going into the woods felt like stepping into another world. I'd like to make a simple bird identification children's book. That's my next project for my portfolio... I'm really excited to start it!

Common Yellowthroat (Juvenile)

 Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Male)

  Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Male)

 Indigo Bunting (Male, molting)

  Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Female)

No birds. But a bumble! 

 Osprey nest (Ithaca, NY)

 Bald Eagle

 Yellow-Rumped Warbler (Male)

(He hung around for a long time, always singing. We named him Rumply.)

 Brown-headed Cowbird (Male and Female)

-Anna

Night Vale

I listen to a lot of Podcasts while I draw, and I recently discovered Welcome to Night Vale. It's hilarious and creepy, and so so good. Last night I sketched the Cecil-- the voice of Night Vale's local radio station-- as I see him in my head.

And these are some quick figures studies I did the other day. Between 3-5 minutes each.

-Anna