Some more character studies -Tip for today... keeping in mind a bag of flour when drawing a character works well - see the penquins & the mice - Enjoy your weekend... I'm working...

Have you every visited Prague - It is a city that looks as if all fairytales were written with Prague as the setting - Here is a picture I drew when we visited prague some years ago - That's me and with me is my imaginary dragon called Peanutbutter that follows me everywhere!!!

Working hard!! - I posted some my most recent books at end of this page.

Here is a picture I drew quickly to insert into my e-mails - the animal parade

More Nina studies - I use maths when doing character studies - by transferring maths shapes into your drawings helps to keep your character's shape, size, age consistent throughout the book you illustrating. See the shape of Nina's body, length of arms etc etc. Try it - you will be amazed how it helps with your drawings - It was a breakthrough for me when I realised it. Got to get to work now - have a good day!

Character studies for Nina for the Duck book

And here is a close up of the illustration below -

To all you illustrators out there - have a good day!

PS: South African time is just after 1pm - Time for some lunch!!!

The final illustration for the cover - see message below

The rough colour feel done in photoshop

Started working late today 'cause my daughter came to show us the scan of her unborn baby - 22 weeks - it was amazing. Well I'm back at work - here is the cover of the Duck Book - again the rough, then a rough colour feel done in photoshop, then the final illustration. I am using Bainbridge Coquille Bristol #2 and Caran d’Ache ‘Neocolor II Aquarelle’ oil pastels (made in Switzerland). I paint a wash onto the illustration area of the page and finish the detailed drawing with crayons over the wash.

Its Monday Morning - a beautifull sunny day and this week I have to complete the roughs for the duck book - So I thought the best way to get going is to think of the book I have completed... I CAN DO THIS... URGGH! - so here is some pic and the rough sketches of the book I have completed just before I started the duck book- to be published in May 2007 by Pan Macmillan - To all you illustrators out there - have a good drawing week!!!

And here is Little Duck - called "little" because she is smaller than the little girl in the book, Nina.

Still busy drawing Ducks here are the sketches I made to work out what ducklings look like.

Final illustration done in oil-pastels. A start - got to do 32 more!!!

The next stage: picture scanned and rough colour-feel added in photoshop

I'm busy with a book "Nina and Little Duck" by Wendy Hartmann - a collection of stories to be published by Human & Rousseau in June - this is the rough drawing

of one of 34 illustrations!

This is my first time blogging - Hi!